Gilbert Town Council Meeting - October 28, 2025
Gilbert Town Council Regular Meeting - October 28, 2025
The Gilbert Town Council met on October 28, 2025, to discuss a wide range of issues including water billing complaints, the Heritage District redevelopment impact on American Legion Post 39, consent agenda items, and the removal of a board member. The meeting opened with a proclamation declaring November 2025 as Alzheimer's and Caregiver Month. Public comment was extended to one hour due to a large number of speakers.
Consent Calendar
- The council approved 27 consent agenda items (items 2-7, 11-16, 20-27, 25A, and 31A) with a 7-0 vote. Items pulled for discussion were 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, and 19.
- Discussion items included Freestone pickleball courts, Desert Sky Park phase 2, and Gilbert Regional Park design.
- After debate, a motion carried 7-0 to continue items 8, 9, 10, 17, and 18 to the December 16, 2025 council meeting. Item 19 (Gilbert Regional Park) was approved separately with a 6-1 vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- American Legion Post 39 Speakers (Michael Bailey, Mitchell Ellis, Gary Vaughn, Jimmy P., Frank Banchesky, and Jeremy Dykstra): Multiple veterans and representatives expressed opposition to the Heritage District redevelopment plan and Ash Street realignment, citing concerns about reduced parking and accessibility for elderly and disabled veterans. They highlighted the post's extensive community contributions (over 38,000 volunteer hours, $60,000+ in donations) and requested a liaison from the town manager's office to collaborate on solutions. American Legion State Commander Gary Vaughn of Peoria urged the council to protect veteran access.
- Water Billing Complaints (Bill Spence, Amy Beharano, Sarah Barker, Anna F., Michael G., Anand, Craig Walter): Several residents detailed severe water billing issues, including unexplained high usage charges, meter reading errors, and rate increases exceeding 200%. Bill Spence argued the town may have violated state law on rate notification. Amy Beharano reported being billed for up to 75,000 gallons per month but actually using only ~19,000 gallons. Sarah Barker described a $700 bill and said rates have increased by up to 100%. Anna F. requested reallocation of park funds to water infrastructure. Craig Walter recommended capping the top water rate at $337 per month and pausing further increases.
- Other Comments: Scott September thanked the council for supporting CC's Hope Center gala. Carissa Arnold, a former Gilbert resident, alleged corruption and demanded an external investigation into the town's records deletion policy, linking it to her daughter's sexual assault case and other unsolved incidents.
Discussion Items
- Water Rate and Infrastructure: The town manager reported that water conservation audits doubled in the last two weeks. Staff clarified that water and wastewater rates are enterprise funds and cannot be shifted to general fund projects. Councilmember Torgeson expressed concern about affordability and the need to reprioritize capital projects given a projected $20 million gap in road funding.
- Consent Agenda Items 8-10, 17-19: Council debated whether to delay these recreation projects. Staff noted that items 17 and 18 (Desert Sky Park) are at 90% design and construction could start in December; postponing would delay completion but not incur penalties. Items 8-10 (pickleball/splash pad) had not yet started design. The council voted 7-0 to continue five of the six items to December 16 for further discussion at the fall retreat, and approved item 19 (Gilbert Regional Park) 6-1.
- Construction Hours Ordinance (Item 30): The council approved an ordinance to allow concrete pouring at 4 a.m. (one hour before general construction) to comply with new state legislation. The vote was 7-0.
- Removal from Veterans Advisory Board (Item 31): Councilmember Lyons moved to remove Dave Rosenfeld from the Veterans Advisory Board, citing concerns about his conduct, including making allegations without evidence, filing massive public records requests, and sending complaints to outside media. Councilmember Torgeson added that Rosenfeld’s repeated inappropriate behavior toward fellow board members left no choice. The motion passed 5-2, with Vice Mayor Buckley and Councilmember Koprowski dissenting.
Key Outcomes
- Approved consent agenda items 2-7, 11-16, 20-27, 25A, and 31A unanimously.
- Continued items 8, 9, 10, 17, and 18 to December 16, 2025 (7-0). Approved item 19 (Gilbert Regional Park) 6-1.
- Postponed public hearing items 28 and 29 to November 18, 2025 (7-0).
- Approved ordinance allowing 4 a.m. concrete pouring (Item 30) 7-0.
- Removed Dave Rosenfeld from the Veterans Advisory Board (5-2).
- Council announced upcoming events: Veterans Day Breakfast (Nov 11, 8:30 a.m.), Veterans Day ceremony at Water Tower Plaza (Nov 11, 3-6 p.m.), and Gilbert Symphony Orchestra concert (Nov 10, 7 p.m.).
- Town manager noted a 24% reduction in falls among seniors and fire department achievements.
Meeting Transcript
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.
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