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 / 1:27:44

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

And the Avondale City Council meeting.

0:05

I'd like to call to order the regular city council meeting of April 21st, 2025.

0:10

Would you all please stand with me for the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence?

0:16

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:25

One nation under God to be justice for all.

0:44

Thank you.

0:46

Marcel, if we could have roll call, please.

0:49

Councilmember Conde.

0:50

Here.

0:51

Councilmember Garcia.

0:53

Here.

0:53

Councilmember Solario.

0:55

Here.

0:56

Councilmember Weiss here.

0:58

Councilmember White.

1:00

Here.

1:01

Vice Mayor Nielsen.

1:02

Here.

1:03

And Mayor Pineda.

1:05

Here.

1:06

Thank you, Marcella.

1:07

Ron, next item, please.

1:09

Thank you, Mr.

1:10

Mayor and Council.

1:10

Up first, we are going to have a presentation by Ted Flores, our human resources assistant director, introducing one of his new employees.

1:21

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of council.

1:24

Please join me in welcoming Leilani Anderson to the HR team.

1:29

Leilani joined the city of Avondale on March 24th as a benefits analyst responsible for supporting citywide benefits and wellness program.

1:36

Prior to joining the city, Leilani spent the last 10 years working in a variety of benefits and HR roles for Sun Health, with her last physician director of Total Rewards.

1:47

Leilani holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Baylor University and is currently a certified professional in HR through the HR Certification Institute.

1:57

A fun fact about Leilani prior to starting her career in the HR benefits world, she worked as a store manager for Starbucks in both Arizona and Texas for 10 years.

2:07

So she might have some tips and tricks if she didn't sign an NDA or anything like that.

2:11

So you can ask her about your favorite drinks at Starbucks.

2:15

Well, welcome aboard, Leilani.

2:17

Um so just really quickly, just just today I was giving a lecture to my my business students, and we were talking about the function of HR, and I asked for a show of hands.

2:28

How many of you are looking to you know engage in a career in HR and nobody raised their hand?

2:33

So could you please share with not only us but everybody listening just how wonderful HR can be.

2:40

I love the stigma that HR has because a lot of people will refer to us as the principal's office.

2:47

At the end of the day, people in HR really do care about humans, and we don't want to lose the human inhuman resources, whether it's benefits, whether it's pay, whether it's investigations, there are so many different aspects to it, and we're here for for everyone.

3:06

So it's worth it.

3:10

And considering your former occupation as a barista and manager, I'm sure.

3:16

Uh I'm sure that correlates well with working with people in general, right?

3:21

The same skills apply.

3:22

Yes, I had a variety of personalities, age ranges, as well as at some health.

3:29

So the multi-generational opportunities, you learn a lot about communication, building bridges, they were great opportunities.

3:37

Well, thank you so much for being here and choosing Avondale for your place to call home.

3:41

Thank you.

3:58

So I wanted to bring that up because I'm going to talk about it after this next presentation as well.

4:02

So next up, I believe we have our Chief Police, Chief Espinoza, to introduce some of his newer uh officers.

4:12

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor and Council.

4:14

Uh as always, it's great to be here.

4:16

If I can uh introduce you to our 10 newest uh officers, what I'm gonna do is because we have 10 of them, we're gonna have uh them come up here one at a time.

4:25

They're gonna state their name, where they call home, and why they chose Avondale.

4:30

But before we do this, if I can take a second just to thank Mr.

4:33

Corrin and his uh executive team for their ongoing support to the police department.

4:38

It is clear to them that uh it is so critical for us to hire good police officers.

4:43

These ten officers are excellent.

4:45

Uh they have a clear understanding that uh by hiring good uh employees in turn they will be good to our residents, and we will continue to provide quality police services.

4:54

With that being said, I'm gonna have you guys come up here one at a time, your name, where you call home, and why you chose Avondale.

5:07

Uh good afternoon.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Public Safety███████████12%
Personnel Matters███████8%
Youth Programs██████7%
Fiscal Sustainability█████6%
Public Engagement█████5%
Procedural████4%
Community Engagement████4%
Engineering And Infrastructure███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Avondale City Council Regular Meeting - October 15, 2025

The Avondale City Council held its regular meeting on October 15, 2025, at 7:51 PM. The meeting included introductions of new staff and police officers, proclamations, recognition of exceptional students, approval of the consent agenda, and presentations on the Fiscal Year 2026 Contributions Assistance Program and park development projects.

Consent Calendar

  • The consent agenda was approved unanimously by a motion from Councilmember Solorio and a second from Councilmember Weiss. No items were removed for separate consideration.

Discussion Items

  • Introduction of New HR Employee: The council welcomed Leilani Anderson as a benefits analyst. She previously worked at Sun Health and Starbucks.
  • Introduction of New Police Officers: Chief Espinoza introduced ten new officers who shared their backgrounds and reasons for choosing Avondale. The police department is now fully staffed.
  • Proclamations: The council proclaimed April as National Volunteer Month and May 2025 as Building Safety Month, recognizing volunteers and building safety officials.
  • Exceptional Student Awards: Five students from local schools were recognized for their outstanding contributions to their schools and community.
  • Fiscal Year 2026 Contributions Assistance Program: Edith Valtierrez presented the program, which allocates $200,000 to eligible nonprofits. The application timeline was outlined, and a council subcommittee (Vice Mayor Nielsen, Councilmembers Conde and Garcia) will review applications. Two grant writing workshops were held, with 25 organizations participating.
  • Park Development and Improvement Projects: Corey Louiva presented updates on six projects: Civic Center Park (under construction, amenities include shaded playground, picnic ramada, reading grove, food truck alley), Friendship Park dog park improvements (shade, irrigation, centralized entry), pickleball courts at Friendship Park (8 new courts), Desi Lorenz Park outdoor education center and demonstration garden, Western Avenue Plaza (pocket park with art), and Donatella Neighborhood Park (new inclusive playground, basketball court, fitness station). Council members asked questions and made suggestions regarding signage, dog park design, noise mitigation, security, public art, and inclusion of traditional playground elements.

Key Outcomes

  • The consent agenda was approved.
  • The council received the presentations and offered feedback; staff will incorporate suggestions into ongoing projects.
  • No formal votes were taken on the presentations.
  • The meeting was adjourned by unanimous vote.

Meeting Transcript

And the Avondale City Council meeting. I'd like to call to order the regular city council meeting of April 21st, 2025. Would you all please stand with me for the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. One nation under God to be justice for all. Thank you. Marcel, if we could have roll call, please. Councilmember Conde. Here. Councilmember Garcia. Here. Councilmember Solario. Here. Councilmember Weiss here. Councilmember White. Here. Vice Mayor Nielsen. Here. And Mayor Pineda. Here. Thank you, Marcella. Ron, next item, please. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council. Up first, we are going to have a presentation by Ted Flores, our human resources assistant director, introducing one of his new employees. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of council. Please join me in welcoming Leilani Anderson to the HR team. Leilani joined the city of Avondale on March 24th as a benefits analyst responsible for supporting citywide benefits and wellness program. Prior to joining the city, Leilani spent the last 10 years working in a variety of benefits and HR roles for Sun Health, with her last physician director of Total Rewards. Leilani holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Baylor University and is currently a certified professional in HR through the HR Certification Institute. A fun fact about Leilani prior to starting her career in the HR benefits world, she worked as a store manager for Starbucks in both Arizona and Texas for 10 years. So she might have some tips and tricks if she didn't sign an NDA or anything like that. So you can ask her about your favorite drinks at Starbucks. Well, welcome aboard, Leilani. Um so just really quickly, just just today I was giving a lecture to my my business students, and we were talking about the function of HR, and I asked for a show of hands. How many of you are looking to you know engage in a career in HR and nobody raised their hand? So could you please share with not only us but everybody listening just how wonderful HR can be. I love the stigma that HR has because a lot of people will refer to us as the principal's office. At the end of the day, people in HR really do care about humans, and we don't want to lose the human inhuman resources, whether it's benefits, whether it's pay, whether it's investigations, there are so many different aspects to it, and we're here for for everyone. So it's worth it. And considering your former occupation as a barista and manager, I'm sure. Uh I'm sure that correlates well with working with people in general, right? The same skills apply. Yes, I had a variety of personalities, age ranges, as well as at some health. So the multi-generational opportunities, you learn a lot about communication, building bridges, they were great opportunities. Well, thank you so much for being here and choosing Avondale for your place to call home. Thank you. So I wanted to bring that up because I'm going to talk about it after this next presentation as well. So next up, I believe we have our Chief Police, Chief Espinoza, to introduce some of his newer uh officers. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor and Council.

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