Bullhead City Council Regular Meeting - March 20, 2024

Note: The raw transcript opens with 'Tuesday, March nineteenth, twenty twenty four, five thirty PM,' while the meeting date supplied for this summary is March 20, 2024. No agenda or minutes were provided. Roll call showed six council members present and Council Member Alfonso absent.

Proclamation

• Mayor Steve Diamico proclaimed Saturday, March 23, 2024, as Kawana's Kids Expo Day. The sixth annual Kawana's Kids Expo will be held March 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kenfoger Park. A representative said the event is 100% free, has 87 booths, offers $1 hot dogs/snow cones/cotton candy, and includes churches, youth groups, schools, fire/police, hospitals, and a donated pallet of water from Western Arizona Regional Medical Center.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Barbara Pape (Colorado River Republican Women) announced a luncheon on Wednesday, April 3, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Chaparral Country Club, with U.S. Senate candidate Sheriff Mark Lamb as guest speaker; seating is limited.
• Jason Newland (Bullhead City resident) announced community events: a kids Easter egg hunt at Laughlin Ranch on March 23 with over 20,000 eggs and free popcorn; an adult egg hunt March 29; and weekly RC racing and mini crawler competitions at Bullhead Hobbies. He also praised volunteers at the prior weekend's food distribution.
• Mark Henderson (Bullhead City resident since 2015) commended Chief Trebes and the police department, then complained about ongoing police calls involving Mr. and Mrs. Van Cleef, citing a sample of over 50 calls and asking why there were no consequences. He requested transparency and raised a rumor about confidential-informant immunity before his time expired.
• Taryn Lowell (owner, Bullhead Health Club; Mojave Health Coalition) announced the third annual family health fair on Saturday, April 6, 2024, from 8 a.m. to noon at Mojave County College, with 60+ vendors, youth/parent prevention education with Not My Kid and AZYP, Spanish-language Cafecto services, and mobile units for mammograms/DEXA scans and child immunizations.
• Sean Regan (Bullhead City resident) urged the council not to read 'the entire ordinance,' calling it unconstitutional and subject to interpretation and lawsuits. He said he had watched council members take oaths to the Constitution and sometimes overlook it, and he complained it was difficult to contact council members directly.
• Valerie Medina discussed slander/defamation law, saying public officials must prove actual malice. She alleged the council had promoted River Fund donations after a fatal fire but some families did not receive the money, and she connected the mayor's Virgin Islands trip to River Fund's treasurer. She argued Scottie McClure's statements were not malicious. Mayor Steve Diamico responded that he stayed at the same Airbnb he has used for five years and could show receipts.
• Grace Heck criticized a woman for taking photos at a polling place, called her 'Hanoi Jane,' and said she was under investigation. She also cited counts of child molesters across the area (36 in Golden Valley, 43 in Havasu, 125 in Kingman, 60 in Bullhead City, 16 in Fort Mojave, 13 in Mojave Valley, totaling 293) and demanded no out-of-town/out-of-state offenders be allowed in the city/county.
• Scary Genovese (representing the Colorado River Historical Society and Museum) promoted the Honey Baked Ham Easter fundraiser, with orders due March 28 at noon and pickup from Susanna at 928-234-4807. He also announced a Fort Mojave Burro Rescue presentation on March 20 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the museum with Beth Wexler.
• Jim Fuller (Bullhead City resident) read the Luke 18 parable and expressed strong support for Donald Trump, saying 'America and Arizona needs Trump back.'
• Nick Parsons (Bullhead City resident) provided a material list for self-sustainable shipping containers, including 550-watt 50-volt bifacial solar panels, used hospital lithium-ion batteries at about $60/kWh, solar panels from China, MPPT charge controllers, sheetrock, and heat pumps. He said the city needs grow containers 'yesterday' and should obtain general materials before designing the containers.
• Eva Corbett promoted Mark Lamb for U.S. Senate: a meet-and-greet on Tuesday, April 2, 6:30 p.m. at the Bullhead Chamber of Commerce hosted by Council Member Rich Lettman with Sheriff Doug Schuster as MC, for veterans/active military/seniors; and a Wednesday, April 3, 7:30 a.m. small-business event. Both are free, with donations appreciated.

Consent Calendar

• No items were withdrawn from the consent agenda. The council voted 5-0 to approve the consent agenda as presented. Council Member Hecht had left before the vote; Council Member Alfonso was absent.

Reports and Presentations

• City Manager's report: The municipal pool resurfacing project was completed ahead of schedule; a ribbon cutting will be held Saturday, March 23 at 9:30 a.m., and the pool opens for the season that day.
• The city presented a certificate of appreciation to Golden Vertex Corporation for its support of the annual desert cleanup and donation of 500 tons of rip rap for flood-control projects.
• Mark Masterson, Republic Services GM for North Arizona, presented the annual report: the Bullhead City division reached three years accident/incident free on March 23; it has 44 employees (110 in North Arizona); engagement score 92; driver turnover 9.3% versus a company goal of 18%; eight new trucks purchased for about $3.5 million; NPS of 62 versus industry standard 39 and YTD 2024 NPS of 72; 84.6% on-time pickup versus 70% industry standard; 99.76% service commitment; 4.31 missed pickups per 10,000 opportunities; 19,149 tons of trash collected; and 18,592 residential customers served. He noted recycling has been challenging since 2018.
• Claire Adams (Recreation Department) announced the second annual kids' summer camp, running May 28 through June. Returning camps include cooking, football, cheerleading, volleyball, soccer, science, theater, and art; new camps include Lego, photography, ultimate sports, and gymnastics. Registration opens Monday, April 8 at 8 a.m. at bullheadcity.com/recdes.
• Angie and Dave (Public Works) reported on the road slurry program: as of March 16, 815,550 square yards (17.02% of city streets) had been treated; completed neighborhoods include El Camino Village, Desert Foothills, and Vista Del Real; planned work includes Silver Creek, Lakeside Drive, Marina Boulevard, Desert Foothills thin overlay, Laughlin View Drive, and a section of Highway 95. The goal this year is 1.7 million square yards of slurry seal, about 37% of city streets.
• Mayor Diamico reported on a campsite cleanup involving a woman in distress, saying 'everybody lost' and asking organizations to stop giving tents to people who cannot use them. He also announced a Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony on March 29, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at VFW Post 10005, with Commander Angela Cruz speaking.

Discussion Items

• Resolution 2024-16 (City Center Redevelopment Plan): Planning Manager Johnny Laurel presented the proposed redevelopment area along Lakeside and Riverview Drive, prepared under A.R.S. Title 36. The plan is intended to improve eligibility for public/private funding for housing rehab, new housing, and infrastructure; it does not change zoning or building codes and does not authorize condemnation. Staff cited the 66-unit Abbott Apartment Project, the first apartments in about 20 years, as an example of a project that benefited from redevelopment-area designation in state funding. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 5-1. During public comment, a resident objected to the word 'slum' in the packet and said the plan could displace about 100 homes; staff and the mayor responded that the language is statutory, that no condemnation is proposed or needed, and that code enforcement would be the same as in any neighborhood. Barbara Pape spoke in support, saying redevelopment improves safety and affordable housing. The council voted 5-0 to adopt Resolution 2024-16.
• Emergency sewer line replacement ratification: Utility Director Mark Clark asked the council to ratify emergency repairs to a collapsed sewer line near Merrill Avenue and Highway 95 that caused sewage overflow. The line, installed in the early 2000s, collapsed and had to be replaced in an approximately 20-foot-deep trench. The replacement uses solid PVC rather than the previous welded HDPE material. Staff noted an adjacent partially collapsed section will require future repair through normal procurement. The agenda item lists the total as $36,005, while the utility director described the cost as approximately $306,000; the transcript does not resolve this discrepancy. Public commenter Gene O'Neill asked about the replacement material and future plan, and was told the new line is PVC and the remaining section will be bid through regular procurement. The council voted 5-0 to ratify the payment.

Key Outcomes

• Council voted 6-0 to waive the reading in full of all ordinances and resolutions presented at the meeting.
• Consent agenda approved 5-0.
• Resolution 2024-16 approved 5-0.
• Emergency sewer repair invoices ratified 5-0, subject to the amount discrepancy noted above.
• The council also received reports and set no additional formal actions; several community events were announced for March-April 2024.