I'd like to call in order the regular city council meeting of October 21st, 2024.

Will you all join me with the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silent reflection?

And to the Republic for Nation under the Liberty Justice.

Thank you.

Marcella, can we get a roll call?

Thank you, Mayor.

Councilmember Conde here.

Councilmember Malone.

Here.

Councilmember Garcia.

Here.

Councilmember Solario.

Here.

Councilmember Nielsen.

Here.

Councilmember White.

Here.

Mayor Paneda.

Here.

Thank you.

Raw next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

We have our first set of presentations.

It's gonna be uh Renee Weatherless, our director of finance, introducing two new employees.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

Um, I have the pleasure tonight to introduce first to Sean Pierce.

Sean has extensive experience working in grants programs and services.

During his career, he supported nonprofits as well as municipal, county, and state governments with grants management.

Sean has focused his career on providing direction to maximize the impact of grant funding, and in his new role here at Avondale as our grants coordinator, he's excited to have the opportunity to support departments to integrate grants into their funding portfolio and also to build stronger connections with departments and continue to enhance our internal structure outside of work.

Sean enjoys spending time with his family and his dog Sushi.

Thank you.

And next, I have um the pleasure to introduce uh Laura Robinson.

Laura Robinson is our new procurement officer.

She started with the city in September 16th.

Laura comes from Maricopa County Judicial Branch, where she worked for 12 years in procurement, handling commodities and services and IT procurement.

Prior to that, Laura worked in the private sector doing procurement and steel manufacturing.

Laura has a bachelor's degree in supply chain management from ASU, and her favorite holiday of the year is Halloween.

Welcome.

If you don't mind, uh Sean and uh sorry, Sean and Laura, uh, if you would like to share some comments.

Um, how has it been so far working for the city of Avondale?

Anything to that effect, we'd love to hear it.

Well, good evening.

Uh, so far I love it.

I think that the people is really nice.

I I enjoy working with everybody.

I'm looking forward to making an impact.

Um, I love working for the community, so this is something that is very dear to me doing procurement and and making a change in our community.

Looking forward to doing that for Avondale.

Thank you so much.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

Thank you so much for this opportunity.

How do I follow that?

Right?

I mean, as a public servant, it's always great to be able to really help in all aspects of government, but also in really making those connections in our community.

And so I look forward to helping the the city as well as all the departments and the community come together as we uh really do spend other people's money to make that better.

So I appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, and thanks for choosing Avinder.

All right, Mr.

Mayor.

Up next, we have a presentation by Mariela Gonzalez, our youth and community engagement coordinator with neighborhood and family services, making one of our uh most favorite presentations of our Avi Star students Hello, good evening, Mayor and members of the council.

Thank you so much for having us here tonight.

My name is Maryela.

I am the youth and community engagement coordinate engagement coordinator with our neighborhood and family services department, and I'm here to present the October Exceptional Student of Avendale nominations.

This is a fun and wonderful initiative to recognize the amazing things that our students are doing in the community.

And I'm also honored to be presenting these recognition on behalf of the administrators, principals, and the educators from each school district.

The achievements being recognized may be academic, extracurricular, or personal, and highlight the impact that the student has made for themselves, their family, school, and the community.

And I also want to give a huge shout out to the families who are here today who are supporting each and every one of these students as well.

Students, as I call your name, please walk up to receive your award right over here, and then stay standing for the remainder of the presentation.

And first up from Agua Fria High School District, we have Marley Marufo.

Marley is in the 11th grade.

He attends Agua Fria High School, and Marley is being recognized as he demonstrates exceptional dedication to his school and community.

Marley is a leader amongst JROTC cadets and has held several leadership roles, such as flight commander, color guard commander, drilled team trainer, and is expected to move into the program's senior leadership in the upcoming school year.

Marley has volunteered and led over 80 events, accumulating over 100 community service hours since joining ROTC.

Marley earned the outstanding cadet ribbon and the National Sojourners Award for his high school morale, high morale, character, and leadership potential.

He has participated and led color guard team in drill competition and has placed every time.

He consistently excels in competitions with the ColorGard team and maintains a 3.75 GPA while balancing academics and extracurriculars.

Let's get up for Marley.

Up next from our Avondale Elementary School District is Richard Gonzalez.

Richard Gonzalez is in the seventh grade and attends Avondale Middle School.

Richard Gonzalez is an outstanding student known for his consistent academic effort and excellence across all subjects.

He actively seeks feedback and is always willing to assist others.

He achieved a perfect score on his math AAA assessment and demonstrated high proficiency in ELA.

Richard is involved in multiple extracurricular activities, including the National Junior Honor Society and Student Council.

Richard is kind, supportive, and passionate about his school community.

Teachers commend his hard work, resilience in challenging situations, and respectful interactions with others.

Highlighting him is an exceptional student at Avondel Middle School.

Ms.

Margot Anderson stated Richard is a very kind and respectful student who strives to do the very best in everything that he does, not only with his grades, but also with his interactions with other students and staff.

He is truly an exceptional student.

Let's give it up for Richard.

Up next from our Litchfield Elementary School District is Mia Moreno.

Mia is in the third grade and attends Cortecier Elementary School.

Mia is an exceptional student who comes to class with a positive outlook and an open mind.

She is in the traditional academy class at Corte Sierra Elementary, and her love for learning is evident in the classroom.

Mia aims for success in all she does.

Mia is involved in two club sports after school and still maintains her straight A's.

She is an exceptional student, and Ms.

Hillman is very proud of her.

Let's give it up for Mia.

Up next from our Pendergast Elementary School District is Jacob Benitez Alonso.

Jacob is in the eighth grade and attends Rio Vista Elementary.

Jacob is an exemplary leader both in and out of the classroom.

He collaborates well with peers and teachers, advocates for friends in need, and assists classmates with their work.

Outside of school, he is involved in various activities, serving as the chief academic officer, participating in the YMCA, tutoring younger students, and representing Rio Vista on the superintendent's eighth grade student council.

Despite his busy schedule, he maintains good grades and attends additional math classes at ASU.

We are proud of Jacob's accomplishments and look forward to his future successes.

Let's give it up for Jacob.

And from Sun Valley Academy, we have Davy and de Santiago.

Davian is in the eighth grade.

Davian is deeply committed to her academics, community service, and friendships.

As a leader in the National Junior Honor Society, she actively participates in serving food to the homeless and supports animal shelters.

Davian is a straight A student.

She excels in every assessment and assignment.

Davian is a well-rounded young woman, and the staff is very excited to witness her continued success success throughout life.

Let's go to it for Dave.

So thank you again to all the families who are here in this room showing support for these five amazing individuals.

I'm proud of you.

I know your families are proud of you, and we hope that you guys keep continuing the work that you guys do.

So congratulations.

This is just who they are.

And it's just great to be able to celebrate their success.

Okay.

Council Member.

Thank you all for your parents for being here.

You guys are doing an amazing job.

Keep doing a great job.

Thank you so much.

Okay, so at this time, Councilmember would like to join me down at the floor.

We can take a picture with uh with the students.

Parents, you can come forward and get pictures if you want to get a little closer and get a picture of the groups.

Come on down.

I think you're all five.

Oh, you're gonna go this way.

I see all the weight.

And then screw you.

Can I have you guys open the door certificates?

Beautiful.

And I'll have you go ahead and just hold that top card back.

Stay there, big smiles, three, two, one.

Hold on.

One more.

And the next day.

Okay, item three is unscheduled public appearances.

Marcella, I believe we have a blue card, so at this time we can call Natasha Edmonds up to the podium.

Thank you, Mayor.

And to confirm, we only have one request to speak for tonight.

Thank you, Marcello.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council members.

For the record, my name is Natasha Edmonds, and I am honored to be speaking as the fourth City Council member candidate in the 2024 primary elections, where I received 3,374 votes.

And I will continue uh for my run in 2026 election.

First and foremost, I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the newly elected mayor, Mike Panita.

I am really excited to see uh the positive changes that you are gonna have within our city.

I also want to congratulate Councilmember Gloria Solario and newly sworn Jeanette Garcia and Sherry Wise on their successful run.

Now that you are seated in this important role, I believe you all can truly represent and serve all our community members no matter what party they represent.

Let's strive to do better for everyone in Avondale, and I'm hoping for the best in your leadership moving forward.

Marcella, I appreciate your presentation last week.

However, I must share my disappointment regarding the unique option shared in the process choosing uh to fill the recent council member seat.

As highlighted by council member White, there simply wasn't enough time given for this crucial decision-making process.

It's essential to fully consider all options and allow for adequate time to evaluate potential candidates.

Therefore, I must advocate for myself.

This would ensure that we tap into diverse talents and perspectives within our community.

Thank you for taking me on taking the time to hear what I have to say.

Thank you.

Thank you, Natasha.

I appreciate it.

Mr.

Corbin, um items number four, consent agenda.

Are there any members members of council, sorry, who wish to have any item removed for separate consideration?

Seeing none, can I get a motion?

I move.

Okay, we got one more white.

Thank you, Councilmember White.

Uh actually we had a motion from um council member Solorio.

Can I get a second?

Okay, can we get a vote?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Council member White, thank you.

Any opposed?

Thank you.

Item four passes.

Ron, next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Next up we have the authorization of the acquisition of real property for public use as a trailhead and related parking area.

Printed by James, our city projects administrator with uh my office.

Good evening, Mayor Council.

Specifically, Maricopa County has publicly listed approximately 3.36 acres of real property for sale.

The property is located south of Buckeye Road and on the west side of the Awa Fria Trail or Agua Freo River.

And the active transportation plan adopted by council in 2022 noted that trailheads are to be installed to allow access.

Staff believes this site would be an appropriate location for a small parking lot, Ramada, um other trail appurtenances to give access to individuals who want to access the Agua Fria River.

Looking from the aerial image, you can see the site outlined in red uh to the uh due west is two apartment complexes, the village at Avendal and Siesta Point, and then the right obviously is the river bottom.

And then if we took a street view from Google Street View, you can see a driveway entrance right now used by Maricopa County Flood Department.

Uh we would likely use the same driveway entrance and share it with the county upon purchase of the property.

So the process for this follows on these kind of four steps.

The approval of today's ordinance would allow staff to perform due diligence.

That's things like getting uh Alta survey or phase one environmental when complete, we would then engage the county in negotiations, which honestly kind of break down to the value identified in the appraisal.

Uh we will then return to council to ask for a budget transfer, likely at the quarterly transfer period, either in January or April, and then during the normal budget process, we'll be requesting funding for design and construction of any amenities to be installed out on the site.

Staff's recommendation is an approval to adopt the ordinance 2030 1024 and authorizing the acquisition of real property for public use.

And I am available to answer any questions if you have any.

Thank you, James.

I appreciate the presentation.

At this time, I'll look for comments from council, and I'm going to start with Councilmember White, uh, who's on the phone.

You have any questions?

Thank you so much, Mayor Pineda.

Thank you so much, James, for the presentation.

I was taking a look at the aerial view, and I noticed when you said the driveway, we would share still with Maricopa County.

Um, does the county still have real property down there that would not belong to us?

Um like the bottom of the river bottom, is that still county land why we would have to share that, or would they um have alternative ways to get to their property other than that?

Uh yes, uh councilmember white mayor, council member white.

The county would still own property in the river bottom, and they still have to maintain the levy.

But we have not had those finalized discussions yet.

I throw them out there as a likely possibility that they would want to keep some sort of access.

Mr.

Mayor, Councilmember White, and also clarify we uh that's a big assumption on our part.

Um, we would bring a project forward um from our engineering department from Kim's team and help us determine where, how, when, why, and then we'd have to get an IGA agreement with the county on that.

Um, we wouldn't, we won't buy the property unless we can get access to the property, so that'll be a for sure thing.

But this is really just move forward with the land possibility, where the driveway is, where the parking is, where the remada is, water, lighting, those kinds of things.

That'll all come back to council in a project.

Um, we just want to make sure normally we put things in the budget, like the purchase of land, and we're gonna have to come back for that.

So we just want to make sure that council's okay pursuing this, and this is the direction they want us to go.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Mr.

Corbin.

I appreciate the presentation, and I look forward to moving forward.

Thank you so much, Councilmember White.

Councilman Nielsen.

I guess we just have one question there, multimodal.

In my mind is bicycles as well as flood path.

This appears to be on the west side of the river or the bike path on the east side of the river.

And if they are, how would we get from one to the other without going through the sand or whatever?

Yes.

So we are looking at more connections and trails along the um the awafria bottom.

There's currently a project that council has adopted.

It's in design right now that would bring it across um across to the west side and then down to Friendship Park or Susville Festival Field, sorry.

Um, so you would be able to pick it up right there and be able to access it and then go to the river bottom, cross over.

Uh that's part of the negotiation design is really what that bottom crossing looks like.

Um, it's a balance between you know what we can put that might be affected later on by a flood.

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

Thank you so much.

Councilmember Solorio.

Thank you, James, for the presentation.

Um, I think it's great.

You know, I think it's something that you know we don't have.

Correct, we don't have anything like this.

So I'm in favor.

I think that's wonderful to establish an area like that.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Silario.

Councilmember Garcia.

I did not have any comments.

Thank you.

Councilmember Malone.

Yes, thank you for the presentation, James.

I um can't wait.

We've been talking about this since I've been on uh council, so I look forward to uh using it um when it comes.

Thanks.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Malone.

Councilmember Condi.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, James, for the presentation.

So um, city manager just mentioned something that's important for me as when we get to that point to make sure that we have lighting, especially for people gonna be traveling down there on bikes on foot.

Um, that was something that we had talked about when we started the discussion of the trailheads.

So um, I guess that'll come to us a later time, but I just wanted just to um make sure that you guys are well aware that's something that's very important to us.

Noted.

Thank you.

Councilmember Malone.

Sorry.

Um the lighting as well as any type of water or um will that also be there?

Mr.

Mayor and Council.

I got a thumbs up from our uh parks uh and trails director.

We're gonna add trails to your titles, Corey.

Um, but we got a thumbs up over there.

So he's a weird aware of the direction from council, but we'll bring that project forward at some point.

All right, thank you.

For me, um, you know, some of the questions that I had when this was brought to the attention was, you know, many residents, especially while many of us were out campaigning uh over the last year or so is listening to the residents share their information regarding the lack of trails or the trails that are currently in place and how they're not linking up yet.

And when uh discussing purchasing this piece of property, you know, my question was I don't really want to have a hodgepodge of all these pieces of property that don't connect.

But um one of the things that was shared with me, which makes sense, and I just want to state this for the record uh by assistant manager Gregory was the fact that a city like Peoria, which I would not say maybe is the standard, but I think we're all very well aware of their excellent cis trail system, um, took over 20 years to design through the same process that we're following.

So while residents may question why we have this piece of property and in that trail, but yet they don't connect.

Um, it's just important to note and educate them on the fact that this is a long-term project, and in order to make it come to fruition, sometimes when we are able to uh take advantage of an opportunity like this, then we need to do so.

So I just wanted to make sure that I conveyed that as it was communicated to me.

So thank you so much for your presentation.

Okay.

That was five A.

Um Thank you, Mayor.

We do have a motion on the screen.

Sorry, can I get a motion?

You can read it, please.

I'll sweep it.

Oh, we got a second from Councilmember Solario.

I'll motion to adopt an ordinance 2030-1024 authorizing acquisition of real property for public uh use as a trailhead and related parking area and authorized the mayor, North City Council, city attorney, and city clerk to execute the necessary documents.

Okay, can we get a roll call vote?

We had a motion by councilmember Nielsen and a second by Councilmember Solario.

Thank you.

I will do a voice vote.

Um, Councilmember Conde.

Aye, Councilmember Malone.

I councilmember Garcia.

Aye, councilmember Solario.

Councilmember Nielsen.

Aye, Councilmember White.

Aye, Mayor Peneba.

Aye.

Thank you.

I don't pass.

Next item is the selection of vice mayor.

At this time, there is no formal process.

Um, as we uh went through the process last week of selecting the mayor and council member.

Um, but what has happened in the past has pretty much been that as a as a body as a council that we've all kind of utilized um seniority as one of the indicators of selecting a vice mayor.

Um I know that I fulfilled that role.

I know that council member Malone has filled the role of vice mayor, and in terms of selecting a new vice mayor, um, I would really love to uh make a motion to uh nominate uh councilman Nielsen as our next vice mayor uh and appoint him.

I'm sorry, technically, uh, to the role of vice mayor, being that not only just is it about seniority, but what he's done and what he's brought to the council in terms of his um his comments, his communication, uh his work in the community.

I think is uh he's a pillar in the community, and I think he would be uh a great uh vice mayor, and so at this time I will throw the motion to uh appoint councilmember Nielsen as the vice mayor, but I will need a second second.

Second.

So who did the second?

I did.

Okay.

So councilmember Garcia just seconded, uh, but at this time we need to have some discussion.

So is there anybody here who would like to provide some words?

No, thank you.

Councilmember Condi.

Thank you, Mayor, for your words.

You said everything that I was thinking.

So, you know, I agree, you know, for the next couple months.

I know that um council member Nielsen is already out and about in the community, and I think for some reason, if you weren't able to be here, that he would be able to step in and um chair the council meetings.

Thank you so much.

Any other council members?

Councilmember White on the phone.

Do you have any um discussion to add?

Yes, thank you so much, Mayor.

I do enjoy tremendously working with councilmember Nielsen.

Uh he is uh my seat mate.

Unfortunately, that seat is empty tonight.

Um I uh had my hand up as the item came up just because I actually hadn't realized before seniority was um one of those um guiding factors.

I actually had a question um uh for Marcella, but I think you answered in your in your presentation, sharing that that is one of the things.

But is is there anything else about the selection of vice mayor in the city charter that we should be aware of prior to taking our vote that we can receive guidance from our parliamentarian on Nicole?

Mayor, council, councilmember white.

So um the only uh section that talks about our vice mayor just says that we shall select one um in January at the first meeting, and they should serve for two years.

So there isn't any method or process for selecting.

So it's kind of whatever criteria council wants to use.

And as you mentioned, mayor, um, it's kind of been a seniority sort of role, but there's nothing designated in our charter city code that lays out the process for how to select the vice mayor, just says council must select the vice mayor.

And right now we're filling in for the vacancy.

Um there's not a time frame of when we have to fill that role.

As you know, we had to do it for council and mayor.

That section was clear in the code.

We had to do it within 31 days, but there's nothing like that for vice mayor.

So it's pretty open to whatever council decides to do.

Thank you for the information, Nicole.

Councilmember White, is there any follow-up that you have to that question?

Uh the appointment of vice mayor at at this juncture would still need another reappointment for uh a new vice mayor in in January.

Is that what uh the charter indicates Mayor, Vice Mayor, Councilmember White?

Um, I'm sorry, there's not a vice mayor yet.

Mayor council.

Councilmember White.

Um, so yes, we would be appointing someone to fill the vacancy, and then per the city charter in January, we would have to select a vice mayor to serve for two years.

Okay.

Any other follow-up, Councilmember White?

I just want to make sure that I get all of your your questions in before I move on.

No, I'm I'm new to this process, and uh I think all of us are well.

I I think a few of us are, so I'm just making sure there's clarity here.

Um, thank you so much.

I appreciate it.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you for asking the question.

So we have a motion and a second.

Um, have anything to add before we move to a vote seeing none?

Marcella?

Councilmember Conde?

Aye.

Councilmember Malone?

Aye.

Councilmember Garcia.

Aye.

Councilmember Solario.

Councilmember Nielsen.

All right.

Councilmember White.

Aye.

Mayor Paneta.

Aye.

Item passes.

Congratulations, Councilmember Nielsen.

Thank you so much.

Item number six, a summary of current events.

Is there anybody here?

Uh, including Councilmember White on the phone who has anything to share with the council as a part of this.

I'd like to take just a minute.

Two things.

Tell you all thank you very much.

I appreciate your confidence and concern in me.

Secondly, Councilmember Garcia, myself, my wife had the opportunity Friday to come to the visitor sent over here to see the presentation by Amazon and the drones that will be delivering packages here before the end of the year.

It was amazing to see how and what they're gonna be doing.

The big drone's gonna come in.

It's got a seven and a half mile radius from 107th and Van Buren.

It'll come and land in your front.

We won't land in your front yard.

It'll come to your front of the yard and 13 feet up, it will open its little shoot, whatever it is down there, and it drops 13 feet into your front yard, backyard, or wherever it might be.

And it can only handle five pounds at the present time.

So nothing big.

So it was just really exciting to see what's happening in our little community here with Amazon and other things.

So thank you so very much.

Appreciate it.

Thank you, Councilman.

Mayor Paneda.

Yes.

Councilmember White.

Thank you so much.

I had the opportunity to visit Goodwill.

Um, sorry, not Goodwill, please forgive me.

Um, the food bank here in Avondale with Councilmember Garcia as well and council member elect wise.

One thing we learned from Leanne over at the food bank is that we we don't have um as many volunteers as we had before during COVID, and the Agua Fria Food Bank is searching for a about four to five new board members.

Uh I wanted to just honor Councilmember Condi for sitting on that board in the past, but a part of our visit was really a call to action for the community to have board members.

Um, and so there was uh a discussion that I I could not speak on behalf of council for, but just looking to the municipalities that are served by the Aqua Fria Food Bank and seeing if our councils can support them on their board of directors would be something in the future.

But I just wanted to highlight the fact that two of our council members were present there, and a council member elect were there for that tour of the Agua Fria Food Bank.

They provide food, showers, personal care items, and um they also have a clothing closet there that otherwise um is not staffed, so they're not able to give out as many colours as they would like to, um, but they would like to do more in our community um and have put out that call to action.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, appreciate that.

Anyone else?

Councilmember Condi?

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, I just want to congratulate and um recognize Councilmember Malone.

Um last week I was honored to be able to present her um an award for the Agu Fia Hall of Fame.

And you know, they gave me an opportunity to speak.

I had some speaking points, but of course I went off a little bit because I really just wanted to share from my heart, because no one really realizes the work um that she really does behind the scenes that we don't acknowledge on Facebook or social media.

You know, I expressed to the group that day that she's the kind of let's roll up our sleeves and let's get it done type of person.

So, Councilmember Lone, it was an honor to be able to present that to you and thank you so much for your service that you do in the community.

Thank you.

And congratulations, that is a huge accomplishment for sure.

Anyone else?

Okay, Councilmember Garcia.

I went to three events this week uh with almost all the council.

But what I want to share is how amazing it is to see the community and the people and when I'm out there, that's what we're here for.

For those small business owners, for those people that need help at the food bank, for the people that have the big heart for our city.

It was just so humbling and such an honor to see those people, and I just look forward to working with each one of you on you know the food bank, like um council member White said that they need help.

Like, let's find them help.

That's they need the help serving our people.

Let's get them what they need.

But thank you guys so much for giving me the honor to be here up with you and being able to serve these people that I love.

Thank you so much.

Okay, with that, next item is adjourned to executive session.

Can I please get a motion?

I'll second.

Got a motion from Councilmember Malone, a second from Council Member Condi.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Thank you.

Okay, we are adjourned.