The Payson Town Council held a regular meeting on August 12, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers. Mayor Stephen Otto presided, and all seven council members were present. The meeting opened with a moment of silence for two Payson residents who died in a plane crash earlier that week. Key actions included approval of consent agenda items, three restaurant liquor licenses, a bond refinancing resolution (with amendments), a CDBG grant application, and allocation of $190,000 from council contingency funds for an affordable housing project.
I call this meeting of the common council for the town of Payson a regular meeting August twelfth, twenty twenty six to order. And before we get started, I I would just like to offer a moment of silence for our two Payson residents that uh died in the plane crash and uh they will be missed greatly and uh I just uh just want to offer some time to t and respect for their families and uh to remember the impact they had on our town. So uh thank you. Uh with that done, I would like to invite invite Pastor Joe Tucson Hardy. You turn for Christ. Papa, we come to you, Lord, today for those of us who love Payson and seek your protection and guidance. Uh Holy Spirit, we ask you to fill our leaders with wisdom. Uh Lord, you uh run this meeting, be with each and every speaker, each and every decision that's made. Lord, we do lift up the family of those who've lost loved ones here in Payson Lord in that uh airplane crash, Lord. Pray you protect them and comfort them with the comfort we've been comforted with in times of tragedy. And uh Lord, we thank you for the entire town that's gathering around the families and providing for them. Lord, we ask you, Lord, again to meet us here, uh, be with our council and our mayor and uh everyone who's in leadership here in Payson Lord, we thank you for this wonderful town we have the privilege to live in. Pray you continue to just guide and lead us in order our steps, and Lord bless this time. In Jesus' name we pray. Let the record reflect that all council members are present. Thank you. When called to speak, please approach the podium, speak towards the microphone so your statements can be heard, give us your name. The town requests that you address your comments to the council as a whole. If you're speaking on an agenda item from today's meeting, you can wait until after that specific item is presented to speak, or you may state your comments now. Call to the public is regulated by time, place, and manner restrictions, and you cannot speak more than once at this meeting. Each speaker is limited to three minutes. If this disrupts the meeting and inhibits free speech rights, any person who engages in disruptive conduct may be removed or barred from the meeting if the person refuses to stop. So with that said, okay. Tom Dunning. I'm a 21 year resident of Payson. I'm glad to see that there's going to be a discussion of the pool on the agenda tonight. Because the people have a right to know. Should be a process that is open and understandable and transparent for the folks of Payson so that we don't buy a pig in a poke. Not only that, we would like to see the uh RFP, the actual description of the work to be done, the amount of money that it's going to cost, and whether or not all of the needed refurbishments will be done. The council can make this something that is open and accessible and understandable to the people of Payson. At this point, it's the beginning of the process, but I'm just asking, and the people of our town, I'm sure want to know how it's being done and how much it's going to cost, and what the final result will be. Thank you. Thank you. Pat Lockwood. Hi everyone. Thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is Pat Lockwood. I've been a resident of Payson since 2021. I currently live in Chaparral Pines. I'm a concerned citizen asking the town of Payson Council to understand the concerns of a significant number of property owners who may be negatively impacted by the request to change the zoning on tax parcel 3023041 from commercial C2 to mining and extraction for Payson Concrete. I, along with many others, attended a recent citizen participation meeting at Pays and Concrete's office. It was on Wednesday, July 22nd. There were more than a hundred people in attendance, foreign access to the 15 to 20 people that I believe Pays and Concrete staff had anticipated. Despite the information shared at that meeting, my neighbors and I continue to be alarmed at the scope and nature of the project. The venue was inadequate for the number of attendees, leaving most of us with unanswered questions. Among our concerns are the exact nature of the proposed commercial development, the amount of material to be extracted, and the restoration of the natural habitat once a project is complete. And even though town of Payson staff has told us that the applicant has met their obligations to hold a citizen's participation meeting, we believe that the nature of that meeting generated more questions than it answered and resulted in feelings of inadequate transparency and a fear that resident interests were not being protected. On behalf of my neighbors and me, we are asking the town of Payson Council to direct town of Payson staff to strongly encourage Payson Concrete, a second meeting that would adequately accommodate the number of concerned residents and to provide transparency and a more comprehensive picture of the project before the permitting even begins. Thank you. Thank you.