In front of entry monuments where there isn't a lot of opportunity for you know kids to be playing football or whatever other kind of sports.

Um and so in this case, we're really trying to encourage other types of landscaping that are not uh not grass in front of entry monuments.

And then lastly, grass areas that are not utilized for active or programmed recreational purposes or for drainage conveyances, storm basins, or erosion control.

So we do allow for uh with this code update, we do allow for um grass to be used like in a drainage channel.

Um in these two examples that I've given you, these are two grass spaces that really can't be recreated on, but they're also not serving a drainage purpose.

So these would be examples that we would not permit going forward.

And then what I really wanna call out here, because that now I've spent a lot of time talking about grass and you know, prohibiting certain items in development.

What I really wanna focus on is um this code update, we've given five different criteria to really um scale, it's a lot of criteria, but the idea is to scale down what we're limiting.

So making it very specific.

And and I wanna be real clear that um, you know, the the what we do wanna see in our city is usable recreation areas.

So we allow for grass and parks, uh, amenitized pocket parks and drainage channels.

Um and so our team has actually been actively involved in the development review process for the last several years where we're already looking at these things.

Um we've also made sure that this code update is in line with our planning standards and our open space requirements.

So this shouldn't really conflict with those at all.

Um additionally, we've had you know a lot of cooperation from the developers as we're looking at their landscape designs to you know hear our points and okay, you know, make some tweaks to their to their landscape plans.

So we're pretty confident that this code update um is you know just gonna be reflecting some of our current practices, but making sure it's actually outlined in our code.

And I'll also say that developments that have existing entitlements like Sterling Grove or Marley Park, for instance, that incorporate quite a bit of grass.

This does not apply to that, even though they're not built.

The entitlements associated with what's in those zoning documents will end in in a sense supersede uh this this code modification.

It's really as Amy mentioned, those developments that we have not seen yet or have not been proposed yet.

So with that, I wanted to close with some next steps and turn it over to questions.

Um again, we this is just in draft form.

We intend to incorporate any feedback that you might have and continue to work with uh Jeff and his team to finalize this language.

Um we're still working on one more uh code modification associated with a high water user ordinance, and that one's not quite ready to to debut yet this evening.

And that will also warrant likely its own work session.

So we'll be back in the next couple months to talk through that one.

And then once those are all tidied up and put together, we'll have uh the adoption sometime uh later this calendar year.

So with that, Amy and I are happy to take any questions.

Uh Councilman John.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Mike.

Thank you, Amy, and and thank you for the work you're doing for to uh to to get us in a better place for water conservation, yet still identifying ways where we can actively recreate.

I mean, we we do enjoy grass, so it is good to have grass in our parks and grass in places where we can where we can enjoy them and maybe get them out of the places where they look nice and they're just they're just taking up water.

Can can you go back to the fog slide, the first slide?

That one.

Um, so a couple of questions.

First, I don't know if you if you so fog's an anchor acronym.

I don't know.

Did we go over what that is?

We did not.

So um a lot of this ordinance update or uh code update is is aimed at helping us establish our fog program, which stands for fats, oils, and greases.

Okay, and no pictures of fat burgs here for us.

I actually I thought about it.

You totally should have.

And so, and so the challenge with fats, oils and greases as I understand it is they is they they clog up our plumbing system, they create problems downstream, they can end up damaging the processes of the wastewater treatment plant, right?

That is correct.

And we do have some experience with some of those maintenance issues at um at our largest plant, uh the spa one facility.

Okay.

And so the maintenance that needs to happen, what does that look like for a property owner for restaurant owner?

I mean, how frequent is it, how expensive is it, what do they need to do?

They're typically having their uh grease interceptors cleaned out about every 90 days.

And so the it's um the manufacturer's recommendation, uh, but there is also sizing criteria.

They need to make sure that they're sizing it appropriate to either the amount of flow that they anticipate putting into the sewer system or the amount of grease loading, like the actual pounds of grease.

So based on uh based on those criteria, they'll pick uh an appropriate size of that item, and then um the manufacturer's recommendations are typically every 90 days that they need to have it cleaned.

And so, how would enforcement work on this?

So, actually, enforcement as it stands today is uh very much reactionary.

When we get calls about odor complaints at certain restaurants, we'll go out, we'll send our compliance officer out there and and just do some education, you know, make sure that they have their paperwork in place.

When was the last time you cleaned this?

Are you aware of how often it should be clean?

You know, get some specs on the actual item so that we can help them locate those um manufacturers' recommendations.

Going forward, one once we've established uh the our code updates, we're actually going to be filling a position for pre-treatment, and they will be able to do this on a regular basis and actually go out and spec and just check on all the restaurants in our city and and make sure that they they're regularly having their interceptors maintained.

Okay.

And the smell you're talking about, that's when you're close to a restaurant, it's kind of a something's dead smell.

It is one of the most unique smells.

Um, I would say worse than at the wastewater plant.

It's a very dead, sour, there's so many so many words.

Okay, and if you go forward one to the uh the stormwater, um, I'm glad I'm glad we're updating these.

And I remember uh an industrial user we had in my district a few years back that uh when when they came in, um they had to put their own on site uh sorry, stormwater.

They had to put their own on on-site stormwater storage.

So, you know, they paved over their whole parcel and then they're required under the parking lot to put a tank in that was big enough to capture all the stormwater, right?

And so they were required to contain 100% of the stormwater, but we still build them a stormwater fee every year.

So have we rectified that?

The the idea was, you know, if your stormwater is running off, we have to deal with it.

That's part of the fee, from what I understood it.

And we didn't have a mechanism to not charge them if they had, and he had spent a couple hundred thousand dollars on this system.

So it was kind of a sure, it was kind of a point of concern for him that we're sending them a $400 bill after he did all that.

So is that Yeah.

So what we've done here um as it relates to these two last points, is we've provided um discounts essentially for commercial properties that have implemented best management practices that we're still charging them, but there's some relief now associated with those developments or those commercial users that have kind of gone above and beyond the minimum requirements because the stormwater fee is also intended to, you know, pay for the outfalls associated with where that stormwater may be going or the cleaning of the the uh scuppers in the roadways.

So there is a there's a capital uh use of that money as well as an OM use of that money from the city's perspective too.

Okay.

All right, that were all my questions.

Thank you very much for the presentation.

Thank you.

Council Momel.

Thank you, Mayor.

And I know you covered this, Amy and and Mike.

And if just if we go one more time, the of course, this uh these amendments are for the purposes of planning of future developments.

I just want to examine a scenario where an existing development, let's take my neighborhoods of Litchfield, Manor, Roseview, West Point, something like that.

I don't know, just thinking about there's probably I don't know if there's any examples that would meet these restrictions, but let's say there was.

And let's say that we there was we we identified, okay, in this in this neighborhood, we see we see something that's outside the you know uh the bounds of the amendments.

Even though, but and all and then all additionally, let's say this let's say this uh neighborhood is a high water user.

How do we approach I mean, do we again we're not gonna use this mechanism to enforce and to change in its existing but but if it was a high water use community, you know, how would we approach that?

I mean, if that I mean, would we just say, hey, listen, you have this instance where it's not a good use of landscaping.

Yeah, we would encourage you to change it.

Is that how it works?

It's it's a great question.

And and what I appreciate about the question is that you're acknowledging we're not just gonna turn a blind eye when we do have existing examples of non-functional turf in our city.

So absolutely correct.

While this uh while this ordinance wouldn't apply to those situations, we still have our rebate program that is a really good mechanism for us to be able to help the existing HOAs in our service area by identifying hey, here's an area where we don't see a lot of active active activity, you know, happening, and and we have funds that we can help if you're interested in that turf removal.

Um, we can put some funds toward that through our rebate program.

That's my question.

Thank you, Amy.

Thank you, Mike.

Thank you, Mayor.

No problem.

Uh I appreciate your presentation.

You're both experts, and we, you know, it's uh it's a good thing to have you on our team.

Uh I think being a part of the coalition for protecting Arizona's lifeline is important.

And we need to demonstrate across Arizona and the lower basin, upper basin as we start to do our negotiations at Arizona and surprise is water smart.

And I think this takes a huge step in that direction.

Uh so I appreciate that.

Uh I also think that we should practice what we're preaching if you drive down Bell Road.

There's some grass in the median and there's water on the cement or asphalt nearly every day.

And I know our budget's tight, and we've talked about redoing Bell Road, but I think it's something that, you know, if we're gonna tell residents, you know, this is the policy, we're gonna ask uh developers to adjust what they're doing.

I think we need to look at that and make sure that we're uh leading by example.

So uh but again, thanks for your presentation.

And uh yeah, have a good night.

Thank you.

Item two presentation and discussion regarding the surprise public library strategic plan.

Good evening, Marion Council.

I don't have any fog, but I do have strategic plan, which feels at least kind of just as exciting.

Um very excited to be here with you today discuss our brand new strategic plan.

You also just completed your strategic plan.

So I don't know if that's a stars aligning, but I'm gonna choose to believe it is.

Uh I have some distinguished guests with us here today as well.

Our library advisory commission is represented.

So behind me, if you hear audible gas, I totally planted them in the audience.

Uh, we have Chair Van Loon, Commissioner Ansel, and Commissioner Gentry as well.

Um, so they're here, so feel free to uh ask them questions if it sounds like I'm making anything up.

That laughter was also as part of my plot.

So uh so here's our formal mission statement.

But I think what's really important for you to know uh is that we are the library of the surprise community.

So when you you made the decision to move from county to city operations a couple years ago, that was our reasoning was that we had great libraries, but the truth is like it wasn't the library that the surprise community wanted.

Uh so our mission statement reflects that that's really what we're going for.

Uh you'll see that within our entire strategic plan.

Our strategic plan was recommended for approval by our commission.

Uh, we use focus groups, we talk to people, and quite honestly, the best way that we received input was just by having conversations.

We all work the desk, we ask questions, we're talking with our patrons to figure out what it really is that they want to see in that library system.

All right, department overview.

We provide library services, which is probably no surprise, hopefully no surprise to you or the rest of our residents.

Uh, we have physical and digital items, we do programming.

Uh, one of the really big most important ones to us is the uh research and information services.

So that's our customer service.

So when you come to the surprise library, you're gonna interact with our staff.

You're gonna feel warm and welcoming.

Uh, we try to make it our mission that you have no idea if you ask us to do something out of our job description, we're gonna do it.

And it's not like, oh, well, that's actually the city clerk's job, but okay, like it's like seamless and it's wonderful.

And I think that um being the fortunate department head, that is the coolest thing to see to see that trickle down through our entire staff.

Um, but in addition, we also serve as a catalyst for innovation, uh, civic engagement, community is really what we're there for.

Um, and we we're trying to be on the cutting edge.

So I'm very biased.

I've only worked for this library system, but I absolutely think that we are one of the top library systems in the state.

Uh and I think they all agree with me.

That's what the silence is.

All right.

So here are your strategic priorities that we think that we best align with.

Um, so community experience, that's one of the really easy ones.

We're obviously providing a community experience through those library services.

We enrich the quality of life through recreation, culture, and connectivity.

Um, some of the other ones are ones that I think that maybe if you look at first glance, you're like, yep, this is where library fits, like the end.

Um, but that's not the end of our story, pun intended.

Uh, we really looked at your strategic plan and are trying to figure out how we can support your initiatives in everything we do.

Um, so as we go through the rest of our presentation, you're gonna see we're fiscally responsible.

Uh, we love partnering with economic development and HSCV for economic development initiatives.

Um, and I have a secret in a couple slides that I can't wait to announce to you to really show you that we're taking government transparency uh to a new open book mindset, which is another pun, and I'm sorry, that was twice in one slide.

All right, so here's how we're we're aligning with those goals.

So, like I mentioned, uh community experience, that's kind of your easy one.

Uh, we have public art featured in all of our libraries, we do theme programming and celebrations, um, looking at fiscal responsibility.

Uh, we adopt and maintain our balanced budget.

So every year we are very focused on how we maintain our budget.

Uh, we try to do the most with a reasonable amount of money, um, which I think that if you look back at our last couple years, we're doing a pretty good job.

And I think the most important part is if you look at the level of service that we're providing at the same level that we were paying the county.

Um, I think that we're really gaining our bang for the buck.

We also mention our economic development strategies, so we partner on job fairs, training opportunities.

Uh, all of our staff is ready to provide resume or interview assistance.

Uh, and then we also partner with a lot of our school systems, including Ottawa, Dysert, uh, we do the charter schools, we have a lot of homeschool groups, we even have homeschool hangouts, uh, recognizing that that was a need in our community.

There's a lot of individuals that are homeschooled, uh, and we provide that space that now they can actually get together and form again back to that C-word community.

Um, and then again, the cover government transparency.

Uh, we're always looking for community feedback.

We have a commission, we will meet with any resident that chooses to do so.

Um, and then we're also looking to promote unreasonable hospitality.

So, this is a book that our leadership team read uh a couple months ago.

But the essence is go above and beyond, and it's those little moments that are really gonna make people remember.

Uh so we kind of read that, we took it to heart.

It's kind of the theme that you'll see throughout most of our customer service, but through our library system.

Now is the really cool stuff.

Um, so we were allowed to share with you guys kind of four of the really cool key projects or initiatives that we're working on.

Um, one is I know near and dear to all of your heart, the America 250 celebration.

Uh so one of the first things that we did to promote that was we have a stars and stories reading program that uh launched a week ago.

Uh so we have 455 participants already registered, and our residents have read 4,846 minutes as of this morning.

So we're a well-read community, so that seems like a uh a good thing to strive for.

So the purpose of this reading program is we want our residents to read 1,776 minutes uh by the next Fourth of July celebration.

Uh, along the way, we're gonna support them with some patriotic prizes.

We got some cool stuff their way.

Um, but again, it's just kind of like another summer reading, Mayor's Literacy Challenge type concept.

It was another excuse for us to have a cool reading program, which uh we are always ready to do.

Uh, we'll also be doing a speaker series.

So each month we're gonna we've partnered with our community to get different speakers to come to our libraries, share a little bit of what they're doing with in regards to American history, veteran services, military services.

Um our next one will be on Monday, October 13th.

Lieutenant Colonel Van Loon will come and talk about uh his time at Luke Air Force Base and what it is like to fly an F-16.

Rumor has it, he's gonna bring his gear.

So if you've ever you know wanted to dress up and be a fire pilot, uh next Monday is the time for you.

Uh we'll also be doing uh signature programs, displays, passive programs.

Uh, we have a new surprise stories going out.

Uh we'll do a special collection.

So we're adding new books and materials that apply to America's history.

Uh, we'll do a library card design contest and an essay contest.

Um, in terms of early literacy, we are still promoting our thousand books before kindergarten programs.

So the concept is read a thousand books to your kid before kindergarten.

It's very uh elementary, but the the truth is that it's really impactful for getting your kids ready for school.

Uh so as of right now, we have 750 participants, 50 graduates, and over the last year, our will say under five-year-old readers have read 142,000 books.

Um, so in terms of kind of interacting with your children, getting them ready for school, that is really, really impactful.

Uh, and I don't know that it's directly related, but with that, they've received almost 2,400 prizes.

So anything from stickers to backpacks, kind of getting them ready for school, um, all sorts of cool stuff.

But the important thing is we we kind of took that early literacy initiative and took it very seriously.

All right, now's my favorite one.

So it's it's the game time.

So as of this morning, we have officially launched a library data dashboard.

Uh so libraries are actually very uh key performance metric focused, that we track all sorts of cool stuff.

Um, to my dismay when I found this out, they just go and like live at a state report somewhere.

And I was like, no, no, no, no, no.

I know some people that want to see this.

Uh so we've now created it into a data dashboard.

So if you go to surprise publiclibrary.gov, go to our resources.

We called it data dashboard because it's an alphabetical order, and that makes it first.

So it was very convenient.

So you can go, you can see 33 different metrics, how we track them every single month.

So I again, I think we're awesome, we're great, but this created an opportunity for us to look and actually see those numbers and how we're doing.

So as a couple quick hits, uh, so our gate count, so that is the number of people that walk in our building every single day.

Uh if you take the 2024 year-to-date numbers based on 2025, we had a 50% increase.

Um, so that means that we have that many more people just walking through the doors.

Uh, Hollyhawk Library is one of the really cool ones.

They've actually tripled their numbers since we uh took over operations.

So that just kind of goes to show that when you are a community library system, you can place that emphasis on where you want it to be.

So Hollyhawk was just a library, we've really started to kind of enhance uh and empower the staff over there.

Um we currently have 42,800 library cardholders.

So, as a reference, when the county finished their uh realm with us, they had 29,000.

So over the last couple years, we have recaptured all of those individuals, plus an additional 13,000.

Uh, and it just continues to grow every day.

I work the desk every Monday morning, and I am impressed that I can still find people that have not made a library card with us.

Uh so it's pretty cool to just see that number continue to grow.

Um, and then the one that I'm most excited about, because I am a budget-minded person.

Uh, I've always been trying to figure out how do you really create an ROI for a library system.

I actually actually went to a national conference and was like, great, we're gonna find it out, and there was no answers.

Uh so the other day, as we were kind of looking at our data dashboard, we're like, how do we put a dollar sign on what it is libraries do?

Uh so if you've ever checked out a book at our library, you look at the bottom of your seat, it's gonna say, you saved X amount of dollars.

Uh so we figured out that we can pull that report for all of our patrons per year.

Uh and that's kind of giving us a really, really base ROI.

So that it's only including our physical items.

So books, audiobooks, CDs, um, doesn't include any programming, any special events we do, none of that.

Um, so with that, we found that in FY25, we had 11.3 million dollars in savings to our surprise residents.

Uh pretty impactful numbers.

So, going based on our FY25 budget, that means for every dollar you guys gave us, we had $3 worth of value.

So we think that that's pretty good.

Um, we're gonna continue.

We think our budget's very healthy, we think it's great, we can continue doing more stuff with it.

So we're just gonna continue to look, see how we can add more value to that.

Uh and then our last item here is our library of things.

So our unofficial library slogan: if you can barcode it, you can check it out.

Uh, something really cool that we do.

So, record players, uh, we have telescopes, uh, and over the last couple weeks, we've really tried to push the limits on what new cool stuff that people are gonna be like, holy cow, the surprise library can do that.

Uh, so we just launched American Girl Dolls, so it's kind of part of the America 250.

Uh, so for those of you that weren't avid American doll owners, um, they are all placed in different times in history.

So it's cool, it's uh they're from the 1920s.

And so with your doll, you're gonna get a little journal.

So you can say, me and Summer went to get ice cream, and then we played in the part, and then that goes to the next uh individual that has it.

But you're also gonna get a little snippet that says, here's where Arizona was at that time.

So we start to really tie in that historical component.

Uh, and in true library fashion, we're tricking them into learning while they have a little bit of fun.

So far it's working.

Uh, we have six dolls right now.

There's currently 40 holds on those.

Uh so if you haven't placed your hold on your favorite American girl doll, I advise you to do that in the break.

Um, we've also just launched Tony boxes.

So for those of you who don't know about Tony boxes, uh, it's kind of this council member Haney knows.

Uh it's like this little foam cube, and you put a character on top and it'll sing you songs and it tells you a story.

Um, and it's kind of a uh stopgap between watching YouTube and reading books.

Uh so we now have six of those in circulation.

Ironically, also have 40 holds on that.

So if you'd like to hear someone tell you a story, we have Disney princesses or Paw Patrol might be a good one.

Uh, we have those as well.

We just launched pickleball kits.

So if you stop by regional and you heard the ping ping ping as you walked by, you can actually come over to us and we'll check out some pickleball paddles for you.

And our last one that I want to showcase today is the caregiver kit.

So that's kind of a new innovative, cool one that I haven't personally seen yet.

So we have a lot of uh snowbirds, so individuals that are older and may have young families coming to visit them.

And I have snowbird parents, I know what it's like, and it's like, oh my gosh, I need this, I need that.

It's it takes a lot to take care of a child.

Uh so we now have caregiver kit, so you can actually come to the library, check out a pack and play.

It comes with some card games, a few books.

So it's a little less daunting having your grandkids come and hang out with you.

So again, just a little bit of the power of what some creativity and empowering your staff uh can do for you.

Um, like everyone else in the departments, we have our own challenges.

I would say that the biggest one that I want to highlight today is probably that we're working with infrastructure that was chosen by the county, and quite honestly, it was like 20 years ago.

So library systems have changed drastically by then.

We are looking at our space and kind of figuring out how can we use the resources we have most effectively.

And I think that uh it's a challenge that we're we're loving to rise to the occasion to.

We're super excited to move with it in with our HSCV partners who will come talk to you next.

Um, but I think that there's some really cool things that we can do with what we have.

It's just looking at, you know, kind of what is that we have and where do we want to be.

Um, we'll highlight some opportunities.

So again, we talked about that unreasonable hospitality.

We want everyone leaving our building to think that this is the world's coolest place and they can't wait to come back.

Uh, and then again, I want to tap on that data driven decision making.

So all of those performance metrics that are in our dashboard, we really are using those to make decisions as a system, um, which I think is is really cool and kind of the way that that we should be operating our system.

And with that, I can help you place a hold on an American girl doll or answer questions or comments.

I don't see any comments or questions, Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh, appreciate the presentation.

You know, appreciate all you're doing.

Obviously, there are certain departments that you know are you know safety focused, transportation focused, and then you have more departments, departments that are service focused.

And obviously, what you've done, you know, with the library.

I think when we created the library, not created the library, but when we took the library over, people kind of just thought we were just you know growing government and and funding it somehow.

But in reality, it was money we were already given to the county.

So we're just really just bringing it in house.

And you know, obviously, libraries are changing, right?

Um, obviously you still have the books, but you know, offering the different opportunities, doing the stuff you're doing, appreciate your work and also talking to, you know, speaking to the value and obviously there's value.

Obviously, you can talk numbers.

Um libraries probably aren't you know, golden sacks as far as like you know, money making, you know, we made like a thousand dollars last year.

No, but I mean, yeah, so and you offer services, like yeah, it's like you could make money and you could charge like five dollars per black and white copy.

But I mean, you know, so it's a it's a balance, and we appreciate the work you know you guys are doing.

Um it's it's it's great to have it in the district.

Um, the district I represent district five right by the pool and stuff.

So uh thank you so much for putting time into this and a great presentation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Go ahead.

Thank you, Mayor.

Just want to point out um it's great having you in my district as well.

Uh it's the Taj Mahal of libraries, is what they're saying.

Um rumor has it.

Yeah, rumor has it.

Uh first of all, if you guys have not had Kelsey out to one of your community meetings, I would highly recommend it.

I think I think you're probably uh crowd favorite, um, just kind of how you engage and your humor.

And so um you do an incredible job uh presenting.

But I did want to thank you and the library commission.

I got to obviously be a part of when we had the libraries and we were starting this library commission of what what exactly did we want them about the library commission to be.

And I really do believe that the commission is reflective of what we want the libraries to be.

It's people of all different backgrounds who have a passion for not only the sense of community, but also for reading and what the libraries can offer.

And so um, I know I've learned so much of it's not just checking out books, it's programs, it's really giving folks a place to have that sense of community.

And um, I'm fortunate enough to have my community meetings at Asante Library every other month.

And so I get to experience that firsthand.

And um it's great because people get to come in there, they ask me some traffic questions, but then they end up learning more about the library.

So it's a win-win.

So thank you for the work and the vision that you have.

I think the passion that both the commission members have and also you and your team have really made this library um or various libraries throughout the city 10 times better than they were before.

And so I'm excited to see what you guys do in the future, and just thank you for everything you guys do.

So that's why Mayor, thanks.

Yeah, I don't I don't know if I can say it much better, Councilman Henny.

I feel like should have put you last.

That we can say we can uh fumble through whatever we're gonna say.

But no, I appreciate your leadership.

I appreciate your vision.

Um, you know, taking it over was a challenge.

I know it was kind of a uncharted territory for the city, but uh you guys made it through, and it's uh uh you're nothing but good things, and we appreciate your effort.

Thank you.

Item three presentation and discussion regarding the human service and community vitality department strategic plan.

Good evening, Seth.

Can you talk that fast?

Good evening, Mayor, members of the council.

No, I cannot talk that fast.

It's hard to follow up Kelsey, but just to give her a shout out.

One, we two are excited to live together at our new community resource center, but they're really uh open to new projects.

So she uh has partnered with our senior services team and Trisha Weston, and they now help us get resources to home deliver uh homebound seniors through their home deliver program.

So just a shout out to Kelsey and her team for for that great partnership since we need to get those individuals served as well.

So uh council, it's a pleasure to be here tonight.

Um we are celebrating our 10-year anniversary this year.

10 years ago, Brendan Espy was the HSCV director, if you can believe it or not.

And so we appreciate Brendan for helping us out here.

Um but being uh uh 10 years old, uh hopefully we could have a party a little bit later.

Um we've gone through a lot.

So uh we didn't have a strict formal strategic plan until recently.

So a really wise man uh shared with me earlier today that you know there's a kind of a spray and pray model.

Well, that's kind of what we were doing until we have a brand new strategic plan.

So tonight, uh part of the unveiling, uh, our staff, our community get to see what we what we get to work on.

But before we do that, I have a few um HSCV leadership team I'd like to recognize here.

So our assistant director, Deb Perry, um Trisha Weston, our adult and senior services supervisor, Jennifer Cornelius, who runs our surprise resource center, human services supervisor, and uh Danielle Osborne, who is our community initiative supervisor.

So thanks for being here.

They do just tremendous work.

Our mission uh is brand new as well, and it's enriching the quality of life and instilling hope in our community by promoting stability of individuals and families, fostering innovative programs and building strong partnerships.

Some of our department core functions is our we run all of the senior centers in surprise, and and that's just one right now, but I like to say we run all of them.

Um we run a housing and community services division, which receives all of our housing and urban development funds directly from the federal government.

We run our surprise resource center and community action program, which will be celebrating again its 10-year anniversary in December.

We have a community initiatives division, which also uh in the past uh embedded our neighborhood services, so our block party trailers, um, and some of our intentional community engagement.

And then uh coming uh this summer, our brand new community and resource center, thanks to uh council here.

Some of our special programs, you see, um, I won't read them all, but we're in very intentionally bringing community together through various ways, which then opens doors for us and HSEV to build out um more coalitions, which I'll talk about in a little bit.

So, our plan aligns with uh the council strategic plan in the following ways.

Public safety, we're more upstream.

So uh think about those that are on the brink of homelessness or those that are that are maybe going through some crisis that we can help stabilize before they get into further crisis.

So we work very closely with our public safety teams and all of this, all of our sister departments um really well.

Um we'd like to do that even more with other uh community-based organizations.

Um but community health, we have a very healthy community, but we have a lot of people still between 14 and 17,000 people we know live in poverty in surprise.

So, how can we best as a community, not just local government, but faith-based community schools, others, um build out a coalition to help those most in need.

Um, we do that and we we do that upstream.

Transportation, we have a pilot program that we're uh supporting right now to get people to and from the surprise resource center and the senior center.

It's working out very well.

Um, our seniors um are having a little bit of tough time booking those rides to and from the senior center.

So we'll figure that out.

Um, but we're so appreciative of that pilot uh project uh moving forward.

Community experience, that's a lot what we do.

So we want to connect residents with volunteer opportunities.

We want to connect them with resources when they need it the most.

And so if you know of someone that finds themselves needing something, where do they go for help?

And it's not usually the local government, it usually it's another other another partner or place, but sometimes it is the local government.

So how can we build out that coalition?

We do that, I think very well.

Like to share uh more examples in a few slides.

Fiscal responsibility, we are mostly grant funded.

We have a little bit of general fund, we'd like to see that grow wink wink.

But um, we do a really good job of managing our grants, federal grants, state grants, uh, grants from different uh foundations and nonprofits.

Very proud of our team for what they do, and thanks uh with the huge support from our finance department, uh keeping us in line.

Workforce development.

Workforce development, we do a lot of work there with our partners in economic development because we know that if a person or a family that's of age to work is in crisis, we know gainful employment is probably the solution.

And so we are so proud to work to partner with Jeanine and the economic development team.

We've we've we invest in a workforce coordinator, so anyone in surprise can come and get help finding a job right now.

They can get help getting back into school and training, all thanks to that shared investment.

And then finally, we don't do a ton of water uh connectivity, but we do water, we do offer utility assistance.

We even through our coalitions as an example to support this council initiative.

There was a veteran who had uh an issue, a water leak on their property, and the the great surprise water resource team notified us, and we were able to, through our collective, without spending a penny of city money, get that veteran, their their house fixed, their leak repaired, and and set up for the future, all because of the community collaboration.

So that's how we aligned with water.

So our first department strategic goal is to continue to strengthen uh building out a coordinated human services system.

So what is that?

Again, I talked about it a little bit, but it's it's every faith community, every school, um, every local government, all of our partners in the region know that we can be counted on and we can connect people to the right resource at the right time.

We're building some really good foundations there over the past 10 years.

I'm very proud of what the team has done.

But that work doesn't stop.

There's always new nonprofits that um are needed.

We have we're actually in a nonprofit desert.

There's a lot of resources that our residents need that are not here.

We are working very uh proactively to bring some of those to surprise.

And we'll talk about some of the opportunities later, but that's how we do that.

We do that through partnerships and through strategic um time placement through all of our mag meetings and all of our county meetings and all the all the groups that we work with.

Our second goal is staff and physical infrastructure development.

We're probably one of the smaller departments.

We have 37 full-time, part-time, temporary staff.

We kind of make it work.

Um, and but we need space, and and I think the community is voting with their feet.

So every time we do an event, uh more and more people are coming.

So just citywide, not just HSCV.

You heard Kelsey.

We we are in need of uh additional uh indoor convening space.

Love partnering with our friends at DICE Art and all the other spaces, but um there's only so much we can do.

I probably get called every week from some nonprofit that wants to come here, but there's no place to put them.

I think that's a missed opportunity right now for surprise.

I think we'd love to have them come out here.

We just don't have a place, place to put them.

Our uh strategic goal number three is programmic, uh programmatic excellence, innovation, and growth.

So we are very, again, grant funded.

We are required to report every month, every quarter.

We have to meet certain deliverables of all of our grants, and we do a phenomenal job with that.

Very proud of our team and their hard work.

But we want to be known as the best in the state as well.

And I I think we are in our housing community services, even though we only receive maybe $750,000 a year of HUD investment.

We we triple that with through all of our partnerships.

And we are seeing our team is seen as the leaders in the region.

Same with the federal home funds.

So these words on the screen that are acronyms that we're really good at government, uh, home is uh home federal funds, CAP is community action program.

That's federally funded, but trickle through the county.

We serve not only surprise, but El Mirage, Waddell, Whitman, Sun City, Sun City West with rent and utility assistance, those all those federal resources come to the local area through our CAP office.

Um and that's celebrating again its 10th year, and we've seen such great um uh return on investment from there.

Area agency on aging is triple A.

They fund the majority of our meals at the senior center.

Um FTF is first things first.

They fund entirely our early childhood literacy and kindergarten readiness programs that we run through our program.

So we want to be known as the subject matter experts as the best in the state, and I'm proud of our team.

I think they're doing um a great job getting there.

Department four, or excuse me, department goal four is community engagement and resources.

One of the things that keeps us up at night, and what we've heard from the community is well, I didn't know about you, or I didn't know the resource center existed.

And so last year we we doubled the amount of social media presence we have.

We've expanded our round tables, we've expounded our our community engagement.

But unless people know where to seek help, where to go when they want to engage with senior services, um, where a veteran needs to go to find some resources.

Um, if they don't know where to go, we're not, you know, we're not able to get them connected.

So we're asking the community's help and all of our partners through all of these coalitions to help us get people to the right right resource at the right time.

Our goal number five is strategic partnerships and funding.

So we have to be as entrepreneurial as possible.

Um, and it's fun and exciting and uh stressful all at the same time.

But our goal is to go raise, raise friends and raise funding.

And we've done that.

As you know, the story of the community resource center, 28 million dollar building.

Um, but 19 million of that is coming from other resources, right?

So, how do we do that in the future even more?

How do we get programs that may have been um cut due to uncertainty of federal funds?

Our IHELP and our MeritCorps programs.

How do we get those reinstated?

Um, we do that through partnerships and grants.

And uh we have seen um great examples of like the county saying, Hey, surprise, can you do this?

And we say, we'll always raise our hand.

We'll say yes, we'd be willing to do that.

We want to be known as the most impactful and reliable partner to other governmental agencies.

That's our goal.

Some key projects and initiatives underway.

Again, our new center, 35,000 square feet is opening up uh this summer.

Can't wait to have you all there.

Um, our senior housing development that we spent a lot of time working on.

Shout out to to Jeff Murray.

Um, we'll be opening this Thursday, our ribbon cutting.

So um that's 99 units of affordable senior housing, all one bedrooms, steps away from our new center.

It was primarily funded because our center was coming in.

And so surprise residents and veterans get first uh priority of that housing.

Our West Valley Housing Assistance Center, operated by a new leaf, is our our family homeless shelter.

Um we uh entered into a public private partnership with mustard seed ministries, and like the parable of the mustard seed, it's very small, but it grows into big things.

Even though this center only serves maybe a hundred or so people in shelter, they served over 700 people through coordinated entry last year, meaning they're able to triage and get them into other shelters or into other programs, or even be able to connect them with other um family members who might be in a different state.

We're that's upstream work, so they um you know they're not falling into f further crisis.

Community engagement is always ongoing.

So thanks to all of you for attending various HOA block parties and other block parties.

We do our surprise city academy, we do HOA summits, we do so much community engagement with a specific purpose.

Um that's only gonna uh grow with uh our city growing.

We're seeing greater numbers at all of those events, which is a good thing.

And then two of our core programs is our senior center and our resource center.

We served, we had 20,000 visits at our senior center last year, and we served over 21,000 people at our resource center, even though we had a quarter of our funding was reduced because the pandemic funds are going away.

So we lost a quarter of our resources, but we had we had about a 35% growth year over year in people seeking resources.

So shout out to our team and our partners for helping us kind of support them.

Challenges and opportunities and facing us.

Um we have some uh uncertainty um in our market.

Our biggest pressure that we're seeing is housing, housing pressure, so rents.

So and our rent uh resources are basically non-existent since the pandemic funds are gone.

There wasn't a lot prior to the pandemic, and so it's it's a it's a challenge for us when people come to us with housing insecurity.

Um, for us, there's a lot of things that we'd like to do.

There's a lot of needs in the community.

Um, there's only so much uh staff, and and that's that goes for every department.

Um, so we'd like to be able to shore up our staffing to better serve our community.

And then I mentioned the gathering spaces um just for nonprofits and other groups to convene.

Opportunities.

Um, the great thing about us is people want to work with us, and they've shown that through their investment.

So, you know, Sprouts came in and gave us a massive sponsorship to put their name on the hall because they believe in the mission and what we we're gonna be doing.

So, not only senior programs all morning, but after school programs led by our partner Dysark Community Center, Annie Ansel's of the executive director here.

We'll be able to expand our after-school program and summer programs in the regional town site, which is really exciting.

So that's the very high-level overview.

I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

That was a great presentation, Seth.

We appreciate it.

Uh Councilman Jug first.

Seth, I just want to say, I mean, you're doing a fantastic job.

This, you know, it's it's 10 years old, right?

Your department's 10 years old now.

And and I wasn't here when it started.

I came in and shortly afterwards, but but you know, uh, SP got it going, and but this has been your baby.

And if I remember correctly, the council gave you a whole list of things that they wanted you to, you know, to get done, take care of seniors, take care of the community, you know, um, find solutions to all these problems, and also give you zero funds.

So you had you had no money to go out and do this.

And uh you said, all right, I can do this.

And you went out and you found a way.

You became an expert at putting partnerships together of finding resources where most people would have thought there were none.

And you have you have built just a fantastic program and a fantastic department, and you've put together an amazing staff and an amazing team to do the things that you do, and you still we still don't give you much funding.

And and you're still finding ways to get all this done.

And I'm just amazed at the job that you do, and thank you very much for all the work, your dedication, and just for keeping your talents here in surprise.

So thank you very much.

Councilman Judd, shout out to the team.

Well said, uh Councilman Greenberg.

Thank you, Mayor.

You said you wanted to be known as the uh subject matter experts in the state, and I think you've accomplished that.

Thank you very much.

That's all I've got.

And you're a great custodian of the little money that we actually give you.

Thank you.

Councilman Henny.

You do give us money.

I just want to say, so I'm gonna get fired tomorrow.

And so, Andrea, but uh thank you for the support.

You do give us money, but I mean, we'll always take more.

Don't be your mind.

See, you shouldn't just go fire.

We appreciate what you give us.

All right, thank you, Mayor.

Seth, you could probably cancel your meeting with the city manager tomorrow, then.

Yes, yeah.

Um dear.

Just kind of echo the same sentiments.

I just want to thank you.

Your department really does overlap so much of our council strategic initiatives, and I'm glad you you mentioned each one of those.

Um, but what I like is oftentimes we get questions to very complex situations, um, roads, obviously public safety, a variety of different things.

But what I really like is when there's like a human aspect to things, home, you know, someone sees a homeless veteran or someone's just bought on hard times, folks that often get overlooked and government has limitations.

You're always there to kind of fill in that gap and connect in with the right resources.

And your department really is the heart of the city, and you really help us take care of our people.

And I don't think the department would be what it is without you and and your passion for it.

But also, I've seen you interact with all of our various nonprofits, and and they just love you.

And I think that's really a huge part of why you and your team are so successful is is your willingness to go out and engage with anybody, make those connections and figure out how to do more with the little bit that you got.

You do have some, but yeah, obviously there's always room to grow.

But I just want to thank you for what you do because you really help us not be a dead end up here.

So thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Haney.

I just say we're not the only heart.

Everyone in the city of surprise that supports us, all the staff are part of that heart.

We're just one of the leaky valves.

So yeah.

I would say you're the left ventricle.

You're really thank you.

I'm trying to think of my heart terminology.

All right, well, thank you, Seth.

We appreciate everything you do.

Oh, entertainment motion to adjourn.

Move to adjourn.

Second.

All in favor.

Aye.

All opposed or adjourned.

Councilman Haney.