Good afternoon. Welcome to the Mesa City Council meeting for August 17, 2026.
Mayor Freeman is out of town and is excused as is council member Adams who
is not able to attend. Uh we'll start our meeting uh with a moment of silence
uh followed by the pledge of allegiance which will be given by Jackson Jones
from Troop 54. Would you all stand for a moment of silence, please?
Thank you, Jackson.
Please join me in the pledge of allegiance.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. >> Well done. Thank you.
All right. Before we go on to the consent agenda, Miss Mosley, could you
say the names of the three people that will be speaking under the items from
citizens present? >> Sure. After running the randomizer, I
have listed number one will be Jason Smithson, number two will be Noah James
Markham, and number three will be be Leanne McKelby.
» Leanne >> McKelby
and Jason Smithson, right? I didn't see him out there, but I'm sure he's here.
All right.
So, why don't we do this? We're going to go on to awards and recognition because
I think we have one, Mr. Butler. >> Okay, this one might be kind of exciting
for uh all of us uh especially me. So, the next item in the agenda is to
recognize recent awards and announcements.
And tonight I am very excited to sh to share an extraordinary accomplishment by
our library department. The Mesa Gateway Library, our newest branch library,
first in over 30 years, received a 2026
James Bennett Public Library of the Year award. And this is a global recognition
and something for all of us to be proud of. It's seems like just yesterday in
December that this library opened in such an unique space. Uh one of the best
libraries in >> in Mesa, don't you think?
» My colleague over here is a little jealous.
» Uh you know, as council member representing the district, obviously you
can tell uh there there's a little rivalry going on, but it's it's
something truly uh unbelievable. For 20 years really, we've been asking in
Southeast Mesa for a library and probably for you and your department and
everybody involved in this to knock it on out of the ballpark the way you did
uh to to receive this kind of recognition is is really something
special. Gateway was made possible u by the support of voters. This was part of
a GI bond. We tell you all the time, what city do you want to live in? Well,
these are your opportunities to get involved and for those folks who
supported the library and continue to do so, uh we extend our grateful
appreciation because this is the kind of community asset that that we will be
able to appreciate for so many decades to come. This honor also reflects the
leadership, collaboration, and innovative thinking of our library
staff, our volunteers. Thank you so much to all of our volunteers and the board
members of the library who donate their time uh to make these these a reality.
Their work has made Mesa Libraries truly a world-class resource for families
throughout our city. Paulie Bennett, our library director over here in the front
row and members of her team were on hand to accept the award on Mesa's behalf.
I'd like to invite Paulie to the podium to tell us more about that experience.
After that, we'll join her down below for a group photo. Paulie,
good evening, Vice Mayor and Council. Um, it's an honor to be here tonight to
uh receive this recognition for the Gateway Library. It's still a little bit
surreal having accepted this um on behalf of Mesa with libraries around the
world recognizing the design. So, I'm very proud proud for um being a part of
team Mesa and for what we've been able to offer for our residents. Um the award
recognizes innovative and thoughtful community centered design and vice mayor
as you mentioned that's something that our residents really u took to heart
when we started asking questions about what what do you dream of when you think
of a new library in Mesa and from the beginning our vision was we really
wanted to exceed the expectations for our community of what a traditional
library might offer. We wanted it to be more of a transformational experience
and that was from um just the way that we collaborated with our community
partners with all of our city stakeholders. We really wanted to think
outside of the box and that was recognized by LAA and the James Bennett
jury. One of the things that I kept hearing from jury members and some of
the libraries that were recognized was how um well beautiful and stunning the
library facility is itself, but how it encouraged those connections in the
community, connections with one another, connections to learning and curiosity,
and how it integrated so nicely into the setting and really became the heart of
the community. And we're already seeing the impact for the city's investment.
We've seen over 170,000 people come through Gateway's door since we opened
in December and that's about 31% more in-house visitors across our library
system in this past year. So, we've really had a fa fantastic turnout. We've
had such a warm reception from our community and it has created this sense
of belonging and sense of place. Another um thing I do want to mention as far as
how it's being used is we've seen over 48% of program attendance increase
across our library system. And that really emphasizes how much of a
community hub that the library is. And lastly, beyond the numbers, we're
hearing how it's being used and how much people enjoy using this new facility.
Whether it's daily, we have kids who are asking their parents to come every day
after school, which is a feat in and of itself. And also, we have people who
just make it part of their routine. Um, we have new community partnerships that
are being formed because of this space. It's allowed us that opportunity. And of
course, we're getting attention in Mesa and now beyond Mesa. So, it's really a
proud moment for us. And even more so, it's great to be able to shine a light
on the great things that are happening in Mesa. Further shine a light. We're
proud of what we've been able to do working with our residents and our
library staff and our city partners, city council, but really it's a platform
to show what a great city Mesa is to visit, live in, and work in. So, we
appreciate it. Thank you. >> And it has such unique features as maker
spaces, not just books. 21st century library has maker spaces. It has a
sensory room uh room for uh our folks with autism. So, we're sensitive to
that. Uh the garden that's out there and lessons in water use. So, it's really
taken a library from what what we thought about you got to be quiet in a
library to yeah, let's go ahead and create something that's really new and
unique. So, I really appreciate that forward thinking.
» Thank you. We were hoping that we created the library of the future and
Romy the robot is actually doing more now. So next time you come to visit
Romy, he has a few more things he can do. Few more work or security or
» not yet. >> That thing creeps me out. All right, why
don't we take a picture, Mr. City Manager?
Did you notice? >> I did. [laughter]
Squish a little bit.
» Jody's excited.
» [applause]
» All right. Now, on to the consent agenda. Mr. Christopher, let's see if
you can top that. We do have a few items off of consent.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks like 4 E.
» Yep. >> 4 H.
» Yep. >> 4 M,
» 5B, and 5 C. Is that what you have?
» That's what I've got. >> Okay. And then there for a speaker,
there's also 7 A and 8A, but those are not on consent.
» Mr. Christopher. >> Good evening, Vice Mayor, council
members. These are the items on the consent agenda. All items listed with an
asterisk will be considered as a group by the city council and will be enacted
with one motion. There will be no separate discussion unless a council
member or citizen request in which event the item will be removed from the
consent agenda and considered as a separate item. Item two, approval of
minutes of previous meetings is written. Item 3 A, act on liquor license
application for the drink all 235 North Country Club Drive. Item 3 B, act on
liquor license application for Church Craft Coffee and Cocktails, 127 West
Pepper Place. Item 3 C, act on liquor license for Lati Latiandida,
Colombana, 456 West Main Street. Item 3 D, act on a liquor license application
for Tempo by Hilton Galloway Park and Homewood Suites, 5057 South Power Road.
Item 3 E, act on liquor license application for Crazy Cajun Seafood in
Habachi, 655 East Southern Avenue. Item 3 F, act on liquor license application
for Lenny's Craft Burger, 4525 South Power Road. Item 4 A, approving
three-year term contract with two-year renewal options for electric substation
infrastructure work for the energy resources department. Item 4 B,
approving three-year term contract with two-year renewal options for ball valves
for the materials and supply warehouse for the energy resources department.
Item 4 C, approving three-year term contract with two-year renewal options
for gas meters for the materials and supply warehouse for the energy
resources department. Item 4 D, approving dollar limit increase to the
cooperative use term contract for industrial plumbing supplies for the
water resources and facilities management departments. Item 4 E has
been removed from the consent agenda. Item 4F, approving three-year term
contract with two-year renewal options for roofing, repair, and installation
services for the facilities management department. Item 4G, approving contract
to purchase one liquid chromatograph tandem mass spectrometry instrument for
the public safety support department. This is funded by the governor's office
of highway safety. Item 4H has been removed from the consent agenda. Item 4
I, approving three-year term contract with two-year renewal options for
Striker Lewis 3 mechanical CPR devices for the Mesa Fire and Medical
Department. This is partially funded by a FEMA AFG grant. Item 4J, approving
10-month use of a cooperative term contract with a one-year renewal option
for the purchase of fire station alert equipment, software, and support for the
Department of Innovation and Technology and the Mesa Fire Medical Department.
Item 4K, approving dollar limit increase to the state of Arizona cooperative
contract for capital expenditure agreement for Motorola Systems upgrade 2
for the Topaz Regional Wireless Cooperative as requested by the
Department of Innovation and Technology. Item 4L, approving three-year term
contract for Tungsten Total Agility Document Scanning Platform for the
Department of Innovation and Technology. Item 4 M's been removed from the consent
agenda. Item 5A, approving resolution to enter into an agreement for management
and operations services with Legends Global to manage, operate, and market
the Mesa Convention Center and Mesa Amphitheater. Items 5B and 5C have been
removed from the consent agenda. Item 5D, approving a resolution enter into an
intergovernmental agreement with the regional public transportation authority
for design and construction management of improvements to existing bus stops at
various locations in Mesa. part of the projects funded by a federal grant and
by transit advertising revenue. Item 6A, introduction of ordinance amending
sections 10-4-2 and 10-4-3 of the Mesa City Code to establish a continuous
speed limit of 45 miles per hour on Ellsworth Road from the north city
limits to the south city limits by modifying the Ellsworth Road speed limit
between Elliot Road and the South City limit. Vice Mayor and council members,
these are the items on the consent agenda.
» Thank you, Mr. Christopher. You made it competitive
for Do we have any other items to be removed?
» No other items. >> Any council have any comments,
questions? All right. With that, I do have a a statement from the mayor on
item 5A that he would like read into the record. So, I'll do that. Uh the mayor's
statements. So item 5A, so everyone knows, a resolution approving and
authorizing the city manager to enter into an agreement for management and
operations with Legends Global for the Convention Center uh to manage, operate,
market Mesa Convention Center and Amphitheater. That is on the consent
agenda. And the mayor's statement is, "I'm sorry I could not be at tonight's
council meeting, but I want to express my appreciation to everyone who has
helped bring us to this important moment for the Mesa Convention Center and
Amphitheater. Since taking office of mayor, I have been passionate about
finding a path forward for these important community assets. Early on, I
began conversations with the city manager, Scott Butler, about how we
could reinvest in these facilities, strengthen their future, and explore a
public private partnership that could bring new opportunities to downtown Mesa
while protecting the interests of our taxpayers. Tonight's action represents
an important step toward that vision. The Mesa Amphitheater is one of our
city's jewels and together with the convention center. It has been a
tremendous potential. I believe this new direction will help us build on that
legacy, bring renewed energy and investment to these facilities and
contribute to an even stronger and more vibrant
downtown Mesa. I also want to thank the employees of the convention center and
amphitheater for their service and dedication to our community. I'm excited
about what lies ahead and confident in the future of these important Mesa
destinations. Thank you, Mayor Mark Freeman. So, with that, is there a
motion on the consent agenda? Have a motion from council member
Goforth, a second from council member Heredia. Please vote.
Motion passes five to nothing with the mayor and
council member uh Adams excused. All right.
So, let's go on.
[sighs] Let's go to the items that are uh not on
the consent agenda. I guess item 4E. Noah, I think you pulled this one. Let
me read it. Yeah. Is a 15-month use of a cooperative
term contract with one one-year renewal option for facility maintenance, repair,
and operations uh for water resources department. Noah, you have three.
» Um aloha, vice mayor, and to the rest of the city council. Um, I really do like
this one and I haven't been here in a while. So, um, because I've been
fighting people that have been not even talking about water. They've been
talking about free Palestine instead. But, um, yeah. So, let's just talk about
this. This is great. We need the water here in um, Arizona and this is a very
big concern and so I'm so thankful for the people that are taking care of our
water in Mesa and Arizona. So, thank you. Please approve this. Thank you.
» All right. Thank you, Noah. With that, any council members wish to
speak on this item? I'll take a motion on item 4E, 15month use of a cooperative
term contract. I have a motion from council member Taylor, a second from
council member Duff. Please vote.
Five eyes, no A's, with two absent. All right. What was next? 4 H.
Mr. Davis 4 was the use of a cooperative contract
for the purchase of an E1 Cyclone custom cab utility truck replacement for the
fire and medical department. Good evening, honorable vice mayor and
city council members. I have a couple of questions about this issue. Number one
is how often is this particular unit used and what is the current annual
costs of maintenance of this equipment? Okay,
» just those two. >> Just those two questions.
» Okay, great. We have someone from the fire department, Mr. Butler.
» We do. We have staff from M fire and medical that can speak to this that are
making Jason's making his way up right now. Yeah.
» And perhaps we'll start with a very brief overview of what this utility
truck does on a fire ground.
Vice Mayor, council members, the utility truck is used for a lot of the bigger
major scenes. It provides light and air to be able to refill SCBAs for a
continuous scene. Um, that's predominantly what that thing's used
for. In in terms of frequency, um, I I don't really have any numbers um in
regards on how it is, but I do know in the summertime they do tend to get used
a lot. Yeah, as far as the uh annual
maintenance thing, um I can actually get to that. Um I did not come prepared to
be able to answer that that question, but that's something that's very easy
for me to to be able to pull. >> Yeah, if you could pull those numbers,
we can get them to Mr. Davis for you. I can tell you from a personal level, I've
spent 30 plus years in the fire service, as did the mayor. Uh a utility vehicle
is basically a light air uh refurbishment unit. It is used on every
major incident. Goes on every houseire, every hazmat incident, every TRT
incident to provide support services. Uh Phoenix operates, I believe, three of
them. And how many do we have? One. >> One.
» I think we have one. So for one in a city of a half million. So
» Chief Camelly is coming forward and she looks eager to speak. So I might I might
get her the the mic. She might have some more detail. But that's what the utility
vehicle does. support for all of the the frontline firefighters and suppression
personnel uh who are doing the work. >> Yes, Vice Mayor Council, I I do want to
add to what Jason has said and to what you have said. This utility vehicle
really helps the firefighters be sustainable on calls. So, in the
summertime, they are used way more often because we have to rotate crews much
more often because of the heat. So, every single fire scene where we have um
our firefighters using their SCBAs, this rehab truck is brought to the scene.
Like Jason said, it provides lighting. It provides refilling all the the
bottles. It also has cooling systems, too. So, in the summertime, it has these
fans that blow cool air and also with moisture to keep the firefighters cool
from, you know, you know, experiencing heat exhaustion, things like that. So,
it does multiple things. >> Yeah. So, it's very much useful.
comments, >> council member Taylor. And then
» yeah, I just have a quick question. How how old is the current unit and what is
the average lifespan? >> It is a 2003, so it's almost what 24
years old. It's got 132,000 miles on it. Typically with the manufacturers, they
only guarantee parts for like the 20 year mark. So we're kind of at that
point with the build times and stuff like that that it's time to time to
replace it. >> Okay, that's helpful. Thank you. That's
what I was going. >> Okay. Anyone else? Any other questions?
No. All right. Thanks, Mary, Chief. >> All right. So, item 4, use of a
cooperative contract to purchase of E1. Yeah. One E1. Let's be clear about that.
One E1 Cyclone custom cab utility truck replacement for the Mesa Fire and
Medical Department. It is funded by the 2024 public safety bonds. Do I have a
motion and a second? I have a motion from council member
Duff, a second from council member Goforth. Please vote.
Motion carries. Five with two absent. All right. Item 4M,
Kimberly Dailyy. Let me find that.
Item 4M is a dollar limit increase to the term contract for office furniture,
office supplies, and related products. That's for citywide departments. Hi.
» Hi. >> Three minutes.
» All right. Good evening, vice mayor and council members. My name is Kimberly
Daly. I'm a resident of district 5 and a precinct committeeman.
I'm speaking today about the proposed increase uh for the contract with WHIS
business supplies and equipment. The staff reports indicates that this is not
new funding, but rather existing project money being redirected through this
contract for furniture purchases. That distinction is important, but it
also raises a broader governance concern. How much spending authority is
being concentrated in a single contract without returning to council for
competitive review? Even when funds are already budgeted,
the contract limit still matters. It determines how much can be spent under a
single vendor arrangement without further council oversight.
So the question is not just administrative, it's about
accountability. First, at what point does an increase of
this size require the city to return to a competitive bidding process rather
than simply expanding an existing contract.
The original procurement process is particularly relevant here. Only two
companies submitted proposals, and after both were evaluated and interviewed, the
city conducted a reverse auction to allow the vendors to submit their best
and final offers. The city reported that this process
reduced the overall bid amid amounts by 51%
saving approximately $279,000.
Given that we're now considering an additional 6 million in contract
authority, could conducting a similar competitive process again provide the
city with another opportunity to obtain better pricing?
Second, this is a 5-year contract and we're already seeing a significant
increase in year two just for projects taking place in 2026.
That raises a serious question. Are we establishing a pattern where this
contract will be repeatedly increased as new projects come online over the life
of the agreement? If so, council should understand that
now, not after multiple future amendments. Finally, I think council
should consider whether consolidating large project specific purchases into a
single contract reduces transparency um around how individual capital
projects are being executed. To be clear, I'm not questioning the need for
the projects themselves. My concern is whether this structure preserves
meaningful council oversight and competitive procurement discipline at
this scale, particularly when the original competitive process um
demonstrated that competitive bidding produced a 51% reduction in the overall
bid amounts. >> Okay. Thank you so much. So, Mr. Butler,
why don't we give a little brief description about when we go out to bid
versus when we expand a contract. And >> this particular one is for furniture. Uh
it's not a budget increase. As she noted, there was some cost savings,
which was great to hear. >> Um and some of these stations, 205 is
new, not a new station, but it's being
rebuilt, >> completely rebuilt now.
» 20 224 is a new station. Uh police headquarters is a new station. So that's
kind of the theme in here is that these are new facilities are being rebuilt
facilities. >> Absolutely. So, when do we make those
decisions about going out to bid versus extending a contract like that in order
to save costs? >> Good afternoon, Vice Mayor, council
members. Um, so, uh, just couple points that you already covered. Um, this is
not a budget increase. These, uh, prices, these costs rather, um, were
included in the projects that are planned. Um secondly, um what we do is
when we ask for a the council for a contract dollar limit when we're
awarding a contract, um we ask for our baseline needs. So the $2 million that
was originally awarded was our baseline needs for furniture as well as office
products and supplies. um when we have projects, we come back to council and
ask for the money for those projects. So, we don't overinflate the other years
that are part of that contract award. Um in this case, um we did do uh
competitive procurement of re reverse auction for the office supplies and
furniture, the baseline contract. Um, but for these purchases, we also went
out to the state contracts and we compared the price that we could get
using our contract with WIST to contracts that the state has available
to us, um, including one from WIST and our price that we were able to obtain on
this contract with WIS. with the partnership we've built with this
cooperative contract that we were the lead agency on, we were able to get a
slightly better price than uh we would be able to get using the state
contracts. So, while we didn't go out for a singular contract for these uh
additional purchases that we're looking for in this year um for these projects,
we did go out, we compared our existing WIS contract with several of the state
contracts that are available to us as an agency of the state.
» I don't think it's very often that we beat the state co-op contract,
» right? And I think that speaks volumes to the creativity that um that Ed and
his team have used that has awarded them, you know, national recognition as
far as how we go about procuring and uh and doing our business services. So, um
we we see that creative themes like reverse auctions have generated larger
cost savings than we can even get on the competitive market. So, it's it's a
great testament to the fact that we are trying to squeeze, you know, every penny
out of the tax taxpayer dollars that we need to put into these facilities and
and the uh furniture and other equipment that goes into it.
» As well too, this WIS contract that MESA awarded is a is a what we call a save
cooperative contract. So, it is available to um it's between 150
different agencies across the state. We're an elite agency, but because we're
awarding that contract and it's available to that large group, we see
very competitive pricing on that contract.
» Very good. Any questions from uh council?
» I just I just want to make sure I clarify and understand. So, basically,
even though you did not go back out for bid for the $6 million,
» correct? [clears throat] What is the time frame
between the the original bid and the request that we're getting today where
you did go out to bid? >> We're in year two. So, I believe the
contract started in August of 2025. >> Do you think that if you had gone out to
bid that we would have saved even more money within that two-year time frame?
» Um, so >> or am I missing something on that?
» I'm not exactly sure how to answer the question. The the year one was a
baseline year. So that was a $2 million award and and and dollar limit for that
period. It's just this second year um where we have these uh uh projects that
are coming up and we did look at the uh pricing available to us on the WHIS
contract as well as those state contract cooperative contracts that are available
to us. >> Yeah. And and Ed, I think you could say
with some certainty with just one year uh into this bidding prices have not
gone down. I think anyone who's purchased anything um understands the
realities of of what some of the economic impacts and tariffs and other
things have had on on these prices. And so um the the pricing being only a year
into the contract should be very competitive considering what's happening
in the market right now. So we are we thinking that it would actually
potentially cost more had we gone to bid >> now. Um
» because of the increased cost of products.
» The the contract is a percent discount or addition to a list price. So the the
prices are going to fluctuate. The percent discount is what we base it on.
Um everybody's kind of bidding on the same price list. So the question is
would we get a better percent discount >> if we went out for bid and u because we
have the large volume of 100 agencies >> um on the existing contract it's
unlikely. >> Okay. Okay.
» It's a lot of furniture. I know that because we have so many locations.
» It is. >> We're in the industry so it's a tricky
question. Like I know the cost of toilets has gone up, which is probably
not something people think about very often, but yeah, thank you. I appreciate
you explaining it. And yeah, thank you, >> Kim. Does that help?
» Sorry, I was That's what I was going to ask.
» I want to make sure you're >> That makes sense. Okay. Yeah.
» Any additional questions? >> Okay. And Ed, if uh if Miss Daly has any
additional questions, are you available? Okay.
» Very good. Thank you, sir. >> All right. With that, on item 4M, I'll
take a motion. Dollar limit increase to the term contract for office furniture,
office supplies, and related products for citywide departments. I have a
motion from council member Duff, a second from council member Heredia.
Please vote. I have five yeses and two absent on
that. So, we're going to go to item 5B.
which is adopting a notice of intent to enter into a retail development and tax
incentive agreement pursuant to ARS9-500.11
related to the development known as Canon Beach Hotel.
Noah, I should have started with you so you can get up here, but you're in the
front so we're good. Three minutes, Noah.
» Um, aloha, Vice Mayor, and to the rest of the city council. Um, yeah, I really
like this one. Um, and if you've never been to the Canon
Beach, [laughter] it's a great place. It's better than the California beach. I
I think so. Um, [laughter] and um, yeah, this is great to have.
And, um, the Canon Beach Hotel will be a great addition uh, to this Canon Beach.
So, thank you so much, M. >> No, I got to tell you what you're the
lay that you're wearing fits into Canon Beach very well. Right.
» You would be perfectly dressed for that. [laughter]
» Yes. Thanks. >> Thank you. No, I appreciate it. All
right. So 5B is notice intent to enter into a retail development tax incentive
agreement Canon Beach generally located at southeast corner of Power Road and
Warner Road. I'll take a motion. I have a motion from council member Go
forth, a second from council member Heredia. Please vote.
Motion passes five to zero with two absent.
Margie Gomez, you're going to be up next. Margie,
you're speaking on item 5C, approving and authorizing the city manager to
enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Phoenix to
provide detention officer training uh to city of Phoenix trainees.
Three minutes, ma'am. >> Thank you. Thank you. I have looked into
this intergovernmental agreement and to provide the detention officer training
and I have seen that in section 4.3 it says that some of this money could be
used for uh things that would cause a lot of harm like batons and uh tasers.
And so I recommend that we do not approve this um this resolution and that
we add extra oversight and auditing to the
way that this um training is being proposed.
And um also a partially related is that ICE per the
AP news has proposed having >> Margie I I got to stop you there. So
this doesn't there's no immigration training in this and I think we can
confirm that. >> So because there's no immigration
training >> we can't have a discussion on ICE or
immigration. >> Oh yes. Yes.
» But everything else you're talking about was fine.
» Oh yes. Yes. I I am sorry about that. I don't mean to talk about that part. But
uh basically I think that this is a governance question, an accountability
question to our budget and that we need to invest in education and to not
approve this training based on um the contradiction of the um office training
compared to the training of how to use batons and tra and tasers.
» Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr.
Butler. Do we want do we have anybody can speak briefly on the training?
» Yeah, we do. We do have representatives from Mesa Police Department that uh
Assistant Chief Nesbbit is making her way up and
» yeah, [clears throat] sitting all the way in the back. Chief [laughter]
» and Chief, if Miss Gomez has any questions after, would you be available
to answer them for her? >> Vice Mayor Summers, absolutely. Thank
you. >> Okay. Thank you for having us up here to
um address this training concern. I have manager Christina Van Gordon here who
oversees our holding facility evidence and property and she is prepared to
speak more specifically on the training requirements that we um have in place
for our detention personnel and the needs and the necessary needs for uh
deescalation and specific types of less than lethal uses of force.
» Okay. Thank you. >> Hi, thank you. Um the training that we
have basically mirrors what peace officers receive from the Arizona Post.
We're just not sworn officers to teach it. So they do everything from the same
curriculum that's received at the Mesa Training Academy.
» So it utilizes all levels of force. So it includes everything. So we need to
train on the aspaton. We need to train on the electronic uh connective device.
we need to train on um you know the way we move folks in certain processes when
we have uh limited options, right? And so these are just levels that we use to
address specific scenarios that are based on all the same uh governance, you
know, statute as well as case law that direct us to use those specific types of
force. And those are just tools that are um in our tool belt, if you will. And I
would assume force is the last resort. >> Correct. These are only used under our
policies and procedures that go along with um when we would use force. That
was a reasonable. >> And you spoke of deescalation. What's
that training like? >> Uh they receive emotional intelligence,
deescalation, how to communicate with people and how to talk people down
instead of using the force. >> And is is that the bulk of the training
that they >> That's a large portion of our training.
Yes. >> Yeah.
» You can laugh all you like. That's fine. Okay. Vice Mayor Summers, just to
reinforce the policies and procedures that are in set in place are under the
Mesa Police Department. So they follow all the same rules that are governed
through a post and our trainingmies. >> Okay. Any questions or from council?
» Vice Mayor, I would I would just add to I I appreciate uh Chief Nesbet giving
that explanation. Training is essential for how our public safety officials do
their jobs day in and day out. It is a tough business but proper training
ensures we have less incidents that lead to concern uh both for the IND the
detained individual the other officers and the other people in the detention
center uh itself and so um training is a good thing more training is a good thing
and I'm I'm glad as a department we take a lot of pride for both uh our detention
officers our sworn officers uh anyone who is in a capacity like that we want
to make sure that they have the best training in the nation and that h has
allowed us um our department to have an exemplary record um when it comes to
that um in very challenging situations that comes into uh policing. So I I
think more training is a good thing. So >> Vice Mayor uh Summers and Council and
Mr. Mr. Butler, one last thing. You can go to our transparency page and there we
have explicit information on our encounters and use of force that goes
along with those encounters and the different types of force that we're
using. So, I would strongly recommend uh checking out the transparency page.
» Okay, any additional questions? All right, seeing none, item 5C,
approving and authorizing the city manager to enter into an
intergovernmental agreement with the city of Phoenix to provide detention
officer training to city of Phoenix trainees as set forth uh the terms of
reimbursement to the city for such training. Do I have a motion?
Motion from council member Heredia, second from council member Duff. Please
vote. Motion passes
50 with two absent. All right, Miss Gomez, you had some uh
you're on the record to speak on 7A and 8A. So, you'll be up next, just so you
know. So, we'll move on to item 8A. Uh sorry, my bad. 7A, which is a resolution
approving and authorizing the city manager to enter into a development
agreement and other arrangements for the OIO project. Do any council members want
to speak on this item?
» Council member Duff, >> I think I prefer to hear from the public
and then I'm >> You want to hear from the public and
then we can Okay, Miss Mosley, we had the one speaker. So, Miss Gomez,
and then we'll go back to council. Three minutes. Ma'am,
» thank you so much. So, um I noticed that this the money taken for this project is
being taken from education, including the community college. And so I think
that funding should not be uh taken from education to subsidize this um this
venture. And so I would like for there to be a lot more oversight into and
justification for the funding source and that an alternative to taking money from
the community college fund be um explored. and that this and that no
further action on this resolution is taken until that happens
until we secure a funding source that does not involve decreasing money from
education. >> Okay. Thank you so much, Mr. Butler or
» Vice Mayor and Mayor or Vice Mayor and Council. I think I'll I'll take this one
if they are it's all right. Uh so as part of the uh any of our jeepletit
deals, government property lease excise tax deals, we we require that the
developer make the other um school districts and all the other governmental
agencies whole by continuing to to to pay the tax um that they would have paid
to those entities. And so the school districts are made whole. And then at
the end of the the eight the eight years they'll actually the taxes will then
obviously ramp up significantly because they invested in and they made the the
improvements to the um to the property. So during the during the during the
lease term they're they're made whole and then afterwards then the the actual
tax amount uh amount will jump up significantly. So, they still pay their
tax to to the state and then after the 8-year termination, there's a property
re assessment and then because of the added value to that assessment, they
they make more money in their taxes. So, they the education is is taken into
account in a formula and they do receive tax dollars. So, we're not cutting them
off at all. Would that be accurate? >> That that would be accurate. And and as
Mr. Smith said, that's essential to all of our GPLET deals. make sure that those
taxing indust in um entities are made whole. Uh and then uh this lot for
example has sat vacant for an extended period of time. I'm sure maybe Mr. McVey
could tell us how long that has been. uh um generating nominal uh taxes on that
property. But after this uh 8-year abatement period, uh they will then uh
generate substantially more u revenue for our educational institutions and
those other taxing industries than exists today or if it maintained a a
vacant lot for the years to come. >> Yeah. And I I appreciate your concern
because ma education is important to this council. We have Mesa Counts on
College and a number of other programs that we fund to ensure that access to
higher education and a properly trained workforce is critical to our economic
development activities. So, I do appreciate your comment. Do is there any
other council member would like to make a comment?
» No. Council member Heredia. >> No, I think uh Mr. Smith mentioned uh I
think with the the deals like this uh we we ensure that our school districts are
made whole with which is Mesa Public Schools uh the community college and
EVIT which are the three um and then I know we've talked about this project
quite a bit uh in over the years um as far as uh creating more opportunities
for people to live in the the area of the Asian district and uh and along the
light rail. So, this is a a much needed project with housing and some commercial
uh that will be added uh once it's uh fully done. So,
» very good. Council member Duff. >> Yeah. Uh the figures on the payment that
will be made to the school districts um on the attachments for the agenda item
on page seven of the presentation and page four of the council report spells
out the figures and to the entities that they will be made whole. Um,
one of the reasons that we have the griplet is to assist the de developer
and we have this was a transit uh, what do you call it? Is it a um,
» like a park and ride? >> Park and ride. And there's a lot of
changes that need to be made in order to have this housing structure here and
protect accesses and pedestrian pathways and reworking that land in order for it
to work. It's a huge expense for the developer and the abatement does assist
them in taking care of those transit adjustments as well as some other things
there during this time. So it we make it a policy that there has to be a public
benefit when we offer the the giplets the the um discounts, but we certainly
make sure um that our schools are always taken care of.
» Thank you. >> And Mr. Butler, it's safe to assume that
those agencies that are impacted by this were part of our discussion. They're not
kept in the dark, right? >> Uh Vice Mayor and Council. Yes. So we
actually we provide them notice um ahead of time and so we've provided them um I
can't remember if it's 60 days or 30 days I can't remember the conversation
we actually give them notice. >> Council member Taylor did you have
anything? >> Marjorie I just wanted to say thank you.
I really appreciated listening to your concern for our education institutions.
I worked in education for a while, so it kind of hits near and dear to my heart.
And to encourage you to know that there is funding that offsets the funding they
would otherwise lose. And then our hope, of course, is that with the OVO, it will
generate so much more funding that we will actually be able to give even more
money to our education institutions. So, I just wanted to say thank you for your
time that you came up here to express your concerns.
» Yeah. Thank you. I also taught at ASU so I I know about
being in education. [clears throat] >> Thank you, Dr. Summers. [laughter]
» All right, with that item 7A, approving and authorizing the city manager to
enter into an intergovernmental agreement for uh government property
lease excise tax agreement uh with Pride Ventures LLC for the mixeduse project
known as OIO and the real property. I have a motion. Council member Heredia,
second from Council Member Goforth. Please vote.
Motion passes five to zero with two absent.
All right, Miss Gomez, you also wanted to speak on item 8A. So,
let me read some stuff here. Item 8 A is to conduct a public hearing prior to the
release of the petition for signatures for the proposed annexation case
25-00682 for the property located at the
southwest corner of East Williams Field Road and State Route 24. I declare the
public hearing open. Miss Mosley, I usually go to you, but I have the list
of speakers. So, with three minutes, Miss Gomez. Uh thank you so much again.
So uh my concern here is that um the owner Pacific Proving LLC
had also been noted as um spending money on data centers. And
because of this concern of wanting to have some transparency and
accountability for how all of the money is being spent, I think that there
should be um some additional requirements just to um make sure that
all of the money that is being spent is going towards services and um that
improve things for the people in Mesa. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Butler. So, this is
the first action of several. Is this a data center?
» This is not a data center. >> This is not a data center, I promise.
» And this is dealing with private property that this property owner is
looking to annex into the city of Mesa. Um, we we provide no test as what was
described uh by the speaker to allow someone to exercise their right under
city code to u to annex into the city. And Jim may want to add anything to
that, but >> and also just uh vice mayor and counsel,
there's no money involved in this. This is just a release of the petition. This
is a statutory, it's basically a notice hearing that's from a statute that the
state passed uh decades ago to just make sure that the public is aware of an
annexation of property. But there's no money involved in this. It'll come, in
fact, you don't even vote after this. Um you'll it'll come back to council in the
future for a vote. So this is just this is a public notice um that was um that's
done in large part because of um annexations in the um in other areas of
the of the state in which um they the cities didn't provide notice because
they don't have an introduction type of requirement that we have. So this is um
this is just a notice hearing without saying too much. This is a
project we've been working on for quite a while. So stay tuned. But your fears
will be set aside. I guarantee. >> Okay. Thank you.
» All right. So, any any other persons wanting to speak on this?
» No other requests. >> No other requests. I declare the public
hearing closed. Uh the hearing was to release a petition for signatures. No
other actions on this item. The item will come back to council in the future
for consideration of the annexation. So, you're there's the uh this second part
that Jim was referring to. Item 8B is to conduct conduct a public hearing prior
to the release of petition for signatures for the proposed annexation
case 25-00893
for the property property located at the northeast corner of South Ellsworth Road
and East Williams Field Road. I declare the public hearing open. Miss Mosley, do
we have any requests to speak on this item?
» We have received no requests for this one.
» No requests on this item. Any council members want to address this item?
Okay, seeing none, I declare the public hearing closed. Again, this item will
come back to council in the future for consideration on the annexation.
Item nine, items from citizens present. We have uh three items. Ms. Mosley, I
believe Jason Smithson. >> Yes, Jason is first, followed by
» the first, followed by Noah. Noah, you're on deck.
Not again.
» Vice Mayor, council members, on June 20th, I spoke before this council
regarding the IGA between the city of Mesa and Mesa public schools concerning
the school resource officer program. During those remarks, I stated that an
officer assigned to Mesa High School was on the Brady list. At that time, I
believed it to be accurate based on information I had received from sources
considered credible. I have since learned that that statement was
incorrect. The officer in question is not on the Brady list. Regardless of
where the information came from or why I believed it to be accurate, I was the
person who stated at this podium and said it publicly. That responsibility
belongs to me. I would never knowingly make a false or defamatory statement
about anyone, particularly a member of law enforcement. That officer deserves
the same fairness, accuracy, and respect that I would expect if someone were
speaking publicly about me. Since learning of my mistake, I have been in
contact with Chief of Police Dan Butler and Sergeant Gillet Gilllet, don't want
to butcher his name, and my words have been shared with the officer involved.
But because I made that statement publicly, I believe the correction and
apology should also be made publicly. So to the officer, to the Mesa Police
Department, the council, and the Mesa community, I am sincerely sorry.
Accountability and transparency means more than just demanding it from other
people. It means accepting it yourself when you get something wrong. I got this
wrong. I take responsibility for it and I will be more diligent in verifying
information before making statements of fact publicly. I can't undo what I said
on June 20th, but I can correct the record, apologize without qualification,
learn from it, and do better moving forward. Thank you.
» All right. Thank you, uh, Noah. And then the final
speaker is Leanne. So, Leanne, you're on deck.
Um, aloha vice mayor and to the rest of the city council. My name is Noah James
Markham and I'm from the great city of uh Tempe. So I I want to give a huge
congratulations to Nick Willis. Um, wow. A Mormon. Yes. That believes in good
values finally. Also, I would like to talk about the
Superstition Springs Mall. Um, Vice Mayor, uh, Scott, I I need more
renovation with this, more businesses there.
Try to do something over there, more apartments down there. We need to
remodel around there because there's so many people that are coming that way
now. There's more building going to Apache Junction. There's more building
going to other cities around there. Um, so that would be a great hot spot for
people to go to instead of going to the Chandler Mall all the time. Um also um
this is a big concern for me and as people are trying to put down this data
center um the Tokyo data center especially um we need to recognize the
people um the Japanese Americans that suffered a lot in America and the
Japanese concentration camps are not very far away um from Mesa. Um but um I
I really think this would be a great gift for the Japanese Americans and
people from Tokyo could come into this business and um you can see what the
Japanese are smart of. They are very smart. Um and I think we should build
this um in uh Mesa. Also, I would like to talk about um Mayor Freeman. Mayor
Freeman, um I'm sorry, but um I'm just happy that the last mayor before you,
John Giles from Mesa, is an independent will be on the ticket with Katie Hos for
reelection, and we need him as the first lieutenant governor. Also, I would like
to talk about Flock. Another thing I really like flock, but there are people
that are making mistakes with this and that is the police officers, whoever is
in charge of this, it is it's embarrassing. Um, but I want to be safe,
too. Um, and I know Flack will do its job. Um, but right now, I guess people
are not um they're against it right now. So, [laughter] um, let's see. But,
mahalo, thank you so much. >> All right. Thank you, Noah and Leanne.
Hi Leanne, you have three minutes. >> Thank you.
U Mesa currently has around 15 data centers. They use or could use lithium
batteries which in the case they catch on fire will need tons of water more
than just a regular house or warehouse fire to put it out or even special
chemicals I believe. I don't know. Uh after that it gets put out, someone
needs to keep an eye on the battery for at least a few weeks to make sure it
doesn't catch on fire again. Instead of using so instead of using water to put
out the fires, they could use it to cool the systems, right? But that can take
around millions of gallons of water in cooler states, might I add. So how much
do you think they will use here during a 115 degree day? We're already facing a
water shortage due to uh do we want to lose more to these centers? If not
water, they could use diesel powered generators to assist in cooling their
systems down, ignoring the air pollution on that aspect alone. They could tap
into the electric grid to not only power, but to cool their systems down.
The sounds from both of these choices are awful and can be heard for miles.
This sound will scare away not only wildlife but the monarch butterflies
that Mayor Freeman signed a national wildlife pledge to help increase their
population. If he can break this pledge, this promise by introducing things that
will disrupt their migration patterns and dwindle their numbers even more,
then what other promises will he break? The sound inside of these centers will
drive down property value or if built near businesses could drive away
potential customers or new businesses due to the sound pollution. Just like we
heard during the Falcon Field landing fee meeting where a business owner
complained that their numbers dropped due to planes flying close enough to
hear. And what about the people who wanted to have a quiet morning on their
porch? Plane noises disappear at least, but these centers will always be there
humming away more loud and more annoying than the planes.
These centers will cause strains on the electric grid. And while increasing our
electric bills will cause rolling blackouts to prevent a full shutdown. If
it does get overwhelmed or one small thing, one small mistake happens, a
total blackout can occur. Just like in New York, July 13th and the 14th, 1977,
which resulted in four deaths and 550 injuries, or the Northeast blackout on
August 4th, which in 2003, which lasted in some areas 2 hours and others up to 4
days, and that resulted in around 100 deaths. Now, imagine that happening here
when those days are recorded uh 115°. >> You have about 20 seconds.
» Thank you. Uh, we don't need any more data centers, AI centers, or the
extension on the NT center. I would sooner trust nuclear power plants than
these centers. If anyone if anyone votes yes on these
centers, we will vote no on your next election or have you recalled like those
before. Thank you. Made it. All right. [applause]
I assume the applause is because this was such a great meeting, but
So with that, that was our last speaker. That's all the items we have for this
meeting. There is a motion to adjurnn. I have a motion from council member Go
forth, a second from council member Taylor. All in favor, please say I. I.
» Any opposed? We are adjourned.
» [music]