Eloy City Council Meeting - January 13, 2025
Eloy City Council Meeting - January 13, 2025
The Eloy City Council met on Monday, January 13, 2025, at 6:00 PM (agenda listed 5:30 PM, but meeting began at 6:00 PM) in the Eloy City Council Chambers. The meeting covered routine consent items, a public hearing on a solar project, updates from the Eloy Chamber of Commerce, and appointments to city boards. Key decisions included approval of a $435,648 general plan update contract, continuation of a rezoning case, and a vote to table two solar-related ordinances after council concerns about proximity to residences.
Consent Calendar
- Approved Items A, B, D, E unanimously: Approval of minutes (12/9/2024), a resolution authorizing an IGA with Pinal County for a regional special investigations unit (Resolution 25-1607), a contract with Sunland Asphalt for a $500,000 mill and overlay pavement preservation project on Santa Cruz Avenue, and a grant application for $130,000 in CDBG funds for ADA ramps.
- Item C (Aldridge Consulting, LLC) pulled for discussion: Council asked about the scope of sales tax audits. City staff explained Aldridge audits local sales tax compliance by checking building permits and business TPT numbers. The item was then approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Bill Wisnowski (resident of Eloy) raised a series of questions about the city's emergency preparedness, including whether the city has a written emergency response plan, when it was last updated, training on the Incident Command System, locations of emergency shelters, and backup power/communications. He did not expect immediate answers but urged council and staff to review these items.
- Andrew Rodriguez (Executive Director, Eloy Chamber of Commerce) presented a community outreach funding update. He reported the Chamber has 185 members with a 98% retention rate, hosted events including the 75th anniversary celebration, and coordinated a tri-city business expo. The Sunland Visitor Center had 14,863 visitors in 2024. He also provided a detailed update on the Eloy Glow event, noting 5,560 paid attendees, 46 vendors, no incidents, and a $5,000 city contribution used for entertainment, police, and tent rental. The Glow was featured on ABC 15 and other media.
Discussion Items
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General Plan Update (Item A): Dan Seimer (Community Development Director) presented a request to authorize a $435,648 professional services contract with Logan Simpson for a comprehensive update to the city's General Plan, which has not been substantially updated since 2001. The plan will be community-driven and is scheduled for voter ratification in November 2026. The contract was adjusted to clarify change order authority (up to $20,000 by city manager, above that requires council approval). The item was approved unanimously.
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Continuance of Southwest Crossing Rezoning (Item B): Staff requested a continuance to February 10, 2025, to allow the Planning Commission to review the case. The council unanimously approved the continuance.
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Poblano Solar Project – Resolution 25-1609 (Item C): This resolution declared the First Amendment to the Picacho View I Development Plan a public record to avoid publishing all 800+ pages. Councilmember Garcia voted no. The motion passed 6-1.
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Poblano Solar Project – Public Hearing and Ordinance (Items D & F): The council conducted a public hearing on two ordinances to amend the Picacho View I and Eloy Valley PADs to allow solar generation and battery energy storage on about 938 acres west of Toltec Buttes Road. Applicant Andrew Yancey (Bergin, Frakes, Samelly & Oberholtzer) and Alyssa Menzel (Long Road Energy) presented the project details: 175 MW solar, up to 200 MW battery storage, 300 construction jobs, $20 million in property tax revenue over 30 years, and compliance with city buffers (100-foot setback, 30-foot landscape buffer). Councilmembers Curtis and Galindo expressed concerns about the project's proximity to residences in Arizona City and the aesthetic and environmental impact, noting that the area is close to existing homes. Councilmember Snyder asked about fire department coordination and battery monitoring (remote operations in Maine). After discussion, the applicant requested a continuance to allow for revised conditions (e.g., increased setback to 200 feet, enhanced landscaping). The council voted 6-1 to table both items (D and F) to a future date, with Councilmember Garcia dissenting.
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Appointments (Item G): Council appointed: Joanne Galindo to the Building Code Board of Appeals (unanimous); Jose Garcia to the Parks, Recreation & Library Advisory Board (unanimous); and Jose Garcia, Councilmember Bodraska, and Vice Mayor Tarango to the Eloy Cemetery Committee (all unanimous).
Key Outcomes
- Approved: General Plan update contract with Logan Simpson ($435,648) – unanimous.
- Approved: Continuance of Southwest Crossing rezoning to February 10, 2025 – unanimous.
- Approved: Resolution 25-1609 (Picacho View I development plan) – 6-1 (Garcia no).
- Tabled: Items D and F (Poblano Solar PAD amendments) – 6-1 (Garcia no), to be revisited with revised conditions.
- Approved: All consent agenda items (A, B, D, E) – unanimous; Item C (Aldridge) – unanimous after discussion.
- Appointments: All three board assignments passed unanimously.
- Next Steps: The Poblano Solar project will return to a future council meeting with specific setback and landscaping enhancements. The General Plan update will proceed with a kickoff meeting in two weeks. The city will also begin advertising for new Planning and Zoning Commission members.
Note on Timing: The agenda listed the meeting start at 5:30 PM, but the meeting began at 6:00 PM (as noted in the transcript).
Meeting Transcript
Mayor Sutton had six o'clock. At six o'clock, Mayor. Good evening and welcome to tonight's Eloy City Council meeting. It is Monday, January thirteenth. The time is six PM. And Mary, may I get a roll call, please? Almost forgot. It's a long time. Councilmember Councilmember Bodraska? Here. Councilmember Curtis? Here. Vice Mayor Tarango? Here. Mayor Sutton? Here. Councilmember Snyder? Here. Councilmember Garcia? Present. Councilmember Galindo. Here. Thank you. We'd like to stand for a moment of silence and Councilmember Garcia will lead us in the pledge when he is ready. Do we have any public appearances? All right. Okay, Mr. Wisnowski. Kindly come up and state your name and where you live? My name is Bill Wisnowski. I live at five four four five West Corral Drive in Illinois. This past week I was watching a documentary on the uh Maui Hawaii wildfire fire that happened in uh August of twenty twenty three, and also in light of the current fire wildfires in California right now, brought a lot of questions to mind. So uh very quickly that an emergency situation can turn into a disaster. Uh as the sign in front of our fire uh station states, fire won't wait. Plan your escape. So I have a bunch of questions I'm gonna read off. I am not expecting an answer from anybody at this point. Just something for you people for everyone to think about. Uh does a city have a written emergency response plan? And if it does, when was it last updated? When was the last city emergency response drill? These are things that should happen at least once a year. How many of you know what the incident command system is? What city officials or employees are incident command systems uh trained? Where are possible incident command centers and emergency shelters for the city? Do these locations have proper backup for power? HVAC communications and communications are including phone, internet, radio. And what impact is public uh what impact is there on public safety when the city's internet goes down? Uh is the city uh part of the emergency uh priority phone system. What city members are assigned to the key ICCS positions?
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