OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Surprise City Council Work Session Summary - November 4, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, November 4, 2025
BodySurprise, Arizona
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, November 4, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:02:30

Transcript — Verbatim
1:57

All right, good afternoon, everyone.

1:58

I'd like to call this regular city council work session to order.

2:02

Tuesday, November 4th, 2025.

2:04

Madam Clerk, please call the role.

2:06

Mayor Sarter.

2:06

Present.

2:07

Vice Mayor Hastings.

2:08

Here.

2:08

Councilmember Haney.

2:09

Here.

2:10

Councilmember Greenberg.

2:11

Here.

2:11

Councilmember Duffy.

2:12

Here.

2:13

Councilmember Melton.

2:14

Present.

2:14

Councilmember Judd.

2:15

Here.

2:15

Thank you, Mayor.

2:16

We have quorum.

2:17

Thank you.

2:17

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

2:22

I pledge allegiance to the United States of America.

2:29

One nation under God.

2:31

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

2:43

Item number one presentation and discussion of city field usage.

2:57

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council.

3:00

How are you today?

3:03

Good.

3:03

We have a very exciting, sorry, Holly Osborne Parks Recreation.

3:08

And Kendra Pettis from Sports Entertainment and Culture.

3:12

Got it.

3:14

Um, we're here to talk to you about some field allocation and our usage that was brought up in a council meeting, I think before the summer.

3:23

But um, so we'll kind of go through why we're both here, and you'll understand how we allocate our fields, what our field usage is, um, what we have in our inventory, and what we may not have in our inventory.

3:36

So I kind of already gone through that.

3:39

So going through so parks and recreation.

3:43

Our mission statement is the City of Surprise Parks and Recreation Department mission is to enrich and complement the lives of surprise residents through stewardship of our resources while providing responsive programs which promote and prioritize diversity, culture, neighborhood, family, education, recreation, wellness opportunities.

4:11

So we have Asante Community Park.

4:43

So that's our current inventory.

5:00

So we have an intergovernmental agreement with Dysert Unified School District, and we have a facility use agreement with Ottawa University.

5:07

Then we go into field maintenance, we have to maintain our fields, and then anything outside of those first three, is what we can allocate on a first come, first served basis.

5:19

And ours go to resident priority.

5:24

So what is our field usage look like?

5:26

So last year in fiscal year 25, we had 13,000 hours of reserved sports fields.

5:33

As you can see, 62% of that goes to our youth sports.

5:37

Then we have our special interest classes, which could be anything from our tiny taught sports, keep teaching three and four year olds how to play soccer and football and introducing them to those sports.

5:49

Then we get into our field rentals at 17%, and then we go into maintenance.

5:56

So looking at our newest facility, the field usage, I wanted to give you an example of how we allocate our time.

6:04

So you can see in the orange first step in July, is when we're doing our maintenance.

6:09

So that's generally overseeding.

6:12

Then we go into youth sports, which is all of the green, and then we go into our special interest classes and sports camps, which is in the pink, and then anything that is not highlighted, is what is allocated in our off peak hours that we would be able to give to rental facilities.

6:30

So there are some times that we do double up.

6:33

So if, and I'll kind of go through our process, but this is what it looks like.

6:38

Um fields at countryside is the one field that we do consistently overseed.

6:44

And the thing about overseeding, and that's just because it's a beautiful facility.

6:48

But the thing about overseeding is the best time to overseed is in October and March.

6:52

But as you can see, we have programming both in October and March.

6:56

So we give ourselves a little bit extra time.

6:59

You can see that June for us to plant summer grass, especially when we're planting it in May, it takes a lot longer to grow.

7:09

So summer is kind of a hard one for us because the field takes us a little bit longer to get it green into that fall grass, and then we go into our winter grass, which is typically in October, but we push it out until November.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████████████████56%
Economic Development████████10%
Arts And Culture████████10%
Sports And Recreation██████8%
Procedural█████6%
Engineering And Infrastructure████5%
Youth Programs██3%
Community Engagement██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Surprise City Council Work Session Summary - November 4, 2025

The Surprise City Council held a regular work session on November 4, 2025, with all members present. The session featured three presentations and discussions: city field usage and allocation, the Parks and Recreation strategic plan, and the Sports, Entertainment and Culture strategic plan. Key topics included field capacity constraints, facility maintenance, upcoming programming, and strategic partnerships.

Discussion Items

  • Field Usage Presentation: Holly Osborne (Parks & Recreation) and Kendra Pettis (Sports, Entertainment and Culture) presented data on field allocation and usage. Current inventory includes 12 diamonds against a national benchmark of 24 for the population of 165,000. In fiscal year 2025, there were 13,000 hours of reserved sports fields, with 62% dedicated to youth sports, 17% to field rentals, and the rest to maintenance and special interest classes. Fall youth sports enrollment exceeded 3,500 children. The rental process operates on a first-come, first-served basis with resident priority, and seasonal overseeding reduces field availability. Councilmember Judd inquired about artificial turf vs. grass cost-benefit, noting that overseeding consumes 25% of available time. Staff explained that turf requires irrigation and replacement every 5–10 years, while natural grass with sand infrastructure cost under $500,000. Councilmember Greenberg noted that turf can be 30–50°F hotter than grass in summer. Councilmember Duffy highlighted that Rangers fields are now used nearly year-round due to expanded minor league activities. Councilmember Haney asked about challenges to building more fields; Osborne cited land, funding, and prioritization issues, but noted the city now has 3,500 acres of land through the McMicken Dam acquisition.
  • Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan: Holly Osborne presented the department’s strategic priorities aligning with council goals: community experience, public safety, and fiscal responsibility. Key initiatives include updating the Parks and Recreation Master Plan with public outreach (website, survey), preserving McMicken Dam land, increasing programmability at Vera Monte Park (adding parking and lights), constructing a splash pad at Luke Air Force Base tribute, and asset replacement projects at Gaines Park and Surprise Aquatic Center. The department now oversees 3,750 acres of developed parks, up from under 300 acres six months prior. Vice Mayor Hastings asked about a masters swim program; staff confirmed a fee structure is in development for a January 2026 launch at Oasis Swim Center. Councilmember Judd requested data-driven analysis on building one large park versus multiple smaller parks to maximize impact. He also encouraged incorporating outdoor skills programming and working with the development community to activate park space. Councilmember Haney supported the master plan and resident engagement. Councilmember Melton asked about Gaines Park improvements; Osborne noted they are coordinated with the community resource center project.
  • Sports, Entertainment and Culture Strategic Plan: Kendra Pettis presented departmental overview highlighting core services: major league baseball operations (spring training and year-round activities), sports tourism, events and entertainment, arts and culture, and economic impact generation. Strategic priorities include enhancing community experience, driving economic development through tourism and public-private partnerships, and ensuring safety. Key projects: spring training renovation and lease extensions, a presenting program at Vista Center for the Arts in partnership with DICE Art, growing the Out of the Park Music Fest (headliner Russell Dickerson announced), hosting the Big 12 Baseball Championships in May 2026, and hosting NCAA Division II tennis championships. Public art initiatives include the Bounce and Swing ribbon cutting and traffic cabinet art on Cactus Roads. Challenges include limited field capacity and increasing demand from all partners (Parks & Rec, Ottawa University, Rangers/Royals). Councilmembers expressed strong support for the department’s work, noting the positive transformation of Surprise into a destination for sports and culture. Councilmember Duffy lauded the Big 12 championship acquisition. Councilmember Melton confirmed it would be the first collegiate conference championship hosted. Councilmember Judd praised Kendra and her team for their adaptability and success.

Key Outcomes

  • Staff will provide a full cost-benefit comparison between natural grass and artificial turf for future fields, including water infrastructure costs and maintenance implications.
  • Parks and Recreation will proceed with the Master Plan update, incorporating public survey and stakeholder input, and return to council with data on park size and location optimization.
  • Vera Monte Park will receive parking expansion and field lighting improvements to increase programmability.
  • A masters swim program is targeted to launch in January 2026 at Oasis Swim Center.
  • The Sports, Entertainment and Culture department will continue negotiations with MLB teams for spring training renovation and lease extensions, and will bring an agreement for the Vista Center presenting program to the next council agenda.
  • The city will host the Big 12 Baseball Championships in May 2026 at Surprise Stadium, in partnership with Rev Entertainment and the NCAA.
  • Council directed staff to explore public-private partnerships for new facilities, utilizing the city’s newly acquired land while respecting federal restrictions on land use.

Meeting Transcript

All right, good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to call this regular city council work session to order. Tuesday, November 4th, 2025. Madam Clerk, please call the role. Mayor Sarter. Present. Vice Mayor Hastings. Here. Councilmember Haney. Here. Councilmember Greenberg. Here. Councilmember Duffy. Here. Councilmember Melton. Present. Councilmember Judd. Here. Thank you, Mayor. We have quorum. Thank you. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the United States of America. One nation under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Item number one presentation and discussion of city field usage. Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. How are you today? Good. We have a very exciting, sorry, Holly Osborne Parks Recreation. And Kendra Pettis from Sports Entertainment and Culture. Got it. Um, we're here to talk to you about some field allocation and our usage that was brought up in a council meeting, I think before the summer. But um, so we'll kind of go through why we're both here, and you'll understand how we allocate our fields, what our field usage is, um, what we have in our inventory, and what we may not have in our inventory. So I kind of already gone through that. So going through so parks and recreation. Our mission statement is the City of Surprise Parks and Recreation Department mission is to enrich and complement the lives of surprise residents through stewardship of our resources while providing responsive programs which promote and prioritize diversity, culture, neighborhood, family, education, recreation, wellness opportunities. So we have Asante Community Park. So that's our current inventory. So we have an intergovernmental agreement with Dysert Unified School District, and we have a facility use agreement with Ottawa University. Then we go into field maintenance, we have to maintain our fields, and then anything outside of those first three, is what we can allocate on a first come, first served basis. And ours go to resident priority. So what is our field usage look like? So last year in fiscal year 25, we had 13,000 hours of reserved sports fields. As you can see, 62% of that goes to our youth sports. Then we have our special interest classes, which could be anything from our tiny taught sports, keep teaching three and four year olds how to play soccer and football and introducing them to those sports. Then we get into our field rentals at 17%, and then we go into maintenance. So looking at our newest facility, the field usage, I wanted to give you an example of how we allocate our time. So you can see in the orange first step in July, is when we're doing our maintenance. So that's generally overseeding.

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