I'd like to call the Alamar Community Facilities District Board regular meeting to order.

Marcella, do you mind doing roll call of the board members?

Board Member Condi.

Board Member Malone.

Board Member Nielsen has an excuse absence tonight.

Board Member Solario.

Board Member White.

Here.

Vice Chair Paneda.

Chair Weiss.

Here.

Ron, item number two, please.

Mr.

Mirror number two will be presented by Renee Weatherless, our district treasurer.

Hello.

Good evening, Chair, Vice Chair, and members of the community facilities board.

Um here tonight to present the final budget for a public hearing.

So with this fiscal year 2024 budget, we do have planned debt issuance.

Um to repay that debt, there would be a secondary property tax of three dollars and eighty-five cents per 100 net assessed valuation.

The primary property tax is set at the maximum per statute of 30 cents, and that is for um operations and maintenance of the commun community.

I'm sorry, community facilities district for a total of four dollars and fifteen cents on the tax rate.

The total budget itself is just over 4.6 million.

It is balanced with resources and expenditures.

It does include that debt issuance within that.

So tonight the recommendation is to open a public hearing for proposed fiscal year 2024 budget and tax levy, and then upon adjournment of the Alamar CFD regular meeting is to convene a special meeting to adopt resolutions 2-2023 setting forth the final budget for fiscal year 2024 and resolution 3-2023 setting the property tax levy for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2024.

So I will take any questions you may have.

Renee, thank you.

Let me go ahead and open up the public hearing.

Is there anybody in the audience who'd like to speak on this matter?

And Chair, we have not received any requests to speak.

That being said, I'm gonna go ahead and close the public hearing and open up to board members.

Board members, do you have any comments?

Seeing and hearing none, can I get a motion on item three, please?

Chair, we are on item two, which does not require action at this time.

We can move on to item.

Item three, I'm sorry, okay.

Renee, item number three.

Anything for us on that at all?

Nothing.

Same as before.

For three?

Yeah, same as there's no additional information on this at all.

It's what was just there is a presentation for three.

Okay, please.

Um so with this item, we are um authorizing and ratifying the giving of notice to approve the physic feasibility report and to authorize the sale and issuance of general obligation bonds for the CFD.

Um so this slide, you're looking at a little background on the CFD itself of that and contains uh 1,086 district acres and up to 4,036 housing units.

Back in 2018, voters authorized up to $70 million of general obligation bonds.

As of April of 2023, the developer sold uh $1,293 residential lots to builders and builders have sold 550 lots to home buyers.

We mentioned the property tax with the budget, and the plan um is to use the proceeds of that debt issuance, reimburse the developer for public infrastructure.

So with that, we do plan to issue debt until build out in fiscal year 2022.

We issued just under $16,000 worth of general obligation bonds.

Fiscal year 2023, we issued um $3,675,000.

And tonight we're requesting authorization to sell up to $3.25 million of general obligation bonds with anticipated rates between three and five percent.

So the recommendation is to adopt CFD resolution 4-2023, approving feasibility report and authorizing the sale and issuance of general obligation bonds series 2023 of the district.

Renee, thank you.

I'm gonna go ahead and open up the public hearing.

Is there anybody who'd like to speak on this issue?

And Chair, we have not received any requests to speak.

Thanks, Marcella.

I'm gonna go ahead and close the public hearing.

Any comments from board members?

Seeing and hearing none, can I get a motion on item three, please?

I have a motion from Councilmember Solario, a second from Councilmember White.

Any further discussion, please vote.

Passes 600.

Thank you, board members.

Can I get a motion for adjournment, please?

I have a motion from Councilmember White, a second from Councilmember Salario.

Any further discussion?

Seeing none, please vote.

Passes 60, we are adjourned.

Next item I'd like to go ahead and call to order the facilities board district uh district board meeting special meeting.

Marcella, do you mind doing roll call, please?

Board member conde.

Board member Malone.

Board Member Nelson.

Is it has an excuse absence?

Excuse me.

Board Member Solario.

Board Member White.

Vice Chair Paneda.

Chair Weiss.

Here.

Item 2A through C is consent agenda.

Are there any board members who wish to have an item removed for separate consideration?

Seeing and hearing none.

Can I get a motion, please?

I have a motion from board member conde, a second from board member Malone.

Any further discussion?

Please vote.

Thank you, board members.

It passes 6-0.

Can I get a motion to adjourn the board meeting?

I have a motion from uh board member Solario, a second from board member Malone.

Any further discussion?

Seeing none, please vote.

We are adjourned.

I'd like to call to order the city council meeting of Monday, June 5th.

Marcella, do you mind doing roll call?

Thank you, Mayor.

And just to clarify, this is the special meeting.

Councilmember Condy.

Councilmember Malone.

Councilmember Solario.

Councilmember White.

Vice Mayor Paneda.

Mayor Weiss.

And Councilmember Nielsen has an excused absence tonight.

Ron, item uh 2A, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

First up, we're gonna have Jody Novak, our Director of Development Services, to present to new employee.

Hi, good evening, Mayor and Council members in city management.

I'd like to introduce to you our new senior planner planner, Joshua Orton.

Um we'd uh it's a pleasure to have him on board.

He recently moved here from San Antonio, Texas, where he worked as a senior planner for their organization.

He has experience with development review, implementing process improvements, as well as helping a lot of customers at the front counter and with development projects.

He obtained his bachelor's degree in political science um from the University of Central Florida and entered the world of planning where he's been for several years, and we are just happy he chose Avondale for his uh first job here in Arizona.

Welcome, Josh.

Do you go by Josh or Joshua?

Uh whatever you happen to remember at the time, I'm happy with both.

Joshua, welcome to the city of Avondale.

We're glad you're here.

Thank you very much.

Oh, Mr.

Mayor, and I like the way he eats that microphone.

Reminder to all staff and council members, get in that microphone.

That's very helpful.

I appreciate that.

Thank you for talking.

Love it.

Good job, Josh.

Joshua.

New senior planner.

It was interesting doing it from Zoom.

Like I you all know I went a couple weeks back, I hurt my back, and what you saw was me being horizontal on a reclining chair.

But it was interesting because I could hear council members speak.

I could hear staff speak, but up here I could not hear, I couldn't hear anybody.

I was texting Ron like it's something wrong.

So I would really ask for people we're doing a lot more meetings online, and people are tuning in.

Please eat that microphone as much as you can.

Mr.

Mayor, next up we have engineering department uh being presented by Eric Stewart, our director.

Doing well.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council.

Um of the things I like most about my job is building strong teams, and we have a a great lineup of new employees to introduce tonight.

Unfortunately, two couldn't make it.

I'll introduce them first and kind of tell you a bit about them.

Albert Viscara.

Albert has been serving as a traffic civil technician in the traffic engineering division since January.

He came to us from the private sector, where he has over a decade of experience performing the same type of work.

His duties now include street light, traffic signal inspections, reconstructing outdated traffic signals, and managing our streetlight not streetlight knockdown program.

Albert has a great enthusiasm for public service, and we're happy to have him with us on our team.

Next is Viennette Hanson.

Viennette joined us as uh she's now an engineering project manager, and she came to us last fall.

She currently serves as in reviewing uh final construction plans for both private and public construction projects.

She's a proud Sun Devil, having graduated from ASU in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering.

She holds um, oh she she actually came from industry where she did a lot of single family development and uh plan uh development, where she actually created the plans as well as multifamily communities and resort hotels.

So she does a lot of experience in doing uh plan development and plan review.

In her spare time, Viennette enjoys uh spending time with her two twin daughters, building blocks, plain dress up, and watching Elmo.

We're delighted to have her on our on our team, and sorry she couldn't be here for you to meet her in person.

And in person, we have our staff here.

So, in person, we have David Boltz.

David joined us as an engineering inspector nine months ago.

He came to us from the state of Washington, where he served for 26 years with the agency of Port Orchard as a stormwater coordinator.

David is a certified erosion and sediment control professional, a grade two water treatment plant operator, and a grade three water operator, and also is a proud father of the City of Avondale's first female security officer.

David loves this work uh working for people, and we're very lucky to have him, David Boltz.

Thank you.

Next is Lana Nabati.

Lana joined the Avondale team two weeks ago as a CIP project manager.

She's a registered professional civil engineer with nearly two decades of civil engineering experience and has served in various engineering roles with ADOT, Maricopa County, and the private sector.

We're delighted to have Lon on our team.

Lana Nabati.

Thank you.

And last number but not least, we have Katie.

She joined our Avondale team six months ago and currently serves as our associate engineer.

She was born and raised in Prescott, earned her bachelor's degree in civil engineering from NAU in 2012, and worked at the city of Prescott in various engineering roles for 10 years.

Her work here is includes a private development plan review, updating the general engineering uh requirements, and managing the payment management program, which you've seen a lot of this last season.

In her spare time, Katie enjoys camping off-roading and spending time with her family on the lake in northern Wisconsin.

Katie Hine.

Thank you.

Mr.

Mayor, next up we have um Jeff Sheets, our director of IT, presenting two new employees.

All right.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council.

So I'm excited to introduce the two new employees to the amazing IT staff that we already have.

So, first of all, I'll introduce uh Michelle Thickett as our new security analyst.

Um, she's lived in Arizona for 23 years.

Uh while she was working full-time and raising kids, she changed her career by pursuing her longtime interest of information and security.

So she's got an associate's degree in cybersecurity, a bachelor's degree in information technology, and now she's ready to get her master's degree.

So she's an avid learner, so that's awesome.

Um she picked up a lot of cybersecurity certificates along the way as well.

Um so we're excited to have her run our security program for us.

And when she's not working or studying, um, she likes to kayak on the Salt River.

So she's been here a month, I think.

No.

So thank you.

All right.

Next, I want to introduce Alex Petree as our IT assistant.

So for the past 10 years, um, he's worked for Optimum, um, which is um a medical billing company.

Uh he's moved through the various financial roles at Optum and uh will will fit nicely in his new role as we process over 400 purchase orders and invoices every year with an IT, so he's gonna help us move those along and through the system.

Um, one thing that stood out for me when I uh remember Alex's interview, he said he was excited to get out of the private sector and get into local government so we could help reach the community and be part of something bigger than just the bottom line.

So um when he's not working, he likes to spend time doing various crafts and with his church family.

And this is his second week on the job.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jeff.

Up next, we have uh our chief of public safety, Del Nanigie, presenting his new employee.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council.

Uh I'm proud to introduce our newest municipal security officer, Noelle Boltz.

Um, as you heard before, uh, she is the daughter of our newest engineer.

She comes to us from Port Archard, uh Washington, which is a cute little town on the Puget Sound Bay.

Um she's come been out here since 2019.

She's attended ASU, the Arizona State University, and uh in and getting a degree in forensic science.

So we'll be having Avondale CSI soon in our city.

So, so Noelle, who did you guys?

What did someone come out before the other?

Was it a package deal?

I mean, because that that's incredible for our recruiting department.

Um I came out first in 2019, then my parents moved down about a year ago.

Okay, so they couldn't live without you, is what you're saying.

Okay, understood.

All right.

All right.

Thank you, Chief.

Uh Mayor, up next, we have Kirk Bain, our director of public works.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council.

It's my pleasure to introduce to you this this evening Robert Perez, our senior business systems analyst in the public works department.

Robert is originally from El Paso, Texas.

He comes to the City of Avondale by way of multiple Fortune 500 companies, including BB VA Bank, American Express, and PayPal.

Robert decided to dedicate himself to a career in public service a few years ago.

He was most recently with the city of Glendale before joining Avondale just last week.

He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, including 20 years of experience in business intelligence and analytics, operational performance management, strategic planning, and organizational improvement.

He's also certified as a balanced scorecard professional by the George Washington University Center for Excellence and Public Leadership.

So there's a significant amount of data that gets generated through the operations of a public works department.

This data is used for reports to outside agencies, as well as for monitoring and open and uh evaluating the overall performance of the department.

Robert will be working with that data to help us.

He has several key areas of responsibilities.

One is going to be preparing our monthly and annual water consumption reports that we submit to Salt River Project, Central Arizona Project, and the Arizona Department of Water Resources.

Those reports are critical to the management of our water portfolio.

Secondly, we're in the process of transitioning to a new computerized asset management program.

And Robert will be administering that program for us, tracking our maintenance, our costs, our asset performance, operational efficiencies with the goal of helping us forecast better the future of our of our expenses for replacing assets.

So Robert's got a passion for public service service.

He wants to certainly improve the lives of those that he serves, and he's glad to be here.

Please welcome Robert Perez.

Robert, thank you for being here.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

See, awesome.

Ron item two B, please.

Yes, sir.

The next one will be presented by Gabriela Babinski.

Sorry, I should give her title.

I apologize.

Community outreach coordinator of the Office of Public Safety.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

I'd like to introduce our Avondale Fire and Medical Citizen Academy graduates to you.

With the help of the department, we were able to host seven classes with seven sorry, 13 citizens from Avondale and neighboring cities.

We introduced them to our operations as well as some of our crews.

On night one, we invited them to our emergency operations center where they were introduced to our safety procedures as well as our emergency operations.

On night two, we visited visited Fire Station 172, where they were introduced to our efforts in community risk reduction, uh, fire inspections and investigations, and were able to practice using fire extinguishers.

Uh day three was probably their favorite class.

They were introduced to our ladder company functions, and they were able to go up in the bucket, which was really exciting.

Uh night four, we visited Fire Station 175, where they were able to earn their certificates and stop the bleed, and introduced to our threat liaison officer program.

On night five, we introduced them to our engine company functions, where they were able to use our hoses.

On night six, we introduced them to our emergency medical services, and they were able to earn their certificates in adult CPR.

Our final class was at Station 173, where we introduced them to our special operations teams, including our technical rescue teams and our wildland teams.

We had a crew at almost every class, and they were really appreciative of the attendees and how engaged they were.

Um and they had a lot of fun with them as well.

At this time, I'd like to introduce Daniel Shu to share a few words on his experience.

See if I can master this mic a little bit.

And I really didn't want to wear out my welcome, to be honest with you.

But but I do have to tell you, it was just it was just great.

It was it was very comprehensive, was well organized and well executed.

And I I can just tell you I learned a awful lot.

Well, we learned an awful lot, I should say.

Um from the fire chief to the assistant chief to the captains to the paramedics to the firefighters.

Everyone you could tell was bought into the program.

They were really, really enthused and they wanted to really get it across.

And I, for one, just being a citizen, I really appreciate it and I appreciated the opportunity to have it.

Thank you very much.

Let me ask a question.

What was the what was the night that you remember the most and the night that you enjoy the most?

You know, the one actually at one 173, Station 173 in wildfire, the wildfire truck was really interesting.

And and the firefighter gave us all the ins and outs of how he goes to the wildfires and the package, the stuff that they carry around during the fire.

It was just very, very interesting.

But honest to God, it was just all really, really good.

Um the technical rescue team.

I never knew anything about technical rescue, and it they just did a super job of putting it on.

Again, like I say, everybody was bought into it, and it it really you can see they really like their jobs.

So it was very rewarding.

Thanks again.

I'm glad you're here.

Thank you.

Oh Councilmember Malone, I know you were part of this.

I saw some Facebook posts, and what did you think about it?

They did an awesome job.

You see them all the time.

You see them in their um at fire stations, and you have the interaction and the personal interaction.

But when they're showing us what they're doing, you can tell the pride that they have for their job and the pride that they have for our city and caring for our community.

So every session, I and I know I missed a couple of sessions, but every session I attended, they were all hands-on, and they really showed you that they were going to give us the most um customer service and make sure that they take care of our uh community and citizens, and you could feel that.

So thank you guys.

You guys did an awesome job.

Thank you, Gabby, for taking care of this chief and all the rest of you guys.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Mr.

Mayor, could I talk council into getting a picture with the class?

Please uh class members come on down.

Let's get our pictures.

Uh fire department.

Uh chief, uh see an assistant chief back there.

Come on down.

If you participated, come on down.

I think we have two assistant chiefs now.

Are gonna maybe I should say we're gonna just let the cat out of the back.

Oops.

Oh, you don't have to see that first.

Thank you.

Yeah, that's it.

That's it.

Can I get a motion for adjournment, please?

I have a motion, Councilmember White, a second from Councilmember Malone.

Any further discussion?

Seeing none, please vote.

We are adjourned, folks.

We're gonna come back uh promptly at six o'clock.

I'd like to call the regular meeting of Monday, June 5th to order.

Would you all please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of reflection?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all the thank you, folks.

Marcella, do you mind doing roll call, please?

Councilmember Condi.

Councilmember Malone.

Councilmember Solario.

Councilmember White?

Here.

Vice Mayor Panaba.

Mayor Weiss.

Here.

And Councilmember Nielsen has an excused absence tonight.

Thank you for that.

Any uh I have a blue card for item 5C.

Anything else besides that?

Mayor, I have not received any request to speak for unscheduled public um parents, but yes, we do have one for the public hearing on the regular agenda.

Sounds good.

Uh Councilmember White, would you mind introducing item 3A, please?

Good evening, uh Mayor, Vice Mayor and Council.

I'm introducing our proclamation for the Juneteenth Day of observance.

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19th.

The holiday is also referred to as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Black Independence Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day.

In 1863, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared more than three million slaves living in the Confederate States to be free.

More than two years would pass, however, before the news reached African Americans living in Texas.

It was not until Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, that the state's residents finally learned that slavery had been abolished.

The former slaves immediately began to celebrate with prayer, feasting, song, and dance.

Juneteenth became an official holiday in 2021, in part for the work of Opal Lee.

Opal Lee, who has earned the name of the grandmother of Juneteenth, embarked on her famous trek from Fort from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D.C.

at 89 years old to call on lawmakers to make Juneteenth a national holiday.

When asked about her decision to undertake the walk, she said, I decided that maybe if a little old lady, 89 years old and tennis shoes, walked from Fort Worth, Texas, somebody would pay attention.

Yeah, I got a chance to see her to speak on it.

It was beautiful.

Lee would track two and a half miles at a time, a call back to two and a half years, the two and a half years it took General Gordon Granger to arrive in Texas and inform the enslaved black people of their freedom after the emancipation proclamation in 1865.

She eventually delivered 1.5 million signatures to Congress and clinched victory when legislation passed in 2021.

It was then signed by President Biden in the White House, establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

This will be a time to come together, acknowledge, educate, and celebrate Juneteenth.

Mayor Thank you, Max.

Juneteenth proclamation, June 19th, 2023.

Whereas on January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, granting freedom to all those who were enslaved.

And whereas the news of freedom did not become an immediate reality for more than 250,000 enslaved black people of Texas.

And whereas on June 19th, 1865, over two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas finally received word that they were free from bondage.

And whereas those who were formerly enslaved were recognized for the first time as citizens, and black Americans came to commemorate June 19th as Juneteenth with celebrations across the country, building new lives and a new tradition that we honor today.

And whereas on Juneteenth, we recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice, as we celebrate the centuries of struggles, courage, and hope that have brought us to this time of progress and possibility.

And whereas on March 17th, 2016, Governor Doug Ducey signed Arizona House Bill 2226, sponsored by Representative Reginald Bolding, recognizing June 19th as Juneteenth Day in Arizona and making Arizona the 45th state to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday.

And whereas Avendale officially recognized June 19th as the June 9th Juneteenth holiday as of February 22nd, 2022, which represents one significant step amongst many in our 76-year history, which commits the city to eradicate racism against the descendants of former enslaved black Americans of African descent.

Now therefore, the mayor and council of the city of Avondale, Arizona, do hereby proclaim June 19th, 2023 as Juneteenth, and encourage all Avondale residents to reflect upon the value of freedom and join in Juneteenth celebrations all across the valley.

But the voice of a white mayor, preaching it from the dais means a whole lot more.

So Max, thank you for sharing that story with us, and thank you for uh being part of the June teenth holiday we have coming up.

I'm honored to sit in Councilmember Kilgore's seat to carry on his legacy.

Thank you.

Councilmembers, any comments?

Councilmember Malone?

I just want to tell uh Councilwoman White, thank you for getting um this um event put on our schedule, and I can't wait to celebrate on June fifteenth with you.

Ron, item three B, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor and Council.

Next up we have a presentation by Eric Bayer, Assistant Director of Public Works.

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

Uh I do have a very special presentation for you this evening.

Uh Michael Arichetta, he is the city's wastewater collections supervisor.

And he has been making lives better in the city of Avondale for 27 years now.

During his time with the city, uh Mike has taken great pride in delivering the best customer service possible and making sure that we have the most reliable wastewater collections infrastructure that we can possibly have.

Now this is a huge honor because the AZ Water Community is a collection of over 2700 water and wastewater professionals.

So please give me a round of applause for Mike.

Thank you, Mayor and Council.

And uh thank you, Tony Woodram, my supervisor for nominating me for consideration of this award.

Uh without him, my upper management, Eric and Kirk, my uh great staff, this wouldn't be possible.

So I appreciate everyone and all the help they give me every day to uh be successful.

How many years with the city?

You said twenty-seven?

Twenty-seven.

So you've seen some changes?

Oh, yes, definitely.

Definitely.

So did you obviously knew you were nominated, so did you know you were gonna win ahead of time or did they call you so tell us what that's like.

They they uh actually reached out to me and uh they did let me know that I I was selected.

Uh I knew I was in the running, but whenever I got the email that I was selected and to uh supply them with with a little bit of information, I uh was definitely excited.

I mean, it's a huge honor in our area of the field to uh be recognized as supervisor of the year.

So thank you for sharing your story with us.

It's amazing.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

Mr.

Mayor, can we get a picture of the uh with council?

Thank you.

Next item is consent agenda items 4A through 4K.

Are there any counselors who wish to have an item removed for separate consideration?

Seeing none, can I get a motion, please?

I have a motion from Councilmember White, a second from Councilmember Condy.

Any further discussion?

Please vote.

Passes six zero.

Thank you, Council.

Ron Item 5A, please.

Thank you.

We have a presentation by Catherine Lorbeer, our deputy director of planning on the conditional use permit for Francis and Sons Express Car Wash.

Application PL 21- Oh, I don't have my glasses on.

Zero through three zero.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council members.

So item 5A is a public hearing to consider a request for a conditional use permit to operate a self-service car wash.

So the site is located at the southwest corner of Dysart Road and Indian School Road.

So it's outlined in red there.

And it consists of three vacant parcels, totaling 3.72 acres.

To the north of the subject site is Indian School Road, and then single family homes in the city of Lichfield Park.

To the east is development on the east side of Dysart Road, and that in uh project is called Ascend, and it includes uh two future commercial paths, a townhouse development and an apartment complex.

And then to the south is the Angelina Living Town Homes project that you recently approved.

And then to the west is Trinity Lutheran Church and First Baptist Church, and then beyond that is uh single family homes.

Here are two photos of the site uh standing uh near Dysart Road looking to the north and then to the west uh across the vacant parcel.

So in the general plan, this uh site is designated general uh local commercial, which is intended to provide the daily needs of goods and services to area residents.

Uh the zoning district is Palm Valley Planned Area Development, and that includes C2 or community commercial uses in this location.

So under the planned area development and the C2 zoning, both self-service and full service car washes require a conditional use permit.

The applicant intends to operate an express car wash.

Um it'll have automated pay stations, and they have clarified that the proposed operation is a self-service car wash.

So it does contain a conveyor-style tunnel, so you will drive in.

It takes about five minutes to go through the washing cycle.

There's also self-service vacuuming stations, and they plan to be open daily.

Go through the pay stations, uh, through the washing tunnel, and then out to the vacuuming areas.

So the site is designed with transitions and buffers on all four sides, and it will maintain the existing drainage channel across the site.

And then here's just a zoomed-in view of the internalized uh canopies for the self-vacuuing areas.

They did provide us conceptual elevations, and you can see it's a uh southwest colors, and the building forms um help minimize the elongated appearance of the building.

We will do further review through site plan design review, and the project will need to meet our commercial design standards.

To be granted a conditional use permit, it must meet five findings.

Um the project is consistent with the general plan and is compatible with existing land uses.

The proposed size is suitable to accommodate the car wash, and there is adequate access to the site, and there are six conditions of approval um provided for you.

We did complete all the required notifications.

We had uh three residents of Lichfield Park provide feedback, one during the neighborhood meeting, uh, one via email and one phone call uh prior to planning commission.

The concerns uh that were raised uh included noise, uh traffic, how the site drainage would be managed, um, and uh simply the need for a car wash.

So we've had no uh additional comments on Avondale Connect.

The planning commission held their public hearing on April 19th.

Um we did not have any public speak, uh, but the planning commission asked questions about how vehicles would access the site and move through the car wash.

And also, what were the other uses planned for the other two vacant pads?

Um so staff did uh share that they're planning to have a quick service restaurant and a retail building on those two other pads, and that the site plan um does have those shared accesses, and as I showed, how they move through through the car wash facility.

So Planning Commission is recommending approval subject to six conditions for the reasons set forth in the staff report, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for that.

Let me go ahead and open up the public hearing on this item.

Are there any members of the audience who'd like to speak at this issue?

Thank you, Mayor.

I have not received any requests to speak.

Thank you, Marcel.

That being said, I'm gonna go and close the public hearing.

For for me, I don't have an issue with with where this is at.

When when I sat on the board of directors of Trinity Lutheran 20 years ago, this property was always kind of the bane not only of the city but also of the owner.

It's a it's a really weird-sized property.

The drainage uh canal takes up a lot of the space.

Access is limited on it.

There was many discussions about a bank going there, a circle K going there.

Um I will tell you that uh Francis and Sons, there's one right across the street from this building.

For me, the I I've always seen them busy.

I I I think they represent the community well.

Um there's another facility up on Dysert Road that is always packed.

I think it's something that the community can use, and I think it's at a location that um for this personal land actually makes sense because I don't know what else you would put there except maybe for a circle K.

So I'd be interested to hear from other council members on this if there's anybody who has a comment.

Anyone?

Michael Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for the presentation.

My my uh question is um considering there is one across the street, there are some attendants that are there throughout the day.

Will there be attendance at this location as well?

I know it's self-service, but there are a couple of folks there walking around to keep up the maintenance and other things.

Uh yes, Mayor, uh Vice Mayor Panetta.

They um usually have two to three employees, and the help at sometimes help you at the self-um service pay station.

And then if you're if you're on the site and you're having difficulty with something, there are there is staff available.

And I know this one's relatively new, um, but I I will uh say that it is um clean.

Um I've felt safe every time I've been there.

And so if it's a similar product uh up in that part of town, then um I would welcome the investment.

So thank you.

It's interesting when you're vacuuming out your cars, because I have the monthly pass for them.

So I probably go twice a week, but you're vacuuming out your car, you're drawing your car, you get to know your neighbors, you get to talk to people.

You just it's a conversation that comes up, and I think they do a good job of the one here.

And there's there's one up on Peoria, there's one up on Thunderbird, I think.

They do a really good job of keeping the facility clean.

So I think it's a benefit for the northern part of the city.

Anyone else?

Councilmember Rakande.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you for the presentation.

Um, I I had a question in regards to um the noise level.

So when we talk about um, because there's going to be some residential that's going to be going in in that area.

And um, you know, when I go to the car wash, oftentimes there's people playing music.

So I just wanted to know how are we gonna how are they going to manage that.

Thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Councilmember.

Um there is planned on the site plan for the entrance and the exit to the vacuum tunnel.

There will be um a six-foot wall to help mitigate any sound from the operation.

Um as far as the facility itself in terms of uh people working on their cars.

Um I I don't know the answer to that, but the applicant may be able to elaborate.

Do you mind coming up and just stating your name for the record?

And I think the question is how do we mitigate people who are vacuuming their cars who play loud music or that for the community?

Yeah, thank you, Mayor.

Members of council, my name is Brian Greathouse here representing uh Francis and Sons.

Yes, if there is music being played too loud in Francis and Sons gets any complaints, they have their employees go out there and police it a little closer.

Um they're trained to make sure that music stays down anyway.

But you know, sometimes people crank their radio a little bit too loud, and there's not much you can do about it.

So they if they get complaints, they're very reactive to those complaints for the for the community, just like this one over here that they've been operating for about 10 years now.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmore White.

Thank you so much for the presentation.

Um just taking a look uh at the um at the layout.

If you can go back, I don't know if I missed it, but how much water usage does this take to operate for, I say I guess a month, that's how we bill our utilities.

Uh thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council members.

Unfortunately, I'll have to defer to the applicant again about water usage.

And then before the applicant comes, then I just want to I notice that the Francis and Sun right over here at the top of it is like a canopy.

It's not the actual material.

Do we lose a lot of water having that type of canopy top?

Does it evaporate?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um, car washes, and I've represented several car washes over the past decade or so, and I've learned a lot more than I ever wanted to know about car washes.

But the bottom line is it saves a lot of water compared to having every everybody wash their cars in our driveways.

That's a pure waste of water.

Whereas they recycle water, they have technologies that bring that water back in and they only discharge a little you know a relatively small amount of water.

I don't know the answer to your evaporation question, but um Francis and Sons is always using the latest technology in the industry to make sure that they're as efficient as possible.

So as you drive, my family is don't car washes.

So as you drive through that conveyor belt system, there's drainage underneath, that water is collected, filtered, recycled, and then there are sludge pits underneath that they have to go and clean out probably once every three or four days.

But that water for the most part is recycled and reused as much as possible.

Mr.

Mayor, if I can add for the record, our public works director, our water guru was back there shaking his head about using less water.

One comment?

Does that microphone not work there?

The seats over there aren't on camera, so this gives them an opportunity to be on camera, Mayor.

And use the microphone.

So, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council members, we definitely encourage car wash use in the City of Avondale as opposed to washing your car in your driveway.

Yes, the water is recycled and after it's used multiple times.

It is going down the drain and to our wastewater reclamation facility, so we'll capture that water and use it for no other purpose.

Council?

Good.

Can I get a motion on the sign then?

I have a motion from Councilmember White, a second from our vice mayor.

Any further discussion?

Please vote.

Pass the 6-0.

Will you let your client know we appreciate them investing in our city?

Thank you for investing in our city, sir.

We appreciate everything.

Thank you.

Rod item 5B, please.

Catherine Libre is our deputy director of planning, is going to make the next presentation as well.

And good evening again, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council members.

So item 5B is a zoning code text amendment, and it was initiated to streamline our process for conditional use permit review and approval.

So the council will conduct a public hearing and take appropriate action.

So the proposed changes will not only make the process uh clear and effective, it will benefit the development community by eliminating the second public hearing, which um adds to the overall review and approval time.

So in general, we are amending section 28.8 and so that uh conditional use permits may be reviewed and acted upon by the planning commission.

We also have a excuse me, updated language referring to modification, suspension, and revocation of use permits, and there is a process for appeal to the city council.

We also are modifying section 28-91, which is the Boulevard Zoning District, so that it's consistent with what is in the conditional use permit section.

And your packet includes a complete list of the red line changes.

So all the required notifications were completed, and we did post uh information on Avondale Connect.

Um we did not have anyone speak at Planning Commission, and we've received no other comments to date.

The Planning Commission held their public hearing on April 19th, and they asked a question about how would the process be streamlined?

And staff explained that by eliminating that second step of a CUP go automatically going to City Council public hearing, that the overall review and approval process would take less time to reach a decision.

So the planning commission's action, whether they approve or deny a project, would be final unless that decision was appealed to City Council.

So Planning Commission is recommending approval, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Appreciate that.

Let me go ahead and open up the public hearing on this item.

Is there anybody in the audience who'd like to speak to this issue?

Thank you, Mayor.

I have not received any requests to speak.

Thanks, Marcel.

I'm going to go ahead and close the public hearing.

Any questions from council on this?

Uh Veronica?

Thank you for the presentation.

I do have a question.

So when we take out that second uh step, what is it shrink the time frame down?

So, like if we had a project in April that might be coming what in July, does it shrink it down like six weeks, two months, three months?

What I mean, can you explain that to me?

Uh thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Councilmember.

So uh we typically takes um maybe an additional uh six weeks between the planning commission action and it coming to getting on a council agenda.

So it would definitely save a month to two months in the overall approval.

Perfect.

Well, thank you for bringing this up to us, and I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Welcome.

Anyone else?

Seeing none, can I get a motion, please?

I have a mention uh motion from Councilmember Solorio, a second from our vice mayor.

Any further discussion?

Seeing none, please vote.

Passes 6-0.

Thank you for that.

Ron Item 5C, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Next up is our public hearing on updating our water and sewer rates.

Aaron White, our senior budget analyst of finance and budget, will make the presentation.

Hi, Aaron.

Good evening, Mr.

Mayor.

I think I will.

Yes.

All the way to the right, Aaron.

There you go.

Thank you, Marcel.

That makes it easy.

That makes it considerably easier.

Is that is that loud enough?

Very good.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor, members of the council, good evening, Aaron White, uh senior budget analyst.

Tonight we will be talking about uh utility rates.

So on April 3rd, we brought this to the city council for consideration and the possible adoption of a notice of intent to increase the water and sewer rates, which was adopted at that time.

Tonight, the uh on the agenda is a public hearing on the proposed water sewer rates per state statute, um, after which there are two action items uh vote on the resolution modifying the water and sewer rates, followed by a second motion, a resolution modifying the solid waste rates.

So to recap the presentation from April 2nd, the proposal on the water utility is a 2.65% increase to all rate classes effective January 1, 2024, followed by a 2.65% increase in January 1, 2025.

The typical residential customer is estimated to have a monthly bill impact of 84 cents a month.

On the sewer proposal, the recommendation is a 7% increase to all rate classes effective January 1, 2024, followed by the 7% increase again on January 1, 2025.

This monthly bill impact to a typical residential customer is estimated at $2.80 a month.

On the solid waste side, the proposal is $1.50 increase effective July 1, 2023 for our typical residential customer, which is one trash can and one recycle can, followed by another $1.50 increase effective July 1, 2024, with a $2.50 increase for the service that includes two trash cans and a single recycle can.

And so the vast majority of our customers will see that $1.50 impact.

When we look at it on the aggregate, then the typical residential customer would expect to see an increase of about $5.14 beginning January 2024 on their monthly utility bill.

And then in January 25, $5.34.

Since April 3rd, we have done a number of things that get the word out to the community regarding this rate increase, including social media postings.

This was in the RAVE magazine, a utility bill insert in both English and Spanish was included during the month of May.

We sent emails to HOAs, a presentation was given to the Citizens Water Academy.

We have had information available at the front counter here at City Hall, as well as a press release was sent out.

We have also fulfilled the public notice requirements per state statute for the water and sewer.

The report was filed with the clerk and on the city website 30 days prior to the to tonight's public hearing, as well as publishing the newspaper 20 days prior to tonight's public hearing.

On the Solid Waste side, the report was filed and posted on the website 60 days prior to tonight's action, as well as posted on city social media 15 days prior to council action.

When we look at then how does how does our rate compare to other valley cities?

You can see the arrow on the left is where we are currently, with the arrow on the right being where we would be if the rate increases take effect.

So you see we continue to be right in the middle of the pack around $100 a month in a total combined utility bill.

We have also updated this slide since our April 3rd meeting to include a comparison of pending rate changes of other valley cities.

So those with an asterisk next to their names are also considering rate changes.

So half of them are, and you can see that when we put into effect our rate increase, we'll move up, but we're actually jumping up over communities that are not considering rate increases.

But as we said on April 3rd, Avondale is not the only community facing the fiscal challenges of these utilities.

So the assumption would be that many, if not all of these communities will eventually uh contemplate rate increases in the near future.

And so to wrap up, tonight we uh we asked that a public hearing be held, followed by the two motions, motion one to adopt the resolution amending the water and sewer rates, followed by motion two, the resolution amending solid waste rates within the steps of the increases uh being effective as detailed prior.

With that, Mr.

Mayor, members of the council, I thank you for uh this opportunity to present.

I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Aaron.

I'm gonna go ahead and open up the public hearing on this item.

I do have one card.

Ms.

Alexian, do you mind coming out?

Is that and let me know if I pronounced your name correctly.

Let me let me come on up and let me know if I butchered your name or if I did okay.

All right.

Is your first name it's Bino, okay.

I want to make sure.

No, no, I is it short for something?

Uh okay.

I just want to make sure it's at the right level.

Thank you so much.

I um oh, good evening, Mayor, vice mayor, and consulman.

It's kind of weird for me to be on this side of the fence.

My father was, and I didn't realize it till I sat back there.

My father was a consulan, excuse me, for over 20 years.

And he also sat in as mayor for over 20 years back home, and all these people were talking to him, and I just realized these people were me people.

And my dad was them, you people, you know, so it's kind of weird.

And I'm not really a politician, but I do have a real big problem about this rate hike.

First of all, I get that this in the mail, right?

What is wrong with this picture?

Both sides.

Do you see anything wrong with it?

It's pretty far away.

Oh, you don't know what this is?

This is the insert for the water thingy bap or do you okay?

And what struck me and what ticked me off so bad was that the type of paper it's on, and all this color that was put on here that was not needed.

How much did they pay to have something like this done?

Could have saved thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars by just doing plain carbon paper.

No uh, what do you call that?

Um copy paper and big print letters.

And you know what else is missing here?

Duh, the time of the meeting and the address.

How many people go through all this stuff before it gets approved?

It just irritated me because you're talking about a rate hike.

Okay, so the ending thing is like five dollars and something.

However, five dollars here, ten dollars here for a senior citizen.

Now I know there's no senior citizens here but me.

Uh, but I I take offense because our money is not going up, but everything else is going up.

Do you have any plans for seniors?

I mean, I pay what sixty dollars a month.

Hello.

So the extra five something is a little bit much, but if you just didn't spend so much money on this stuff, you know what I mean?

I know the gentleman that spoke before me was very eloquent and stuff, but you're asking for us to pay you more money, but you sent out this type of stuff, not totally informed.

The population of Avondale in 2021 was 90,564.

So you add that your times that by what?

Three cents per household.

We're talking just residents, we're not talking businesses yet, and all of the new influx of people.

It bothers me the amount of money they spend for this.

And you're asking us to pay more.

Where does it stop, sir?

Ladies and gentlemen.

I feel like the loan writer here saying stuff about the senior citizens, but at some point, sometime people have to stand up and say, okay, what do we do?

What do the seniors do?

You guys have parents.

You know, I mean, come on, you guys have people too.

How are they affording it?

My brother recently died, and he was helping me economically.

Now here I am by myself, and I have to buy all these things myself.

I get $23 a month for food stamps.

Whoopee.

I can't even buy two grapes.

How is that gonna last me a month?

So you gotta swallow your pride and go to St.

Mary's Food Bank.

And then you come up with this stuff.

Next month, what is it gonna be?

The electric bill.

Consideration for the elderly is all I'm asking.

Consideration that you don't do stupid stuff like this and do it on economical things.

I'm sorry, took up so much of your time.

Oh god, it's a red light.

I went over time.

Thank you, ma'am.

I'm sorry.

No worries.

Thank you.

Pardon me.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

Have a great day.

Thank you, ma'am.

And mayor, we have not received any other requests to speak for this item.

I'm gonna go ahead and close the public hearing then and open this up to council.

Any council members?

Please.

I just have a question for Aaron.

On the um, I pay my bill online, so I wouldn't have saw the flower that comes in.

Is there a message when we go online to pay it maybe in red?

Because I know we have quite a few um residents who um pay their water bill online.

I don't know what that percentage is, so then those people will not get the insert that um that we sent out to our uh customers.

Do you know if we put something like a banner out there, a red banner that tells us that our um rates are going up on the online billing system?

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, Councilmember Condi.

So uh we do have a banner on the top of the website that uh that announces uh proposed fees and and changes.

Okay.

And is it like bold red?

I have I haven't looked at it.

It's black.

That you know it's it's not I catch it.

On every page, okay.

Uh you know, any page that's visited, it's there with a link.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Aaron.

Um I just I always have a rough time whenever we have to do increases because I know that there are a lot of people that aren't fixed incomes.

And I know I'm just going to share a story that there was a senior lady at our church every month.

She got her check, and I had to take her to the food bank to get a food box because she was getting increases left and right and you know whatever she had left.

I took her to the 99 cents store so she can buy some things there.

Um this was before I got on council.

She was able to manage and and and make it work.

Um but what I want to do is I want to make sure that when someone calls and they say that they've received this increase on their bill that we don't just say, well, tough, you just have to deal with it.

That we're able to provide them some resources to where they can go to get assistance.

You know, I think all of our staff should be equipped to just of course have offer grace and compassion and just kind of say you know to people that we have these resources that we can provide them to help them through you know tough times to help kind of help them manage um the bill.

Even though it is five dollars, five dollars is a lot to a lot of people.

And so I just ask that we just somehow share that information either on our website, on our utility bills, you know, online where they go to pay payments, something like that where we can refer them so that we can help them through this process.

Thank you, Gina.

I I will tell you again, uh decisions like this are never easy.

And and I think that in normal times you probably would have seen a smaller rate increase.

As a council, we decided many years ago, probably Max, probably not Gloria, because I don't think you're on council the time.

But that we would increase every year to stay ahead of the curve.

And I think what you've seen over the last two years are record inflation increases in labor and fuel and the chemicals that we need to operate the facilities.

And I and I I look at it, and again, I I would agree that um five to ten dollars a month for many people is is difficult.

It is.

I I understand that absolutely.

I also remember what it was like when we fell behind the curve on rate increases for water and sewer, and council scrambled to try and make up those costs, and we were looking at 15% a year for three years.

I I think there's I think there's a if paying if rate increases can be a happy medium.

I think this is a happy medium.

And I know the sewer rates are higher than what the water rates are, but a lot of those costs are out of our hands.

It's the processing of those costs that go well beyond the city boundaries.

So I think we have to be diligent and always trying to keep costs low.

Tina, I would agree with you.

I think we have to, while we give notifications of rate increases, we have to give notifications of what help is available to our residents who may struggle on a month-to-month basis.

Um I'd like to see that kind of more.

And I I'm like you, I get it online and I saw the banner for the increase, but I didn't see anything else for helping residents.

And I think we need to have that out there.

Ron, so if you and your team, Aaron Kirk, if we could work on that and just make sure that we provide those resources to residents.

Anyone else?

Gloria.

Um I'm also gonna agree, hey Aaron, uh, with uh councilmember Condi uh regarding that because as a child of people that are on a fixed income, I see that daily.

Their increases aren't going up.

People are getting cost of living raises, but these folks do not.

I mean, they got a little bit of a break with the Social Security Department, but it doesn't mean that their pensions and everything else is going up.

So to have that information readily available across the board, whether it be in our utility services, whether it be down at our resource center, so that everybody no matter where the question is asked, at the front desk, everyone is you know, they have that as second nature and they're well they're able to provide it.

I also have to say that um I did see City of Goodyear posted, they were not raising their utilities.

And it was on Facebook, and I saw all the comments, everybody saying thank you, they're so appreciative.

So I understand that we have concerned residents because we're a neighboring city and we're seeing the increases.

So the more education and advocacy we have for our senior residents would be great.

And that's why I say all across the board, not just one department, but everybody, so that they can offer the same assistance.

Max.

Thank you so much, Aaron.

I appreciate um the information.

I think I I want to just get out there and be so supportive of what we need to do for our infrastructure for the city.

I think that's what I think about.

Um but yes, I definitely was the the daughter of uh folks who were on a fixed income from quite an early age.

Uh I have to say.

So the fact that um to me five dollars might mean nothing.

I I respect and honor that five dollars is a lot for for folks.

I think too, um I know that we really can't speak to what the public says to us, but I'm very concerned that our um paper wasn't recyclable because if I had too many colors on, I don't think you can recycle that kind of paper all the time.

So we even have to be mindful and sustainable in each aspect of what we're doing to ensure that we make it make sense because it just didn't make sense to her.

So I I mean if we're going to make a big change um make it make sense we we can I I can't see lettering that far I was sharing with um uh city manager and those folks who saw me last week I'm trying out contacts right but I really need trifocals on right so just to keep it honest and and with that in mind when she held up the small print I almost got offended like who's gonna read that I'd have just thrown it to the side because I need a different set of lenses on at that moment.

So we just have to be mindful of people that we serve and if they're getting mail they're probably in our elder population.

So we we want our mail pieces to be something they can read receive and and process because all of us um as they call us younger folks we're on technology so we can make the screen bigger but they can't make their mailpiece bigger than Mr.

Mayor if I can if I can just add real quickly um know that we often do already receive referrals from our utility billing people from uh Renee shop they refer them over to our neighborhood and family services and they have programs to help them I can guarantee you that uh Renee's team Chris's team will get together and maybe do a do a program to kind of advertise the assistance a little better to make sure but know that before we cut off services before we do anything like that we we work with our uh neighborhood and family services to get the help that they need uh we'll take the recycling paper in uh to consideration I think that's a great idea we do print in a different color normally than the regular flyer because we want it to stand out and we want it to look different because many people throw those away right so we're trying to get their attention but we can do and we'll be better.

Thank you.

Thanks Ron Michael Thank you Mayor and thank you for the presentation and thank you for the comments uh from the community as well and you know after looking at this I don't think really anybody likes to increase rates but to your point mayor and I think um this goes a long way with education moving forward is that the sticker shock from the five dollars or for the uh percent increase uh in regards to utility rates uh is significant but as to your point mayor um and for councils moving forward uh this is the importance of getting ahead of these and do them in small increments which is not small in the eyes of many community members as was mentioned earlier in regards to five dollars um may not be a lot to some but could be very significant to others but the importance of making sure that the city gets out ahead on these things to be able to um mitigate uh something that could have been even greater so moving forward I think that's gonna be very important not only in education but also for future councils um to be aware of that this is why you need to plan ahead uh so that you're not trying to react to situations a little bit later where this we could be having a different conversation here where the rates could be going really sky high because we didn't raise them for so long.

So uh in regards to responsibility we do have responsibility of infrastructure as well to make sure um that we are being mindful of our responsibility to our residents and providing the water uh through the use of equipment and working with all the other organizations that exist to make sure that we're able to cover those expenses as well.

Thank you.

So in this conversation I pulled up my water bill for the last year.

And it's Sherry and I and there are months where our water bill is less than two thousand gallons a month.

The example that you gave was 9,000 gallons a month.

So hopefully people and and ma'am I don't know your situation at home my my hope is that that percentage that they gave in that cost is lower than what was given an example of but I will tell you Aaron that I'm looking at my bill and there's nothing on the online bill that says rate increase and maybe on our website but I think we should look at the ability of as people look at their bill online there's a there's something that draws their attention something in red something that draws their attention but there's nothing on here and I we've always been a city and I hate the word transparency because it's overused we've always been a city that's been upfront when we have to raise fees whether it's sports and recreation fees whether it's water whether it's property tax whatever it is we've been upfront and have stood there and said we need to do this and we do this we're gonna vote on here in a little bit where we're lowering property tax rates the the the two things on there we try and balance out what we can do but I'd like to see us be more proactive on there and also have on the bills if you can't pay this bill or if you're struggling with this there are resources available.

SRP does that APS does that and Southwest gas does that we should be able to do that.

I'm not saying we have to do it tomorrow but it'd be something that we should work toward Ron.

Just to reiterate the fact that this is why.

I mean, this is not a revenue generating activity.

This is trying to make sure we can afford to pay our bills.

And our water comes from outside the city.

It goes to outside the city.

And a lot of times our hands are tied on those costs.

So we just have to make the Water Academy does a great job.

But you can only fit so many people in your water academy at one time.

So Mr.

Mayor, I just want to add to that.

If Eric could show the slide of all the places we did advertise, clearly we could have done better.

We will do better.

But I do believe we've been as transparent as we could, but we will take this feedback in a positive manner and make it happen.

I also want to be very clear that uh council always have the option of not approving this, but this would mean that uh one of two things would have to happen.

We would delay uh construction, we would delay fixing things, the cost of our treatment uh chemicals, all that has gone up significantly, some triple digits.

So it would it without this, our balances are projected in within two years to go below the recommended uh balance, which means we have to stop doing maintenance on our lines, or we have to fund it with the general fund, which makes it no longer an enterprise fund.

So neither one of those options are great, um, but they are the the two other options that I don't recommend.

We're trying to do as I think the vice mayor said, small increments.

We're we're not trying to make money here, we're just trying to make sure that we can continue to maintain our infrastructure and provide the great quality of water and uh wastewater treatment that we can.

And and Ron, I I would argue that and I think you're right, council always has the option of saying no.

But the truth is this council has lived through a lot of us through some of those times where those balances did fall below and we scrambled, and that money comes out of the general fund, which means that employees don't get raises when cost of living goes up.

Streets don't get what they need, police and fire don't get what they need.

It's a very delicate balancing act.

And I would much rather have small increases than 15 percent a year, which is what we talked about many years ago.

We've seen what happens when we fall behind the eight ball.

I don't think I want to do that again.

So that being said, can I get a motion on this item, please?

I have a motion from Councilmember White, a second from Councilmember Conde.

Aaron, by the way, great presentation, thank you.

Any further discussion?

Seeing none, please vote.

Passes 5-0 with one abstention.

Thank you, Council.

Aaron, do you mind getting if there's anything else that we can help with back there?

With with Miss Alexian.

Oh, yes, of course.

Thank you.

And Mayor, there's two motions for tonight.

We've already did the first motion, the second motion is for solid voice.

Uh can I get a uh motion on resolution uh 5D, which is the sanitation solid waste fee schedule.

I have a motion from Councilmember White, a second by our vice mayor.

Any further discussion?

Seeing none, please vote.

Passes 5-0 with one abstention.

Thank you, Council.

Ron, next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Council.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Council, next up is our fiscal year 2024 final budget presented by Renee Weatherless, our Director of Finance and Budget.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council.

We are here tonight.

Um the purpose is to hold a public hearing on the final budget for fiscal year 2024 in the amount of 464 million eight hundred and ninety-six thousand six hundred dollars.

And to hold a separate public hearing on the proposed property tax levy for truth and taxation.

So with the calendar, we are here in June.

The last steps of the process is to adopt the final budget tonight and come back at the next meeting to set the property tax levy.

So with each of those iterations between the recommended and tentative budgets, we have presented any changes since the last version.

So tonight with the final budget, I would like to note that the total budget has not increased or decreased, but we did have a couple of adjustments.

And the um the budget was adjusted to offset these.

So there was no net change.

One the first change was an adjustment for the class and compensation implementation to wages.

An adjustment was made in carry forward.

What that means is that we make estimates on what's going to be spent through the rest of this year.

So if projects are getting done or not getting done by the deadline, then we have to make the adjustment into the fiscal year 24 budget.

And then the opioid settlement fund is monies that were receiving to be spent and need to be included in the appropriations.

So some other documentation that was attached to this agenda item include the administrative awards over 50,000.

So that's for procurement to be able to go ahead and spend those appropriations, a schedule of interfund transfers, and a schedule of interfund loans, as well as our five-year capital improvement plan.

So we wouldn't have a budget presentation without looking at your structurally balanced budget of ongoing revenue and expenditures, and you can see that they are still balanced.

So with that, um we are also looking at a public hearing for a truth in taxation.

As I mentioned, we will also be coming back in the next meeting to uh adopt the property tax levy.

So in talking about the property taxes, there's two parts one the primary, one the secondary.

Primary is funding operations and secondary is to pay for debt service.

So for fiscal year 2024, the combined levy is just over $8.5 million, with the combined rate being at a dollar and forty-five point nine five cents.

Compared to last year, as you mentioned, the rate is going down, but the levy is actually going up, which is why we are doing the truth in taxation.

So when you look at the property tax by jurisdiction, um what the homeowners are looking at, the primarily um is funded schools at 78% of that bill.

You can see down at the bottom in the purple section that the city gardeners about 9% of that total homeowners property tax.

So tonight the recommendation is to conduct a separate public hearings for fiscal year 2024 final budget and property tax levies.

And at the conclusion of the truth in taxation, there is a required roll call vote for resolution 1033-0623, setting forth the intent to raise property tax levy.

And then upon adjournment, convening a special meeting to take action on resolution 1034-0623, setting forth the final budget for fiscal year 2023-2024.

So I will take any questions you have at this time.

Is there anybody in the audience who'd like to speak to this issue?

Thank you, Mayor.

For item 5E, we have not received any requests to speak.

Thank you, Marcel.

I'm gonna go ahead and close the public hearing and then go to item F.

Let me go ahead and open the public hearing on the truth and taxation.

Is there anybody in the audience who'd like to speak to this issue?

Thank you, Mayor.

No request to speak for item 5F.

I'm gonna go ahead and close the public hearing.

Does council have any comments on item 5F before we vote on it?

Hearing and seeing none, can I get a motion, please?

I have a motion from Councilmember Solario, a second from our vice mayor.

Any further discussion?

Seeing none, please vote.

Passes 6-0.

Renee, thank you for that.

Uh, can I get a motion to adjourn the uh regular meeting, please?

I'm sorry.

Yeah, we have to adjourn and then go to special, correct?

Ms.

Mr.

Mayor, if you can hold on one second, we're getting legal advice on something.

Okay.

Thank you, Mayor.

So since this item does require a roll call, I'll go through and just say how each person voted through the vote link system.

So we have Councilmember Conde voted yes.

Councilmember Malone voted yes.

Councilmember Solario voted yes, Councilmember White voted yes, Vice Mayor Paneda voted yes, and Mayor Weiss voted yes.

And that is because of the truth in taxation laws that we have to do that.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Ron, am I okay to adjourn now?

Nicole?

Yes, Mr.

Mayor.

Can I get a motion to adjourn the regular meeting?

I have a motion from Councilmember Solario, a second from Councilmember White.

Any further discussion?

Please vote.

We are adjourned.

I'd like to call the uh special.