Good evening.

I would like to call tonight's council meeting of February 23rd to order.

If you would please stand and join me with the Pledge of Allegiance at a moment of silence.

I pledge allegiance to the floor of the United States of America and to the Republic for which advanced nation under God with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

Marcella, can we get roll call, please?

Councilmember Condi.

Here.

Councilmember Garcia.

Here.

Councilmember Solario.

Councilmember Whites here.

Councilmember White.

Present.

Vice Mayor Nielsen.

Here.

Mayor Paneda.

Here.

Ron, next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor and Council.

Up first is we're gonna have a uh presentation on the innovation team recognition presented by Anisa.

Oh, and Torren.

And the team.

Come on up.

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

My name is Anissa Romo, Senior Management Analyst in the City Manager's Office and Co-administrator for the innovation team.

Tonight I have the pleasure of introducing our 2024-2025 innovation team cohort.

I am joined today by Toronto Sato, Innovation Team Co-administrator, and our innovation team members Christina Baker and Mariela Gonzalez.

So a little background about the innovation team.

It's an internal employee training program facilitated by the city manager's office with the core purpose of empowering Avondale employees to foster a culture of innovation that equips staff to improve processes, save money or time, and improve the customer experience.

To meet the innovation team's core purpose, each class is tasked with establishing a project pipeline following Lean Six Sigma certification with the primary goal of improving public services and delivering results for Avendale's key stakeholders.

Avendale staff members from throughout the organization are invited to apply to be part of the innovation team and are selected through a competitive selection process.

Through joining the innovation team, members gained the opportunity to work on interdepartmental projects, building leadership skills and new relationships with departments that they may not normally interact with.

This experience provides incredible professional development growth to participating employees.

In April 2024, we started this cohort with eight members, with those who have left the team experiencing major life changes like promotions and cross-country moves.

At the completion of this cohort, we have three graduates who have been the team leads for their respective projects over the last two years and have seen their projects through successful implementation.

So each cohort begins with uh receiving Lean Six Sigma yellow belt certification, and the photo there is when we did our class for our yellow belts.

Uh this training prepares members to evaluate processes and identify wasted time, resources, errors, defects, and fixable issues.

Throughout the year, members work on process improvement projects and conclude their tenure with the innovation team once they have provided the work group with the tangible solution that is accepted and fully implemented by the department.

The 2024-2025 cohort selected two projects to work on as an innovation team.

These projects were selected from uh projects proposed by both the innovation team members who uh presented projects focused on improving processes within their work groups, and the city management who presented projects based on high priority uh processes in the organization.

After evaluating which projects could have the highest impact, two are selected, the special event permit process and the utility billing electronic work orders process.

Our innovation team members will review their work on approving these processes tonight.

With that, I will pass the presentation over to Christina Baker to review the special event permit process.

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

My name is Christina Baker.

I'm a senior budget analyst with the finance and budget department, and I was the team lead for this special event permit process project.

The innovation team was tasted tasked with improving a largely manual special event process that required multiple entries and payments and made it difficult for applicants to understand true event costs and requirements.

First thing we did was identify our stakeholders.

As you can see on the slide, we had a lot of them.

There were 16 city departments involved.

That's all but two departments.

Phoenix Raceway was also a key stakeholder that provided input throughout the process.

And we did survey prior special event applicants to get their feedback.

Here's some numbers from our research and analysis.

Like I said, we met with 16 different city departments.

We reviewed six municipalities special event policies.

We gathered data on 144 special event applications.

We used four lean six sigma approaches, and we held 105 staff meetings over those two years.

Through this process, applicants potentially had to visit seven different sites to complete the special event process, and requirements and costs were unclear.

In the box is a visual representation of what the process flow looked like in the old process.

The kind of key thing to take away from here is the number of boxes or steps that were evolved in the process.

So from that research and analysis, we determined that there were some intermediate changes that we could do quickly.

And in fall 2024, we implemented those.

Those were largely centered around the PDF application and the city's current website.

Really, what we did is we just streamlined it, added some more references to the application so they knew when additional documents were required, and we added a document center or library to the website so they can easily find those additional documents that were needed.

And then the larger improvements that were done became effective September 1st, 2025.

And those included City of Avondale code changes, which established event tiers.

So now we have a minor and major event tier.

It also authorized staff to curtail or shut down events that weren't in compliance with the permit and enabled staff to deny future permits for applicants that weren't compliant in the past.

We also changed the free structure.

So back to that minor and major event, there's now a flat fee for the events.

You don't have to worry about the subpermit costs.

Prior to this all inclusive rate, the cost of a subpermit varied based on the specifications for that event, and it was difficult for applicants to know what that true cost was prior to entering the process.

And finally, we implemented a special event permit module within the city's current permitting system that provided a single entry point for the application.

So here's the new process.

Oops, sorry, I said that.

We increased clarity on special event requirements and costs through that flat rate and just adding additional information on when things were needed.

And the key to takeaway from here with that workflow is that hopefully it's pretty easy to tell that there's a lot fewer boxes or steps that an applicant has to go through.

So project outcomes, the innovation team's objective from the beginning of the project was to create a better process for the applicant while finding efficiencies for staff from the standpoint.

The innovation team was successful in establishing a single entry point for applicants, establishing all-inclusive rates for minor and major events, automating the process, and increasing transparency on special event requirements and fees.

This was a major change in how special events are handled here at the city.

As the new process is put to work.

Lean Six Sigma approaches often include elements of monitoring and continuous process improvements, especially for large changes such as these.

With the final changes going into effect last September, the special events process transitioned back to the key department stakeholders stakeholders who continue to monitor the process and meet with both internal and external stakeholders for continuous process improvements.

And with that, I will now pass it over to Mariella to review the next project.

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

My name is Maria Gonzalez.

I am the youth and community engagement coordinator with the neighborhood and family services department, as well as the co-team lead for the utility billing work orders project.

So my team work with two different projects that involve the solid waste and water metering team under Public Works, as well as the utility billing team under the finance department.

Both projects had the common goal of strengthening existing communication between both departments as well as our residents.

So previously, the solid for solid waste work orders.

The process to add or remove trash or recycle bins to new homes or existing accounts was heavily manual and time consuming internally.

Requests moved through a cycle of being entered into a system, converted to a PDF, emailed, entered into the system again, printed, scan, mark this complete in another system, hand written, scan back, mark as complete in the first system originally used.

So though this did function for both departments independently, we recognize that there was a much better streamlined approach to this.

So our goal was to streamline this process by moving to one shared electronic system.

This cross-departmental approach between both departments would help with eliminating paper waste as well as improving customer service.

So to implement this change, we mapped out the process and we were able to pinpoint the areas that would reduce waste.

We identified that the existing city software elements access, which is used by the Solid Waste Team to create and complete work orders would reduce the loop by allowing direct entry into the system from our billing team.

So in order to do this, we coordinated with our IT department to secure access for the billing team, conducted meetings with both teams to gather feedback.

We delivered hands-on training to the billing team to ensure consistent use within the systems.

We developed a formal center of practice and also held a trial period before we fully implemented this process.

And as of September 30th of 2024, both departments have been able to adhere to this new process, and it's been able to work for them.

It's efficient, effective, and it's been able to eliminate duplicate efforts by reducing the likelihood of errors while also being able to provide real-time updates to our residents, which was key for us.

So the next phase of this project was the water services work orders.

Very similar to our solid waste work orders.

We partnered with our public works water metering team to transition the water service work orders from paper to direct electronic into an existing software that we already had as well, which is called MUNIS.

So the paper-based method added unnecessary steps.

We noticed that it could also increase uh the likelihood of errors, and it also can consume significant time for our staff as well as our paper resources.

And in order to implement these changes, we met with our neighboring city departments to gather data on their electronic work orders.

We conducted write-along with our water metering technicians to observe their workflows and also collect feedback.

We tested mobile technology options while they're out in the field to make sure that there wasn't any issues with the Wi-Fi.

We researched MUNIS capabilities for mobility, reporting, and dashboard functionality.

We held multiple meetings between public works, IT, and our own team to troubleshoot and look into any setbacks that we would run into.

We also trained staff on the new workflow and tested a period to make sure that there wasn't any gaps with the internet usage.

And we also developed a standard of practice for the dashboard access that we created.

We assisted them in running here queries on the work orders to eliminate the amount of paper that was going to use as well as troubleshooting.

And as of May 2020, all work orders for the water services are also moved to electronic.

And we would like to thank the utility team as well as our public works team for their willingness to adapt to these changes.

And due to their hard work and being in the front line, we are projected to save about 9,000 pieces of paper annually.

So this project aligns with our commitment to efficiency, sustainability, and improves service delivery through the process improvement.

Thank you, and now I'll go ahead and pass over to Torinel.

Mayor, Vice Member, and Count and Council members.

My name is Toron Sado, Development Services Business Operations and Strategy Manager and the Innovation Team's Co-administrator.

Before we recognize our innovation team graduates, we would like to thank them for their dedication to making lives better and improving the customer service experience here in the city of Avondale.

Their hard work has impacted our organization and helped to foster a culture of continued innovation.

We would also like to thank the departments who collaborated with the innovation team on their projects as their expertise, input, support of staff member participants, and willingness to remain flexible, contributed to this team's success.

Finally, we would like to thank department directors for empowering their staff to participate in this program and city management for providing consistent support to the innovation team in implementing the team's identified solutions.

Of the four innovation teams that I have led with the City of Avondale, this iteration represented the highest level of participation and support from leadership that I have experienced, which has contributed tremendously to the success of the project that this innovation team has had the opportunity to implement.

And now to recognize our 2024, 2025 innovation team graduates.

When I call your name, please approach the podium.

Christina Baker, senior budget analyst, finance and budget.

Mariella Gonzalez, Youth and Community and Engagement Coordinator, Neighborhood and Family Services.

And Myra Garibo De Villa, administrative assistant for the neighborhood and family services department, was not able to join us tonight, but is one of the graduating members of this year's innovation team.

With that, please join me in congratulating our 2024-2025 innovation team graduates.

Our graduates will come down to take a photo with the mayor and council after our presentation items.

Mayor, at this time, we are happy to receive any questions from the council.

Just a comment in regards to as if you weren't busy enough within your own departments.

But nonetheless, uh our residents are the ones, and most importantly, internally, our departments are the ones that are going to benefit from all of these different forms of innovation.

And the fact that we have an environment, and I wrote it down of empowerment from leadership to be able to conduct this type of of analysis is tremendous because at the end of the day, as I mentioned, it saves it does save time and it does save money.

And so we're very beneficial, us on this side of the day, I star very beneficial to what all of you and all the departments and all those who will come after this graduating class will bring to the table.

We're very fortunate for all the ideas, for all the synergy, but also all the opportunity to be able to undertake something such as this, which is really moving mountains and uh and making it into a situation in which the organization benefits.

So I'm just pleased again to learn in regards to the two different uh uh efforts that were undertaken here with the different departments, uh whether it be through permits or whether it be through um water use and I forgot what the other one was or what the title technical title of it was, but uh just again so much.

Are there any members of council that wish to share or express any comments or questions?

Okay.

Councilmember White.

Thank you so much.

Um Mayor, thank you so much, Torrin.

Thank you, um, Alyssa, as well as uh Christina and Mariella.

I just uh Mario, I see you normally engage with the children.

And so to know that you've come completely out of the realm that I thought that I would have been seeing you do work and so successfully seamlessly transitioning.

Um, that really shows that community engagement piece there and water is so valuable to all of us, and we want very good billing and we want to have clear understanding, and so do our patrons as well as those who work in the service area.

So that's just it's an it's neat to see that I would say cross-training, but really expansion of your role because uh uh there I'm sure there's much more that um we have yet to see for you doing.

So I really appreciate that, Christina.

Um uh uh having time today in our audit committee meeting and hearing all the wonderful work that's done under Ms.

Weatherless.

I really appreciate um seeing you be a part of this program.

Please know that the work that you did is good.

However, we catch some grumblings on the back end because people don't like paying money.

And it's very expensive to have events in Avondale.

And um, that's just something that you know we have to bite it and say it's expensive to do business in Avondale and be supportive in that way.

But congratulations on this huge achievement for both of you.

Torrin, more for you, Mr.

Saidau.

Can you tell me what happened?

You said it was eight that started off.

Did we really get poached five people?

Walk me down that street.

Councilmember White.

We did not get poached uh five people, but we did have a number of life-changing experiences uh where some members of our team uh did promote in other areas and other communities, uh, but a number of those same uh five members did make the change to move to a different state, uh, have children, uh have opportunities that their spouses took elsewhere that that they chose to to take opportunities with them.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Mayor.

Councilmember White uh Weiss.

Thank you, Mayor.

I just wanted to current congratulate you and your team.

One of the things that um stood out for me is the customer service.

So you're you know, not only are you helping our residents, you're also helping the team here internally.

Um and then I thought maybe with tracking, especially when things move electronically, you can track them versus paper, which is going back and forth, and then the money that you're saving.

Um and I hate surprises.

When you are um filling out an application and and it doesn't tell you how much this conference will cost or how and then you until you get to the end, and then it's like here's your credit card and this is how much it costs.

So how nice is it to have all of that up front.

So again, I just congratulations.

Thank you so much for all you do.

You heard it.

Congratulations.

Continue your good work, and thank you so much.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Ron, next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor and Council.

Up next, we have a presentation by Chief Espinoza, life saving awards.

Excuse me.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor and Council.

It is my pleasure to be here to recognize two of our officers for their actions and dedication to the residents of uh the city of Avondale.

Historically, life saving awards are presented at our yearly awards banquet.

And although we will still be uh doing that presenting and honoring these two officers that are you're gonna see here in a little bit, we thought that it would be appropriate to also uh recognize them here in front of you.

And the reason for that is because uh the life saving award is the highest award that is presented to an officer by the Avondale Police Department.

So with that being said, I'm gonna ask Officer Matthew Berger if he can come up here.

Right over here, buddy.

All right.

Officer uh Berger was recently approved for a life saving award for his actions, which resulted in saving the life of a little girl.

Officer Berger responded to a committee poll where a three-year-old was found unresponsive in the water by her mother.

Officer Berger at Ribe performed life savings measurements and performing CPR and subsequently clearing Abby's airway, which resulted in Abby uh regaining breathing.

The child was transported to Phoenix Children's Hospital where she made a full recovery.

According to doctors at PCH or Phoenix Children's Hospital, uh they reported that the actions of Officer Berger were critical to Abby's survival and full recovery.

If at this point, if we can give them a big round of applause, bye.

If I can have Officer uh Cruz come up here.

Officer uh Robert Cruz was recently approved for a life saving award for his actions, which resulted in saving the life of a child.

Officers officer crews responded to a drowning involving a three-year-old boy.

He immediately took over CPR for the child a child's uh father and continued life saving efforts until the child regained uh breathing.

Officer Cruz then placed the child in the recovery position, closely monitoring him until he could carry the child to a safe location for medical evaluation by our friends of the fire department.

Dioncine, Avondale fire engine captain confirmed that Officer Cruz's immediate and sustained CPR was critical to the child's survival and full recovery.

If we can uh give Officer Cruz a big round of applause.

Mayor, advisor and council, at this time we'll open it up for questions for the officers or or comments.

Thank you, Chief Espinoza.

Um are there any members of council that wish to make a comment?

Uh yes, Councilmember Garcia.

I just want to say how incredible you guys are and thank you guys so much.

Your job is already hard and to do something like that and to see those things.

I know it's not always easy, but you guys are really the heroes in our community that do that are not recognized enough.

And I I just want to thank you guys for what you did and your heroic actions, especially for those little babies, because as a parent, that is a parent's worst nightmare, especially here in Arizona, to find your child in a pool and not breathing.

So I really really just want to honor you and thank you for what you guys have done.

Yeah, just some of the same sentiment because you know you you wear a badge, you're a member of public safety, and you are trained.

But even with all of that being said, with things happening with, I don't know if I was in the same scenario and I was the parent, and I'm freaking out, I wouldn't know what to do, maybe be hysterical, it takes that training and it takes that level of ability to really kind of comfort the parent, settle the situation down, and take action.

And so no matter how you slice it or dice it, this is the life-saving award.

And uh, you know, you both of you uh rose to the challenge, your your training, your abilities, and most importantly, uh your um your just your grace took over.

And we have two uh young young children who are still with us today because of your actions, and that can't be understated.

So just congratulations.

Thank you for uh what you've done for them for those specific families, and it's our honor to to honor you tonight for the life saving award.

So, congratulations.

Thank you.

And please please stay around for our photo.

If you wouldn't mind.

Ron, next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor Council.

Up next is we have a proclamation for engineers week presented by Kim Moon, your engineering department director and your city engineer.

Hello, Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of City Council.

I'm Kim Moon, your city engineer, and tonight I'm here for the proclamation recognizing National Engineers Week, which is observed this year from February 22nd through February 28th.

The official theme for 2026 is transform your future.

At this time, I'm going to invite the engineering department to stand up, the public works department, please stand up and development services.

There's anybody coming.

This work uh directly supports public safety, economic development, and quality of life for our residents.

This week also provides an opportunity to recognize the people who make this work possible, not only our licensed engineers, but also our plan reviewers, inspectors, architects, project managers, right-of-way, and project coordinators, technicians, analysts, and support staff who work collaboratively to deliver successful projects for our community.

Engineers Week also encourages us to look ahead by inspiring students and young professionals to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, helping to ensure a strong and skilled workforce for the future of Avondale.

Uh on behalf of our teams, thank you for your continued support and for recognizing the vital role engineering plays in serving the city of Avondale.

That's all I have.

Thank you much.

Thank you so much, Kim.

And from one uh from uh engineers to or from one engineer to the others.

Vice Mayor, if you wouldn't mind reading the proclamation.

I would love to write the blocking proclamation.

Oops, better turn that off.

Whereas engineers provide the talent and skills necessary to analyze and solve complex problems, and to create, improve and maintain the infrastructure essential to the high quality of life enjoyed by our residents.

And whereas the support of an informed and engaged citizenry is vital to the efficient planning, design, construction, operation of public infrastructure, including water systems, sanitary and storm sewers, streets and highways, bridges, public buildings, communication systems, and energy display distribution networks.

And whereas the health, safety, welfare, comfort, and economic vitality of the city of Avondale depends upon sound engineering practices and resilient infrastructure that meet both current and future community needs.

And whereas engineers play a vital role, a critical role in addressing the major technological and uh social uh challenges of our time, from rebuilding communities after natural disasters to designing innovative and sustainable infrastructure for the 21st century.

And whereas the 2026 Engineering Week theme, Transform Your Future, highlights the vital role of engineers, engineers' play in shaping a more sustainable, innovative, and resilient future while inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in engineering and related fields.

And whereas the City of Avondale is fortunate to employ highly qualified and dedicated engineers whose professionalism, expertise, and commitment to public service positively influences the community and hence enhances the quality of life for all residents.

Now, therefore, on behalf of the Avondale City Council and the City of Avondale, Arizona, whereby proclaims the week of February 22nd through February 28th, 2026 is hereby designated as Engineers Week in the City of Avondale, and the communities encouraged to recognize and celebrate the contributions of engineers in transforming the future.

Thank you so much.

And thank you all for what you do.

We really appreciate you.

Thank you.

Oh, we see that.

Came in full force.

Thank you so much, Kim.

Ron, next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Council up next, we have a proclamation for Black History Month.

But before we start, we'd like to play a short video for you all, and the Council Member White will share a few words and introduce our guests who are here tonight to accept the proclamation.

Throughout February, we honor Black History Month, a time to recognize the achievements and contributions of Black Americans throughout our nation's history.

This year's Black History Month is especially meaningful.

In 2026, we mark 100 years since it began, as well as our nation's 250th anniversary.

We are reminded of the importance of learning, reflecting, and respecting the contributions of African Americans in our country.

We honor Carter G.

Woodson, known as the father of Black History Month, whose work helped ensure Black history is taught and remembered.

In Arizona, Lincoln and Eleanor Ragstell work to promote fairness and opportunity for families across the Phoenix area.

Here in Avondale, we are proud of Randall McDaniel, who grew up in our community and went on to become a pro-football Hall of Fame athlete and an educator focusing on children with better needs.

Black History Month gives us time to reflect on these stories and the lasting impact black Americans have had on our country and our community.

Their contributions reflect our shared values and our core purpose of making lives better today and every day.

Happy Black History Month, Avondale.

Thank you so much, um, Mayor City Manager Corbin, I really appreciate that opportunity to share that.

We also have members of a historically black National Pan Hellenic organization that was chartered here five years ago in Avondale, and that is the Arizona West Valley alumni chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.

Um we wanted to share this year's Black History Month Proclamation with this chapter.

So I'll go ahead and proceed reading it.

Whereas in 1976, President Gerald Ford extended his celebration to be an entire month.

And in 1986, Congress passed Public Law 99 244 to designate February as National Black Afro American History Month.

And whereas in 2026, the observant is the hundredth anniversary of Black History Month happening as our nation celebrates the 250th semi-quincentennial anniversary, which makes this historic time one to reflect on the struggle of enslaved Africans brought to this country as an agricultural commodity, who are then free to participate in cultivation, administration, and progression of our nation.

Whereas by celebrating Black History Month, we are acknowledging the generations of African Americans who have been in this country since the 17th century, who've worked tirelessly to achieve greatness in agriculture, who have impacted the post-Civil War reconstruction, the women's suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, the labor movement, who have served in the U.S.

Armed Forces, and who continue to work for equity as we shape and strengthen the fabric of our city, our state, our nation, and who have enriched every aspect of our country's global identity.

Whereas Black History Month honors and affirms the importance of African American history throughout our nation by recognizing significant contributions of African American community over the years.

It is vital to continue to learn about people from the African diaspora in our country, descendants of the transatlantic slave trade in our hemisphere, and to celebrate outstanding, hard to overlook contributions and achievements of black people throughout each year.

Whereas the City of Avondale recognizes the enrichment of African Americans to the West Valley's rich heritage, seeing success through many impressions of those who came before us and those who live here now.

We celebrate our city's diversity, recognizing we must work to extend the American dream to black people in our city as we make lives better for all.

Now, therefore, on behalf of the Avondale City Council, the City of Avondale, Arizona, hereby proclaims February 2026 as Black History Month and encourages all residents, organizations, and businesses to celebrate the rich heritage, immense strength, and substantial contributions of people from African descent in our community today and every day as we continue our efforts to support the principles of freedom and equality for a more just society.

Thank you writing for the first time.

Yes, Mr.

Mayor.

Would you guys like to come up and share your chapter?

Yeah.

Would you like to share more information about your chapter?

So good afternoon or good evening.

We are doing the work of a lot of different um cities within the West Valley.

Um I don't know what else is.

Oh no, you're you're doing great.

I just figured we'd love to hear more about the chapter and what you guys are up to.

So I I think the things that we host that most people will recognize would be our party at the polls.

We host that here in Avondale out at the amphitheater.

I know for the past few elections, we've given out things from burritos, had truly lively parties here.

Um, but if you could talk about the youth programs that actually impact youth here in um Avondale, that would probably be most helpful.

Good evening.

Uh my name is Wanya Eastland.

I am actually the chair of our Delta Jones and Academy where we service our youth young ladies, which we are identify our black and brown girls who um are able to come meet with us monthly and able to learn about the different um cultural um dynamics, um, social activities, and also how to get back in their communities.

Um, with these skills, they develop um learning how to be uh women of the of this to how to service their community.

So we do a lot of service in the Avondale area, and we also do a lot of social action in the Avondale area as well.

Well, we thank you for being here tonight.

We appreciate it.

And if we can give one more round of applause, and uh thank you for being here.

And Mr.

Mayor, we just have one more presentation, and then hopefully they'll stay for a picture and uh with the the council.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ron.

Yes, please, everybody, if you could stick around, we definitely would love to take some photos.

All right.

Um next is the property all-star award.

Absolutely.

And we have Josh Perez, your code compliance manager to make that presentation.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council.

I am going here tonight to present to you our receivers of our property also award.

The property also award uh was created to recognize residential property owners and commercial businesses for demonstrating community pride by maintaining their properties at the highest standards.

Properties are evaluated based on landscape care, design, and property maintenance.

And with the assistance of our selection committee, comprised of members of the neighborhood commission and city staff, we selected the following properties.

Providing such a great example to our commercial community.

And I would like to thank Mr.

Santiago and his staff from QT uh Quick Trip 423 for keeping Avondale looking very, very beautiful.

Thank you.

And I'd like to read the nomination statement that was submitted uh for his nomination.

There is a home in our neighborhood.

It stands out above any other home in our gated community.

So many people walk past it, stop and look and admire it, and it is really top-notch.

So, Mr.

Solario, I would like to thank you for your contribution to making Avondale looking very beautiful.

Thank you.

Our next uh selection will take place in April 2026, and nominations can be submitted through our Abbey Wise app.

And again, thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council members, for your continued continued support of our program.

Thank you so much.

I don't know if either one of you are on social media, uh, but if you are, it would be great to see uh it displayed the signs displayed.

I know I'm I'm at this location all the time.

I'm away to Stray Mountain Community College.

Uh, but if the uh the the signs there, the uh a property all-star curb appeal sign could be posted and shared on social media, that would be awesome.

But more importantly, it just really lets all the neighbors know that uh what you guys have done to keep the properties in such beautiful condition and shape uh goes a long way and could also be um uh rewarded with an award.

So congratulations, and I don't know if anybody on the dais has any questions or comments, but I really look forward to to these awards because again, there's nothing like when you know when a property catches your eye.

And you know, drive by, take a look at it, whether it be commercial or residential.

And I don't think you guys do it for awards, uh, but it's just nice that the community takes note.

So congrats to both of you.

Anyone else?

Okay, well, congratulations.

We appreciate it.

Okay, now if council would not mind if we could head down and take some photos, we'll see you down there.

Marcella, have we received any blue cards?

Thank you, Mayor.

We have not received any requests to speak.

Okay, thank you.

Moving on move on moving on, sorry, to item number four consent agenda.

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

Seeing none, can I please get a motion?

I get a motion made by Councilmember White, a second from Councilmember Conde.

We please vote.

Item passes seven zero.

Thank you so much.

Ron Item next plea uh next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Marion Council.

Uh we are now gonna have a public hearing and presentation on the twenty six twenty-seven HUD annual action plan by Chris Lopez, your neighborhood and family services director.

The purpose of tonight's presentation is threefold.

First, we'd like to review the function of the HUD annual action plan.

We'd also like to define eligible program activities, and then finally we will review recommended funding allocations.

As a refresher, the HUD annual action plan is an extension of our five-year consolidated plan.

The annual action plan assigns funding to specific activities based on the actual allocation of funds each year within the consolidated planning cycle.

Those goals are as follows.

First, to preserve and expand affordable housing inventory.

Second, to fund necessary public infrastructure and facilities.

We're recommending the allocation of just over 40,000 to support our summer youth internships.

This is an amazing program that allows youth to work with directly within our city departments, receive mentorship from our city staff, and with that we anticipate impacting just over or approximately 20 youth.

The next one is our workforce development partnership with Arizona at work.

This is a cost-shared program where we have secured a full-time workforce development coordinator that's housed out of the resource center.

They work to produce uh job fares, uh, they help residents with resume writing, interview skills, and overall job preparedness.

So, with this program, we anticipate serving uh approximately 300 individuals at a cost of just over $63,000 for a grand total for our CDB C D BG allocation of $695,000 and change.

This table here breaks down our recommendations for the utilization of our home investment partnership funds.

We anticipate receiving just over uh $241,000.

I'm sorry, $193,000.

We're able to use uh five five percent towards program administration.

Again, this will support um just the administration and the staffing for this program at a cost of just over twelve thousand dollars.

We also want to use these funds for home repairs at 180,000.

With that 180,000, we will be able to complete approximately four homes, uh, which brings me again to that total home allocation of 193,000.

There is a fund re or match requirement that comes from our general fund of 25 percent.

So uh we're looking at a match of 48,000.

This is already built into our recommendations for the coming fiscal year, and we're working closely with Renee and her team for that.

Uh that's a total allocation and match of 241,000.

Mayor, vice mayor, members of council, I'd like to just kind of review the timeline and our process, which brings us um to today, and then ultimately towards um approval and um receiving those funds.

So back in February, we uh issued a draft of uh the annual action plan for public comment, so that was posted and shared for public comment.

On November 5th, we took a similar presentation to our neighborhood and family services commission for the first public hearing.

During that meeting, the commission voted unanimously to approve our recommendations, and then I'm here before you on February 23rd for our second public hearing.

We'll be coming back on March 23rd for possible action by city council, and then on May 4th, we'll submit the HUD the plan to HUD.

And then mid-August is when we anticipate uh our funding agreement and availability of funds.

With that, I'd like to make myself available for any questions or comments.

Thank you so much, Chris, for the presentation.

At this time, I'd like to open up the public hearing.

Marcella, we receiving a request to speak on this item.

Thank you, Mayor.

We have not received any requests to speak.

Thank you so much.

Then at this time, I'd like to close the public hearing and open the floor for comments from council.

Okay, council member.

I'm sorry, Vice Mayor Nielsen.

Chris, I just have a question for you on the two items here, maybe the home repair and the house preservation.

Maybe a comment on what's the difference between the two of those.

And the second is how do you determine I mean it's not like Abbey Wise, like somebody sends these information like we just saw with the all-star thing, but how do you determine the 10 homes or the 15 homes that are going to have the work done there?

Mayor Vice, I'm gonna uh flip back to the um the slides here.

Um just to make sure I understand the question correctly.

You were asking if there was a distinction between home preservation and home repair.

Yes.

Um, actually, one of the same.

So, what we typically do on a home repair project is we evaluate the home, we want to resolve any um code issues and any health and safety issues.

Oftentimes, what we're we're spending the money on is um roof repairs.

We want to make sure that the roofs are not leaky.

Um water heaters are another common repair that happens.

Um we'll do some ADA improvements for some of the homes when when needed, um, plumbing, uh electrical, all of those sorts of things, really just making sure that the homes remain safe and habitable, and then in the long run, what we're trying to do is preserve our stock of affordable housing within the community.

Um, and then could you please refresh me on the second question was how do you determine who gets the funding, which houses are the ones that uh are blessed to receive the repair work?

Mayor Vice members of council.

So we advertise the program widely across the community.

We do do some direct outreach occasionally when our waiting list is diminished.

And so typically we look for homes that uh by appearance may need a repair through word of mouth.

Folks um determine that their home is lacking repair and uh upkeep.

And so those complete an application, we go through a um income qualification process.

So the homeowners must be at 80% at or below 80% of area median income.

So there's an income requirement, a household income requirement.

Um, and then um we also determine whether the individuals have the you know physical ability to complete some of the repairs, but uh typically it's first come first serve if they meet the requirements.

Thank you very much.

I appreciate that.

That's all I have.

Council Member Fondi.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Chris.

Um, do we do repairs, for example, if someone's needs some handicap repairs like a ramp or the bars, that type of thing.

Excellent question.

Um that is one of our favorite projects to do is when we encounter a homeowner that needs some of these repairs, and we're able to complete those ADA improvements.

Um, oftentimes will include ramps, um, rad bars, improvements to the shower, um, those sorts of things.

So we have some phenomenal before and after pictures that we share with you through the city manager's office.

But um, we love we love to make those improvements.

Great, thank you.

Any other members of council?

I mean, uh 48,000 dollars and the return that we get on that investment with those matched funds, I think is this is a phenomenal use.

We talk often about affordable housing, but more importantly, um keeping people in their homes, and this is 14 potential opportunities based upon the numbers uh that I saw here.

So um, you know, that impact can't be understated.

And uh I know that I've met a couple of folks in a couple of communities won't be specific who have utilize uh the funds uh for what you just mentioned, whether it's uh leak uh repairing a leaky roof um or AC issues or things of that nature.

And so um I don't know uh if there's a shortage on information getting out there.

I would hate that to be the case.

I don't think that's be the case, but whatever we can do, do our part to help push that uh information out.

You know, we'd be I would know I would be happy to do so.

But uh last chance.

Okay, council member white voice.

Sorry.

That's okay.

Council Weiss.

Yes, okay.

Yep.

Um, Chris, thank you for the presentation.

One of the things that it we just went through um or that we just received were um it was a report based on all of the grants and then um our compliance with those grants, and I just wanted to um commend you, the whole team, um, all of our departments because they're meeting the requirements of the grants, and we had no deficiencies, and that was amazing to see.

So thank you for your hard work because I know it's a lot afterwards.

You have to do a lot of um outcomes too in order to keep these grants coming.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, this item was for discussion only.

So thank you all for your comments and your input.

Moving on to item B 5B, Mr.

Mayor, up next is a presentation by Kim Anderson, your sustainability officer, green for good community uh sustainability grant program.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council.

I'm Kim Anderson, the city sustainability officer.

I'm excited to share some information about the upcoming Green for Good Grant Program, which will promote grassroots community sustainability action through small scale funding.

This presentation will provide background information, a general overview of the program as well as the application and evaluation process.

Now don't worry, we're not here to request more funds.

This program has already been budgeted for the current fiscal year.

This program uh was also developed uh over the last few months by Avendell's very first Abbey Pro intern, Madison Bigham.

So special thanks to her and to neighborhood and family services for providing the Abbey Pro opportunity to the sustainability division.

During the development, Madison collaborated with Abendel staff in neighborhood and family services, city attorney's office, finance and budget, um especially with Abendale's grants coordinator, and she also worked externally uh with the city of Mesa and Flagstaff who have similar grant programs, so they were able to provide some best practices.

And again, the overall attempt is to uh promote those grassroots movements.

The Green for Good grant is a funding opportunity through the Environmental Fund to help initiate or enhance sustainable community actions in Avondale.

Specifically, this grant seeks to directly increase Avondale's environmental resilience and provide clear, measurable benefits to the Avondale community.

Additionally, projects must promote at least one of the following sustainability pathways outlined in the City of Avondale's community sustainability plan.

These pathways include clean transportation, resilience to extreme heat, efficient buildings and renewable energy, reliable water supply, healthy environment, waste as a resource, and fresh food for all.

So what could this look like in practice?

Well, it could be a project focused on providing fixed clinics to community members.

There are so many items that end up in landfills simply because we don't know how to fix them or it's cost prohibitive to get the materials to fix them.

So an applicant may wish to organize this kind of event and request funds from the Green for Good grant to help supply volunteers with sewing kits or machines, drills, or other specialized repair tools.

This type of project would address the waste as a resource pathway while enhancing Avondale community knowledge.

It could also be a school hosting a back to bike to school day.

A teacher organizing the event may apply for the Green for Good grant to fund safety gear and snacks for students or even purchasing a bike for students to borrow.

This example would address the clean transportation pathway.

We also created an entire project idea document that will be available to the public that highlights some potential projects that they may consider applying for.

We hope that this will spark inspiration for the applicants for the first year, and then that document can be updated as the program progresses to demonstrate successfully executed projects.

Now we'll talk about who is eligible to apply.

We tried to keep the eligibility broad to encourage sustainability across different scales.

So individuals, nonprofits, community groups, HOAs, churches, schools, and businesses all play an important role in our community, so all can apply.

Now we do have a couple limitations.

Currently, city staff, sustainability commission members, and city council cannot apply.

And an organization can apply for multiple projects if the lead applicant is different.

For example, two teachers from the same school could apply for funding different projects.

But multiple organizations will not be able to apply for the same project.

And we will not have any company branding using the funds.

Applicants may request up to $5,000 to help support their projects.

This year we have $15,000 budgeted for eligible and competitive applications.

At the $5,000 max level, this will allow for at least three fully funded applicants, but may allow for more depending on the requested amount per applicant.

We are not requesting any financial match.

And after getting some input from finance and legal, we're planning to provide one upfront check to each selected grantee.

And we do have language within the guidelines that if the applicant fails to submit satisfactory reports because we will be requiring quarterly reports thereafter, their project will no longer align with the grant goals.

Then the city reserves the right to collect those funds.

Now that's not the intent.

We want to get these funds out there to encourage those sustainability actions.

So with these regular reportings, we hope that this will allow the city to check progress and be able to workshop through any challenges that may arise.

Between then, I will be hosting a grant workshop where interested participants may attend to get more information about the grant and ask any questions.

Once the application closes on April 3rd, the applications will be under review by the Sustainability Commission.

The commission will be the one selecting the grant recipient or recipients, and I will be training them on the scoring rubric and walking them through that process.

The grantees will be then presented to council and checks will be cut beginning of June.

They will have from June 15th, 2026 through June 30th, 2027 to complete their projects.

So, where can the public learn more and apply?

We'll be hosting all documents and application through the Avondale Connect portal.

Available for review on the website is the grant manual outlining the program's terms and conditions, the project idea document, and links to the application form and budget template.

We will also have a Microsoft Word document of the application so that people can work offline working through those questions so that way they can hit submit appropriately.

And we'll also share the scoring rubric so that way people understand exactly how their applications will be scored.

Hopefully that covered the basics of the sustainability division screen for good grants, and I'm open to answering any questions or comments.

Thank you so much, Kim.

Are there members of council that have any questions?

Councilmember White, I'm sorry, Councilmember Weiss.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Kim.

I do have one quick question.

Um, if somebody, like you mentioned, maybe two teachers might want to do a project.

Is there going to be training for them or anything to help support them in this as far as teaching them how to fill out those forms or the fill out the outcomes or how to measure their outcomes?

Anything out that you're gonna do?

Vice Mayor and Councilmember Weiss, thank you.

Um yes, so I will be available to workshop through any questions and provide guidance.

That's um intentionally why I was remained um outside of the scoring factor, so that way I am kind of bipartisan.

And um, so I will be available to answer any questions and provide that guidance, as well as um hosting the uh grant workshop on March 11th for those to attend as well.

Vice Mayor Nielsen.

Can we just go back one slide right there?

So if someone wants to apply a school, I'm thinking of a school, if school wants to apply, just come to the Avondale uh website and walk through it or yes, um, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Nelson.

Um, on the Avondale Connect through the citizen involvement portal.

Um, I've included the link here, but um there will be an icon showing um and directing them to the page, and on that page, they will have a link to the application, all of the supporting documents, as well as the information for the upcoming grant um if they have any questions, as well as my uh contact information.

Thank you.

Councilmember Condi.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you for the presentation.

This is very exciting.

Um, but of course, you know, one thing we always want to make sure that we're getting this information out to the community to businesses.

Um are we gonna be sending a mailer out to Avondel residents or businesses?

At this time I do not have any physical mailers being processed, but I do have um connections through the umic development department as well as neighborhood and family services to spread the word.

So they'll be doing an email blaster and as well as the HOA.

We have some connections in the city, so we'll be utilizing um some digital email blasters as well.

I will be attending a couple community meetings, such as the Interfaith Council and um the Capacitas.

That was my next that was my next question.

If you would be able to come share to that group, because that group is nonprofits, faith community leaders.

So great.

I'm excited.

Look forward to having you join us to one of our meetings.

Yes, I'm excited to be there tomorrow.

Well, I let me just say that I'm so happy to see that it's not just nonprofits that can apply and that it's individuals uh for the purposes that have been discussed up here in regards to just giving everybody the opportunity.

But uh most importantly, as uh we look at some of the options.

I I was curious too of you know what could somebody do with some of this money.

So I played around online and what I found was something similar to what was on one of the slides in regards to uh purchasing a couple of electric bikes or e-bikes and then letting them out for uh the use of um these e-bikes instead of utilizing transportation.

Uh so I thought that was pretty hip, and I know that I can apply, and if anybody wants me to test out an e-bike, I'd be happy to I'd be happy to do that.

I'd be happy to do that.

Uh but nonetheless, um I hope that it's more than just three.

I hope that we have some odd increments so that we're able to spread the money out, but more importantly, it's a great idea, and it's a good use of uh I you know the ideas that we have here in the community, whether it be individual or the nonprofit.

So thank you so much, Kim, for the presentation.

If there's no other questions or comments, then I appreciate you presenting to us tonight.

Thank you.

Ron, next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor and Council.

Up next is a presentation by Renee Weatherless, your finance and budget director on the annual comprehensive financial report fiscal year 2025 fiscal.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council.

Um, the purpose of tonight's item is to present the fiscal 2025 annual comprehensive financial report, also called the ACFER.

And per statute, our external financial auditors who will present the findings of our audit.

So I would like to introduce Brittany Williams, who's the engagement partner with Hein Filden Meach, and she will be presenting the findings of our audit.

Thanks, Renee.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the city council, thank you so much for having me here this evening.

I actually won't be presenting any findings tonight because there weren't any.

So right?

That's the best news we can we can have.

And honestly, I'm not, I know I'm the last on the agenda, and I'm not gonna take too much of your time.

I already met with the audit committee earlier today, and we went over in more depth some of the audit results, but I do have a presentation here, so I'll just guide us through it really quick.

Um your audit engagement team is myself and Jared Young.

Uh we work closely with Maggie and Renee and their entire team in finance all throughout the year to develop lots of different reports and get them out the door on time, which they were all submitted on time this year.

These are the standards that guide our audits.

And here was our timeline for the last year.

So we do some field work in June.

We usually start testing some federal programs, then we come in for the financial statement piece in uh late October.

We issued our opinion on the ACFER, the HERF, uh the CFD report, that LMR CFD report that the city started doing last year.

Um the single audit report and the ELR, the expenditure limitation report.

All of those uh were due by March 31st, and we got them all out by the end of January.

So that was great.

Uh gave some examples here of what our independent auditors report looks like in the ACFER and our independent accountants report in the HERF report as the HERF report, but this is the best page, um, which is a summary of everything that took place in the financial statement audit and the federal audit that we have to do.

And as you can see, the type of auditors report under the financial statements was unmodified, under the federal wards was unmodified, it's nose all the way down.

We did test the federal transit cluster program that program this year, as well as the coronavirus state and local fiscal recovery funds for the federal audit.

But um nose all the way down.

This is the best that it gets, 100%.

A plus.

Here's some resources for you.

Should you choose to look at them, here is our website and our contact information.

I'll just go ahead and open it up for any questions you guys may have for me tonight.

Thank you so much uh for the presentation.

And um, are there any comments or questions?

Okay, Vice Mayor Nielsen.

Brittany, thank you for being here.

We were with today at 10 o'clock this morning, and she's here at 7 o'clock.

I don't know what you did in between.

I don't know whether you got something to eat or I enjoyed your public library.

All right.

Well, thank you so much for spending the day with us.

We truly appreciate it, and the findings are so great.

Thanks.

You're welcome.

Councilmember White.

Thank you so much.

Um, Brittany, please share our appreciation with Jared as well.

Thank you, Ms.

Weatherless.

Um, Mayor, we have an amazing um finance team here at the city, and we're really grateful.

I think that having an external auditor come in and take a look at everything and say, hey, nothing to see here.

You guys did a good job, really speaks volumes of the work that um is what the list is doing.

So I really appreciate it, and thank you so much for spending your entire day in Avondale.

I hope you have good things to say about us, and we look forward to our ongoing partnership.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any other questions, comments?

I'll just make one comment, and the it has nothing to do with the report because it was so clean and perfect.

But Jared has a comment on his bio in regards to being olive connoisseur.

I would love to know more about that, and you don't have to share, but I just thought that was something that was interesting.

And by the way, each one of us uh was provided with a report if you like to read the 200 pages or the popular report that has our city manager in in it.

Uh feel free to take a look and peruse, and there's a lot of great information in there if you'd like to read it.

Councilmember White, do you have a comment?

Sure.

Okay, perfect.

All right.

Well, thank you so much, and uh thank you, Renee, and your team for all of the great work that you guys do.

Appreciate it.

Okay, item number six, summary or current events.

Did anybody have anything you'd like to report?

Okay, Councilmember Garcia.

It was a very busy couple weeks.

Um, but um Mercy House hosted a worship night at the park this past weekend, and it was amazing.

There was, I think, four churches five churches present.

And I hope that they do it again because bringing the Lord into our community is so big, and there was people from all over Avondale and other parts of the West Valley.

And I also hosted or I also went to the Art Walk at Avondale Elementary School District.

And those kids are amazing, and they're so proud of their pictures.

They even took pictures of like their pets and their siblings.

And they have a program that I learned about that they have like ambassadors within every elementary school.

And the ambassadors get to go and meet together and advocate for something that they want to see inside of their school.

And the principal has taken their ideas and has actually gone through with them.

So it's super cool.

So that's what I did, but it was so exciting to see.

So kudos to the superintendent at Avondale because it was awesome.

It was an awesome event.

Thank you so much.

Councilmember Solario.

I had the opportunity to visit Luke Air Force Base on Tuesday.

She was able to set up a briefing for me that was very eye-opening to hear about the things that they are really want people to advocate for.

They thanked myself and Wally, because we're in the West Valley for taking their needs when we go to the Hill next month and sharing that they need all the help they can get with child care and housing and HVAC.

So it was really good, very good session to have between West Valley Cities and just open the lines of communication, and they were very thankful for the work that NLC does and the folks that are part of those committees.

Thank you so much.

Councilmember White.

Thank you so much, Mayor.

I had the opportunity to attend with Valley Metro, the opening of the light rail station at Creighton, uh Crichton University.

So that was really fun to see a new station opened up.

I'm going to continue to support everything as they continue to go west with Valley Metro in Rail.

I also had the opportunity to attend the resource fair at the resource center this past uh Saturday.

It was really great to see all of our community partners out.

Really great job to neighborhood and family services.

Really appreciated everything, Chris.

Um at some point they were doing events with the kids, and I was like, oh, it's time for me to go.

Um so it was really neat to watch that.

And also um yesterday, um, one of my new favorite spots to go hang out at the car shop, CN Motors at their annual car show, and it was amazing.

And um they had cars of all makes and models, um, and it was really fun to get out there and see that.

So that was available um as well, and I've just been out talking to as many residents as possible and really thank uh council for allowing me to represent you on um Max Transportation Policy Committee as well as Valley Metro.

There's a lot of things um that are happening in transit in the Valley, and please make sure um you continue to let uh us know what we need to say and how we need to advocate for Avondale.

We ride is a very popular source of transit.

It is alleviating expenses from um paratransit, and it has become one of our preferred methods of transit here in Avondale, and so I'm thankful for the support that our city is providing.

Thank you, uh Mr.

Corbin, because um paratrans is becoming expensive in the Valley.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Condi.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, I was able to attend the worship in the park also, um, and it was a very well attended event, and I look forward to the next one.

But I also uh my husband and I went to the not in our city um where we were able to worship in.

We were we prayed over our cities.

There was a lot of elected officials there.

Um we were praying in regards to the sex trafficking that's happening in the West Valley.

Um and we did have um the prevention coordinator from Southwest Family Advocacy Center there sharing education and prevention resources.

So that was like a well very well attended event.

Thank you, Councilmember Condi.

And then quickly on Wednesday last Wednesday, um, myself and other mayors from the West Valley uh were joined by uh Senator Gallego, who was here to talk about economic development issues.

One in particular that I brought to his attention was uh the um affordable housing issue that I know that it's been deemed and defined in many different ways.

Uh often uh the um the uh prescription is uh multifamily with li tech financing.

So I share with him that I would like to learn more about home ownership and what does that look like.

He referenced uh that he's working with other uh members of Congress uh for a I think it's called a path forward uh legislation to come out further in regards to offsetting costs uh for families looking to purchase a home.

uh the um affordable housing issue that i know that it's been deemed and defined in many different ways uh often uh the um the uh prescription is uh multifamily with li tech financing so i share with him that i would like to learn more about home ownership and what does that look like he referenced uh that he's working with other uh members of congress uh for a I think it's called a path forward uh legislation to come out further in regards to offsetting costs uh for families looking to purchase a home uh then on Thursday um sorry on Friday I was happy to participate in the ASU Small and Medium Business Lab the S and B lab summit were there too I was able to highlight Avondale's uh economic development successes in addition to the resources that we have available Adam Shipley was there it's great to see Adam there uh actually also council member white was there thank you for so much uh for being there to support and then finally uh on Friday uh General Birkland from Luke Air Force Base was kind enough to host and schedule a uh F-35 simulator experience for my wife and I and uh being behind the cockpit as they say there's no way I could fly one for real let's just say that uh but nonetheless it was a great time so with that if we can get a motion for adjournment I have a motion from councilmember Garcia a second from council member conde please vote item passes unanimously we are adjourned thank you so much everybody else please drive safe and enjoy the rest of the week