Gilbert Town Council Meeting - April 21, 2026: Proclamations, Veterans, and Water
Gilbert Town Council Meeting - April 21, 2026
The Gilbert Town Council regular meeting on April 21, 2026, opened with an invocation by Ryan Milserek of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The meeting featured multiple proclamations recognizing the Light the World Giving Machine Initiative, Volunteer Month, Waterwise Gilbert participants, and Gilbert Water Professionals Appreciation Week. The Veterans Advisory Board presented its annual report. Public comments addressed utility rate increases, human trafficking, police matters, and a criminal complaint against town officials. A zoning case for a retail center at Higley and Ocatio was postponed to May 19, 2026. The consent calendar was approved unanimously, and a resolution on water resources system development fees was adopted 7-0.
Proclamations & Recognitions
- Light the World Giving Machine Initiative: The initiative, held from mid-November through December 2025 at Water Tower Plaza, brought 30,000 visitors to downtown Gilbert and resulted in roughly 43,000 items donated in 2025 alone. Checks representing donations were presented to five local nonprofits: Positive Paths, Paz de Cristo Community Center, One Small Step, Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, and an unnamed organization. The sponsor, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, covered all overhead costs, ensuring 100% of donations went to nonprofits.
- Volunteer Month & Just Serve City Designation: Mayor Scott Anderson proclaimed Gilbert's continued commitment to volunteerism. Gilbert was officially recognized as a "Just Serve City," joining a national movement of over 150 cities. Four individuals received Heart of Service Awards: Melanie Dykstra (Gilbert volunteer and community resources manager), Sean Warren and Jeremy and Rachel Olim (Redemption Gilbert Church), Gwyn Fulmer (11-year Just Serve specialist), and Lisa Bailey (Just Serve specialist and Winged Hope board member).
- Waterwise Gilbert Program: The landscape water budget program celebrated its best year in over a decade, with 145 out of nearly 300 members achieving water-wise status. The program has saved over 374 million gallons of water since its inception. Jeff Lee was recognized for his vision in establishing the program.
- Gilbert Water Professionals Appreciation Week: Proclaimed for April 27 – May 1, 2026, honoring the town's water professionals for ensuring safe, reliable water supplies. The proclamation noted Gilbert's diverse water sources and proactive preparation for Colorado River shortages.
- Veterans Advisory Board Report: Chair Charles Dyne reported on the board's activities, including signature ceremonies for Veterans Day and Memorial Day, the Military Tribute Banner Program, the Meet a Veteran Program (7 completed interviews), and the Gilbert Veterans Outreach Initiative (7 requests for assistance, including helping a veteran find permanent housing). The board aims to make Gilbert the most veteran-connected municipality in Arizona. Applications to the board are open through April 30, 2026.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Barbara Colbin (Gilbert resident): Criticized the town's process for increasing utility fees, alleging the council failed to follow its own phased plan and misled residents. She stated that two council members "bold-faced lied" to her and that she has lost trust. She also noted residents' bills are identical month-to-month under the new billing system and questioned billing period calculations.
- Boss Albayomi (Gilbert resident, president/founder of Building Bridges Leadership Foundation): Thanked the council for the human trafficking awareness month proclamation and invited them to a Building Bridges Leadership Seminar on April 24, 2026, to collaborate on addressing trafficking and vulnerability.
- Noah James Markham (Tempe resident): Expressed concerns about open carrying of firearms, thanked Councilmember Chuck Bon Giovanni for his leadership, advocated for more female police officers, supported light rail expansion, criticized ICE facility conditions, and urged consideration of women for the town manager position.
- Carissa Arnold (Gilbert resident): Stated she filed a criminal complaint against Gilbert town officials and confirmed the Arizona Attorney General is conducting a criminal investigation. She named Leah Reinheimer (candidate for town manager) and Chief Solberg (assistant town manager) as specifically identified in the complaint, alleging disqualifying conduct. She alleged a conflict of interest for Councilmember Kenny Buckland due to a close personal relationship with Reinheimer and that the Buckland and Krapowski families recently vacationed together in Mexico, potentially compromising the town manager selection process. She urged the council to consider these facts.
- Andy (Gilbert resident, Barbell Vineyards): Opposed rezoning near Higley and Ocatio, arguing the area's long-term plan (SC zoning) protects the family-oriented community. He urged adherence to existing zoning to preserve small, walkable businesses.
Discussion Items
- Item 22 – Zoning Case at Higley and Ocatio for Retail Center: Postponed to May 19, 2026, by a 7-0 vote. Council limited public comment to the postponement only.
- Item 20 – Water Resources System Development Fees: Kelly (staff) presented a resolution to recategorize bond funds originally set aside for water rights purchase to the Northwater Treatment Plant, due to delays in federal approval for the water rights purchase (WA0830). The move would also retire an internal loan from the 2018 water buy. The public hearing included one speaker supporting approval. Council adopted the resolution 7-0.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar (Items 6-16, 23): Approved 7-0, including:
- IGA with Maricopa County for Stacy Road improvements and annexation of Higley Road (no fiscal impact).
- Cooperative purchase agreement with Arizona Elevator Solutions ($95,000/year, 5-year term).
- PMCM services agreement with CEI for lake and park infrastructure repairs (not to exceed $2,321,222).
- Change orders for Village 2 Southwest Pump Station Rehab ($75,992 total) and Urban Lakes Renovation ($70,792 for ADA upgrades).
- Contract increase with DH PACE Company for door replacement/repair (+$150,000).
- Grant applications for Ascend ($25,000 from Ak-Chin Indian Community) and Edward Byrne JAG grant ($27,646 for police protective gear).
- Endorsement of Palomino Irrigation Water Delivery District (30 parcels, no fiscal impact).
- Acceptance of Q3 FY2026 risk management claim report.
- Appointment of Mary Fedore to the Self-Insured Trust Board.
- Resolution 4655 (Water Resources SDF): Adopted 7-0.
- Town Manager Search: Council announced a meet-the-candidates event on Thursday evening (April 23, 2026) at HD South from 7:00-8:30 PM. Interviews will be held on Friday.
Upcoming Events
- Earth/Arbor Day Celebration: April 22, 2026, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM, McQueen Park Activity Center.
- Movies in the Park: April 24, May 1, 8, 15, 2026, 6:30 PM, Gilbert Civic Center Lawn.
- Next Regular Council Meeting: May 19, 2026 (item 22 will be heard).
Meeting Transcript
Campo Verde High School, Mia Shay. Canyon Valley Junior High, Alyssa Robles. Canyon Valley School, Dylan Johnson. Cooley Middle School, Juliet Lancar. One more. At this time I'm going to call to order the council meeting regular council meeting of April twenty first, twenty twenty six of the Gilbert Town Council. And uh our invok invocation will be offered by Ryan Milserek. I hope I have that right, Brian, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints and Gilbert Stapley Steak. Thank you, Ryan. Our Heavenly Father, we're grateful for the opportunity to gather this night, Lord, and give thee thanks for the freedoms of this country, which we celebrate on this two hundred and fiftieth almost two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Amen. We'll start off with the recognition of the light of the light of the world giving machines. I'll ask to come up and I'll come down there. Thank you, Mayor Anderson, members of the town council. The Light the World Giving Machine Initiative. Is this ready to there we go? Almost. Yeah, there we go. Great. Light the World Giving Machine Initiative brought 30,000 visitors to downtown Gilbert here this last November and December. For those who are not familiar with them, a giving machine contains 30 carefully curated cards in there that each represent a charitable giving uh opportunity of goods or services. Visitors can come and donate one or more items that are then fulfilled by local and global nonprofits. This last Christmas giving machine could be found in a little over 125 cities worldwide in uh 21 countries and six continents. And uh interesting fact, Gilbert was one of the very, very first places where we hosted a giving machine back starting back in 2018. 100% of each donation goes to the outstanding local nonprofits that participate each year, uh with a hundred percent of the overhead for the the venue and the staffing and marketing and the the machines themselves being uh covered by our sponsor, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. Uh these were located as you can see here on the northeast corner of Watertower Plaza there in downtown Gilbert, right along Page Avenue there across the street from from Hale Center Theater. Uh these were open from mid-November through the end of December, uh day and night, available 24 hours a day. We had some interesting donations at three in the morning. Uh we also had a a digital kiosk version that's a new style of the machine that that was inside that that pump house jail building, uh renovated building there in uh Water Tower Plaza. And we had uh a lovely kickoff event in November. Uh as you can see here we had Danielle Miller from Fox 10 on the left, who did a uh a live uh segment uh on her morning show uh showcasing downtown Gilbert and and the Giving Machine Initiative. Uh we also had um I'll remember her name, Emma Jade, that came and recorded a longer segment uh for her momcast show on NBC 12 news. So huge thanks uh here in Gilbert. Uh we had friends and family, uh families, groups of friends and and others who would come uh again day and night. We had a number of small music groups that came and performed uh there for the people who were waiting in line to donate. And uh a lot of social media uh out there of people that that came and again showcased downtown Gilbert and talked about their experience with the giving machine here this uh this last year. So huge thanks here. Um in Gilbert alone, roughly 43,000 items were donated uh in 2025 alone. Um tonight we'll focus on the donations made to our five local nonprofits that are here in the East Valley. Uh so uh if we could, could all the representatives from the nonprofits maybe come right up here and we'll we'll be have you on deck and ready to to come up. And uh with that, let's maybe start with the uh the group from Positive Paths first. And uh we have a yeah, these these were the the top, these were the seven that were in the machine. Days for girls and mentors international were a couple of international ones, um, and the five up here are all East Valley organizations that are outstanding. We'll start here with the Positive Paths group. Um Positive Paths exists to support East Valley women uh in need by provide providing a life bridge to economic stability, personal growth, and professional achievement. They do this through mentorship programs, scholarships, and supportive services. Tonight we'd like to present them with a check that represents the the total of all of the donations that were made here. The uh the cards that you can see here on the slide are the cards that were in the machine and their row, and uh and you can see the quantities of things that people in the East Valley here came and donated to to help them. So, with that, Teresa, do you want to bring the check? That one there.
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