The Surprise City Council held a regular meeting on April 8, 2026, beginning at approximately 6:00 p.m. The meeting included presentations, public hearings on liquor licenses, two major rezone approvals, budget amendments for public safety and parks, a debrief on a federal advocacy trip, a presentation on the Grand Avenue Corridor Study, and an extended public comment period dominated by opposition to a proposed ICE detention facility. The council also discussed the rezoning process and added future agenda items.
All right, good evening, everyone. I like to call this regular city council meeting in Tuesday, April 7th, 2026 to order. Tonight we have one of our planning and zoning commissioners to lead us in the vacation, Miss Lisa Everett. I recognize that there are many different faiths in the room, so I'm going to pray in the tradition of my faith, and I encourage you to silently pray in yours. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Heavenly Father, we come before you tonight with humble hearts, asking for your presence in this place. We thank you for the opportunity to gather as a community to speak, to listen, and to serve. Help them seek truth, act with integrity, and always place the good of the people above all else. May they be open to your direction and attentive to the voices of the citizens they serve. We pray for all who are here tonight that every voice be heard with respect, and that every word spoken may be guided by grace. Remove anger, division, pride, and replace them with understanding, patience, and spirit of unity. Father, we lift up our public safety personnel, all police officers, firefighters, and first responders. Place your hand of protection over them as they serve to protect our community. Grant them strength, clarity, safety, and all they do. Lord help us as citizens to act with dignity and respect. Remind us that even in disagreement, we are called to treat one another with kindness and compassion. We place this time, these decisions, and this community in your hands, entrusting your guidance and your will. I pledge our own. And it's your republic for which it stands. One nation. Under God. I'd like to introduce to you. This is um Ava Lucero, and she's been in our club the entire time she's been at our school and eligible. And uh she would like to give you uh some information. She is our current president. Uh we are the Interact Club of Arizona Charter Academy. We are sponsored locally by the Surprise in Sun City West Rotary Club. As a club, we participate in volunteering events with our school, the city, and Rotary International. We are a middle school club that includes students from the ages of 10 to 14 or 5th through eighth grade. We are a student-led club, but we have a teacher supervisor, Miss Robertson. We have been active for over 10 years, and we have 45 members and 20 recurring and participating members. Some of the volunteer events we as a club, we have participated in numerous events over the years, but we have some events that we have done frequently. For example, dog toymaking, crutches for Africa, MLK Junior Day with the City of Surprise, Food Drives, Veterans Day Parade, and Purple Pinky. We are sponsored by Rotary International. So sorry. A global humanitarian service organization that supports and funds Interact clubs across the nation. This organization is in charge of many volunteering events over the years, such as Crutches for Africa and student exchange programs. They also oversee many events and opportunities for teenagers, such as scholarships and camps. And tonight we would like to make a presentation to the council members and the mayor of some of the dog toys the kids made. This project was created by our club. It is now done by many clubs out of the COVID time, and the kids made them on Zoom, and they're made out of t-shirts and tennis balls. And it turned out to be a little bit of a fundraiser for them. But then we are now going to be going to the Humane Society to present them to the animals that are there. And that's really exciting for the kids. Purple Pinky is an event where they raise funds that go directly to polio vaccinations in other countries where it's still an issue. So we try to do a lot locally and at the school and globally. And we appreciate you asking us here tonight. Absolutely. Well, thanks for all that you do. Would you mind if we got a picture together with the council?