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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Surprise City Council Work Session - January 20, 2026: FY2025 Grant Awards Overview

City Council — Tuesday, January 20, 2026

BodySurprise, Arizona

SessionCity Council

DateTuesday, January 20, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 21:48

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:49

All right, good afternoon, everyone.

0:50

I'd like to call this city council work session on January 20th, 2026 to order.

0:55

Madam Clerk, please call the role.

0:57

Mayor Sarter.

0:58

Present.

0:58

Thanks, Mayor Hastings.

1:00

He has an excused absence.

1:01

Thank you.

1:02

Councilmember Haney.

1:03

Here.

1:04

Councilmember Greenberg.

1:05

Here.

1:05

Councilmember Duffy.

1:06

Here.

1:06

Councilmember Melton.

1:08

Present.

1:08

Councilmember Pashad.

1:09

Here.

1:10

Thank you, Mayor.

1:10

Yeah, quorum.

1:11

Thank you.

1:12

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:36

Madam Clerk, please read item one.

1:39

Presentation and discussion pertaining to the fiscal year 2025 Surprise Community Outreach Program and Neighborhood Grant Awards.

1:46

Oh, nice.

1:47

Good evening, Mr.

1:48

Dyson.

1:49

Or afternoon.

1:52

Good evening, Mayor, members of the council.

1:53

It's an honor to be here this afternoon.

1:56

The item before you is a summary from last year's Surprise Community Outreach Grant nonprofit program as well as our neighborhood grant, small uh neighborhood grant program.

2:06

So which is good timing because our coming uh SCOP grant application period is going to be opening this spring.

2:15

For those that um uh don't know about SCOPSCOP is our surprise community outreach grant program.

2:22

It's got 150,000 of city funding to go towards uh nonprofit organizations that serve uh the community of surprise and our residents.

2:32

Um so the applicants must be a 501c3, and they must follow all the reporting guidelines that the city council um approves.

2:41

So this is a city council initiated and uh selected program.

2:46

So city council uh awards all the the grants um to all the nonprofits.

2:51

Maximum award is ten thousand dollars.

2:54

So this year we're gonna go through some of the outcomes.

2:58

Um not only to share with the residents kind of where the money went, but all the good work that really has happened throughout the community thanks to these nonprofit partners that have many of them have come into surprise to serve.

3:11

So uh the first uh the first organization is the Arizona Burn Foundation.

3:15

They received 10,000 to purchase and install deaf and hard of hearing smoke alarms uh to for surprise residents.

3:23

They partnered closely with Surprise Fire Medical Department, um, led by Jamie Mitchler, and together they brought uh 68 uh volunteers together to install 34 deaf and hard of hearing smoke alarms.

3:36

Very successful program.

3:39

Second group was Autism Life and Living.

3:42

They received 10,000 to expand social circle events and surprise to decrease isolation among neurodiverse young adults combined with all their social activities and events.

3:53

They had over 350 people in attendance, which is a duplicated number.

4:21

And um were one of the key partners of the sensitive Santa program with Holly and her great parks and rec team.

4:48

They've served 186 people through the gym, 50 uh from surprise.

5:00

Best Buddies Arizona received $10,000 from the council subcommittee to support young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, specifically through the clubs at Shadow Ridge and Willow Canyon High Schools.

5:10

Over 160 young adults, teens were served through 37 different group activities.

5:20

Chant Shelter received $6,000 to support their organization capacity.

5:25

This year they partnered with Surprise Stadium and held a pup night to raise awareness about Chant Shelter and the many resources that they offer.

5:38

The DICE Art Education Foundation received $5,000 award to combine with some of their other foundation money to support teacher mini grants for teachers throughout the school district.

5:50

Scott funding provided went in to provide help with 12 mini grants to teachers, impacting over 1,700 students.

5:59

We heard loud and clear that some of the teachers want to bring in some new technology and things.

6:03

They just need a little bit of extra support, and this grant did that.

6:08

The DICE Art Special Education PTSA received $5,000 this past year to support their organization specifically to support their annual walk and roll for inclusion event.

6:21

You see Mayor Sarter in the picture here.

6:23

Over 250 people attended the event, which is connected to our Dreamcatcher Park again in partnership with our City of Surprise and our Parks and Recreation Team.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Community Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████75%

Procedural███████████19%

Youth Programs████6%

Summary of Proceedings

Surprise City Council Work Session - January 20, 2026: FY2025 Grant Awards Overview

The Surprise City Council held a work session on January 20, 2026, to receive a presentation on the fiscal year 2025 Surprise Community Outreach Program (SCOP) and Neighborhood Grant Awards. Seth Dyson presented the outcomes of $160,000 in grants distributed to 23 local nonprofit and neighborhood groups, serving over 35,000 community members. Councilmembers expressed strong support for the programs and praised the staff and committee for their work.

Discussion Items

Presentation by Seth Dyson: Summarized each grantee's funding and impact. Key examples:
- Arizona Burn Foundation: $10,000 for deaf/hard of hearing smoke alarms; 68 volunteers installed 34 alarms in partnership with Surprise Fire Medical.
- Autism Life and Living: $10,000 to expand social events; 350+ attendees, 186 served via gym, 50 from Surprise.
- Best Buddies Arizona: $10,000 for clubs at Shadow Ridge and Willow Canyon High Schools; 160+ teens served through 37 activities.
- Chant Shelter: $6,000 for capacity; partnered with Surprise Stadium for a pup night.
- DICE Art Education Foundation: $5,000 for teacher mini grants; 12 grants impacting 1,700 students.
- DICE Art Special Education PTSA: $5,000 for Walk and Roll for Inclusion; 250 attendees.
- Spencer's Place (Employed and Overjoyed): $10,000 for workforce development for adults with disabilities.
- Hope Community Services: $5,000 for equestrian-based behavioral health; 79 children served, 90% reported increased resiliency.
- One Step Beyond: $2,500 for showcase festival; 350+ attendees.
- Radiant Church: $10,000 for Night to Shine prom; 1,200+ served including 325 kings/queens, 500 parents/caregivers, 450 volunteers.
- Neighbors Who Care: $7,000 (plus $14,000 total investment); $3,000 for Beanbag Day (426 volunteers), $2,000 for Project Connect, $2,000 for Vista sponsorship.
- Sounds of Autism: $9,000 for unified responder training; 950+ served, 122 at a partnering event.
- Stepping Up for Seniors: $6,500 for financial assistance; 116 seniors served.
- Surprise Original Townsite Stakeholders Committee: $5,000 for Founders Day; nearly 1,000 attendees. Next event March 28, 2026.
- Surprise Young Life: $8,000 for weekly youth club.
- Surprise Youth Foundation: $7,500 for after-school tuition; serves up to 50 youth.
- Foster Youth Alliance: $2,500 for back-to-school program; 213 served.
- Valley View Community Food Bank: $2,500 for bulk food; anticipates serving 27,000 individuals.
- Women for Women: $5,000 for feminine hygiene kits; 400 volunteers packed 3,000 bags distributed to multiple organizations.
- Valley of the Sun YMCA: $5,000 for child care assistance; 25 Surprise youth served.
Neighborhood Grants: $10,000 total; two recipients:
- Homestead at Marley Park: $5,000 for neighborhood events; 150-200 average attendance.
- Royal Ranch: $5,000 for holiday party; 550 attendees.
Councilmember Comments:
- Councilman Melton praised the targeted investments and heavy lifting by organizations.
- Councilman Judd thanked the team and noted the program's broad coverage for distressed families, disabled adults/children, and community events, emphasizing that small grants yield large impacts.
- Councilman Haney acknowledged behind-the-scenes work by staff and highlighted the AZ Burn Foundation's work turning tragedy into life-saving measures.
- Councilman Greenberg commended the amplification of dollars and suggested finding more funding and promoting the program in his district.
- Mayor Sarter thanked the committee (Judd, Haney, Duffy) for their work.

Key Outcomes

No formal votes were taken; the presentation was informational and received with unanimous appreciation.
Councilmembers expressed interest in increasing future funding for the programs and in further promoting the neighborhood grants to residents.
The meeting was adjourned with a motion and a second, all in favor.

Meeting Transcript

All right, good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to call this city council work session on January 20th, 2026 to order. Madam Clerk, please call the role. Mayor Sarter. Present. Thanks, Mayor Hastings. He has an excused absence. Thank you. Councilmember Haney. Here. Councilmember Greenberg. Here. Councilmember Duffy. Here. Councilmember Melton. Present. Councilmember Pashad. Here. Thank you, Mayor. Yeah, quorum. Thank you. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Madam Clerk, please read item one. Presentation and discussion pertaining to the fiscal year 2025 Surprise Community Outreach Program and Neighborhood Grant Awards. Oh, nice. Good evening, Mr. Dyson. Or afternoon. Good evening, Mayor, members of the council. It's an honor to be here this afternoon. The item before you is a summary from last year's Surprise Community Outreach Grant nonprofit program as well as our neighborhood grant, small uh neighborhood grant program. So which is good timing because our coming uh SCOP grant application period is going to be opening this spring. For those that um uh don't know about SCOPSCOP is our surprise community outreach grant program. It's got 150,000 of city funding to go towards uh nonprofit organizations that serve uh the community of surprise and our residents. Um so the applicants must be a 501c3, and they must follow all the reporting guidelines that the city council um approves. So this is a city council initiated and uh selected program. So city council uh awards all the the grants um to all the nonprofits. Maximum award is ten thousand dollars. So this year we're gonna go through some of the outcomes. Um not only to share with the residents kind of where the money went, but all the good work that really has happened throughout the community thanks to these nonprofit partners that have many of them have come into surprise to serve. So uh the first uh the first organization is the Arizona Burn Foundation. They received 10,000 to purchase and install deaf and hard of hearing smoke alarms uh to for surprise residents. They partnered closely with Surprise Fire Medical Department, um, led by Jamie Mitchler, and together they brought uh 68 uh volunteers together to install 34 deaf and hard of hearing smoke alarms. Very successful program. Second group was Autism Life and Living. They received 10,000 to expand social circle events and surprise to decrease isolation among neurodiverse young adults combined with all their social activities and events. They had over 350 people in attendance, which is a duplicated number. And um were one of the key partners of the sensitive Santa program with Holly and her great parks and rec team. They've served 186 people through the gym, 50 uh from surprise. Best Buddies Arizona received $10,000 from the council subcommittee to support young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, specifically through the clubs at Shadow Ridge and Willow Canyon High Schools.

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