[0:03] Call to order the regular city council meeting of december 1st, 2025. Would
[0:07] you all please stand for the pledge of allegiance in a moment of silence?
[0:13] p my pledge allegiance to the latter of the united states of america
[0:18] and to the republic women stands, one nation under
[0:22] eye, indi with liberty and justice.
[0:40] thank you, julie. If we can have roll call please.
[0:45] council member condi. Here. Garcia
[0:49] here. Council member solorio. Here. Council member weiss here. Council
[0:53] member white present vice mayor nielsen. Here. Mayor pineda
[0:58] here. Thank you. Thank you. Ron s item please. Uh, thank
[1:02] you mr. Mayor and council up. First we have kim moon, our city engineer, uh, to introduce
[1:06] one of her new employees.
[1:16] good evening mayor, vice mayor and council. I have this evening, uh, for
[1:20] you an introduction, uh, of our new traffic control inspector. We're very excited.
[1:25] uh, I want to introduce, uh, eddie black. He brings several years
[1:29] of experience in traffic control industry for the, from the private sector.
[1:33] he also previously worked with the city of mesa. He's an arizona native,
[1:38] enjoys hunting and spending time outdoors. Eddie officially starts with us.
[1:42] he started on the 24th. Yes. And he'll be our first full-time inspector
[1:47] focused solely on traffic control for construction projects and special events
[1:52] that impacts our city streets. He'll be involved in the entire process
[1:56] from reviewing plan sets for traffic control zones to permitting, to field inspections
[2:01] of the traffic controlled barricades. So I just wanted to, uh,
[2:05] welcome eddie to the team.
[2:12] so eddie, uh, you met, they meant, I'm sorry, kim mentioned earlier in regards
[2:17] to hobbies, hunting. Mm-hmm . So tell us where, where, what part of
[2:21] the state are you traveling outta state to hunt? Or what sort of hunting are
[2:25] you doing? Uh, out hunting up north near payson. Okay. 22
[2:29] north. Okay. We got a couple of hunters around here, uh, on staff I'm sure would
[2:33] be happy to join you. And as , as far as traffic is controls concerned,
[2:38] especially with construction related projects, just, uh, kind of give us a, a,
[2:42] a, a peek, if you will, behind the curtain as to what you're looking for, what, what some of
[2:46] the projects you're working on. And I know you just started, um, but what's
[2:50] kind of currently on the docket? Um, just started and I'm looking forward to getting into
[2:54] it and learning the excel program. From there, I'm gonna start contacting
[2:59] few companies to pick up their stragglers through the city. I think that's gonna be huge. And then
[3:03] just in going through and, uh, reviewing traffic control plans and then going out and
[3:07] making sure it's set to the traffic control plan. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for
[3:11] being here and joining the avondale team. Thank you. I'm glad I'm here. Thank you.
[3:20] wow. Only one new employee. Okay. . Very different than last
[3:25] time mayor. Very different than last time, but that's okay. On next item. Yes,
[3:29] sir. Uh, next up we have our proclamation for homeless persons remembrance day.
[3:33] I believe brian planty, our homeless services manager, will kick us off.
[3:37] good evening, mayor, vice mayor and council. Thank you for allowing me to be here tonight.
[3:41] before we read the proclamation, I wanna pause and draw attention to the people that embody this
[3:46] work. Every single day. Avondale is fortunate to have a team of outreach workers
[3:50] who are in every sense of the word superheroes. And they're sitting behind me
[3:54] tonight wearing their stoner hat, easily identifiable.
[3:58] they don't wear capes, but they move through our streets day and night, and they turn
[4:03] over every stone and follow every lead. They exhaust every possible resource. When
[4:07] someone in our city has lost their home, has lost their connection to family, or even their sense
[4:11] of hope, these heroes step in and never give up. I've seen them
[4:15] track down cousins in other states, contact families across the country. They chase
[4:19] down birth certificates, military credentials, and piece together medical records because
[4:23] those documents, those fragile threads of identity, can be the key that unlocks
[4:27] housing or healthcare. They serve as investigators, advocates, and at the same
[4:31] time as companions, they walk a lot alongside people who have been forgotten or
[4:35] who can no longer find the strength to advocate for themselves. And in doing so,
[4:40] they remind us what dignity looks like. They inspire greatness not only in the people they serve, but
[4:44] in everyone who has the privilege of working beside them. I can tell you they inspire me every day.
[4:48] they're the heartbeat of a caring city that backs up the promise to care for
[4:52] every neighbor with real action. As we honor the lives of those we have lost this year, I want
[4:56] to lift up, lift up our own sonar team. These are the people who meet suffering
[5:00] with compassion. They meet despair with persistence, and remind us that in their
[5:05] daily work that that remembrance must always lead to action.
[5:09] with that, I will turn it over to mayor pineda to read the homeless person's remembrance.
[5:13] state proclamation. Thank you so much. And actually, uh, council member condi will
[5:17] be reading, uh, the thank you mayor proclamation. Thank for asking me to read this. Thank
[5:22] you, brian. Well, just before I begin to read the proclamation, I do wanna say thank you 'cause you guys really
[5:26] make an impact on the lives of many. Um, not only your team, but also
[5:30] our first responders that are out there. Um, and just people in the community making,
[5:35] you know, people aware of someone's in the park that, um, these people
[5:39] are somebody's daughters, somebody's sons. So thank you for the work that
[5:43] you all do. Um, and I'm honored to be able to read this proclamation
[5:47] today. Whereas homeless persons
[5:52] remembrance day is observed annually on december 21st, the first day of
[5:56] winter, and the longest night of the year to remember people who died while
[6:00] experiencing homelessness. And whereas every life has inherent
[6:04] dignity. And the city of avondale affirms that the loss of any person
[6:08] to the dangers of homelessness is a loss to our whole community.
[6:12] and whereas the city of avondale recognizes the tireless work of local
[6:17] partners, including phoenix rescue mission and the city sonar
[6:21] outreach team, along with regional service providers, faith communities,
[6:25] healthcare organizations, and volunteers who serve people experiencing
[6:29] homelessness with compassions and skill. And whereas
[6:34] remembering those who have died while unhoused deepens our commitment to
[6:38] solutions that prevent homelessness, reduce its harms, and make
[6:43] episodes rare, brief, and non occurring through coordinated
[6:47] street outreach, emergency shelter, supportive services
[6:51] and housing. And whereas the city encourages
[6:55] residents to join community partners in appropriate remembrances, including
[7:00] moments of silence and the reading of names, and to support efforts
[7:04] that save lives and connect people to safe, stable housing.
[7:10] whereas a community remembrance service will be held in avondale
[7:15] at avondale baptist church on december 21st, 2025,
[7:21] providing residents an opportunity to honor people who died
[7:25] while experiencing homelessness. Now therefore, on behalf
[7:29] of the avondale city council, the city of avondale, arizona,
[7:34] hereby proclaims homeless persons remembrance day. Thank you.
[7:45] thank you so much. Council member condi ron, next item please.
[7:50] thank you, mr. Mayor and counsel. Up next, I'd like to pass it over to council member white to share a few
[7:54] words about the proclamation, world aid stay. Thank you so
[7:58] much, mayor. Thank you so much mr. Corbin. Um, as a young
[8:02] child in the eighties, I became aware of this mystery illness we know
[8:06] as, um, that was hiv aids. And since that time,
[8:11] um, I've wanted to learn more and make more people aware about
[8:15] it throughout, um, my public service. And ironically, when I
[8:20] went to college, um, I became very interested in delta sigma data
[8:24] sorority incorporated because they did a lot of work in the community to
[8:28] continue to promote that awareness and make sure folks, um, understood that
[8:32] it was something that not only was at that time thought to be transmitted sexually, but
[8:36] could be transmitted, um, to women as they had children. Um, and so
[8:41] today is international aids awareness day, and I wanted to
[8:45] make sure that we acknowledge that since we are in chamber today on december 1st,
[8:50] so I will go ahead and read that proclamation.
[8:55] whereas world day, world aids day observed annually on
[8:59] december 1st, unites people across the globe in shared commitment to end
[9:03] the hiv epidemic, honor the resilience of those living
[9:07] with hiv. And remember, with compassion, those who have
[9:12] lived lives and were lost to aids related illness. And
[9:16] whereas since the first cases emerged more than four decades ago,
[9:21] hiv aids has profoundly affected individuals, families, and
[9:25] communities nationwide and across the world, leaving a lasting social
[9:29] emotional and public health impact. Whereas remarkable
[9:34] progress and prevention, testing, treatment education has transformed
[9:38] the landscape of hiv care, demonstrating that early
[9:43] diagnosis and sustained access to medical support empowered individuals
[9:47] living with hiv aids to lead long, healthy and
[9:51] fulfilling lives. And whereas continued advancement in
[9:55] public health, coupled with strong community partnerships and education
[9:59] efforts are empowering individuals with the knowledge, resources,
[10:04] and support needed to prevent hiv transmission
[10:08] and improve overall health outcomes. And whereas
[10:12] the city of avondale reaffirms its commitment to promoting
[10:16] health, equity, compassion, and awareness, and
[10:20] encourages all residents to learn about hiv prevention,
[10:24] standing in solidarity with those, living with hiv and
[10:28] working collectively to eliminate stigma in all forms.
[10:33] and now therefore, on behalf of the avondale city council,
[10:37] the city of avondale, arizona, hereby proclaims december 1st, 2025
[10:43] at world aids day and encourages all residents
[10:47] to observe this day as a time for reflection, education,
[10:52] and a renewed commitment to ending the hiv epidemic
[10:56] through community collaboration, public health advocacy, and
[11:00] unwavering support for those affected. Thank you.
[11:05] thank you.
[11:11] thank you. Council member white next item are un
[11:15] unscheduled, uh, public appearances. Mr. Mayor, we have one more item.
[11:20] oh, sorry. After seeing everybody sitting in the, in
[11:24] the, in the seats over there, you would think I'd remember. I apologize. Item d. No,
[11:28] no worries. Uh, emily, our city, uh, clerk specialist, would like to recognize
[11:33] outgoing board and commission members.
[11:38] good evening mayor, vice mayor, and city council. My name is emily
[11:42] soria, city clerk specialist within the city clerk's office. Tonight
[11:46] we'll be recognizing our outgoing boarding commission members who have completed their terms,
[11:51] each having served at least one full term, totaling a minimum of three years
[11:55] of dedicated service to the city of avondale. In 2025,
[11:59] we had 13 boards and commissions made up of 60 dedicated residents filling
[12:04] more than 80 positions. Our residents serve as boarding commission
[12:08] members make a real difference in helping to shape the future of our community.
[12:14] while we have members who leave office for reasons such as moving outside city limits,
[12:18] or scheduling conflicts, we also have a special group of members who leave
[12:22] not by choice, but because the they have reached the end of their term.
[12:27] tonight, we are here to recognize those individuals, including a few who
[12:31] have joined us in person. When I call your name, please come forward to the
[12:35] podium to receive your certificate of recognition and remain standing.
[12:39] after the presentation, we will invite city councils to join the group on the floor
[12:43] for photo fabian rado with the neighborhood
[12:48] and family services commission.
[12:55] jan graham with the municipal art committee,
[13:03] janet beeson with the parks, recreation and libraries advisory board,
[13:13] larry white with the planning commission,
[13:20] linda warren with risk management and workers' compensation board,
[13:29] stephanie robinson with corrections officers, retirement pension board,
[13:36] and stephanie rodriguez with the parks, recreation and libraries advisory board.
[13:45] thank you so much for your service to the city of avondale. Your dedication and commitment
[13:49] to making lives better is appreciated. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Uh,
[13:53] really quickly, if you don't mind, uh, larry or dr. B, you, would you guys like to say
[13:57] any words? I mean, we're talking some heavy hitters here who participate in everything.
[14:02] so this is a big deal, , it has
[14:06] indeed been a privilege these past years to serve both
[14:10] the city of avondale, the staff, and the council. Thank you. Thank
[14:14] you.
[14:19] I have really enjoyed my time with parks and recreation. I'll
[14:23] miss those meetings. . Well, thank
[14:27] you so much for both of you and all the time you've spent on our boards and
[14:31] most, most often, just all of the different events that you're at. Just, uh,
[14:35] you know, thank you so much for all of the support you provided the city, and I'd be happy if council
[14:40] would join. Oh, one more. Well, oh, sorry, jen, I'm never
[14:44] at a loss for words. I thought you were on that side, jen. I'm so sorry. .
[14:48] so what I would like to say, not only have I enjoyed serving on the
[14:52] board, but I have such a passion for art. I've been on the art committee,
[14:56] I've served for six years, and
[15:01] it's not just about making our community beautiful,
[15:05] but these activities bring community together.
[15:10] and a book that I've mentioned to people and even at the board meeting is called
[15:14] your brain on art, a new york times bestseller
[15:18] by mckesson and ross, and it's research based.
[15:23] and they have found that just observing or
[15:27] creating an art moment for 45 minutes
[15:31] a month can increase your lifespan by up to 10 years.
[15:36] so what we are doing is good for our, for ourselves,
[15:40] and for others. So I really appreciate the, appreciate the opportunity
[15:45] to have served on the board. Thank you. Thank you so much, jan.
[15:52] sorry. Thank you, mayor. Of course, vice mayor and council. That concludes my
[15:57] presentation, and at this time, we welcome any comments from council before we join for our group
[16:01] photo. Are there any comments from council? If I can, real
[16:05] quick for jan? Uh, apparently, at least according to a bumper sticker, they
[16:09] say that earth without art is just, eh, so,
[16:13] all right. It's my bad form of a joke, everybody. All right, let's get a picture. Let's
[16:17] go get a picture. And then also, uh, if you, um, who am I inviting up for the, the
[16:22] picture? Oh, some deltas. If you wanna join us for a picture as well after
[16:26] we take this picture, please feel free to come on up,
[21:55] somebody.
[22:04] okay.
[22:17] okay. Item number three on schedule public appearances. Julie, have you received
[22:21] any other requests to speak other than what we have here? Thank you, mayor. We
[22:25] received public comments, uh, from laura gonzalez and cat m and they
[22:29] were forwarded to you and their comments, their full comments will be included in the minutes.
[22:34] we do have one speaker, linda jager. Okay, linda.
[22:57] good evening, mayor and council. My name is linda and
[23:01] I am a resident of avondale. I'm here because I'm deeply concerned
[23:06] about the recent allegations involving council member jeanette
[23:10] garcia. The lawsuit describing kidnapping,
[23:15] false imprisonment and sexual misconduct
[23:19] is serious and it reflects poorly on our city.
[23:25] I understand that these are allegations, but the repeated
[23:29] headlines and controversies surrounding this council member
[23:35] continue to damage avondale's reputation and owe
[23:39] public trust as residents,
[23:43] we deserve leadership that that upholds the highest standards. So
[23:48] I'm asking the counsel to take appropriate and transparent action
[23:52] of the accusations of council member garcia
[23:57] avondale should not be represented by someone linked to
[24:01] ongoing accusations of this magnitude. Protecting the
[24:06] integrity of the city must come first. Thank you.
[24:10] thank you. Anything you wanna respond?
[24:14] no, I just really quickly, and I know that this is, uh, something that, uh,
[24:18] has come across and many people are aware of, but just
[24:22] wanna put this out there really quickly in regards to, uh,
[24:26] the council, um, and what we can do about it. Uh, this
[24:30] is not, uh, issue that's related to code of conduct. It's a civil issue
[24:35] between, uh, council member and, um, uh, another
[24:39] citizen that will be handled and litigated, um, a, uh, accordingly.
[24:44] and so if there's any other comments in regards to us
[24:48] as a council, me as a mayor, doing something to enforce any sort
[24:52] of discipline on a council member. This is not a code of conduct issue.
[24:56] it is going to be a matter that will be, um, dealt with in
[25:00] a court. And we'll let the court determine, uh, the outcome of these
[25:05] allegations. And so I just wanted to make sure that I made that comment. Ron, is
[25:09] there anything else that, uh, I need to add? Nope.
[25:13] no. Mr. Mayor. Okay. Alrighty. Well, with that, let's move forward
[25:17] with item number five.
[25:21] consent agenda. Sorry. Yes. Item number four, sorry.
[25:26] consent agenda. Are there any members, council members who wish
[25:30] to have an item removed for separate consideration?
[25:34] see none. We got a motion from council member weiss, a second from council
[25:39] member white. If the rest of the council could please vote.
[25:45] thank you. Item passes. Seven zero. Now we're moving on
[25:49] to item number five. Ron. Thank you, mr. Mayor and council up first,
[25:53] we have mark foot, our recreation manager to present an update on
[25:57] the city's, uh, park recreation library special events.
[26:12] good evening, mayor, vice mayor and council.
[26:17] I don't know how to work a desk, apparently. . Um,
[26:22] I'm here to give my name's mark foot, and I'm the recreation manager for
[26:26] parks and recreation, specifically overseeing special events and recreation. Uh, here to
[26:30] give an update on our special events, um, uh, fiscal year to date, as well
[26:34] as, um, just a preview of what we have coming for next year.
[26:40] so we'll start back in july and do a re re quick recap. We made some
[26:44] significant changes to our light up the sky event, which happened on july 4th.
[26:48] um, we changed the layout. We moved into the midway, and we opened
[26:52] up the barn area as an air conditioned area. Um, this event was very successful
[26:57] with just over 10,000 people in attendance for that day. Um, and
[27:01] we had a four star rating for that event. Again, we talked
[27:05] about our new layout, air conditioned barn space, as well as added cooling
[27:09] zones. Uh, and that feedback was, was very positive. So we'll be looking to
[27:14] expand some of those areas, change our layout a little bit more, as well as provide
[27:18] some additional food options for next year, um, with the additional,
[27:23] um, or with the changed layouts. Uh, follow
[27:27] that in august with our blank canvas summer showcase. Uh, this
[27:31] is an opportunity for our young residents to show out their art skills,
[27:36] um, and create something that represents them. And an and avondale. We
[27:41] had 213 participants this year with a five star rating. We had 135
[27:45] canvases that were actually returned, and we were able to display here at city hall,
[27:50] and, and we did awards across three age groups. Again, very successful event,
[27:54] uh, feedback that we get from this event is, is always very, very positive. It's a free event
[27:58] for these, these kids to participate in our barks and treats
[28:03] event, which is our dog based, uh, halloween event happens in october.
[28:07] uh, this year we had 1,300 people in attendance,
[28:12] and that's almost double what it was last year. We had significant increase
[28:16] as well from vendor participation and exhibitor participation, and a
[28:20] 4.85 star rating. Uh, our cute dogs and costumes.
[28:24] we had 43 participate in the dog costume contest, which was a, a big
[28:28] hit. Um, and this is a great partnership with our brookfield community, um,
[28:32] and the alamar community, um, there in south avondale. Um, but very, very
[28:37] popular event will continue to expand and, and grow this event, uh, throughout the years.
[28:41] um, and, and continue to do it there in the alamar area.
[28:46] our billy moore days. I'm still tired from this event. Um, but,
[28:50] uh, it happened october 16th through 19th. Uh, we had just over
[28:54] 27,000 people visit, uh, the billy moore area
[28:59] over the course of those four days for our carnival and our festival. That does not
[29:03] include, um, the parade. The parade. We, we count a little bit differently.
[29:07] uh, but we had a survey rating of 4.85 stars for,
[29:11] for that event. Um, a little bit lower than last year.
[29:16] um, last year we had some social media impact, um, from some outside
[29:20] social media that really boosted attendance in addition to some feedback that
[29:24] the, the state fair was getting. And so we had a boost of, of numbers,
[29:28] and we came back to more historical norms for, for this event. Uh, this
[29:32] last year, our billy moore days parade was another
[29:37] huge success. We had just over 2000 people in attendance for this parade.
[29:41] um, along central and along western. We had 41 parade entries
[29:45] and a 4.85 star rating as well on this event. Um,
[29:49] and janet, I don't know if she's still here. Janet was our grand marshall.
[29:53] um, and we appreciate everyone's attendance and participation in this historic,
[29:58] uh, event that helps us recognize the history and the,
[30:02] the culture that exists here in avondale. Our creep
[30:06] in candy crawl, another event that saw, uh, record breaking attendance.
[30:11] uh, we had just under 5,000 people in attendance for our creep in candy crawl on october 30th,
[30:15] which is a change. It's been historically a halloween night event.
[30:19] um, but this year because of the, the day that it fell, we moved it
[30:24] a day earlier. Um, that's almost a double, um, of the
[30:28] participation that we had last year. Um, and we came really close to running
[30:32] outta candy, but we had, uh, some backup that we had to go get. Uh,
[30:36] this event got a 4.8 star rating as well. We had 45 people participate
[30:41] in our costume contest. And again, we moved this from halloween to the
[30:45] thursday prior. Um, which is our intention is to continue
[30:49] to do that as halloween falls on a weekend. We'll continue to do it that
[30:53] that thursday before. Um, to facilitate, um, staff at this,
[30:57] at this event, our medos and
[31:02] melodies event, this is a new event that was created based off of feedback that was received
[31:06] during our master plan and our strategic planning. Um, this happened
[31:10] on november 14th. It was our youth entrepreneur market. We had over
[31:14] 600 in attendance during this event with 43 youth entrepreneurs,
[31:18] exhibitors, uh, selling their goods and their homemade, um, items
[31:23] to all the attendees. This was actually our second date.
[31:27] our first date was supposed to be a hispanic heritage market with a hispanic heritage theme
[31:31] happening in september. Unfortunately, it was that week that we got all of
[31:36] that rain and we got rained out of this event. So, um, but super successful. We have
[31:40] some two more upcoming for this fiscal year, one that'll happen in january.
[31:44] that is our, um, back to back to the new year fitness,
[31:48] uh, event, as well as our country night in
[31:52] march. Um, highlight our run series.
[31:57] uh, we consolidated our run series this year. We have four runs that happen throughout the
[32:01] year. I won't talk a ton about them because brittany will hit on them in the next presentation.
[32:05] um, but we had our dunking dash, which was our first dunking dash that took place at the
[32:09] aquatics center. This is a unique event, is it's a run and swim,
[32:14] so not quite a triathlon, not quite a run. It's somewhere in between. Uh, we had
[32:18] 68 participants for this first event, uh, west valley vet run, which
[32:22] is a partnership with, um, australia mountain community college. And the proceeds
[32:26] for this event go to, uh, veteran services. There were over 250
[32:30] participants in that run, and they raised over $40,000 for those
[32:34] veteran based causes. So very, very successful partnership with, um,
[32:39] the, um, community college. Uh, we have a couple
[32:43] more re runs that will be happening here soon. Avon dle dash will
[32:47] happen, uh, the weekend before christmas. This will be the second year of this event,
[32:52] which was very, very successful last year. It's a one k 5k
[32:56] 10 k run that happens here in the morning. We turn on all the lights, we pop
[33:00] on our tree, um, and have just a really good time running and, and running off all
[33:04] those calories that you've earned all month long. And then hoot and hussle,
[33:08] which is a partnership with aga high school, will happen march 21st.
[33:14] a handful of upcoming signature events this saturday. We have our,
[33:19] uh, avondale avondale winter fest, um, that will happen
[33:23] here at the civic center complex. Um, from five to 9:00 pm
[33:27] we'll be lighting our holiday tree, um, and all of the lights will be
[33:31] on throughout the holiday season. So a celebration of the holiday seasons
[33:36] in february, late february, early march, we have our trace reels nature
[33:40] festival, and we're very excited that this is gonna be headed back down to
[33:44] the basin meridian wildlife area. So the last two years, because of flood damage,
[33:48] we've, uh, been at, um, the regional park.
[33:52] and this year we get to go back down into the basin meridian wildlife area.
[33:57] we walked to the site last week, and construction progress is going well. Um,
[34:01] and we should be set for those dates. And then in april, we bring back
[34:05] our kid fest, which is our kid, uh, related special event
[34:09] in celebration of, um, day of the child, or di de
[34:13] los ninos. Um, and that's a, a great event and a really large event that happens
[34:17] at, um, at friendship park. And then saturday may 2nd,
[34:22] we'll have avon del fiesta, an old town, uh, celebrating our hispanic
[34:26] heritage and, and some of the great events out there.
[34:30] we have a handful of community events that'll be happening before the end of the fiscal year as well. We have two
[34:34] more mercados and melodies events happening in january and march with health and
[34:39] wellness and country. We have a movie in the park, um, at deconcini in
[34:43] february. Our extravaganza will happen at both donny hill and mountain view park
[34:47] right before easter. And then we will follow up the end of the year with our
[34:52] memorial day celebration and our juneteenth event on june 19th.
[34:57] so with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions. Um,
[35:01] thank you for the presentation. Mark. Any questions, comments from counsel?
[35:06] okay, councilor voy, thank you so much for your presentation, mark.
[35:10] um, I noticed that the 4th of july event, it got just four out
[35:14] of five stars and kind of trended lower than the other events. Um,
[35:19] with the, I guess we're having our 250 year celebration as
[35:23] a country next year. I was wondering, um, do, what are we planning
[35:27] to do differently and do you know if we were able to partner with the
[35:31] state's planning commission? Um, for that event? We have, we,
[35:35] the, the state committee reached out. We had a meeting with them, um,
[35:39] and we're talking through how we can integrate some of their celebrations
[35:43] into our own celebration, um, and what that looks like. Those are still
[35:47] in the early planning stages of, of how we incorporate their, their
[35:52] celebration into ours. Um, but we are looking at some of those items.
[35:56] um, and then on the four star feedback, uh, unfortunately this event because of the
[36:00] way it happens, but we just don't get a lot of feedback from this event. Um, and
[36:04] so that's part of the reason that, but we do get some feedback and we're trying to
[36:09] utilize those to improve the event. One of those being our food trucks this year, moving
[36:13] it inside. We had many more people participating in
[36:17] our food vendors, um, and we just weren't prepared for the number of people that were gonna be
[36:21] looking for food options within the raceway. And so we'll be adding some of those things, um,
[36:25] trying to add some more cooling, changing some layout and, um, items with
[36:29] how popular it was to come in the raceway instead of just being out in the parking
[36:33] lot like we've been previously. Do we have the
[36:37] ability for folks to come out and kind of like, um,
[36:41] rv all day there? Is that that open right now? Or is it just open for the evening
[36:46] fireworks time? Yeah. Right now we've just opened the parking lot at a certain time.
[36:50] I'm not off the top of my head. I don't remember what time that is, but we do open it, but
[36:54] we can look for sure into opening the, the lots early.
[36:58] um, it does require a little bit of security and some parking, but it's, it's for sure something that
[37:03] we can look at. Thank you. Any other comments? Okay, council
[37:07] member dy. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, mark. Um, it's great
[37:11] to see all the exciting things happening in avondale with, with the parks and recreation.
[37:16] um, I just wanna just say thank you so much for, um, planning
[37:20] a movie in the park at de canni. You know, it's nice to have the movie nights
[37:24] in some of our smaller pocket parks where sometimes residents maybe can't
[37:28] get to friendship park. Um, and I just wanted to share that when
[37:32] I was on council, when I first got on council, we were at a, we had a movie night at a
[37:36] pocket park, one of our little parks. And
[37:41] the families that came out brought their blankets, they brought their
[37:45] kitchen chairs and they were so thankful. And I
[37:49] can recall one mother telling me, 'cause she had four kids, and she's
[37:53] like, I could not afford to take my kids to a movie theater. And she really was thankful that
[37:57] we were able to provide a good movie, you know, for the kids in the park.
[38:01] so thank you for having it at decons, and I hope that we, um, are
[38:05] able to provide a movie in other parks in avondale too. Thank
[38:09] you. No, thank you. Councilor white, I noticed
[38:14] that we, um, we used to have a cool couple of cycle events that came
[38:18] through avondale. Um, anything on the horizon, adding a cycle event. We have
[38:22] quite a few running events, definitely. Now I like to see the fact that we have more
[38:26] swimming events and I, I love all of the programming, but are we gonna do
[38:30] any more biking? This, this might be a question for corey.
[38:34] I'll try and speak on it. Based off of the, the feedback we got during our, our
[38:38] master plan, that's not one of those, those things that ranked very high and
[38:43] participation in, in that event previously was pretty low. Um, and
[38:47] so the decision would made to reallocate those resources to, to events
[38:51] and, and items that were, um, had much higher
[38:56] participation in them. But I don't know if I'm speaking out of turn. Nope.
[39:00] uh, mayor, vice mayor, council member white. Great. Uh, great question.
[39:04] uh, the cycle avondale event was not, uh, achieving its registration goals
[39:08] that, so we weren't seeing the growth or the interest in participation. Um, so it was an
[39:12] opportunity for us to possibly pivot and attract, uh, a different market or provide services for
[39:16] a different market of resident. Um, as we develop our new trail system and with
[39:20] the success of our recent bond package, I think we'll develop a lot more linear
[39:24] trail and path system for us to take advantage of, which will reduce the cost of us
[39:29] hosting that style event. Because to really have a cycle that you want to have substantial
[39:33] mileage, you know, 20, 30, 50 miles, um, for those cyclists
[39:37] to really enjoy and to achieve that within our city without crossing or crossing
[39:41] I 10 was becoming very expensive to achieve, um, for a small population of users.
[39:47] um, so something we can continue to explore as we expand that trail system, or
[39:51] if there's a desire to bring it back, we could look for alternative funding to do so.
[39:56] I think, um, one of the things I'll, I'll say just in regards to your comment there, corey, is um,
[40:01] the appreciation that I have for trying things and, you know, sometimes
[40:06] they work and they take off and sometimes they don't. Uh, but not for the sake of
[40:10] not trying. But at the same token in regards to, you know,
[40:14] working with our residents money, it's important that we are
[40:18] aware that if it's just not getting the traction that it deserves or that
[40:22] we would like, that we don't offer it just for the sake of offering. It's gotta make financial
[40:26] sense as well. And so far, all of the events that we've offered, I believe do that.
[40:30] and if they don't, we're not offering 'em anymore. Uh, but off, uh, council member
[40:35] conde's point, just being very mindful and you have been, uh,
[40:39] the department has been of navigating the different parts
[40:43] of the city, you know, not concentrating an event in one area over the other,
[40:47] but really spreading it out, trying it out in pocket parks or smaller
[40:52] parks. And while it may not be friendship deigning as a park, uh, just as
[40:56] any others, and so the fact that your department is, is willing to try,
[41:00] uh, and navigate these challenges or, uh, wins
[41:04] if you will, um, then I'm, I'm really happy that we're able to provide those to the
[41:08] residents and especially if they make sense. So there's no other comments.
[41:13] thank you so much for the presentation. Appreciate it.
[41:20] ron. Next item. Thank you mr. Mayor and council. Up next is brittany, your recreation
[41:24] manager. She's gonna give you an update on the aquatic center.
[41:31] good evening mayor, vice mayor and council members. My name is brittany shamsky
[41:35] and I'm one of our recreation managers for parks, recreation and libraries department. And
[41:40] today I'm going to be discussing our 2025 aquatic season.
[41:45] just a quick overview before we dive into some of those details. Um, some things to highlight
[41:50] now that we have two years worth of data, we're currently earning a 4.2
[41:54] star review on google. Our swim lesson ratings are 4.7
[41:59] out of five, which is up from 4.5 star from last year. We've
[42:03] increased significantly the number of swim lessons and program offerings at the aquatic center.
[42:07] and our room rentals and facility rentals have been so popular.
[42:11] um, they've been busy every weekend and so we're looking at different ways to explore future
[42:16] opportunities, beginning with
[42:20] our swim lessons classes and teams. We had an astounding number
[42:24] of participants this year. Just over 2,300 participants.
[42:29] that includes the infant parent classes, our youth classes,
[42:33] adult classes, fitness programs that include things like our paddleboard,
[42:37] yoga, river fitness, um, our recreational swim teams,
[42:41] and a new program of water polo this year. This is a huge accomplishment,
[42:46] um, not only for our team to go from 1500 from last year,
[42:50] but to 2,300 from this year, but that's a huge, um, opportunity
[42:54] for our residents to get an additional 800 participants into a swimming lesson
[42:58] program this year. Um, we also had our fire medical
[43:03] department come out and teach adult cpr classes a couple times this
[43:07] summer as well, um, which was a great opportunity for, um, some parents that
[43:11] were kind of hanging out while their students were in the swim lessons themselves. They
[43:15] actually took a cpr class
[43:19] during our regular, um, swim hours. We call that our resident rec swim. We
[43:24] saw over 58,000 purchase or swimmers, um, at our
[43:28] facilities. This is about the same number as what it was last year. We saw
[43:32] just about 60,000 last year, so it's a tiny bit less. But I do wanna
[43:36] point out that although our weather has been beautiful this september and october,
[43:40] we've gotten tons of rain. Great for arizona, great weather outside
[43:44] doesn't always mean great weather at the pool. So we did see a little bit lower attendance,
[43:49] um, in september and october than last year, but to be expected just due to that
[43:53] weather. And then a really cool offering that we do have is that
[43:57] we have the day passes that they can purchase in advance online
[44:01] and we saw about 25% of our day passes being purchased in
[44:05] advance.
[44:09] the aquatic center is in a kind of unique situation in that it's the
[44:13] bulk of its main season runs over two fiscal years. So our
[44:18] main season opens to public in that april and then ends in october.
[44:22] so we kind of see the end of one fiscal year and the start of the other. So looking at data
[44:26] can be kind of funky sometimes. So I did wanna show, um, the last two years of
[44:30] data, but it is, is broken into three fiscal years. Um, what we're seeing
[44:34] is roughly $300,000 worth of revenue from last summer
[44:38] and also from this past summer as well. If you look at fiscal year 2026,
[44:43] which just started this july, we're already at $129,000
[44:47] towards our 205,000, um, for annual revenue that we're
[44:52] expecting. Some ways that we're hoping to continue to achieve
[44:56] this and also to increase those numbers is to look at increased rental opportunities.
[45:01] we know that our room rentals and our facility rentals are very, very popular. And so
[45:05] we're looking at, um, potentially adding in some ramada rentals
[45:09] throughout the facility as well for maybe some of those smaller parties to get more
[45:13] families an opportunity to have that shared party space at the facility.
[45:20] some of the events that we hosted this year was our annual wave fest event. So it's our
[45:24] second annual, this is our kickoff event, um, for each season.
[45:29] we typically start it in the morning with our fire department and also our police
[45:33] department and our lifeguard team. This is something that they do internal where they run
[45:37] a drill and they really get to see what that lifelike response is. And then
[45:41] our actual public event is, um, with the
[45:45] agu freea food and clothing bank where we had participants bring items for donation.
[45:50] um, we worked with avondale toyota to help sponsor and of course our council
[45:54] members as well to greet, um, our residents serve food and welcome
[45:58] everybody to the kickoff of summer dive in movies were
[46:02] added into our events as well. They've been super popular. We were
[46:07] able to do three this past summer, um, and I think by the last one we were sold
[46:11] out on tickets on there. So very, very popular. We love having those and we look
[46:15] forward to having more this next year. The arizona lifeguard
[46:19] challenge is a challenge, um, that unfortunately kind of paused when covid
[46:24] started there, but we were able to revive it as of last year and we were fortunate
[46:28] enough to host that event both last year, um, and for, sorry, 2024
[46:33] and 2025. And we're looking at hosting that event this coming year, but
[46:37] it's an opportunity for all the different cities and towns to come together
[46:41] and, um, have a lifeguard challenge and just get to see kind of what other
[46:45] cities are doing and to share that camaraderie for, um, our lifeguards.
[46:50] um, one of the events mark mentioned as well was our dunkin dash. It was our first ever
[46:54] dunkin dash. It was a swim and a run event. Um, this event got lots of great
[46:59] feedback, um, for being hosted at night. It's our first night run that we've ever
[47:03] done as well. So cool opportunity there. And a fun fact about that one.
[47:07] um, we did receive a 4.9 star evaluation on that
[47:11] one, although it is a first event. That's great. We got 4.9,
[47:16] but 4.9 for anyone. We were super excited, so huge kudos to the team for
[47:20] that one. Um, and then our last event I wanted to highlight was our
[47:24] hispanic heritage slash bash. We did host this one, um,
[47:28] in the mid-october and it was starting to get a little bit chilly, but we had tons of
[47:32] festive music, we had crafts and our poolside laia. We are looking
[47:36] at moving this one just a tiny bit earlier just in case there's some weather that happens again,
[47:40] so that way we can get more people to enjoy that event.
[47:46] um, because of our success of our wave fest program, we did
[47:50] submit to the arizona parks and recreation association and we
[47:54] actually won an award. Um, and our team was recognized at the annual a
[47:58] pra conference for the outstanding aquatic program. This is a really great
[48:02] opportunity for our team to be recognized for all their work and for you guys as well
[48:06] and being a part of that, um, that event. And it's our second
[48:10] year in a row of winning an award through a pra for the aquatic
[48:15] center. Um, last year we were fortunate enough to win the outstanding facility
[48:19] award as well, so we're really excited, um, for the possibility of what maybe year three
[48:23] will bring us some community relationships.
[48:28] we have, um, is with tulsa union high school district. They currently have
[48:32] their high school swim teams that practice with us. Um, last year they had
[48:36] three of their high school competitive teams practice and they increased this year to four.
[48:40] so we're excited to see, um, the swim team kind of growing here in the west
[48:44] valley. I mentioned a pra, um, our michael phelps foundation, oh,
[48:48] I forgot to mention them earlier, sorry, . They, um, also help sponsor the
[48:52] arizona lifeguard challenge as well. And they do host trainings here, um,
[48:56] for their coaches and things like that. On occasion, we have our water
[49:01] polo team, our phoenix water polo. Um, we increased, we're going
[49:05] to increase from one team just during a summer recreational season. Um, due
[49:09] to a success, we're gonna host one in the spring, summer and fall next year.
[49:13] desert paddleboards was a new opportunity for a program, um, that was added
[49:18] late in october. Um, and it was for our sound bath. So
[49:22] we had live music, um, lots of calming sounds and it was just a great opportunity
[49:26] to relax and the outdoors kind of all the sunset was going down and that's something we're
[49:30] looking forward to continuing next year. And then just a huge shout out to our
[49:34] food trucks. We did increase those from four participants last year to seven. So
[49:39] lots more opportunities, um, to get local businesses in our centers and
[49:43] also residents to get more variation in their food choices.
[49:48] some things I wanted to point out for our season growth was just from year one,
[49:52] from year two was just that increase of some lessons. Again, um, adding 800 extra
[49:57] participants is a huge accomplishment for the team. Um,
[50:01] we also nearly doubled our swim team numbers and this is our recreational
[50:05] swim team. So one of the programs that the avenue aquatics center hosts is the summer
[50:09] recreational league. Um, it's kind of like a learn to swim league. They're
[50:13] getting the introduction of the four competitive strokes and really preparing potentially
[50:17] even for high school swim or to come work for us as lifeguards or maybe just
[50:21] regular endurance as well. But that team number also increased.
[50:26] um, we are starting an internal program for our lifeguards
[50:30] in order to help get them ready to apply for that lead lifeguard position.
[50:34] we have two years under our belt now and we're hoping to always promote within
[50:39] avondale if we can. We love outside people as well, but we wanna make sure we're providing enough
[50:43] opportunity to get ready for those next steps. Um,
[50:47] we are increasing, like I said, those, uh, pool booking options,
[50:51] some ramada and potentially some additional late night rentals during our night swims since those
[50:55] are very popular. And then, um, our programs that we're adding in for next
[50:59] year is that expansion of our water polo and the sound bath
[51:06] and all of that would not be possible without our amazing team in
[51:10] green. Um, we were a family of 64 this year, so quite a
[51:14] number of people in order to make it work. It took over 20,000 hours in
[51:18] order to make this possible. Um, spread amongst all levels of our team,
[51:22] ranging from cashier to instructor to our lead lifeguards. Um,
[51:27] they're just such a phenomenal team. They're so great to work with. Um, I appreciate
[51:31] them every day and make it fun to come to work, that's for sure . And if you
[51:35] know anyone, make sure you let 'em know because we just started our recruitment actually this morning.
[51:40] um, believe it or not, for 2026 recruitment, it did just open up. Today.
[51:44] we will be hosting interviews in the end of january for training in
[51:48] february and march for a grand opening in april. So it's a quick turnaround for
[51:52] us. We do hire as young as 15 years old for a couple of our positions,
[51:57] um, but most of them are 16 and above, but a great opportunity for
[52:01] some first jobs out there. And they work really, really well with your school schedule.
[52:07] some upcoming events, we have our spring hours that are gonna be kicking off
[52:11] in april. This includes our lap swim and also our weekend hours. So that'll
[52:15] be the april and may time where we're kind of doing that soft opening.
[52:20] our annual wave fest. We're moving from the end of april more, um, towards
[52:24] the beginning of april to give more opportunity to get more residents into that pool earlier
[52:29] before it gets too hot. We want to give more nice, nice weather outside.
[52:33] and then on april 12th we have the return of pups plunge. So bring your
[52:37] pup hang out in the beach front area. Um, and we'll go ahead and have a great time.
[52:41] it was a super cute event if you're able to make it in 2024 and we're excited
[52:45] to bring it back this next year. Um,
[52:50] ours hours will kick off memorial day weekend, so we're gonna be switching from
[52:54] that weekend only schedule to a seven day a week schedule starting memorial day
[52:58] weekend. Um, a lot of our guests are in school, but also so is our lifeguard
[53:02] team. So with more opportunity for them to be out and about, we have more opportunity for
[53:06] staff availability. And so we do switch from a weekend only to that seven day a week
[53:11] starting memorial day weekend. We're gonna continue with dive in movies this
[53:15] year. We have two that we're going to be hosting. I don't have the movie titles just yet, but
[53:19] I'm sure they'll be fun. Um, and we'll get those started. Our arizona lifeguard
[53:23] challenge coming up at the end of of june. And then our hispanic heritage
[53:27] splash bash. We are, like I said, gonna be moving just a little bit earlier during that
[53:32] hispanic heritage month to make sure we accommodate for nice weather that day.
[53:37] and mayor, that concludes my presentation and if you have any questions, we'll take
[53:41] this now. Thank you for the presentation, brittany. We appreciate it. Any council
[53:46] members with questions or comments? Council member condi.
[53:50] thank you, mayor. I just have a comment. Um, our family absolutely loves
[53:54] going to the aquatics center. You know, we're one of the families that rent out,
[53:58] you know, the room because it's just easier to have the kids there.
[54:02] and I love it. We have a pool at our home, but we're always outside having to watch the kids and
[54:07] making sure they're okay. This facility, I love it. The lifeguard, the jackets are there,
[54:11] so they're for our little ones, put them right on. And so every time we're there, the
[54:15] lifeguards are so kind, they do such a great job. And, um,
[54:19] I just wanna thank you all for the work that you do every time we go. We've had a fantastic time,
[54:23] so thank you. Thank you. Council member. Other
[54:28] comments? I mean, what can I tell you? 58,000 visits,
[54:32] that's quite, uh, the number. I'm so proud and happy to see that
[54:37] many of our residents are utilizing the facility and I know that they've been after
[54:41] one at least they've communicated to us that they've wanted an aquatic center for quite some
[54:45] time. So the fact that we have one now, uh, just really helps out. And as you can see,
[54:49] it's very, very busy. Uh, and I am, uh, definitely not opposed to shameless
[54:53] plugs of of hiring, uh, new, new lifeguards, especially
[54:58] his first jobs or as you mentioned, it works really well with their school schedules.
[55:02] so if anybody knows anybody who is interested, you know, make sure they contact, uh,
[55:06] parks and rec. But more importantly, it's just giving the residents an opportunity
[55:10] and just another diverse amenity to utilize. And with the new park coming
[55:14] across the way, the civic center park, I hope that that'll be incorporated in one way
[55:18] or another, uh, as well. So I'm just all around happy with this amenity
[55:23] and just look forward to more and more usage. And while the numbers may
[55:27] have dipped in october for obvious reasons for weather, you can see that, um, attendance
[55:32] has has not really been the issue. And so if there's no other comments,
[55:36] oh, council member weiss yeah, thank you brittany for the presentation.
[55:41] one of the things that I just love is the fact that you guys, um, did programming
[55:45] for parents while the kids were doing the swim lessons and it was life
[55:49] saving. And I also wanna, uh, thank the fire and police for also
[55:53] working with you for the lifeguard training. I just think that's amazing. Um, you're
[55:57] giving our residents what they deserve, safety, and I just appreciate it. Thank
[56:01] you. Thank you. One last comment and that is water polo. That's
[56:05] gotta be really cool. I have to go out there and check this out at some point. But who would've thought
[56:10] that we'd be offering water polo in this part of the valley, but more importantly that it's gaining
[56:14] some steam? So that's really good to hear. Yes, . Awesome. Okay.
[56:18] thank you so much, brittany. We appreciate the thank you mayor council. Thank you.
[56:24] okay. At this time, summary of current events
[56:28] we have. Okay, council member solorio, uh, council
[56:32] member white and myself, um, had the opportunity to be, uh, two weeks
[56:37] ago in salt lake city, utah for, uh, the national league of cities,
[56:41] um, which is just a wonderful conference that went over so many things.
[56:45] and, um, I was in a, in the running, as I had mentioned to a few of you guys,
[56:50] it feels like I've been in the running for the past six months on a position on a national
[56:54] level. So I did fortunately get in and it is
[56:58] a huge thank you to current mayor, past mayor
[57:02] and prior mayor, uh, for providing letters of recommendation. You
[57:06] get your state league's permission. And then I also had an amazing dual
[57:10] letter from senator, uh, mark, uh, kelly and senator ruben gallegos.
[57:15] that went a huge way. Avondale is, has been part of
[57:19] national league for many, many years, but we haven't had representation on the board
[57:23] since 2013. So I'm very excited for that position.
[57:28] very good. Any other council members updates?
[57:32] okay, council member pany, I don't have an update, but I do wanna congratulate, um,
[57:36] council member white and council member, um, solorio,
[57:41] um, for your elected, newly elected official, uh, positions at
[57:45] national leagues of city. And thank you guys for your time and your dedication. I know you both
[57:49] have jobs and you guys have family, so to take the time to
[57:54] go fly out and represent avondale, um, you guys both do it well. And I
[57:58] just wanna thank you both personally and congratulate you. Council
[58:02] member white. Thank you so much. I appreciate that. Thank you, um, as
[58:06] well. Um, council member condi, thank you so much. Uh, council member solo
[58:10] for your support. I did win, uh, reelection. I was the only person elected to
[58:14] a second term, um, and the national, uh, council, uh, the,
[58:18] the black council local elected officials. So I was very proud to have won that election
[58:23] with 40% of the vote. And it's a pretty competitive role in the room.
[58:27] so, um, I was very honored to do that. And I wanted to also, um, thank
[58:31] liz barker for being our support person on site and also coordinating, um,
[58:35] with myself and council member solorio to prepare our applications to,
[58:39] um, submit to nlc. But I'm very proud to serve nbc leo
[58:43] for a second term as their parliamentarian. Well,
[58:48] I had the pleasure, uh, last week of joining, and I see martina
[58:52] back there from ks heart, uh, serving, um, thanksgiving
[58:56] lunch at the mercy house, uh, my second year being able to
[59:00] participate. And I, I just first, I, I appreciate the invitation, but more
[59:04] importantly, just what they all do, a lot of it you can tell, uh, is truly from the
[59:08] heart. Um, you know, it's, they're not huge organizations. They're
[59:13] still deeply rooted here in avondale. And so the impact has definitely felt and
[59:17] much appreciated. Martina, thank you so much. And in addition, uh,
[59:21] going and attending the thanksgiving lunch at the senior center
[59:25] last week, I mean, if you want a, an ego boost, and
[59:29] I'm sure you're all aware that all you have to do is go to our senior center and they just make
[59:34] you feel so welcome. They love to take pictures. I was watching them
[59:38] compete in a, um, corn hole competition.
[59:42] uh, and just, it's just so much fun. And thank you, uh, to the, uh,
[59:46] rotary, uh, astraya mountain, uh, rotary for participating
[59:50] and, um, giving meals as well. It was just an overall great time. So chris
[59:55] and staff, thank you for the hospitality and, and more importantly, thank you for
[59:59] their service you provide to our seniors. Uh, it was a great time. I look forward to the next one.
[1:00:03] any other council members, if not okay with,
[1:00:08] with time to spare, if we can get a motion to adjourn?
[1:00:12] we got a motion from council member solorio, a second from council member white,
[1:00:17] please vote. Thank you so much. Thank you everybody for
[1:00:21] being here to drive safe and we'll see you at the next meeting.