Phoenix City Council Formal Meeting - May 21, 2025
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Phoenix City Council Formal Meeting - May 21, 2025
The Phoenix City Council convened on May 21, 2025, starting with two Community Facilities District (CFD) board meetings followed by the formal council meeting. The formal meeting included an invocation, pledge of allegiance, roll call, and consideration of numerous agenda items, most notably the adoption of the Fiscal Year 2025-26 city budget after extensive public comment and debate. Other significant actions included approval of a ground lease extension for Yucca Library, a contract for bicycle parts and maintenance, Gila River Indian Community gaming grants, speed limit amendments, and three citizen petitions concerning high-visibility crosswalks, reverse lanes on 7th Street and 7th Avenue, and municipal golf course land use.
Community Facilities District Board Meetings
- Park Central CFD (Board Members Conlin, Gervais, Guardado, Hernandez, Hodge Washington, Pastor, Robinson, Stark, Waring, O'Brien, Gallego): Unanimously approved meeting minutes for May and June, adopted the FY2025-26 budget and five-year financial plan (vote 10-0).
- Verdin CFD (Board Members Guardado, Hernandez, Hodge Washington, Pastor, Robinson, Stark, Waring, O'Brien, Gallego): Approved minutes for October 2023 and February–July 2024 (vote 8-0), adopted the FY2025-26 budget and five-year financial plan, and approved the tax levy for FY2025-26 (both 8-0).
Consent Calendar
- Boards and commissions nominations approved unanimously.
- Liquor license items (2–18) approved as corrected.
- Ordinances and resolutions items 19–108 (with exclusions: items 36, 37, 43, 52, 61, 88, 106–108; item 63 withdrawn) approved on a single roll call vote (8-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Budget (Item 37): Numerous speakers expressed positions:
- In support: Ann Ender (police ride-along), Timothy Gamage (fire union executive VP), AJ (public safety advocate), Patrick (Phoenix Community Alliance), Julia (resident), Jeff Tissot (Sunny Slope Neighborhood president), Brian Willingham (United Phoenix Firefighters president). Speakers praised the budget for protecting essential services, funding police and fire, and the housing trust fund.
- In opposition: Monica M., Daphne Cortez (Maryvale heat plan), Sebastian (Take Back Our Homes campaign – right to counsel), Glenda (eviction rights), Jennifer Hernandez, Jose, Miros, Monica Mellinson, Andrea Lunas (Organized Power and Numbers), Evelyn (right to counsel), Stacy, Miesha Fish, Linda (gated alley program) – speakers opposed the increase in police funding, urged investment in tenant legal representation, affordable housing, heat mitigation, and criticized police overtime and DOJ report findings.
- Citizen Petitions (Items 106, 107, 108): Numerous speakers testified in support of high-visibility crosswalks and stop bars (Nicole Rodriguez, Steve, Patrick, AJ, Haley, Jeremy, Ed, Kristen, Stacy, Abby), in support of eliminating reverse lanes on 7th Street and 7th Avenue (Stacy Champion, Christopher Collins, Lydia, Teresa, Camille, Dave, Patrick, Tabitha, Andrew, Steve, Maggie, David Riley, Haley, Bill, Eric, Jeremy, Jamie, John, Jason, Ralph, John, Rockney, Nicole, Derek, Lucas, Robert, Diane, Mark, Ed, Kristen, Vicky, Amy, Dave, Lael, Gina, Abby), and in support of a study on municipal golf course land use (Jeremy, Nicole, Stacy). Only a few speakers opposed removing reverse lanes (Councilmembers Stark and Robinson cited constituent concerns).
Discussion Items
- Item 36 – Yucca Library Ground Lease: Councilwoman Pastor led discussion highlighting that the library building is on leased land from Chemco. The motion to approve the lease extension for the library expansion passed with a stipulation that if a new library is built on city land at 19th Avenue and Montebello, the existing property could be repurposed (vote 8-0).
- Item 37 – FY2025-26 Budget: Mayor Gallego introduced the budget, noting it establishes a housing trust fund (~$2 million from ARPA interest), maintains heat relief, parks, libraries, and funds Innovation 27. Vice Mayor O'Brien and multiple council members expressed support, emphasizing protection of services and the housing trust fund. Councilwoman Hernandez questioned staff on police overtime, potential recession impacts, and department missions. She proposed a substitute motion to restrict $109 million in set-asides to non-police programs and reallocate $7 million from police overtime to emergency housing vouchers, parks, libraries, and arts. The substitute motion was not voted on; the council proceeded to vote on the original budget. Following public comment, Councilwoman Hernandez explained her no vote, citing insufficient protection against federal cuts and over-policing. The budget passed 8-1 (Hernandez dissenting).
- Item 106 – High-Visibility Crosswalks and Stop Bars: Councilwoman Stark and Pastor noted that the Streets Department has already started implementing these upgrades. A motion to refer the petition to the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Planning (TIP) subcommittee for further discussion, with a presentation from the Vision Zero Community Advisory Committee, passed unanimously.
- Item 107 – Reverse Lanes on 7th Street and 7th Avenue: Councilmember Stark and Robinson expressed caution, citing potential impacts on neighborhood traffic. Councilwoman Pastor moved to direct the Street Transportation Department to conduct a comprehensive study of traffic impacts from 19th Avenue to 16th Street and McDowell to Dunlap, with a focus on Missouri to McDowell, and to meet with petitioners within 30 days to refine the scope. The study results are to be presented to the TIP subcommittee by December 2026. The motion passed 8-0.
- Item 108 – Municipal Golf Course Land Use: After brief testimony and questioning (Councilwoman Hernandez asked for water usage data), a motion to deny the petition (i.e., keep current golf operations) passed 7-1, with Councilwoman Hernandez dissenting.
Key Outcomes
- FY2025-26 Budget Adopted (8-1) – Includes $109 million in reserves, a housing trust fund, continued heat relief, parks and library funding, increased firefighter staffing, and police overtime oversight.
- Yucca Library Lease Extension Approved (8-0) – With stipulation to consider a new library on city-owned land.
- Gila River Indian Community Gaming Grants Approved (7-0) – Councilman Waring not participating.
- Speed Limits Amended (8-0) – At 15 locations.
- Citizen Petition on Crosswalks Referred to TIP – Study and timeline to be presented.
- Citizen Petition on Reverse Lanes – Comprehensive study ordered; results due December 2026.
- Citizen Petition on Golf Courses Denied (7-1) – Current operations unchanged.
Meeting Transcript
Obviously, right there at 24th Street in Camelback, you're gonna make a lot more money off of an office building than you will from a standalone theater. So there was about a year-long battle. There was a bunch of citizens saved the Sine Capri. There were some like 250,000 people that signed a petition. But unfortunately, property rights and everything else, and the investment company won out. And in 1998, uh the Senate Capri went down. The legacy of the Seneca Capri for those of us that were around to attend it. It's it's always coupled with fond memory. It was a destination. It was what I call a part of civic pride. Yes, it was a building. Yes, there was a lot of money in it. Yes, it was ornate. But what was coupled with it for Phoenicians at the time was the civic memory of going there as a celebration, going there with a special person or some special event. That's the legacy of the Senate Capri. Popago Park has three stanks that occupy six acres of park, connected as Papago Ponds, ideals for pesca. In other one of those cinco went with quarters especially, and gracias a su architecture tan unicorn, they permits a spectacle incredible. Welcome to Phoenix in a battery minute. Today we're here in the beautiful Papago Park, visiting these amazing beauty. This amazing library is not just a normal library. It has multiple special rooms on each of its five floors. But not only that, its unique architecture allows it to have a special spectacle for the summer solstice. The event happens every year at Burton Bar, and with it, thousands of persons visit the library, not just to see the event, but to listen to beautiful music and to be part of the beginning of summer. The solstice celebration takes place on the fifth floor where you can see the light moving from east to west and a special hue of light on top of the pillars. This year, the library also pressed printed art with the Washington Press in honor of Milton's annotations in the Alfred Knight collection. So be sure to stop by, grab a book, and enjoy the solstice. Most pedestrian and bike crashes happen when drivers are turning. Scan the street for Wilson feet when turning or entering intersections. Thank you for joining us on May 21st. For today's meeting, we will have two community facility district board meetings before the main formal council meeting. The budget vote will be nearer to the end of the meeting. Board Member Conlin. Thank you. Board Member Gervais. Board Member Guardado. Board Member Hernandez. Board Member Hodge Washington. Here. Board Member Pastor. Here. Board Member Robinson? Here. Board Member Stark. Here. Board Member Waring. Vice Chair O'Brien. Here. Chairman Gaigo. Here. Items three and four are meeting minutes.
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