Avondale City Council Meeting - October 15, 2025: New Employees, Proclamation, and Bridge Housing
Avondale City Council Meeting - October 15, 2025
The Avondale City Council met on October 15, 2025, to introduce new employees, recognize a professional achievement, proclaim National Police Canine Day, hear a public comment, and discuss the Family Bridge Housing program. The meeting included a vote on budget transfers for the housing project.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Teresa DeSante addressed the council regarding a public records request. She stated that on June 23, 2025, she requested a copy of the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) contract for unit LA 175 (a city-owned vehicle) and received a document that made no mention of the unit. She submitted another request on August 17, 2025, specifically for the contract for unit LA 175, which she believes is owned by the city, not leased.
Discussion Items
- New Employee Introductions: Several departments introduced new staff:
- City Manager's Office: Intern Basil Bayes Ribba Carey, a Master of Public Administration student at Arizona State University.
- Engineering: Associate Engineer Eric Carrosco, a civil engineering graduate from Northern Arizona University.
- Fire and Medical: Firefighters Javier Vargas (raised in Avondale, former In-N-Out employee) and Scott Kimme (born in Avondale, former Sands Club employee, son of city fleet manager).
- IT: Senior Network Engineer Rob Pagazzo, formerly of the City of Peoria.
- Public Works: Equipment Operator Alyssa Rojas (bulk trash and curbside collection) and two others (Joshua Bagnosh, solid waste equipment operator; Sheldon Bayguy, wastewater operator) via video.
- Employee Recognition: Assistant City Manager Tracy Stevens received the Credentialed Manager designation from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), a honor held by fewer than 1,400 professionals nationwide. She has 29 years of experience, 19 with Avondale.
- Proclamation: National Police Canine Day (September 1, 2025) was proclaimed. The police canine unit introduced five dual-purpose dogs (three narcotics, two explosives detection) and their handlers. Council members praised the unit and the new canine facility opened in 2025.
- Family Bridge Housing Presentation: Chris (Neighborhood and Family Services) presented an update on the Family Bridge Housing program, which provides temporary housing for families with housing vouchers. The project includes three duplexes (six units) near the Avondale Resource Center. Initial design began in 2021, paused in 2022 due to inflation and supply chain issues, and received $1.9 million in ARPA funding from Maricopa County. The project is expected to complete in April 2026. Services include case management, financial literacy, and wraparound support for up to six months after move-out. Annual operating costs are $150,000 from general funds plus $60,000 in HOME-ARPA funds for case management. Council discussed occupancy, pet policies, utilities, maintenance, and furnishings.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to approve budget transfers for Family Bridge Housing:
- $280,000 from contingency for construction (total city contribution ~$1 million; overall project budget $2,989,061).
- $75,000 from contingency for prorated operations in FY26.
- Motion by Councilmember White, second by Councilmember Weiss. Passed 6-1.
- Adjournment: Motion by Councilmember White, second by Councilmember Solorio. Passed unanimously.
Summary of Current Events
- Councilmember Garcia attended the Black Canvas Summer Showcase Art Show and the Police Department annual awards banquet.
- Councilmember White attended the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials in Houston, Texas (July 30–August 2) and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns conference.
- Councilmember Solorio attended the League conference and the Civic Craft program.
- Councilmember Weiss attended the League conference and noted Avondale was recognized for workforce innovation and Wii Ride.
- Councilmember Condi attended a block watch event at Mercy House with code enforcement and NROs.
Meeting Transcript
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and public for which you stands one nation under God and visible with liberty and justice for a moral thank you. Marcella, can we do roll call, please? Councilmember Condi. Here. Councilmember Garcia. Here. Councilmember Solario. Councilmember Weiss. Here. Councilmember White. Present. Vice Mayor Nielsen. Here. Mayor Panena. Here. Thank you so much. Ron, next item, please. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council. First, we're going to have our employee presentations and announcements. First up will be Anisa from our own office for our senior management analyst who is going to introduce one of our interns. Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Councilmembers. I'm excited to introduce tonight Basil Bayes Ribba Carey. He's our newest Marvin Andrews, Jean Morris Fellow with the city. Bayes is in the second year of his master's public administration program at Arizona State University with a concentration in public finance. He is a double devil with a bachelor's in psychology from ASU. During his undergraduate years, Bayes was able to engage with the community through uh his service with several nonprofit organizations, including Seed Philanthropy and the Assistance League of Phoenix, building his commitment to public service. Most recently, Bayes served as a management intern for the Center of Urban Innovation at ESU and is also a budget and finance intern at Meracopa County. So we're very excited to have these join us this year. Bayes, welcome aboard, and thank you for joining Avondale. Is there anything that you've uh encountered while you've been here this short time that you'd like to share? Yes, and it's been a uh amazing team, and that's been the best part. Will you join a uh a heck of a group? I don't know if it's uh would it be a fraternity or what a cohort uh what I don't know how to to define it, but I hear nothing but great thing uh things about uh the fellows and how you still stay connected even after uh you you know put your time into wherever you're being hosted, and so thank you for joining us and we appreciate you. Thank you. Mr. Mayor Council up next we have our engineering department, uh Kim Moon, your engineering director, your city engineer, uh, to make a uh new employee introduction. Hi, good evening, Mayor Vice Mayor and Council. I'm excited to introduce and welcome Eric Carrosco, who has joined our team as an associate engineer. His first day of work was last week on Monday, August 18th. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Northern Arizona University, and he actually just received his engineering and training certificate and designation, so congratulations on that. He brings a diverse range of experience, including work in SRP electric plan design, cell tower infrastructure, geotechnical field testing, and construction inspection. In addition to his engineering background, he also has experience as a high school science teacher. Eric will be doing civil engineering plan review for Liz Kahn. We've got Liz in the back with us, as we often do in his workstation is near Viennet, Raoul and Carlos. So if you get a chance, please be sure to stop by and say hello. Welcome aboard, Eric. Uh, you were a former uh teacher. So tell me how does that correlate with this new position? How can you use the the tools if you will?
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