City Council Formal Meeting - Regular Meeting

To advance research-based solutions to tricky water problems. In the next few minutes, I want to reiterate three of the key themes that have come up from our speakers today. The value of water, the power of small actions, and the need for unlikely alliances. So first, the value of water. Every Phoenix resident knows the value of conserving water in the desert. But as temperatures rise and long-term drought becomes a stark reality, every drop of water becomes even more important. And the water in Phoenix is too valuable to waste. But finding and fixing leaks is not always easy. You can imagine sprinklers on the sidewalk. That's an easy way to identify water waste. But leaky toilets, imagine a large building like Fillmore, 120 units, Finding that leaky toilet with just one water meter, this is a big challenge. It's like trying to find a needle in the haystack, which is why the leak detection technology that's getting deployed here at Fillmore today is so important. Second is the power of small. As the Vice Mayor mentioned, often when we think about water solutions, we think about big infrastructure projects. But I'm here to tell you that small solutions matter too. Small actions to save water can add up to profound impacts on our overall water supplies. Fixing one leaky toilet may seem inconsequential, but multiply that across the city and you end up with millions of gallons of water savings. The EPA estimates that about a trillion gallons of water are wasted to household leaks across the country every year, and toilets are the number one culprit here. So right now, city housing is paying for invisible water waste, and this project will help them reduce their water costs and free up money to spend on their mission of providing quality affordable housing. Third and final is this need for unlikely alliances. We are in an all hands on deck moment on the Colorado River. We must work together across sectors to come up with creative ways to solve the Southwest water crisis. in this project just within the phoenix city government you have the mayor's office city water department and housing all working together you have sensor industries providing this great technology target coming in to fund and support this work and the role of pacific institute is really to bring all of these partners together to make this happen And we are not just doing it here. In the last five years, Pacific Institute has worked with a coalition of partners to deploy this solution in 14 affordable housing properties across California and Arizona. And I'm really thrilled to be adding Fillmore to that list today. So to wrap up, this project leverages a small, simple, but powerful solution to tackle a problem that we can all relate to, leaky toilets. Right now, we're literally flushing water and money down the drain. And this project saves the city water and money, which benefits all residents.

ADOT Connecting Arizona From the snow-capped mountains of Northern Arizona to the arid desert and lush farmland of the central and southern regions of our state, Arizona's natural beauty is diverse and breathtaking. Residents and tourists alike certainly enjoy our scenic state. Unfortunately, sometimes a closer look reveals litter.

I thought it was socks.

ADOT spends about $8 million a year cleaning up litter along our state highways. Removing litter from our roads and highways is a time-consuming and costly job that threatens to get worse as Arizona's population grows.

Thank you for participating in the Adopt-a-Highway program.

So we greatly appreciate the help of Arizona citizens like you who volunteer in our Adopt-a-Highway program.

Give yourself a hand.

Your group has graciously agreed to clean up litter along a specific section of highway for a period of two years. As you begin your efforts, please keep in mind that a public highway can be dangerous and some basic safety issues must be considered before you start work. So, are you ready to tackle the trash?

We ready.

It is important that you properly prepare yourself for the work day. Proper clothing and hydration are two priorities. When it comes to water, ask yourself these questions and plan accordingly for your water supply. How many people will be in your group? How many hours do you plan to work? How many miles do you plan to cover? What is the forecast temperature for the day? Now, think about your location. Does your cell phone get service where your adopted road is in case of emergency? How far is the nearest medical facility? Next, think about what to wear. Since most everything in Arizona has thorns, long-sleeved shirts and pants are recommended because of the harsh terrain, cactus, reptiles, and insects you may encounter. Wear protective gloves and strong-soled shoes or boots. Avoid sandals or loose-fitting shoes. Don't forget your sunscreen, and you'll probably want a hat, too. Congratulations, you're ready to pick up trash. Your group should carpool as much as possible to keep the number of cars on site to a minimum. And always remember to park as far away from the roadway as possible. Next, your group coordinator will conduct a safety meeting for all group members. Each person must wear a safety vest at all times. Safety vests along with trash bags will be supplied to you by ADOT. Remember, no children below the age of 12 or pets are permitted in the program or in the work area. For your safety, do not utilize music players. Your ears are often the first thing to warn you of imminent danger. Appoint a lookout for your group. Work facing oncoming traffic, and remember to stay at least five feet from the pavement edge. The fewer distractions for the traveling public and your group, the better. Now, when it comes to trash, know what you're picking up. If you cannot identify it, don't pick it up. This brings us to the topic of hazardous waste.

Methamphetamine is the number one drug abused in the United States and Arizona today and is responsible for a lot of our violent crime. Each pound of meth that is manufactured produces five to six pounds of hazardous materials as waste. So when you're out here on the roadway, don't pick up things that have tubing that is red, ice chests that are red, or red chemical bottles. Bad guys throw them out here because they don't want to get caught with them. Also, leave those corroded propane bottles alone. Used car batteries, needles, syringes, or anything that you don't know what it is. The best rule of thumb is if you are uncertain, don't touch it and inform local law enforcement. Remember, be alert.

Also, do not enter pipes or culverts. The danger is too high, so let the pros deal with that. You should pick up small items made of paper, cardboard, plastic, styrofoam, wood or rubber. Glass items in small empty containers are okay if they do not have sharp edges. Tie your bags securely shut and place the filled bags at least six feet from the pavement edge. Do not overfill or overstuff the bags. ADOT workers must lift these bags into their trucks. Place larger, heavier items like tire debris or any items that would tear a bag near the filled bags. Remember, don't move anything that could cause you or your team members physical harm. ADOT will remove your filled trash bags from the roadside after the cleanup is complete. Avoid overexertion and drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated. Adopt-a-Highway program encourages recycling, so collect the recyclables and take them with you. Make sure your group has enough water and that on-site first aid is available. Leave snakes alone. People are bitten because they try to kill a snake or get a closer look at it. Keep hands and feet out of areas you cannot see. Don't pick up rocks or firewood. Be cautious and alert at all times. If you or a group member is bitten, wash the bite with soap and water. Immobilize the bitten area and keep it lower than the heart and get medical help. Remember, you signed a permit to do this. That permit has terms and conditions. It is very important that you read and abide by them. Inform your ADOT Adopt-a-Highway contact at least five days prior to the cleanup effort. We need to make sure your dates don't conflict with other highway uses, so it's very important to know who your Adopt-a-Highway contact is and that they have your contact information. We need to know as quickly as possible if a new coordinator is appointed or if you change any of your contact information. Make sure everyone in your group fills out a volunteer registration form before each cleanup. The Arizona Department of Transportation wants this to be a rewarding and safe experience for all of you. Volunteers like you make this program successful by giving your time and energy to make a positive impact on the environment. Your efforts are appreciated, very much so, not only by ADOT, but also by the citizens of Arizona and the visitors who will enjoy a cleaner state because of your hard work. So spread the word. Arizona, keep it grand.

you

Hi, my name is Brian Tice. I'm a water service technician for the City of Phoenix Water Department. My role as a technician is to provide excellent customer service to our residents in the city of Phoenix. As a water service technician, we deal with leaks, turn on, turn offs of homes with customers moving in and out of their residence, replacing meters, and replacing stops. For me, the most rewarding part, I grew up in the city of Phoenix. I went to grade school, high school, so for me being able to come back and provide the service to the community that I grew up in is very important to me. I believe the water service technician position is important to our division because we are the first people the customers see.

Semiconductor industry is becoming the future of the world. We're establishing something new in the country, something new that will generate the pipeline of future talent for TSMC.

Who doesn't want to be part of probably the biggest company that's coming? And plus, I really needed a career, and thankfully I found my career here.

It's truly been a privilege to establish this apprenticeship program here at TSMC. We started with eight apprentices. The apprenticeship program overall is between 18 and 24 months. The apprenticeship is structured in two cycles. This is the completion of cycle one.

I'm a water apprentice. I'm really excited and looking forward to the next step or second phase of the program. They have four departments here. They have electrical, water, mechanical, and gas and chem. And throughout the first phase of the program, we moved around to each department for approximately.

If you could please find your seats, we will begin in one minute. Thank you.

Good afternoon. It is September 9th. Thank you for joining us. We lost a giant in our community and I will turn to Vice Mayor Hodge Washington to lead a moment of silence for George Dean.

Thank you, Mayor. Today, I would like to ask my colleagues and everyone to join us and pause as we remember Mr. George Dean, who passed away recently. Having served more than three decades leading the Greater Phoenix Urban League, Mr. Dean was a devoted servant leader and a beloved member of our Phoenix community, and his passing is a loss to all who had the privilege of knowing him. Under his leadership, the Greater Phoenix Urban League helped many Phoenicians achieve homeownership, elevate their employment, and even the youngest Phoenicians excel through the Head Start program. At moments like this, we are reminded that the strength of our city is not found in our buildings, our programs, or our policies. but in the people who gave their time, their heart, and their service to our community. I want to extend my deepest condolences to Mr. Dean's family, especially his wife of 54 years, Dr. Eula Dean, his daughter, Teresa, friends, colleagues, his Urban League families, and all of those who will grieve his loss. May they find comfort in the memories they shared with him and in knowing that his life made a difference. I ask that we now observe a moment of silence in his honor.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Vice Mayor, for those powerful words. Chaplain, Rabbi Levertov will provide an invocation in keeping with the tradition of a legislative prayer for the council. Participation is entirely voluntary. Anyone may remain seated or step outside. Rabbi Levertov, thank you.

God, this coming Friday evening, Jews around the world will usher in Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. One of the messages of Rosh Hashanah is powerful and universal about the responsibilities and challenges we encounter in our lives. The Talmud teaches, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not come with unreasonable demands to His creations. The Lubavitcher Rebbe often emphasized the profound message within these words. If God asks something of us, He has also given us the capacity to accomplish it. Each of us is given responsibilities in life to our families, to our communities, to those who depend upon us, and to the world around us. At times, our responsibilities can seem greater than our abilities. We may wonder whether we have the wisdom, the strength, or even the ability to make a meaningful difference. However, the responsibility itself should remind us of our capacity. If there is something that is ours to do, then we must believe that we have been given the ability to do it. Almighty God, our mayor and council members have each been placed in positions of great responsibility. They have been entrusted by the people of this city to confront difficult questions, make consequential decisions, and help shape the future of Phoenix. When that responsibility feels overwhelming, remind them that they are here for a reason, that together with the responsibility entrusted to them comes the capacity to fulfill it. Grant them the wisdom to find solutions when the answers are not obvious, the courage to make difficult decisions, the humility to listen to one another, and the strength to continue working for the good of those they serve. And remind all of us that we too have responsibilities that are uniquely ours. When a need comes before us, may we recognize that there is a reason we see it and that there is something we can do. Bless our mayor and council members, our dedicated city employees, our first responders and law enforcement, their families, all who are gathered here today, and all the residents of Phoenix with health, peace, and prosperity. Help each of us recognize not only the responsibilities placed before us, but the abilities you have placed within us. May we have the courage to use those gifts wisely to serve others and to bring greater goodness into the world. And let us say amen.

Thank you, Shana Tova. Please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

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.

Thank you so much. We'll now call to order the formal meeting of the Phoenix City Council.

Will the clerk call the roll? Councilwoman Guardado? Here. Councilwoman Hernandez?

Here.

Councilwoman O'Brien?

Here.

Councilwoman Pastor? Here. Councilman Robinson?

Here.

Councilwoman Stark?

Here.

Councilman Waring? Here. Vice Mayor Hodge-Washington? Here.

Mayor Gallego?

Here.

Elsie Duarte is with us to provide Spanish interpretation and Oscar Monroy. Elsie, would you introduce your team?

Yes, thank you, Mayor. As stated, my name is Elsie, and along with my colleague, Oscar Monroy, we will be providing Spanish interpretation during today's formal meeting. I will now take a moment to address our Spanish speaking audience. Buenas tardes, mi nombre es Elsie Duarte y junto con mi colega Oscar Monroy estaremos brindándoles interpretación a nuestra audiencia de habla hispana. Para escuchar la reunión en español presencialmente, favor de pasar por unos audífonos ubicados a la entrada de la sala de cámaras. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you so much, Elsie. Will the city clerk read the 24-hour paragraph?

The titles of the following ordinance and resolution numbers on the agenda were available to the public at least 24 hours prior to this council meeting and therefore may be read by title or agenda item only. Ordinances number G7536 through 7548, S53143 through 53185, and resolutions 22393 through 22395. Thank you. Will the city attorney explain the role of public comment?

Yes, thank you, Mayor. Members of the public may speak for up to two minutes to comment on agenda items. Comments must be related to the agenda item and the action being considered by the council. General comments that go beyond the scope of the agenda item should be made during the citizen comment session at the end of the agenda. The City Council and staff cannot discuss or comment on matters related to pending investigations, claims, or litigation. Additionally, any member of the public who appears before the council in their capacity as a lobbyist must, as required by Phoenix City Code, disclose this fact before addressing the council. The City Code states that speakers must express their comments respectfully and courteously. Use of profane language, threats, or personal attacks on members of the public, council members, or staff are not allowed. Such comments are disruptive and unrelated to the council's business. Any person who violates these rules may lose their opportunity to speak further and could be asked to leave. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you so much. We begin with the formal meeting minutes. Councilman Robinson, item number one.

Thank you, Mayor. Move approval of the formal meeting minutes from December 3rd, 2025. Second.

We motion a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed, nay? Passes unanimously. Item two, vice mayor.

Thank you, mayor. Move to approve the minutes from January 7, 2026. Second.

Motion and second. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, nay? Passes unanimously. Next, we move to boards and commissions. Vice mayor, do you have a motion?

Yes, mayor. Motion to approve the mayor and city council's boards and commission nominations. Second.

Motion and a second. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, nay. Congratulations to our commissioners on your unanimous confirmation. If you'll come forward, we will conduct your swearing-in ceremony. Thank you for serving our city. Please raise your right hand. I state your name. Do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution and laws of the state of Arizona, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and defend them against all enemies, and that I will faithfully and impartially Discharge the duties of? State your board. According to the best of my ability? So help me God. Thank you for serving our city. If you'll please come behind, the council members would like to congratulate. Well, congratulations to our commissioners, and thank you for advising us on so many important parts of our city. We are glad to have you. The City of Phoenix provides an advisory role to the state of Arizona on liquor licenses, and we'll turn to that portion of our agenda next. Vice Mayor, do we have a motion?

Thank you. Motion to approve items 4 through 28? Second.

A motion and a second. I'm seeing we do not have anyone wishing to speak. All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Aye. Any opposed? Passes unanimously. 14 special events on today's liquor license, including some very exciting ones.

Phoenix Pride. Thank you, Mayor. I'm excited to welcome the Phoenix Pride Parade and Festival to District 8 in downtown Phoenix. Pride celebrations, as we know, are a way for us to ensure that all members of our community are supported and feel that they have a home here in Phoenix. I look forward to marching in the Pride Parade and joining in celebrations at the Arizona Center. See you next month.

And speaking of special events, there's a big one coming up this weekend celebrating Mexican independence.

Yes, thank you so much, Mayor. Yes, we want to invite everyone to our yearly El Grito event that's going to be taking place this Saturday starting at 4 o'clock. here on Third Avenue in Washington, come and support all of our small businesses. We love being able to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month this way. It's so meaningful to all the small businesses that come out and celebrate and expose all of their amazing food and everything else that they sell. At the end of La Grito this year, we're gonna do something that's never been done before. We're gonna have fireworks. So we're hoping that all of you are able to come out. El Grito itself will happen at 9 p.m. We have a diputada from Mexico coming out and doing the Grito. Special shout out to the vice mayor and the mayor for all of their support on this event and helping us make this happen. And to all the different departments who have been so helpful when it comes to to all of the permitting and everything that we've had to do and helping us with liquor license. Putting on an event like this is not easy and it takes a village to make it happen. So thank you to everyone that made this happen and we'll see you guys on Saturday. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you so much. City Clerk, are we ready for ordinances, resolutions, new business planning and zoning? Yes, Mayor. Vice Mayor, do we have a motion?

Yes. Motion to approve items 29 through 106, except for the following. Item 61, 64, 94, 99, 102, 103, 104, 105, and 106. Noting that item 49 is continued to September 23rd, 2026. And can the clerk confirm if there are any other items that should be excluded for in-person public comment?

Yes, Mayor and Vice Mayor. Also excluding item 51. That's item 51. Second. We have a motion and a second.

Roll call.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

We next go to item 51, which is a contract with UMOM New Day Centers for heat-related respite operator and supportive services. Vice Mayor, do we have a motion?

Motion to approve item 51. Second.

We have a motion and a second. We have several members of the public here to comment. We'll begin with Faith, followed by Clarissa.

On behalf of UMOM, I really do believe that the extension is very important for the families, for the mothers can continue to grow. and hopefully grow up into some really nice humans if they're treated right. So please extend some room at your mom. Thank you.

Thank you for that important testimony. Clarissa is next, followed by Frank.

Good afternoon, Mayor, everybody, the council. I wanted to support the heat relief for UMOM for extension for family homelessness and that they continue the facility in need of the stable housing for families dealing with homelessness that you would support it. Thank you.

Thank you so much for your testimony. Frank is next, followed by Elizabeth.

Good afternoon, City Council. My name is Frank Urban with Fund for Empowerment. I believe we need to extend this. It's very important to the homeless in general, especially the single moms and people that go to UMOM and the families. Having more water would... quite honestly could be the difference between life and death for a lot of these people. And that's all I got to say.

Thank you so much. Our final speaker will be Elizabeth Venable.

Elizabeth Venable, Fund for Empowerment. I'm down below. There we go. I wanted to say, yes, it's good that you are keeping this facility open. There's a crisis in child homelessness in the state of Arizona, and a lot of people have lost benefits with children. you know, housing is closing left and right. So it's good to, you know, take advantage of the fact that the city of Phoenix is stepping up to do this. I think that still there's more, there's always more that can be done and the return on it, as I've said, is really great in terms of, you know, I've gone into public safety before, but the stability of families, I mean, and work ability for people to work and to be able to access these benefits is absolutely critical. And so while I really applaud you guys actually upping the number that I think that you would have otherwise allocated, I would like to see larger allocations if you can, because it's not a million. Thank you. Thank you so much for this testimony.

Rolco. Guardado. Yes. Hernandez. Yes. O'Brien. Yes. Pastor. Yes. Robinson. Yes. Stark. Yes. Waring. Yes. Hodge-Washington. Yes. Gallego. Yes. Passes 9-0.

We next go to item 61, authorization to amend the ordinance for school resource officer services. Vice Mayor.

Motion to approve item 61. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Noting Councilman Waring will not participate in this item.

Roll call. Guardado. Yes. Hernandez. No. O'Brien? Yes. Pastor? Yes. Robinson? Yes. Stark?

Yes.

Hodge-Washington? Yes. Gallego? Yes. Passes 7-1.

Next is 64, the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission grant. Vice Mayor?

Motion to approve.

Motion to approve item 64.

Second.

Roll call. Guardado? Yes. Hernandez? Yes.

Mayor, may I explain my vote? Yes. Thank you. I understand that this grant will be used for improving the quality of timeliness of forensic science, reduce backlogs, train personnel, and implement new technologies. My issue is not with that. My issue is that these funds also supplement Phoenix Police Department overtime and fringe benefits. Once again, we find that this department is pulling from outside sources to cover their out of control overtime. The cost is that the other things this grant is supposed to cover will be sacrificed to pay for overtime and that to me is irresponsible. I really want to see the police department get their overtime under control and so with that I vote no.

O'Brien? Yes. Pastor? Yes. Robinson?

Yes.

Stark?

Yes.

Waring? Yes. Hodge Washington? Yes. Villego?

Yes.

Passes 8-1. Item 94 is a

rezoning related to historic preservation in district three councilwoman stark do you have a motion yes i will recommend approval sorry i recommend approval uh for this with the company ordinance second we have a motion and a second this will be a historic preservation overlay for the acacia library which is very exciting a beloved part of our city, and we do have public testimony on this, so Julia, if you could come on down.

This is like the quickest meeting I've ever been to. Which I'm very glad, because I have my friend's birthday party at 5, and I was like, I don't know if I'm going to get there in time. So no, the Acacia Library is the heart of Sunny Slope. Almost 100 years ago, a dream took root in Sunny Slope. In 1929, Reverend Joseph Hillhouse imagined a place where people who had to come to the desert seeking better health would not have to feel alone. He wanted them to have somewhere to read, gather, share, and belong. a place that could become the social heart of Sunnyslope. The community answered the call. The Knights of the Round Table donated $450 to purchase the first library building. Neighbors gave their time. People donated furniture, shelves, books, and magazines. Together, they transformed an old house into something much greater than a library. They created a place for one another. The first library opened up with 1,340 books. It was the only free lending library within a 10-mile radius. But the greatest offerings wasn't measured in books. It was the opportunity to bring people together. People came to read. They came to visit. They came to find help. They came because they needed a neighbor. The library even delivered books to people who couldn't leave their homes and help patrons find employment. It offered a telephone, meeting rooms, a lounge, and a place to simply sit and be with others. As Sunny Slope grew, so did the library. By 1953, there were 9,000 books, and in 1969, Acacia Library opened its doors at 750 East Townley with 50,000 books and over 6,600 square feet of space. But the numbers only tell part of the story. The real history of Acacia has been in the generations of people who have walked through its doors. It is in the children who discovered their first favorite book. It is in the families who came together. It is in the neighbors who found friendship. It is in the people who needed a safe place to belong. And that continues today. The architecture of Acacia designed by renowned architect Benny Gonzales makes an important part of Phoenix's midmodern century. But it's great that treasure is something you can't see in the bricks or the walls. It is the heart of the community that lives inside them. For nearly a century, Sunny Slope has cared for this library.

Thank you so much for that very important information.

And we have another advocate for our public library system, Karen Cruz, here to testify.

I like that. Good afternoon, Madam Mayor and council members. I'm very pleased to be with you today. And just to first and foremost, thank you all for your continued support of our library system. It's extremely important. You've heard time and time again, especially through our budget process, people stand up and raise up and really love their libraries. And so we want to just extend a thank you for that And then also a thank you for hopefully your supportive vote today to preserve this gem in our city. It's not just a gem for our city. It happens to be one of our libraries. And so it's particularly special and important to us. And so we just wanted to come and say, on behalf of the almost 50,000 Friends of the Phoenix Library members, we wanted to just say thank you so much. And I hope that each and every one of you members of the Friends of the Phoenix Library. It can be as cheap as $20 a year. So if you are not, I have a handy QR code, and I'm happy to work with your offices on that. So thank you so much. Thank you so much.

Comments? Councilwoman Stark.

Yeah, I just, I have very fond memories of this library and I really do want to thank Julia. She really takes good care of our history in the city of Phoenix. She's done a lot. I finally remember when you first became mayor, we went to the library and you met every activist in Sunny Slope that day. The room was packed. It is a treasure in Sunny Slope and I am so proud to represent Sunny Slope. So thank you.

Thank you so much. Roll call.

Guardado. Yes. Hernandez. Yes. O'Brien. Yes. Pastor. Yes. Robinson.

Yes.

Stark. Yes. Waring. Yes. Hodge-Washington. Yes. Gallego. Yes. Passes 9-0. Good news item.

All right, item 99 is Amend City Code Ordinance Adoption Rezoning Application, Southwest corner of 15th Avenue and Jackson Street, also known as the Safe Outdoor Space in District 7. Councilwoman Hernandez, would you recognize you for a motion and comments?

Thank you so much, Mayor. And I would move for approval of item of the, sorry, I would move to approve the ordinance adoption for the rezoning application and the approval THE ACCOMPANIED ORDINANCE. SECOND. I'LL ROLL RIGHT INTO MY COMMENTS. I THINK ANOTHER REALLY GOOD FEEL-GOOD ITEM, I REALLY WANT TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF THIS REZONING AND MORE IMPORTANTLY WHAT THIS REALLY WHAT THE SUPPORT WHAT WE BELIEVE IT REPRESENTS FOR DISTRICT 7 WHICH IS OUR COMMITMENT TO CREATING SAFE OUTDOOR SPACES WHILE CONTINUING TO EXPAND the range of housing options available to our residents. You know, I want to be honest in that vein that we are not perfect in how this space has been maintained. There are always room for improvements that can happen and need to happen. And I think we have a responsibility to continue working with the community to make sure this is a space that is safe, that is welcoming and cared for. Two things can be true at the same time, that we have done amazing work in this space, but also there's always a need to continue to improve that space. SO I DO BELIEVE THAT WE CAN HOLD THOSE TWO THINGS TOGETHER. ESPECIALLY IN A TIME WHERE WE ARE SEEING OUR FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION CUT FUNDING FOR HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS SERVICES. THOSE SERVICES ARE AT RISK OF SIGNIFICANT CUTS DUE TO THAT ADMINISTRATION. AND SO WE AS A CITY MUST DO ALL THAT WE CAN TO SUPPORT OUR UNSHELTERED NEIGHBORS. SO I ENCOURAGE US ALL TO CONTINUE TO BE CREATIVE ABOUT HOW WE CREATE AND MAINTAIN HOUSING SOLUTIONS IN THE CITY. I also really want to thank the residents of the safe outdoor space for continually coming to show up and advocate for themselves and to speak out about what good and rooms for improvement, right, that we can see on the campus. You know, I also want to really deeply thank our staff for continuing to work. in collaboration as closely as possible with our residents. It doesn't go unnoticed, and I think that is just encouraging for all of us. So with that, I'm just very happy to support this item today. Thank you so much, Mayor.

Vice Mayor.

Thank you. I wanted to just piggyback also and extend my gratitude to our OHS staff. I think this is an important, a valuable tool as we try to address homelessness in our community. I thank them for always approaching this with a spirit of continual improvement, and they've always heeded the opportunity to grow and learn from the residents' concerns. I think this is a definitely shows that it's a partnership between the residents and our Office of Homeless Solutions. I just wanted to say thank you for their work. And I think the fact that they've done such a great job is why the SOS extension is met with community support. So I just wanted to publicly thank them as well for that.

Roll call. Guardado? Yes. Hernandez? Yes. O'Brien? Yes. Pastor? Yes. Robinson? Yes. Stark? Yes. Waring? Hodge, Washington? Yes. Gallego?

Yes.

Passes eight, zero.

We next go to items 102 and 103, which are related to the, what? We have speakers on 99, okay, thank you. Thank you, apologies. So Octavius, followed by Terrell.

Greetings, everyone. My name is Octavius Crow of Funds for Empowerment. I literally egg DIDN'T EXPECT TO BE IN A ROOM OF THIS MAYOR COUNCIL. PERSONALLY, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL OF THIS. SOS HAD BEEN A PLACE TO LITERALLY SAVE MY LIFE FROM BEING OUT ON THE STREETS. I DO BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE TONS OF THINGS THAT COULD BE TWEAKED, BUT YOU ARE CONSTANTLY, CONSTANTLY SEEING IMPROVEMENTS. THEY'RE SHOWING THEMSELVES. All we need to do is keep going. People get frustrated. We stop. We get confused. We feel like there's no hope when it comes to help and being helped. You see the promise. You can see the progress. I've traveled the country. I've never seen anything like this anywhere I've been from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Brownsville, Texas. I have seen wonderful things. I have seen a lot that is make the world happy if only it knew.

kind of all i have to say i appreciate all of you for even hearing me out thank you thank you octavius terrell is next followed by elizabeth good afternoon my name is terrell richardson and i represent funds for empowerment and i'm also a current resident at um sos I'VE BEEN THERE FOR A WHILE, AND I'M GLAD TO SEE THE ITEM APPROVED, BASICALLY. LIKE I SAID, I'M A CURRENT RESIDENT, AND I FEEL LIKE THE EXTENSION IS NEEDED. I MEAN, IT'S A GREAT OPTION AS FAR AS OTHER SHELTERS, BECAUSE IT'S BASICALLY VERY DIFFERENT, AND AGAIN, I MEAN, IT'S CALLED SAFETY OUTDOOR SPACE FOR REASONS. I MEAN, I DO FEEL SAFE THERE, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, Firstly, there could be a lot of improvements to the place or whatever. I mean, of course, it's not ran perfect, and nothing's going to ever be perfect, but there's some things that I think that definitely can be improved and should be improved there, basically. And, I mean, I've been going to these meetings and vouching for a lot of things, and actually we have seen things that happen because of that, basically, and I'm looking forward to basically still vouch for other things that need to happen going forward. Basically, I'd like to see those things happen. That's probably going to be mentioned later on, too, in this meeting, basically, for all those. So I want to thank you all for approving the extension for SOS, and hopefully we can see those other improvements come in the near future. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Elizabeth is next, followed by Dorian.

I'll always be ambivalent about this space because of the outdoor component, and that's never going to go away. And I hope in the future, I think it's a necessary evil to keep this place open. That's my perception of it, because there are fatalities on this lot and heat-related illness. And the improvements have been nice, but there's a reason why I've been organizing on this for quite a long time, and it's because I find it problematic. I do want to see it go forward, and it's already been voted on, but I do want to see it go forward because it's, again, as I've said, it's in the absence of federal funding, as I sort of predicted, that you guys have been willing to act, and I do think that that is commendable, that you guys have been willing to act to keep it open. But I'm always ambivalent about this space because... I don't know that an outdoor space can truly be safe. And I feel that there are things that people like about the space, such as privacy or other characteristics of the space that are preferable, right, to maybe a more communal setting. in a congregate shelter, which can also be difficult for some people. But in the future, you know, I hope that there can be more consideration put into the building of the facilities and things like that. But I think it's gotten better. But, you know, I'm giving my point of view. So that's it. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Dorian is next, followed by Charles, who will be our final speaker on this item.

Hello. Hi, Dorian, Brendan, Fund for Empowerment. So these outdoor facilities are home to people that camp out there in their tents due to symptoms of extreme poverty, which is something we all aim to reduce as much as possible and prevent where we can. As Elizabeth noted, that there are a lot of heat-related illnesses as well as death, but also notably that they are even more present without zoning for the homeless to be able to have a space for themselves as well. There is a need for a better plan in the future, of course. I think we can all agree on that, but this is the only option for some people, and we need to keep that as well, but as maybe a launch point, not like as a baseline solution and call it a day. And as the years pass, we have seen the good that the zoning has done for this at-risk population and the further steps we need to assist in the gaps and the care that we've missed. Also known as thank you for the yes vote.

Thank you. Charles will be our final speaker.

How everybody doing? My name is Charles Whiteside. I'm a participant at SOS Lot. And I agree with a few of the other participants as far as like things are improving. But then on the other side, you have a lot of hypocrisy going on. Like a good example is they say we can't have meals outside of the day room, but then you have the security and staff do right in front of our face doing the same thing. So it kind of gives me like, vibes of we're the prisoners at times and they're the CEOs. I also have another complaint about the showers. I think the water could be a little cooler. Again, I am grateful for the space that they provide us. So they just have to work with us as we work with them. And I appreciate the opportunity you guys give us to come here and speak our issues. Thank you, you guys. Have a blessed day.

Thank you so much, and as noted earlier, some improvements on the way, but moving forward, roll call. The clerk's informed me the earlier roll call will stand, so it continues to have passed. All right, now we get to 102, 103, which are both related to the southwest corner of 15th Avenue and baseline in District 8. We'll open the public hearing. I do not believe we have anyone... all to speak if necessary. Okay. We have many people available to speak if necessary. Would we? Does anyone? I think we're good. Okay. We'll close the public hearing and I will turn to the Vice Mayor for motions first on 102. There was someone? Okay. Please come forward.

No, not yet. Sorry about that.

Perfect. We can't wait to hear what you have to say on 105. The anticipation is building already. And so for people who don't come often, you can register to speak if necessary, and that's if an item becomes debated, contested, then you can come forward and provide your input. But in this case, it appears this is not a contested item. So 102, Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor. Motion to approve per the Planning Commission's recommendation and related resolution on item 102. Second.

We have a motion and a second roll call.

Guardado? Yes. Hernandez? Yes. O'Brien? Yes. Pastor? Yes. Robinson?

Yes.

Stark? Yes. Waring? Yes. Hodge-Washington? Yes. Gallego?

Yes.

Passes 9-0. Item 103.

Vice Mayor.

Motion to approve for the Planning Commission recommendation and adopt a related ordinance as to item 103. Second.

Motion and a second roll call.

Yes. Hernandez? Yes. O'Brien? Yes. Pastor? Yes. Robinson? Yes. Stark?

Yes.

Waring? Yes. Hodge-Washington? Yes. Gallego?

Yes.

Passes 9-0.

Item 104 is Downtown Arts Vending on Private Property Pilot Program Resolution. Oh, no, we do not need a public hearing on this one.

Okay, Vice Mayor, do you have a motion? Motion to approve the Downtown Arts Vending on Private Property Pilot Program per the staff recommendation and adopt the related resolution. Second.

We have a motion and a second. We do have folks available to speak if necessary who've been spending a lot of time on this. Would you like to? Okay, Katrina, if you could come forward, thanks.

Hello, Mayor, City Council. First and foremost, thank you to you, your staff, community stakeholders, including Downtown Phoenix Inc., and most importantly, Roosevelt Row. This was informed by the community. If anything, the city took the form of an artist by listening to the challenges of the community and responding thoughtfully with something that could be potentially beautiful, not just for the neighborhood, but for First Fridays as a whole. We appreciate the attention and your support today. Thank you.

That's a bye compliment from you, the spirit of an artist. All right. Cindy, if you could come forward and testify, we'd appreciate that. And then for our folks from DPI, we're good. You approve of the item? Approval. Two thumbs up. Thanks for being here.

Mayor, Council, thank you so much. Thank you so much for holding these sessions, listening to the community. I have been a resident of downtown and very an active participant in First Fridays for more years than I would like to say into a microphone. because in my head, I am still 22. We have watched First Fridays evolve. We invited artists down because we always wanted to keep this artist-focused and artist-centered, and my first Friday, excuse me, my first Friday, 26 people showed up to our gallery, and that included the exhibiting artists. We have now grown into a night that draws 10 to 20,000 people. And the goal is how do we continue to evolve and serve? And what is so wonderful about these listening sessions that we've been doing for over a year with our two council districts, that we've listened to the artists, we've listened to the stakeholders, we've listened to the city of Phoenix. And we are excited to keep evolving and keep meeting the moment. First Fridays will always evolve. That's part of what artists do, right? That's part of what arts is, and that's what part of a downtown Phoenix community is. So I'm very much in support of partnering, excuse me, kind of ran here, partnering with the business owners, the artists, everybody who is downtown, partnering with the city, partnering with the neighborhoods to say, how do we evolve again? So thank you for your support.

Thank you. Thanks for helping build a great downtown and arts community. Vice Mayor.

Cool. I'll kick it off. I want to just say, first and foremost, start off by thanking staff on this. Deputy City Manager, Alan Stevenson. Deputy Planning and Development Director, Tricia Gomes. Management Assistant, Danielle Varen. They helped us think outside of the box. I also want to thank all of our partners, Roosevelt Road, DPI, Art Link, and all of the stakeholders who assisted us in getting to where we are. Over the past year, we held a number of listening sessions, and hopefully we've shown that we've listened closely to the artists, to the neighbors, to the business owners about what First Friday means to them. And I think this pilot program reflects that feedback. It helps strengthen the art-centered spirit of the event. while ensuring it continues to grow safely and sustainably. Our community helped shape this new approach, and their voices will remain a central aspect of First Friday's future. And I want to thank my colleague, Councilwoman Hernandez, for joining. We did a number of community listening sessions to get to what we think is a great solution for the residents and First Fridays. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you. Councilwoman Hernandez.

Thank you, Mayor. Yeah, when we think about First Fridays in Phoenix, Roosevelt Row is the first place that comes to mind. Residents have been coming downtown to experience First Friday on Roosevelt for a long time. I've been one of those residents where I've enjoyed the art, the food and the scene. However, what First Friday in Roosevelt became was much different than where it started. By the beginning of this year, crowds of over 20,000 people were descending onto Roosevelt Row, and this created several challenges for our city. First, the original focus of art or on art was, you know, a little lost there. SECOND, WE EXPERIENCED SEVERAL INCIDENTS OF FIGHTING WHICH DISRUPTED THE EVENT. THIRDLY, THE EVENT BECAME A MAJOR RESOURCE VACUUM FOR THE CITY, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT. AT ITS PEAK, I BELIEVE FIRST FRIDAY ON ROSEVILLE ROAD REQUIRED MORE THAN 70 OFFICERS TO BE PULLED FROM OTHER PRECINCTS JUST FOR THE CROWD CONTROL. SO THIS STAFFING SURGE COSTS A LOT OF MONEY AND IT IS NOT FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE OR SUSTAINABLE REALLY. Given these challenges, the decision was made to stop the road closures and return to the table alongside the residents, the businesses, and the other stakeholders on Roosevelt Row in the Roosevelt Row community to really imagine what the next iteration of First Fridays could be. And as you've heard over the last year, my office, along with the vice mayor's team, have worked closely with city departments, to do our part in this on how do we bring residents together, bring the community together, for them to really have input on what First Fridays on Roosevelt Road could become. So I really want to thank all the community members who were so great at engaging in this process, the residents that reached out to my office and expressed their hopes, their concerns, their expectations for what First Friday could be. My team heard you. I think we all heard you. And I also know the vice mayor and her team, her similar hopes and expectations. I also want to send a deep gratitude to the organizations that support Roosevelt Row, who weighed in and really brought valuable insight to what a vibrant first Friday could be. So really thank you to Roosevelt Row. to downtown phoenix scene to art link to all the residents and the businesses on roosevelt row for your leadership and your vision on what this next iteration could be um finally i want to thank city staff uh as echoed by the vice mayor specifically ellen uh you and your team tricia and her team um you know we You worked so hard to take all the ideas that were shared by the community and really turn those into ideas that became this workable pilot. Thank you for your creativity, your flexibility with us as we worked and built all this. I truly believe this pilot is a great start with so much potential. And we couldn't have done it without any of the staff. So truly, thank you so much. everyone wants to see a vibrant art space downtown, a vibrant art scene downtown, and everybody wants to see residents and our visitors to our city coming downtown to enjoy the restaurants, the events, you know, spending their hard-earned dollars downtown, supporting local businesses and vendors. So this pilot really moves us in that direction. It really returns First Fridays to its roots of art and it encourages art vendors to really take up space downtown. This pilot will support the businesses on Roosevelt, return visitors to the area, and once again, make Roosevelt Row an exciting destination on First Fridays. I also quickly want to point out the future possibilities that come from this pilot. First Friday activities are really happening citywide, and as we grow as a major city, We need to continue to encourage that growth of First Friday events all over the city. And the data that we will collect through this pilot will inform the city on ways that we can expand the same type of programming to other art vending and private property and other areas of the city. And that is really an exciting opportunity for all of us. And just a gentle reminder for everyone watching is that, and you're looking to get a permit, the city will be hosting a permit workshop this coming Monday, September 14th. at 2.30 p.m., and permit applications will be being accepted on Wednesday, September 16th, but keep an eye out for that, and just thank you again to everybody that had a hand in building this pilot. I personally am looking forward to seeing everyone on Roosevelt Row next first Friday. Catch us down there, and thank you so much, Vice Mayor, for all your support on working on this, and thank you, Mayor.

Thank you so much, and thank you to the community leaders who built First Friday and Roosevelt Row and helped make us such a great art city. We so appreciate you. The city's role in this is a support role, and it is artist-led, and that is what we hope to have move forward. Roll call.

One of the others. Yes. Hernandez? Yes. O'Brien? Yes. Pastor? Yes. Robinson?

Yes.

Stark? Yes. Waring? Yes. Hodge-Washington? Yes. Gallego? Yes. Passes 9-0.

That concludes our planning and zoning agenda. Today we have enabled 432 units of housing in addition to important investments in partners like UMOM and in the safe outdoor space. It's a good day for community services in our city. The Catholic Diocese in St. Mary will be opening up a new mental health training center today and there's a lot of important work happening in Phoenix today. And we continue that work with two final items, a citizen petition and a vote related to Farm Workers Day. We'll go first to the citizen petition and we will ask the petitioner, Clarissa Peterson, to begin the testimony.

Hi, I'm Clarissa. Good afternoon, Mayor, the council members. I am here for an assistant petition for the heat relief U-MOM, and hopefully it stays open. We do. It's for the behavioral health technician. I'm sorry.

Wonderful. Thank you so much for submitting the petition and for your testimony. We'll next go to Octavius followed by David Morgan.

try to be as brief as possible this time for petition 105. I vote yes for it.

Thank you for that testimony. David is next, followed by Faith.

Hi, my name is David Morgan. I'm with Funds for Empowerment. I also live at the SOS, and this is in regards to that particular spot. There's three things that really stand out to me that need to be addressed in this petition and why it should be passed. We need medical staff on site. One and a half weeks ago, I almost died because I didn't have any potassium or magnesium. That is not a dehydration . That is all bad. We need better food. But there was no one there medically to talk to me, to discuss anything with me until it was almost too late and they had to call 911. Providing these things would really take a big, big chunk of responsibility off of our firefighters, and it would give us immediate access to medical care that we so desperately need. The behavioral health techs, That is also not considered an option by me. We have entirely too many SMIs that are episodic. They talk to people who are not there on a regular basis. I personally don't suffer from that. And so it freaks me out at times because I don't know if they're talking to me. And I'm ready to defend myself at any point. Being a convict, being from in prison, that's a trauma issue that I have to deal with all the time, PTSD, whatever you want to call it. And I don't want to hurt somebody or do something like that because that they're having an episode. Trained professionals need to be there to prevent this type of thing from happening. There's really no one for us to talk to. If we do have a behavioral health concern, something's going on, there's no one there for me to sit down with and speak. No counselors on site. These things are really, really important. With that, I hope that you seriously consider this petition.

Thank you for your testimony. Faith is next, followed by Randy.

I'm representing Fund for Empowerment. and i'm voting yes on the petition i am also asking that they all become ada approved if not they definitely need a lot of work and with that i close thank you for your testimony randy is next followed by richard

Madam Vice Mayor and Mayor, I appreciate your time here. I want to discuss the 105 petition on behavior health itself. It has become an issue over at this SOS and we do need medical staff themselves. I am, as I said, my name is Randy Killing. I am representing Funds for Empowerment. Okay. And it is a Really important issue I think is that with people that have SMI that they get these medical care as well as with the other clientele that's there as well. SOS does not have the staff and other things to help these people get through these issues that they have and it's important that they get this help. Okay. I myself included needs some of these help so I'm not SMI but the point is that these people are not getting the help that they need in order to make their lives a lot more accommodating and more helpful. There are issues, there are things where people do get mad instead, and like Dave said, he doesn't want to end up being to the point where he has to defend himself. So I'm supporting this 105 for mental health itself. That's pretty much what I wanted to say on that part. Hopefully you got the council and city council will consider approving to get some sort of mental health staff over there to help. Thank you.

Thank you. Our final three speakers on this item will be Richard, Frank, and Elizabeth. Richard, the floor is yours.

my name is richard and um i'm in support of this petition because um i'm over at the sos lots and we do need more b-roll technicians over there and also some medical staff without a close thank you for your testimony frank is next followed by elizabeth

Hello again, City Council. My name is Frank Urban. I'm with Fund for Empowerment. Now, they definitely, I've never been in the SOS lot. Okay, I got a place, I've been in a place for a few years now, but I have been formerly homeless. But From what I've heard, they definitely need a lot more medical staff for the reasons that were discussed earlier. If they had more medical staff, it would take a lot of burden off of the fire department and the EMTs. And if they had... more mental health services over there it would uh give the people that are smi someone to talk to before um before they blow up at someone because they're having an episode not because they're being mean or anything just And with that, I close.

Thank you for your testimony. Our final speaker will be Elizabeth.

So this petition is kind of aspirational in that I want to vision a shelter system that is professional, that is humane, and that is... high quality and that is compliant with the ADA. And one of the good things that I've done in here is sort of given the option of having outside people coming into City of Phoenix facilities, you know, especially if those ADA things like where the woman can't get her wheelchair into the X-Wing, right? Those are construction issues. And sort of the staff report sort of says, oh, well, no, it was bill ADA compliant, and I don't understand, you know, if it was bill ADA compliant, how have we done all these improvements since then, you know? ADA compliance is also more than just ramps. One of the things that's been a really big concern among the people living in the SOS has been the security guards. They don't tend to protect the residents and they're not very high quality and they don't tend to keep people's belongings safe and a wide variety of things that could be said about the security guards. contractors and sort of the response to the petition sort of says, well, we don't have the ability to have oversight over that. And I kind of got to go, well, but you're contracting with them. So how do you have no ability to have oversight of that? It sort of converges the COC with the City of Phoenix facilities. And to be fair, we're not looking at anybody besides City of Phoenix to do responsible things. Private facilities aren't necessarily going to be on point with these things, but I have higher expectations and aspirations. So that's the reason why I put forth that petition.

Thank you so much. That includes our testimony. Vice Mayor, do we have a motion? We'll begin with questions. Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor. I would love to call Rachel Milne from the Office of Homeless Solutions down to ask a couple questions. Thank you. Thank you so much for coming down. I just wanted to ask a few clarifying questions based on the testimony we heard from some of the citizens regarding the status at the SOS and other city-owned shelter. Can you explain to me how our city-owned shelters and SOS space deal with behavioral health recommendations?

Mayor, members of council, Vice Mayor Hodge-Washington, specifically to the safe outdoor space. That space is run by Keys to Change. They are a 24-hour operator, but we also have Community Bridges Inc. Five, excuse me, seven days a week onsite providing case management. We employ five behavioral health technicians within CBI. that we can refer clients to. And certainly five is not enough for as many individuals as we have at that site. So we also bring in outside partners to the Safe Outdoor Space. At the Safe Outdoor Space, Circle the City comes twice a week, which also offers not only their medical services, but also behavioral health services as well. And then we very often refer out to additional services as needed.

Thank you. Given some of the testimony that I've heard today, it appears that there may be some lack of understanding of how one gets to speak to a behavioral health specialist or a mental health specialist. Could you share, if possible, how a resident at the safe outdoor space might be able to speak to someone regarding their behavioral or mental health needs?

Sure, thank you, Vice Mayor Hodge-Washington. So everyone at the Safe Outdoors space has the ability to work with a CBI case manager, and they can certainly work through that case manager to request additional assistance, such as behavioral health assistance. And through that case manager, they can either be referred to someone onsite or, again, an outside partner.

Thank you so much for that. And this petition, one of the bases for recommend and a denial is because there is, if I can summarize it in my own words, is there is no true one entity that provides oversight for every shelter in Phoenix, is that?

how about accurate um vice mayor hodge washington according to the 2026 pit count and the data that we received specific just to phoenix there are 56 shelters and transitional housing projects in our community as of the 2026 pick count the city of phoenix owns three of those 56 and the the write-up really referenced the reference to the shelter system as a whole certainly yes okay

And then just maybe for edification purposes, we both serve on the Maricopa Continuum of Care. Can you explain a little bit of the role of the COC?

Sure. Vice Mayor Hutch-Washington, the Maricopa Continuum of Care really seeks to oversee our entire homeless service system. And our board at the Continuum of Care is taking an even stronger role in that oversight role. We do receive at the Maricopa Continuum of Care all of the HUD funding specific to housing, Continuum of Care housing. It's roughly 52 million per year. And the COC oversees that funding source. It does not fund shelter. The Continuum of Care doesn't fund shelter operations. However, it has done several studies and is the data mecca for our entire homeless service system. And so the continuum of care has several of the analyses on the shelter system and our data is all located on the continuum of care website.

Okay, thank you. And then I just want my second to last question is, can you speak a little bit about the ADA compliance at our city owned facilities?

Certainly, Vice Mayor Hodge-Washington. All three of the city-owned facilities have been brought on board within the last four years. The first one was the Washington Shelter. When we converted that former aviation building into a shelter, we utilized our partners in the streets department and our engineers and architects. and they utilized ADA compliant mechanisms when we constructed that, or did the re-renovation into a shelter facility. Both the Safe Outdoor Space and Phoenix Navigation Center, which were brought on within the last two years, those we also utilized project management from the Office of the Engineer in order to ensure that those sites were ADA accessible as well. Thank you. and Vice Mayor Hodge-Washington, if I can add, we did also to address one of their comments as well. We purchased the X-Wings that are both located at the Safe Outdoor Space and the Phoenix Navigation Center from a private company called Steel and Spark. At the safe outdoor space, we did have to maneuver accessible ramps. I believe we have three accessible units at the safe outdoor space, whereas at Phoenix Navigation Center, the X-Wings are sort of located on the ground with no ramps included as well.

Thank you so much. Those are my questions, Mayor. Thank you so much, Director Milne.

Thank you so much, Councilwoman Hernandez.

Thank you so much, Mayor. Just a couple of questions for Rachel. And thank you so much, because Vice Mayor actually broach some of the questions I was gonna ask, so we got those out of the way. When I was reading through the petition and just hearing some of the comments today, I really believe this petition comes at a place of concern where it's pretty evident that maybe not everyone's having the same level of access to either mental health support or behavioral support or any medical services. ACCESS TO MEDICAL TREATMENT, RIGHT? SO WE, AND JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, WE AS A CITY OWN THE SOS SITE BUT IT IS OPERATED BY KEYS TO CHANGE STAFF?

MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, COUNCILMAN HERNANDEZ, ABSOLUTELY YES. THE CITY OF PHOENIX OWNS THE SAFE OUTDOOR SPACE. WE CONTRACT THE 24-HOUR OPERATIONS TO KEYS TO CHANGE. CBI PROVIDES THE CASE MANAGEMENT BUT WE ALSO HAVE A STAFF PERSON ON SITE FIVE DAYS A WEEK AS WELL.

I guess what I wanna, you know, because I think it's very valuable for our residents that are, you know, residents and participants at the SOS site to come and share their concerns and just so we know what's happening there, right? Because we visit, we go, we stay up to date on what's happening. WHAT PATH EXISTS TO IMPROVE THE ACCESS? IS IT US WORKING WITH THE KEYS OPERATION SIDE? IS IT WORKING DIRECTLY WITH CIRCLE OF THE CITY, FOR EXAMPLE, OR WITH CBI? BECAUSE I WANT TO REASSURE RESIDENTS, RIGHT, LIKE, STAFF IS RECOMMENDING DENIAL OF THE PETITION, BUT I DON'T WANT THE RESIDENTS AND OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO FEEL LIKE WE ARE JUST DISMISSING THEIR CONCERNS. SO WHAT ROOM DO WE HAVE TO WORK ON some improvements to the concerns specifically that were named in the petition.

Councilwoman Hernandez, I completely agree. I definitely wanna make sure that we are addressing all of the needs of the clients at the Safe Outdoor Space. And just to echo your comments, I've learned a lot about some of those needs here in this setting as well. And we can definitely go back and make sure that we are making, making sure that at our town halls, people are made aware of this. When they're meeting with their CBI case manager, which every individual at the Safe Outdoor Space is assigned a case manager, we can reinforce sort of what we have to offer and what we have available at the site. I can also go back with my team and sort of workshop that a little bit and see what else we can do.

OKAY THANK YOU SO MUCH BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S DISTINCTIONS TO ME TO BE MADE RIGHT LIKE WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE DON'T HAVE ONE I MEAN THE CONTINUUM OF CARE IS BASICALLY THE REGIONAL OPERATOR OF OVERSEEING I THINK TO THE VICE MAYOR'S COMMENTS THE CONTINUUM OF CARE REALLY PROVIDES SOME PIECES IN OUR HOMELESS OR SERVICES BUT NOT THE EVERYDAY OPERATIONAL TOOLS RIGHT WHICH THAT IS WHERE WE AS A CITY ARE WORKING WITH OUR OUTSIDE PARTNERS AND I THINK YOU KNOW it would be valuable to go back to them also and just reiterate our expectations of the level of service they are providing in partnership on such an important issue. So besides that, is there any other tools or is it just continuing to work with that, continuing to listen to the residents? How can we assure them that we are listening to the concerns that are being shared?

Sure, Mayor, members of council, Councilwoman Hernandez. I'm open to meeting with concerned residents. I can make sure my team is available. One other thing we've done in the past and I'd love to do again is sort of create general information reports on sort of where we are with specifically to safe outdoor space or any of our other sites to talk about things that we're doing on site. things are available so that that information is spread widely.

Okay, that would be great. And one other thing, Rachel, sorry, my last question I think for you would be, if residents there are having issues with accessing some of the services there, what is the best route for them to report that or submit feedback?

Sure, Councilwoman Hernandez, we do have a grievance procedure on site, and we do have availability in our town halls to submit that, but we do have an anonymous grievance procedure, or people can go directly to our city staff or any of the Keys to Change staff to make a number available. Sure, and my boss just had a great idea that we create a phone number as well. So people can, if they've got access to a phone, they can go ahead and call Jeremy directly and make sure that that is communicated.

Okay, thank you so much for sharing that. And I want to be clear, the residents, the District 7 office is also an option if you are not receiving access or you're having issues and you feel safer to come into us as a city, please know that the District 7 office is also a resource for you to provide that feedback. And we work very closely with Rachel and the entire OHS team to make sure that we as a city are addressing issues as they come up. So please know that that is also an option for you all. I think that's it on my questions. Thank you so much, Mayor.

Thank you, Councilwoman Pastor.

Thank you, Mayor. So Rachel, my understanding is we have three facilities, correct, that are managed by the City of Phoenix.

Councilman Pastor, that is correct. The city of Phoenix owns three of the shelter facilities in our community.

And if I'm reading the petition right, it's asking for shelter system, the whole shelter system, to collaborate and build a stronger system. However, there are 56 plus transitional housing in this space and three of them are ours. So I'm gonna narrow down to the three that are ours. I think it's important of what I heard and what I read is that they need or what is needed is mental and behavioral support and safety, safety and the quality of those that are protecting them. And really, I kind of broke it down as they need a mediator. in what is happening within their space and what is happening within our space because we're overseeing it and at a certain point we have liability on it. And I think it's important to, they're asking for a working group and a working group in the sense, I think that's important. I understand you have your town halls and maybe maybe in those town halls where we look at it a little differently and function a little differently, where there could be smaller voices, but then a bigger voice. So I don't know how it operates, but I was just sitting here listening and looking at it. There's also seems to be a disconnect. And where the disconnect is, I don't know. There seems to be different operational pieces to get information out. It sounds like they need more resources, and how we do that is, I think, is done as a collective with Citi, Keys for Change, CBI, and even the residents that are at the SOS to build the system within the three. The reason why I'm encouraging this is because if we can do it and we can demonstrate it and build the model, then I believe the other 53 can then join and then the system is built. You have to start small and then build up. And maybe we take just one of them. I don't know what that looks like. But it's very difficult to read motion to deny citizens petitions per staff recommendation when we don't come back with some solutions. And so I find that what's important, and it happens just to be yours, so there's a lot of citizen's petitions maybe on there or some feedback of saying this is how we're going to look at it and this is how we're going to move forward and try to test these items out. I don't know what the cost of that is and that would be important. Or maybe it will be more of looking at the system and changing the hours or how it works, I don't know. I just like to see some solutions in the sense of the residents are bringing items up to us and how do we then engage and help with the contractors. because I do believe the city of Phoenix has a responsibility to work with the contractors and bring some solutions. So thank you for doing this. I know this is hard work. I know you're always wanting to improve. I know it's a constant, but I really want to thank you and your team for being there for the challenge and actually doing the work because I don't think you get thank you that often. So I want to recognize you and thank you. And Gina Montes, the deputy city manager who is in the constant and making sure that you are valued. But I also want to make sure that residents understand that we are going to assist. So thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Vice Mayor.

Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. I think it's worth clarifying that my understanding of denial, and please correct me if I'm incorrect, my understanding of the denial is the things that they're asking for as a petition as written was that it extended beyond the scope of the City of Phoenix. That's part one. And then part two of our analysis is for city operated shelters, we already have standards in place that ensure compliance with the ada and we already we also have mechanisms that ensure that that all of our participants have access to behavioral health and mental health and then part three all of our residents also have access to which to voice their concerns whether or not that's through town hall grievances the direct number. So the denial from what I understood, it was not saying that we didn't value the input that was presented. It was the scope of the petition. Is that accurate? I see you nodding your head. I just want to make sure. Vice Mayor Hodge-Washington, that is correct. Thank you. Okay. And from my perspective, I feel like the Office of Homeless Solution has always been responsive to the to the concerns that have been raised here, whether or not I've seen you guys scurry over and speak to a resident that voices a concern. You also provide updates to council regarding any area that has been raised here at City Hall. So I just wanted to say, I think that's important for us to also note because I don't want the residents think that we're not taking their concerns seriously. I believe that this, the office is always continually trying to improve and doing, incorporating feedback that we hear from the residents. Is there anything else you want to add?

Vice Mayor Hodge-Washington, thank you for those comments. And yes, we do strive. I think it was said earlier, the safe outdoor space specifically is not a perfect place. It is our first time operating something like this. We do seek to learn, change and improve and we have received a lot of really valuable feedback from residents that have come here in this venue as well as at the site itself and always looking to continue to improve what we are offering there and seeking feedback as well.

And hopefully soon we will have some openings as we move on to Master Leasing. Correct, yes. Thank you. I believe we still do not have a motion on the table unless that was sort of a motion. My apologies. Mayor, the motion to deny citizens petition per staff recommendation on item 105. Second.

Thank you. We have a motion and a second. I appreciate everyone's work on this and our work to continuously make our facilities better. I too would prefer people be indoors with air conditioning in the summer, but Rachel took me out when we talked to people experiencing homelessness and I saw someone offered a single room indoors and a safe outdoor space spot and take the safe outdoor space spot so for some people this is a better option it would not be for me but we want to meet people where they are and and keep getting better and we've made so many changes and we're gonna keep making improvements and hopefully we we have a day where we have people in permanent long-term housing and don't have to have this conversation phoenix is the majority of the shelter beds in our county was it about 80% are in Phoenix, and we're about a third of the population. So if our partners would join us in these investments, we could make so much more progress, and hopefully more communities will do, and we'll learn from them when they do. Would anyone, Councilwoman Hernandez?

Thank you, Mayor, and I fully echo that. I think that YOU KNOW WE HAVE REGIONAL PARTNERS THAT WOULD DO WELL TO STEP UP AND PUT IN MORE EFFORT INTO TACKLING THIS ISSUE BECAUSE IT REALLY AFFECTS US ALL. I DO WANT TO YOU KNOW I THINK COUNCILMAN PASTOR RAISE A GOOD POINT THAT IT IS A LITTLE HARD TO SEE READ A STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS TO DENY THE PETITION I HEAR YOU KNOW THE THE THE DISTINCTION THAT THE VICE MAYOR RAISE BUT I think where there's a little disconnect is like we're saying, hey, no, we're not going to approve this petition, but we're not offering up an alternative plan for how we're going to address it. But I think that it is important to reiterate that I know... Personally, this is the biggest issue that my office works on, one of the biggest issues, probably one of the two biggest issues that we work on in the office. And we put a lot of energy into how do we get more creative about how do we go about... providing service to our unsheltered residents and our residents that are struggling with so many things. And part of that work really is exactly what the mayor said, like how do our partners also step up to help and to do more? But in that, I think we have to strike a balance in making sure, again, right, and I'm going to always be a broken record. we can address the realities of what is happening without dismissing or offering up no solutions to our residents. And so, you know, my commitment continues to be that I am fully committed to working on this, specifically with the SOS. With you, Rachel, your entire team, I know you step up and you do a lot, exactly like Councilman Pastor and every other member up here has stated repeatedly, you are doing a lot of good work. Your entire team is doing amazing work. And I think two things can exist that we are doing, that your team is leading on amazing work, and we have some opportunities to step up in differently and to step up more in how we show up for our residents. So my commitment stands. We will continue to work on this issue. We will continue to find ways to be a better city and really offer up different resources and maybe show up differently for all of you. And my only ask would be that work with us in good faith and give us some grace as we also learn and we pivot to how we need to show up for all of you. But that commitment stands. Please know that we take this, everybody here takes this issue so seriously and we will always find ways to show up better. So you have that commitment from the D7 office, and I think from a lot of my colleagues up here, that we will continue to work on how we can show up better. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you. I want to disagree with that. I think we've been very responsive. It is very common after this testimony for less than an hour later, Rachel, to give us an update on what we are doing to make changes and be responsive. Pretty much everyone at this table has gone to the SOS right after testimony. Our city manager, her testimony, went to go see it. We did make changes. We've made multiple investments at multiple different junctures. I think we've been very responsive. We've tried very hard to get this right. have some disagreements with the form of this process in the petition. I don't think we should add new positions through citizen petition. I've spoken about this on other petitions. I don't think we should give raises through citizen petition. We need to have a budget process and follow some common procedures. I suspect everyone would take additional staffing in departments or raises if they could do enlisted citizens, but that's not a good way to run government. And I think we need a thoughtful comprehensive approach, so I think the staff recommendation was appropriate, and I'm gonna support the Vice Mayor's motion.

Roll call. Guardado? Yes. Hernandez? No. O'Brien? Yes. Pastor? Yes. Robinson?

Yes.

Stark? Yes. Waring? Yes. Hodge-Washington? Yes. Gallego?

Yes.

The motion passes eight to one.

We go to our final agendized item today before citizen comment, item 106, which is from Councilwoman Guardado, Councilwoman Pastor, and myself. It is to permanently designate the spring holiday as Farm Workers Day citywide. The city of Phoenix has been very involved and benefited from the farm workers movement. So much of our economy has agricultural roots. So much of farm workers organizing has happened here. Delores Huerta created the iconic phrase si se puede in Phoenix, Arizona. The National Farm Workers Service Center has built housing, provided services. We've connected people with resources. So I think it's appropriate that we have this holiday and recognize the entire farm workers movement. Farm workers continue to contribute so much to our city and their family members are incredible leaders in our community who have continued to help build the city. am excited to move this forward. Councilman Guardado, can I recognize you for a motion on item 106?

Yes, of course. I would like to make a motion to approve item 106. Second.

We have a motion and a second. We have two public testimonies today. Hector, followed by Lena, if you would come forward. Thank you so much. I want to acknowledge our city employee unions, including AFSCME, have been very involved in crafting and moving this forward.

Good afternoon Mayor and City Council. I am a proud son of a farm worker family. I grew up in a ranch and seeing their struggle and everything that they've done to a help our our community with food providing food is is really important and it's something that we have to acknowledge and remember. They're an essential part of our community and of our economy. So anytime you go to the grocery store, just remember that those vegetables were picked by a farm worker. This Labor Day, I was driving back from California with my daughter. we were driving past the fields in ventura county and it was labor day and they were out there working picking strawberries so just just a quick example of how important it is to acknowledge them and to recognize them thank you thank you so much for that testimony lena is next good afternoon mayor um

City Council Manager Edgar. My name is Lena Bernal. I've been a City of Phoenix employee. Next month will be 27 years. I have been very involved with AFSCME for 26 years. And I just want to share a little bit about why we think it should be changed. Right now, I serve the city as an admin aide. But like I said, I've been involved with AFSCME for 26 of these almost 27 years. I'm proud to be here representing my brothers and sisters in AFSCME. We have spoken quite a few meetings over this. And I know our president, Frank Paglioli, has also been highly involved in the meetings. Local 2960 stands firmly behind the principles that the labor movement belongs to the workers, not to just one single person. And that's one of the reasons why we are waiting and hoping that this goes through to change it. True unionism is defined by collective action, solidarity, and everyday people that are actually doing the job. Changing this holiday to Farm Workers Day places a focus and honor where it highly and rightfully belongs, in the hands of the people that are doing the job, the hands that are in the dirt and actually causing things Like the young man just said, when you go to the grocery store, you know that those vegetables were picked by a farm worker. Hardworking farm workers, because we know that this Arizona heat can really, really do damage to us. But you know what? You still have them out there working. I just want to, on behalf of AFSCME, say that we really appreciate if this goes through to Farm Workers Day. Thank you.

Thank you so much for that important testimony. Councilwoman Gordado.

Thank you, Mayor, so much. This item is deeply personal for me. As a former housekeeper and organizer for the labor movement, even before I was elected to sit in this seat, I organized and taught housekeepers, bellmen, servers, and a lot of other farm workers how to demand and fight for better wages, safe working conditions, and a voice on the job. Things that we should take for granted, like water breaks, access to restrooms, access to lunch breaks, were never a given. Farm workers and all workers had to fight for that basic need. And this is exactly what the farm worker movement is all about. It was never the work of one person like Lina said. It was built by thousands of courageous men and women who woke up before sun, worked long days in our fields, and still found the strength to stand together and demand basic human rights for them and their coworkers. They organized, they marched, salieron a huelga, went out on strike, juntos con sus compañeros, together with their coworkers, and because they did, generations of working people who came after them have a stronger voice. That history lives right here in Phoenix. It lives in our neighborhoods, in our union halls, and in the stories of parents and abuelitos. who worked incredibly hard so their children could have opportunities they never had. So today I am especially proud that we are making Farm Workers Day permanent. This day belongs to the workers who shed their blood, sweat, and tears. It belongs to their families. It belongs to all of the huelguistas. and their supporters who have stood together and said that hard work deserves dignity, respect, and a fair union contract. As a former housekeeper and later president of my own union, I could not be more proud to support this item today and to vote yes. Thank you so much, Mayor.

Thank you. Councilwoman Pastor.

Thank you. This is actually a really emotional moment, because it takes me back to my family days. I was part of the farm worker movement in the sense of my family, and I was very young when it started. And it just brings me chills right now. Who we really need to recognize in this are the unsung heroes who did the work, who made the movement happen. We need to honor those who made the movement happen, but we need to honor those who make it possible for us to bring food to our table every night and every day. Who went to work while injured, who didn't have access to healthcare, who split a single mill between many and multiple, and who lived in one single room with many family members. Those workers came together in their struggle and organized. Farm workers took pride in their work and they brought dignity to the fields, to the land, and to the food. And so I'm very proud today that we're able to honor their history of the past, the present and the future. Because of the farm worker movement, I sit here today because without their movement, I wouldn't have learned the leadership skills that I have today and the struggles that they had and the pride and most importantly, the love that they carried. So I am very proud in establishing and being part of the Farm Workers Day today.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Important. Councilwoman Hernandez and then the Vice Mayor.

Thank you so much, Mayor, and thank you so much, Councilman Pastor, for sharing that history. I know your roots run deep in the farmworkers movement and in labor and everything that that means. So thank you so much for your leadership on this topic over the last almost year, I think now. And yeah, I... It's always been important to recognize that every movement is built out of a collective and not one individual. And it is so important for us as public servants to really ensure that as a city of Phoenix leadership, we are recognizing an entire movement that has done so much for so many of us and really created the path for us to sit up here and to hold positions of power and that's a great responsibility that we all must carry and that's why you know it's i'm I can't I, this is something I can support because every movement is bigger than one person. And this entire movement is bigger than all of us. So I am happy to support recognizing this day as a farm workers day to recognize exactly that those unsung heroes that poured their blood, sweat and tears into creating a legacy and a better path for all of us. Thank you so much.

Vice Mayor.

Thank you so much, Mayor. I wanted to extend my support for this item and give honor to the farm workers who fought for workers' rights, fair wages and safe working conditions. The alignment of the spring holiday with the historic April 6th agreement between the National Farm Workers Association and a major agricultural grower showed intentionality, thoughtfulness and reaffirms the city's support for workers. This agreement came amidst the historic 300 mile march from Delano to Sacramento, which was organized to draw public attention to the exploitation of migrant field hands. On April 6th, 1966, a historic labor agreement was reached when the second largest grape grower in Delano, California, officially recognized the National Farm Workers Association as the sole bargaining agent for its farm workers. This milestone marked the first time in U.S. history that a major corporation officially recognized Independent Farm Workers Union. I am proud to support these efforts and I thank all of those that came before us for the legacy that they have left for us. So thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. Thanks for making sure we're rooted in history. Roll call.

Guardado. Yes. Hernandez. Yes. O'Brien. Yes. Pastor. Yes. Robinson.

Yes.

Stark.

Yes.

Waring? Yep. Hodge-Washington?

Yes.

Gallego? Yes. Passes 9-0.

Thank you. That concludes our agendized business, and I'll turn to our city attorney to introduce the final portion of the meeting.

Thank you, Mayor. During citizen comment, members of the public may speak to the city council for up to three minutes on issues of interest or concern. However, the matter's address must be within the jurisdiction of the Phoenix City Council and on which the council has the authority to act. The citizen comment session is limited to 30 minutes. The Arizona open meeting allows the city council to listen to comments, but prohibits council members from discussing or acting on the issues presented. However, council members may respond to criticism. Thank you.

Thank you. And we have 10 speakers today, so we should have time for everyone. Shannon Brown, followed by Jeff Cottle.

Hi, Mayor. Hi, Council Members. And hi, Council Robinson. It was good seeing you at the last Awatukee Community Alliance meetings. So my name is Shannon Brown, and I'm a concerned citizen from District 6. I'm talking to you today about the Thistle Landing Data Center that's being built. And I'm just going to read some of the comments. So I've been on the SHAPE PHX portal a lot, digging into the permits and reading. And I have great concern that the standard procedures and processes for permitting have not been followed. The project does not have an approved construction and trades commercial permit. It does not. The work on the project moving forward, there is work being done on the project and it's moving forward under a deferred submittal. The City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department deferred submittal documents that the city has produced themselves state that a deferred submittal is, quote, those portions of a complete design that are not submitted at the time of the application and that are to be submitted in the building official to the building official within a specified period. There's a note that's also in that document that states that the deferred submittals are submitted for approval after a building permit has been issued. A building permit has not been issued. In fact, however, according to the Shape Phoenix portal, no building permit has been approved. The status of the project is plan review. The permit BLDS 26998875 is referenced in the scope of the deferred submittal. However, that permit that's referenced was also never approved. Its status is listed as discarded by the customer. So deferred submittals, can't be allowed to go forward unless there's that initial approval. I don't understand how this project is moving forward given the public outcry, given the concern of all the citizens. I don't understand. It's mind boggling. So it appears that the city of Phoenix has put the cart before the horse and is allowing this deferred submittal to stand without any approved building permit. Why? Why?

Thank you so much for that testimony. Jeff is next, followed by Lee.

Hello. I want to touch on the menial health stuff. I've applied about three times to see one, never have. Other than that, the showers, I mean, I know a lot of people have hygiene issues, but I Thank you. Lee is next. Father Ray Rochelle. Hi, thank you for your time.

I just want to thank you on behalf of our elderly and disabled participants. Thank you for the new bathrooms. They were very appreciative for it. I was also curious on what we can do to these programs like the worker tour campus. I've been completing my job search logs and I have to go down to the library. Maybe it'd be interesting to involve a computer station where we're going to do these job searches on campus. Thank you for that.

Thanks so much. Rochelle is next, followed by Elsia.

Good afternoon. Every time I come up here, I'm still a little nervous. I just want to thank you for hearing me and that I still have a voice here in America and that I'm truly represented by the people who I elected. And yes, I vote every single time, even a preliminary. So I wanted to do a complimentary sandwich, which I learned from the younger generation not too long ago. So you always start out with a praise followed by a criticism followed by a praise. younger generations. OK. So I'm almost 50, so I got to learn from the young folks. So I just want to let you know that I actually graduated, thanks to you guys, on a Burton Bar Library. I love that place. My children and I grew up there, basically. finished my bachelor's and master's in nursing at gcu over there and uh the research center on fifth floor and anybody that place is amazing if you need that so on an upward to the complaint okay what we have here on hand uh My yard over in Tolleson slash Phoenix that keeps getting tossed between Tolleson and Phoenix zoning laws and ordinances, it's becoming colorful. There's blue, there's some neon orange, and as of yesterday, there's some white lines going in front of my yard. I don't know what's going on, so I started asking. And they're saying something with a phoenix drove by.

And I said, hey, hey, hey, what's going on with all these colorful stuff in my yard?

Because after 17 years, this has never happened. So I'm hoping it's not aliens.

There's no bulletin or explanation or nothing.

And yet the HOA announces when it's going to paint the fences 60, 30, and like the week before, hey, get your stuff cleared, get your mess together, pull down everything on the fence. So the HOA seems to be more compliant than whatever is going on in my front yard. So everybody that I talk to, I say, hey, what's going on? They said, talk to your city of Phoenix council member team, because they said we have the easement right to be on your property. So my question is, what are my easement rights? And what is easement is not defined when I go under the city of Phoenix as to exact footage. You get to wander onto my property without letting me know you're there. It's so weird to have people in coloring your yard without even knocking on your door. Get permission to explain why they're there. And then they're going to dig up my yard. And then they're going to apparently, like, okay, this goes deep. I don't know how deep. I wish I had more time. But this goes deep. They have lines, like, right between, going in between my bushes. Like, yeah, and they said they're going to go do some piping removal. So I have a lot of questions about that.

Can we? Councilman Hernandez. Thank you, Mayor. Sounds like it might be District 7 side. If we can have Josh connect with the resident, that would be great. Thank you.

Thank you for that. And I'm not sure if Josh is the right person to follow up, but if we could find the right person. I have a theory of what's happening, but I'm not sure. Elsia is next followed by Faith.

Mayor, I just wanted to let you know I got kind of the hot water and the cold water fixed, but it needs a little bit more work. I also wanted to comment on what Elizabeth was saying about ADA ramps. SOS only has one, and I'm not in it, so this has to stay outside or in the office. So thank you for the ADA bathrooms. And that's all.

Thank you so much for that update. Faith followed by David.

Hi, everyone. My name's Faith. I'm with Friends for Empowerment. As far as public comment goes, I would really appreciate you guys really taking this whole ADA thing seriously, because I've been some places around town that claim that, and believe me, they're not. So hopefully we can get everything updated and the ADA equipment updated. And I think that'd be quite beneficial. And with that, I'll close.

Thank you so much, David, followed by Birgit.

Thank you, guys. I'm David Morgan. I'm with Funds for Empowerment. I live at the SOS. As you know, my big concern right now is the nutritional value of food intake. Not knowing you're about to die when you're about to die is really important. I did not feel like I was dying. I felt weak. I felt lethargic. I had no idea I was going to die. When this happened, my eyes were opened to a lot of other things. See, I spent my life pretty much incarcerated. And I know what prison is about. I never got like this in prison. This is not supposed to be a punishment being at a shelter. It's supposed to be a safe outdoor space. It's supposed to be a voluntary program. For me, it doesn't feel very voluntary since I have to be there and I have to be around people I don't want to be around. At the same time, In prison, there is a special diets section in the chow hall. It is for your religious diets, for the people who suffer from hypoglycemia, diabetes, and the like, and also people with food allergies, because they do exist. Again, this is a place of punishment. Where I live is not supposed to be a place of punishment, and it does not even consider these things. This is so unacceptable to me, it's unbelievable. Again, I almost died. This is not some kind of joke. This is my life. I only get one, guys, just like you. Just like you, I put my pants on one leg at a time every day. Know what I mean? It's kind of important. Please, please look into this, because the Office of Homeland Solutions ain't.

Thank you for that important testimony. Virgie Popp, followed by Devonte.

Good afternoon, Mayor and City Council. I just wanted to say that SOS does exist. It gives us a place to get our own feet. Now, I support the medical staff that maybe somebody be there after hours where somebody can't go to the hospital. A couple of months ago, I had kidney stones. And when first responders came there, they put me in a pot that I didn't belong to. It's not everybody's homeless for the same reasons. There are different reasons. So before they go judge you, they don't know nothing about you, so they shouldn't judge you. But overall, I wanted to thank you all for having SOS in place for us. And just one thing is, like, can somebody fix the mail issue? because I'm waiting on time-sensitive mail and I haven't received any of it yet. Thank you.

Thank you. Devonte and then Josiah.

My name is Devonte Stanley. I'm a participant in the SOS program as well. I just wanted to speak on some of the staff's It's like we're lesser than and doing things out of the ordinary. That's what.

Thank you for that. Mr. Suarez will be our final speaker today.

Mm hmm. Thank you, and I just want to say good afternoon, everybody. I'm so grateful to be here. What I'd first like to go over is I'd like to prefix my statement with an honest sense of hope for this city, as I believe we have the unique opportunity to discuss and as well vote on such decisive issues that are obviously perplexing us right now. But not only our city, but obviously as a state as a whole, with Phoenix, of course, representing almost the majority of Maricopa County, and as well the majority of the votes in state and federal elections, I find it routinely necessary to not only prioritize voter education programs, but to bolster and promote our voter engagement. Otherwise, if it wasn't for forums like these and the resources made available to us by the city, which again, thank you, it stands to reason that the bridge between the needs of the city and the power to provide it can ultimately collapse. And so we stand to cripple our decision-making authority as residents of the county with challenge. Sorry, we just stand to cripple our authority. Everyone here in this room that has issues they want to discuss, obviously we need to vote on these and that's what I'm pushing for. So we need as many voters as possible to be educated on these topics to ensure that the city and moreover the state aren't taking in a direction that we all are poor. And obviously I'm referencing the challenges we face with regards to housing, water expenditure, climate, and of course AI infrastructure. But even then, it is important to note that any agreed-upon plans for our growth and economic development still face the environmental constraints that made it difficult to settle here 70 years ago. But of course, it was the same engineering and enterprise that got us here that I'm pushing for this time, especially as we begin to see the trend in rising temperatures begin to affect our neighboring cities and states in the Union. Take New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Dallas, Texas, for example. With heavy heat and limited water and rising energy costs being our prime target, my aim simply is to shed light on the economic potential that's yet to be unlocked as a result of solving our most complex tasks. As any resulting technological advances or material improvements, I believe that benefit our city can be marketed and used in other cities around the country. Of course, this is with the hope of bolstering our local economy, especially and most importantly, outside of the recent trend that we've seen with data centers pouring money into the city. I mean, we want to make sure that we aren't a boom-bust economy, as we saw back in 2008 with the tourism industry in Vegas. So overall, that's what I want to shed light on, and I hope that we have more voter education programs so that way people in my generation especially, I'm only 21, have a voice in the community and we get to see Phoenix actually prosper. Because the biggest issue right now with cities around the country is retroactively amending their aging infrastructure and obviously the regulations that were put in place as far back as the 1800s. So thank you.

Thank you. That concludes today's council meeting. We are adjourned.

That number represents parents finding employment, children returning to stability, and families beginning a new chapter with hope for the future.