OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Mesa City Council Study Session: Budget, MOUs, and 911 Center, April 22, 2026

Council Study Sessions — Wednesday, April 22, 2026
BodyMesa, Arizona
SessionCouncil Study Sessions
DateWednesday, April 22, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 53:32

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

All right.

0:02

Hopefully she'll join us shortly.

0:03

So welcome.

0:04

Thank you for your patience.

0:05

I don't know who you're waiting for, but uh you're all here.

0:09

With that, welcome to our Mesa City Council study session for April 20th, 2026.

0:14

Councilmember Taylor will be joining us.

0:16

Otherwise, council member go forth or participating by Zoom.

0:20

All other council members are present.

0:22

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

0:25

I know we went over this previously, Council.

0:27

Are there any other questions for staff?

0:38

Anyone?

0:40

Mayor, um Yes, Miss Goforward.

0:42

Mrs.

0:42

Galicia.

0:43

Yeah, we had um a resident ask some questions on 4B.

0:46

So if we could have Lance come up and talk to us about the about 4B and in particular the CMAR or CMAR, I'm not sure how to say it process, how we how we chose Wilming, and we determine the contract price for those CMR services.

1:08

Good afternoon, Mayor.

1:10

Uh council member GoForth.

1:12

Appreciate the question.

1:14

So uh Wilming is one of our um contractors that was selected by a CMAR, construction manager at risk.

1:23

Uh this follows uh our typical process with Title 34, uh how we've gone about procuring uh groups to do construction at times.

1:33

Um this particular project uh we solicited back in uh October of 25, uh went through a process of pre-submittal, uh solicited, put that out to the to the public.

1:47

They had some time to look and evaluate what we had on there.

1:51

Some of the things that we evaluate are the experience, uh the criteria, uh maybe their understanding of the project.

1:58

Um if they're Mesa firm, the uh they get a certain amount of points.

2:04

There's other things that we evaluate, like the amount of workload that they have, the ability to do the work, and then obviously um understanding of the project.

2:13

Uh so there's a number of different things that we do use to evaluate with that uh as an effort with that.

2:20

We also go to um bringing a panel together that helps uh to uh uh individually evaluate that.

2:30

We come together and and weigh that out uh with those efforts.

2:35

Uh ultimately uh uh we shortlist that to a group that we interview with, and then in that case, uh we'll go through interviews and then make a final selection.

2:51

Thanks, Lance.

2:52

How about the the contract price?

2:54

How do you determine that?

2:55

Is it a percentage of the overall?

2:58

Uh that that's probably uh thank you, Mayor, Councilmember Go Forth.

3:02

That's that's one of the things that we evaluate.

3:04

There's several things that we do evaluate when we go through that effort.

3:08

Um percentage of the contract price.

3:10

Typically, when we go out with a uh request for qualifications like like one like this, we'll give a general range because we don't have a set dollar number.

3:20

Obviously, with this particular project, we went to the to uh bond for a certain amount.

3:26

And so we gave a range there for when we went out to solicit.

3:30

Uh that's never fully defined until we uh identify a GMP uh guaranteed maximum price with with that that effort.

3:38

Um we evaluate uh some of the things like the allocation of uh rates, um maybe uh different things like what type of individual works on that project for pre-construction, are the hours allocated?

3:55

Have have we defined the scope for what we want to identify uh for the project?

4:00

So several things are evaluated with that.

4:03

The percentage of construction cost is just a small portion of that.

4:07

Typically ranges anywhere between uh somewhere between maybe uh maybe three quarters of a percent to a percent of the overall construction cost.

4:20

Um of the other things that we the look at and as we do with uh pre-construction is we we uh lock in a CMAR uh fee, a fee for that contractor to do that.

4:35

That typically sits within a close range.

4:38

We look at that, we measure that and and uh evaluate that as part of the pre-construction services contract.

4:45

So when we do come forward with the GMP, uh that that CMOAR fee is is set as part of that.

4:55

And mayor council, I'll just add, um, as Lance stated, we we see with projects that have a lot of complexity.

5:01

This is a great partnership that we're able to do with CMAR because um we're we're able to have uh the person ultimately building it there with us as we go through the process and finalizing design and and giving those um helping us through the process and saying, you know, if you did it this way, that could you know be more effective.

5:21

And and it's just uh a much more collaborative process when you have projects with complexities um associated with it, and and so engineering's done a great job, and it attracts the who's who of folks in the industry who are willing to be partners with with the city um because of because of that.

5:39

So um it's a very useful tool for especially complex uh projects.

5:46

How long is um this plan to uh how long will it take for the CMAR services plans?

5:58

Okay, uh Mayor, council member go forth that if uh you're you're asking specifically about uh how long will this take to negotiate a guaranteed maximum price?

6:09

Or how long will we be be in pre-construction services?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety██████████████████████22%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████████20%
Fiscal Sustainability█████████████13%
Personnel Matters██████████10%
Governmental Procedures████████8%
Budget Equity Analysis████████8%
Energy Management███████7%
Procedural██████6%
Public Engagement████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Mesa City Council Study Session Summary – April 22, 2026

The Mesa City Council held a study session on April 22, 2026, to review the consent agenda, receive budget presentations from the Energy Resources Department, and discuss proposed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the Mesa Police Association and United Mesa Firefighters Association. The meeting also included discussion of a 911 center project and recognition of staff achievements.

Consent Calendar

  • Councilmember Taylor requested to pull Item 5E (Edwards) for a separate vote.
  • Councilmember Go Forth indicated she would pull Item 6A (Long Next Use Developments) from consent for discussion at the next meeting. She had received emails on the item and was satisfied with the responses.
  • Councilmember Go Forth also asked questions on Item 4B, leading to a detailed discussion of the CMAR (Construction Manager at Risk) process for the 911 center project.

Discussion Items

  • 911 Center Project (Item 4B): Councilmember Go Forth asked about the CMAR process used to select Wilming for pre-construction services. Staff explained that the process followed Title 34, soliciting in October 2025, evaluating experience, workload, Mesa-based firm points, and project understanding, shortlisting, and interviewing. The pre-construction services contract is for negotiating a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP); no set timeframe was given but construction is targeted for about a year out. The design is at 30%. The bond for the project was $54 million. Staff noted the contractor selected for the adjacent fire station (Station 223) is the same, creating synergies and cost efficiencies.

  • Energy Resources Department Budget Presentation (Item 2A): Scott Boucher (Energy and Sustainability Director) highlighted: the public purpose of sustainable, reliable, affordable energy; a 57% renewable electric portfolio; $600,000 in savings from the Parker Davis Voluntary Reduction Program; and participation in a pre-pay program for natural gas starting May 2026 saving an estimated $164,000. Awards included APGA SOAR, APPA RP3 (Platinum), and top 25% for reliability. Key performance indicators: System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) was strong; gas emergency response times met a 30-minute goal 95% of the time. Staff discussed retention challenges with larger utilities but emphasized Mesa's benefits and career development. Fiscal analyst John Petroff reported that electric and gas operations & maintenance were under budget in 24-25 and 25-26, with proposed 26-27 budgets increasing about $300,000 each for electric and gas. Savings of $263,000 were proposed (eliminating college intern program, reducing locating temps, etc.). Councilmember Taylor had no questions; Councilmember Go Forth praised the department and highlighted retention of linemen and gas personnel. In response to a question, staff noted the electric utility has been operating since around 1917 and serves nearly 19,000 electric and 80,000 gas customers.

  • Public Safety MOUs (Item 2B): Assistant City Manager Ken Cost presented proposed MOUs with the Mesa Police Association and United Mesa Firefighters Association for July 2026 – June 2029. Key points:

    • Fire: 3% market adjustment for firefighters, engineers, and captains; 5% annual merit increases; incentives for top-tier medical evaluations; uniform allowance for recruits; and continued cancer screening.
    • Police: 3.3% adjustment for officers and 4% for sergeants; 5% annual merits; patrol incentive pay; uniform allowance; and advanced training incentives for aviation/drones. Both MOUs include benchmarking in spring 2027 and an adjustment up to 3% in 2028. Office of Management and Budget Director Brian Richel showed the projected impact: the general fund forecast over the next five years shows a $40 million reduction in ending fund balance (from $160.9M to $121M) due to the MOUs, on top of about $160 million in public safety benchmarking over two cycles. City Manager responded that the MOU costs are necessary to remain competitive and that the city has saved $56 million in efficiencies over three years. Councilmembers expressed support, emphasizing public safety as a priority. Councilmember Adams requested a comparison of current projections to last year's forecast to show progress; staff agreed to provide it at the April 30 budget wrap-up.

Key Outcomes

  • The consent agenda items were approved unanimously (vote: all ayes).
  • The Energy Resources Department budget presentation was received; no formal vote was taken but direction was provided.
  • The proposed MOUs were discussed; council expressed general support. Formal adoption will occur at a subsequent meeting.
  • Councilmember Go Forth's questions on the 911 center CMAR process were answered; staff confirmed that pre-construction services will lead to a GMP brought back for council approval.
  • Councilmember Adams requested a comparative financial forecast, which staff will provide on April 30.

Other

  • The council acknowledged receipt of various board minutes (Item 3) and approved them unanimously.
  • The Mayor suspended discussion of current events and conferences attended.
  • Upcoming meetings: State of the City on April 24, 2026; next study session on April 30, 2026 at 7:30 a.m.
  • Recognition: Jay O'Donnell was named Arizona Economic Development Professional of the Year; Boeing Company received an award for contributions to economic development in Mesa.

Meeting Transcript

All right. Hopefully she'll join us shortly. So welcome. Thank you for your patience. I don't know who you're waiting for, but uh you're all here. With that, welcome to our Mesa City Council study session for April 20th, 2026. Councilmember Taylor will be joining us. Otherwise, council member go forth or participating by Zoom. All other council members are present. Item one is to review the agenda for tonight's council meeting. I know we went over this previously, Council. Are there any other questions for staff? Anyone? Mayor, um Yes, Miss Goforward. Mrs. Galicia. Yeah, we had um a resident ask some questions on 4B. So if we could have Lance come up and talk to us about the about 4B and in particular the CMAR or CMAR, I'm not sure how to say it process, how we how we chose Wilming, and we determine the contract price for those CMR services. Good afternoon, Mayor. Uh council member GoForth. Appreciate the question. So uh Wilming is one of our um contractors that was selected by a CMAR, construction manager at risk. Uh this follows uh our typical process with Title 34, uh how we've gone about procuring uh groups to do construction at times. Um this particular project uh we solicited back in uh October of 25, uh went through a process of pre-submittal, uh solicited, put that out to the to the public. They had some time to look and evaluate what we had on there. Some of the things that we evaluate are the experience, uh the criteria, uh maybe their understanding of the project. Um if they're Mesa firm, the uh they get a certain amount of points. There's other things that we evaluate, like the amount of workload that they have, the ability to do the work, and then obviously um understanding of the project. Uh so there's a number of different things that we do use to evaluate with that uh as an effort with that. We also go to um bringing a panel together that helps uh to uh uh individually evaluate that. We come together and and weigh that out uh with those efforts. Uh ultimately uh uh we shortlist that to a group that we interview with, and then in that case, uh we'll go through interviews and then make a final selection. Thanks, Lance. How about the the contract price? How do you determine that? Is it a percentage of the overall? Uh that that's probably uh thank you, Mayor, Councilmember Go Forth. That's that's one of the things that we evaluate. There's several things that we do evaluate when we go through that effort. Um percentage of the contract price. Typically, when we go out with a uh request for qualifications like like one like this, we'll give a general range because we don't have a set dollar number. Obviously, with this particular project, we went to the to uh bond for a certain amount. And so we gave a range there for when we went out to solicit. Uh that's never fully defined until we uh identify a GMP uh guaranteed maximum price with with that that effort. Um we evaluate uh some of the things like the allocation of uh rates, um maybe uh different things like what type of individual works on that project for pre-construction, are the hours allocated? Have have we defined the scope for what we want to identify uh for the project? So several things are evaluated with that. The percentage of construction cost is just a small portion of that. Typically ranges anywhere between uh somewhere between maybe uh maybe three quarters of a percent to a percent of the overall construction cost. Um of the other things that we the look at and as we do with uh pre-construction is we we uh lock in a CMAR uh fee, a fee for that contractor to do that.

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