Okay, everybody reset.

Welcome to the Mesa City Council Study Session for February 23rd, 2026.

All of our council members are present.

Item one is to review the agenda for tonight's council meeting.

Let's go through the agenda.

Do you have any questions on any item?

Well, I have one, just a real simple one.

Uh on a 5D, that is a LED-light conversion for our ballparks.

And I saw that the request is for about $880,000 more than what was anticipated.

But then the question is, thank you, Mr.

Hirschberg.

Where do these dollars come from for this?

And was there ever an analysis, the cost savings between the LED versus regular bulbs?

And you may not have that, but we can get that later if you find it.

Yeah, thank you, Mayor.

Um these this is uh general capital dollars that are used for this project.

Uh this is just replacing um these facilities in particular, Ho Cam and Fitch Park, just as we would any of our other park systems, we've been in the process of converting uh the all of our ball field lights from metal halide to LED.

And while we don't have the uh an exact save number to tell you per se, because it changes first based on um runtime and everything else and how often they're used.

Um we can tell you that they are more efficient.

The uh bulbs last longer, the LED lasts longer, so uh from a maintenance standpoint, we're not up there changing and aiming re-aiming bulbs on a regular basis, and then just more energy efficient, so our our electric usage goes down when we're you utilizing the LED versus the metal halide as well.

Mark, can mayor if you don't mind.

Mark and uh if you'd clarify on this, this is also the contract that the rest of the parks department uses for all of our other uh ball field lighting.

So, mayor, to your question about the increase, that wasn't that wasn't because of this project in the well, the increase is because of this project.

But the underlying dollar amount is for the ongoing annual lighting services on all of our ball fields and other things that are that are carried out by the parks department, isn't that the with the increase, it will give us the ability to take care of the existing park system from a maintenance standpoint as well as replace the the five ball field lights, five different fields included in this another question.

Do any of our energy partners like Salt River Project rebate us anything for converting to LED versus what we have?

They do, Mr.

Boucher can kind of highlight how that program has worked and how the city has benefited from the past if you have to call it backup, huh?

Well, I just wonder if there's any costs or rebate savings, that's all it's very simple.

Yeah, um good afternoon, Mayor, Council.

So I believe this one is HohoCom and Fridge and Fitch.

Yeah, so with that, it's gonna be in our electric utility where we don't offer those same incentives, but we did just work with Red Mountain uh in the ball fields out there and uh new lights and replacement lights and getting rebates for those.

Um I don't recall the exact amount, but I could get that information back to you on the exact amounts of the rebates.

But um it'd be nice to have in your council report if you could include that in the future.

I definitely do that for you.

People like to know numbers.

Scott was just admitting SRP is more generous than we are on uh on that.

But we'll we take advantage of that in the SRP service territory.

It's hard to rebate ourselves, isn't it?

Okay.

That's the only question I have, council.

Anything else?

I actually was gonna pull 5D to discuss it, but like really briefly, I did way too much analysis on like what the average costs are for replacing light bulbs for stadiums, just because it kind of shocked me when I looked at that amount.

Um and what I found was it's actually a very modest cost to replace all of these bulbs.

And one thing that I just want people to remember is um LED lighting generally saves or cuts electricity by anywhere from 50 to 70 percent.

So kind of in the long run, it's actually a very large cost savings for us to move over to this type of lighting.

And they they did have a life span.

I mean, everybody's light bulbs have lifespans.

So when I was essentially looking at that, and I'm looking at the tens of thousands of dollars that we will be saving over the years.

I just want the general public, if anyone's listening to understand this has a long-term game gain for a short-term higher expense.

And I the rebates was a really great question.

Thank you for posting posing that.

Okay.

Thank you, Gilman.

I have a good question there.

So the next 5E.

So Mark, this is one that we're required under our agreement.

Can you just kind of briefly that?

Yeah, Mayor, Councilmember go forth.

Uh just as we discussed many months ago and and ongoing throughout the uh early winter parts there with the Cubs, the facility use agreement requires with the A's as well.

That was signed in 2013, requires a certain milestones, in this case the 10-year mark, for the the city and and the team to work together to identify a series of scheduled capital improvement projects.

Again, knowing what where' where we were headed within the park system ourselves on converting from Halide to LED, we knew this was also going to be a request on the lights.

Going back to that conversation would be one, so we planned on doing that as part of the tenure agreement, as well as um upgrades to the scoreboard.

And while it may seem like it's only 10 years old and shouldn't go that quickly, the technology changes and the ability to do live playback and um as they get into now the automated balls and strikes and review and reshowing those pitches and and the location of those and the challenging challenge ability now in baseball, that scoreboard, the technology that's there is no longer suit meets the standards that are being done today.

I'm just curious.

So how often do we renegotiate the contract with each other?

The Cubs is a 30-year agreement and the A's is a 25-year agreement.

Okay.

And when the from the time two through 2013, 2013.

Okay, both of them.

Uh 2011 for the Cubs.

For the Cubs.

Okay.

Thank you.

So I'm under I am understanding correctly that every 10 years we have to upgrade a schedule of items for the stadiums.

Is that right?

Correct.

Are we just kind of picking things out that we feel or were these requests from the the teams saying like this is what we'd like to have done?

Requests from the team as well as the city also saying, okay, yes, these are things we agree with, these are things that we believe are should be important.

So there's some give and take on both of our parts to get to that point.

So I will say, again, that agreement was done in 2013, 10 years.

So we're starting to come up, and we started playing there in 2014.

We're in 2026.

So I can that tells you how long it takes us to get through those agreements and push through.

I know this is a crazy question, but what would happen if in 10 years we didn't need to do anything?

Is that possible?

Um if Mayor, Councilmember Taylor.

I know it sounds crazy, but I was just wondering if we were contractually obligated to pick something in 10 years to replace or is it possible?

And and council member, there's a couple of different clauses in these agreements.

Um the 10-year one is is the most favorable one for the city.

Uh there's another clause we probably shouldn't even put that out there.

Um about a five team, and they're very the contracts are all very similar for a lot of the teams, and as they're shifting.

And you had asked me this weekend, and we were having this conversation earlier about economic impact of spring training that the mayor brought up.

And again, while we can't isolate, you know, Mike and I have been talking about numbers and and they identified that tax dollars between on average looking at March is 2.5 million dollars, more than 2.5 million dollars annually.

Can you attribute it 100% to spring training?

Not necessarily, but there is an increase.

I should say it helps.

And but just because we can't target those specific areas when we're looking at tax revenue.

But it's there is a significant jump.

Thanks.

Well, we know it's not the Renaissance festival.

Mayor and council, if I could add one thing to what Mark said and uh what council member Taylor's question was.

If we'd replace the scoreboard just two years ago, we we won't have to replace it now just because 10 years.

In other words, it's not it's not like you know, if we had replaced it just a few years ago and it was still sort of you know industry standard up to to it.

We won't we're not just obligated to replace it on the 10-year mark, even if we replaced it, you know, a year ago.

So the it is nuanced and takes consider in consideration those kind of aspects.

And and Mayor, I and just add to that, I think that's why you see some of this more on the technology side.

We all know that you know your 10-year-old television may be very different than the TV you could buy today, and so the same thing for the video board.

Whereas as Mark says, it's a very collaborative process, and I appreciate him.

He he spends a lot of time um working with both teams because we we need a good partnership with both the A's and the Cubs, and and I appreciate Mark making sure that that that happens.

But there is a lot of give and take on these things, and and as the facilities get older, you may see more on the capital needs side versus the technology side.

You're you're just gonna s see that.

But for Sloan, for example, is a 10-year-old ballpark, and and and some of the structural needs aren't the same as what it will be when it's a 20-year-old bar ballpark.

So we'll we'll adjust some of those needs as the the milestones um come about.

Great.

Thank you.

Anything else, council?

All right.

Next we'll move to item two is the knowledge receipt of board minutes.

There is a motion to that effect.

Thank you, Mr.

Adams.

Thank you.

Ms.

Taylor, all in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Motion passes.

Next is current events and conferences attended.

Council members, do you have anything you wish to share?

Who wants to start out?

Ms.

Taylor.

I got to go see the first pitch for the Cubs game, and I was joined by um Vice Mayor Summers and uh Councilmember Jen Duff and our city manager Scott Butler.

It was a great time.

Um I want everyone to know spring training is worth it.

Go go watch baseball.

It's very fun.

And I was especially feeling nostalgic looking at all the people on the lawn and just thinking about like old golden era summer baseball and the sand lot.

So I mean it was just it was beautiful weather.

So yeah, just wanted to say that was a great experience.

I I just saw all those people and saw sales tax, so it was uh it was great.

As they bought their beer.

And and the mayor had great pitches too.

So uh thank you.

I didn't want to embarrass our city.

Um anyway, anyway.

Sorry, uh sorry, it's just competition.

Uh let's go forth.

Uh anybody else here?

I was out of town.

You're out of town.

I'll just go mention well, of course, and we did the A's uh on Sunday yesterday.

Um, and council member Heredia um adjoined us as well.

So yeah, spring training is here, and and it's great.

And I wear an A's colors today.

Um also in conjunction with the spring training.

We have the Arizona Baseball Museum that just opened at the Mesa Historical Museum on North Horn, it's worth it.

It's beautiful.

It has the history since in the beginning in Arizona, uh, and a lot of uh I don't what do you gotta call it?

Just you know, things and of uh memorabilia.

Memorabilia, thank you.

Um the history of baseball, especially in Mesa, and uh it's definitely worth visiting.

Um also I uh last Friday I attended ULI Trends Day.

It's a big land development, economic development and businesses and energy and everything around development.

Um a lot of good discussions and workshops and information that was worthwhile.

And then just back up a little bit on last Tuesday night.

Um I hosted along with Dana Burns a permanent permanent voice at the main library, a community conversation about um public safety, um building trust, um keeping in connection, all the programs that we have through our police department for our residents.

Uh, I wanted to thank Commander Santana of Central Division for joining me in that conversation, as well as his entire team, and Lisa Cartwright was there from workforce and education, some other resources for the community, and thank you all for um attending with me.

And uh we'll I think uh Dana uh the permanent of voice will continue those conversations on I think it's the third Tuesday of every month at the library.

So thank you.

Okay, I'll just share with you.

I traveled to LA for the U.S.

conference, the mayor's leadership meeting and conversation was about immigration and housing.

And we is it about that.

Well, also we had our Mesa Fallen Firefighter Memorial that we went to recently.

Thank you for everyone, directors and everyone being there.

That was very heartfelt for a lot of the families, and they appreciated that.

We also went to the Ho Cam's 75th anniversary at Ho Champ Park, and that's why we need new lighting for that ballpark.

I'm just kidding, you know, you can laugh a little bit, but anyway.

Uh uh again, uh, I spoke at Club America at Mesa View High Mountain View High School, and then did the first pitches.

So that was pretty fun.

With that, uh Mr.

Butler, can you share a schedule of future meetings?

Mayor and Council, of course, uh upon adjournment of this, we'll reconvene upstairs at 5 45 for the regular council meeting.

And then this Thursday um study session at 7 30 a.m.

And we uh for better or for worse, we officially uh kick off the budget discussion starting on Thursday with our financial forecast.

So OMB will be here to deliver that on Thursday morning.

So uh so drink your coffee.

Yeah.

All right.

Saddled up as I'd say.

Um well we're ahead of schedule a little bit, so this is great.

Uh is there a motion to adjourn?

Thank you, Ms.

Taylor.

Vice Mayor, all in favor say aye.

Aye.

All right, we're adjourned.

Thank you.