Eloy City Council Meeting – January 26, 2026

The Eloy City Council met on Monday, January 26, 2026 at 6:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. The meeting included a public appearance, reports from the Mayor, Council, and City Manager, a consent agenda approved unanimously, and three business items—all of which were also approved unanimously. Councilmember Vlad Laska was excused.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Joseph Caruso (United Way of Pinal County) presented the Reading by Third Grade initiative in partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. He stated that only 27% of Pinal County third graders read proficiently, and only 13% of Eloy third graders do—well below state and national averages. He asked the Council to encourage families with children under five to sign up for the program, to seek volunteers (via volunteerpinal.org), and to consider sponsorships ($31 provides 12 books per child). He also announced an annual golf tournament on April 24, 2026 at Francisco Grande Hotel to support the initiative. Council members asked about coordination with other programs (e.g., Pinal Alliance for Economic Growth and AARP tutoring) and about the Friend, Family and Neighbor program serving 351 families with informal childcare training. Mr. Caruso agreed to provide additional information for social media promotion.

Mayor’s and Council Reports

• Mayor Sutton reported on the 30th annual Legislative Day at the Arizona League of Cities and Towns, where he served as co-chair. Key legislative takeaways: proposed elimination of property tax for seniors who own their homes (with questions about secondary mortgages); a possible summer gas tax holiday; EV impact fees including an $80 registration fee; discussion of dropping data center incentives (currently untaxed interior equipment); and a proposed one-cent-per-gallon water tax. He noted the Arizona Smart Fund is down to about $15 million and could be exhausted within six months, impacting local matching grants. He also attended a Zoom call on the nation’s 250th birthday (semi-quincentennial) celebration on July 4, 2026, and the Eloy Chamber of Commerce Gala where Officer Corona was recognized for life-saving efforts. Finally, he attended a Pinal Regional Transportation Authority (PRTA) meeting regarding keeping transportation funds within Pinal County.
• Councilmember Curtis attended the Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast and March (Eloy was the first municipality nationally to recognize MLK Day) and visited the Senior Center, noting active programming and full parking. He reminded about the Point-in-Time Homeless Count on Wednesday (Casa Grande) and Friday (Eloy, meeting at CARA at 8 AM).
• Councilmember Schneider attended the annual MLK student march (led by Paul’s crew, from kindergartners to 8th graders), the CDOU annual meeting, and the MLK March on January 19. He also met with Keith Watkins of the Arizona Commerce Authority to discuss extending fiber optics to rural communities and improving the site-selection process for businesses. The Commerce Authority now uses checklists from companies rather than local advertising; they offered to help Eloy fill out requests to stay competitive.
• City Manager Matt McKinsey announced the Father-Daughter Banquet on February 6 (6-9 PM at Robson Ranch, $20 per person residents/$30 non-residents, pre-registration required); the Eloy PD Citizens Academy on February 7 (8 AM-5 PM, with seven applicants so far, contact David Crane); and an Air Park Master Plan community outreach meeting on February 11 at 6 PM at the Toltec Senior Center.

Consent Calendar

All items on the consent agenda (Items VII.A through VII.I) were approved unanimously by roll call. These included:

• Approval of minutes from January 12, 2026 regular meeting.
• Purchase of one Ford F-150 Police Responder truck from San Tan Ford ($54,953.32), funded by insurance settlement.
• MOU with Pinal County Sheriff’s Office for 911 telephone bill facilitation.
• Authorization to use Sunland Asphalt for pavement preservation on N. Madison St. and W. 2nd Pl. (not to exceed $105,000).
• Approval of Final Plat (Case FP2025-008) for Desert Septic, a 1.84-acre lot reconfiguration at 4650 and 4712 N Tumble Weed Road.
• Purchase of a Next-Generation Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) from DataWorks Plus (not to exceed $28,000).
• Acceptance of a Sub-recipient Agreement with Pinal County for CDBG Projects 30280 (ADA Ramp Improvement).
• Approval to submit a grant application to Pinal County for $130,000 for main water valve improvements.

Discussion Items

Item VIII.A – Acceptance of FY 2024-2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) Brian Wright introduced the audit, and Josh from Heinfeld, Meech & Co. presented. He reported an unmodified (clean) audit opinion, no internal control deficiencies, and no findings on federal compliance (CDBG grant). The financial statements were dated December 16, 2025. The Council accepted the ACFR unanimously (7-0).

Item VIII.B – Change Order to Veregy LLC for Odor Control Engineering Design ($115,000) Staff recommended approval for $115,000 change order to allow Sunrise Engineering to provide odor-control design and permitting for the belt filter press at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. ADEQ required odor control after increasing the threshold distance from 300 to 1,000 feet, which was not in the original scope. Without ADEQ approval, the press cannot be placed into service. Construction of the odor control system will be funded separately in FY 2026-27 via utility obligation bonds. The change order covers only engineering. The belt press construction is expected to take 9-12 months after approval. The Council approved the change order unanimously (7-0).

Item VIII.C – Change Order to CAIDD for Security Wall at Well 3 Replacement Site (not to exceed $125,000) Staff recommended approval of a change order to Central Arizona Irrigation and Drainage District (CAIDD) for constructing an 8-foot masonry security wall (approx. 270 feet, one main gate, and a 20-foot road gate) around the new Well 3 site at the southwest corner of Trekell Park. The wall is required per EPA and ADEQ guidelines and the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. The item was omitted from the original proposal but sufficient funds exist within the FY 2025-26 Water CIP (reallocation, no net increase). The Council approved the change order unanimously (7-0).

Key Outcomes

• Consent Agenda: Approved (7-0).
• FY 2024-2025 ACFR: Accepted (7-0).
• Change Order – Veregy LLC ($115,000): Approved (7-0).
• Change Order – CAIDD ($125,000): Approved (7-0).
• Next Steps: The City will proceed with odor-control engineering design and security wall construction; staff will reallocate CIP funds accordingly. The City Clerk will distribute United Way information to council for social media. The homeless count will take place January 28 (Casa Grande) and January 30 (Eloy). The Father-Daughter Banquet is February 6, PD Citizens Academy February 7, and Air Park Master Plan meeting February 11.