OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Avondale City Council Regular Meeting - October 15, 2025

City Council — Wednesday, October 15, 2025
BodyAvondale, Arizona
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, October 15, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 28:02

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

I'd like to call to order the regular city council meeting of September 22nd, 2025.

0:07

Would you all please rise and join me with the Pledge of Allegiance and a Moment of Silence?

0:14

Congratulations to the United States of America for which one nation under Godismo with liberty and justice for all.

0:41

Thank you.

0:43

Marcella, can we have roll call, please?

0:45

Councilmember Conde.

0:47

Here.

0:48

Councilmember Garcia.

0:49

Here.

0:50

Councilmember Solario.

0:52

Councilmember Weiss.

0:53

Here.

0:54

Councilmember White.

0:55

Present.

0:56

Vice Mayor Nielsen.

0:57

Here.

0:58

Mayor Pineda.

0:59

Here.

0:59

Thank you so much.

1:00

Ron.

1:01

Expires Mayor and Council.

1:02

Up first, uh, we have our employee announcements, and I believe Jody, our director of development services, is going to start us off.

1:08

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

1:10

I'm happy to introduce sorry.

1:16

Three um newer employees with our development services department.

1:20

Um, first I'd like to introduce Martin Moreno.

1:23

Martin is one of our new planners, and he joins us from being a recent graduate from Arizona State University, and he was also a Marvin Andrews fellow.

1:33

He worked at City of Tempe, and he also had worked at Phoenix Impure during various internships, including public works and capital improvement projects.

1:41

He has a passion for local government and also planning and development.

1:44

He received his master's degree in public administration and a uh bachelor's degree in government from Georgetown.

1:50

Um he enjoys pickleball in his spare time and exploring new parks.

1:59

You have a new best friend starting today.

2:01

Um he enjoys pickleball exploring new parks and restaurants and riding his motorcycle little adventure.

2:07

Uh secondarily, we have Zachary Jones.

2:10

Zach just joined us last week.

2:13

Um he is also a new planner in our planning division.

2:16

He most recently was working in Nevada and doing some environmental planning, such as soil conservation.

2:21

Um he also was a planner for Missoula County in Montana.

2:25

He came here to the desert into the heat, and he's uh he's loving it.

2:29

Um he has a master's degree in geography, and he went to the University of Montana and has a bachelor's degree in natural resources planning from the University of Wisconsin.

2:38

And he enjoys also being outdoors and playing and watching professional disc golf, and um actually went towards the northeastern part of our state in surprise this past weekend to play um in a disc golf um event there.

2:50

So another outdoor adventurous.

2:52

And then Gilbert Garcia, you've might have seen him around.

2:55

Um he worked in our finance and budget department for many years.

2:59

Um he took an opportunity to become our new building permit technician too, uh which is in our building services division working with our permitting center.

3:07

Um he has great skills in his utility billing division, where he worked in uh managing revenue with the supervisor, and his skills and his ability to be very detailed oriented, uh, manage intake and be a project manager is what we're looking for, and he's going through training and working with his supervisor Don right now.

3:28

Um, and we have no doubt he's gonna be super successful helping our team and our department.

3:32

And in his spare time, he enjoys cookouts, game nights, and holidays together with his family, and on occasion he golfs, and he is a local Avondale resident.

3:39

So, congratulations from joining development services.

3:42

Thank you all.

3:54

But just wanted to thank each and every one of you for being here joining the team or internally uh making the switch to development services and utilizing your talents that way.

4:03

So, again, if there's anything that we can do, uh reach out.

4:06

But in the uh in the meantime, uh welcome aboard and thanks for joining the Avondale team.

4:11

Appreciate you being here.

4:29

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council.

4:33

I'm excited to welcome Carter Wright to our economic development team.

4:38

He will be serving as economic development manager, and he comes to us from the state of Arizona's economic development arm, Arizona Commerce Authority, known as ACA.

4:49

And even more impressive than that, he served in the Army for 22 years.

5:00

Ending his long career as director of operations.

5:02

So we're really, really lucky to have Carter.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts And Culture██████████████████████████████████████38%
Personnel Matters██████████████████████████████████34%
Procedural█████████████████████21%
Public Safety████4%
Economic Development██2%
Public Engagement█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Avondale City Council Regular Meeting - October 15, 2025

The Avondale City Council held a regular meeting on October 15, 2025, with Mayor Pineda presiding. The meeting included employee introductions, a consent agenda vote, a public art program update, and council member reports on current events. All members were present except Councilmember Solario.

Consent Calendar

  • The consent agenda was moved by Vice Mayor Nielsen, seconded by Councilmember Conde, and passed unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were received.

Discussion Items

  • Employee Announcements: Several new hires and promotions were introduced:
    • Development Services: Martin Moreno (planner), Zachary Jones (planner), Gilbert Garcia (building permit technician).
    • Economic Development: Carter Wright (economic development manager), previously with the Arizona Commerce Authority and a 22-year Army veteran.
    • Engineering: Joshua Piquet (associate engineer), with experience from Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, Idaho Transportation Department, and Maricopa County Department of Transportation.
    • Finance: Jamie Allen (accounting specialist), with background in construction and grocery industry accounting.
    • Public Safety: Carolyn Aguilar (security officer), a 20-year Maricopa County Sheriff's Office veteran and sister of an Avondale police sergeant.
    • Parks, Recreation & Libraries: Ashley Yingling (recreation programmer), and promotions for Myra Felix and Christina Armarillas (librarians).
  • Public Art Program Update: Marissa Daly, Arts, Culture, and Libraries Manager, presented completed projects from fiscal year 2025 (14 projects completed, 11 new projects started, three scholarships awarded) and upcoming projects for fiscal year 2026. Completed works included murals at Mountain View Community Center, sculptures at Fire Station 172 and Park Avenue Plaza, and utility box wraps. Upcoming projects include murals at Fire Station 171 and Cooper's Hawk Restaurant, a sculpture at the Aquatic Center (Trevor O'Toole's "The Grid"), and future installations at Civic Center Park, Old Town Plaza, and Friendship Dog Park. Council members expressed appreciation, noting the tourism value and community beauty of the art.
  • Council Current Events:
    • Councilmember White reported attending the first annual Arizona Black Law Enforcement criminal justice conference in Avondale, highlighting participation by Avondale police officers and SWAT team demonstrations. She also noted participation in the National Transportation in Indian Country conference.
    • Councilmember Garcia attended the West Valley Chamber Gala and the memorial for Charlie Kirk, whose assassination was described as a global tragedy. She thanked law enforcement for safety.
    • Mayor Pineda mentioned the Avondale Youth Summit hosted at La Jolla Community High School, the Avondale Innovate Summit, and a meeting with Superintendent Islas of the Agua Fria Union High School District regarding Southwest Academies and a performing arts center.

Key Outcomes

  • The consent agenda was adopted unanimously.
  • The meeting was adjourned by motion from Councilmember Conde, seconded by Councilmember Weiss, with all in favor.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to call to order the regular city council meeting of September 22nd, 2025. Would you all please rise and join me with the Pledge of Allegiance and a Moment of Silence? Congratulations to the United States of America for which one nation under Godismo with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Marcella, can we have roll call, please? Councilmember Conde. Here. Councilmember Garcia. Here. Councilmember Solario. Councilmember Weiss. Here. Councilmember White. Present. Vice Mayor Nielsen. Here. Mayor Pineda. Here. Thank you so much. Ron. Expires Mayor and Council. Up first, uh, we have our employee announcements, and I believe Jody, our director of development services, is going to start us off. Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'm happy to introduce sorry. Three um newer employees with our development services department. Um, first I'd like to introduce Martin Moreno. Martin is one of our new planners, and he joins us from being a recent graduate from Arizona State University, and he was also a Marvin Andrews fellow. He worked at City of Tempe, and he also had worked at Phoenix Impure during various internships, including public works and capital improvement projects. He has a passion for local government and also planning and development. He received his master's degree in public administration and a uh bachelor's degree in government from Georgetown. Um he enjoys pickleball in his spare time and exploring new parks. You have a new best friend starting today. Um he enjoys pickleball exploring new parks and restaurants and riding his motorcycle little adventure. Uh secondarily, we have Zachary Jones. Zach just joined us last week. Um he is also a new planner in our planning division. He most recently was working in Nevada and doing some environmental planning, such as soil conservation. Um he also was a planner for Missoula County in Montana. He came here to the desert into the heat, and he's uh he's loving it. Um he has a master's degree in geography, and he went to the University of Montana and has a bachelor's degree in natural resources planning from the University of Wisconsin. And he enjoys also being outdoors and playing and watching professional disc golf, and um actually went towards the northeastern part of our state in surprise this past weekend to play um in a disc golf um event there. So another outdoor adventurous. And then Gilbert Garcia, you've might have seen him around. Um he worked in our finance and budget department for many years. Um he took an opportunity to become our new building permit technician too, uh which is in our building services division working with our permitting center. Um he has great skills in his utility billing division, where he worked in uh managing revenue with the supervisor, and his skills and his ability to be very detailed oriented, uh, manage intake and be a project manager is what we're looking for, and he's going through training and working with his supervisor Don right now. Um, and we have no doubt he's gonna be super successful helping our team and our department. And in his spare time, he enjoys cookouts, game nights, and holidays together with his family, and on occasion he golfs, and he is a local Avondale resident. So, congratulations from joining development services. Thank you all.

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