I will uh go ahead and call to order the regular council meeting of October twenty-eighth, twenty twenty-five.

Our invocations this evening will be led by um council by um I'm sorry, the invocation will be led by council member Lyons.

Let's bow our heads in prayer.

Father, we come to you tonight acknowledging the privilege that we have to be able to assemble together and to be able to govern the lives that you have given us.

We thank you, Lord God, for this freedom.

We ask that you would give us wisdom tonight as we discuss the issues before this town, mindful of our relationship with each other and our relationship with you.

I just pray, Lord, that you let your spirit rest upon this room, give each person that speaks and listens the guidance to be able to understand and to hear and to internalize from your perspective.

We ask for your grace and your mercy to be extended to all.

And we asked all these things in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Our Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Councilmember Koprowski.

I pledge allegiance to the flag 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, roll call.

Mayor Scott Anderson.

Here.

Vice Mayor Bobby Buckley.

Here.

Councilmember Chuck Bon Giovanni?

Here.

Councilmember Kenny Bucklin.

Here.

Councilmember Young Kaprowski.

Here.

Councilmember Monty Lyons?

Here.

And Councilmember Jim Torgeson.

Here.

A quorum is present.

Thank you.

We have some information to share with the audience that might be valuable for you to know.

So I've asked that that report be given at the beginning.

Additionally, we've been able to augment um our customer service team as well as our we're working on augmenting our water resources and conservation team.

They were able to complete um almost double or more than double the amount of audits in the last two weeks.

And so kudos to the water conservation team for the checkups they've been able to squeeze in in addition to the already planned audits.

Um or any data that they're requesting.

Really quickly, we have a profile on our Gilbert Fire and Rescue Department this week.

Most people may not be aware that in addition to fighting fires, the vast majority of our fire crews also respond to medical calls.

In fact, I think it's about 75% of these of their calls are medical in nature.

We also have a transportation unit, thank you to the vision of the mayor and council several years ago.

And so our ambulance unit unit is housed in our fire and rescue department and a community risk risk reduction team, where they troubleshoot area hot spots that we're seeing in our data trends, for example, falls, and create programs proactively to work with populations that might be experiencing those risks.

And as an example, we've seen a 24% reduction last fiscal year in the amount of falls amongst our senior primarily our senior citizens.

Upcoming events that we have.

So another accomplishment for our fire and rescue team.

And this is a great video.

Captain Joe Sperky and his crew from Station 1 responded to a call at a local senior citizen or assisted living facility.

And they heard some music playing during social hour.

Some of the residents asked our fire crew members to participate in their activity, and they made their day and participated with some dancing on the dance floor.

So really great community engagement from our fire and rescue teams.

Just a snapshot of the work that so many of our crew members do.

You'll see some pictures here as well from our recent back to school drive, as well as our recent safe event and the Aspire Academy hosted by uh Gilbert.

A few highlights to share with the community as well as with the council.

Last week we had our domestic violence awareness event and great participation.

Thank you to the mayor and council for their leadership in highlighting awareness for this.

We also had last weekend our Cops and Goblins trunk or treat event and over 3,000 RSVPs.

It was a huge success and way too much candy handed out.

And I think we still have way too much candy on hand.

And then just some exciting updates for the mayor and council as well as for the community.

In December, so just about five, six weeks away, we've got a groundbreaking for phase two at Desert Sky Park.

And this past weekend or this past month, we had the reopening of Cosmo Dog Park.

So anyone who's got a fur baby and loves that park, it is now fully restored and ready for your pups.

Finally, we want to congratulate the Office of Community Engagement.

They won multiple awards.

Um they're the winner of the Public Relations Society of America Awards, the Copper Anvil for the video introducing Officer Emily King and the award of merit for the 2025 state of the town with Mayor Anderson.

And that concludes the town manager's update.

Thank you.

Thank you, Leah.

As we move into the uh communications from citizens, that we've uh first of all, we've had a request to waive our policy and allow one hour of time for speaking.

We can do that, we can waive our policy uh through a supermajority.

Um, is what my understanding is.

And if um there's interest in doing that, I'd entertain a motion.

I'll second that.

Oh, I'll do the motion.

Thank you.

Yeah, so due to the number of people, I'd like to um suspend our rules and allow everyone to speak in the beginning of this meeting.

I'll second that.

It's been moved by council member Bon Giovanni, seconded by Councilmember Torgison.

Please vote.

Motion carries 7-0, so we will have one hour extended time at the beginning of the agenda here in communications from citizens.

And before we do get started, Mayor Anderson.

We do have a uh proclamation.

We have a proclamation.

Yeah, I forgot the proclamation.

Okay.

Thank you.

We have an Alzheimer's Awareness Month proclamation.

I did forget that.

Councilmember Bon Giovanni, sorry.

It has nothing to do with Alzheimer's.

I forgot that.

That was good.

Hey guys.

How are you?

Good to see you.

Yes.

All right.

Uh so Elzheimer's in Caregiver Month.

So Alzheimer's in Caregiver Month, whereas the town of Gilbert recognizes the importance of Alzheimer's and uh related dementia care, and whereas Alzheimer's and dementia related dementia uh has a significant impact on the health and well-being of our residents, and whereas more than 11% of Arizonians over the age of 65 live with Alzheimer's, which is the fifth leading chronic disease cause of death in the state.

And whereas more than 240,000 Arizonans provide over 37 million hours in unpaid care to their loved ones living with Alzheimer's and related dementia, whereas Medicaid costs of caring for people with Alzheimer's in Arizona was 591 million.

And whereas per whereas per capita the cost of Medicare coverage for our Arizona with dementia is almost 30,000 annually.

Whereas Arizona, our Arizonians are actively engaged in educating about this disease, advocating for the proper continuum of care and improving the training and care of patients with Alzheimer's and disease and related dementia.

And whereas the town of Gilbert supports Arizona, Arizona, um supports an Arizona without Alzheimer's and related dementia addressing the public uh health crisis.

Now, therefore, I Chuck Banjvani for Mayor Scott Anderson, Town of Gilbert, Arizona do hereby proclaim November 2025 as Alzheimer's and Caregiver Month.

And I want to remind everyone too that uh Town of Gilbert is dementia-friendly, and we're gonna be starting that program in January.

Sure.

Hi, my name is Steve Adams, and um thank you, Chuck.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, people often ask me why I'm such a passionate caregiver, and this is why.

My wife Amy was diagnosed almost eight years ago at early onset Alzheimer's.

She was 54 years old.

She's one of six million Americans living with a disease, and that number is expected to grow to 15 million by 2050.

In the last couple of years, new medications have been developed and approved by the FDA, mostly for people who are in the early stages.

It's taken a lot of money and a lot of awareness to get us to where we are right now.

And it's gonna take a lot more money and a lot more awareness to get a cure for this disease.

So to support Amy, I'm committed to raise funds and awareness.

And I would like to acknowledge two groups in Gilbert who have helped me along the way.

First of all, who likes bingo?

Um, well, I actually didn't expect to see members of the Gilbert American Legion Auxiliary here tonight when this was put together, but I'm actually very happy to see you.

Um every Wednesday, the Auxiliary does bingo.

And uh on bingo night, the proceeds are typically donated to a local cause.

And for the past three years, they have donated nearly five thousand dollars on bingo revenues and supported a couple of my quilt raffles as well.

Uh this relationship has generated close to 10,000 dollars in donations to the local Alzheimer's chapter, and I want to thank all of you.

So that's that's the funding part.

Now for raising awareness, I want to thank the town of Gilbert and this town council for your commitment to become the 13th community in Arizona designated as dementia friendly.

Your dedication makes life easier for caregivers like me to take their loved one out to lunch or to a movie.

I want to give my sincere thanks to you and this council and the town of Gilbert and everybody who's behind this movement for your support in proclaiming November as Alzheimer's and Caredic Rivers Month.

Thank you.

I'm not sure anybody picture.

Oh, I'll take a picture.

Thank you.

Now we'd like to move into communications, and I just wanted to make one comment before we start tonight.

I wanted to underscore the presentation by the town manager Leah Reinheimer about the ability to actually bring your your uh request, bring your information that you have and actually work with someone.

And you might have already noticed if you were here at the last uh council meeting that if you're looking for solutions to to your uh concerns.

This is uh this isn't the greatest uh forum in which to present that because we can't respond.

We can't talk with you per state law.

Um that's why we want to have the listening sessions, that's why we've set up in the the room across the way over there so that if you have a specific uh item that you want to discuss with a staff member and at the listening sessions will include council members, we can do that, and we work we can work toward a solution, and that's what we want to do is work toward a solution for uh the issues you may have.

But um thank you for being here, and we'll go ahead and go into communications from citizens.

Okay, did you say what the vote was when we voted to add them?

Oh, okay.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Welcome.

To begin communications from citizens.

I'm gonna read the rules of decorum for the chamber.

Uh, we value the participation of our community members and robust exchange of ideas.

However, it's essential that this discourse remain respectful and constructive, reflecting the professionalism expected in such forums.

Misinformation and personal attacks undermine our collective efforts and do not contribute to the productive dialogue necessary for our town's progress.

This is an opportunity for the public to address the town council directly about issues impacting the town.

According to the town council, accordingly, the town council will not allow for moments of silence or the playing of music or other recorded materials, which could distract from meeting decorum or violation of copyrights.

While we are in understand and appreciate the passion our community members bring to this session, we remind everyone that clapping during the meeting is not acceptable.

This practice can disrupt the flow of discussion, potentially intimidate others, and distract from the respectful atmosphere we strive to maintain.

In accordance with state law, we are unable to provide responses to public comments during this meeting.

Please be assured that your comments and input are heard and valued.

In accordance with town code, uh each speaker is limited to three minutes, priority being given to Gilbert residents, business owners, and property owners.

When you come up to the podium, please state your name and your city of residence, and you'll have three minutes to speak.

So our very first speaker will be Michael B.

And if you'd state your name and your city of residence would be great.

No worries, it's Michael Bailey.

So uh good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, uh, and town council members.

My name, like I said, is Mike Bailey.

I'm a U.S.

Army combat veteran, proudly served four years on active duty and two years in the Army Reserves from 2011 to 2017.

In addition to my military service, I had the honor of serving on the Town of Gilbert's Veterans Advisory Board from 2021 to 2023.

During that same period, I was the commander of the American Legion Post 39.

I now serve as the second vice commander.

My connection to this community and to the veterans who call Gilbert home runs deep.

I'm here tonight to speak on behalf of the American Legion Post 39, located here in Gilbert's Heritage District.

For nearly a century, Post 39 has been a cornerstone of Gilbert's story.

A place where service continues long after uniform comes off.

According to the most recent census data, over 11,500 veterans live in the town of Gilbert.

These are men and women who have served our country and now serve our community.

The American Legion supports all of them, not just our members, by helping veterans navigate VA benefits, access emergency assistance, and connect with mental help and peer support networks that literally saves lives.

The post is not just a building.

Veterans who struggle with isolation and depression can walk in, find familiar faces, share a cup of coffee, and talk to someone who understands what they've been through.

That accessibility is not symbolic, symbolic.

It's life-saving.

We know from years of data that isolation is one of the strongest predictors of veteran suicide.

Having the Legion close and easily accepts accessible gives at-risk veterans a safe place to go to get out of isolation, to reconnect, and to find purpose through service to others.

But if the Heritage District Redevelopment Plan and the Ash Street Realignment move forward as currently designed, removing or severely restricting the close parking near our post, that lifeline becomes harder to reach.

For veterans with mobility challenges or limited mental resilience, even small barriers can become insurmountable.

If access becomes too difficult, many simply won't come.

And when veterans can't reach the one place where they can connect and belong, the risk of isolation and suicide rises.

We are not opposed to redevelopment.

We support Gilbert's growth and progress, but progress must be inclusive.

It must preserve our community's heritage and protect accessibility for those who have already given so much.

Accessible parking is not a convenience.

It is a matter of veteran safety and survival.

I respectfully ask the council to revise and revisit the redevelopment plan to preserve close accessible parking for our veterans.

The American Legion is part of giving Gilbert's history, but more importantly, it's part of its living heartbeat, a place that saves lives every day.

Thank you all for your time, your service to this town, and for standing with veterans of the Gilbert community.

I would now like to uh introduce I'm okay.

Yes?

Should I let him go ahead?

His time is up.

Well, you're informed of the next speaker, is if that's all right.

Pardon me.

Gary Vaughn is the second speaker, is that correct?

Um, Mitchell Ellis.

Okay, I'm sorry.

Yeah, sorry, thank you.

Thank you so much.

Good evening, uh Mr.

Mayor, uh Vice Mayor, Council members.

Thank you for your time this evening.

Uh I too am here on behalf of the American Legion and the proposed Ash Street Redevelopment, which we're all opposed to.

My wife and I have been residents of Gilbert for over 15 years, an Arizona residents, well over that.

I've been a member of Post 39 for over 15 years and have served as adjutant for the last eight and an e-board member for the last six.

As the adjutant, we're required to submit consolidated post reports to our district, which is district 12, who forwards those to the state, and state forwards that to Nashville in Pennsylvania.

All of this information is done yearly and is required and is used to uh is used to uh bring our issues forward to Congress.

I want to just uh I've got some numbers I'd like to share with you.

The final Legion membership for 2024-2025 was 1,060.

American Legion Writers, 65, Sons of the American Legion, 440 members, and auxiliary members 524.

That's just Post 39 and Gilbert.

Cases handled by the service officer, 387.

Volunteer hours at VA hospitals, 1,300.

Total other volunteer hours, 38,520.

We gave uh Gilbert Fire and Rescue Back to School Program $6,500 last year.

Pat Tillman Veterans Center Scholarship, 3,500.

Christmas for kids, 18,000.

Packages for troops, 4,000.

We do that every every Christmas.

VA Angel Tree, $5,000.

Heat relief cases of water, $1,280.

ROTC medals presented to youth in our schools, 16 medals were presented last year.

Color guard funerals and wakes, 11.

Homeless vets program.

We took we placed 10 homeless vets into employment during last year.

Number of boys state participants, four at a cost of 3760.

Number of boys state participants, four at a cost of 3760.

Girls state 2,050.

Fisher House in Tucson, 40,000.

We've done that two years in a row at that amount, 40,000.

And that's the Ronald McDonald House for Veterans.

Sponsors of baseball and high school chess, Gilbert High School Chess Club for many years.

Hours of community service that weren't mentioned above, 250 and two that cost 60,000 67,604.

Children and youth activities held 11.

Number of children given aid 1,679.

Value of goods given to children, 20,975.

Volunteer hours for children and youth programs and activities, 640.

Contributions to all other child servicing and youth, 63,842.

We did a fundraiser for Gilbert Police Officer that was uh injured.

We do buddy checks with other veterans, be the one in their boots programs.

Gilbert Days uh rodeo sponsor, Gilbert Days uh obviously at the front of the post, and we're open Thanksgiving and Christmas for those members who need a place to go.

We're family.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you very much.

Mayor.

Okay.

Uh well uh Mayor Anderson, I'd like to do a point of order.

I would like to see if we can have the American Legion State Commander speak next.

Is that you?

Okay.

And okay.

Well, can we have I need a vote on that?

So if we can vote on that.

Oh, okay.

Okay.

All right.

So the next speaker then.

So we've at the end of the end of the point of order.

Everyone agrees to allow the American Legion state commander to speak next.

And his name is Gary Vaughan.

And if someone would like to introduce him, that's fine.

As said, my name's Gary Vaughn.

I am from Peoria, Arizona, and it's a pleasure to be with you here tonight.

So good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and City Council.

As said, what an honor.

I enjoyed driving through your town as I got down here this evening.

It's beautiful.

Now, not being a resident of Gilbert, I still represent some 4 million uh American Legion members, a family of members across the nation.

And here in Arizona, we have 60,000 American Legion members and family members.

And as you heard already, some 2,000 uh American Legion uh family members here in Gilbert.

Now, yes, the issues at hand this evening are very, very important.

And when word gets out, veterans, just as we faced uh challenges in the world abroad, we come together to exemplify our motto.

Our motto is veterans strengthening America.

If I didn't think this, I wouldn't have driven all the way down from Peoria, but it was important to be here and stand with my brothers and sisters.

Now I understand that the city has plans that may adversely affect access to the members and guests to American Legion Post 39.

That is their place of ref for refuge and camaraderie.

It also affects or will affect other posts, members, other veterans around the state and nation who come to your town to enjoy time and camaraderie with the veterans who are here to share with them thoughts, memories, but remembering that they too were those who had their backs somewhere in the world in times of peril.

Now, those plans that you have in mind, uh, maybe in your eyes seem inconsequential to veterans.

However, to those of us who stood together to fight for what we enjoy in this country today, it is imperative that we stand together now to work for mutually beneficial and collaborative solutions.

Now, we didn't come home to fight, but we came home to continuously provide selfless service to our citizens wherever we live.

Many returned from the battles with wounds.

Others, by the grace of God, have been allowed to grow older, yet age has slowed their pace a bit.

I ask you to thoroughly explore the impact of your decisions that you may have if access to their facility, their home, is made more difficult, especially for those with disabilities.

Your American Legion heroes are here among you today, and they chose to settle and serve in your community.

I respectfully implore you to do the right things that mutually benefit all involved.

We respect our public servants, as we know you too have desires to make the community a better place to live.

They're ways to work together for mutual benefit.

This forum is where it starts.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Our next speaker is Jimmy P.

And if you would like to come up.

Mr.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council, Town Council.

Thank you for this opportunity.

I'm here today, obviously, to object to the town's proposed heritage district redevelopment.

Plan vision that includes the Ash Street realignment, exiting South of the Historic American Legion, affecting access to this important community and veteran landmark.

The issue is for us, accessibility.

We have elderly veterans, we have disabled veterans.

The lack of parking, the lack of accessibility to our posts would be greatly inhibit their ability to come to a safe place for them.

In addition, as you heard earlier, our contribution, our numerous contributions to the community.

We would be greatly inhibited by our ability to hold these functions and have the kind of attendance that we need to generate monies that we put back into the community to help citizens and to help veterans.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Our next speaker is Frank B.

And I practice your name all day, and I'm still not gonna do it.

Before I actually begin, I just want to address my fellow citizens.

I've seen a lot of uh things online directed towards these uh councilmen and the mayors, and we as veterans served to protect your freedom.

We did not uh you don't have a right to um accuse them or say nasty things to them.

They didn't they are here to for the serve the community.

It's okay to be passionate about whatever issue you have, but please be respectful and please uh no threats uh to their well-being.

Um that's not why we served.

I served at ground zero day one.

I was in uh Operation Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan.

Us veterans back here did not serve for anyone to uh treat them like that.

So I just wanted to kind of state that before I actually begin.

So and thank you for your service and taking the time uh out of your lives to serve the community.

So thank you there.

Um, like I said, um my name is Frank Banchesky, and the representative of the American Legion Post 39.

Um, what the town uh must move forward to development of the Heritage District, and particularly the Ash Street realignment.

We recognize and support the Gilbert community uh commitment to for thoughtful growth and modernization.

However, recent updates to the alignment proposal raise serious concerns for our post, both in terms of accessibility and the preservation uh the preservation of our history and our community and functions and our overall ability to exist.

The current plans may uh significantly alter access routes, parking availability, and general flow of traffic, and the ways that could impair the Legion's ability to continue hosting events, service serving veterans, and providing public service.

That's not just a matter of convenience, it affects our mission and our connection to the people we serve.

We respectfully ask the mayor to assign a collaborator or a liaison from the town manager's office to work directly with our leadership from uh post 39.

This will allow us to review the proposed changes that affect our post and the surrounding areas, access potential impacts before the decision and is finalized, identify opportunities to align redevelopment goals with the preservation of the community serving institutions like ours.

Having a designated point of contact when sure transport, uh transparent communication, accurate information sharing, and proactive problem solving, all in the spirit of cla uh cooperation with the town of Gilbert, which is no which is known for.

We are not opposed to progress.

We want to be part of it to work with the town so that the redevelopment and trans are shared values rather than diminish them.

The American Legion Post 39 has stood for service, remembrance, and community.

We simply ask for a seat at the table as the future of our uh district takes shape.

Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your consideration for our request.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Our next speaker will be Bill Spence.

Okay.

My name is Bill Spence, and I'm a resident of Gilbert.

I would like to thank you for giving me and the other residents your attention tonight so that we we may share our concerns with you, and for also acknowledging the water billing failures that have so harshly impacted our community.

Frustrations are high, and people are hurting.

Public communication is vital in helping to solve the problems and to quickly alleviate the incredible financial hardships that our residents are experiencing.

I would like to thank the police that are here tonight to ensure our safety.

Threats and harassment for any reason are unacceptable.

I want to discuss the issues that were identified in a report created by Gilbert Resident Dale Grossen, a brilliant engineer who together who put together such a detailed presentation.

Unfortunately, Darrell is out of town, couldn't be here tonight.

Details from his report will be provided.

For weeks, data was collected from every source available.

Numerous issues were found, none of which are within the scope of your audit.

I believe the information is accurate and that the conclusions made will be extremely valuable in identifying where we are and what we can be done to find reasonable solutions that benefit all stakeholders.

Arizona law states that rates and changes demand demanded or received by municipalities for water and wastewater service shall be just and reasonable.

Every unjust or unreasonable rate or charge demanded or received by a municipality is prohibited and unlawful.

Additionally, law requires proper notice to the public of rate changes.

We have information that shows that the actual rates being charged may not reflect what was noticed to the public.

This will legally void the service rate increases for 2022 to 2024 and possibly the increases for 2021 to 2022.

Simply put, it appears that the town may not have satisfied the requirements to impose these utility rates.

Even if this information is disputed, the town has already acknowledged widespread metering issues and building system problems.

At least one of the many identified issues appears to affect nearly every single residential customer.

To continue building the residents of Gilbert under these circumstances would be improper and possibly illegal.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Our next speaker is Amy B.

Hello everyone.

Thank you for having me.

My name is Amy Beharano, and I am a resident of Gilbert.

And I appreciate also for you sending it for an hour for comments tonight.

So tonight I wanted to talk a little bit about numbers.

And some of the numbers I wanted to talk about was 6 million, I believe it was 6 million or 2 million 69,000 and then 2 million 681,007.

612,755.

Those numbers equate to the total usage of my meter between March of 2023 through September of 2025.

When I emailed this the town and requested that you guys send me my utility statement since I cannot see them online, I was able to verify that the meter number had not changed, despite the town official telling me that it had changed and therefore they couldn't give me those numbers.

I did verify with your own tech that the service order for the meter that they took on September 23rd was in fact the same meter that was read back in March of 2023.

Um what that means is approximately 19,000 gallons per month over the last 30 months is what I've used in the town of Gilbert.

Yet I paid for 75,000 gallons, 65,000 gallons, 50 gallons, 50,000 gallons.

I also want to mention the number 34.

So as we all know, number of days in any month is 31 maximum.

Yet hottest month of the year, July to August, I was billed for 34 days.

That was the 75,000 um bill.

And I would respectfully um in my case, I did analyze all the data.

Um I was able to calculate where things went wrong, and it looks like it almost looks like the town essentially had a communication issue with my meter, so I was not charged for water consumption, which I'll happily pay at the 2023 and the 2024 rates based on that 19,000, but instead they went and toploaded it starting in January of 2025.

And hence why my bills were so outrageous, and I feel strongly that this is you know questionable actions, and again, if I could even look at the utility system from you know, you turned it off in June, I would be able to at least see what things are looking like.

I appreciate your time.

Um thank you, and I will email all this to all of you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Our next speaker is the last name was Barker.

I don't want to say this or or mister because I don't know.

So if uh Barker last name could come up, I believe that maybe Sarah.

Okay.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Um Sarah Barker.

Um thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak.

Um I am a long-term, long-time resident of Gilbert.

I've lived here since 1991.

Um, and I've lived in Arizona my entire life.

Um, I'm not as prepared as everybody else because I was kind of blindsided with the bill last night.

Um you guys changed the portal in June and gave us a broken link that wouldn't work.

We were unable to look at our bills.

I was unable to look at my bills till September.

And I was shocked to see how much it was.

I made two payments of $300, not knowing how much I owed.

I was floored last night with a bill of over $700.

There is no way we use that much water.

And I work for the public school system.

There's no way I can afford that kind of water bill every month.

That's like that's like a car payment.

You know, and it's just it's it's unaffordable.

And it was shocking when I called the water department, and they're telling me how we've raised the rate 50%, and then another 25 or 25%, then another 50%, and it's fixing to go up another 25% in April.

That's a hundred percent increase.

That's astronomical.

And I don't know how you guys accepted that because that's for your average resident, that's just undoable.

It's just it's impossible.

And I don't know how you expect people to stay here.

Because I mean that is I mean, that's like the the water bill in places like New York.

Um I I really hope you guys really revisit your decision and and roll back that rate because this is not it's it's just not affordable.

Thank you for giving me your ear.

I appreciate it.

Thank you very much.

Point of order, please.

Leah?

Can we have someone reach out to her and examine her bill with her?

Thank you.

Okay, our next speaker will be Anna F.

I'd like to do a point of order as well.

Um if you have not, if anyone has not already contacted, if you're having an issue with your water, please please contact the department.

Um it would be very helpful for us to be able to help you to if you would contact the the water department.

All right, I'm sorry, thank you.

Go ahead.

Thank you.

My name is Anna.

I'm a Gilbert resident, and I'm here with my husband, who is our HOA vice president.

Increased water costs have affected both our personal home and our entire HOA.

To Chuck's point, paying cash for projects is something that we support.

Um my husband and I practice living a debt-free lifestyle.

We like to pay cash for things instead of bonds that we pay interest on.

So we understand that.

That said, the proposed water infrastructure project was presented as a needed critical infrastructure.

We can get behind that, but we are beyond frustrated that the project will include one of the prior contractors.

Obviously, it wasn't done well in the first place if it didn't even last 20 years.

Also, the heritage district renovation that negatively affects our American Legion vets, is that really needed?

Because what we look at in our household is wants versus needs.

A critical infrastructure project we realize is needed.

Is a pickleball court needed?

Is a new playground needed?

No, we need water in our town and to make it to all of our houses.

I mean, just to put it in like a simple, if it were our household, do we need a television or do we need a new engine for our car to get us to work?

So this is how we're looking at that.

Our water rates are another major issue.

We feel that we were lied to when we received mailings last year detailing 35 increases to our bills with our water bill, which we have zero scaping in our yard already.

We've gone from $62 a month to over 125 dollars a month, which is greater than a 200% increase, which does not match our 2% yearly increase on our income.

We have a retired city treasurer on our HOA board, so our budgeting and fiscal planning is on point.

However, thanks to the surprise Town of Gilbert water changes, we have now increased our dues by 10% again, solely due to the increased water.

We are 10,000 over on our HOA water bill this year as of September.

We haven't yet been billed for October, November, and December.

We realize the issue of water repairs has been passed from previous councils to the current, but more transparency is needed.

I also believe more fees should be paid by land developers.

Yes, even on top of the 129% that was voted, uh, I believe that was April of 2024, because no changes had been done since 1997.

More than 600 million dollars could be reallocated from parks and rec and other various projects like the heritage district changes.

Those could be reallocated, reallocated to our critical water infrastructure.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Our next speaker is Michael, and I believe the last name starts with a G.

million dollars could be reallocated from parks and rec and other various projects like the heritage district changes those could be reallocated reallocated to our critical water infrastructure thank you thank you very much our next speaker is Michael and I believe the last name starts with a Giving Mayor Vice Mayor Council and folks okay um the people who installed it I don't know if these things were calibrated mular systems they calibrated I don't know what the town did they have two pending lawsuits one in Florida one in Alabama Davy Florida's name in the city and one in Alabama and I don't know unless you should answer who calibrated the Mueller system water meters right they did they did it wrong they got two pending lawsuits I don't know if you folks know that Mueller systems oh you know it so I don't know what's going on with it but it's these people are paying a lot for water by the way from New York it's cheaper the water in New York and they make better pizza and bagels anyway I don't know if who calibrated it if it was the town of Gilbert or Mueller systems according to the lawsuit they calibrated it mueller systems so basically you know my water bill increased from like with the trash pick up $80 to like two twenty five went to down to the office you know like everybody else probably did they said that the water evaporates out of the pool I said not that much come on work with me and uh this is a little nervous um that's what I see uh here and like I said a lot of these people's increase went through the gallons per month I'm not the only one I'm sure you know it's just and by the way the that the the land uh woman it was up here with the land developing the people they the ones who are coming in this town and you know they're the ones who really should be facing those kind of increasing bills with you know on the water end of it I just don't know who calibrated if maybe you have an answer to these people was it the town of Gilbert or Mueller systems I'm asking you right now unfortunately we're not allowed by state law to respond back so okay so do we we have apologize for that but do we have to hire an attorney the town uh me myself uh you gotta let me know we'll get on it right away yeah you are welcome to contact our staff and talk with the staff about your issue yeah I'm not because I don't know if the what if the town was is gonna I know there's two other cities one in Florida one in Alabama that has a a lawsuit sir so I appreciate they'll get some they'll get somebody for you to speak to oh thank you thank you thank you so much our next speaker oh my goodness I'm gonna have to see if someone else can read this can you tell what this name is is is there an Anna here possibly A N A okay okay I I sincerely apologize for that uh but I don't feel too bad because because the mayor wasn't sure either so good evening mayor vice mayor council members and everyone in this room my name is Anand I'm a resident of Gilbert since 1991 I've lived at the 1119 West Iris Drive for 24 years and I'm I'm here to discuss water issue um about eight months ago I had the same issue and I had someone came out some engineers from the Tongue of Gilbert came out and look at my water and make some suggestions which I take into consideration I capped off all the unused drip line and what recommendation made for my sprinkler I did all that still my water bill was high in August September maybe July August September it was unbelievable.

I capped off all the unused drip line and what recommendation to make for my sprinkler.

I did all that.

Still my water bill was high.

In August, September, maybe July, August, September, it was unbelievable.

One month I used 40,000 gallons of water.

Of the 34 years I've lived at that location, nothing has changed.

Even with the improvement that I have made with your recommendation.

So 40 40,000.

I did a rough calculation of the users of everything that I've used, and everybody, all the adults, and all the children live in my house.

I came up with about 12,000 102 gallons.

Let's multiply that by two, 24,000.

I would like to know how the tongue of Gilbert came up.

I use 40,000 gallons of water.

I lived on a retirement budget, and like many others here.

I cannot afford my water bill.

The reason why I'm here tonight is because three weeks ago I came into the office and I request someone to come out and look at my what am I doing wrong?

I'm afraid that I may have a sinkhole in my house, may sink.

That's what I'm concerned about.

But they told me no.

To this date, three weeks later.

No one had reached out to me.

No one.

I moved from New York here in 1991.

We have a great tongue here.

And most of all, I I I have to say that I really respect the way you guys start this meeting by putting God first.

I put God first in my life also.

So if you could please, please reach out to me by email or letter.

Tell me, because I cannot afford 40,000 gallons of water bill every month.

I really cannot.

And I really don't want to move from this beautiful tongue I'm living in.

Honestly.

Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you.

Leah, could could we have somebody okay?

Thank you.

Okay.

I have someone's name I can pronounce, and I also know.

Scott September, you're our next speaker.

Good evening, everybody.

My name is Scott September.

I'm a Gilbert resident, a former council member, and I'm here tonight in the capacity I'm also on the board of directors for a nonprofit that's based here in Gilbert.

Uh I am the treasurer and the vice chair, and it's called CC's Hope Center.

And CC's Hope Center provides wraparound services for girls between 18 and 30 that are either at risk of falling into or are coming out of trafficking.

And we held our annual Night of Light Gala Saturday evening.

And it's uh it's a big event for us because it generates probably almost 80% of our annual revenue.

Uh we held it here in Gilbert for the first time in other years.

We had it in another um neighboring city.

I won't mention their name.

Rhymes with Mesa.

And uh but we had it here in Gilbert.

I think it was a fantastic venue.

They did a great job.

Um, and and we did really well.

We had a 20% higher turnout, we had uh a 25% higher um or revenue generated.

Um, and I just want to thank the counselors up here that were able to make it.

I know um some of you that made it had multiple events that you had to go to that night, but you were nice enough to come by and see us at CC's.

And I also um want to hopefully see the rest of you uh next year at our annual event.

Uh and I also want to mention that uh there were a couple council members that are sitting up here, and I'm not gonna mention any names to embarrass them, but one of them as a hobby makes guitars.

He he he makes electric guitars, and he donated one that was auctioned off Saturday night, so I want to thank him for that.

And then uh another council member donated their used car to be auctioned off.

I know what you're thinking, it's a used car, right?

But it wasn't any used car, it was a Maserati.

So we were very, very happy to have that.

We had a very successful event, and I want to thank all of you for your support, and I hope to see you next year.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Okay, our next speaker is Craig Walter.

Hello, Mayor, Council.

Appreciate your time.

I appreciate the opportunity to have a voice.

I'd like to give a shout out to uh the veterans behind me.

My dad was uh sergeant in the second world war, and my son is uh a staff sergeant, full active duty who spent time in Syria.

The need that they provide behind us and Phil is uh beyond the words in the major of the individuals who are here with us tonight.

And uh if they're willing to give us their all, I think we should be able to give give them a street, and I think that's a real Gilbert thing to do.

Uh I'm here to talk on three points.

We'll see how far I get.

The first is uh has to do with the water rates.

I'm recommending that we not increase those rates.

Uh I know that's nothing new to you.

Um I've done a dive into the numbers here.

I saw it in the uh I'm new to Gilbert, been here about five years.

I did a dive into your Alt B uh uh revenue option that you took, which is the current cash out of pocket to pay for the facility, and uh it showed current revenues of 262 million dollars, which against expenditures of 420 million dollars for a shortfall of 158 million dollars, which uh explains the uh the need to address that need no matter how we got here, this is where we are.

We need to do our best to move forward.

The uh Alt B plan provided a hundred and fifty-eight thousand a hundred and fifty-eight million dollars to cover that essentially 158 million dollar shortfall with about a nine million nine point nine million dollar window on average each year, additional to go against those things that are unforeseen.

The uh figures that we were given by your department head last uh meeting were that there were 90 plus 90,000 rate payers here in the town of Gilbert, and that they on average paid uh an additional 40 dollars a month.

We've seen some uh major exceptions to that tonight.

Uh if you take into account that 40 million dollars, you deduct from that the 29 million or the 29 a month fee that we added in, uh, doubling our sewer rates.

The difference should be the additional income that we get.

Bottom line is uh based on your department head, the average individual has a 40 dollar increase in their water bill.

That 40 increase across 90,000 individuals, ratepayers comes to a total of 216 million dollars against the shortfall of 158 million.

That leaves us with about 58 million left over.

Um, I know there's no such thing as really left over when you have an ongoing project.

We have projects here that are uh ongoing.

I recommend that since we have that 58 million dollar surplus that we give pause to thought on rate increases and that we cap the top rate that we require of our citizens at 337, at least in the near term, till we get the rest of this sorted.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you very much.

Um, our next and last speaker is Jeremy Dykstra.

Thank you for having me.

Um, Jeremy Dykstra, resident of Channel Chandler.

Um Army vet combat vet disabled vet.

As you see, I have my dog here.

Um Florida Post 39 uh parking lot.

We don't have enough spaces as it is.

As people are talking B to one, it's about suicide.

Um that's for veterans.

I came from a prog program called Pause, Pups and Warriors side by side.

Um, it's not only just for veterans, it's for first responders.

It's rain out of post two right now.

It's coming to post 39 in the spring.

I just, you know, with less spots, having a dog.

I don't want to be walking, you know, half mile, quarter mile, you know, with my dog, you know.

So I it's a really good program.

It's gonna help the community.

Um, as you know, suicide rates 22 a day for veterans for first responders, it's almost the same anymore.

So sorry, I'm very nervous up here talking.

I'm not good at this stuff.

So, but I just wanted you guys to be aware there is a dog program coming to post 39, and with not good parking spots for handicapped vets myself.

I really don't want to walk a quarter mile or wherever the parking garage was that you guys are gonna put there in the heat with my my canine dog, you know.

And like I said, the pause program is gonna be there spring, and it's not just for veterans, it's gonna be for the community, your uh police officers, your uh fire department, your EMTs, even nurses and family members affected by PT PTSD TBI like me.

I mean, so it kind of trickles down the leash, kind of trickles down at home.

So what I take out on, you know, you know, on your spouse, whoever, they might need help too.

So this dog program is not just for veterans, it's for wives of uh veteran, a first responder's wife, you know, husband, whoever.

And it's gonna be at post 39, but with the parking spots that we have now, we barely have any of this that there is to take away some of them spots.

It's gonna just push me, push people not to want to come to Post 39.

That's gonna help your police officers, your firemen, you know, your nurses, your EMTs that go through something like I did in you know, Kuwait and Iraq.

Um this dog has saved my life.

I wouldn't be here three years ago without him.

I was thinking about committing suicide myself until I got through the deposit program.

It's ran out of post two right now, and then they're looking to branch out, and post 39 just accepted uh to have the program there a day or two a week.

So thank you for your time.

I actually have one.

Whoops, sorry, forgot to turn my microphone on.

Okay, Carissa Arnold.

Hi, my name is Carissa Arnold.

I was a resident of Gilbert for several years and only recently moved to Mesa.

However, I do continue to do business in Gilbert.

I spoke at the last council meeting.

I am the mother of a 16-year-old daughter who was raped, and evidence related to her case was deleted after the town clerk ordered an unlawful records deletion policy.

I feel I need to address a social media post from yesterday.

Councilmember Bon Giovanni believes that my voice doesn't matter because I now live in Mesa.

Let me be clear, Chuck.

I lived in Gilbert.

My daughter went to school in Gilbert.

My daughter was raped in Gilbert.

Gilbert police investigated the case, and the town of Gilbert deleted my records.

Gilbert destroyed any possibility of justice for my daughter.

Shame on you for making such an ignorant statement.

The day after I last spoke to the council, a few recordings suddenly were produced.

There are still several missing.

I broke down in tears as I listened to these recordings.

What I heard confirmed my suspicions, the investigation from my daughter was inadequate.

My first thought was to return tonight and voice my anger toward the police, but something did not make sense.

I kept asking myself, why is the town of Gilbert suddenly deleting records that are more than two years old?

They've never done something like this before.

If records related to my daughter's case are being deleted, then records related to any case are also being deleted.

Tonight marks the two-year anniversary of the beating of Preston Lord, and many questions remain unanswered.

Who knew about the Gilbert Goons?

And when did they know about the escalating violence in Gilbert?

These are questions Chief Solbrook still has not completely answered.

I also think about the unsolved murders of Nick Cordova and Rachel Hansen.

I think about emails sent by residents asking for help in domestic violence, sexual assault, or teen violence reports that didn't meet the threshold to be investigated.

It makes me sick to think about the records that may have been permanently deleted without a trace because of this decision.

Records are being automatically deleted as we speak.

Records related to Gilbert's ongoing water and wastewater problems are likely being deleted as well.

What are you trying to cover up?

Mistakes, negligence, or maybe some good old boy favor for a friend or family member.

These are all questions raised publicly in the media.

I also question the timing of the departure of the town manager.

I now believe many Gilbert police officers and town staff are also victims, just like my daughter.

They're doing the best they can under the direction of corrupt leadership.

The town of Gilbert is breaking the law, and its hardworking officers and staff are having to deal with the failures of town leadership.

I believe this behavior may have crossed the threshold of criminal con misconduct, and I am demanding that all records deletion stop immediately, and that an external investigation be launched into potential corruption and cover up.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

That concludes our session on citizen comments, and thank you all for being here.

And I believe I will turn this over to Mayor Anderson.

I want to have an interaction.

I'm sorry.

It's a personal attack.

He can address that.

Oh I just want to make a statement.

I I don't want to be taken out of context at all.

And the comment I made about not caring about a non-Gilbert resident came from a water rate argument from a Gilbert from a Mesa resident who was on Go Gilbert, who was striking the flames of just discontent.

That had no comment towards any other person, any other other any other situation, any other subject.

That was based strictly on someone from Mesa who was talking about our water rates, and I told them I don't represent you.

So I do not like being taken out of context.

I believe that concludes communications.

We can move into consent calendar.

All right.

Um I will continue with the consent calendar.

And we have, I believe, 27, 28 items on consent calendar.

Um council member Torgeson has requested to pull off items eight, nine, ten, seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen uh for discussion.

And Councilmember Torgeson, do you want to elaborate on that?

I believe that Leah was going to do a presentation though on everything on the consent agenda first.

I'm sorry.

I believe Leah was going to do a presentation on the consent agenda items.

Are we doing that first?

I yeah.

I I wasn't aware we were gonna do that first.

So okay, so our uh acting town manager will be doing um a review of all of the consent items.

Thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor.

We will start with agenda item two, which is a motion to consider approval for an amendment to an existing intergovernmental agreement.

Um this is a collaborative agreement with multiple other cities in support of the town of Gilbert's long-term water resiliency.

Approximately 40 percent of our renewable water supply comes from the Salt and Verde Rivers, and this arrangement will help us continue to secure our legal right to that water supply, especially as we head into long-term drought conditions.

Item number three is our fleet vehicle and equipment cooperative purchasing agreement.

Three and four are in tandem with each other.

The three contracts listed on the agenda are our typical contracts and cooperative purchasing agreements necessary for purchasing equipment.

Um this is uh heavy forklift type of equipment, um, street sealing type of equipment, medium and heavy equipment such as dump such as dump trucks and for streets and environmental compliance.

Hand in hand with that is agenda item number four, which is the upfitting of those vehicles to serve those departments.

Um not only does it include the upfitting of the heavy equipment for our public works teams, but also for our police and fire and emergency response vehicles.

Agenda item number five.

The town of Gilbert has two water treatment plants and 21 active wells with nine additional wells under construction, all in in pursuit of Gilbert's long-term water resiliency and all funded with Gilbert's water utility rates.

This item is to secure essential products and services for maintaining and operating that water infrastructure, including our wells.

Um, and is an example of where those rate dollars are going.

Item number six.

This is the first phase of a project to improve the intersection in this area by adding northbound and southbound right turn lanes as well as northbound and southbound dual left turn lanes to improve traffic safety and address safety concerns.

Agenda item number seven is our intelligent transportation system network master plan.

Um, put simply, ITS uses technologies such as traffic cameras, fiber networks, and data to improve the safety and efficiency of our roads.

This master plan is an integral part of that.

Agenda items eight, nine, and ten represent the advancement of Freestone pickleball of pickleball courts at Freestone Recreation Center.

These are exciting new amenities for the northern part of Gilbert and for this long standing recreational area.

This is a priority that was advanced by council during the quality of life workshops in the spring recapped in the summer with the council input.

Item number 11, uh funded by VLT revenues.

This is the design and construction of an eastbound and westbound right turn lane at Cooper and Madeira.

Madeira Park Drive, pardon me.

Item number 12 is also funded with our VLTL VLT revenues and will provide improved access to crossroads park as well as enhance traffic safety flow in that area.

Agenda item 13 is the second component of the original phase to provide loading zones in the downtown heritage district so that we have the safe ingress and ingress of passengers being dropped off by mobile Uber Lyft drivers.

Agenda item number 14.

This item is funded by our environmental compliance utility rates.

This is an important project to rehab one of our stormwater pump stations, which is in desperate need of both uh rehabilitation but also expansion to accommodate stormwater needs.

Agenda item number 15 is electrical panel inspection inspections and repairs throughout all of the town of Gilbert facilities, including our water and wastewater plants and infrastructure.

Agenda item number 16.

This is for the design, construct and construction of the fiber optic network throughout the town's arterial roadways.

This is phase three, and it is the last phase of this project to complete the fiber optic network build out along our arterials, anticipated to be complete about this time next year.

Agenda items 17 and 18 also are in tandem with each other.

This project is at about 90 percent completion of design and is preparing to break ground and start construction in December.

It was the groundbreaking referenced earlier in the town manager's report.

This was also a part of the council quality of life initiative to bring forward ball fields and recreational amenities at Desert Sky.

And then agenda item 19.

This particular project is at about approximately 60 percent design, and the agenda item supports completion of design of phase two, which again was a part of the council quality of life initiative to bring forward the advancement of ball fields, skate park, and a few other recreational amenities, while the remainder of the Gilbert Regional Build out remains unfunded.

The estimated timeline for that design is hoped to be completed in February of 2026, break ground in April of 2026, and the goal is to have those ball fields open by spring of 2027.

Again, trying to find safe and healthy outlets for Gilbert's youth and families to be able to recreate.

This is the purchase of two hydro excavators for our water and wastewater teams, plus the contract increases for purchasing additional heavy vehicles for wastewater in streets.

Unfortunately, due to significant cost escalation as well as some tariff impacts, the cost of these vehicles have risen by more than 50 percent.

And these will be funded by our utility rates as well.

Agenda item 22 is to replace authorize contingency to fund the replacement of the HVAC system at station one.

This facility is approximately 20, 21 years old, and this is an example of a number of town of Gilbert facilities that is aging and is going to need significant rehabilitation as those buildings get older.

Agenda item 23 is our Gilbert Police Department's grant initiatives to continue to provide safety enhancements, including DUI patrols.

Agenda item 24 is a motion to declare a parcel of land within Gilbert along East Ray and South Santan Village Parkway as surplus property, and then to authorize staff to advertise advertise an invitation for bids and conduct a bid opening on Monday, December 15th, 2025 to identify the highest bidder.

Agenda item 25 will be a motion for the council to accept the risk management claim report.

Agenda item 25A is a motion to approve adoption of resolution number 4613.

And then agenda item number 26 is a motion to approve a resolution for workers' compensation coverage for volunteers performing services on behalf of the town of Gilbert and its many departments.

And that concludes the consent agenda.

Thank you, Leah.

We appreciate that.

Uh Councilmember Torgison, do you want to I'd like to make a motion to accept uh items two, three, four, five, six, seven, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, twenty, twenty one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, and twenty-seven, and withhold eight through ten, seven through seventeen through nineteen for further discussion.

I I need to mention number twenty was removed, I believe.

Okay.

And Councilmember Torgeson, 25A was added if you'd like to add that to the motion.

I would like to add 25A to that motion and remove 20 from the motion.

Vice Mayor.

And also 31A.

We were including USL.

Let us add 31A.

Oh, identified 31A is uh as written.

Boards and commissions, and let me uh say this clearly.

31A.

Uh this will be a motion to appoint Casey Kendall and Ryan Rabbus or regular members to the redevelopment commission.

This is part of this is part of it.

Okay.

Yeah.

Uh with as regular members to the redevelopment commission with terms beginning November 1, 2025 and ending October 31, 2029.

Do I have a second?

A second with comment.

Um Vice Mayor and Leah.

I just wanted to clarify on item 16 for the fiber optic network that item is for the town of Gilbert's fiber optic network build out, which provides connectivity to our traffic signals and our town facilities, and that's separate from utilities that may be providing that to homes.

Thank you for the clarification.

Okay.

Does anyone else have any questions on these?

Okay.

So the somewhere do we want does someone have a second on council member?

Pardon me.

You said you said you say oh before we added everything, though.

So okay.

Well, I will second it again.

All right.

Thank you very much.

And call for the vote.

Uh yes, please vote.

Okay, so we have a seven zero vote.

So motion carried.

A minute.

And I think we've completed, right?

Or we have to address the items.

Bring up items.

Do you are you gonna bring your items up or we don't have to handle it?

He pulled eight, nine, ten, seventeen, eighteen, and nine.

Yes.

All right.

I am I have asked to discuss or preferably just put delay the items eight, nine, ten, seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen until after our fall retreat to discuss it at our fall retreat and to take possible uh motions on these at the meeting after our fall retreat because I believe there's so much that has hit us.

Uh if we go backwards just to the sewer increase, which we were told forever was going to be a minor thing, then we were hit with $29 and change, and then we're hit with who knows what.

I want to take a little bit of time to reprioritize or confirm that everybody is on board with putting things like pickleball up for hundreds of millions of dollars in the end.

Uh and that's where we want our priorities.

I think we have to have a long discussion about priorities again because I'm hearing about problems with our roads.

I'm hearing about other infrastructure issues, and I know that they're not necessarily intertwined at all times, but I believe the discussion needs to be had sooner than later, and we should not be making commitments for large amounts of money to move forward until after we've had time to discuss this publicly.

So for that I am asking that we take items eight through 10, 17 through 19, and put them to a future agenda and discuss them at our fall retreat.

Okay.

I I need to ask if anyone does anyone have any questions or comments on that.

Okay, yeah.

Yes.

Thank you, Vice Mayor.

Um thank you, Councilmember Torgeson, for bringing these items up.

We had discussed these items at retreats earlier this year as a council and had talked about these items being we gave direction to staff to move forward with some of these items, even as early action items that were in response to changes we had made to the town's sales tax.

It's my understanding that we would not be able to, even if we wanted to, our policy is not to use money from our sales tax bucket to fund our water or wastewater rates.

You're so 100% correct that it is.

I am discussing the fact that that money may be better allocated to other critical infrastructure items, not quite simply I'm not willing to break an enterprise fund to pay penalties left and right and increase our uh bond, decrease our bond rating, increase our interest on bonds over this.

Uh my concern is that we need to prioritize the things that we do have some direct control over that aren't in such as parks, streets, things that may get paid out of some may get paid out of uh general funds that we take just a very strong look again because we've we've seen some curveballs that weren't anticipated, and I don't feel that we need to act this evening.

I think we can take a little bit of time to digest this and look a little closer and a little harder and reach a little deeper into what we want to be a priority this year going forward.

And I'm only asking for a month or two really.

That were one of the only projects we could advance to see some near-term results.

Otherwise, we're gonna be waiting until 2027, 2028 to see other projects come to fruition.

Just want to give that some consideration.

I I think that's why these were selected to kind of move forward to show some benefit to the community.

Um, but just want to remind us that that those are some of the talking points because we we were moving forward with the other important items, but they just simply took a lot longer to see the end result.

Correct.

I I understand that I just feel that at this moment looking at these numbers and seeing that hearing things from our town manager about problems that we're going to experience with roads, which some of this may be able to pay for roads, some of the other things that we need to look at are failings, have there's a failure on the horizon, and we this may not be the best way to spend this money, and I think that we deserve we owe it to ourselves and everybody in this town to take another look very quickly.

And I will disagree that some of these things, I've been on this council two and a half years, and I haven't seen a baseball field or a soccer field yet.

Um pickleball wasn't, I thought the priority.

I thought the kids were the priority in this, but I think taking this short period of time to reevaluate and use the retreat as as part of that, uh, even if nothing changes and we go ahead and push this money forward in December.

Uh at least we've we've looked at it again because we've we've seen unintended consequences, and I just don't want to move forward on some things and commit to some things when we haven't discussed it as fully as we can.

And none of us anticipated some of the problems we've seen, so I don't see a problem just taking a step back to discuss this further.

So are you asking to table these items or are you asking?

I'm not asking to know, I'm asking to table these items.

Learn there are some things here that are time sensitive that we need to consider.

Mayor and council, thank you.

We share and appreciate your concern for um Gilbert's budget and being budget conscious, especially in light of reduced revenues, primarily from state legislative actions.

We do have a team here who can speak to the timelines of the projects, where they're at in terms of nine sixty to ninety percent complete contracts that are already underway, and um and any consequences of needing to push pause, like what kind of delays to that will create for the council to consider so you have full information before making a decision.

concern for um Gilbert's budget and being budget conscious especially in light of reduced revenues primarily from state legislative actions we do have a team here who can speak to the timelines of the projects where they're at in terms of nine sixty to ninety percent complete contracts that are already underway and um and any consequences of needing to push pause like what kind of delays to that will create for the council to consider so you have full information before making a decision we've got uh Lena Bay our interim's park and parks and recreation director as well as Ryan Blair who is our capital improvement program manager and they can provide some brief bullet points on where those projects are at the funds that are already committed and any impacts of delay okay and and would you state the item number from the agenda that you'll be speaking on so we can kind of follow along you can go ahead with contracts mayor council uh Ryan Blair CAP manager so in regards to the question um item number 17 18 and 19 um all three of these projects so just a little history behind this one is um currently the contractor is going to start construction in December so just a point of fact that if this gets pushed till December construction will be have to be pushed probably to a later date as well because that is our start date of starting that and that affects our and we're we're bringing a project management team on board um and I believe that is um item number 17 for that construction that's gonna happen in December in addition to that we have continuation of the design engineer or the architect um to continue post design services for construction as well for that December construction and then item number 19 sorry I'm just reading this one here um sorry number 19 is affiliated with um not with desert uh sky that's affiliated with uh Gilbert regional park so that 17 and 18 will be affected but if we move this um to December so you're what you're saying is work has already begun on numerous of these or preliminary yeah so construction is estimated to start in December so my the point is if we move 17 and 18 to a further date then that will affect the start date of desert sky park construction okay and the same for 19 for Gilbert regional park no so Gilbert Gilbert Regional is uh to bring the contractor for pre-construction services um so that one will not be affected if that was moved to the 19th as the seventh the item 1718 will be affected because of the construction start date okay thank you if I could add a little bit of context from the community standpoint and the impacts that will occur um if we delay the timeline on these part of the parks and recreation master plan was soliciting a great deal of input from our community members regarding what their needs were in conjunction with a lot of data sourcing within the department to evaluate the services that we are able to provide our residents.

A significant area that was identified via the feedback of over 6000 um participants as well as the data sourcing was the fact that we lack uh amenities that are sorely in need by our community and specifically those being um fields uh multi-use fields so two of the projects um desert sky and the first part of uh Gilbert Regional Park are really aimed at bringing online more multi-use fields that give our community opportunities to play programming and sports um are a huge component of our youth and community and so that was a specific reason for the allocation and prioritization to the timeline regarding that um the second part being the free stone being brought forward into that group a with the pickleball courts another element of free stone and another area of identified need is splash pads um freestone is our most second heavily utilized park next to Gilbert regional so in delaying that project we are also will be delaying um not just the pickleball courts but the splash pad amenities um of which there's nothing to that scale um in that northern part of town say for the heritage district splash pad um the splash pad components should be appearing on the November agenda um this was kind of broken up into two sections for Freestone Park but um unless otherwise directed by council tonight to delay that further okay so do we have any questions uh council member Bongiovani um so where'd it go 17 and 18 or 90 percent done you said currently they're at 90 percent design and they will be entering construction this is is going to go the items before you tonight will transition that project into construction in December I'd probably have an issue delaying that because it may have some other other effects but um I'm okay with the other ones if we're just looking at a month before before our next uh our next meeting I'm not sure if this full council was part of um any of that process that we had to

This is is going to go the items before you tonight will transition that project into construction in December.

I'd probably have an issue delaying that because it may have some other other effects, but um I'm okay with the other ones if we're just looking at a month before before our next uh our next meeting.

I'm not sure if this full council was part of um any of that process that we had to where we um brought projects up or down.

Remind me if I were you guys part of that.

Okay, okay.

My okay.

My timing's off.

Okay.

But I I don't I don't want to say no to something that's 90 percent and ready to go.

Uh I don't want to take take that away from the public.

But the other ones I'm willing to at least take a vote on.

If I can just add a sorry, uh mayor counsel, if I just add a comment to that is um Gilbert Regal is a 60 percent going towards 90 percent design.

Um not if that changes any perspectives or not, but just to let you know that is uh currently 60 percent and working towards 90 percent design as well.

Where where are eight, nine, and ten this?

So eight, nine and ten, I believe were is that pickleball?

I'm sorry.

Um starting construction this spring.

Yeah, so pickleball, pickleball.

Yeah, so the these were I think uh sorry, mayor council part of the conversation.

I think Councilmember Kaprowski was mentioning is is this based off of that uh information that we received at the last um council retreat is to move forward um the pickleball and the splash pad um so that we can see some um moving parts, something being built as part of the um quality of life initiative.

So um this task was uh given to to staff to move forward with these projects at that point.

But this is we're just kicking that off.

So if we push this, it'll it'll push the end date of the to get these things um designed and built.

Okay.

So all of the projects, I thought Councilmember Bon Giovanni had said there's three that have they started or are they ready to start?

And the other three, the the three of them are like one's ninety percent, and the other one they're moving along as well.

I just want to I just want to confirm which is which.

Uh mayor council, thank you for the the question.

So the all the the pickleball, the the the eight or the uh sorry got to get there's a little bit.

Can can you refer to the number that's on the item?

So let me let me look at these ones.

There's a lot of numbers here.

Um so item number eight, item number nine, and item number ten.

So eight, nine, and ten have not been started officially.

We are in the process of uh procuring a engineer for the project and also a PMCM on this project.

So this particular project has not started design.

Um 17, 18, and 19, those have started design and are have been currently going on for for many years on those projects, but but uh the pickleball courts and splash pad um eight, nine, and ten have not been started yet.

Okay, thank you for defining that.

Um council member uh lions.

Do you have a question?

Well, yeah, I well I was just gonna make a couple statements and then I I may have a question.

Um understand the design phase of uh 17 and 18 are nearing completion, but we haven't put a shovel in the ground yet, correct?

Mayor council, that is correct.

Okay.

And on the other ones, you're just requesting to begin the design phase on the pickleball and so forth.

Is that right?

Mayor council, that is also correct.

Okay.

One of the thank you for that information.

One of the things I I would want to point out, and and I think this speaks to maybe council member Torgenson's concern.

I know council member Bucklin and I talked uh a couple weeks ago about some of the financial challenges that we have, and we're looking at a 20 million dollar gap in 29 and about 30 million around the same time frame gap on roads alone.

So to request just for us to revisit this and take a look at it.

I don't think it's unreasonable, especially uh I think it was Anna F from my notes here when she talked about the um water issues and prioritizing our CIP projects.

Um I think that this would demonstrate that we are being fiscally responsible, especially as we've got some tough decisions ahead of us, and I like how she put that that there are need to have, want to have, and have to have's, or ever how she phrased it.

But I think that's that's what you're asking for.

Is that right, Mr.

Torgenson?

Just put it out to the fall retreat.

You're not saying shut any of it down.

You're just saying, hey, let's just take a look at this and make sure we have a line of sight for affordability.

There's been no shovel in the ground.

I'm not stopping something mid-construction.

I'm asking us to take a deep breath and hold and wait to have this discussion, including what you're talking about, the fiscal cliff and the want have the wants, needs, and musts have to be looked at again.

There are things that are coming this way that we just need to discuss, and I can't feel good about committing and saying, okay, start this project, because the next thing will be well, we've already started the project.

We already put this the shovel in the ground.

Now we got to do the next phase.

And we have to, at some point, as seven policymakers take control of this and stop for a minute and really look at what this if this town moves forward in this fashion.

Is it going to be taxes?

There was a discussion about primary property tax, which I I vehemently don't want.

Or as you had said, if you don't do that, are we discussing cutting services?

We are we are facing issues here and and shortcomings and some failures that are no one person's fault, but we have if this was your own home, you would wait to install the pool.

If this was your own house, you would wait.

There's no reason for us not to wait just a little longer to discuss this again.

So one other question though, too.

If we do delay the uh breaking ground on the uh one park, um and we that if I understand you guys correctly that we push the completion aid date out, which is a given.

Is there a cost impact to us other than potentially escalation in materials that is there any penalties or anything we're looking at or anything like that?

Are we committed to anything that would put us at risk financially?

Mayor council, can I get you to explain which exact project you're referring to?

Um, eighteen, nineteen, I think here.

Yeah, the desert sky phase two.

Yeah, if we don't put we're 90 percent complete with design, okay, but we haven't broken ground yet.

If we push off the groundbreaking for let's say 90 days, does that impact the overall cost that we thought that this project would be?

Um Mayor Council, that's a great question.

So currently with the with what we're seeing on rates, it's it sits more steady than it has been in the past.

Um but that's hard to say whether that's going to be an increase if we hold off for 90 days.

Um I would make an assumption that that's probably not going to have a huge increase in cost if we held off for 90 days, uh, especially since we we currently don't have any um uh GMP or any contract obligations at this point for for cost and moving forward.

We do have uh some engineering estimates and things like that, but uh I don't believe 90 days will have a huge significant impact.

So there's no contractual issues that we're gonna be dealing with with anybody.

We haven't agreed to do anything that would put us at risk, right?

If I'm hearing what you're saying, the only risk that we could have is uh might be an escalation of materials, and you don't see that as likely for that short period of time.

Mayor council, that that's current that is correct.

Okay, what about the mobilization of the construction company?

We've told them we wanted to start in December.

What would be the impact of them having to reprioritize their projects?

How could that impact us?

So mayor council, great question.

So that would not currently impact them.

The GNP will actually be taken to council.

Um I believe the next council meeting on November 18th.

Okay.

So we would push that item if if it's decided tonight that that gets pushed to December, then we would probably push that that uh action item to December.

Okay.

So from what I'm hearing, really the only risk here is schedule.

Is that right?

Mayor council, that is correct.

Okay.

So I think from my perspective, it's not unreasonable for us to just take one more look in the light of when we looked at this originally in the first part of the year.

We were unaware of some of the challenges that we have encountered since them, like the water, I mean like the sewer issue that we had to deal with, nor were we aware of the impact of these water rates.

And we've heard out of the out of the 15 people that spoke tonight, 10 of them spoke about the impact of them financially.

I I could not believe uh the one bill was like 700 and some odd dollars, but and I've had ump team people stop me on the street and ask me about this stuff, and I think we we're doing a good job getting our hands around it or trying to.

But I I think my opinion is it's not unreasonable for us to ask to take a look at this again at the fall retreat because that's only a few weeks of away, correct?

Yeah, so that that's all I have to say.

Thank you.

Okay, Leah, did you have something to add?

Okay Leah did you have something to add uh Chris is there anything legal to add to this yeah just some just a couple of thoughts procedurally um if the council wants to uh make a motion on this you've got a couple options one you could just make no motion the items die staff could bring it back you give direction to staff to bring it that discussion add it to the agenda for the council retreat which is December 8th and 9th you could make a motion to table which means it's just dead it's just tabled indefinitely or you could do a motion to continue and that means it will come back at whatever date you pick a council meeting if you want to do December the council meeting of December is December 16th we could you know just add that on there or just put the placeholder in it gets added unless there's direction during the retreat the week prior to change it to a different date or modify it so those are your options motion to continue to a date certain motion to table will just means it dies or just don't vote on it and it dies okay and and we want to make sure that it was my understanding that 17 18 and 19 are under construction and things are working no is that eight nine and 10 you said something is 90 percent mayor council that's 90 percent design so it has not started construction yet okay so we have a we haven't started any of these six actually started them other than preliminary design and mayor council that is correct we're in the design phase getting ready to start construction okay okay all right um council member torches mayor I just want to clarify and make sure that we all understand that you're the discussion we had with the public tonight and water rates is an enterprise fund these are not enterprise funds that we're talking about tonight and we can't move those funds into the enterprise funds just so let me clarify that I understood that sir I just I just concerned about the affordability of people's overall budget that's all and as far as the disc discussion goes I agree with council member Koprowski I thought we've had a had a vigorous discussion on this on all of this previously yeah after hearing some of the comments from other council members from staff I would be comfortable I guess um having no motion or tabling items eight nine ten for the free stone park improvements and seventeen eighteen for the desert sky park improvements since those seem to be at a position where they can be paused I would um suggest that we do move forward with item nineteen it's in 60 percent design and this is the project that would add ball fields skate park bike pump track um near the Aquateo Road bridge area and I think that is a high priority especially when we were trying to identify um activities for our teens uh in the community so that would be one item that I would um urge us to consider moving forward and then hold the other items okay so do you want to say I would like to make a motion to continue 89 10 17 and 18 to December 16th was it 18th or 6th 16th to continue it to that date for those five items 89 10 17 and 18 okay so we have a second on the motion second okay so we have a motion and the motion is carried for items eight nine ten seventeen and eighteen please vote okay so we have a seven zero vote so those items will be carried over to the retreat and does someone want to make a motion on item 19 I'll make a motion to approve item 19 I'll second that okay we have a motion on item 19 and a second please vote and with we have a six one vote and so the motion carries okay with that mayor it's back to you thank you vice mayor um public hearings tonight we have three items two are uh being requested to postpone until November eighteenth um so I'd like to uh we could do all three uh with those indicated as being postponed um I'll open the public hearing on the three zoning cases or two zoning cases and one code of the overt case and close the public hearing is it bring it back to council is there any discussion can I have a motion on those items and mayor with the motion could we take the first two items the continuance they could go together but just separately from item 30 so 20 we

Um I'll open the public hearing on the three zoning cases or two zoning cases and one code of Gilbert case.

And close the public hearing is it bring it back to council.

Is there any discussion?

Can I have a motion on those items?

And mayor, with the motion, could we take the first two items, the continuance?

They could go together but just separately from item 30.

So 20 we have to do it separately from 30.

Well, just from 30, because 30 would be approval and the other two would be continuance.

Just to clarify.

Okay.

Mayor, I move to continue items 28 and 29 to the November 18th, 2025 council meeting.

I second that.

It's a motion by Councilmember Kaprowski, seconded by Vice Mayor Buckley that we postpone items 28 and 29 to our regular agenda on November 18th.

Please vote.

Now I need a motion on item 30.

Could we get a presentation on item 30, Mayor?

Sure.

Can we get a presentation from uh staff on item 30?

Kyle Mayor, Council, thank you.

Good evening.

Um, this is an item that came before you at a study session um a couple weeks or a couple months ago.

Um it is um a motion to approve an ordinance that would change or alter the allowable construction hours uh within the town of Gilbert.

Um recent legislation was passed which requires the municipality to allow concrete to be poured at least one hour before uh the general construction activities are allowed in the town.

In the town of Gilbert, the general construction activities begin at 5 a.m.

So approving this ordinance then in in order to be compliant with the new legislation.

Uh concrete would be allowed to be poured at four in the morning.

Um that is simply the change with this with this text amendment just to address the legislation that was approved over the summer.

Thank you.

Questions?

Council member Kaprowski.

Kyle, was it considered to move the construction start time to 6 a.m.

with the concrete pouring starting at 5 a.m.?

No, uh I'm sorry, Mayor Council.

We did not um address it in that in that fashion.

Um the construction hours in the town have been fairly consistent and and typical over a number of years, and we haven't really had any issues or problems with it.

Um so we never did consider moving the general construction hours from five to six.

We just uh allowed the uh concrete pouring to begin at four.

Um and I will tell you as well, we do have some off time permits that we do allow during the summer times where folks can come to the town and request earlier start times.

We have people pouring concrete all night long in some instances due to the heat.

So there are some other options in place to to move those times, but um to simply answer your question now.

We never looked at changing that time to six councilmember Bon Giovanni.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh Kyle, just remind me um what's the why behind this again?

I mean, the if we're talking about heat the temperature difference between 5 a.m.

and 4 a.m.

I mean I ride my bike at 5 a.m.

It's pretty cold, even on a hot day.

Right.

So what's what's the why behind this again?

Uh mayor council, um as far as I know, it was something that the legislators did in order to help the construction industry.

That that's really is about as far as I said.

This is state-driven.

This is state driven, correct.

Okay.

Any other questions?

Any other questions?

I have a motion.

Uh three.

And I'll second that move by council member Torgeson, seconded by council member lyons.

All in favor, please vote.

Motion carries 7-0.

Next are administrative items.

These are um items for council discussion and action.

Item 31, boards and commissions consider removal of Dave Rosenfeld from the Veterans Advisory Board effective October 28, 2025.

I've asked Councilmember Lyons, who is the liaison to this board to give us a short presentation on this.

Thank you, Mayor.

I asked Council to begin by laying out our our reasoning behind the direction that we're wanting to go.

So Mayor Mayor Anderson, Council members, Councilmember Lyons asked me to talk about the authority and what the council's rights are with regard to this item, which is the consideration of the removal of a member of the uh veterans advisory board.

So as you're aware, members of boards, commissions, committees, task force in the town, they're appointed by the council, they serve at the will of council, and they they serve as council basically surrogates or its representatives.

And among many other things that these members do on the boards that they serve, they advise and make recommendations to the council on various items.

And um town code section one-205, which deals with boards, commission, and committees.

I'm just gonna read it verbatim under the vacancies and removal from office uh authority that the council has.

Any member of a commissioner board may be removed with or without cause by the favorable favorable vote of majority of all members of the council, and the action shall be final.

What that means is the council has the authority to remove any member for any reason because they serve you know at will.

What were the reasons that you and I discussed as it related to this particular issue?

Uh so council member lyons, uh, as you discussed, there were several concerns, and I um in the packet you had put together a statement.

Um, and so just summarizing that there are concerns about um that the code of conduct, the con the code that members of staff and members of the appointed members and elected officials are subject to.

One is honoring the public trust, another is creating the image and reality of a responsive and fair government, refrain refraining from making personal threatening or disparaging comments in public meetings, as well as differentiating between personal opinions and those of being a member of the board.

And so those are some of the concerns that that were brought forward on this.

Okay, thank you.

I wanted to, I don't take this action lightly, and I wanted to lay out my reasoning behind it.

On April the 8th of this year, uh Mr.

Rosenfeld came in to speak before this council, and a former council member had allocated him his three minutes to talk.

So Mr.

Rosenfeld spoke for eight minutes, and in that eight minutes, I mean six minutes, identified himself as a member of the Veterans Advisory Board.

And when I heard the information that was presented, um it concerned me that a former council member and a member of a board would make allegations of uh the nature that he did, which had to do with ethics violations and the such.

Um it would to me it would indicate that uh they had inside information that the general public didn't have because it was identified in that way.

Um in addition to that, uh it was I I just felt like uh it's something that needed to be addressed, and some of the information that was presented came from um recording the council from an executive session that took place, and in an executive session, there are no notes taken, no emails uh allowed.

Um it's supposed to be the minutes provided by the clerk, and that's it.

Yet it was communicated that that information came from an email.

Now part of that was uh brought about because of a study session that was done uh earlier, and the email that was presented, uh mean the uh request that was presented as an example of an issue happened to be Mr.

Rosenfeld's, though he was not identified, and he had felt like that was being used to target him.

The reason that particular request was brought forward, the request that he had asked impacted 800 about 800,000 items.

Is that correct?

Which 800,000 items.

If we if it had taken just 15 minutes each for those to be reviewed by to be pulled by IT, reviewed by staff, then reviewed by legal, would have cost tens of millions of dollars to do.

Uh so after getting that information, I sat down and talked with Mr.

Rosenfeld about uh what the issue was and about refining that request so that we could get him the information he needed because he said he was not getting it in timely fashion.

The reason it wasn't timely was because of the scope of it.

He had said that the issue that he wanted addressed was uh to understand why some council members had opposed his reappointment to the board.

So I offered to provide mediation for him and those members to see if we could work that out.

He said he declined until he got these records.

So with that, I went to the town clerk and our legal team and requested help in expediting those and giving Mr.

Rosenfeld some ability to refine that request so that we could get the scope of it down, which I think we ended up uh providing for him about eighty, eight hundred documents in total, but we had to review far more than that.

Um those were not sufficient for what he was wanting, and through the process, um, like I said, I'd offered to mediate this, he said no.

And as we were working through this, he had uh made allegations that the town clerk and the staff were not being, and by staff I mean our legal team were not being forthright.

Um there was a lot of redactions because some of the items requested, and they were very broad request, um had to be because of client attorney privilege.

And he wanted Mr.

Rosenfeld wanted those people to waive their attorney client privilege in order for him to get that information.

And I pressed, and and I bring this up because this this whole thing boiled down to he wanted to understand why certain council members did not want him on the board, and I had shared with him that that should really be irrelevant because the former mayor and the former liaison wanted and fought for him to be on that board, and the very council members that wanted him removed voted for his reappointment.

So, from my perspective, this was not something that uh needed to be pursued.

I mean, he somebody didn't want him there, that's fine, but in the end, he was reappointed to that board by the prior council with the advocation of the prior mayor and the prior liaison.

And that should end that.

And and and this is what concerns me about this.

You know, we were we talked about the First Amendment violations, I mean uh abridgments, and I didn't think this was the case.

Anybody should be able to ask for transparency, but what concerns me in this case just with the uh ones that we provided, the cost of getting those documents, and I'll lay this out for you guys, and this is why we had the study session.

If those 8786 documents we did provide took staff a half hour each to do, a half hour each, which it takes a lot more than that, but just say a half hour each, you're looking at about 220,000 to provide that information.

If they take an hour each, you're looking at about 439,000 to capture that information.

And that's based on what that employees cost would be to the town and the amount of hours it would take to accomplish it.

So I thought that that was a very significant impact to our community just to address an issue as to why somebody didn't want this man to hold his position, even though those folks allowed it to be done.

And I'm going to cap this off with this is that I had members, prior members of the board, and uh some members currently on the board express concerns about their interactions with Mr.

Rosenfeld, and I had a couple people tell me they will not serve or do not want to serve as long as he was on that board.

And from what I understand from the information that was given, uh that was the problem all along.

So I don't take this action lightly.

I just I just feel like through the process that we were we offered to mitigate to mediate this.

Um I asked the staff to prioritize it.

I asked them to help him through that, and and I'll lay this out when we asked him to help him through this, he blindsided us by sending us an email that included several activist groups, including the um a author from Florida who's an attorney that investigates corruption in government, the judicial watch, I think was another one, and several media outlets.

So he took it outside the town, and and normally, you know, when you have something like this, you could do an ethics complaint, and I did not want to do that.

I wanted to try to solve this behind closed doors for two reasons.

One, it does not serve the town well if we air dirty laundry of this nature, and we don't try to solve it behind closed doors appropriately, by the way.

And secondly, I was concerned about Mr.

Rosenfeld's business who has a forward-facing uh customer base that if I filed an ethics complaint that would have ended up a part of the public record, and I didn't think that was fair without giving him the option to be able to work through this.

That's why I did the process the way I did.

It was to protect not just him but the town as well.

So understand this this is not something I'm really comfortable with, but you know, when you look at the role of these boards, they advise the council on matters that's under their purview.

And in this case, we're advising the council on matters associated with veterans.

And if I can't trust this man's judgment to handle these types of this type of situation in an adult fashion, then I I I struggle with being able to accept his advice on matters related to veterans.

And it really when the when I looked at what our town clerk had done to help with this, and then reading the email where she was accused of of you know not doing her job, and I'm being polite.

Is that fair to say, Chris?

Uh that was just a line too far for me.

And I struggled with that.

Um I I think that when you set on these boards, you represent the town of Gilbert, and you need to do so in a way that positively reflects us.

Now, if there is legitimate corruption, if there is legitimate ethics issues, then file a complaint and we will work through that.

But to just make that allocation, make those allegations without anything to back it up, and then escalate that to media and uh uh investigative uh a journalist and stuff, that does not serve this town well.

And then I look at the cost of it, and this is not something that I think should be uh a characteristic of a board member.

I just don't.

This is something that could have been handled in private, and frankly, it was a petty issue, and I get the fact that he had issues with one of the council members who he deemed to be a bit of a bully, granted, but you don't do something like this, and it reflects so poorly on the town.

I I just I just struggle with it.

And this has not been an easy decision, but uh that's where I where I've landed with this, and I think that it's the appropriate course of action.

Now, with that said, I don't want anybody to think in any way that this diminishes the contribution that Mr.

Rosenfeld has made to the Veterans Advisory Board.

He's one of the original founders.

He does fantastic work with veterans.

Do not take it as that.

What I'm saying is is that in his current role with this current conflict going on and the decisions that he made makes me as a council liaison not trust his judgment because there's been not one, not two, not three, but four instances in my mind where poor judgment was made as it relates to resolving this issue.

So with that said, I I would return it to the dais if anybody has any questions for me or discussion.

Further counsel discussion, Councilmember Torgeson.

Well, I I hesitate with this for a moment, but Mr.

Rosenfeld, you've asked why I did not want you reappointed to the Veterans Advisory Board.

And the reason is simple.

Your repeated behavior towards fellow board members and volunteers has been inappropriate, rude, and condescending.

I didn't go looking for the issue.

It came to me through others who were affected.

Although former Mayor Peterson misrepresented my position, even violating executive session confidentiality to do so.

The truth is I did support giving you a second chance after her promise to help you change your behavior.

But immediately after that meeting, you insulted another volunteer in the lobby.

The pattern of behavior continued.

Instead of focusing on service, you launched social media attacks, filed massive public records requests, and publicly publicly accused this council.

Everybody up here, the town manager, our town clerk, and our town attorney of corruption, all without evidence.

I'm not leading this effort tonight, but I will say plainly, your conduct left us no choice.

This discussion is not about politics or free speech.

It's about respect, civility, and accountability.

If you're removed from this board, it will be the direct result of your own actions.

Any other comments?

Discussion.

Chris, this is an administrative item.

We generally don't take public input unless the council is okay with doing that.

Is that correct?

That's correct.

If you want to take input, it would require a vote of the council to approve it.

Is there anyone who would like to motion to hear from the public on this one?

No.

Seeing seeing none, I'll entertain a motion.

I would like to make a motion that effective October 28th of 2025 that Mr.

Rosenpel would be removed from his role on the Veterans Advisory Board.

No.

No, I just asked this is an administrative item, and we don't take public input unless the council is okay with that.

That's why we just voted to not accept it.

I did.

Councilmember Lyons.

Do I have a second?

I will second that motion.

It's been moved by Councilmember Lyons, seconded by Councilmember Torgison.

Please vote.

Motion carries 5 2 with Vice Mayor Buckley and Councilmember Kaprowski dissenting.

Next on the uh agenda future meetings.

Please take a quick look at those future agenda items that will be coming up.

And next is communications.

We've had the report from the town manager.

Do we have a report from council members?

Councilmember Bongiovan.

Thank you, Mary.

This is for Parks and Rec.

Um Veterans Day Breakfast, November 11th, 2025, 8 30 a.m.

to 12 p.m.

community center.

Join us for our annual Veterans Day breakfast, a heartful celebration honoring those who have served.

Open to all ages.

This event um features live music, crafts, and meaningful ceremony dedicated to our senior veterans.

While attendance is open to the public, registration is required.

Registration for this event closes Friday, November 7th.

Schedule 8 30 a.m.

coffee and donuts, 9 o'clock pledge and ceremony honoring senior veterans.

9 15 breakfast and um music and 1045.

There's that bingo again.

All right.

Also um family bird walks every Thursday.

I'm sorry, every third Saturday of the month.

Next uh next one November 15th, 8 a.m.

to 11 uh a.m.

repairing preserve.

Join Desert Rivers Audubon Society at the Dragonfly Ramada of the Riparian Park uh on every third Saturday of the month from 8 a.m.

to 12 p.m.

October through March for for free bird walks.

I also want to bring up another thing.

Um due to the government shutdown, SNAP benefits are stopping uh November 1st, and we have families in Gilbert who are in need.

So I want to remind um the public of how you can help.

Uh even the smallest donation will help in this in this situation.

Our food bank and food pantry partners are Ascend, City Hope, House of Refuge, Matthews Crossing, Midwest Food Bank, St.

Anne's uh Friends of the Needy, United Food Bank, and Vineyard.

There's a um QR code there to find out uh where those locations are, and I strongly recommend that um everyone just if they could just kick in just a little bit, whether it be cash or whether it be actual food donations.

There's uh there's families here in Gilbert who are no longer going to be having that benefit for a little bit of time here.

So if you could uh participate in that, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Councilmember Lyons.

Um just wanted to talk about a couple things that are coming up uh related to the Veterans Advisory Board.

We had a strategic planning session a couple Saturdays ago, and the team got together, uh this was a layout what our strategic planning is to reach out to veterans here in the community for the next 12 months.

I want to thank everybody who participated in that.

There was a lot of good input that came out of it.

And then we also have a veterans day uh event beginning a car show at 3 p.m.

It'll go three to five, and then ceremony from five to six.

This will be at the Gilbert Water Tower Plaza.

Uh so encourage you guys all to come.

It's Tuesday, November the 11th.

So please come out and uh thank our veterans for their service.

Thank you.

Councilmember Kaprowski on the next Gilbert Symphony Orchestra concert.

It's a free concert to the community, and it's gonna be Monday, November 10th at 7 p.m.

at the Gilbert Center or that at the Higley Center for Performing Arts.

So again, that is Monday, November 10th at 7 p.m.

Councilmember Torgus.

But I know that I believe it is tomorrow.

Uh, there is a heritage district meetup for uh for everybody, but it's sponsored by the chamber shows barbecue.

And I am not above embarrassing Councilmember Bon Giovanni because Scott September wasn't willing to do it.

I'm willing to embarrass them.

This gentleman could this gentleman contributed a Maserati to a charity on Saturday.

And I don't care if you're rich, poor, whatever it is, it's sizable and it's it's it's impressive.

And I just I like Chuck a lot, but I respect Chuck.

Thank you.

Thank you.

With that, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

I make a motion to adjourn.

We are adjourned.