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Record of Proceedings

Mesa City Council Study Session and Special Meeting – September 2, 2026

Council Study Sessions — Wednesday, September 2, 2026

BodyMesa, Arizona

SessionCouncil Study Sessions

DateWednesday, September 2, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 32:05

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:01

Well, good morning, everyone.

0:02

Welcome to our Mesa City Council study session for August 27th, 2026.

0:08

I see council members Adams and Heredia are on Zoom.

0:12

Thank you, gentlemen.

0:13

Can you hear us okay?

0:16

I can hear you fine.

0:18

Mayor, I'm gonna stay off camera because I don't have a very fast connection here, and it'll slow everything down.

0:25

Roger that.

0:27

Okay, with that, uh item one is to review the agenda we have for Monday, August 31st council meeting.

0:33

Let's go through the agenda and council as usual.

0:35

If you have any questions, we have staff here to assist.

0:38

And I will pivot to Mr.

0:41

Haredia and Mr.

0:42

Adams first.

0:43

Do either of you have comments on the agenda for Monday.

0:52

I do not.

0:53

Okay, Mr.

0:54

Radio.

0:55

No.

1:06

Ms.

1:06

Stuff, I see on 5A is the actual Mesa Town Center approvement district.

1:10

Uh we do that every five years, I believe.

1:13

So this is nothing new since uh in the 90s, I believe.

1:17

So that's just approving the district to continue or not continue.

1:21

And and Mayor, this particular action is just setting the date for the public hearing.

1:24

Public hearing.

1:25

So that's correct.

1:26

Okay.

1:28

Ms.

1:28

Steph.

1:29

Um debating whether to say anything or not.

1:32

You know, going through our water crisis uh that we're working through right now.

1:38

I'm more sensitive than ever before about how we're using water.

1:43

Um I know we have a bonded the Eastmark Aquatic Complex project.

1:51

Um legacy park, things like that.

1:54

So I know we'll have some conversations about it, but I think as a council we need to be a little bit more sensitive to what's on the agenda and how what our water use is and what we think is allowable and not.

2:07

Um so I just flagged a few things that I was concerned about on on water, but I'm not making any recommendation at this point since we haven't had a council discussion on what we think is appropriate for our water use yet.

2:22

Okay, thank you.

2:25

Council, any more questions on the agenda?

2:27

Mr.

2:27

Summers.

2:28

I have a few questions.

2:32

First of all, I'd like to recognize that on the uh liquor license, the oregano's pizza uh South Signal Butte that's been completed for a year has finally uh made their application for a liquor license.

2:43

Excited to see that and looking forward to a ribbon cutting and historic landmark park uh plaque being placed at the same time.

2:53

Uh but it is generating a lot of uh a lot of excitement out there.

2:58

Uh Elliott Road, just a couple questions on this.

3:01

Um this is to go to contract.

3:04

This is probably the last arterial street my district not on a construction.

3:08

So I was just curious if Ray Road, I know Ray Road and Ellsworth is getting nearing completion.

3:13

If the timing will allow for ray road to open, I I don't see the transportation director.

3:19

Oh, there he is.

3:20

Hey.

3:21

Uh will the timing for the the ray road and ellsworth intersection will that be open prior to starting uh Elliot, or at the very least, could we get that open before that segment between Ellsworth and the loop 202s uh starts under construction because I know it needs a mill and overlay at least.

3:40

Sure, Mayor, Vice Mayor.

3:42

Um the Ray Road projects, I believe um our engineering department has that scheduled to be completed in November.

3:51

And with this Elliott Road project going to contract, there's a lot of pre-construction uh services.

3:56

They need to start ordering parts.

3:58

I wouldn't imagine that they're really going to get under construction until the beginning of the year.

4:02

Okay.

4:02

Yeah, there shouldn't there shouldn't be overlap.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural████████████████████████████████32%

Parks and Recreation██████████████████████████26%

Public Engagement█████████████████17%

Energy Management████████8%

Engineering And Infrastructure██████6%

Tourism██████6%

Water And Wastewater Management█████5%

Summary of Proceedings

Mesa City Council Study Session and Special Meeting – September 2, 2026

The Mesa City Council held a study session and a special council meeting on September 2, 2026. The study session focused on reviewing the agenda for the upcoming August 31 council meeting, discussing infrastructure projects, aquatic center developments, and community updates. The special meeting addressed a resolution for a retail development tax incentive agreement. Council members participated both in person and via Zoom.

Consent Calendar

Board Minutes Acknowledgment: Council unanimously voted to acknowledge receipt of board minutes. (Motion by Vice Mayor, second by Councilmember Duff, all ayes.)

Discussion Items

Agenda Review for August 31 Council Meeting:
- Item 5A (Mesa Town Center Improvement District) was noted as a routine five-year public hearing date setting.
- Councilmember Steph raised concerns about water usage in upcoming projects (e.g., Eastmark Aquatic Complex, Legacy Park) and suggested a broader council discussion on water conservation guidelines.
- Councilmember Summers inquired about the Oregano's Pizza liquor license (South Signal Butte), expressing excitement for the completed development. He also asked about the Elliott Road construction timeline, specifically whether the Ray Road/Ellsworth intersection would open before Elliot Road work begins. Staff confirmed Ray Road completion in November, with Elliott Road construction starting in early 2027, and that northbound Ellsworth to westbound Elliott dual left turn will be added.
- Eastmark Aquatic Complex: Councilmember Summers asked about the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Queen Creek School District. Parks Director Andrea Alaco stated the IGA is expected by early 2027, with a school board update in mid-October. The project will add about 60 parking spaces (total ~200). Councilmember Goforth asked about the design-build vs. CMAR delivery method; staff explained CMAR (Construction Manager at Risk) provides better collaboration, quality, and cost control. The contractor (Sun Eagle) and architect (Adaptive Architects) have experience with Mesa aquatic facilities. Public input will be incorporated during the design phase over the next year, with construction of Eastmark beginning in fall 2027 and Red Mountain following a year later.
Current Events and Conferences:
- Councilmember Duff reported on the Arizona League of Cities and Towns conference and the completion of citywide LED streetlight conversion (46,064 lights, $7 million savings, 19,000 MWh electricity savings, done in-house).
- Councilmember Summers noted being elected Vice President of the League of Cities and a faith leaders breakfast discussing veteran needs.
- Councilmember Goforth attended the Visit Mesa strategic planning workshop, met with Commemorative Air Force Museum, and highlighted the East Mesa Interconnect Pipe public meeting, encouraging better communication to increase attendance.
- Councilmember Heredia attended the Mesa Chamber Government Affairs Committee with a presentation from Supervisor Galvin.
Executive Session: Council voted (all ayes) to convene an executive session regarding a development agreement for a project near State Route 24 and Williamsfield Road.

Key Outcomes

Special Council Meeting – Retail Development Tax Incentive Agreement: A resolution adopting a notice of intent to enter into a retail development tax incentive agreement for a project near SR 24 and Williamsfield Road was approved by a vote of 6-1. The item will be formally presented at the September 10 study session.
Future Meetings: Scheduled for Monday night (study session) and next Thursday (audit and finance committee, no regular study session).
No public comments were received on any agenda items.

Meeting Transcript

Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome to our Mesa City Council study session for August 27th, 2026. I see council members Adams and Heredia are on Zoom. Thank you, gentlemen. Can you hear us okay? I can hear you fine. Mayor, I'm gonna stay off camera because I don't have a very fast connection here, and it'll slow everything down. Roger that. Okay, with that, uh item one is to review the agenda we have for Monday, August 31st council meeting. Let's go through the agenda and council as usual. If you have any questions, we have staff here to assist. And I will pivot to Mr. Haredia and Mr. Adams first. Do either of you have comments on the agenda for Monday. I do not. Okay, Mr. Radio. No. Ms. Stuff, I see on 5A is the actual Mesa Town Center approvement district. Uh we do that every five years, I believe. So this is nothing new since uh in the 90s, I believe. So that's just approving the district to continue or not continue. And and Mayor, this particular action is just setting the date for the public hearing. Public hearing. So that's correct. Okay. Ms. Steph. Um debating whether to say anything or not. You know, going through our water crisis uh that we're working through right now. I'm more sensitive than ever before about how we're using water. Um I know we have a bonded the Eastmark Aquatic Complex project. Um legacy park, things like that. So I know we'll have some conversations about it, but I think as a council we need to be a little bit more sensitive to what's on the agenda and how what our water use is and what we think is allowable and not. Um so I just flagged a few things that I was concerned about on on water, but I'm not making any recommendation at this point since we haven't had a council discussion on what we think is appropriate for our water use yet. Okay, thank you. Council, any more questions on the agenda? Mr. Summers. I have a few questions. First of all, I'd like to recognize that on the uh liquor license, the oregano's pizza uh South Signal Butte that's been completed for a year has finally uh made their application for a liquor license. Excited to see that and looking forward to a ribbon cutting and historic landmark park uh plaque being placed at the same time. Uh but it is generating a lot of uh a lot of excitement out there. Uh Elliott Road, just a couple questions on this. Um this is to go to contract. This is probably the last arterial street my district not on a construction. So I was just curious if Ray Road, I know Ray Road and Ellsworth is getting nearing completion. If the timing will allow for ray road to open, I I don't see the transportation director.

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