Council - Regular Meeting

Roll call.

Mayor Gerardo Anaya.

Present.

Vice Mayor Juan Castillo.

Present.

Miguel Villalpando. Council Member Luis Galindo.

Present.

Council member is on school and present council member, not another video present council member, not the one talent president may have a coin.

Thank you. And we want to talk to the public, everybody from the public on the dress Council.

So Cervantes.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Council Members, Jesus Cervantes, Vice Chairman for the Somerton Parks and Recreation Department. I submitted a compilation of items to consider in regards to the IGA, the Intergovernmental Agreement between the Human Union High School District and the City of Somerton. with two key items to consider. I will state that this should not impede any progress with that IGA, but these are more items to consider. The two items being the fee schedule to be identified a bit more clearer on the IGA. That does allow for better planning as far as budget for city resources. It kind of, not kind of, but it does allow for planning of programs should we use high school district facilities. The second item is a item of consideration for high school district administration and their governing board to possibly consider allowing city residents to use a tenant courts at Somerton High School. That has been a discussion that's been out in the community for a while. There are a few items that are discussion points within a document that's been provided to you by myself and the clerk. I know this is not a discussion item, but these are items that council should consider for future amendments to the IGA. As I mentioned, it is not to serve as a way to impede progress because we do enjoy the intergovernmental agreements that exist between City of Somerton and the high school district and the elementary district that exists right now. But that being said, that's all I have. I know the presentation for the IG will be later. If items do come up later on, I am available for comments or questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Anybody else?

Mayor and Council, thank you. I just want to introduce myself. I know that some of you already know me, but I just want to take the time to say thank you to staff and Mayor and Council for this opportunity. As you know, I have 25 years of experience as planner, 22 years in land use, and three years in transportation planners recently. I just want to say that 25 years ago, I got a call from Luis Heredia to let me know that the city of Somerton was looking for a planner for the first time. So I also was looking for my first full-time job. So I applied, got the job, and that's how I became the first planner for the city of Somerton back in 2001. I've been employed by every jurisdiction in Yuma County except Welton. So I'm back as a community development director and I'm glad to be here. And thank you again for the opportunity.

Any questions for me?

Full circle and welcome back.

Welcome back.

Thank you. Anybody else from the public? There's none. We have one proclamation.

Whereas parks and recreation improve the physical, mental, and social well-being of residents by providing opportunities for exercise, recreation, learning, and community engagement. And whereas parks, trails, recreational facilities, community events, senior programs, youth activities, and open spaces contribute to the health, happiness, and quality of life of individuals and families throughout the city of Somerton. And whereas parks and recreation services bring people together, strengthen neighborhoods, create opportunities for lifelong learning, foster community pride and enhance the social fabric of our community. And whereas parks and recreation contribute to economic vitality by attracting visitors, supporting local businesses, increasing property values and making communities more desirable places to live, work and invest. And whereas the City of Somerton is committed to providing safe, accessible, and inclusive recreational opportunities for residents of all ages and abilities through quality parks, facilities, programs, and special events. And whereas the 2026 National Park and Recreation Month theme, The Power of Parks and Recreation, celebrates the transformative impact that parks and recreation have in building healthy communities, protecting natural resources, strengthening social connections, and enriching lives. And whereas the city of Somerton recognizes and appreciates the dedication of its parks and recreation department staff, volunteers, coaches, instructors, community organizations, sponsors, and partners who efforts make recreation opportunities available throughout the year. Now, therefore, I, Gerardo Anaya, Mayor of the City of Somerton, Arizona, do hereby proclaim the month of July 2026 as National Park and Recreation Month in the City of Somerton and encourage all residents to celebrate the power of parks and recreation by visiting our parks, participating in recreational programs, attending community events, supporting local recreation initiatives, and recognizing the important role parks and recreation play in creating a vibrant and healthy community.

I'd like to invite members of the Parks and Recreation staff and the commission to come up and have a proclamation.

Can I please get mayor in the middle and the vice chair and chair in the middle?

Okay.

Council, one step to the right.

Okay, perfect.

Okay, thank you.

Here it goes. One, two, three. Thank you.

I guess it's gone.

You're not prepared to give some word things?

Well, thank you for the proclamation. We have been working hard. I think you've noticed how much greener the city is. That is why we chose to bring the maintenance staff here because they are the workers that are behind the scenes that no one sees. They're here at five o'clock in the morning. They leave at two o'clock. And the hard thing is they don't get to see the events. They don't get to see the kids play. They don't get to see the smiling faces. So this is your way. And I appreciate you to honor them and show them that we do care. We appreciate everything they do. And I thank you for supporting us.

Thank you. And thank you, staff. We're going to move on to consent agenda. We have three items. Approval of minutes of work session for May 5th, 2026. For council meeting May 5th, 2026. For council meeting of May 9th, 2026. for council meeting of June 2nd, 2026, for work session of June 16th, 2026, and for a council meeting of June 16th, 2026, check register for the month of June 2026, and approval of a service contract with Pierce Coleman for general legal services effective July 1st, 2026, including updated compensation, fee review provisions, and authorize the city manager to execute all necessary documents. Does any member of council want to remove an item from consent agenda?

Mayor, the item number two, the check register.

OK, item number two is going to be removed. Is there a motion for item 6.1 and 6.3? So moved. So motion by Councilwoman Delgadillo. Second, Mayor. Second by Councilman Galindo. All those in favor?

Aye. Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. So item 6.2 comes along.

And it's just more of a comment on two items. The status update on the car wash, we spent $1,180 for the month of June on detailing vehicles. I was told that they were going to, I believe it was Carmen, that they were going to look into it. $60, $80 a vehicle to detail. I think we could use those funds on other projects. City Council Chambers, Things here in the city. City Council Chambers, I understand that sometimes there is a necessity, but I think we could also I don't know contract with maybe cocoa pod you know, everybody can. pass their cars through the car wash and clean out their cars. I don't think we need to be detailing on a monthly basis. I know I've said it already, but $1,180 payment I think is a little bit too excessive. Also on the advertising, I know I've already said it, but $2,500 again to advertise an event that sells itself for the 4th of July. I know I've said it alluvial, but now you jump to a radio station. And again, I just think it's money that can be used elsewhere, even within that event. So I just wanted to make the comment and request an update on the car wash issue.

Mr. Galaviz, are you on the phone?

It's not.

Mayor, I am. Can you hear me? Okay, yeah.

Yes, I heard the Councilwoman, Mayor, and I will follow up on the car wash and review that and provide an update to Council on some options and get back to with a response on the cleaning and the scheduling of that.

Any other questions or comments?

Mayor, if I may?

Yes.

I just wanted to also mention that we will be having, we requested a work session. I think that you approved on going over special events. And I think that would be a good opportunity to discuss the advertising and how special events are being programmed.

Okay. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Is there a motion?

Make a motion to approve consent item 6.2. Second.

So motion by Vice Mayor Castillo, second by Councilman Roldano. All those in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. We have two items in public hearing. The first one is regarding the approval of an application submitted to the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control by Ruben Alberto Walsh, agent for La Bodega 23, Somerton LLC, where the premise is located at 346 West Main Street in Somerton. Is there a motion to open public hearing?

So moved.

So motion by Councilman Delgadillo.

Second, Mayor.

Second by Councilman Galito. All those in favor?

Aye.

Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.

Good evening, Mayor and Council, Andrea Moreno, City Clerk. This public hearing is for the application submitted to the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control by Ruben Walsh for the Bodega 23, Somerton. The notice of the application was posted on the entrances of the premises for 20 days. As per state law, providing the public an opportunity to submit any arguments in favor or opposed to the issuance of this liquor license. the city clerk's office did not receive any comments, written comments or objections to this posting. So during the required public posting. So at this time, well, Ruben Walsh, the owner is here in the public in case you have any further questions.

Anybody from the public have any questions? There's no one. Council, any questions?

We're ready.

Yeah. Opened it yesterday. Is there a motion to close public hearing?

So moved.

So motion by Councilwoman Delgadillo. Second, Mayor. Second by Councilman Galindo. All those in favor?

Aye. Aye.

Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. We have a second item. It's a public hearing regarding truth and taxation in the proposed levy of primary property tax for fiscal year 2026. Shona.

Good evening, Mayor, Council.

Well, we didn't open it. Is there a motion to open public hearing? So motion by Councilman Delgadillo. Second. Second by Councilman Roldan. All those in favor? Aye. Motion carries.

Good evening, mayor and council. Pursuant to ARS 4217107, the city council is required to conduct a truth and taxation public hearing prior to adopting the primary property tax levy for fiscal year 2026 through 2027. The purpose of this hearing is to receive a public comment regarding a proposed levy for primary property taxes necessary to support the city's adopted annual budget. The proposed levy provides sufficient funding together with other available revenues and encumbered fund balances from the previous fiscal year to support general fund operations and applicable improvement districts for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 21. 30th 2027. The truth and taxation calculation prepared according to the SRS 4217107 demonstrates that there are no increases in the primary tax rate for tax year 2027 and for tax year 2025 to tax year 2026. Tax years are calendar year, not fiscal year. The required truth of taxation hearing notice has been prepared and published according to state law. As presented to you earlier in front of you, yesterday evening, I was notified from the Yuma County CFO that the county assessor's levy limit worksheets provided to me on February 26th, 2026 used to calculate our maximum taxable allowable rate was incorrect. The corrected worksheet was issued on March 30th. However, it was not distributed to the taxing agencies. When I submitted our worksheet to the county finance office. This was this is done annually. They noticed the figures not allowed with our update. This was a call yesterday evening. I also, I was also informed that this is not an isolated issue, it happened to other taxing authorities now making corrections and even after formally adopting their tax rates. I was also made aware that this is not only happening in Yuma County. So the corrected worksheets have been updated. We are not requiring an increase. We are going with our maximum allowable amount. Therefore, technically through the ASRS, we are not required to do a public hearing due to the fact that we are not asking for an increase. So therefore, I've given you the updated worksheets. The tax rate for fiscal year 26 would be 1.4578. I wanted to make that aware in the public hearing due to the fact that the published amount is lower than this amount.

Any questions from the public or comments? There's none. Any questions from council? There's none. Is there a motion to close public hearing? So motion by councilwoman Delgadillo. Second by councilman Galindo. All those in favor?

Aye. Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. We want a new business discussion and possible action to recommend approval of an application submitted to the Arizona Department of Liquor License and controlled by Ruben Alberto Walsh, agent for La Bodega 23, Somerton.

Mayor and council, Andrea Moreno, city clerk. This is just the action item for the public hearing. We're asking approval of the application.

Is there a motion? So motion by Councilman Delgadillo, second by Councilman Roldan. All those in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. When? Item 8.2, discussion of possible action to approve ordinance number 2026-003.

Um, Baron Council, Chona Madel, finance director. Um, this is the action item for the public hearing. Um, uh, requesting a motion to approve with correction with the new updated worksheets.

Is there any questions or comments? Your motion. So motion by Councilman Roldan. Second by Councilwoman Delgadillo. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Item 8.3, discussion and possible action to approve resolution number 2026-008.

Good evening, Mayor and Council, Chona Medel, Finance Director. This item before you is pursuant to ARS 41-1278.07E, requires each county and city and town and community college district to annually provide an Arizona auditor general by July 31st, the name of the chief fiscal officer, the governing body designates to officially submit the current year's annual expenditure limitation report on the governing body's behalf. I am requesting resolution 2026-008 to be approved, assigning myself as the chief financial officer to submit the expenditure limitation reports for Arizona Auditor General.

Any questions or comments? Is there a motion? So moved. Motion by Councilman Galindo, seconded by Councilman Roldan. All those in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. Item 8.3, discussion of possible action to approve resolution number 2026-009. Evening, Mayor and Council.

Chona Middell, Finance Director. The item before you is a discussion and possible action to approve resolution 2026, a resolution of the mayor and city council, the city of Somerton, Arizona adopting estimated and proposed expenditures by the city of Somerton for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30th, 2027. And declaring that such shall constitute the adopted budget for the city of Somerton for fiscal year 2027 as presented. Staff is recommending a motion to approve Resolution 2026-009.

Any questions or comments?

Let's have a question there. This has to be done before fiscal year or when the fiscal year starts?

The ending date is July the 26th, 2027. Or 2026, I'm sorry.

I'd like to make a motion to approve 8.4.

There's a motion by Council Member Roldan. Second, mayor. Second by Councilman Galindo. All those in favor?

Aye.

Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries.

Thank you.

Item 8.5, discussion of possible action to approve a normal intergovernmental agreement between Yuma Union High School and City of Somerton.

Good evening, Mayor and Council, James Jones, Parks and Rec Director. This is a renewal of the IGA we have with the Yuma Union High School District for the properties at Somerton High School. The overall IGA has not changed very much. The items that have changed are just legal descriptions that were added in blue in the document. I do wanna state that the agreement is important for our residents to have this agreement in place as the city, as the school district does utilize our swimming pool, some of our fields and to support their sports programs. So we wanna make sure that we continue to work with them in good faith. Part of the agreement and item seven of the agreement, I do want to point out that it does say each party may charge the other fees to use their respective facilities for reimbursement services, maintenance supplies, and utility. And at the bottom, it does say the parties agree to minimize fees to the extent possible for community benefit. I know there was an item during a call to the public about the fee schedule. I do want to state that the school district did pass their fee schedule at the end of June. I do have a copy of that. We are a class one institution with an IGA, which means the overall facility use is free. It would be just personnel that we'd have to pay for. I believe that... We need to get something going. Legal has reviewed this. The Parks and Rec Commission has also reviewed this. We are all in agreement that the IGA should be moved forward so that we can continue to work together. Is it perfect? No. But for the business and the good faith, we should move together with passing it and getting this in place. If there's any direction from you after it's in place to work, we're happy to accommodate that. But that's where we stand. Any questions or comments?

I have a question, Mayor. Are we doing the same? Are we charging personnel when?

Yes. So the only personnel that we use at this time is for our lifeguards. And we do charge for the lifeguards at the rate of $1,515 an hour, or what the minimum cost of the lifeguard is. when they use our fields, in the IGA, it does state that our, like, and we do this in good faith. Let me bring you to its attention. E under, on page six of the IGA, it does state in there, an employee of either party, I think it's up, up. It's in the blue, a little bit more further up. Now, it does state in the blue, it says, an employee of either party shall be deemed to be an employee of both public and agencies while performing prudent to the agreement solely for the purposes of ARS. What we're doing that in good faith means that when they bring their teams over and they have a coaching staff, we don't need to have someone at the field watching the softball practice, watching a baseball practice. But since the liability lies at the pool with the lifeguards, we want to make sure that they pay for that lifeguard because that's necessary. City Council Chambers, They have to have certification, we want to make sure they have certification and we want to make sure that we're covered liable for that so that's why we do charge them lifeguards but when they use other facilities, we do not charge them.

City Council Chambers, Not even staff because we don't have staff there.

City Council Chambers, Any other questions or comments.

Just a comment just you talk about the last year does the same for my kids have been in swim so and another high school and anytime they practice, they have a lot of people because the certification label it and.

Your questions or comments and.

James for the CPR, who do you send your lifeguards to the CPR trainings or who gives them the CPR trainings or?

So as we hire them, we do pay for the certification and we do pay for the CPR. Anything they need to be worked for that summer or that season, the city pays for that training.

Who provides that training? Our fire department or?

We have an outside agency that does the lifeguard certification with the American Red Cross, and they also get the first aid certification for that. With our recreational aids, we do go through the fire department for that.

All right, thank you.

Any other questions or comments?

Yeah, we heard from a Parks and Rec commissioner, and I was talking to one of the board members, and he said that superintendent is willing to meet and discuss some of the issues that have been pointed out. So I think, you know, like you mentioned, this is a school starting, so it's required for our kids, for the team. Yeah, so we, but I would like for you to sit down with a superintendent and address some of the stuff and maybe for the next idea we can, we can have those things iron out but I understand this is just a school district so you know similar to how we do business that we do it to one community, they have to do it to another one so we probably be a bigger discussion and they would have to. allow those concessions to other communities, to the other cities.

Just back on that point, I have been talking to the school district, the pool, the swim coach, the football coach. I have been talking to some of their coaches about their use in their upcoming season. So we've already kind of in good faith know that we were going to move forward with this and started working with them already to make sure that their services are provided to our residents that go to school there.

Any other questions or comments? Is there a motion?

So moved.

Motion by Council Member Haldane.

Second.

Second by Council Member Delgadillo. All those in favor?

Aye.

Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Item 8.6, discussion of possible action to approve resolution number 2026-005.

Good evening, Mayor and Council, James Jones, Parks and Rec Director. This item before you, this resolution is just the final part of putting in for a Arizona Parks and Trails grant with the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This will be at Pericone Park for a multi-use seating, which fits the ADA seating needs there. This is just us as a city committing to using the the money given and allocating money put aside in our budget to assure that we complete the project if they award it to us. If you wanna know the numbers, we're kind of agreeing to put $250,000 down, they're willing to. And if they approve our grant, they'll give us $250,000, which will provide all the concrete seating, the stairs, everything that we need to be ADA certified.

Any questions or comments? Is there a motion?

No, Mr. Mayor. Second.

Motion by Councilman Galindo, second by Councilman Roldano. All those in favor?

Aye.

Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. We have one presentation. It's a presentation discussion of the ADA audit of parks and rec facilities transition plan final report prepared by WT Group.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'm going to start, and I'll turn it over to John. So this item, in fiscal year 2025-2026, we went out to get an ADA audit. We went through the procurement process. We had three firms. WT Group was the one that was the best fit for the city. City Council Chambers, With the scope, it was it's a project manager coordination of city staff to go through the buildings accessible audits for city. City Council Chambers, facilities and parks, a prepared detailed site report document and identifying barriers and recommending corrective actions they provided us with a suggested Ada transition plan. and we had some community engagement and participation activities, including that was a survey. They prepared the reports and gave it to us. This is the final step where he prepared, he gives the presentation to the council. And then in the future meeting, we will bring you the, transition plan and the spacing of it for approval in a later date as we review that. But at this time, I want to introduce John McGovern. He will be providing the report.

I did ask Mr. McGovern to reduce the time of the presentation to 15 minutes. And if council desires that we can have a work session to discuss it, but just felt that, you know, give us the highlights that

Thank you, Mayor and council members. My name is John McGovern. I lead the accessibility practice at the WT Group. And I'm just going to do a brief presentation here to highlight some of the key findings in our work.

If you do F5 on the keyboard. Pardon? F5. F5. F5 on the keyboard.

get rid of there we go thanks so just a quick start and a little talk about demographics by 2030 the census bureau and the center for disease control predict that Americans and Arizonans for the first time in history will have more people over the age of 65 than under the age of 18. That's significant from an ADA perspective because if we took the incidence of disability for the entire room, it's somewhere around 14 to 15%. For people over 65, it's 45%. So we're rapidly going to see come 2030, a population that has more people who do have a disability than we see today. That's important because the ADA is certainly important for today, but it's gonna become a bigger issue as time goes by. I'll talk briefly about some of the ADA requirements for existing sites and new construction, the transition plan. I'll briefly describe our process, show you a couple pictures and answer any questions that I can. The ADA requirements for existing sites are fairly simple. All existing sites, so parks and facilities, do have to be evaluated against whichever is more stringent, the federal 2010 standard for accessible design or any Arizona building code requirements that impose a greater or more robust requirement for accessibility. The city also has to then take those evaluation results and prepare a transition plan that phases out the retrofit work over a period of time that fits within your resources and the demand that you see. Third part of it, which we conducted, is also asking for public feedback to determine whether or not your residents who have a disability have a access preference or priority. In other words, are certain things more important to them? Is the pool more important from an accessibility perspective than having City Hall be accessible? So there's no right or wrong answer here. This is just an exercise to determine whether or not your residents have a belief one way or the other. Title II is the part of the ADA that governs all public facing city facilities and services. Unlike Title I, which is inward viewing and addresses only employment matters, Title II addresses everything from aquatics activities, sport field activities, the pickleball court that's being built. And it also addresses recreation programs and recreation activities. We talked briefly about new construction. All new construction does have to be fully compliant. So the pickleball courts, again, are a good example of that. We visited that site today to talk about a couple of things that will ensure that it meets the design standards that are laid out so that a person with a mobility impairment or a person with another type of disability would still be able to fully enjoy pickleball. For existing sites, it's very different. The concept is that the program at those existing sites is what has to be accessible. So when a city has only one pool, for example, that program can't be moved to another site. So therefore the pool tends to be a higher priority. But for a city that has multiple similar assets, like two playgrounds, for example, then not necessarily both playgrounds have to be made accessible, but one should be made accessible. So we incorporated that into our recommendations for the city. The Department of Justice is also equally clear that not necessarily every existing site has to be made accessible, as long as, again, the programs or the opportunities within those sites can be made accessible. Our process is pretty simple. On our phones, we have an app that includes the federal standards and the Arizona standards. And as we go through the site, we evaluate everything there from the height of the push bar, the panic bar on the door to the height of service counters and so forth. We do use some simple tools like a two foot digital level, a measuring tape, and a door pressure gauge. If the door has a closer, interior doors are limited to five pounds of force to open the door. So some of this is pretty simple in process, but really important for people who have a disability so that they can use your sites. The transition plan again focuses on making the programs accessible and disperses access retrofits throughout Somerton so that no matter where I live in Somerton, I'm going to have access to a city site that is accessible. The transition plan does have to include four things, and we added a fifth. First is a description of every obstacle that limits access. Second is a method for treating that. So that might include making it accessible, but it might also include leaving it as is if that similar asset is available and accessible at another site. We also use phases to meet the schedule for retrofit requirement. And then last but not least, the Department of Justice regulation requires that the city name a responsible person to coordinate the efforts here for barrier removal. So we did that as well in our transition plan draft. Not required, but we know that a local government can't do this without having an idea of the cost as a cost reference for planning purposes. So that too is provided to you in the final report. Our deliverables included a site report for each site that we saw, the transition plan with a pivot table that allows you to easily sort it, a final report or executive summary if you want to think of it that way, And then we did conduct the Community engagement survey, both in Spanish and English and then to Community engagement sessions and we combine that into a Community engagement report to give you a sense of what residents did take. Biggest issues were retrofits at two of the biggest parks, Council Park and Munoz Park. Those are also the sites with playgrounds. So we think really strongly that one of those sites should have an accessible playground surface eventually. some strategies for the city. You have a good relationship with the disability community already, so that's obviously something to maintain. Disability advocacy groups and individuals with disabilities play an important role here, and they're the ones who are protected by this. Every year, the city should determine to make funds available for retrofits, whether it's the way you are pursuing now through the grant to the state or in general fund resources. And our parents all told us not to brag about things, but this is the area where I'm going to encourage you to brag about things. We did see a lot of things that the city does right. I really like simple things like the wheel stops at the accessible parking right outside the door to the left here or to the right. It's really simple. It makes it really convenient and easy and it meets all of the standards. So when you're doing things right, put it online, put it in your publications and make sure the community knows. And then last but not least, to avoid a headache down the road, exceed the minimum requirements. If you're putting in a ramp and the maximum slope is 8.33%, make it 8% because there are going to be issues that occur during construction and you don't want to have to revisit that.

Couple of side observations.

We always see parking issues. The stalls might be too steep here. That happens when you have hot weather, which you do. And it's common for us to see signs at parking mounted either too low or too high. We saw that at Centennial. Gaps and surfaces, we walked around today with some public work staff. Gaps can't exceed a half an inch and changes in level cannot exceed one fourth of an inch. Those are pretty small measures, but they really impede the use of a walkway or a sidewalk or a route through a park by a person in a mobility device. Picnic tables also have to be of an accessible design. Not every one of them, but at a park, if there are three picnic tables, at least one should be of an accessible design and should be on an accessible route. Spectator seating also has to have room. If this is the end of the bleachers here, there has to be room for me and a mobility device at the side of the bleachers to sit and enjoy watching baseball. Play areas, I talked about the sand and the accessible surface. Sand is not an accessible surface. So at one of these sites, we recommended that one of those be replaced. And restrooms too have a number of things that are all based on human anthropometrics, the study of our bodies. 95% of us have an average length of 32 inches from our wrist to our shoulder. And that governs the dimensions that we see in restrooms in particular. As far as what's next, I know you have a opportunity in the future to accept the report and implement the recommendations and direct staff to do so. I'll repeat the point about annually budgeting and expending toward transition plan activity. That's really an important piece of this. And like I said, we saw a lot of things that were properly done. So staff continues implementation of the ADA requirements and making sites and facilities accessible to and usable by people who have a disability. And we had the pleasure of helping you on this path. It was really a pleasure to work with the Parks and Recreation staff and all the other staff we encountered. And we really appreciated the participation by the mayor and the council members in the community engagement as well. I'd be happy to answer any questions that you have now.

Any questions or comments?

No?

That is the first time that's happened. I appreciate it, and thank you very much.

I think when you gave the community the meeting, I think you were very thorough. Thank you. We got an understanding of what this entails.

You all are on the right path, so keep at it. Thanks.

We're gonna move on to old business. Discussion and possible action to approve second reading by title only of ordinance number 2026-002.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Andrea Moreno, City Clerk. Before you is the second reading of this ordinance. The proposed ordinance updates the city's procedures for the adoption of ordinances by removing the local requirement for two separate readings at two different council meetings. Again, I want to reiterate that this is not a requirement mandated by state law, and its removal will improve administrative efficiency while maintaining all other legal requirements, including the statutory effective date. This ordinance has been reviewed and approved by our legal department, and staff is recommending the approval of the second reading by title only and the adoption of this ordinance.

Any questions or comments? Is there a motion to approve second reading by title only of ordinance number 2026-002? So moved, Mayor. So motion by Councilman Roldan.

Second, Mayor.

Second by Councilman Galindo. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries.

An ordinance of the City of Somerton, Arizona City Council amending Chapter 2, Mayoring Council, Article 2-5, Ordinances, Resolutions, and Contracts by Repealing, Section 2-53, Same-Day Passage Prohibited, and 2-5-4, two separate readings and renumbering the subsequent sections in Article 2-5 related to the first reading on adoption ordinances, providing for repeal of conflicting ordinances and providing for severability.

Is there a motion to approve order number 2026-002? So moved. Motion by Council Member Rondon.

Second.

Second by Council Member Galindo. All those in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. Summary of current events.

Mayor, we have Rosanna Douglas from Public Works.

Good evening, Mayor, Council Members, Rosanna Douglas, Public Works Director. Inter-Sydney pavement preservation began on Monday, and it's going to run through July 31st. This is along County 15th, Madison, from Somerton Avenue to Cesar Travis Street, as well as Marshall Loop Court. Main Street redevelopment began June 22nd. A hard closure was put in place for the duration of the project. I'm sorry, to allow for expedited street opening, which is now looking at October 1st. So that aligns us with our upcoming events. Somerton Heights phase three will begin August 1st on Federal Avenue between Sunflower Street through Joshua Street. The project will run for 90 days. That is all I have. Thank you.

Mayor, that's all we have for department directors. Thank you.

Vice Mayor Castillo. I got nothing, Mayor. Councilwoman Gonzalez.

Just to congratulate Park staff on a well-attended Fourth of July event. It was hot, but I think it went very well and very well attended. Congratulations, and thank you for all you do. And like James said, you know, we're very appreciative of how green you have our city. I do have a request and status update. I think we mentioned when we went on our tours about the recycling plant. I think, I don't know if it was you mayor or the vice mayor that asked for information on the sustainability of it. So I don't know if anybody got back.

with my understanding is it work working on a presentation so it's going to be here in a future council okay thank you that's it

I also wanna thank staff, police department, fire, parks, public works, everyone that made what the July a great event. It was very, very well attended. So thank you, thank you so much for all that you do. Also wanna thank staff for making sure that the community center was ready for the elections yesterday. Everything was really running smoothly. Thank you for that. I also would like to ask for an update on the safety issues. that were reported to us about the shop and the fleet over here. With these excessive warnings of 115 degrees outside, I pass through that Somerton Avenue daily when I go to work and I made this aware to our administrator. I see a beach umbrella still hanging there as shade and that's very unacceptable to me and I addressed that already. to the administrator. I wanna know how are the changes? When are the changes gonna get done? Why are we waiting? If we need to buy shades and put them up ourselves or what do we need to do? A beach umbrella hanging out there is unacceptable. We need to protect our employees. And with the 115 degree weather, I would like to see everyone out there and see if that's, I mean, it's just not okay. All we need is for someone to get sick. So if Louie's on the call, Louie, I would like an update on that. As when are the shades coming? Are you buying extra shades in the meantime? Who are we waiting for for an approval? What's going on? So if I could please have an update on that as soon as possible, Louie, if you can hear me. Mayor.

Yes.

Oh no, I just wanted to kind of just give an update for the councilman. We are working on getting that finalized with the engineer. We have met with staff, the director and the fleet manager, supervisor. And so we've put in some protocols to make sure that our staff in the high heat, that they are doing alternative meetings and other types of functions out of the heat to protect them. So we have implemented some items to make sure that we're addressing that with our staff, but definitely understand the concern about the shades and so forth. So we are, I know that there's a meeting scheduled with finance on the procurement and also on the engineering with our department director and our fleet manager to make sure we're addressing that. I just wanted to let you know.

Louis, can you please send me what has been put in place

Sure, I will be more happy to do that.

Thank you, thank you so much. That's all I have, Mayor, thank you.

Councilor Galindo. I have a special request for Parks and Rec. Usually I go running at night through the pathway and I noticed that there's a couple of lights are out and I will kindly ask you if you guys can walk during the night to see which lights, because I do take pictures, but then I forget which one is number one, two, three. So if you guys can take a walk during the night or early in the morning, that will help us to ensure the path is properly lit and will improve and will help improve safety for everyone who uses it, especially in the evening or in the morning, you know. So thank you.

Mayor, if I may. Yes. I just wanted to let Councilman Galindo know that our streets department are the ones that oversee our pathways, but I will follow up with Rosanna and our street supervisor to make sure that there's a schedule so they're checking those lights to make sure that they're on.

But the councilman asked Parks and Rec to go so.

It's gonna be 105.

Councilman Roldan.

And I also want to thank staff for the Fourth of July was a great event. It was well attended. Everything was good. Thank you. We have two items in executive session. Executive session for discussion or consultation for legal advice with the city's attorneys in discussion and possible direction regarding pending or contemplated litigation or settlement discussions conducted in order to avoid litigation. LE development, Somerton LLC versus Somerton, city of Somerton lawsuit. And the second item is a discussion or consultation for legal advice with a city attorney regarding a tax equity and fiscal responsibility act of 1982 public hearing related to the San Luis industrial authority bond issuance for the regional center for border health, which includes refinancing of buildings in Somerton. Does is there a motion to Open executive session.

So moved, Mayor.

So motion by Councilwoman Delgadillo. Second, Mayor. Second by Councilman Roldano. All those in favor? Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. We're going to take a five-minute recess, and then we'll convene.

Thank you.

I only have two more years. In the next two years, you're going to see the other Luis show up.

Hey, who's, what are we doing for the?

Vice Mayor, are you? Are you back? I'm connected. Is there a motion to close executive session? So, Mayor. Second, Mayor. Second, Mayor. All those in favor, aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. It's 8.31. Meeting is adjourned.