Gilbert Town Council Regular Meeting - October 14, 2025
Gilbert Town Council Regular Meeting - October 14, 2025 (Note: Provided timestamp indicates October 15, 2025)
This meeting was held on October 14, 2025, according to the transcript, though the supplied timestamp indicates October 15, 2025. The council addressed a wide range of topics, including proclamations for domestic violence and breast cancer awareness, a detailed presentation on water rate increases and billing system issues, citizen concerns over water bills, and two major zoning cases. Key decisions included approval of a mixed-use development (Valvista Square) and a residential subdivision (Willowbrook), along with multiple consent agenda items.
Proclamations
- October 2025 was proclaimed Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Gilbert police responded to 1,942 domestic violence calls and made 1,348 arrests from September 2024 to September 2025. The annual awareness event will be held October 23, 2025.
- October 2025 was proclaimed Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Speakers emphasized that one in eight women will be diagnosed, and early detection is key.
- October 2025 was proclaimed Community Planning Month, recognizing the work of Gilbert’s planning team.
Presentation on Water Rates and Billing Issues
Public Works Director Jessica Marlowe presented on factors contributing to high utility bills:
- Rate increases: 50% increase in 2024, 25% in April 2025, and a $30/month sewer increase, raising average bills by about $40/month.
- Meter accuracy: Of 3,400 meters replaced this year, only 14 (0.4%) had warranty issues; new meters are more sensitive and may detect previously unmeasured low flows.
- Billing portal transition: Residents on autopay had to re-enroll, causing gaps. The town extended the grace period for late fees and disconnects until an independent third-party audit of the AMI/meter system is complete. The audit results will be made public.
- Customer support expansion: Additional staff for water conservation and customer service will be hired. Listening sessions with council members will be scheduled within 30–60 days.
- Proactive monitoring: Staff will work to manually flag high consumption in the interim, with a goal of alerting customers before bills arrive.
Councilmembers Torgeson and Bongiovanni made lengthy remarks defending the rate increases as necessary for infrastructure (North Water Treatment Plant, new wells) and criticizing former Mayor Bridget Peterson for misstating facts about bonds. Councilmember Bongiovanni shared a personal story of a spike in his own bill due to a broken meter and 24 leaks.
Public Comments & Testimony (First Session, ~30 minutes)
Residents expressed frustration over high water bills, meter malfunctions, and poor customer service. Key points:
- Several residents reported usage spikes (e.g., 75,000 and 292,000 gallons) despite no leaks or behavior changes; some had meters or radio transmitters identified as faulty.
- A resident (Eddie Cook) urged civility and noted historical context of rates and infrastructure planning.
- Frank Commander, representing American Legion Post, opposed a proposed road project that would eliminate parking near the post, threatening its operations and community services.
- Maureen Hoppy alleged ethics violations and cover-ups by council members and the town attorney, demanding an independent investigation.
- Multiple speakers criticized the billing portal rollout and urged the town to address systemic issues before further rate increases.
Consent Calendar
All 27 consent agenda items (numbered 4–30) were approved unanimously (7–0). Key items included:
- IGAs for roadway improvements and joint law enforcement training.
- Purchases of equipment (sewer cleaning vehicle, police command van, grounds maintenance equipment).
- Contract renewals for supplies, services, and technology upgrades.
- Acceptance of grants from Gila River Indian Community.
- Approval of prior meeting minutes.
Public Hearings
1. Valvista Square General Plan Amendment and Rezoning (Items GP24-08 and Z24-20)
- Request to rezone 14.24 acres from Regional Commercial to Mixed-Use Large with a PAD, allowing up to 357 residential units (25–50 du/acre) plus 35,000 sq ft of commercial/office space.
- Applicant doubled the commercial square footage from the previous proposal (up from 9,000 sq ft) after council feedback.
- Deviations sought: reduction of non-residential requirement from 20% to 7.5%, and reduction of enclosed parking from 90 to 54 spaces.
- Staff did not recommend due to significant deviation; however, Planning Commission recommended approval, and Chamber of Commerce expressed support.
- Council voted 5–2 to approve (Councilmembers Lyons and Bucklin opposed).
2. Willowbrook Rezoning (Items GP25-01 and Z25-02)
- Request to rezone 26.4 acres from SF-43 to SF-6 with a PAD for 91 single-family lots (min. 6,600 sq ft lots) with deviations on setbacks and lot coverage.
- Traffic concerns raised by residents of neighboring Marathon Ranch regarding left turns onto Riggs Road.
- Town engineers presented alternatives: signal not warranted (9 criteria not met), but developer agreed to fund a downstream U-turn lane, vegetation trimming for sight lines, no-U-turn signs, and before/after gap analysis for signal timing adjustments.
- Councilmember Torgeson pushed for further study of an alternative route using Roosevelt Water Conservation District easements.
- Council voted 6–2 to approve (Councilmembers Lyons and Bucklin opposed).
Public Comments & Testimony (Second Session)
- Several residents continued to share water bill horror stories; one reported a jump from 4,000 to 41,000 gallons usage.
- A reporter (Austin Walker) from Arizona’s Family questioned the mayor’s availability for interviews and posed questions about meter calibration, the North Water Treatment Plant cost escalation, and potential use of other funds to ease rate burdens.
- Carissa Arnold alleged that Gilbert Police deleted her daughter’s sexual assault records due to a retention policy failure, impeding a civil case. She demanded an immediate halt to record deletions and an investigation.
- Additional speakers criticized town leadership, raised concerns about DEI policies, and requested improvements for accessibility (e.g., T-coil in theaters, sign language interpretation).
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously (7–0).
- Valvista Square Rezoning: Approved 5–2 with conditions A–X.
- Willowbrook Rezoning: Approved 6–2 with additional traffic mitigation conditions (U-turn bay, vegetation removal, signal timing analysis).
- Water Rate Relief Measures: Town will conduct a third-party audit of meters and AMI system; extend grace period for late fees/disconnects until audit complete; hold listening sessions within 30–60 days; expand customer support and water conservation services.
- Reappointment to Self-Insured Trust Board: Approved (7–0).
- Item 38A Postponed: Moved to October 28, 2025 meeting.
- Future Meetings: Council noted upcoming fall retreat and scheduled items.
Other Business
- Town Manager Patrick Banger reported on emergency response to recent floods (50 tons of sand, 3,000 sandbags distributed) and department highlights.
- Upcoming community events: Veterans Day celebration (Nov 11), Pumpkin Dunk (Oct 18), Concerts in the Park.
- Councilmembers expressed condolences for two community members who died by suicide, urging civility and support for veterans and those in crisis.
Meeting Transcript
Check one two, one, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Check one, two, one, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Any one, two, three. Nobody seems happy. She isn't. Okay, I'll go ahead and call to order the um regular town council meeting for October fourteenth, twenty twenty-five. Thank you all for being here. I know many of you. This may be your first, and it may be your only time you'll attend a council meeting, so welcome tonight. We'll begin with our invocation and pledge of allegiance. The invocation will be offered by Reverend Dr. Kristen D. Hanson, the senior pastor of First United Methodist. I and to share in a prayer as we begin tonight. Um, I just wanted to say from First Gi Methodist Church, we've been incorporated here for a hundred and ten years, and this is our anniversary year, and we are so excited to celebrate that with you and with our town, uh, and have this long history with you all. So let's pray together. God, we thank you so much for this evening and for this time that we have to share and to speak our minds and to be the people who are gathered here in this little town of Gilbert, almost 300,000 people. We're incredibly thankful for the growth and the development and the kind and gentle hands that have nurtured this community for all of these years. We pray that we might be able to share our minds and our hearts together and work together towards the good of our community for all people. In Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. Thank you. Council member for people. Well, I suppose I'm supposed to lead us in the pledge, but first I'd like to introduce these young people from MIAC and let them well let them lead the pledge, and these two young people will speak about why they became part of Mike and what they've learned. Sure. Uh hi, my name is Baron Vaughn, and I go to Perry High School, and this is my first year in MIAC. And I think something that is amazing about MIAC is it gives us the opportunity to learn about local government. And last meeting we got to dive deep into uh the different operations that run here at Gilbert. Hello, I'm McKenzie Redford, and I'm a junior at Gilbert Classical Academy. I joined MIAC because I wanted to be more integrated into our community. And what I learned today is that recently we have adopted AI to use in the fire department and police department. Would you please leave the pledge? I pledge allegiance to the United of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. For those of you who don't know, Maya stands for the Mayor's Youth Advisory Committee. We meet with this group quite often and throughout the school year, and they learn all about uh the town and their responsibilities in the town, and we're we're thankful to have them. Roll call. Mayor Scott Anderson. Here. Vice Mayor Bobby Buckley here. Councilmember Chuck Bongiolani. I'm here. Councilmember Kenny Bucklin. Here. Councilmember Young Kaprowski. Here. Councilmember Monty Lyons. I'm here.
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