The Lake Havasu City Council held a regular meeting on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at 5:30 PM in Council Chambers. All six present councilmembers (Mayor Sheehy, Vice Mayor Diaz, Councilmembers Campbell, Coke, Dolan, Moses) voted unanimously on all agenda items. Councilmember Michele Lin was absent. The meeting began with an invocation by Pastor Tim Giles, the Pledge of Allegiance led by the Lake Havasu City Lighthouse Club, and roll call. Key actions included approvals of technology contracts, infrastructure projects, and public comments addressing pedestrian safety and support for the local lighthouse club.
On Tuesday, May 26th, 2026 at 530 p.m. We'll now have an invocation from Pastor Tim Giles with Inspire the Church, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Rachel Hughes and Carl Cornet with the Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club. Thank you. It's a privilege to be here with all of you guys, our thoughtful civic leaders and the work you do, our community partners, citizens, for all the work and everything you do to strengthen and support serve the city. It really is. And I ask you for grace and wisdom for our city leaders. Lord, give them judgment, discernment, strengthen them. Father, I thank you that our citizens and our uh community partners, that we all come together for thoughtful discussion to serve and support our city. Thank you for the blessing you've given us with all these wonderful people. Lord, I pray that your grace covers all of us. In Jesus' name, amen. One nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Amen. Good evening. My name is Carl Cornett, and I am the president of the Lake Habasoo City Lighthouse Club. I want to first uh thank everybody, um, the our mayor, our uh our council members and staff, because there's so many of you. I can't I really appreciate it. Um next uh what I like to do is introduce uh Rachel Hughes, she's gonna come up here and uh she'll be talking about uh the lighthouses and and what what they do and and just basic information so everybody gets to know what we do out there. Rachel. Good evening, honorable mayor and city council. The Lake Havasue Lighthouse Club is a 501 C3 nonprofit organization staffed by volunteer residents dedicated to the preservation, repair, and safeguarding of the Lake Havasu Lighthouses. The club was established in 2000 by boaters to help other boaters. Generous donors and sponsors paid for the initial building of the lighthouses. Presently there are 28 lighthouses on the lake. Replicas from the western U.S. are located on or near the California side, while replicas from the eastern U.S. are located on the Arizona side. The Great Lakes replicas are represented on the islands. The majority of the lighthouses were built from wood or stucco and are constantly exposed to the lighthouses. Wear and tear over 26 years is our main issue. They are in constant need of paint, battery replacement, and concrete repair. The beacons are solar powered with a life expectancy of 12 years. However, the battery life is only three to five. The sea lights, however, range between 800 and 1,900 each, depending on the nick the distance needed for projection. Vandalism, however, has become a much bigger issue for us and more prevalent due to the location and accessibility of some of our lighthouses. For instance, there are 15 lighthouses located on the island, making them very accessible and regularly visited. Previously, the Lake House Havasu Convention and Visitors Bureau claimed that over 30% of our visitors come specifically to see our lighthouses. Point Gratchett on the island is a perpetual example for us. This unofficial party location is host to many bonfires and constantly in need of cleanup and repair. Our members use a huge magnet constantly to retrieve nails from pallets, filling a five-gallon bucket. That's how many. We receive absolutely no funding from the city, the county, BLM, state, or federal. Our funding for all repairs and supplies comes 100% from donations by our community, visitors, and sales of our books. All of our resources and time are spent on maintenance, lighthouse inspections, and public education. Again, all provided by our by our members. As I've said earlier, cost to maintain our beloved lighthouses is skyrocketing. And I'm here today not only to bring awareness to you and our residents, but also to ask for some assistance and guidance in securing additional funds to help with ongoing maintenance and repair. Our members perform all the work using our own boats, tools, and time to ensure the lighthouses are working in working condition for the safety of our boaters and would really appreciate any suggestions on helping us prosper. Our membership is 100% volunteer, and we've lost many members over the years due to attrition and burnout. If the club goes belly up, what happens to the lighthouses?