Mesa City Council Study Session – May 5, 2026
Mesa City Council Study Session – May 5, 2026
Note: The transcript opens with a reference to "May 4th," but the provided meeting timestamp is 2026-05-05 15:13:02+00:00. This summary uses the given date; the discrepancy is noted.
This study session reviewed the upcoming council meeting agenda, fielded questions on specific items, acknowledged board minutes, and included council member reports on recent events. No formal votes were taken on agenda items, except for the unanimous acknowledgment of board minutes.
Discussion Items
- Agenda Review (Item 1): Council reviewed the evening's council meeting agenda. Councilmember Taylor inquired about Item 5B (amendment to the 2122 Home American Rescue Plan) and whether funds would be allocated to the Sun Air project. Staff (Candace) clarified that the action is an administrative designation change with HUD and that no funding allocations have been determined. A follow-up from staff added that they will return to council for direction on the Office Streets program before any funding is allocated, so the vote would not authorize such funding.
- Item 3A (O'Kelly's Liquor License): Councilmember Adams requested further details on police calls for O'Kelly's. Staff provided data: in 2025, the building (with multiple businesses) had 15 calls; O'Kelly's specifically had 12 calls (noise, trespassing, assault, DUI). In 2026 so far, three calls for the building, two for O'Kelly's. Councilmember Adams noted a protest on the license triggers a liquor board review. Councilmember Heredia expressed no issue and indicated he would refer the item to the LICO board for a decision.
- Acknowledgment of Board Minutes (Item 2): Vice Mayor moved to acknowledge various board minutes; the motion passed unanimously (all ayes).
Current Events & Conferences
- Councilmember Summers reported attending the Historic Preservation Art and Essay Contest, the East Valley Fire Cadet graduation, and Mesa Amplified concert series. Downtown was well-attended.
- Vice Mayor attended the Salt River Pima Indian Community's cultural center soft opening.
- Mayor reported participating in a Taiwan U.S. Science Park Initiative pitch, speaking at a Rotary District conference, and visiting Sister Cities exchange students from Peru.
- Future meetings: Full council meeting at 5:45 PM; Thursday study session at 7:30 AM starting with East Mark and Cadence Community Facility District meetings. The Mesa Hydration Campaign kicks off tomorrow with United Food Bank. District 3 Spring Blast at Rhodes Aquatic Complex on Friday.
- Councilmember noted Mental Health Awareness Month and the city's proactive programs. The mayor made a proclamation for Mental Health Awareness Day, with many wearing green.
Key Outcomes
- No votes were taken on substantive agenda items. The acknowledgment of board minutes passed unanimously.
- Staff clarified that Item 5B does not authorize any specific funding allocation; further council direction is needed.
- Item 3A will be referred to the LICO board for decision on the liquor license.
- The meeting adjourned at an unspecified time, with council moving to the full council meeting upstairs.
Meeting Transcript
Uh Mr. Heredia. So with that said, welcome to the Mesa City Council study session for May 4th. Council members Heredia and Councilmember Taylor are participating by Zoom. Other than that, all other council members are present. Item one is to review the agenda for tonight's council meeting. I know we went over this agenda previously, council. Are there any additional questions for tonight's agenda? We have staff ready to answer. Ms. Taylor, I'll give you first right. Thank you. Um I only had one quick question, and I just wanted to confirm that I'm pulling it up. Um item city council. Sorry, my internet is not as exceedingly fast here. Must be these ones. Just that on item item 5B with the amendment to the 2122 Home American Rescue Plan. Um, one thing I forgot to ask during study session was uh whether or not any of these funds were intended to be allocated towards the Sun Air project, um, or if that was also still on hold right now. So I just needed clarification on that one thing. Thank you, Ms. Taylor. Candace is here to answer the question. Thank you. Mayor and Councilmember Taylor, the action you're taking tonight is an administrative action that just changes the designation in the HUD. So the determination of the use of these funds has not been determined at this time. Okay, thank you so much. That answers my question perfectly. I appreciate it. And may Mayor, Councilmember Taylor, maybe I could add to that as well. We will be coming back to council. We're working on the exact date to just get some further direction on the office streets program. So um there would be no funding allocated to um to the program to that specific site or to any funding until we get direction from council um as to that. So you would not be authorizing that by your vote to do tonight. So just want to be on that. Okay, thank you. Perfect. Thank you, thank you. Any other questions, Ms. Taylor? No further questions from me. Thank you. Councilmember Haredi, I see you joined us. Do you no questions? Okay. All right, we're going through the agenda for tonight's meetings. Council, here in person. Do you have any Mr. Adams? Well, thank you, Mayor. I I've jumped ahead here, so let me go get my uh agenda number here.
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