The Payson Town Council held a regular meeting on June 11, 2025, beginning at 4:01 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers. The meeting covered routine consent items, a presentation on election law, several board appointments, budget clean-up transfers, a decision to cancel an August meeting, and executive sessions regarding the town manager search and an open meeting law complaint. Public comment included concerns about airport fees, hangar rates, town manager selection, and calls for greater transparency.
Council Response: After the public comments, Vice Mayor Tubbs requested staff to verify the square footage of the hangars and agendize a follow-up discussion on the hangar rates.
Discrepancy noted: The agenda listed Eric Anderson as the invocation speaker, but the minutes and transcript indicate the invocation was given by Barry Standifird (Stake Counsel for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).
Put the new queen in the one that you have just made. The old queen will remain in high. I call this meeting of the common council of the town of Payson June 11th, 2025. Paul's the order. Invocation will be given by Barry Stanford. Please step the podium. As we humbly bow to thee at this time. We are so grateful for the many blessings that thou hast given us. So grateful, Father, for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We're grateful for his life and example. We're also grateful for these beautiful and free country in which we live. And we also pray that thou would be with our youth in this community, bless them with strength in these difficult times. These things we humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. I play the leaders through the light of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. Item A is the call to the public. Now is the time for the call to the public, which allows citizens with an opportunity to speak on any issues within the legal authority and jurisdiction of the town of Payson. The town must abide by Arizona Open Meeting Law, and this agendized item is the public's opportunity to be heard at this meeting. When called to speech, please approach the podium, speak towards the microphone so your statements can be heard. Give your name. You may not donate your time to another speaker. The council will not be entering into dialogue with you or answering your questions. State law prohibits the council and staff from responding to your questions or comments, and at the conclusion of the call to the public, individual town councils may only one respond to criticisms made by those who have spoken. Two direct staff to review or follow up any matter and or three direct the matter to be put on a future agenda if we direct them too. Well at this point, we'll begin our call to the public with uh Nina Grable. Hello, can you hear me? Yep. My last name's pronounced Grabi L. Rabbi L. Okay, I'm sorry. Okay, so a couple items real quick. One of them was that in concerning the selection of our new town manager. I'm really disappointed to see that it's was conducted as business as usual, and that no effort was put out to people who are entering this field who are you know taking uh college courses and are just and they're trying to get a foot in the door. I think um we could have gotten a better deal if we would have gone that approach, as opposed to the same old same old, because business as usual just means waste of money, corruption, you know, blah blah blah. All the things we don't like. So I think it's time we need to start doing things outside the box. Can we do that once in a while, maybe, and see what happens? You never know. Something good might come out of doing something outside the box, really. My other issue is um the spirewise document that's being produced, I guess. Um I really want I really think we need to address two things. One is the smart meters. As far as the fires in the Palisades in California is concerned, there are people who are sounding the bell saying that the meters might have exacerbated the fire there because those smart meters have a lithium ion battery in them. Many of them do, and that little lithium iron battery will explode and ignite and cause a fire if it's too hot. So if you've got a situation where you've got a fire going on around and there's heat in the air, these meters start exploding, and that needs to be addressed. I think we need to talk to APS about that and find out how many houses in in um Payson have those little lithium ion batteries in them. I know I don't. I have an analog meter, it's not that the health repercussions of those things are not worth it to me. I'm willing to pay the extra price for them to have an analog meter, but that needs to be addressed. Somebody needs to talk to APS about that. The other thing, too, is this geoengineering project that's going out that NASA is doing.