Bullhead City Council Regular Meeting – February 18, 2025
Bullhead City Council Regular Meeting – February 18, 2025
The City Council met on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. The meeting began with an invocation, pledge of allegiance, and a proclamation declaring March 1, 2025 as the 29th Annual Carrie A. Edgmon Bicycle Safety Rodeo Day. The Council then heard public comments on a variety of topics, received a manager’s report, and approved the consent agenda. Three public hearings and one contract ratification were considered, all passing unanimously.
Proclamation
- Proclamation: Vice Mayor Dan Alfonso read a proclamation declaring Saturday, March 1, 2025 as the “29th Annual Carrie A. Edgmon Bicycle Safety Rodeo” Day in Bullhead City. A representative from the Bullhead City Morning Kiwanis described the free event, which provides bike helmets, safety checks, and a safety course for children.
Call to the Public
- Diana Lestat (Bullhead City Elks Lodge) announced a golf tournament fundraiser on April 12, 2025 at Mojave Resort Golf Course to benefit the Steele Children’s Research Center and the Elks Youth Camp. She invited the community to participate.
- Stephen Lee spoke about government transparency, expressing concern over a “technocracy” and “military industrial complex.” He urged the Council to be aware of these issues and referenced a state bill to ban geoengineering.
- Judy Lauren requested traffic improvements on Highway 95 at Newberry, citing increased congestion and a recent accident. She asked for a traffic signal or a reduced speed limit.
- Dr. Sheila Barnett (Mojave Health Coalition) promoted the fourth annual Family Health Fair on March 1, 2025 at Mojave Community College, offering free mammograms, dental x-rays, immunizations, health screenings, and educational sessions.
- Christina Peterson requested a designated dog beach area at Rotary Park, particularly during summer months, to allow water access for rehabilitation of dogs with medical needs. She acknowledged responsible owners but noted some misuse.
- Brian Ware raised a public records request regarding a “Yes on 416” message placed on digital billboards. He said city staff emails appeared to authorize the message and he sought to know who paid for it, citing a prior Arizona Attorney General warning about improper political messaging. He asked the Council to investigate.
- Scotty from Bullhead criticized the local newspaper for not printing his letters and raised concerns about fire hydrant functionality and immigration enforcement. He urged the city to fix fire hydrants promptly.
- John Sullivan (Western Golf Group) proposed developing a junior golf program in conjunction with the city and the Arizona Junior Golf Association, possibly using Rotary Park facilities. He said he would bring more details to a future meeting.
- Julie Hassett (Colorado River Concerts) promoted a February 27 concert by Jason Lyle Black, titled “Blockbusters to Broadway,” at Mojave High School Auditorium, and thanked the community for supporting a previous concert by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound.
- Harvey Pryor spoke positively about recent RC activity at Rotary Park and requested an overhead podium display for the public to show images during Council comments.
- Stephen Brown (Bullhead Regional Food Bank) thanked the Council and City Manager for allowing the food bank to operate at Rotary Park’s ramada. He reported serving about 600 families weekly and announced a large food distribution on the coming weekend, providing 25,000–30,000 pounds of food. He invited volunteers.
- Gary Genovese (Colorado River Historical Society & Museum) announced an Easter ham fundraiser and said details would be provided at the next meeting.
Manager’s Report
City Manager Toby Cotter reported upcoming grand openings: the Senior Enrichment Center on March 4, 2025 (ribbon cutting around 8:30 a.m.) and the UTV/ATV parking staging area on Silver Creek Road on March 18, 2025 (time to be determined). He also noted that spring sports tournaments are occurring nearly every weekend through May and urged local businesses to prepare for increased visitors.
Consent Agenda
The consent agenda (Items 1–3) was approved unanimously with no items withdrawn:
- Minutes of the February 4, 2025 Regular Council Meeting.
- Resolution 2025R-5 approving an interlocal agreement for mutual law enforcement aid with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
- Acceptance of a grant and dedication of right-of-way in fee title (The Den/BCSD #15).
Discussion Items
Item 4 – Viewpoint Subdivision (Zoning Map Change and Preliminary Plat)
- Public hearing on Ordinance 2025-3 to rezone approximately 80 acres from R1L-D35 (35,000 sq. ft. minimum lot) to R1L-D6 (6,000 sq. ft. minimum lot) and approve the preliminary plat for 190 single-family residential lots and nine common area parcels west of Royal Vista Drive. The Planning & Zoning Commission had recommended approval. No public comments were offered. The Council approved unanimously (7-0).
Item 5 – City Centre District (Zoning Map Change and Development Agreement)
- Public hearing on Ordinance 2025-4 rezoning approximately 247 acres from Public Lands to Planned Area Development (PAD) with underlying residential and commercial uses, and Resolution 2025R-6 approving a Development Agreement. The project aims to create a “downtown Bullhead City” with a walkable main street, commercial frontage along Highway 95, housing, and a roundabout with an art feature. The Planning & Zoning Commission had recommended approval after addressing building height concerns. During discussion, Vice Mayor Alfonso raised concerns about parking for RVs and boats, noting a 25% reduction in commercial parking requirements. City Manager Cotter noted a centralized storage area is planned and that the highest and best use is not storage, but the developer could add storage if needed. A member of the public (Harvey Pryor) echoed parking concerns. Councilmember Grace expressed excitement for the project. The Council approved unanimously (7-0).
Item 6 – Laughlin Ranch Well 1 Pump Replacement
- Request to ratify an agreement with Empire Pump for a new pump and motor installation at Well LR-1 for $86,194.80 plus taxes. Utilities Director Mark Clark reported the well serves the Laughlin Ranch and Desert Foothills area; three vendors were informally solicited due to time constraints, and Empire Pump was the lowest bid. The Council ratified the contract and authorized the City Manager to issue payments (7-0).
Item 7 – Optimum Community Center Rental Fees
- Resolution 2025R-7 adopting rental fees for the newly renovated Optimum Community Center. City Manager Cotter explained the rates were set after surveying local venues and were designed to cover costs while remaining reasonable for events like weddings and birthday parties. Assistant General Manager Ann Roberts clarified that “per event” fees vary by attendance (e.g., gym rental for 1–100 people is $150, for 101–200 is $200). The Council adopted the resolution unanimously (7-0).
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous votes (7-0) on all actions: Items 1–7 were approved as presented.
- Directives: None noted; all items were final approvals.
- Next steps: The City Manager’s report highlighted March 4 and March 18 grand openings; the Viewpoint subdivision and City Centre District will proceed to final plat and permitting stages; the well repair will commence immediately; the Optimum Community Center rental schedule takes effect with a grand opening at the end of March.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Uh today is Tuesday, February 18th, 2025. It's 530, and we will be starting this uh regular council meeting. And could I have a roll call, please? All council members are present. Uh Mayor Damico is joining us tonight via telephone. Mayor D'Amico, can you hear us? Mayor D'Amico. Okay, while waiting for Mayor D'Amico, what we will do is we'll have an invocation by Pastor Stephen Brown from Praise Church here in Bullhead City. Father God, we are grateful that we are able to come before you today. You are our source of wisdom and understanding. We stand on Proverbs chapter three, saying, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding, and all of your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path. Lord, we just ask that you guide our thoughts, our words, and our discussions today, and give us the right answers in the decisions we have to make. In this meeting, grant us clarity and compassion, encourage as we seek what's best for our community. Help us to listen with open hearts and act with integrity as you called us in Malachi chapter six to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Jesus' name I pray. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. For which it stands one nation, under God, individual liberty, and justice. Thank you very much. Before we go any further, we're going to be uh issuing a proclamation for the uh this coming uh bicycle safety rodeo that will be coming up on March 1st. Testing one, two, three. There we go. Good. Okay, now I'll read the uh proclamation. Whereas bicycling is the most efficient form of transportation and offers recreation, fitness, fun, and independent mobility for children of all ages. Whereas many children could be spared injury each year by communities making bicycle safety a priority. Whereas bicycling is recognized as an activity that can reduce childhood obesity and create a more positive way to increase activity for children in Bullhead City. Whereas the bicycle safety rodeo is set for Saturday, March 1st, 2025, from 9 a.m. until noon, providing children of all ages with a fun time to learn the rules of the road, safe biking, and receive a free bike helmet. Whereas the bike rodeo is sponsored for the youth of our community by the Bullhead City Morning Koanis, Walmart, Western Arizona Regional Medical Center, the Bullhead City Police Department, and the Bullhead City Fire Department. Now, therefore, I Dan Alfonso, Vice Mayor of the City of Bullhead do hereby proclaim Saturday, March 1st, 2025, as the 29th annual Carrie A. Edgeman Bicycle Safety Rodeo, and witness whereof I excuse me, here to set my hand this 18th day of February 2025. And this is for you. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. In the proclamation mentions all the people that get involved. And if it wasn't for our sponsors, our first responders, the police department, and the fire department, we wouldn't have things like this for our children to keep them safe. So I want to thank all of them as well. Do you mind if I say I just want to make sure that you that you know that all the surrounding communities are invited? This is a Bullhead City event in front of our Bullhead City Walmart on Saturday, March 1st from 9 a.m. to noon. And it takes a lot of people to pull this event off. But once all of us, all of our first responders, our volunteers are out there. We put out 6,500 flyers to area schools, not just Bullhead City, Needles, Laughlin. We would love for Kingmen to come down, any children there to participate. This is a one-of-a-kind event. This is our 29th year here in Bullhead City, keeping our children safe because they don't learn the rules of the road when they're out riding their bicycles on their own. So at this event, when they arrive, if they bring their bicycle, the first thing is they are everybody is fitted with a helmet, a safe helmet for them to ride with. And then they go into safety check with their bicycle.
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