OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Surprise City Council Work Session - September 16, 2025: Project Bacra, Flock ALPR, Water Resource Plan

City Council — Tuesday, September 16, 2025
BodySurprise, Arizona
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, September 16, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:15:11

Transcript — Verbatim
1:54

All right, good evening, everyone.

1:56

I'd like to call this regular city council work session to order on Tuesday, September 16th, 2025.

2:02

Madam Clerk, please conduct the roll.

2:04

Mayor Starter.

2:05

Present.

2:06

Vice Mayor Hastings.

2:08

Vice Mayor Hastings, are you on the line?

2:11

Thank you.

2:13

Councilmember Haney.

2:14

Here.

2:15

Council Member Greenberg.

2:16

Here.

2:17

Councilmember Duffy.

2:18

Here.

2:18

Council Member Melton.

2:19

Present.

2:20

Council Member Jet.

2:20

Here.

2:21

Thank you, Mayor.

2:21

Yep.

2:22

Forum.

2:22

All right.

2:22

Thank you.

2:23

Please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance.

2:34

And to the Republic for which it stands.

2:37

One nation under God and divisible with the liberty and justice for all.

2:46

Okay, let's move on to item number one, please.

2:51

Item number one overview of the Baccarap part.

2:56

Good evening, Lynn.

2:59

Mr.

2:59

Abrams.

3:06

Good evening, Mayor, Council.

3:08

Um.

3:09

So the Project Bacra is a project located in the county.

3:16

Um, their location is approximately at Bullard and Olive.

3:21

It's approximately a half mile south of the city limits.

3:26

So the orange line there is our city limits.

3:28

And you can see the developments that are close by.

3:36

It consists of two um two-story data center buildings, totaling about a million square feet.

3:44

It has the eighteen natural gas fired combustion turbine, basically jet engines that are set up for the power generation.

3:56

It totals about 700 megawatts.

4:21

I've been able to pull down from county as you can see.

5:00

They've uh asked for a military use permit, which is required for anything located in that that military zone.

5:05

Um what they're asking for, along with um being acceptable to Luke is a variance to the zoning regulation that's there for the building height and the parking requirements.

5:17

So current currently under county zoning, the building height would be 40.

5:22

They're asking for 48 feet, plus then you have the 72-foot stacks that go along with that.

5:30

When we saw the project come in, we looked at it and we went back to counting and asked for the following reports air quality reports, noise study, ground fishers, the subsidence and transportation impact fee.

5:41

Also knowing the proximity of the location, we're gonna have the first response to it.

5:47

So we wanted to make sure we it was an emergency management plan coordinated with us as well.

5:54

Next steps for for the project is finishing up the agency review, which is currently going on.

5:59

This they're in their second review process based off of the feedback from us, county as well as Glendale.

6:07

And then from there, once they get through the review process, the next step is the planning and zoning commission hearing and then the board of supervisor hearing.

6:18

With that, I can hopefully answer any questions.

6:23

Okay, Councilman Melton.

6:24

Hi, thanks.

6:25

Uh thanks, Lloyd.

6:26

Um there's a lot of studies that are the developer will have to do.

6:31

One of them, of course, would be the hydrology study.

6:33

Uh if, and just so I understand this is a process question.

6:38

In performing the hydrology study to because our resident concerns that their water usage, uh, they will be the initial fill of their closed loop chiller system will be from Epcor, but for their other plaudal uses of this, you know, day-to-day use will be from drawn from wells.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety████████████████████████████████32%
Technology and Innovation████████████████████████████28%
Water And Wastewater Management██████████████14%
Energy Policy████████8%
Environmental Protection█████5%
Emergency Management████4%
Public Engagement████4%
Community Engagement███3%
Zoning Regulations██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Surprise City Council Work Session - September 16, 2025

This regular city council work session included three presentation and discussion items: an overview of the proposed Project Bacra data center in unincorporated Maricopa County, an update on the Flock ALPR camera system used by the Surprise Police Department, and a strategic plan presentation from the Water Resource Management Department. No formal votes were taken.

Discussion Items

Project Bacra Overview

  • Lloyd Abrams, city staff, presented on Project Bacra, a proposed data center development located at Bullard and Olive, approximately half a mile south of the Surprise city limits. The project includes two two-story data center buildings totaling about one million square feet and 18 natural gas-fired combustion turbines (jet engines) for power generation, totaling about 700 megawatts. The applicant is seeking a military use permit and a variance from county zoning for building height (proposed 48 feet, county allows 40 feet) and parking, plus 72-foot stacks.
  • Surprise requested several reports from the county: air quality, noise study, ground fissures/subsidence study, transportation impact fee study, and an emergency management plan coordinated with the city.
  • Council members expressed concern about potential noise (85–90 decibels, 24/7), water usage (initial fill from EPCOR, ongoing from wells), well impact on neighboring residents, air quality dispersion, and vibration/subsidence from the turbines. Councilman Judd noted he had received more than eight opposition emails (the county reported only eight), and urged residents to send comments directly to the county planner Daniel Johnson.
  • The applicant is holding a public open house on Thursday, September 18, and a virtual meeting on September 23. Next steps include agency review, a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing, and a Board of Supervisors hearing.
  • Council directed staff to continue monitoring and forwarding resident concerns to Maricopa County. No formal action was taken.

Flock ALPR Camera System Overview

  • Police Chief and IT Security Officer Gina presented on the Flock ALPR (Automatic License Plate Recognition) system. Cameras at intersections capture license plate images and vehicle descriptions; no individuals are captured. Data is stored for 30 days on encrypted AWS servers. Only four IT staff have full access; officers can enter hot list information after logging a reason. Audits are performed by Flock and city IT.
  • Success stories included solving a residential burglary series, finding a missing person, and apprehending a suspect in an attempted murder at a McDonald’s. The system is used only for public safety criminal investigations, not traffic enforcement.
  • Cost: approximately $3,000 per camera plus $15,000 annual software fee. The police budget is about $56 million, making this a small fraction.
  • Council members asked about privacy safeguards, misuse penalties (up to termination), and the requirement for a criminal nexus before accessing data. The chief stated the department has a policy outlining specific crimes for which ALPR data can be used.
  • Council expressed support for the system, with several members noting the balance between privacy and public safety. No formal vote or policy change was required.

Water Resource Management Department Strategic Plan

  • Mike, Water Resources Director, presented the department’s strategic plan aligned with council’s four water-related strategies: resilient water supply, conservation, safe/sustainable supply, and planning for growth. The department serves 90,000 residents with over 100 employees.
  • Key initiatives for fiscal year 2026: updating the Water Resource Master Plan (due 2026), connecting 10 water supply facilities to fiber optic network, deploying 60 hydrant AI modules (listening for leaks/breaks), designing two interconnects with EPCOR for redundancy, and increasing water conservation initiatives by 15%.
  • Challenges include post-2026 Colorado River negotiations, rate study assumptions, changing water quality regulations, and staffing shortages for operators. Opportunities include regional partnerships, advanced water purification, desalinization, and grant funding.
  • Council praised the department’s professionalism and conservation efforts. Councilman Judd emphasized planning for advanced water purification and noted the hydrant AI modules are battery-powered with 15-year life. Councilman Melton shared a personal example of working with the department on a water audit.
  • No action required; the presentation was informational.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes or resolutions were adopted.
  • Council directed staff to continue engaging with Maricopa County on Project Bacra and to ensure resident concerns are forwarded to the county planner.
  • Council expressed support for the Flock ALPR system and acknowledged the safeguards in place.
  • Council acknowledged the Water Resource Department’s strategic plan and encouraged ongoing work on water supply resilience.

Meeting Transcript

All right, good evening, everyone. I'd like to call this regular city council work session to order on Tuesday, September 16th, 2025. Madam Clerk, please conduct the roll. Mayor Starter. Present. Vice Mayor Hastings. Vice Mayor Hastings, are you on the line? Thank you. Councilmember Haney. Here. Council Member Greenberg. Here. Councilmember Duffy. Here. Council Member Melton. Present. Council Member Jet. Here. Thank you, Mayor. Yep. Forum. All right. Thank you. Please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God and divisible with the liberty and justice for all. Okay, let's move on to item number one, please. Item number one overview of the Baccarap part. Good evening, Lynn. Mr. Abrams. Good evening, Mayor, Council. Um. So the Project Bacra is a project located in the county. Um, their location is approximately at Bullard and Olive. It's approximately a half mile south of the city limits. So the orange line there is our city limits. And you can see the developments that are close by. It consists of two um two-story data center buildings, totaling about a million square feet. It has the eighteen natural gas fired combustion turbine, basically jet engines that are set up for the power generation. It totals about 700 megawatts. I've been able to pull down from county as you can see. They've uh asked for a military use permit, which is required for anything located in that that military zone. Um what they're asking for, along with um being acceptable to Luke is a variance to the zoning regulation that's there for the building height and the parking requirements. So current currently under county zoning, the building height would be 40. They're asking for 48 feet, plus then you have the 72-foot stacks that go along with that. When we saw the project come in, we looked at it and we went back to counting and asked for the following reports air quality reports, noise study, ground fishers, the subsidence and transportation impact fee. Also knowing the proximity of the location, we're gonna have the first response to it. So we wanted to make sure we it was an emergency management plan coordinated with us as well. Next steps for for the project is finishing up the agency review, which is currently going on.

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