Eloy City Council Regular Meeting - October 26, 2026

The Eloy City Council met on Monday, October 26, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in the Eloy City Council Chambers, 595 North C Street, Eloy, Arizona. Present were Mayor Sutton, Vice Mayor Tarango, and Councilmembers Bajraska, Galindo, Curtis, and Garcia; Councilmember Snyder was excused. The meeting included a United Way of Pinal County presentation, council and staff reports, approval of the consent calendar, a $60,000 grant acceptance, an executive session, and 4-2 votes to approve the Poblano Expansion Solar Project acreage cap increase and conditional use permit.

Consent Calendar

• The council approved the minutes of the October 12, 2026 regular council meeting unanimously by roll call.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Joseph Caruso, United Way of Pinal County, gave a scheduled presentation. He stated that the organization is celebrating 45 years in Pinal County and focuses on education and financial stability. He cited 3,000 children enrolled in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, more than 140,000 books delivered, 100 Eloy children receiving about 1,200 books annually, and an average book cost of $2.60. He noted that third-grade reading proficiency is 27% in Pinal County and 13% in Eloy, said demand for the book program is high after Dolly Parton's passing, and asked for support to help children on the waiting list.
• Mayor Sutton thanked Caruso, called the 13% figure a 'brutal statistic,' and expressed appreciation for the books going to Eloy children. Councilmember Galindo said she is proud to serve on the United Way board and highlighted the organization's accountability measures.
• No unscheduled public comments were made.

Reports and Announcements

• Mayor Sutton reported on the Transportation Summit in Flagstaff, an Adopt-the-Street cleanup, the international skydiving competition at Skydive Arizona, the Softball for Cancer event, the police truck unveiling at Toltec Elementary School, and the Eloy Harvest Fest. He also recognized City Clerk Michelle Hall for earning her CMC certification.
• Councilmember Curtis reported on the Eloy Detention Center quarterly meeting, National Night Out, a Santa Cruz High School reunion, the Lions Club cleanup, and the Dust Devils' path to the state football championship.
• The City Manager reported that the Adopt-the-Street cleanup had 354 participants and collected about 2.42 tons of trash. Harvest Fest had over 1,500 attendees, 113 costume contest entries, 16 participating trunk-or-treat businesses/organizations, 7 food trucks, and 4 merchandise vendors. He reminded the council about the November 3 election, the November 7 Eloy Glow, and November 1 water and wastewater rate increases: 14% for water, 11% for wastewater, about $13.86 per month for an average household, with a mid-cycle rate review planned in 2027.

Discussion Items

• Item 8A: Brian Wright presented a resolution to accept and acknowledge a one-year $60,000 grant from the Tohono O'odham Nation for four shade structures over ball fields at city parks, including Jones Park. The council approved the resolution unanimously.
• Item 8B: Andrew D. Yancey of Bergin, Frakes, Smalley & Oberholtzer, PLLC, representing Longroad Energy and Poblano Solar, LLC, requested approval to exceed the city's cumulative acreage cap of 11,748.82 acres for utility-scale solar generation and battery energy storage system (BESS) uses. The request covered an approximately 80.15-acre site about 800 feet south of the southwest corner of West Milligan Road and South Toltec Road. Yancey said the parcel would be added to the previously approved Poblano Solar project, add about 20 megawatts, improve project connectivity, and help the project compete in APS's RFP process. He stated the project would generate about $20 million in tax revenue over about 30 years and that the expansion was less than 1 percent of the citywide cap. Staff noted that a similar request was not approved last year and that this is a new application.
• Item 8C: The council considered Resolution No. 25-1637 for Case No. CUP2025-006, a conditional use permit for the Poblano Expansion Solar Project on the same site. Staff recommended approval, finding the CUP criteria were met and subject to conditions. A councilmember clarified for the record that the stated permit end date of October 28, 2030 is four years, not five.

Executive Session

• Before taking up items B and C, the council voted unanimously to enter executive session under A.R.S. 38-431.03(A)(3) and (4) to discuss legal matters involving solar and renewable energy projects. After reconvening, the council considered the solar items. The agenda had listed the executive session after items B and C, but the mayor convened it before them.

Key Outcomes

• Consent agenda approved unanimously.
• Grant resolution approved unanimously.
• Motion to exceed the cumulative acreage cap passed 4-2. Councilmembers Garcia and Tarango voted no, stating the proposal exceeds the maximum allowed area in the ordinance. Mayor Sutton voted yes, citing the merits of the application, the applicant's prior land adjustments, the early application, and the approximately 0.7 percent increase.
• Resolution No. 25-1637 approving CUP2025-006 passed 4-2. Garcia voted no for the same ordinance reason; Tarango also cited the cap and added concern about the lack of clarification on whether EDF owns the adjacent rectangular land and whether the approval would block another property owner. Councilmember Curtis cited contiguity, the buffer taken out of the prior project, and the applicant's cooperation. Mayor Sutton voted yes based on the overall merits of the case.