Welcome everyone to our Mesa City Council study session for January 12th, 2026.

All members members of our council are present.

Council, as usual, item one is to review the agenda for tonight's council meeting.

I know we went over this uh agenda previously, but are there any other questions for staff to answer?

Mr.

Mayor, I'd like to take 8A off consent.

Okay.

I don't necessarily need a discussion.

I just want it taken off for a separate vote.

Okay, eight A.

Got it.

Mr.

Christopher, I'm sure we'll reflect that.

Mayor, all council is looking if I can clarify a question that came up at the last study session.

I believe council member go forth asked a question regarding I think it's 8C.

Um it's regarding electric um electric bikes being able to ride on the sidewalk.

And I think the discussion was in the context of parks, and the answer was that they will be allowed that they're allowed to ride, and that's true within parks, but they're not allowed another on other sidewalk throughout the city.

Currently they're prohibited throughout the city, including parks.

This ordinance creates an exception for parks.

So I just wanted to make sure that there was that clarification that that that answer was in the context of sidewalks within parks.

Thank you.

That's all.

Thank you, Mayor.

And also shared use paths, correct?

Correct.

Yeah, it's a lot on charity's pass, and that's the 15 miles per hour.

Okay.

Thank you.

All right.

Council, any other questions?

Okay, I do have a question, and it is regarding item four C is the two-year renewal options for fencing and gate installation repair rental supplies for the parks and recreation community, facilities and facility management departments.

Uh I just would love maybe for someone to come and explain.

Temporary fencing is often used to create interim dog parks during maintenance periods, secure active job sites, and restrict access to playground equipment deemed unsafe.

I'm struggling to understand the temporary fencing costing 400,000 potentially annually.

And I I did not see pricing to justify that, so maybe you can help me understand that cost.

Yes, thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Councilmember Gof Taylor, excuse me.

Uh Andrea Alcoat, interim parks recreation and community facilities director.

Um so for this particular item, it is for um the 400,000 is for three years.

And the justification for that cost in an annual basis, we um purchase about 120,000 annually, so for the three years, and then we allow a little bit of a room for a buffer in case there's any unanticipated projects.

Um the fencing itself is going to be to secure when there are construction projects or any um temporary facilities that we need to create.

Um again, another example.

If there is a uh construction project that is anticipated for a dog park, then they have to relocate that particular area that is a contained area for those animals to roam free and allow those um those same functions to be able to happen in an enclosed area.

So that hundred and uh excuse me, that 400,000 breakdown is across the three years, about 120,000 annually is what we're currently spending.

Okay, and you said we purchase that or are we renting this?

I heard you say purchase.

I I apologize.

Clearly, this is my first.

Okay, yeah, no, don't worry.

Starting coming up your own.

I'm new to so in this area, so so learning all of this as well.

Um, we are we are renting it through the contractor.

Okay, that helps.

Thank you.

Thank you for explaining this was done through a competitive bid process.

You answered my next question.

Thank you.

Appreciate you so much.

Thank you.

Council, any other questions.

All right.

So we have 8A off the consent.

And with that, I'll move forward to next is current events and conferences attended.

Council members, do you wish to share anything?

What you've done the past week.

Vice Mayor Summers, start it off.

Mayor, we have had uh 2026 is off to a fantastic start when it comes to uh job announcements.

We had uh two ribbon cuttings that you are aware of.

Gift health, which is an online pharmacy group.

They employ pharmacists and tech tech folks, pharmacy tech.

Right.

Uh as well as Comico, which is part of our uh uh the infrastructure that we're seeing with with companies coming in for for chip manufacturing here.

Each one of those will bring 200 advanced manufacturing jobs, and the uh docket is full for the rest of January.

So we're gonna be seeing some more exciting news in the coming days.

Well, that's noteworthy.

I mean, Comico is a large uh they specialize in semiconductor industry for special components, and so we appreciate them to the vice mayor's point.

Up to 250 jobs, a hundred million dollar uh business.

They took one of our old tele tele staff buildings and renovated the inside of that over the 7300 block of East Hampton and creating job growth over there, and it's the type of jobs we want in our city, and I appreciate the vice mayor leading that.

And then with gift health, it's it's phenomenal.

The prescription they'll do, I think they told me over three million prescriptions in a year out of the building on Saucaman.

Yeah, and they're gonna need more room.

Yeah, and they're gonna they're gonna expand.

So remember if you're new business in Mesa, buy a big building so you can expand.

Or soft walls.

All right, uh, Miss Goforth, did you?

I spent several hours on Saturday at um Red Mountain Ranch, was which is a community in District 5, and um they had an event called Advanced Red Mountain, and it was just a bunch of the neighbors and community leaders and partners that came together to celebrate and um enjoy each other.

It was a great event, and I wanted to thank Bob Xana Boney for being my ambassador and taking me on around.

So it was a it was a much uh very very fun event.

So great, great.

Anything else on this side.

I have something.

Yes, Ms.

Taylor.

Thanks.

Uh we actually, Councilmember Goforth and I met with a resident on Thursday night, and we had a really good four-hour meeting and answered a lot of questions.

Uh she is kind of a spokesperson for the Mesa Republican Women's Club, so she asked us a lot of the questions that are specific to our district about development, about the future for Mesa's economic development versus residential development, utilities, kind of the whole gamut.

And then we were honored, uh, both of us to speak today, including Councilmember Rich Adams at the Mesa Republican Women's Club, and we kind of gave a download of our districts, and we talked about various things coming up for the city of Mesa.

And so it was an enjoyable experience to have so many questions given to us so that we could clarify a lot of things that were, I think, um misunderstood on some levels, so we were able to give clarity to them.

Yeah.

So that was good.

Good.

Thank you for that.

I'll share on Saturday afternoon.

I went to Riverview for the annual uh supporting our heroes event.

That's the 100 club.

And uh Mayor Corey Woods joined me at Riverview.

I told him thank you for coming to Mesa Mayor.

It's always nice to nudge a name mayor like that.

But we spoke uh the importance of the 100 club in supporting public safety personnel uh in times of uh distress and death.

So that was at Rearview.

Uh next, uh council member Adams and I both attended the professional firefighters uh association memorial at Wesley Bowling Plaza on Sunday morning.

That was a very nice event.

I see our fire marshal here, Mr.

Alexander is one of the commanders there, and Mesa was uh showcased that unfortunately, but in great uh thoughts and memory.

We were able to put uh Captain Byrd, Captain Brown, and Captain Inman uh prior deaths in our our department, along with uh uh Mark Keller and Paul Shu were also put on the professional firefighters uh memorial there at Wesley Bowland.

So families were there.

It was a very poignant moment, and we appreciate that.

And um, it's always a special time there.

So with that, that's always that.

And then we have our own memorial coming up next month on President's Day, our firefighter memorial.

So those who'd like to attend with that can.

If there's nothing else, Mr.

Butler, you want to share uh schedule of future meetings?

Yeah, mayor, council, good evening.

Um, we will, of course, we'll convene upstairs at 5 45 for our regular council meeting.

Uh next time we'll convene back in this room will be for study session this coming Thursday, January 15th at uh 7.30 a.m.

And just a reminder that January 19th is Martin Luther King Jr.

Day.

City offices will be closed, but we will be having the East Valley MLK parade and festival that happens here in downtown Mesa.

The parade, I believe I believe starts at 11 a.m.

that day, followed by the festival downtown from noon until roughly 4 p.m.

So it's a great event for folks to participate in on that day.

Thank you, Mr.

City Manager.

I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

Thank you, Mr.

Adams, Ms.

Taylor.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Okay, we're adjourned, and we'll see each other upstairs at 5 45.