Town Council - Regular Meeting

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Heat. Heat. called to order. Regular town council

meeting April 9th, 2026. Clerk, please call the role. Council member Lopez, present. Council member Kio, present. Council member Frowing. Council member Greer, here. Council member Schumacher present. Vice Mayor Serger here. Mayor Plagura present. We have a quorum.

Thank you, ma'am. At this time, I'd welcome Chaplain Jerry Ferguson down for our invocation. I contemplated doing a moment of silence for Gilbert's UFA Wildcats, but we can we can all heal on our own. Almighty God and heavenly father, we acknowledge you as creator of the universe and thank you for your commitment to the health and welfare of each part of it. We recognize that you give us freedom to choose various aspects of our lives and therefore suffer the consequences of our choices as well as celebrate the results of our victories. Tonight, Father, the council will be having discussions and making decisions that impact our community and beyond. I pray that you'll give them the wisdom they need and the courage to do what is necessary for the improvement and growth of our environment. Not only is our council important to the success of our community, so also are those who make the employment of our town. Therefore, I give I lift them to you for your strength and blessings. Thank you for the residents who live in our community. May they appreciate the values that residing here brings them and may they assist in improving the environment in which we all live. Heavenly Father, I especially ask your protection of our first responders. Few of us know the risks they take for our safety. May they each time they go on duty acknowledge their need of you and thank you for your commitment to their safety. Now, Father, as this meeting continues, may we know we can rest in the truth of your eternal word which says, "I will never leave you or forsake you." I offer this prayer in the name of our redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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, and may be seated. Thank you, sir. Can I get a motion to approve the agenda as presented? So moved. I'll second. Please call the vote. Mayor, that passes unanimously. Thank you, ma'am. Next up, proclamations. National Association for the Education of Young Children Week of the Young Child proclamation.

Week of the Young Child 2026. Whereas all of Arizona's children deserve access to quality early care and education, ECE, environments. And whereas child care programs provide children's lifelong learning skills during the critical years from birth to age five. And whereas ECE teachers and child care providers are the essential workforce that helps Arizona parents get to work or school. And whereas funding quality child care is a smart investment that improves family well-being, strengthens communities, and grows our state's prosperity. And whereas First Things First, Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children, Southern Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children and other community organizations in conjunction with the National Association for the Education of Young Children are celebrating the 55th anniversary of the week of the Young Child. And whereas these organizations are working to improve equitable early childhood opportunities that provide a strong start for children in Prescat Valley. And whereas public policies that support ECE for Arizona's youngest learners help our families, communities, and the economy thrive. Now therefore, I, Mayor Kel, excuse me, Kelp Paluda of the town of Presca Valley, do hereby proclaim April 11th through 17th, 2026 as the week of the young child in Prescuit Valley, Arizona, and encourage all citizens to support and invest in early care and education in our community. Do we have anyone out in the audience representing them? Come on down, man. Okay, great. Good evening, mayor and council members.

Thank you for the opportunity to be here today and for recognizing the week of the young child, a time to celebrate our youngest residents and the critical role early childhood plays in the strength of our community. My name is Sean Sumilis and I serve Northern Arizona as the policy partnerships and outreach advisor with First Things First, Arizona's early childhood agency. I'm also a proud mom and like many families here in our community, I know that raising children takes support, connection, and access to resources. The early years, birth to five, are a time of rapid brain development that lays the foundation for lifelong health, learning, and success. And while Prescat Valley is often seen as a retirement community, the reality is we are also home to thousands of children and families. Here in Prescat Valley, there are roughly 3,000 young children ages birth to five right at the stage where early experiences shape lifelong outcomes. These children are our future workforce, our future leaders, and the future of Prescat Valley. When children have access to quality early learning and supportive environments, they enter school ready. They are more likely to graduate and they contribute to a stronger local economy. And while Prescat Valley is growing, families are often struggling to find affordable quality child care and support. And when families can access child care, parents can't fully participate in the workforce, employers feel the strain, and the local economy is impacted. This is where First Things First comes in. Voters created First Things First to ensure communities like Prescuit Valley have the resources to support families early before challenges arise. Locally, these investments support access to child care and preschool, developmental screenings, family support, and connection to resources. These are smart

preventative investments. In fact, every $1 invested in early childhood can yield up to a $16 return to the community. But we are at a critical point. The funding that supports First Things First, continues to decline as tobacco tax, our primary funding source, no longer reflects today's market. This past legislative session, we worked to address that by closing the loophole on alternative nicotine products to stabilize funding. While we didn't finish the cross the finish line this year, we built real momentum bringing together community leaders, business voices, and partners across Arizona who recognize that early childhood is foundational to our state's future. We are now now preparing to come back strong next session with a clear path forward to secure sustainable funding. I want to thank this council for your leadership and for recognizing the early importance the importance of early childhood in Prescat Valley because when you invest in children we are investing in a stronger workforce a more resilient economy and a healthier more connected community. Thank you. Okay. Yeah, I'm jumping in. Thank you.

Next up, Stand with Me, Be Drug-Free.

Stand with me. Be Drug-Free Week, April 20th through 24th, 2026. Whereas Matt Force has proclaimed April 20th through 24th, 2026 to be Stand with Me Be Drug-Free Week. And whereas the town of Presca Valley embraces a vision of a healthy, vibrant, and strong community for children, youth, families, and people of all ages, and celebrates the fact that a majority of people do not abuse drugs and alcohol. And whereas the town of Prescuit Valley recognized that youth prevention is essential based on the fact that nine out of 10 people who struggle with substance use disorders began using substances as teenagers. And whereas knowing that families are adversely affected by illegal drug use including work problems, legal problems, mental health problems, physical illness, addiction, accidents, accidental death, economic loss, child abuse, destruction of families, driving while impaired, and crimes against persons and property. And whereas the town of Prescat Valley would like to to commend and pay tribute to all of its citizens who choose to be free of illegal drug use. And now therefore, I, Mayor Cal Palga of the town of Presca Valley, do hereby proclaim April 20th through 24th, 2026 to be stand with me be Drug-Free week and encourages everyone to participate in the celebration of a drug-free, healthy community by participating in the planned events, activities, and displays. Good evening, mayor and council members. Thank you so much for having us here this evening. My name is Ashley Mcdana. I work with Matt Fors. I'm a health educator. We have Abner Chang here. He's been a part of the Yappai County Youth Council for three years. He's going to speak on our behalf.

Good evening, Mayor and Town Council members. Matt Force is Yavapai Countyy's prevention coalition dedicated to preventing substance misuse before it begins. Our coalition consists of over a 100 volunteers and a broad range of community stakeholders. We provide age appropriate prevention education for students in grade grades K through 12. Focusing on building resilience, life skills, and self-esteem. Through evidence-based education, we empower youth with the confidence to make healthy decisions for themselves and their futures. In addition, we support parents and caregivers by offering free parenting classes, community trainings, webinars, and educational resources. Each year, we ask our county government and city and town councils to designate a week in April as Stand with Me Be Drug-Free Week to recognize and celebrate healthy choices within our families and communities. Research shows that approximately 84% of people choose not to use illegal drugs. And today we are here to celebrate those positive choices while supporting those who may need assistance through strong partnerships with schools, law enforcements, municipal governments, and community stakeholders. We can continue to make a meaningful impact. We respectfully ask you to recognize Stand with Me Be Drug-Free Week, April 20th through 25th, in honor of the health and future of our children. Thanks. Thank you for your time and for helping us to promote healthy and resilient communities.

Next up, National Library Week. National Library Week 2026. Whereas libraries spark creativity, fuel imagination, and inspire lifelong learning, offering a space where individuals of all ages can find joy through exploration and discovery. And whereas libraries serve as vibrant community hubs, connecting people with knowledge, technology, and resources while fostering civic engagement, critical thinking, and cultural enrichment. And whereas libraries provide free and equitable access to books, digital tools, and innovative programming, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of background, have the support they need to learn, connect, and thrive. And whereas libraries partners with schools, businesses, and organizations to maximize resources, increase efficiency, and expand access to essential services, strengthening the entire community. And whereas libraries empower job seekers, entrepreneurs, and lifelong learners by providing access to resources, training and opportunities that support career growth and e economic success. And whereas libraries nurture young minds through story times, ST steam programs, and literacy initiatives, fostering curiosity, and a love of learning that lasts a lifetime. And whereas libraries protect the right to read, think, and explore without censorship, standing as champions of intellectual freedom and free expression. And whereas dedicated librarians and library workers provide welcoming spaces that inspire discovery, collaboration, and creativity for all. And whereas libraries, librarians, and library workers across the country are joining together to celebrate National Library Week under the theme find your joy. Now therefore, be it resolved that I, Kell Paluda, mayor of the town of Presca Valley, do hereby proclaim April 19th through 25th, 2026 as National Library Week. During this week, I

encourage all residents to visit their libraries, explore its resources, and celebrate all the ways that the library helps our community find joy. Mayor, Vice Mayor, council members, thank you so much for having us. I know we are very proclamated oriented tonight. I think all of these proclamations are extremely important. Um, but libraries, wow, we do so much in our community, especially for Prescat Valley. Um there there's so much that I I I could spend hours talking about what we do for our library, but more importantly um it's our our National Library Week is a way to celebrate what we do for our community and everything that we do to support the quality quality of life. Um the programs and services that we offer. We're not your traditional library. We just don't offer books. We offer steam and STEM programs. We offer early literacy. Uh a seed library. You can check out seeds and grow um zucchini, which hopefully we should be getting some zucchini in here soon. Um I I I just everything that we offer, uh Library of Things, memory kits, um we support all ages and I wouldn't be able to do any of this without my amazing staff. Um I work shoulder-to-shoulder with them and they're creative and they're supportive and they're passionate for what we do for the community. So, thank you for supporting what we do and read free or die. Squishing. Squishing. Squish.

Next up, animal services officers appreciation week.

Whereas the town of Presca Valley recognizes the vital contributions of the animal services team in ensuring the well-being of our community's animals. And whereas in 2025, the animal services team responded to 2,784 calls for service, showcasing their dedication to both the animals in our care and the people they serve. And whereas the animal services team demonstrated their commitment to reuniting pets with their families by successfully reuniting 635 lost dogs with their owners, offering hope and comfort to countless families. And whereas the team's compassion extended beyond dogs as they rescued 20 cats, three ducks, two goats, and one tortoise. as well as humanely relocating seven skunks, three raccoons, and 68 snakes, ensuring a safe and harmonious environment for both wildlife and residents. And whereas in addition to these efforts, the team skillfully and compassionately manage wildlife reloc relocations, including havalina, cattle, analopee, bear, and roosters, working tirelessly to maintain the balance between wildlife and our community. And whereas the animal services team embodies the spirit of service going above and beyond in their daily work to improve the lives of animals and the people in our community. Now therefore, I kuda mayor of the town of Prisco Valley to hereby proclaim the week of April 12th through the 18 as animal services appreciation week. In recognition of the dedication, prof professionalism and compassion demonstrated by by our animal services team. We encourage all residents of Presca Valley to join in celebrating their invaluable contributions and to express their deepest gratitude for

their tireless efforts in protecting and caring for our community's animals. Thank you. Mayor, members of council, thank you for honoring our animal services team this week or this month. Um, the proclamation says it all. This team works tirelessly for our community. They work seven days a week. They serve with compassion and professionalism. And I just can't thank them enough for their continued commitment to our town.

Yes. You just go in front of that. Thank you. Thank you. Next up, Fair Housing Month.

Fair Housing Month, April 2026. Whereas the Fair Housing Act enacted on April 11th, 1968 enshrined into federal law the goal of ending housing discrimination in the United States. And whereas the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing and commits recipients of federal funding to further fair housing opportunities in their communities. And whereas the town of Prescat Valley is committed to the mission and intent of Congress to provide fair and equal housing opportunities for all. And whereas our social fabric, the economy, health, and environment are strengthened by our unique communities. And whereas more than 50 years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act, communities continue to pursue the goal of fair and equal housing opportunities. And whereas acts of housing discrimination and barriers to equal housing opportunity are repugnant to the common sense of decency and fairness. Now therefore, be it resolved that I, Kel Pelguda, mayor of the town of Prescat Valley, do hereby proclaim the month of April 2026 as fair housing month in the town of Prescuit Valley and as a community committed to fair housing and to promoting appropriate activities by private and public entities to provide and advocate for equal housing opportunities for all residents and prospective residents of Prescat Valley. Thank you. Mayor, members of council, again, thank you for honoring Fair Housing Month. This proclamation reinforces our town's commitment to ensuring all residents have equal access to safe, quality housing free from discrimination. So, thank you.

Last one, Arizona Water Awareness Month and Water Professionals Week. Whereas water is a vital and limited resource essential to the health, safety, and prosperity of the Presca Valley community. And whereas Arizona Water Awareness Month encourages residents, businesses, and organizations to practice wise water and wise water use and support long-term conservation. And whereas Water Professionals Week recognizes the dedicated individuals who operate, maintain, and protect our water and wastewater systems, ensuring reliable service and safeguarding public health. And whereas the combined observance of Arizona water awareness month and water professionals week highlights the importance of both community stewardship and professional expertise in securing Presca Valley's water future. Now therefore, I kilagura, mayor of the town of Presca Valley, Arizona, to hereby proclaim April 2026 as Arizona Water Awareness Month and Water Professionals Week on April 20th through the 26th and encourage all residents to join in supporting water conservation and recognizing the vital contributions of our water professionals. Thank you. Next up, student of the month.

The town of Prescott Valley in collaboration with the Optimus Club of Yavapai County and Bradshaw Mountain High School are honoring these two outstanding students for April. Welcome Kira Moody and Connor Elmore. Today we're proud to recognize these students for their commitment to school and community engagement. Because of their hard work, they've been nominated by their school staff and instructors at BMHS. Congratulations. Now, it's time for each of you to tell us a little bit about yourselves. Cara, why don't you come first? Hi, good evening. Thank you for having me. My name is Kira Moody. I'm a senior at BMHS. Um, I don't really know what to say, but um, I guess I'll tell you. I used to be homeschooled, which is interesting. So, I'd like to give thanks to my parents for teaching me for the first kindergarten through 8ighth grade, I guess. And then I went to Bradshaw Middle School and then to Bradshaw High School where I am graduating from this year. Super excited. Uh afterwards, I plan on going to NAU to pursue um zoology. It's my dream. Um, so I would just like to give thanks to my parents for supporting me and thanks to the teachers and admin at Ratch Mountain High School for always being a resource for me and somebody that I can go to and just Yeah. Thanks,

Connor. Why don't you come and tell us about yourself? Hi, my name is Connor Elmore and it is with great honor that I get to stand here with the town council today and have the opportunity to be celebrated this month for my efforts at Bratch Mountain High School. I've lived here in Prescuit Valley my whole life and all of my education has been through the Humble Unified School District and through the amazing Yavapai College opportunities that I've been provided. I've made sure to take advantage of all the opportunities Brad Batshaw has given me through Yavapai College. Currently, I am taking two courses of study. I've been working towards Yavapai's accelerated bachelor's degree in business communication and I'm also taking their welding courses through Mountain Institution. By the time that I am 20, I'll have a finished bachelor's degree in business and I'll have three years of welding courses that come come along with several certifications under my belt. What is so great about all of this is that I haven't had to spend $1 to get through any of this. All of these opportunities have been provided by Bratchaw. All four years of my high school career shaped me into who I am now and have set me up for a successful future. All the struggles I faced at Bratcham Mountain High School. From self-inflicted struggles like not getting an essay in on time to some struggles faced from a lack of teachers. My experience at this school has taught me how to be resilient and has shaped me into the hardworking man I am today. They taught me how to be ambitious and if you want something, chase after it, how to make goals and chase after them instead of being complacent and waiting for things to come to you. And I couldn't have done it without Bradshaw's help. So, thank you to everyone who has contributed my four years of high school. Every teacher that I've had, every meeting that I had with counselors, even though I was probably persistent and at times annoying to them, every staff member and every

administrator that gave me the confidence and willpower to keep going. And ultimately, thank you for setting me up for a life full of success and to always choose excellence. Principal Richard Bradshaw from Bradshaw Mountain High School. Thank you. Always one of my favorite nights. We got a special one for you tonight. Um thank you uh Mayor Paluda and Town Council and Mike from Optimus. Uh very proud of our student of the month. Uh we also have our youth advisory committee tonight led by Miss Shei. So thank you for coming and thank you for having us. and Mike Whiting from the Optimus Club of Yapai County, a little shorter than Rick over here. So, well, it is I I'm always excited too to be here either the second or fourth Thursday, the month where we recognize students of the month. And uh I'm saying more than I used to that uh we only have the capability of recognizing so many students during the year. So hopefully uh one way or another the students that excel as much as Connor and Kira are recognized as well one way or another. But here tonight we're looking at Connor and Kira as outstanding students and April students of the month. Student of the month is just one of the rewards that uh that Kira and Connor have uh will be taking advantage of as a part of their personal commitment and hard work as part of their journey at Bradshaw uh Mountain High School. We know the beginning, this is just the beginning for further achievements and personal growth through opportunities. And I

think I hope you see this as an opportunity as well. We look forward to you pursuing your education and hopefully a career a career and we hope to see you sometime back in the community of Prescuit Valley. Obviously, you are ready. You have a bright future ahead of you and I I know you know that. And we would also like to recognize those who support Kira and Connor in addition to their mentors and uh teachers and their principal and that is their parents. There's a lot of support that goes into bringing up kids in the community and and nonetheless to be recognized as students of the month. So, we'd like to ask that any parents here of Kier and Connor please stand up and we'll like to recognize you. So it is with sincere pleasure that we congratulate you as April students of the month on behalf of the Optimus Club of Yappai County, Prescuit Valley Council and Bradshaw Mountain High School. So congratulations and uh Michael has given you a certificate and then we also have the uh certificate or the optimist creed and we always ask or I do anyway that that you read that and think about that all the time in in terms of your pursuing your hope with your college career and whatever career you have in the future. So once again, congratulations and we want to thank the mayor and council as well as Bradshaw Mountain High School for making this possible. So one more time, we'll recognize

Great job, guys.

Next up, Chamber of Commerce Spotlight. Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council Members, and staff. I want to start tonight by giving a shout out to one of my board of directors who's here with us, Mr. Eric Stroble from State Farm Insurance. He's been serving this community for the past 17 years. Um, not only does he a local businessman, but more importantly, he likes to invest back into the community. He's in the process of creating a scholarship program at Bradshaw High School, and he is a huge sponsor for our welcome back teacher bags every year. Plus, he's a Michigan alumni and he's he had a tough time. He was watching a nailbiter of a game against UFA and luckily he survived that game. So, kudos to Eric. The chamber has been very busy the past couple of months, couple of weeks I should say. We had 23 inerson business visits, and this is good to put boots on the ground with our with our clientele and our chamber members to find out how they doing. you know what's going on in their community, what we can do to make it better. We had some new members join us. We had the Pronghorn Group, Teacher Ages, Bungalows on Villageway, Bungalows on Market Street, Evergreen Living, Sober Living Homes, Elevated Fitness PV, and Grand Canyon Roofing. And that's always encouraging when you see the trades coming into business because that means things are building, things are growing. We have Haley Spire's photography, rapid response property services and an individual member, Mr. Joe Kisimo, join our chamber of commerce. We have two upcoming ribbon cutting ceremonies and these are really special because as a new business, people like to see council and the community come

out and support and you guys have always been strong in doing that. So, thank you for for assisting. We have on Wednesday, April 29th, US Vets. And then on April 30th, we have Tristate Metal Roofing Supply. Again, I love seeing the trades come out and really see them grow. What's special about that one is it's a Prescuit business, but they asked the Prescuit Valley Chamber to do their ribbon cutting. How cool is that? Moment of silence. We had our coffee connect on April 1st and this is something we started about six months ago. We felt there was a need because not everyone could make our alive after five mixers. So we created a morning venue for for our members to come and join us and we had 15 members show up this past Wednesday. Today we had our lunch and learn upstairs in a crystal room where we learned all about 401k and IAS and rots, the pros and cons, and it was hosted by Desert Financial Credit Union. We have our live after five mixer next Wednesday on April 15th at the Philly Toyota Center hosted by Yavapai Gaming Agency. Our next business academy which has 14 people in attendance is on Tuesday the 14th and we'll learn all about cash flow statements. So if you have some time to kill wish to come out and learn about cash flow statements, you are more than welcome to attend. What's really neat is our women in leadership program kicks off on May 19th. We have our speaker committee, Miss Cheryl Roland from Pinnacle Bank. So we're excited. It's a new chamber uh program, so we're looking forward to see that take off. Our ambassadors, who are really the heart and soul of our chamber, they are hosting a blood drive on April 16th. And I want to give them a

shout out as well, too, because these are business people that have families who took the time this past two weekends ago to run a flea market over at CrossFit Prescuit Valley, another chamber member, and they raised close to $1,000 for our scholarship fund. And this is on their own time. So, kudos to them. We have our quarterly breakfast coming up on April 28th and the theme is healthy communities and strong economies. We're going to have dignity health there. Dr. Kai Bennett there for Optimum Health. So please, if you haven't made a reservation yet, please plan on attending. And our Hispanic Business Association, they're getting to launch the first bilingual business academy on April 15th. the first in northern Arizona actually and they already have 10 people signed up. So, we're quite proud of that. They are now up to 71 active. And when I say active, they are active members with nine in the hopper. And in case you folks forget, May 7th through May 10th is Presca Valley Days. So, we hope to see you all come out. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity, mayor, vice mayor, and town council and staff. Thank you, sir. Next up, call the public. Clerk, go ahead and read the names.

Uh, we have Steve Keros and we only have one speaker register, mayor, council. Thank you, ma'am. Welcome, sir.

Good evening. Steve Carroll, Strong Horn Ranch. Recently on Facebook, Mayor Paluda tried to take credit for the town ethics and integrity policy which he and the vice mayor actually amended into oblivion. Mayor Paluda went on to claim that as a Prescuit Valley police officer, ethics and integrity weren't optional and that he was a supposed example of such that he has carried order forward into leadership. As a retired police officer, I am here tonight to stand up for the badge and those of us that did perform with honor. And I resent that Mayor Paluda has egregiously misrepresented himself as one of us. In Mayor Paluda's short career, he received many disciplinary actions, four of which were extremely serious violations of policy and procedure. Number one, he failed to protect a recently widowed female who was being taken advantage of by a Prescuit Valley PD detective by declining to take action or report the matter up to chain of command upon being informed by the woman's employer. Number two, he failed to follow procedures for submitting overtime pay slips in an apparent attempt to avoid scrutiny. Number three, in a complaint wherein eight of the nine allegations were sustained against him, he failed to follow orders, both written and verbal, from his superior, and conducted forbidden activities and involved at least one other officer in failing to follow these orders. The investigating lieutenant wrote that Sergeant Paluda was evasive during questioning and demonstrated a lack of leadership. Sergeant Paluda was then demoted. When a fourth issue arose, that being that he was operating a personal polygraph business on duty, Mayor Paluda submitted retirement paperwork, avoiding the full investigation. In the

departments that I work for, Mr. Paluda would have been terminated for cause. Thank you. Well, I guess anyone can just get up to the microphone and just make things up. So, welcome, sir. This would happen to be my sir. Thank you. I know if you want to introduce yourself as my opponent's campaign manager, you can do that as well. You're out of line, mayor. You're an idiot.

Thank you, sir. Next up, council communications. I'll start to my right. Mayor, I just want to say that on Monday, I had the uh opportunity to head down to the state capital for chamber advocacy day with Steve Petti and the chamber uh chair um Meredith Dunlap. a wonderful opportunity to uh be down there um at the legislature. Um hear from some of our elected officials and uh just want to also do a quick shout out to Representative Selena Bliss for taking the time to uh spend lunch with us and just hear us out. Um also had the opportunity to attend the opening ceremony um for Pres Valley Little League last Saturday. Uh just a great event. Makes you very proud of what we have to offer here in our town. cannot reiterate that enough. Pres Valley Little League has grown from about 300 players to over a thousand players. So, it's pretty pretty incredible what they've been able to accomplish. They were able to work with Aqua Fria Little League and expand their services all throughout Mayor and Humbult as well. So, kudos to them.

I just wanted to um say thank you to the YCCA, which is the Yabapai County Contractors Association. Um yesterday they hosted another housing forum over at the Yepai College and I was able to attend. So there was a lot of leaders um that were getting together still trying to come up with a solution to the housing problem for the workforce type um first-time home buyers or even having rental uh available for teachers um assistance all sorts of different type of labor. Um it was very interesting and I hope that the next one that other people can also come in and maybe give some ideas and uh they had a lot of good ideas that they're still trying to make work out. So if you have anybody who wants to donate land or have other ideas for getting some housing uh started on that, please come and see us and we'll see what we can do for the future. Thank you,

Mr. Tiffson.

Mr. Mayor, members of the council. Um, yes, the University of Arizona Wildcats lost another game was a day of morning. I have a fellow Wildcat out here. Uh, but I have two items. Uh, first, we do have a special study session that's scheduled for next Thursday at 3:00 here in these chambers. Uh, again, just some updates on various town projects that we have going on. And then again for the members of our public, uh we have our annual spring fair which is this Saturday from 11 to 4 here at the civic center. It's pretty much free other than food for all of those that are attending. A great event uh if you're looking for something fun to do. And then if you'd like to do uh roller skating, uh roller a roller rave is going to be held from 6:00 to 9:00. Again, a free event really targeted towards our youth in the community. Uh but it is open to anyone that would like to come out for it. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Next up, consent agenda. All matters listed under consent agenda are considered routine by the town council and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items. If discussion is desired, that item will be removed from the consent agenda and be considered separately. Council, can I get a motion to approve? Mr. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to approve all items listed under the consent agenda by electronic vote. I second. Please call the vote. Mayor, that passes unanimously.

Thank you, ma'am. Next up, item 10A, ZMC 25- Z009 Harlequin Drive duplex consideration and possible action. Council, we have any additional questions for staff. Seeing none. Ordinance number 2026977, an ordinance of the mayor and common council of the town of Presco Valley, a municipal corporation of Arizona, amending the town zoning map ZMC 25-00009 by changing the zoning classification of lot 1306, Presca Valley Unit 4, from RL10 residential single family limited to RS residential and services zoning and providing that This ordinance shall be effective 30 days after its passage and approval according to law.

Thank you, ma'am. Shall this ordinance pass? Mayor, that passes unanimously. Thank you, ma'am. Next up, new business and the one I've been excited about all week, youth advisory council report. Mr. Barton, you want to lead us off? Mayor, vice mayor, council. Um, we have our youth advisory council here today. They're very excited to give their report uh to all of you. I'm sure you want to hear from them and not me. So, I'm I'm going to go ahead and uh introduce Eric and Olivia from uh the council. They'll come up and uh go ahead and give the report.

Welcome, guys. Hello, everybody. First off, I want to say I have a stopwatch up here. I promise I'm not watching Instagram reels. I could talk your ear off, so I want to make sure I have an idea of what I'm talking about today. So, here we go. Hello. Good evening, council members, Mr. Mayor. It is super exciting to be here. We've shared a lot of moments together, and we're excited to show an overview of what we've been able to accomplish as a committee. There we go. So, the first slide we have here is just a brief overview of what we have in our town. In our town, we actually have a 21% of our population is under 19 years old, which is actually really awesome. We began in 2023, and let me tell you, a little bit nerve-wracking, especially as students, we never had a lot of exposure. And so, being able to sit in a room with Gilbert and Skyler, it was nerve-wracking. A little embarrassed to say we thought Skyler was a girl, but let's move on past that. It was a lot of fun and meeting you guys

just because of the name. We we didn't see you. No, it was a lot of fun. Especially to see how welcoming all of you guys are and how warm our community is. And so this partnership between our student council of Bradshaw Loun High School and the town has been phenomenal. I also have the paper copy here, so I'm going to flip too. Uh, we had the honor of being able to represent Prescuit Valley for what I believe was the first time at LACT, which is League of Arizona Cities and Towns. It was so much fun. We were able to we broke off from the adults actually and went to our own little conference where they helped us learn about personal brand. We were able to see exposures of other youth councils throughout the state and learn about projects throughout the state. I mean, there's so many cool things. I can't remember the town, but I remember them doing a community slime making night, right? A stress ball where not only were you able to create a cool little toy to bring with you, but it also brought awareness to stress and students maybe prepping for tests so that they have something with them to push them through. By the way, the Prescuit Valley flag is super cool. We also were able to help conduct a survey with the youth. We were able to get 300 high school students to take the survey, which asked questions like pedestrian safety, whether or not they're staying in PV, activities we have in our town, and school resources, and about a recreation facility. Up here, we have the results that we were actually able to share with our town council and discuss. It was a lot of fun to host you guys, by the way. You all are very energetic, which is awesome for our other council members to be able to see our student council members. We're not as cool to have a town council. One of the things we talked about in

August was infrastructure needs. How there are needs for sidewalks, bike lanes, maybe multi-use paths are a high priority. I am able to drive, which I'm lucky to say, but not as many students are able to. A lot of them have to walk from the middle schools to get here to the library, hang out after school. Same with high school students have to walk home. So, it's a big priority that they wanted to have a safe way to get home and get around our town. Next one, we had the retention of youth, which is whether or not they would be staying in Prescal or returning in the future. Only 6.9 said definitely. 42.8 Ed said maybe and 6905 was leaning toward planning on leaving which can apply to going on to university other job opportunities that are outside of here which is good. We want to grow but we also want them to be like I really liked Prescal and I would like to move there when I get older. The next thing that was on there was the economic opportunity themes like how it's difficult for teens to find some jobs in our area. I know that a little bit from experience. I had to go for I think four solid weeks to try and get my job at Domino's. I'm a little persistent. The GM was a little annoyed, but no, it was a lot of fun, but it was good to discuss to bring awareness to all those problems. I mean, youth talk about areas to where they want to go, and it actually leans over to the lack of things to do and why they want a recreation facility because not only is it important that they have jobs, but for the things that we do have here costs money. So without a job, we can all see where that leads to. So it was definitely a big eyeopener for everyone in that room. Flipping the page. Next, we'd like to go over the created missions and values of Yak. We would like to highlight a couple

which all of these are important but the ones that we lean towards is enhancing the youth voice where we build awareness of the needs and perspectives of the youth with the older generation and offer feedback and I don't mean older as in old I mean like sorry I heard someone chuckle behind me and I was like oh offer feedback on programs policies and plans and make them more youth friendly like the sidewalks in case there's any new building areas that are happening. The next one we'd like to say is promote civic engagement, which was helping us get the survey out and getting the results that we needed to open all of our eyes to what's happening in our community and inspire participation in the community. The next big one was to strengthen our community connection. Like we say the youth and above 20, I'm just kidding, above 19, 18, whatever age is here, we all have different views of how we see Prescy Valley. Whether it's walking, driving, or we go to the mall, go to Walmart, or we go to in the game, we all have different ways we see the town around us. So, it's good for us to connect and see where the direction we'd like this town to go and build it together. Make sure I look ahead, too. Right now, our biggest mission is to get us a teen center here. We recently visited the Launchpad in Prescuit to see what they offer because it is a great great great and I'm going to pull it up here cuz there's some things that I think are worth highlighting from the Launchpad and Prescuit. They have things like the women's empowerment breakthrough conference where they bring 40 to 70 teen girls to help them learn of opportunities that are out there for them. They also have things like adventure camp where they can spend five to four nights, the Blue Ridge Reservoir

camping, hanging out, and they even have a band lab camp to where people are able to go and express themselves musically. And not only is that important, but it's a great place for teens to get together, connect, and bring out more values in themselves that they could see before. And it helps connect teenagers being able to say, "There's nowhere here to hang out." Well, let's try and work hard to get you somewhere you can hang out. We also attended the fairgrounds reimagined open house. It was pretty cool, I have to say. A lot more people than I thought there'd be, but definitely definitely is more interest in it than we thought. Next, I'd like to pass it over to my amazing friend here, Olivia. So, we've been so lucky to have the opportunity to go around and look at the different places and jobs that are in Prescat Valley and have gotten the opportunity to tour the firehouse. We've had lots of meetings with the different place like people who run this town and we were able to just see like the different opportunities we have and where we can go if we were looking into local government. We did the winter spectacular or yeah the winter spectacular yak takeover which was social media engagement during the light parade. We were able to go and take videos of the different things that we had going on and then afterwards we met and discussed the goods and the bads, the things that we could do to make it more interesting for the teenagers in our area. And then now we're doing the spring fair and we were able to add the teen roller rave which we're super excited about. We also volunteered to take down the healing fields, which was an amazing opportunity to see how our community comes together to create something beautiful, but also to give it the respect it deserves. The community engagement, we went to the

state of the towns meeting. We've done two podcasts now. Eric was on both, I believe. And then we went to Oh, just one. I apologize. And then we did an article with the Daily Corer, which is super cool. And at the state of the town meeting, we were able to see like the different people and just to really put into put into perspective the different like people in our area who make everything possible. And then looking into the future, we want to, like we said, enhance the youth voice. And the ways we do that is coming together and really just putting our words into action and being able to see like what we can do to make a difference. We want to, like we said, build the teen center, which is super cool, and then just really become more involved in the things that go on. And the Youth Advisory Council is committed to building a future where young people are informed, empowered, and actively shaping our community. So, uh, council, I just want to recognize them. Aren't they Aren't they amazing? I I have personally worked with Eric since the beginning of Yak. Uh, it's been about three years and I've seen him grow as a person. Um, he is a leader. um he is a senior now so he's going to be leaving us onto you know bigger better opportunities but he has a heart for service and that's actually his uh his plan for the future is to to serve um so it's it's just been great to see him grow and and the other representatives of Yak and I just want to also recognize the school district we couldn't do this without their support I also want to recognize Leanne Ye hasn't come up here

and said anything but this would not be possible without Leanne And Missy, would you like to come up? Missy, would you like to come up and say a few words? Got Skyler over here. Start my timer, too. We got Skyler over here taking all the credit and barely passing it off to you. So,

no, it's fine. It's about them really. Um, I first and foremost want to thank all of you for this support. Uh, it was Gilbert and Skyler, mostly Gilbert's dream child as a former student council, but without the backing of all of you, it wouldn't be possible. I am so honored to be able to represent the town and Broadsham Mountain High School and encourage these students to see what amazing things do happen in this town, right? Like we hear things, people are so quick to share the not so great things that in our world today, I think we need to talk more about the positive stuff and the great things that you guys are doing as a town. Um, I come my husband's Marine. He's still stationed in Yuma. So, I've lived from New Jersey to San Diego to here. So, I've been around and there's something to be said for 53,96400 people. Is that right? Is that the number from yesterday? Um, when we had our meeting, um, there's something to be said to have that small town. And even if it grows a little bit, it's never going to be the Phoenix. It's never going to be San Diego. It's never going to be North Jersey. And I'm super proud, right, Ken? We know Jersey really well, right? Um, I'm really proud to be a part of this community and to show the kids what a great community is. So, thank you so much for your support

and I hope we have many more years together. Skyler, I just want to commend not not you, Skyler. I'm going to talk to them. You guys did a great job, right? Like, I don't know who put together your presentation.

Skyler, you did a good job. I know they gave you some I know they gave you some stuff on this, but great job on the presentation and then the delivery. You guys did an awesome job and we cannot say enough hearing the voice of of the youth that are going to be our future is so important, right? Like we want to know what's what you're thinking because what the youth of 20 years ago thought is going to be a different view and a different angle from what you guys think today. We live in a totally different world and it's important to involve you guys as much as possible and I look forward to seeing you guys in August at League of Cities. So council, any other comments? I just want to say it's great seeing you here tonight. I love seeing you whether it's at Healing Fields or State of the Town. You guys show up and I love it. Thank you.

Awesome guys. Thank you for coming out.

Eric, you sticking around or you leaving after this? I can stick around. You stick around. We got like probably five minutes left. Oh, I just want to speak to him about something. That's all. You're all more than welcome to stick around. Next up, ordinance number 2026-978, amending town code chapter 6 animals.

Thank you, mayor, members of council. That's a tough act to follow, especially with an ordinance. U so the purpose of this item is to request town council consideration and adoption of an ordinance prohibiting outdoor feeding and intentional attraction of wildlife within the town of Presca Valley. The town has experienced an increase in wildlife activity, particularly involving havalina, skunks, and raccoons in our residential areas. Feeding wildlife contributes to these encounters by attracting animals to the neighborhoods leading to property damage, public safety concerns, and increased risk of disease transmission. Uh the town currently does not regulate wildlife feeding. Adoption of such regulation would align with Prescuit, Sedona, and Yavapai County and promote responsible coexistence with wildlife through pres prevention, education, and enforcement. I'm here for any questions. I also have the team with me.

Guys, we have any questions for staff in reference? Thought it was a no-brainer, but apparently we didn't have it. So, yeah, I'm seeing none. Entertain a motion. Mr. Mr. May I make a motion to read ordinance number 2026-978 by title only on two separate occasions then place the same on final passage. I second. Please call the vote.

Council member Greer that passes unanimously. Mayor. Ordinance number 2026978. An ordinance of the mayor and common council of the town of Presca Valley, a municipal corporation of Arizona, repealing and reenacting section 6-2-40 reserved in article 6-2 special animal regulations in chapter 6 animals of the town code to prohibit the unlawful feeding of wildlife providing that all other chapters, articles, and sections of the town code not hearing repeal or amended shall remain in full force and effect. Providing that if any provision in this ordinance is held in valid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provision shall not be effective, but shall continue in full force in effect. And providing that this ordinance shall be effective 30 days after its passage and approval according to law. Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am. We finished our program. Anyone have anything for the good of the order? Seeing none, have a great night, guys.