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It's now called the order, Maria. Would you please call roll?

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I'm here. I'm here. Council member Lofon. Here.

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Vice Mayor McClure.

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Here. Council member Brown.

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I'm here. Council member Benning.

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Here. Council member Pothia.

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There. May orately. I'm here. Thank you.

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Thank you. We do have a full forum. Thank you much.

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Your town council provides opportunity for the public to speak during tonight's meeting.

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Please fill out a request to speak card, located near the entrance of the community

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chambers and return this card to the box. And it will be provided to the town clerk during

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the corresponding agenda item. You will be called to the podium limited to three minutes,

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only one comment, either in person or via email, per person, per agenda item will be allowed.

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Please ensure that the topics are within the town's purview. The town council is very appreciative

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of the honor to serve and appreciate the engagement and feedback from the public. This evening,

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we are honored to have the Queen Creek Fire and Medical Department with us and they will be presenting

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the colors for the pledge of allegiance if you would please stand. Gentlemen, would you please

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provide the colors?

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Please sit.

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When you in the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

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individual with liberty and justice for all.

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Hold up.

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Please be seated.

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This evening, we have President Ken Black.

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He is the Sanket Counselor for the Queen Creek Frontier

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State from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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That will be providing the invocation for us this evening.

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Thank you so much for joining us, Ken.

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Our God and eternal Father in heaven.

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We come before the inhumility tonight with gratitude in our hearts for the abundance of blessings that does bestowed upon us.

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We're grateful for the opportunity and blessing of living in this community.

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For the abundance and freedoms and opportunities that we enjoy in this great land.

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We're grateful for our country to which we have pledged our allegiance.

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We're grateful for the opportunity to seek life and liberty and pursuit of lasting happiness.

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We're grateful for those who contribute so much to our community and make this a wonderful place to live.

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We invoke our blessings at this time on our town council members and our mayor.

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That they'll be blessed as they continue in their service and strive to build and strengthen the individuals and families of our community and the community as a whole.

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We pray particularly for they help tonight as they meet in council. We pray that we might be united as a community and as a country.

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We pray that if we disagree, we might do so without being disagreeable.

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We again express our gratitude for all that does given to us, and we do so in the name

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of Jesus Christ, amen.

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Thank you so much for being here and for that beautiful blessing.

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We do appreciate it.

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The next item on the agenda is ceremonial matters in the month of September.

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The town council has issued a proclamation recognizing suicide.

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Decide prevention awareness month. The town council is wearing purple and teal, ribbons tonight to bring awareness. If you or a loved one need help, please call 988. The town also recognize QC neighborly week and will be celebrating on our 37th anniversary, which is September 5th. Just a few moments ago, we have the honor of having the colors presented for our pledge of allegiance by the newly created Queen Creek Fire Medical.

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guard and to give a brief introduction of this group, I would like to welcome Queen Creek Fire

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Medical Assistant Chief Andy Malar.

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Thank you so much for being here, Andy.

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Good evening, Mayor and Council for the record, Andy Malar, Assistant Fire Chief.

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The honor guard was formed in 2025, the seven founding members have spent the last year

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so training with the Central Arizona Fire and Medical Department honor guard and they are

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very proud and very dedicated to the service of the honor guard.

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The honor guard's goal and their mission is to represent the department, present the

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colors, retire the colors.

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But their main mission is to honor the fallen firefighters and their families, and that's

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a mission that they take very, very seriously.

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Again, it's an odd, they train all the time, and it's an ongoing mission.

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And with that, any questions?

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questions from Council. They did a fantastic job this evening. Thank you so much. I kind

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of want to have them do it every council meeting. I know that would be a lot to have.

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And you have your own duties, but we do appreciate you when we can have you here and for

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all you do for the community. So thank you. Thank you so much. Oh, and we would love to have

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a photo with the council if you don't mind coming forward.

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Thank you

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again. Our Sanket ceremonial

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this evening as a recognition of a program known as cities empowered against sexual exploitation or cease.

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Employees from the town have completed training to become designated as a cease community.

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This is the third year that the town staff has completed its designation.

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This important training is presented by the Arizona anti-trafficking network,

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and we are excited to have their organization in attendance with us this evening.

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I would like to first, I'm going to turn over to Councilmember Mark No.

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really quick. She works in that she does a fantastic job in this industry and

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bringing awareness and so I just want to give her a few minutes.

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Really quick before I know they're going to come up.

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This is the other part of my life.

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So I'm on Council, but I've talked about that often.

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My other job is working for it is on anti-trafficking network and I couldn't be more proud.

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And I just want to thank our staff, our town staff,

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we're going through this training.

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It is so, so important.

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And I hope that you never have to...

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Thank you for being here this evening.

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We're both going to do team do this.

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Thank you, Mayor and Council.

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Good evening.

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My name is John Mayza, and I serve as the President and CEO of there's an anti-trafficking network.

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This is Stacey Sutherland, who is our trust director, one of the fine organizations within AATN.

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First of all, I'd like to thank Mayor Wheatley, Town Manager, Gardner, police chief,

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Bryce, and the entire town council for inviting us to be here this evening

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to recognize an important accomplishment.

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Tonight, we are proud to announce that the Tonic Queen Creek has earned its cease-designation

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for the third consecutive year.

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C stands for cities and power against sexual exploitation.

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It is a program of theirs on anti-trafficking network that partners with local governments

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to ensure their communities and are prepared to recognize, report, and respond to human trafficking.

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Our vision is to build a strong network of informed, equipped, and engage communities

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throughout Arizona. Human trafficking can happen in any community, no matter where someone lives,

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these crimes can affect individuals, families, neighborhoods, and a profound and lasting way.

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The reality is difficult, but it is not hopeless. Cities and towns have meaningful and practical ways to make a difference at the local level.

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Seas is designed to provide these tools. It begins with education and training. Then turns that awareness into action.

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We provide human trafficking training and resources for employees at every level of government,

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helping them recognize warning signs, understand how to report concerns, and to take

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part and see something say something approach to prevention.

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To earn the cease designation, an organization must train at least 75% of its staff, commit

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to annual retraining, and incorporate human trafficking education into new employee onboarding.

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The Tata Kring Creek has not only met those requirements, it has continued to exceed them.

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The town has recently reached nearly 100% of their employees participation.

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Once again, demonstrating an exceptional commitment to protecting the community and standing

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with victims of exploitation.

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This achievement would not have been possible without the leadership and support of Mayor

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Wheatley, Town Manager Gardner, Police Chief Bryce, and the entire town council.

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and all the dedicated employees of the Town of Queen Creek.

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Thank you for making this work a priority and for leading by example.

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On behalf of the Arizona Anti-Traffic in Network,

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it is my honor and privilege to present to you this plaque to the Town of Queen Creek

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in recognition of your continued cease designation.

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We applaud your commitment to helping end human trafficking in Arizona

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and made this plaque service reminder of the victims in our community

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whom we strive to protect and support and may it also remind us that no one person, no

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one department, or city, can address this issue alone. It will take all of us, working

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together, to create an Arizona where no one is bought, sold, or exploited. Thank you so much.

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Thank you. We appreciate you being here this evening and I would like to invite Council

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and to take a photo with you. Thank you.

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At least we had to say seated for the rest of the meeting. Next we will have our committee reports and those will be displayed on the screen. That's what's been keeping this council busy in between our last council meeting.

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Do any council members wish to comment on any of the items listed on the committee report screen.

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If there are none, then we will move on to Town Committee reports.

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Today we are joined with the Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce, and this is an outside partner

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agency, and I'd love to welcome our Queen Creek President and CEO Chris Clark, and he's

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going to provide us with that update.

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Thanks for being here today, Chris.

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Thank you Mayor Wheatley. Members of the Council are to believe that it's a whole

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another year, but here we are. We're going to go through this fast. I know you

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have lots of business today, but the Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce is a

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membership based non-profit corporation. Our Chamber Board of Directors provides

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financial oversight and strategic direction. And in fact, our Chamber is made up

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over 40 volunteers and four times four full-time staff members now. But that's what it takes

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to keep it running along with all of our interns as well. At the end of business on June 30th,

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which was our fiscal year, we had 298 members, which was about a 10% increase over the last time

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that I was here. But you'll see in a couple of slides coming forward that we're actually sitting

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at 310 now, just in the last six weeks and over the last couple of days, we've added even

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more.

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So we're reaching the stage where we're getting critical mass there.

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But they go from solopreneurs and the smallest businesses that you can imagine to a large

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scale industrial clients now at this point.

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So we're seeing more and more of them coming to us and that's good for the community.

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We divide our work up into three key areas.

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Queen Creek Connects, Queen Creek Works, and Queen Creek Leads.

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Connect is all about relationships and visibility.

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Develop is all about workforce and business capacity and lead is our advocacy and civic

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influence.

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On our Queen Creek Connects, it's all about building relationships and increasing visibility

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and welcoming new voices to the community, to the chamber, but particularly the business

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community and we're working hard this upcoming year in creating a true business community

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feel. We've reached the point now where it's easy to come to town and not know people,

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not just as a resident, but as a business owner. And we have a lot of businesses that have

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lot of synergy, and we've been busy putting them together.

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So building relationships, increasing visibility,

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and welcoming the new voices, doesn't necessarily mean

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an attendance of an event, either.

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There's many, many ways for them to participate

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because we realize everybody is going to have different needs

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and abilities to get out based on their type of business.

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Explore Queen Creek is an important part of Queen Creek

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Next, recently, Explore Queen Creek has gone viral, as you would say, with our social media platforms.

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We've hit critical mass there as well.

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Mondays post, I had 42,000 views, 1,200 likes, 1,600 shares.

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Restaurant Week, which is a part of Explore Queen Creek, 476,000 views.

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Several of the videos that were involved in Restaurant Week had over 100,000 views just on their own.

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So those total views were of the whole campaign, individual videos can have their own measurements as well.

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But it's all about reaching the residents, reaching visitors, supporting tourism, day trips, and as well as those people coming to town through the airport.

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I'm promoting members, but we promote non-members on Explore Queen Creek as well.

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But we're doing our best to tell the story of Queen Creek. The new magazine will be out at the beginning of the year, perhaps before the holidays, and will be redesigned. So, be looking for that. But it goes into a lot more about what makes the towns economy work and how to find things and do things now.

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We have an oversized social media presence on our chamber, as well, so we are just short

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of Chandler, these numbers are a little outdated, we've closed the gap, but can't quite

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get there, but we're working on it, and we intend to get there soon. But that would be just

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on our Facebook page combined. We have over 30,000 followers on all of our platforms.

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Queen Creek leads. We have a robust advocacy program and it's built on regional cooperation.

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I serve as the chair of the legislative committee this year for the East Valley Chamber of Commerce Alliance.

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We have our Arizona Chamber executives as well, which is the state organization.

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I'm on the board of directors for that.

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And we have ACCE, which is our national organization, and I'm on the membership and development there as well,

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so that we have presence at all the levels.

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But this year is going to be particularly interesting as some chambers are lining up for zoning changes

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in order to address affordable housing and their opinion in their community while looking

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for it to be a statewide thing, whereas the EVCCA and Queen Creek Chamber in particular

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are fighting very hard for local control.

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Queen Creek Works is our economic development through workforce development, so we had a recent

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Copa at work had 130 people come through 20 companies participate. We were limited in space

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and had many hires out of that. Nothing but positive feedback. In fact, we've been asked to do

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two more in the upcoming year. So that will become a regular thing as well as our student chamber,

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BZE4T, all of the things that you have come to know, but we've expanded those to include our employers and a regional effort where we're working with the Chandler Chamber and the Gilbert Chamber with all of the CTE directors for all of the districts from basically I tend to Kenworthy and trying to line up industry needs with those CTE programs.

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Some of the things on Queen Creek leads that are going to be important water infrastructure transportation, all of the things that are important to you

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And that you work at with your lobbyists. We work with your inner gov as well as our lobbyists.

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Our primary way of talking to our businesses is through some surveys face to face as well as phone interviews and polling.

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And what we find through those business interviews, inflation and cost spikes this year have been top of mind.

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Once again though, they're rating the country's economy as poor to average, whereas Queen Creek is rated as very strong or booming.

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So, it's a wide discrepancy, and again, I tell you every year it's thanks to your planning and

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executing of those plans. People feel that Queen Creek has strong momentum. We are running into growth problems.

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There aren't room to, there isn't room to expand, there isn't room to get small office space,

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even the ones that have been built have been leased out.

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And so redevelopment is also occurring for some of these smaller buildings, but those

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one-off projects are running into difficulties.

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And so that's something that we work with the town.

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When we identify a problem like that, we take it to the appropriate town department and

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see what can be done to work on those for the business community.

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We have a great relationship and town management has been exceptionally helpful in those

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regards.

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All right, so we have four main pillars that we use to guide all of our work, before we take on a new project we run it through these pillars and filters to make sure that we have the

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And capacity to do it, and that it's going to be meaningful. And we work on the business climate, regional cooperation, and member value.

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In this particular year, we're talking about building relationships, sharing issues, and expertise, volunteering, sponsoring, or serving,

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some of those ways that I talked about showing up that doesn't necessarily involve attending and

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referring businesses and growing the chamber further. Our goal would be to close the gap on

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some of the largest chambers in the East Valley. So it's been a great year. We thank you for

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your support and your guidance for the town and keeping it a friendly business environment. Thank you

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Councilmember Brown.

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Thanks, Mayor.

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Thanks, Chris.

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To you and staff for all that you do for our business community.

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I'm appreciative of the events, especially the QC luncheon, the QC chamber luncheon.

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If you could, maybe do a shout out for your next upcoming event.

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Take to put you on spot, but let's get the word out, right?

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And we appreciate it.

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And hopefully, I don't say hopefully.

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I know that most of the chamber members that I hear from are glad that we are at support

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of as a council and as a municipality of our business environment and total as we are.

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Our next event is September 8th coming right back from the break. We go straight to the luncheon,

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which is now a huge production and I believe that this one will be featuring mag and talking

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about transportation, October one coming up will be the town and a town management

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talking about all the great things that have occurred this year, and we'll follow that

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up with a school look, in November we'll be looking at all the school districts in the area

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and talking about some of the problems that are making headlines and what's actually happening

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here in our backyard.

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Excellent. Thank you again, Chris. Oh, Brian is on there. Okay.

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Vice Mayor McClir.

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I'll be quick.

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No, as a small business owner and who's been a member of the Chamber since 2009, I just want

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to thank you for the tremendous work your team does for the business community and preparing

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our youth as our future workforce.

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It's been a pleasure to work with you and see the influence that you've had on the

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community so keep up the great work.

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And when we're coming from Council Member Brown?

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One more.

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We have a lot of young people in the audience.

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you mentioned earlier e4T, which is Elevate for tomorrow, if you can just briefly explain what

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that is for those in attendance here. Elevate for tomorrow is a half day conference for

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juniors coming up a typically on the first Friday in January so that we can take over ASU

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Polly Tech's campus when they're on break and our students have just come back. We typically have

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about 800 students and it is excellent for career exploration as well as hearing from some

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younger folks that have already started their journey and have already been on twists and turns

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because we really want young people to understand the concept of failing forward, failing quickly,

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and to not be afraid of the twists and turns that are coming.

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And for those in attendance, if they want to know more about elevator 4 tomorrow for the next event, how do they get involved?

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You can find that information at queencreatechamber.com, but also through your schools.

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And so all of the juniors in your English classes will get information about that.

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That's not just Queencreate Unified.

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It's also Combs, Higley, Castile through Chandler Unified, ALA, Ridgeview, and a few other charter schools as well.

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Thank you.

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Thank you again, Chris.

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Thank you, Mayor.

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Thank you, council members.

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Our second presentation is from the Queen Creek Cultural Foundation, so I'd like to welcome

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the director of the Queen Creek Performing Arts Center, Molly Jacobs.

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Hello.

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Thank you for having me, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Town Council members, Town Manager, and everyone

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in attendance.

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I am so honored to be here.

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I love what I get to do.

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We have been here 23 years.

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Arts in our area.

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I think are doing great, and a lot of that is because of this incredible oops, which way

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do I go?

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There we go.

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Sorry.

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Let me try that again.

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Because of our incredible partnership between the school district and the town, and we just

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really appreciate what you guys do.

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And...

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I wanted to do something more theatrical to start off with, we talked about social media, we've had 14 million impressions on TikTok.

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All together, it's actually been more, if you see, when they've sliced this in, it's been more like 80 million.

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But this is a little something that was from the Queen Creek Performing Arts Center and went viral.

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Anybody has seen it?

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Yeah.

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That's actually the Clean Creek Performing Arts Center.

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So I'm going to stop it, because that's every night of the show that they did.

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It's sorry.

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There are so many things that we, I'm going to go to this one.

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So our goals with the town is to help economic support economic development, but also

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bring the arts to the community. With the school district, we try to take care of all their

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events and also again provide an audience for the future. The arts are in a bad way. There's

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a lot of ways we're not being supported like we used to. That's okay. There's, you know, new challenges

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everywhere, but not in our town and not through our school district. So we really appreciate that

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And it shows up by the people that come.

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This year, we hosted 450 events.

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I know.

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So I know you're thinking you do more than two events a day.

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Yes, because we have church on Sunday too.

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That's just, I mean, our goal is to provide opportunities

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anywhere and everywhere.

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We had over 250,000 people.

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Guys, when we do a dance recital, I don't know if you've

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driven by on a weekend. There's up to 10,000 people that will go through that building in those days.

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So it's pretty impressive. During COVID, we realized how important mental health was with

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everybody, not just teens, not just younger, but everybody. And so a real focus of ours

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became to about installing confidence, self-esteem, work and work ethic, all of those things.

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And we just did a show called Camp Rock with about 60 amazing kids.

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I'm going to show you just a little clip.

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I was going to have them come and do it for you,

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but this is just a small bit of the cast.

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But again, when you're in that, when you're in that arena to see how hard these kids work,

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I don't have to tell them to work hard.

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That's their work ethic.

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And that is a life skill that's a life long lesson, so we appreciate that you have given us the opportunity to continue.

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Our community theater ranges from 7 to 107.

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We produce 7 shows a year, which is a lot.

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And for the first time ever, if you knew theater, it's almost like being a theater company and a performing arts center, which is kind of fun.

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and drum roll please. My own little drum roll. For the first time we are doing a senior

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show, which is 55 and above. Because just because you get a little older doesn't mean

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you're not fun and still can't, you know, get out there. Right Robin?

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So that is a show

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we have coming up. Also, just recently, how you can tell the level of the quality of

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shows. We just got 22 nominations in the Arizona Awards. Two of them were for best over all show.

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One was for our school performances that we do with all the schools. We present to all the

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schools. That was Mithil's a junior and that's nominated a lot of times as well as legally

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blonde. So this is our series for this coming year. We already did Camp Rock and it was so much fun.

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we're working on Glee. Today, the cast list came out for by by Brutie. So I shut up my phone.

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And then, musical is this school show that we'll be doing. And when I say school show, I know you all are aware.

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But every year, the Queen Creek Unified School District brings elementary kids. So that in the two years, the 10 elementary schools all see a show for free.

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And again, I can't tell you how important that is because if kids aren't exposed, we're not going to have arts in the future.

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So I really appreciate that it is an important thing that everybody has taken time.

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We're doing little mermaid to the end of the year, and that's not the junior version, that's the adult version.

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Not the adult version, that you know what I mean?

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Now, you guys know that we used to do a lot of country stars, but it just became cost prohibitive. And last, you know, we, we brought things in like Lily on the end, Bell and Little Big Town. All of those. And really, those shows I was getting between 15 and 20,000 dollars, the last show that we brought in was Scotty McCreary, which was 52,000 dollars.

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And anything right now is for a big celebrity is above 50, which we haven't found that that's

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the need right now.

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We're filling up on our center stage series.

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We have changed this to a two o'clock show and we have lots of wonderful people coming out

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to see it.

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These are our shows for the center stage series.

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We also have special events like BYU young ambassadors, and then again, making art

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accessible to everyone.

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We were so excited this year to have the 250th celebration concert, you know, anybody

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that wanted to come with Chandler Symphony Orchestra, and then we of course are doing our

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constitution concert, yes, on September 12th, and then the last concert, the last concert

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that we will have that is free.

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We'll have a lot of stuff that's free,

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but we do move these sometimes.

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Chandler Symphony Chamber is doing a performance

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of Peter and the Wolf.

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I don't know if you guys remember,

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or if you did a skids go and see Peter and the Wolf,

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like to learn about the instruments, yeah.

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You're not that old Jeff, that's why.

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Mr. Brown.

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I beg to do.

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Sounds Council Brown.

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Sounds Council Brown.

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I beg to do that.

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Okay.

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And then one of the things that this is the schools, this is the school shows, which I already talked about.

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We also do an after school choir so that we teach the kids from our elementary schools.

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What theater is like they kind of do a show choir on the side of the stage.

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But a lot of those kids become our kids that end up coming on stage and eventually some of them become leads.

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So that's just a great way of growing our programs, too.

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This year we have a grant program.

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Every year, when we get a new soundboard,

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when the cultural foundation will pay for a new soundboard

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or something for the Performing Arts Center,

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we do take our existing step and refurbish it,

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give it to a school or something

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so we can continue and support the arts.

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And this year, we started last year in 2025, 26 with $15,000

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that we give in fine arts money to all of our different schools.

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Our summer camps, our fall break camps, our camps sell pretty well, and we started

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crew boot camp. Now this is something that started that actually comes by

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Mayor McClure started when he started the constitution concert.

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I thought that was such a great thing for choir members, but I'm like,

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the theater people stuff. So, um, a long time ago, I had to upstart the arts workshop at the

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her burger. So we are bringing it back. This year, um, we will be inviting the surrounding schools,

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high school festival events over for a two-day workshop, and we'll be bringing in Broadway,

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Tony, Award, nominated actress, Laura Bell Bundy. If any of you ever watch on MTV,

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finding out words she won. So, um, and we have two guest speakers and I'll tell you one is from

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the cast of Wicked.

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Yes, I know, but it's not the two you think. So, but it's still a really good one.

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Yeah, so, um, but this is going to be really fun. We are hoping to have three to five hundred kids come.

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This is something that we're doing at almost no cost. It is about giving back to the community

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because we are so blessed that we have had our community support us, not just the town and the school, but our community.

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So we want to keep getting back.

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Our rentals, as I told you, at any, we are blessed in lots of ways with all the rentals that we have from conferences or just speakers coming in and a lot of day and street sitals.

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These are our auditions coming up, as I mentioned, the Music Man December 4th and 5th.

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Baby is a musical and then the little mermaid is coming up.

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We always have volunteer opportunities and questions.

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Excellent.

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Thank you, Molly.

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Always a great update.

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Robin has a question or a comment.

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not a question but a comment. So as a council member for 17 years and former mayor of River City,

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I'm issuing a hard challenge.

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My fellow mayor and council members, I want to see all of you, even if it's just a small park in this, and yeah, I know, Jeff, you're not a senior yet, I can, but we need to do this, because I've got that, you know, the, the train songs, stuck in my head, when our family drives, we all cash for the hogs, said cast,

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again, that me John.

401
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blah blah blah. Come on, you guys.

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Auditions and later.

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All right.

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Thanks Molly for everything you think.

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I'll take the challenge and I'll bring my birth certificate

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because I do qualify.

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Yay. That would be awesome.

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You know, Don, Ola Font was in our dancing with the Queen Creek stars.

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Chip, whoopie, come on.

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You could do it. You and Brian.

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And Vice Mayor McLaren has a comment.

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Thanks, Mayor.

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Yes, I just want to thank you for your leadership Molly and the

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contribution to the community.

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It's incredible and a real quick question.

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So this September 12th Constitution concert, what is it cost and

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what time is it because everyone needs to come?

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Oh, it is.

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Did I mention that it was free and it starts at 7 p.m.

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Thank you.

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00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:25,200
Yes.

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All right.

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00:41:27,260 --> 00:41:30,980
Thank you so much Molly, having theater and culture

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exposure as we know is so important to a community. And I just love that our residents are not

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only able to participate in it. But also, I mean, I see all of those, you were talking about all the

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quinkric district students that are able to come and see that. Whether they have an opportunity with

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their family or not, they get to through the school. And that is the way that we carry that love to

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next generation. So it is such a great partnership and just love

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love everything you're doing. So keep it up. Thank you. Thank you all very much.

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And Councilmember Brown is one. I would just like to say that I would ask you to

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extend my gratitude. I'm probably for the rest of the council as well to your very

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strong supportive community. You have some people even in this room.

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that are really working hard all the time to make your endeavors successful and it's much

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appreciated.

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Thank you. Thank you. Next on the agenda is public comment. This is an opportunity

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to address the council on items not listed on the agenda as well as items on the agenda such

437
00:42:52,170 --> 00:42:58,470
final action. As a reminder, the opportunity for the public comment will adhere to the same

438
00:42:58,470 --> 00:43:04,510
meeting rules each time we respect everyone's opinion and everyone should likewise respect

439
00:43:04,510 --> 00:43:10,550
and acknowledge that the council meeting is meant to conduct town business. So please no cheering

440
00:43:10,550 --> 00:43:17,430
or applause outside of the ceremonial portion of the agenda. And as a reminder, the town council may

441
00:43:17,430 --> 00:43:24,430
respond to discuss or take action on any issue not on the meeting agenda. I do have several

442
00:43:24,430 --> 00:43:30,530
requests to speak cards this evening, but they are all for item 10, so we will have that later in

443
00:43:30,530 --> 00:43:35,810
the agenda. Are there any public comments specifically for the public comment portion Maria?

444
00:43:36,370 --> 00:43:41,530
Here we did receive one through email. Okay, and it will be attached to the public record. It was on

445
00:43:41,530 --> 00:43:43,190
and some are well-residents.

446
00:43:43,930 --> 00:43:45,250
Okay, thank you, thank you.

447
00:43:45,250 --> 00:43:46,370
I appreciate that.

448
00:43:48,310 --> 00:43:50,270
So seeing no public comment in the queue,

449
00:43:50,470 --> 00:43:52,310
I will move on to the next agenda item,

450
00:43:52,510 --> 00:43:53,950
which is our consent agenda,

451
00:43:54,850 --> 00:43:57,270
and do any members of council or staff

452
00:43:57,270 --> 00:43:59,010
would they like to remove any items

453
00:43:59,010 --> 00:44:02,050
for a separate discussion, vote or a presentation?

454
00:44:03,330 --> 00:44:05,830
If there are none, then I would entertain a motion.

455
00:44:05,990 --> 00:44:08,230
Madam Mayor, I moved to approve the consent agenda

456
00:44:08,230 --> 00:44:08,970
as published.

457
00:44:09,530 --> 00:44:14,690
We have a motion by Vice Mayor McClure in a second by Councilmember Benning.

458
00:44:14,990 --> 00:44:16,190
Please place your vote

459
00:44:19,130 --> 00:44:22,090
that does pass unanimously, 7-0.

460
00:44:22,970 --> 00:44:25,770
Great. We will move on to item 9,

461
00:44:28,890 --> 00:44:30,770
which is our public hearing consent agenda.

462
00:44:32,110 --> 00:44:39,410
And matters listed on the public hearing consent agenda are considered to be routine and are generally enacted by a single motion in vote.

463
00:44:40,070 --> 00:44:44,130
I will now open the public hearing. Are there any public comments submitted?

464
00:44:44,130 --> 00:44:46,690
I'm going to say Mayor, there are none.

465
00:44:47,490 --> 00:44:47,670
Okay.

466
00:44:48,130 --> 00:44:49,630
Seeing you know public comments,

467
00:44:50,170 --> 00:44:51,830
this public hearing is now closed

468
00:44:51,830 --> 00:44:53,950
and what any members of council

469
00:44:53,950 --> 00:44:56,330
like to remove any items

470
00:44:56,330 --> 00:44:58,610
from the public hearing consent agenda

471
00:44:58,610 --> 00:44:59,970
for a separate discussion or...

472
00:45:00,740 --> 00:45:07,980
Presentation, or staff. Mayor, I would move at this time for approval of the public hearing consent agenda is published.

473
00:45:08,720 --> 00:45:16,260
I have a motion by second council member Brown in a second by council member of Mark No. Please place your vote.

474
00:45:21,900 --> 00:45:34,520
That does pass unanimously, seven, zero. We have one final action item this evening. And I would like to welcome our Queen Creek Police Chief Randy Price and he will be providing a

475
00:45:34,520 --> 00:45:37,260
presentation. Thank you, Randy.

476
00:45:37,900 --> 00:46:04,020
I remember the council for the record, Randy Price, your police chief. I appreciate the opportunity to present this to you as part of discussion and also final action to really bring forward cutting edge action proactive something that both the council and the police department and town management have been working on to get this to this point and

477
00:46:04,020 --> 00:46:33,260
You know, really the way I want to start this is to remind both Council and the public, you know, one of the things that happened when we first created the police department or even when you guys were seeing that as a necessity is there was an important aspect that the police department really was able to connect with the community and when you look at our vision mission and values everything is surrounding that engagement connection success that comes from our ability to connect and work together.

478
00:46:33,260 --> 00:46:38,080
And in our mission, we specifically talk about three things, accountability, connection and trust.

479
00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:44,260
So what we talk about tonight is really designed to be centered around those things.

480
00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:50,240
In addition, when you look at our values, you know, the whole idea behind technology and the tools that we use

481
00:46:50,240 --> 00:46:56,480
is that we want to provide what you see to the right there is what the community expects from us

482
00:46:56,480 --> 00:46:59,880
and what's our commitment is that we have provided safe community.

483
00:46:59,880 --> 00:47:10,260
We decrease crime, we solve crimes when they do happen, and we reduce harm, whether that's from a crime, traffic issues, as, you know, we don't have any traffic problems in Queen Creek, so we're fine.

484
00:47:11,700 --> 00:47:24,920
So, it's one of our things we work with, obviously, hard at, but both crime and traffic, and the quality of life issues that we really look at are important, and they're part of that connection and mission that we work on together.

485
00:47:24,920 --> 00:47:30,800
but at the same time, we must be able to maintain that trust by not only having good

486
00:47:30,800 --> 00:47:35,880
safeguards and accountability in all that we do. So we are the first in the state to bring

487
00:47:35,880 --> 00:47:43,340
this forward to provide the guardrails and the accountability necessary to really manage the

488
00:47:43,340 --> 00:47:50,860
technology because what we do depends on that technology that it's timely, it's responsible,

489
00:47:50,860 --> 00:47:54,800
But we have to do certain things to make sure that we're accessing the reliability.

490
00:47:55,640 --> 00:47:56,900
We're always looking at the facts.

491
00:47:56,900 --> 00:47:59,060
Make sure that we're using right sources.

492
00:47:59,100 --> 00:48:05,120
We're documenting our work and meeting all confidentiality and constitutional and evidentiary requirements.

493
00:48:05,820 --> 00:48:12,080
But technology isn't necessarily just the only part of the way that we do our professional judgment.

494
00:48:12,540 --> 00:48:13,760
It is a tool.

495
00:48:14,120 --> 00:48:15,280
It does not replace it.

496
00:48:15,400 --> 00:48:17,880
It is an adjunct to something that helps us to make decisions.

497
00:48:17,880 --> 00:48:22,820
because of all of the immense amount of things that we have to deal with in the amount of data

498
00:48:22,820 --> 00:48:27,860
that's constantly coming forward. So, as part of our discussion tonight, we're really looking

499
00:48:27,860 --> 00:48:33,460
to identify a couple of specific things. Well, ALPR is going to be part of the discussion

500
00:48:33,460 --> 00:48:38,720
and certainly a hot topic in the community and across the nation. We're looking at a more holistic

501
00:48:38,720 --> 00:48:46,020
response and approach to this that we want to assess and protect all of the information that we use

502
00:48:46,020 --> 00:48:52,380
that is really that protected category that we're going to talk about, which includes some of the

503
00:48:52,380 --> 00:48:56,980
things that are on the screen up here, criminal investigation and evidence, things that have

504
00:48:56,980 --> 00:49:03,100
privacy or privacy concerns, personal privacy that may be have an individual safety component to it,

505
00:49:03,200 --> 00:49:08,160
all of the network and system credentials and things that keep our integrity of our systems.

506
00:49:08,700 --> 00:49:13,540
And of course, the physical facilities and operational security, but we want to make sure that

507
00:49:13,540 --> 00:49:17,720
We have a reliable access, but we want to make sure that it's only used for authorized

508
00:49:17,720 --> 00:49:18,580
official purposes.

509
00:49:18,680 --> 00:49:22,860
That's really the goal of what we're going to be doing tonight, not just an ALPR, but

510
00:49:22,860 --> 00:49:23,720
all systems.

511
00:49:25,060 --> 00:49:31,000
Now, again, as I mentioned, ALPR is a focus point, certainly, but we're looking at a broader

512
00:49:31,000 --> 00:49:36,200
spectrum of all of our systems that we have the right security and access oversight and integrity

513
00:49:36,200 --> 00:49:40,060
and that we are actually identifying the accountability component here.

514
00:49:40,060 --> 00:49:43,780
so that only this data and the systems are only used for a lawful purpose.

515
00:49:45,440 --> 00:49:52,760
So, as it said at the bottom of this slide here is that access also comes with a responsibility to protect that data and that information.

516
00:49:52,980 --> 00:49:54,060
So that's what we're doing tonight.

517
00:49:54,960 --> 00:49:57,540
Now it's important to understand what we mean by protected information.

518
00:49:58,560 --> 00:49:59,980
So as you'll see here in a second here.

519
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:06,020
We're not every single thing that the Police Department has touches processes would fall into this category.

520
00:50:06,700 --> 00:50:12,580
What we're talking about is a specific group of information that is listed here, and it falls into one of these three categories.

521
00:50:12,820 --> 00:50:21,520
And the definition of the ordinance that we're bringing forward tonight is that one, it's confidential privilege by either a court order or some other recognized privilege

522
00:50:21,520 --> 00:50:24,320
that it's subject to legally enforceable restrictions.

523
00:50:24,900 --> 00:50:45,200
We'll talk about Siegis data here in a minute that is restricted by access use and dissemination and the one that we're really focused on tonight is where we have specific information that has access control because if it has an authorized access or use that it could compromise an investigation evidence privacy safety or security.

524
00:50:45,880 --> 00:50:53,520
So those are the things we're going to talk about but that's really the information that we're going to try to assess and the systems that contain that information.

525
00:50:53,520 --> 00:51:01,880
So, we're not talking about general purpose town networks, your email systems and the collaborative platforms that we may have some touch points with.

526
00:51:01,980 --> 00:51:11,640
We're talking about the police department systems that have very specific role-based and user access controls that have that data that we just talked about,

527
00:51:11,820 --> 00:51:17,600
and that where we, in some of it, when we talk about it on the left bottom there, you know, it may be criminal justice information,

528
00:51:17,600 --> 00:51:22,480
and certainly that's actually controlled by state law already, but all the PII, by a metric

529
00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:27,660
data that comes in from when we arrest people, the non-public investigative evidentiary

530
00:51:27,660 --> 00:51:31,700
information that we have, the intelligence, authentication credentials, all those different

531
00:51:31,700 --> 00:51:32,140
things.

532
00:51:32,460 --> 00:51:37,060
We want to make sure that that stuff is protected because if it's not, we could have some issues

533
00:51:37,060 --> 00:51:40,220
with our investigations and other security problems.

534
00:51:40,980 --> 00:51:46,900
But at the same time, we need to make sure that whatever we propose and whatever you're going

535
00:51:46,900 --> 00:51:53,180
approved tonight still has the the lawful access controls that are necessary through a public

536
00:51:53,180 --> 00:51:57,860
information request. So as you can see on the left side of the screen here, there is a process

537
00:51:57,860 --> 00:52:02,780
that we have for any record that we contain in any of these systems that is of this protected

538
00:52:02,780 --> 00:52:08,760
information can be accessed by the public but through a lawful process. As you can see, there are

539
00:52:08,760 --> 00:52:12,500
some things that have to be done in order to release that information. First, we have to identify

540
00:52:12,500 --> 00:52:16,880
what the responsive record is when it's requested. We have to go through and look at whatever

541
00:52:16,880 --> 00:52:19,540
or might be responsive or non-responsive based on the material,

542
00:52:19,880 --> 00:52:20,860
the stage of the investigation,

543
00:52:21,640 --> 00:52:23,700
all of the things that come along with that,

544
00:52:23,920 --> 00:52:25,560
and apply those confidential requirements.

545
00:52:25,720 --> 00:52:27,880
You can see on the right some of that may be supported

546
00:52:27,880 --> 00:52:29,840
by federal or state level restrictions,

547
00:52:31,280 --> 00:52:32,960
or the restrictions that we're gonna propose here

548
00:52:32,960 --> 00:52:33,400
in the ordinance.

549
00:52:34,120 --> 00:52:36,520
But inevitably, what happens is that almost everything

550
00:52:36,520 --> 00:52:38,420
that we have outside of the siegeist,

551
00:52:38,420 --> 00:52:40,480
which is the criminal justice information,

552
00:52:41,420 --> 00:52:44,040
is where that is protected by very specific laws.

553
00:52:44,200 --> 00:52:45,920
Everything else is publicly releaseable

554
00:52:45,920 --> 00:52:51,280
under certain conditions. So that's what we're going to talk about as we go through this process

555
00:52:51,280 --> 00:52:56,480
and how that falls into the town code that we're going to propose. Keep in mind that protection

556
00:52:56,480 --> 00:53:02,180
and transparency work together. They're not opposed to one another. But when you look at this,

557
00:53:02,180 --> 00:53:07,480
really what we're talking about is if a person lawfully receives a public record, that doesn't mean

558
00:53:07,480 --> 00:53:13,600
that they're given access to the protected information systems. So you can't just get user access and

559
00:53:13,600 --> 00:53:15,620
start going through all those different things.

560
00:53:15,700 --> 00:53:18,700
So you can kind of see between these two sides right here

561
00:53:18,700 --> 00:53:20,740
is that just because you can get a record,

562
00:53:20,920 --> 00:53:23,060
doesn't mean that you get access to the system itself

563
00:53:23,060 --> 00:53:25,760
because again, it has to go through a legal process to release.

564
00:53:26,880 --> 00:53:29,580
So when we talk about employees,

565
00:53:29,800 --> 00:53:32,060
other people that have access to these networks,

566
00:53:32,740 --> 00:53:35,740
really there's only the code that we're proposing tonight

567
00:53:35,740 --> 00:53:40,300
would restrict the access use, dissemination,

568
00:53:40,300 --> 00:53:46,220
processing whatever it might be to the people that are allowed to be in the network but for an authorized

569
00:53:46,220 --> 00:53:51,840
purpose only that is official, reasonably necessary and associated with their assigned privileges or duties.

570
00:53:52,560 --> 00:53:56,520
So that's really the nexus and that has to be all three of those things and again we'll

571
00:53:56,520 --> 00:54:02,460
talk about some of what those purposes are but what we're proposing tonight has not been done and is not currently in place

572
00:54:02,460 --> 00:54:08,380
outside of a criminal justice information system network that all of this protected information that's out there

573
00:54:08,380 --> 00:54:13,260
Right now it's not illegal to use that stuff for personal use.

574
00:54:13,900 --> 00:54:17,300
It certainly has policies in place that we will fire somebody for those kind of things,

575
00:54:17,440 --> 00:54:22,300
but there's no crime in anywhere in the state of Arizona for that kind of access or misuse.

576
00:54:23,000 --> 00:54:27,960
And so again, the reason we're here tonight and the wisdom of the council is to really

577
00:54:27,960 --> 00:54:32,140
both get that fixed and be a leader in that sector.

578
00:54:33,240 --> 00:54:37,120
So what we're talking about too is in addition to this code that we're bringing forward

579
00:54:37,120 --> 00:54:41,440
to talk about misuse and we'll get a little deeper into that is that we're wanting to make sure

580
00:54:41,440 --> 00:54:45,820
that the police department, the IT folks that support us and all the things that we have to do that

581
00:54:45,820 --> 00:54:50,640
we have reasonable risk-based safeguards. Now we already have many of these things but we're talking

582
00:54:50,640 --> 00:54:55,820
about continuing to find ways to enhance those and make sure that we're doing things in a appropriate

583
00:54:55,820 --> 00:54:59,900
manner which includes administrative safeguards, technical safeguards, and physical safeguards.

584
00:55:00,560 --> 00:55:26,980
And then some of that stuff on the right there is definitely a part of that process, too, that we have people with secure credentials, we have a secure system, we have a secure network, all the safeguards we talked about, but if there's a problem that we detect those things early through an audit process or anything that's automated that can catch those things, depending on the system, prompt reporting, and then a coordinator response when it's necessary, which would include charging people with a crime if they misuse this information.

585
00:55:28,360 --> 00:55:34,060
Now, the accountability is a little broader and we continue to provide this now, but we want

586
00:55:34,060 --> 00:55:38,600
to continue to enhance this to provide more and more safeguards and guardrails and everything

587
00:55:38,600 --> 00:55:43,160
that we do is that one, there's got to be training before you have access to any of these systems.

588
00:55:43,440 --> 00:55:44,440
And it's not a one-time thing.

589
00:55:44,440 --> 00:55:45,400
It's a continuous thing.

590
00:55:45,540 --> 00:55:50,220
You have to have continuous training, annually, by, annually, whatever the necessity is for

591
00:55:50,220 --> 00:55:53,440
that particular system and the complexity of so or if there's changes in the software.

592
00:55:53,440 --> 00:55:58,420
make sure that we're reviewing those things and this was an active way of seeing and using

593
00:55:58,420 --> 00:56:02,680
how we people use the system and that we can audit that. That there's refresher training

594
00:56:02,680 --> 00:56:07,520
and acknowledgments from the policy updates or training updates that might come and that we

595
00:56:07,520 --> 00:56:12,900
do a documented annual review at a minimum. Now keep in mind I say annual is the minimum because

596
00:56:12,900 --> 00:56:18,420
we're going to provide a report back to council on an annual basis per the code, but we're going

597
00:56:18,420 --> 00:56:22,820
to be doing audits much more regularly, weekly, monthly, quarterly depending on the capability

598
00:56:22,820 --> 00:56:26,920
of the systems, but it is a continuous process, not a one and done.

599
00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:33,460
Really what this is going to establish this code, again, first in the state, is that we

600
00:56:33,460 --> 00:56:38,940
are going to identify, you must use these systems, all systems, including ALPR for an official

601
00:56:38,940 --> 00:56:39,700
purpose only.

602
00:56:39,900 --> 00:56:44,540
If you do not use it for an official purpose, which would include personal curiosity, private

603
00:56:44,540 --> 00:56:51,660
benefit or compensation, whether they sell that or use it for their own purposes or providing

604
00:56:51,660 --> 00:56:57,040
improper benefit to another, a friend family member, whatever it might be, harassment, intimidation,

605
00:56:57,660 --> 00:57:02,120
discrimination, unauthorized private investigations. Any of those things are associated with,

606
00:57:02,240 --> 00:57:06,700
and even in that venue would be considered a non-efficient purpose. And then we're also looking

607
00:57:06,700 --> 00:57:11,380
at credential misuse. If you're knowingly share your credentials and able somebody else to have access,

608
00:57:11,580 --> 00:57:16,240
or you give, or you use somebody else's credentials to access. That would also be a crime.

609
00:57:16,240 --> 00:57:22,340
Now that the caveat to this is it's knowing misuse so they have to can't be accidental.

610
00:57:23,760 --> 00:57:29,740
It can't be inadvertent it can't be because there is a policy issue, there has to be a knowing action here.

611
00:57:30,340 --> 00:57:39,860
So that is a pretty common culpable mental state that we see in state laws or applying the same mental or mental state to this particular crime.

612
00:57:39,860 --> 00:57:55,500
But keep in mind that as we investigate these issues and we find this in an audit or an investigation or how it comes to our attention, the level one there on the right would be we'd apply the new town code and that would be a class one misdemeanor.

613
00:57:56,000 --> 00:58:09,280
But during the investigation if we determine that there was unauthorized access to a CGIS or CGIS data, which is the criminal justice information system that's through the state or the federal government, that would still fall under state law which is a class six felony.

614
00:58:09,280 --> 00:58:15,100
We also made discover that somebody may have had other charges such as stocking, computer tampering,

615
00:58:15,280 --> 00:58:18,640
identity theft, aggravated harassment, which are more serious felonies.

616
00:58:18,820 --> 00:58:24,780
So there may be additional charging or we may charge the higher crimes with the county attorney

617
00:58:24,780 --> 00:58:27,660
on in Superior Court rather than a local misdemeanor.

618
00:58:27,900 --> 00:58:32,940
But what this does is it brings in that knowing misuse, whether it's not the nefarious

619
00:58:32,940 --> 00:58:36,660
in there, but they misuse it for any other purpose, we can still charge them with a crime

620
00:58:36,660 --> 00:58:37,980
here in the town of Queen Creek.

621
00:58:37,980 --> 00:58:50,780
And that includes not just our police department employees, that's anybody that has authorized access or that gains unauthorized access to the system.

622
00:58:51,100 --> 00:58:52,380
So it would be applicable to anybody.

623
00:58:53,660 --> 00:58:58,400
The other part of it too is the pathway that's listed there under A is that's the criminal side of it.

624
00:58:58,400 --> 00:59:02,260
we would continue to apply in administrative and contractual items.

625
00:59:03,080 --> 00:59:08,660
We would do internal investigations for our own employees, where there would be everything

626
00:59:08,660 --> 00:59:15,620
up to termination, along with any criminal investigation, but that also includes other people

627
00:59:15,620 --> 00:59:21,320
that might have access to the system like town employees, contractors, anybody else that

628
00:59:21,320 --> 00:59:26,000
has authorized access would either be held accountable through contractual actions, remedies,

629
00:59:26,000 --> 00:59:33,600
lawsuits and so on. So we're gonna continue both pathways after this is. So I want to talk

630
00:59:33,600 --> 00:59:37,880
specifically a little bit about ALPR because again this is a component of what we're talking

631
00:59:37,880 --> 00:59:44,780
about and why we're here tonight to be it's more broad that this is one issue that we want to make

632
00:59:44,780 --> 00:59:51,100
sure that we're addressing for. Now keep in mind we have not had any issues in our organization.

633
00:59:51,400 --> 00:59:55,740
However we want to be proactive in making sure that we have all the safeguards necessary and

634
00:59:55,740 --> 00:59:57,580
this particular accountability measure.

635
00:59:58,680 --> 00:59:59,320
Now, ALPR.

636
01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:29,980
In the Queen Creek Police Department's program is used as a focused investigative tool. There's strict accountability and access controls, and we have limited retention. Right now, it's it's set at 30 days. We'll talk a little bit more about that here in a minute. But the metaphor that I like to throw out at this because we get a lot of people saying a lot of things, a lot of misinformation out there, even from officials in law enforcement that are saying things that are actually not accurate.

637
01:00:30,960 --> 01:00:35,160
So, what I want to do is talk about this in a general form and then we'll get into specifics,

638
01:00:35,680 --> 01:00:41,780
but think about every day in our community and in the nation, people use vehicles for all kinds

639
01:00:41,780 --> 01:00:47,480
of different reasons. We use them to get to work, to transport goods and services, whatever it might be,

640
01:00:47,480 --> 01:00:54,420
it is a critical aspect of our community and our lifestyle. But vehicles are sometimes used in

641
01:00:54,420 --> 01:01:01,200
appropriately. They people speed, people get into crashes, people commit crimes with them. Now

642
01:01:01,860 --> 01:01:07,760
with all the broad use that we have just because 1, 2, 3, 10, 20, whatever the violations are,

643
01:01:07,780 --> 01:01:14,040
if people misuse a vehicle, that is not grounds to get rid of every vehicle in the United States.

644
01:01:14,360 --> 01:01:19,500
It is certainly grounds to make sure you have the right laws, you have the right accountability

645
01:01:19,500 --> 01:01:25,520
mechanisms, enforcement, and so on. We're suggesting the same thing for ALPR. Is that it's a

646
01:01:25,520 --> 01:01:30,800
great tool? It can be misused, absolutely. But we're suggesting that we have the right

647
01:01:30,800 --> 01:01:34,560
guard rails just like we do now, but enhance those, continue to enhance them as necessary,

648
01:01:34,680 --> 01:01:40,280
holding vendors accountable, making sure that we have everything in place. And as I said before,

649
01:01:40,580 --> 01:01:44,140
adding an accountability measure that nobody has done yet, we're going to do that first tonight.

650
01:01:45,560 --> 01:01:55,620
So some of the things that we use under our current policy is that we use ALPR for an ALPR again is the automated license plate reader or recognition.

651
01:01:56,900 --> 01:02:08,220
So we use this for a lot of our routine patrol support when we need to have there's an investigation involving a vehicle road rage, hit and run accident, those kind of things.

652
01:02:08,220 --> 01:02:24,340
Certainly for stolen vehicles what through what we call hot lists, which are alerts if a system if a vehicle is stolen and it hits or it is identified by an ALPR device as passing through a certain area it will alert whoever's on the network that that was in the area.

653
01:02:24,920 --> 01:02:36,560
One of the more prolific things that we use it for is identifying a vehicle that an endangered person missing person through all the different alerts system that we have that might be associated with that vehicle.

654
01:02:36,560 --> 01:02:47,620
We have had time and time again here in our community and in our adjacent communities where that has actually found and brought back people that are missing.

655
01:02:48,060 --> 01:02:57,920
And I think it's appropriate for tonight. We celebrate the training that we did for the sea straining. Thank you.

656
01:02:57,920 --> 01:03:13,340
Because this is one of the real key things that we use ALPR for, is investigations where we have young girls and young boys that are possibly trafficked, that are leaving the area, being picked up by the various individuals.

657
01:03:13,720 --> 01:03:24,900
We have had at least a half a dozen over the last year or so that ALPR has become a component in our investigation that has provided us leads and to help us safely recover these individuals.

658
01:03:24,900 --> 01:03:33,280
In some cases, where we have real-time crime or activity that we need to work on, our real-time

659
01:03:33,280 --> 01:03:39,260
information center, does utilize ALPR to try to get a feel for a vehicle where they're

660
01:03:39,260 --> 01:03:43,220
going, depending on where the device is positioned.

661
01:03:43,600 --> 01:03:49,820
We can sometimes determine the best possible route of travel, at least get officers in the area

662
01:03:49,820 --> 01:03:50,500
to look for that.

663
01:03:50,500 --> 01:03:56,220
crime scene can this thing this is a common use that we have where there's a crime burglary theft

664
01:03:56,900 --> 01:03:59,940
even robbery some other violent crime where we have zero

665
01:04:00,760 --> 01:04:02,500
leads nobody saw anything

666
01:04:02,500 --> 01:04:10,080
LPR has had been a tremendous boon to help develop leads that we can follow up on and see if we can develop some

667
01:04:10,080 --> 01:04:14,200
some sort of information to who might have been in the area or flood the area

668
01:04:14,200 --> 01:04:27,020
But again, just a lead, and certainly to find warrants or fugitives that are that we're looking for for crimes that have already been committed and we have and they're out there in our community or adjacent communities.

669
01:04:27,640 --> 01:04:30,240
So, a lot of different uses, this is just a few of the big ones.

670
01:04:31,300 --> 01:04:35,980
Some of the myths that are out there, I hear this all the time, what ALPR does.

671
01:04:36,100 --> 01:04:43,500
In fact, I've had conversations with some of you where even to just this week there has been misinformation on major news media channels,

672
01:04:43,500 --> 01:04:49,680
social media, saying the things that ALPR is absolutely not that it is gospel that it is.

673
01:04:50,320 --> 01:04:54,320
So let's talk about ALPR. We've talked about this already, but it's an investigative tool.

674
01:04:55,840 --> 01:04:59,980
It's not a tracking mechanism, it doesn't, it doesn't GPS people's.

675
01:05:00,000 --> 01:05:12,940
The vehicle is not providing continuous monitoring or generalized surveillance. It only provides a real time source of information, a time and location where a vehicle has passed a certain point, and that's a lead that we can follow up on.

676
01:05:13,100 --> 01:05:24,180
It gives us only limited information, does not identify drivers, anybody in the vehicle doesn't tell us who's in the vehicle, who owns the vehicle, doesn't provide any facial recognition or biometrics, we don't use any of that stuff.

677
01:05:24,180 --> 01:05:27,940
and it certainly does not give traffic tickets for some reason people think it's a red light camera

678
01:05:27,940 --> 01:05:34,520
or gives traffic tickets or does all those. It does not, and it is only one source of information

679
01:05:34,520 --> 01:05:39,040
that requires human verification. There has to be a human loop throughout this process and we'll

680
01:05:39,040 --> 01:05:44,820
talk a little bit more about that here in a second. Our particular program, we have 62 cameras,

681
01:05:45,480 --> 01:05:50,640
47 are under contract with one organization and we have 15 that are under a different organization

682
01:05:50,640 --> 01:05:56,540
or a vendor that we are testing at no cost to the town right now, and both of these vendors

683
01:05:56,540 --> 01:06:03,440
have rigorous data and security retention processes. Again, right now we're set at 30 days,

684
01:06:03,720 --> 01:06:08,500
and we'll talk more about that, but the data encryption both at rest and transit, and then it's

685
01:06:08,500 --> 01:06:16,720
held in a cloud-based server that has encrypted. So the only time that this stuff passes whatever

686
01:06:16,720 --> 01:06:22,900
retention rate that we would have. The information falls off after the retention rate, if it

687
01:06:22,900 --> 01:06:26,980
only saved, if it becomes physical evidence or digital evidence that we put into our evidence

688
01:06:26,980 --> 01:06:31,360
system, which is tracked through our evidence, a digital evidence system and management program.

689
01:06:32,820 --> 01:06:37,160
Now, I want to make a distinction that's important because this gets mixed up all the time in our

690
01:06:37,160 --> 01:06:42,180
community and other communities is that we do not have anything to do or have access to

691
01:06:43,160 --> 01:06:47,360
other private organizations that have these ALPR devices.

692
01:06:47,840 --> 01:06:52,180
We see homeowners associations, retail stores, other types of property owners,

693
01:06:53,140 --> 01:06:58,180
people of tow companies, bus systems, other types of mass transit

694
01:06:58,180 --> 01:07:01,960
that use these devices, whether they're static or mobile.

695
01:07:02,340 --> 01:07:03,800
We don't have access to any of that information.

696
01:07:04,020 --> 01:07:07,340
We do not buy commercial data that is readily available about there.

697
01:07:07,340 --> 01:07:08,720
We do not use any of that.

698
01:07:08,720 --> 01:07:13,600
we only use our network and any other data sharing that we have with other law enforcement agencies.

699
01:07:14,520 --> 01:07:18,820
And everything, again, is subject to our policies, the bounds that we're placing a tonight,

700
01:07:19,040 --> 01:07:23,220
the stuff that's already in place and all the constitutional bounds that we've talked about at

701
01:07:23,220 --> 01:07:28,600
Nazim. And again, we have all of this stuff that's associated with our devices. We have strict

702
01:07:28,600 --> 01:07:33,180
ownership and control over that. In fact, there is a new law that's coming into place. We'll talk

703
01:07:33,180 --> 01:07:39,680
here where it requires that all vendors have a contractual obligation that they cannot sell or

704
01:07:39,680 --> 01:07:45,800
disseminate to third parties. And we already have that in our contracts. Just give you kind of

705
01:07:45,800 --> 01:07:50,880
a feel for how we've used our devices. As we've mentioned before, we've actually been using

706
01:07:50,880 --> 01:07:58,860
ALPR since 2022, but I just pulled up some stats for the last 2025 and 2026 up to August 11th.

707
01:07:59,500 --> 01:08:08,220
We had about 37, almost 3,800 incidents where ALPR was utilized, either to develop a lead,

708
01:08:08,980 --> 01:08:18,000
resulted in an arrest, conviction, or was able to rule out certain vehicles in the area,

709
01:08:18,540 --> 01:08:21,500
or just generally try to resolve some of these situations.

710
01:08:21,640 --> 01:08:23,000
This is just a few categories.

711
01:08:23,280 --> 01:08:28,740
Obviously, these are high-level categories, but you can see that there's quite a mix of how we use these.

712
01:08:28,740 --> 01:08:35,360
both in real-time situation and investigations that may be after the fact, everything from

713
01:08:35,360 --> 01:08:41,480
again, like I said, are people that are missing or endangered, stolen vehicles, hit runs,

714
01:08:41,600 --> 01:08:42,200
hit runs.

715
01:08:42,440 --> 01:08:46,840
I can't tell you that happens on probably weekly daily basis around here where ALPR is providing

716
01:08:46,840 --> 01:08:51,880
leads, where we would have had nothing, because most people that it happens and they just

717
01:08:51,880 --> 01:08:55,780
they're too discombobulated to be able to get any information for us, or they said, I think

718
01:08:55,780 --> 01:08:57,140
it was a white car, but I don't remember.

719
01:08:57,140 --> 01:09:05,460
So this has been a tremendous way for us to actually solve those rather prolific crime here in Queen Creek when it comes to that traffic issues.

720
01:09:06,280 --> 01:09:16,480
So a lot of other offenses though that we have been able to utilize this again, not necessarily to full bone resolution but provides a lead where we can follow up with other means.

721
01:09:18,020 --> 01:09:24,940
As we've mentioned before and as we continue to talk about the types of guardrails that we have.

722
01:09:24,940 --> 01:09:29,220
We've already had this, but we continue to enhance this, is that in order to use ALPR systems,

723
01:09:29,420 --> 01:09:34,280
you have to have individual authentication that is rolled based, you have user logins, MFA.

724
01:09:35,680 --> 01:09:42,820
And there is no, we strictly prohibit any type of anonymous or shared access or anonymous shared

725
01:09:42,820 --> 01:09:48,360
access at all. It's strictly prohibited. And then case documentation, when they do a query or

726
01:09:48,360 --> 01:09:54,220
they create a alert or hot list, there has to be specific case documentation, where there is a

727
01:09:54,220 --> 01:09:59,980
case number that number identification number back to a specific incident for us and they have to have a specific

728
01:10:00,000 --> 01:10:14,880
Public purpose listed along with what we call a neighbors code. There's three different blocks of information that has to be done. So curiosity searches are not allowed. That's going to again be a crime after we, depending on how you guys vote tonight on that.

729
01:10:15,800 --> 01:10:23,280
Strict data sharing. Right now and we'll talk more about this here in a second, but right now we do not share with anyone outside of the state of Arizona.

730
01:10:23,780 --> 01:10:30,200
We do not share with federal partners and we do not allow this to be used for any type of immigration or reproductive investigations.

731
01:10:32,300 --> 01:10:38,660
And we vet everybody that we share with as far as the in state law enforcement agencies.

732
01:10:38,900 --> 01:10:50,340
So we make sure that that's a particular agency that that we have a relationship with and that we identify that that's actually what they're using it for and they have to follow all the same rules that we have.

733
01:10:50,860 --> 01:10:55,400
When we talk about alerts, I just want to give you a quick overview of this.

734
01:10:55,860 --> 01:11:00,220
So again, what happens here is that we'll use stolen vehicles, the example.

735
01:11:00,940 --> 01:11:05,060
A vehicle of stolen, you put in the information that's related to that stolen vehicle,

736
01:11:05,200 --> 01:11:09,420
make model, color, anything unique about the back of it.

737
01:11:09,520 --> 01:11:13,980
If it has some bumper stickers or anything like that along with obviously the plate,

738
01:11:14,380 --> 01:11:16,440
but not all stolen vehicles keep their plate on there.

739
01:11:16,440 --> 01:11:20,360
So we're looking for specific identifiers that we can use,

740
01:11:20,480 --> 01:11:22,100
but the plate is the unique one.

741
01:11:22,460 --> 01:11:24,340
And then that's put into the computer.

742
01:11:24,600 --> 01:11:27,900
And then anytime after that hit list or that hot list

743
01:11:27,900 --> 01:11:31,860
is put in, there's an alert that is sent out to the network

744
01:11:31,860 --> 01:11:37,780
if that plate is read by a ALPR device in our network.

745
01:11:38,400 --> 01:11:39,600
Now here's the important part.

746
01:11:39,740 --> 01:11:41,300
Is it requires a human in the loop?

747
01:11:41,820 --> 01:11:43,600
You can't just take that at face value.

748
01:11:43,620 --> 01:11:45,140
You have to have a physical match.

749
01:11:45,140 --> 01:11:54,940
Of the vehicle, the plate, all the information, you've got to verify the record to make sure that you're talking about all the same stuff from the alert and that's what you're seeing.

750
01:11:55,200 --> 01:12:01,680
There's a couple of really good cases here in the night circuit court where that was not done right by the law enforcement agency and they made some mistakes.

751
01:12:02,220 --> 01:12:13,140
They did not verify that with all the means that I just mentioned here and it's on the slide and they ended up having a search and seizure issue because they pull people out of gun points and

752
01:12:13,140 --> 01:12:17,140
and violated people's rights because they didn't do this stuff.

753
01:12:17,280 --> 01:12:19,100
That's why guardrails are so important.

754
01:12:19,760 --> 01:12:20,840
This is what we do now.

755
01:12:20,840 --> 01:12:25,860
This is what we will continue to do, and it's part of our culture, and it's certainly

756
01:12:25,860 --> 01:12:29,460
part of the case law that we have in our circuit court.

757
01:12:30,900 --> 01:12:34,860
Something that I want to make sure that we understand, these are not set up to be any type

758
01:12:34,860 --> 01:12:36,380
of drag net or continuous surveillance.

759
01:12:37,220 --> 01:12:42,740
We have multiple cameras because we have to do a strategic layering, because each camera

760
01:12:42,740 --> 01:12:48,900
only has a limited view. You only have a certain coverage area. And so the wider our street is,

761
01:12:49,120 --> 01:12:53,900
the less we are able to actually get. So typically a camera, just a standard camera can

762
01:12:53,900 --> 01:12:58,780
get one or two lanes, but that depends on how far away it is off the road where it's mounted.

763
01:12:59,180 --> 01:13:03,400
So there's a lot of things we have to think about. And then the context that direction where we're

764
01:13:03,400 --> 01:13:07,380
placing it. So sometimes you'll find some in an area where there's multiple because we're trying

765
01:13:07,380 --> 01:13:12,380
to get coverage in that one particular area where we have maybe a particular issue. So as an example,

766
01:13:12,380 --> 01:13:17,240
Well, we have a lot of crashes in and around the marketplace.

767
01:13:17,920 --> 01:13:24,020
So we set up a camera network in there to try to catch those hit and run issues and to

768
01:13:24,020 --> 01:13:27,880
be able to solve those crimes as best we can and it's been very effective on getting

769
01:13:27,880 --> 01:13:28,540
that information.

770
01:13:29,180 --> 01:13:35,180
But it is certainly we have nowhere near enough devices to do any type of drag net or complete

771
01:13:35,860 --> 01:13:38,960
surveillance is what the argument is.

772
01:13:38,960 --> 01:13:46,580
This is a, for a specific purpose and it's a minimal impact, especially in our community.

773
01:13:47,900 --> 01:13:51,120
Oh, sorry back to this real quick. Again, these are not life feeds.

774
01:13:51,440 --> 01:13:58,580
There are data point and it's activated as, as a vehicle comes into view of that particular camera and has a visible.

775
01:13:58,960 --> 01:14:05,020
But keep in mind, all these things affect our ability to capture that data or that device,

776
01:14:05,020 --> 01:14:08,700
a weather environment, speed, angle, nighttime,

777
01:14:09,260 --> 01:14:11,040
obscured plates, all of that stuff

778
01:14:11,040 --> 01:14:14,500
does make it difficult for us to use this system.

779
01:14:15,200 --> 01:14:17,600
So, again, everything is limited by technology

780
01:14:17,600 --> 01:14:20,420
as limitations, and we just have to work through that.

781
01:14:21,060 --> 01:14:22,400
Again, we talked about this already,

782
01:14:23,160 --> 01:14:24,840
but the national concerns that we hear a lot

783
01:14:24,840 --> 01:14:26,640
is, all right, you're going to use this

784
01:14:26,640 --> 01:14:27,960
for federal immigration enforcement.

785
01:14:28,140 --> 01:14:31,500
You're going to share across massive interstate networks.

786
01:14:31,720 --> 01:14:33,280
You're going to create forever data.

787
01:14:33,280 --> 01:14:35,900
and false arrest come from computer misleads.

788
01:14:36,600 --> 01:14:41,260
We've talked about this already, but all of these things we already have guardrails in place

789
01:14:41,260 --> 01:14:44,600
and will continue to modify and enhance those as necessary.

790
01:14:45,300 --> 01:14:47,080
But we don't share for immigration.

791
01:14:47,920 --> 01:14:52,860
We don't use anything outside of Arizona so we don't have these massive interstate networks.

792
01:14:53,800 --> 01:14:59,100
We have a very specific purge time where we only have so many days of this so there's

793
01:14:59,100 --> 01:14:59,900
for every data.

794
01:15:00,140 --> 01:15:07,120
And again, unless it becomes part of an investigation that is put into evidence, and that's not used as forever data, it's evidence at that point.

795
01:15:07,640 --> 01:15:14,980
And then we have to have that human elute verification, any time we have a reason to use this data or an alert.

796
01:15:17,000 --> 01:15:21,320
Okay, I'm going to beat this up again here is these are the frequent things that we hear.

797
01:15:21,360 --> 01:15:27,860
What's tracking everybody? No. It records a vehicle at a specific place in time and does not continuously track individuals.

798
01:15:28,460 --> 01:15:31,920
Now, again, there can be misuse, and that's why we have to have guardrails.

799
01:15:32,100 --> 01:15:35,640
We have to have limitations on how long the data is in there, how we use it, how the queries

800
01:15:35,640 --> 01:15:38,780
are done, that's all stuff that is part of our guardrails.

801
01:15:39,760 --> 01:15:42,020
Facial recognition does not do that.

802
01:15:43,020 --> 01:15:46,560
Can officers browse data at a curiosity, no, we're putting things in place, first of all,

803
01:15:46,580 --> 01:15:51,140
we have policy against it now, but now we're putting in the accountability of a legal issue.

804
01:15:52,020 --> 01:15:55,320
And then, they give tickets, no, they don't give tickets.

805
01:15:55,320 --> 01:15:58,640
that these are not used at any type of ticket or automated traffic enforcement.

806
01:16:01,230 --> 01:16:06,450
So what we're talking about tonight is part of this process is there are five specific things

807
01:16:06,450 --> 01:16:12,470
that we have discussed and we want to reiterate is that as we move forward with this code,

808
01:16:12,750 --> 01:16:17,790
we're going to continue to update our policy and we're going to look at what right now is 30 days

809
01:16:17,790 --> 01:16:24,430
but we're going to look at whether or not the retention period should be more limited or different.

810
01:16:24,430 --> 01:16:26,990
It's certainly not more than 30 days but do we need to go less.

811
01:16:27,850 --> 01:16:29,690
We are going to be limiting user access.

812
01:16:30,270 --> 01:16:36,130
So right now we have, you know, nearly, I think 160 users on the system, we are going to

813
01:16:36,130 --> 01:16:41,550
be taking that down to just a few people in the real-time information center and some supervisory

814
01:16:41,550 --> 01:16:47,590
staff and making sure that we limit the amount of people that have access to the ALPR data.

815
01:16:47,590 --> 01:16:57,930
We are going to look at how we modify our data sharing process and we're looking at a different way to share with

816
01:16:57,930 --> 01:17:05,010
Arizona agencies that will provide us a way to better determine the use case for each query.

817
01:17:05,610 --> 01:17:07,570
So more to come on that.

818
01:17:07,570 --> 01:17:09,970
Our auditing will continue to be very vigorous.

819
01:17:10,470 --> 01:17:16,070
Our policy currently states that will do quarterly through some technology enhancements and some additional

820
01:17:16,690 --> 01:17:21,930
processes that we put in place, we now do weekly, monthly, and quarterly audits, and obviously

821
01:17:21,930 --> 01:17:26,290
the code will require an annual report that we come back to you with. So we have actually

822
01:17:26,290 --> 01:17:32,870
increased the auditing process, and we continue to have good clean audits and modifying our process

823
01:17:32,870 --> 01:17:39,070
at any time we see that we need to change something or add new layers to that. And the most important

824
01:17:39,070 --> 01:17:43,290
reason the code is coming to you is that we're increasing accountability, not just for ALPR,

825
01:17:43,290 --> 01:17:46,390
but for everything, but certainly it'll apply to ALPR misuse.

826
01:17:48,510 --> 01:17:50,710
So the ordinance when we go back to the macro view,

827
01:17:51,910 --> 01:17:53,970
it's going to establish a legal standard that's consistent,

828
01:17:54,770 --> 01:17:58,170
and it formalizes that criminal accountability for knowing misuse.

829
01:17:59,930 --> 01:18:03,390
The operational procedures are controls that will put in place for policy

830
01:18:03,390 --> 01:18:06,150
will continue to be more restrictive than that,

831
01:18:06,150 --> 01:18:11,370
and will continue to modify those necessary to make sure that we're doing everything that you've asked us to do,

832
01:18:11,370 --> 01:18:21,070
And providing the most effective way to both audit and control the data and ensure that it's being used in the right way so that we can't find any type of issues of necessary.

833
01:18:21,670 --> 01:18:29,210
And as I mentioned before, the other thing that is going to be added in the code is that we're integrating the Arizona law that requires that.

834
01:18:29,510 --> 01:18:38,810
And we're mimicking that in our code that requires that our contractors are the contract for these vendors always have that.

835
01:18:38,810 --> 01:18:44,110
to safeguard is that they cannot sell or disseminate to third parties so that the data is ours,

836
01:18:44,350 --> 01:18:46,430
we say what happens to it.

837
01:18:47,230 --> 01:18:54,890
It also, this particular amendment is going to preserve our ability to do all the things

838
01:18:54,890 --> 01:18:56,190
I talked about before.

839
01:18:56,490 --> 01:18:57,570
You know, I can't say this enough.

840
01:18:57,650 --> 01:18:58,570
I live in this community.

841
01:19:00,150 --> 01:19:00,910
I was here at the beginning.

842
01:19:00,930 --> 01:19:02,130
We started this police department.

843
01:19:02,350 --> 01:19:03,570
My kids are here in this community.

844
01:19:03,850 --> 01:19:05,030
My friends are here in this community.

845
01:19:05,710 --> 01:19:06,910
We serve this community.

846
01:19:06,910 --> 01:19:08,890
I care what happens here.

847
01:19:09,130 --> 01:19:11,830
I'm just as much of a resident as I am a police officer.

848
01:19:12,410 --> 01:19:14,990
And my officers want to do the right things,

849
01:19:15,190 --> 01:19:17,350
but we want to make sure that we have the capability

850
01:19:18,170 --> 01:19:21,810
so that we don't miss crucial evidence,

851
01:19:22,250 --> 01:19:24,630
leads that will bring us to the necessary conclusion

852
01:19:24,630 --> 01:19:27,290
of solving crimes and keeping people safe.

853
01:19:28,110 --> 01:19:30,890
But we want to make sure that we have the right safeguards,

854
01:19:31,350 --> 01:19:33,830
and the council will be adopting those through this code tonight

855
01:19:33,830 --> 01:19:41,670
And that we clarify who has access, what our access is, and the accountability necessary so that we can have authorized system use.

856
01:19:42,270 --> 01:19:48,110
We still have public records disclosure that's appropriate, and we can identify and prosecute knowing this use.

857
01:19:49,710 --> 01:19:58,190
So at the end of this, I'm certainly have questions, but this is our ask tonight, is that we are recommending the adoption of this ordinance has stated on this slide.

858
01:19:58,190 --> 01:19:59,970
and I will pause there for

859
01:20:00,000 --> 01:20:15,860
Any questions? Great. Excellent presentation, Randy. We sure appreciate it. And we do have a few public comments on this item. Before we hear public comment, do council members, did you have a question before public comment? Council member Benny.

860
01:20:16,200 --> 01:20:16,760
Thank you, Mayor.

861
01:20:17,300 --> 01:20:29,840
Chief, can you just address one of the questions that has been raised by the public is, how do we determine or discipline the contractors that are

862
01:20:29,840 --> 01:20:35,240
providing the camera equipment and the backup storage.

863
01:20:36,140 --> 01:20:42,500
So what's the process for once we, we see that there's a problem with a particular vendor.

864
01:20:43,040 --> 01:20:45,640
How does that, how does that go?

865
01:20:47,140 --> 01:20:47,300
Sorry.

866
01:20:48,000 --> 01:20:49,040
Oh, that was echo for me.

867
01:20:49,220 --> 01:20:51,680
I heard something, and I thought somebody else talking.

868
01:20:52,540 --> 01:20:53,320
So a couple things.

869
01:20:53,720 --> 01:20:59,520
With the state law that is going to place in our adoption of this particular code, we do have

870
01:20:59,520 --> 01:21:04,780
requirement that they have that in a contract. So one, there'll be a contact breach. Our contract

871
01:21:04,780 --> 01:21:10,940
breach if they don't follow that and they use the information outside of what is expected

872
01:21:10,940 --> 01:21:17,320
or disseminated. So that could be both. We can terminate the contract for a breach. We can also

873
01:21:17,320 --> 01:21:24,500
legally sue them for whatever it might be. But what we're also doing here is they will actually

874
01:21:24,500 --> 01:21:29,240
be criminally liable as well if we identify who misused or did that.

875
01:21:29,480 --> 01:21:33,740
So this applies to anyone that has access to our data or system.

876
01:21:34,260 --> 01:21:35,500
So it doesn't have to be an employee.

877
01:21:35,680 --> 01:21:39,280
If a contractor misuses or knowingly misuses the data,

878
01:21:39,680 --> 01:21:41,700
we could go after them criminally as well as civilly

879
01:21:41,700 --> 01:21:44,560
and contractually for a breach.

880
01:21:47,350 --> 01:21:49,430
Yeah, there are questions at this point.

881
01:21:49,810 --> 01:21:52,650
OK, seeing none, we will move to public comment.

882
01:21:52,690 --> 01:21:54,030
Thank you again, Chief Bryce.

883
01:21:55,690 --> 01:22:03,870
We will start with Braden Peters, if you would like to step up to the podium and state your

884
01:22:03,870 --> 01:22:08,010
name and address for the record and you have three minutes this evening.

885
01:22:15,700 --> 01:22:17,280
Sorry, did you say name and address please?

886
01:22:17,940 --> 01:22:18,220
Thank you.

887
01:22:19,700 --> 01:22:24,720
Mayor Council members, my name is Braden Peters, I live at 1-1-5-6 East Sylvan Avenue,

888
01:22:24,720 --> 01:22:31,540
Mesa, Arizona. I am a cybersecurity professional who lives in the Queen Creek School District.

889
01:22:32,280 --> 01:22:38,100
I'm here to speak, represent myself regarding concerns on the policy around ALPRs and their

890
01:22:38,100 --> 01:22:44,760
use in Queen Creek. Many of our neighboring communities are terminating ALPR contracts and for

891
01:22:44,760 --> 01:22:50,940
good reason. To be clear, my concern is not limited to a specific company. ALPRs and enabling

892
01:22:50,940 --> 01:22:57,080
contextual image technologies are a major invasion of our communities privacy and I'm asking

893
01:22:57,080 --> 01:23:06,520
that an ordinance, excuse me, I'm asking that the city not pursue proven inadequate guardrails

894
01:23:06,520 --> 01:23:12,840
and instead pursue passing an ordinance prohibiting the city from deploying operating or using

895
01:23:12,840 --> 01:23:19,240
ALPR technology within our community. This technology goes far beyond a simple reading of licensed

896
01:23:19,240 --> 01:23:25,640
plates, but includes other contextual image such as date time, location, and increasingly

897
01:23:25,640 --> 01:23:33,160
make model bumper stickers, dense and other identifiable characteristics in some cases,

898
01:23:33,720 --> 01:23:40,400
facial or other person identifiers that can be picked up by AI systems embedded within this

899
01:23:40,400 --> 01:23:46,080
technology. It's an unprecedented invasion of privacy, creating billions of data points

900
01:23:46,080 --> 01:23:50,500
about millions of people in potential violation of their fourth amendment rights.

901
01:23:50,780 --> 01:23:55,200
Recent court filings suggest that this amounts to warrantless constant surveillance

902
01:23:56,040 --> 01:23:57,860
of innocent members of our community.

903
01:23:59,180 --> 01:24:05,380
To be clear, once you see how this plays out, logistically, it becomes real-time surveillance

904
01:24:05,380 --> 01:24:06,720
despite what we've seen.

905
01:24:07,380 --> 01:24:12,160
Almost daily, we are seeing evidence that this technology creates unacceptable privacy issues

906
01:24:12,160 --> 01:24:14,940
that extend to all ALPRs, not just flock.

907
01:24:15,380 --> 01:24:19,280
This includes Axon, Motorola, Genetech, Leonardo,

908
01:24:19,660 --> 01:24:22,040
and other ALPR companies.

909
01:24:22,820 --> 01:24:25,100
We see things like innovation, data control,

910
01:24:25,220 --> 01:24:28,000
where side channel access and proxy sharing agreements

911
01:24:28,000 --> 01:24:30,700
with other departments and other agencies.

912
01:24:31,500 --> 01:24:34,780
Meaning, you can't guarantee how the data is stored or shared.

913
01:24:35,180 --> 01:24:36,800
And cursory-level sharing agreements

914
01:24:36,800 --> 01:24:39,760
are easily bypassed without sufficient enforcement

915
01:24:39,760 --> 01:24:41,360
and independent auditing.

916
01:24:41,360 --> 01:24:47,180
Other areas of concern, from a cybersecurity's posture, there are well documented security

917
01:24:47,180 --> 01:24:52,100
compromises with this technology, including backdoor access by employees, data retention

918
01:24:52,100 --> 01:24:57,880
non-compliance, physical and other cyber attacks that compromise the units, lack of data

919
01:24:57,880 --> 01:24:59,880
encryption, et cetera, et cetera.

920
01:25:00,340 --> 01:25:19,120
There's also the concern around unethical usage. I point to the example that there is an ALPR that is pointed out a place of worship in our community on east rigs road that appears to be logging people when they attend their place of worship. To be clear, this is not anti-law enforcement.

921
01:25:19,620 --> 01:25:21,920
It's proven constitution. Thank you for your time.

922
01:25:21,920 --> 01:25:24,600
I urge you to, thank you.

923
01:25:25,000 --> 01:25:27,020
Next, we have Eric Fowler.

924
01:25:28,400 --> 01:25:30,840
Again, please state your name and address for the record,

925
01:25:30,880 --> 01:25:32,680
and you have three minutes this evening.

926
01:25:34,910 --> 01:25:37,950
All right, a little bit, 937, West Ivan Ho and Chandler.

927
01:25:38,790 --> 01:25:39,950
Good evening, Mayor and Council.

928
01:25:39,950 --> 01:25:42,030
I'm Eric Fowler, chair of the Maricopa County

929
01:25:42,030 --> 01:25:44,910
Libertarian Party, and I'm here for our voters in Queen Creek.

930
01:25:45,330 --> 01:25:47,330
Let's start with how Queen Creek got the cameras.

931
01:25:47,570 --> 01:25:49,730
Because most people in this room don't know how.

932
01:25:50,010 --> 01:25:53,350
April 2022, consent agenda item 8F,

933
01:25:53,350 --> 01:25:59,430
The $46,000 purchase piggybacked on Tempe's contract, it passed five to zero on one motion

934
01:25:59,430 --> 01:26:00,630
with a dozen of other items.

935
01:26:01,250 --> 01:26:01,950
The mayor was absent.

936
01:26:02,070 --> 01:26:06,090
There was no discussion, 14 residents spoke on public comment that night and every single

937
01:26:06,090 --> 01:26:10,070
one of them was about a LG plant, not a word about a camera, because nobody knew.

938
01:26:10,270 --> 01:26:15,690
Since then, four more consent votes, zero hearings, zero work sessions, in May 2023, your own

939
01:26:15,690 --> 01:26:21,150
staff reports said 23 cameras were already capturing 4.9 million plate reads a month.

940
01:26:21,150 --> 01:26:22,990
Tonight, sure told that there's 62.

941
01:26:23,490 --> 01:26:26,730
This town has never once debated whether surveillance network should exist.

942
01:26:27,050 --> 01:26:28,310
Tonight isn't that debate either.

943
01:26:28,770 --> 01:26:31,350
Tonight is a rule book for the people running it.

944
01:26:31,930 --> 01:26:36,050
The Fourth Amendment was written to abolish a British general warrant.

945
01:26:36,390 --> 01:26:41,870
One paper that let the Kings men search any colonist, any home, just to see what turned up.

946
01:26:42,290 --> 01:26:43,930
Arizona's Constitution goes much further.

947
01:26:44,150 --> 01:26:48,710
Article 2, Section 8, no person shall be disturbed in his private affairs without the authority

948
01:26:48,710 --> 01:26:49,150
of law.

949
01:26:49,150 --> 01:26:51,430
No warrant, no probable cause.

950
01:26:51,670 --> 01:26:55,930
No judge has ever authorized a single one of these 4.9 million plate reads.

951
01:26:56,570 --> 01:27:01,510
Four weeks ago on August 5, a federal judge in Mississippi struck down a cell phone tower

952
01:27:01,510 --> 01:27:06,990
dumped warrant as unconstitutional general warrant, even with the judge's signature, because

953
01:27:06,990 --> 01:27:11,930
the government cannot have access to the whole haystack, just because it may contain a needle.

954
01:27:12,750 --> 01:27:16,770
62 cameras photographing every car on L'sworth and written house is the haystack.

955
01:27:16,770 --> 01:27:18,410
You don't even have a warrant.

956
01:27:19,290 --> 01:27:21,670
Now to the ordinance, read what it doesn't do.

957
01:27:21,950 --> 01:27:22,750
No warrants.

958
01:27:23,170 --> 01:27:24,110
No cap on cameras.

959
01:27:24,550 --> 01:27:25,830
No counsel vote to expand.

960
01:27:26,270 --> 01:27:28,470
The police could just add 50 more cameras tomorrow.

961
01:27:29,030 --> 01:27:29,790
No retention limit.

962
01:27:30,110 --> 01:27:31,630
The 30 days is in a staff report.

963
01:27:31,850 --> 01:27:32,470
Not in the code.

964
01:27:33,430 --> 01:27:34,770
The sharing rule is one my only.

965
01:27:34,890 --> 01:27:37,570
Any quote verified and authorized recipient.

966
01:27:38,050 --> 01:27:41,050
Not one word excludes a federal or out-of-state agency

967
01:27:41,050 --> 01:27:44,050
and Mesa already runs flock searches for DHS.

968
01:27:44,830 --> 01:27:45,630
This is in a safeguard.

969
01:27:45,630 --> 01:27:50,470
It's a permission slip for master valence with a misdemeanor attached to it.

970
01:27:50,750 --> 01:28:02,770
Tempies, who's contract you copied, shut it down last week, the Pound County Sheriff who covers half of this town, said he swore an oath to the Constitution, same as all of you did, and he canceled the contract.

971
01:28:03,350 --> 01:28:09,750
Please vote note tonight, then bring the actual flock contract back to the day's in public for the vote that it never got.

972
01:28:10,250 --> 01:28:11,170
Thank you.

973
01:28:11,170 --> 01:28:15,930
Thank you, Mr. Fowler. Next, we have Nathan Taylor Craft.

974
01:28:18,460 --> 01:28:21,120
Taylor Taft. Your name and address for

975
01:28:21,120 --> 01:28:24,280
the record and you have three minutes to see things there.

976
01:28:25,740 --> 01:28:29,420
My name is Nathan Taylor Taft. You have my address on the speaker card.

977
01:28:29,620 --> 01:28:31,040
Your city place.

978
01:28:31,540 --> 01:28:31,960
Oh, Chandler.

979
01:28:32,460 --> 01:28:35,180
My name is Nathan Taylor Taft. I'm the co-director of East Valley,

980
01:28:35,320 --> 01:28:39,240
so we've members all over the East Valley, including many here in Queen Creek.

981
01:28:39,240 --> 01:28:43,780
First, I'm not here today to give an opinion that is anti-police, in any way, rather

982
01:28:43,780 --> 01:28:47,520
I'm conveying concerns, shared by many of your constituents, about the dangers of

983
01:28:47,520 --> 01:28:51,520
flock and ALPRs, and might should immediately terminate the city's contract with it.

984
01:28:51,620 --> 01:28:55,840
I'm not here to oppose guardrails to ALPR systems, but the ordinance the police are proposing

985
01:28:55,840 --> 01:28:59,600
isn't nearly strong enough, and we shouldn't even need them at all, because they shouldn't

986
01:28:59,600 --> 01:29:01,500
exist here in Queen Creek in the first place.

987
01:29:01,840 --> 01:29:05,820
The reason something like this hasn't been implemented yet is because cities just get rid of

988
01:29:05,820 --> 01:29:10,160
on constitutional technology. I want to make it very clear that safeguards are much less

989
01:29:10,160 --> 01:29:15,520
than the bare minimum. The bare minimum would be to cancel the flat contract. As Sedona,

990
01:29:15,660 --> 01:29:20,580
Flagstaff, Sierra Vista, South Tucson, Penal County, Chandler, Surprise Temp B, Cave Creek,

991
01:29:20,800 --> 01:29:24,700
have all done. Arizona is actually the state with the third most flat contract

992
01:29:24,700 --> 01:29:29,080
cancellations and two thirds of Arizona voters with majorities across party lines

993
01:29:29,080 --> 01:29:33,380
oppose ALPR use. I want to address what the police claimed in their presentation.

994
01:29:33,380 --> 01:29:39,590
They claim that this is not continuous monitoring or generalized surveillance, that is demonstrably false. I'd like

995
01:29:41,000 --> 01:29:46,200
I'd like to point out that within two miles of here, there are 28 ALPRs reported on the deflock map,

996
01:29:46,540 --> 01:29:53,440
Flock and other ALPRs are cameras that capture information on every single vehicle that passes by. This includes not only a car's license plate,

997
01:29:53,720 --> 01:29:59,880
but date, time, location, make, model, bumper stickers, dense scratches, cargo carriers, and anything else that the AI system

998
01:29:59,880 --> 01:29:59,980
Thanks for watching, and don't forget to like, share, and subscribe to our channel.

999
01:30:00,920 --> 01:30:07,680
Flock's cameras can also create heat maps to track daily driving patterns, as demonstrated in Wisconsin. This is

1000
01:30:07,680 --> 01:30:13,160
mass surveillance period. They also claim that ALPR's can't use facial recognition. I'm going to use

1001
01:30:13,160 --> 01:30:18,140
Verkata as an example here, because the problem isn't a single company, it's all ALPR's, and because

1002
01:30:18,140 --> 01:30:23,200
outside of Flock, they are one of the most widely used ALPR companies in Arizona. They do have facial

1003
01:30:23,200 --> 01:30:28,940
Reconest, facial recognition abilities, and they advertise it too, further despite what

1004
01:30:28,940 --> 01:30:33,260
flock claims, why it has found that their cameras can track people, including their race,

1005
01:30:33,580 --> 01:30:38,140
height, clothing, etc. They also claims that data isn't used for immigration purposes

1006
01:30:38,140 --> 01:30:42,160
isn't shared with federal agencies and isn't shared out of state. Their numerous cases

1007
01:30:42,160 --> 01:30:47,180
were police departments searched data on the behalf of other agencies. This happened not far

1008
01:30:47,180 --> 01:30:51,040
from here in Chandler. For reference, like Queen Creek, Chandler prohibits searching its

1009
01:30:51,040 --> 01:30:52,940
for immigration purposes.

1010
01:30:53,480 --> 01:30:57,620
Mesa searched Chandler's data on behalf of DHS, a federal agency,

1011
01:30:57,960 --> 01:30:59,620
with immigration as the purpose.

1012
01:31:00,100 --> 01:31:01,960
Given that data hops across agencies like this,

1013
01:31:02,100 --> 01:31:05,920
I'd like to point out that pay centers data with 516 other agencies

1014
01:31:05,920 --> 01:31:08,440
from Springfield, Oregon to Freeport, Maine.

1015
01:31:09,140 --> 01:31:11,860
There are 140,000 ALPRs nationwide,

1016
01:31:12,360 --> 01:31:16,200
and flocked again just one company scans license plates 20 billion times each month.

1017
01:31:16,640 --> 01:31:19,500
Penal County, canceled its contract on the grounds of the Fourth Amendment.

1018
01:31:19,500 --> 01:31:23,960
You should follow in their footsteps and going forward, cancel flock, pass an ordinance, banning

1019
01:31:24,400 --> 01:31:24,840
ALPRs.

1020
01:31:24,940 --> 01:31:28,660
Take what the police claim on this issue with a huge grain of salt and do independent research

1021
01:31:28,660 --> 01:31:30,860
so that you get this extra tap to thank you.

1022
01:31:30,900 --> 01:31:31,940
Thank you so much.

1023
01:31:32,440 --> 01:31:35,500
Next we have Robert, Bartlett May,

1024
01:31:39,380 --> 01:31:41,940
step forward, state your name and address for the record

1025
01:31:41,940 --> 01:31:44,020
and you have three minutes this evening, sir.

1026
01:31:50,790 --> 01:31:55,110
Robert Bartlett May, 21343 East Community Plata, Queen Creek.

1027
01:31:56,530 --> 01:32:00,990
I oppose having ALPRs in our town.

1028
01:32:01,510 --> 01:32:07,030
I think that while I don't think they are a constitutional violation as a retired attorney,

1029
01:32:07,510 --> 01:32:12,610
he's been both a prosecutor and a defense attorney and an immigration judge, and have

1030
01:32:12,610 --> 01:32:17,850
had to rule on search and seizure issues as well as train federal law enforcement officers

1031
01:32:17,850 --> 01:32:20,510
on them, I don't believe it's unconstitutional.

1032
01:32:20,510 --> 01:32:25,510
But the fact that something is legal doesn't mean you should do it.

1033
01:32:26,950 --> 01:32:28,630
I think it is a privacy concern.

1034
01:32:28,630 --> 01:32:35,910
I think that we should not have them because they record all the license plates.

1035
01:32:36,310 --> 01:32:42,810
Chief Brice indicated, well, they don't give who the driver is or who the owner of the vehicle is.

1036
01:32:43,190 --> 01:32:48,310
Well, if the police have the license plate number, they can get the owner of the vehicle in a matter of seconds.

1037
01:32:49,390 --> 01:32:58,130
So, it's a slippery slope. Government surveillance is just bad when it's done in mass like this.

1038
01:32:59,110 --> 01:33:07,310
I would encourage you if you have not ever read the book 1984 by George Orwell that you go home tonight and order it and read it.

1039
01:33:07,310 --> 01:33:12,310
It will show you why McMaster government surveillance is bad.

1040
01:33:13,770 --> 01:33:19,010
In clear, an adulterated proof, why it should not be allowed.

1041
01:33:19,130 --> 01:33:22,530
It's a slippery slope that leads to more and more surveillance.

1042
01:33:26,460 --> 01:33:31,560
This, that these readers help make the community safer.

1043
01:33:31,980 --> 01:33:33,980
I would simply quote Ben Franklin,

1044
01:33:33,980 --> 01:33:38,960
who stated that those who are willing to sacrifice some freedom for safety deserve neither

1045
01:33:38,960 --> 01:33:40,440
freedom nor safety.

1046
01:33:43,560 --> 01:33:44,780
I would ask that you,

1047
01:33:46,830 --> 01:33:52,210
not instead of adopting a code that will not ensure improper use

1048
01:33:52,210 --> 01:34:00,850
of the of this data that we instead eliminate these cameras in our community as many other

1049
01:34:00,850 --> 01:34:04,450
communities have done in Arizona in the last few months.

1050
01:34:08,560 --> 01:34:11,200
I would also ask that if you're

1051
01:34:11,200 --> 01:34:16,620
not going to do it yourselves, that you suspend the use of them and put it up for a referendum

1052
01:34:16,620 --> 01:34:24,520
of the citizens to decide whether this is something that is wanted in our community. Let the people

1053
01:34:24,520 --> 01:34:28,680
decide whether or not we should do this.

1054
01:34:32,590 --> 01:34:34,930
Think the vote would be overwhelming and it would

1055
01:34:37,490 --> 01:34:40,690
be

1056
01:34:40,690 --> 01:34:47,930
of people overwhelming majority of people oppose these readers and you should be responsive

1057
01:34:47,930 --> 01:34:52,470
to the people and eliminate them in our community. Thank you.

1058
01:34:52,470 --> 01:34:59,350
Thank you. Appreciate it, Mr. Bartel May. Next we have um

1059
01:35:01,360 --> 01:35:03,320
Pass ma, all bar.

1060
01:35:06,500 --> 01:35:12,320
Okay. Thank you so much. If you could state your name and address for the record, thank you.

1061
01:35:12,700 --> 01:35:16,060
Absolutely. Hamza al-Baroudi, 4720 South orbit, Mesa, Arizona.

1062
01:35:17,340 --> 01:35:27,080
As of two and a half months ago, I'm the longer employed by Flock. I was working for them for quite a while and just basically did not end on my terms.

1063
01:35:27,080 --> 01:35:34,960
not happy about the way it ended. However, a strong believer of this technology as a resident

1064
01:35:34,960 --> 01:35:38,460
nuts and minutes away from here. A couple of things you're going to hear today include,

1065
01:35:38,580 --> 01:35:42,260
but are not limited to, is misreads of these license plates. I would love to know what chief

1066
01:35:42,260 --> 01:35:46,200
prices policy is to avoid taking action on the streets and if I was a betting man,

1067
01:35:46,540 --> 01:35:50,040
because that is one of the things that you're going to hear here tonight is that chief's

1068
01:35:50,040 --> 01:35:55,220
prices policy is that to check and check and check again if a stolen vehicle was to get a hit

1069
01:35:55,220 --> 01:35:59,800
to make sure that we're not pulling over the wrong person, right. There is some errors that

1070
01:35:59,800 --> 01:36:04,160
happens with these LPRs, and I do know that Chiefs Price's policy is to double check before

1071
01:36:04,160 --> 01:36:09,840
taking action on any floor kits. We're going to want to talk about some isolated misuse

1072
01:36:09,840 --> 01:36:14,160
which are valid concerns that never impacted the town of Queen Creek though, and not talk about

1073
01:36:14,160 --> 01:36:18,220
the vast number of stolen vehicles and that have been recovered or the children and dementia patients

1074
01:36:18,220 --> 01:36:22,960
that have been reunited with their families. Like I mentioned, I live not 10 minutes away from

1075
01:36:22,960 --> 01:36:27,320
and I want law enforcement to have the tools to protect them, to protect my family.

1076
01:36:28,180 --> 01:36:33,340
Law enforcement does not have access to the haystack, your vehicle is not tracked if a search is not done.

1077
01:36:34,660 --> 01:36:38,560
It's not tracking at all times a search has to be done for a record to be created

1078
01:36:39,120 --> 01:36:42,320
for it to basically become mass surveillance at that point, right?

1079
01:36:42,640 --> 01:36:48,600
And there has to be a law enforcement reason for you to conduct a search, otherwise the system does not allow you to conduct a search

1080
01:36:48,600 --> 01:36:52,160
if you don't put a trackable and audible reason in the search box.

1081
01:36:52,160 --> 01:37:02,600
Queen Creek PD was recently awarded a $1 billion plus grant for DUI enforcement, and I have seen that some of your officers from Queen Creek have been awarded a award recipients from others against drunk drivers.

1082
01:37:03,180 --> 01:37:10,880
Now I'd like to make it known for those who don't know that Flox Safety has been endorsed by mothers against drunk drivers and national center of missing and exploited children.

1083
01:37:11,740 --> 01:37:16,680
We're talking about weekly hit and runs, that's why mothers and drunk drivers are proponents of this technology.

1084
01:37:16,680 --> 01:37:22,840
Flock doesn't sell data. They aren't supportive legislation that LPR companies doing business with law enforcement are not allowed to sell data.

1085
01:37:23,280 --> 01:37:27,040
Hurt a Prescott Council meeting a couple of weeks ago that discussed

1086
01:37:28,120 --> 01:37:34,040
a situation that happened here out of Penel County where a person stole a vehicle went into Phoenix.

1087
01:37:34,980 --> 01:37:44,520
Then kidnapped a child drove her through Flagstaff who had cancelled the Flock system two weeks prior than through Sedona who had cancelled the Flock system a couple of months prior

1088
01:37:44,520 --> 01:37:50,100
Then through Cottonwood who does have flock, and then they were able to get alerted on stolen vehicle.

1089
01:37:51,000 --> 01:37:55,660
Make a stop, make an arrest, and then recover the child back to her family safely.

1090
01:37:56,420 --> 01:37:58,900
That's the real consequence that we're talking about here.

1091
01:37:59,240 --> 01:38:01,880
Not what may happen, or what could happen.

1092
01:38:03,280 --> 01:38:07,240
Three minutes is just not enough time, but I really hope that I drove the point across here.

1093
01:38:07,440 --> 01:38:13,340
This has important technology. I do trust your law enforcement. I trust Chief Price and the team that he leads here. Thank you.

1094
01:38:14,910 --> 01:38:24,630
Great. Thank you, Mr. Hazma. We will next move to Craig Gardner. You can step forward

1095
01:38:24,630 --> 01:38:29,910
state, your name, address, and three moments. Three minutes this evening. Thank you.

1096
01:38:30,690 --> 01:38:37,830
Yes, ma'am. Great to see you all. My name is Craig Gardner. I live at 259-18, south-193,

1097
01:38:37,830 --> 01:38:43,830
place in Queen Creek. Really love Queen Creek, love this area. My address is very near

1098
01:38:43,830 --> 01:38:49,450
any flat cameras actually. So fun fact. I think there's a couple of things happening here

1099
01:38:49,450 --> 01:38:53,070
and I think they're really interesting. But the biggest thing is like government is not

1100
01:38:53,070 --> 01:38:57,150
keeping up with technology very well on a federal sale level. It's a hard thing for them to do.

1101
01:38:57,230 --> 01:39:02,270
Technology is evolving very very quickly. One thing that I think I would applaud your police

1102
01:39:02,270 --> 01:39:09,190
department on is their ability to be forward thinking in this endeavor. It's not by any

1103
01:39:09,190 --> 01:39:17,950
means the Ferris use an LPR camera and the people here would act they're opposed to LPR cameras would act as if you're not carrying a self on your pocket

1104
01:39:17,950 --> 01:39:22,890
There aren't cameras on every intersection like that you've seen. They're also being able to be recorded

1105
01:39:22,890 --> 01:39:30,740
There's a lot of access to this sort of data, but the kind of core tenant that you have to have is a town within your police department to keep the community safe

1106
01:39:31,650 --> 01:39:33,030
Stressing the police department

1107
01:39:33,030 --> 01:39:37,750
So when your police chief comes in says we are not going to use it this way. We're making this mismere

1108
01:39:38,490 --> 01:39:46,670
We're putting on self-regulating our access to these types of systems, for the good people

1109
01:39:46,670 --> 01:39:48,250
to earn the trust of the public.

1110
01:39:48,690 --> 01:39:52,630
You should believe them, because you trust them to be here in your presence with firearms.

1111
01:39:53,150 --> 01:39:53,410
Right?

1112
01:39:53,410 --> 01:39:56,690
I mean, there's a lot of stuff going on that we have to trust our police department.

1113
01:39:58,450 --> 01:39:59,970
I'm an advocate of...

1114
01:40:00,670 --> 01:40:07,030
ALPR being used in a specific way for law enforcement, where it's contained in a way that helps the public.

1115
01:40:07,710 --> 01:40:13,410
Specifically, hot tag alerts that the chief was talking about are very, very important to be able to stop some vehicles.

1116
01:40:13,850 --> 01:40:20,250
There's so many stolen vehicles that would come into our community from other places and commit crimes and do nefarious things.

1117
01:40:20,610 --> 01:40:25,010
And we'd have no way of knowing that they're here until the crime was committed and they were gone.

1118
01:40:25,010 --> 01:40:45,970
So, I would urge you to vote yes on this item tonight, I would urge you to support the police chief and the AOPRs that he has and allow him to do the things with technology that he needs to do within a confined, well trusted environment, well protected environment for the town and for the citizens of the town.

1119
01:40:45,970 --> 01:40:49,630
There's 30, he mentioned 30 to have a 794 incidents

1120
01:40:49,630 --> 01:40:53,370
where they've used LPR in a positive way to help the town.

1121
01:40:53,510 --> 01:40:56,210
Imagine if we had the 3, 794 instances

1122
01:40:56,210 --> 01:40:57,630
where we just couldn't find them.

1123
01:40:57,730 --> 01:40:59,890
We don't know who did it.

1124
01:41:00,130 --> 01:41:00,910
That would be stark.

1125
01:41:00,990 --> 01:41:02,090
That would change the town.

1126
01:41:02,370 --> 01:41:09,010
I advocate for you to please accept the self-induced parameters

1127
01:41:09,010 --> 01:41:10,250
on the LPR sign.

1128
01:41:10,470 --> 01:41:10,830
Thanks, guys.

1129
01:41:11,510 --> 01:41:12,330
Thank you, Mr. Gardner.

1130
01:41:12,990 --> 01:41:15,370
We appreciate your comments all this evening.

1131
01:41:15,370 --> 01:41:19,410
And those are all the comments I have in the queue,

1132
01:41:19,410 --> 01:41:21,410
any additional that we receive Maria?

1133
01:41:21,430 --> 01:41:22,390
None yet, okay.

1134
01:41:23,430 --> 01:41:28,850
So with that, I will turn it back over to the council for any remaining comments

1135
01:41:29,810 --> 01:41:34,290
or a motion on this agenda item.

1136
01:41:41,340 --> 01:41:42,700
Council member Murdoch.

1137
01:41:43,160 --> 01:41:44,100
No, I never want to go first.

1138
01:41:44,260 --> 01:41:46,020
And I will, because I don't know why.

1139
01:41:46,760 --> 01:41:50,080
But I appreciate people being here tonight.

1140
01:41:50,080 --> 01:41:56,280
We always love also when we have our high school students here and that are here for government class because this is

1141
01:41:57,180 --> 01:42:01,480
This is the people's work being done and it's important to see this and we've part of that

1142
01:42:01,900 --> 01:42:07,420
We appreciate all those who always show up to to share their opinion their voice on issues

1143
01:42:08,280 --> 01:42:12,200
You know, this is you know, I've been on council and I think this was six year and

1144
01:42:12,880 --> 01:42:16,340
You know when you when you send it to you something like this you you have I can't predict the future

1145
01:42:16,340 --> 01:42:19,820
And you don't think you'll ever become experts in certain areas

1146
01:42:20,080 --> 01:42:24,740
water was one of them, and I'm still not next for it, but I have learned more about water

1147
01:42:24,740 --> 01:42:30,580
and these past six years than I ever thought. And these past few months, I feel like I have learned

1148
01:42:30,580 --> 01:42:37,560
a lot about LPRs than I ever thought I would ever have to learn. And so with that being said,

1149
01:42:37,880 --> 01:42:44,800
you know, with it all the sudden getting attention locally nationally, I have put a lot of time

1150
01:42:44,800 --> 01:42:53,080
into hearing, I'm hearing lots of things, and I will say something that I do get frustrated with

1151
01:42:53,080 --> 01:42:58,240
in society is we're really good at hearing sound bites and taking those sound bites and

1152
01:42:58,240 --> 01:43:03,880
believing every sound bite. And so I truly do try to hear these things and do my homework. Now

1153
01:43:03,880 --> 01:43:08,500
I know I can't be an expert at everything and I definitely am not claiming to be, but I do try

1154
01:43:08,500 --> 01:43:13,740
to do my homework. And I just even give a quick example of this this happened to me last week.

1155
01:43:13,740 --> 01:43:16,120
I was listening to a campaign out of somebody.

1156
01:43:16,500 --> 01:43:19,200
Someone was accusing somebody that's running for something

1157
01:43:19,200 --> 01:43:21,120
of something, and I thought, I can actually

1158
01:43:21,120 --> 01:43:23,080
look that up and do my research on that.

1159
01:43:23,380 --> 01:43:26,100
And so I did, it's been about an hour researching

1160
01:43:26,100 --> 01:43:29,060
what this person was being accused of.

1161
01:43:29,100 --> 01:43:30,420
And it was absolutely twisted.

1162
01:43:31,560 --> 01:43:33,940
And I'm not even saying I was supporting this person

1163
01:43:33,940 --> 01:43:36,320
or I'd pose this person, but what I'm saying is,

1164
01:43:36,320 --> 01:43:37,860
this sound bite was false.

1165
01:43:38,420 --> 01:43:41,640
And so that's what I get frustrated with in society right now

1166
01:43:41,640 --> 01:43:47,560
social media and with everything is that we have lost soundbites. And so with that being said,

1167
01:43:47,920 --> 01:43:54,060
I'm not thinking anybody here is trying to do that, but I'm just trying to say that I really do

1168
01:43:54,060 --> 01:44:01,480
try to do my homework on things and so I have. And while I don't have all the answers,

1169
01:44:02,200 --> 01:44:08,940
I just appreciate what Chief has brought forward to us because we can't deny that this is a great

1170
01:44:10,040 --> 01:44:15,440
as some of you heard earlier, I worked for the non-profit, and so I've been at a conference

1171
01:44:15,440 --> 01:44:20,760
for past three days about human trafficking, for people in Arizona, so a lot of law enforcement

1172
01:44:20,760 --> 01:44:21,460
was there.

1173
01:44:21,960 --> 01:44:25,500
So while we were there for human trafficking, I took the opportunity to talk to a lot of law enforcement

1174
01:44:25,500 --> 01:44:28,500
and others about this topic as well.

1175
01:44:28,500 --> 01:44:35,560
And we cannot deny the things that we have been able,

1176
01:44:35,560 --> 01:44:39,500
the sites we've been able to do with LPRs.

1177
01:44:40,640 --> 01:44:42,600
And I understand your quote, it's heard quotes,

1178
01:44:43,000 --> 01:44:45,660
and whatnot, I've heard the debate on well,

1179
01:44:45,880 --> 01:44:48,220
we have privacy and safety and all these things,

1180
01:44:48,780 --> 01:44:51,900
and obviously, you know, I care very deeply about children,

1181
01:44:52,640 --> 01:44:55,660
and so I am in that world of hearing of kids that do go missing.

1182
01:44:55,660 --> 01:44:59,800
I work with teens who have been traffic and have been.

1183
01:45:00,700 --> 01:45:04,320
And so obviously, I was something that's very important to me.

1184
01:45:06,860 --> 01:45:11,380
I know I'm being long-winded and I'm normally not, but because this is such an important topic

1185
01:45:12,160 --> 01:45:19,520
and I just want to be very open with my thoughts, I guess where I'm at with things is I can't

1186
01:45:19,520 --> 01:45:24,820
just do a knee jerk reaction because all the sudden society is saying no, no, no to these.

1187
01:45:25,300 --> 01:45:30,200
They've been around for a while, they've been around for several years actually, and we haven't heard peep.

1188
01:45:30,440 --> 01:45:34,620
All of a sudden, I don't know, I'm not sure exactly what's sparked it, but now all of a sudden we're hearing this.

1189
01:45:34,680 --> 01:45:39,440
We're having this anti, you know, LPRs.

1190
01:45:39,980 --> 01:45:42,220
And so I'm not a knee jerk reaction person.

1191
01:45:43,000 --> 01:45:48,200
And so with this policy tonight that's before us, it's giving us chance to continue to look.

1192
01:45:48,560 --> 01:45:54,800
How can we fix? How can we, how can we continue with this technology?

1193
01:45:54,800 --> 01:46:00,100
and good form knowing that it is doing and that we are doing art of diligence in protecting

1194
01:46:00,100 --> 01:46:04,020
people and not doing some of these other things that people are upset with.

1195
01:46:04,440 --> 01:46:06,720
And so just no, I'm willing to keep listening.

1196
01:46:07,540 --> 01:46:11,380
I love people come to me and give me, you know, hey, well, there's this on this side and

1197
01:46:11,380 --> 01:46:12,060
this on this side.

1198
01:46:12,060 --> 01:46:13,440
I'm willing to listen to both sides.

1199
01:46:13,880 --> 01:46:21,500
But I'm not willing to just chuck a tool that is doing really great things.

1200
01:46:21,500 --> 01:46:27,720
So, with that being said, I know this is really just open for discussion right now, but because of that,

1201
01:46:28,180 --> 01:46:33,660
I am stating that I will be in support of this policy tonight, because I want this conversation to continue.

1202
01:46:34,380 --> 01:46:42,020
And I will keep doing my homework. I will keep listening to people, but as of now, this is what I believe is the right thing for me personally too.

1203
01:46:42,180 --> 01:46:44,940
So, thank you. Sorry. Very long-winded. I usually don't talk this long.

1204
01:46:45,620 --> 01:46:48,380
Thank you. Councilmember Martno. Councilmember Brown.

1205
01:46:48,960 --> 01:46:49,340
Thank you, Mayor.

1206
01:46:49,340 --> 01:47:00,480
I too have thought about this issue extensively, and because I know that there are very valid

1207
01:47:00,480 --> 01:47:07,860
security concerns, and I value the residents very much that have asked me questions

1208
01:47:07,860 --> 01:47:08,600
around this.

1209
01:47:08,880 --> 01:47:14,420
I took the opportunity this morning to go ahead and write down some notes and I'll read a

1210
01:47:14,420 --> 01:47:19,320
little bit from what I put down on paper as my thoughts rather than try to, to weighing

1211
01:47:19,320 --> 01:47:25,040
it. After budget and fiscal matters, the highest priority of a council member is that of ensuring

1212
01:47:25,040 --> 01:47:30,680
public safety. Every council member in the nation is continually being evaluated on whether

1213
01:47:30,680 --> 01:47:35,960
they're funding their police and fire operations adequately, providing the necessary resources

1214
01:47:35,960 --> 01:47:43,080
and equipment and technology, and then most importantly, what the crime stats are. I'm pleased

1215
01:47:43,080 --> 01:47:46,780
to report that I've always taken that to heart and endeavored to provide our police and

1216
01:47:46,780 --> 01:47:51,860
departments and our Park Ranger program with the equipment and technology to make them effective

1217
01:47:51,860 --> 01:47:58,120
and at the same time supporting policies, procedures, and accountability for a public safety

1218
01:47:58,120 --> 01:48:04,140
team that ensures the residents and visitors in town are protected from any misuse of those tools

1219
01:48:04,140 --> 01:48:09,840
and technology. License plate readers are just one part of that set of tools and they have been

1220
01:48:09,840 --> 01:48:19,040
helpful in investigating crimes here. Moving on, let's talk about policy, oversight, and accountability.

1221
01:48:20,060 --> 01:48:27,680
If misuses the concern as it has been, we've seen many instances in the newspaper of people being human.

1222
01:48:28,620 --> 01:48:33,780
Rather than take away that effective and legal tool, let's address the policy gaps,

1223
01:48:34,000 --> 01:48:38,160
let's address the gaps in oversight, and let's address any gaps in accountability.

1224
01:48:38,940 --> 01:48:43,680
Police departments at the end of the day are made up of humans. Humans are not perfect

1225
01:48:43,680 --> 01:48:49,580
and cops are fowlable just like the rest of us. That said, we rightly hold them to a higher

1226
01:48:49,580 --> 01:48:56,020
standard, and we spend a lot of time here in town ensuring that we hire well. I personally

1227
01:48:56,020 --> 01:49:01,120
have the utmost confidence in our team. We send them out with the best technology and equipment,

1228
01:49:01,440 --> 01:49:07,520
and then we have to trust that we hired well. This, so we can trust our professional law enforcement

1229
01:49:07,520 --> 01:49:13,300
team when it comes to having to make a rest face a situation where they may have to use deadly

1230
01:49:13,300 --> 01:49:14,060
force.

1231
01:49:14,600 --> 01:49:19,260
We trust them with sensitive information all the time, where able to do that, I'm able

1232
01:49:19,260 --> 01:49:25,820
to sleep at night because we put the right policy oversight and accountability measures in

1233
01:49:25,820 --> 01:49:26,420
place.

1234
01:49:27,940 --> 01:49:34,840
QC, Queen Creek, sadly, faces very specific challenges with respect to missing from care

1235
01:49:34,840 --> 01:49:40,520
youth in our town, where we have a vulnerable population of young women and men that are prone

1236
01:49:40,520 --> 01:49:46,040
to being traffic and put out on the blade for the sex trade or enlisted as drugmules.

1237
01:49:46,780 --> 01:49:51,920
Taking away this technology would make our efforts to protect these kids so much more

1238
01:49:51,920 --> 01:49:52,380
difficult.

1239
01:49:54,880 --> 01:49:59,980
Is that really what we want to do? QC like the rest of the metropolitan air.

1240
01:50:00,000 --> 01:50:29,800
Area around Phoenix is not Mayberry. We have seen crimes against our youth. We have seen road rage incidents involving firearms. We have seen shootings and even homicide sadly. Additionally, we have seen narcotics and human trafficking. After that, we have seen organized retail theft rings and auto theft. Add in some amber alerts and some silver alerts and a person quickly realizes that it's a good idea to enlist the help of technology as a force multiplier.

1241
01:50:30,000 --> 01:50:36,600
While simultaneously, and this is the most important part, implementing stronger oversight

1242
01:50:36,600 --> 01:50:42,560
that would require regular audits, tighter access, transparent reporting, and meaningful

1243
01:50:42,560 --> 01:50:44,480
consequences for misuse.

1244
01:50:45,320 --> 01:50:49,980
The safeguards that Chief Bryce has proposed here this evening would address those privacy

1245
01:50:49,980 --> 01:50:58,740
and misuse concerns, while preserving a tool that helps us solve crime and keeps women and

1246
01:50:58,740 --> 01:51:06,380
young men from being sex traffic in our town. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Councilmember Brown.

1247
01:51:10,600 --> 01:51:15,960
Vice Mayor, I'm a clerk. Thank you, Mayor. I appreciate the comments that have been shared. I truly

1248
01:51:15,960 --> 01:51:21,280
appreciate the value of feedback from the community and I understand the concerns presented and I am

1249
01:51:21,280 --> 01:51:32,340
grateful for the solid work that our police department continues to do to prevent abuse of all

1250
01:51:32,340 --> 01:51:39,220
This is why I'm going to support tightening our safeguards and properly using technology to effectively

1251
01:51:39,220 --> 01:51:40,020
solve crime.

1252
01:51:42,250 --> 01:51:42,910
Thank you, Vice Mayor.

1253
01:51:59,080 --> 01:52:05,360
Here in no other council members interested to apply, I would move to approve that this

1254
01:52:05,360 --> 01:52:08,380
time adoption of ordinance 895.26.

1255
01:52:10,240 --> 01:52:13,360
We do have a motion and we have a second.

1256
01:52:13,360 --> 01:52:18,540
I'll go ahead and make some comments, I didn't want to short change anyone, but I appreciate

1257
01:52:18,540 --> 01:52:26,500
having this conversation today. This is so helpful for us and as we know this has been a topic

1258
01:52:26,500 --> 01:52:34,460
as of late and we understand that our residents have concerns. We understand that there's concerns

1259
01:52:34,460 --> 01:52:40,580
across the nation. What that has allowed us to do, it's given us an opportunity to take those

1260
01:52:40,580 --> 01:52:47,460
resident concerns that we've received and approach our chief of police and ask him those

1261
01:52:47,460 --> 01:52:56,100
pointed questions and get those answers. And, you know, after those discussions realizing

1262
01:52:56,100 --> 01:53:03,020
what an incredible tool and we've talked about this for a long time, the benefits and the attributes

1263
01:53:03,020 --> 01:53:13,800
of it and what I love about Queen Creek is we have, we've established great policies and

1264
01:53:13,800 --> 01:53:19,520
guardrails and safeguards already as soon as we adopted this technology there is a lot

1265
01:53:19,520 --> 01:53:26,600
of evolving technology and and so we've had those safeguards in place and you see that

1266
01:53:26,600 --> 01:53:31,980
because we do not have misuse this is one step to take it further to say we hear you we hear

1267
01:53:31,980 --> 01:53:40,660
your concerns, we want to continue to add these safeguards and in recognizing, I'm sure

1268
01:53:40,660 --> 01:53:45,840
tonight we all learn something new, we all learn something, you know, what LPR doesn't do

1269
01:53:45,840 --> 01:53:52,040
and what it does do and there's a lot of information out there so just making sure you have

1270
01:53:52,040 --> 01:53:58,200
the accurate facts and so I have appreciated that conversation and at the end of the day this

1271
01:53:58,200 --> 01:54:07,620
the tool we use. We use it as a lead. We still have to access and make sure that it's reliable.

1272
01:54:08,140 --> 01:54:14,080
We have to confirm material facts. We have to establish a legal basis. We have to have reasonable

1273
01:54:14,080 --> 01:54:19,860
suspicion, probable cause. All of those things that our PD has to make sure when they're investigating

1274
01:54:19,860 --> 01:54:28,640
something. And again, this is these are the same proactive steps that we are taking for oversight

1275
01:54:28,640 --> 01:54:37,460
and accountability across all of our information systems. And so it's been a great conversation

1276
01:54:37,460 --> 01:54:44,920
today. It's great to acknowledge what we have been doing that we continue to be proactive. And

1277
01:54:44,920 --> 01:54:47,520
These areas that we highlighted,

1278
01:54:50,700 --> 01:54:57,660
they all are helping us to continue to have that information

1279
01:54:57,660 --> 01:54:59,980
safe and secure and only in the hands.

1280
01:55:00,000 --> 01:55:04,320
All of those that are trusted and trained.

1281
01:55:07,220 --> 01:55:17,020
And so, just appreciate these additional safeguards, even to take it as far as establishing this as a crime. It would be the first within our state.

1282
01:55:17,020 --> 01:55:26,780
And so letting our officers that letting our officers know how serious we are taking this.

1283
01:55:27,240 --> 01:55:36,340
And so again, I appreciate our PD, every day they put their lives on the line for us to ensure our safety.

1284
01:55:36,440 --> 01:55:38,660
And that is a top priority for this council.

1285
01:55:39,220 --> 01:55:41,960
And it will continue to be a top priority for our council.

1286
01:55:41,960 --> 01:55:48,260
So, again, appreciate being able to have this conversation, appreciate all the work and effort

1287
01:55:48,260 --> 01:55:55,800
on into it to make sure that it is a tool used appropriately and at the end of the day,

1288
01:55:55,800 --> 01:55:58,500
at the end of the day, our residents can sleep safely.

1289
01:55:59,340 --> 01:56:00,220
So, appreciate your time.

1290
01:56:00,320 --> 01:56:04,620
There is another council member, council member, Padilla, that does have additional comments

1291
01:56:04,620 --> 01:56:05,160
as well.

1292
01:56:05,880 --> 01:56:07,460
I want to thank all of you that have showed up today.

1293
01:56:07,460 --> 01:56:10,780
I look at the young faces across the room here.

1294
01:56:11,120 --> 01:56:11,800
I'm so impressed.

1295
01:56:12,520 --> 01:56:14,640
I don't think I would have showed up at a council meeting

1296
01:56:14,640 --> 01:56:17,260
in high school and advocated for something.

1297
01:56:17,860 --> 01:56:21,120
I wasn't that involved that gives me hope for the future

1298
01:56:21,120 --> 01:56:24,500
that you all care enough to show up to a council meeting

1299
01:56:24,500 --> 01:56:26,360
and look at these signs.

1300
01:56:26,460 --> 01:56:27,220
This is awesome.

1301
01:56:27,520 --> 01:56:30,260
You guys are here advocating for something you strongly believe in.

1302
01:56:30,620 --> 01:56:32,880
I'm also really impressed with the way around

1303
01:56:32,880 --> 01:56:34,280
the applause with the snapping.

1304
01:56:34,700 --> 01:56:37,140
I haven't seen that before, really cool.

1305
01:56:38,140 --> 01:56:39,900
I also appreciate the comments that have been shared,

1306
01:56:40,300 --> 01:56:43,140
not only by Queen Creek residents, but by those from Maysa,

1307
01:56:43,160 --> 01:56:45,360
from Chandler, you're all part of our community,

1308
01:56:45,540 --> 01:56:47,740
and I appreciate listening to you.

1309
01:56:48,160 --> 01:56:49,220
So that's number one.

1310
01:56:49,220 --> 01:56:50,160
It's thank you for showing up.

1311
01:56:50,160 --> 01:56:54,480
Thank you for being involved in caring what goes on around you.

1312
01:56:54,860 --> 01:56:56,320
The second thing I would say is,

1313
01:56:56,320 --> 01:56:59,280
what is before me now, just to brief history here,

1314
01:56:59,620 --> 01:57:02,760
I was not here at the time that ALPRs were approved.

1315
01:57:02,760 --> 01:57:08,600
I'm a new council member, it was done just prior to my coming on board.

1316
01:57:09,420 --> 01:57:17,860
However, what we have before us here is not an ordinance or a solution to remove ALPRs.

1317
01:57:17,880 --> 01:57:28,460
What I see before me is a solution to put handcuffs on and restrict the use of ALPRs to make sure we are using them in a way that is legal

1318
01:57:28,460 --> 01:57:31,360
and protecting of citizens and residents rights.

1319
01:57:32,040 --> 01:57:37,820
I will say that it's a very good sign that we have a police chief that is self-regulating

1320
01:57:37,820 --> 01:57:41,280
and putting restrictions and handcuffs on his own program.

1321
01:57:42,680 --> 01:57:46,880
I would agree with many of the council members, particularly council member Brown, I agree

1322
01:57:46,880 --> 01:57:52,900
with we put things in place, I would just add one more thing, we continue to monitor them.

1323
01:57:53,300 --> 01:57:57,840
This discussion is not over for me, a lot of you have raised incredible points, I consider

1324
01:57:57,840 --> 01:58:03,280
myself to be a libertarian leaning conservative. So I appreciate a lot of the points that have been brought up.

1325
01:58:03,760 --> 01:58:10,360
What is before me is the is to vote yes or no, should I put restrictions further on ALPRs.

1326
01:58:10,360 --> 01:58:15,920
And I'm going to vote yes because that's what's before me today. I will also take into account the

1327
01:58:15,920 --> 01:58:20,900
comments that have been placed before us today from you, which were very well articulated by I say,

1328
01:58:21,400 --> 01:58:25,900
you didn't yell up, get up in yelling screen. If you want to make a difference, you provide facts and

1329
01:58:25,900 --> 01:58:30,440
evidence and convincing opinion, which all of you have done today.

1330
01:58:31,020 --> 01:58:36,660
So I will vote two put these restrictions on today and I will continue to monitor the use

1331
01:58:36,660 --> 01:58:41,620
of this program and that is why we have elected officials to oversee things like the police

1332
01:58:41,620 --> 01:58:46,280
force to make sure we believe as members of the community that we also live in that these

1333
01:58:46,280 --> 01:58:50,880
tools continue to be used in the benefit of our residents.

1334
01:58:51,520 --> 01:58:52,280
So thank you so much.

1335
01:58:53,140 --> 01:58:54,940
Thank you, Councilmember Padilla.

1336
01:58:55,600 --> 01:58:57,520
I don't see any other comments in the queue.

1337
01:58:57,660 --> 01:59:02,880
We do have a motion and I believe we have a second motion by Councilmember Brown,

1338
01:59:03,240 --> 01:59:04,500
Senate by Councilmember Benning.

1339
01:59:04,760 --> 01:59:06,420
So please place your votes.

1340
01:59:11,550 --> 01:59:12,510
That does pass unanimously.

1341
01:59:12,830 --> 01:59:13,530
7-0.

1342
01:59:14,630 --> 01:59:16,730
We are going to take a short recess.

1343
01:59:17,030 --> 01:59:18,590
We have had back-to-back meetings.

1344
01:59:19,410 --> 01:59:23,930
I understand there are multiple high schoolers here in the audience.

1345
01:59:23,930 --> 01:59:27,190
I'm guessing you want credit for your history class.

1346
01:59:27,690 --> 01:59:31,850
So if you want to go ahead and approach the Dias, we'll take a quick, quick photo, which

1347
01:59:31,850 --> 01:59:34,230
usually satisfies your teachers' requirements.

1348
01:59:38,110 --> 01:59:42,990
We're going to be so many counties out here.

1349
01:59:43,130 --> 01:59:49,490
We'll have everyone join up front.

1350
01:59:49,770 --> 01:59:55,730
There's a stair so we can kind of stagger and then Council will stay in the back so you can see us.

1351
02:00:00,140 --> 02:00:02,340
I don't think so. I don't think so.

1352
02:00:02,340 --> 02:00:02,460
I don't think so.

1353
02:00:07,320 --> 02:00:08,040
Who's camera?

1354
02:00:08,860 --> 02:00:12,140
Oh yeah, we won't phone them and then you guys can air drop into each other.

1355
02:00:13,120 --> 02:00:15,900
More than one. I mean, I don't think it's like a few.

1356
02:00:29,000 --> 02:00:33,580
If anybody needs it, thank you for attending.

1357
02:00:33,580 --> 02:00:36,180
Thanks for coming. Thank you for attending.

1358
02:00:36,660 --> 02:00:39,120
I'm glad you're welcome.

1359
02:00:52,700 --> 02:01:00,380
more agenda item after recess we will

1360
02:01:58,560 --> 02:02:04,390
now reconvene the regular session meeting of this agenda and we will

1361
02:02:06,440 --> 02:02:13,160
move to our final item which is items for discussion we do have one item this evening and I would like to turn the

1362
02:02:13,160 --> 02:02:15,980
meaning over to our Town Manager Bruce Gardner.

1363
02:02:16,800 --> 02:02:17,660
Thank you so much, Bruce.

1364
02:02:18,300 --> 02:02:19,340
Thank you, Mayor and Council.

1365
02:02:20,140 --> 02:02:22,540
I appreciate the opportunity to kick this off tonight.

1366
02:02:24,820 --> 02:02:28,700
Been thinking a lot last few months about this topic,

1367
02:02:28,700 --> 02:02:31,300
probably the last seven, eight years actually.

1368
02:02:32,280 --> 02:02:34,740
Just so I put it all together.

1369
02:02:35,480 --> 02:02:38,700
And so bear with me, I put some notes down

1370
02:02:38,700 --> 02:02:42,700
that I like to read, because that's the best way I think

1371
02:02:42,700 --> 02:02:51,060
to write these things down. So tonight we'll be discussing water not simply as a resource or

1372
02:02:51,060 --> 02:02:56,080
utility but as one of the most important responsibilities we have for the future of the town of

1373
02:02:56,080 --> 02:03:12,680
Queen Creek. To quote to politicians and people are quoting politicians tonight one of my favorite

1374
02:03:12,680 --> 02:03:16,400
vital to the welfare of the United States, then clean water.

1375
02:03:17,400 --> 02:03:20,780
Virtually every aspect of modern life depends in some way

1376
02:03:20,780 --> 02:03:24,300
on abundant and clear supply of this precious gift of nature.

1377
02:03:26,000 --> 02:03:28,700
Town of Queen Creek has long recognized this reality

1378
02:03:28,700 --> 02:03:32,400
and has remained well ahead of the curb and water planning.

1379
02:03:33,260 --> 02:03:35,640
That is due in large part to visionary leadership,

1380
02:03:36,820 --> 02:03:39,740
but also to the unique circumstances facing our community.

1381
02:03:39,740 --> 02:03:46,680
For more than 20 years, this council and the councils that came before it have viewed water with the same sense of importance

1382
02:03:46,680 --> 02:03:51,920
and responsibility expressed by President Reagan nearly 40 years ago.

1383
02:03:52,340 --> 02:03:56,780
That long-term perspective has resulted in significant foreign thinking policy decisions.

1384
02:03:57,820 --> 02:04:03,960
Those decisions have included the acquisition of private water companies with opportunities to serve current future growth,

1385
02:04:03,960 --> 02:04:08,800
the purchase of water rights from Cebola, the acquisition of groundwater

1386
02:04:08,800 --> 02:04:13,240
extinguishment credits, paying Cagrid, costs of behalf of customers,

1387
02:04:14,200 --> 02:04:17,960
purchasing and developing recharge sites, and most recently the

1388
02:04:17,960 --> 02:04:22,260
importance that the opportunity to be at the forefront of establishing new

1389
02:04:22,260 --> 02:04:25,740
resource for water supplies from Harkehale, Harkehale Valley.

1390
02:04:26,540 --> 02:04:30,380
Each of these decisions was made with the understanding that water planning

1391
02:04:30,380 --> 02:04:37,500
can not simply focus on today's needs. It must anticipate tomorrow's challenges, and is that

1392
02:04:37,500 --> 02:04:42,080
same long-term vision that brings us to the discussion we'll have tonight of how this vision

1393
02:04:42,080 --> 02:04:47,780
is finally paid for. When we talk about all these projects culminating with the Harkaea of the Water

1394
02:04:47,780 --> 02:04:53,500
Project, the numbers alone are difficult to comprehend. We're talking about securing water,

1395
02:04:54,560 --> 02:04:59,900
approximately 100 miles from our community, transporting it through the central Arizona.

1396
02:05:00,000 --> 02:05:12,180
Project canal, conveying across Maricopa County, and ultimately bringing it to Queen Creek where it can be recharged into the aquifer and protected for generations who will call this community home.

1397
02:05:13,440 --> 02:05:21,660
But this project is about far more than engineering infrastructure, pipelines, or canals. It's about vision, it's about water security.

1398
02:05:21,660 --> 02:05:26,800
Most importantly, it's about our responsibility to ensure that future generations have the same

1399
02:05:26,800 --> 02:05:32,780
opportunity to live, work, race families, and build their futures here, just like we have today.

1400
02:05:34,020 --> 02:05:38,420
For generations, Arizona communities have relied heavily on the Colorado River and groundwater.

1401
02:05:39,540 --> 02:05:41,980
Both resources are increasingly constrained.

1402
02:05:42,580 --> 02:05:49,000
Colorado River faces long-term challenges and groundwater regulations are becoming increasingly restrictive,

1403
02:05:49,640 --> 02:05:53,740
as we collectively try to confront the reality of limited supplies

1404
02:05:53,740 --> 02:05:55,420
as we prepare for growth.

1405
02:05:56,400 --> 02:05:58,360
The question before our communities like Queen Creek

1406
02:05:58,360 --> 02:06:02,280
is not whether water will become more important already has.

1407
02:06:02,860 --> 02:06:04,980
This town council has already answered that question

1408
02:06:04,980 --> 02:06:07,940
because you have had the foresight and courage to act.

1409
02:06:08,380 --> 02:06:10,900
Well, before the choices have become fewer,

1410
02:06:11,400 --> 02:06:13,000
more expensive and more difficult.

1411
02:06:14,760 --> 02:06:17,080
The Harkaila Water Project is part of our answer.

1412
02:06:17,080 --> 02:06:26,900
I recently had an experience about this project that gave me even a more new perspective on the magnitude of what we're undertaking.

1413
02:06:28,880 --> 02:06:37,160
A couple of weeks ago I was flying back from Oregon and after a while I was there,

1414
02:06:37,680 --> 02:06:44,920
some of the residents of Oregon were talking about the issues they have with water and all I could see is water all over the place.

1415
02:06:44,920 --> 02:06:53,160
But as I was flying back and coming into the valley, notice that the location was near

1416
02:06:53,960 --> 02:06:59,860
the CAP canal where we're going to put the water back into the canal. The plane took

1417
02:06:59,860 --> 02:07:06,240
a left-hand turn, followed the canal all the way to the east, and then took a right-hand

1418
02:07:06,780 --> 02:07:13,840
turn, and then I could see Queen Creek beyond. And so after following the canal, I don't know

1419
02:07:13,840 --> 02:07:16,180
that's what the pilot was using, and then he took a right hand

1420
02:07:16,180 --> 02:07:18,680
turned down the salt river to land.

1421
02:07:19,540 --> 02:07:23,560
It was just amazing to see what this project really entails.

1422
02:07:23,680 --> 02:07:28,840
We drove out there in January, but to see it from above is even more amazing.

1423
02:07:32,200 --> 02:07:35,340
So at that moment, the scale, this project truly became real to me

1424
02:07:35,340 --> 02:07:38,500
that you can only get from above and just reinforce

1425
02:07:38,500 --> 02:07:41,380
just a extraordinary vision this council has.

1426
02:07:42,600 --> 02:07:45,220
So we're talking about acquiring water,

1427
02:07:45,220 --> 02:07:51,620
far from our community, developing the infrastructure necessary to move it to the CAP Canal

1428
02:07:52,260 --> 02:07:56,260
and utilizing one of the most significant pieces of water and infrastructure ever

1429
02:07:57,300 --> 02:08:01,420
constructed in the southwest and then delivering that water across the valley to Queen Creek.

1430
02:08:03,300 --> 02:08:07,880
This is not a routine water project. This is the kind of long-term generational investment

1431
02:08:07,880 --> 02:08:12,200
that communities undertake only when they're willing to look well beyond the immediate

1432
02:08:12,200 --> 02:08:16,500
challenges of today. In many ways, what we're doing is comparable and

1433
02:08:16,500 --> 02:08:21,420
vision to the construction of the CIP canal itself. We are building upon

1434
02:08:21,420 --> 02:08:24,940
that remarkable infrastructure and using it to create a new chapter in

1435
02:08:24,940 --> 02:08:29,240
Queen Creek's Water Feature, one designed to provide greater certainty and

1436
02:08:29,240 --> 02:08:34,560
security for the next century and beyond. Our goal is simply not to find enough

1437
02:08:34,560 --> 02:08:40,120
water for tomorrow. That's easy. Our goal is to secure a sustainable water supply that

1438
02:08:40,120 --> 02:08:45,460
of this community for generations, including all these projects that I've mentioned over the recent

1439
02:08:45,460 --> 02:08:48,200
past, a little bit of a quick week for a hundred and ten years.

1440
02:08:48,860 --> 02:08:56,420
Think for a moment was happened the past hundred and ten years and a world war one, commercial

1441
02:08:56,420 --> 02:09:02,660
flight, television, computer space travel, many of us in this room will not see the full

1442
02:09:02,660 --> 02:09:05,840
impact of the decisions we are making today.

1443
02:09:05,840 --> 02:09:11,440
But our children, grandchildren, and generations, we will never meet, may benefit from the

1444
02:09:11,440 --> 02:09:13,660
foresight we're demonstrating now.

1445
02:09:14,240 --> 02:09:18,840
That is what makes this project and these decisions meaningful to this community.

1446
02:09:20,160 --> 02:09:25,020
This part of the overall water strategy, the Harkaila project, is a statement about who we are

1447
02:09:25,020 --> 02:09:25,700
as a community.

1448
02:09:26,400 --> 02:09:31,180
It says that Queen Creek is not willing to simply wait on outside forces out of our control

1449
02:09:31,180 --> 02:09:33,720
and hope that the future works itself out.

1450
02:09:34,280 --> 02:09:43,540
We are willing to confront the challenges ahead because of that we have been able to secure resources that in a long run will be much cheaper than if we did nothing.

1451
02:09:44,560 --> 02:09:57,200
We are willing to make difficult and significant investments and we are willing to think about our own generation because when it comes to water doing nothing has never been a strategy.

1452
02:09:57,200 --> 02:09:59,960
Our responsibility should be prepared.

1453
02:10:00,210 --> 02:10:06,870
As we discuss the decisions today and for the upcoming months, I hope we keep the true significance and perspective.

1454
02:10:07,890 --> 02:10:12,870
Yes, these are projects that are ambitious and expensive. Yes, the magnitude is extraordinary.

1455
02:10:13,870 --> 02:10:18,390
And yes, it will require continued vision commitment investment beyond today also.

1456
02:10:20,900 --> 02:10:26,640
This council has made landmark decisions in the past, such as creation of the fire department,

1457
02:10:27,760 --> 02:10:32,700
the water department, the police department, annexing the state lands.

1458
02:10:33,840 --> 02:10:35,720
Now, this is the next legacy project.

1459
02:10:37,040 --> 02:10:41,640
My almost 20 years with the town, I have never seen the council make a decision

1460
02:10:41,640 --> 02:10:44,700
in regards to money until the timing is right.

1461
02:10:45,900 --> 02:10:56,620
While the council has purchased prior water companies, water resources such as

1462
02:10:56,620 --> 02:11:03,280
millions of dollars in savings, we immediately say let's increase rates. Conversely,

1463
02:11:03,320 --> 02:11:07,420
the council has always reviewed current rates and reduced or eliminated where it

1464
02:11:07,420 --> 02:11:13,500
made sense. When the time was right to eliminate increases to sewer rates, the

1465
02:11:13,500 --> 02:11:18,700
council chose to eliminate the last two or three years of those, arguing just

1466
02:11:18,700 --> 02:11:23,560
because there's a five-year plan to do so doesn't mean we have to. This council

1467
02:11:23,560 --> 02:11:29,580
This also made the same argument in relation to reducing the property tax for straight years

1468
02:11:29,580 --> 02:11:34,520
and eliminated the downtown quarter sales tax because you knew charging that tax just

1469
02:11:34,520 --> 02:11:39,460
to collect additional money did meet the reason to collect it in the first place.

1470
02:11:40,420 --> 02:11:44,660
This council also could have increased the water rates but chose to hold off as the policy

1471
02:11:44,660 --> 02:11:50,460
decision of water resources and water security and resilience was not quite answered yet.

1472
02:11:50,460 --> 02:11:59,600
or the past year due to a combination of foresight and careful planning, the question I went to share these costs has now been answered.

1473
02:12:01,460 --> 02:12:04,900
What customers will be paying for is something much greater than infrastructure.

1474
02:12:06,120 --> 02:12:12,800
We'll be building a future where the generations who follow us can look back and recognize that at a critical moment in Queen Creek's history,

1475
02:12:13,440 --> 02:12:17,880
this community has the vision to act not just for today but for generations to come.

1476
02:12:18,380 --> 02:12:22,240
In many ways, that vision did not begin with the Harkhala Water Project.

1477
02:12:23,580 --> 02:12:28,000
The began more than 20 years ago when a prior town council had the foresight to explore

1478
02:12:28,000 --> 02:12:33,620
the purchase of a small water company, originally owned by a man named Taylor Owen's

1479
02:12:33,620 --> 02:12:38,860
gardener, who built the system in the fifties with the shovel, then passed on to his grandson

1480
02:12:38,860 --> 02:12:44,540
Paul Gardner, who built it with a backhoe in the 90s.

1481
02:12:44,540 --> 02:12:51,160
Harkahaila Project and other strategic per-water purchases, the town is beta, the council's version of this shovel,

1482
02:12:52,260 --> 02:12:56,860
my grandfather used to start the water system. The scale is certainly different.

1483
02:12:57,300 --> 02:13:02,340
The challenges are greater in the best minutes, far more significant, but the principle remains

1484
02:13:02,340 --> 02:13:06,820
exactly the same. The town's future will be determined by what the council's building.

1485
02:13:08,700 --> 02:13:11,060
To end this council's building water security,

1486
02:13:11,740 --> 02:13:16,220
It's building water resilience, and it's also building the town's water destiny.

1487
02:13:18,220 --> 02:13:21,140
So for the remainder of the evening, I'll turn the time over Mark's gossipic,

1488
02:13:21,160 --> 02:13:23,660
or utilities director introduce the strategies.

1489
02:13:24,220 --> 02:13:28,920
Then onto Scott McCarty, deputy town manager, discuss the financing plans and options.

1490
02:13:29,500 --> 02:13:32,900
And then to constants Helen and Wilson, communications marketing director.

1491
02:13:33,060 --> 02:13:36,280
We'll discuss education plans to the community and customers.

1492
02:13:36,680 --> 02:13:37,060
Thank you.

1493
02:13:38,360 --> 02:13:38,940
Thank you, Bruce.

1494
02:13:39,720 --> 02:13:40,540
Welcome, Mark.

1495
02:13:43,200 --> 02:13:44,260
Thank you, Mayor.

1496
02:13:44,360 --> 02:13:48,900
Council, once again humbled to be before you to talk to you about this.

1497
02:13:49,800 --> 02:13:51,100
I'm going to run through some slides.

1498
02:13:51,340 --> 02:13:55,320
It's the part of this initial part of the presentation to talk about a little bit of the history and the strategy.

1499
02:13:56,220 --> 02:14:09,280
It'll bring context to your discussions that you're going to have with Scott McCarty and the consultants and also for the public who's watching to see kind of how we ended up getting where we're starting tonight.

1500
02:14:11,300 --> 02:14:17,620
This is the presentation, is going to be outlined here on the outline and we'll sequentially

1501
02:14:17,620 --> 02:14:21,160
just go through this over the course of the next several minutes.

1502
02:14:22,560 --> 02:14:30,000
So the town utilities department is just for clarification, everybody is that we operate

1503
02:14:30,000 --> 02:14:33,640
three, three areas of utilities in the town.

1504
02:14:33,760 --> 02:14:36,960
We have water and we have wastewater and we have solid waste and recycling.

1505
02:14:37,700 --> 02:14:44,000
The main financial objective we have in these operations, they call them enterprise funds and they're supposed

1506
02:14:44,000 --> 02:14:48,160
to be structured around full cost recovery as a business type operation.

1507
02:14:49,040 --> 02:14:53,980
We have master plans and a lot of strategies that go into the long term financial planning

1508
02:14:53,980 --> 02:14:59,540
of each one of these utilities. One of the things that's important to talk about

1509
02:14:59,540 --> 02:14:59,980
And just to...

1510
02:15:00,000 --> 02:15:05,840
We go through this process. The utility system is much larger than the town of Queen Creek.

1511
02:15:05,960 --> 02:15:12,020
Up here on the map that's on the board, you see the outline of the water service area is outlined at red.

1512
02:15:12,620 --> 02:15:21,160
And we have the sewer area in the tan color and then the actual town limits are in the hatched.

1513
02:15:21,380 --> 02:15:26,720
So there's an amalgam that was created when those systems were developed.

1514
02:15:26,720 --> 02:15:52,940
The water system has about 46,000 accounts, $36,000, $36,000, $36,000,000, $36,000, $36,000,000 a revenue, waste water, about half that, $25,000 accounts with $12,000 in revenue and solid waste, is about $12,000, $27,000 for $5,000,000 in revenue, total annual billings for your utility systems is just north of $50,000.

1515
02:15:54,440 --> 02:16:02,420
We do have capacity fees in place, they're paid at the time of construction for our utility system,

1516
02:16:03,140 --> 02:16:09,300
the theory and strategy of growth paying for growth. Water was last adjusted in 2019.

1517
02:16:09,300 --> 02:16:22,920
It's about $2,400 waste water was recently updated in 2025 and at $6,100 and we'll be talking a little bit

1518
02:16:22,920 --> 02:16:28,280
The Queen Creek customers see on the water delivery site are in the $40 to $50 range.

1519
02:16:28,820 --> 02:16:35,940
When you add in wastewater and solid waste somewhere between $120 a month, let me take

1520
02:16:35,940 --> 02:16:42,000
a few minutes and walk you through the strategic planning that we've done relative to water.

1521
02:16:43,720 --> 02:16:47,640
Queen Creek basically looked at this in three different pieces.

1522
02:16:48,820 --> 02:16:52,900
We want to reduce our reliance on the groundwater replenishment district and I'll talk

1523
02:16:52,900 --> 02:16:54,820
about what Kagrad is in just a second.

1524
02:16:55,480 --> 02:16:58,300
We want a diverse portfolio that's sustainable

1525
02:16:58,820 --> 02:17:00,120
and it's controlled locally.

1526
02:17:00,320 --> 02:17:01,820
We do not, as Bruce said,

1527
02:17:02,040 --> 02:17:05,320
want to be relying on the actions or events of others.

1528
02:17:05,960 --> 02:17:08,780
And then all of this will culminate and culminate

1529
02:17:08,780 --> 02:17:10,880
in us becoming a designated water provider.

1530
02:17:11,420 --> 02:17:12,660
Essentially, that means Quink Creek

1531
02:17:12,660 --> 02:17:14,300
is in charge of its own destiny.

1532
02:17:15,840 --> 02:17:17,980
Quink Creek's water resource goals, generally,

1533
02:17:18,740 --> 02:17:20,740
reduce our local groundwater pumping

1534
02:17:20,740 --> 02:17:24,420
for current customers, move our customers away from the central area,

1535
02:17:24,420 --> 02:17:26,780
area, groundwater replenishment district,

1536
02:17:27,380 --> 02:17:32,020
assure a more sustainable and stable costs for our customers.

1537
02:17:32,220 --> 02:17:34,040
We're going to talk a lot about that.

1538
02:17:34,600 --> 02:17:38,000
Have a portfolio with a hundred-year worth of assets.

1539
02:17:38,820 --> 02:17:41,540
And as Bruce said, that is multi-generational.

1540
02:17:42,000 --> 02:17:44,720
Those assets are that we've acquired.

1541
02:17:44,900 --> 02:17:49,060
We'll be serving many generations to come to come.

1542
02:17:52,640 --> 02:18:00,240
One of the things we need to focus on and to assure our customers and those developers and

1543
02:18:00,240 --> 02:18:04,480
developments in Queen Creek, Queen Creek has ample water.

1544
02:18:05,420 --> 02:18:10,520
We have enough groundwater to meet over a century's worth of use.

1545
02:18:10,980 --> 02:18:15,980
The issue is for Queen Creek is that groundwater replenishment Arizona is getting expensive.

1546
02:18:16,180 --> 02:18:17,320
It's getting very expensive.

1547
02:18:17,320 --> 02:18:24,880
And back in the 1980s, the state had a lot of vision in that we wanted to protect ground

1548
02:18:24,880 --> 02:18:27,760
water and under the ground water management act.

1549
02:18:28,200 --> 02:18:31,520
It is simply that if you take a gallon out, you have to put a gallon back.

1550
02:18:33,570 --> 02:18:39,990
This is the aquifer that sits below the Quink Creek and the Phoenix Metro area.

1551
02:18:40,090 --> 02:18:40,830
It is huge.

1552
02:18:40,950 --> 02:18:46,670
Quink Creek is down there on the lower right and the gold and red outlined area just

1553
02:18:46,670 --> 02:18:52,030
the foot of the sand tan mountains, the blue parts of the aquifer are the deepest parts of the

1554
02:18:52,030 --> 02:18:59,730
aquifer. So Queen Creek sits in a very good position relative to the aquifer and again going

1555
02:18:59,730 --> 02:19:07,070
back to a long-term available water supply. But as we use groundwater, under the groundwater management

1556
02:19:07,070 --> 02:19:13,430
act, it's required to be replenished. And how Queen Creek is historically done it is under the

1557
02:19:13,430 --> 02:19:20,650
ground water replenishment district. It's a separate entity. It's a subset of the Arizona

1558
02:19:20,650 --> 02:19:27,090
Central Project, Central Arizona Project. It was established in the 90s and what happens

1559
02:19:27,090 --> 02:19:33,550
is as developments come in, they have to enroll in the C.A.G.R.D. They pay a membership fee,

1560
02:19:33,610 --> 02:19:42,090
and a replenishment fee is paid each year as properties within Queen Creek use water, and

1561
02:19:42,090 --> 02:19:44,970
shows up on their tech, their property tech spills.

1562
02:19:45,570 --> 02:19:47,790
Cagrid essentially owns all of the water

1563
02:19:47,790 --> 02:19:50,550
replants from obligations for our customers.

1564
02:19:51,530 --> 02:19:54,510
Unfortunately, Cagrid serves more than Queen Creek,

1565
02:19:54,750 --> 02:19:56,970
and then I don't mean that unfortunately in negative sense,

1566
02:19:57,190 --> 02:19:59,970
but they have more of a broader macro-responsible.

1567
02:20:00,000 --> 02:20:10,580
The ability for the whole Central Arizona area, as an even outside the AMA, the active management area for groundwater.

1568
02:20:12,120 --> 02:20:18,180
And their plan of operations is designed in a 10-year block of activity.

1569
02:20:18,980 --> 02:20:25,220
And what that essentially means is that their vision is simply confined to 10 years.

1570
02:20:25,220 --> 02:20:31,640
And what happens is there is a constantly escalating cost relative to

1571
02:20:31,640 --> 02:20:35,580
Cagrad fees in maintenance of that 10-year plan of operations.

1572
02:20:36,120 --> 02:20:39,980
It's not a bad approach, it is just the approach that the district uses.

1573
02:20:40,900 --> 02:20:50,100
Quink Creek has embarked on a hundred-year vision, and Scott's going to talk about some of the pros and cons of that hundred-year vision.

1574
02:20:51,460 --> 02:20:57,160
One of the things Council and I would be remiss if I didn't do this, this Council and Council's

1575
02:20:57,160 --> 02:21:04,840
prior have taken great strides to protect and mitigate Cagrid cost for our customers.

1576
02:21:06,100 --> 02:21:11,160
We're approaching, $70 million is where we're at today, and in the next couple of years

1577
02:21:11,160 --> 02:21:13,120
that will probably exceed $100 million.

1578
02:21:13,900 --> 02:21:17,620
Unfortunately, most of our customers are unaware of this.

1579
02:21:18,360 --> 02:21:24,260
And we need to do a better job of educating our customers on the groundwater responsibilities

1580
02:21:24,260 --> 02:21:27,860
and the assessments that they would otherwise be responsible for.

1581
02:21:28,240 --> 02:21:34,360
I've come before you many times and the easy, and I've told you and you've been responsive

1582
02:21:34,360 --> 02:21:38,640
and you've been strategic, the easy button is to do nothing.

1583
02:21:39,440 --> 02:21:48,760
The hard button is to do something and we are doing something and we just need to do a better job of communicating that to our customers.

1584
02:21:49,540 --> 02:21:54,060
In 2018, as we started this, we were 90% of our supplies around groundwater.

1585
02:21:55,920 --> 02:21:58,140
That is not a sustainable plan.

1586
02:21:58,560 --> 02:22:04,960
We are heavily reliant in 2018 on the Cagras replenishment and to that.

1587
02:22:04,960 --> 02:22:10,440
So, what we did, as Bruce articulated, is we went out on a limb,

1588
02:22:10,960 --> 02:22:14,420
looked at some vision and found water that really didn't exist.

1589
02:22:14,640 --> 02:22:16,260
It's never been used before.

1590
02:22:16,860 --> 02:22:22,360
And we acquired 5,000 acre feed of water in the Harkwell Hale Valley.

1591
02:22:22,400 --> 02:22:26,500
It's never been done before, but as us going through that process,

1592
02:22:27,120 --> 02:22:31,720
and painfully that was a 6, 7, 8-year process we went through.

1593
02:22:32,340 --> 02:22:38,260
proving that there were over eight million acre feet of available in that basin to be drawn

1594
02:22:38,260 --> 02:22:45,680
out over a hundred years. The brilliance of this water is its stored there. It is an asset.

1595
02:22:45,780 --> 02:22:52,340
It is not going anywhere until we remove it. It is not subject to drought. It is not subject

1596
02:22:52,340 --> 02:22:58,860
to what's happening on the Colorado River. It is only subject to our resilience on how we

1597
02:22:58,860 --> 02:23:02,940
to get it out of the ground and transported 100 miles to the east.

1598
02:23:06,040 --> 02:23:14,560
As building on that strategy, once we proved that that concept would work and we were authorized

1599
02:23:14,560 --> 02:23:21,460
for the transportation of that water, Council again stepped out and said, we need to close

1600
02:23:21,460 --> 02:23:23,580
the gap on our groundwater usage.

1601
02:23:23,580 --> 02:23:32,080
And in September of 2025, the Council authorized an additional 1.2 million acre feet over the next 100 years.

1602
02:23:32,500 --> 02:23:41,460
On an annual basis that's 17,000 acre feet that's available for us, that's non-ground water, that's a renewable supply.

1603
02:23:42,400 --> 02:23:45,700
It is security and it is a legacy decision.

1604
02:23:48,320 --> 02:23:54,700
Parkway, the work is is is is is is is is is going on we've been out there for the last six to eight months

1605
02:23:54,700 --> 02:24:03,680
Site work is working. We are rehabbing wells. We are going through the the water quality process. We will have to go through a rather rigorous

1606
02:24:03,680 --> 02:24:06,420
environmental review and

1607
02:24:06,420 --> 02:24:08,100
We are working on the the first

1608
02:24:08,100 --> 02:24:18,020
Transporters Association which will be quaint creek buck eye and ironically the central Arizona groundwater replenishment district. I almost have to say that twice

1609
02:24:18,020 --> 02:24:22,640
And the central Arizona groundwater replenishment district.

1610
02:24:24,000 --> 02:24:25,240
That's worth at least.

1611
02:24:27,000 --> 02:24:30,260
Here's kind of a high level of the critical path we're going down.

1612
02:24:30,340 --> 02:24:33,500
We have today, the future, a couple of years in between.

1613
02:24:33,840 --> 02:24:35,680
We're working on our A-DOS application.

1614
02:24:35,860 --> 02:24:37,160
A-DOS is our designation.

1615
02:24:37,840 --> 02:24:40,100
So that's a regulatory process.

1616
02:24:40,320 --> 02:24:42,880
We're working on with the Department of Water Resources.

1617
02:24:43,420 --> 02:24:46,280
As part of that, we have to work on our relationship with Cagrad.

1618
02:24:46,280 --> 02:24:57,020
While we won't, our customers won't have a relationship with Cagrid, we as the town will have a relationship with Cagrid, and we need to manage that as we reduce our reliance on Cagrid.

1619
02:24:57,620 --> 02:24:59,980
Scott's going to talk about the water resource fee that we're...

1620
02:25:00,000 --> 02:25:19,600
We're strategically implementing. And then, obviously, we have the Hark Wahila Valley Water Project itself that we're working our way through. And we also have the customer impacts in terms of what they are seeing on their property tax bills. And again, we'll talk about transitioning them off of that and onto our water resource fee.

1621
02:25:20,920 --> 02:25:25,800
Again, the 2018 is on the left, that was our portfolio, 90% groundwater.

1622
02:25:26,080 --> 02:25:31,920
Now we're looking at a portfolio that's about 6% groundwater and only 10% Colorado River.

1623
02:25:33,140 --> 02:25:37,480
We have done tremendous work here and I think we should all be proud of it and now we

1624
02:25:37,480 --> 02:25:40,160
just have to continue this effort as we move forward.

1625
02:25:41,660 --> 02:25:47,720
Just to finish up my portion of this item, Council of Queen Creek, does have ample water.

1626
02:25:47,720 --> 02:25:53,100
replenishment is just going to get expensive. You don't have to pick up a real or the new

1627
02:25:53,100 --> 02:25:58,200
spaper, which we don't pick up anymore. I guess we do it all online. There are countless studies,

1628
02:25:59,880 --> 02:26:05,580
articles about the status of water in Arizona. We have to work better and harder on customers

1629
02:26:05,580 --> 02:26:12,480
realizing the impact of Cagrid on them and the town, and we can't continue to subsidize Cagrid forever.

1630
02:26:12,480 --> 02:26:18,820
Harkway Haley is a unique water supply and it will insulate the town from drought and Colorado

1631
02:26:18,820 --> 02:26:27,500
River Cuts not just today but for the next century. It is the legacy decision and it will benefit

1632
02:26:27,500 --> 02:26:34,700
the system and the community for years to come. My last piece is the Colorado River update

1633
02:26:34,700 --> 02:26:42,100
conditions on the river are not getting any better. Most recent federal action came out in August

1634
02:26:42,480 --> 02:26:48,880
and it has Arizona as expected taking the brunt of the issues on the Colorado River.

1635
02:26:49,400 --> 02:26:56,940
Unfortunately, if the Colorado River doesn't improve, those cuts will further impact Arizona.

1636
02:26:57,560 --> 02:27:02,880
Arizona is on the bottom of the priority list because of the deals that were cut

1637
02:27:02,880 --> 02:27:06,500
decades ago as part of the construction of the CAP canal.

1638
02:27:07,480 --> 02:27:13,880
24-month study was just out and that is kind of the Bible when it comes to water flow

1639
02:27:13,880 --> 02:27:19,320
on the river. Unfortunately, it's not a 24-month study, it's like a eight-month look

1640
02:27:19,320 --> 02:27:25,640
sea study. We're going to watch as we go and see how the snow fall occurs in the basin

1641
02:27:25,640 --> 02:27:32,300
over the course of the next several months and then we will see how that affects our

1642
02:27:32,300 --> 02:27:40,940
is going forward. Unfortunately, no disrespect to our town council, but litigation will be the rule

1643
02:27:40,940 --> 02:27:48,140
the day in terms of there will be a lot of posturing and negotiations going on in this arena

1644
02:27:48,140 --> 02:27:57,280
in the Serena. And just to kind of finish on this, there are more entities that are behind us

1645
02:27:57,280 --> 02:27:59,880
in terms of looking at purchasing Harkway Hello Water.

1646
02:28:00,080 --> 02:28:04,400
It is not just a couple of communities in terms of us in Buckeye and Cagrid.

1647
02:28:04,980 --> 02:28:11,200
There are already two and three and other communities that are looking at Harkway Hello as well.

1648
02:28:12,200 --> 02:28:16,060
So with that Mayor, I will pause if there's any clarifying questions you need.

1649
02:28:16,120 --> 02:28:22,620
If not, I will hand it over to Scott and he will start going through some of the data on the water

1650
02:28:22,620 --> 02:28:25,500
system and how the fees are going to go.

1651
02:28:26,000 --> 02:28:28,840
I'm not seeing any questions for you, Mark, so.

1652
02:28:28,940 --> 02:28:30,740
I will stand by the ready to welcome her.

1653
02:28:35,230 --> 02:28:35,550
Thank you.

1654
02:28:35,550 --> 02:28:35,670
Thank you.

1655
02:28:35,690 --> 02:28:36,590
Good evening, Mayor.

1656
02:28:36,950 --> 02:28:42,210
And Councils, quite the introduction by Bruce and it does get to the magnitude of what

1657
02:28:42,210 --> 02:28:44,490
we're going to be talking about tonight.

1658
02:28:45,510 --> 02:28:49,870
We're going to focus on the new water resource fee and then towards the end of the presentation.

1659
02:28:49,870 --> 02:28:54,090
We are going to cover all the other utility rates and fees that we're responsible for.

1660
02:28:54,090 --> 02:29:00,850
But we are going to spend a line share of the presentation tonight on the water, new water resource fee.

1661
02:29:01,590 --> 02:29:06,990
So before we get into the numbers, that fee is really predicated on understanding,

1662
02:29:07,790 --> 02:29:13,790
and making sure that the fees are structured to be fair to who uses the water as who pays for the water.

1663
02:29:14,110 --> 02:29:18,870
So we'll have a couple of slides here to set that foundation, if you will.

1664
02:29:18,870 --> 02:29:23,370
So in terms of demand, and demand is measured in acre feet.

1665
02:29:23,670 --> 02:29:27,770
So think of an acre foot of water as a football field

1666
02:29:27,770 --> 02:29:31,070
from end zone, end zone, a foot high, full of water.

1667
02:29:31,310 --> 02:29:32,330
That's an acre foot.

1668
02:29:32,650 --> 02:29:35,670
And so when we talk about quantities of water,

1669
02:29:35,930 --> 02:29:37,890
it's either an acre feet or thousands of gallons

1670
02:29:37,890 --> 02:29:38,730
at the account level.

1671
02:29:39,390 --> 02:29:44,870
So we're responsible for essentially replenishing 28 and a half

1672
02:29:44,870 --> 02:29:52,530
1,000 acre feet of water a year with our current customer base and to both mark and bruises

1673
02:29:52,530 --> 02:29:57,810
point we now have enough water for our current customer base for a hundred years in terms

1674
02:29:57,810 --> 02:29:59,090
of the water supply.

1675
02:30:00,000 --> 02:30:08,100
That acre-feet is spread across our 46,000 accounts, and again, the water servicer is larger than the town of Boundary.

1676
02:30:08,240 --> 02:30:14,880
So when we're talking about accounts, it's not residents, it's accounts, some of residents, and then some are outside the town.

1677
02:30:15,480 --> 02:30:19,940
So this slide starts out with how much is indoor and how much is outdoor.

1678
02:30:20,280 --> 02:30:26,100
So 67% of all the water that we're responsible for is for outdoor use.

1679
02:30:26,100 --> 02:30:32,260
So think of anything from outdoor use mainly as landscaping and irrigation and quite honestly

1680
02:30:32,260 --> 02:30:36,380
as you'll see in some slides tonight and down the road it's H.O.A.s and a lot of the common

1681
02:30:36,380 --> 02:30:42,140
areas in terms of how they water their grass or other watering needs and then 33% leaves

1682
02:30:42,140 --> 02:30:43,980
you before indoor use.

1683
02:30:44,680 --> 02:30:51,640
If you look at it by customer category, single family is the most, the water is used there

1684
02:30:51,640 --> 02:30:56,060
the most, then nature ways, and then everybody else.

1685
02:30:56,280 --> 02:30:58,460
So smaller commercial projects, churches, schools,

1686
02:30:58,600 --> 02:30:59,460
those types of things.

1687
02:30:59,980 --> 02:31:03,240
And again, it starts to give you a flavor of who's using the water

1688
02:31:03,240 --> 02:31:06,520
and or who's responsible for replenishing the aquifer.

1689
02:31:06,740 --> 02:31:08,620
And again, that's important as we set the fee.

1690
02:31:09,320 --> 02:31:12,640
A lot of numbers here, but one of the other ways,

1691
02:31:12,680 --> 02:31:16,180
are one of the important ways that we approach the fee structure

1692
02:31:16,760 --> 02:31:20,040
is we have water-only accounts.

1693
02:31:20,040 --> 02:31:26,100
So sometimes they're a counselor outside our town boundaries, so we don't serve sewer.

1694
02:31:26,520 --> 02:31:30,820
There's another provider, Ebb Core that provides the wastewater, and then a combined

1695
02:31:30,820 --> 02:31:35,360
account are typically those accounts that are in the town where we're both the water

1696
02:31:35,360 --> 02:31:41,880
provider and the wastewater provider, and that'll become important in terms of recharge

1697
02:31:41,880 --> 02:31:45,200
responsibilities when we try to set the phenol, explain that more.

1698
02:31:45,200 --> 02:31:52,980
But this gives you a sense again by land use type or account type about how the water use is allocated

1699
02:31:52,980 --> 02:31:57,460
and again, predominantly, majorly used by single family homes.

1700
02:31:58,360 --> 02:32:02,160
And then this is the slide I was just referring to a little bit we have it broken out between

1701
02:32:02,160 --> 02:32:09,260
water-only accounts, about 53% and then combined accounts at 47% and that'll make more sense

1702
02:32:09,260 --> 02:32:13,340
when you're looking at a fee structure, you're looking at a fee structure that reflects these

1703
02:32:13,340 --> 02:32:15,980
two different types of accounts as we move forward.

1704
02:32:16,740 --> 02:32:24,580
So now we can get into the resource fee itself, and that really starts with reminding ourselves

1705
02:32:24,580 --> 02:32:28,740
as both Mark and Bruce have done about what we've already accomplished.

1706
02:32:29,120 --> 02:32:36,040
So we have bought 3.1 million acre feet of water that is going to serve us over the next

1707
02:32:36,040 --> 02:32:42,640
hundred years. If you add up the mortgages on all of those transactions, it's about

1708
02:32:43,400 --> 02:32:49,820
$730 million that will be paid out over the next 30 to 40 years. And Mark and Bruce

1709
02:32:49,820 --> 02:32:54,260
talked earlier about the Cagrid savings that we've effectuated for our customers in excess

1710
02:32:54,260 --> 02:33:00,500
of $71 million. Because we've bought these assets and we're able to reduce their water

1711
02:33:00,500 --> 02:33:07,320
replenishment by using them. So from a funding perspective, as we develop our own program

1712
02:33:07,320 --> 02:33:14,240
to replenish the aquifer and not rely on Cagron anymore, we start out with these core objectives.

1713
02:33:15,300 --> 02:33:21,080
And they're going to be applicable to two fees, a monthly bill, which is the water resource fee,

1714
02:33:21,320 --> 02:33:26,420
and then a water resource capacity fee that I'll talk about later. That's a one-time payment

1715
02:33:26,420 --> 02:33:33,360
made from development to ensure that we have new water for new customers that move into town,

1716
02:33:33,540 --> 02:33:38,740
because what we've accomplished so far is the demand needs for who's here, but we also need

1717
02:33:38,740 --> 02:33:43,640
to have a plan for anybody new who comes to make sure that we have 100-year water supply for

1718
02:33:43,640 --> 02:33:44,540
those new accounts.

1719
02:33:45,100 --> 02:33:47,980
So we've focused on these four components.

1720
02:33:48,460 --> 02:33:54,020
One is we're going to recover the expenses, including the replacement water for red designation,

1721
02:33:54,020 --> 02:33:55,940
and I'll talk about what that means in a minute.

1722
02:33:56,620 --> 02:34:00,420
We want an objective of encouraging water conservation.

1723
02:34:01,600 --> 02:34:06,060
One of the cheapest water you can buy is the water you don't have to buy because you didn't

1724
02:34:06,060 --> 02:34:07,680
use it in the first place.

1725
02:34:07,980 --> 02:34:13,660
And so there's a lot of emphasis through the town in which we continue to accelerate about

1726
02:34:13,660 --> 02:34:19,520
working with HOA's and homeowners about using less water, whatever that might mean.

1727
02:34:20,000 --> 02:34:22,760
We want the fees to be fair and reasonable.

1728
02:34:22,760 --> 02:34:27,180
We don't want customers to pay our new fee and

1729
02:34:27,180 --> 02:34:32,640
Cagrid for example at the same time and we also want based on who's using the water

1730
02:34:32,640 --> 02:34:37,460
We want that customer class to pay their fair share and no cross subsidization if you will

1731
02:34:37,820 --> 02:34:43,180
And because we're dealing with assets that are last thing a hundred years

1732
02:34:43,180 --> 02:34:44,900
We want to make sure across

1733
02:34:44,900 --> 02:34:46,860
Decades or generations

1734
02:34:47,840 --> 02:34:50,960
Everybody's paying their fair share at the right time

1735
02:34:50,960 --> 02:34:55,280
we don't want people paying too much early and not enough people paying towards the end.

1736
02:34:55,760 --> 02:34:59,980
So we're trying to accomplish all of these as we've...

1737
02:35:01,160 --> 02:35:07,600
Constructed these fees, and are ready to present those both to you and the public this evening.

1738
02:35:08,160 --> 02:35:18,380
One of the components we spent so much time figuring out how to buy all the water we need, we also need to think about the water we need to maintain our designation.

1739
02:35:18,700 --> 02:35:26,420
So the rules that we have to adhere to there is we have a hundred year designation and then we have to get redesignated every ten years.

1740
02:35:26,420 --> 02:35:32,840
So for the water that we use in the first 10 years, we then have to buy that, so we have a new

1741
02:35:32,840 --> 02:35:34,720
91st to 100 year on the tail end.

1742
02:35:34,780 --> 02:35:39,920
So not only did we buy the water to make sure we have it for the current customers, but part

1743
02:35:39,920 --> 02:35:44,620
of the fee we're designing, we've got to make sure we've got enough revenues and resources

1744
02:35:44,620 --> 02:35:49,180
to buy the 10 year water we're going to have to have for the re-designation.

1745
02:35:49,180 --> 02:35:52,280
And that's a strong component of the fee.

1746
02:35:52,280 --> 02:35:58,260
And if you were to use a series of estimates, at that time, we're going to use about 17,000

1747
02:35:58,260 --> 02:36:00,540
acre feet over those 10 years.

1748
02:36:00,900 --> 02:36:05,820
When we go to buy that, we estimate that that would cost us about $120 million dollars.

1749
02:36:06,220 --> 02:36:10,340
So over this, as part of the construction of this fee, we're not only going to pay for the costs,

1750
02:36:10,680 --> 02:36:15,660
we are actually incurring today, but we want to set aside enough money to buy the water for

1751
02:36:15,660 --> 02:36:18,420
replacement to maintain our designation.

1752
02:36:18,420 --> 02:36:23,940
So I wanted to make sure that point is made to and as we try to design the feet.

1753
02:36:24,320 --> 02:36:30,080
In terms of dates, these are the foremost relevant dates that influence our cost structure,

1754
02:36:30,180 --> 02:36:34,620
which influences our feet. So we're looking to start the capacity fee in December.

1755
02:36:34,840 --> 02:36:39,180
We'll talk about that. The monthly fee, it would become effective in January.

1756
02:36:39,580 --> 02:36:45,240
In other words, that would be the date at which the fee applies to your usage in January.

1757
02:36:45,240 --> 02:36:49,580
And then you would use it for a month, and then you wouldn't see the bill until March.

1758
02:36:49,860 --> 02:36:51,560
And I've got the dates a little bit later on.

1759
02:36:51,980 --> 02:36:53,500
But that's the timeline we're on there.

1760
02:36:53,720 --> 02:36:59,340
And then based on where we are with becoming designated and that whole process or water flowing from

1761
02:36:59,340 --> 02:37:04,340
Parkway Halla, for planning purposes, we have both of those in years 231.

1762
02:37:04,440 --> 02:37:07,020
And those have different influences on our costs.

1763
02:37:07,200 --> 02:37:10,080
We have a cost structure while we're still in Cagrid.

1764
02:37:10,520 --> 02:37:14,080
And then that cost structure changes when we leave Cagrid and again, I'll talk more about that.

1765
02:37:14,080 --> 02:37:19,560
So those are some of the timelines that have influenced the expenses that we're trying to

1766
02:37:19,560 --> 02:37:20,360
plan for.

1767
02:37:21,100 --> 02:37:26,420
So we'll focus right now this section on the monthly bill itself.

1768
02:37:26,980 --> 02:37:31,640
And again, it's a dedicated funding source to pay for the cost to replenish the aquifer.

1769
02:37:31,880 --> 02:37:37,340
So water purchases we made, infrastructure, transportation through the CAP canal like

1770
02:37:37,340 --> 02:37:42,940
mentioned and all the other operating costs that are required to extract the water from

1771
02:37:42,940 --> 02:37:50,680
Harcohaila and move it into town. Back in December, back in December of 2025, or November

1772
02:37:50,680 --> 02:37:59,120
and December, the Council approved Resolution 1650-25 declaring your intention to create this fee.

1773
02:37:59,160 --> 02:38:05,200
If you remember, that was the around the time we finalized the transaction to buy our most recent

1774
02:38:05,200 --> 02:38:10,660
water purchases from Harcohaila, and it was at that time as we went through the rating process

1775
02:38:10,660 --> 02:38:16,920
for that debt issue that we committed to we're going to need a dedicated fee to pay for all

1776
02:38:16,920 --> 02:38:23,360
this water and to implement this particular program. If you look at the program itself at full

1777
02:38:23,360 --> 02:38:28,880
implementation and for planning we've got that out about eight years it'll have requirements in

1778
02:38:28,880 --> 02:38:35,420
revenue is about $60 million a year. For comparative point, our current water program generates

1779
02:38:35,420 --> 02:38:41,540
about $37 million a year. So you get the sense of the order of magnitude that we're dealing

1780
02:38:41,540 --> 02:38:49,800
with to replenish the aquifer. We've broken the implementation down into three steps. I want to

1781
02:38:49,800 --> 02:38:55,920
walk you through those steps. And my point of emphasis here will be mainly on the assumptions that

1782
02:38:55,920 --> 02:39:00,740
occur as we go through and work towards full implementation but there's the

1783
02:39:00,740 --> 02:39:05,020
initial fee and then there's replenishing the aquifer and then there's making

1784
02:39:05,020 --> 02:39:09,740
sure we have enough to deal with the replacement that I alluded to earlier. So the

1785
02:39:09,740 --> 02:39:18,940
first initial fee we have set up as a three-year period and during that time frame

1786
02:39:18,940 --> 02:39:22,380
and we'll talk about these in a few minutes we want to really set some

1787
02:39:22,380 --> 02:39:25,620
foundational issues around some key policy issues.

1788
02:39:26,260 --> 02:39:29,520
Like our effluent water credit, a late program,

1789
02:39:29,700 --> 02:39:32,360
and the Cagrid on behalf of payments that we'll talk about.

1790
02:39:32,640 --> 02:39:36,780
So setting those policies in place is really foundational

1791
02:39:36,780 --> 02:39:40,660
to help us initiate and set the first fee

1792
02:39:40,660 --> 02:39:43,060
in terms of covering debt and water purchases

1793
02:39:43,640 --> 02:39:46,380
and all the other operating expenses that I talked about.

1794
02:39:46,880 --> 02:39:50,680
So during this phase, here's some of the key assumptions

1795
02:39:50,680 --> 02:39:56,760
that we've been focused on. One is making sure that nobody pays twice, no customers are paying

1796
02:39:56,760 --> 02:39:59,980
aggregate and paying our new fees in our recommend.

1797
02:40:00,000 --> 02:40:11,220
Foundation there as we framed it as to make the payments of the cadred accounts where that would be applicable on there behalf of, and that would cost somewhere between 9 million and 11 million dollars a year.

1798
02:40:11,300 --> 02:40:21,200
And the result of that would mean that nobody, no, none of our accounts have any kind of financial obligation to cadred. The only financial obligation is to us.

1799
02:40:21,200 --> 02:40:22,820
We would hope.

1800
02:40:22,820 --> 02:40:24,100
Can we get a question in general?

1801
02:40:24,100 --> 02:40:24,840
Absolutely not.

1802
02:40:25,120 --> 02:40:25,700
I can't remember.

1803
02:40:25,700 --> 02:40:26,420
I can't remember Brown.

1804
02:40:27,120 --> 02:40:32,940
It's probably semantics, but I just want to be sure that when we're talking about this,

1805
02:40:33,800 --> 02:40:40,880
and specifically the K-Grid part, I heard you to say we want to ensure nobody pays twice,

1806
02:40:42,000 --> 02:40:49,620
but I think it might be more accurate to say that we don't want people to pay the total

1807
02:40:49,620 --> 02:40:52,100
amount in two different places.

1808
02:40:52,820 --> 02:40:53,680
Better said.

1809
02:40:54,300 --> 02:40:55,620
It wouldn't be twice.

1810
02:40:55,760 --> 02:40:57,160
It wouldn't be overpaying.

1811
02:40:57,520 --> 02:41:01,060
It's just that you'd pay part of it here and part of it there.

1812
02:41:01,300 --> 02:41:01,600
Well said.

1813
02:41:01,700 --> 02:41:02,380
Better said tonight.

1814
02:41:02,620 --> 02:41:02,840
Thanks.

1815
02:41:03,420 --> 02:41:06,420
We'll make sure we don't make that abbreviation in the future.

1816
02:41:09,480 --> 02:41:11,180
And in during that process,

1817
02:41:11,940 --> 02:41:16,120
we hope to see some improvements in conservation,

1818
02:41:16,120 --> 02:41:18,040
starting to reduce outdoor use.

1819
02:41:18,480 --> 02:41:20,280
We're going to roll out this new fee.

1820
02:41:20,280 --> 02:41:22,640
people are going to react to that new fee.

1821
02:41:22,860 --> 02:41:25,360
They might change their user habits at HOA's.

1822
02:41:25,460 --> 02:41:28,440
They might take out turf and do all kinds of other things.

1823
02:41:28,620 --> 02:41:34,120
So during this initial fee, we would expect some immediate reaction,

1824
02:41:34,420 --> 02:41:38,560
especially from the large water users to make plans over time,

1825
02:41:38,800 --> 02:41:40,860
to start losing less water.

1826
02:41:41,300 --> 02:41:44,240
And the reason that's important to us is the point I made earlier,

1827
02:41:44,840 --> 02:41:47,800
if we don't have to buy water at a more expensive price

1828
02:41:47,800 --> 02:41:49,320
than we currently have bought it,

1829
02:41:49,320 --> 02:41:53,940
That's going to help out with the fee and the long-term finances of the program.

1830
02:41:55,060 --> 02:42:01,680
And then the other component is the intergenerational equity and financing of the cost

1831
02:42:01,680 --> 02:42:02,300
of water.

1832
02:42:02,440 --> 02:42:05,560
And there's a few slides on it later, but we've talked about this several times.

1833
02:42:05,600 --> 02:42:11,260
There is a disconnect that we're paying for the water over a much shorter period than we

1834
02:42:11,260 --> 02:42:12,500
actually get to use the water.

1835
02:42:12,520 --> 02:42:17,620
We got the pay for the water over 30 or 40 years, but we get to use the water over 100

1836
02:42:17,620 --> 02:42:29,260
So trying to figure out how to match those two time frames up a little bit better essentially results in paying less for longer and again could be perceived as a little as more equitable.

1837
02:42:30,740 --> 02:42:39,220
When we get to phase two, this is where we actually start seeing water come out of Harcohaila and being delivered to the town from years four to seven.

1838
02:42:39,680 --> 02:42:46,240
So what happens during that period of time, we will have had constructed all the infrastructure in Harcohaila, we'll have operating costs.

1839
02:42:46,240 --> 02:42:48,200
We're also going to have in town facilities.

1840
02:42:48,200 --> 02:42:50,500
We have two recharge pits that we're working on.

1841
02:42:50,500 --> 02:42:52,180
They'll be located in the town.

1842
02:42:52,440 --> 02:42:54,320
We're going to have operating expenses there.

1843
02:42:54,720 --> 02:42:56,480
So during that four to seven year period,

1844
02:42:56,640 --> 02:43:01,840
we're actually ramp up and you see the water being transported into the town.

1845
02:43:02,420 --> 02:43:05,680
The key assumptions there surround the infrastructure itself,

1846
02:43:05,880 --> 02:43:10,240
how much is it going to cost to transport the water from

1847
02:43:10,240 --> 02:43:15,900
to the CAP, how much is CAP going to charge us to put the water in the canal, et cetera, et cetera.

1848
02:43:16,560 --> 02:43:28,100
So a lot of these are making the best assumptions that we can, but every year we will be back in front of you saying we think the fee needs to go up by this amount because we now have more information on the cost of the program.

1849
02:43:29,280 --> 02:43:40,220
And along the way at some point we will have a better sense of how much of some of the infrastructure that we're building is growth related and we could put our transfer those costs to the one time capacity fee and not have

1850
02:43:40,220 --> 02:43:47,060
in the monthly bill. So it is predicated on a lot of assumptions and this is program that's going to be very

1851
02:43:47,060 --> 02:43:54,680
actively managed by staff on many different levels. That takes us to the third step where we've got the

1852
02:43:54,680 --> 02:43:59,740
water coming and then what our next immediate concern would be is, all right, how much of that replacement

1853
02:43:59,740 --> 02:44:04,240
water, how much money do we have to buy their placement water, when do we need to buy it and

1854
02:44:04,240 --> 02:44:09,200
and how do we need to make up that gap? That would be the third step and again the corresponding

1855
02:44:09,200 --> 02:44:14,560
assumptions there, the timing and the availability of the water, where are we going to buy

1856
02:44:14,560 --> 02:44:21,180
it from, what's it going to cost, and then again, trying to address that matching theory

1857
02:44:21,180 --> 02:44:27,540
between the length of the debt and the length of the asset. So that's an oversimplified

1858
02:44:29,000 --> 02:44:33,860
presentation of how we're going to get to full implementation of the program, but I wanted to

1859
02:44:33,860 --> 02:44:39,920
that out because with that we can it'll talking about the fee will make a lot more sense in that particular

1860
02:44:39,920 --> 02:44:45,600
context. So Mayor I'll stop there and see if there's there's any questions about really the program

1861
02:44:45,600 --> 02:44:54,180
and all of the moving parts that it takes to replenish the aquifer under the program that we're getting ready to stand up.

1862
02:44:54,180 --> 02:44:55,620
Did you have another...

1863
02:44:55,620 --> 02:44:57,260
I don't have another one.

1864
02:44:59,380 --> 02:44:59,900
It's clear.

1865
02:45:00,000 --> 02:45:29,320
Perfect. We will keep on going. So now we're going to talk about the fee itself. And as a Bruce, very thoughtfully put in the context, we're not going to bring anything forward to you till it's very well thought out. And that's where we are with this. We're getting ready to start a public process tomorrow. But we feel comfortable. This is a really good jumping off point for people to react to, including including the town council and the importance of the decision.

1866
02:45:30,000 --> 02:45:35,600
So we're recommending that the fee gets phased over five years for all accounts and you'll see

1867
02:45:35,600 --> 02:45:38,020
some graphics of that in a minute.

1868
02:45:38,300 --> 02:45:43,880
This gives people time to adjust to the fee, not only in terms of a financial perspective,

1869
02:45:44,420 --> 02:45:50,040
but also from a water use perspective, especially back to those large water users.

1870
02:45:50,600 --> 02:45:55,880
What is some of the low-hanging fruit, for example, that they could do to change their consumption

1871
02:45:55,880 --> 02:46:01,780
in a water which would mitigate the effect of the fee and then on a financial standpoint

1872
02:46:01,780 --> 02:46:03,680
he gives people to plan for something.

1873
02:46:04,120 --> 02:46:08,260
We're going from here starting here we need to get to here and we're going to do with

1874
02:46:08,260 --> 02:46:11,800
the systemic rating, increases for each of the next five years.

1875
02:46:12,360 --> 02:46:19,600
We think and we believe that that's fair, we're spreading that out over a period of time.

1876
02:46:19,640 --> 02:46:23,300
I talked earlier about all of the assumptions that go into these expenses.

1877
02:46:23,300 --> 02:46:33,560
So every year that goes by, the assumptions will become reality, and we'll have a better sense of the revenues that we need, which will drive these annual fee increases.

1878
02:46:33,980 --> 02:46:43,520
We have those estimated now, they're there for directional purposes only, but they're not probably going to be the exact fee that I'm back here a year from now.

1879
02:46:43,620 --> 02:46:52,260
I asking you to adopt for years too. The other thing that's unique, and it has remnants of property taxes, as you've heard me talk about those for years.

1880
02:46:52,260 --> 02:46:58,340
But the impact of this fee is going to vary by account and it's complicated.

1881
02:46:59,740 --> 02:47:02,260
We have 46,000 accounts.

1882
02:47:03,780 --> 02:47:11,460
Each one of these, the answer to what's going to happen to my bill, there's 46,000 answers to that question.

1883
02:47:12,080 --> 02:47:17,580
And they're mainly driven by three things, two of them are up there now that I'm looking at the slide.

1884
02:47:18,400 --> 02:47:21,660
The first one that's not up there is how much water do I use.

1885
02:47:22,320 --> 02:47:27,680
The other is am I a combined account or am I a water only account where you get some

1886
02:47:27,680 --> 02:47:33,180
of the town get some of the water back as effluent and we don't have to buy as much for

1887
02:47:33,180 --> 02:47:33,460
you.

1888
02:47:33,560 --> 02:47:36,340
So we have a different fee structure for you, we'll explain that in a minute.

1889
02:47:36,880 --> 02:47:42,720
And then the other one that's most influential is, what kind of Cagrid account am I now?

1890
02:47:42,860 --> 02:47:47,280
Am I a Cagrid account that's exempt or am I a Cagrid account that has to pay something

1891
02:47:47,280 --> 02:47:54,820
to Cagre. So the answer to this question varies by account. If you'll remember back to when

1892
02:47:54,820 --> 02:48:00,300
we raised the 50th of water bill, 15% about a year ago, we had an online tool where you essentially

1893
02:48:00,300 --> 02:48:06,540
just typed in your address and based on your historical water use, it told you what the fee would

1894
02:48:06,540 --> 02:48:11,720
be under that same circumstance. We're doing the same thing with this and that'll be a useful tool

1895
02:48:11,720 --> 02:48:15,780
for our customers and you'll get a demonstration of that in two weeks.

1896
02:48:16,860 --> 02:48:21,340
So, but we have to acknowledge that it's complicated because everybody's not at the exact

1897
02:48:21,340 --> 02:48:26,020
same place and combined account and water is just one example.

1898
02:48:26,960 --> 02:48:28,820
So how does the phasing work?

1899
02:48:29,300 --> 02:48:35,360
Essentially, in the early years, we're not charging what we should to cover expenses and

1900
02:48:35,360 --> 02:48:39,640
then we get to the point where it's about break even and then for a few years after that,

1901
02:48:39,640 --> 02:48:44,160
We actually collect a little bit more than we need to cover the expenses because we're making

1902
02:48:44,160 --> 02:48:46,640
out for the amount that we didn't cover in the early years.

1903
02:48:47,800 --> 02:48:52,140
At the end of the summer during the eighth year, you sort of break even, and it all works

1904
02:48:52,140 --> 02:48:55,020
out which you underpaid and you overpaid works out.

1905
02:48:55,300 --> 02:49:00,340
I've just got a couple of illustrative years here in the first year where the first couple

1906
02:49:00,340 --> 02:49:04,740
of years were collecting $12 million less than we should in terms of the expenses, but as

1907
02:49:04,740 --> 02:49:07,500
you can see we close that gap in the ensuing years.

1908
02:49:07,500 --> 02:49:12,920
And again, one of two reasons to do that is to allow the customers to adjust to the new

1909
02:49:12,920 --> 02:49:18,060
fee both from a financial perspective and from a usage perspective.

1910
02:49:18,220 --> 02:49:23,340
As we implement this program, that's essentially dealing with something that costs, that

1911
02:49:23,340 --> 02:49:24,680
we're dealing with for 100 years.

1912
02:49:25,320 --> 02:49:26,880
So we're taking a longer term of growth.

1913
02:49:27,020 --> 02:49:30,560
We don't have to financially fix this in two years.

1914
02:49:31,000 --> 02:49:36,900
We have a longer period of time to introduce this fee, get the fee where we want it to be,

1915
02:49:36,900 --> 02:49:42,660
still protect the assets that we bought and the fairness that we're trying to create as

1916
02:49:42,660 --> 02:49:49,660
we develop this program. So I think that's a really important point. One of the best places

1917
02:49:49,660 --> 02:49:53,820
that kind of look and say, well, how does this affect me? As we look at through the lens of

1918
02:49:53,820 --> 02:49:59,520
a single family account. There's two things to remember when we talk about single family accounts.

1919
02:50:00,300 --> 02:50:15,200
The water only accounts that we have and others were not the water provider. They use more water. They tend to be our larger accounts and have more landscaping needs. So they use more water to begin with.

1920
02:50:15,560 --> 02:50:26,900
And then the other thing that was really important to us as we built the structure of this program is that those accounts were the towns both the water provider and the wastewater provider.

1921
02:50:26,900 --> 02:50:38,000
And about 40% of the consumption that we build and form on the water side, we get back through our wastewater system and we are able to recharge that through that process.

1922
02:50:38,700 --> 02:50:40,800
We felt they should get a credit for that water.

1923
02:50:40,940 --> 02:50:44,150
They're essentially paying a wastewater bill to do that.

1924
02:50:45,000 --> 02:50:48,520
And so they're back to the point earlier about paying two places.

1925
02:50:48,840 --> 02:50:52,840
They're paying to replenish the aquifer through their water bill partially.

1926
02:50:53,280 --> 02:50:55,360
And they're also paying through their wastewater bill.

1927
02:50:55,360 --> 02:51:10,360
And so this 40% credit acknowledges that relationship because they're getting that water back from a combined town account worth both water and waste water customers.

1928
02:51:11,100 --> 02:51:17,980
So, when you see a lot of the impacts, it's going to be referred to as water-only and combined

1929
02:51:17,980 --> 02:51:24,280
account. And so, we want to establish that difference. Two reasons that are better or more

1930
02:51:24,280 --> 02:51:29,440
detailed, a lot of numbers on this slide, but the water-only accounts in the first column

1931
02:51:29,440 --> 02:51:35,340
and what we're doing is piecing together the difference which has two pieces. One,

1932
02:51:40,140 --> 02:51:40,140
they're

1933
02:51:40,140 --> 02:51:45,340
and gallon rate, but there's more gallons to be billed in this particular example.

1934
02:51:45,920 --> 02:51:55,180
Here at 13,000 gallons versus 9, so that element alone is $13 more a month, and then they're

1935
02:51:55,180 --> 02:51:58,580
not getting the afternoon credit, which has a value of $11 a month.

1936
02:51:58,800 --> 02:52:03,480
So they're billed all other things being equal is different, but it's different for two reasons

1937
02:52:03,480 --> 02:52:08,180
one because they use more water and one because they're not getting the afternoon credit.

1938
02:52:08,180 --> 02:52:14,920
So it's really important to make that distinction as you start seeing a lot of the information about rates and who pays.

1939
02:52:15,960 --> 02:52:30,260
This is a very busy slide, but it summarizes from the average homeowner's perspective what the bill will look like over the six years, and I want to take a few minutes and explain this.

1940
02:52:30,260 --> 02:52:41,100
So the first column there's headed new fee for combined account, so this is one where there's water and wastewater, and they're using about 9,000 gallons a month.

1941
02:52:41,920 --> 02:52:44,040
So right now, they pay $41.

1942
02:52:45,980 --> 02:52:50,740
With this new fee, they'll pay an additional $16 in the first year.

1943
02:52:51,620 --> 02:52:56,000
So their total bill will be $57 for water from their perspective.

1944
02:52:56,640 --> 02:53:03,320
You're two, they pay $24 for the new fee so their total water bill will be $65.

1945
02:53:03,980 --> 02:53:08,000
That's how this entire schedule is set up.

1946
02:53:08,360 --> 02:53:13,880
You can see the distinction between the combined account, increasing the first year at $16.

1947
02:53:15,100 --> 02:53:17,540
And then at the 40, and that's the slides I just walked you through.

1948
02:53:17,700 --> 02:53:20,840
The reason for that is water only uses more water.

1949
02:53:21,000 --> 02:53:24,600
And again, in this particular case, it's 4,000 gallons more a month.

1950
02:53:24,600 --> 02:53:26,860
and then they're not getting the effluent credit.

1951
02:53:27,080 --> 02:53:31,960
So that's the reason of the $24 increase between the 16 and the 40.

1952
02:53:33,600 --> 02:53:40,300
That, this, our separation continues throughout the entire phasing period and it's foundational

1953
02:53:40,300 --> 02:53:44,960
in the fee that there'll always be that difference between the combined and the water only.

1954
02:53:45,640 --> 02:53:51,400
Very important that I communicate that clearly as we go, as we go through the fee structure

1955
02:53:51,400 --> 02:53:59,040
because it is foundational to having those revenues come in and again, that's as we try

1956
02:53:59,040 --> 02:54:03,840
to make sure the money is coming from the places where we need it, where we're not

1957
02:54:03,840 --> 02:54:07,760
having to buy as much water because we're getting back some of it through their wastewater

1958
02:54:07,760 --> 02:54:08,280
payment.

1959
02:54:08,720 --> 02:54:11,300
We don't think they should be paying as much on their water bill.

1960
02:54:11,720 --> 02:54:12,540
If it's like I got a question.

1961
02:54:12,960 --> 02:54:14,300
Sure, do you have a council member, Brad?

1962
02:54:14,300 --> 02:54:22,540
For this slide, I would worry that one potential take away if it's not denoted as an

1963
02:54:22,540 --> 02:54:29,260
astrosque might be that folks would think, okay, the first year my bill goes up by $16.

1964
02:54:30,280 --> 02:54:36,360
So for a total of 57 as you mentioned, and then the next year it goes up from 57 plus the 24.

1965
02:54:36,620 --> 02:54:40,600
So a cumulative, we need to keep referencing back to the original 21.

1966
02:54:40,600 --> 02:54:53,840
It's not cumulative. Instead, the difference between year one and two would be eight dollars, for instance, and then nine dollars the next year.

1967
02:54:54,660 --> 02:54:59,700
So really the increase year over year in year three is nine dollars from year two.

1968
02:55:00,000 --> 02:55:05,360
Good feedback for us. Again, this is the first time the public seen these and as we go through these.

1969
02:55:06,620 --> 02:55:12,940
It's always helpful to see how people look at things. So we will take that feedback and we can modify this slide accordingly.

1970
02:55:14,580 --> 02:55:16,580
But council member, Pitya, you had a comment.

1971
02:55:16,940 --> 02:55:26,000
So Scott, we talked about this earlier. One thing I could, I mean, you could do in addition to that is what's confusing is they might also think that

1972
02:55:26,000 --> 02:55:55,240
Okay, it's the new bill on year one, $40, so it's going up by $40 for a total of 40 plus 57, so what I would do is actually separate it out and say, you know, baseline 57 year one plus 40 equals total 97 year to 57 plus 59 equals XYZ so that it's clear a how much it's going up and be what the new total is on a monthly average bill

1973
02:55:55,240 --> 02:55:57,340
for each of the years.

1974
02:55:58,080 --> 02:56:02,300
We can take all that feedback and develop the material according to both for what's going

1975
02:56:02,300 --> 02:56:07,400
to be public facing as well as future council meetings and some people focus on the increase

1976
02:56:07,400 --> 02:56:09,560
and some people focus on the total bill.

1977
02:56:09,980 --> 02:56:12,260
So we'll cover them both by making these modifications.

1978
02:56:13,260 --> 02:56:18,400
So again, looking at through the lens of a single family, an average, quote unquote, single

1979
02:56:18,400 --> 02:56:24,200
family bill, here's a real life example.

1980
02:56:24,200 --> 02:56:37,160
If you just use somebody who uses 10,000 gallons, which is a jumping off point, and I kind of want to walk you through this because this again draws the disparity between a combined account and a water only.

1981
02:56:37,400 --> 02:56:46,620
But the first numeric column there is combined, so their current bill right now is 34, 39, 44, they pay a base fee, and then they pay a usage fee.

1982
02:56:46,620 --> 02:56:51,700
The water resource fee, $30.70, because they're combined.

1983
02:56:51,880 --> 02:56:54,900
They get the effluent credit at 40%.

1984
02:56:54,900 --> 02:57:00,000
And so their new water resource fee is $18.42.

1985
02:57:00,980 --> 02:57:03,780
And if you look at that over percent of their original bill,

1986
02:57:04,620 --> 02:57:05,900
it's 47%.

1987
02:57:05,900 --> 02:57:08,820
So this gets to the point you were just making about what's the increase

1988
02:57:08,820 --> 02:57:10,520
and then what's their total.

1989
02:57:11,060 --> 02:57:13,260
And then conversely on the next numeric column,

1990
02:57:14,080 --> 02:57:19,540
It's the same all the way down through the effluent credit which they don't get because they're

1991
02:57:19,540 --> 02:57:25,360
water-only so you can see there that they're fee from the new, they're amount from the new

1992
02:57:25,360 --> 02:57:25,960
fees $30.

1993
02:57:26,240 --> 02:57:28,640
In 70 cents total bills a little over $70.

1994
02:57:29,780 --> 02:57:35,240
So again, there's 46,000 of these examples if we were to calculate everybody's bill.

1995
02:57:35,840 --> 02:57:42,120
And that's like at simple level number one, if we throw in Cagra just to be illustrative,

1996
02:57:42,120 --> 02:57:47,720
So, we have the same bill at the top, the same 57 and 70.

1997
02:57:48,380 --> 02:57:55,660
Now we take a look at accounts where we're going to pay the Cagrid bill on their behalf.

1998
02:57:56,340 --> 02:58:01,840
So, in this particular case, you have again varying results where essentially this person's bill

1999
02:58:01,840 --> 02:58:04,380
is going to go down by 15 cents a month.

2000
02:58:04,820 --> 02:58:10,660
And then the other bill, their bill is only going to go up $12 because they're getting the benefit of the Cagrid reduction.

2001
02:58:10,660 --> 02:58:19,000
So, they'll pay us in the far right column, they'll pay us $70 and $14, and they won't pay

2002
02:58:19,000 --> 02:58:24,660
Cagrid 1857, so that's the net to them not to us as the point I wanted to make.

2003
02:58:25,080 --> 02:58:30,860
So again, trying to explain what the bill does and then what it does with Cagrid, it almost

2004
02:58:30,860 --> 02:58:35,100
needs to be done on a one-off basis and for us to really explain that.

2005
02:58:35,260 --> 02:58:40,580
So just wanted to provide that as an example of the disparate results that all of our

2006
02:58:40,580 --> 02:58:45,760
customers are going to see and we will take steps as we do with property taxes and other

2007
02:58:45,760 --> 02:58:51,640
things to try to explain to people how that all works and I think that tool online is going

2008
02:58:51,640 --> 02:58:57,000
to be very helpful for people that really want to understand what the net of all these moving

2009
02:58:57,000 --> 02:59:01,600
parts is going to be and then he's going to come up behind me and confuse it further more where

2010
02:59:01,600 --> 02:59:05,920
we think we can make some changes to the current base and actually make some reductions to their

2011
02:59:05,920 --> 02:59:09,940
But, you know, like moving the thing three and four times isn't enough right now.

2012
02:59:10,840 --> 02:59:16,880
So, but just wanted to introduce these two, as we have more conversations and we can show

2013
02:59:16,880 --> 02:59:20,740
you the dispersing graphs about the range of how many customers there are bills going to

2014
02:59:20,740 --> 02:59:22,860
go up from ten to twelve dollars a year.

2015
02:59:22,960 --> 02:59:27,120
We'll do that in future meetings, but I wanted to ground it with just a couple of real-life

2016
02:59:27,120 --> 02:59:32,500
examples that you can kind of hang on to as you move forward and understand the lens,

2017
02:59:32,500 --> 02:59:36,260
really of how the homeowner is going to look through this bill and the questions they might ask

2018
02:59:36,260 --> 02:59:40,400
and how they want to see things displayed. That's important for us to listen to that and react

2019
02:59:40,400 --> 02:59:46,760
to that. So that's single family homes and then on the other end of the spectrum you have an

2020
02:59:46,760 --> 02:59:56,540
HOA and we just used Cortina here. So Cortina for perspective uses 220 acre feet of water a year.

2021
02:59:57,440 --> 02:59:59,980
So they're going to pay to replenish that through our youth.

2022
03:00:00,680 --> 03:00:24,260
This is these are the phased numbers. So at the end of full implementation, there are bills going to be $763,000 under this program. We're starting off at 2.18, and then phasing it just at the same proportionality. We did with the single family homes, but obviously the dollar amounts are much, oh, much greater.

2023
03:00:24,260 --> 03:00:33,680
When Constance shows you the schedule, we're having separate meetings with HOA's, customers, and separate meetings with irrigation customers.

2024
03:00:34,760 --> 03:00:40,000
Those are our two biggest, largest water users that have these kinds of impacts.

2025
03:00:40,500 --> 03:00:43,140
And so we are very sensitive to that.

2026
03:00:43,600 --> 03:00:49,760
And I think the work that we've done, starting with the phasing and some other structural changes.

2027
03:00:49,760 --> 03:00:56,460
We are a structural thought that we put into the bill will help as we have those discussions.

2028
03:00:56,760 --> 03:01:04,040
We will share that feedback with you in future council meetings, but this is a large bill, obviously,

2029
03:01:04,240 --> 03:01:11,800
and it is an extreme case, but we have applied the same phasing and approach as we have to a single family home in the community.

2030
03:01:12,240 --> 03:01:16,240
Everybody is being treated the same in terms of the relativness of the phasing.

2031
03:01:16,260 --> 03:01:17,520
It is a point I wanted to make.

2032
03:01:19,560 --> 03:01:20,940
So, Mayor...

2033
03:01:20,940 --> 03:01:23,560
Councilmember Benning has a commenter question.

2034
03:01:24,460 --> 03:01:26,060
I kind of asked her.

2035
03:01:26,880 --> 03:01:31,500
I kind of asked this question earlier to you, but I'm going to go back to it.

2036
03:01:31,880 --> 03:01:37,540
So, just for a kind of, I'm not, don't mean to put you on the spot, but I'm just saying,

2037
03:01:38,160 --> 03:01:44,220
as we work with our large water users, the HOA's and school districts,

2038
03:01:44,220 --> 03:01:52,620
and we try to encourage them to convert their landscape so that they reduce their water.

2039
03:01:53,360 --> 03:02:00,600
Do you have kind of a feel for what kind of dent that would make in this?

2040
03:02:02,960 --> 03:02:09,520
I'm just going to use a round number 300% over six years increase.

2041
03:02:12,860 --> 03:02:19,420
in terms of the are you talking about this the phasing I'm I'm saying the the

2042
03:02:19,420 --> 03:02:27,110
2018 and 50 for Cortina right now is based on the amount of water that they use

2043
03:02:27,440 --> 03:02:33,490
for maintaining all their landscaping throughout their community and looking at

2044
03:02:33,490 --> 03:02:43,210
year six, it's increased by 300 percent, which assumes that they're still using water at the same rate.

2045
03:02:44,090 --> 03:02:59,310
And so my question is, what's realistically could an HOA expect to be able to reduce their annual water use to offset some of this additional cost?

2046
03:02:59,310 --> 03:03:01,510
I'll let Mark provide some respect.

2047
03:03:01,930 --> 03:03:03,010
Thank you.

2048
03:03:04,370 --> 03:03:10,850
Mayor Council Member Benning, just like Scott said, there's a lot of different variables that

2049
03:03:10,850 --> 03:03:11,790
go into that.

2050
03:03:12,010 --> 03:03:16,750
But let me just kind of give you a couple of conservation things that we see out in the

2051
03:03:16,750 --> 03:03:16,970
field.

2052
03:03:17,530 --> 03:03:23,970
If we look at our HOAs and we compare them to what water they're currently using, to what

2053
03:03:23,970 --> 03:03:29,290
water they should be using if we put them on a budget based on the actual landslide

2054
03:03:29,290 --> 03:03:35,570
keeping we have. The average is about 10% over. That may be different for

2055
03:03:35,570 --> 03:03:41,110
Cortina or other communities, but on average, general better use of water is

2056
03:03:41,110 --> 03:03:47,370
probably about 10%. Another one on a conservation basis, again, I don't want to

2057
03:03:47,370 --> 03:03:55,490
touch any buttons here, but overseeding is about 20% of their annual use. So if

2058
03:03:55,490 --> 03:04:03,630
They become more strategic in what they oversee and not oversee non-active areas, or they focus

2059
03:04:03,630 --> 03:04:08,070
at, they can put there's a lot of low-hanging fruit in there, and then on top of that,

2060
03:04:08,150 --> 03:04:12,490
you actually have the strategic recalculation of their landscaping.

2061
03:04:13,430 --> 03:04:18,570
So there will be some natural 5 to 10 percent, just we're going to do better with our water.

2062
03:04:19,150 --> 03:04:24,030
And then I think you start getting into a 20 percent by starting to make some changes.

2063
03:04:24,030 --> 03:04:31,710
The one thing I do want to say though, if they're not going to drop by 50 percent, you're going

2064
03:04:31,710 --> 03:04:39,050
to see some natural elasticity in that we're going to find that number a little better.

2065
03:04:39,350 --> 03:04:45,830
But we would expect Scott says, as these numbers start increasing, the return on their

2066
03:04:45,830 --> 03:04:48,730
investment from paying more attention will be greater.

2067
03:04:48,730 --> 03:04:58,370
So I will probably, I will take the under on all of those numbers for Cortina, but we'll have to see how that goes.

2068
03:04:59,010 --> 03:04:59,970
Is that hopefully that answer?

2069
03:05:00,000 --> 03:05:00,820
Your question.

2070
03:05:01,140 --> 03:05:02,900
Mark another question by council member.

2071
03:05:02,920 --> 03:05:03,360
I have a question.

2072
03:05:03,460 --> 03:05:10,640
I was just going to comment along the same lines that the variables are at least three, and it's

2073
03:05:10,640 --> 03:05:15,260
hard to, and without a crystal ball, it's hard to figure out what will happen.

2074
03:05:15,380 --> 03:05:20,180
The 10 percent, overage for most of the communities, that's the lowest hanging fruit.

2075
03:05:20,660 --> 03:05:22,900
And then after that is better conservation.

2076
03:05:22,900 --> 03:05:27,820
And then one other factor is statute at the,

2077
03:05:28,280 --> 03:05:31,740
there's own revised statutes that are limiting

2078
03:05:31,740 --> 03:05:36,540
and taking turf out of production by state law.

2079
03:05:37,140 --> 03:05:39,820
So that's another factor that we don't necessarily need.

2080
03:05:40,220 --> 03:05:42,560
That one is outside of Queen Creek's control,

2081
03:05:42,780 --> 03:05:44,500
but under the management plan,

2082
03:05:45,120 --> 03:05:50,700
the regulations are watering turf will become more an issue for each choice.

2083
03:05:50,700 --> 03:05:58,480
So if you want to learn more about that, it's the fifth management plan you can just Google it'll, you'll, you'll know more than you want to.

2084
03:06:04,680 --> 03:06:14,560
All right. Thanks for the question. Thanks Mark. So those were just a couple of examples to give you a flavor of of what the what the impacts of the fee will be.

2085
03:06:15,840 --> 03:06:22,520
Embedded in the recommendations are these four policy issues that we wanted to go through

2086
03:06:22,520 --> 03:06:28,860
And highlight for the council, some of whom I've alluded to, some of whom we talked about, so we can move some through some of these.

2087
03:06:29,220 --> 03:06:35,220
Fairly, quickly, we talked about the effluent credit for a combined account.

2088
03:06:35,720 --> 03:06:38,460
I did reference specifically to single family homes.

2089
03:06:38,780 --> 03:06:47,920
We have different credit amounts for mixed use and building only there at the bottom, based on actual in-town examples of where we have that.

2090
03:06:47,920 --> 03:06:53,580
So we pretty comfortable in those environments how much of the effluent actually comes back to

2091
03:06:53,580 --> 03:06:56,380
the town and in some cases it's greater than the 40%.

2092
03:06:56,380 --> 03:07:01,100
So again we're trying to be fair and equitable to those types of uses and accounts to give

2093
03:07:01,100 --> 03:07:05,420
them the credit for the water that we know they're giving back through the wastewater system.

2094
03:07:05,660 --> 03:07:06,200
Mayor, do you have a question?

2095
03:07:06,280 --> 03:07:06,700
Thank you.

2096
03:07:06,940 --> 03:07:07,000
Thank you.

2097
03:07:07,000 --> 03:07:15,050
I've got a question from a resident actually who's watching online and I think it's a good

2098
03:07:15,050 --> 03:07:15,350
point.

2099
03:07:15,350 --> 03:07:21,830
So for those that are water-only accounts or what some call fresh water that are not returning

2100
03:07:21,830 --> 03:07:30,150
effluent to the town of Queen Creek, the concern is that there's no credit being given for

2101
03:07:30,150 --> 03:07:35,550
the water that is going back into the ground to the septic. Can you address that point? I'm actually

2102
03:07:35,550 --> 03:07:40,070
going to read this part. Caggers being framed that the town is paying this on behalf of each of the

2103
03:07:40,070 --> 03:07:40,610
owners,

2104
03:07:42,650 --> 03:07:46,870
the point is that it is just a cost of doing business, just like any other expense

2105
03:07:46,870 --> 03:07:51,290
for delivering water, a little bit concerning about the way it's being framed.

2106
03:07:51,470 --> 03:07:59,430
So can you address that for those who have septic mayor council member Padilla, one of

2107
03:07:59,430 --> 03:08:07,330
the things when we become designated, the town, the town will receive what they call as a credit

2108
03:08:07,330 --> 03:08:08,550
for instantile recharge.

2109
03:08:09,210 --> 03:08:13,830
And that recognizes the water that's otherwise being absorbed

2110
03:08:13,830 --> 03:08:15,550
within the community.

2111
03:08:16,130 --> 03:08:20,770
And that is a standard, no questions asked, it's 4%.

2112
03:08:20,770 --> 03:08:22,990
One of the things we would be doing

2113
03:08:22,990 --> 03:08:27,530
is we'd be looking to based on the number of washes

2114
03:08:27,530 --> 03:08:29,690
and other things we have in the community.

2115
03:08:30,250 --> 03:08:32,470
For example, Chandler was able to negotiate

2116
03:08:32,470 --> 03:08:34,130
a higher internal recharge.

2117
03:08:34,830 --> 03:08:46,390
Unfortunately, that doesn't answer the customer's specific question, but we are receiving a benefit of an overall reduced level of consumption for some of that.

2118
03:08:46,930 --> 03:09:02,650
The specific value the town is receiving, septic systems are generally like irrigation. The water goes away and it doesn't come back. So outside of that, we don't have anything built into the model for septic systems.

2119
03:09:02,650 --> 03:09:08,270
If I understand you correctly, did you say the credit is 4%?

2120
03:09:08,630 --> 03:09:16,790
Across the board for the entire system, so we get, so when we automatically get a reduction

2121
03:09:16,790 --> 03:09:24,070
in our replenishment requirements by 4% for the entire system, recognizing the stuff

2122
03:09:24,070 --> 03:09:25,750
that already, all the water that they're doing.

2123
03:09:25,750 --> 03:09:27,170
And who's giving that credit?

2124
03:09:27,170 --> 03:09:32,490
But ADWR, when they do our designation, if we state-wide, or is that simply our agreement?

2125
03:09:32,670 --> 03:09:40,030
That's our agreement, and as I said, when we put in our application, it is 4% without

2126
03:09:40,030 --> 03:09:41,530
even asking for it.

2127
03:09:42,130 --> 03:09:46,430
We have to make an argument through hydrology that it should be higher because we have

2128
03:09:46,430 --> 03:09:48,690
more water being recharged in our community.

2129
03:09:48,950 --> 03:09:54,830
If we had more septic systems, if we had more, like I said, I think we could make an argument

2130
03:09:54,830 --> 03:09:59,970
that there's more than 4% because of the number of washers and other things and we will be pursuing that.

2131
03:10:00,000 --> 03:10:12,240
That is an option. What do you think realistically, so if I understand you correctly, you're going to be negotiating on behalf of the septic users to get as high as possible. What do you think is the highest percentage that we could get?

2132
03:10:12,600 --> 03:10:16,080
I think I think Chandler got eight or nine percent reduction.

2133
03:10:16,860 --> 03:10:22,100
It's not just for septic. It is for everybody in the town gets that whole benefit.

2134
03:10:22,100 --> 03:10:30,400
Right. Okay. Any idea on the estimated number of septic users versus I think Scott. I mean,

2135
03:10:30,520 --> 03:10:35,520
it would be the in-town water only is and I don't know that number off the top of my head. We can

2136
03:10:35,520 --> 03:10:41,560
we can follow up with all park are we looking at 20% 10%. I'm just going to go from the master plan and I

2137
03:10:41,560 --> 03:10:48,520
believe it was about 2,000 acre feet of water that's going to septic water only folks in the town.

2138
03:10:49,360 --> 03:10:53,760
that was the conversion. When we did our last master plan, there's about 2,000 acre

2139
03:10:53,760 --> 03:10:57,780
feet of septic that we're losing from the sources.

2140
03:10:57,920 --> 03:11:02,240
What would that be percentage or fraction-wise of the total bottom line?

2141
03:11:02,320 --> 03:11:08,400
House is again, we're probably 4,500,000 total.

2142
03:11:08,400 --> 03:11:12,000
The 4,500 on septic out of a total of 46,000 customers.

2143
03:11:12,000 --> 03:11:17,520
seven percent satisfied. Okay. Thank you. It's very specific for not knowing Scott.

2144
03:11:21,020 --> 03:11:25,380
So the only other question and it's not a question, it's just a comment. As I do the

2145
03:11:25,380 --> 03:11:32,120
math here for both H.O.A. Scott, you and I did it on my water bill, which was a disgusting

2146
03:11:34,900 --> 03:11:41,400
example of usage. It's looking like at year six if there's no reduction in water

2147
03:11:42,280 --> 03:11:59,600
across the board, I'm seeing a total of a total bill that will be six months, six years from now approximately 350% of the current bill, which would represent nearly a 250% because we subtract 100% for the actual cost currently.

2148
03:12:00,560 --> 03:12:08,540
But a 250% increase or rather said in six years the bill would be 350% of what it is currently.

2149
03:12:08,540 --> 03:12:10,240
I'm just

2150
03:12:13,700 --> 03:12:17,680
going to do this one real quick, right, so that we've got the 138 plus 57.

2151
03:12:20,310 --> 03:12:21,550
Okay, so that's 195.

2152
03:12:22,510 --> 03:12:27,730
So 57 divided by 195, but you're six for the water on the account.

2153
03:12:28,610 --> 03:12:33,870
Yeah, so that's, excuse me, let me try that in a different way, 185 divided by 87.

2154
03:12:34,550 --> 03:12:39,230
So we're like, yeah, so 342 percent, you're six versus what they're at now.

2155
03:12:39,230 --> 03:12:46,130
which is substantial. I think what we're probably going to see, I would doubt that users

2156
03:12:46,130 --> 03:12:50,890
including myself will just continue to use the same amount of water. Unfortunately, I think

2157
03:12:50,890 --> 03:12:55,990
that the end result is we're just going to see a lot more desert escaping, zero escaping,

2158
03:12:57,810 --> 03:13:07,070
turf, you know, our town might become more brown when it comes to watering and landscaping.

2159
03:13:08,110 --> 03:13:13,570
but that's the number I'm coming up with with the water only. We're not expressing these in percentage.

2160
03:13:14,310 --> 03:13:17,970
It's kind of embarrassing to express it in percentage because it's so stark.

2161
03:13:18,570 --> 03:13:22,350
But that's what I'm getting now is an increase of 242 percent.

2162
03:13:22,710 --> 03:13:24,230
Am I wrong on that?

2163
03:13:25,410 --> 03:13:27,850
I wasn't to be honest. I wasn't following the...

2164
03:13:27,850 --> 03:13:30,930
Let me just do it real quick. So if we look at the new fee for a water only account,

2165
03:13:31,110 --> 03:13:32,410
we look at the current bill of 57,

2166
03:13:34,720 --> 03:13:34,720
right?

2167
03:13:34,720 --> 03:13:40,420
Right. Yeah. And then we add the 138 year six. So 138 plus 57

2168
03:13:40,940 --> 03:13:47,520
gives us $195. That $195 divided by the current 57 this 342 percent.

2169
03:13:48,740 --> 03:13:52,600
That would actually be we would subtract 100 percent because that's what the current bill is. So the

2170
03:13:52,600 --> 03:14:01,770
increase would be $242 percent. That's true same. That's okay. When I'm just pointing out that

2171
03:14:01,770 --> 03:14:05,810
we could disclose that as a percentage it doesn't look very good but it's the truth.

2172
03:14:06,350 --> 03:14:10,830
And that's probably going to result in a lot less greenery in our town.

2173
03:14:11,030 --> 03:14:11,750
So what I would imagine?

2174
03:14:14,170 --> 03:14:21,790
When we set the fee, the $40 is about 30% of ultimately where we need to go.

2175
03:14:21,950 --> 03:14:28,570
And then it steps up from there in terms of how we structured the phasing.

2176
03:14:30,410 --> 03:14:35,090
And we didn't necessarily, the point I want to make there, we didn't do that necessarily

2177
03:14:35,090 --> 03:14:43,850
to the current bill we did it against the target so we needed to be at $138 here and we started

2178
03:14:43,850 --> 03:14:49,550
at $30 and it increases by percentage is going to that point. I'm just sharing the perspective

2179
03:14:49,550 --> 03:14:57,930
of how we designed the fee. This is a water replenishment fee and what we have now as a water

2180
03:14:57,930 --> 03:14:59,970
delivery fee. So there's the

2181
03:15:00,000 --> 03:15:07,760
There are different fees for different purposes. There's different costs behind each of those. So, yes, I understand that that's what the customer pays.

2182
03:15:08,320 --> 03:15:15,480
But to look at one cost, the cost of delivering water to the cost of replenishing water is a different cost structure.

2183
03:15:16,020 --> 03:15:27,440
And that's a little bit a lot of the slides where it's a completely different model. We're not having to buy $730 million worth of water through the current $57.

2184
03:15:27,440 --> 03:15:36,480
So I understand it's the total bill, but we looked at the water resource fee relative to its cost structure, and essentially left the water delivery fee alone.

2185
03:15:36,980 --> 03:15:39,000
So that was a point of one try to make.

2186
03:15:39,880 --> 03:15:53,040
Mayor, as we're having this discussion, I would just point out that I did not coin this phrase, but I have been repeating it quite a bit lately, costs are the costs.

2187
03:15:54,340 --> 03:16:02,760
And so, as much as I do, I'm not looking forward to any increased water bill.

2188
03:16:02,820 --> 03:16:12,660
I'm not going to be embarrassed by the percentage anymore than I'm embarrassed when I go to the gas pump and where I was paying $2 a gallon.

2189
03:16:12,660 --> 03:16:20,620
And not that long ago, now I pay $4.59 a gallon, more than 100% increase.

2190
03:16:20,820 --> 03:16:23,860
That's not due to anything that I caused.

2191
03:16:24,140 --> 03:16:28,460
Those are outside influences and the percentage just is what the percentage is.

2192
03:16:28,580 --> 03:16:31,100
The cost is what the cost is.

2193
03:16:31,500 --> 03:16:34,820
This is not a money-making endeavor here.

2194
03:16:35,000 --> 03:16:40,220
This is simply, we know that we are required statutorily to provide water.

2195
03:16:41,280 --> 03:16:44,240
And we have to go buy water.

2196
03:16:44,560 --> 03:16:46,360
We bought water from Harcoa Hela,

2197
03:16:48,000 --> 03:16:52,460
about the average of the amount per acre foot that we've spent there so far

2198
03:16:52,460 --> 03:16:54,820
is $15,000 an acre foot.

2199
03:16:54,820 --> 03:16:58,460
New people going to buy Harcoa Hela water right now are paying

2200
03:16:58,460 --> 03:17:00,340
$30,000 an acre foot.

2201
03:17:00,880 --> 03:17:04,060
That's already increased a hundred percent just in the short

2202
03:17:04,060 --> 03:17:05,800
while since we invented this process.

2203
03:17:05,800 --> 03:17:12,460
So it stinks, but unfortunately, we have to pass along our costs.

2204
03:17:13,640 --> 03:17:14,380
Thanks, Mayor.

2205
03:17:16,580 --> 03:17:17,120
All right, Mayor.

2206
03:17:17,220 --> 03:17:19,680
So we were at the there was four policy items.

2207
03:17:20,580 --> 03:17:22,580
We talked about the effluent credit.

2208
03:17:23,560 --> 03:17:25,940
Here's some of the numbers on that.

2209
03:17:25,980 --> 03:17:33,140
But that's about 4,500 acre feet of water a year that we get through our wastewater system,

2210
03:17:33,140 --> 03:17:41,390
essentially so again they're paying those water bill. The next program is what we call our

2211
03:17:41,390 --> 03:17:50,190
lakes program and this is where we're doing creative things starting way back in 2018 where these

2212
03:17:50,190 --> 03:17:56,550
there's basically 10 subdivisions and town facilities where they put in a lake and they use that

2213
03:17:56,550 --> 03:18:05,650
their irrigation system. And so the cutting to the chase here, we think they should be

2214
03:18:05,650 --> 03:18:10,570
exempt from the new water resource fee because they're not really having an impact on

2215
03:18:10,570 --> 03:18:14,610
the groundwater that we have to replenish beyond what they're already, or meeting through

2216
03:18:14,610 --> 03:18:23,330
their lakes. So we are making the recommendation that they be exempt from the new fee.

2217
03:18:23,330 --> 03:18:28,690
They've spent millions of dollars putting in the infrastructure, probably show the graphic,

2218
03:18:29,950 --> 03:18:35,350
so that they could do their irrigation basically on-site through the Lake program, through

2219
03:18:35,350 --> 03:18:36,830
a recovered effluent well.

2220
03:18:37,790 --> 03:18:45,870
And so they're sort of handling their replenishment requirements outside of the bigger program,

2221
03:18:46,310 --> 03:18:50,470
and they've spent millions of dollars to create that system.

2222
03:18:50,470 --> 03:18:56,710
And so we're recommending that that system in those contracts we have in place with them stay and

2223
03:18:57,130 --> 03:19:00,450
That we do not charge them the water resource fee

2224
03:19:00,450 --> 03:19:05,230
So that's one of our recommendations and that's been built into the the numbers that you've seen

2225
03:19:05,230 --> 03:19:11,250
The third item we talked about already and have a reference has to do with the post

2226
03:19:11,250 --> 03:19:15,170
2000 for Cagrid on behalf of payments and

2227
03:19:15,170 --> 03:19:23,630
And this is the amount of the Cagrid Bill that we're not otherwise able to reduce because all of the assets that we own.

2228
03:19:23,710 --> 03:19:31,270
So we've been reducing those everybody's Cagrid Bill's down as much as we could for the last several years.

2229
03:19:31,710 --> 03:19:36,230
As much as you could, is $9 million a year.

2230
03:19:36,230 --> 03:19:51,230
So to Council Member Brown's point earlier about the paying two different entities, what we're suggesting is that they no longer pay their obligation to

2231
03:19:51,230 --> 03:19:58,230
Cagrid, we will make that payment on their behalf, and those costs will be recovered through

2232
03:19:58,230 --> 03:19:59,970
our new Queen Creek War.

2233
03:20:00,000 --> 03:20:17,380
A lot of resource fee. So, no payments will be made, the cagrid and everything will flow through us. That nine million dollars, and over time it grows to 11, those have been included in those expense requirements that I talked about earlier. So that was the third recommendation.

2234
03:20:18,480 --> 03:20:28,060
And then the other thing on the intergenerational financing program, it's not a policy question other than to make you aware that this is really going to be key to managing costs in the long run.

2235
03:20:28,060 --> 03:20:37,380
And I alluded to this earlier, but one of the challenges is we've, the debt we've issued to buy all the water assets we own was either 30 year or 40 year debt.

2236
03:20:38,060 --> 03:20:42,760
In some cases, the assets that we bought subola, for example, is a perpetual water rate.

2237
03:20:43,120 --> 03:20:46,080
So it never runs out, but we're going to pay for it over 30 years.

2238
03:20:47,340 --> 03:20:57,000
And then with the certificates of participation that we recently did, we have a term at 40 years, but those assets last in excess of 100 years.

2239
03:20:57,000 --> 03:21:03,920
So the way that the math works out, based on the debt service, we're actually paying for

2240
03:21:03,920 --> 03:21:12,280
and buying the equivalent of 82,000 acre feet of water right now. We only need 25,000,

2241
03:21:13,160 --> 03:21:20,340
but we're buying or paying for 82 because we had to buy 100-year quantity of water. And so at

2242
03:21:20,340 --> 03:21:24,540
some point, you pay everything off and in those future generations there's really nothing to pay

2243
03:21:24,540 --> 03:21:26,340
for, but they're using all the water.

2244
03:21:26,400 --> 03:21:27,980
They're still using the water, I should say.

2245
03:21:28,760 --> 03:21:32,600
So this program is designed to extend the debt

2246
03:21:32,600 --> 03:21:35,360
to match the life of the asset.

2247
03:21:35,820 --> 03:21:36,980
We can't do that overnight.

2248
03:21:37,240 --> 03:21:39,340
We have to do that as the existing debt.

2249
03:21:39,880 --> 03:21:42,820
We have comes up for ability to be refinanced.

2250
03:21:43,380 --> 03:21:45,800
The markets have certain conditions

2251
03:21:45,800 --> 03:21:48,000
that meet and makes sense to extend the debt.

2252
03:21:48,240 --> 03:21:50,060
So it's not something we can just magically do.

2253
03:21:50,100 --> 03:21:51,620
It's market driven and other things.

2254
03:21:51,620 --> 03:21:57,400
But it is absolutely critical to manage the cost of the program.

2255
03:21:57,760 --> 03:22:03,760
So in simple terms, if I had a $10 million or your debt service payment in the current fee,

2256
03:22:04,140 --> 03:22:07,720
and in two years we were able to refinance that down, so it was $8 million.

2257
03:22:07,880 --> 03:22:13,240
So $2 million or less, that would then affect the effect of reducing the fee that makes sense.

2258
03:22:14,180 --> 03:22:18,520
So we have that needs to be a strategy that we do, but I can't do it now.

2259
03:22:18,680 --> 03:22:20,480
I can't refinance something four years from the start.

2260
03:22:20,480 --> 03:22:27,160
wanted to, I really wanted to underscore that point, and that's a big challenge for us.

2261
03:22:27,540 --> 03:22:30,260
And, and he's going to come up here in a minute, Arkansas, and we were talking before.

2262
03:22:31,800 --> 03:22:33,520
But that's what's unique about Arizona.

2263
03:22:33,920 --> 03:22:37,620
He does work in other states where they don't have the hundred year requirement.

2264
03:22:38,800 --> 03:22:45,520
So they can finance things or consistent with the life of the asset and we don't have that.

2265
03:22:46,000 --> 03:22:55,440
So, it is unique to Arizona, it's not a criticism, it's just unique and it's something we need to try to solve and I think we're going to have to solve it ourselves.

2266
03:22:56,380 --> 03:23:03,560
So, the part of the program is to try to get a lower fee for longer and use some of the tools that I've alluded to over time,

2267
03:23:03,880 --> 03:23:06,840
but we're not going to be able to get that done right out of the gate.

2268
03:23:07,240 --> 03:23:10,580
So, here's the calendar, I just want to hit the high points.

2269
03:23:10,580 --> 03:23:20,600
Next week, our two weeks on September 16th, the process starts with what's called the adoption of a notice of intent to create the new fee.

2270
03:23:21,420 --> 03:23:32,120
And then there's basically a 60-day notice period for the public to be aware of the intentions of the council for us to have all kinds of stakeholder meetings consciousness is going to show you that in a moment.

2271
03:23:32,120 --> 03:23:39,660
And then that step culminates November 19th with a vote to actually adopt the fee and

2272
03:23:39,660 --> 03:23:44,720
implement or adopt the fee with an effective date that would be January 27th.

2273
03:23:44,880 --> 03:23:50,760
So anybody who uses water starting January 27th, that water is going to be subject to the

2274
03:23:50,760 --> 03:23:52,420
new water resource fee calculation.

2275
03:23:53,200 --> 03:23:59,120
And because the buildings are in for a month, then by the end of February, you close your

2276
03:23:59,120 --> 03:24:04,240
your bill period and then they would receive those bills on around March 29th is when

2277
03:24:04,240 --> 03:24:10,160
they'd actually see their bill, but it starts based on the water usage of January 27th.

2278
03:24:10,300 --> 03:24:14,600
So there is quite a process here that is defined by state law.

2279
03:24:14,740 --> 03:24:19,080
So Mayor, I'll stop there, see if there's any questions about the numbers, otherwise conscious

2280
03:24:19,080 --> 03:24:23,280
now is going to come up and talk about the comprehensive plan and how we're going to target

2281
03:24:23,280 --> 03:24:27,820
the education to some of our most impacted stakeholders or customers.

2282
03:24:31,300 --> 03:24:37,320
One last one. I do agree with Councilmember Brown. This isn't a criticism of our of how we've

2283
03:24:37,320 --> 03:24:42,100
structured the deal. The numbers are what the numbers are. We haven't increased the cost at all.

2284
03:24:42,580 --> 03:24:48,760
But we've seen a rebellion in Gilbert about their recent water increases.

2285
03:24:50,020 --> 03:24:58,300
Behavior changes. Zero escaping. And it's just good for us to be aware of that we just need to tell the

2286
03:24:58,640 --> 03:24:59,960
the facts, disclosed as much as we can.

2287
03:25:00,000 --> 03:25:12,100
We can't both in numbers and in percentage. So the residents are aware how much their water bill will be going up. Water in general is going up. We bought the cheapest water that we actually absolutely could.

2288
03:25:12,200 --> 03:25:26,460
It has to be paid for. We're doing that. But I think disclosing it by dollar increase and giving examples of percentages will help people to plan ahead of time to know that he's six years from now if I don't make any changes on my water bill.

2289
03:25:26,960 --> 03:25:31,820
You know, I'm going to be paying three to four times a day. I'm in water now. That was the

2290
03:25:31,820 --> 03:25:37,440
part that I've referred to as embarrassing that it's, oh my goodness, we think 10% or 20% or 30%

2291
03:25:37,440 --> 03:25:44,720
is a lot. How about 300 to 300-ish percent? That's significantly more. So that's just the cost

2292
03:25:44,720 --> 03:25:49,120
of business going up and we got the best deal we could. But I think disclosing it is super important.

2293
03:25:49,400 --> 03:25:53,900
And so I would just encourage just to put not only the dollar amount increases on average, but also

2294
03:25:53,900 --> 03:25:58,140
percentage along with that so that people can make plans accordingly and it's good

2295
03:25:58,140 --> 03:26:02,700
we're letting them know with the stair step what things look like so that they

2296
03:26:02,700 --> 03:26:07,400
have time to make adjustments. And I think that I appreciate the feedback I think

2297
03:26:07,400 --> 03:26:12,660
that intent of the phasing is its directional. You know it is going to have to go

2298
03:26:12,660 --> 03:26:16,780
up every year we're going to look at it every year but it's going to be at the

2299
03:26:16,780 --> 03:26:21,300
magnitude that we've outlined tonight because you're talking about developing a

2300
03:26:21,300 --> 03:26:26,960
that generate $60 million a year, which is essentially twice the amount of money that we're

2301
03:26:26,960 --> 03:26:31,940
generating from the current program. The directionally we wanted to let them know that it

2302
03:26:31,940 --> 03:26:38,680
is going to be material and we can modify the material to cover the people who are focused

2303
03:26:38,680 --> 03:26:42,540
on dollars versus percent to absolutely appreciate the feedback. I don't know if you have another

2304
03:26:42,540 --> 03:26:49,900
question. And it really is communication as well. There's a great saying that has been very

2305
03:26:49,900 --> 03:26:55,300
topical as of late. We're not running out of water. We're running out of cheap water. And I think

2306
03:26:55,300 --> 03:27:01,640
continuing and you know, constants will talk about communication. But continuing to tell that story

2307
03:27:01,640 --> 03:27:08,160
that we did secure it at the lowest rate possible. We actually set the bar literally today,

2308
03:27:08,300 --> 03:27:14,460
those recognizing the situation that they're in today with the Colorado River are paying double.

2309
03:27:14,460 --> 03:27:22,060
And so, while they will see an increase, it's a lot less than it could have been if we

2310
03:27:22,060 --> 03:27:25,260
back to Mark's comment earlier, just hit that easy button.

2311
03:27:26,220 --> 03:27:31,380
And so, really important that we just communicate, this is securing our future.

2312
03:27:31,960 --> 03:27:37,780
What we're doing now is securing our future for 110 years, and that's incredible forcing.

2313
03:27:37,780 --> 03:27:45,900
If I may respond to that, I absolutely agree, and one of the, I think, one of the important

2314
03:27:47,480 --> 03:27:51,980
framing perspectives that we need to tell is, how does this relate to other communities

2315
03:27:51,980 --> 03:27:56,580
that didn't take an aggressive stance on purchasing as cheap a water as they could like

2316
03:27:56,580 --> 03:28:03,120
we did? What did their rates look like three, four, five, six years from now? We saw a recent

2317
03:28:03,120 --> 03:28:07,840
graph, which I think is helpful, that at this time shows where Queen Creek is on our average

2318
03:28:07,840 --> 03:28:13,340
water usage bill compared to other communities and we were a lot lower and then we had

2319
03:28:13,340 --> 03:28:19,260
an increase and then somewhere around the average, do you have any insight on where that will be

2320
03:28:19,260 --> 03:28:24,900
six years from now in comparison to our surrounding communities who didn't do an aggressive water

2321
03:28:24,900 --> 03:28:29,060
purchase like we did? Because that would be the offsetting story to tell people is that,

2322
03:28:29,060 --> 03:28:33,400
yes it's going up a lot guess what if we hadn't done it look at the surrounding communities

2323
03:28:33,400 --> 03:28:37,680
and what what their bills are like do we have any insider perspective to share with

2324
03:28:37,680 --> 03:28:42,400
residents we we haven't it's not in this presentation but it'll be in for two weeks we have

2325
03:28:42,400 --> 03:28:48,520
as of the current as of today we have what the various surrounding cities water rates are

2326
03:28:50,060 --> 03:28:56,760
the comparability to each city is unique because their supply of water is different than ours

2327
03:28:58,460 --> 03:29:03,940
So, comparing one city to the next, without really, it's not the same source of water, they're

2328
03:29:03,940 --> 03:29:10,440
paying for, etc., how they pay for replenishing water, may or may not be through a separate

2329
03:29:10,440 --> 03:29:13,780
fee, it might be baked into their water bill in general.

2330
03:29:13,780 --> 03:29:15,340
So there's all complications there.

2331
03:29:16,200 --> 03:29:21,560
I think the one thing we can do a little bit of work on is understanding to the mayor's

2332
03:29:21,560 --> 03:29:24,820
point is, we've bought the cheapest water we could.

2333
03:29:24,820 --> 03:29:34,140
And we could recast if we had bought it in today's market what that bill would look like and that would give you some order of magnitude of wow

2334
03:29:34,140 --> 03:29:40,420
That's sort of what we cost the waitens, but to try to compare that to another entity without knowing what their strategy is

2335
03:29:40,420 --> 03:29:47,220
But I think we could say if we were to if we would if we would if we would have waited this hypothetical simple situation if we would have waited

2336
03:29:47,220 --> 03:29:50,300
But all the water we needed from Harkway, Hala and paid

2337
03:29:50,680 --> 03:29:57,960
30,000 dollars in acre foot today. We could tell you what that bill would have looked like and that might be okay that that gets it's the spirit of

2338
03:29:58,640 --> 03:29:59,980
When glad we bought what we did in it

2339
03:30:00,000 --> 03:30:06,800
That's one decision, as I said, several times at this podium. That's one decision we need to be very proud of as

2340
03:30:06,800 --> 03:30:11,940
buying the water we did when we did. I think. I just have one more question if I can.

2341
03:30:12,280 --> 03:30:18,180
I'll add on to that. Do you think it would be fair to say, if we have that graph, we could

2342
03:30:18,180 --> 03:30:24,140
put asterix on pretty much every community that they are either undergoing a rate study now or

2343
03:30:24,140 --> 03:30:29,520
will be in the near future, either rate study or fee study

2344
03:30:30,220 --> 03:30:31,680
because of the cost of water.

2345
03:30:32,480 --> 03:30:34,620
So where we're out today compared to where

2346
03:30:34,620 --> 03:30:38,320
we could be in a year could be very, very different.

2347
03:30:38,580 --> 03:30:40,520
So it's just a moving target, right?

2348
03:30:40,940 --> 03:30:45,260
As far as you're saying that each municipality is going

2349
03:30:45,260 --> 03:30:47,100
to change the strategy each year.

2350
03:30:47,500 --> 03:30:48,260
So I agree with you.

2351
03:30:48,380 --> 03:30:49,540
The asterisk would look good.

2352
03:30:49,680 --> 03:30:53,060
My question is, do you think that that comparison every year

2353
03:30:53,060 --> 03:30:57,080
year will continue to reflect the other cities increase cost with

2354
03:30:57,080 --> 03:31:00,800
Calgary versus our reduced cost because overall if we just take the average

2355
03:31:00,800 --> 03:31:06,680
bill of the average household the same number of gallons across the board

2356
03:31:06,680 --> 03:31:12,160
that should reflect our good decision to buy the cheapest water possible and

2357
03:31:12,160 --> 03:31:17,900
then reflect on a graph should it not. I'm struggling answering that question. I

2358
03:31:17,900 --> 03:31:22,040
think we'd have to do it and see what the result is and share that with you. It's

2359
03:31:22,040 --> 03:31:28,340
from me to speculate, without knowing, I have a good sense of where ours would be. Obviously,

2360
03:31:28,580 --> 03:31:33,900
we've shared that with you. But how we move relative to others would be, I'd have to think

2361
03:31:33,900 --> 03:31:39,260
about that. I understand what you're trying to get to, but I think back to the mayor's point.

2362
03:31:39,640 --> 03:31:43,760
Anytime you put that graph together, you'd have to just date it, because two weeks later,

2363
03:31:43,880 --> 03:31:49,420
if there was a council meeting in Tempe, it might change. But that goes to the volatility of

2364
03:31:49,420 --> 03:31:51,580
the industry or the rate setting that we're in.

2365
03:31:52,120 --> 03:31:56,620
So we will, as we move forward, try to be aware and provide information about what's going

2366
03:31:56,620 --> 03:32:01,500
on in the surrounding communities in terms of how they're looking at, at recovering their

2367
03:32:01,500 --> 03:32:01,700
cost.

2368
03:32:01,800 --> 03:32:07,240
I think there's, there's value to that, comparing the dollars I think is, it can be done,

2369
03:32:07,360 --> 03:32:08,560
but it's going to need to be explained.

2370
03:32:09,140 --> 03:32:14,680
So we'll take that as direction and continue to work with our consultants on that.

2371
03:32:14,900 --> 03:32:16,280
Thanks for the feedback.

2372
03:32:17,380 --> 03:32:20,620
So, now, communications, you get a break from numbers for a minute.

2373
03:32:21,560 --> 03:32:26,280
We still want Andrew or we'll jump to, okay, got it.

2374
03:32:27,100 --> 03:32:28,080
Good evening, Mayor and Council.

2375
03:32:28,440 --> 03:32:29,340
Constance Allen and Wilson.

2376
03:32:29,460 --> 03:32:31,680
I'm in the communications and marketing department for the town.

2377
03:32:31,920 --> 03:32:35,540
So, you get a little break from numbers that I do have some numbers in my presentation.

2378
03:32:36,300 --> 03:32:40,540
So, as you recall, we started back in 2025 talking about Harkway Hila Water.

2379
03:32:40,900 --> 03:32:42,560
We had a focus group, a public meeting.

2380
03:32:42,560 --> 03:32:54,220
We had a number of communications to help inform the community about what this water purchase was all about how it impacted our water supply and also that we would have a dedicated water resource fee.

2381
03:32:54,880 --> 03:33:02,320
So that brings us to this evening and the town has a strong history of trying to inform all of our customers about what we're doing and why.

2382
03:33:02,900 --> 03:33:12,280
And so the theme throughout my slides is talking about reaching as many of our customers as possible in a variety of formats to make sure that they know what we're doing and why we're doing it.

2383
03:33:13,620 --> 03:33:18,500
So, we've heard a lot of information so far this evening starting with Bruce, followed by Mark and then Scott,

2384
03:33:18,940 --> 03:33:23,000
and so I really just wanted to highlight some of the key points related to the town's water strategy.

2385
03:33:23,480 --> 03:33:30,740
We're looking to develop water self-sufficiency. The town of Queen Creek has been making strategic investments in water for over a decade,

2386
03:33:31,220 --> 03:33:35,700
and we own a safe and reliable water supply that's not subject to water cuts.

2387
03:33:36,360 --> 03:33:41,700
We have reliable water, we're working towards local control, and all of that leads to a stronger future for Queen Creek.

2388
03:33:42,400 --> 03:33:48,960
All of those points are important, but they become even increasingly more important based on the conversation you all just had.

2389
03:33:49,180 --> 03:33:51,260
So some of you beat me to some of my slides here.

2390
03:33:51,720 --> 03:33:59,820
But with the uncertainty of the Colorado River, we have more uncertainty about where water supplies are going to come from and the cost of water.

2391
03:34:00,320 --> 03:34:04,200
So we've heard this phrase over and over and over again in the last month.

2392
03:34:04,300 --> 03:34:06,760
We're not running out of water. We're running out of cheap water.

2393
03:34:06,760 --> 03:34:13,520
The earliest reference I could find was an ASU law professor, so if I'm quoting someone that I shouldn't be my apologies.

2394
03:34:14,480 --> 03:34:20,880
And then we're also hearing more about where those supplies are going to come from, that we need to find new supplies and that the costs are going to go up.

2395
03:34:21,200 --> 03:34:28,920
And so I think, again, going back to the Y, we own those secure water supplies and now we're talking about how we're going to pay for it.

2396
03:34:29,100 --> 03:34:30,680
And that's what our water resource fee.

2397
03:34:30,680 --> 03:34:45,580
And so, our water resource will fund, as you've heard, the long-term water supplies that we've acquired, the related infrastructure to get the water from Harkway Hala through the CAP Canal to Queen Creek, the remaining replenishment and our water resource programs.

2398
03:34:46,340 --> 03:34:54,940
It will also replace the Caggart assessment that 89% of our customers are currently assessed, including what the town has been offsetting since 2018.

2399
03:34:54,940 --> 03:34:59,770
So water resource fee as proposed is $3.

2400
03:35:00,000 --> 03:35:08,160
777 cents per 1,000 gallons with annual increases. You've also heard about the wastewater credit, based on the water that the

2401
03:35:08,160 --> 03:35:14,200
town receives back through the wastewater system. Waste water, customer, or season the wastewater

2402
03:35:14,200 --> 03:35:24,000
credit will be based on the meter, so residential will be at 40% mixed use at 80% in building only at 90%. So the average

2403
03:35:24,000 --> 03:35:30,440
customer impact and this is all things equal. So based on 10,000 gallons, not on the varying usage,

2404
03:35:31,260 --> 03:35:38,120
is $30 and 70 cents in your one and $18.42 in your two or excuse me in your one with the wastewater

2405
03:35:38,120 --> 03:35:43,660
credit. Taking into consideration all the feedback we've received tonight, we recognize that there's

2406
03:35:43,660 --> 03:35:49,140
different ways that we can communicate this information. But I also want to underscore as what you've

2407
03:35:49,140 --> 03:35:51,180
so hard is that it's complicated.

2408
03:35:52,100 --> 03:35:56,300
So while the rate itself is set at $3.7 cents per 1,000 gallons,

2409
03:35:56,740 --> 03:35:59,120
how it impacts direct customers very greatly,

2410
03:35:59,700 --> 03:36:01,580
not just on whether or not they're combined,

2411
03:36:02,020 --> 03:36:04,160
or what are only, if they're in-cagrid

2412
03:36:04,160 --> 03:36:07,120
and also on the type of account that they are.

2413
03:36:07,420 --> 03:36:09,280
So there are many different user groups

2414
03:36:09,280 --> 03:36:11,000
and that's why we'll be working to ensure

2415
03:36:11,000 --> 03:36:13,200
that we have broad-based outreach related

2416
03:36:13,200 --> 03:36:16,220
to the water resources, but also doing direct communication

2417
03:36:16,220 --> 03:36:18,840
to try to really articulate how this impacts

2418
03:36:18,840 --> 03:36:20,440
different user groups.

2419
03:36:22,620 --> 03:36:26,240
I'm going to share three phases of outreach that align with the schedule

2420
03:36:26,240 --> 03:36:32,200
that Scott just shared, focusing primarily on the first phase. This assumes that there's a notice

2421
03:36:32,200 --> 03:36:39,040
of intent adopted in two weeks. So keep that in mind as we move through this. So here we are tonight

2422
03:36:39,040 --> 03:36:44,740
with the presentation to Council based on the direction that we received this evening. We will start a

2423
03:36:44,740 --> 03:36:48,760
robust outreach campaign again with the goal of ensuring that all of our customers are informed

2424
03:36:48,760 --> 03:36:53,980
of what we're doing and why. So we'll be sharing information across channels. We will be having

2425
03:36:53,980 --> 03:36:59,400
public meetings. So following direction this evening, we'll be having an HOA board meeting

2426
03:36:59,960 --> 03:37:04,880
next week in addition to a public meeting, an irrigation meeting. Those are sub user groups as we've

2427
03:37:04,880 --> 03:37:11,100
identified and we'll be sharing that information tomorrow. Assuming that there's a notice of intent

2428
03:37:11,100 --> 03:37:16,540
adopted on September 16th, we'll spend the next three months continuing to reach our customers in a

2429
03:37:16,540 --> 03:37:23,960
very Asian of methods. As got referenced, we'll have a water calculator, so how it impacts

2430
03:37:23,960 --> 03:37:30,160
our residential customers that'll be added to the website on September 17th. We'll also continue

2431
03:37:30,160 --> 03:37:36,200
to update information across channels. Some of the recommendations from Council was to have an open

2432
03:37:36,200 --> 03:37:41,120
house or office hours, if you will, for customers who can't attend our public meetings. So we're

2433
03:37:41,120 --> 03:37:45,700
working to finalize that schedule, but we'll have two hours per week where customers can come in,

2434
03:37:45,700 --> 03:37:51,060
ask questions, get information. We're also working on a two-part water workshop series that will

2435
03:37:51,060 --> 03:37:55,620
go more in-depth. So similar to what citizen leadership institute does, but because that falls

2436
03:37:55,620 --> 03:38:01,560
in early 2027, we want to create a mini version in October. A two-part series that I'll talk about

2437
03:38:01,560 --> 03:38:07,360
water and the financing of water of course pancake breakfast. We're also working with our

2438
03:38:07,360 --> 03:38:13,300
majorities on an SMS notification system. So we're trying to reach again. The goal is to reach our

2439
03:38:13,300 --> 03:38:18,960
utility customers a variety of different ways so that they're aware of what's happening and why.

2440
03:38:21,200 --> 03:38:25,400
If we move forward with approving any fees that would be as Scott said the earliest would be

2441
03:38:25,400 --> 03:38:30,760
November 18th so we would be back in front of you to share updates on all the outreach that we

2442
03:38:30,760 --> 03:38:42,500
had previously conducted as well as outreach with the decisions made in effective dates as well as

2443
03:38:42,500 --> 03:38:48,120
all based on a notice of intense being adopted on September 16th if anything changes that would

2444
03:38:48,120 --> 03:38:54,020
adjust the schedule. I'm also about halfway through the presentation, spoiler alert. So we wanted

2445
03:38:54,020 --> 03:38:59,700
to really focus on the water resource fee and how the communication applies for that particular fee.

2446
03:38:59,820 --> 03:39:04,200
You're going to hear some additional information tonight about other rates and fees. If any of

2447
03:39:04,200 --> 03:39:09,140
that moves forward, we would roll that into the communication. So just note that that would be adjusted

2448
03:39:09,140 --> 03:39:13,900
as applicable if that moves forward, but at the end of the day our goal is to ensure that

2449
03:39:13,900 --> 03:39:16,960
all of our customers are informed of what we're proposing and why.

2450
03:39:25,090 --> 03:39:30,870
That is a very robust communication plan and I greatly appreciate it because this will

2451
03:39:31,630 --> 03:39:39,350
this will impact our residents and other customers as well and so just very important for us to

2452
03:39:40,390 --> 03:39:46,550
to have those lines of communication and that transparency. So I don't see any other questions

2453
03:39:46,550 --> 03:39:47,970
Thank you, Constance.

2454
03:39:52,040 --> 03:39:53,180
All right, Mayor, I'm back.

2455
03:39:54,020 --> 03:39:57,520
That'll close the chapter on the water resource feed the monthly bill.

2456
03:39:58,400 --> 03:39:59,980
So, appreciate the feedback we got on there.

2457
03:40:00,000 --> 03:40:05,940
And that will be the targeted information as constants just laid out the communication plan.

2458
03:40:06,040 --> 03:40:10,580
There are some other fees we're going to touch on here through the balance of the presentation.

2459
03:40:11,260 --> 03:40:14,240
I want to talk now about water capacity fees.

2460
03:40:15,380 --> 03:40:21,280
We are recommending, we create an implement a new water resource capacity fee,

2461
03:40:21,940 --> 03:40:26,880
and then we're also recommending that we evaluate the current water capacity fee.

2462
03:40:26,880 --> 03:40:36,380
So, what is the capacity fee? That's a one-time payment made for the construction of new infrastructure that's related to new development.

2463
03:40:36,540 --> 03:40:43,600
So, growth pays for growth. It's paid at the time, a building permit is issued, whether it's a single family house or a commercial building.

2464
03:40:44,160 --> 03:40:51,720
And these fees are not paid by our current residents and businesses are paid by new development as they get permitted within the system.

2465
03:40:51,720 --> 03:40:59,860
So, the new water resource capacity fee is an important component to the water resource

2466
03:40:59,860 --> 03:41:05,280
program and an important companion to the monthly bill that we've been talking about.

2467
03:41:05,980 --> 03:41:13,680
This fee, one time fee, would be dedicated for the purchase of new water and infrastructure

2468
03:41:13,680 --> 03:41:18,120
necessary to replace the aquifer related to new development.

2469
03:41:18,120 --> 03:41:25,520
So we talked earlier about, we have enough water now for the 46,000 accounts that we have.

2470
03:41:26,440 --> 03:41:34,560
We need to, when we go to get redesignated, have enough water for the 55,000 accounts that we might have at that point.

2471
03:41:35,200 --> 03:41:46,420
So when we grow by the 9,000 accounts, we need to have funding to be able to buy the water, the 100 year water supply for them.

2472
03:41:46,420 --> 03:41:55,520
This resource capacity fee helps to provide that funding in terms of the numbers over the ten years, which is what we use to calculate the fee.

2473
03:41:55,920 --> 03:42:02,180
About 21,000 new equivalent units, so that could be homes and apartments and commercial establishments.

2474
03:42:02,300 --> 03:42:05,580
And that's about 64,000 population increase.

2475
03:42:05,800 --> 03:42:11,040
Now again, remember that's over the water service area, which is bigger than the town.

2476
03:42:11,040 --> 03:42:17,420
And so if you look at this from the perspective of don't do this fee, then the question

2477
03:42:17,420 --> 03:42:21,760
would be, well, where's the money going to come from for these new water for these new

2478
03:42:21,760 --> 03:42:22,080
accounts?

2479
03:42:22,080 --> 03:42:25,740
And we have to get designated in essentially 10 years from now.

2480
03:42:26,100 --> 03:42:30,460
And I, the answer to that would be, would have to come from the monthly water resource fee.

2481
03:42:30,860 --> 03:42:36,900
So the more money you collect here, the more, the more tied this program is to the costs

2482
03:42:36,900 --> 03:42:42,860
of new development, and the impact they have on having to buy new water, the board insured

2483
03:42:42,860 --> 03:42:47,900
or protected, those costs are from being transferred over to the monthly, monthly, finally,

2484
03:42:48,380 --> 03:42:48,780
monthly bill.

2485
03:42:48,920 --> 03:42:55,880
I want to really emphasize that point of that's one of the purposes of the fee, and again

2486
03:42:55,880 --> 03:42:57,400
the growth pace for growth mantra.

2487
03:42:58,060 --> 03:43:01,000
The other thing we would recommend, and we don't have the fee number for you tonight,

2488
03:43:01,160 --> 03:43:02,280
we'll share that in a couple of weeks.

2489
03:43:02,280 --> 03:43:08,700
But we would also consistent with the effluent credit that we have in the monthly bill.

2490
03:43:08,880 --> 03:43:12,580
We would also recommend that we have that same credit here.

2491
03:43:12,660 --> 03:43:17,980
So if you're a water-only account, your one-time fee is going to be higher than if you're

2492
03:43:17,980 --> 03:43:21,320
a combined account, and we don't have to buy as much water for you.

2493
03:43:21,320 --> 03:43:24,320
And we would use the same 40%.

2494
03:43:24,320 --> 03:43:44,520
So again, the timing here is the same that you saw in Consensus slide, and I want to make one point here of timing importance, but we're recommending that on the 16th year adopt the notice of intent to create this new water resource capacity fee.

2495
03:43:44,520 --> 03:43:55,720
There's a new state law, in effect, that says if you don't have your capacity fees in place by the end of the calendar year implemented and adopted,

2496
03:43:57,980 --> 03:44:01,940
that the process now that takes about 90 days now becomes two years.

2497
03:44:02,740 --> 03:44:11,580
So if you don't have an adopted by the end of the calendar year, you would essentially have to take a two year hiatus from implementing this new fee.

2498
03:44:12,320 --> 03:44:16,620
There's some amount of new homes that are going to happen over that particular year that would

2499
03:44:16,620 --> 03:44:17,880
essentially be lost revenues.

2500
03:44:18,200 --> 03:44:22,900
We'll share those numbers with you in a couple of weeks, but from a process and a

2501
03:44:22,900 --> 03:44:27,960
approach standpoint, it is really important that Council is aware of that timeline, and

2502
03:44:27,960 --> 03:44:33,400
we will be making recommendations to ensure that we have that new feet adopted and implemented

2503
03:44:33,400 --> 03:44:37,080
so we do not have to have the two year hiatus.

2504
03:44:37,080 --> 03:44:45,340
That would mean that you'd have to take action and adopt the November 18th public hearing, the same timeline that we're on for the other.

2505
03:44:46,080 --> 03:44:53,360
So, and part of that process as we go through with our capacity fees, we have that standing stakeholder focus group.

2506
03:44:53,720 --> 03:44:59,980
We're trying to get a meeting set up with them shortly after the meeting on the 16th, so we'll use that 60 day period with them.

2507
03:45:00,000 --> 03:45:27,000
To get their feedback, including the Home Builders Association, and then we'd also make arrangements to have communications with the town of Santan Valley, because again, this is water service area wide, some of which is within their boundary, so they were going to want to know that we're increasing the cost of increase of development to Santan is going to be a result of having such a fee. And again, the implementation would be December 21st.

2508
03:45:27,000 --> 03:45:33,980
Here's the calendar similar calendar to what you sawing in probably a reference slide at this point more than anything

2509
03:45:33,980 --> 03:45:40,380
So that's the new water resource capacity fee and now I want to talk about the existing fee that we have

2510
03:45:40,380 --> 03:45:44,740
This is essentially pays for our water delivery infrastructure. So it's mains

2511
03:45:45,560 --> 03:45:52,180
wells storage tanks booster stations all those kinds of things right now. That fees just a little bit short of

2512
03:45:52,180 --> 03:45:59,800
$1,400. It's due for a re-examination, re-invaluation. We haven't touched it since 2019.

2513
03:45:59,940 --> 03:46:04,660
If you remember, we increased the wastewater fee about a year ago. So part of the process

2514
03:46:04,660 --> 03:46:09,480
and taking all of these things forward at the same time, we're going to recommend in a couple

2515
03:46:09,480 --> 03:46:17,100
weeks that we have increased to this fee under two methodologies. And we'll work that program through

2516
03:46:17,100 --> 03:46:22,160
the stakeholder group over the same timeline that I just articulated. And we'll be able to share

2517
03:46:22,160 --> 03:46:26,300
those numbers with you more in a couple of weeks. So Mayor, I'll stop there, see if there's

2518
03:46:26,300 --> 03:46:31,800
any questions about the capacity fees, and then I'll turn it over to Arkansas, and Andy

2519
03:46:31,800 --> 03:46:35,120
Bird, I'm he's going to talk about the rest of the monthly bills that we haven't touched

2520
03:46:35,120 --> 03:46:39,720
yet, and then we will be done for the evening. So we are getting close. Any questions on

2521
03:46:39,720 --> 03:46:44,380
capacity fees? I do want to underscore the importance of the new capacity fee to the water resource

2522
03:46:44,380 --> 03:46:51,160
program. So I do not see any questions. All right, comments. So Andy will be coming up here

2523
03:46:51,160 --> 03:46:56,320
just we've all sort of as we've been talking about this the amount of staff work and

2524
03:46:56,320 --> 03:47:00,260
consultant work on all this have been very impressive I want to thank Andy, his staff,

2525
03:47:00,580 --> 03:47:04,560
my staff, Mark, staff, everybody who's touched this tremendous amount of effort,

2526
03:47:04,880 --> 03:47:09,200
townwide, to get to where we are and I just want to do acknowledge that and he'll take us home

2527
03:47:09,200 --> 03:47:14,100
most of the rest of the way. Thanks. Thank you, Scott. Thank you, Scott.

2528
03:47:14,440 --> 03:47:21,140
You're in council and my pleasure to be here this evening and to hopefully we're

2529
03:47:21,140 --> 03:47:30,980
Some elements to the utility rates that we haven't yet talked about relative to existing fees and charges that you have for water waste water and solid waste the three utility systems.

2530
03:47:31,620 --> 03:47:38,340
As part of the process of supporting the discussions on water resources, we've also been tasked with evaluating these existing fee structures.

2531
03:47:39,560 --> 03:47:50,220
In many instances you'll see it's been a number of years and some things have been looked at in depth, particularly from a lens of cost allocation and making sure we have fair and equitable and proportional allocations of costs.

2532
03:47:50,220 --> 03:47:54,160
between the different types of users, which I think in the context of what we're talking about with

2533
03:47:54,160 --> 03:47:59,060
a lot of resources, it's important to make sure we're well grounded in that regard as well.

2534
03:48:00,460 --> 03:48:04,760
So for the water rates, you did have a 15% increase that was done in October of last year,

2535
03:48:05,020 --> 03:48:09,120
but before that, the last adjustment was in 2010. And so just for a frame of reference,

2536
03:48:09,320 --> 03:48:13,640
there's an actual consumer price index series that tracks water and sewer across across

2537
03:48:13,640 --> 03:48:20,200
the country and that's gone up about 70% since that time. So you're not alone in stealing a lot of

2538
03:48:20,200 --> 03:48:25,740
cost of water resources. The typical single-family bills have been identified throughout the

2539
03:48:25,740 --> 03:48:30,020
presentation. And again, I've indicated our intent here is really to try to make sure we

2540
03:48:30,020 --> 03:48:34,480
take a look at your cost, use accepted industry practices as published by the American Water

2541
03:48:34,480 --> 03:48:39,420
Works Association about how do you fairly allocate the different types of cost of the system

2542
03:48:39,420 --> 03:48:44,100
to users to make sure that the rates are really reflective of those proportional allocations.

2543
03:48:45,380 --> 03:48:57,680
So, you know, as part of the forecast for the evaluation for the water rates, we've also done a multi-year forecast, and so we've, you know, been working with staff to update the growth projections within that and with the updated growth projections.

2544
03:48:58,360 --> 03:49:06,100
Actually, we see a good opportunity for after making some adjustments to reflect current cost of service, some stability for your water retail rates going forward.

2545
03:49:06,860 --> 03:49:11,180
So, and we'll talk more about that in depth when we have some opportunities as we work through this process.

2546
03:49:11,180 --> 03:49:16,000
but we did see just given the passage of time and I think that there hasn't been a kind of an

2547
03:49:16,000 --> 03:49:20,600
in-depth cost of service study performed in a period of time for the town. Some opportunities

2548
03:49:21,120 --> 03:49:26,720
to adjust the rates that are consistent with the cost of service outcomes. So that would mean

2549
03:49:26,720 --> 03:49:32,420
notably adjusting your inclining block rate structure. You have three tiers as you can see there

2550
03:49:32,420 --> 03:49:37,220
four tier one. It's up to 10,000 gallons of usage and then you have a higher rate when you use

2551
03:49:37,220 --> 03:49:42,500
between 10 and 20,000 gallons and then your highest to your rate is for water use above 20,000 gallons.

2552
03:49:42,960 --> 03:49:46,280
And right now that rate structure is applied to everyone the same way.

2553
03:49:46,600 --> 03:49:50,260
And that's where I think there's some opportunities to really modify how you apply your rates,

2554
03:49:50,640 --> 03:49:53,600
to recognize the different usage characteristics of your customers.

2555
03:49:54,640 --> 03:49:59,740
So for instance, multi-family accounts generally have a separate meter for landscape and irrigation.

2556
03:50:00,300 --> 03:50:06,840
The main meter to those complexes is really for indoor use. That's predominantly intended to be captured by that tier 1 rate.

2557
03:50:07,580 --> 03:50:15,560
So larger multi-family complexes are actually working into the higher tier rates, and it's really their usage patterns are more reflective of indoor use for tier 1 rate.

2558
03:50:16,180 --> 03:50:24,300
So that's one of our recommendations is actually from multi-family accounts to have them be built a uniform rate that's at the tier 1 rate intended for single-family indoor use.

2559
03:50:24,300 --> 03:50:29,760
Similarly, for commercial customers, the tier structure applies, and scales up, and you

2560
03:50:29,760 --> 03:50:33,420
typically have a uniform rate for commercial that's more based on the average cost of

2561
03:50:33,420 --> 03:50:37,520
the system that's more akin to the second tier rate, as opposed to having higher tier rates.

2562
03:50:38,640 --> 03:50:42,620
And lastly, for irrigation accounts, you would, again, not have necessarily a tier structure,

2563
03:50:42,720 --> 03:50:45,520
but a uniform rate based on the cost of service for irrigation.

2564
03:50:46,240 --> 03:50:49,420
And that's generally going to be associated with that top tier rate, because that's

2565
03:50:49,420 --> 03:50:55,000
you incur the additional cost to meet those peak demands for those irrigation times on your

2566
03:50:55,000 --> 03:50:59,540
system when those demands occur. So, a lot of these recommendations are kind of by the book

2567
03:50:59,540 --> 03:51:03,360
recommendations to really make sure you have fairness and equity in terms of how these

2568
03:51:03,360 --> 03:51:08,240
rate structures work, knowing the different types of demand patterns each of these types of

2569
03:51:08,240 --> 03:51:14,000
customers placed on your system. In addition to that, Hygent rates was an area that using data

2570
03:51:14,000 --> 03:51:18,280
from local communities, working with TemP, they've done some really good demand studies,

2571
03:51:18,280 --> 03:51:23,020
using advanced metering infrastructure. Those customers as well place pretty acute to

2572
03:51:23,020 --> 03:51:27,720
man's on the system because they're associated with construction. So we do have some recommendations

2573
03:51:27,720 --> 03:51:31,900
to adjust those rates as well to bring them more closely aligned with cost of service.

2574
03:51:33,040 --> 03:51:37,380
The good news through this process as well is that for single family we do have opportunities here

2575
03:51:37,380 --> 03:51:42,300
with this tier structure to look at modifying the pricing slightly so we can lower that rate

2576
03:51:42,300 --> 03:51:46,900
for the first 10,000 gallons and the second tier rate and the third tier provide that additional

2577
03:51:46,900 --> 03:51:52,340
slight increase for conservation incentive. So what these structures effectively amount to for single

2578
03:51:52,340 --> 03:51:57,260
family homes for the most part is actually a reduction for those users at that 10,000 gallon

2579
03:51:57,260 --> 03:52:02,180
or that average level, about three to four dollars on that monthly bill for most users. So this

2580
03:52:02,180 --> 03:52:07,340
actually is for single family homes and opportunity to offset those impacts for commercial and

2581
03:52:07,340 --> 03:52:12,200
multi-family. This will actually lower their bills as well by taking them off of the tiered

2582
03:52:12,200 --> 03:52:16,600
systems and many instances. Again this will be different for every accounts, but conceptually

2583
03:52:16,600 --> 03:52:20,700
This is actually going to have some, I think, positive impacts to bills for many customers.

2584
03:52:21,020 --> 03:52:26,120
However, for the, the hydrant rates in particular, they just have very high-peeking demands on the system,

2585
03:52:26,120 --> 03:52:32,580
associated with construction demands. It's very acute. So there is a fairly significant increase there.

2586
03:52:33,020 --> 03:52:36,800
And with the irrigation, again, it's just really, again, aligning the rate structure for irrigation,

2587
03:52:37,100 --> 03:52:41,160
consistent with industry practice where, you know, they're not necessarily having that first

2588
03:52:41,160 --> 03:52:45,720
rate intended for indoor use and it's really all priced at the higher tier rate for outdoor

2589
03:52:45,720 --> 03:52:51,960
purposes. So a lot of moving parts again for water just to not necessarily to make the

2590
03:52:51,960 --> 03:52:55,880
conversation anymore complex but really just to try to make sure we've got fairness and

2591
03:52:55,880 --> 03:53:00,480
proportionality throughout the entire rate structure and that the rates in place are really reflecting

2592
03:53:00,480 --> 03:53:03,020
how the cost are being incurred on the system.

2593
03:53:05,520 --> 03:53:08,200
I'm happy to pause on water, wastewater and

2594
03:53:08,200 --> 03:53:12,120
solid waste are actually a bit simpler. So we took the biggest challenge on first in this

2595
03:53:12,120 --> 03:53:13,960
conversation on the retail rates.

2596
03:53:15,440 --> 03:53:15,800
Okay, moving.

2597
03:53:16,320 --> 03:53:16,860
Thank you, Mayor.

2598
03:53:17,320 --> 03:53:21,780
So, relative to wastewater, there's been a few adjustments periodically over time.

2599
03:53:21,880 --> 03:53:28,320
In 2019, there's actually a reduction in the bill for most customers associated with reducing the amount of build water use.

2600
03:53:28,420 --> 03:53:36,800
That's build the wastewater charges from 90% to 70% implementation of a cap of a maximum amount of water use that's build wastewater charges.

2601
03:53:36,800 --> 03:53:42,120
In 2015, the commercial rates were adjusted, and the current single-family bill for wastewater

2602
03:53:42,120 --> 03:53:47,860
is $44, and that resets every July based on the three-month average water used from

2603
03:53:47,860 --> 03:53:48,660
the prior year.

2604
03:53:49,080 --> 03:53:52,940
All good practices there for the single-family application, and again, the intentional

2605
03:53:52,940 --> 03:53:55,700
here was to look at industry-accepted practices.

2606
03:53:55,880 --> 03:53:59,840
This time, it's guided by another industry organization, the water environment federation.

2607
03:53:59,900 --> 03:54:04,220
It has great publications about fair and equitable approaches to allocate wastewater system

2608
03:54:04,220 --> 03:54:04,760
costs.

2609
03:54:04,760 --> 03:54:06,120
And that was applied here.

2610
03:54:06,260 --> 03:54:10,840
So adjustments, again, we're recommended in keeping with that relative to the wastewater

2611
03:54:10,840 --> 03:54:11,420
system.

2612
03:54:11,880 --> 03:54:16,140
The adjustments here, we're really looking at multi-family in particular and having the base

2613
03:54:16,140 --> 03:54:21,460
charge for that scale based upon units, but reflect a ratio of general occupancy per unit.

2614
03:54:22,440 --> 03:54:26,500
And also to align the rates for multi-family, it's not to be billed at the commercial

2615
03:54:26,500 --> 03:54:28,840
rate, but actually to be billed at the residential rate.

2616
03:54:29,120 --> 03:54:33,260
Really trying to get the application of the rate structure for multi-family to just scale

2617
03:54:33,260 --> 03:54:37,780
appropriately based upon the nature of the number of units and to recognize that residential

2618
03:54:37,780 --> 03:54:42,520
waste, whether it's multi-family or single-family generally has about the same impacts on the

2619
03:54:42,520 --> 03:54:47,680
system and it should have the same cost per thousand gallons generally. And for the commercial

2620
03:54:47,680 --> 03:54:51,840
rates, I'm no change to the flow rate but really need to look at how we scale that fixed

2621
03:54:51,840 --> 03:54:56,620
charge and the adjustments for commercial and multi-family on that fixed charge are similar

2622
03:54:56,620 --> 03:54:59,980
for water, and that we're really trying to make sure that for those of you.

2623
03:55:00,000 --> 03:55:07,960
Comments that have larger meters that have greater potential demands on the system that the fee's scale consistent with those potential demands at each respective meter size.

2624
03:55:08,120 --> 03:55:12,500
And again, this is a very common industry practice for how those fixed charges are applied.

2625
03:55:13,360 --> 03:55:24,520
But no changes to the flow rate. And the revenue increase that we're looking at for next year, a lot of it's associated with system growth. So on the wastewater side with the growth projections, we're getting probably about 5% a year for revenue from growth.

2626
03:55:25,240 --> 03:55:29,840
As we move forward for wastewater, it's a little bit different than water in terms of stability.

2627
03:55:30,540 --> 03:55:38,300
We do have to consider the greenfield water reclamation plant and those cost increases do increase fairly significantly each year.

2628
03:55:39,000 --> 03:55:50,840
So this will be one just to keep our ion in terms of how those cost trend and are the growth in the system going to be sufficient to cover the increases in cost that we might see from that partnership on the wastewater side.

2629
03:55:50,840 --> 03:55:57,100
So just something to keep our eye on that may represent more pressure and something to think about in

2630
03:55:57,100 --> 03:56:01,420
future, but that's just something that Scott said to just monitor any way to see if there's

2631
03:56:01,420 --> 03:56:05,540
anything else needed beyond some of these structural recalibrations that we've identified.

2632
03:56:07,740 --> 03:56:12,340
Last one I have for you is for solid waste and so one thing on waste water before I leave it though

2633
03:56:12,340 --> 03:56:17,440
no changes are recommended to waste water rates for single family. So this is a part where things are

2634
03:56:17,440 --> 03:56:22,320
stable here. So the rate structure is good. The cost recovery is pretty well in alignment with

2635
03:56:22,320 --> 03:56:26,260
the cost of service results. So we're not recommending any needed changes there from a cost

2636
03:56:26,260 --> 03:56:31,340
of service perspective. We do have benchmarking included here for wastewater rates. You can see

2637
03:56:31,340 --> 03:56:36,540
a comparison, and I think it's got mentioned we can grab information for water and have a similar chart.

2638
03:56:36,840 --> 03:56:41,340
And similarly we can pull some literature relative to rate studies as the mayor mentioned and

2639
03:56:41,340 --> 03:56:46,240
may or through to Council Member Podia might be able to identify some approved ordinances,

2640
03:56:46,240 --> 03:56:53,020
But Scott was right to caveat that these ordinances are routinely updated each year to reflect changes and circumstances.

2641
03:56:53,340 --> 03:56:58,620
So they'll give you an idea and an indicator and we can pull recent rate adjustments as well to give some context to it.

2642
03:56:59,280 --> 03:57:04,360
But this snapshot's going to change every year, even with information available to pull about projected increases.

2643
03:57:07,750 --> 03:57:11,910
Lastly, for solid waste and we're almost done. There's just a couple more slides in this 93 slide deck.

2644
03:57:11,910 --> 03:57:16,470
So relative to solid waste, these rates for residential

2645
03:57:16,470 --> 03:57:18,290
are last updated in 2013.

2646
03:57:18,550 --> 03:57:23,110
So we're getting about 13 years on this system.

2647
03:57:23,770 --> 03:57:26,690
The current single-family bill is $16.22.

2648
03:57:28,150 --> 03:57:31,010
Based on the cost of service, which is largely driven by

2649
03:57:31,010 --> 03:57:33,690
a vendor contract, I think that represents about 80%

2650
03:57:33,690 --> 03:57:37,210
of our system cost, and that has annual escalators on it.

2651
03:57:37,370 --> 03:57:39,870
We are at a point where we kind of need to rebalance

2652
03:57:39,870 --> 03:57:44,150
and have a structurally balanced revenue versus expenditure stream for this fund.

2653
03:57:44,970 --> 03:57:50,890
And so that would mean a $3.78 increase to get it to about a $20 monthly fee for solid waste.

2654
03:57:51,750 --> 03:57:56,450
And that's really for vendor costs and to make sure that we're able to stay current with cart replacement needs that we have.

2655
03:57:56,650 --> 03:57:59,390
We have to replace those from that point forward.

2656
03:57:59,430 --> 03:58:05,210
It's going to be a matter again of kind of monitoring how your contract costs increase with those escalators and how your growth does

2657
03:58:05,210 --> 03:58:09,030
and your ability to really make sure that the revenue stream matches the expense streams.

2658
03:58:09,630 --> 03:58:14,850
For this comparison, you'll see that we presently have the lowest solid waste bill in the area

2659
03:58:14,850 --> 03:58:16,630
with the $20 adjustment.

2660
03:58:16,690 --> 03:58:22,710
Again, assuming no adjustments for anybody else, you could see we'd still have one of the lowest solid waste bills in the region.

2661
03:58:23,670 --> 03:58:27,650
So, again, I'd expect that to continue, given what we're seeing for the fund.

2662
03:58:28,890 --> 03:58:33,010
So, in aggregate, if I had to summarize everything from like a single family home perspective,

2663
03:58:33,010 --> 03:58:38,370
of some reduction on the water bill for most single family humps, no change on waste water,

2664
03:58:38,810 --> 03:58:42,990
an increase on the solid waste, but for most homes, this is going to be a pretty neutral

2665
03:58:42,990 --> 03:58:43,730
thing.

2666
03:58:44,070 --> 03:58:48,330
But again, individual homes and circumstances will vary based upon their water use characteristics,

2667
03:58:48,550 --> 03:58:53,230
but just trying to give a general sense of what all these changes amount to on kind of a typical

2668
03:58:53,230 --> 03:58:56,550
bill basis or an average bill, so for those that are listening.

2669
03:58:57,290 --> 03:59:01,510
But we'll get more into this through future conversations as well, really dial into customer impacts

2670
03:59:01,510 --> 03:59:04,890
and spell out some of these changes with some more bill examples as part of the process.

2671
03:59:06,710 --> 03:59:09,950
So, that's what I have for you and kind of the retail rate side of things for this evening.

2672
03:59:10,070 --> 03:59:14,630
Happy to answer any questions before I think we move on to the last pitch, which is just wrap up in calendar.

2673
03:59:15,090 --> 03:59:25,050
Great, thank you for the presentation and the first half of this, we are very well versed in and have gone through multiple renditions.

2674
03:59:25,310 --> 03:59:31,490
So, this is new to us, so I'm glad to hear that we will continue this conversation, but this gives us a really good

2675
03:59:31,490 --> 03:59:35,010
snapshot where we're at today. So very well said and that's absolutely the

2676
03:59:35,010 --> 03:59:37,710
intent is to to build on it from where and go into more depths.

2677
03:59:38,290 --> 03:59:40,870
Good. And Councilmember Brown has a question in your comment.

2678
03:59:41,250 --> 03:59:43,870
Yeah, Andrew, can you go back a couple of slides, I think it is.

2679
03:59:45,410 --> 03:59:52,990
Yeah, that's the one. Specifically on this one, we talk about the contract

2680
03:59:54,090 --> 03:59:59,970
vendor costs. This may be for staff. It might be for you with the car.

2681
04:00:00,000 --> 04:00:22,220
Current escalation of fuel costs. Is that something that gets covered as an, an, an addendum to the contract? Or is that included in the contract? And I'm trying to figure out if there's how they're collecting, because the contract costs have gone up quite a bit for fuel alone.

2682
04:00:22,220 --> 04:00:49,450
They have, yeah, there's a two part formula and Marcus can supplement this too, but the escalator in the contract, it's based in part on fuel cost escalation, I think it's for about 15% of the index adjustment of the 85% is on basically a CPI, but then if those two things or if there's exceptional circumstances, I think they can come back and make a request for a higher adjustment, but I'll get Marcus supplement anything I said, oh, even better we're filling back for you.

2683
04:00:49,450 --> 04:00:51,590
it into this whole council meeting and you

2684
04:00:51,590 --> 04:00:52,670
to the very end.

2685
04:00:52,930 --> 04:00:55,230
Our amount of good things in our operations manager

2686
04:00:55,230 --> 04:00:57,530
or public work, so we're in environmental services.

2687
04:00:59,670 --> 04:01:04,090
So annually, the contractor can ask for a CPI adjustment.

2688
04:01:04,310 --> 04:01:06,830
Yes, they could come back if there was a need.

2689
04:01:07,770 --> 04:01:13,550
They have an up to 5% based on our awesome contract.

2690
04:01:14,470 --> 04:01:18,950
Typically, like way back, they went up to 5%

2691
04:01:18,950 --> 04:01:25,250
a couple of times over the, and this is our second contract with this same vendor.

2692
04:01:26,510 --> 04:01:31,390
So only a couple times in the last 18 years have we hit the 5%.

2693
04:01:31,830 --> 04:01:41,890
And even with the fuel costs, they've only been about 1.5 to 2% annually increase.

2694
04:01:42,850 --> 04:01:52,810
We will be talking about it another point of time is that 2030 is the contract renewal and in

2695
04:01:52,810 --> 04:01:58,010
27 we have a one-time three year of this current contract.

2696
04:01:58,530 --> 04:02:04,810
So you'll hear some more information coming back on the contract in that but the reason we've

2697
04:02:04,810 --> 04:02:11,870
been able to keep it at 1622 is the growth is kind of help pay for itself and keep us going

2698
04:02:11,870 --> 04:02:21,570
but also that we have a very good partnership with this vendor and we're able to do some innovative things to keep the cost low.

2699
04:02:22,030 --> 04:02:34,630
Okay, so Ramona you're saying there hasn't been a time on a month in a month where they submitted a surcharge due to exigen circumstances and high gas costs.

2700
04:02:34,630 --> 04:02:41,490
For instance, during avian flu went to the restaurant and I had like a 20 cent or a 25 cent search

2701
04:02:41,490 --> 04:02:43,110
charge for eggs

2702
04:02:43,110 --> 04:02:50,590
And you know, it was due to a very brief and a very brief spike in the cost for that

2703
04:02:50,590 --> 04:02:53,050
And so I was wondering if we had seen any sort of search

2704
04:02:53,050 --> 04:02:58,670
Arge request. They have only done based on the CPI during the the contract

2705
04:02:59,350 --> 04:03:09,830
Renewal every year, not renewal, but CPI rate, and only a couple of times in the last 18 years,

2706
04:03:09,950 --> 04:03:16,150
has been up to the 5 percent, typically it's been between that 1 to 3 percent increase.

2707
04:03:16,650 --> 04:03:25,190
And that is based on fuel, other things, you know, cost of salaries, that kind of thing.

2708
04:03:33,230 --> 04:03:37,950
to your point earlier, we only have a few more slides which is just really to kind of lay out

2709
04:03:37,950 --> 04:03:42,810
what things are going to look like all the way up to November 18. So tonight serve the purpose

2710
04:03:42,810 --> 04:03:48,010
of deep discussion on the water resource fee and the capacity, the new water resource

2711
04:03:48,010 --> 04:03:57,070
or proposed new water resource capacity fee and then introduce a lot of all the things that Andy just talked about.

2712
04:03:57,070 --> 04:04:04,230
The idea is we'll be back on the 16th to start all of these new fees and rating creases in motion

2713
04:04:04,230 --> 04:04:11,590
through the adoption of a notice of intention and then over the course of the three meetings

2714
04:04:11,590 --> 04:04:17,230
or the two meetings in October and the first one in November will be to come back and take a little bit deeper dive

2715
04:04:17,230 --> 04:04:22,910
on solid waste and wastewater and water delivery provide updates on all the things that we've experienced

2716
04:04:22,910 --> 04:04:28,790
as we've had the stakeholder meetings through Constances, communications plan, and then really

2717
04:04:28,790 --> 04:04:35,510
tea everything up for November 18th when you'll be asked to make the decisions about these

2718
04:04:35,510 --> 04:04:40,630
fees. And then after that it becomes staff's responsibility, assuming they're all approved

2719
04:04:40,630 --> 04:04:46,690
to implement those as we've outlined. So we expect to be back here at every council meeting in

2720
04:04:46,690 --> 04:04:52,110
some form on some component of everything we've talked about tonight all the way through November

2721
04:04:52,110 --> 04:04:59,970
18. So we appreciate your time on this tonight and it really helps us to get it all out there and I

2722
04:05:24,260 --> 04:05:29,980
But thank you so much, Todd, and everyone that helped with that 93 slide, please.

2723
04:05:29,980 --> 04:05:38,980
presentation. Any other comments from council? Like I mentioned, we have seen this

2724
04:05:38,980 --> 04:05:45,500
lots before and it's something we definitely take, do not take lightly, take it

2725
04:05:45,500 --> 04:05:50,940
very seriously and really cannot overstate the importance of water. You know, Queen Creek

2726
04:05:50,940 --> 04:05:56,780
is a relatively young community but we've been working on this journey to become water

2727
04:05:56,780 --> 04:06:03,720
self-sufficient for about a decade. We were actively working to diversify or water

2728
04:06:04,500 --> 04:06:11,440
portfolio, reducing reliance on groundwater, which was as you saw the primary water

2729
04:06:11,440 --> 04:06:16,500
source at the time for Queen Creek. And our goal was seeking sources that were less

2730
04:06:16,500 --> 04:06:23,540
susceptible to drought conditions. It's interesting because, you know, Queen Creek has

2731
04:06:23,540 --> 04:06:29,080
really gotten on the map, especially in the last, you know, 10, 15 years with our incredibly

2732
04:06:29,080 --> 04:06:34,400
rapid growth where before not very many people had heard of Queen Creek and then your reading

2733
04:06:34,400 --> 04:06:41,360
articles all the time about fastest growing community in Arizona across the country and Queen

2734
04:06:41,360 --> 04:06:48,980
Creek really put Harkwahala on the map when we made this decision and in Harkwahala the water

2735
04:06:48,980 --> 04:06:56,540
gives us in our community that certainty, that strategic investment, and that water self-sufficiency,

2736
04:06:57,320 --> 04:07:02,380
which that is one of our strategic priorities, which is a secure future.

2737
04:07:03,240 --> 04:07:10,860
So as the mayor, as a mom, as a resident, as a customer, ensuring that we have the stable

2738
04:07:10,860 --> 04:07:14,780
and reliable source of water, is one of my top priorities.

2739
04:07:15,860 --> 04:07:23,600
And not only for my children, but for my children's children, and really this is 110-year legacy.

2740
04:07:24,240 --> 04:07:27,880
It's also really important to note it was touched on earlier.

2741
04:07:28,760 --> 04:07:38,120
But as a council, we strive really hard to lessen our residents tax obligation as much as possible.

2742
04:07:38,120 --> 04:07:48,180
You've seen that with lower property taxes that we've continued lower that rate over the last four years.

2743
04:07:48,180 --> 04:07:51,000
Sales tax reduction in our town center.

2744
04:07:51,940 --> 04:07:58,720
And for our customers paying their Cagrid bill on their behalf with the savings of $71 million.

2745
04:07:59,120 --> 04:08:04,700
So we're really trying to do what we can to lessen the impacts that we're seeing across the board.

2746
04:08:06,640 --> 04:08:13,820
And, and we've done a great job, but like we know, the cost of everything is going up

2747
04:08:13,820 --> 04:08:20,560
and we've made the strategic decisions so many years ago, we're reaping the benefits

2748
04:08:20,560 --> 04:08:27,700
of the better pricing, but it is still something that ultimately we have to pay for.

2749
04:08:27,700 --> 04:08:37,800
And water is something that we use every single day, and we really don't appreciate its value until we don't have it.

2750
04:08:38,360 --> 04:08:46,900
And so making sure we have that secure water supply, I can absolutely say the confidence Queen Creek is in an excellent position.

2751
04:08:47,460 --> 04:08:53,660
Due to our planning and our commitment of this council to prioritize that vital resource.

2752
04:08:53,660 --> 04:09:01,240
So, the bottom line here is that water is becoming increasingly expensive and certainty is becoming

2753
04:09:01,240 --> 04:09:10,940
harder to ensure which makes our priority so many years ago so important today and just

2754
04:09:10,940 --> 04:09:15,400
so proud of the work that has been done, you know, sitting here listening to this very

2755
04:09:15,400 --> 04:09:22,700
long presentation but recognizing that we have the best minds and water, we're staring at

2756
04:09:22,700 --> 04:09:23,740
best minds of water.

2757
04:09:24,180 --> 04:09:27,360
Save Paul, of course, if you were here tonight.

2758
04:09:28,500 --> 04:09:30,280
But with that, the best minds and finance,

2759
04:09:30,680 --> 04:09:34,160
not only how do we do this, but how do we pay for this?

2760
04:09:34,660 --> 04:09:38,180
And then we're going to see the best minds in our public works.

2761
04:09:38,460 --> 04:09:39,660
How do we build this?

2762
04:09:39,860 --> 04:09:40,880
And it's incredible.

2763
04:09:41,540 --> 04:09:44,840
I'm very grateful that we didn't hit the easy button so

2764
04:09:44,840 --> 04:09:45,840
many years ago.

2765
04:09:46,680 --> 04:09:51,960
This is good for our residents and good for the future as well.

2766
04:09:51,960 --> 04:09:53,980
So just so proud of the work.

2767
04:09:54,640 --> 04:09:55,700
Thanks for this presentation.

2768
04:09:55,980 --> 04:09:57,680
Thanks for staying with us tonight.

2769
04:09:57,940 --> 04:09:59,980
That is the end of our...

2770
04:10:00,780 --> 04:10:11,880
And we will be meeting for executive session, but that is it for our regular session today and this meeting is now adjourned. Thank you so much.