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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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).
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?