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 / 1:07:30

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

City Council meeting.

0:06

At this time, I'd like to call to order the regular city council meeting of May 19, 2025.

0:11

Would you all please join me with a Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence?

0:27

Under the feature and Justice Earl.

0:47

Thank you.

0:49

Chris, if you could do a roll call.

0:54

Councilmember Condi.

0:56

Here.

0:56

Councilmember Garcia.

0:58

Here.

0:58

Councilmember Solorio.

1:00

Councilmember White.

1:03

Here.

1:04

Vice Mayor Nielsen.

1:05

Here.

1:06

Mayor Pineta.

1:07

Here.

1:08

And Councilmember Weiss has an excused absence tonight.

1:11

Yes, thank you.

1:13

Ron, next item, please.

1:17

Thank you, Mr.

1:18

Mayor.

1:18

Up uh next is we have our employee announcements.

1:21

I believe we're going to start with the judge.

1:22

Here he comes.

1:24

We say all rise.

1:31

Thank you, Ron.

1:32

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council members.

1:35

Uh Brill and I are honored to be here today with two of our newest employees.

1:40

As you know, we don't have too many vacancies at the court, or very often do we have vacancies at the court.

1:45

Uh, but we had a promotion recently, and then someone did leave, so we had uh two new hires.

1:51

First, I want to interview or excuse me, introduce Gregory Leppert.

1:55

Uh Greg started with us on April 14th, uh, so been there a little over a month now.

2:01

He came from the post office uh where he had been there for a few years.

2:06

And then Joanna Malon Romero uh joined us the week later on April 21st, and she came from the Tallison Police Department where she was a dispatcher.

2:18

Both of them have told me multiple times they're in better positions now.

2:22

So well, thank you so much for being here.

2:27

Thank you for joining the Avondale team, and tonight we have so many folks coming tonight.

2:33

Usually we have you say something or unless there's something that you'd like to share, get off your chest.

2:37

We'd love to hear.

2:40

Okay, well, thank you again for being here, and I'm glad to hear that the positions have been filled.

2:44

Thank you so much.

2:49

Mr.

2:50

Mayor and Council, up next we'll have uh Jodi, our director of development services, present her new employees.

2:59

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council.

3:02

Um, I have two new employees I'd like to introduce to you this evening.

3:05

Um, Carrie Schrove.

3:07

She is our new building permit technician, too, that serves in our front counter permanent center with our permit technician team.

3:14

She had worked with City of Avondale for a little bit as a contractor, helping us during our transition as we were filling positions and managing workload.

3:22

She previously worked with a firm that we consult with called Shun Scota, but she was very excited to work in public government.

3:28

Um and had applied for a position and ultimately was hired to be a part of our team.

3:32

So she chose Avonville because of our culture, all the wonderful team members that we have that she gets to work with, and she enjoys taking her daughter to rodeo events in her spare time.

3:43

Thank you for being with us.

3:45

And our also our other new employee that we have is Monica Schmier.

3:49

Uh Monica is one of our new senior planners in our planning division.

3:52

Uh she worked both in public and private sector, so she has a lot of urban planning experience.

3:56

She most recently worked with Penell County, um, so we've brought her more towards the Phoenix Metropolitan area.

4:02

Um she's assisted with all sorts of zoning code updates, public engagement planning, and working on master plan communities.

4:08

She has a bachelor's degree in architecture and a master's degree in landscape architecture, but comes in very handy in a lot of the stuff that we do in our department.

4:16

And she enjoys listening to excellent music from a variety of genres in her spare time.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Youth Programs███████████████████████23%
Public Safety████████████████16%
Personnel Matters██████████10%
Public Engagement█████████9%
Water And Wastewater Management█████████9%
Community Engagement█████████9%
Public Works████████8%
Procedural███████7%
Homelessness███████7%
Summary of Proceedings

Avondale City Council Regular Meeting - October 15, 2025

The Avondale City Council held a regular meeting on October 15, 2025, that featured employee introductions, award recognitions, a proclamation for National Public Works Week, the graduation of 14 residents from the Citizens Water Academy, a presentation by Read Better Be Better on civic leadership, and a discussion and vote on a second amendment to an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Maricopa County for homeless services. The meeting also included updates on heat relief efforts and councilmember reports on community events.

Consent Calendar

  • The consent agenda was approved unanimously (7-0) with the exception of item 4F, which was pulled for separate discussion. Item 4F was the second amendment to the IGA with Maricopa County for homeless services.

Employee Introductions & Recognitions

  • Court Employees: Judge introduced Gregory Leppert (former postal worker) and Joanna Malon Romero (former dispatcher) as new court staff.
  • Development Services: Jodi, Director of Development Services, introduced Carrie Schrove (new building permit technician) and Monica Schmier (new senior planner).
  • Fire Department: Chief Rooney introduced one of three new paramedics, Brock Chicago, who received the Kyle Brayer Award as top paramedic of his class. (Two other paramedics were absent.)
  • Parks and Recreation: Corey Lever introduced Desirez (recreation programmer), Marissa Bailey (Arts, Culture and Library Manager), Angelina Sarah (recreation programmer for special events), Blake Mellon (park supervisor), Mariana (administrative assistant), and Daniela Cornechel (librarian II).
  • Public Works: Harold introduced four new employees via video: Anthony Johnson (street maintenance), Ryan Willard (wastewater collections), Flavio Alvaro (fleet technician), and Douglas Bayanya (heavy equipment operator). The department has only four vacancies left to fill for the year.
  • Safety Award: Director of Human Resources Andy announced that the City of Avondale received the ICA Public Entity Partnership Program Large City Employer Recognition Award for worker safety on April 28, 2025. Vice Mayor Nielsen attended the ceremony.
  • National Public Works Week Proclamation: Mayor read a proclamation designating May 18–24, 2025 as National Public Works Week. The Public Works department employs 123 full-time staff.

Citizens Water Academy Graduation

  • Eric, Assistant Director of Public Works, recognized the spring 2025 Citizens Water Academy, which graduated 14 residents over five sessions. Participant Cynthia praised the program, stating she learned about water portfolio, treatment technology, and the importance of rate increases. She also urged against flushing flushable wipes. Graduates were asked to stand and were recognized.

Presentation: Read Better Be Better – Pathway to Civic Leadership

  • Alex Peck, Pathways Program Director, described Read Better Be Better’s work addressing Arizona’s third-grade literacy crisis, noting that nearly 60% of third graders are not reading at grade level. The organization expanded its Civic Leadership Program to Agua Fria High School, with nine-week sessions culminating in presentations at the council chambers. Three students spoke:
    • Linda Wynn (Agua Fria HS) identified teachers over-relying on videos without fully understanding material, impacting student learning.
    • Jalen Aguyar (Westview HS) addressed low student morale and suggested pep rallies and more student input via student government and unified events to build community.
    • Nijah Edmonds (Westview HS) raised concerns about cyberbullying, school shootings, and suicidal thoughts, citing statistics (19.2% of students ages 12–18 experience bullying, school shootings increased from 18 per year in 2008 to 83 in 2024). She proposed partnering with the city to hold teen summits with community leaders and extra credit incentives.
  • Councilmember Garcia praised the students’ articulation and problem-solving approach.

Discussion Item – Second Amendment to IGA with Maricopa County for Homeless Services (Item 4F)

  • Presentation: Chris Lopez, Director of Family and Neighborhood Services, reported that Lutheran Social Services discontinued the IHELP (Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program) in February 2025 due to funding impacts. The City’s Sonar team successfully placed ~12 individuals in regional shelters; four remaining guests chose to stay with IHELP churches, but the churches temporarily paused the program in May. The amendment reallocates remaining IHELP funds to New Leaf for family stability case management and extends the expenditure deadline to December 30, 2025. Tentative restart date for IHELP is September 1, 2025.
  • Heat Relief Update: Cooling stations operate at Avondale Resource Center (including weekends/holidays) and hydration stations at both libraries. Avondale Baptist Church is being added as a heat relief site. The Police Department’s “Beat the Heat” program starts May 30. The city also offers rent/utility assistance, crisis assistance (e.g., portable AC units), and a portable AC loan program (13 units provided last summer).
  • Council Discussion: Councilmember Condi thanked staff, noted the need for more churches to participate in IHELP, and clarified the portable AC loan program (requires ongoing home repair). Vice Mayor Nielsen asked about the four individuals and confirmed no additional intakes until September. The item passed on a motion from Councilmember Solorio, seconded by Vice Mayor Nielsen, with a unanimous vote.

Councilmember Reports

  • Councilmember Garcia: Attended “Coffee with the Badges” at Colados (police and fire appreciation) during National Police Week, and the Mother’s Day Senior Tea Party (featuring violinists and tea).
  • Mayor Pineta: Congratulated Ben and Cindy Harrow of Paloma Street Food for winning the Mayor’s Award from the West Valley Regional Chamber. Thanked city management for a tour of city projects.
  • Councilmember White: Graduated from Leadership West Class 31. Attended the Silver Birch senior living center grand reopening, and events in Goodyear (Bucky’s groundbreaking and Dave’s Hot Chicken ribbon cutting).

Key Outcomes

  • The consent agenda (excluding item 4F) was approved unanimously.
  • The second amendment to the IGA with Maricopa County (item 4F) was approved unanimously, reallocating funds to New Leaf and extending the deadline.
  • The meeting was adjourned with a motion by Councilmember Condi, seconded by Councilmember Solorio, unanimously carried.

Meeting Transcript

City Council meeting. At this time, I'd like to call to order the regular city council meeting of May 19, 2025. Would you all please join me with a Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence? Under the feature and Justice Earl. Thank you. Chris, if you could do a roll call. Councilmember Condi. Here. Councilmember Garcia. Here. Councilmember Solorio. Councilmember White. Here. Vice Mayor Nielsen. Here. Mayor Pineta. Here. And Councilmember Weiss has an excused absence tonight. Yes, thank you. Ron, next item, please. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Up uh next is we have our employee announcements. I believe we're going to start with the judge. Here he comes. We say all rise. Thank you, Ron. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council members. Uh Brill and I are honored to be here today with two of our newest employees. As you know, we don't have too many vacancies at the court, or very often do we have vacancies at the court. Uh, but we had a promotion recently, and then someone did leave, so we had uh two new hires. First, I want to interview or excuse me, introduce Gregory Leppert. Uh Greg started with us on April 14th, uh, so been there a little over a month now. He came from the post office uh where he had been there for a few years. And then Joanna Malon Romero uh joined us the week later on April 21st, and she came from the Tallison Police Department where she was a dispatcher. Both of them have told me multiple times they're in better positions now. So well, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for joining the Avondale team, and tonight we have so many folks coming tonight. Usually we have you say something or unless there's something that you'd like to share, get off your chest. We'd love to hear. Okay, well, thank you again for being here, and I'm glad to hear that the positions have been filled. Thank you so much. Mr. Mayor and Council, up next we'll have uh Jodi, our director of development services, present her new employees. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council. Um, I have two new employees I'd like to introduce to you this evening. Um, Carrie Schrove. She is our new building permit technician, too, that serves in our front counter permanent center with our permit technician team. She had worked with City of Avondale for a little bit as a contractor, helping us during our transition as we were filling positions and managing workload. She previously worked with a firm that we consult with called Shun Scota, but she was very excited to work in public government.

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