[0:04] >> great. I'd like to call the regularly scheduled january 6,
[0:09] marana town council meeting to order. Roll call, please? >> mayor post.
[0:13] >> here. >> vice mayor ziegler. >> present. >> council member kavanagh. >> yes. >> council member comerford.
[0:18] >> yes. >> council member kay? >> he is excused. >> council member murphy? >> present.
[0:23] >> council member officer. >> yes. >> a quorum is present. >> thank you very much. Please stand for the pledge of
[0:27] allegiance followed by a short moment of silence.
[0:56] thank you. Please be seated.
[1:08] approval of agenda? >> moved second.
[1:13] >> motion and a second to approve the agenda, all in favor. >> aye. >> opposed. Motion passes. Call to the public.
[1:21] at this time, any member of the public is allowed to address the town council on any issue within the jurisdiction of the town council,
[1:29] except for items scheduled for a public hearing at this meeting.
[1:34] do we have speaker cards? >> yes, mr. Mayor, we have three speakers for the call the public.
[1:39] >> tonight, we are going because of the sheer volume of speakers that we have.
[1:45] we're going to let everybody speak tonight, but we will limit the time for 2 minutes so tonight's time for speakers is 2 minutes,
[1:54] and we're still going to be here a couple hours so please proceed.
[2:01] >> the first speaker is david sea, followed by dave hindman and roland baker,
[2:07] and I did just get a fourth card for the call of public.
[2:14] >> welcome, sir. >> thank you sir. My name is david sea,
[2:19] I am a marana resident for over eight years, retired.
[2:25] chairman, with 27 years of active duty service, and I'm the chairman of the marana veteran cemetery found.
[2:33] thank you for this opportunity. Our marana veteran cemetery will celebrate it's tenth anniversary in march,
[2:40] and there are over 5700 interred there today.
[2:45] it took a community, strong leadership, perseverance, and generosity from others to have it come to fruition.
[2:53] the kay family was essential to our cemetery's existence as
[2:57] a graciously donated 42 acres in honoring our veterans.
[3:03] the family made it clear that when they transferred the title of the land to the arizona department of veterans services,
[3:10] that land was to only be used for a veterans cemetery.
[3:15] I want to thank you all for your leadership.
[3:19] careful planning, with establishing an ordinance to mitigate potential noise intrusions to our cemetery.
[3:28] help achieve one of paul marsh's agenda items of having
[3:32] another access road to the cemetery off of panel air park,
[3:37] and continuing to grow our community while adapting to the future needs of our technologies and way of life.
[3:45] I know in my heart that every decision you make is with the best intentions,
[3:53] not only for our veterans, but all of us who reside in this fast growing community.
[4:00] I am one of your strongest supporters and god bless you for your efforts. Thank you.
[4:06] >> thank you. [applause]
[4:11] >> the next speaker is dave hindman, followed by ron baker and dennis shannon.
[4:19] >> mayor post, vice mayor ziegler, council members. My name is dave hindman.
[4:25] my family and I have been residents of marana for over 15 years now.
[4:29] I'm currently on the marana chamber of commerce board of directors. I was formally on the marana citizens forum before that was disbanded.
[4:37] I wanted to thank the council and the town for your leadership.
[4:43] I live very close to the twin peaks improvements at rattlesnake pass.
[4:47] that project turned out fantastic. Our neighborhood loves it. I just want to thank the town for having the foresight to think ahead of needs of
[4:57] the community and to also plan for improvements in infrastructure that benefits my family directly,
[5:04] whether it's parks, roads, other items, and really focusing on things that will help improve our community and doing so in ways
[5:11] that don't pass the costs directly onto me as a community member. Thank you.
[5:17] >> thank you very much. [applause]
[5:23] >> the next speaker is roland baker, followed by dennis shannon.
[5:31] >> good evening, council members. Good evening, mayor. Thank you for allowing me to be here yet again.
[5:37] the reason I'm here today is to beg and plead with
[5:41] you that we do not open a detention center and we do not open a jail.
[5:45] neither of those are viable options for that building that mtc had.
[5:52] we in the pma resist ice, that's our group.
[5:57] we came up with a position paper, and I would like to read a couple parts of that position paper for you.
[6:02] I have copies for each and every one of you of the position paper and a couple of other things for
[6:08] you to peruse at the end of this meeting. What is our moral argument?
[6:13] why there should not be a detention center? Our religious traditions strongly teach a care for the poor and the vulnerable.
[6:21] we do not believe that any human being is illegal. We treat each other with dignity and we welcome the stranger.
[6:29] christmas just happened. Who was that stranger in that stable?
[6:34] we humbly see ourselves in the presence of the people seeking sanctuary in our midst.
[6:40] most of us have fore bearers who made such a pursuit. We strongly support legal pathways to citizenship.
[6:47] such legal pathways urgently need to be reinstated in our national immigration system.
[6:53] we cannot allow us this town of marana or any part
[6:59] of arizona to put people in detention centers in prisons.
[7:05] they are making money off of human beings. That's what this detention center is about, making money off of human beings.
[7:10] that's what you need to think about. When you understand that there is a detention center that possibly could be opened.
[7:18] I implore everyone here to please not allow the detention center to be opened.
[7:24] I ask that you read our position papers and the other papers that I gave to you.
[7:30] thank you for your time and hopefully you will listen. Thank you.
[7:35] >> thank you very much. [applause]
[7:43] >> the last speaker for the call the public is dennis shannon.
[7:52] >> mayor, council members, dennis shannon, you've heard from me before and you've heard over the last few weeks,
[8:01] many people in opposition to this proposed is detention center.
[8:06] lots of different people with lots of different perspectives.
[8:10] but all very compelling reasons to oppose this detention center.
[8:17] it doesn't matter if your political views are conservative or progressive.
[8:21] it doesn't matter if you're on the left or on the right. These are all reasons not to allow this detention center to exist.
[8:31] we've heard lots of people say why it shouldn't exist.
[8:35] we just heard rolen say why it shouldn't exist. I'd like to touch very briefly on the
[8:41] how pma resist is is a coalition of groups that are opposing the detention center.
[8:51] we've been working with the american civil liberties union and their attorneys to discover,
[8:59] work through actual tools, legal and administrative tools that can be used to effectively
[9:07] prevent this detention center from being put into operation.
[9:13] this is an ongoing research project. It's unfolding, and we would like to share what we've learned
[9:20] about possible ways of preventing the detention center.
[9:25] but we have not been able to meet with any of the council members, so we request that when we request to meet with you,
[9:32] your constituents that you meet with us. Thank you [applause].
[9:45] >> mayor and council report. Council member kavanagh.
[9:49] >> thank you. Mayor, I appreciate it. Wife and I were visiting the marana lake over there l rio,
[9:56] when you mentioned it on your facebook page. I just think it's beautiful. They trimmed out a lot of the all those cotton tail weeds.
[10:05] they're invasive species, you know? It's really nice over there. It's nice to walk around and see things,
[10:11] and we actually took a walk up the loop a little bit and saw those beautiful petroglyphs right there on the side of the mountain,
[10:18] right there, something to behold. You can just locate it. There's pvc pipes sticking up,
[10:22] get you right in there. It's beautiful. That's all I had, mayor. Thank you.
[10:28] >> council member comerford.
[10:34] >> sorry. There we go.
[10:40] good evening al. I had a couple of things, mayor.
[10:46] first of all, I wanted to tell you all about a new restaurant in town that my family and I went to.
[10:54] that el rancho market has a small cantina inside, and it's wonderful.
[11:02] it's a great little place plus they have so much for sale in there
[11:07] for their sauces and everything that they make and they do everything by hand.
[11:14] I just wanted to say, hora for somebody coming in new.
[11:20] they worked hard to get there. They're on ina road.
[11:25] I'm trying to think what they're across from. I maybe close to old father. The signal there.
[11:33] any case, give them a try. You'll like it. That was my first thing, and then I have my notes.
[11:49] I wanted to talk about something I've never seen in marana,
[11:53] and it saddens me and all the reports that I've been reading,
[12:00] I had, and a 80-year-old woman,
[12:04] write a report about how she felt about what's going on in
[12:10] marana and wants to attend meetings, but she's fearful.
[12:16] she's fearful if she gets up and speaks what might happen to her at the end of our meetings,
[12:23] and that really saddens me that somebody does not feel safe in our town.
[12:28] we've never had that before. I want to tell any of you I don't care which side you're on. Doesn't matter.
[12:37] if you don't feel safe or you're scared or whatever the reason is,
[12:43] you come up here and we'll make sure you have escort to your vehicle so that you are safe,
[12:51] you're kept safe because that's important to us.
[12:57] I know we had some we run out of data center ordinance?
[13:05] anybody get data center ordinances tonight?
[13:13] they were on the table when you checked in so we wanted to make
[13:17] sure that you were able to get that. I had made I never go on social media. I hate that thing.
[13:27] I love going on to read and I read everything and I read what you're
[13:32] all saying and I read your content and your feelings.
[13:38] I get it. I think we all get it and you know,
[13:43] I wanted you to know that this poor woman really got to me, got to my heart.
[13:53] my post in social media was I want to say not taken in the text that I meant it.
[14:02] I meant it to be informative and some people said I was offensive and rude,
[14:10] and that was definitely not my intention. What my intention is I always want people to have information.
[14:18] I really wanted you to be able to have a copy of that ordinance.
[14:24] no that it's the end all, but that you see what we did when we started hearing about this stuff and the research
[14:33] and the work that went into what we want and don't want in marana.
[14:42] that was the reason why I wanted more ordinances out there.
[14:48] I would say probably 95% of the complaints I got were about water.
[14:57] just fully so, our ordinance states that you can't use one drop of marana water.
[15:03] you'll hear about that throughout the night. I just wanted that.
[15:09] I wanted you also to know that marana does not have a property tax. I don't know if you knew that.
[15:16] you'll get your property tax notices, but you won't see one for the town of marana,
[15:22] and that has to do with our planning.
[15:26] what we have done to make sure like our old mayor said,
[15:32] never going to be a property text in marana. I can't dedicate that, but I can say for sure that we haven't and we don't plan on it and we plan well
[15:43] with our growth and everything going on in marana to help avoid that.
[15:53] the other thing is speaking of ed, it saddens me.
[15:58] our mayor passed away a little over a year ago and what saddens me is
[16:06] the reports of usage of funds donated at election time.
[16:18] ed ran unopposed. He didn't need $1.
[16:22] he got it delivered to him a lot and he didn't spend one.
[16:28] I don't think he spent one dime. Maybe he did, but most of that money went directly to the food bank.
[16:35] it went directly to the food bank, and talking about a dead man that's not here to defend himself,
[16:47] I think is cowardly. I'm just going to stipulate that. That's all I'm going to say.
[16:53] what I'm telling you are the facts, that money went to the food bank because they
[16:58] were looking to purchase their property there in.
[17:02] we've been improving that service since the original folks
[17:07] left it. That was my final thing.
[17:13] it saddened me to see the mayor talked about that way.
[17:19] he died doing his job. One of two that I've seen recently,
[17:26] and I don't want to be number 3. >> thank you, mayor.
[17:31] >> thank you, patty. [applause] council member officer?
[17:38] >> no report, mayor. >> council member murphy? >> just real quick. I just want to give a shout out to everyone that lives in the town of
[17:44] marana for all that you did for all the families during christmas, from donating clothes to food to the hertagna for donating food to our food bank as well.
[17:55] but anyway, just a shout out to everyone for being so upfront and just making our town what it is today.
[17:59] thank you guys so much. [applause] >> thank you, council member murphy.
[18:05] I'm going to give my time over to the vice mayor.
[18:09] I almost forgot you. I was close. >> I saw that. >> [laughter] good catch. [laughter] vice mayor?
[18:16] >> no report, mayor. >> mr. Rozema. >> mr. Mayor, vice mayor, members of council,
[18:22] I'll forego my report tonight in the interested time. I know we have a lot of people who are going to want to speak tonight.
[18:27] I will just make sure that everyone is aware, in case you feel like sitting down.
[18:32] if you want to stand, that's fantastic. But over at the pd, across the courtyard over there,
[18:38] we have an overflow room, pretty comfy, I think, if you're interested in being seated during the meeting tonight.
[18:50] >> thank you. Moving on to the consent agenda, do I have a motion to approve?
[18:55] >> motion to approve, mayor. >> second. >> we have a motion and a second. All of those in favor.
[19:00] >> aye. >> aye. >> opposed? Item passes. A1
[19:08] >> item a1, public hearing. Ordinance number 2026.001, relating to utilities,
[19:15] amending the town of marana comprehensive fee schedule by successfully increasing the water-based fee,
[19:19] water consumption rates, groundwater resource acquisition fee, monthly wastewater service fee,
[19:24] and wastewater volume charge. For all marana residential and non-residential water and wastewater customers,
[19:29] effective february 6, 2026, january 1, 2027, january 1,
[19:34] 2028, january 1, 2029, and january 1, 2030.
[19:38] resolution number 2026-004 relating to utilities,
[19:43] declaring as a public record filed with the town clerk, the amendments adopted by ordinance number 2026.001.
[19:49] >> good evening, heidi. >> good evening, mayor. Sorry, this first one colin dret is not here with us today.
[19:57] I will be the one giving the presentation this evening. This is our rate study public hearing.
[20:08] here you will see that marana water is here to provide safe and reliable drinking water 24/7 365,
[20:15] and on here you will see a lot of our stats. As it goes, we have 218 miles of mains.
[20:20] you'll see sewer mains, fire hydrants, and about 13,000 water customers and just shy of 8,000 water reclamation customers.
[20:30] just to give a little background on this study that we did.
[20:34] the last one was conducted in 2019, which we all know is pre-covid,
[20:39] so a lot has happened during covid. A lot of increases in prices of materials and supplies,
[20:46] so this rate study will capture all of that.
[20:50] also, the production are operating as well as our capital costs.
[20:56] if we take what we are bringing in today in the door and projecting our expenses over the next five years,
[21:02] that will not cover what those expenses are projected to be. The recommendation is an annual increase of both the water and water reclamation rates.
[21:13] the town continues, like I had said, initially to be fair and reasonable.
[21:19] we're here to deliver safe and reliable drinking water that also constitutes taking out the contaminants in our water,
[21:25] which is a large portion of what the rate increases is supporting,
[21:29] delivering high quality services for today into the future.
[21:37] onto our financial forecasting. Basically what we do is the first thing we do,
[21:42] is take the baseline where we are today with our revenues and then forecast in our operating costs and expenses.
[21:49] we develop our cashflow, and then lastly look at assessing revenue sufficiencies.
[21:58] if you know a lot of the brand new houses there,
[22:02] we have a lot of water saving devices that we're putting into these houses today so a lot of our houses are actually using a lot less water than we have in the past.
[22:10] we also take into account inflationary pressures. Like I had mentioned covid and the big inflations that took place then,
[22:18] we take that into account in this situation. We also look at the regulatory requirements that are increasing,
[22:24] which is the pfas. You'll see what effect those have on our increases.
[22:32] step 1, like we had talked about, we're doing revenue projections on the existing rates.
[22:38] we forecast, we look at the water, we have about 780 edus this year,
[22:44] and we're projecting approximately 480 per year. The reclamation side is 660 edus this year and about 400 moving forward.
[22:54] our growth is about 1% less than the account growth, my apologies.
[23:02] we assume we're increasing our conservation, like I mentioned, putting in those water saving devices into our houses.
[23:11] this is looking at the baseline. This is step 1,
[23:15] where we are on both sides of the house on the water side as well as the reclamation side.
[23:22] then this looks at the inflation. Back in 2019, we were roughly about 2% on the inflation side,
[23:28] and you can see from that date forward to where we are today that big jump that we had in the center,
[23:33] and we're coming down and we're roughly around that 3% inflation as of march of 2025.
[23:41] then we take a look at our operating expenses.
[23:46] at this point we first start with our 2026 budget,
[23:50] which is our starting point, and then we add in the inflation and incremental adjustments.
[23:55] we look at all the major assumptions, our payroll, health, any variable costs that we have.
[24:01] we add that all in, and then we take into the detailed forecast additional positions, meaning staff,
[24:07] vehicles, any equipment that they need to do their jobs, water quality, and then contracted services.
[24:14] that would be our outside contractors that we bring in to perform duties for us.
[24:20] then looking at operating expenses, looking at 13 new positions,
[24:25] six for water, four for reclamation, one shared, and then a couple of interns.
[24:31] along with that, we also have to have vehicles and equipment for those folks to do those jobs.
[24:37] looking at water quality, increase in testing, adding in contracted services.
[24:48] the water projects that we have, we have our meter replacement program,
[24:53] which is about 300,000 a year. We have our uv maintenance as well.
[24:57] the picture on the left, you'll see those are our staff actually changing out the bulbs in the uv,
[25:03] so maintenance that needs to take place. Layering in our operating expenses on top of that first one.
[25:12] our capital expenses represent investment over long term assets.
[25:18] rates are a source of funding for capital projects.
[25:22] we also have capital expenses for rates funded, that annual pay as you go,
[25:28] or we have principal and interest.
[25:39] sorry about that. We also bring in grants, not impact fee projects,
[25:44] those are separately funded projects that are not included in the rate study.
[25:49] another project to highlight is our water rehabilitation program.
[25:53] the town tries to do one well per year. We have funds that are set aside to rehab one well per year as well as one reservoir.
[26:03] we actually bring folks in to inspect each of the reservoirs looking for any inefficiencies,
[26:07] and we fix those as we go. Water service line replacement.
[26:12] this, as you can see, some pictures are of some main breaks. If we have an area that has consistent water breaks,
[26:19] we'll put that in as one of our next projects as water service line project replacement,
[26:25] so that we're not continually doing band aids, but we'll do one bigger project.
[26:30] then the big one is pfas. This is the contaminant that we have that's in our water.
[26:36] here you'll see that we have four wells that need to have the treatment put on them.
[26:42] you'll also see that it's split between not only rates, but also impact fees.
[26:47] you'll see a portion of it will be included in the rates while anything that's
[26:51] impact fee related would be for future customers.
[26:59] another project that we do is on the reclamation side as we inspect not only our service lines,
[27:06] but we also inspect our manholes and lift stations. On the bottom you'll see a cctv camera going through our pipes.
[27:13] they will be jet cleaned with water, and then we go through and look for any inefficiencies and fix those as well.
[27:20] that is part of our rates as well. Then this is layered on into the cashflow and revenue side of things.
[27:32] here you can see the layering of expenses, operating capital, and total on the right side is layering all three of them together.
[27:44] on the recommendation side there's a gap between where we are today and where we
[27:53] need to go with all of the projects that need to be completed for maintenance and pfas,
[28:02] and you'll see this is where we're trying to close that shortfall gap with this rate increase.
[28:07] the recommendation on the water side is a 10.5% year over year increase and on the reclamation side,
[28:13] it's a 2.5% increase, is what the recommendation is.
[28:21] this shows the gap between where we were before,
[28:27] or I should say today and where we would be in the five years and how we would close that gap.
[28:35] as far as the bill impacts go, you can see what the typical rates are today,
[28:44] the 51.80 and 53.43, so 105.23, if you have both water as well as wastewater,
[28:51] although we do have some customers that may have just water as well as some that might just have
[28:55] wastewater and might have tucson water or another water provider.
[29:00] this is the year over year increases that you can expect.
[29:08] no. Then as far as this goes with the bill comparison,
[29:17] everybody likes to see how we're compared amongst each other. You can see that we're not the most expensive,
[29:23] but we're also not the least expensive. We're toward the bottom there.
[29:28] you'll see that marana's existing is $107 and the proposed being $114,
[29:34] a bill if you had both marana water and wastewater.
[29:42] just a few other things to highlight as far as bill assistance goes,
[29:46] that we do have cdbg grant money that is available for utility assistance.
[29:52] that's not only for water or wastewater. If you're having trouble with the tep bill, that can help as well.
[29:57] we did get a high use payment plan that was passed, thank you. That is helpful for our customers.
[30:03] then a couple other programs that we're looking at is the roundup program as well as budget billing to offer those services to our customers.
[30:12] where we are today, we are at step 8 with the public hearing and possible adoption.
[30:19] then if approved today, the next step would be that on february 6,
[30:23] these rates would go into effect. With that, I will take questions.
[30:28] >> I neglected to open this public hearing. This is a public hearing. We are in public hearing at this time.
[30:34] does any of the council have a question for staff?
[30:39] >> mr. Mayor? >> yes. >> I'd like to mention when we're back to pfas.
[30:45] that's been very successful for us. Jane, I'm looking at you for a few numbers,
[30:50] but the town did spend. >> the lawsuits have been successful, right?
[30:55] >> yes, sir. >> pfas has not been successful at all. [laughter]
[31:00] >> oh no, I want to be crystal clear, I'm sorry. Thank you, mayor.
[31:06] we went out with the urging of a lot of our citizens a couple of years ago,
[31:13] and the two wells that were affected were the airline lambert and the picture rocks.
[31:21] they did have pfas. We spent, I think about $16 million on each one of
[31:27] those campuses to clean those two wells.
[31:32] to this day, they are clean, they've been clean. These folks are getting some of the cleanest water in southern arizona.
[31:39] I want to thank our attorney,
[31:44] jane farrell, and everyone who worked on this. We also had some outside attorneys that we
[31:49] entered into agreements with for 3m and to say, we want reimbursed for some of this.
[31:58] you know, we've been dealing with that for about two years, three years now,
[32:04] and we were successful here just recently in getting several million dollars
[32:09] back towards the money that we've spent so far in mitigating pfas.
[32:15] I just want to bring up a little bit of a success story. Thank you, mayor.
[32:20] >> thank you, vice mayor. I was going to ask the same question. I think for a little bit of clarification for the audience,
[32:26] we have been in a legal battle over pfas
[32:31] for many years and have done quite well continuing to
[32:35] fight to get all of the monies back that we are going to
[32:40] spend on reclamation of cleaning the water for our residents.
[32:46] heidi mentioned that putting in pfas treatment centers is a huge portion of why we need a rate increase.
[32:55] heidi, my question to you is as we are successful in these lawsuits,
[33:00] how can we interject that money and skip a year or two of rate increases,
[33:09] or do we have to come back and study that? How does that work?
[33:13] >> good question. >> does somebody want to answer that?
[33:19] >> mr. Mayor, vice mayor, members of council, with respect to the pfas issue,
[33:24] there's two main elements. One has to do with the capital component to actually build the plants,
[33:29] and one has to do with the operations and maintenance of the plants. On both sides we're exploring options and seeking legal remedies associated with each.
[33:39] it's our hope that we may be successful if we pursue what's called a circle claim,
[33:44] which is under a superfund site, and there are certain options and avenues that may provide some type
[33:49] of revenue offset for some of the ongoing maintenance costs, because even once the projects are built and serving the water in the community,
[33:59] there's a significant operations and maintenance element. Any monies that might be received to offset
[34:05] the operations and maintenance side would supplement that and we could entertain in type of
[34:11] either modification or change or bring something back before council, is just would require additional analysis.
[34:17] but for the purpose of the rate model that's brought before council for consideration,
[34:22] it assumes and has factored in what the anticipated ongoing maintenance costs are going
[34:27] to be to keep those plants providing the water. >> thank you very much,
[34:31] derrick. Do we have any other questions? >> I had a question. >> hold on. Council member comerford and then council member kavanagh.
[34:37] >> I just wanted to mention the fact that we had an outstanding,
[34:44] now that we do too now, water director that brought the whole pfas to our attention
[34:52] long before the epa ever decided that they were going to come out with numbers.
[34:58] matter of fact, we had our two first sites up and running by the time they came out with their numbers.
[35:07] I'm proud of our staff and the fact that we try to stay ahead of this stuff,
[35:12] and I know you're trying to stay ahead with it too. Unfortunately, these things happen.
[35:20] >> but fortunately we have what people in marana drink and the best water in the country.
[35:28] I just wanted to add that to it. >> council member kavanagh?
[35:33] >> yeah, heidi, I had a question on table 26. If you could go to that. Is it 26?
[35:38] yeah. You have a comparison there. That would be the 2026 bill versus neighboring utilities.
[35:45] marana propose would be $114 for the average user.
[35:50] is that for wastewater as well as drinking water? >> that would be a combined bill.
[35:54] >> now, if you look back at the bill impact sheet, the previous slide,
[36:00] 25, I don't see 114 of the 2025 bill.
[36:06] I see 105. >> yes, I'm sorry. That is a miss on this slide.
[36:14] >> okay. >> that should have been updated. >> got it. At a glance, said?
[36:21] you wonder why is marana water. Is it not even 2026, is it?
[36:26] >> no. Is off $2 in 2020. >> 2026, the total number is 112,
[36:32] and this is 114. Go back to what the mayor said,
[36:37] we could find a way to not impact the marana citizen too much,
[36:42] maybe cut off a year or something because cost of living in marana's is
[36:48] significantly higher when it comes to water compared to neighboring cities in the arizona? Just a thought.
[36:54] >> yes, mayor post vice mayor cavanaugh, I understand, and we really tried really hard to just we put
[37:00] the bare bones of what we needed on both the maintenance side as well as project side to try and really keep what we could
[37:07] down and keep the interests of our customers in mind. >> thank you. We have a problem in this area, the pfas contamination.
[37:16] it's just here. Absolutely, it costs a lot of money to clean it up. Thank you.
[37:20] >> any other questions from counsel for staff? Do we have anybody from the public that would like to speak on this item tonight?
[37:29] >> mr. Mayor, I have not gotten any speaker cards for this topic.
[37:33] >> I do not believe we need anything to happen tonight for this item, correct?
[37:41] >> mr. Mayor, I believe we do need a vote on this item to adopt the ordinance and resolution.
[37:48] >> I thought that was in february. That's when it takes place. Do I have a motion?
[37:54] >> I'll make a motion mayor. I'm going to adopt ordinance 2026 001 amending the town of marana comprehensive fee schedule.
[38:02] I successfully increasing the water based, water consumption rates, groundwater resource,
[38:09] and recreation fee, acquisition fee, monthly wastewater service fee,
[38:14] and the wastewater volume charge for all marana residents. Non residential water and wastewater customers effective february 6,
[38:22] 2026, february 1st, 2027 and january 1st,
[38:29] 2008, january 1st, 2009, and january 1st, 2030,
[38:36] and to adopt resolution 2026 004,
[38:40] making the changes a public record.
[38:44] >> do I have a second to that really long motion? [laughter] well, the motion a second. All those in favor.
[38:51] >> aye. >> pose. Motion passes.
[38:56] the town clerk has a giant stack of speaker cards down there,
[39:02] and she missed one for a call to the public.
[39:06] we are going to stop what we're doing, and we are going to call that person forward and hear what they have to say.
[39:14] >> thank you, mr. Mayor. Apologize to bennett burke. Apologize that we mislabeled your card. I apologize.
[39:27] >> mayor, vice mayor, council and staff.
[39:31] I'm a marana resident, and tonight I'm here to speak about the moral dimension of a detention center in marana.
[39:38] this governing body has told us that it can't do anything to stop an ice detention center in marana. Maybe so.
[39:45] but every good and decent person can use their own voice to speak out like we are doing tonight,
[39:50] like I am doing right now. On this fifth anniversary of
[39:55] trump's violent attempt to overthrow a legitimate election to stay in power.
[39:59] each of us must speak out against the pure evil of this administration,
[40:03] from its racist and violent persecution of migrants by trump's mass gestapo,
[40:08] to his blatantly illegal attack on a sovereign nation, to his threats to invade colombia,
[40:14] cuba, mexico, and greenland. He has effectively declared himself an emperor after his invasion of venezuela saying,
[40:22] "american dominance in the western hemisphere will never be questioned again."
[40:27] in addition, his politization of the military was compared yesterday by
[40:32] army major general paul eaton to joseph stalin's purges of
[40:37] the top officers and soviet forces and said that we have
[40:41] "a 1940s stalin problem in the american military right now,
[40:47] as bad as venezuela's president was, but despite trump's lies,
[40:52] modoro has never posed a significant threat to the united states."
[40:57] trump, on the other hand, is doing everything in his power to become the second coming of adolf hitler.
[41:03] everyone who still supports trump second reich, everyone who remains silent about its crimes,
[41:09] and everyone who fails to do everything in their power to stop it is complicit in his villainy.
[41:15] I ask each and every one of you officially and/or personally to stand up for our democracy,
[41:22] the rule of law, and the constitution of the united states of america before it's too late.
[41:28] the point of no return is close at hand. Thank you.
[41:32] [applause] [noise]
[41:42] >> mr. Mayor mary rome also is here to speak for the call of public. >> that was a mislabeled.
[41:47] >>yes. I apologize. >>. No, apologies, necessary. I'm just check in to make sure.
[41:52] >> good evening. Two months ago,
[41:57] we gave you a tool to consider a proclamation from the town council to
[42:06] the management and training corporation and to
[42:11] the department of homeland security to say this community does not want a detention center at the former prison.
[42:21] you've got copies of this resolution. I'm going to see how much I can read.
[42:26] the well being of our community is our highest concern, and we have invested in building
[42:33] an engaging community for our community members in marana.
[42:37] it is our moral responsibility as a civil society and municipal government to protect the vulnerable.
[42:47] the religious leaders of the united states, have spoken out against the travesties of justice,
[42:55] lack of due process, cruel abductions and separations of family
[43:01] through purported immigration enforcement raids.
[43:06] detention centers have resulted and will result
[43:11] in increased activity by ice, border patrol,
[43:15] in which masked officers pull their guns upon suspected community members,
[43:22] creating an unacceptable level of fear, preventing people from attending church,
[43:29] school, jobs, grocery stores. The operation of detention centers across the united states have
[43:37] resulted in increased use of force against community members.
[43:43] tear gas, pepper balls, sound barriers, and crowd controls which have violated our first amendment rights.
[43:52] employees of the former mtc operated prisons were placed in dangerous situations.
[44:00] >> thank you, ma'am. I appreciate that. >> yes, please get this on the agenda.
[44:06] let us hear you debate it. Let us hear your considerations.
[44:10] thank you. [applause]
[44:22] >> a2. >> item a2, public hearing, ordinance number 2026 0.002, relating to development,
[44:29] approving a rezoning of approximately 300.5 acres of land located west of interstate ten along
[44:35] north lockett road and just south of the penal county line, in a portion of section 1 township 11 range 10 e
[44:41] from r-144 residential to sp specific plan, creating the lockett road north specific plan and
[44:47] approving a minor amendment to the general plan, amending the land use category from employment to master planned area.
[44:53] resolution number 2026-005 relating to development,
[44:58] declaring is a public record filed with the town clerk, locket road north specific plan,
[45:02] adopted by ordinance number 2026 0.002. >> thank you very much [inaudible].
[45:08] we are now in public hearing. Mr. Rozema, would you please be so kind as to cover the ground rules of this?
[45:16] >> mr. Mayor, vice mayor or members of council and to our entire audience,
[45:20] first of all, welcome to you, and thank you for joining us here for tonight's meeting.
[45:24] I do want to cover just a few ground rules because I don't know if you're aware of it or not,
[45:29] but sometimes these things get contentious, and that has certainly occurred in various jurisdictions across your country.
[45:35] that's not something that's okay. We're going to have dialogue tonight.
[45:40] we're going to have discussion, and it just needs to be respectful. No biting, scratching, kicking, gouging,
[45:47] pulling hair, none of that's allowed, especially this guy right down here, man. [laughter] I could tell.
[45:52] [overlapping] he's a hair puller. I could tell. [laughter] yes.
[45:57] when somebody is up there speaking, please don't be talking,
[46:01] no yelling from the crowd. Please make sure that you direct all of your comments to the council.
[46:07] please don't engage the crowd, no booing, things of that nature.
[46:12] just want to keep this very respectful dialogue and discussion.
[46:17] we greatly appreciate that. If it gets to a point where we think we need to step in and stop it, we'll do that.
[46:23] we'll ask you to calm down if you don't, get these awesome people in these uniforms back there that will
[46:31] happily escort you to a place where you can yell and scream all you want. Thank you, mr. Mayor.
[46:38] >> thank you. Mr. Angel. >> good evening, mayor post.
[46:42] vice mayor ziegler, council, happy new year.
[46:47] this evening, I have the pleasure to present to you ordinance number
[46:52] 2026-002 and resolution number 2026-005,
[46:58] which is a rezoning request for lockett road north data center specific plan.
[47:04] the applicant for this is lazarus and silvan representing the church of latter day saints,
[47:10] who is the owner of the property. The request is for rezoning from r-144 to
[47:16] a specific plan for the specific purpose of developing a data center use.
[47:21] this also requires a minor amendment to the 2040 general plan, which accompanies the application.
[47:27] the approximate size of this particular site is 300 acres and it is currently zoned r-144.
[47:34] the general plan has it designated as employment.
[47:38] there's two maps here on your screen. The one on the left is the general plan.
[47:42] everything that's shaded in purple there is the employment categories designated by the general plan.
[47:48] you can see the subject property outlined in that black line there. On the right is the existing zoning designations.
[47:55] the existing property is r-144, but the current use of that is agricultural.
[48:01] this is active farmed property. To the east of it is vacant property,
[48:06] which has an e transportation zone, one of our old alphabet zones on that property,
[48:11] and also to the east is the existing veteran cemetery. To the south is also r-144 zoning,
[48:18] but active farmland to the west is agricultural property to the southwest,
[48:26] and an existing solar field immediately to the west.
[48:30] then to the north is an existing active mine or quarry operation that is located in penal county.
[48:38] as I mentioned, this proposal is for a data center campus.
[48:43] as you are all well aware, we have adopted an ordinance that specifically
[48:48] requires any data center use to come through a rezoning process.
[48:52] that is outlined in section 17-6-13 of the marana town code.
[48:57] just to highlight a couple of those important areas within the code,
[49:02] we do require a baseline noise study, which has been included in the application.
[49:07] they also have to provide a letter from the power provider which indicates the intended source of the power and affirming from
[49:15] that power provider that there is sufficient and existing abilities to serve the site.
[49:23] assessment of the future energy needs,
[49:28] or the estimated annual water consumption.
[49:32] an intended source of water for the development and documentation from
[49:36] the water provided that says that they have sufficient water to be able to serve the site.
[49:41] the last thing is as part of the application, if the applicant is not able to meet or is requesting
[49:46] any waivers or variances from the requirements of the code,
[49:51] they are required to call that out. That is not the case here. The applicant has provided
[49:55] all the necessary information and is in compliance with the code requirements.
[50:01] to touch on a little bit about the site. The power provider for this particular site is trico electric.
[50:07] the proposal is for 550-750 megawatts,
[50:11] which is identified by trico. Water provider, marana water will provide office operations only.
[50:21] the water for that, as you may recall, in our code, we specifically state that maranas
[50:27] potable water may not be used for any cooling systems within this facility.
[50:33] actually this facility, I know we've said it a couple of times, but it's proposed as an air cooled facility,
[50:39] so it's not a water cooled facility. They also have water being provided or proposed to be
[50:45] provided by cortaro marana irrigation district or cmid.
[50:49] they would be providing water for irrigation, industrial, and fire suppression purposes.
[50:54] this is in our marana wastewater service area.
[50:59] infrastructure. I'm going to take a little bit of time to walk through this one.
[51:05] as part of this, the proposal would be for an extension of currently,
[51:12] lockett road dead ends just outside of the entrance to the veterans cemetery. That'll be extended to the north up to where it'll connect to panel air park road.
[51:21] the exact alignment is yet to be determined, but on this image here,
[51:26] you can generally see that black dash line that takes it up and connects to panel air park road.
[51:32] these are very high conceptual estimates right now,
[51:37] but the estimated cost for that lockett road extension is approximately $20 million.
[51:44] that will be 100% the cost of the applicant to design and construct that facility.
[51:52] that will ultimately become a public road, which will be turned over to the town.
[51:57] it would be our long term maintenance responsibility.
[52:02] for water. They have an extension of potable water that is estimated to be about 3 miles in length.
[52:09] the water extension is estimated to be 15-$20 million,
[52:14] which also includes perhaps some boosters and some oversizing of that facility.
[52:20] that is once again, 100% of the cost of the developer or
[52:25] the applicant to carry that cost to design and construct.
[52:29] now, I do want to say, if they oversize that facility, which means there's additional capacity that could be passed on to
[52:36] other developments that may be developed years down the road, and they connect into that.
[52:42] our town code does allow for that facility to be protected by the initial party that installs it,
[52:48] therefore, they would be eligible for reimbursements of some of that oversizing cost.
[52:52] it is not a reimbursement from the town. It's a reimbursement from
[52:57] the other developer that would be utilizing that additional capacity.
[53:03] >> wastewater, I'm sorry. Wastewater also has an extension of approximately two miles
[53:09] for a force main and also a proposed lift station that would accompany that.
[53:14] excuse me. That estimated cost is roughly $15-20 million.
[53:22] same thing applies here. That is 100% the cost of the applicant or the developer that would have to put that in.
[53:30] if they choose to oversize that line, it too would also be eligible to be a protective facility,
[53:36] which they could be reimbursed for that additional capacity as new developments come on.
[53:42] once again, the town would not be reimbursing any of that cost.
[53:47] lastly, there is a drainage facility,
[53:52] a large drainage channel that's identified as part of the northwest drainage study that we did many years ago.
[53:57] that is that green dash line that starts over on the frontage road near harden road, extends up,
[54:04] comes all the way through, and then ultimately, continues to the west where it would eventually daylight into the santa cruz river.
[54:14] as part of this project, well, the overall cost estimate for that channel is $66 million.
[54:23] as part of the ordinance that's included in your packet,
[54:28] the applicant would be responsible for full development of a 30% design of the full channel.
[54:38] that estimated cost is $2 million. We'll have a design of what the whole channel would look like.
[54:43] those plans will be turned over to the town. As development continues in this area,
[54:48] and the need for that full channel develops, we would have the plans to ultimately be able to carry that out.
[54:54] the applicant or the developer of this property would be responsible for constructing
[54:59] their portion of the channel which falls within the boundaries of this subject property.
[55:05] that is estimated at $20 million for that drainage construction.
[55:12] I'm sorry, 15 to $20 million is the range that's provided there.
[55:17] once again, they would be responsible for the construction and the full design of that.
[55:24] the remainder of that $66 million would be
[55:29] either the responsibility of the town at a time and date in which they choose to move forward with the full construction of the channel,
[55:36] or if other developments were to occur in this area, they would then pick up their fair share of that overall channel development.
[55:45] all of this is covered and outlined in the conditions of this attached ordinance.
[55:52] those are conditions 11, 12, 13, 14,
[55:57] 15 and 16, which clearly outlined the timing,
[56:02] the responsibility, and who is responsible for that.
[56:08] the next thing is a very conceptual design for the project,
[56:14] the white cross hatch, the large area in the center there, that is the develop bubble area for the project.
[56:23] then you have that gray box there, which is the approximate location for a transmission or
[56:30] a substation to be able to accept power and then ultimately distribute it to the project.
[56:35] other areas that are identified as buffers and drainage areas that are shown here.
[56:41] for reference on the east side of this drawing is lockett road.
[56:48] the plan commission did hold a public hearing on this back on december 10th.
[56:52] after extensive public hearing, the plan commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the rezoning request,
[57:01] subject to the conditions as outlined in the draft ordinance within your packet.
[57:05] this is a discretionary item for the council. If the council chooses to approve this item,
[57:11] staff recommends it be based upon the recommended findings and subject to the conditions as set forth in the ordinance included in the agenda.
[57:20] one thing I do want to point out, recent conversations that staff has had with the applicant has also led to
[57:28] an additional condition that has been placed on your dias this evening in a hard copy format.
[57:36] it's not included in the ordinance that is listed, but what I want to do is just take a moment,
[57:41] if it's okay, mr. Mayor and read this through it, just because I understand you just received this language this evening.
[57:48] that additional condition is, "if the data center use in the rezoning area is discontinued,
[57:54] the property owners must cause all data center hardware and infrastructure
[57:59] to be removed from the buildings interior in compliance with all local,
[58:04] state and federal regulations, and must establish and execute security protocols to
[58:10] ensure the safety and upkeep of the property within the rezoning area,
[58:16] including protocols in the event of the property becoming vacant."
[58:20] with that, mr. Mayor, this does conclude my presentation.
[58:25] I should say, if the council were willing to accept this additional condition,
[58:33] we would ask that you make proper note of that in a suggested motion to
[58:38] make sure that it's clearly added to the adopted or the ordinance that's included in your packet.
[58:44] with that, mr. Mayor, this concludes my presentation,
[58:49] but keri silvyn with lazarus and silvyn.
[58:53] I'm struggling with that one. Is here representing the applicant and does have a presentation that she would like to make as well.
[59:01] >> thank you, jason. Does council have any questions for staff? >> yes, mr. Mayor. Mr. Angel's.
[59:07] so we've just gotten this on the dias tonight, read through it, a couple of questions.
[59:13] do we have this clause, and any other of our buildings that we have?
[59:22] I'll give you an example. How about the one up on, I think it was the old bashes.
[59:27] they left that, did we have something like this for them that they had to adhere to?
[59:36] >> mayor post, vice mayor ziegler, are you referring to the additional condition?
[59:41] >> yes, the list condition that we just looked at. >> to my knowledge, no. We do not have that condition on anybody else.
[59:48] >> does any of our walmart,
[59:52] anybody else have this condition that walmart's going to open a new one?
[59:58] the old walmart, do they have this condition, existing companies have this condition?
[1:00:06] >> mayor post, vice mayor ziegler, there are no other businesses that I'm aware of that have
[1:00:12] a condition that requires them to comply like this.
[1:00:16] we do have, just so full council is aware, our solar facility ordinance and
[1:00:23] solar and battery ordinance does have a decommissioning portion that applies for that.
[1:00:30] but as far as structures, buildings, businesses, I'm not aware of any that have it.
[1:00:37] >> okay. Lastly, this, if I remember,
[1:00:42] and I'll ask you, is not in our existing ordinance for daddy centers?
[1:00:47] >> that is correct. It is not in there. >> okay. Thank you very much.
[1:00:52] >> any other questions for staff? Thank you, jason.
[1:00:57] >> thank you. >> ms. Lazarus, would you like to make a presentation? It's your show.
[1:01:04] >> mayor, vice mayor, members of the council, keri silvyn with lazarus and silvyn.
[1:01:11] >> my apologies. >> it's okay. Lazarus was my name for the first half of my life.
[1:01:16] it's all good. My father will be very happy to know you called me keri lazarus.
[1:01:22] with your indulgence this evening, what I'd like to do is a single presentation for both.
[1:01:29] I know we have the luckett north. That's where we are right now. Your next item will be luckett south,
[1:01:34] but instead of doing this twice, I'm going to go ahead and consolidate the two,
[1:01:38] but obviously, available to answer any questions. I want to introduce a few people from our team who are here with us tonight,
[1:01:45] from my firm, jackson cassidy and rory juneman are here,
[1:01:50] from the beale infrastructure team, we have arnaud dusser and nick torrance,
[1:01:54] as well as michelle koch, from kimley horn, in case you ask any engineering-type questions.
[1:02:01] you certainly don't want me answering those. We have aaron harris with us as well.
[1:02:06] also available are representatives from the utilities,
[1:02:10] in case you have any questions: trico tep, and cortaro marana irrigation district.
[1:02:16] what I'd like to do in this presentation is introduce beale and data centers generally,
[1:02:22] talk about why southern arizona and why the town of marana, and then step through how we're meeting your ordinance and what's being proposed tonight.
[1:02:31] staff and I do have some duplicating slides.
[1:02:37] I am going to go a little bit more quickly through the ones that we duplicate,
[1:02:42] but can certainly go back if there are any questions from our perspective on what those are.
[1:02:49] beale infrastructure. Beale is a infrastructure partners with
[1:02:55] the world's leading technology companies to develop data centers and infrastructure that support national economic growth.
[1:03:03] it's well capitalized with a project team of industry veterans with deep experience in delivering infrastructure projects.
[1:03:11] beale works closely with communities to understand local resource constraints and develop a responsible sustainable roadmap for growth.
[1:03:20] beale was founded on the values and the commitments as it says on the slide to sustainability,
[1:03:26] community investment, and health and safety. What is a data center?
[1:03:31] data center is really that physical backbone of the internet.
[1:03:35] they drive our modern economy and have become essential to our daily lives.
[1:03:40] every one of us: our children, grandchildren, friends, have cell phones.
[1:03:45] anything that we do on those phones relative to social media or computers.
[1:03:50] social media, online banking, access to our doctor or medical records,
[1:03:55] checking online status of anything, buying tickets, those all touch data centers.
[1:04:01] that is the physical backbone, and again, the physical infrastructure that allows those to operate.
[1:04:07] data center support all of the region's major industries, enabling both day-to-day operations,
[1:04:13] and long-term innovation in things like aerospace and defense, bio-science and healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financial services,
[1:04:21] education, and research, tourism, and all levels of government.
[1:04:27] the buildings, how's the servers to make all of this work?
[1:04:32] if you think about the data that I just described, our medical records,
[1:04:36] our financial records that we put out there into these data centers,
[1:04:41] we need to be creating this infrastructure in the united states and not relying on foreign markets.
[1:04:48] as technology is advancing, and we're able to create data centers that balance
[1:04:52] more effectively the use of energy and water, markets like southern arizona begin to make sense.
[1:04:58] air cooled, access to energy and renewable resources are all part
[1:05:03] of what arizona has to offer in southern arizona in particular.
[1:05:07] why marana and southern arizona? Strategic location.
[1:05:11] first, we have a very low level of natural disasters, which is critically important to,
[1:05:18] again, that piece of critical infrastructure. For this proposal in particular,
[1:05:23] and we'll talk about this a little bit more. This area, this 300 acres plus the 300 acres to
[1:05:30] the south is surrounded by industrial to the north and to the west,
[1:05:35] the air park to the north as well. It's currently farmland.
[1:05:40] it's in the far northern marana area. It is planned based on
[1:05:44] your updated general plan for industrial and employment growth in the future.
[1:05:50] it is across the street from the veterans memorial cemetery.
[1:05:54] we have worked with the town to create that new access along luckett that you heard
[1:05:59] about from mr. Angel just a few minutes ago to make it easier,
[1:06:04] and we're being sensitive to that use as well, and we'll talk about that in a minute.
[1:06:10] strong workforce. We have a very strong construction workforce in southern arizona, and currently,
[1:06:18] a lot of those folks, both the construction trades and the local workforce have to travel outside of arizona,
[1:06:25] at least outside of southern arizona for work. We don't have as much construction as we've had in the past.
[1:06:31] what we're really excited about is that those construction workers, many of whom are here this evening,
[1:06:37] are not having to get up really early in the morning, drive up to phoenix on a project and drive
[1:06:43] back or even have to leave for long periods of times, weeks for projects that are possibly even outside of the state.
[1:06:51] we're really excited to be providing those construction jobs and we'll hear a little bit more about that.
[1:06:56] beale also has a commitment to workforce training locally. Our regional community college, pima community college,
[1:07:04] and others already have infrastructure in place for that training and are
[1:07:08] already talking to us about how we can increase that capacity and assist them.
[1:07:13] the dialogue has also started with the marana school district foundation,
[1:07:17] as well as the marana school district superintendent about those additional potential resources.
[1:07:23] this project is going to provide more technology jobs as well as construction jobs as it moves forward and really try to help keep our college graduates,
[1:07:33] which we hear a lot, especially those of us who have had children, keep them in our region rather than them having to leave for those types of jobs.
[1:07:42] last is power availability, it's close to planned extensions of infrastructure and fiber,
[1:07:48] which is critically important for the data centers. Again, we're working with both trico and tep as well on the two sites.
[1:07:59] this is just a map that gives you a little bit more of a sense of the regional context,
[1:08:05] the designated growth area and employment area. Mr. Angel already went over,
[1:08:10] which was that purple, and I'll show you that in just a minute. We're away from existing residential.
[1:08:15] the nearest resident is a mile away from either one of these two sites.
[1:08:19] as you go further north on the site, it's even more longer than a mile distance.
[1:08:29] we're near I-10 and the panel air park, both of which are significant noise creators,
[1:08:36] proximity to power, and we are not going to have impacts to sensitive habitat.
[1:08:41] this is retired farmland and no findings of cultural resources.
[1:08:46] this is a very busy map, and I apologize, but it gives you a sense of what I think we've already gone over,
[1:08:52] which is what's going on around. The north, you have industrial commercial. We have the veteran cemetery and some other commercial,
[1:09:00] the solar energy and the agriculture to the south. This is just one more picture.
[1:09:05] it's a current google earth that actually shows the solar panels, so you can see where luckett north and luckett south are, the industrial,
[1:09:13] the air park, I-10, the solar facilities, the farming, and you can see that there is no residential within a mile, and it's planned.
[1:09:22] this whole area is planned for employment in industrial uses.
[1:09:26] there's your purple area that you saw from mr. Angel's map.
[1:09:32] I want to talk really quickly about these two specific plans.
[1:09:38] you're seeing luckett north and luckett south. They're each 300 acres for a total potential of 600 acres.
[1:09:45] we are rezoning to specific plan, which is what your data center ordinance asks us to do.
[1:09:51] what's also in front of you is a minor amendment to your general plan.
[1:09:55] your general plan calls this out as employment. Whenever you rezone to a specific plan,
[1:10:02] you actually have a designation that's required, which is called master-planned area.
[1:10:08] we need to do a minor amendment to just track that this is going to be a specific plan.
[1:10:13] but the policies all relate. In other words, the specific plan to data center
[1:10:18] is in compliance with your employment designation. It's just a minor amendment to change the map colors.
[1:10:26] one other things I want to touch on here and I have one other slide,
[1:10:30] but it's important because it's a lot of the questions that have been asked is relative to the air-based cooling technology.
[1:10:38] >> as we've said before, bill has heard this community in the region loud and clear and wants
[1:10:45] an air-based cooling technology with no consumptive water for cooling.
[1:10:51] the data center ordinance that you adopted a year ago, and we thank you for doing that because you're ready for this project or
[1:11:00] a project requires cmid supply the non-potable for the minimal industrial irrigation and fire suppression.
[1:11:08] the water usage today on this 600 acres for farming is about 2000-acre feet per year.
[1:11:16] the need once this is up and operational is about 40 acre feet per year.
[1:11:22] that's not just coming from us. We've been working with cmid, and you can see it in some of the letters and it's in our application.
[1:11:30] it is our commitment to this project to do air-based cooling technology.
[1:11:37] this is a 98% reduction in water use for the 600 acres.
[1:11:42] the potable water use, again, will be, as mr. Angel said, is the town of marana,
[1:11:48] and that will be for office type uses, domestic type uses.
[1:11:55] as many of you have pointed out, your staff worked really hard and long on research to,
[1:12:02] I believe it's the first data center ordinance in arizona that was adopted over a year ago,
[1:12:09] acknowledging that this use may be coming in appropriate ways for this use to come in.
[1:12:14] >> carrie, have you asked for any variation in that ordinance? >> mayor, vice mayor, we have not.
[1:12:21] >> you're going to adhere to that as written? >> yes, sir. These are all of the pieces of the data center ordinance,
[1:12:31] and as you pointed out, you have an opportunity in your ordinance to request and justify changes.
[1:12:37] we are not requesting any changes at all. We are 100% complying with each of those boxes in your ordinance.
[1:12:44] I'm going to step through those as well. Permitted uses, the primary use is a data center,
[1:12:52] you can do ancillary uses. One of those ancillary uses is emergency only generators.
[1:12:58] I'm going to talk a little bit about that because that's caused
[1:13:02] a lot of questions and I want to try and answer some of those if I can.
[1:13:07] but obviously, if I don't, I can come back up after the public portion.
[1:13:12] these are only permitted for emergencies, and that would be a blackout situation where
[1:13:17] the utility provider cannot provide energy to the site. Per year ordinance, all of these generators must be tier 4 or newer for emissions,
[1:13:27] which is the highest standard. Tier 4 right now is the highest standard.
[1:13:31] the or newer is to, I believe, acknowledge that the status center ordinance is going to be in existence for a while,
[1:13:37] and so if there's a newer, then that has to be complied with.
[1:13:42] the number of generators is not determined at this time because the design is not yet ready.
[1:13:49] this is a question of the basic use being permitted. Then we start working on design and with the utilities and with the other regulators,
[1:13:58] state and federal regulators relative to emissions. We got to get the use going first, approved first,
[1:14:05] and then we will be in that stage, so we don't know how many generators.
[1:14:10] >> carrie, who regulates the generators? >> mayor and vice mayor,
[1:14:14] the generators, they have to comply with state and federal regulations.
[1:14:20] pdeq is the primary air emissions regulator.
[1:14:24] I have in my notebook, the list of all of the regulations and all of the agencies that are involved,
[1:14:33] if you'd like me to get that. >> no. >> okay. >> but they are regulated by an agency that inspects?
[1:14:39] >> mayor and vice mayor, they are heavily regulated,
[1:14:44] and the regulation is a combination of providing those regulators the actual data.
[1:14:51] the amount of the generators at the time that we're ready to do that, they double check that.
[1:14:59] I think we have to actually give the numbers of the actual generators that are on site,
[1:15:05] those get inspected, and then there's ongoing monitoring. That is the extent of my understanding,
[1:15:12] so if you have follow-up questions on that, I can [overlapping] members. >> well, that answered it quite well. Thank you.
[1:15:19] >> that your data center ordinance requires, and we put it in the specific plan that these can only be
[1:15:25] tested weekdays between 8:00 am, and 5:00 pm. They are each required to be tested.
[1:15:31] it's called a no load test, only once per month, as opposed to weekly,
[1:15:37] which I think there's some things out there talking about weekly, and it's once per month,
[1:15:41] only about 15-30 minutes each. They are not all tested at the same time,
[1:15:46] and again, it's a no load testing, and we will comply with all federal and state air quality requirements because we have to, and we will.
[1:15:55] any calculations or estimates presented or created related to
[1:15:59] these backup generation needs or any of those emissions, really when it relates to this site are premature and not accurate.
[1:16:07] we don't have that information yet, and again, it's going to come at a later date with the appropriate regulators.
[1:16:13] however, I do want to point out again, that all of your data center ordinance requirements
[1:16:20] for generators are in our specific plan and will be complied with,
[1:16:25] so we are complying with those. Our building design, we do not have our building designed yet.
[1:16:33] you have a number of requirements, everybody's favorite word fenestration.
[1:16:40] there are requirements for variations and facades, masking requirements, neutral color palettes.
[1:16:47] we will be complying with those, those are in our specific plan.
[1:16:51] they're required wherever the buildings can be seen from public rights of way and the edges.
[1:16:57] these are just examples. Again, our buildings are not designed. These are examples of other buildings that have included
[1:17:03] the types of design elements that are listed in your ordinance.
[1:17:08] I'm not representing that these are what the building is going to look like. It's not designed. Again,
[1:17:13] they're representative of those architectural elements. I am not going to read you this slide in the data center ordinance and our specific plan.
[1:17:22] these are the setback and the buffers and screening requirements. We will comply with those.
[1:17:27] they are reiterated in our specific plan. I want to touch on noise for a minute.
[1:17:33] I know this is a really busy slide, but this was brought up a lot at the planning commission.
[1:17:38] you have very stringent requirements relative to noise.
[1:17:42] I realize that the data center ordinance was adopted because it applies all over the town.
[1:17:47] as I mentioned before, this is an area where we don't have residential,
[1:17:52] which are considered the sensitive noise receptors that are related to data centers.
[1:17:58] that being said, we are not only complying, but we're actually doing a better job based on our modeling.
[1:18:04] your data center ordinance requires that we model beforehand and then we true it up at the end.
[1:18:11] once we're operational, because we had to make some assumptions about design to model it.
[1:18:16] we did model it, and I'll show you that in just a minute. But as soon as we're up and operational,
[1:18:22] we have to go out there and demonstrate with a noise analyst and a noise meter that we are meeting your requirements.
[1:18:28] one of the things we talk about dba decibel levels. Nobody really understands what that means.
[1:18:34] what we tried to do along the top was give you an explanation of what those decibel levels mean.
[1:18:41] you can see the most stringent is somewhere between 55-60,
[1:18:46] and that is really between the average home noise and
[1:18:51] a normal conversation or maybe a little bit of background music.
[1:18:56] sometimes when you're working, I will not say it's what my teenage kids
[1:19:00] used to call background music in their bedrooms, it's what I would call background music while I'm working.
[1:19:06] those are the requirements at the property line. Our sensitive noise receptor is really the memorial cemetery,
[1:19:15] and we heard a lot about that. We are required to be at that lower 55 dba at the property line.
[1:19:23] that's a conversation, I would say it's not even what I'm saying in a microphone,
[1:19:28] a conversation between two people. Then you have landscaping,
[1:19:32] you have the roadway, you have more landscaping on the memorial side and then a setback.
[1:19:37] what we've discovered in doing our baseline noise study is at any given time,
[1:19:42] the traffic on I-10, the planes from panel air park are all going to be
[1:19:47] louder than even what's going on at our property line.
[1:19:52] what we want to show you is that we did our noise, the required modeling for luckett north.
[1:19:58] I'm going to show you luckett south in a minute.
[1:20:03] you will see that on the far right is the modeling,
[1:20:09] which is significantly lower than what the town requires. We will exceed what the town requires at a minimum,
[1:20:16] we will meet it, and we will true this up once we have the project up and operational.
[1:20:21] this is north and you'll see the same thing for luckett south, and I can come back to this.
[1:20:28] >> miss sullivan? >> yes. >> if I remember in the ordinance and just to bring it forward
[1:20:34] is we will have the opportunity to pick the third party, correct?
[1:20:39] that will come in and check this for us to make
[1:20:43] sure that these noise levels are what's required and pursuant to the ordinance, correct?
[1:20:49] >> mayor, vice mayor, I actually don't have that portion of the ordinance memorized,
[1:20:53] but I know we intend to work with the town on that consultant,
[1:21:00] so I'll say yes. >> I have a little bit of that memorized.
[1:21:05] >> yes. >> because noise, it's not that tangible.
[1:21:11] >> mayor and vice mayor, I would say it is measurable from instruments that you can measure it with.
[1:21:18] there's no fudge factor on measuring noise with those things, so yes.
[1:21:25] >> thank you. >> mr. Mayor and vice mayor ziegler. The studies must be performed by a qualified third party acoustic engineer,
[1:21:34] so the town would have to determine that they are qualified. >> yes, and we pick that third party, we as a town,
[1:21:41] or is it in conjunction with the [inaudible]? >> mayor post, vice mayor ziegler.
[1:21:47] we would not pick the third party acoustic engineer,
[1:21:52] but we would have to determine, we would look at their cv,
[1:21:56] their resume, make sure that they're qualified, that we're going to accept their results.
[1:22:01] >> who chooses that third party? >> vice mayor, that would be chosen by the developer of the data center.
[1:22:08] >> thank you. >> I would just add, mayor, vice mayor,
[1:22:13] we would be presenting those credentials to the town before we do it to make
[1:22:20] sure that that person is appropriately credentialed and get your okay on that as well.
[1:22:26] to be clear, there aren't that many noise acoustical engineers in the state in this area of the region,
[1:22:37] so it's a small number of folks who have that degree and are able to provide that information.
[1:22:44] >> I'm sorry. Ms. Farrell,
[1:22:49] I thought and I guess my mind is I thought it was a decision
[1:22:54] by the town of marana to pick the third party,
[1:22:58] and so that's my error. I thought the third party was somebody we chose or chose together,
[1:23:07] let's say, mutually agreed with the third party. But it sounds like I'm in error.
[1:23:13] >> vice mayor roxanne ziegler, I'll just read exactly what this section of it says.
[1:23:19] >> thank you. >> the data center operator must conduct a post construction noise study performed by
[1:23:25] a qualified third party acoustic engineer to document sound levels emanating from the data center after the construction is done.
[1:23:34] it would be at the developer's cost that they have to conduct this,
[1:23:40] and they would have to convince the town that it is a qualified third party acoustic engineer.
[1:23:46] I guess in that sense, we do have the ability to veto the choice that they've picked,
[1:23:54] but those are the words that are in the ordinance, what I read there.
[1:23:59] >> thank you, jane. >> carrie, how does the ordinance handle the pitch,
[1:24:03] the noise pitch? Or does it? >> mr. Mayor, no. The charts that miss sullivan had up,
[1:24:14] that is what the ordinance addresses. Is the decibel levels maximum allowed decibel levels during
[1:24:21] daytime hours and during nighttime hours depending upon the zoning of the affected property.
[1:24:29] >> would that pick up a particular machinery pitch of noise?
[1:24:34] >> mr. Mayor, obviously, I'm not a third party acoustic engineer.
[1:24:39] >> oh, you're a lawyer. [laughter] >> but what it will be looking at is strictly a decibel level.
[1:24:47] >> last thing I want is a phone call from my mother saying that she cannot sleep.
[1:24:54] >> mayor, understood. >> yeah.
[1:24:58] >> this slide is one of them that I think that mr. Angel has done a great job of going through.
[1:25:05] these are the infrastructure commitments. They're all codified in the ordinance conditions in
[1:25:09] both ordinances for luckett north and luckett south. These are commitments that bill is making to extension of infrastructure.
[1:25:17] I mentioned before that this area is designated for future employment and industrial use.
[1:25:23] what has not happened yet is an extension of a lot of this infrastructure to open
[1:25:28] this area up for that future use as designated in your general plan.
[1:25:33] this begins that process with a developer coming in and paying,
[1:25:38] as mr. Angel pointed out for these pieces of infrastructure.
[1:25:43] we can come back to this if we need to, but I don't need to dwell on that. I want to touch on the economic impact and this is
[1:25:49] something that we probably have not done as good a job as we should have in making
[1:25:55] sure it's out there as positives for the community. This was done by an independent third party,
[1:26:02] it's an independent third party analysis. A couple of things that you need to know is that these numbers already incorporate
[1:26:10] the reductions for state level incentives that are available for data centers.
[1:26:15] this includes those. These are the final numbers after those are deducted.
[1:26:21] the other is that you have a marana job creation incentive program that I think was adopted in 2013,
[1:26:30] or ms. Farrell can correct me if I'm wrong, and that specifically does not permit
[1:26:36] data centers to avail themselves of any economic incentives for the town of marana.
[1:26:41] we are not availing ourselves because we can't as to any of your local economic incentive opportunities.
[1:26:48] these numbers, therefore, don't deduct anything for the town of marana because we don't get to.
[1:26:55] this third party economic analysis was based on the first phase of this project,
[1:27:01] which is less than the full 600 acres. What it tells you is obvious,
[1:27:08] but the capital investment is $5 billion over a multi-year construction period.
[1:27:14] what we did was broke out the amount of tax revenue for the first 10 years that would come to the town of marana,
[1:27:23] which is 145 million. The footnote, which it's always fun to read a footnote on a powerpoint presentation.
[1:27:30] but what the footnote tells you is that the total taxes for state,
[1:27:36] county, and town over that 10 years is actually 407 million.
[1:27:42] that does include some of the school stuff,
[1:27:46] which we can talk about. >> can you go over that just real quick, real brief? Do you remember that?
[1:27:53] >> let's talk about the fire, too.
[1:27:59] >> mayor, vice mayor, and members of the council.
[1:28:03] that's my way of stalling to get to the right page.
[1:28:14] this independent third party analysis includes that estimate for both fire and school.
[1:28:21] I'm going to do fire first. For the first phase and first 10 years,
[1:28:26] it's anticipated to have an additional revenue to the fire district of over $15 million.
[1:28:33] you're probably aware of this, but annexation into the northwest fire district is the intended fire district.
[1:28:43] the question of how much revenue is anticipated for the school district,
[1:28:47] again, it's first phase first 10 years. It's estimated to generate over $25 million to the school district.
[1:28:57] roughly 15.5 million will go towards the state's primary qualifying tax rate,
[1:29:04] what's called a qtr, as the project adds billions in local assessment.
[1:29:08] that's how the school handles and is able to increase tax revenues.
[1:29:16] the direct local benefit also includes overrides and bonds,
[1:29:22] and that's another 10.4. Those two together gets you to the 25 million.
[1:29:27] the bonds and overrides are generated via secondary taxes,
[1:29:32] overrides like prop 411 and the bonds. This money stays 100% within the marana school district.
[1:29:41] if you have any follow up questions, you might have to ask the school superintendent or.
[1:29:46] I do, but I think you can answer this. You talked earlier about doing some things for the foundation,
[1:29:53] and that doesn't include those numbers, is that correct? Mayor and vice mayor,
[1:29:59] members of the council, that is correct. Those are the numbers that are generated from this economic analysis that
[1:30:06] are based on things that will come directly to marana school district,
[1:30:11] based on state formulas and overrides. In addition to that,
[1:30:15] we are working with the marana school district foundation, and those conversations have started.
[1:30:20] yes. The last three columns on here, I want to touch on over almost $1 million estimated in impact fees.
[1:30:30] those are one time fees as the construction occurs. The estimate also includes 4,200 construction
[1:30:38] jobs over the life of the project for phase 1,
[1:30:44] which is probably we estimate 2026 to 2030.
[1:30:48] then permanent jobs, and I want to highlight this is 400 permanent jobs.
[1:30:53] these are positions that are onsite. They include engineers, technicians, operations, and security.
[1:31:00] about half of these jobs will be professional engineering jobs, the other half or security and other jobs associated with the site.
[1:31:07] there was some discussion in some of the next door and other places that these are jobs that come in and then go away.
[1:31:16] these are the jobs that are required to sustain the first phase of the data center project.
[1:31:22] also talked about jobs that were outsourced, like they didn't live here in the community.
[1:31:27] is that you intend for these to be on site jobs? Mayor post and vice mayor eagle are members of the council,
[1:31:33] these are intended to be on site jobs. There may be other jobs like that,
[1:31:39] but these 400 are the on site jobs. Mr. Mayor?
[1:31:43] yes. Miss so. Again, on the construction jobs, 4200/10 years.
[1:31:54] the submit is from 20 for fate remember this phase 1.
[1:31:59] we were estimating in this economic analysis that phase one would be about 2026 to 2030,
[1:32:06] there will then be a second phase. This is phase 1? Yes. So that's phase one.
[1:32:11] so eight years, 8,400 jobs, is that what we're.
[1:32:16] vice mayor ziegler, the phase one may be
[1:32:20] more than half and that's why we didn't want to suggest doubling.
[1:32:25] there is another phase coming. We haven't identified yet exactly how much of the 600 acres is
[1:32:31] phase 1 to be able to suggest a straight doubling,
[1:32:36] but it's definitely not the whole site. The 400 jobs phase 1 or.
[1:32:42] phase 1. All of these numbers are phase 1. Each is less than the full six hundreds.
[1:32:47] I know some people were saying that these jobs wouldn't help our community.
[1:32:55] I just want to make that clear that there will be at times skill sets that we need that we may not have here locally.
[1:33:05] those folks [overlapping] we'd have to go out and get somebody from outside of marana,
[1:33:15] that meets the skill sets for data center. But mostly they would be here in marana or local communities, sarita or tucson.
[1:33:27] but again, we just want to point out that we're trying to get jobs in this town.
[1:33:35] our citizens have asked for it over the years, in our general plan. It's everywhere, and we're getting bigger,
[1:33:41] and we need to supply and make sure that we have jobs for them and future generations.
[1:33:48] mayor, vice mayor, members of the council, I would also point out that's part of the commitment from beal as well if we identify
[1:33:55] work needs in the data center for which we don't have the employment base in southern arizona.
[1:34:01] that's exactly what pima community college is for. Then stepping back even before community college and
[1:34:07] workforce training is the local school district. Those are the kinds of conversations where we can
[1:34:13] identify the kinds of training that's needed into the mayor's point, see what we can do to train up our local workforce,
[1:34:20] and that is a commitment of bl. Thank you. Touch on power.
[1:34:28] for a minute, there have been a lot of questions and people providing calculations
[1:34:32] relative to power and energy use that are not necessarily based on this project,
[1:34:37] and proposal or the requirements for power energy approvals in arizona.
[1:34:42] I think all of you know power is actually regulated, not at the local level,
[1:34:47] it's regulated by the arizona corporation commission. What the town's ordinance requires,
[1:34:53] which is what we're before you tonight to demonstrate we have met,
[1:34:57] which is to provide you the information. We have the letters from the utilities,
[1:35:02] and we have checked that box essentially. The next step after this is to design the site and to work with
[1:35:11] trico and tep respectively, and respectfully.
[1:35:17] that will whatever energy services agreements we negotiate and work
[1:35:24] through have a very public approval process through the arizona corporation commission that we will be going through.
[1:35:31] again, the next phase. Many of the questions that are being posed of you relate to
[1:35:36] that next stage of the process and they will be answered at that time. What we know is that we are in conformance with your ordinance.
[1:35:44] our estimates are 550-750 megawatts per site.
[1:35:49] north is served by trico, south is served by tep.
[1:35:53] this is a estimated buildout. Again, we haven't designed. It could be less than this,
[1:35:59] and the ramp up starts at about 10- 20% of whatever our
[1:36:04] agreed upon amount is with our electric providers and then we'll ramp up over 2-3 years.
[1:36:10] I want to touch on another issue that has come up, which is the question about increased rates because of data centers.
[1:36:20] the utilities and the data centers have really learned a lot from fortunately on other people's backs.
[1:36:26] other jurisdictions as well as even some of the jurisdictions up in the phoenix area.
[1:36:32] the goal has been and teps and trico have both said,
[1:36:37] we are not doing this unless we know we can avoid what are called ratepayer stranded costs.
[1:36:44] those are costs that ultimately get put back on the ratepayers. The current best practices in order to avoid what has gone on in
[1:36:53] other jurisdictions and is being deployed in southern arizona through both of these utilities,
[1:36:59] is that bl be required to pay for all of
[1:37:04] the infrastructure for these data centers with strong financial guarantees,
[1:37:10] and that's where some people missed the boat. Things like letters of credit, bonds so that when you enter into these agreements,
[1:37:18] which is why they come next because we need to have the basic use permitted.
[1:37:22] b will be putting up the financial incentives, I'm sorry,
[1:37:27] the financial guarantees in order to make sure that they actually build
[1:37:31] the infrastructure as it proceeds through the project.
[1:37:39] those are bonds, lines of credit, all of that.
[1:37:44] the second is that there is a required minimum rate with
[1:37:49] no economic incentives that data centers will have to pay starting when the energy is available.
[1:37:56] there's some other jurisdictions. There have been instances where these agreements
[1:38:02] have been made and then the data center doesn't actually operate, but the infrastructure has been built by the utility.
[1:38:08] these are the kinds of things that avoid that so that it doesn't fall back on the rate payers.
[1:38:14] the other thing and again, t ep and trico are both here, data centers,
[1:38:19] when it comes to future and the ongoing rates in the use of power,
[1:38:25] data centers are consistent and reliable users of energy, which means that the utilities fixed costs,
[1:38:32] which is the infrastructure, and then future infrastructure end up being spread over a larger amount of energy sales,
[1:38:39] which can actually reduce the cost of electricity for rate payers in the future.
[1:38:44] you heard at the planning commission from trico that with this added user,
[1:38:50] there's a potential where future rate increases could actually be pushed out for local marana residents,
[1:38:58] that will allow a lot more of
[1:39:02] the rates to be spread out for a longer period of time prior to a rate increase.
[1:39:08] fortunately, trico is here so he can explain that better than I just did because I'm not sure I did a very good job of that.
[1:39:15] let me I was going to move to water. Yes. But I wanted to ask a question about the jobs,
[1:39:25] particularly the construction jobs.
[1:39:29] are we intending to hire those from our community?
[1:39:33] I mean, are you going to go with a contractor out of state? Were they then bring them in?
[1:39:38] how I mean, union jobs, non union? What if we don't have enough of either one? How does that going to work?
[1:39:45] mayor, vice mayor, members of the council, all of that [laughter].
[1:39:50] the goal is to really focus on local workforce and all that that means,
[1:39:56] including we have some union labor as well and we intend to employ what we need to build the project.
[1:40:04] we want to keep it local. That's part of the partnering with pima community college.
[1:40:09] they do a lot of the construction workforce training in the various trades.
[1:40:16] the unions do some of that training as well, and we're talking with them.
[1:40:22] the goal is to keep it local as much as possible. There may be some things,
[1:40:27] as vice mayor pointed out, that might require some expertise that we don't have here.
[1:40:32] while we're trying to build that, we may need to bring it in. It will be all of that,
[1:40:37] but with truly a goal of sharing up our local workforce, and again, keeping our people here.
[1:40:44] you're moving on to water, but we'll get an opportunity to have the representatives from the power companies,
[1:40:53] I'm assuming after you're done. Mayor vice mayor, whatever your pleasure. I can finish my.
[1:40:59] go ahead and finish and then I pick brian first,
[1:41:04] so get ready [laughter].
[1:41:09] water, I've already touched on this, but I want to say it again because it's a lot of what's out there in the universe.
[1:41:16] this is an air cool technology, a closed loop system that will consume no water for industrial cooling.
[1:41:22] it's actually a 98% reduction in what the water that's actually used on the full 600 acres now.
[1:41:29] we've already talked about the fact that potable water is marana water and
[1:41:33] the non potable is the cortaro marana irrigation district. If you have questions about that, we can come back.
[1:41:39] this is the same slide you saw before. We are in compliance with your ordinance,
[1:41:44] the noise attenuation we talked about, building design standards, water consumption and source,
[1:41:49] the energy needs, we meet your ordinance. Lighting, I forgot to talk about.
[1:41:54] you have an outdoor lighting code. It's required in the data center ordinance that we comply with it.
[1:41:59] we put in our specific plan that we will be complying with it. Lighting, we will comply with outdoor lighting,
[1:42:05] all of the site development standards, setbacks, buffer yards, the generators we talked about,
[1:42:10] and then landscaping and screening. We meet and have not requested any modifications of your data center ordinance.
[1:42:17] carrie, I've had a few e mails that
[1:42:22] ask about if you're unable to water cool or I'm sorry,
[1:42:29] air cool this facility, would you switch to water?
[1:42:36] mayor, vice mayor, members of the council, our commitment in the specific plan is to
[1:42:42] an air cooled system and all of our data that we've given you is air cooled.
[1:42:47] if we were to somehow suggest that we're going to switch to a water cooled,
[1:42:52] we're going to have to come back before you with a specific plan amendment. Do you would have to do this all over again?
[1:42:58] yes. I would suggest we're not pro. I'm not a big fan of that.
[1:43:04] yes. Could that answer your question? Yeah, I did. Thank you.
[1:43:09] last, because this is a state level requirement, and I want to make sure we touch on it.
[1:43:14] it's in the staff report. We are required to have a neighborhood meeting with our most adjacent neighbors.
[1:43:19] this is not a required community meeting. It's a required neighborhood meeting because we need to make sure you all want to
[1:43:26] make sure and the state wants to make sure that we are talking to all of our adjacent neighbors.
[1:43:31] we had that meeting on november 19. We presented the project. We had about 10-15 people that were there and the one question,
[1:43:40] lots of thank you's, and the question was, what is the expected opening date. [overlapping] they just asked what the expected opening date would be.
[1:43:52] with that, we respectfully request your approval of both luckett north and luckett south,
[1:43:59] knowing luckett north is what you have the public hearing right now for.
[1:44:03] I'm happy to answer any more questions now after the public meeting.
[1:44:08] probably. Does anybody have any questions [overlapping]. I'm hearing a lot about portable water and cmid water.
[1:44:19] I'm confused about this. We got an offer under marana and it contains water.
[1:44:26] we all use groundwater, irrigation and drinking water.
[1:44:30] that water is there. Is there a wall between the cmid and the drinking water?
[1:44:35] probably not. But when we use cmid water, and we call it non potable water,
[1:44:40] it is in the non potable mix, isn't it? Is in the potable mix.
[1:44:44] I mean, it's in the potable mix. It could be a variation of different kinds of water.
[1:44:50] it could be effluent, it could be [overlapping] no.
[1:44:56] they have different sources for the [overlapping]. They have different sources. May or may not come from it,
[1:45:02] may or may not be groundwater. But I see the big wells and that bring up the cmid water.
[1:45:09] [overlapping]. Surface water, groundwater, cap water, effluent water.
[1:45:14] there's a whole mix of availability for the irrigation district.
[1:45:19] thank you. I'd like to ask a question about generators. I know you mentioned that it's a little too early to be thinking about the generators,
[1:45:26] but if you're designing all this and you're going to be thinking about what we really need.
[1:45:31] I'll submit that you look at a generator, the state of the art here for a generator,
[1:45:36] caterpillar makes the most of them. Those generators provide 4 megawatts of power.
[1:45:42] if you've got 750 megawatt data center,
[1:45:46] you're going to need 187.5 generators times two because that gives you 374 generators,
[1:45:56] and they're about the size of half this section over here, if not bigger. My math is going to continuing just a little bit.
[1:46:03] there's an engineering acumen. You want to have a built in a safety factor,
[1:46:09] so you want to increase that by 25%. Now, instead of 374 generators surrounding these data centers, you've got 470.
[1:46:23] >> on a mid july power adage outage where there's stress on the grid.
[1:46:29] undoubtedly, there may be, we don't know. There's a lot of unknowns here. Those things fire up.
[1:46:35] I think the noise is going to be a lot greater than you think. The soot and the smoke coming out of those,
[1:46:40] is not going to be pretty. It's going to cause a problem, especially for the cemetery nearby.
[1:46:45] it's going to be very loud [applause]. It's going to be much louder than the roadway.
[1:46:51] I just need some clarity on that. Does bell understand that really,
[1:46:55] what we need to make sure because people that putting information of these data centers,
[1:47:01] they want it to be running. They don't want it to be slowing down, they want to keep them going.
[1:47:06] because this data has got to be crunched down. An outage, they don't want to be slowing down.
[1:47:11] they'll fire up those generators very quickly.
[1:47:18] >> my name is arnaud dusser. I'm director of development with beale infrastructure,
[1:47:22] mayor post, vice mayor ziegler, council member kavanagh. On the question of generators more broadly,
[1:47:29] you bring up the point of number of generators. The reality is that we don't have the ability to
[1:47:34] just put in as many generators as we want. There's a cap that's on how many we can put which is dependent on,
[1:47:42] as we mentioned earlier in the presentation, what pdq allows us to do.
[1:47:46] pdq, there's very strict regulations around this, mostly guided by the epa that limit the amount of emissions.
[1:47:54] as you point to tier four generators. That's a certain level of emission per generator.
[1:47:59] now, the amount of generators that we will ultimately, the maximum number of generators that we are allowed to put in,
[1:48:07] dictated by those limits that are enforced by pdq.
[1:48:13] that is what guides ultimately the ultimate maximum of generators that we're able to put in,
[1:48:19] and those limits are put in place by pdq to avoid
[1:48:24] impacts to the local air quality surrounding the site and in the town of marana.
[1:48:29] ultimately, right now, what we're talking about is the land use.
[1:48:33] the individual generators, each one of them, we need to go through a process of obtaining a permit from pdq.
[1:48:40] at that point, we are submitting the exact specifications of the generators that we're putting in,
[1:48:45] which will guide what the size is, etc. Then we're putting in exactly what the emissions are.
[1:48:51] then ultimately, it's monitored on a yearly basis to ensure that we're
[1:48:55] within those regulated limitations so therefore,
[1:49:00] making sure that we're not just blatantly polluting the area.
[1:49:06] >> [overlapping] thank you. Just to be more clear, data centers are in business to stay on. They don't want to slow down on a late july or mid july day.
[1:49:14] you don't want to be slowing them down, right? >> that is correct. >> if you have a power outage for any reason,
[1:49:20] not because of data centers, but you got to be able to give the power
[1:49:26] to that data center and you need a certain amount of generators to give that power, just be aware.
[1:49:31] >> it's in the same way as data centers are critical infrastructure in the same way as a hospital is [laughter],
[1:49:38] which is why above hospitals, you have generators that ensure that in the case of a blackout,
[1:49:43] you have continuous power to make sure that those critical elements continue to operate.
[1:49:48] the exact amount of power that's required to maintain that critical level is very dependent on the ultimate design,
[1:49:58] which we'll go through over the next several months, and then we'll be going through the process with pdq in order to determine exactly how many generators will need.
[1:50:06] >> thank you. >> thank you.
[1:50:11] >> any other questions for carrie, council member officer? >> [inaudible] day to
[1:50:23] day then it turns over batter is that [inaudible] battery system that what you are able to do?
[1:50:29] >> mayor post, vice mayor ziegler, council member officer.
[1:50:34] it's actually the other way around. Typically, you'll have the batteries that kick on first and then when they run out,
[1:50:40] you'll have the generators. It's usually a ups system,
[1:50:44] so uninterruptable power supply that kicks on first that ensures that you don't have any reduction in power.
[1:50:52] that's also what is used in the case of brownout. The idea is to use a combination of both both batteries and generators.
[1:51:03] >> thank you carrie. >> thank you. >> heithoff, would you please come on up here
[1:51:09] and tell me why my power bill went up 10 percent?
[1:51:19] >> brian, I really, I'm a big fan of trico been a customer all my life.
[1:51:27] I'm very comfortable with you here answering the questions for our community,
[1:51:31] your community member, all your board of directors, live in the community.
[1:51:36] they answer to your consumers and so you know,
[1:51:42] I'm really happy that you're here to answer some of these questions. I'm looking at a sign back there that says, which yes,
[1:51:49] vote council member is going to pay my electric bill increase and so how about it?
[1:52:01] >> I can start with just talking a little bit. Thank you, mayor. Council members. I can talk a little bit about just who trico is to start with.
[1:52:10] >> I would, that'd be great. >> you introduced us a little bit. >> did you introduce yourself?
[1:52:15] >> yes. >> I think you. >> okay. You did. >> I'm brian heithoff, and I live and work here in marana.
[1:52:22] I am the ceo of trico electric cooperative. >> I just wanted everyone to know who you were. Thank you.
[1:52:30] >> a little bit about trico. We are a customer owned utility.
[1:52:35] we serve in and around this area and have since 1945.
[1:52:40] we started, actually just our first substation and lines,
[1:52:46] we're just a couple of miles from this particular site, and we are headquartered here in marana.
[1:52:52] we have 165 employees, about 50,000 members in the electric coop space,
[1:53:00] there's 900 electric coops across the united states that puts us in the larger category.
[1:53:06] we are an experienced organization, we're a capable organization and as you mentioned, mayor,
[1:53:14] we are governed by an elected board, and they are customers,
[1:53:19] who we call members and owners of the organization. We have districts like other organizations.
[1:53:27] that's who I report to. I do not sit on the board. I report to the board,
[1:53:31] and they govern the organization through policies,
[1:53:35] procedures, guidance, and then my job is to carry that out.
[1:53:40] that starts. I guess, one of the things I think is important is like the town council,
[1:53:47] we saw this coming before it actually came and so we also developed principles and
[1:53:56] expectations or the board did and gave those to staff
[1:54:01] for us to work on or through when we have data center prospects.
[1:54:06] we've been doing that. The heart of those principles are that we protect our members.
[1:54:13] if you think of it as a not for profit organization,
[1:54:17] we don't have a profit motive, and so one of the most important things is,
[1:54:23] how do we protect our membership?
[1:54:27] we have done that. As miss sullivan had indicated,
[1:54:34] the infrastructure when it comes to the distribution facilities, so that's the distribution substation on site.
[1:54:40] the high voltage transmission line, which is to get the power from the book power system to
[1:54:47] the local site and the generation facilities that will be required to serve this site,
[1:54:54] the costs and the risks will be borne by the applicant.
[1:54:59] there are no stranded costs. There are no infrastructure costs that we're responsible for, we're at risk of.
[1:55:08] then in addition to that, there's also revenue potential and yes,
[1:55:15] it was mentioned that we just increased our members rates approximately 7% on january 1st.
[1:55:23] that's based on 2023 costs.
[1:55:29] we go through a process. Whenever we have a rate increase, it's like the water issue earlier where we have a cost of
[1:55:35] service study and because of the regulatory lag,
[1:55:39] in order to implement a rate increase, we are actually working a couple of years in advance.
[1:55:45] we did the cost of service study based on 2023.
[1:55:50] was approved by our board, they pay the same rates as our members,
[1:55:55] and then it went to the arizona corporations commission for their scrutiny and there and ultimately,
[1:56:01] they decided to approve it and that went into effect on january 1st.
[1:56:06] now, part of the story is that we have not increased rates since 2017 or base rates.
[1:56:14] we had gone almost nine years in between the time we had
[1:56:18] base rate increases and looking forward, we have modeling.
[1:56:23] now, the inflation and cost increases in our industry are higher than what they have
[1:56:30] been and so we are anticipating our next rate adjustment or increase in 2029.
[1:56:37] >> no matter what? >> no. [laughter] there's variables.
[1:56:43] we make assumptions in our modeling. >> your model shows no data center included,
[1:56:48] your model shows a rate increase in 2029. >> just reasonable assumptions.
[1:56:53] maybe that's 2028? Maybe that's 2030? By 2029.
[1:56:58] it also shows that the revenues from this project,
[1:57:04] and this is a conservative estimate, it will push the need for that rate increase out three to four years.
[1:57:11] that's on the low end of the power requirements mentioned.
[1:57:15] if it's even higher or if there's future phases, we're now looking at probably double or maybe even triple that number
[1:57:24] as far as how far we can push that rate increase out. Let's just say that the base rate does get pushed up a year.
[1:57:31] there's a deep recession or some geopolitical event that just causes us to whatever.
[1:57:36] but the differential is still the same. The need for the rate increase with the data center is still
[1:57:43] three to four years after. After that. That's what our projections show.
[1:57:49] I guess to maybe summarize all that, we are protected first and foremost,
[1:57:56] and we protected our members. There's no benefit to trico per say,
[1:58:00] it's for the benefit of our members because everything flows through us. We're a cooperative. That's how it works.
[1:58:05] >> there's a huge need for infrastructure improvements to your system.
[1:58:12] who's paying for that? >> our current outside of the data center.
[1:58:18] >> no data center. >> data center will be the costs and the risks are assumed by that.
[1:58:23] >> they're going to pay all of that. How are you going to assure that they're going to pay all of that?
[1:58:28] >> that'll all be done well, in one way. I mean, there are going to be contracts that we've started developing and we'll need to,
[1:58:36] depending on the decision here, move forward with. But it's really before we start
[1:58:41] moving any ground before we buy any equipment, before we buy any material? >> you will get that money in advance of you building the required system?
[1:58:48] >> that's correct. >> there will not be any risk to your rate payer?
[1:58:53] >> that's correct. >> if they don't use it,
[1:58:59] what happens? They still pay? >> they don't use it.
[1:59:04] >> if they don't use the power that they've- >> [overlapping] yeah. That actually goes back to silman comments also.
[1:59:11] the contract, the ongoing contracts will have fixed costs. It'll be on the first date of power availability,
[1:59:17] not whether they need it or not. Let's say that they delay it.
[1:59:22] there's a delay. It's the contracts will be written that
[1:59:26] we'll start billing when it's available and we'll have agreed upon that in advance.
[1:59:31] >> did anybody else have questions for brian? >> yeah [inaudible].
[1:59:37] mayor thank you. >> I turn it off. Thank you.
[1:59:43] mayor asked me if anybody. Thank you, mayor. Appreciate it. >> hi. Big power line,
[1:59:50] big structure is coming through because the data center needs it.
[1:59:59] that's going to be for the trico membership, isn't it? How do you say that power bringing in major transmission lines from the north or wherever
[2:00:10] these power stations are going to be built because we're going to need to build a lot of them to provide the power necessary for not just a marana,
[2:00:17] but other data centers around southern arizona. How are you going to segregate that out and say, look,
[2:00:23] they're going to pay for 100% of those transmission lines? >> mayor through you to council member kavanagh.
[2:00:31] in this case, our studies indicate and the preliminary designs are indicating dedicated structures for the site.
[2:00:40] we have an interconnection point, and there will be dedicated structures so therefore,
[2:00:45] the cost allocation is really easy. >> okay.
[2:00:49] >> vice mayor. >> thank you, mr. Mayor so to be clear.
[2:00:56] data I'm sorry, on next door, facebook, instagram, a couple of other social media platforms,
[2:01:03] folks have said that these increases.
[2:01:09] we'll start with trico. A lot of people are saying,
[2:01:13] you're raising your rates and that's because of this data center.
[2:01:18] I want to make sure that everybody understands that's not true.
[2:01:23] along and that's what you've said when miss tep comes up here. First of all, I wish I was a trico member, because tep,
[2:01:30] you've been given us some late changes here often, and you've only done it since 2017,
[2:01:36] so I might have to move. But in the same with tep, the same thing,
[2:01:43] I see so many people saying, the reason they're raising our rates is because of the data center.
[2:01:51] that frustrates me because again, that's not the way it works.
[2:01:56] you work start here and you go into the future,
[2:02:00] like you were saying on what the rate is going to be. I just wanted to make that clear and have you make that clear
[2:02:06] that that's what people are seeing in this rate.
[2:02:10] it's a little coincidence that tep and trico are raising their rates,
[2:02:16] but it isn't based on the data center. Thank you.
[2:02:21] >> mayor, to you, vice chair ziegler, if I can comment, or add to that?
[2:02:25] absolutely. It would be that the rate increase we just put in place
[2:02:29] were actually based on the cost and the rate in the in the material,
[2:02:34] labor equipment, increases that we experienced in 2022 and 2023,
[2:02:41] because that's when the cost of service was done. It just there's a regulatory lag between the time when we had we did
[2:02:48] the study and the time when we can put a rate increase in place.
[2:02:53] >> thank you. >> to put that more clearly,
[2:02:57] there's no data center costs in that and if we were to do one today,
[2:03:02] because of the way we're structuring it, there are no data center costs in a future rate increase.
[2:03:09] >> it's almost like a separate way.
[2:03:13] >> mayor, it's a rate making concept that we use in other places,
[2:03:21] but it's a direct assignment of costs. >> but whatever their cost is, they're paying it, your rate payers have nothing to do with that?
[2:03:28] >> yeah. Correct. >> any other questions from brian?
[2:03:33] thank you very much, brian. I really appreciate it.
[2:03:38] is there somebody here for tep?
[2:03:42] >> guys. 2017. You guys.
[2:03:47] >> apparently, the vice mayor is going to give you a hard time, so I apologize in advance for that.
[2:03:52] >> that's okay. >> good evening, mayor, vice mayor, counsel.
[2:03:58] I'm chris arb vice president of public policy for ts power. Thanks for having us tonight.
[2:04:03] >> I guess the big question tonight is, will a data center increase the rates for your customers?
[2:04:10] >> no. The answer is no. Similar to what brian mentioned.
[2:04:14] to the extent we can add revenues to the system, that helps bring down those fixed costs for all of
[2:04:19] our customers providing similar benefits that brian described. I'll just touch on your question, vice mayor.
[2:04:26] the rate case that's pending right now for our company tucson on electric power,
[2:04:30] that's based on a 2024 test period, none of the costs or expenses that we're seeking recovery for today are related
[2:04:39] to the current projects before you or another project we're working with bill on in pima county.
[2:04:45] >> do you anticipate using profits from a data center to offset your rates for your customers like trico is going to do, or you.
[2:04:54] >> absolutely, those additional revenue requirements help us meet
[2:04:58] the allowed return that's authorized by the corporation commission.
[2:05:02] to the extent we can generate revenues that help us earn that return,
[2:05:06] that helps us like brian mentioned, same with tep, helps us defer or delay those rate cases into the future.
[2:05:13] >> what is the acc allowing you for a return? >> currently for tucson electric,
[2:05:19] it's in the range of 9.3%, 9.4%? >> they like you to stick with pretty solid in that number?
[2:05:27] >> they do and it's because of some of the regulatory lag concerns that mr. Cavanagh described,
[2:05:32] it's typical that we have a hard time actually earning that because our rates are set on historic costs and investments.
[2:05:40] >> you're comfortable that you will that our community would see
[2:05:44] no rate increases based on a data center?
[2:05:49] >> that's correct. >> any questions? >> may I have a question.
[2:05:53] >> council member kavanagh. >> just a curiosity, chris.
[2:05:59] when you go to the tep website, the first thing you see is, we all got to do our best to conserve energy.
[2:06:06] but do we have an energy shortage? Is that why you're doing that?
[2:06:11] I guess we can all do better. But the big question is where this power is going to come from.
[2:06:17] >> mayor pose, vice mayor, council member kavanagh,
[2:06:21] we always encourage customers to conserve energy like we do on the water side,
[2:06:26] too, the cheapest power that we can get is the power we save. We've got energy efficiency standards
[2:06:33] and requirements with the arizona corporation commission. But we think those are just good ways for customers
[2:06:39] to save money on their bills and to help conserve energy. While that is one source of power,
[2:06:45] it's certainly not enough to satisfy the demands of large customers like a data center.
[2:06:51] >> any other questions? >> thank you very much.
[2:06:55] >> thank you. >> does counsel need a break or do you want to continue to move forward?
[2:07:00] [background].
[2:07:05] >> jill, we're ready? I'm assuming. >> may post.
[2:07:10] >> yes. >> mayor post. We're here. If I may, before we begin the public comment portion of the hearing,
[2:07:18] I just wanted to make a comment for the record about councilor rakai not being present here
[2:07:23] tonight that he does have a conflict of interest regarding these two rezoning applications.
[2:07:30] he has declared that conflict. He has filed the appropriate paperwork.
[2:07:34] with the town clerk's office. He is one of the property owners of the lockett road south property.
[2:07:43] I just wanted to put that on the record. Since typically when we have conflicts of interest,
[2:07:48] if a council member is here present, they would declare it from the dias and get down and leave and since he's not here,
[2:07:54] I wanted to do that in his place. He has not participated as a council member in
[2:08:00] any official capacity in any of the discussions or deliberations into these rezoning applications and
[2:08:06] obviously isn't participating tonight in the public hearing or in the vote.
[2:08:11] >> well, since you brought it up, are there any other conflicts of interest from our council members?
[2:08:18] >> mr. Mayor, we are not aware of any facts that would give rise to a legal conflict
[2:08:24] of interest for any of the other six council members under arizona state law.
[2:08:28] >> thank you very much. Joe? >> yes, mr. Mayor. The first speaker is matthew rowan trapp,
[2:08:34] followed by sue ritz and margaret schultz.
[2:08:40] >> everybody said, let's go. I'm eating this.
[2:08:45] >> that's, I feel like you get first all the time. >> because I show up early.
[2:08:50] >> do that on purpose. Mayor post, council members.
[2:08:55] my name is matthew rowan trap. I'm a lifelong marana resident and a current student at the university of arizona.
[2:09:02] I would firstly like to recognize that many of the concerns I have about the environment, the economics,
[2:09:08] and other unknowns about this project are shared by people who can articulate them much better than I could ever hope to.
[2:09:14] we all heard them at the planning and zoning commission, and I assume that we will hear many more of them tonight.
[2:09:21] tonight, I would like to use my time to not only address you, but also my fellow citizens on a more personal level.
[2:09:30] firstly, council members, I ask you to remember that your responsibility tonight is to your constituents.
[2:09:37] if tonight is anything like the planning and zoning commission, we will hear countless morana residents from all walks of life and
[2:09:43] areas of expertise speak with concerns about this project. In the planning and zoning commission meeting, though,
[2:09:48] the concerns of these citizens went largely unheard and unconsidered. I trust you though to be better and to listen to the engineers,
[2:09:56] the research analysts, and the rate payers of your town. I know you all to be good honest people,
[2:10:03] and I trust that even if you, like vice mayor ziegler, have received campaign funds from the families of keri silvyn and rory juneman,
[2:10:11] you will not let that cloud your judgment, and I thank you deeply for that.
[2:10:15] now, I would like to applaud and thank all of my friends and neighbors here for showing up tonight.
[2:10:22] it fills me with such incredible hope to see such enthusiastic, and passionate civil engagement.
[2:10:27] let's keep this passion flowing and use it to remember who we are at our core.
[2:10:31] we are a town of veterans, artists, farmers, doctors, scientists, and students.
[2:10:38] we are a town of first time homeowners and retirees, a town of friends, family, and neighbors.
[2:10:44] we are a town built on community, not corporate interests and billionaire investments.
[2:10:49] let's not let anyone forget that, least of all us. Thank you, counsel, and my friends.
[2:10:54] [applause]
[2:11:02] >> go ahead. Mr. Mayor. I'd like to address matthew. Sure. You want to come up to the podium?
[2:11:10] >> is that out of order? >> we've got an attorney right here. You could ask her, sir.
[2:11:19] >> mr. Mayor, vice mayor ziegler, this is a public hearing.
[2:11:23] there can be comment from the council members, and they may respond to the comments that are made by the public.
[2:11:30] >> thank you, jane. Matthew, you called me out and said that I had taken
[2:11:40] a campaign contribution and lazarus a company, su.
[2:11:50] >> not from their company, but from the individual partners, are silvan and roy jiman?
[2:11:54] >> yes. That's absolutely right. You can find that, of course, as you guys did.
[2:11:58] it's on our website, three clicks, and you can get right to the financials for 2024 and many years back.
[2:12:07] first of all, title 16, I believe it is, title 16 is campaign finance.
[2:12:17] I encourage you and others in here to read about title 16.
[2:12:24] it allows campaign contributions.
[2:12:29] I think across the country, even our presidents take campaign contributions.
[2:12:35] I take campaign contributions because I am retired.
[2:12:41] I make $40,000 a year. I work for 30 years, have a savings,
[2:12:47] but I make $40,000 a year. I'm on a fixed income.
[2:12:52] some of us and I would think a lot of us who run, and I know yourself and another individual are going to be running.
[2:13:00] let me just say you may find
[2:13:05] yourself wanting a campaign contribution to help you run your campaign.
[2:13:11] what I'm saying to you is it's lawful.
[2:13:15] again, title 16, please go there and look at that.
[2:13:21] let me correct something. Your statements were that I took $7,000 from.
[2:13:28] >> I did not say that. It was 300 from the family of silvan and 300 from the family of jimmy, if I'm correct.
[2:13:34] >> but what I saw on media on next door.
[2:13:38] I took $7,000. >> if I remember correctly, that was saying that mayor honea did,
[2:13:45] which there has been a correction sent out. But I never made those statements.
[2:13:51] >> you didn't. I apologize. Others made it.
[2:13:55] let me continue, please. I did not take $7,000 from that company.
[2:14:04] one of the reasons is because you can't. I think you guys need to read your handbooks.
[2:14:11] it's 6,000. Secondly, I took 300.
[2:14:17] I'd like to get that cleared up, and that went out everywhere. It was 300, and actually,
[2:14:23] in your rebuttal or online, you showed the 300.
[2:14:27] I want to make that clear. Other than that, I wish you luck,
[2:14:33] but you need to pay attention of what you're doing.
[2:14:38] but I thank you, at least you're cordial and I appreciate you.
[2:14:43] the ua, good luck to you there. Great school. Thank you, sir.
[2:14:47] >> before I go down. I do want to say that I appreciate you clarifying those things,
[2:14:52] and I do understand and appreciate that the contributions were lawful.
[2:14:56] I just wanted to ask and remind you that
[2:15:00] they should not be a deciding factor in your vote tonight.
[2:15:06] I trust your honor and your ethics to not let those clod your judgment,
[2:15:11] but I just wanted to put that as a reminder. >> matthew, I appreciate that.
[2:15:17] again, I've been up on this dies for 20 years. I'm not too concerned because I have a very good reputation in the town of marana.
[2:15:25] not with everybody. There's people that do support me and don't like me,
[2:15:29] and this is one of the reasons because I'm pretty straightforward. I see you are, too,
[2:15:34] so that's great. Thank you. >> I appreciate your time,
[2:15:39] and I look forward to hearing everybody else's comments and I'm sure you do the same.
[2:15:45] thank you. [applause]
[2:15:51] >> next speaker is sue ritz, followed by margaret schultz and then jackie mcguire.
[2:15:56] >> mayor, vice mayor. Members of the council, my name is sue ritz.
[2:16:01] I'm a marana town resident, a registered professional engineer and a veteran of 24 years in the army national guard.
[2:16:11] I was at the zoning meeting and I heard a lot of stuff and I have written some remarks here,
[2:16:17] but I'm going to throw them away. I'm going to address water first.
[2:16:22] now, there have been statements made by beal, ntp, and others that the water consumption for these data centers is
[2:16:30] greatly reduced because you're not going to actually be irrigating fields.
[2:16:35] that does not address the amount of water that is consumed by the generating stations that provide the power to this data center.
[2:16:43] the coal fire stations are currently only operated seasonally.
[2:16:48] if this goes through, they're not going to be able to do that. They're going to have to keep that 903 megawatts
[2:16:55] of name plate power operating, the stations,
[2:16:59] I looked at their data, and I estimated that those stations consume 11,100 acre feet of water every year.
[2:17:09] that is not a positive in the water category when you
[2:17:14] are 900,000 acre feet in the deficit for cap water.
[2:17:18] that's not good. Any additional power that you have to
[2:17:22] generate to provide power to not just this power station,
[2:17:26] but to others that are also being proposed in our same region,
[2:17:31] three gigawatts north of us, 286 megawatts for project blue.
[2:17:39] now 1,100 to 1,500 megawatts for this one,
[2:17:44] you're going to have to build new generating stations. The only way you're going to have to do that is thermal generating stations.
[2:17:51] those are 7-10 years out on lead time. Substation transformers are four years out on lead time.
[2:18:00] think about that. Vote no. [applause]
[2:18:11] >> next speaker is margaret schultz followed by jackie mcguire and then ryan zippie.
[2:18:18] good evening, mayor and council. My name is margaret schultz and I'm a researcher with a nonprofit called worker power.
[2:18:26] I'm here today with some concerns about the proposed rezoning of the 600 acre area for data centers.
[2:18:33] as data center developments have accelerated across the united states.
[2:18:38] communities have reported negative impacts, water contamination, air pollution,
[2:18:43] and rising utility prices to name a few. La marana's ordinance to prevent data centers
[2:18:50] from using potable water is a step in the right direction. Are the council members certain that there is enough contractual stipulations
[2:18:58] in place to protect residents from all of the possible risks,
[2:19:03] not just potable water use? Additionally, how will this over one gigawatt of power need be generated,
[2:19:12] and are the council and mayor certain that the cost for building this energy infrastructure will not be passed on to ratepayers,
[2:19:19] outside of verbal promises made by the companies themselves?
[2:19:24] this is very critical in my opinion, and hasn't been addressed, although it is outside of the council's purview,
[2:19:30] the question of what is the amount of money that the state tax breaks will allow the developers and end users to receive?
[2:19:38] how does that fit into the economic impact of this project and considering not just removing the tax breaks,
[2:19:46] but the opportunity cost of those tax breaks themselves. I think understanding that would be very critical before moving forward.
[2:19:54] I'm asking that the mayor and council consider these questions and vote no if
[2:19:59] you don't have very clear specific answers to these questions,
[2:20:03] because this is the moment to make sure to build in all of those contractual stipulations as strictly as possible.
[2:20:10] the consequences are for all of us for our shared water, air, and economic future.
[2:20:16] what we've seen happen in other communities shows us the stakes are high,
[2:20:21] and we really ask you to delay or vote no.
[2:20:25] tonight, thank you for the opportunity to speak. [applause]
[2:20:32] >> the next speaker is jackie mcguire, followed by ryan zippie, then perry from.
[2:20:45] >> hello, mayor, vice mayor, members of the council. I appreciate that you want us to keep from calling out,
[2:20:52] but last time three minutes was not nearly enough to cover all of this, two minutes certainly is not enough.
[2:20:57] I have personally held community meetings and included more than 10 neighbors in the last few days,
[2:21:03] and so I've compiled all of the concerns of these neighbors in these documents.
[2:21:07] I am an ai data center and cybersecurity expert.
[2:21:11] it's what I get paid to do for a living, and I consult with some of the executives of some of
[2:21:15] the largest companies in the world on these matters. To quote the press release from yesterday from attorney general kris mayes.
[2:21:22] citing a lack of transparency, attorney general kris mayes is contesting the arizona corporation commission's december 10th decision to
[2:21:29] authorize tucson electric powers private energy agreement with humprey's peak power and beale infrastructure group,
[2:21:35] to power a hyperscale data center notice project blue, which by the way, is 20% the size of the one that's being proposed today.
[2:21:43] the loophole created for the developers of this data center to secretly set electricity rates behind closed doors and
[2:21:49] outside the public process is a new rare and dangerous recipe for massive price hikes for arizona customers.
[2:21:56] what guarantees do we have the bill is not going to exploit the loopholes that myself
[2:22:01] and many other subject matter experts have passionately explained to you exist in this ordinance.
[2:22:06] this ordinance needs to be about 10 times the length that it is.
[2:22:10] we need a moratorium on this vote for at least six months to fully consider the fact that we were just
[2:22:16] told not enough power from the grid constitutes an emergency where they can fire up all of those generators.
[2:22:22] currently, trico puts out 230 megawatts of power
[2:22:27] or roughly 20% of what would be needed for one of these data centers,
[2:22:31] and that's assuming no residential growth. These data centers will consume almost as much power as
[2:22:36] the entire tucson metropolitan area. They are guaranteeing transmission and infrastructure, not generation.
[2:22:43] those things take 30 years to amortize, and we will pay those gains.
[2:22:48] please delay this vote enough to understand what you don't understand or vote no.
[2:22:53] thank you. [applause]
[2:23:03] >> jackie, I also was very disappointed that you chose to bring ed honea into this mix.
[2:23:11] a gentleman that gave his life for this town and is unable to
[2:23:19] defend himself and then erroneously talk about the campaign contributions that he got.
[2:23:26] even though he ended up donating and generally did donate his campaign contributions,
[2:23:33] I thought it was in poor taste. >> the reason that that was misunderstood is that
[2:23:39] ed honea's campaign erred in filing their campaign finance disclosures.
[2:23:44] instead of filling out line by line the individual contracts. >> just the fact that you brought him into this argument?
[2:23:51] >> it's important. [overlapping] if this process started in 2023 and you knew this was happening,
[2:24:04] you should not have taken a dollar, any of you from anybody involved in this decision.
[2:24:09] >> did I? >> I didn't say you did. I clarified multiple times in what I said.
[2:24:14] I didn't write that article. >> jackie, all I said is that I thought it was in poor taste to bring up the mayor.
[2:24:24] >> the mayor filed paperwork that on paper looked like an explicit violation of campaign finance laws.
[2:24:31] not a single person in this town or government recognized that. I didn't file that paperwork.
[2:24:37] multiple members filed incorrect campaign finance forms
[2:24:42] where they did the math improperly. So when you looked at the total for the election cycle,
[2:24:47] it absolutely did say that contributes $7700 to mayor honea. [overlapping] >> I think you're missing my point. There was absolutely no need to bring mayor honea.
[2:24:54] >> there's a difference between legal and proper. >> he is unable to defend himself. >> something that is legal is not necessarily proper.
[2:25:02] you should have known, you should not have taken that money because you
[2:25:06] have known since 2023, unlike most of us. >> that's not true. Thank you very much. >> most of my neighbors don't even know this was happening.
[2:25:12] >> thank you very much. >> mr. Mayor. > no, that's it. >> mr. Mayor, if I could,
[2:25:17] I think it would be wise for the purposes of the public [overlapping] hearing just to have the public comments,
[2:25:23] and then the council can respond after the public comments.
[2:25:30] >> I heard what you say, but to tell you the truth, I'd rather do it as they come up jane,
[2:25:38] because the reason is okay, an hour and a half from now, I'm not going to remember what matthew,
[2:25:44] and sue ritz have come up. I'm not going to remember two hours from now what they said. That's why.
[2:25:53] >> I did not file that paperwork, and I am sorry that the treasurer of late mayor honea's campaign filed paperwork with incorrect information on it.
[2:26:02] but the fact that nobody in this town caught that should be a huge red flag.
[2:26:07] that if we can't count on you to review a three page campaign finance form,
[2:26:12] we're supposed to count on you to regulate a high personnel data center. >> thank you very much.
[2:26:16] >> that's a joke. >> you're completely missing my point. >> that's a joke. >> thank you very much. >> jane.
[2:26:21] >> thank you. >> jane, can we go ahead and continue. >> let's just move on. >> no. I want to make sure we can go ahead and continue.
[2:26:27] I understand your suggestion and sometimes we do that when we have not so many people here,
[2:26:33] but what I'm asking and maybe one of the other council members could speak up
[2:26:38] is I would rather do it if it's appropriate as we go.
[2:26:43] >> I think we just go through this. Let's just listen to what everybody needs to say and move on. I know.
[2:26:53] >> maybe it's my memory or something. >> I know. But let's just.
[2:26:57] >> no mayor. I just would rather do it that way, but if that's what you say then we'll go ahead.
[2:27:01] >> can you call the next name please. >> yes, mr. Mayor. >> the next speaker is ryan zippie.
[2:27:06] >> you need to respect them. >> I'm trying. >> good evening. I'm going to be a very unpopular speaker right now, I can tell.
[2:27:13] mayor post, vice mayor ziegler, marana town council members.
[2:27:19] thank you. My name is ryan zippie. Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak this evening.
[2:27:24] I'm the external vice president of northwest firefighters local 3572,
[2:27:28] and also a 30 year resident of the town of marana. I've spent the last couple of weeks debating if I should address the town council as
[2:27:37] a representative of the brave men and women I serve this community with or as a private citizen of the town of marana.
[2:27:43] although I could make a very compelling argument as to the immense positive financial benefit
[2:27:49] the data center would have for the members of my union. I lost my spot I apologize.
[2:28:07] immense financial benefit the data center would have for the members of my union, and as a result,
[2:28:15] the benefit to our community, due to the tax revenue the data center would generate by providing
[2:28:21] critical resources needed to this town's first responders. Tonight, I would like to address you simply as a member of this great community.
[2:28:28] as I have paid close attention to the progress of the potential for data centers to come to this community,
[2:28:33] I have been nothing short of flabbergasted by the misleading information, convenient admission of the full picture,
[2:28:39] and outright lies the opposition to the approval of the data centers has flooded the media with.
[2:28:44] I have attended town council meetings in person and via live stream. I have listened to the podcast the town has promoted regarding the data centers,
[2:28:51] and I have attended the community meetings, the town hosted to inform members of the community of
[2:28:56] the safeguards the town has implemented with the passage of the data center ordinance.
[2:29:00] I have read many comments on articles and social media posts with
[2:29:04] the specific acronym nimby meaning not in my backyard
[2:29:09] as someone who will quite literally be able to see the data center from their backyard,
[2:29:13] I stand in full support of the approval of this data center, and appreciate the decisions that town council has made this far,
[2:29:20] which has made the town of marana one of the best places to live in, work in, and most importantly raise a family in. Thank you.
[2:29:26] >> thank you. [applause]
[2:29:34] >> the next speaker is perry from, followed by ron stoffer and then brendan sauber.
[2:29:51] >> good evening, mayor, town council. My name is perry from.
[2:29:55] I am a 31-year resident of marana. We have been very happy to live here.
[2:30:01] when we retired, we moved from the west side of i10 over to the east side of i10.
[2:30:07] so we are committed here. From what I have heard,
[2:30:13] there have been some progress made in making this a reasonable project to go forward.
[2:30:19] however, there seems to be still a number of issues that are unresolved,
[2:30:24] and I feel that in regards to campaign contributions,
[2:30:30] that there can be a shall I say lack of objectivity possible in here.
[2:30:41] I would like to see not only a postponement of the vote to get all of the facts,
[2:30:46] but I'd also like to see if we could do this as a referendum and actually let the citizen voters decide this.
[2:30:54] it is our town, you are our elected representatives, but there's a lot of information here and I would like to
[2:31:01] propose looking into having this as a referendum so that the people,
[2:31:06] the town citizens can have their direct input into this very important decision.
[2:31:13] thank you. [applause]
[2:31:24] >> the next speaker is ron stoffer. I apologize for getting that wrong, and then brendan sauber and then amanda wiggins.
[2:31:34] >> good evening, mayor and council. My name is ron stoffer.
[2:31:39] I live and work in southern arizona and much of my work involves thinking about complex,
[2:31:44] economic, and infrastructure decisions over long time horizons.
[2:31:49] I'm not here to debate the technical merits of this project, others are far better positioned to do that.
[2:31:54] what I want to speak to is the kind of decision this is and what it asks of institutions like yours.
[2:32:01] [noise] projects of this scale rarely succeed or fail because of any single feature.
[2:32:07] they succeed or fail based on whether the institutions responsible can hold a fair,
[2:32:12] orderly, fact based process, even in the face of pressure, disagreement, and noise.
[2:32:19] that capacity, the ability to deliberate without collapsing into
[2:32:23] chaos or theatrics is itself a critical form of infrastructure.
[2:32:28] based on the process so far, the town of marana has demonstrated that seriousness,
[2:32:34] creating space for public input, maintaining order, and keeping the focus on long term impacts rather than short term reaction that matters,
[2:32:43] regardless of how any individual feels about this specific proposal.
[2:32:48] my encouragement to you is simply this. Continue to elevate this decision with
[2:32:53] the same steadiness and long term lens you've shown so far.
[2:32:58] decisions like this shape not just outcomes, but trust in institutions,
[2:33:03] and that trust is very hard to rebuild once it is lost.
[2:33:08] thank you for the seriousness with which you're approaching this. [applause]
[2:33:17] >> the next speaker is brendan sauber, followed by amanda wiggins and then keith watkins.
[2:33:24] >> good evening, mayor, vice mayor, and councils.
[2:33:28] my name is brendan sauber and I'm in strong support of the marana data center project.
[2:33:34] as a generational tucson native who attended school here,
[2:33:38] raised a family here, and has two children attending the university of arizona, go-katz [laughter].
[2:33:46] my roots run deep in this community. My wife is also a u of a alumni and a middle school teacher.
[2:33:53] I'm here tonight to speak up for the future opportunities for this town.
[2:33:59] the proposed data center will provide a long term economic strength for marana by generating
[2:34:04] substantial tax revenue to help support essential services such as police,
[2:34:10] fire protection, roads, and parks, while creating significant employment opportunities
[2:34:16] during construction and ongoing operations. The land use for the project is already designated
[2:34:22] for future employment and industrial operations. The land use for
[2:34:28] the project is already designated for future employment industrial operations.
[2:34:37] the land for the project designated currently sits next to 1,000 acre solar farm and gravel facility.
[2:34:50] the project location is not expected to significantly increase traffic or excessive noise pollution in surrounding areas.
[2:34:59] the project will also help extend critical infrastructure such as sewer and drainage that will support future development.
[2:35:07] importantly, this facility is planned as an air cool data center rather
[2:35:12] than a traditional water cooled operation as many have already demonstrated.
[2:35:17] this approach is expected to reduce water use by approximately 95% compared to its current agricultural use.
[2:35:26] this demonstrates responsible planning and clear commitment to the town and surrounding environment.
[2:35:34] this data center represents an important opportunity to advance marana through intelligent growth,
[2:35:40] a business friendly climate and modern infrastructure that will help position this town for future.
[2:35:45] >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> thank you. [applause] next speaker is amanda wiggins,
[2:35:56] followed by keith watkins. >> mayor, vice mayor, and town council.
[2:36:00] I am so incredibly proud to be raising my beautiful family in this town,
[2:36:05] and I'm so honored to serve as the president and ceo of the marana chamber of commerce.
[2:36:09] we get to represent 800 businesses that are solopreneurs,
[2:36:14] small family owned businesses, and the largest employers in this region.
[2:36:19] together, they create a strong business ecosystem,
[2:36:23] and that lets us all thrive. We really value that here in marana.
[2:36:27] over the past decade, our residents quality of life has exponentially increased.
[2:36:34] the median household income has risen by 14%.
[2:36:38] several crucial infrastructure projects have been completed from pipes in
[2:36:42] the ground to interchange on the interstate and upgrades there as well,
[2:36:48] and our community has even prioritized what's next. Our heroes, the public safety, police,
[2:36:55] and fire departments have expanded and exceeded all levels of service in our community.
[2:37:00] the community has gained a new supermarket, a state of the art recreation center,
[2:37:06] and we have a public school systems that's not only growing, it's thriving.
[2:37:10] we even opened two new schools this year. That success didn't happen by chance.
[2:37:15] that happened because our mayor and council say yes, to growth, they say yes, to economic opportunity,
[2:37:23] and they say yes to progress while also
[2:37:27] putting the right guard rails in place to protect our residents.
[2:37:32] for that leadership, we say sincerely, thank you. With that same appreciation and trust,
[2:37:38] we respectfully ask each of you to vote yes for this project on the luckett north and south data center rezoning.
[2:37:46] the proposed site near panel air park and existing solar fields is well located,
[2:37:51] and it's appropriate for this type of project. Thank you for your service,
[2:37:56] your leadership, and your continued commitment to marana. >> thank you. [applause]
[2:38:08] >> the next speaker is keith watkins, followed by colin millers.
[2:38:13] >> good evening, mayor post, council members. My name is keith watkins.
[2:38:18] I'm the senior vice president for rural economic development at the arizona commerce authority.
[2:38:23] I'm here tonight to express our full support for project luckett and for
[2:38:28] marana's leadership in attracting this next generation digital infrastructure to your community.
[2:38:35] data centers today are an important part of modern life, as we all know.
[2:38:40] they power healthcare, emergency services, cybersecurity systems,
[2:38:45] and even small business tools that communities rely on every single day.
[2:38:50] in short, data centers are, in fact, critical infrastructure.
[2:38:54] just like roads, water, power, and sewer.
[2:38:58] this project represents a major opportunity for marana to
[2:39:02] secure long term economic value for the community and the region.
[2:39:07] over the first ten years, this project is projected to generate $407 million in combined state, county,
[2:39:15] and local tax revenue, including $145 million directly to the town of marana.
[2:39:21] beyond those revenues, the project brings good paying quality jobs for arizona.
[2:39:26] that's what we're all about. Approximately, 4,200 construction jobs will be created over
[2:39:31] the next decade along with 400 permanent high quality jobs. The project also includes apprenticeship partnerships and on the job training.
[2:39:40] giving local residents tangible pathways to build careers is this growing industry.
[2:39:48] importantly, the project has committed to a closed loop cooling technology,
[2:39:52] ensuring this facility is built responsibly, sustainably and aligned with the region's long term needs.
[2:39:59] this mirrors a national trend where the most advanced data centers are moving forward to next generation low impact cooling solutions.
[2:40:07] communities that embrace digital infrastructure are strengthening their tax base,
[2:40:12] expanding their workforce opportunities and improving their national competitiveness.
[2:40:17] I thank you for your time and consideration of the item before you tonight.
[2:40:21] >> thank you very much. [applause]
[2:40:28] >> the next speaker is colin millers, followed by dan streeter. >> mr. Mayor, town counsel.
[2:40:34] my name is colin millers, and I've been a marana resident for the last six years. I possess a bachelor's of
[2:40:39] science and mechanical engineering and a masters of engineering and systems engineering, and in a 20 plus year career,
[2:40:45] have experienced in the design, architecture, development, and delivery of large scale complex systems,
[2:40:50] including ai technology and healthcare. I attended the december 10 planning meeting that was going
[2:40:56] on and was surprised that I hadn't heard much about this before, so I came down to understand what was going on.
[2:41:02] and I wanted to better understand this for myself. I appreciate that the overall ordinance in place is a really good first step.
[2:41:09] but from a systems engineering perspective, details matter, and there are critical gaps in the requirements that it sets forth that allow
[2:41:16] loopholes to be viewed and exploited. Key terms and definitions in the ordinance such as emergency and peak are left undefined.
[2:41:26] while they may contain colloquial definitions in engineering context, and very specific applications,
[2:41:31] these words have very specific meanings underneath it.
[2:41:36] additionally, the town should re examine its current compliance mechanisms.
[2:41:40] thousands of dollar of fines per day per violation may significantly
[2:41:44] impact businesses and our experience with commercial and residential and industrial customers so far.
[2:41:50] companies capitalize in the tens of billions of dollars seen around the country,
[2:41:55] view these fines as the cost of doing business. I asked this body to join communities around the country and enact
[2:42:01] a moratorium on this project and similar projects. Take the time to consult
[2:42:07] independent unbiased experts to answer critical technical questions and refine technical details.
[2:42:13] take the time to improve the definition and structure of the ordinance,
[2:42:18] drive outreach, engage with the community, and ultimately put this decision to the people.
[2:42:23] six people making a decision on a project of this magnitude,
[2:42:28] which affects all of us feels wrong. This should be a decision that the entire town.
[2:42:34] you've done a lot of work, but we should all make this decision. >> thank you. [applause]
[2:42:44] >> next speaker is dan streeter, followed by dr. Tomas diaz de la rubia.
[2:42:50] >> good evening. Mayor, members of the council and town staff.
[2:42:56] my name is dan streeter, and I am proud to serve this community as the superintendent of the marana unified school district.
[2:43:03] I am here tonight to speak in support of the proposed project,
[2:43:07] but more importantly, I'm here to speak in support of the leadership of this town.
[2:43:12] we are all aware of the narrative surrounding data centers.
[2:43:17] these concerns are not unfounded. However, I appreciate the difference in
[2:43:23] the diligent marana specific work that is being done here.
[2:43:27] I have seen the careful, exhaustive research conducted by our council and our town staff.
[2:43:33] I have seen the commitment to our future workforce and the intentional that sets this project apart.
[2:43:41] while I do support this project, my primary purpose tonight is to voice my support for each of you.
[2:43:49] in a time when public discourse can be difficult, I have consistently witnessed the professionalism displayed by this body.
[2:43:58] I appreciate the way that you have considered diverse perspectives
[2:44:02] and the unwavering commitment that you show to the town of marana as a whole.
[2:44:06] it is clear to me that your decisions are guided by what is best for the next generation,
[2:44:12] not just what is easy in the moment. I thank you for your service.
[2:44:18] I thank you for your transparency, and I thank you for your dedication to keeping
[2:44:23] marana a premier place to live, learn, and work. I trust your process and I trust your leadership. Thank you.
[2:44:31] >> thank you. [applause]
[2:44:39] >> the next speaker is dr. Tomas diaz de la rubia, followed by brittany freeman.
[2:44:44] >> good evening, mayor post, vice mayor ziegler, council members.
[2:44:48] thank you, for the opportunity to be here. My name is tomas diaz de la rubia.
[2:44:52] I'm the senior vice president for research and partnerships at the university of arizona.
[2:44:58] at the university of arizona, we're using and artificial intelligence to
[2:45:02] train the next generation of citizens and leaders for the n. We're using this to address challenges that matter to arizonans.
[2:45:11] to lead this work, we need to have the systems and
[2:45:16] the infrastructure that power the innovations of the future. The data center industry represents
[2:45:23] today a significant infrastructure investment globally, which is expected to reach close to $1 billion by 2030 around the world.
[2:45:31] the multiple effect of a single new data center on local communities as we heard today is tremendous.
[2:45:37] the economic impact in strengthening the local tax base and attracting
[2:45:41] complementary innovation ecosystems is what the future is about.
[2:45:47] those are amazing outcromes. But I believe that the chance to make southern arizona a hub of
[2:45:53] high tech innovation is one of the most exciting opportunities that we create by building data centers here.
[2:46:00] at the university of arizona, we launch about 15 new start up companies a year with
[2:46:06] innovations and intellectual property that come out of our students and our faculty.
[2:46:10] since 2017, we have created about $1.6 billion in
[2:46:15] economic output from the commercialization of the technologies that we develop at the university.
[2:46:21] today, and in the future, those technologies are increasingly based on data and artificial intelligence.
[2:46:29] at the university, where one of a handful of universities in the nation that has
[2:46:33] a chief artificial intelligence and data science officer that is driving the effort to
[2:46:39] bring responsible uses of data and artificial intelligence to our students and our researchers.
[2:46:45] in addition to the start ups, we have research initiatives center on ai that as I said before, benefit arizonans.
[2:46:52] today, data infrastructure is no longer optional, it is foundational.
[2:46:57] it's where we attract the future investors and the venture capital and the high tech companies to the region here. Thank you.
[2:47:05] >> thank you very much. [applause]
[2:47:12] >> the next speaker is brittany freeman, followed by chuck allman.
[2:47:17] >> good evening, mayor, vice mayor, council members, and fellow community members.
[2:47:22] my name is brittany freeman. I'm a tech student and property owner here in marana, as well as a homeowner and resident in tucson.
[2:47:28] the decisions made here tonight affect all of us in the greater tucson region,
[2:47:33] and we share the same aquifer, same power grid and fragile desert environment.
[2:47:38] I'm here to respectfully urge you to deny the rezoning applications
[2:47:42] for the proposed 600 acre locket road north and south data center campus.
[2:47:46] this project may promise thousands of temporary construction jobs, but tucson already has a stable construction workforce of over 20,000 jobs,
[2:47:55] and our overall employment growth has been flat or declining in recent years. We don't need a short term spike in
[2:48:01] construction activity that disappears once the buildings are up. Those temporary jobs come at a permanent cost.
[2:48:07] massive strain on our limited water and energy resources. It's important to understand that the use of the air
[2:48:13] cooling at the data center will not eliminate the water problem. It will only shift the burden upstream.
[2:48:19] these facilities demand enormous electricity around the clock, and much of that energy comes from
[2:48:24] power plants that use large amount of water for cooling. With indirect usage, the data center would potentially consume
[2:48:31] over 60% more water overall than the current farm land,
[2:48:35] not 95 or 98% less as bill claims. This massive power consumption also drives up demand on our grid.
[2:48:44] potentially leading to higher electricity rates for residents and families who already struggle to pay more during our hottest months.
[2:48:50] additionally, replacing active farm land with this industrial use risk polluting
[2:48:55] surrounding fields through dust and runoff during construction and generator emissions after.
[2:49:01] rezoning would permanently convert this farmland to industrial use, and irreversible loss in
[2:49:08] a region already seeing precious ag land disappear to development.
[2:49:12] please listen to the voices here tonight and across the region. Deny this rezoning to protect our shared resources and keep
[2:49:20] energy affordable and prioritize truly sustainable growth here in marana.
[2:49:24] thank you for your time and consideration. >> thank you. [applause].
[2:49:31] >> [noise] next is chuck allman, followed by michael gyman.
[2:49:37] >> good evening, mayor, vice mayor. Council. Really excited to be here tonight.
[2:49:42] ben really digging into this thing. Tonight was really interesting to listen to all the different sides of it,
[2:49:48] did not change the way I feel, and I think the way my kids feel about being here in marana, my name is chuck allman.
[2:49:56] I have a copier company here. We've had it for 25 years in marana.
[2:50:00] that's a long time for business to be here. We're excited about the opportunity for marana to grow.
[2:50:07] our kids can stay here. More importantly, my grandkids can stay here.
[2:50:12] but with that, the way that we're growing now,
[2:50:18] we're going to lose to phoenix all the time and we're seeing it daily in tucson.
[2:50:23] tucson is getting taken over by phoenix. You've got to do is look around. You see it.
[2:50:29] more six oh two numbers running around than there is 520. I'm hoping that this goes.
[2:50:34] I'm hoping that this works out for all of us. Thank you guys for the opportunity.
[2:50:38] I hope we all do the right thing. [applause]
[2:50:45] >> the next speaker is michael gyman followed by david morals. >> mayor post, vice mayor ziegler, non town council.
[2:50:53] my name is michael gyman. I'm with the chamber of southern arizona and speaking in favor of the locket road project.
[2:51:00] I've worked in economic development for many years and worked on a lot of projects.
[2:51:07] actually, none of those projects have done what this project has done,
[2:51:12] and that has taken zero local incentives, which could include county incentives.
[2:51:17] in fact, they're doing the opposite. They are paying into the system for
[2:51:23] infrastructure improvements and deeding some of that back to the city. Additionally, you have set yourself up for
[2:51:29] success by passing and adopting the data center ordinance.
[2:51:35] this is a very important step, the first step in this region, as was stated earlier,
[2:51:41] this follows the ordinance 100%.
[2:51:46] say yes to thousands of new jobs in this region,
[2:51:51] most of those construction jobs, which will stay local as opposed to leaving this region to find work elsewhere.
[2:51:58] say yes to economic development and the largest capital investment in southern arizona's history.
[2:52:04] a recent report that was alluded to earlier, states that this region is dipping into negative economic growth territory.
[2:52:13] jurisdictions need to say yes to these projects more than saying no.
[2:52:18] and say yes to the new tax revenue that will be generated by this project,
[2:52:24] millions of dollars annually, that will be used to bolster the already great services that this council provides.
[2:52:35] follow the recommendation from the unanimous recommendation from
[2:52:39] the planning commission and vote in favor of the luca road project. Thank you.
[2:52:44] >> thank you. [applause]
[2:52:51] >> the next speaker is david morals, followed by ted maxwell, and then robert nil.
[2:53:08] >> david? What happened? >> yes, I'm okay. This morning at 9:00,
[2:53:15] I went to the va hospital and I had a eye operation on my right eye.
[2:53:22] I went in at 9:00 and it was released at 12:00.
[2:53:28] the reason I'm here this is too big to stay home.
[2:53:35] marana has two big big items that has saved the town.
[2:53:43] the first one is tax value. Now you got to remember in 1990 the town didn't have this revenue,
[2:53:52] didn't have the people, and the only thing that was going to save it was we hit to
[2:53:58] have tax value in our city limits or town limits should I
[2:54:03] say the town when I became a council member was the only 11 square miles.
[2:54:13] I was a council member from '87-'91, and the council wanted to increase the tax,
[2:54:23] make a property tax, and I told him it's not going to work.
[2:54:27] anyway, what happened was the console went ahead
[2:54:33] and put it on the ballot and went down 85-15, no vote.
[2:54:39] don't even try to put a property tax. I'm telling you what will happen, 85-15.
[2:54:45] in the process, they told me, david,
[2:54:50] you were the one that this thing failed,
[2:54:54] so come up with something different. I figured tax value, ina road,
[2:55:03] orange grove, dale that area is nothing but business, sales tax.
[2:55:08] that's what I wanted. What happened was I ran out of time.
[2:55:14] my council expired. But the town when I left,
[2:55:23] I said, I don't have no more time,
[2:55:29] but I need for you guys to vote for tax valley. They voted for tax valley,
[2:55:35] and here we are. If eddie honey was here,
[2:55:41] if mahorn was here, they would tell you that's what saved the town tax valley.
[2:55:47] prior to that, the only tax we had was mcdonald's.
[2:55:51] you can imagine, as far
[2:55:55] as threats of recall, anything else?
[2:56:04] all I can tell you is cano ranch was the first thing that went on the ballot. It passed.
[2:56:14] the council of 87-91,
[2:56:20] we told the town marana is growing and it is going to stay growing.
[2:56:25] I hope you do the right thing and vote for this thing because we need the jobs.
[2:56:30] >> thank you, david. >> thank you.[applause]
[2:56:39] >> the next speaker is ted maxwell, followed by robert nil, and then cesar corral.
[2:56:47] >> general maxwell, welcome. Mayor [inaudible].
[2:56:52] >> vice mayor ziegler, members of the council. Thank you for this opportunity. I'm ted maxwell, the president and ceo of the southern arizona leadership council.
[2:56:59] I represent more than 150 ceos and business leaders from this region.
[2:57:04] I'm here tonight to advocate for your approval. Now, some people hear the word data centers,
[2:57:09] and they think it's just a building full of servers. But that's not what we're talking about tonight.
[2:57:14] we're talking about the backbone of the modern economy. Every industry, whether it's healthcare,
[2:57:21] or hospitals, aerospace, logistics, education. Yes, even our small local businesses rely on having
[2:57:29] an efficient digital infrastructure and secure digital infrastructure to operate as do we.
[2:57:36] many of, if not all of us in this room, depend on data centers.
[2:57:41] for our connections to our cell phones, with our computers, to the internet,
[2:57:46] our vehicles, both gas and electric, all rely on that connectivity with data centers for everything we do.
[2:57:54] when we welcome responsible data center investment, and you have taken every step possible to make a responsible decision tonight.
[2:58:05] we are positioned marana at the center of that economic engine.
[2:58:09] in a fast changing world, strong digital infrastructure is not a luxury,
[2:58:14] it's a necessity, and that includes on national security issues.
[2:58:19] we need it in our country and we need it close to where we are at times.
[2:58:24] data centers bring high quality well paying jobs. You've heard all that. But the benefits are much farther reaching than a single project or a data center.
[2:58:34] your approval tonight will send a powerful message to other employers.
[2:58:39] marana is open for business. We're ready to innovate,
[2:58:43] and we are prepared to build a stable economic future for our community.
[2:58:48] tonight, I'm asking you just thank bigger to thank long term. Choose progress, choose a stronger future
[2:58:55] and choose prosperity for marana and the region. Thank you. >> thank you.[applause]
[2:59:07] >> the next speaker is robert nil, followed by cesar corral, and then susan dumont.
[2:59:13] >> good evening mayor, vice mayor, and council members.
[2:59:20] I'm from the area, and I've been aware of this project and I wanted to become a
[2:59:27] little more educated on it this evening and you've done that. You've really opened my eyes and confirmed
[2:59:35] what I put in a letter to the mayor's office earlier this week.
[2:59:39] I'd like to read some from it, if I may. Marana has been run by a forward thinking group of
[2:59:48] competent people with an eye to expansion in the future.
[2:59:53] this proposed data center will make future expansion possible for marana,
[2:59:59] along with creating jobs and bringing in a consistent revenue flow.
[3:00:04] I'm currently a resident of tucson and have been for some time.
[3:00:10] I've watched marana expand and grow with the residents being cared for by the local government.
[3:00:19] I've lived through tucson's fumbling and tripping over
[3:00:23] themselves in almost everything they directly try to do.
[3:00:29] my wife and I have owned a business in tucson and have sold it.
[3:00:34] we have decided that we would like to move to the marana area from what we see being done for its future.
[3:00:43] the expansion of our business plan and becoming involved in progress of the city.
[3:00:52] the data center are essentially to daily life by power and healthcare,
[3:01:00] public, safety, communications, ecommerce, and digital systems that keep businesses competitive and families connected.
[3:01:10] we've heard that over and over tonight, but it is the basics.
[3:01:16] your forward thinking, please be smart in approving this project.
[3:01:23] approving this project, puts marana in a position to capture all of the noted benefits while
[3:01:31] protecting your community resources and bringing long term tax revenue that will help fund schools,
[3:01:38] police, fire, roads, and your outstanding parks.
[3:01:43] >> thank you very much, sir. Appreciate that. Thank you.[applause] >> the next speaker is cesar corral,
[3:01:55] followed by susan dumont. >> good evening, mayor post,
[3:01:59] vice mayor ziegler, and honorable members of the council. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.
[3:02:04] my name is cesar corral with the western states carpenters local 1912, and I'm here in strong support of item a2.
[3:02:10] I want to start with the recommended referendum by a previous speaker. Here's a problem with that.
[3:02:15] when we build houses, we don't ask for the credit. The real estate developer can have that.
[3:02:20] when we build the schools, your children, and some of you still attend, we don't ask for credit.
[3:02:25] when we make the hospitals, we take our loved ones to. We don't ask for credit.
[3:02:29] we don't ask to be seen or for any of acknowledgment, let alone anything at all.
[3:02:34] there's a reason for this in my opinion. I think that's because as workers, we need nothing more than to get what we earned and come back to our families.
[3:02:41] this is why I'm up here right now.
[3:02:51] after hearing from the utilities that our rates would not increase,
[3:02:56] and finding an opportunity here at home, I jumped at the chance to spend the holidays with my nana again.
[3:03:02] it's sad but true, that here we are again in big colorful vests and still very few people see us.
[3:03:08] I wish the opposition did not forget about people like me who have a real benefit from projects like this,
[3:03:13] rather than remembering campaign finances that are irrelevant. I'm not here to have a punch line in a big applause.
[3:03:19] I'm here because my life actually depends on this. I'm sure those of you with members of
[3:03:23] your family in the military can relate to the empty feeling of seeing that seat empty at the thanksgiving table or christmas or birthdays.
[3:03:30] that seat unfortunately at my family table is mine. Project outside of our local area is unfortunately the normal for us.
[3:03:36] that means time away from our families, long commutes, and instability that most people never have to even think about.
[3:03:43] it should never mean I don't have to choose between providing for my family and being there for them.
[3:03:49] I respectfully urge you to support item a2. I thank you for your time and for considering the voices
[3:03:55] of local workers like myself.[applause]
[3:04:06] >> the next speaker is susan dumont, followed by sean blubaum.
[3:04:12] >> good evening, vice mayor, members of the council.
[3:04:17] that was tough to follow. But I'll do my best.
[3:04:21] my name is susan dumont. I'm the chief economic development officer for the chamber of southern arizona,
[3:04:28] and I'm here today on behalf of myself, our board of directors,
[3:04:33] and our 1,400 members to express support for this project.
[3:04:37] as someone working in economic development, I'm inclined to highlight the capital investment,
[3:04:42] the new jobs created, repeat the economic and fiscal impacts on
[3:04:46] the town of marana and really the entire region. That's where we tend to go.
[3:04:52] I do hang on to that 145 million in
[3:04:57] projected revenue for the town over the first 10 years of the project.
[3:05:02] I think numbers like that are tough. What kind of revenue does that really mean for
[3:05:07] the town of marana and its residents and businesses? It's a big number.
[3:05:13] I don't know what $145 million looks like. Maybe some of you do, but I don't think so.
[3:05:17] I tried to break that down into what could be funded with
[3:05:21] those tax revenues for one year in the town of morana based on your fiscal year '26 budget?
[3:05:28] one year of tax revenue from this project would nearly
[3:05:32] fund the entire parks and recreation department for fiscal year '26.
[3:05:38] alternatively, one year of tax revenue could be used to fund more than 60% of the police department budget.
[3:05:45] that's about 100 police officers. As someone who previously worked for local government,
[3:05:51] I know that the services residents expect, such as great parks and a responsive police department don't pay for themselves.
[3:06:00] primarily, they're funded through tax revenues generated by businesses,
[3:06:05] residents, and visitors in this community. As elected leaders of this community,
[3:06:11] you must be thoughtful and pragmatic in your decision making, weighing the pros and cons of the decisions you make on behalf of your constituents.
[3:06:19] the benefits of this project are significant and they far outweigh the potential negative impacts.
[3:06:25] encourage you to support this project and vote, yes. >> thank you.[applause]
[3:06:35] >> the next speaker is sean blubaum, followed by albert via pando.
[3:06:46] >> thanks. Good evening, mayor post, vice mayor ziegler, and council members.
[3:06:50] my name is sean blubaum. I am a construction industry professional, and I've been a business leader here in arizona for 25 years.
[3:06:58] I'm here tonight to voice my strong support for the proposed lat road data center project.
[3:07:04] from a construction standpoint, you've heard it from a lot of people. This project represents exactly the kind of
[3:07:09] long term responsible development our local workforce needs.
[3:07:13] the data center is projected to generate thousands of construction jobs for the next 5-10 years,
[3:07:18] including opportunities for skilled trades, apprenticeships, on on the job training.
[3:07:23] in our industry, projects of this scale provide steady career sustaining work.
[3:07:29] for those that talk about construction jobs is temporary,
[3:07:33] I'm someone I don't have to travel anymore, but I traveled for several years while my kids were little, and I was not there.
[3:07:41] it was because there wasn't local work. As someone who's done that 4,000 plus jobs for 5-10 years,
[3:07:46] that's life changing for our local workforce. This development also brings
[3:07:52] significant infrastructure construction that benefits our whole region. Water and sewer extensions, road improvements,
[3:07:58] including the lockett road extension and regional drainage improvements. These investments, open doors for future employment and industrial growth
[3:08:06] while strengthening marana's overall construction and infrastructure capacity.
[3:08:10] just as important, it's been thoughtfully planned. Why create zoning requirements and then check
[3:08:17] all the boxes and then question if it should be allowed.
[3:08:21] isn't that the point of having the requirements? It's located in an area already designated for industrial use.
[3:08:28] it minimizes traffic once operational and complies with marana's ordinance.
[3:08:32] data centers are an integral part of the modern economy. They fuel essential industries.. Every business uses it.
[3:08:40] we all use computers. We all use phones. They're part of our modern economy,
[3:08:45] whether we want them there or not. They're essential now and in the future. For those of us in construction,
[3:08:51] it's stable work, allowing our families to live and work in marana.
[3:08:55] I encourage you to please vote yes and allow marana to continue to build our future the right way. Thank you.
[3:09:01] >> thank you.[applause]
[3:09:09] >> the next speaker is albert via pando, and then michelle mccarthy.
[3:09:18] >> mayor, council members. Thank you for the chance of letting me speak here today.
[3:09:23] my name is albert via pando, I'm a proud member of local 359.
[3:09:29] here today in strong support of bill infrastructure data center project because for working families like ours,
[3:09:36] projects like this are about more than development and their jobs,
[3:09:41] stability, stay employed, here at home. We want to focus a little bit about being at home. I don't know how to follow ups.
[3:09:49] that was really good, but some of these other folks are bringing up about the local members working here at home,
[3:09:57] 85-90% of our local members with local 359 are working in the valley.
[3:10:02] that's 2-3 hour drive time one way, working 10, 12 hour days and then doing the same commute back. That's long.
[3:10:10] that's 14-16 hour days on the road and at work and away from your families.
[3:10:17] the other 10-15% are either not working or working at a state.
[3:10:23] we need this project here in marana. We need this project here in southern arizona,
[3:10:27] and I hope you approve this. Thank you. >> thank you.[applause]
[3:10:37] >> the next speaker is michelle mccarthy, followed by fernando lebron and brian pena.
[3:10:42] >> well, mr. Mayor, vice mayor. Town council. Thank you for having me speak.
[3:10:47] I am in whole percent for this project.
[3:10:52] we are a big city here in tucson and surrounding neighborhoods.
[3:10:57] but there is no work. There's no union work. I've been a union sheet metal worker for over 12 years.
[3:11:03] my husband 30 plus years, one of my sons just started,
[3:11:08] but we have to travel over two hours each way. I got up at two o'clock this morning,
[3:11:13] so forgive me if I'm all tired. But to get to work by five.
[3:11:19] anyway, I really want this here.
[3:11:23] I believe we deserve to have viable jobs here. There's nothing.
[3:11:29] there's no work.
[3:11:35] let's see. I have 107. Anyway, I know what it's like everywhere else.
[3:11:43] I've looked into different things. I thought because I wanted to stay by my family.
[3:11:48] I wanted to stay my elderly dad. I wanted to help him out more and I wanted to stay here,
[3:11:54] and I still do. But I mean, I looked at other jobs,
[3:11:59] and I actually worked outside my field for a year working two jobs to try to make ends meet,
[3:12:05] and it didn't cover. I just did it. I saw what it's like everywhere.
[3:12:10] I have other experience working on diesel mechanics, air boeing airplanes.
[3:12:16] I have a lot of skills that I could have gone to, but there's just no money.
[3:12:21] it boils down to money. We need some money here.
[3:12:26] we need family members to have jobs to go to. I need to have my time with my family,
[3:12:33] and to work and, make money. Anyway, that's all I have to say. Thank you. >> thank you. [applause]
[3:12:45] >> next speaker is fernando lebron. Followed by brian pena.
[3:12:54] >> good evening, mayor and city council members. My name is fernando lebron.
[3:13:00] I'm a proud member of smart sheet metal air railroad, and transportation workers.
[3:13:04] I'm here tonight in the strong support of the a2 infrastructure data center project.
[3:13:09] for workers like me, projects like this means keeping good family, supporting jobs right here in arizona when major infrastructure projects move forward,
[3:13:19] we can work close to home instead of traveling out of state just to stay employed.
[3:13:24] that stability matters to our families, our communities, our local economy.
[3:13:29] data centers are complex facilities that required trained workers to be built safely and correctly.
[3:13:35] smart members play a critical role from advanced air and ventilation systems to
[3:13:40] precise installation that keeps these facilities operating efficiently and reliable.
[3:13:45] this high technical work that depends on training, experience, and accountability.
[3:13:50] projects like a2 data center also help grow the next generation of skilled workers by
[3:13:55] creating opportunities for apprentices and young people to build long-term careers here in arizona.
[3:14:00] when our members are working, the benefits extend beyond the job site. We support local businesses,
[3:14:06] contribute to tax revenue, and stay invested in the communities where we live.
[3:14:10] the a2 infrastructure data center represents responsible development that supports skilled labor and long term economic growth.
[3:14:18] for these reasons, I respectfully urge your support. Thank you for your time this evening and consideration.
[3:14:24] [applause]
[3:14:31] >> the next speaker is brian pena, followed by cody mcguire. >> good evening major,
[3:14:40] council members and stuff. My name is brian pena.
[3:14:44] I'm a proud member of the painters and allied traits, and on behalf of a membership here in arizona,
[3:14:50] strong support for the proposed data center.
[3:14:55] while we acknowledge the valid concerns raised by the members of our community regarding the water and energy consumption,
[3:15:02] I believe that project with it mitigation measures represent
[3:15:07] a significant opportunity for economic growth and technological advancement here in arizona,
[3:15:13] especially here in marana. Smart and responsible development consists of hiring locally,
[3:15:20] including our construction traits, men and women that are
[3:15:26] often left behind and neglected when building anything in this region.
[3:15:32] bio has assured us that there will be a strong safety standards on this project with local hire.
[3:15:39] let's keep our working families together and coming home every night.
[3:15:45] we strongly and humbly urge you to move forward with this project.
[3:15:50] thank you. [applause]
[3:15:58] >> the next speaker is cody mcguire, followed by shan lopez.
[3:16:14] >> good evening, mayor, vice mayor and council members. Thank you very much for your time and your passion part of this project,
[3:16:20] and also listening to your constituents. My name is cody mcguire. I'm a resident property owner of marana,
[3:16:26] bought back in 2005. I'm a supporter of the data center in marana.
[3:16:30] especially a factor I look at is the right location. We look at marana has mass territory you guys have,
[3:16:37] putting up to where industrial use area is key. Next to airpark, mining,
[3:16:42] cemetery, and also solar. I think it's the right area, and you look at it versus anywhere else you could put in marana.
[3:16:48] looking at the investment you make that's going to be new making what we will actually receive for this town for jobs.
[3:16:57] thank you to contract workers. My dad was constructional workers. I know what it's like.
[3:17:01] thank you. I appreciate all that.
[3:17:07] the overall, I understand there's parts of water that's reducing it, looking at the air cooling.
[3:17:13] I look forward to seeing all the actual ramification, what it actually does and actually,
[3:17:17] the success that comes from that. Overall, the proposal project provides
[3:17:22] an opportunity for marana to distinguish itself as open for business in southern arizona and a chance for marana to
[3:17:28] lead the region instruction reliability digital instructure. The thing I want to say is,
[3:17:32] I wish I love you guys have put the piece at the very beginning to make for data centers,
[3:17:39] wish or valley, city of tucson, we actually do these same things and be proactive versus always in the back end,
[3:17:47] and it always screws ourselves. Thank you very much for putting that time in and putting at the very beginning to help move forward.
[3:17:53] you actually have a company who actually wants to check the boxes for a change versus trying to skate around them or getting incentives.
[3:17:59] thank you thank you much for time. [applause]
[3:18:07] >> the next speaker shan lopez, followed by jonathan daley.
[3:18:12] >> good evening, mayor, vice mayor and council. Thank you for your time. My name is shan lopez.
[3:18:17] I'm a local business representative for lona local 1184; we're laborers.
[3:18:22] we do a heavy civil underground steward storm drain. We build your roads and bridges.
[3:18:27] I'm just a representative of 2,000 members we have here in arizona. About half of those are in southern arizona.
[3:18:33] like my colleague said, we all travel for work. We don't get the luxury of staying home for holidays and things like that.
[3:18:40] a lot of times we're on call. But one thing I want to touch on is this jobs aspect.
[3:18:46] it's a little condescending, no offense to anybody, but they're not really jobs.
[3:18:50] people think construction workers it's just a job. It's actually a career.
[3:18:54] it's my job to make sure I can string these short-term projects together to create a career for my members.
[3:19:01] this is four years, possibly eight or longer. This is something that'll add 4-8 years of pension credits.
[3:19:10] o union labors, for all the unions, we provide medical, dental, vision,
[3:19:15] prescription, pensions, annuities, vacation bonuses for all of our members.
[3:19:21] it's not just a job. You're actually helping create careers here. On top of that, I recruit.
[3:19:27] I'm a headhunter as well. I will work with the schools. Our apprenticeship program will come down here.
[3:19:33] we'll go to all your job fairs, and we'll hire locally. We'll hire straight out of high school,
[3:19:37] get them in our apprenticeship and within two years, they'll be making over $30 an hour with full benefits,
[3:19:42] being able to have kids and create families locally and marana, and help marana grow.
[3:19:47] thank you so much for your support, and I ask that you support this project. [applause]
[3:20:01] >> the next speaker is jonathan daley, followed by rebecca kozlowski.
[3:20:07] >> good evening. My name is jonathan daley. I was really hoping I wasn't going to follow shawn.
[3:20:12] but I'm also a member of local 1184 labors union.
[3:20:17] I'll go more personal note since he hit it all right on the head.
[3:20:22] our members consist of veterans, second chancellors, kids coming out of foster care,
[3:20:27] you name it, husband, wives, their fathers, mothers.
[3:20:32] me myself, I'm a marine corps veteran. I'm also a husband,
[3:20:36] and I'm a father to a 2-year-old boy and soon to be baby girl.
[3:20:41] those are the reasons I'm here tonight, so that I can be home every night with them.
[3:20:47] they want me home every night. They remind me every day, maybe not so much during football season,
[3:20:52] but starting now, probably a lot more. With that, this gives our membership on-the-job experience that's needed,
[3:21:01] just not the apprenticeship school and sitting and reading a book. It's not usually how we operate.
[3:21:06] it's usually the on-the-job experience that we benefit from. It gives us that opportunity,
[3:21:11] and to provide I was able to just buy my family a house and provide them with healthcare,
[3:21:17] food on the table, and we never have to question it. With that, we ask you please approve this.
[3:21:22] thank you. [applause]
[3:21:29] >> rebecca, I'm sorry if I'm saying your name wrong rebecca. >> you did remarkably well.
[3:21:33] >> all right. Followed by fred barnett. >> thank you. Mr. Mayor,
[3:21:40] vice mayor, council. I'm rebecca kozlowski.
[3:21:45] I lived just outside marana line near the amazon property,
[3:21:50] but I have worked in marana since 2010. My son graduated from musd,
[3:21:56] so I have some heart here in marana. I grew up in lake erie,
[3:22:01] where as a child, we could not swim in the water as it was too polluted.
[3:22:06] a nearby river famously caught on fire.
[3:22:10] these circumstances started my lifelong journey as an environmentalist.
[3:22:16] as a owner of multiple small businesses,
[3:22:21] I learned to study the fine line skeptically in contracts and agreements
[3:22:27] and do my due diligence to fully understand the impact I and my businesses have had on my community.
[3:22:34] you may assume that this means that I'm against this project; on the contrary.
[3:22:40] after my in-depth reading of the specific town ordinance for data centers,
[3:22:45] I am convinced that the town has created a thoughtful and community-friendly plan.
[3:22:51] this plan covers air-cooled, not water-cooled, regulations,
[3:22:55] strong restrictions on noise, locations far from residential areas,
[3:23:00] requirements for the project to play upfront for the investments for power to avoid passing rate increases onto residents,
[3:23:08] workforce development, and more. I urge marana residents to take the time to study
[3:23:14] the ordinance and these plants and not fall prey to the plethora of
[3:23:19] misinformation spread by many who are not near our community and will not
[3:23:24] feel and enjoy the positive impact this project will bring to our kids and grandkids,
[3:23:30] and the enhancements for our roads, infrastructure, and for smart growth in marana.
[3:23:36] I fully support this council's positive decision on this look at project.
[3:23:40] [applause]
[3:23:47] >> on next speaker is fred barnett, followed by drew jenkins, and then courtney hoyt.
[3:23:58] >> hello, mr. Mayor. >> hey, fred. [laughter] >> I have to remember this,
[3:24:03] all these strenuous members. Marana was founded in '77 with one purpose in mind: to take care of our water.
[3:24:15] that's what it was all about.
[3:24:19] as time went on, the town wasn't really flourishing.
[3:24:27] pickles hit on it earlier. We went out, and we got some more land. We annexed property.
[3:24:38] the town has grown and grown and grown because we now have revenue.
[3:24:51] I think if we don't take advantage of this,
[3:24:56] it could be the wrong move. We have no property tax in marana,
[3:25:05] and I would think a move like this should ensure that we have no property tax in marana for years to come.
[3:25:16] that would be my take on it,
[3:25:23] and I'm all for it.
[3:25:29] I don't know a whole lot about everything.
[3:25:33] everybody seems to be concerned about how much water these data centers take. I don't know.
[3:25:44] seems like to me that they ought to be a system like a car with a radiator,
[3:25:52] and you cool it, and then you put it back in the motor.
[3:26:01] I think if somebody paid me enough money,
[3:26:05] I could figure that system out. [laughter]
[3:26:13] >> thank you. [applause] but you guys heard it,
[3:26:20] right, fred, right there. In case you need him. [background]
[3:26:25] >> the next speaker is drew jenkins, followed by courtney hoyt.
[3:26:32] >> mayor, vice mayor, counsel. My name is drew jenkins,
[3:26:37] and I'm an internet user. I'm certainly not alone in this.
[3:26:41] I got a couple of statistics here that tells me 96% of all adults in the united states access the internet regularly.
[3:26:49] 89.4% of households in arizona have an internet subscription,
[3:26:54] and 95.7% of households specifically in marana have an internet subscription.
[3:27:00] in 2018, it was reported the average adult spends a little over 6 hours a day every single day engaging with digital media,
[3:27:09] and that has since grown to just under 7 hours every single day in 2024.
[3:27:14] we use smart watches, to exercise, apps to communicate, online maps, to get around.
[3:27:20] I use digital cameras to watch my babies, my dogs, and my front door.
[3:27:26] this is just what we use as individuals, you heard previously,
[3:27:30] how much our commercial businesses and community use internet as well.
[3:27:35] our digital consumption, and online connectedness has continued to grow year after year,
[3:27:40] where it has become an integral part of our life. Given the growth of our technological consumption and our reliance on it,
[3:27:46] it does not surprise me that companies are wanting to build data centers in southern arizona to support our habitual use.
[3:27:53] what we have here is a problem of irony, where some are saying that we don't want data centers down here,
[3:27:58] yet they are critical infrastructure to sustain our lifestyle of technological consumption.
[3:28:04] we've seen the videos, and read the articles about the impacts of data centers.
[3:28:08] if these projects go somewhere else in arizona, it'll use the same energy,
[3:28:12] and water resources that we use here. Provided that a data center is going to be built in southern arizona
[3:28:19] as they told us and has become essential to our way of living. I would argue that we have a responsibility as residents to build a data center
[3:28:26] in our community where we can properly oversee the accountability,
[3:28:30] transparency, and resource management of this project, and directly benefit from all of the positive financial aspects,
[3:28:38] and construction jobs that the project provides us. Thank you. >> thank you. [applause]
[3:28:47] >> next speaker is courtney hoyt, followed by tommy bingham.
[3:28:54] >> excuse me, my voice sucks today, so just bear with me.
[3:28:58] good evening, mayor, vice mayor, and council members. My name is courtney, and I live here in marana.
[3:29:04] I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you guys tonight. I'm here because construction jobs and responsible development matter for our town.
[3:29:14] when projects move forward here, they put local trades to work. Those are solid careers that support families and keep folks working close to home.
[3:29:23] responsible development paves the path for future growth in our community.
[3:29:28] puny, but true. When that work happens here,
[3:29:32] money is spent at marana businesses, gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores.
[3:29:37] that local spending brings in tax dollars that helps pay for things we all care about like roads,
[3:29:43] public safety, and keeping up with growth without putting it all on existing residents.
[3:29:50] I know every project deserves a careful look and I respect that you've taken the time to do so and appreciate it.
[3:29:56] I hope you consider that responsible development can mean steady jobs, more local spending,
[3:30:01] and a stronger tax base, all while keeping marana a place where people are proud to live and work.
[3:30:07] thank you for your time and consideration of this project. >> thank you. [applause]
[3:30:17] >> the next speaker is tommy bingham, followed by briana rader.
[3:30:23] is tommy here. Okay. Briana. [background]
[3:30:40] >> mayor, vice mayor and council members. I'm a fifth generation, southern arizona,
[3:30:45] a mount view high school graduate, and my family has called marana home since returning back to the area in 2014.
[3:30:53] I pulled some demographic data, and those in the area are actually around 37-years-old.
[3:31:00] I represent those closely impacted by this project.
[3:31:05] I'm pretty sure many of which in my generation couldn't make it tonight, shuttling kids, and putting kids to bed tonight,
[3:31:11] but here I am thanks to mom. I support this project.
[3:31:15] I believe it'll benefit our community for generations. Here's a few of the benefits that matter to me.
[3:31:21] economic growth and stability. We've watched nearby jurisdictions. Continue to say no.
[3:31:27] the novo came from the loud minority. As a result, these jurisdictions have had to react to essentially a dying economy.
[3:31:36] we've seen additional sales tax proposals, and the like.
[3:31:40] let's keep marana economically strong. Jobs, I had to leave town after graduating from mva.
[3:31:47] jobs weren't secure, they didn't pay enough. This project will create the jobs to help retain talent in our region.
[3:31:54] further, I work in an industry that depends on job growth.
[3:31:58] many have said it today. Jobs are vital for a strong economy.
[3:32:03] community perception. Marana has the opportunity tonight to set
[3:32:08] a positive example for smart sustainable development in southern arizona. Many of us recall some recent no votes that made national headlines.
[3:32:16] let's get marana on the map. Let's showcase. We can make smart growth decisions.
[3:32:22] I've witnessed firsthand, many of you make some really tough decisions right here.
[3:32:28] thoughtful council action has brightened our community's growth, and vitality.
[3:32:34] over the last few decades, this isn't just about this one decision. It's all the decisions that have led up to today.
[3:32:41] please let us not forget that tonight. A yes vote tonight is a vote for marana's future,
[3:32:46] one that embraces smart growth, a strong local economy, innovation, and opportunity for all residents.
[3:32:53] thank you for supporting the future of marana. >> thank you. [applause]
[3:33:01] >> our next speaker is lloyd kirsch. Sorry, lloyd, I did not give you heads up.
[3:33:07] after lloyd is michael vasquez, and then derek espadas.
[3:33:30] >> good evening, mayor post. Vice mayor ziegler.
[3:33:36] town officials and town council. My name is lloyd kirsch.
[3:33:43] I've been a resident in marana for over 11 years.
[3:33:47] I volunteered to the community through my participation on the tourism task force,
[3:33:54] the town restaurant task force, the marana unified school district business alliance steering committee,
[3:34:02] and as a certified tourism ambassador from marana.
[3:34:07] I appreciate addressing you today regarding a proposal to approve an ai data center,
[3:34:14] one that has enormous economic benefits from marana, and its residents,
[3:34:21] but also presents major resident concerns, and apprehension about potential property devaluation,
[3:34:30] the strain on local resources, and the reputational harm to our nascent tourism marketing plans.
[3:34:38] there were also several unresolved issues that demand your attention.
[3:34:44] beetle and blue owl capital, its parent,
[3:34:49] and the data center developer's track record,
[3:34:56] lack of transparency, and legal exposure highlights the potential for litigation,
[3:35:03] and protracted legal disputes. Should this project proceed?
[3:35:08] blue owl capital value in 2025 decreased 33%.
[3:35:17] they have liquidity issues. I believe that further due diligence should be conducted.
[3:35:25] marana town council and staff are to be commended for developing an ordinance regulating data centers.
[3:35:33] however, approving this data center in the absence of
[3:35:37] clear robust regulations regarding end of life responsibilities,
[3:35:44] funding, and planning would be premature, and potentially detrimental to marana's long term interests,
[3:35:52] given the uncertainty of federal intervention,
[3:35:57] and end of flight funding for the conversion of this total project.
[3:36:02] as the life cycle of the ai data center is 15 to 25 years.
[3:36:08] this council must have the wisdom, and courage to choose a future course set
[3:36:14] its citizens can live with over generations without
[3:36:19] the potential for technological obsolescence that leave
[3:36:24] communities with abandoned difficult to repurpose buildings.
[3:36:29] in conclusion, the decision before you
[3:36:33] is not merely about approving a construction project.
[3:36:37] it's about safeguarding the future of marana.
[3:36:42] I urge you to listen to the concerns of your constituents,
[3:36:46] and act with the prudence, and foresight that marana,
[3:36:50] and its future generations deserve. For all these reasons,
[3:36:55] I respectfully urge the council to vote against
[3:37:00] the approval of the ai data center unless an extensive end of
[3:37:05] life addition to the data center regulations in
[3:37:09] much greater detail than the one displayed earlier can be to fill up and approved by this council.
[3:37:17] thank you for your concern. >> thank you. [applause]
[3:37:24] >> the next speaker is michael vasquez, followed by derek espadas.
[3:37:29] >> mayor, vice mayor, council and staff.
[3:37:34] my name is michael vasquez. I'm the executive director of the arizona bill and trades council.
[3:37:39] arizona bill and trades construction trades council consists of 14 different trades,
[3:37:45] and also has over 22 members, which we have some of the members here tonight.
[3:37:52] our members are able to train arizona's future workforce, and our national recognized privately funded apprenticeship programs,
[3:38:00] but we only accept as many apprentices as we can guarantee not only a job but a career.
[3:38:07] if the rezones for the council actions 2 and 3 are approved.
[3:38:12] this project alone will show our contractors that we must invest now in growing our workforce at marana.
[3:38:21] that would mean creating new high paying jobs with benefits right here in marana.
[3:38:26] it means we can start training the next generation of construction workers.
[3:38:32] marana can continue to attract projects to the area that will create opportunities for our members to stay close to home.
[3:38:41] we ask that you please approve the rezoning,
[3:38:46] and help us create 4,200 new high paying jobs.
[3:38:51] thank you. [applause]
[3:38:57] >> the next speaker is derek espadas followed by nick maya.
[3:39:06] >> hello. My name is derek espadas. I'm an accountant, entrepreneur, educator,
[3:39:12] doctoral candidate in business and a candidate for the arizona corporation commission.
[3:39:17] I cannot speak to the trico statements, but I can address the tep statements.
[3:39:22] they are currently in their rate case, not only seeking a 14% increase,
[3:39:27] that conveniently happened the same day that project blue, the lens of project blue occurred.
[3:39:33] but on the back end of that rate case, there is a proposal for them to bypass the acc in future rate cases,
[3:39:40] and have an automatic increase. Now, what does that have to do with data centers?
[3:39:46] if you look at their 10k and their 8k's for the last couple of years,
[3:39:50] they specifically say that they are going to make up for what they perceive to
[3:39:55] be a drop in profits because they're only making $330 million in profit.
[3:40:02] a 33% increase over the last three years? They specifically outlined that they are seeking large scale data center increases,
[3:40:11] and to pass on the costs and gain the profits in the future.
[3:40:15] again, in their 10k and 8k's. Who are they lying to?
[3:40:19] are they lying to you, us, are they lying to the securities and exchange commission, and their investors?
[3:40:28] data is just erroneous when we're talking about data centers.
[3:40:32] data centers don't provide data about their data centers. Everything is made up,
[3:40:38] and it just happens to be beale's favor. Approving the project would also lock up finite community assets.
[3:40:48] once you approve this, there's no growth in any other area. You've locked up the maximum capacity that we've talked about as far as energy,
[3:40:57] and those energy supplies are not guaranteed.
[3:41:02] even commissioner walden on the acc points out that the business structure that is
[3:41:07] being presented to arizona data centers is not the same that we get everywhere else.
[3:41:13] I do also want to bring up that I know it's legal, but I find that the connection between
[3:41:19] the vice mayor and lazarus and silvan to be unethical,
[3:41:23] along with the cheer leading, and the testifying for them as well in this case,
[3:41:28] and I do endorse the referendum so that the people can decide on this matter.
[3:41:34] thank you. [applause] >> yes, mayor. [background]
[3:41:41] >> excuse me, sir. I'm going to encourage you to read title 16 campaign finding.
[3:41:50] >> I have a different title. >> I'm not going to argue with you. I'm not going to argue with you.
[3:41:57] I encourage you to read title. >> I have title 16, and I'm applying the ethical component that's not in there.
[3:42:04] ethics and legality are two separate issues. I would also say there's a lack of professionalism by the vice mayor.
[3:42:12] providing unsolicited comments on social media at three in the morning.
[3:42:17] it becomes very hard to take you seriously when there's
[3:42:21] actions equating to teenage behavior in the middle of the night.
[3:42:26] >> I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer. Mayor, please.
[3:42:30] I'd like to it doesn't matter what time I do my I don't know why that's your concern.
[3:42:36] but again, I've been in this community for 20 years. I'm not going to take those comments from you.
[3:42:44] >> you're addressing them. You are taking them. I encourage you to move on.
[3:42:49] may I be excused from this? >> get the hell out. That's a good idea.
[3:42:53] >> that was not appropriate. >> thank you, sir. >> do you want to continue and then I'd be fine. Let's continue.
[3:43:02] >> that sounded like a threat. >> it's not getting better. It's getting worse.
[3:43:06] >> that's not a threat sir. >> thank you, mary. Thank you. >> the next speaker is nick maya,
[3:43:11] followed by jason sangster. >> I'm not sure how I'm going to follow that,
[3:43:22] but I still feeling like mr. Relevant here, nfl draft fans.
[3:43:28] but good evening, mayor post vice mayor ziegler and council members.
[3:43:36] my name is nick maya, and I'm speaking on behalf of the coalition for sonoran desert protection.
[3:43:41] the coalition represents 28 national and regional organizations across southern arizona,
[3:43:46] including members in marana. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.
[3:43:51] hopefully, able to read the letter that we sent you all last week.
[3:43:57] the coalition recognizes the time and effort the town,
[3:44:01] the council members and staff have put into reviewing these applications.
[3:44:06] with that said, we respectfully urge that the council delay tonight's vote to
[3:44:13] allow more time to strengthen the conditions of approval and better protect the town, its residents.
[3:44:21] maranas long term financial and planning interests.
[3:44:26] in particular, we're concerned that while we appreciate the new condition without binding financial assurance,
[3:44:34] marana still risks incurring costs if these projects fail.
[3:44:40] air cool data centers use two to 5% excuse me,
[3:44:45] 2-5 times more electricity, and it's unclear whether trico or tp can responsibly serve this load.
[3:44:51] even with limited onsite water use, the added power demand drives significant regional water impacts that are not addressed.
[3:44:59] marana has an opportunity to reduce these risks rather than absorb them.
[3:45:04] pima county's net zero energy memorandum of agreement with beal infrastructure offers a practical model that could protect grid reliability,
[3:45:12] stabilize costs, and reduce water impacts. Thank you for your consideration and continued service to marana.
[3:45:19] we respectfully request that this vote be continued to allow further review of the conditions of approval for this project. Thank you.
[3:45:30] >> the next speaker is jason sangster, followed by michael beltran.
[3:45:38] >> good evening, mayor, vice mayor, council. My name is jason sangster.
[3:45:42] I'm the business manager for iron workers local 75 in arizona. Ironworker local 75 and have been billing arizona since july 10, 1910.
[3:45:52] we have a training facility here in tucson, arizona, right here to south of us and a union hall down there also.
[3:45:59] I'm here today to ask you to please approve the rezoning action for a a two and a three.
[3:46:04] if rezoning is approved, this project will result in over 4,200 jobs in marana.
[3:46:11] that'll mean that southern arizona members, our southern arizona members will be able to
[3:46:15] work close to home and don't have to travel for work. They can be home with their families for dinner,
[3:46:20] they can spend time with their friends and their relatives here in town.
[3:46:26] creating 4,200 new jobs will make sure that marana has a highly skilled workforce necessary to complete future projects on time and on budget.
[3:46:35] I would thank you for your time and ask if you please approve this project.
[3:46:39] thank you. [applause]
[3:46:45] >> next speaker is michael beltran, followed by adam rodriguez.
[3:46:50] is michael in the room? No. Adam rodriguez.
[3:46:56] the next speaker after that will be kevin anderson.
[3:47:02] >> good evening, morena leadership. My name is adam, I came here neutral tonight as out of pure curiosity,
[3:47:11] and just to see what I could take in from the comments from both sides while,
[3:47:16] I can't argue at all against a substantial financial gain, of course.
[3:47:22] two things that came up are the size of this project
[3:47:26] seems tremendous in that it would take up a lot of economic space, it feels like and the complexity,
[3:47:33] the unknowns about it. It seems like there's a lot we don't know from
[3:47:38] individually concerned members of our community that seem to have a good understanding of what it is that we're talking about.
[3:47:44] those things make me arrive to the conclusion of not necessarily supporting the data center at the moment,
[3:47:51] but I would strongly support or I would appreciate it if you all
[3:47:56] considered the referendum or perhaps moratorium on the vote,
[3:48:04] so we could understand more about the implications of the system. I didn't have much else to say. Thank you.
[3:48:09] >> thank you. [applause]
[3:48:17] >> michael. The next speaker is kevin anderson, followed by second alizad. Sorry.
[3:48:26] >> mayor, vice mayor, council members. Thanks for letting me speak tonight.
[3:48:31] please don't tell my surgeon that I use one crutch right now.
[3:48:36] my name is kevin anderson. I grew up in marana. I've lived here for over 25 years.
[3:48:42] over the past six years, I've owned and operated business here locally.
[3:48:46] I've been able to see marana grow, I mean, start as a small town in my eyes and grow into
[3:48:52] a very well thought out planned out town for the future.
[3:48:56] for me, it's important to see which direction the town decides to go.
[3:49:01] as a business owner, one thing becomes very clear very quickly,
[3:49:05] generating meaningful revenue without imposing higher taxes on the residents is extremely difficult.
[3:49:11] that's why I stand here before you in strong support of
[3:49:15] the proposed data center with roughly $414.5 million per year in tax revenue,
[3:49:21] and thousands of construction jobs. This impact is real.
[3:49:25] without a project like this, it would take a ton of population growth,
[3:49:29] and higher taxes to generate nearly the same type of revenue.
[3:49:34] there is no fast or painless alternative. Residential growth takes years to become profitable and brings added costs,
[3:49:42] schools, roads, police, fire, traffic.
[3:49:46] this project, it actually avoids all of that. From a business standpoint,
[3:49:51] data centers provide something municipalities rarely get stable,
[3:49:55] predictable, long term revenue. They don't strain schools.
[3:49:59] they don't create traffic congestion, yet they fund services everybody else relies on.
[3:50:04] it's important this project is being done the right way. The council has listened to concerns of the community residents and
[3:50:11] also educated us about the information of this project. Thank you.
[3:50:15] the applicant is willing to comply with all the town ordinances around noise,
[3:50:19] cooling, and bearing their usage costs. Thank you. As someone who grew up here,
[3:50:24] build a business here and plans to stay here for the future. I see this as smart growth.
[3:50:29] growth that strengthens marana's future without shifting the financial burden onto us.
[3:50:34] opportunities like this don't come often, and they're even rarer when they come to this level of planning,
[3:50:39] protection, and long term benefit. Thank you. >> thank you. [applause]
[3:50:48] >> I'm going to let you pronounce your name, so I don't. Next step will be carol clement.
[3:50:54] >> good evening, mayor post. Members of the marana town council. My name is span azata.
[3:51:00] I am with the arizona close. No, she was close. I've heard worse. I've heard worse.
[3:51:05] span azata with the arizona technology council. It's an honor and a privilege to be here tonight.
[3:51:11] thank you all for hearing all the statements, both in support and in opposition.
[3:51:16] arizona technology council is supportive of this project of this rezoning.
[3:51:21] whether we know it or not, we use data centers every day. If you posted a photo on instagram of your family during the holidays,
[3:51:29] use the data center. If you were feeling ill and went to an urgent care during the holidays,
[3:51:35] you use the data center. If you were studying for your final exam and you asked
[3:51:40] the question of claude or chatgpt, you used the data center.
[3:51:45] these are critical components of the 21st century economy.
[3:51:51] now, arizona technology council with help from the american edge project and the technology councils of north america,
[3:51:58] published a press release in december, that data centers in arizona have created over 250,000 construction careers,
[3:52:09] but also nearly 40,000 technology jobs.
[3:52:13] these are jobs, but they are also careers with health insurance,
[3:52:18] dental, 401ks, etc. These are jobs that can sustain families.
[3:52:24] if we want more of these careers in arizona,
[3:52:28] in the town of marana, we need to say yes to projects like this.
[3:52:33] the arizona technology council wholeheartedly support a2 and a3.
[3:52:41] thank you all for your time and wish you all a happy new year. Thank you. [applause]
[3:52:51] >> the next speaker is carol clement, followed by chris laria.
[3:53:06] >> good evening, mayor and council. My name is carol clement,
[3:53:11] and I am a registered landscape architect with the state of arizona.
[3:53:15] I've been practicing landscape architecture in the sonoran desert for over 20 years now going on 30.
[3:53:24] I have worked on large projects for the city of tucson,
[3:53:29] pima county, and the arizona department of transportation. I'm also a member and have been for
[3:53:35] several years for the city of tucson's design review committee,
[3:53:39] as well as pima county's design review board.
[3:53:44] often in our deliberations, we find ourselves asking the question,
[3:53:49] and it has served as well. How will this project, whatever project we're reviewing?
[3:53:55] how will this project benefit the people?
[3:53:59] the land, in the next 20 years,
[3:54:06] in the next 50 years, in the next seven generations.
[3:54:11] the enormous energy demand projected for this project will
[3:54:17] be generated primarily by literally water over the dam?
[3:54:24] lake pow, glen canyon dam. Water over the dam.
[3:54:28] we are in the tenth year, I can't remember, sorry,
[3:54:33] but we are currently in a drought phase. Lake pow is predicted to reach a 77% chance of
[3:54:43] reaching critically low reservoir elevation in the water year 2026,
[3:54:50] 77% prediction of probability.
[3:54:55] now, those of you know the system know that lake mead is at zero.
[3:55:00] it will take water from lake mead to feed lake pow.
[3:55:05] we get the majority of our electricity from water over the dam.
[3:55:14] we as desert dwellers, we work very hard,
[3:55:20] and are vigilant about conservation of water and how we
[3:55:25] dedicate the use of our most precious resource as desert dwellers.
[3:55:31] a decision by the town to accept the data storage project as proposed,
[3:55:37] even with the additional ordinances, which were very good, in my opinion,
[3:55:43] at this juncture be irresponsible, disrespectful, and foolish.
[3:55:51] the eyes of the future looking back to us at this moment.
[3:55:56] your eyes looking back to us at this moment, 10 years, 20 years,
[3:56:00] 50 years down the road, I think, would not be in favor of a yes vote on this.
[3:56:09] >> thank you very. >> excuse me. I'm not done. Ma'am. You've gone over your all time que.
[3:56:15] >> I would like to suggest that perhaps this could be ameliorated by requiring beal construction
[3:56:23] to supply 70-80% of their electrical use by site generation.
[3:56:32] they say they don't have room on their roofs. Use a [inaudible]
[3:56:38] >> thank you very much. We appreciate your comments tonight.
[3:56:44] >> thank you. [applause]
[3:56:48] >> the next speaker. The next speaker is chris laria followed by joe m. Parsons.
[3:56:55] >> chris laria, if I'm saying. >> laria.
[3:57:00] >> close enough, though, that works. Good evening, mayor and council.
[3:57:06] typically, when I stand up here, I am dressed a little bit better and part of the design professional industry.
[3:57:13] today, I am just a resident of marana. My family moved here 1999.
[3:57:19] I moved here in 2001. My kids all go to musd schools.
[3:57:25] my grandparents are interred at the veterans memorial cemetery.
[3:57:30] I work in marana. My wife works in marana. We have just been here and we strongly support this project.
[3:57:44] I have personally seen, a couple of projects come through my office in hopes that project blue,
[3:57:56] would be supported and passed. When city of tucson just completely shut it down,
[3:58:03] those projects were not only put on hold, but they were canceled out right.
[3:58:09] I urge you all to send a loud and clear message,
[3:58:16] to everybody that the town of marana, is ready for smart good development.
[3:58:26] with projects like this, we will be able to build rooftops.
[3:58:31] with rooftops, we will get commercial development.
[3:58:36] it is a long term growth project.
[3:58:42] thank you so much. Please support this project. >> thank you. [applause]
[3:58:51] >> the next speaker is joe m. Parsons, followed by brad bradley, and the final speaker will be nicole borchaloui.
[3:59:00] >> mayor and council, thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I wasn't going to speak tonight.
[3:59:06] I did at the planning and zoning. But after fred spoke, I felt like I had to come up.
[3:59:13] I couldn't let him be the oldest guy here. We moved to marana in 1972.
[3:59:19] I'm a graduate. My wife and I are both graduates at marana high school. We raised our kids here.
[3:59:24] I've had the opportunity through the years to actually beyond some of the committees that we're talking about
[3:59:32] tonight and the growth when we annexed the golden triangle and it was price club at
[3:59:37] the time and we didn't have to raise property taxes. We were able to go and get ahead of tucson and when we did,
[3:59:43] I was on that committee. I was also on the committee when the town of marana bought the wells
[3:59:50] from irrigation and bought the private water companies here in town.
[3:59:57] we were looking at growth, and I always thought that this town is my hometown,
[4:00:02] where you could actually approach your council and the staff and things that you don't have in big cities,
[4:00:11] and I think we still do have it today. I appreciate the fact that the time that these people spend,
[4:00:18] the volunteers that work on the different things that you probably don't get in the big cities.
[4:00:24] I'm really appalled that anybody would say anything and to discredit
[4:00:30] our council that had worked so hard and with their time for the benefit of this community.
[4:00:41] I know everybody doesn't want anything in their backyard. That's in nobody's backyard.
[4:00:46] it's in the perfect place. It's way out there. It's probably closer to my house than anybody here.
[4:00:51] I can see their park from where I live. We've been ranchers, farmers,
[4:00:57] we've been a union contractor since 1972.
[4:01:03] I believe it's the right place. I couldn't remember when marana had dirt roads.
[4:01:09] kirby hughes was dirt road. Barnett road was a dirt road. Tangerine didn't go through.
[4:01:14] gladden farm was beautiful fields. I didn't like it coming,
[4:01:18] but I didn't own the land. All I could do is be part of the process of the planning
[4:01:23] and the council and planning and zoning on how they move forward, and I appreciate the fact that marana has done that and is still doing that.
[4:01:32] hey, guys, back then, you could get on the freeway without having to wait for so long.
[4:01:38] I think it's in a good spot. I know it'll benefit the southern arizona construction force.
[4:01:47] mayor, I have just one quick thing. I won't take more time.
[4:01:51] I spoke at the chamber of commerce one time when they were talking about project blue and tucson.
[4:01:56] when you have a $5 billion project, there's hardly any company in phoenix or tucson big enough to do that job.
[4:02:06] since there's no federal money or public money involved.
[4:02:10] I would hope that there could be some type of ad hoc committees that could work with the building trades,
[4:02:16] work with some local contractors, work with the general contractor where you could split this job up,
[4:02:22] so it's not one $5 billion contract, but there's some other contracts where
[4:02:26] some local contractors could work with the crews that they already have.
[4:02:31] thank you and I totally support the project. Thank you. [applause]
[4:02:41] >> the next speaker is brad bradley, and the last card is nicole borchaloui.
[4:02:45] >> I wondered where you've been hiding at brad. >> there mr. Chair, right there. I had to put a jacket on.
[4:02:51] hey. Good evening. Mr. Mayor, madam vice mayor, council members, appreciate it.
[4:02:57] for the record, brad bradley, fire chief of the northwest fire district. Normally, we don't, as a fire district weigh in on these things.
[4:03:05] by nature we're pro growth. We support all growth. Town of marana is our closest partner in that,
[4:03:13] and we seek to serve the town, whatever the town's needs are. Our mission very simply is to save lives,
[4:03:19] protect property, and care for the community. We don't know anything about water, we don't know anything about power,
[4:03:24] we don't know anything about data centers. We just know about saving lives and protecting property and caring for our community.
[4:03:31] I wanted to come here tonight to give you some perspective, add some context to your decision making.
[4:03:36] unlike dr. Streeter, whatever decision you make, know that it's respected from my organization.
[4:03:43] whether the town chooses to move forward with this project or not, we respect this decision that each of you are going to have to make.
[4:03:52] but with that, context. Based on miss sullivan's numbers that she presented earlier,
[4:04:00] relative to revenue to the fire district, $15 million over 10 years,
[4:04:05] that's 1.5 per year, $1.5 million is enough to fund an entire fire station.
[4:04:11] that fire station right down the street that staffed 24/7 only costs 1.2 million to staff.
[4:04:18] as we move forward, we've got another station planned at twin peaks and iten.
[4:04:23] we'll be going out to bond to be able to afford the station.
[4:04:27] but when we look at how are we going to afford the staffing for it, it's $1.5 million.
[4:04:33] that is $0.10 on our tax rate. That revenue that would come to our organization would essentially be
[4:04:41] an infusion that is worth $0.10 on our current tax rate or 3% of our total budget.
[4:04:48] very impactful. But with that said, like I said, we are pro growth, we support all growth.
[4:04:54] the decision as it relates to what is going to be built or not built,
[4:04:58] that is entirely yours. Just know that we support you, and we're here to advocate for you and be a resource for you,
[4:05:06] however you choose, and we respect whatever decision you make. >> thank you very much.
[4:05:11] >> welcome. [applause]
[4:05:18] >> the last speaker is nicole borchaloui. Is nicole in the room? Mr. Mayor,
[4:05:25] I have no other cards. >> does council have any questions for anybody in the front row there?
[4:05:34] council member kavanagh. >> mayor. Thank you. I want to address,
[4:05:38] are both [inaudible] here?
[4:05:42] >> yeah. They're both here. >> chris and brian, I just need to get your assurance.
[4:05:47] seriously. I'm sorry. That I need to get your insurance that you're going to find
[4:05:54] every possible way not to raise the rates of marana rate payers.
[4:05:59] is it locked tight? You cannot raise that because of the data centers.
[4:06:04] the grade stress, the lack of power, the infrastructure has to come in and be there for the data centers.
[4:06:13] there's no chance at all that that could be drift over into the rate payers in marana.
[4:06:21] I need to get a firm assurance.
[4:06:27] because that's my biggest issue. >> mayor. That's my charge from my board,
[4:06:38] and so we're going to do everything we can to make sure that happens, so yes.
[4:06:43] >> protect the rate payers. >> correct. >> they're going to pay for everything.
[4:06:48] >> protect our members. >> yeah. Okay. >> protect our members. >> thank you. >> how about our guy from tep?
[4:06:59] >> mayor, vice mayor, councilman cavanaugh. I can point to the contract that the acc
[4:07:05] approved not long ago that makes those same commitments.
[4:07:09] I can't speak because this contract isn't in front of us yet,
[4:07:13] but I can point to what's already approved and in place by the commission and it makes those commitments that you're asking for.
[4:07:20] >> is the commission sensitive to data centers being passing on costs to the rate payers?
[4:07:28] >> vice mayor, council, we had a very robust discussion with the commission,
[4:07:33] a lot of discovery and analysis of that contract, and they're asking the same questions you are.
[4:07:39] >> I got your assurance? >> yes, sir. >> thank you.
[4:07:43] >> mr. Rozema, I know that you and your staff have worked very hard over the last year,
[4:07:52] better than a year. I'd really love for you to weigh in on this.
[4:07:58] you're integral part of this decision.
[4:08:03] I'd surely like to hear what you have to say on this matter.
[4:08:08] >> mr. Mayor, vice mayor, members of council. It's been a long night, and I do appreciate the opportunity to
[4:08:13] just speak on behalf of our staff and the journey that we've been on.
[4:08:18] I know you're well familiar with this, but just as a reminder about a year and a half ago or so,
[4:08:24] we began looking into this very seriously because of what was
[4:08:28] happening in the phoenix valley and we talked among
[4:08:33] staff and with the council about what we could do to ensure that some of the things that were happening in
[4:08:39] the phoenix valley area as far as data centers going up right next to residential and going in places that didn't seem to make sense,
[4:08:46] how could we go about preventing that from happening? Jane farrell and jason did a great job of advising
[4:08:54] us and then putting together an incredible ordinance, doing a yeoman's job of doing the research and putting in
[4:09:02] the work to put together a ordinance that gave 100% control to the council.
[4:09:09] through that process, I will say, I think a lot of us had many of the concerns that were expressed by people here tonight.
[4:09:17] going through all that and researching that, we came to the conclusion fairly quickly
[4:09:24] that there was a real opportunity for us here to move forward with
[4:09:28] data centers that we had the space and I know there's been
[4:09:34] concerns expressed by people about the amount of the size of the data center,
[4:09:41] how much space it takes up. But if you think about it in these terms,
[4:09:45] we are 80,000 acres of land in the town of marana,
[4:09:50] and only 21,000 of those acres are occupied with any structure or actually developed.
[4:09:56] that means we get 59,000 acres of open space,
[4:10:00] and this is a 600 acre parcel, so it's a very small percentage of what we have available for this town to develop.
[4:10:10] again, as we proceeded with this, recognizing that there were places where
[4:10:16] it made sense in places where we absolutely didn't want it, but those were, again,
[4:10:21] 100% rested with the decision of the council.
[4:10:26] as these opportunities came forward, we began to see what advantages there were in terms of the finances.
[4:10:34] it's really difficult to hear all these numbers and walk away from
[4:10:39] those numbers because those are numbers that represent incredible benefits,
[4:10:43] not to the people that are sitting on the dais, not to the staff of the town,
[4:10:50] but to the residents of our community. But when you think about the things that we as
[4:10:55] a town would love to be able to provide for our residents, things that they've been asking for.
[4:11:01] now one of those we've been able to provide the aquatics and recreation center.
[4:11:07] but people who live further south are asking for one now in the south portion of our community.
[4:11:13] being able to build those kinds of things to provide those kinds of amenities,
[4:11:18] parks, great roads, there's so much infrastructure that we have in this community that needs to be built
[4:11:24] that we do not have the money available to be able to do that.
[4:11:29] this provides a resource, a revenue for us to be able to fix interchanges
[4:11:37] to add amenities for our community that will be highly beneficial.
[4:11:42] I think many people here that spoke tonight spoke to the work that's been done by the council,
[4:11:50] and especially I think those people who have worked closely with the council,
[4:11:54] knowing that over a very long period of time,
[4:11:58] this council has made decisions, sometimes very tough decisions,
[4:12:03] that have greatly benefited this community.
[4:12:07] if you think of going back,
[4:12:12] you think about the golden triangle. That wasn't a very popular decision for some people here.
[4:12:16] if you think about the landfill, that was a very controversial thing.
[4:12:22] but when I go to the landfill, I'm sitting there for 20 minutes trying to get in because everybody's using the landfill.
[4:12:29] when you think about the fact that people greatly opposed
[4:12:33] the town's position of moving forward with taking over animal control,
[4:12:37] there was a lot of opposition to that. We move forward with that and did that,
[4:12:43] and it's been a great advantage to this community. I think with what staff has done,
[4:12:50] we feel that we have done what we can do and need to do in order to put
[4:12:55] this in front of the council for you to make a decision that will greatly benefit.
[4:12:59] we've said this over and over, at the end of the day, if a data center is beneficial to the town of marana and our residents,
[4:13:06] it's going to happen, and if it's not beneficial, it's not going to happen.
[4:13:10] I think we're at a point where the staff have put together
[4:13:16] an ordinance that needs to be met by data center users.
[4:13:23] they've met it, and they've checked all the boxes. We've done the work,
[4:13:27] and we feel we're at that place. Now, I will just say this because
[4:13:34] this is maybe a little bit out of left field,
[4:13:40] maybe for some people, but I've heard it from a number of individuals in the audience.
[4:13:45] I think maybe this council needs to hear some of this. Over the last number of weeks and even going back
[4:13:52] further during an annexation issue that we had. This council has taken a lot of heat,
[4:13:57] and some of your integrity and your character has been questioned,
[4:14:03] and you've been attacked personally as a result of that.
[4:14:07] prior to about five years ago, I knew each one of you,
[4:14:13] but I didn't know you as well as I do now having worked closely with you for the last five years.
[4:14:19] maybe it's not my job to defend the individuals on the council,
[4:14:24] but I feel really quite frankly compelled. One of them is not here, herb kai, and,
[4:14:32] his character and reputation have been called into question, mayor, vice mayor, patty,
[4:14:37] a number of you your character has been greatly called into question.
[4:14:48] having known you for five years, I know that that is 100% unwarranted.
[4:14:54] I just think that you ought to know that the people that work for
[4:14:58] you and the people that work closely with you understand and they know that.
[4:15:03] maybe you don't need to hear that from me. But I felt like I needed to say that because quite frankly in about a month or so,
[4:15:11] I'm up for my annual review.
[4:15:16] that concludes my remarks, mr. Mayor. [applause]
[4:15:27] >> [applause] I do want to point out that we have this giant stack of
[4:15:31] letters overwhelmingly in support, I think,
[4:15:36] jason, 34 were wishy washy.
[4:15:43] [background]
[4:15:49] >> mr. Mayor, the stack of papers that were presented to you represent all the comments that were received by the town and
[4:15:57] delivered to my office as a central depository.
[4:16:01] the total number of letters is 96 and the breakdown of those were 56 were in support,
[4:16:12] 32 are against and eight were general statements.
[4:16:17] >> thank you very much. For the record, we have these.
[4:16:21] is there anything anybody else would like to say? >> I'd like to address our town manager.
[4:16:27] teri, thank you so much for all your help and your staff during this time.
[4:16:33] I liked your speech, especially near the end when you said your review was coming up.
[4:16:38] I got a couple of things to talk to you about that. [laughter] lastly, and I think most of you who know me,
[4:16:45] I'm pretty easy going unless you attack me. You attack my character,
[4:16:50] you attack my ethics, you attack my reputation.
[4:16:55] I apologize to you people, most of you, not all of you.
[4:17:00] with one person, I'm not apologizing to.
[4:17:04] I worked for government contracts for 30 years,
[4:17:09] and I had a secret coherence. I got pretty much looked after for a long time,
[4:17:15] and I had great parents, and they taught me a lot of things. When somebody impugns me and says things like this gentleman here did,
[4:17:26] and ridiculous things like I was up at 3:00 in the morning. I don't think anybody cares.
[4:17:31] but anyway, I get a little upset.
[4:17:36] I am sorry, I said a bad word; most of the council is used to that.
[4:17:44] I thank you, teri, for coming to my defense.
[4:17:50] again, I want to thank the staff. Lastly, quickly, our ordinance,
[4:17:57] I don't want to forget about our ordinance. Most of you, as you've heard,
[4:18:02] I think miss sullivan said it, it's the only one out there right now on data centers, is that correct?
[4:18:08] I think most of it. >> mayor, vice mayor, members of the council.
[4:18:15] it's not necessarily the only one. That's the only one that was done in advance of any data centers actually coming into play,
[4:18:22] and it's one of the very few that are actually out there. >> thank you, sir. Thank you for that.
[4:18:28] let's listen to teri on that one, but we are very close to being
[4:18:33] a municipality that realized we had to adopt something like this.
[4:18:39] we need to thank our friends up in chandler, that's where we learned it, the mayor, hartke, there,
[4:18:45] and josh wright, who is now back to u of a, working here in town.
[4:18:51] they're the ones who told us about it. They said you need to go in and they had data centers up there,
[4:18:57] too, for a while. That was one of the best pieces of advice that we ever got.
[4:19:03] our staff got together and they wrote it along
[4:19:07] with jane and the rest of the staff and I think it's a wonderful document.
[4:19:13] I think it's what kicked us off and got us started,
[4:19:19] and I don't want to lose sight of that ordinance. Maybe as things change,
[4:19:26] we might have to amend that over the years, but I just want to put that ordinance out there
[4:19:33] and what has helped us get through these negotiations. Thank you.
[4:19:42] >> I was really very heartened to see a longtime resident, david morals,
[4:19:50] who has been at the center of this town for many years, stand up in support of this and joe parsons as well.
[4:19:58] they said marana does things differently.
[4:20:04] we have always done things differently. In 2024, the city of tucson lost jobs.
[4:20:15] they have serious issues with homeless people, with drugs,
[4:20:22] they have issue, and they avoid doing things
[4:20:27] in that community that would seriously help that situation.
[4:20:33] marana can't do that. Marana cannot be the community that ignores opportunities.
[4:20:41] people are fixated on this data center.
[4:20:45] this is not necessarily the way I view this. I view this as a job center, a job growth,
[4:20:52] an area where jobs are going to be created, not necessarily at this data center,
[4:20:57] that will be the nucleus, but next to it, next to that,
[4:21:01] we're going to create an area in our community where jobs are going to come.
[4:21:07] I've talked to hundreds of people over the last year.
[4:21:12] they talk about jobs for their kids, jobs for their grandkids,
[4:21:17] their kids having to move out, live somewhere else because they can't find jobs here.
[4:21:22] they got to travel to phoenix to visit their kids. I look at the success of phoenix metro and I say,
[4:21:28] hey, why can't we get some of that? We don't need all of it,
[4:21:34] we just need a little bit. A little bit would help our community in such an amazing way.
[4:21:40] we need monies for our schools, we need money for our public safety.
[4:21:45] teri talked about parks. For our public safety, marana,
[4:21:50] we do not want to forget about that. That is another thing that marana has done very well.
[4:22:00] I've got to go to the bathroom [laughter]
[4:22:05] and so I'm just going to go ahead and make a motion to approve ordinance number
[4:22:09] 2026.002 and the resolution
[4:22:14] 2026-005 with the additional condition added,
[4:22:20] and hope for a second. >> second. >> I'll second that. >> roll call vote, please.
[4:22:24] >> council member, officer? >> yay. >> council member murphy?
[4:22:29] >> yes. >> council member comerford. >> yes. >> council member kavanagh.
[4:22:33] >> before I vote, I want you to know, I need a lot of trust.
[4:22:39] I need to trust in the power companies. I need to trust in beal,
[4:22:43] being able to get the power you need, the power companies to provide that power.
[4:22:50] nothing goes on the marana citizens. I came in here today thinking I was going to vote no on this.
[4:22:59] but what I've heard from the citizens of this town,
[4:23:03] most of them, not all, but most of them. I've learned from you people,
[4:23:08] from people I really love and trust. The superintendent of schools,
[4:23:13] the marana chamber of commerce. I love the northwest fire department.
[4:23:20] the union workers, my god, you brought tears to my eyes.
[4:23:26] I know you need work. It's going to take a lot. We can do this.
[4:23:33] my biggest problems were just the unknowns, but I'm trusting there's that trust word,
[4:23:39] that you will find the knowns for the unknowns, and you will make it known to the marana citizens.
[4:23:46] we're going to do this, but we have to do it right. My vote is now a yes.
[4:23:52] [applause]
[4:24:07] >> vice mayor ziegler. [applause]
[4:24:14] >> make sure she leaves the building. >> who was that? >> I don't know.
[4:24:18] >> vice mayor ziegler. >> vice mayor ziegler. >> absolutely. >> mayor post.
[4:24:23] >> aye. >> the votes are 6-0. The motion passes. [applause]
[4:24:36] >> we will take a short break. We will take a short recess and come back and finish the other two items.
[4:24:43] I'm going to say five minutes, but I'm sure it's going to be a touch longer.
[4:24:47] >> I'll handle that? >> we are back in session, 8(3).
[4:24:56] >> item 8(3), public hearing, ordinance number 2026.003,
[4:25:00] relating to development, approving a rezoning of approximately 310.7 acres of land,
[4:25:06] located at 14990 west harden road, northwest of the intersection of north lockett road and west harden road,
[4:25:12] from r144 residential to sp specific plan, creating the lockett road south specific plan and
[4:25:18] approving a minor amendment to the general plan, amending the land use category from employment to master planned area.
[4:25:23] resolution number 2026-006 relating to development,
[4:25:28] declaring as a public record filed with the town clerk, the locket road south specific plan,
[4:25:32] adopted by ordinance number 2026.003. >> mr. Angel.
[4:25:37] >> mayor post. I thought about asking mr. Rozema if I could pull the infamous frank cassidy and say,
[4:25:44] you've heard this. But I'll get [overlapping] >> frankly, no. >> frankly, no. Thank you. Mayor post,
[4:25:51] vice mayor ziegler, council, this item is ordinance number 2026-003 in resolution 2026-006.
[4:25:59] this is the lockett road south data center,
[4:26:03] the other half of the project. This property is also represented by lazath and sullivan,
[4:26:10] representing herbert kai s12 llc,
[4:26:16] kai trust 97 s12, llc in jihong s12 llc,
[4:26:23] which are the property owners. The rezoning is also for going from
[4:26:27] an r-144 to a specific plan for the purpose of a data center use,
[4:26:32] also including a minor amendment to the 2040 general plan. The site is also approximately 300 acres in size,
[4:26:40] currently zoned r-144, and once again, the general plan has it as employment.
[4:26:47] same categories apply here. Same existing property uses exist adjacent to the property,
[4:26:55] veterans cemetery to the east, agricultural uses active agriculture to the west and south,
[4:27:01] solar energy field to the northwest, and then the surface mining operation a little bit to the north there.
[4:27:10] this is a repeat from the last slide just citing the section of the last presentation.
[4:27:16] once again, these are the six criteria, the baseline criteria for the data center ordinance.
[4:27:22] for this same application, the applicant is representing that they are meeting all sections of the town code.
[4:27:29] they're not asking for any exceptions or variances, so they're in full compliance with the code requirements.
[4:27:36] the difference on this application or one of the differences is the power provider.
[4:27:40] the power provider for this site is tep. Same megawatt projections or ranges are shown here.
[4:27:49] once again, marana water will provide the portable water for the office or the domestic use of the operation.
[4:27:57] cmid will provide irrigation industrial and fire suppression,
[4:28:01] and wastewater will be provided by marana water. The infrastructure, same type of infrastructure is outlined here,
[4:28:10] roadway extension of lockett road up to panel air park road.
[4:28:14] the water extension is approximately three miles for the potable water.
[4:28:18] the wastewater is approximately two mile extension with a lift station,
[4:28:23] and drainage is once again that five mile regional drainage channel and their portion of that within the site.
[4:28:31] mr. Mayor, would you like me to go through the breakdown of costing?
[4:28:35] I'm available, if anyone needs clarification. You're welcome. This is a conceptual site plan,
[4:28:41] which shows once again, the substation to be located within this 300 acre site,
[4:28:46] as well as the buffers, drainage, and buildable areas there.
[4:28:51] planning commission once again held a public hearing on this one back
[4:28:56] on december 10th and voted unanimously to recommend approval 6-0.
[4:29:01] as was stated in the last one, this is a discretionary item for the council.
[4:29:07] if you'd like to, we would ask that you approve this with the recommended conditions that are outlined in the ordinance,
[4:29:15] and also the additional condition that we had read previously,
[4:29:20] and you have a hard copy on there. With that, I will gladly take any questions otherwise after that [overlapping]
[4:29:28] >> this is a public hearing. I now declare the public hearing open.
[4:29:32] do we have any speaker cards for this, jill? >> mr. Mayor, I have one, and I messed up his name earlier.
[4:29:38] I'm not going to try again. [laughter].
[4:29:47] >> the band is back. Thank you all, once again, arizona technology council.
[4:29:54] we are in support of this. I'm just going to end with this and say,
[4:29:59] thank you all for everything you've done tonight. Thank you to city staff, city manager,
[4:30:04] everybody who's made this possible. I know I don't live in marana,
[4:30:10] but I feel like it's going to be a good year here. I don't know about you guys. Thank you all very much. Appreciate it.
[4:30:15] >> thank you very much. Do we have any other? [applause]
[4:30:19] >> no, mr. Mayor. That's the only card I have. >> I declare this public hearing closed. Is there any questions that the council might have for anybody in this room?
[4:30:27] would anybody like to make a motion? >> I'll make a motion, mr. Mayor.
[4:30:32] >> vice mayor? >> I have a question. I can ask publicly from here.
[4:30:39] what's this? The additional. You want me to add this. >> yes, please.
[4:30:44] >> I moved to approve ordinance 2026-003, approving and rezoning of approximately
[4:30:51] 310.7 acres of land located at 14990 west harding road,
[4:30:58] from r-144 residential to specific plan,
[4:31:02] creating the elche road south specific plan, and approving a minor amendment to
[4:31:08] the general plan and a minor amendment to the general plan,
[4:31:14] amending the land, use category from employment to master plan area.
[4:31:21] resolution number 2026-006, declaring a public record filed with the town clerk,
[4:31:28] the lockett road south specific plan adopted by ordinance 2026-003.
[4:31:35] then jane, I will also add that we will be adding
[4:31:41] this additional condition regarding and do I need to read this, the decommissioning.
[4:31:47] >> mayor post, vice mayor ziegler, you don't need to read it, you could refer to it.
[4:31:52] did you want to add the condition that you have on the dais there related
[4:31:56] to decontinuation of the use of data centers as jason mentioned?
[4:32:03] >> that's my motion, jill. >> we have a motion?
[4:32:08] >> yes. Thank you. >> do we have a second? >> second. >> you have a motion and a second. Roll call vote, please?
[4:32:13] >> council member officer. >> yeah. >> council member murphy? >> yeah. >> council member comerford.
[4:32:17] >> yeah. >> council member kavanagh? >> yes. >> vice mayor ziegler. >> yes.
[4:32:21] >> mayor post? >> yes. >> the votes are 6-0. The motion passes. [applause]
[4:32:32] >> future agenda items. Motion to adjourn? >> second.
[4:32:37] >> second. All in favor. We are adjourned.