OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Payson Town Council Regular Meeting - July 24, 2024

Town Council & Planning and Zoning — Wednesday, July 24, 2024
BodyPayson, Arizona
SessionTown Council & Planning and Zoning
DateWednesday, July 24, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 32:30

Transcript — Verbatim
0:22

All right, everybody.

0:23

I'd like to uh welcome everyone to tonight's Payson Town Council meeting.

0:28

I'd like to call the meeting to order and ask Pastor Carl Sorotsky from Mount Cross Lutheran Church, please to come to the podium for the invocation.

0:38

If everyone could please rise and remove your hats.

0:45

Almighty and loving God.

0:48

We lift before you all those who govern this town of Payson.

0:53

Bless these officials of our community who are not only leaders, but servants as they faithfully serve all of the residents of this town.

1:03

Bless them as they work in a spirit of wisdom, fairness, charity, and justice, and grant in your mercy a just and honest government.

1:13

Give us grace to live together in unity and peace through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

1:20

Amen.

1:21

Amen.

1:22

Thank you, Pastor.

1:24

All right.

1:24

Uh Chief Jay, could you please lead us in the pledge?

1:29

I pledge allegiance to the floor.

1:39

Indivisible.

1:43

All right.

1:43

Thank you, sir.

1:46

Hey.

1:48

Michelle, could we please get a roll call?

1:51

Let the record show that all council members are present.

1:53

Council member Mona is on Zoom.

1:56

All right.

1:56

So Councilmember Mona is attending via Zoom.

2:01

All right.

2:02

Shh.

2:02

Yeah.

2:04

Um moving on to uh call to the public, have some speaker request forms.

2:09

Uh first, uh, Miss Diane Green.

2:11

Yep, first.

2:13

We love going first.

2:14

Yes.

2:16

I wasn't expecting to be first.

2:18

My name's Diane Green.

2:19

I move here in Payson.

2:21

And I just want to thank the town council for all they do.

2:26

And we have a special um presentation later, but I want to thank the town staff as well for treating us so graciously and for being so helpful.

2:39

Thank you.

2:40

Thank you.

2:41

Thank you.

2:42

And speakers, uh, or the speakers on in the back of a sort of the speakers uh test one, two now.

2:50

Good.

2:51

All right, there we go.

2:53

Thank you.

2:53

So, Dan, would you like to go again?

2:55

I'm joking.

2:55

Um so next uh speaker requests from uh Miss Connie Cockerell.

3:06

Good afternoon.

3:08

Thank you, um, town council and uh staff for having us here today.

3:13

Um I want to mention that we have we being the Democrats of Rune Country Dona Army, have uh gathered together some money because we saw a need, and we've donated it to the town transportation system for a free bus August.

3:32

So all of August, we are funding free bus rides the whole month, and I saw in Facebook this morning.

3:40

Chris already put something out, so I was like, oh, excellent.

3:44

Um, this idea was brought to us by Mike Quinn, who saw the need and was going to fund it himself, but we said no, let's pull a lot of money together and do a big thing.

3:58

And so we did, and we uh went to the transportation office the other day, and we made it, we arranged everything, we got it all set, and so starting August 1st, bus rides are free until so many riders ride the bus that we run out of money.

4:17

I want to wish everybody happy travels.

4:20

You get to just sit, relax, look at everybody's yard decorations, and it'll be great.

4:25

And I want to thank Mike Quinn for the idea.

4:28

All right, thank you.

4:29

And they want to do a picture.

4:34

They want a picture.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████49%
Procedural████████████████████22%
Veteran Affairs█████████████14%
Arts And Culture██████7%
Public Transportation█████5%
Eminent Domain███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Payson Town Council Regular Meeting - July 24, 2024

The Payson Town Council held a regular meeting on July 24, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers. The meeting included public comments, approval of consent agenda items, ceremonial proclamations, a resolution authorizing land purchase for a senior center property, and an executive session. The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:15 p.m.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The council approved minutes from regular and special meetings held between June 12, 2024, and July 10, 2024.
  • Tuscany Estates Subdivision Improvements: The council accepted improvements constructed within the Tuscany Estates subdivision, subject to a two-year developer warranty against defects in workmanship or materials, and accepted the improvements for town maintenance under that warranty.
  • Vote: Motion carried 6-0 (Vice Mayor Barbara Underwood abstained due to a potential conflict of interest).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Diane Green thanked the Town Council and staff for their helpfulness.
  • Connie Cockrell, representing the Democrats of Rim Country Donut Army, announced that the group had donated funds to provide free bus rides on the Beeline Bus for the entire month of August. She noted the idea originated from Mike Quinn.
  • Tom Dunning, a 20-year resident, commended town staff across all departments, describing a "virtuous circle" of good governance and high-quality service.
  • Patrick Green thanked the council for their work, acknowledging they sometimes face criticism but are helping everyone in town.

Discussion Items

  • Town Manager Report: Troy Smith summarized the July 24 report, highlighting library events (reading and magic show on August 2), solar panel cleaning and replacement of six AC units at Town Hall, security upgrades at the Parks and Recreation front entrance, new police academy attendees, Officer Buzzard's DUI enforcement award, fall protection training for multiple departments, the retirement of Ray Lahaye after 38.852 years of service, and the Moonshot Rural Arizona Pitch Tour hosted by Economic Development.
  • Proclamations:
    • Purple Heart Day (August 7, 2024): Mayor Higgins read the proclamation. Robert Olsson, President of the Rim Country Veterans Group, accepted and noted that while 2 million Purple Heart recipients survived, 6 million did not. He thanked the council and mentioned Mayor Higgins would present the proclamation at a veterans coffee on August 6, joined by Star Valley Mayor Bobby Davis.
    • Rodeo Days (August 12-17, 2024): Council Member Flaherty read the proclamation. Stephanie Creasy (Finance Director) and members of the Pro Rodeo Committee accepted. She detailed the week's events including a film festival featuring Clint Eastwood films, a poster contest, chamber mixer, women's cactus series barrel racing, Wrangler Bucking Cancer event, parade, and nightly dances.
    • Bob Boze Bell Day (August 10, 2024): Vice Mayor Underwood read the proclamation. No members of the Film Festival Committee were present to accept; the proclamation was to be delivered to them.
  • Resolution No. 3406 – Senior Center Land Purchase: Deputy Town Manager Sheila DeSchaaf presented a PowerPoint on the proposed purchase of approximately 1.89 acres of undeveloped property from the Payson Senior Center for $302,400. The property is located east of the Police Department, south of Malibu Drive, and adjacent to the parcel acquired last month for the future Aquatic Recreation Center. The Senior Center board had approved the sale. The resolution authorized the Mayor, Town Manager, and Town Attorney to acquire title by donation, eminent domain, or purchase for an amount not exceeding fair market value plus acquisition and closing costs.
  • Executive Session: The council voted 7-0 to recess to executive session for legal advice and discussions regarding proposed public project financing and purchase of real property in the northeastern part of town, pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(3) and (7). The session began at 4:42 p.m. and concluded at 7:15 p.m. No action was taken after reconvening.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda Approved (6-0, one abstention).
  • Resolution 3406 Approved (6-1): Council Member Susan "Suzy" Tubbs voted no. The motion authorized the acquisition of the Senior Center property.
  • Executive Session Held (7-0 vote): The council discussed legal matters and real property negotiations; no further action was taken.
  • Proclamations Issued: August 7 as Purple Heart Day, August 12-17 as Rodeo Days, and August 10 as Bob Boze Bell Day.

Meeting Transcript

All right, everybody. I'd like to uh welcome everyone to tonight's Payson Town Council meeting. I'd like to call the meeting to order and ask Pastor Carl Sorotsky from Mount Cross Lutheran Church, please to come to the podium for the invocation. If everyone could please rise and remove your hats. Almighty and loving God. We lift before you all those who govern this town of Payson. Bless these officials of our community who are not only leaders, but servants as they faithfully serve all of the residents of this town. Bless them as they work in a spirit of wisdom, fairness, charity, and justice, and grant in your mercy a just and honest government. Give us grace to live together in unity and peace through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Pastor. All right. Uh Chief Jay, could you please lead us in the pledge? I pledge allegiance to the floor. Indivisible. All right. Thank you, sir. Hey. Michelle, could we please get a roll call? Let the record show that all council members are present. Council member Mona is on Zoom. All right. So Councilmember Mona is attending via Zoom. All right. Shh. Yeah. Um moving on to uh call to the public, have some speaker request forms. Uh first, uh, Miss Diane Green. Yep, first. We love going first. Yes. I wasn't expecting to be first. My name's Diane Green. I move here in Payson. And I just want to thank the town council for all they do. And we have a special um presentation later, but I want to thank the town staff as well for treating us so graciously and for being so helpful. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And speakers, uh, or the speakers on in the back of a sort of the speakers uh test one, two now. Good. All right, there we go. Thank you. So, Dan, would you like to go again? I'm joking. Um so next uh speaker requests from uh Miss Connie Cockerell. Good afternoon. Thank you, um, town council and uh staff for having us here today. Um I want to mention that we have we being the Democrats of Rune Country Dona Army, have uh gathered together some money because we saw a need, and we've donated it to the town transportation system for a free bus August.

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