All right, good evening, everyone.

I'd like to welcome you to the Surprise City Council meeting on Tuesday, October 7th, 2025.

Madam Clerk, please conduct the roll call.

Prayer first.

You want to do invocation first?

Or we please conduct the roll.

Okay.

Mayor Sarder.

Present.

I mayor Hastings.

Here.

Councilmember Haney.

Here.

Councilmember Greenberg.

Here.

Councilmember Duffy.

Here.

Council Member Milton.

Present.

Councilmember Jed.

Here.

Thank you, Mayor.

We have quorum.

All right.

Thank you.

Uh Mr.

Wagman, if you could please invocation tonight.

Father, we come to you tonight.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

We thank you for the blessings that you have allowed us to enjoy.

Thank you.

For you are good and faithful, holy, and we give you praise.

Given us all that you have have we have enjoyed.

We praise you, Father.

That all that we have that we've ultimately are dependent upon you.

You have blessed us, our city, our community, and our lives abundantly, for which we are so thankful.

And now we invite you, your holy spirit into this meeting.

Would you all please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance?

For which it stands.

Undergone with liberty and justice for all.

Shelby.

Did you want to introduce the uh pledge presenters, please?

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

I'd like to introduce our members of our storm swim team that were leading the pledge with you tonight.

Um, I will call up um Seth to say a few words.

My name is Sethman Polycarpo, and I'm a dedicated swimmer for the Surprise Storm Swim team.

Uh for over the past two years, this program has done more than just teach me how to swim fast faster.

It has also been truly life-changing foundation for me as both an athlete and a person.

When I first joined Storm, it was in a rough place.

I remember practices in the past summer where only three or four of us would show up each day.

It felt like our team was fading away, just individuals showing up.

Uh just individuals showing up.

Um each day.

It felt like our team was um, however, thanks to the commitment to our new pool and renowned renewed energy of our new coach, we've experienced an incredible turnaround.

Now, when we show up, the vast majority of our swimmers are there, energized and ready to go.

We hold team meetings to discuss our culture, goals, and how to improve both individually and collectively.

Thank you to the city council for your support in building the Oasis Swim Center.

We now have a state-of-the-art facility to train and grow our team.

Since the summer and the addition of several new coaches, our team has grown exponentially in morals, numbers, and speed.

This past summer, we have had this past summer, we had only one swimmer compete above the state level, three swimmers at senior state, and three at age group state.

Since this fall alone, we've seen multiple team records broken, several more swimmers qualify for state and zones, and now have multiple athletes on our team reaching national level meets, such as sectionals and futures.

This progress is a direct result of the incredible investment in our community, as well as the opportunity in the future to travel and compete against other teams outside of just Arizona.

I'm not sure how many of you have ever swam competitively, but swimming is an extremely challenging sport, both physically and mentally.

Each session is over two hours of straight cardio.

Before this fall, swimming felt like an individual sport.

But since then, our team has grown and taught me the beauty of unity and the strength that comes from being part of something bigger.

One of the most important lessons I've learned is that we are stronger together.

We feel less pressure because we don't have to carry it all alone.

With each of with each other, we feel more energized, more confident, and more determined to lift one another and never let the team down.

We show up to every practice and to meet to cheer each other and soothe any doubts or fears.

You don't have to do it all on your own.

You can rely on others, but you also have to be there for others to rely on you.

Swimming teaches us valuable life lessons as well that help us grow, not just as athletes, but also as people.

Okay.

You got yelled at last time for doing this with the microphone.

But um, can we have uh Roshita Winter and Shannon uh Ganam?

Thank you.

I don't want to butcher it.

Uh join me in and the police and fire chief, if you could join me as well uh for the proclamation.

You stand on this side of me.

Cheers.

I'm gonna do a proclamation from the office of the mayor.

Whereas domestic violence impacts the lives of millions of Americans each year, of the one in three women and one in four men experiencing domestic violence in their lifetime, and one in 15 children affected annually.

And whereas the City of Surprise advocates for the individuals and families behind every domestic violence statistic by being committed to providing safety, support, and resources, and by working alongside dedicated police officers, advocates, healthcare providers, and community partners to ensure that survivors are supported and empowered.

And whereas the City of Surprise assists residents in the in need with a police department's victim advocate unit that informs and empowers victims in the aftermath of a crime.

The city's prosecutor's office victim service program that guides survivors through the legal process, as well as their diversion and interversion programs that support breaking the domestic violence cycle with recovery and healing.

And whereas the City of Surprise lights City Hall Purple annually for the entire month of October in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

And whereas honoring domestic violence awareness month annually is our critical tool in ending domestic violence as it fosters public education, strengthens partnerships, and reaffirms the city's dedication to a safe community for all.

Now, therefore, I, Kevin Sarter, mayor of the City of Surprise, do hereby proclaim October 2025 as domestic violence awareness month.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for this opportunity.

I just want to just affirm that Hope Women's Center is dedicated to helping teen and women achieve crisis, uh, go from crisis to stability.

Uh we do that through holistic services, um, such as one-on-one mentoring, parenting, counseling, um, as the ladies are able to join, they earn points, which they uh are able to feel empowered to use to purchase things like material goods and diapers and things that they need.

Um, we also have our EMA program, which stands for every mother's advocate.

Um, and with this program, we partner with AZ123 uh to help moms that are um especially vulnerable to receive uh wraparound support and help them to not be separated from their children.

Um we are throughout the valley, uh multiple areas.

We have community centers uh that they're able to come in and participate and have on-site child care while they go to classes and shop.

Um, and we are also on the road uh building more sites uh to be able to meet women uh that are vulnerable where they are.

And one of those sites is at our surprise resource center on Wednesdays from 9 to noon.

So uh thank you so much for this time.

Oh the rest of the council you want to get any picture of the code?

No, do you want to support the violence?

I'll start well.

Mr.

Ringroth, do you have a report?

Yes, thank you, Mayor and Council.

I'd like to bring uh Shelby Fenwick back up to the um the dais to uh uh introduce tonight's youth council members, Shelby.

Thank you, Mr.

Wingenroth.

Good evening again, Mayor and Council.

I'd like to introduce you to our two SYC, our surprise youth council members up on the dais with you tonight.

First up is Maisie Donick.

Maisie is a junior at Paradise Honors.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

My name is Maisie.

I'm a student at Paradise Honors, and I'm honored to be here tonight as a fourth year member of the Surprise Youth Council.

Thank you for offering me the opportunity to share an update this evening.

As a whole, the youth council has been working hard to plan and run meaningful events for our community.

We recently ran our street cleanup, and we're excited to support upcoming fall events from gain night, the monster bash, the Veterans Day Parade, and everything in between.

Our four committees are also in the midst of organizing their own event events, which we'll be excited to announce soon.

That concludes my updates for this evening.

Thank you for the support of the youth council as we work towards bettering our community.

Thank you.

Thank you, Maisie.

Next up is Phoebe Gardner.

Phoebe is a sophomore at Shadow Ridge High School.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

My name is Phoebe Gardner.

I'm a sophomore at Shadow Ridge High School, and this is my first year on Surprise Youth Council.

I'm a part of the outreach committee, which is dedicated to bettering surprise through communication and community service.

I'm a team lead on street cleanup projects this year.

And one goal we have is expanding our street cleanups to include different schools in the district.

We recently had a big street cleanup that was a big success, and we'd like to thank Mayor Sarder for attending.

The outreach committee has also been in contact with the senior center for volunteering opportunities.

Other events, outreach is planning, include a Luke Air Force welcoming event and making cart kindness cards throughout the holidays this year for hospitals and people in need.

So far, my experience on youth council has been very fun.

I've been able to connect with peers about our goals for surprise and how we can better our community.

I look forward to future events and conferences.

I will be able to plan and attend.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak this evening.

Thanks.

Thank you, Mayor and Council, for their support of our youth council.

I just wanted to say to Phoebe and the rest of the youth council.

It was what, 6 a.m.

on Sunday.

You were all out there, and it was uh it was great to see the support.

We I think went off route to we saw some trash and want to get more of it.

But uh we appreciate everything you do.

We appreciate you uh being engaged in the city.

So thank you.

That's all.

Madam Clerk, do you have a report?

Uh yes, Mayor, I do.

Thank you, Mayor and Council.

I want to give our residents some election information.

So on November 4th, there's a countywide um special election that will be handled all ballot by mail.

Um, those ballots will start mailing out tomorrow, the 8th.

And you'll want to allow five to seven days for delivery um standard mail from the post office.

For awareness, City Hall is not a drop-off location for ballots.

So there will be other locations available.

You can find locations online through the Maricopa County Elections Department's website at locations.

Maricopa dot vote.

And you can also track your ballot at be ballot ready dot vote.

That's all, Mayor.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

There are 19 items on on the consent agenda.

Would any council member like to uh pull an item for clarification or have any questions?

Hearing none and seeing none, I'll entertain a motion.

Motion to approve consent agenda.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded.

Please cast your vote.

It's unanimous.

Pass vote, Mayor.

Thank you.

Please read item number 20.

Item 20.

Consideration and action pertaining to recommendation.

The Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control on application number 359495.

Requested by Jose Antonio Salazar for Chef Peters Bistro at Sun Village, located at 17300 North Sun Village Parkway.

Surprise 85374 for a new series 12 liquor license.

Okay.

First may read a question about.

Chef Peter is here in the resident.

Did you want to say I'm putting you on the spot?

Did you want to say anything?

You're you're good.

But Chef Peter is awesome.

I mean, he's been in Sun Village in the past, and he is.

I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but he's been amazing with the residents.

They love having him there.

And he's just such an asset to the community.

I don't represent Sun Village anymore since redistricting.

Uh Councilman Melton does, but uh I'm sure you have spoken with Chef Peter, but um super excited to have you back and getting ready to put that sign up, hopefully, too.

So thank you.

Thank you very much.

And that's we're open already.

So I expect everybody there.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We're there for everybody.

And everybody came out just for you tonight.

So there you go.

Okay.

I will entertain a motion to uh approve.

Uh Mayor, I move to recommend approval of application number 395495 to AZ Department of Liquor License and Control.

Second.

Please cast your vote.

That's a unanimous pass vote, Mayor.

Okay, thank you.

Madam Clerk, please read item 21.

Item 21, consideration and action pertaining to a proposed zoning text amendment to update the surprise municipal code related to home occupations.

Ordinance 2025-16.

Case FS25-065.

Good evening, Mayor and Council members.

Tonight I'm presenting the proposed home occupation text amendment FS 250655.

So as part of our review of the zoning code related to the upcoming desert rural overlay, which was approved as part of the general plan.

Staff identified several sections within the home occupation regulations that could benefit from clarification and cleanup.

While we anticipate bringing forward more substantial updates in the future that coincide with the desert rural overlay implementation, this text amendment focuses on near-term improvements.

The proposed changes affect the following sections of the city code and serve to correct Scrivener's errors, references, and other minor cleanup items that will help improve clarity and consistency.

No opposition to the text amendment was received at the meeting.

Um primarily clarifying in nature, focusing on how the proposed edits fit into the larger scale desert rural overlay and what impacts, if any, these changes um might have on existing home-based businesses.

Um staff did want to highlight an important point for residents.

While this amendment refines city code language for home occupations, it's important to remember that HOA, C C and Rs may include more restrictive provisions than what the city code allows.

City code establishes the baseline standards that are applicable citywide.

HOAs, where legally allowed, uh, may impose stricter regulations.

Uh planning and zoning commission voted on September 18th to recommend approval for the proposed text amendment to the city council.

And to recap, on August 20th, we held our neighborhood meeting.

September 18th, we had our planning and zoning uh commission meeting, and I'm here tonight seeking approval.

Uh these items represent a proactive code cleanup effort to maintain clear, consistent, and user uh user-friendly zoning code.

So uh so thank you, Mayor and Council, for your time and consideration.

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

Okay, thank you.

I will open this agenda item to the public.

Adam Clerk, did we get any requests to speak on this agenda item?

No, Mayor, I did not.

All right, close this agenda item to the public, Councilman Greenberg.

Thank you, Mayor.

I can't get it on here, so I gotta find it on my phone.

Um I'm glad you used permitted or I'm sorry, prohibitive and permissive language in this because it helps you guys balance because neither one or the other can typically cover everything.

The one thing that popped out at me was how come photo studios are not prohibit or not permitted.

So um do you want to answer this?

I'm gonna put you on the spot.

It just leaped out at me.

It's like, you know, since I was sort of in that business for 40 years.

Mayor, council, councilman Greenberg.

Gets back to trying to keep the residential character intact and trying to minimize the amount of commercial traffic or service traffic coming in and out of neighborhoods.

So that's really the intent and trying to find that balance across residential use versus commercial, and that's all.

Can you just for everybody's uh benefit?

Can you talk about the distinction between professional and personal services because you pretty much outlawed all personal services?

I think uh for the most part, personal services has a tendency to really expand um as business and um clientele increase.

It also a lot of the personal services have other requirements uh as far as uh um inspections, monitoring, licensing.

Okay, that's all I got.

Thank you.

So you know there's questions or comments, so I'll entertain a motion.

I move to recommend approval of zoning tax amendment for home occupations ordinance 2025-16.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded, please cast your vote.

All right, thank you for your presentation.

It's a unanimous yes vote, Mayor.

Okay.

Thank you.

Please read item 22.

Item 22, consideration and action regarding resolution number 2025-98 opposing BNSF3 zoning request.

Good evening, Janine.

Good evening.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council.

So my name is Janine Yarukovich.

I represent the Surprise Economic Development Department.

Our department takes pride in promoting our city's business friendliness.

Our mission is to attract and support the kinds of investments that bring prosperity and opportunity to surprise.

And every day, our work is centered on building a community that supports our workforce's upward mobility, our water security, public safety, and transportation accessibility, all which are the foundations of long-term success and sustainability.

We value our decades-long strong positive partnership with BNSF as a community partner.

The partnership has brought together several great projects, and it gave us really a tremendous gift.

And that is an important frame of reference.

It really has showed us what's possible for a truly top-tier rail served business park that's really embedded in a community.

The surprise railplex currently on Lichfield Road in the southeast corner of our city represents the value of what's truly possible when we partner, and we really care about the experience of the community when building a business park.

In fact, Surprise was the very first Arizona community to successfully participate in the BNSF certified sites program.

This helped us market our award-winning railplex very successfully, bringing millions of square feet of commercial space after 2020.

However, with a new project of this scale, more than 4,000 acres.

This is the equivalent of approximately four railplexes.

It is our responsibility to ask sometimes difficult but necessary questions, which we would ask of any project.

For example, we have learned recently that the project could bring tens of thousands of jobs.

And that sounds incredible.

But what are those jobs?

Over the last five years, um, as as much of the industrial and logistics jobs have been growing here in Arizona, coming to Arizona, and particularly here in the West Valley.

Um a lot of those jobs have been predicated on a lot of workforce demand assumptions from maybe the previous decade.

Our community's workforce profile is really changing, and so is the entire West Valley.

So we have questions.

What are the jobs?

Are these railroad jobs?

Do they already have businesses in mind?

Do they have several businesses in mind?

Um so who will create these jobs?

And so alignment is an important thing.

So alignment with our community's workforce profile is something that's gonna be really important for us to understand for really any project that we assist.

And our questions do not stop there.

The city and our teams need more information about the project's regional impacts on our water profile, on our transportation network, on our public safety, on our quality of life, and ultimately on our city's ability to sustain growth in a responsible way.

Since their act was acquisition of the property, we have made a lot of attempts to engage deeply with our good friends at BNSF, making multiple visits to their markets in Kansas City and Dallas to see their projects and community impacts firsthand, eager and even excited to learn more, and all with the keen awareness that this project's scale and scope would be much greater than anywhere in the US.

Despite this investment of our time four years later, we're still waiting for a lot of information to make a fully informed decision.

Economic development is about attracting and growing community prosperity, and we must ensure that prosperity is prosperity is defined not just by the size of a project, but by its compatibility with the needs and aspirations of our community.

At this time, we continue to reserve judgment on this proposed project until the remaining questions are answered.

And even as we reserve judgment today, we hold hope that the outcome of this process will be a positive one for everyone.

And I uh if you have any questions, I'm happy to accept them.

And we have a colleagues here that can answer any technical questions that you might have.

Okay, thank you, Jean, for your presentation.

Madam Clerk, I'm gonna I know this is a non-public hearing item, but I'm gonna open this item to the public.

Uh do we get anybody request to speak on this item?

Yes, sir.

I have, I think 12 total at this at the moment, maybe 13.

Okay.

Yeah, please call.

Yes.

Okay.

Um, go ahead.

Uh first request was from Dan Zamrano.

Is it or Zamorano?

That one came online.

Okay.

It looks like a family so second was Kathy's Amrano.

How about Christina?

Same last name.

Okay.

One second.

Okay, Jeffrey August.

Yeah.

As Jeff's making his way to the podium, I just want to say this is a um you know a serious matter.

There's a lot of opinions on either side of it.

And you know, I I'd like for you all to hold your applause or cheers or booze or whatever it may be that comes from the comments.

That way it doesn't uh dissuade anybody from giving their comments.

And if you could uh please state your your name and crossroads for the record, please.

Sir, my name is Jeffrey August.

I am a Whitman resident.

I am at ground zero.

I represent I'm the president of Keep Us Rural.

We I represent the citizens of Whitman, and we are in absolute opposition of this project.

This project is going to create pollution beyond control.

They have absolutely no studies on health up there.

The people are will suffer greatly with the extra uh fumes from the trains.

It's going to disrupt our horses.

We're a horse community.

And where they're placing this, I've got a friend that's who lives up there.

His house is surrounded by BNSF.

That entire road is all horses, all professional ropers, and it's going to change Whitman, our water supply.

They want one million gallons per day.

Where are they going to get that?

We have reduced the Colorado River water intake for our state.

They're going to destroy us.

The pollution, the noise.

No one in Whitman wants this project.

We we pray that this council continues with the opposition that they are stating.

And gives us that.

Also, on a side note, with Keep Us Rural, I am in the process of incorporating Whitman, and I'm begging for your support as a city council.

And if you'd like to talk about that at a different time, I'd love to sit down with you guys.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, council.

Appreciate your time.

Thank you, sir.

Next, I have Dave Weber.

Did you want to speak?

Oh, good evening, everybody.

I'm Dave Weber.

I'm a resident of Whitman.

And just like Jeff, I'm also opposed to the project.

So I hope you vote in favor of the resolution to stop it.

That's all I gotta say.

Thank you, sir.

Um, really fast.

If you're here in opposition of BNSF, can you please stand for me?

Thank you.

Mayor, Vice Mayor Hastings and members of the council.

On behalf of my family and the community that we live in, I want to thank you.

Thank you for hearing us for ensuring responsible growth for the city of surprise and for putting the safety and health of your residents ahead of corporate profits.

Today I urge you to vote to approve the resolution of opposition to the BNSF project.

In just the past 24 hours, there have been two serious accidents at 163rd Avenue and Highway 60, causing hours long delays for working people simply trying to get home to their families.

These incidents highlight what we've been saying all along.

Our infrastructure is already overburdened.

And the addition of thousands of trucks tied to this project will only make things worse.

Meanwhile, our emergency services were stretched thin yesterday due to the two accidents, demonstrating how fragile our response capacity already is.

The West Valley water supply is already a major concern.

And adding a project of this magnitude will place an even greater strain on a limited resource.

During our many hearings, we heard you loud and clear.

You support economic growth for this great city, but this resolution recognizes the concerns surrounding BNS project are simply too significant to ignore.

This resolution stands for responsible growth, public safety, and the protection of the residents you serve.

Please continue to stand with us, the people who call this home, and vote to approve the resolution of opposition to the BNSF project.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Again, I'm going to ask that you hold your applause.

If somebody, I want to be fair and impartial for anybody that comes up here.

And if somebody is uh in favor of it and they want to voice the concern, I don't want them to feel that they cannot.

So I appreciate that.

Madam Kirk.

Shelley Boardson, did you want to say anything?

No.

Okay.

Thomas Joseph.

Patty Joseph.

Okay.

Lisa Everett.

Good evening, ma'am.

Good evening, Mayor, Council, City staff.

Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to speak about this this evening.

We are all very concerned about BNSF, as you're aware.

I just want to say thank you for giving this the proper time and thought and discussion that each of you, I'm sure, took in making the decision that you're about to make tonight.

The citizens, as you saw, that stood up are firmly against this.

I have acquired close to 4,000 signatures against this project.

All of the signatures are from the West Valley.

I know the woman who spoke earlier is getting signatures near that exact site within that little area in Whitman.

I have yet to speak to someone that says, I am so excited about this project.

And I talk about this project every day.

But the bottom line is the people have the right to speak, and I'm so grateful that you're listening.

I wrote an op-ed several months back about how fantastic this council is and how they listen to the citizens.

And it is a refreshing change.

And it is very refreshing because I go to other events and bodies and things, and I don't feel heard.

And I am grateful to every one of you that took the time to really think about this and to think about how it's going to impact your constituents and how it's going to impact the city as a whole.

Jobs are fantastic, however, at what cost.

And I personally don't think these are real jobs.

I think many of these jobs are going to be transferred from Glendale when they downsize that.

I think many of these jobs will be taken over by robotics in the very near future.

So I understand I'm standing here as one voice, but I'm telling you that I have thousands behind me.

Thank you for your consideration and your time.

Thank you.

I am now.

Thank you very much.

Thank you much for hosting us tonight.

By the way, my name is Bud Metter.

I'm a resident of Sun City West.

I've been involved in this particular project for about the last uh 10 months or so.

But thank you for hosting this and hosting us this evening.

And thanks to the many citizens here from around the area who have shown up to uh state their opinion and their views.

Uh first of all, this is a very serious matter.

You know that we know that.

Uh, and it requires wisdom and insight.

Uh and a judicious bit of judgment.

Uh this will impact people far more than Ground Zero and Whitman and the West Valley.

Wind blows west to east.

Uh, it's going to impact millions in terms of the additional smog, the water contamination issues, et cetera, et cetera, that cannot yet be predicted.

So those are issues that we need to really take into account.

It is a matter of eternal importance, eternal importance, meaning that if it is built, it is not going to go away.

It's there forever.

Good, bad, or indifferent.

It's there.

Uh it will affect our health issues.

We know that.

Security.

Indeed, one of our congressmen introduced into federal legislation uh within the last uh couple of months or so uh legislation dealing with trade robberies.

We know that.

I believe Congressman Boggs, as I recall.

Uh our safety, crime, uh, tranquility of our uh life in terms of noise, potential for rail spills, hazmat spills, etc.

etc.

Uh so these are some extemporaneous remarks.

I had not intended to speak here tonight, but I just thought that I need to throw those things in there.

We we are very concerned with it.

And uh I appreciate you uh hearing us out.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir.

Timothy Lasoda.

Uh thank you, Mayor and Council.

My name is Tim Lesota.

Uh, I'm here for Kirby Anderson, who unfortunately could not be here tonight.

Uh Kirby lives right adjacent to the BNSF would be facility.

Uh, his uh the the warehouse park or whatever you want to call it would be uh in his uh literally just behind his his uh property.

And I think council and uh the city is to be commended for bringing this forward tonight.

It's very important.

I know staff worked on it very hard.

Thank you, Mayor, for hearing a few brief remarks, because I know you didn't you didn't have to take testimony and you did.

Just very briefly, um, I know the um the resolution itself says, quote, BNSF has not collaborated with the City of Surprise, end quote.

Talks about well impacts.

Well, you can just about leave it right there because they have not collaborated with anyone on anything.

Uh, I've been doing this many years, land use matters, usually on behalf of residents, and I've never seen such a poor effort to do much of anything.

So I think the resolution is very timely, it's very appropriate.

Um, Senator Schamp also wanted me to mention that uh she did send a letter uh to anyone who wanted to read it in opposition.

And I think that uh hearing from people like you and uh and the senator is very powerful when it comes to the county because I know they take very seriously whatever other governments say.

Um obviously there are so many questions here that have not been answered at all.

Uh, they haven't even begun that process, and uh it's just a terrible fit for this area.

It would destroy the area.

It's such a such a beautiful area, not to mention what it would do to this part of the world with all the traffic that and everything else, the water, uh none of it addressed.

So I'd urge you to please support this resolution.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Kyle Cooper.

Thanks.

Thank you.

So, Mayor Sarter, Council members, um, thank you for the opportunity to speak.

I'd first want to start by saying thank you to Janine for acknowledging the ongoing relationship with BNSF.

Uh, but my name's Kyle Cooper, and I'm here to talk on behalf of BNSF to express our concern um regarding the uh the City of Surprises proposed resolution opposing the project in unincorporated Maricopa County.

We were surprised to learn via Facebook post last Thursday that the city intended to take the position, this position at tonight's meeting.

At that time, no one from the city had reached out to BNSF to share the concerns or discuss the resolution.

The agenda hadn't been published and no public information was available.

The lack of communication was especially disappointing given our ongoing collaboration with the City of Surprise on this project.

For several years, BNSF has worked closely with the City of Surprise and other regional partners on key issues such as transportation, water, and wastewater.

We've held numerous meetings, exchanged emails, and participated in multi agency discussions, including another one scheduled for this Friday.

We've been transparent, responsive, and committed to addressing the city's concerns.

Logistics Park Phoenix is a $3.2 billion investment in Northwest Maricopa County that will bring generational opportunities.

The project, as proposed at full build out, would generate over $4 billion in labor income and contribute $258 million annually in state and local taxes to support local schools, community colleges, and flood control districts.

I heard some people today talking about the opposition, but we have over 10,000 letters of support for this project.

It's a project I believe in.

It's a great company.

It's given me the opportunity to do what I do.

We're actively working with MICDA.

On water and wastewater, we are working directly with the city to establish a framework that complements and doesn't compete with the city's development regional plans.

We remain committed to ensure the success of this transformative project and respectfully ask the city to reconsider its position and continue engaging with BNSF in transparent constructive dialogue moving forward.

Thank you.

That concludes the amount of speakers, Mayor.

Okay.

Thank you.

I first want to thank all the residents for coming in and voicing your concerns, your opinions.

It's important to hear from residents on these matters.

This is a uh a big project, and it takes uh it's gonna take a lot um to work through.

But you know, when I took office in January of this year, and I was really hoping that you know we could we could do government differently, rise above it, rise above all the politics and those types of things.

And I met with BNSF uh before I was sworn in and after I was sworn in, and and both times, you know, we talked, we talked about solutions, but nothing ever came to fruition.

In fact, we had to had to call a meeting with you know the city, the county, and the state just to try to figure out what BNSF is doing.

They weren't communicating, they weren't communicating the city and the county or the state.

And it's very, very frustrating to try to uh make decisions for the city without any information.

And I want to start off saying that the city of surprise, you know, supports thoughtful and responsible growth that ensures adequate infrastructure, public safety, and preserves our residents' quality of life.

Our position today is not anti-business or anti-growth.

It's pro-responsibility and pro-community.

This resolution is about ensuring that the growth does not come at the expense of our residents, their safety, their mobility, air quality, and their long-term sustainability.

This isn't an endpoint.

The city is open to discussions, we're open to solutions, uh, but we have not gotten that to this point.

And we can talk about you know the things that you know have been suggested, but nothing has been set in stone, and it's frustrating as again as mayor to sit here and try to make sense of that.

So for that, I am in opposition of this project.

Councilman Duffy.

Thank you, Mayor.

So I think it was probably three or four years ago when they first did the intent to annex meeting we had here.

And I I asked about traffic, because all the new warehouses by Luke, the FedEx, the UPS, they're all gonna be going to BNSF.

You gotta pick those shipping containers up somewhere.

And they didn't have an answer for me then.

And that's actually the last time I've heard from BNSF.

I personally haven't heard from them.

But they don't, I guess they don't need to talk to me about it.

So they don't care.

I don't care.

That's the way I'm looking at it.

There's two that area, 30360 is bad enough as it is.

And actually, I've heard their comment.

It's already bad before, so why is it our problem?

But you're gonna make it that much worse.

And you can't say you're not.

So either start helping, or don't ask me for any support.

And that's all I'm saying about it.

I'm opposing it 100%.

Okay, thank you, Councilman.

Councilman Greenberg.

My allegiance is to the constituents in my district.

The 303 bisects my district, Sun City Grand, or the Grand, as it's known now, is I think the third largest HOA in the state of Arizona.

Maybe the fourth, maybe the second, somewhere in there.

Um, so I am in favor of the resolution.

That's all I've got.

Thank you.

Councilman Judd.

Thank you, Mayor.

And thank you, Janine, for the introduction and for the and for the history on that.

And uh, you know, I've got a couple things to to say here.

First, I want to talk a little bit about the history.

You know, the BNSF sent us a letter today complaining about this resolution that we were working on, acting surprised with a bunch of exaggerated bullet points over things that have happened the past 10 months, I believe.

Um, but really we've been talking about this for the past four years, and really when they first brought it up, I was pretty excited about it.

You know, I've in my district, we've got, you know, the railplex over there, it's a really nice area.

We've got a lot of great businesses that came in.

Uh, we went out, toured their facility out in Kansas in Kansas City, and uh there's a lot of night neat things happening around it, and it was this was the start of a of a great partnership, great relationship, it looked like um as we moved along asking questions, we weren't getting answers.

We were always concerned about traffic.

We were trying to just get a grasp on what the traffic was going to look like, what their traffic plan you know was actually gonna be, and they would promise us traffic impact analysis, and they they wouldn't get it done, or the the consultant dropped the ball.

There's there's there was always a reason, always moving the ball further down the road.

Um, at some point they came to us and asked us to do a general plan amendment, which we did.

So we did a general plan amendment to make way for Burlington Northern to come in for BNSF to come in.

Shortly after we did that general plan amendment, I get a call uh from our contact over there.

He says, hey, uh, we're no longer coming into surprise.

Uh we've just acquired some water rights, and our lawyers tell us that with the particular water rights we've acquired, they're not compatible with surprise, which didn't make much sense at the time, you know, finished off the call.

Uh and really within about a week of them acquiring these these type two water rights, they had abandoned coming into surprise.

And then talking to our water expert Mike Boulet over there, what we think they were getting at was with type two water rights, and they've got a lot of them.

With type two water rights, you can pump water, you can mine water.

They're agricultural rights.

You can mine water, and you do not have to replenish.

The amount of water rights they acquired is equivalent to over 500 million gallons of water per year in perpetuity.

Now, they can legally do this.

There's there was there's provisions in place, and these provisions were put in place to protect agricultural users when we started managing our groundwater much better back in 1980.

So we put these provisions in there, but these provisions were put in there to protect farmers.

These provisions were not put in there to be exploited by industry.

And as a very big and successful business, they should know that just because something is legal doesn't mean you should do it.

And so I am absolutely against this because their plan is to pump water that we have diligently and carefully been pumping back into our aquifer.

Everybody's familiar with how groundwater works.

Everybody knows how little rain we get out here.

It doesn't take much math to understand how many thousands of years it took for our aqua aquifer to fill up to the point that it's in now.

The city of Surprise has policies in place that says for every gallon of water you pump out of the ground, you will put a gallon back in the ground.

That's how we run our city.

This is, in my opinion, why Burlington Northern Santa Fe does not want to come at a surprise.

We will make them replenish their water.

If they are gonna do the bare minimum on something as important as the sustainability of their neighbors, they are not a good partner.

They're not giving us solutions on roads, they are not giving us solutions on water, they are absolutely radio silent when we ask them when staff asks them questions.

What are you doing here?

What's your plan for this?

And honestly, the way they're going about doing this, as far as I can tell, their plan is to ram this thing in and let the residents and the taxpayers pay for the repercussions.

That in my mind is a subsidy.

We do not need to subsidize a multi-billion dollar corporation.

In fact, checking the last report from their parent company, these guys have 340 billion dollars in savings right now in cash, savings, ready to buy stuff.

We don't need to subsidize, subsidize a company like that.

They have the means and they have the way to be a good sustainable partner.

The last thing I want to add is the letter they sent us today ends with we hope the city will engage in an open and transparent process going forward.

With that, they also asked us to take this off the agenda tonight.

They didn't want to talk about this in public.

All right.

I don't know how much more open and public you get than us coming out here at a public meeting and listing exactly what our concerns are.

I mean, there's a great list here.

We've got this, we've got this proclamation that says exactly what our problems are.

You've got a to-do list here.

How much more open and transparent could we possibly make it?

And again, thank you everyone for coming out here and expressing your concerns, and hopefully Burlington Northern will uh be a better partner going forward.

That's all I have, Mayor.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilman Mountain.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

So I've I've said it a thousand times.

I'll say it again.

I want everybody publicly to know that I want BSF to succeed.

I've been saying that for since day one.

I want them to succeed.

I believe their project makes market sense to bring goods in from the uh the Continental Rail into the Phoenix market.

The market needs it.

I have an existing relationship with BNSF.

They're my partners in El Mirage.

We have a 114-acre facility there.

So I want them to succeed.

And I gotta tell you, it my own relationship with just in this 10 months I've had, it's not been great.

Um the relationship I have with uh El Mirage, the El Mirage has a 114 acre automotive distribution center that uh transports cars through Europe to Mexico, runs right through the original town site.

And if anybody my residents know when you're driving in and out of the original town site to get stuck in morning rush hour or evening rush hour during switching operations, it's rough.

And I've done everything I've can to ex I've I've I've gone to speaking with the superintendents and the people over there at that yard, asking to help me.

Can we find a solution just to just to just to save the residents of the small of just Greenway?

And that's been rough.

It's been it's been tough to get that dialogue.

Now they're proposing a 4,000-acre intermodal operation along Grand.

I with all due respect to BNS BNSF.

I I don't know.

I am suspect that this company has the knowledge.

I think they have knowledge gaps.

They might have skill gaps.

The fact that they do not understand what putting thousands of trucks on the road of grand.

You've all been to Grand.

We've already talked about this to death.

Tens of thousands of trucks along Grand past 303 all the way into Phoenix.

Plus at Great Crossings.

I just I'm really concerned that BNSF may not be able to pull this off.

I don't know how.

The city surprise reserves the right to reassess its position of opposition.

And I'm on board with that.

I do want I do want BNSF to come to the table and explain to me how we're gonna make Grand Avenue work.

I would love to know that because I can't float a half a billion dollar bond.

Not from this city.

I can't.

We can't do that.

The county, they can't do it.

And I don't sit in Congress.

So I all I'm asking when I I want everyone, people understand I'm gonna vote for the resolution in opposition to this project.

And I hope I really hope BNSF comes back and talks to us to figure out how we have a path forward.

Mayor, I've said my piece.

So thank you.

Councilman Haney.

I try to go last if all of it because normally I get on that soapbox and um thank you, Mayor.

So some of you guys know me.

I see some familiar faces.

Um others, there's some new faces, but I'm I'm the representative for District One, which is the largest district geographically and also the fastest growing, and just so happens to have the loop 303 US 60 corridor.

So some of you probably know my name in a bad way.

Um we're hoping to change that.

But uh I want to thank you guys for taking the time to come out here.

One of the things that I always tell my residents is to be engaged and to have thoughtful discussions.

And like I said earlier, with representing one of the fastest growing districts, we have a lot of growth.

And some of those um items of growth with developments, those were uh zoned and approved.

I joke about it, but it's true when I was in high school.

So the the projects that we do have the ability to impact, I encourage my residents to go out and attend these community meetings and to really voice their concerns.

And there's always this thing floated around that um members of my community are just anti-growth.

They came in and they don't want anyone else to come in.

Um, but I've actually had discussions with so many folks that I call my neighbors, and that could be furthest from the truth.

They have very real concerns.

They want to know if they're traveling our roadways, is it going to take them 10 minutes or is it gonna take them 45 minutes?

They want to know do I have additional access points into my community?

They want to know if they call 911 that they're gonna get a fully trained and equipped police officer, firefighter, paramedics to hopefully save their loved one.

They want to know are the city services that they rely on going to be impacted by any project that comes in.

And so it's not just no to growth, it's how do we get there with responsible growth.

I can tell you last night, and many of you that live over there know exactly what I'm about to reference.

We had a an accident.

And I can tell you, and I want you to tell your neighbors this.

My wife with our screaming toddler was also in that traffic.

And so, no matter what email you send me, I can promise you it's not worse than the phone call that I received.

But what I say about this is I live in this area, and so I take that personally.

When you're telling me you're stuck in traffic, I'm with you because that means later bedtimes, you miss dinner, but more importantly, it it agitates a very real fear of where our area is growing.

And we are working on solutions.

Those of you that have attended my community meetings, those of you that subscribe to newsletters, you know, myself, staff, this council, we are working to bring short-term and long-term solutions to this area that desperately needs it.

But I always say, when you're long overdue for solutions, any timeline that I can provide you is not going to seem soon enough.

Now, going into this resolution, I know that this is now with the county.

And uh question that a lot of you ask is where does the city stand on this?

For me personally, representing those of you that are in district one, but I also like to adopt the county residents that are in the northwest area because you're our neighbors too.

Is there is not a room that I won't try to knock down the door to get in to represent you.

There's not a seat at a table that I won't fight to occupy to make sure you have a voice.

That's why I ran, and that's what I'm gonna continue to do.

And so, just like I have asked you with every project that we have in district one to not just be a no, because that makes it easy to just just be dismissive, but to identify real concerns that you have, and then let's go from there.

And you guys have done that.

And so for us, when we talk about being good partners with folks that are coming in the community, we're not anti-growth, but it is critical that any new project, whether it's a massive project like this, or if it's a smaller project, they have to fit in with a community.

They have to contribute to the overall quality of life that we are fighting so hard to protect and to preserve.

This resolution right here is transparent.

I can't tell you how many times I get questions.

Where do you stand on this project?

Here it is.

This resolution holds both staff and ourselves as a council accountable to not only the partners, but also you all as residents, because you can see exactly clearly outlined what our concerns are with this project.

That being said, as a representative of district one, I don't get a vote on this.

This is going to the county.

However, I owe it to my residents to work with anybody that is willing to bring solutions to our to our area, specifically the Northwest Corridor.

And so, yes, this resolution is an opposition.

I am very well aware that there's ongoing negotiations.

And for me, I usually am against resolutions because I don't like just to say, hey, this is what we're gonna do, and there's no action behind it.

And so what I am hoping tonight, and what I'd like to direct staff to do with the rest of council support and the city manager is we need to continue to have these discussions.

If BNSF, and I've heard these comments up in the dias already, if BNSF can address these concerns that we have outlined in this resolution, we need to continue to have those conversations.

If we can bring very real solutions that will protect, like I said, and preserve the quality of life of residents that address the concerns that so many have either stated tonight that I've stated at community meetings, that have written us.

For me, there is some emotion behind it because my neighbors are impacted.

My family lives in district one, they're impacted.

But I owe it to each and every one of you to do everything that we can to bring solutions to the area.

And so you can see it at the end of the resolution.

We as a council reserve the right to come back to the table.

If BNSF comes to us and is good partners and addresses the concerns that all of you have mentioned, we owe it to you all.

We owe it to the district one residents and we owe it to the city of surprise to hear them out and work with them.

If they don't and they fall short, then we have this resolution of opposition.

So now there's no there's no question on where we stand as a council.

There's no question on the concerns that that we would like addressed.

And now it's either we get to work or we continue to oppose this this item.

And so I want to thank each and every one of you that came out tonight.

It's important to me that you know exactly where I stand and just know that we will continue to work with anyone that's willing to be a partner to hopefully improve.

We have a crisis on the loop 303 in US60.

There is no denying that.

There's absolutely no denying that, and we are trying to make strides, but we're not gonna pour gasoline on an already growing fire.

And that's kind of all I have, Mayor.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

Well, I appreciate everyone coming out uh voicing their concerns.

And with that, I'll entertain a motion.

I move to approve resolution number 2025-98.

Second, please cast your vote.

That's a unanimous yes vote, Mayor.

Madam Kirk, please read item 23.

Item 23, consideration and action pertaining to the new grant program.

For fiscal year 2026, as recommended by the subcommittee on community outreach partnerships and grants.

Good evening, Mayor, members of the council.

The item in front of you is the uh funding recommendations from the council subcommittee on community outreach grants and partnerships for the neighborhood grant.

A quick background for the residents.

Uh the program and purpose is to empower our residents to bring community together to uh increase community engagement interest involvement in the city surprise.

City subcommittee of council uh community outreach partnerships and grants makes these funding recommendations.

This subcommittee this year is chaired by council member uh Chris Judd and then council members Nick Caney and Patrick Duffy.

The guidelines, you cannot be an uh 501c3 nonprofit, but you must be a neighborhood group wanting to provide some public good for the community.

The application process must consist of at least five members of the neighborhood or project to come forward, surprise residents to come forward and make a presentation to the council subcommittee on what they'd like to do for surprise.

The process this year um can started in June.

Um, and it ends tonight with your council um recommendations.

So without further ado, the recommendations from the council subcommittee are $5,000 for homestead at Marley Park.

They want to do a big uh community event or multiple events with that money.

Royal Ranch HOA is also um being recommended to receive $5,000 to again pull community together for a big holiday event.

Heritage at Surprise came through, is not recommended for funding at this time, but um council staff, uh council has directed staff to work with them on a possible um side uh alternative project in the original town site.

And so total funding available for this neighborhood grant this year is 10,000.

We received 25,000 worth of requests.

So funding would be available um right after city council approval.

So this is money up front.

Um all funding must be spent by June 15th, 2020.

Sorry, I should have cleared my throat.

I think it's time.

Yeah.

Thank you also supposed to be okay.

And that finishes my presentation.

So uh questions or comments if we're like um yeah.

Absolutely.

I just want to thank uh Councilman Judd, Councilman Duffy, and uh Councilman Haney for your efforts on this.

I know it's uh it's a whole process to get through all those, but I appreciate our honor.

Councilman uh judge.

Okay.

Well, thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Seth.

Thanks to your team for helping coordinate this, and a big thanks to Councilman Duffy and Councilman Haney um for serving on this committee.

We we had a we had a couple of really good community groups come in, and these are residents who are just trying to improve the community around them.

And that's really the purpose of this grant is to empower some of our residents that aren't nonprofits just to help give them a little bit of financial support to make our community a little bit better.

And that's that's really the directive we give them.

And I'm I'm very honored to be offering the grants to these two communities that they will be able to use the money and with some of their existing programs to make their parties a little bit bigger.

Oh, are we back on make our parties a little bit bigger and make the reach a little bit a little bit better?

And so uh with that is anyone else want to say anything about the focus for that.

Would anybody else like to comment?

Okay, with that, I will entertain a motion.

Uh I move to approve the funding as recommended by the subcommittee on community outreach partnerships and grants.

Move and second, please ask your vote.

Okay, thank you.

At this time I'll conduct a call to the public Adam Clerk.

Elizabeth here tonight.

Okay.

Alex.

Good evening, sir.

As you make your way to the podium, please state your name and crossroads for the record.

Alex one down 75th Avenue.

Uh yeah, right.

Uh Mayor, I just want to thank uh Michael Boole and uh Sterling, Patrick.

Uh they did an excellent job giving us a tour of the underbelly at uh water reclamation.

Um so uh where is uh Councilman Duffy's uh meeting?

Uh they were pretty good.

Uh I I love how he has those, and we get to see the uh the city as as with with all the uh city staff, and I greatly appreciate that for you know for what they do.

Uh Mayor, Council, thank you so much.

You are totally a different council, and I can tell by the people that came out here how appreciative they are.

And I just I just want to say you guys are awesome, and I just want to thank you for that.

Uh Mayor, once again, we have come to where we're being asked to raise our taxes if you forms of bonds, overrides.

And I've been here 10 years, and I still don't understand why every two years or every four years we have to come back and try to get funding for our schools.

When our schools should already be funded, when our schools should already be thinking more about how we're gonna teach our children, not how much money do I have to teach our children.

I I appreciate the the council bringing our students here.

And um, you know, at the beginning of each meeting, you have students that come out here, and that's our number one priority.

That's our future.

That is who we want here.

But again, to ask us to raise our taxes on something that should already be funded.

I I totally oppose to that.

I it it's I've been trying to understand how these bonds are are working for our schools, how these overrides work for our schools, and it just doesn't seem right.

It just doesn't seem I I shouldn't say right, but it just doesn't seem to make sense to me.

So uh Mayor, I just I just want to say that I do care about our schools.

I want our schools to succeed, but when we come to the citizens and say give us more money, and I know that's not how they put it, because they say it's not going up, but it's staying the same.

Well, if I don't vote for this, you know, five dollars is gonna come back to me.

And and they tell me it's only pennies on the dollar.

Well, it's pennies from four different ones, I think this year.

Um, you know, bonds and and rights like that.

But mayor, I I I just want to say let's let's get this straight.

Let's make our schools a priority at the beginning of each fiscal year.

Let's fund them through it.

Let's not come back and ask our citizens and say, just give us a little bit more.

You know, let's give us a little bit more.

But I appreciate you.

I appreciate uh Vice Mayor, Council members.

Thank you so much for being such a great counsel.

Thank you, sir.

Uh Patrick.

We don't want school.

Just speak now for the microphone, okay.

Huh?

Uh my name's Petri Mahonan.

I live by the Elmi Rodz and uh Bell uh Bell Road, Sunridge Community condominiums.

Uh so finally they got uh the groundwater resarts that started four years ago between uh Elmi Rats and uh surprise.

Now the problem is that uh uh we have paid for the last four years groundwater resarts.

I paid City of Surprise got the used water, and they took the credit for all the water that I paid, and we paid 90,000, 75,000 on an auto complex.

So uh I paid you used the credits.

What don't you think you should give us the money back?

You got the sewer water, we pay for sewer fees, we paid for the groundwater resorts, we paid it to the Elmirauts, but you got the water and you got credit for it.

I got nothing, but I paid for it.

Here's the last four years' uh water bills.

I expect to get the refunds in the mail pretty soon.

Give it a clear.

I mean, it's just common sense.

If I pay you drink the water, don't you owe me something?

Why why where do I pay for the water groundwater research and city of surprise uses the credits?

If they don't want to give us the money, give us the four years' worth of credits, and I try to sell them to some other water agency in the state.

Of course, then I lose a lot because uh I'm not gonna get the full price.

Uh commentator um understand most people don't understand teaching is a part-time job.

They lie, I lie.

I heard this for 60 years that teachers need more money, more money.

I grew up next to 12 teachers in Finland.

There was a teacher's house in there.

They work six hours a day, but they don't actually work six hours a day.

Every hour there's a 15-minute recess.

There's 30 minute lunch.

So your average teacher puts in four hours and 15 minutes a day, and this or they take home work home.

No, they don't.

You lazy if you don't do it on your break time, if you have to take home work home.

A lot of the teachers they made the other kids do the other kids uh uh correction for homework and stuff, and they have the sheet sheets, there's holes in there.

It's corrected.

There's the three of them are in the wrong place.

That's how simple it is.

But this is the racket uh with the schools, always more money, more money.

Teachers should be paid for the part-time job they do, they work about eight to nine months a year at the most.

I had to work twelve hours a day, six days a week all my life.

Now I work a little less.

Okay, thank you.

Well, you are consistent with your logic at least.

No, um I wait for the checks before I go up the attorney.

Is it worth it?

Your mics should be back on.

I don't know.

Yeah, may I have one comment.

Um, obviously, people come up here and they state their positions on bonds, overrides, things like that.

Um, they have that choice.

But as an educator, I just have to say our teachers put in a lot of work as someone who's married to a teacher, who's been a teacher, who knows a lot of teachers.

Um the idea that teachers do not work hard.

I invite anyone to substitute for a day.

I'll just say that.

Well said.

You're right.

Madam Clerk, anyone else?

Okay.

Jack.

You said the mics were working.

Okay.

We're back up.

Would any council member like to present other business or future agenda items?

Here are none.

We'll move to the council report.

Councilman Haney.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh, you know what?

I was gonna have a report, but I just wanted to echo kind of what uh Vice Mayor Hasing said.

Uh all my in-laws are teachers.

We have a lot of teachers that call district one home.

Uh I do not want to substitute teach because that is crazy, but they do a lot.

And so, yeah, you can have disagreements for sure, but uh we're not going to attack the the men and women who constantly put in way more hours than they get compensated for to really set us up for success in the future.

So I know there's probably so many people watching right now, but if you're a teacher, we appreciate you and all the uh work that you do behind the scenes to make sure that our kids are protected, they're safe, um, and more importantly, that they have the tools that they need to go out and be successful in the future.

So thanks.

That's all I have.

Thanks.

Councilman Greenberg.

Thanks, Mayor.

Uh just uh another district two meeting tomorrow, 9 a.m.

The grand be there, be square.

That's it.

All right, Councilman Duffy.

Thank you, Mayor.

I just wanted to thank Mike Boole for letting us use the water treatment center slash haunted house on Saturday.

I'm not gonna get into why it was a haunted house because that's embarrassing.

But it was good to learn how it all works and see most of it.

There's parts I could wish I could forget, Mike.

Thank you.

I'll tell you later if I'll okay.

Councilman Mountains.

Thank you, Mayor.

I do not have a meeting the rest of the month.

I do have I did was able, I had the opportunity last night to attend the Dysert uh community Dyser School uh excuse me, Dysert Unified School District governing board meeting.

Um I spoke, uh congratulated Dr.

Croto and his team and the board members for just being involved in our community.

Really uh, you know, the the the district is out on a going on a kind of a tour around, bringing community members in.

They're in El Mirage today, I believe.

And uh just reaching out teaching parents how to get involved, uh, more activities.

And I was I I just really appreciate that.

I appreciated their finance team.

Uh where's incredible the Dysert uh school district is an incredible work, keeping their finances in check, keeping their bond ratings low.

Uh the team that that uh Dr.

Cro's team is uh spent a lot of work creating the bond package that the voters will be voting on.

It was uh expertly done.

So uh we do have a good neighbors um with our school district.

We're very proud that Dice are and all the work they do.

Uh tomorrow I'll be at a uh ribbon cutting for a wellness center for senior care uh at 10 30 uh at Parkview in Grand.

So that's gonna be really cool.

Hope to see somebody there.

So that's all I have, Mayor.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor.

No, my voice isn't dead.

I just actually didn't talk a lot for once this meeting.

Um, but you know, you you guys obviously, you know, I I just want to say thank you uh to our staff, specifically to Andrea Davis, our assistant city manager, and Jody Toss, government relations affairs, everything else, fill in the blanks.

Um, you know, there's a quote, and it's it's a JFK quote, so don't sort of I councilman Hainey is a big JFK fan, and let hey anyways, but um it said you know, he said he we do things not because they're easy, but because they're hard.

You know, it's when we make decisions sometimes, there are easy decisions, you know.

You could you could do this, you could do that.

You could not put time into making decisions.

Like we make a lot of important decisions up here, and um, I spent a lot of time, you know, working with staff, specifically Andrea and Jody.

And you guys honestly, like I'm all over the place.

Like I really am like if I mean, like I really am.

I just I kind of go back and forth and I try to be transparent with what I am.

And you know, I obviously I just my goal for the city going forward, regardless of what we're doing, is that we continue just to to work hard.

Um and make our residents proud.

Obviously making 100% of people happy 100% of the time is is is a challenge and and just not feasible.

But we really the one thing you can control is is working hard.

And so thank you to our staff who just take the time um whether it's you know after five or on the weekend um when they really should just be probably taking a nap um that they deserve I appreciate you guys and uh thank you so much have a good night have a good Wednesday tomorrow.

I think the mayor's showing stuff to yeah as the vice mayor I adjourn no I'm just kidding um uh no we're good thank you councilman Judd as you can tell by this I'm all over cool thank you mayor and so I want to thank Mike and his team and specifically Sterling for the entertaining uh tour they gave us of Spa one water reclamation facility and I've seen it I've seen it a few times and I always try to learn something new when I'm out there and I learned something really cool this last time I won't get too many details about but I will tell you that the most entertaining part of the day for me was watching Councilman Duffy tiptoe across the grates hoping to God that those spiders underneath wouldn't come up and get them there's a video and there is a video but I'm not gonna share it.

But thank you again Mike you guys are doing a first class job and and Sterling as always was was great and amazing um also um last week um I had a meeting Lloyd helped help me with a meeting with the uh the the project leaders uh for Project Bakura to get more information from them we haven't learned a whole heck of a lot more um but the one nugget that I got from the last meeting with them is where is their water gonna come from and these guys are using type one water rights which is just another water designation that they're allowed to use that lets them pull water out of the ground without recharging it and again just because something's legal doesn't mean you should do it and like my advice to them was to figure out a way to replenish the water that you're taking out because everybody in surprise we replenish our water we take water out of the ground we put water back in the ground because it's not naturally going to happen fast enough for us to to be sustainable.

So as these projects come in around town hopefully more and more of them will become proactive and become better sustainable partners.

That's all I have mayor thank you.

All right thank you Virginia I hope it wasn't my moving of the microphone that broke the whole system it happened last time I could feel the where but um no I just want to say that I'm proud of our residents I'm proud of our staff I'm proud of our council uh you know this council is different and it's different for a reason we have to make this decisions differently our city has matured because of our growth and at the end of the day it's about listening to the residents looking at the information and making the best decision that we can in that moment so I'm proud of of everybody in this room and you know it's special to be a to be a parent's dice to make those decisions and it's uh it's honored to do it with you gentlemen so um with that I will entertain a motion to adjourn.

I'm a adjourn it's been moved and seconded voice vote all in favor this meeting is adjourned we said we'd never break the three second rule we'd never make a separate dinner and never do