City Council - Regular Meeting

I'd like to call a regular meeting to order for August 31st, 2026. Please mark everybody present. City Clerk, we're all here? We're all here. All right, thank you. Would you please join Council Member Beckles in the Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Let us pause for a moment of reflection as we begin this evening's meeting after our summer break. Gracious and loving Creator, we gather together with grateful hearts for the privilege to serve the city of Goodyear. We ask for your wisdom, humility, and understanding as we guide the future of our growing community. Fill this chamber and our hearts with deep love for all people. Remind us that our strength lies in our uni

Thank you there, Council Member Beggles. Now is the time for members of the public who wish to address the City Council on any non-agenda items within the jurisdiction of the City Council. Any speaker cards?

Yeah, before you start, Bob, the council will listen to comments and may take any of the following. Respond to criticism, request that staff investigate and report the matter. Request the matter be scheduled on a future agenda. It's limited to three minutes. It'll let you know as it gets closer, okay? So if you just tell us, you don't have to tell us your address, just whether you're a Goodyear resident.

Thank you, sir. Mr. Manager, did you get somebody from the Recreation Council? We have his information?

Hello, Chris. You heard the previous spiel there. Just whether you're a resident, you don't have to give the address. Go ahead.

Thank you. City Manager, you reach out to him. Okay. There you go.

You've heard the previous there, Jason. Just name and whether you're a Goodyear resident.

Thank you, City Manager. Okay, thank you. Anything else? Okay, thank you. We have two communication items tonight. First item is to recognize Benalian Chief Darren Green's retirement and 24 years of service with the Goodyear Fire Department. Go ahead and introduce yourself, please, for the public.

Darren, I'm grateful for you. You are one of my faves. You know that. And so you have been so wonderful to me since the first day I was elected four years ago. Always respectful, always kind. You are involved, accountable. You do everything for everybody. You don't have to ask you more than once. And I think the world of you. And I always have. And like I said, you know that. So I say thank you for your service to this city. 24 years, that's a long time. And I hope you and your wife go off and retire and have fun and do something really meaningful for you now. It's that time. Thank you again f

Well, Darren, I've known you long before I came on council, so we go back a long time. And those were the days when I didn't know what I was doing, and you were always bailing me out of trouble. So I appreciate that, and I thank you. But most of all, I really have to thank you for all the service that you did to my family. When you would come on scene, I knew my husband would be fine. You and your crew were always wonderful. And 24 years is a long time to give your heart and soul to a city. And I want you to know how grateful all of us are. The countless hours that you worked, the meals you mi

Well, I've been in public service, and I know sometimes when people retire, like, oh, that's good. But there's other people like you. And like Councilmember Campbell said, it's very bittersweet. You have had such a huge impact on this organization. Your investment of 24 years is just paying off dividends beyond what you'll even ever know. And through your leadership and even the work you've done in building and refurbishing fire stations, you've just got your fingerprints all over the city of Goodyear fire services. Just wanted to thank you. And I know that we're a better department for your s

Yes. When I saw you come up, I was like, Oh no, not him. He's not leaving us. But you have brought such value to Goodyear and all the years that you've been in. As the city began to grow, you have certainly, your contributions have certainly been immeasurable and very much appreciated. So I want to add my thank you to all that you've done for Goodyear, but also blessings to you as you move on to another phase of your life. Thank you. Thank you.

Council Member Terry. I'll just point out I was a sophomore at Millennium when you started. But aside from that, and I know a lot has been said that I could just echo, but you may be leaving, but your fingerprints aren't. You can't be with an organization as long as you have without... having such an impact on the way we do things and the way we will continue to do things. So enjoy retirement, but know your fingerprints aren't leaving. Thank you.

You know, Lance, it's hard to add other than to say thank you. We do go way back, and I can tell you for your crew and a lot of them that are standing out there, you're second to none. I mean, unfortunately, I've had to call them a few times, and I'm a firm believer they actually saved the life of my wife more than once. So, again, the professionalism you and your crew established, second to none. So, again, enjoy your retirement. I'm sure we're going to see you around because you'll find something else to do. I know maybe a short stay, but again, good luck and have a happy retirement. Take ca

You want to get a photo with the council?

Come on, we'll go down. Right here in the well and get a shower.

Second item is a proclamation recognizing the Goodyear Little League, 11U, for winning the state championship. Go ahead, Bruce, and introduce yourself.

Hold on. She's got to read the proclamation.

I'll give him a chance for a minute. Okay. Will the city clerk please read consent agenda items three through 12 by title only.

Thank you. Anybody like to remove an item off the agenda? Seeing none. Any questions? None. Got a motion and a second up on the board. You go ahead and open it up for the vote. Passes 7-0. Thank you. Let's see. We have two public hearings tonight. First public hearing is to review and consider approving a use permit for a desert rainbow solar energy generation facility. I'm just going to open up the public hearing. Please introduce yourself for the public.

Okay, thank you. Any cards? Speaker cards?

For your record, state your name, whether you're a Goodyear resident, and that's it.

Anything else I want to speak? No, Mayor. Okay, thank you. With that, anybody else want to speak out in the audience? Seeing none, I'm going to go ahead and close the public hearing. City Clerk, can you go ahead and read the resolution?

Thank you, and I get a motion and a second for a resolution 2026-2537. I see a motion and a second up on the board. With that, first up, Councilmember Terry.

Thank you, Mayor. And I don't know for you or for Katie, but I have a couple plans, starting off with our general plan. I know that was mentioned in some of the documents. The 2035 general plan was approved, what, two years ago, and it designated neighborhoods, business and commerce, open space for this area, and I know this is a 45-year lease. So can you speak to at all how this use permit alters or supersedes in any way that general plan designation, or does it keep it? What, if anything, preserves that vision after this project's life?

Okay. Speaking to adjoining property, I know residents were notified within one mile. Yes. Do we have an idea how many? I can't imagine as much. Did we mail anybody?

Oh, 200? Yeah. And then there were two spots in your presentation. You had two spots inside. Are there any structures involved with the two parcels that are not owned by this? I think Liberty Elementary District was one of them. And then there was a private...

As far as the private owner, I assume they've reached out to them, hopefully made contact at some way? Can you characterize maybe those discussions at all, just since they're completely surrounded?

Okay. I would hope I'd hear from them if they were up in arms. Well, Andrew, can you characterize those discussions at all? Is that possible?

I came here from a school district. I'm kind of familiar with the restrictions there, and obviously they would wait for the neighborhoods and residential component to come someday, which is Not anytime soon, just somewhere long down the road. I did want to speak a little bit to decommissioning. I don't know if it's probably for both of you. I know there are discussions going on with what the decommissioning agreement looks like. I know the idea is to get the land back to kind of how it was when you started, which... above the wash, but down below the state land in the foothills of the mountain

I saw there was going to be a plan coming forward, so I just wanted to hope that just for the protection of the city and to maintain flexibility for people up here 45, 50 years from now. I can't tell you how many things... You know, I'm sure you're familiar with the Australia area where, since I've been up here, I realize my hands are tied since decisions made in the 1980s. So the less we can tie hands of folks 50 years from now, I think the better. As far as the decommissioning goes, I know the technology is quite new. I don't know if you can But have we seen any decommissioning in practice o

Okay. that was my presumption is that it hadn't happened before so we're halfway in the unknown which is speaks to my question about the financial assurances and then I know I think it was during our report from PNZ To my knowledge, I believe there are some cattle ranching leases out there. I don't know how much, but you're obviously not starting to go vertical with solar panels tomorrow if this is approved. What sort of... I guess discussions would you plan to have with the leaseholders as far as what happens when I know the first pat on this I think was 2009 when it was slated for potential

Okay, so worst case scenario, we're talking a few years notice. And my assumption is with an active lease, you should be able to get a hold of them to discuss or the current property owner would. I think that is all I have for you. And I do have a couple more for you. Thank you, Andrew. It was mentioned the water on site is groundwater, and they're, you know, working on emergency plan with fire marshal, everything else. Can you or potentially a chief speak to how does fire response work when all you have is maybe a couple wells, especially with the best facility? It's a slight... concern just

Okay, I appreciate that. My concern, obviously, you know, if it burned too long, a little gust of wind, and then it starts moving some direction off-site and then becomes a huge problem. I know you guys are having discussions about potential fire suppression services. I would hope that remains... I THINK WE'LL SEE SOME SORT OF FINANCIAL AGREEMENT IN REGARDS TO DECOMMISSIONING. BEFORE THIS GOES VERTICAL, I'D LOVE TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON WHAT'S AGREED ON THAT FIRE And then I guess the general energy question. I got an email a little bit ago, I assume some other council members did, f

Is it accurate to say that they are not competitors and that they are two separate service providers within the same grid?

Okay. Because the way I've always understood it, and obviously it's important here when I'm being asked directly, is we have a relatively strong grid in Arizona. We need it, especially for the summer. And You know, if you're in SRP's area, yes, their logo's on the box. They do their thing. If you're in APS's area, their logo's on the box. They do their thing. But the electricity is all connected to the same grid. And as you were mentioning, when you're supporting one, when in need, they can support each other. That's true. I'm trying to dumb it down as much as I possibly can, which is, my wife

We covered the fire safety pretty extensively when we did the zoning ordinance. And I was wondering, Andrew, if you or somebody from AES would like to just cover, um, that a little just a little bit detail. Council or Vice Mayor Hampton made a comment about a BES burning down and I think the technology has evolved from that. So if somebody would be willing to speak to what happens so it doesn't burn down.

Is there anything you'd like to add briefly? Sure, yeah, I can address. Could you go to the microphone, please?

And I understand you have remote monitoring. You can isolate, you can shut down the rest of it if one happens to get hot or whatever. I mean, you've got technology to monitor your equipment. Okay, thank you. So the likelihood of the whole thing burning down is...

Okay, good. All right. Thank you, sir. Appreciate that. Well, I just want to make some comments for the public listening. This whole energy conversation has been so interesting because it's been going on, gosh, for a long time. We might elect one president that is pro-oil and invest that way. Then another president in their administration is pro-renewable and invest there. And so it's gone back and forth. And so we've got our... our power providers, APS and SRP, who have to figure out how to provide power to the state of Arizona when it's obvious that national sentiment is kind of swinging bot

Yes. Most of my questions have been answered, but I want to just kind of go over some of them again. I basically had to do my due diligence in learning about solar energy and batteries, energy storage, and those technologies I am very much in favor of. But I do have some concerns about this particular project. I am thankful and grateful for AES and all the information they've provided for this project. But just let me get to my questions. Just for the public's clarification, because it came out, but not directly. If you were to start this project in terms of construction, it would start when?

And whatever happens today, should we get approved? Should this probably get approved? This is the last time Council will see this project?

Um... Was it somewhere, was I dreaming? Or was it somewhere in the project where it said that it would be conveyed to the city two years after construction? And what does that mean?

And we've talked about the decommissioning forever. So I think my questions regarding that have been answered. And finally, with the Goodyear Fire Department, have they completed a project-specific risk assessment?

Okay, thank you. I don't have any further questions, but I am not in favor of this project.

Thank you. I don't really have any questions, Ann, because the Lord knows we've talked about this for the last hour, but I just wanted to say that the land down there generally doesn't give us any money, hardly at all, because it's undeveloped. It's just like Mobile. We get zero tax dollars, and I appreciate them finding this area in Goodyear and being able to put it to good use. I think it's critical that we work on renewable energy, that we do have a battery storage area, that we do have solar fields. I mean, Lord, we have sunshine 360 days a year. We need to save it and use it. I've lived t

I want to thank the staff for really getting involved and figuring out what's going on here. This has been a long process and we've been doing a lot of battery storage, different battery storage areas and we've been talking about them for the last year or two. I have been working on these battery storage things and everybody knows it for the last three or four years because I've been working on them in another state as well. I feel that we are at the point now where if we don't step up and start doing the things that we have started to do and what we need to do, It's all happening around us. A

Thank you. Great discussion. I'm not going to add anything more except to say I have toured the facilities. I know technology is constantly changing. Make it a little easier to shut it down. I'm waiting for the day. I don't know how close you are with AES to be able to control by cell, you know, because if you can control by a cell that's going hot, you can shut that down. You stop everything. You know what I mean? And I suspect you're not too far away from doing that, but I'm in favor of this project. Go ahead and open up the vote.

Passes 6-1, thank you. All right, next. Next public hearing is to review and consider establishing a special public improvement project area and authorizing cost recovery for CIP project number 42026, Estrella Parkway from Vineyard Road to MC 85. Open the public hearing. Please introduce yourself for the public.

I'm going to go ahead and close the public hearing. City Clerk, please read the resolution number 2026-2538.

Thank you. Can we get a motion and a second to adopt? I have seen that up on the board. We've got a motion and a second. We'll open for council discussion. First one up, Council Member Terry.

Thank you, Mayor. For staff, what is the reasoning that we use for the collection of fees that it costs to repair or to build these roads or widen these roads now instead of when they develop?

Okay. If they were to develop this five years ago, they would be required to develop the road in front of them as well as part of a development agreement. Is that correct? Okay. Obviously, we've heard from one owner. There were eight parcels. Have we had conversations with others? Have we been able to reach others? That sort of thing. How have those conversations been?

Okay. I know one of the reasons we do this is our mayor is a big fan of scalloped streets. He talks about it often. What would the impact of improving each parcel over the course of the next 15, 20 years do as opposed to why we front this as a city, we front the development as a city instead of waiting for the development to come in, which then as part of any development agreement would be required to develop the road in front of them?

Okay. I did read through the documents you mentioned in the timeline. If there's no development in 15 years, what happens to the cost recovery mechanism?

Okay. So that leads to the question, does this just disappear? any sort of movement of land development for 15 years? Or what is the thought process beyond that? I know some jurisdictions have had sunsets of, you know, after 10 years, it starts sunsetting by 10% every year or so. Is this standard for us as a city? I haven't, I've done a few of these, but... Not that many, but that's kind of what I'm getting at. What's the point of the 15 years? I know it wasn't in the presentation, but it was in the subsequent documents.

Okay, so even if property transfers, something like that, cost recovery mechanism still goes away in 15 years. So even though we as a city over the next, I don't know, Steve, how long is this project going to take? Three years? I want it sooner. Two years, about two years.

Okay. So even... Any development that would have happened 5 years ago 10 years ago would have come with some sort of development agreement of the road in front of them. But in 15 years that expires in the city. Essentially covers it. Pretty much flatly what it is.

And inflation's a big thing. So you had mentioned that costs are locked into today's prices. So someone might think, oh, well, we're waiting 10 years, but then we only have to pay the cheap prices of 2026 instead of 2036, which is, I'm sure, going to backfire someday. The point of that locking of that price is because now is when the city is paying those costs, essentially, correct? So it's not really a loan, or not a loan, but getting a discount on development 10 years from now. It's essentially disincentivizing development for 15 years, or Come pay your part now. That's, in layman's terms, w

And then I don't know if it's for you or for Katie, unfortunately, but do we know the zoning of these parcels or is there a pad on them or do we just have a simple layer of zoning?

Okay, and this is all south of the future State Route 30, correct?

Before I go to Council Member Kano, just a real quick question for the attorney. All right. Since this has a 15-year life, is there any value in putting the road in our impact fee study, which at that point, you've got the cost, you can recover forever. And it also depends on zoning, what's being used as well.

Okay, I just wanted to throw that out for you. All right, Council Member Kano.

I know we talk about this every time, but I just want to ask again. In the picture you showed, there's a separate bike lane and a pedestrian. Have we factored in bicycle safety into this road or this bridge?

To the gentleman that has the property, would you do me a favor and hang around for a few minutes afterwards, after the session's over, and talk with our city manager, please. I don't want you to leave here without understanding some of this or us understanding what you're really dealing with. I think it's important that we listen more to what you have to say, because we are thinking about your property too. We're listening.

Yes, there's a resident that lives up there. We are really anxious for this project to get moving. Hopefully we can get over the hurdle. Thank you. Councilman McGillis for bringing that up. So we are definitely interested in getting over the hurdle of getting this project moving along. We've been talking about it for even before I got on council. But my only question is just to refresh my memory, money that's recovered, what pot does that go in, money that once we recover money in advance?

OK, thank you. Just one other point. The vineyard area has been just such a sensitive area for the residents that have to come up that come across that bridge. And so we really, really, really are excited about moving this forward. That's all I have. Thank you.

Yeah, the problem, though, is, like I said, if we kept the scalloped streets and, say, five or ten years from now they decide to develop, I would suspect the construction cost of the front is going to be a lot larger than what it is right now because, obviously, construction costs are going up tremendously. And I guess from the city manager, I mean, from the mayor's perspective, we've had this ordinance in place for how long?

Okay, thank you. All right, with that, I don't see any more questions up on there. Go ahead and open up for vote. Pass 7-0, thank you. All right, with that, council have any comments, commendations or reports on current events? Okay, go ahead.

I would like to take just a few minutes just to thank everybody. I heard the League was wonderful. I heard the staff did a lot of work, and I heard it was a real fun time as well. I'm really, really sad that I wasn't able to be there, but I heard there was some comments about why I wasn't there, and I will say this. I was in the hospital. And I had a little surgery and it was private. And as most things are private, you don't put it out there, but people did find out about it. And I will thank everybody for their flowers and when they found out and their cards and their food. And I just, I'm s

Anybody else? Go ahead. Oh, let's start down there. Go ahead, Kano.

I just wanted to let the public know that the 9-11 Memorial Pancake Breakfast is this Saturday from 9 to noon. I was trying to look it up on my phone when it betrayed me, but it's at Fire Station 183 on Litchfield Road. It's a very family-friendly event. I encourage people to come out. Over the years, attendance has been declining, and I think it's just really important that we continue to honor and keep those memories alive. Thank you.

Anything else, Trey? You're good to go? Molly? All right. Hang in there, City Manager. What you got?

All right, with that, the next meeting will be September 14th, 2026. Now, we have a vote being held to call an executive session for the following reasons. Pursuant to ARS 38-431.03, A3 and 4, for legal advice and consultation to consider its position and provide its instruction and direction to city attorney, city manager regarding city's position and connection with contracts that are subject of negotiating associated with spring training facilities. Can I get a motion and a second? I see a motion and a second on the board. Can I get a vote? 7-0. Back in the same corner before? Okay. Yeah.