The mayor, Vice Mayor, and City Council welcome you to the Avondale City Council meeting.

As a courtesy to others, please silence all phones.

Anyone wishing to address the council regarding items listed on the agenda or under unscheduled public appearance should complete the request to speak form online at WWW dot avondale az.gov slash request to speak.

Please limit your comments to three minutes.

If more than five requests to speak are received, comments may be limited to one minute.

But you know, some of us don't look good in green anyway, so I think this is my color.

Although Councilmember Solorio says this is her color, so you know, some of us can wear it, some of us can't.

Nonetheless.

Any luck, Julie?

To put you on the spot.

Everybody's looking at Julie now.

Nice.

So if those of you who are not on your phones right now, it is now one to one, USA Belgium.

Oh hold on.

Okay, it's in celebration of parks in rank outdoors.

Oh, one one.

Come on, USA.

Councilmember Condi, can you hear me?

Councilmember Condi, can you hear me?

Councilmember Condi, can you hear me?

Hello.

Oh.

Thank you, Councilmember Conde.

We'll get started now.

Okay.

I would officially like to call to order the Avondal City Council regular city or city council regular meeting for July 6th.

Today we are pleasantly joined by one of our summer Abbey Camp students, Hannah, who is over there.

Thank you so much, Hannah, for being here tonight.

She is going to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

So if you wouldn't mind standing for the pledge, Hannah, please, if you wouldn't mind, kick it off for us.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

And to the Republic for which it stands.

Councilmember Conde.

Here.

Councilmember Garcia.

Here.

Councilmember Solorio?

Here.

Councilmember Wise here.

Councilmember White?

Present.

Vice Mayor Nielsen.

Here.

And Mayor Pineta.

Here.

Thank you so much.

Ron, next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor and Council.

Up next is our employee presentations.

And I am fortunate enough to be able to do the first set of uh announcements.

The first, um, before I turn it over to Anisa, I think Anisa's around here somewhere.

You're ready, right?

All right.

Before her, I'm going to go ahead and go first and uh make some introductions.

The first, if she will come down, and Andy might as well join her, if I can have them come down.

The first uh is I'm pleased to join me in welcome, uh, asking council mayor to uh join me in welcoming assistant city manager Jennifer Stein.

Jennifer is uh one of our new assistant city managers.

She brings more than 20 years of experience in communications, economic development, and executive leadership.

Her vision, creativity, and commitment to Avondale has helped drive many of the city's most significant accomplishments.

I'm so excited she joined us just a few years ago as our economic development director and recently now as our assistant city manager.

Our newest assistant city manager is Andy Musquita.

He brings more than uh two decades of human resources leadership in public sector.

His extensive experience developing people, building strong organizations, fostering positive workplace cultures, makes him an invaluable member of our leadership team.

So I'll just take a minute to welcome these two new assistant city managers.

Now I know Mayor, usually you like to converse with everybody who's up here tonight, but we have uh two pages full of new employees, so I'm gonna go ahead and have them sit down and save them from having to uh answer the 20 questions.

But I believe both of them have done the 20 questions and is online if you're curious uh whether they prefer tea or coffee.

I also have uh two other uh great announcements.

I I'm probably even more excited about these uh this next one.

Um I know has been has worked for the city for over 13 years, has been working hard, has been studying, has been uh seeking uh mentorship to get ready for this position, and I'm excited to make this announcement.

So please help me uh uh introduce our newest economic development director, Cheryl Covert.

Cheryl has dedicated more than 13 years of service to Avondale and has been instrumental in attracting investments, creating jobs, helping shape the future of our community through transformative economic development project, including our health care corridor and many others.

But Cheryl, uh maybe the council or you want to say something to them.

Thank you so much.

It's such an honor to carry on uh Jen's legacy here at the city.

And I have the best of the best before me, so I've got very big shoes to fill.

But Jen always says they're not shoes to fill, they're your shoes now.

So I'm just excited to uh continue to bring your vision, uh, council and mayor to life and uh all the great work that I get to do, but with the colleagues that all stand behind me because this is certainly a team effort.

So thank you so much for this.

Thank you, Ron.

Thank you.

All right.

And the last one I have tonight, uh, I'm also very excited about.

Uh, been with the city for several years, has been in the interim role twice, but I'd like to introduce your new human resources director, Ted Flores.

Ted has been a valuable member of our Avendale team for more than five years and now leads our human resources department.

His dedication to supporting our employees and strengthening our workforce helps ensure organizational our organization continues to drive.

Uh, please welcome Ted.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council members.

Just so excited for this opportunity to keep things going from what we've built on and continue to grow and build on in the future.

And uh similar to Cheryl, yeah, big choice to Phil, you know.

He's I don't have to lower this this time.

I didn't do all that stuff.

So no, I'm just just super grateful for the opportunity and look forward to it and continuing our partnership.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Uh, and uh that's all I get to do tonight.

I will introduce Anissa Romo, your senior management analysis who has one more uh city manager announcement.

Hello, Mayor and Council members.

It's my pleasure to introduce Ariel Liao.

She's our newest management analyst in the city manager's office and city council office.

Ariel was previously a management analyst with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and holds a master's of public administration from Grand Canyon University and a bachelor's of arts and political science and French from the University of Arizona.

She is an Arizona native, originally from Yuma, and is now a West Valley resident.

So we're super excited to have her as part of our team.

Welcome, Ariel.

Up next, we have a finance and budget department, Renee Weatherless, your finance and budget director.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council.

I have the pleasure of introducing our three newest hires in the finance and budget department.

The first is Tori Osmondson, who is the city's grants coordinator.

She's been with the city for about three months now.

Tori came to us from the governor's office of youth family, faith and family.

She has a bachelor's degree in healthcare coordination from ASU and a master's degree in public health from the University of Arizona.

Secondly, I would like to introduce to you Yolanda Varon.

Yolanda has been with the city also for about three months and is our new accountant involved in financial reporting and managing the city's purchasing card program.

Yolanda has 11 years of accounting experience and has a bachelor's degree in accounting from ASU and is also a competitive pickleball player.

And um finally, I would like to introduce to you Fina Johnson.

Fina is our new assistant director with over 25 years of financial leadership experience.

She comes to us from the Tucson Unified School District, where she served as the finance director and has also 20 years of financial experience in the private sector from the newspaper industry.

So I would like to um welcome all of our employees.

Thank you.

Mayor and Council up next is our fire and medical department with a presentation by Larry Rooney, your fire chief.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council.

I have the privilege of uh introducing our two newest, finest, handsome firefighters that practice good hygiene.

First of all, I'd like to introduce uh firefighter Andreas Magna.

He was raised here in the city of Avondale.

So let's hear it for him.

We we love it when we hire one of our own, right?

Yeah.

Andreas previously was employed as a CDL driver for Hazmat and Tankers.

And I want to, is that the name of the company, Hasmat and Tankers?

No, it's the endorsements.

So I was able to drive.

Oh, you had those endorsements.

Okay.

All right.

So he's endorsed.

Um before pursuing his fire service career.

He enjoys hiking and has hiked many different trails across the state, including the Grand Canyon and many other trails around the valley.

Andreas is currently assigned to Fire Station 174 on C shift.

So let's hear it for Andreas.

Next, I'd also like to introduce firefighter Bishop Birdine.

He was raised in the city of Buckeye and spent a lot of time in his childhood in Avondale playing basketball for youth leagues, spending time with his family at Bolero and the Roller Rink.

Firefighter Berdine was previously employed as a teacher and worked as an EMT in Sun City.

He plays basketball.

Chief Memo, we're going to play basketball.

Let's see, he plays basketball for 15 years and attended Australia Foothills High School.

Bishop is currently assigned to Fire Station 171 on A Shift.

Thank you, Chief.

You're welcome.

Yes, thank you.

Up next is our HR department, uh presented to you by your HR director, Ted Flores.

Evening, Mayor Vice Mayor, Council members.

This need this evening, I have the pleasure to introduce our newest human resources team member, Holly Azus, who joins the city of Avondale as our HR specialist.

In this role, Holly will support HR operations by processing employee job changes, onboarding new hires, and providing exceptional customer service both to internal and external customers.

Holly holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Wayland Baptist University and brings valuable public sector experience.

Prior to joining Avondale, she served the city of Glendale for five years as a recruiting assistant for their police department and then later in their HR department as an HR technician.

Holly's knowledge, experience, and dedication to customer service to make her a wonderful addition to our organization.

We are excited to welcome her to the city of Avondale and look forward to the contribution she will make.

Thank you.

Next step is a presentation by Aaron Vice from MPHE Office of Public Safety to make his introduction.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor City Council.

It's my pleasure to introduce Jamie Mitchler.

Jamie comes to us from, she's going to be our the Office of Public Safety's new public education coordinator.

She comes to us from surprise fire department, where she held a very similar position.

So that means she's come right in and hit the ground running, which was much needed.

Uh prior to that, Jamie was in the teaching.

Uh she's taught all over the country.

Um, she's gonna be charged with handling fire and medical social media channels.

She's also gonna be handling the community outreach programs that they have.

That includes the very successful camp hero, the system fire academy, and the and the uh mentor academy.

Umie's uh actually, this is a homecoming for her.

She's a graduate from Augur Free High School.

And her parents still reside here in the Avondale.

So I'm very we're very excited to have her here.

Welcome aboard.

Thank you, Chief Glass, and again, my apologies.

All right, now it's time for our uh police chief uh Espinoza.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor and Council.

It is my pleasure to introduce your newest police officers.

This group of police officers graduated from the police academy on April 9th of this year.

The officers are still in training as they will be completing their field training officer program, and they are expected to be a fully trained and ready to serve the residents of Avondale in a sole capacity by mid-August.

What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna ask the officers to come up to the podium, state their names, and in a few words, if they can let us know why they chose Avondale.

Good evening.

My name is Efren Rodriguez, and I chose Avendale because I plan to live in the city of Avondale, hopefully in the future.

Hello, I'm Officer Schmidt, and uh I chose Avondale because I wanted to be a part of an upcoming city.

Hello, I'm Officer Batres, and I chose Avondale because it felt like home.

Good evening.

My name is Raina Suma.

I chose Avondale because I've had family that has worked here for 17 years, and I don't think somebody would work here for 17 years if they'd enjoy it.

So I wanted to join that uh community as well.

Hello, my name is Andrew Palacio, and I chose Avondale because I grew up in Avondale as a kid, and I wanted to go uh work while we grew up up.

Good evening, I'm Samantha Simpson, and I chose Avondale because it was the only one that felt like home.

Good evening, I'm size thanks.

And I wanted to choose a city that felt like family.

Good evening.

I'm Officer Taz, and I chose Avondale because I appreciate the culture that Chief has built within the police department.

If we can give the officers a big round of applause.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council.

It is also my pleasure to introduce our latest promotions.

I'm gonna ask this group of employees to come up to the podium.

If they can briefly briefly briefly let us know how long they've been with the city and let us know why they chose Avondale.

I'll start with Russell Stewart.

Russell was recently promoted from training officer to sergeant.

Russell.

Good evening, Council.

Mayor Pineda.

Um, I've been here for 16 and a half years, and I enjoy the opportunity to work every day with a department that aligns with the same values as myself.

Thank you.

Next, we have Adasali Garcia.

Hi, Mayor and Council.

Uh my name's Ara Sali.

I've been with Avondale for the last four years, started in 2022.

I grew up in Avondale.

I went to high school in Avondale, so Avondale's home.

Thank you.

Next, we have uh Bo Wagner.

Bo was promoted from canine officer to sergeant.

Bo.

Thank you.

Uh I've been here for 14 years.

I chose Avondale.

It was just a great culture, um, great people, and that's uh that's all I got.

Next, we have uh Nick Gonzalez.

Nick was recently promoted from detective to sergeant.

Good evening, uh mayor, vice mayor, council.

Been with the city for about 10 and a half years now.

It's a no-brainer for me to work for Avondale.

I grew up in the Tallison Avondale area, so this is home to me.

Uh so again, it's a no-brainer for work for a hometown police department.

Thank you.

And finally, we have uh Bryce Ballinger, who was promoted from detective to sergeant Bryce.

Good evening.

I've been with the City of Avondale for about eight and a half years.

I originally picked Avondale PD because it had a reputation for excellence in the West Valley.

All right.

Thank you, Mayor Vice Mayor and Council.

Thank you, Chief.

Ron, this is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

Not it's holding, you know, yeah.

I want to ask questions.

I want to.

But okay, we'll keep it moving.

We'll keep it moving.

You're the mayor.

You slow us down if you're going to be able to do that.

That's all that's all right.

All right, here we go.

Up next, uh Chris Lopez, your director of neighborhood and family services to make his introductions.

Good evening, mayor, vice mayor, members of council.

I'm pleased to be here before you tonight to introduce two new members to the neighborhood and family services department.

Those individuals work early in the mornings, and so they couldn't be here today, but we do have a video and they'll share a little word, a few words about themselves.

Hi, I'm Tyler.

I'm the homeless topic specialist.

With that, I help connect individuals experiencing homelessness to various services, whether that's shelter, food resources, or any service that meets their direct needs.

About me, I'm from San Diego.

I enjoy pickleball, and my favorite thing about working for the city is now being able to serve my community.

Thank you.

Hello, I'm Nancy Deloa.

I'm an admin assistant at the Avondale Resource Center.

I support uh the family services division with daily operations, including front desk programming and community outreach.

I love being part of the city of Avondale because uh my colleagues and I uh genuinely care for the work that we do and um the impact that we have on our neighbors thank you, mayor, members of council.

Thank you, Chris.

Up next, you have your Parks Rec Director Corey and make his presentation Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council members.

My I'm excited to share three employee announcements with you.

One new employee and two internal promotions.

They're each gonna come up to the microphone, introduce themselves, share a little fun fact and how long they've been with our city.

So starting off with Rachel.

Hello, my name is Rachel Castañeda.

And I've been with the city.

This Wednesday will be a month.

I'm a I'm a rec programmer for aquatics.

And my interesting um fact is when I was 15, I never wanted to be in aquatics, and my mom pushed me and pushed me and pushed me and made me become a lifeguard.

And 23 summers later, I'm still here.

Hello, my name is Maria Costello, and I'm the new events rec programmer.

I've been with the city of Avendale for three years now.

And fun fact about me is I used to work in the OR for the Dell Web.

So making lives better is definitely my thing.

Hello, Mayor, Vice Mayor and Council.

My name's Angelina Asero.

I'm the new rec coordinator for sessional events.

I've been with the city for about a year and three months now.

And fun fact about me is I just started my MBA last week.

Thank you, Mayor.

And I know you're dying to know none of them play pickleball yet.

So thank you.

He said yet.

Thank you.

Uh, mayor and council up next.

We have Kirk Beatty, your public works director, to make, I think, our final presentation for new employees.

Good evening, Mayor and Vice Mayor and Council.

I'm pleased to introduce a new employees for the public works department.

I have one here in person tonight and three on video.

First, I'd like to introduce Tina Wilsek.

She is.

Tina joined the public works department at April is our fleet services coordinator in the fleet division.

She is the first person that any city employee will see when they need to get service on one of their city vehicles.

And she coordinates between those customers, our uh vendors, and our internal fleet shop.

So her role is similar to a service advisor that you would see at a at a uh car dealership.

Tina brings years of private sector experience in operations and fleet maintenance management with a strong track record of improving free fleet reliability, reducing costs, and leading large-scale maintenance operations across multiple states.

Tina's experience and expertise will be an asset to the city for sure.

In her spare time, Tina enjoys visiting her summer home in northern Michigan, where she unwinds with her family, and she also enjoys weekends exploring everything in the southwest.

Please join me in welcoming Tina to the team.

And I'd like to direct your attention to the video screen for our other employees.

How's it going, guys?

My name is Miguel Gallegos.

I'm with the city of Avindale, water distribution operator.

Um facts about my job is you know get a little messy, but it's okay.

I don't mind it.

I like that it's hands-on and uh I enjoy it.

Okay, I'm Jesse Morano and Adam and Wastewater Collections, and what I love about my is my co-workers.

That's who I love.

My name is Ethan Verstieg.

I'm a wastewater collections operator.

And my favorite thing about the job so far is the people.

Thank you, Baron Council.

Thank you for joining the Avondale family.

I know many of you have been here for many years.

Those of you who are new, and I've heard it a couple of mentioned many times in regards to Avondale being a family and the culture that's been created here.

So thank you so much for choosing Avondale.

More importantly, uh, welcome to the Avondale family, and I look forward to meeting many of you uh throughout my travels here in the city.

Um, and um, you know, congratulations to those of you who were promoted.

Um, you know, it's just great to see that type of professional growth happening here within the organization.

So thank you so much.

Ron, next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor and Council.

Up next, we have a proclamation for America's 250th celebration month.

By the way, great job to Parks and Rec at the uh 250th celebration uh uh this over the weekend.

Good job on the fireworks.

Um we have Katie Paulson with the Daughters of the American Revolution here to accept uh your proclamation, Mr.

Mayor.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council members.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to be here today.

I am honored to serve as the state regent of the Arizona Society, Daughters of the American Revolution.

The DAR is a nonprofit, non-political women's service organization dedicated to promoting historic preservation, education, and patriotism.

Across Arizona, our members volunteer thousands of hours each year supporting veterans, active duty military, students, teachers, and community through history and citizen contests, literacy initiatives, conservation efforts, and the preservation of our state's rich history.

We value opportunities to recognize our heritage and honor those who have served our country.

Thank you to the city of Avondale for your service to our community, recognizing our treasured veterans and for allowing us to participate in today's event.

We look forward to continuing to preserve our history, support education, and inspire patriotism for generations to come.

Particularly the members of the DR, who are also veterans, embody a remarkable legacy as they are descendants of the patriots who fought in the American Revolutionary War and have served their country in the military.

As descendants of those who fiercely championed liberty and independence, these women continue their ancestors' legacy by protecting and upholding the freedoms one centuries ago.

Our state society sponsored the first all-female honor flight of 32 female veterans and dedicated to recognizing and honoring the service of female veterans who are also DAR members.

This honor flight included visits to pivotal landmarks meaningful to women, such as the women's memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, and the DAR buildings in Washington, D.C.

on 1776 D Street.

The Arizona State Society is proud to represent women from chapters throughout our state who are united by a common purpose to honor the legacy of our patriot ancestors through service to our communities and our nation.

We are grateful for opportunities to partner with others in recognizing and preserving the history that connects us all, especially in the year of America's 250th.

Thank you for having us.

And if anyone wants more information, please contact us at ArizonaDAR.org.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I was originally going to read the proclamation, but I think it's only fitting that our veteran here who sits on countless council provide that to you.

So if Councilmember Garcy wouldn't mind, I'd really appreciate you reading the proclamation.

Yes, thank you.

What an honor.

And thank you so much for the coin.

I absolutely love it.

Proclamation, America's 250th celebration and recognition of the Copper State Chapters, Daughters of the American Revolution.

Whereas the year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776.

And whereas this historic milestone provides an opportunity for all Americans to reflect upon the courage, sacrifice, and vision of the patriots who established our nation and secured the freedoms we continue to cherish today.

And whereas the Copper State Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, as part of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, founded in 1890, is dedicated to promoting historic preservation, education, and patriotism throughout Arizona and across the nation.

And whereas the Copper State Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution has demonstrated a continued commitment to honoring American heritage through educational outreach, commitment to honoring American.

Oh, sorry, that's the same.

Yeah.

Yeah, hold on.

I'm gonna go back.

The Daughters of American Religion as part of the National Society of America's Revolution is founded in 1890 is dedicated to promoting historic preservation, education, and patriotism through Arizona and across the nations.

Whereas the Copper State chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution has demonstrated a continued commitment to honoring America's heritage through educational outreach, community service, support of veterans, and active duty military personnel, and the preservation of historical traditions and values.

And whereas the city of Avondale recognizes the important contributions of the Copper State Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution is fostering civic engagement, preserving our nation's history, and inspiring future generations to appreciate and uphold principles of liberty, equality, and democracy.

And whereas America's 250th celebration serves as a unifying opportunity for communities across the nation to honor our shared history, celebrate the progress of our democracy, and reaffirm our commitment to the ideals upon which the United States was founded.

Now, therefore, on behalf of the Avondale City Council, Hereby proclaims the month of July 2026 as America's 250th celebration month in honor of the Copper State chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and encourages residents to commemorate this historic milestone through reflection, education, service, and celebration.

If you guys wouldn't mind sticking around, we'd love to take a photo with you after we're done with uh the rest of the uh information here.

Okay, thank you.

Ron, next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor Council.

Up next, we have a proclamation for Parks and Recreation Month presented by Corey, your parks, recreations and libraries director.

Thank you, Ron.

Uh good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council.

My name is Corey.

Corey Lariva, my goodness, your Parks Recreation and Libraries Director.

Uh, July is National Parks and Recreation Month, a nationwide celebration recognizing the positive impact of parks and recreation going on that's been going on since 1985.

This year's theme, the power of celebrates the many ways parks recreation, parks and recreation strengthens communities around the nation by creating places to connect, learn, and thrive.

Here at the City of Avondale, our Parks and Recreation team is proud to be a nationally accredited accredited agency with a strong commitment to excellence.

This past year, we've welcomed more than 1.5 million visitors to our parks, served more than 144,000 library visitors, circulated more than one million library resources, maintained over 200 acres of parkland, and welcome more than 62,000 visits to our aquatic center.

And with that, I want to do a quick round of applause.

It's an amazing impact on our community.

That's some of many notable achievements to include the reactivation of our Civic Center Amphitheater, expanding our public art program with three new installations this year, and also bringing back the Western Avenue Christmas light display.

At this time, I'd also like to say thank you.

What we do is not possible alone, and none of these accomplishments happen without the support of our mayor and council, our parks advisory board, our city leadership, our community partners, and several of the supporting departments like HR, police, fire engineering, CIP that all make what we do every day possible.

So thank you.

Because of your partnerships, we've had many more successes to include the opening of Civic Center Park, breaking ground on Donatello Neighborhood Park, and completing improvements at both Friendship Park as well as the old town plot or old town uh site furnishing upgrades.

And but wait, there's more.

Uh, your support has also allowed us to partner with Arizona Game and Fish to restore the base meridian wildlife area.

And this year returning the Trace Free Us Nature Festival back home here in Avondale.

Uh so thank you for your continued investment in making Avondale's lives better through stronger, healthier, and more connected community.

And my favorite part of Parks and Recreation Month is the celebration of the people that are behind all this work.

And at this time, I'd like to recognize our Parks Recreation Library Advisory Board members, and we have several of them here in the audience.

So please stand or wave.

Uh, but we'd like to recognize you for your support and advocacy.

And then as you can see, we come in an army.

So I'd also like to recognize our intettable, incredible team in green, um, who at the height of our season is a team of almost 190 employees now of short of part-time or full-time.

Uh, and every day this team embraces new ideas, solves challenges, gets creative to provide high quality programs and safe spaces for our community to connect.

So at this time, if you're a Parks Recreation Libraries department staff member, please stand to be right.

Mayor invite uh you to read the proclamation.

Okay, Vice Mayor Curtis, if you wouldn't mind reading that.

I will do so.

Whereas parks and recreation is an integral part of communities throughout the country, including the city of Avondale, and whereas parks and recreation promotes health and wellness, improving the physical and mental health of people who live near parks, and whereas parks and recreation encourages physical activities, providing space for popular sports, hiking trails, swimming pools, and many other activities designed to promote active lifestyles.

And whereas parks and recreation programming and educational activities, such as out of school, time programming, youth sports, and environmental education are critical to childhood development.

And whereas parks and recreation increases a community's economic prosperity through increased property values, expansion of the local tax base, increased tourism, the attraction and retention of businesses and crime reduction, whereas parks and recreation is fundamental to the environmental and well-being of our community.

And whereas the U.S.

House of Representatives has designated July as Parks and Recreation Month, whereas the City of Avondale recognizes the benefits derived from the parks and recreation resources.

Now, therefore, on behalf of this Avondale City Council and the City of Avondale, Arizona, hereby proclaimed July 2026 Park and Recreation Month.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Corey.

And uh, you know, I mean, you you said it best when you referenced how many uh pieces of the organization have to come and work together to provide the services and offer the programming and uh you know blocking the streets off when you know during parades.

I mean, it's just everything is just so uh intense when it comes to this specific uh piece of the organization.

And so I'm glad that you referenced that.

In addition to uh the the man-woman power that it takes uh to do this as well.

Uh everybody here who, as I mentioned, uh during last week's festivities at the Light of the Sky event, they're there early setting up and they're there late, taking things down.

We just show up, and I don't just mean council, residents in general.

We show up, we have a great time and we leave.

Uh, but it's because of them that we're able to, you know, have that joy that we do, whether it's programming, whether it's events, whatever it may be.

And so uh huge congrats to you guys and in in terms of what you do.

Um, you know, often you probably see a lot more of our residents than many of the other pieces of the organization.

And so it's just great to know there's great people working there and their friendly faces when you know in a time of need.

Uh so I know that Parks and Rec is also uh, you know, in the hearts of many of our council members here.

So anybody want to share anything before we move on to the next councilmember Silario?

The team in green.

I think you guys have everyone's heart and soul of the community.

I cannot say enough about you guys.

You guys are there super early, really late, sometimes back to back.

And everywhere you go, the community talks so well about how how do we afford these things.

I know when Councilmember White and I travel and we talk about all the great programming.

They're like, how big is your city?

Where do you guys get money to do this?

You know, whose thought is behind all of this?

So I cannot say enough about you guys.

You guys deserve all the recognition in the world.

Thank you for you know the programming that you put on.

Thank you for keeping all the family smiling out there and taking care of them.

Wonderful job on Saturday.

We heard great things.

Um, Secretary of State was out there, said amazing things about the event.

And I said, it's all those people in the green.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember White.

Thank you so much, Mayor.

Thank you, Corey.

Um, thank you, Stacey and the entire team.

I think Parks and Rec touches me a little bit differently as a parent in the community.

Um, I have a very different experience with you.

Uh I have my kids use your facilities and take advantage of those things somewhere between neighborhood and family services and parks and rec.

My kids have found employment, they found joy, they found friendship.

Um, so I really want to thank you all so much for what you do.

Um, really highlighting what's happening at Mountain View this summer with the kids' camp.

I know that my child is there.

I really appreciate Angelo and the team out there.

Thank you so much to the entire staff at the Aquatic Center.

I think I will call every lifeguard's name, but Chloe would get offended.

Um so I'll call hers only.

But thank you so much.

We love all of you so much.

The library, Sam Garcia, Civic Center Library, those are places that I feel like I can go crawl under a table when life is just that hard and read a book and it'll it'll, you know, I could go away somewhere else.

Um you guys can make my dreams come true in a small space.

So thank you very much.

Thank you for taking care of my kids.

And thank you for supporting our families and our children and making it easier for us to be here in Avondale.

I love you guys.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Corey.

Ron, oh, go ahead.

Oh, sorry.

Uh, Councilmember Con, do you have anything to add?

Thank you, Mayor.

Nope.

I just want Corey and his team to know that they are rock stars.

And Daniela's looking forward to being a future lifeguard at the aquatic center.

Okay, there you go.

Okay, Ron, next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Our last presentation tonight is about Cheryl, your new economic development director, to present the Avondale Business Spotlight Program Award.

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

Um, I'm Cheryl Cover, your economic development director.

This evening, we are pleased to recognize Pride Fitness, also known as Hawk Sport Performance, as the recipient of the city's quarterly business spotlight award.

Located at the Northwest Corner of Corporate Drive and Fairway Drive, Pride Fitness is owned and operated by husband and wife team, Michelle and Donald Hawkins.

While they have built a successful strength and conditioning training center, what truly sets them apart is their unwavering commitment to serving the Avondale community.

Uh, really quickly, Michelle and Donald, can you guys just go ahead and come up?

Because we'd rather see your face than mine anyways.

Uh Michelle and Donald have transformed their business into a force for good by using it as a platform to raise funds, collect essential supplies, and bring awareness to causes that make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

Their efforts have supported children and families in need, survivors of domestic violence, cancer patients, and many other members of our community.

Through partnerships with organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Adopt a Family, New Life Center, the Arizona Diaper Bank, and others, they organize donation drives throughout the year that provide essential items and financial support to those who need it most.

These initiatives not only strengthen our community, but also give residents another meaningful reason to support this local outstanding business.

Thanks to the generosity of their members and supporters, Pride Fitness has helped raise approximately $7,000, in addition to collecting countless personal care items and other essential supplies for local charitable organizations.

Their impact extends far beyond fitness.

Michelle and Donald exemplify what it means to be a community partner by using their business to inspire generosity, strengthen connections, and improve the lives of those around them.

On behalf of the city of Avondale, thank you for your leadership, your generosity, and your continued commitment to making our community a better place.

Congratulations on being recognized as this quarter's business spotlight award recipient.

And with that, Mayor and Vice Mayor and Council, I'll turn it over to you for some comments.

We'll certainly get a photo after this.

Thank you, Cheryl, so much.

Wow.

The entire time we've been in.

Excuse me, and that over off of uh sex chef fairway.

And uh right off the fairway on the Avenue Company comment commerce.

And and just think about that.

Eight years, which meant which means that you are open uh or maybe not open, but um had to struggle during uh the um COVID through COVID.

Yeah, we may work through COVID.

Right days, be at home, uh outside, things like that.

And then and the athletes that we work with are generally the majority of the markets.

Uh some of which are here in the back row.

There they are.

Um for that summer.

And when we were able to get back inside again, we just we built it up, and now here we are from what is 2018 till now.

Here we are, just trying to get bigger and bigger as we go along.

And and that's my point is that uh your your business must be very special considering even through that sort of a challenge that uh essentially, you know, disrupted businesses and and led to their shutdowns during that time.

Uh and maybe and and I know that I I don't want to get into your story here, however, uh, just because uh of time, but um the fact that you were able to weather that storm and continue to thrive, and here you are today just says a lot about your business, says a lot about the members of the business more importantly, perfectly describes pride, right?

The pride.

And so um, thank you for for being here today.

Thank you, Cheryl, for putting a spotlight on a business that has given so much back to the community.

And with that, um, just I wish you nothing but much more success.

Uh, you're working with a great team here with Avondale Economic Development.

Um, but just I hope you feel part of the Avendale family.

And uh I would just hope that more of the community will continue to support you, uh, you know, athletes and otherwise.

So thank you so much.

Appreciate you.

Thanks so much.

Yeah, any other member of council?

Okay, uh, Councilmember Solorio.

Hawk, I have a message from one of the kids that you train.

Um, she reached out and sent me a message through mom, basically saying, thank you for everything you've done for me and the community.

You're like another father figure to me, and I love going to train for the year that I have been training with you.

I have grown so much.

So thank you from Allison Cook.

You know, Donald looks like a nice guy, but I think I would hate to be out there being trained by him.

I believe it.

I believe it.

Well, thank you so much, and appreciate you.

Thank you.

And we'll take a picture with you in a second.

Oh, you're right, it is that time.

All right, so uh if we if you wouldn't mind um coming down and taking a picture with us, and somebody will direct each group on when to come up.

Here we go.

You're gonna listen to her.

I almost made it.

You guys also probably work out, right?

I just remember.

Okay, item number three is unscheduled public appearances.

I do not see any blue cards, but are there any blue cards, Julie?

Thank you, Mayor.

We have not received any requests to speak.

Okay, perfect.

Next item is the consent agenda.

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

Mayor, I'd like to move remove item K, please.

Okay.

Okay.

All right.

So Mayor.

Mayor.

Yep.

Um just uh just a quick note regarding the consent agenda items four O, four P and four Q.

A picture of the new style of the bus shelter is on the screen for your review or just for your information.

Thank you so much, Julie.

Okay, so we have item K being pulled.

Mr.

Mayor.

Yes.

Councilmember White might add one other thing.

Were you good, Councilmember White?

I just wanted to um acknowledge that was gonna be that we're seeing the picture for OP and Q, correct?

Um thank you so much.

I appreciate you, Julie, for showing that.

I don't need to pull it, I just wanted to make sure the public got a view of the new bus shelters.

Thank you.

Yeah, and if you have not seen those, they're pretty nifty, especially the one here uh before us again on Van Buren and Fairway.

I really like that uh the um almost like a spiral type of a look, but the illumination looks great.

So and there's many on many different intersections, and so appreciate that.

All right, so can I get a motion uh for to approve the consent agenda minus minus item K.

Got a motion from Councilmember Solorio.

Oh I just saw a motion from Councilmember Solorio and a second from I didn't see that.

Councilmember White.

Okay, can the rest of us please vote?

Councilmember Conde, how do you vote?

Aye.

Perfect.

Item passes unanimously, seven to zero.

Uh Ron, item K, please.

Or that'll work, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you.

Appreciate it, Mr.

Mayor Council.

Uh, believe, oh, it looks like it's gonna be Harold, your assistant uh director of public works, uh, to make a presentation on this item.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor and Council.

Uh, here to give a quick presentation of our recycling program with the city of Phoenix.

Um, as a reminder, uh, we have been working and partnering with the city of Phoenix uh for them to process our recycling materials since fiscal year uh 2018.

Uh and this is all the material, the recycling material that we collect curbside from all of our residents.

Um the facility, the materials recovery facility is located on 27th Avenue and Lower Buckeye.

So the distance uh to that facility is not too far of a distance for our operator, so from an operational standpoint, it's a great location for us to be able to send our materials.

And we uh deliver approximately 5800 tons of uh recycling material uh that our residents produce uh on a yearly basis.

And the proposed uh intergovernmental agreement is for is for five years.

A little bit of history on costs when it comes to recycling.

Um in front of you, uh we have some yearly averages of what it has cost the city of Avondale to process a recycling material in fiscal year 2022.

Um to uh give some more context in regards to this chart.

The city of Phoenix uh has a set per ton tipping fee.

So for every ton that we uh sent to the recycling facility, there is a set fee.

Uh and then what the city of Phoenix does is takes those materials and then processes them, separates them, glass, plastic, uh, paper, cardboard, uh, and they bundle them and then they sell them in the open market.

Um and when they sell them on the open market, what they do is they provide us with a blended rate back to us.

That is revenues that will offset the total cost of those uh per uh uh per ton processing fee.

So the last column where it says average cost to the city of Avondale, that is the average cost per ton uh for us to process those materials in fiscal year 2022.

It was a great year.

But with the volatility of the markets going up and down, we have seen those costs fluctuate between $30 in fiscal year 23 to as high as $58.38 in fiscal year 24.

Now, as a reminder, the city of Phoenix updates those blended rates on a quarterly basis.

So they're constantly keeping up with the market and trying to give us the best return back to us here, the city of Avondale.

So when I say average, this is the average of those four quarter average rates.

For the fiscal year 27, uh, we only have our first quarter, right?

So that is the total cost of the city for this first quarter of fiscal year 27 will be a total $57.50 as a cost to us to the city.

And as a friendly reminder, what can and cannot be recycled in your blue bin?

Paper, cardboard, can you throw it in the bin?

We ask that you break them down as best as possible so you can fit as much within the blue bin, but don't pack it too much because it is difficult for our operators to actually empty out those bins.

Plastic bottles and containers, aluminum metals, and glass.

Um, and then what cannot be recycled, greasy pizza boxes, any uh glass tables, uh green waste and styrofoam.

Some of these items could be a little bit confusing to residents on what can and cannot be uh recycled.

So we always encourage our residents to visit our website uh to find uh what can and cannot be recycled in your blue bin.

So with that, I'll take any questions.

Thank you so much.

Advice Mr.

Nielsen.

I I appreciate the presentation.

I just wanted to bring up the fact that in the past we've talked about whether we were going to recycle here in Avondale, whether we weren't.

We now have a five year commitment, so we and the residents know that that's going to be in here for us.

So we keep our blue cams out, maybe we can do a little bit better job of keeping uh greasy ones out and the real ones in there.

But I just appreciate this and just want to tell you thank you for your commitment for for this and for sustainability and making the Avondale the way that it is with those recycled materials.

Thank you.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

Anybody other any other council member?

Councilmember Conn, do you have anything to add?

No.

No, thank you, Mayor.

Okay, with that, can I get a motion?

Got a motion from Vice Mayor Nielsen, a second from Councilmember Solorio.

Council could please vote.

Aye.

Okay, item K passes unanimously seven to zero.

Thank you so much.

Ron, item five, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Up next is our uh adoption of the 2025 transportation master plan update presented by Kim Moon, your engineering director.

Good evening, Vice Mayor.

Uh, Mayor and Council.

I'm Kim Moon, your city engineer, and I am giving you uh briefing tonight on the update of the transportation master plan.

Why does this update matter?

It provides multimodal transportation strategy through 2050.

It updates the current transportation master plan to account for projects completed and for current conditions related to changes we have experienced in population, residential and commercial development and travel patterns.

It also updates projections to include not only the substantial growth we've already experienced, but also on changes expected to continue into the future.

Updates to transportation master plans such as this are typically considered every five years or so, and future updates may need to be moved up or moved back based on the amount of change that has occurred since the last update.

This update gives the city a current database framework for planning transportation improvements.

Importantly, it is not just a roadway plan.

It addresses streets, transit, bicycles, pedestrians, and transportation technology, all tied to future land use and economic growth.

What the update recommends?

This slide highlights just a few examples of the roadway improvements, intersection improvements, and also multimodal strategies in this update.

Some of these significant roadway improvements are planned for the Van Buren Street Corridor, the Lower Buckeye Road Corridor, and State Route 30.

Key intersection improvement areas include Dysheart Road and McDowell Road, Dysheart Road and Van Buren Street, and Avondale Boulevard and MC85.

This update also includes multimodal strategies, such as uh the Wii ride, bike lanes, and complete street elements.

Public input was gathered early on in the process and was incorporated into and helped guide the development of this update.

This plan does not rely on pavement lane mile additions alone.

It compliant combines these other aspects as well.

So council's adoption of this update will position Avondale to continue managing growth proactively, preserve critical transportation corridors, and compete more effectively for regional, state, and federal funding opportunities.

So that concludes my briefing on this update to the transportation master plan.

I would be happy to answer any questions and receive any feedback from council at this time.

Thank you so much, Kim.

I'm going to start with Councilmember Condi on line first.

Council Member Connie, do you have any questions?

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you for the presentation.

Um, Kim.

I don't have any questions at this time.

Thank thank you.

Any other members of council have coordinated questions?

No.

Uh Kim just wanted to share, you know, that uh in terms of growth and where Avondale is and where we're headed, you know, that this document, this plan, if you will, uh, really allows for us to prepare, at least from a policy perspective, whether it be funding, whether it be the needs, uh, what have you, or just that that um big picture uh that we need.

Uh, you know, I know that we're gonna be faced with the SR 30 uh coming on down south, planning for that.

And I know that many of us here probably get a lot of questions related to traffic and congestion and and other things, and I know that sounds a negative, but it's just kind of the questions that we get.

And so it's really just nice that by adopting this plan that it allows for us to take a lot of the variables that were provided to us uh into consideration while making those decisions.

And so um, if there's no questions, I can get a motion.

Mr.

Mayor, sorry.

Councilmember White, how did I oh sorry, I didn't see your hand up.

Councilmember White.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Kim, for the presentation.

I really appreciate it.

Um, I uh wanted to just go back.

I think maybe it's a slide talking about the different things that uh the city will be able to do.

Yep, that that one slide, not this one, though, next one forward.

Um it was actually the second to last slide.

The last option there was um the grant pursuits.

But when I when we take a look at this plan, I think what I wanted to understand a little bit better from you is how difficult is it to get um public-private partnerships to accomplish a lot of the work that we have set out in this plan.

Um, because when we look at our forecast of funding in the city, we are coming um close to stabilization and and just want to make sure um that all the money that's gonna go into this won't be from Avondale.

Um thank you, uh Mayor and Councilmember White for your question.

There are different types of uh methods to fund uh the type of improvements that are uh being developed as a part of this policy and the vision uh for the growth in Avondale, including to your point, public-private partnerships or PPP3P.

It's a few different names for that.

I don't know that we have much of that method currently, but right now we do have developers that build their half-street uh improvements as they develop.

We also have uh some we've been successful for at least one or couple grant opportunities to help build and fund some of these, hopefully more to come.

Um, and then of course there's uh there's P3s, and so that's something staff can explore in more detail.

We can take your feedback on that issue and look more into opportunities for PPEs.

Sometimes uh I don't see it as often in transportation, but we can take a look at that, some of the other types of infrastructure lend themselves more readily available to a PP3 funding scenario, but definitely can look at it from a transportation perspective as well.

I think I was looking um at the Avondale Boulevard and MC85 intersection.

That's the intersection that we share with Union Pacific, and so I just think that's a great opportunity for us to find an alternative way of um crossing maybe that intersection.

And so I guess I'll speak that um because sometimes we have to put things out into existence for it to be considered.

But um, that was just one of the main ones that kind of rose to the top of the projects that are in there, but very excited to see that the van the whole Van Buren corridor is being looked at.

That's uh very much so um important as well as a lot of the things we're gonna be doing throughout the city.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

There's no other questions, and then can I get a motion?

Okay, we got a well, we don't have a motion.

Oh, it was just for discussion.

No, this is an item for action.

Yes.

Okay, so we got a motion for from council member white, second from Vice Mayor Nielsen.

Do we have any further debate or discussion before we vote?

Seeing none, please vote.

Aye.

Thank you, Councilmember Pondi.

Okay, item passage announcement seven zero.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Kim.

Ron, next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor and Council.

Up next, we have a presentation by Kirk Beatty or public works director on the solid waste code violation fees.

This is actually uh a subsection of uh the presentation under C, where we're recommending the whole schedule of um fee changes for fiscal year 2027.

Both are just presentations and for discussion tonight.

We thought that this was um important enough to separate out um from all the other fees.

So know that these are uh related, but we wanted to give opportunity for direct feedback.

We also wanted to make sure the community was aware of this uh program.

Good evening, Mayor Master and Council.

So, as Mr.

Corbin mentioned, the next agenda item will be a presentation from the finance department on recommended fee changes.

One of these relates to stolen waste uh code violations, and so we're we were asked to take a moment to explain the new fees in more detail, as they will impact many of the residents who repeatedly find themselves in violation of the city's solid waste code.

So this presentation will provide a reminder of the solid waste services provided by the city, the processes and statistics for our bulk trash and trash and recycling inspections, previous and current education enforcement efforts, the violation fee amounts and the process to assess those, and then a final summary.

So just as a reminder, public works solid waste division provides curbside trash and recycling services once a week and bulk trash services once a month in accordance with specified zones.

And to support that effort, we have two uh solid waste inspectors that perform the daily inspections of the trash and recycling bins and the bulk trash piles.

For bulk trash inspections, the inspectors will canvas the bulk trash zones before and after the scheduled weekly service.

This past fiscal year with FY26 inspectors have found over 1,800 solid waste code violations related to bulk trash.

104 of those were attributed to repeat offenders.

Over half of the code violations have to do with early or late put out.

That's when a resident places their pile out too early, meeting more than 24 hours prior to the five o'clock AM deadline, or places their pile out after the crews have already gone through and picked up the neighborhood.

The rest of the violations are related to hazardous materials like paint, tires, fully intact glass like windows, hazardous chemicals or appliances containing Freon.

Additionally, residents put out large amounts of construction debris or large tree stumps, which can damage our equipment.

And then lastly, they can put out uh large, extremely large piles beyond the three cubic guard limit.

And then uh when that happens, inspectors leave a pink tag explaining the violation and the issues that they need to correct, and they paint the pile with a pink X.

Yeah, that lets us know that they were there and that the pile was inspected.

Solid waste collection staff that are picking up the material are allowed to use their judgment and discretion, and they can sometimes do a parcel collection.

For example, taking only half of the oversized pile and leaving the rest, or maybe picking up what's trash but leaving behind the tires if there's tires in the pile.

But that's discretion is based on their ability to easily separate the items.

They're not gonna stand out there and sort through an entire pile just to find the stuff that they can pick up.

For curbside trash and recycling, the inspectors will canvas certain neighborhoods on collection day to check for blocked or overfilled containers or unacceptable items or hazardous materials in the trash bins or the recycle bins.

If there is a violation, the inspector will tag the bin.

And again, the tag explains the violations and the issues to correct.

And uh, it's also an indicator to the equipment operators of an issue with the can.

So the equipment operator doesn't service the can.

Inspectors can't inspect every can that gets picked up every day.

And they can report those issues to the solid waste inspectors and back to the public works department customer service team.

And then we know that at some point we'll follow up with the resident to help them resolve their issue.

This past fiscal year, over 3,800 violations were noted for trash and recycling.

309 of those were repeat offenders.

Half of the violations were for overfilled containers.

Those are the ones that are hard to dump without spilling the trash on the ground.

And they were actually represent more volume of trash than what we anticipate in the cost for service and the billing rates, which ultimately impacts utility rates for our residents.

Bin placement is another absurd violation.

Maybe a bin is too close to a vehicle, and the truck can't access it.

Sometimes they're overweight because they've got construction debris, dirt, concrete, which again, it's a heavy can that impacts the cost for service and ultimately the rates.

And then lastly, inspectors will find unacceptable items, especially in the recycle containers.

A lot of that time that's green waste, which the city does not recycle.

Again, the inspectors will tag the tag the can and provide the solution.

But if it can't be serviced, the residents again will call public works or submit an aviwiss ticket, and then we'll follow up and identify the reason through our videos and pictures we have as the collection gets gets done throughout the day, and then we'll uh work with them to find a solution.

So the primary role of our inspectors is to educate the residents and enforce the rules.

And again, I mentioned they do all the tagging and they um take the opportunity to educate the customers if there's an issue.

They make every effort to talk to them directly, but some sometimes they're unsuccessful.

The resident, a lot of times isn't home, or they may not want to talk to the inspector, in which case they still have the tag and they can still contact public works, and we can we can direct them to a to a solution.

So one of the things that we direct people to, especially if they have uh uh material like paint or tires, they can use the city's household hazardous waste events to get rid of those things.

Those happen twice a year.

And then they can also, as Harold mentioned, they can visit the city's website about information on trash and recycling in Avondale, and they can learn about the do's and don'ts.

The inspectors will return back to see if the issue is corrected.

But beyond the education, there really isn't an enforcement mechanism when no correction is taking place.

In the historic past, the solid waste division used to issue citations when the residents violated the solid waste code, and this required staff and the resident to appear in court.

But most of the time the residents resolve the issue before they even appeared in court.

But there's a lot of time involved in every one of these citations.

So that process many years ago was stopped, moving only to an education only approach.

And there's really been no other enforcement mechanism until this proposal today.

Um, again, we provide education to the residents, but a majority of the residents they do comply with our request.

But again, we have a lot of folks that just don't comply or repeat offenders.

So the SOLID waste code has a provision for penalty fees, and we're now establishing those fees with this with this presentation and the one to follow.

The proposed fees are based on a step process.

The first offense of a code violation will result in the inspector educating the resident and requesting them to comply to the code within two calendar days.

So still doing that in kit education first approach.

If the resident does not comply within the requested time frame, then on the third calendar day, the second offense is triggered, and a $25 fee will be assessed to their utility bill.

So our objective here is to minimize the amount of time that these bulk trash piles sit on the street.

We don't want to see the piles out there for weeks on end.

We want to make sure the streets are safe.

So we'll get rid of the pile regardless of its size and regardless of its contents.

A fourth offense will be triggered when we see another bulk pile from the same resident in violation again.

And then if we continue to have this problem, the fifth offense is a civil citation to the resident.

The fees here are primarily directed at those repeat offenders.

Unpaid fines may impact provision for water service to the resident.

And I will mention that the violation of solid waste code is a class one misdemeanor that is potentially additional fines beyond what I've said, plus jail time.

These fees primarily relate to bulk trash, but we could extend these also to the trash and recycling as well.

And really the fees, what they do is they help assist the inspectors with the enforcement efforts and help to recoup some of the cost associated with conducting these inspections and enforcement.

So our goals through this application, the violation fees are to encourage residents to comply with chapter 11, the city solid waste code, keeping the city clean of debris and blight, ensuring the health and well-being of our residents by minimizing the length of time trash is present on the streets and to keep solid waste operations running efficiently.

And just to note, this is not the first fee that council has approved regarding solid waste services.

We charge a go back fee of 28.

That was introduced in fiscal year 26 for trash and recycling pickup.

So a resident who's received the trash violation for their trash bin or the recycling bin, or their bin wasn't picked up because they put it out late, they can call and we will go back and pick up that can service that can for a 28 fee.

In FY26, we had 269 um actions where we've gone back and processed that fee and picked up a can.

201 of those were first time, one time people that we haven't heard back from.

We did have one person that has made taken advantage of that fee eight times in the past fiscal year.

A lot of times, if they have a lot of trash um with overfilled cans or things like that, then we'll encourage them to uh get an additional can.

We have a fee for that too, but they can get a second can for service.

And then if they do go back, they have the the problem has to be remedied before we'll pick up the can.

So if it is overfilled, then the resident needs to take out the things that are overfilled, get the can lid closed as per the city code, and then we will do we will do the service.

So just in summary, ongoing problem with compliance of the solid waste code, it's been around for a while.

We get a lot of calls about material that's been sitting out for periods of times in the neighborhoods.

A lot of time it's from the residents who don't like to see it.

Our primary concern is with the bulk trash and the repeat offenders.

We always take that education first approach.

We've adopted or propose this progressive step for fines with the idea to educate first and then find later.

And our goals are to gain compliance with the code, change behavior, maintain the streets in a clean condition, and control our operating costs, which in turn help to control the rates to the to the residents.

So with that, I've got Harold here and Simon Lara, our Solid Waste manager between the three of us, we'd be happy to answer any questions that you have.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Kirk.

Um, Councilmember Connie, do you have any questions at this time?

Yes, thank you, Mayor.

Thank you for the presentation, Kirk.

Um for the folks that um leave a lot of items out on the street.

You said that if we're able to, we can take some of them and then they'll have to dispose of the rest.

Do we provide a list of places they can dispose of?

Say, for instance, if it's paint or tires um list where they can dispose of them other than waiting for the city's event.

No, we do not.

There's not a lot of options options, especially for tires.

Um, there's only one collection location in the entire county for that, way over in East Mesa.

So our recommendation is to hold on to them until the until the hazardous waste opportunity comes with paint.

Um, you can actually let it dry.

And once it's dry, then it's not hazardous anymore.

So you can do that, but you'd have to put it out in the sun today, would be a great day to dry your paint.

Um what about batteries like phone um batteries?

I know Daniela has an old um scooter and there's a battery.

Where would those be disposed of?

So I'm going to turn that question over to Harold Seguenza because he's actually has kind of an exciting almost announcement because we're not ready to announce it yet, but we'll give you a little hint.

Yep.

Vice Mayor Council.

Um, in regards to batteries, lithium iron batteries specifically.

Yes, it has been an industry issue for several years now, as the amount of batteries has increased significantly in all of our products.

Um, here shortly, hopefully within a few weeks, we'll be uh um opening a drop-off center for for lithium ion batteries.

Uh, and we're also going to be conducting an educational campaign as well that we did in partnership uh with several other cities as well.

Uh because it's not just us here in Avendil, but it's also uh the region as a whole, landfills, operators, the environment, it's a collective system.

So uh here in the next few weeks, you'll be seeing some announcements in regards to that.

Uh, and also additional information on not just only our location where we can drop off batteries, but also other locations such as private businesses where you can't drop off batteries as well.

Well, that's wonderful news.

Um I did also have a question.

If someone is finest, saw that was there like a 200 fine.

Um, if I recalled seeing on the slide, are we are they able to make uh payment arrangements like $25 a month um until the fine is paid?

Councilmember Condi, Mayor, Vice Mayor, I don't think we've contemplated the payments, but we do have our finance director here that could probably help us out.

Mayor, vice mayor, councilmember conde.

Um the way that the payments would be applied would be starting with uh the solid waste and the trash first and then water.

So if the customer was in a situation where they needed to make payment arrangements, that is available by calling into our customer service.

Perfect.

Thank you.

And I really um thankful that you guys are doing the education piece first.

I think that's very important.

And um, so thank you for your hard work.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Conde.

Okay, other members of council questions?

Okay, uh, we'll start with Councilmember White and then we'll work our way back this way.

Councilmember White.

Thank you so much, Mayor.

Thank you so much, Kirk, for the presentation.

Um, I was just concerned because I look at this and I know that a lot of our HOAs have fines as well when they see those out there.

Are these um fines that are gonna because and we also have renters?

So not only do we have HOA fees, but then we have renters who are occupying homes that the homeowners are the ones who might be paying the utility bills.

Um how do we kind of navigate that kind of sticky situation there?

Because we're kind of uh layering on for lack of better terms, and the actual individual that might be you know putting the trash out late is the teenage kid who's left at the house before they go to school, not realizing it's always late because you know it comes at five in the morning.

Um, and then you know that the hoa gets involved and then the owner gets involved.

How do we kind of what are we doing to mitigate some of this risk here of impacting owners?

Right, mayor, council member white.

So we work closely with the HOAs.

A lot of times there's there's dialogue back and forth with regard to waste on the streets, piles that are put out.

Um a lot of the homeowners they'll contact us and say, you know, you didn't pick it up, and now I'm gonna be in trouble with the HOA.

So we do a lot of communication with them.

We'll make sure that they're aware that we're implementing these fees.

Um bulk trash is the biggest problem.

And you mentioned like renters, we do have people that rent a home and then they decide to leave and they put all their stuff out in the street, and it doesn't matter um what zone it's in or what day what day of the month, they just do it.

And um, but that's not real real common.

It it happens once in a while.

We do attempt to work with the homeowner in that case.

Um it may be a circumstance where we have to make some special accommodation if we know that there was a renter in there.

And a lot of times we can tell just based on the pile that's been put out, what kind of what kind of uh person might or group might have been living in the home.

Um, with regard to the your your you know, somebody putting out the trash can after the per after the truck is left, um, we can see that too because we have the videos, we know what the true if the cam was out there or not.

And we've had a couple of occasions where somebody said, Hey, my kid put this out late or I missed it or whatever.

And we try to accommodate as much as we can.

But again, most of the people is like, yeah, okay, I'm I missed it, I was over full.

Please pay the 28 dollars or I'll pay the 28 dollars, please come back.

The other thing we tell them too is you can go buy a trash can at Lowe's or Home Depot for $30 and own it for yourself, and that's where you put your overflow when you have your birthday parties and things like that.

And that way you're not paying $28 and resigned every time you overfilled your can.

So we we try to work with them, give them some ideas and uh you know, again, educate first and understand that you know sometimes it impacts people financially.

And then uh finally, are we are we taking a look at the vendor that we have for our trash cans?

I know that a lot of the tops were breaking, and even in my neighborhood, we still have some of the blue bins with brown black tops and black tops with blue.

It's weird.

Um, and it doesn't end up working out right.

And I guess somebody wanted to bring it to my attention because they felt that their recycling wasn't picked up because it had a black top, and our our folks are early.

Mayor Bice Mayor Council White um if there are any mismatching tops um I would I would suggest for the resident to submit um an advertised ticket for us to change that color tops so there aren't so there isn't any confusion if it's just a top that is a different color but the bin is the color that it needs to be our operators don't pick it up and for the most part operators they know the neighborhoods they understand this they understand the bins for what they're collecting.

So I don't support you that being an issue but if there are any bins out there with a mismatch colored lid um we'll be more than happy to replace that with the right colored lid.

Thank you thank you.

Mr Mr Mayor can I uh ask Kirk to complete Councilmember White's question with the the efforts we're making to uh address some of our CAN issues that have come up absolutely thank you sir mayor councilmember white so we are well aware of the challenges we have with trash can damage here in the city and I've tasked Harold and Simon to come up with uh you know first off to find out exactly what the problem is because we were contemplating is it cans is it the trucks is it age what exactly is the problem and through the review that we've done and we've compared ourselves to other cities in the valley to see what their kind of problem is with with with the broken trash cans.

And unfortunately we kind of lead the pack in that in that issue but what we found in the studies two things that are really really key uh first off is we the trucks that we operate we are basically the only city in the valley that operates the brand of trucks that we have and if you happen to have seen one of our trucks in operation they are very very rough on the cans they slam them up they slam them down lids fly off we are in the process through attrition of replacing those trucks uh we've got three new ones that have come on service just within the last about year and a half we have three more due to be replaced in this fiscal year so that would help us and we were just meeting with one of our drivers this morning and he was explaining how much he loves one of the new trucks because it's so much more gentle and it's not throwing the can down so that's a big part of our of our issue.

The other thing we found is that historically and I think it dated back to like 2010 we've bought we've purchased cans in bulk.

So there was a big push around 2010 and we bought a lot of cans and then things drove drove down and then in 2020 we started to buy another book or not maybe 2020 maybe a little earlier than that but we're finding out that a lot of the cans that are breaking are 10 to 20 years old and the reason you can tell is because it has the river logo on the side as opposed to the Abbey and those are the ones that have been around a while.

So they're already at the end of their service life and we're just I think because of there's so many of them they're um you know they're just coming due.

We've investigated all of the different trash can manufacturers this the municipalities in the valley they all use different ones some of them use multiple like we do because it's cost we've been using some of the more expensive cans to see if there's a big difference but we look at our at our neighbors and they're using some of the cheaper cans and they're just having a break time with those so again I think the majority of it is really our trucks at this point.

Thank you so much and do we have any community partnerships involved in um the education I know that I was at the last Cafecitos that we had in um I think it was last month and we got a lot of great information.

I know we have awesome community partners sitting in the back with us here cash and cares they really led the way as it related to doing community cleanups and I know that sometimes when we have our community that steps up and they want to help out all the time they feel like they're kind of left behind when we don't keep them included and spreading the message and keeping them involved what are we doing to continue to include those types of community organizations that really get the message out there and our boots on the ground to keep our community clean and do a lot of the work that we really want to get done.

So mayor councilmember white so you you mentioned HOAs we try to work closely with them not just on trash issues but water issues as well and we do go to the Cafetes on on occasion to meet with those groups and I think we will do that now as we begin to implement these fees so we can we can make sure everybody's aware of that um we do participate in some of the cleanup efforts as well um usually that's tied kind of with household hazardous waste so it's a great way to capitalize on that activity for the neighborhood and for the city at large and kind of get a bigger bank for our buck and we would maybe do that.

So we definitely want to continue to do public outreach because it is first off about education all the time.

I'm from Voice.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Kirk.

Um, I did have a question.

So on the fees that you have here, these are for the bulk pickup penalty fees.

Are these the same for um recycle?

If somebody has a um they're putting they're overfilling their recycle bin or they're putting in the wrong items.

So mayor Captain Rewise, they could be.

We we could apply these same fees.

I don't think we would charge somebody $100 to pick up their trash can because you already have a fee for $28.

Right.

But if we found somebody that's continually having an issue, we would need to address it somehow.

But right now we have the solution.

They can pay $28, we'll go pick it up.

Um, it used to be we would just go back and do it, and we stopped picking up just by request a few years ago because it costs a lot of money to turn a truck around to go pick up uh a trash can out of out of sequence.

So it's there in case we need it, but I don't think I would be using it for that.

I think we'd be using it more for the bulk trash.

Okay, thank you.

Council Mercelor.

Thank you, gentlemen, for the presentation.

Thank you first and foremost for the education component of it.

I think that's really important.

I think that's what kind of sets us apart from other cities.

I know in talking to other councils, they'll share some of the things, and I'm like, you guys are brutal, man.

We give people the opportunity and we share with them, you know, ways to kind of mitigate, you know, let's not do this or let's not do that.

So I really want to thank you for that because that sticks out more so.

And if you look in our joining communities, I'm sure you know which ones I'm talking about.

Um, they're not as you know, apt to educate folks in what the process is.

And yes, there should be fees for people that you know are repeat offenders because that's tough.

I've seen the garbage folks out, you know, and trying to gather stuff, and sometimes that bulk loads a little too big or they might get poked.

I saw one guy get poked by like a branch on the side, and you know, stuff like that.

It should just be looked at.

And I like the fact that we have different fee levels and we're willing to work with them.

So there should be no excuses for anyone doing that.

Um, I also like the fact that you know that would be added to the utility bill.

Um the different, you know, starting from like the lowest fee to whatever it might be.

Hopefully, they're not getting to that other fee and such.

I know that we often talk about you know our trash cans and the we've talked about them in the audit committee.

And you know, really everybody has a problem with their trash can one way or another.

I know other cities have had issues with the wheels on the trash can.

We have some with the lids, but you know, a lot of that stuff is you know, it's the wear and tear of those things.

So thank you for what you've guys have done and what you're putting forward.

Thank you.

Councilmember Garcio.

I like it, but because we want clean communities.

Um, and I do like the educational portion of it.

Um people don't know what they could put out there.

Like if you go to my neighborhood mentally, I thought we could put everything on the street because everyone does, and it gets picked up.

And I my neighbors have not like really complained about it because I talked to everyone, but that makes sense that you know we have something and um it is dangerous sometimes for the kids when they're playing outside and there's bulk trash out there for like a whole week and they're riding their bikes or roller bleeding and stuff.

So this keeps just keeps the community accountable.

Um, I just have a random question since we're on the topic of trash.

Um, are we still disposing of sharps at the library?

Um, like the needles, because you talked about the batteries, which is awesome.

I have PTSD from throwing away batteries, so I have boxes of batteries from Afghanistan.

Like I don't throw batteries away, so that's exciting.

But I was just wondering about like the sharps.

Where did those go?

Mr.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, Councilmember Garcia, yes.

Okay.

We still have sharps at our libraries.

Uh Corey, any anywhere else.

Okay, there we go.

Uh correct.

There is currently sharp disposal at all city facilities, including the libraries, the Mountain View Community Center, and I believe the aquatic center as well.

Okay.

Thank you.

Ted, I think has something.

And hold on to those batteries and we'll take them from them in just a few weeks.

Mr.

Mayor, uh, your HR director has something to add, it looks like also.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of council.

That is something that we actually support in human resources through our safety department.

So we coordinate with vendors to remove the sharps, make sure that it's available.

Um, something we do regularly.

Vice Mayor Nielsen.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Appreciate that.

I had one note up there.

How do you get the violations out?

I believe you said that it just goes into the utility bills.

So there would be a line item on there for something that says first offense or whatever it might be.

Yeah, so that way they can see and know what's going on with it.

The other one I've got is bulk trash.

I know we're in uh area D, but we get people who put stuff out the first week or second week.

I appreciate you going through and looking at that.

Do they go through the inspectors go through our area the first week?

Or I don't know, you've got two inspectors, or they just kind of hit and miss.

Is there any type of methodical way of just driving around our area D when it's supposed to be the fourth week instead of the first week?

Yeah.

So I'm gonna turn that over either to Harold or Simon if you want to talk about the how the inspectors inspect the areas.

Uh council uh Vice Mayor uh Nelson.

Um so we have a north and south uh inspector.

So when we're in zone one, the south inspector is gonna is uh inspecting zone three and four or uh uh late put outs or early put outs.

So the inspector on north on the north side does um zone A, which we're in this week, and then he'll uh go down south and inspect zone B.

So they're always inspecting zones.

So once we go through zone A and then we go in zone B, the inspector will go through zone A to check um any late put-outs and vice versa.

So the self inspector is always uh inspecting zone C and B.

So we're always inspecting the zones for either late or early put-outs and with these fees, it's gonna help a lot with these uh repeat offenders and especially during the holidays, like Christmas, uh uh, especially Halloween people, you know, there's a lot of kids out trigger treating.

This is really going to help out with the Blythe with the with the earlier late put outs with these fees.

So I appreciate that very much.

So and if if you if Kirk, if if there is a bulk trash in B and they see it in A up there, does it a $28 charge to go back and pick up the bulk trash, or do you just do that?

So there is no mayor, Vice Mayor, Mayor, there is no um fee right now for bulk trash.

So there would be once these fees are implemented.

And again, um, if this is the first offense, we would go back and tell the resident, we tag your pile, you need to remove this from the street and tell your next schedule bulk trash week, you know, we'll be back in a month to pick it up.

Um, and then if they don't do that after two days, we'll go back and issue the 25 fee and give them that that second opportunity to take care of it.

And then if they haven't done it, then we go to the third fee of $75, and then we will pick it up.

And again, I have to, you know, just the majority of the people comply.

We just have some folks that are just really, really repetitive on this.

And we have a lot of great residents in our neighborhoods that call us and tell us that their neighbors are messing up.

We know a lot of them, a lot of those folks by name.

We got to them, um, visit their homes regularly.

Uh, but we appreciate that because that helps us to keep track of of what's going on and know where to concentrate our efforts.

You mentioned uh I think a pink tag or something, you put a pink X and then a pink tag.

Does that tag go with the bulk?

Does it go on the door?

Does it go on where does it go?

So maybe Rice Mayor, we actually put the tag on the pile.

And the reason we do that, um, there's a couple of reasons.

One, if we put it on their door, maybe they drive in and out of their garage and they never see the tag.

So if we put it on the pile, it's really obvious.

And then secondly, we and this is I guess kind of the thing I kind of felt is it's a big ugly pink tag and it lets all the other neighbors know that you mess up.

And and then it helps us as we're as we're all working around driving around the city.

We see some piles, whether it's a pink tag or the pink X, we know that it's been addressed, so that we aren't double doubling our efforts to you know to inspect something that's already been inspected.

And I guess just one last one back to the cans or whatever.

If one of the drivers see the can, the other day in our neighborhood, there was a trash can on a Thursday and it was split all the way.

It was open, the garbage was not coming out.

Would that driver look and make a note and say we need to replace this?

If there's some proactive method of saying, okay, this one's shot, this one's shot, record it and go replace it.

So mayor, vice mayor, yes.

The the drivers are instructed to identify broken cans.

Um, and they do the best that they can.

A lot of times they're out there in the dark, so you may not always see that it's that it's cracked or maybe the lids cracked.

Um, but they they do try to capture those.

They get those called back in, then we proactively schedule a replacement.

We'll get a hold of the resident, and usually we replace the can on their next service day, presuming that we'd already made the service.

Um the solid waste drivers are supposed to be picking up about 150 cans an hour.

So on a 10-hour day, they pick up over a thousand cans.

So, you know, we have to they unfortunately they kind of have to keep moving, and sometimes they can't stop and check every violation, but that's why we have the inspectors as well.

So, and then we hope that people will call in.

If anybody needs their can repaired, all they need to do is contact us.

It's free of charge.

We'll go out, repair it or replace it, whatever's necessary.

Thank you very much.

Appreciate you and all your your staff and everything they're doing.

Thank you, Vice Mayor.

Um, a lot of already been said, uh, I'll just limit my comments, but I do have one question.

Um, I think I believe what you've heard is is support for for this.

And I think uh in addition to that, uh, we appreciate the education portion as opposed to just uh, you know, compliance or else.

Uh so the education goes a long way.

As you mentioned, you know, uh most people when they do this, whether they put it out too early or maybe it's it's greater than the three QB cards or whatever it might be, when they see the pink tag in the X.

I'm assuming most look and say, oh my gosh, I you know, what did I do here?

And and would even blame themselves to a certain degree.

It's the repeat repeat offenders that's I think we're really focused on here are those who, as you mentioned, you know, by name, by address, et cetera, et cetera.

And so at some point you got to get their attention.

So I believe um, you know, that this is is right up the alley as to what we need.

So the question is, and I don't want to get into the minutiae, but it's something that I've witnessed and I've seen in my neighborhood is uh, you know, a homeowner um has a water heater or a refrigerator or some big appliance.

Uh, maybe it's not a big apply, maybe it's just the desk.

And they assume that if I put it on the curb, uh somebody's gonna drive by and pick it up and use it for scrap, right?

So they're gonna do me a favor, I do them a favor.

And in addition, maybe they have a desk of some sort that they don't want, and so they put a little tag on that that says free.

Uh hopefully somebody will take it, but but they don't, and it remains.

Would then this qualify, would that qualify for the educational piece?

Um, and hopefully get their attention to where they bring it in and say, okay, well, then we'll wait for bulk or what have you.

Um, or uh because a driver or an inspector sees the free sign or what have you, do they give them the option to leave it out for a day or two longer?

How would that work?

So, mayor council, if it's an item that somebody wants to provide for free to anybody that would take it.

Our recommendation is to put it in their driveway.

We will not pick up anything off of private property.

If it's sitting in the street or on the sidewalk, then it's obstructing a public right-of-way.

We would identify it as bulk trash, we would tag it.

We would we would give that notice to the to the resident, you need to move this out of the street.

And if they did that, then this the problem is solved.

And we have to do it if we've had that occasion and we've had to do with that a few times.

I mean, they may have to deal their HOA or something of that effect, but as far as the city's concerned, private property, we don't touch no harm, no foul.

But if it's on the street, that's where this could be implemented.

Okay, all right.

All right.

Well, if there's no other questions, thank you so much for the presentation and the information.

And uh we really appreciate it, Kirk.

Thank you.

And she may Simon, thank you.

Okay, Ron, next item, please.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Up next, a presentation uh and discussion on recommended fee changes for fiscal year 2027 by Renee Weatherless, your finance and budget director.

Good evening, Mayor Vice Mayor and Council.

Uh the purpose of tonight's item is to present the summary of our fiscal 2027 proposed fees.

This item is for discussion only.

No action will be taken tonight.

So last fiscal year, um, if you recall, we conducted a fee study and updated our fees in development services, engineering, and fire and medical, which make up about 60% of all of our city's fees.

This year, staff has recommended minimal changes to fees across six departments, including the city clerk's office, engineering, finance and budget, parks, recreation, and libraries, police, and public works.

The process to change fees requires a public notice be posted online at least 60 days prior to council action.

So we posted that notice on May 4th, along with the methodology supporting the new and or increased fees.

In addition to the required public notice, we posted on social media on June 25th, and we're here tonight seeking council's feedback.

So the first of the departments is under the police.

Staff are proposing to remove two fingerprinting fees from our current fee schedule, as the services have not been provided since March of 2020.

In the city clerk's office, they wish to create a domestic partnership registration program to provide a needed service to the community.

However, that program will be coming back to council for future consideration.

But due to the timeline and the process of creating new fees, we've included that fee in this year's uh schedule.

And under finance and budget, uh the city applies a $25 non-sufficient fund fee for payments that get returned.

Um the idea is that we're just changing the name on this fee because it includes other payment types aside from check, which include ACH, EFTs, and credit cards.

In engineering services, staff are proposing a revision to certain fee names and units of measure to provide clearer descriptions of the services being charged to reduce customer confusion and to improve transparency.

The name changes will be more or will more accurately reflect the services that the customer receives, and the proposed changes do not alter the underlying fee purpose.

Staff is also proposing 12 new fees.

So the city currently performs inspections and plan reviews within some subcategories, including concrete structures, drainage, grading, sanitary, sewer, utilities, and water that do not currently have individual established fees.

So these fees require staff time, technical expertise, and administrative processing.

But in some cases, no specific fee has been adopted to recover the associated cost.

So the proposal is to establish these fees to ensure consistency, transparency, and equitable cost recovery.

So as development activity continues, these inspections require comparable effort to other already adopted fee-based services.

In addition, for plan reviews that do not warrant the standard per sheet fee structure, we are proposing a new hourly plan rate, um plan review rate that would be applied.

Under parks, recreation and libraries, um, parks facility rentals have increased steadily over the past five years, while maintenance and operation have risen faster.

Facility rentals have been identified as a heavily subsidized service, and market compression in the West Valley has increased demand from outside user groups.

The proposed fee ranges maintain affordability for residents, allow phased adjustments over the next three years, and provide flexibility if market conditions exist.

Demand is expected to remain strong as requests exceed available inventory.

For fee reductions, based on the first few months of operating the special event permit program.

The proposed fees appear to better align with market conditions and customer expectations.

So staff are proposing to reduce the major event permit fee by half in order to address customer feedback, to better accommodate event organizers, and to support community events.

And lastly, establishing the range and updating unit of measure.

Over the past five years, the cost of burial services at the Goodyear Farm Cemetery has increased while revenue per burial has not kept pace with raising personnel and equipment cost.

So to better reflect those costs, staff is proposing an increase to the fee range for cremation and traditional burial fees.

This will provide flexibility for future adjustments.

The unit of measure update will provide clarity and it will move from a per person or into per hour to a per burial basis.

And then lastly, under the public works solid waste division, this is just what you heard Kirk discuss that it will be a progressive fee based on the subsequent offenses.

So in summary, staff is staff's recommendation is to add 18 new fees, make recommendations to names and units of measure and fee ranges to reduce two and to remove two fees from our current schedule.

Over the next steps in the process, we will be returning back to council on July 13th for council action on these proposed changes.

And with council approval, the fees would then take effect on September 1st.

So this does conclude my presentation, and I will take any questions.

Thank you so much.

We really appreciate it, Renee.

Um are there, and this is for discussion only.

Councilmember Connie, do you have any questions?

Thank you, Mayor.

I don't have any questions at this time.

Okay, thank you so much.

Councilmember White.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, thank you, Renee.

Do we know how many plots are left available at the Goodyear Farm Cemetery?

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

Uh, there are actually still quite a few plots remaining.

There's less eligible candidates that would still qualify for that potential burial.

But transitioning from coffin burial to a cremation style burial has a lot of it creates the opportunity for more capacity.

So the burial is smaller now.

Does it uh is that something we determine for the departed, or is that something the family selects for the departed that they selected during their application process, whether they're gonna do a coffin burial or cremation burial, is if I'm understanding the question correctly.

Yes.

Yes.

And um the fees are different based on those burial types as well.

Thank you.

Okay.

Councilmember Weiss, any questions?

Okay, Councilmember Solorio.

No, no questions.

Okay.

All right.

Uh I appreciate it.

Again, I don't really have any questions, just comments in regards to thank you all for uh, you know, looking at really the balance uh of of what has occurred here in terms of the changes.

I know that there was many um the ranges allowed for uh what would assume to be more of a reduction in some of the costs uh associated with those things.

And then um one thing that I had mentioned to uh to Ron uh Corey that I don't know and I don't think you can track this at all, but just something that I know that happened a lot when I was coaching um sports and utilizing the play fit, the the ball fields was uh outside organizations coming in, uh paying a fee for our lights, and then passing on an actual separate light fee to their parents.

So, for example, if they paid $25 an hour for the light, $50 for the two hours, they would go to each parent and collect $10.

Uh so they were actually making money to pay for the light fee and then recouping it was a revenue generator essentially.

Um and I don't know if we I don't think we can track that or anything, but um I'm just really glad the goal here of this comment is just to express the fact that um I'm glad to see more Avondale residents getting uh usage of the ball fields, and I would hope that we would continue to make it a priority to uh allow them to get these fields first.

I know it's it doesn't always work out that way, but that's one of the major reasons as to why, you know, I know that not every organization does that, but a lot of them do.

So just the comment I wanted to make.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

And and our current field allocation of rental policy does prioritize residents and local organizations first.

Um, and in a little of what you're trying to achieve there.

So yes.

Yeah, appreciate it.

Okay, thank you so much, Ray.

Appreciate it.

All right.

Uh let's move on to item six, summary of current events.

Any members of council wish to share any uh summary of any current event?

Uh, Councilmember Connie, do you have anything to add or to share?

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, I I not at summary events, but I do want to congratulate um councilmember White for being elected to serve as the chair of Valley Metro Board.

And I also wanted to congratulate um council member Weiss for um being selected for the MAG Transportation Committee.

Congratulations, ladies, great job.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

Councilmember Solorio.

Uh, two weeks ago, I was in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma representing Avondale and Women and Municipal Government.

And I just wanted to say thank you, Ron, for always making me one of the most prepared council members with the information that I need.

And if I don't have it right on the spot, you answer me very quickly and you get me what I need.

So it looks like everyone's stellar and we're just great because I can provide these answers just right on the cuff as well as to Nicole, because sometimes it's a legal question.

So thank you, Nicole.

Okay, thank you.

Any other council members.

Okay.

Um councilmember White.

I had the opportunity last Sunday to go to the Thrive Um Church.

That's in they um have services in La Jolla, um, which I thought was really neat because I didn't realize there are quite a few schools that offer services in Avondale.

Imagine Avendale has one.

I think it's Kingswell.

And then I had the opportunity to stop into the patriotic services yesterday at Skyway Church and saw uh Vice Mayor Nielsen there as well.

Um, and then we all got to show up at the um Light Up the Sky celebration for the 4th of July, which was super amazing.

I had a really great time, and I just wanted to thank Parks and Rec again.

Thank you.

I mean, I echo those same sentiments.

I mean, it was a great uh, you know, event.

More importantly, I loved making the comment over and over again regarding the fact that we're using real fireworks and not drones, uh, which I know that Stacy was sharing with me that she heard from a Goodyear resident.

Um, I shared with you, Corey, and with you, Ron, but not others, that um I was uh waiting to go on stage with the rest of the council, and just randomly I was asked to take a picture of a of a gal in her family, and I said, sure, I'll do it.

And then I asked her where she was from, and she said she was from Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, uh, she is in Arizona because of a of a large fire that has taken place out there.

So she found herself in Scottsdale of all places, and that's where she is currently residing in a hotel in Scottsdale, but had heard that Avondale had live fireworks, so commuted from Scottsdale all the way here to Avondale just to partake in our event.

So you never know where people are coming from and more importantly, uh what these we these uh these people are are facing, and just to kind of have an event where they could celebrate together meant more to them uh than I think any of us would know.

So thank you again.

And uh also last week I got to attend uh goodbye lunch for General David Birkland from Luke Air Force Base, who is taking station uh in San Antonio, Texas.

And so he'll be leaving us.

We get our new uh commander here at some point uh over the next couple of weeks.

Um, but if you know uh uh General Berkeley, um, I'm sure that he'll be missed by you.

He was a great leader, more importantly, he was very involved in the community, and we really appreciate him and all that Luke has to offer.

So with that, if I can get a motion to adjourn, got a motion with Councilmember Garcia, second by Vice Mayor Nielsen.

Please vote.

Hi.

Thank you, Councilmember Condi.

I'm passing international everybody drive home safely and enjoy the rest of the week.

Thank you.

Goodbye.