Payson Town Council Regular Meeting – April 23, 2025
Payson Town Council Regular Meeting – April 23, 2025
The Payson Town Council held a regular meeting on April 23, 2025, at 4:03 p.m. in Town Hall Council Chambers. The meeting included public comments, approval of a consent agenda, first readings of two ordinances, discussion on procurement policy and the Beeline Bus Route Improvement Project, and a new business item to award a well-drilling contract. The council later recessed into executive session for legal advice and returned to take further action.
Consent Calendar
- B.1: Approved minutes of Regular Council Meetings on February 26, March 12, 2025; Work Session on March 4; and Special Meeting on April 17, 2025.
- B.2: Approved Resolution No. 3441, an intergovernmental agreement with Houston Mesa Fire District for fire, emergency medical, and administrative services.
- The consent agenda passed 7–0.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mike Quinn: Urged clear information about public meetings; opposed partisan moderators at city events.
- Rebecca Orahood: Advocated for strategic planning, wider streets with sidewalks for safety and fire access; urged council to rely on professional input.
- Isaac Blake: Expressed concern about a perceived disconnect between council and administration regarding agenda item placement; called for transparent process and assurance that council members can fulfill their duties.
- Council Member Scott Nossek: Responded that staff has been cooperative; requested a future agenda item to explain the process of placing items on the agenda. Vice Mayor Tubbs joined the request. Council Members Ferris and Bell requested inclusion of a legal perspective on Code 30.50 A and B.
- Robert Decker (RIMWAT member): Reiterated requests for funding firewise programs, a fire crew, and education; criticized council for ignoring fire chief recommendations and public comments; shared stories about vulnerable residents.
- Tom Dunning: Emphasized narrow election margins and urged nonpartisan governance, strict following of town rules, and opposition to backdoor maneuvers.
The council also heard testimony on specific agenda items:
- F.1 – Rezoning (Mountain View Subdivision): Applicant Michelle Hallenar explained the need for a 5-lot subdivision due to road improvement costs; addressed neighbor concerns about well impacts, stating a hydrologist indicated no impacts if wells are drilled to sufficient depth.
- F.2 – Wildfire Structure Hardening Code: Kevin McCully (fuels manager) presented the code requirements; answered council questions about roof materials, gutters, decking, and applicability to existing structures.
Discussion Items
- G.1 – Procurement Policy Modification (Section 1.1.5): Council Member Ferris proposed removing language that deems budgeted capital projects over $100,000 as pre-approved (Exhibit B). After discussion, council directed staff to not include grant‑contingent projects on Exhibit B and to clearly state that listed items are pre‑approved only with the budget. A motion passed 6–1 (Council Member Nossek opposed).
- G.2 – Beeline Bus Route Improvement Project: Staff reported the project (originally approved March 26, 2025) had been revisited after discovery of a two‑year grant extension (through September 2026) and cost allocation questions. Water Director Tanner Henry argued water’s requested work is only $310,130, not the $1.12 million originally apportioned. Council debated value of the six small segments vs. full road repairs. A motion to continue contracts as originally approved with water’s share reduced to $310,130 failed 2–5. The item was tabled for executive session.
- F.1 – First Public Hearing on Ordinance 969 (Rezoning): Staff presented the request to rezone 7.66 acres at 1500 E Frontier Street from R1‑175 to R1‑90 for a five‑lot subdivision. The public hearing was opened; no council action required until second hearing on May 14, 2025.
- F.2 – First Public Hearing on Ordinance 970 (Wildfire Hardening Code): Kevin McCully reviewed the code applying to new structures and level‑3 remodels, requiring class‑A roofs, non‑combustible gutters, ignition‑resistant walls, etc. No council action taken; second reading scheduled.
- H.1 – Sky Park Well Replacement: Water Director Tanner Henry recommended awarding a $150,000 contract to Integrity Drilling Services (lowest of three bids) to drill a new well. Council approved 7–0.
- H.2 – Payson Hangar One Complex Management: Tabled to next meeting pending legal advice and presenter availability.
- H.3 – Executive Session: Council voted 7–0 to recess into executive session for legal advice on G.2 (Beeline Bus) and H.3 (Hangar One management) under A.R.S. §38‑431.03(A)(3),(4),(7). The meeting reconvened at 8:31 p.m.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda: Approved 7–0.
- Procurement Policy (G.1): Motion passed 6–1 directing staff to exclude grant‑contingent projects from Exhibit B and to clearly show pre‑approval status.
- Beeline Bus (G.2): After executive session, a motion carried 7–0 to direct staff to proceed with the previously awarded contracts (from March 26) with water’s funding portion capped at $400,000 and the remaining costs covered by any eligible funding source.
- Sky Park Well (H.1): Approved 7–0 to award contract to Integrity Drilling Services for $150,000 from the Water Enterprise Fund.
- Executive Session: Authorized 7–0; meeting reconvened with action on G.2.
- Next Steps: The second readings for Ordinances 969 and 970 are scheduled for May 14, 2025. The Hangar One item will be revisited at the next regular meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Ready. Jim. Oh. Are you ready? I guess I think so. I call this meeting of the Common Council, the Town of Payson to order. This is the regular meeting scheduled for April 23rd, 2025. So they'll after four p.m. I ask Darlene Yonkers for the invocation. Delage. Dear wise and loving creator, thank you for your abundant blessings. Thank you for life itself for the measure of health we need to fulfill our callings for sustenance and for friendship. Thank you for those who are involved in useful work for the town of Payson and for the honor of bearing appropriate responsibilities. And thank you as well for the freedom to embrace you or the freedom to reject you. Thank you for loving us even so from your boundless and gracious nature. God of peace, we invite you to preside over this meeting. Even if we have different opinions, give us unity of spirit. Help us to each listen politely as others share their points of view. Help us to work as a unified team in combining ideas for a great outcome. Help us to work as a whole rather than as individuals trying to promote their own agendas. May you give us the will to work together on our shared mission. Therefore, I pray for our mayor for the various levels of city officials, and particularly for this assembled council. I am asking that you graciously grant them wisdom to govern amid the conflicting interests and issues of our times, the ability to bridge divisions and work together in harmony, sensitivity for the welfare and the true needs of our citizens, a keen thirst for justice and rightness, a spirit of camaraderie and collaborative decision making that will knit together our diverse perspectives, even when there is honest disagreement, confidence in what is good and fitting for our town, personal peace in their lives and joy in their tasks. Lastly, I pray for the agenda set before our council and administrators today. Please give them an assurance of what would please you and what would benefit those who live and work in and around our beloved town of Payson. It is in your most blessed name I pray. Amen. So with that, I open the call to the public. Uh this is for an agenda item F1. Uh Mike Quinn. Thank you. Um my concern is the free flow of information. Our society is based on a situation where everybody has access to the same information. Uh I understand that the we're going to have these things that they're calling some sort of town council meeting on Saturday, and there's a lot of confusion of whether this is a private meeting or a public meeting. And I think we need some clarity in this town when meetings are held about who can come and who can't come. And if we're gonna have meetings that we charge people to come, like this Lincoln Day dinner in order to hear the representatives, there's something inherently wrong with that. There's also something inherently wrong when we mix politics with public information. I think if we're going to hold meetings, be it a Lincoln Day dinner or a meeting where people can ask the mayor and the council members questions, then it should be made very clear that everybody is welcome to those meetings. Those meetings should not exclude anybody, and they should be held by a neutral moderator. Some of the meetings in the past have been moderated by uh Inga of the Tea Party. They've been run very much like a Tea Party meeting, and it's been very obvious that those who ask softball questions or lean to the right, they'll be given the time and the ability to speak. And those who have difficult questions and ask questions that are uncomfortable, they'll be cut off quickly and not allowed to have the same amount of input. So if we're going to have a democracy, we need to have a democracy where information flows freely. On the national level, we have a president trying to cut out universities from the freedom of speech and what they can teach. On the local level, we do not need a town council member to hold meetings that exclude views they disagree with. So I think we need to think about how we disseminate public information so everybody feels welcome, and everybody has the same opportunity to express their views. And public meetings should be public meetings, not a chance to advance a certain political agenda. I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to me. Rebecca Orahood. Evening, everybody.
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