Regular Meeting - 1/28/2025 6:30:00PM (Corrected/ Re-upload)

welcome to town hall and thank you
okay checking mic
oh there's no
sound please
hold we run a tight ship
here yeah
welcome to town hall and thank you for
attending a Gilbert public meeting here
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the mayor or presiding officer thank you
again for attending a Gilbert town
meeting and for your participation in
local
government thank you I'll call to order
the regular council meeting of the town
of Gilbert for January
28th
2025 our invocation this this evening
will be offered by Pastor Dan money of
the Elliot roow Baptist Church
Pastor let us
pray our heavenly father we are grateful
that we have the privilege of living in
a free
country please help us not to take our
freedom for
granted thank you that you are the
supreme authority and that you have
delegated authority to human individuals
that you are the author and the ordainer
of human
government we pray this evening for
mayor Anderson and the Town Council
Members that you will grant them your
Infinite Wisdom in dealing with the
matters at
hand we trust you for the things we
thank you
for the ability that you have to do so
and we ask these things in the name of
Jesus Christ Our Savior amen amen thank
you Pastor our Pledge of Allegiance this
evening will be led by council member
caasi I pledge allegiance to the flag of
the United States of America and to the
Republic for which it stands one nation
under God indivisible with liberty and
justice for
all we'll do the roll call at this time
Mayor Scott Anderson here vice mayor
Bobby Buckley here council member Chuck
Bon Giovani present council member Kenny
buckin here council member young Kowski
here council member Monty Lions here and
council member Jim torguson here a
quorum is
present thank you we have one
Proclamation this evening a proclamation
declaring the month of January 2025 is
not in our city 2025 council member
bovani will be presenting this and I
know Scott September and others in the
audience may want to join him
whereas human trafficking is a global
plague that impacts millions of people
each year including tens of thousands of
Americans across the all demographics
and ages including teenagers and
children and whereas United States ranks
as one of the worst countries globally
and Arizona ranks in the top 15 states
with the highest rates of human
trafficking per capita according to
occurring within Maricopa County and
whereas successfully battling human
trafficking requires efforts from all
aspects of our community including by
schools churches nonprofits law
enforcement and businesses to intervene
disrupt and dismantle human trafficking
syndicates and must it must include the
resources to and support survivors of
human trafficking and whereas the United
States national human trafficking
hotline allows victims and witnesses to
file reports every day of the year 24
hours a day with 100% confidentiality by
calling 1 800
37378 8 or texting 2
33733 or chatting with a live person by
visiting humant trafficking hotline. org
with a quick exit link including
included on the page for everyone
visiting and whereas in the event of an
emergency please call
911 but uh but Gilbert Police Department
also provides other contact points for
reporting including a non-emergency line
of 480 503 6500 and an anonymous tip
line available by texting
274637 the keyword GPT tips followed by
a space and your tip and whereas Gilbert
proudly joins our schools churches
nonprofit organizations law enforcement
federal and state coalitions and the not
INR city.org movement in our commitment
to increase public awareness of this
epidemic while decreasing human
trafficking that impacts our
community now therefore I Chuck Bon
gavani on behalf of Scott Anderson mayor
of town of Gilbert do hereby proclaim
the month of January is not in our city
2025 in Gilbert Arizona and urge
community members to report anything
suspicious as well as recommend that our
community works together to eliminate
trafficking from our community and
support all Frontline efforts by
organizations and law enforcement in
battling against human trafficking and
taking a stand thank you
thank
you yeah I I appreciate um mayor council
members your lead uh every year and
fighting against this evil this darkness
and again we're shining a light we're
believing for all 91 cities in Arizona
to make a common sense
Proclamation um and fight against this
being ranked number 15th it's not
something that we're proud of as Arizona
we're going to change that and I tell
you uh hundreds of lives are being
rescued and have been and uh Gilbert is
leading the way in the charge
influencing the rest of the state want
to invite you all out uh to a night of
Hope 7 a Grace Community Church this
year uh the CEO of Tim Tim tibo
Foundation that going to be speaking we
have legislation at work um in our state
um that we're we're believing for this
year that we will help in the fight so
uh thank you and Scott just thank you
Pastor um my name is Scott September I
am a the government liaison for notar
city.org and uh a few years ago I sat up
on this dis and when I did Chris Payne
over there the town attorney drafted
this Proclamation for us Gilbert took
the lead in this fight um we are
committed to Bringing awareness to
trafficing Across the State of Arizona I
want to thank Patrick Banger for his
support and our chief soberg who's done
an excellent job aligning his detectives
with the FBI anti-human trafficking task
force in Phoenix um trafficking thrives
in silence and so I want to thank
Gilbert for taking a stand and saying
not in our city thank
you council members like to come up for
a picture please yeah
m
one two
[Applause]
next up is the are the public hearings
um on poll the council we have items 2
three four five six and seven I do know
and I have some requests or some
comments from two residents that are
opposed to item number four uh we
received them online I don't know if
they're here tonight or Not Susan
castanes and Perry kastanis so I'd like
to
uh pull the council to see if you have
any issues with any of the other items
we'll pull number four to talk about it
separately I'd like five six and seven
to be discussed quickly
okay anybody
else I'll entertain uh I'll open the
public hearing on items two and
three and entertain a
motion I'll move to accept items two and
three as written I'll second
that moved and seconded please vote
uh cheli we're not seeing the it's let
me let me try to reset
it motion passes
70 item four General plan GP 2403 zoning
z245 um like a staff I'll open the
public hearing the staff presentation
hi good evening mayor and councel
Kristen Divine senior planner um the
cases I have for you tonight are going
to be for a conventional rezoning and a
general plan Amendment for a residential
area this project is called Pony
Lane the site is located on Lindsay Road
South of galvaston adjacent to South
Valley Junior High seen here outlined in
red the applicant is proposing to rezone
the property from single family 43 to
single family 35
the request tonight consists of a
general plan amendment to increase the
allowed density on the site from 0 to
one dwelling units per acre to 1 to two
dwelling units per acre and to also
rezone that property from SF 43 to
sf35 the parcel is currently zoned as SF
43 and the applicant is requesting to
rezone it to sf35 the main differences
between the two zoning districts are
highlighted here on the screen in yellow
the minimum lot area will be reduced
from 40 3,000 ft to 35,000 ft the
minimum lot width would be reduced from
5 ft from I'm Sorry by 5 ft from 145 ft
down to 140 ft and the side setback
would be reduced from by 10 ft from 30
ft to 20
ft all right and this side slide here um
is just showing a conceptual site plan
for the proposed rezoning uh the site is
approximately 7 Acres and the applicant
has been working with staff to overcome
development issues um on the site for
about 2 years now access to the site is
going to be taken from Lindsay Road we
have had previous conversations with the
developer about the possibility of
adding an access point from Pony Lane as
a secondary point of access uh but there
are significant constraints with that
request due to the historical Canal that
runs across the
property the image seen here is the most
recent plan which shows four Lots
however the
rezoning is being requested as a
preemptive measure to allow the three
larger Lots the possibility of a split
in the future if their future owners
choose to do so as currently zoned if
split evenly six oversized Lots would
fit onto the site at roughly 49,000
Square ft whereas allowing a down zoning
to sf35 would allow for one additional
lot and put the size of those seven Lots
at approximately 41,000 Square
ft it's important to note that any
future lot split on those three larger
Lots will still need to abide by the
setbacks for the zoning District meaning
that if a primary structure is built in
the middle of one of these larger Lots
before they split it it would not be
able to be split because it wouldn't
meet dimensions and
setbacks the surrounding area is zoned
SF 43 but it does include a variety of
lot sizes I've highlighted three Parcels
in the area here that according to the
Maricopa County Assessor are under
43,000 ft I've labeled the Lots on the
image here with lot one being
4,822 ft lot two being
39,18303 39 ft resoning the subject
parcel to sf35 would allow for the lot
sizes to be more in line with these
existing Lots in the
area and as a comparison a similar case
was approved in 2022 just north of this
property access to the property is
nearly identical and a rezoning from SF
43 to sf35 was approved at that time
a neighborhood meeting was held for this
site on October 28th there were 14
neighbors and attendance who voiced
opposition to the project at that time
the reasons for their opposition were
largely due to density and
access the possibility of an access
point from Pony Lane was a large concern
and I would like to reiterate at the
time at this time that staff did pursue
Pony Lane as an access point um but it's
it's not a feasible option due to that
Canal the applicant has also worked with
the residents of the two lots on either
side of the access dri to address their
questions and concerns and although
staff has not heard directly from these
neighbors the applicant has explained
that they are in support of the
project the project was heard at the
December 4th Planning Commission study
session at that time the commission had
very little feedback the project was
then heard at the January 8th Planning
Commission public hearing there were
some questions regarding access and why
Pony Lane wasn't an access option why
the entry Road needed to be a separate
tra as opposed to incorporated into the
size of the lot would which would allow
those lots to remain at SF
43 they also had questions about density
and development standards and the
process moving forward they ultimately
recommended I'm sorry they ultimately
voted to recommend approval with a six
to1 vote during the hearing four comment
cards were received in opposition to the
project and three of those residents did
choose to speak the the residents raised
concerns regarding accessing off of
Lindsay Road and that they feel like the
road is already dangerous enough without
adding additional
traffic they are also concerned that the
development may be being overdeveloped
and that it will impact their quality of
the
neighborhood and with that staff does
recommend approval of Z2 2415 and GP
2403 for Pony Lane and I'm available for
any questions that you have thank you
Kristen any questions for Kristen
council member Bon jvani thank you mayor
Kristen um I remember the project in
202022 how close is it to this one is it
on that map
the bigger map you
had so mayor Anderson council member ban
Giovani um so this is the property that
we're talking about tonight South Valley
Junior High is just above that gon is
just above that and the other project is
just North of that okay Bry how far
maybe a mile okay thank
you vice mayor
Buckley I I have a question on the three
larger Lots it said it says that may be
split at a later
time uh to what extent can they be split
sure so may is the minimum yeah sorry
sorry about that so mayor Anderson vice
mayor Buckley um so the way that it's
laid out right now those three larger
Lots do have the ability to each be
split one time in the future um as
undeveloped Lots if lot two develops and
they put a primary structure in the
middle of that lot they would no longer
be able to meet the minimum w widths and
depths of a lot so construction of that
first Primary Home would need to
consider that about where it's placed on
the lot uh at a maximum there would be
seven Lots on this entire site as
opposed to six that would be permitted
in the current zoning okay so it can
only be it can only be split once am I
correct in looking at that because the
minimum has to be 35,000 I mean yeah
35,000 square ft that's correct so the
minimum would have to be 35,000 ft and
the minimum dimensions of the lot would
need to be met as well so 140 ft wide by
150 fet deep okay so nothing those three
lots cannot be split smaller than in
half that is correct okay all right I
wanted to clarify that the my other
question is the Ingress and egress is
that all going to be from Lindsay Road
it is and and and and I apologize I
didn't look closely enough at the plot
plan but uh there is there an inset
where when when you know residents come
in and this is gated if I'm not
mistaken can you repeat your question
I'm sorry for the entry way off of entry
and exit off of Lindsay Road so if it's
gated is there a lead up to the gate so
that if two people are waiting to get in
the gate we're not going to have people
backed up on Lindsay Road sure so vice
mayor Buckley it is not a gated
community oh it is not okay okay so that
shouldn't be an issue then okay all
right thank you very much you're
welcome I am curious and thank you sir
uh I am curious in general because
generally we don't like exits Ingress
egress on streets like that or Higley or
anything else I can see that it's
plainly there in this plan but why are
we have we changed something that we're
now supportive of things getting on the
streets that side or has it's just been
in the plan that long it's grandfathered
in so mayor Anderson uh council member
toras they're accessing from Lindsay
because it's already an existing access
point these two homes 2150 and 2180 also
take their access from Lindsay and there
is no other way to access this
lot thank you council member Bon Giovani
thank you mayor um is there a meeting in
between there or are we making left-and
turns coming out of this new project on
Lindsay
do you know I don't know I'm sorry okay
thank
you and if we do nothing it it it'll be
four
plots or with the project it could
potentially be six Lots the way that
it's zoned right now you could put six
six Lots gotcha thank
you any other questions for
Kristen thank you Kristen is the
applicant present would like to make a
presentation um the applicant does not
have a presentation but Nathan did you
have anything to
add good morning or good evening Mr
Mayor and councel uh my name is Nathan
Finch with the cross Law Firm on behalf
of the the owner of the property um as M
deine did an excellent job presenting
we've been working with the council for
a couple years to resolve their concerns
uh it's worth knowing that the singular
issue that came up after the property
was purchased was the town changed its
rules requiring uh dedicating a a plat
of the road itself to allow Ingress
egress in a dedicated plot which took
away square footage from the planned
seven Lots on Seven Acres that was the
plan when it was acquired and I I only
bring that up to State the fact that a
number of the concerns of the neighbors
have been that that this rezoning and
changing in in the what the the Zoning
for this property would change the
fundamental character of the
neighborhood but the reality is is if if
you look at the neighborhood and and you
probably are familiar with how these
County Islands when they were County
Islands were developed was that the
roads were not dedicated or platted out
and and when you would build a home you
would have a road across the property
and that road counted as a part of the
square footage of the lot and
therefore the you could have seven lots
and exactly as this is laid
out but because you didn't have to give
the square footage up to the separate
plat for the road you maintained
a the 43,000 square foot size the Lots
so a seven acre parcel could be seven
homes and that's quite specifically what
is being done with this plan Amendment
and Zoning change if the council has any
question I'd be happy to answer them any
questions council member m thank you
mayor do you know about the median is
there a median there can someone make a
left-hand turn or is it just a right-
hand turn there is no median okay thank
you question
thank you thank
you as I mentioned we did get a public
comment received online by Susan
kastanis and Perry kastanis are they
either one of them
present don't know what their opposition
was if not uh I'll bring it back to the
council I'll close the public hearing
and bring it back to the council for
discussion Andor motion
mayor council member cowsky I would move
to approve uh GP 24- 03 and Zoning Z2
24-15 I'll second that the moveed by
council member caasi seconded by council
member Bon Giovani to approve the item
as presented please vote
item passes 70 thank you very
much item five I'll open the public
hearing property acquisition conduct
hearing and consider adoption of
resolution number 4531 approving the
acquisition of required
easements for certain
Parcels is is a staff member here to
make a could make a quick presentation
for council member
torguson oh all maybe you can talk about
five six and
seven good evening mayor council um we
don't particularly have a um
presentation put together but we are
ready for any questions that uh council
member tenson may have really what I
wanted to get to is this is all about
trying to acquire water rights uh our
our wells Etc and when you see something
that that looks like imminent domain
whether it is or not I wanted the
general public to understand what it is
we're doing this isn't something that's
just to do it this is for water for this
town so if there's anything you can have
to share on that I just didn't want to
go idly by and not people not understand
what it
was let me pull up some notes real quick
here um yeah so item number five is for
a temporary conr construction easement
um and that will be
for um adjacent residential wall that
we're raising from 6 feet to 8 ft um for
more privacy so that's basically they're
rebuilding that wall and to be able to
rebuild that wall we need a temporary
construction easement to Build That Wall
um item number six um is for um we're
turn put in a right turn lane at that
intersection and we need there's a
there's a easement um a drainage
easement adjacent to where the right
turn lane is going to go so we have to
remodify that drainage easement um so we
need some uh temporary rights in there
for that drainage easement um and then
lastly number seven is for a public
utility easement and a temporary
construction easement for cathodic
protection um rectifier at locations
adjacent to the roadway at Queen Creek
and panel County um so again just a
public utility easement to be able to
get our utilities in there and a
temporary construction easement to be
able to have the rights to construct
that out sight of of the small areas
that we have I appreciate the time sir
you're welcome thank you Ryan you're
welcome i' neglected to open the public
hearing open the public hearing on items
five six and seven and close the public
hearing and bring it back to the council
for discussion Andor a
motion I'll make a motion to accept five
six and seven as written I second it
been moved by council member torguson
seconded by vice mayor Buckley please
vote
motion passes
70 that brings us to the consent
calendar vice mayor we'll turn the
meeting to
you
oops first
order this microphone okay um I've
received a request received request from
ccil members to seek clarification from
staff on items number 8 14 16 17 18 19
and 20 can we please hear from staff on
these items prior to moving on to the
consent
agenda good evening mayor members of
council um I'm I am here for count for
agenda item number eight which is the
contract with SMI Imaging for
preventative MRI screenings for our
employees I don't have a presentation
prepared but I do have a little bit of
information or can answer questions if
you have a preference on which way we do
this I got a question for
you I've got questions I'm I'm sorry
does anyone have any questions yeah
yeah okay council member Bon thank you m
mayor we've done this for a while
correct correct what have the results
been so
far mayor Anderson members of council
the town did pilot this preventative MRI
program with our fire department um I
don't have specific numbers on how many
um issues that were caught early in in
stages where they could be treated at a
much lesser cost but I can say that we
did catch several things through those
screenings early um and and were able to
get those members treatment at a much
lower cost than it would it would be if
those were to be ongoing and found in a
later stage catching them early we
helped their their health to begin with
and we save the Town Money Absol I catch
you it earlier absolutely thank
you yeah basically that's what I wanted
to ask is knowing some of the answers
because of speaking to some of the
firemen that were affected that the cost
of this is more than paid back by the
benefits of it and as a self-insured
entity it's each person saved us that
and catching cancer stage one or two is
a lot better than four and it's the end
goal is to uh make the healthiest staff
we have and to save money doing it is
fantastic so I just I wanted that
explained publicly thank you
okay thank you thank you
good evening mayor members of council I
am here to talk about 14 16 17 18 and 19
um item number 14 is a contract with
James Cook and Hobson or jch for the
replacement of a large pump at our
Crossroads lift station in our sewer
system uh that is the largest lift
station in the town and the replacement
of this pump it's reached the end of its
useful life so it's part of our life
cycle replacement program these pumps
are as large as a person so they are
expensive it's $160,000 for that one
pump um and it's paid for out of the
Wastewater replacement fund which is
funds that we set aside for the purpose
of um replacing infrastructure once it's
reached the end of its useful
life anyone have a question CH sorry
council member thank you vice mayor um
do you know how long the pump was told
to last compared to how long it did last
I was looking to see if we had somebody
else here I don't know um I know that
that that type of equipment typically
has a 10 to 15 year life expectancy so
um can we become close yeah these are
those types of mechanical equipment are
typically a little better I know you're
alluding to the pipeline failures that
we've had um but this type of equipment
typically gets a little closer to its
useful life um because we are able to do
regular preventative maintenance and
inspection on it and make sure that it's
functioning the way it's supposed to and
we've been saving all along to pay for a
replacement correct correct thank
you hey Jessica could you explain what
El lift what a lift station does and and
its purpose sure so the lift stations in
our sewer system
essentially sewer flows by gravity
underground and once it gets to a
certain point where it gets very very
deep it can't Flow by gravity any
further so we have to use lift stations
strategically placed throughout town to
then pump that sewage up um and
pressurize it into Force Mains that then
send it either directly to one of our
wastewater treatment plants or to
another P part of our gravity sewer
system where it can then continue to
flow um to one of the plants for
treatment thank
you uh Jessica I I'd like to clarify
these questions are uh an overall
questions right you're not directing to
you're directing to 14 15 16 17 and 18
right and they're all kind of the same
or is this strictly for number 14 to
begin with mayor uh vice mayor Buckley
this one is just for number 14 so I have
I have highlights for each of the other
items as well so I can go through all of
them and then take questions for
everything or just go one at a time okay
everything and I think one at a time
yeah well well all all at one time okay
okay um item number 16 is a contract
with ASR construction um for Well site
number five rehab and tank replacement
wellsite number five has on-site arsenic
treatment because it does have arsenic
um and it needs that needs to be removed
the tank in question is part of that
treatment process it collects the
backwash water um when the media that
that removes the Arsenic needs to be
cleaned um or when the well first starts
up needs to be flushed before it can be
put into the distribution system so that
tank has also reached the end of its
useful life and is being paid for the
replacement with um water replacement
funds um which is again something that
we save up for in order to be able to to
complete these uh Renovations or
Replacements once the infrastructure
reaches the end of its useful
life item number 17 is a is two
different contracts one with ASR
construction and one with TriStar
engineering and that is for the
rehabilitation of two storm water pump
stations um which is funded out of our
Environmental Compliance fund um a
condition assessment on all of our storm
water P pump stations was completed in
2018 and uh we are moving forward with
recommended repairs um and
Rehabilitation of these two locations
which is in the village 2 subdivision
and then freest Stone Park the storm
water pump St stations will take water
from retention basins and typically pump
them into adjacent um canals through
agreements we have with those different
entities when we do actually get some
rain and need to drain those pump
stations so they don't get used
frequently but when they do they need to
work um and these are on the list for
those types of repairs so this is also
something that is is funded out of our
Environmental Compliance replacement
fund and something that we've been
saving up for um this purpose since 2018
when we when we formed that
fund um and then item number 18 is a job
order uh contract task order with Talis
construction for uh trip Hazard and
concrete repairs along the western Power
Line Trail um that's being done just uh
we have an annual contract that we go
through and do different areas of the
town for the trail maintenance um to
mitigate those trip hazards um and this
is paid for out of the general fund
General replacement
funds and then the last one is a
contract with brown and Caldwell for um
what's scada and Inc which is our um
control systems for the northwater
treatment plant so we had a contract
with them to help us select the software
um and control system that will be part
of the new northwater treatment plant
reconstruction and now this is the next
phase of their contract in order to um
allow for the integration of all of our
existing controls for all of our remote
sites with the new northwater treatment
plant
project and that's being paid for out of
the water
fund and that's all of them in I had
questions does anyone have any question
yes T thank you and clarify each one of
these whether it's waste or water or EPA
that is coming out of a specific
Enterprise funds that are reflected on
our bills correct correct so the
Wastewater lift station pump is being
paid for by Wastewater fund the water
tank Rehabilitation is being paid for by
the water fund the storm water pump
stations are paid for out of the
environmental compliance and storm water
fund and they are all kept separate and
they are all accounted for individually
yes right and none of that money from
those funds is bled off into any other
part of the the budget is it no it's not
they're completely self-contained and
self-supporting okay thank you for
taking the time yes thank you okay thank
you Jessica
all right we're going to move on to item
number
20 good evening mayor and Council Eugene
Mia Chief AI strategy transformation
officer uh regarding item number 20
mayor and council members um it is a to
give you an over quick overview of the
program um it's resulting from our
emerging technology and Adoption of
artificial intelligence here in the town
um really driving Innovation towards
technology and the solutions we use to
to drive efficiencies and productivity
and so the request for that is to
procure a solution uh called grammarly
for the Enterprise which really is a
tool that drives um AI to enhance
communication and and professional
writing as well as uh create and draft
content to really help streamline our
communication um with internal
stakeholders as well as external
stakeholders um and so what we're
looking for is to procure
um 675 licenses uh to deploy throughout
the organization um and with that the
cost comes to about approximately
$73,000 per year on a 2-year um contract
agreement at which point we have the
ability to uh reduce that count or uh
find ways to opt out for the second year
if we choose to go that
path anyone have any questions CH thank
you vice mayor um I love gramarly I mean
I get reports every month and I'm proud
to say I'm in the top 3% of the nation
that uses it with that said 675 licenses
about
$717 each over the two
years what's the plan
to motivate 675 people to continue to
use this because if they did it's a
great price because I know what I'm
paying for it but I hate to see you know
I know we get reports you'll be getting
reports
I hate to see 100 people using this
thing for two years and it would be
cheaper if we just bought it
individually you see what I'm saying yes
great question U mayor council member uh
Bon Giovani so what we've done through
Drive adoption and adoption rate of
usage is find ways to engage with
employees within the organization to get
feedback that way they're committed and
have shared ownership as part of that
pilot program and so with the additional
two-month pilot program we ran prior to
bringing this request for approval our
do option rate has already hit 100% of
the 150 people as part of that pilot um
and the way we do that is we look for
different types of Engagement partnering
with other stakeholders in your or
organization like our organizational
development team to really help drive
that education awareness and
understanding of how the tools can help
each one of um departments and what that
impact mean is to the why and the
purposes they serve in their day-to-day
operation okay and I'm surprised gly
makes me look smart so I appreciate the
software it it does for me as well so
thank you
okay uh council member Kowski hi Eugene
um I just noticed this when earlier um
attorney Chris Payne had showed us a
little snippet from the agenda where now
we're showing the contract end date and
there's a discrepancy between a two-year
contract but the contract end date as
published was July of 2028 could you
just clarify what's the correct end date
of the contract absolutely mayor council
member Kowski so the reason be behind
the discrepancy is that uh we are asking
to uh add to a contract that is a
Cooperative agreement that we're tied to
so this is really just part of extending
that service that's offered through that
agreement but doesn't have an actual
agreement to the terms that we agreed to
with gramarly for the subscription
services that we're asking
for so we're paying for our our use
through fiscal year which would end in
June of 27 correct but the Cooperative
purchase agreement language doesn't end
until uh July of 28th correct um that
that Cooperative agreement is just
basically a vehicle for us to procure
solution so that we know it's been
competitively bid thank
you okay thank you eug anybody else have
any other questions okay thank you thank
you
all right so moving on uh mayor and
councel are there any additional items
you wish pull from the consent agenda at
this time for a presentation or a
vote anyone all right well with that I
will move to approve the consent agenda
items number 8 through
23 can I have part second okay
thank you and um let's vote
please motion carried
70 and I believe that concludes the
consent agenda thank you vice mayor uh
we have no administrative items on the
agenda tonight so we'll move directly to
Communications from citizens again vice
mayor all all right thank you
mayor we value the participation of our
community members and robust exchange of
ideas however it's essential that this
discourse remain respectful and
constructive reflecting the
professionalism expected in such in such
um
forums misinformation and personal
attacks undermine the collective efforts
and do not contribute to the productive
dialogue now necessary for our Town's
progress this is an opportunity for the
public to address the Town Council
directly about issues impacting the town
accordingly the Town Council will not
allow for moments of silence or the
playing of music or other recorded
material which could distract from
meeting decorum or violate copyrights
while we understand and appreciate the P
the passion our community members bring
to this session we remind everyone that
clapping uh during the meeting is not
acceptable this practice can disrupt the
flow of discussion potentially
intimidate others and detract from the
respectful atmosphere we strive to
maintain tonight we'll invite you up to
come up to the podium when you come to
the podium state your name and your city
of residence and you will have three
minutes to directly address the Town
Council unless otherwise indic IND
at if you if the current Speaker will be
speaking uh will be using three minutes
of another person's time that person
must stand up State their name City they
reside in and acknowledge they are
dedicating their three minutes to the
current
speaker and with that we will move on
the first speaker will be and I'll give
the first three speakers so the next
speakers can be ready so the first
speaker is TJ
nias and I hope I pronounced that
correctly if you would come up to the
podium
please pardon
me oh okay so okay so you you're not
going to speak then
okay did you did you did you dedicate
your time to someone
else okay well I just I just wanted to
make sure thank you um okay so the next
speaker is
Stephen
Bennis b n a r b o n a r are you here
and I apologize you'll have to forgive
me with if I pronounce your name wrong
it's
all and and before you before you start
if you yeah if you can push the button
there the red button the next speaker is
going to
be
um that one yeah okay go ahead all right
my name is Steven Bonar I've been a
resident of the town of Gilbert and
Adora Trails for over 11 years and uh I
wanted to share a personal experience I
had with the cattle in our
community um I was going for a walk one
night almost a year ago and it was kind
of dark it was like s or 8 o'clock and
uh I heard some honking in the
distance
and you know I didn't think much of it
at first but then I heard the sound of
many hooves approaching on the sidewalk
and like okay I can't even see where
they're coming from but I better just
get out of the way because I was
concerned for my safety so I went over
to the right and about 3 or 4 seconds
later I heard of about 40 cattle just
plowed through right where I was walking
and I realized at that point I mean
having lived in the community and seen
the cattle on and off for years that it
was uh more than just a nuisance but a
public safety issue and my biggest
concern is for our children in
particular because you know I had the
presence of mind to get out of the way
in that
moment but what if it had been one of my
kids walking to school the what if it
had been any of the kids in our
neighborhood that had been there at that
moment and the problem seems to have
gotten worse over the years especially
in the last year and the cattle are
showing up during the day to during
school hours when kids are walking to
and from school so um I just would like
to ask the town for its solution to
potentially help this problem and see
whatever the town can do for us to help
address this public safety issue for our
children and you know Adora trails and
residential neighborhood just it's not
designed for livestock right and as my
own experience showed me uh when those
cows get agitated they don't have
anywhere else to go except those walking
paths between the rows of houses and
they're the same walking paths that our
kids use to get to and from school so
thank you for your time
okay thank you
Stephen our next speaker is I believe
this is
Bill Ritz
maybe Bitz I I live in Gilbert in Ador
trails mayor Anderson vice mayor Buckley
Council Members First off I want to
thank the council members that did show
up to our town hall meeting on the 16th
it was it was packed house and uh a
little bit crazy but uh thank you for
coming and council member Bon jiani I
just want to thank you for your quick
response to my emails I I appreciate
that you know we need help continued
help
it's already mentioned in that last
story about the public safety issue and
and we know your offices are out there
in the morning I see them sometimes 6
o'clock in the morning directing people
around where the cows are so you know
they're helping that out but we need we
need long-term solution I'm not telling
you anything you don't know but we need
a long-term
solution in the public health we pay
$4,000 a month for cow cleaner
out of our own pockets and that includes
the streets and the sidewalk so we need
help with those our
playgrounds kids can't play in them
unless dad goes down with a shovel and
takes care of that stuff so we need help
on
that but the main reason why I'm up here
today is the community has also stepped
up to the plate and we're going to pay
for a fence if you already know about
along our Southern border now now this
will seal off the southern
border but the cows have a way of
getting around on the west side over by
the canal side so we're going to need
your
help and probably the County's help in
helping us locate those points of Entry
when this happens it's going to push
them down that way points of entry and
help with sealing off that side and I
know there's some solutions to do that
probably in an inexpensive way to seal
it off so we'd at least have two sides
sealed off completely now the Eastern
side there's there's kind of confusion
over there if they can come in from the
East they do now they they get out onto
constellation which is on the other side
of the neighborhood and come in from the
East oh they'll come up to rigs as uh
the chief was saying earlier um they get
up to Rigs and they're on the side of
the road at Rigs and he was very nice
when he said cars going 45 M hour on
rigs cow cows go a lot faster than that
and there's going to be a major major
incident
there so what we ask here now is we can
your continued help and assistance and
we appreciate what you've done so far
but we need at some point and I don't
even know what's going to happen I know
it's a
multifaceted problem and how are we
going to get this totally solved but we
would enjoy your your help and
assistance from this point on thank you
very much all right thank you our next
speaker is Bob sh
cherur and I I know I know I didn't do a
good job at that SCH rhymes with table
very well thank you mayor Town Council
Members my name is Bob Schnabel I live
in Adora Trails a community of
1,863 homes bordered on the North by
rigs Road and on the south by the heila
river res a I'm here with my friends and
Neighbors from Ador Trails as well as
other communities of Mont Verde Sania
and uh the Corda
HOAs we're here to discuss the cattle
issue uh which is plaguing uh Gilbert
it's a Gilbert issue not an HOA issue
two weeks ago ad door Trails held a town
um hall meeting which three members of
the Gilbert Town Council attended we
realized that due to Quorum restrictions
other Town Council Members couldn't
attend but we want to thank those people
who attended especially those who drove
around the community to see the cattle
firsthand on numerous occasions and all
times of the day and
night tonight you'll hear from my
neighbors about the issues that we're
facing with the cattle such as damage to
the Lawns bushes sprinkler systems the
mess they leave on the sidewalks and
Roads making it impossible for
handicapped residents to move around the
community safely the damage to the cars
and the danger of the cattle causing
walking and running through our
community daily we're
asking Gilbert to strengthen the
ordinances making it illegal for
livestock to roam freely and making it
costly for the cattle owners to obey
disobey these um ordinances plain and
simple we need your help none of us can
fix this cattle issue by ourselves
without the help of the town of Gilbert
the county and others please help us
before a worst case scenario occurs now
I know earlier in the meeting there was
discuss as far as the uh fence we are
putting up a fence unfortunately it
doesn't appear that we can be a gated
community because we have Patterson
Elementary School in the community and a
lot of the students from Patterson live
outside of a door Trails so even if we
totally fence the community and have
gates the gates are going to have to
remain open from about 5 o'clock in the
morning until 6 o'clock at night unless
they're evening activities they'd have
to stay open later and on the weekends
as well if they different activities so
again we need your help you're going to
hear a lot of people from ad Door Trail
speaking tonight thank you very much
thank you our next speaker is Damon
Allen my name is Damon Allen I live in
Adora Trails been a Arizona resident for
50 years and I'm going to do my best
because I'm not the best public speaker
I'm going to read this email that that I
sent
to uh Taylor Porter the other day and
this is just a couple incidents among
probably hundreds um I will omit some of
the things on this because I learned a
little bit in the prior meeting so I'll
try to do the best that I can so I
realized that you um my address is 2425
East Cherry Hill Drive in Ador Trails
like I said I realize you're aware of
the serious issues in Adora Trails
relating to cattle d to Residence and
then I sent this email to this gal um I
did s some send some pictures some
concerning pictures that um if needed
you guys could take a look at that on
11225 I exited my garage to walk my dog
at approximately 9:30 p.m. I stepped
into the driveway from my garage a very
large bull a very large bull okay we're
not talking a th000 pounds we're talking
more than that
um was approximately 8 ft from my home
entry door I have pictures of that and 6
feet away from me and my dog leash
dog the bull saw us charged towards us
and I was in fear for my life
honestly I worked for ad do for 30 years
so I've been around traffic so I know
fear for my life I know what that means
I made some loud noises and the bull
went back into the city streets with
other cows and calvs which can be
concerning cuz calfs they want to
protect them the incident is
unacceptable very dangerous to your
citizen to your citizens I called to
file a priest report the dispatcher was
very nice but he said I couldn't file a
police report because I wasn't injured
and the best thing for me to do is call
when the cows are there so the officers
can can take care of
it the incident is unacceptable very oh
I brought that I'm sorry um I apologize
do your constituents have to be killed
or injured before something is done to
stop the situation I know of the I know
there have been multiple vehicle
accidents in the prior meeting the
assistant chief I believe said there
hadn't been any accidents but I talked
to the Chief and I think it was just
miscommunications there's been seven
with
injuries
um I'm just amazed that this situation
has gone so far for these many years I'm
sure the City of Gilbert which I love
does not need any publicity on a death
or an injury it it just it's just
horrible
um I'm just in fear for my grandchildren
they're precious to me our quality of
life is affected we can't even function
and and I know you know this but it
needs to be stated that it's just it's
going too far we we need
help and I did say in the email that if
this was happening in the Inner City of
Gilbert where all the restaurants and
things it would be it's the it's the
same as where we live but I understand
now it's not but our our safety is the
same I had another incident uh that was
similar to this and I won't mention it
but thank you thank you very much our
next speaker is Heather rabano
hello my name is Heather RAB Bono I am a
TM Gilbert resident I also live in the
Dora TRS neighborhood I have lived there
since 2017 I have two daughters aged 9
and 16 years old so I'm on different
sides of this spum I am concerned for my
9-year-old who is no longer able to play
in the Parks or be out riding her bike
safely with her friends on our street I
also am concerned for my 16-year-old
daughter who is a new driver who is very
much at risk for a collision in the
evening when we have no visibility to
these cows as they run into the roadway
from my upstairs window I have direct
view of Cold Water Boulevard I believe
Boulevard which is a very active Street
in our community it runs straight
through the community I have seen and
heard many many vehicles that are coming
to a screeching halt when they're trying
to avoid cows I've seen almost
collisions happen many times these would
not be accounted for in any of the
information that you receive because
they're not called into the police
they're accidents that are misses right
but I'm also here to tell you that
offense is the easiest solution and we
have been advised that the guard rails
that would offset the idea that we could
have a fence are not possible because of
the legal responsibilities that would
come with that so we absolutely need
your
help thank you okay thank you very much
next speaker is Andrea Cole
I stand before you tonight to address an
issue that has grown increasingly
problematic in our community the
presence of cows roaming freely through
our neighborhoods and green belts is a
daily occurrence the damage these cows
are causing to our homes such as Gardens
trampled on trees bushes and grass eaten
water lines broken a single cow can
cause hundreds to thousands of dollars
of damage for example according to Mike
swinsky of Moon Valley Nursery a
three-foot pygmy Palm would be about
$700 that's including the delivery and
the planting well I have six pygmy Palms
that were destroyed that's
$4,600 to combat the cows from further
damage some neighbors have started
covering their plants at night with
sheet while on a windy evening that is
pointless others have hung bags with
moth balls from Plants setting out
ultrasonic animal repellent and even
temporary fences which are put up at
night and removed in the morning
unfortunately the cows at times have
trampled those down the green belts and
the door trails are communal spaces for
relaxation exercise Recreation and
community events have turned into
impromptu grazing grounds the grass it
should be there for children to play
residents to walk their dogs or for
everyone to enjoy a bit of nature is
being eaten down to the roots not to
mention the cow highs it's like walking
through a mine field this not only
diminishes the aesthetic appeal to our
community but also disrupts the
ecological balance leading to soil
compaction and
erosion the cows all also damaged a main
water line and one green belt area which
caused flooding Adora Trails was
recognized as a water-wise community
maybe not anymore our community
landscape or lancom planted trees along
Adora Boulevard due to the cows many are
no longer viable landcom suggested
holding off on replacing them due to the
cows will probably destroy them once
again let's work together to restore our
neighborhood peaceful beautiful place we
know it can
be we have a right to enjoy our homes
and communal spaces without the ongoing
disruption and damage caused by these
roaming cows thank you for your
attention and let's move forward to
resolve this issue thank you
thank
you our next speaker is
Ron I'll I'll spell it for you I don't
want to slaughter another name it's h r
i h r y s h k
d and I apologize that's okay it's uh
rishko thank you thank you mayor council
members um I've been an Adora Trails
resident
since the beginning uh we my wife and I
moved in in June of
2011 cows were somewhat of a nuisance
then day we moved in there was I don't
know six eight of them behind the
models through all of the homeowners
association meetings with Taylor
Morrison uh who was a
developer there were constant fence
cuttings people taking ATVs dirt bikes
running on the reservation endless
repairing of the barb wire for the past
year uh and it's not an exaggeration as
you've heard from everybody else we've
basically had an
invasion it's not a dozen cows it's
upwards of 50 60 cows or more at a time
they're coming all over the place um the
we're spending countless amount of money
on things that we could better spend on
other things as a development
I've watched cows follow little kids up
to
Patterson then I've watched the parents
follow the cows with their phones out
and their cameras on the way
back we've heard of countless homeowners
being injured um we had a resident hit a
cow about a month or two ago ended up
going to the hospital and requiring
surgery it's I don't like to be a a
bearer of gloom and doom but it's a
situation of not if but when there's a
serious injury or a
fatality the cows are all the way out to
rigs we can tell by the cow pies that
are out there we definitely need help
working together to solve this problem
uh people have had to alter their
Lifestyles they with walking and biking
with all of the trails that we have kids
teenagers everybody has had to change
their lifestyle
out of fear and
concern over these
cows so we humbly request any and all
help that we can get the liability for a
fatality or a serious injury is nothing
to laugh
about thank
you thank you our next speaker is Megan
deala
Lester mag are you
here all right we'll move on to the next
one and that is Andrew
Anderson I'm mayor and council members
my name is Andrew Anderson I've been a
Gilbert residence since 2016 I moved to
Gilbert uh actually for from U Manila
Philippines with my family um I was an
asset management and hope open up an
office here in Tempe um this was a place
that we fell in love with we haven't
lived anywhere for longer than 5 years
and I've lived here since 2016 so we
absolutely love Gilbert what I don't
love is the amount of effort that I put
into my
Landscaping um Community member shared
with you how expensive it is um you know
buying an inexpensive pygmy Palm from
Home Depot watering it for eight years
and then waking up to them all being
destroyed I I don't appreciate it I have
no recourse and I have to pay for it out
of my own pocket um I have video images
of bulls bowls next to my truck thank
God it didn't get scratched because if
it did I'm out that money as well I
think a lot of people are are sharing
their concern about safety for for
children which yes I had to stop on the
main road of Adora
Boulevard um on my way to a job and uh
because I'm in construction now and
uh I stopped the car on the main road as
I watched a bll start aggressively going
towards two girls what am I going to do
against uh
multi thousand pound Bowl nothing but I
want to at least help children there's
also concerns
about those in our community
that can't get out and walk um that have
88 issues that they are now in fear of
walking on our
Pathways
um one that
struck me personally was uh a resident
in our community she's
same age as my mother uh shared her
story of being charged by a bull there's
no way my mom would ever be able to get
out of a way from a bull and um I
just want to share my concern that there
there is an there is an imminent issue
here that needs to be addressed and it's
the safety of our community so thank you
for your time thank you very much our
next speaker is John Kelly
hello uh thanks for having us um we
appreciate uh you letting us speak uh
I'm a member I live in uh Adora Trails I
moved retired I was a police officer in
California came to Gilbert because it's
nice and safe and it beats California
for sure so um moved in I've never
really had the issue of the cows
damaging our property yet but I can I I
sympathize with the neighborhood I see
the damage that's being done and being
an uh former public safety officer uh
the responsibility should not fall on
the residents it belongs to city
government town government uh police
departments County State whoever needs
to get involved somebody needs to do
something cuz nothing's getting done
nothing's been done except a lot of the
same uh passing the buck we're looking
into this we're looking into that that
is not the way this this has to be fixed
I don't care if we have to put a wall in
a big fence a fence that's not going to
get cut but doing nothing is going to
get somebody killed and I'm pretty sure
the liability because this is an open
forum and this is all the minutes are
being
recorded there's negligence here and I'm
not blaming you guys I'm it's it's not
any one person's fault but something has
to be done I thank you for your time
thank you our next speaker is Courtney
Bon
Gio
Orno hi good evening it's Courtney
bonjoro not Bon Giovani but good evening
to all and thank you for your
time I'm a resident of Gilbert and I
live in a door trails have lived there
for 12 years I'm also a realtor in the
community for with 27 years of
experience protecting families and their
property
values I'm here today to continue the
discussion about the issue of
increasingly large herds of cattle on
our Gilbert streets in our neighborhood
of Adora trails and the Charlotte
Patterson Elementary school grounds as
well as surrounding neighbors of
santonia Cordillera T ver and the LDS
church located at
7361 South Constellation Way in Gilbert
there are ongoing serious
implications that this cattle issue is
having on the health the safety and the
well-being of our
residents as well as a long-term
economic impact on our property
values for thousands of homeowners and
registered
voters first the health and safety
concerns I'd like to address of course
the cow manure we've talked about that
it's on the streets the sidewalks the
school grounds the church grounds
children's play areas within our
neighborhoods and it is consistently
creating unsanitary conditions posing
serious health risks to our children
residents and pets due to the potential
spread of bacteria and
pathogens
secondly there's increased maintenance
costs on us as homeowners as on the town
There's resources that are being
strained within the within the town this
growing cattle infiltration is leading
to Rising costs for both cleanup and
sanitation and it may eventually result
in higher HOA fees ultimately
potentially County property taxes in
order to raise money to fund all of
these things that are Gilbert PD they're
putting time out to do all of these
things for us we're just asking that
those who affected again thousands of
homeowners in all of these
communities we ask for
help there's also the economic
impact on the property values and this
isn't ever growing these cattle are
they're ever growing can't state that
enough their herds of cattle their waste
is literally everywhere they're living
in our green belts on the streets in the
sidewalk causing property destruction
you've heard about it's it's negatively
affecting property values in and around
the corridor the rig's
corridor it's making homes less
desirable it's reducing the overall
attractiveness of our community for
residents and potential buyers have
literally walked away from
transactions they're three days from
closing they're looking at homes and
they're walking away because of what
they see in our
community it's not just a public
nuisance it could be a legal implication
that could span I don't know how far we
just really appreciate your time and we
want to continue discussions with this
concerning matter thank you thank
you our next speaker is Joseph and I the
last name is just not legible I can't I
don't know what the last name is I
believe it looks like it may start with
a V Joseph Bon
or v n I can't read it so if Joseph at
there Jose up here it's probably
you okay then we'll move
on and uh the next speaker is Juliet
dami
Damian Damian
oh
I hi I'm H Julieta Damiano and I'm am a
resident of Gilbert uh in the
neighborhood of Adora trails I've uh
moved here about 12 years ago and also
I'm experiencing um the cow destruction
in our neighborhood so I just want to
thank you for the opportunity to speak
tonight um much of what I'm going to be
talking about has already been said um
but there might be some other um items
that you know I want to bring to your
attention and so um I'm here to address
an issue that has deeply impacted our
residents of Adora Trails the constant
presence of cattle wandering through our
streets sidewalks it was once a minor
inconvenience now obviously it's daily
it's affecting you know not only our
peace and quiet but also the safety and
well-being of our residents every day
the cows are rooming freely through our
streets blocking sidewalks obstructing
traffic making it nearly impossible to
enjoy activities like walking running
jogging or even driving safely I have
two uh new drivers in our neighborhood
in in my family uh that are going to be
driving uh one is getting their permit
and the other one is a new driver um so
that's definitely a concern to me um our
green belts meant to be quiet spaces
where families gather and children play
and and neighbors relax are often
interrupted by these animals parents are
a unable unable to let their children
play outside without concern and
obviously dog owners such as myself are
really forced to avoid walking our pets
in fear of an encounter with one of
these large cows um so worst of all um
The Quiet of our evenings is Shattered
by the sound of cattles passing by we've
been woken up at 3: in the morning by
our dogs barking because they're hearing
the cow's out side so we know that the
HOA is working on building a fence
around our neighborhood but that
solution is only addressing part of the
problem cattles are going to continue to
roam from the hiler River Reservation
bypassing our neighborhood um coming
onto rigs road which we've already seen
um we know that drivers on rigs Road are
traveling at speeds of 45 miles hour
there is a real risk um that a collision
with one of these cows um is going to
result in a deadly accident um so we
need immediate action from the town of
Gilbert to restore the quiet quiet and
Tranquility we deserve uh we're asking
for the council to update the ordinance
that's going to allow the town to catch
and sell cattle that would wander around
to our Gilbert streets um this would
obviously send a clear message uh that
you have a tool that can help add
address the problem effectively but
beyond that we really need a coordinated
effort between the count town of Gilbert
Maricopa County and the hila River
Reservation uh to build a permanent
fence around the ranch property where
these cows are coming from and allowing
us to experience the peaceful
environment that we once enjoyed and now
can't today so we expect the council to
take Swift and decisive action tonight
not just for us but for the entire town
and surrounding areas thank you for your
attention and we look forward to to
immediate action okay thank you our next
speaker is madalina
domano hello or hello my my name is
Melina domiano and I live in Adora
trails and I'm a new driver I just got
my permit and I'm going to start driving
soon and my mom is going to be there
with me but we're really worried that
when we're driving down those roads it's
always in the back of our mind that we
could encounter one of those cows and
it's nearly almost impossible to see
them it's almost impossible to see them
when you're turning when they're like in
those grass patches in the neighborhood
it's almost impossible until you are
like a couple of feet away from them and
then you're just going too fast and then
you can't stop
and that's how I think most people have
almost hit the cows it's a very big
safety problem and I'm concerned about
my brother as well my twin brother he he
just got his license
but he uh he while he was um driving in
the neighborhood at night he did almost
hit a
cow that was in the middle of the road
luckily um he saw it just in
time but
it's it's a big problem especially
for those who are inexperienced with
like those Split Second decision
decision making while on the road while
operating a a machine like a car it's
it's foreign to you when you're a new
driver but it's even more foreign when
you're in a dangerous situation and you
and the adrenaline is in your blood and
you you you have
to you have to make a decision between
life or death there's a way to avoid
this that's why we have to find a
solution to this cow problem that is
hurting our
neighborhood thank you for your time
thank you very much our next speaker is
Virginia dggs
did she speaking
right yeah you well
you you have three minutes yes okay I'm
Virginia Driggs Go by Jenny I'm a
10-year resident of Adora trails and of
Gilbert and have enjoyed my time and
love my community to Pieces my deceased
husband was a
professional safety specialist and did
Airline accident investigations for the
Air Force and then for locked Martin as
his civilian job one of my main concerns
with the cow issue is the accident that
isn't possibly going to happen it's
going to happen and the results of such
an accident human factors analysis would
tell us we know it's going to happen
these people somebody's going to get
injured they're going to sue us they're
going to sue you they're going to sue
everybody that they can possibly Sue to
get the money for their accident costs
plus those punitive damages that can be
several million
dollars as a longtime resident but a
retiree my income is not continuing to
grow anymore it's starting to get
smaller and smaller every year I would
rather not see my association dues have
to go up and up and up especially if we
get hit with a big lawsuit and have to
pay all the expenses I'm also sure that
the City of Gilbert would not want to
have a lawsuit against them because you
would also be part of the Poss problem
because you aren't aware of this problem
in its existence my husband always said
there is no such thing as is an accident
somewhere there's a chain of events and
there's a human involved in that we are
all involved together and we need to
work through this problem together thank
you thank
you our next speaker is Jenny
Tolman hi I'm Jennifer Tolman and I live
in Gilbert Adora trails and I have quite
the list of things that have happened
but I'm just going to focus on the one
that was the most important to me
personally and that was my son had a
full spinal fusion the only times that
we could walk around the neighborhood
was nighttime because it gets kind of
hot in Arizona during the day for his
healing because he can't bend twist or
turn you can't um outrun a cow or a bull
but um we went walking at night so that
he could heal that's part of the healing
process is you need to walk a lot and so
we would go walk at night and then we
come around the green belt we were not
in the green belt we were on the
sidewalks and there was a massive bowl
and here I am with my son and my little
daughter and I'm like okay walk in front
of me if it's going to hit someone it's
going to hit me cuz it can't hit him cuz
his back you know has the incision and
so they're walking in front of me I'm
like okay if it charges just run inside
somebody's house right like he can't run
but go it will hit me
so lots of other things have happened
since in our community like my kids not
being able to play in the playground um
they come covered and poop and they're
not laying on the ground they're just
running playing soccer and um my dog has
gotten sick and and
um I have multiple times almost hit the
cows that just Dart in front because
they don't follow the the laws of the
roads right so they just Dart in front
of you and I don't walk at night anymore
so and I would love to I would love to
enjoy my community I would love to go
out in the grass and play with my kids
and um
I appreciate your time thank you thank
you our next speaker
is well I have two staple together did
someone donate time is um it looks like
Scott Meyer
maybe would that be you or or
and
duetti okay and you would have a total
of six minutes but can can you state
your name please okay and the city you
live
in okay thank
[Laughter]
you good evening mayor and council
members my name is an ducet I have been
a resident of Gilbert for 26 years can
you state the city you live in please
currently I live in Queen Creek
I uh moved from Gilbert I lived in
Gilbert for 26 years now I live on the
Gilbert Queen Creek line I'm not here to
talk about the cows but they have come
down my road um I'm here tonight to
discuss the need to pave Stacy Road um
for the express to express the growing
frustration within our community
regarding the lack of
progress again we are New Kids on the
Block so I'm advocating on behalf of our
wonderful
neighbors who have been dealing with
this issue for years the issue isn't
just about convenience it's about public
safety and the overall quality of life
for the residents who rely on this road
daily Stacy Road is located off of
Higley Road before you get to Hunt
Highway it is on the east side of the
road it is an intertwined mix so there
is Gilbert water on Stacy Road the homes
south of Stacy Road are Queen Creek and
if you need schools that's
Chandler I want to thank council member
of bovani for driving down Stacy Road to
understand your the
frustration and uh your communication to
me within the past few days on this
issue and giving me updates it's a whole
drawn out issue but to go into but it
would take up all my time I would like
to come up with an idea on moving up the
paving of Stacy Road on how to help our
community with the Dust In the
meantime when addressing Health
implications of leaving Stacy Road
unpaved unpaved roads generate
significant amounts of dust especially
during dry weather last night we had a
little bit of rain and that helped with
the dust this dust doesn't just settle
on our homes or Vehicles it lingers in
the air that we breathe prolong exposure
osure to Airborne dust can lead to
respiratory issues such as asthma
bronchitis and other chronic conditions
not sure if you're aware but valley
fever is at a 13-year High also dust can
contribute to certain types of leukemias
for residents living along Stacy Road
this isn't just an annoyance it's a
serious health risk that deserves
immediate action also unpaved roads like
Stacy Road pose safety concerns they
deteriorate quickly forming potholes and
uneven surfaces that can damage vehicles
and increase the likelihood of accidents
this road is frequently used by
residents delivery vehicles and the
cattle and even emergency responders the
current state of Stacy Road compromises
not just our daily
commutes but also our community safety
what is especially frustrating is that
the builders in our area
were willing to take on the paving of
Stacy Road however upon submission of
their plans they were informed that
Stacy Road is under Gilbert's
jurisdiction and the process to pave the
road was halted since then our community
has reached out to Robert Gordon here at
the town to help with the dust but that
doesn't always go smoothly we have yet
to have a date provided with a clear
timeline or commitment of when this
project will be moved forward I would
like to also add that Mayor Scott
Anderson you have been added to this
email for over a month now and there's
been no acknowledgment that you are
aware or any response from your
assistance that you've even seen the
emails again this isn't personal it's
business our community is asking for
transparency and action when will Stacy
Road be paved the health and safety of
your residents should be top priority in
all of these matters and addressing this
issue would demonstrate the city's
commitment to serving its people I want
to thank you for your time and I urge
you to provide a clear timeline for us
Neighbors on Stacy roads project and our
community in all of these issues is
counting on you to make things happen
thanks for letting me share thank you
very
much the next speaker is Sharon kataa
good evening Sharon katsas gilber
resident um I am here to speak on the
water Plaza reopening and the holiday
lightning uh ceremony which took place
on December
16th after watching the construction
work for nearly one year I was thrilled
to attend the grand opening of Water
Tower Plaza and the water tower holiday
lighting
ceremony which is one of my favorite
Gilbert
Traditions the event was well planned
with activities anyone could
enjoy I spent the evening watching and
hearing the excitement as children
climbed into uh the winter themed
Inflatables ran through the splash pad
and took turns sliding down the very
very creative and fun snow snow
slopes there were a variety of
activities for our youth to enjoy as
well a favorite one appeared to be the
synthetic ice
rink I saw friends and towns people
taking family pictures by the adorable
red truck so so very
cute of course everyone was anticipating
the exciting countdown to the water
tower lighting and what fun it was to
see our water tower light up our town
again thank you Gilbert and thank you
sponsors and thank you staff for your
creative and thoughtful planning it was
truly a magical experience I also want
to thank all project partners and the
Gilbert Council for your part in
preserving renovating the Beloved
landmark and repairing our iconic water
tower our future Generations will enjoy
it
our beautiful Heritage District now
offers a plaza that honors the site's
history while providing modern
amenities like a shaded water efficient
Splash
Pad new and modern restore excuse me new
and modern restroom
facilities an expensive event lawn to
accommodate a variety of community
Gatherings and
events a shaded picnic Grove
integrated seating throughout the plaza
encouraging social
interaction landscaping and lighting
improvements that will enhance the
Plaza's overall aesthetic appeal and
many others that are still to come all
of this takes time and careful planning
and that's why I'm here tonight to
recognize the great job and to say thank
you
Gilbert thank you
our next speaker is
Ron Chris
Shelly good evening I'm Ron critchley I
live in Gilbert and I wanted to talk to
you briefly about uh the Water um
situation how how you charge for water I
have a three-bedroom house and a 1-inch
meter as required by the
code I use about 6,000 gallons a month
which isn't pretty much at all um and I
pay about $51 and some OD cents every
month for that
meter
um I think that uh the Water cost is
only about 17th of my water bill so
there's really no incentive for me to
save um I can't save really or conserve
I mean I can conserve but I can't save
anything there's no one no reason for me
to do that uh
so I looked at the the way we charge and
it looks like um some of the neighboring
communities charge for 1 in meter a
channel charges about
$14 uh a month TP charges
$19 Queen Creek charges
$31 um Phoenix charges about uh $8 just
under
and so I mean $51 and this is before the
increase is coming up in April I mean
we're just
so way out of line um and I don't really
understand why so I'd like to encourage
the council to maybe look into auditing
our water system and why are we charging
that much uh for the
infrastructure um our meter cost has
gone up 88% 3 years with a new a new
increase it'll be
136% I think in in four
years um and so I'd like to see you guys
charge more for the water and less for
the meters um our cost should be
dictated I think by our usage if I had a
3/4 inch meter I'd pay quite a bit less
even though I use the same amount of
water
so um I'm I'd like like to like to pay
for for what I'm using I'd like to see
some incentives for that and if you want
to conserve water in the future I think
you'll have to do that the other
communities by the way charge quite a
bit more um for water sometimes three
times as much so I didn't know if you
were aware of this or not and thank you
so much for your time thank
you our next speaker is Rod Suave
well hello and happy New Year
everyone uh the reason I'm here this
evening is I'd like to bring a proposal
to you guys of creating some Community
Gardens at our free uh Freestone Park or
the regional park for multiple different
reasons um for the community that enjoys
gardening food for people that have less
and we can help them on that
as far as helping to pay for it you guys
can help with the money or the land we
could do sponsors on the garden from
businesses that they can build this out
with and that's it thank you have a
great
day okay our next speaker
is Kirsten Jones
hello mayor and council members um thank
you for the opportunity to stand before
you I've never been at a town meeting
I'm excited as a
53-year-old mother of four who have
grown and flown I've decided it's time
for me to get in some kind of worthy
cause I have relocated here from Kansas
City Missouri a little over five years
ago and I consider Gilbert my home and
hope to never leave
um I do have something I would like to
ask uh I'm not sure of the rules of the
game here can I ask questions as part of
my three minute
dialogue you can you can't answer them
okay yeah so and can since we've stopped
can you state your name and oh yes my
name is Kristen Jones and I I live in
Gilbert Arizona thank you um so my
concern um is in living in my little
corner of the universe in Gilbert that I
have seen um expand exponentially in
terms of population along uh the
williamsfield wreer corridor is um a lot
of traffic when I moved here it kind of
reminded me of Missouri it was very
rural and um quiet and I'm okay with
more people coming here I love it I
would want to live here I I want to live
here that's why I'm here um but we have
a traffic management uh problem we have
I've noticed a huge uptick in
um drivers which is fine but drivers who
are not obeying speed limits and who are
very aggressive and um I'm out at all
hours of the day whether it's walking to
dogs or driving and in particular uh
concern is Galveston and wrecker and
I've heard talk and chatter whether it's
on social media feeds or just um talking
to other members of the community that
there is supposed to be a stoplight
placed at Galveston and Recker to slow
the flow um but I don't know any more
detail and so I'm um putting myself out
there to I need to obviously do some
research I'm basically saying hi because
I am hoping to get more involved in the
community and um I'll I'll I'm pretty
good at doing research um and I will
move forward
with just V my questions to see where I
can start but thinking you'll see more
of me I'm hoping that's a good thing
because I do want to help make Gilbert
safe and I am concerned about the flow
of traffic there it's it's not safe
there's a there's several schools there
there's a lot of traffic there I don't
know how much you've spent time over
there it's it's
um I am not I I'm a pretty defensive
driver and I'm not afraid to get out on
the roads
and I think it's so it can be um pretty
anxious experience depending on the time
of day to try to get uh across vest from
east to west thank you thank
you our next speaker is
Sarah White hoofer
good evening mayor and council members
thank you so much for your service to
our community I really do appreciate
everything you do for us I especially
appreciated it when uh council member um
Chuck uh
Bon uh contacted me about a recent post
that I did on go Gilbert about red light
Runners I've lived in I am my name is
Sarah Whitten haer I've lived in Gilbert
for 26 years and over that time I have
seen uh one or two cars running the red
light to now it's three and four and
five cars and I firmly believe that
every time three and four and five cars
run the light there are people at every
side of the intersection thinking I can
get away with more and what we're seeing
is people die from these red light
Runners I I've seen an uptick in uh
collisions and serious injuries and
death I think a motorcyclist was
recently killed at Valvista and
williamsfield and I would love to ask
you and plead with you uh for the sake
of every member in your community
intersections affect your community more
than anything else and affect every
person in the community and and I would
like to ask you to do a study on uh
extending a yellow light on on getting
better timing for the lights on uh
implementing a four-way stop for 3
seconds for everyone uh through red
lights so that everyone in the
intersection has time to clear um I can
imagine a better traffic flow throughout
our city and all of the residents being
safer just by synchronizing all of the
lights so that when you're going in One
Direction you're not stopping for every
other light and if you're stopping for
every other light then that gives you
more of an opportunity uh to be hit when
you when you proceed into the
intersection intersections are the great
equalizer of our
community if it's you or if it's me
anyone going into that intersection can
be killed by a person who believes
because we are not changing the way that
we prosecute and do the timing who has
come to believe that red lights do not
apply to them I sincerely thank you for
your time and I hope that you will uh
conduct a study on this very important
issue thank you thank you our next
speaker is um
janista janista Arnold
shista are you here there you
are pardon
meissa Carissa oh okay Carissa Arnold
I'm a resident of
Gilberts um I just want to address um
just we're talking a lot about safety
tonight right and um we need our
officers to be on top of of things that
are actually going on in the city crimes
and stuff and so when our officers are
having to head out to ad door Trails cow
very very real safety issues but there's
options to work on that looking at the
laws where it's talking about a no fence
District um Gilbert and the county
should be working with the heila River
Indian reservation and creating a no
fense District requiring the reservation
cows to be stayed to be kept within that
lines we have kids running around with
guns we have them check in cars at night
we have them throwing objects at
Vehicles we have very real trafficking
issues and hearing the fact that our
officers are having to head out to go
move cows because they're creating
safety issues in neighborhoods becomes a
problem because then that takes away
from the bigger issues that are going on
with teens having guns holding guns out
when they're robbing cars in front of
people's homes and things like that and
we the VAR real trafficking issue that
you guys talked about tonight and I
appreciate you guys bringing that
forward you know my passion for that um
because of our own family situation but
um all of this ultimately comes down to
it's an allocation of resources and
where are we allocating our money where
are we allocating our officers um and
what is going to work best for the
community when we have cows roaming
neighborhoods and and officers again are
going out to have to move these with
their cars what kid is getting
themselves in trouble or what what other
emergency is happening that's taking our
officers away from those situations so
it seems like what these residents are
asking for is a very very simple line of
like let's get fencing up or do that no
fence line I I'm not quite sure what the
difference is between panal County and
Maricopa County and why there isn't a
border there um to prevent this our
resources from being issued um but again
going back we have
117 171% increase in gun violence with
teens going on we cannot have our
officers allocated into unnecessary
things I say this not discounting their
residents because this is a very
necessary thing for them meaning that if
prevention was put up to prevent these
cows from coming in the neighborhood
that would prevent the unnecessary
resources of officers having to go in
and move these cows out of the way thank
you thank you vice
mayor vice mayor
Buckley I'm sorry can I just make a
point of privilege to suggest a five
minute bio break uh certainly so we'll
now have a five minute
break we'll be back in five minutes
say
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this is a two-minute warning we'll be
reconvening in a couple of minutes are
you looking
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we'll reconvene now
our Communications we have several more
to go through vice
mayor thank you uh to continue
Communications from citizens the next
speaker is Sarah
Clarkson Sarah are you here
okay we will move along
to
um I believe Susan Boren is donating her
time to basa
Rudy oh the other oh okay says I wish to
donate my time to Susan from but that's
okay are are you Susan yes okay well you
will have six minutes and if um if Bosa
Rudy could stand up
and oh okay okay thank you and the and
the city you live in I live in okay
thank you very much all right okay um
mayor Anderson vice mayor Buckley
council members and town staff Susan
boria I'm a resident of Gilbert Adora
Trail
and I'm here this evening to um speak on
behalf of my friend and Ne neighbor
Basha Rudy who introduced
herself my name is Basha and I am
disabled I survived a massive stroke at
the age of 34 over 7even years ago my
family and I chose to leave Illinois and
move to beautiful Arizona as I worked on
my recovery and reestablishing my life
I'm I am a wife and a mother to a
14-year-old son my stroke took much from
me but it has also given me an
appreciation for the simple everyday
things in life I am unable to walk or
get around without the use of a walker
or my Mobility Scooter I also can't ride
a standard bike anymore but I have been
blessed to be able to buy a specialized
electric trike this trike allows me the
ability to spend time with my family
doing something we always loved
exploring on nice long bike rides this
bike also allows me the ability to
continue to work on my strength and
healing my body unfortunately the
uncontrolled herds of cattle have turned
something wonderful into a potentially
dangerous situation for me I can't get
out of the way quickly I can't jump a
curb I can't stand up and run away
at its most basic it's even incredibly
difficult or impossible for me to avoid
a
cowpie while I can walk slowly using a
walker outside our home I use a Mobility
Scooter this scooter has enabled me to
become independent I have always had a
deep sense of civic responsibility and
deeply care about my
community I work part-time at the
community center in Adora Trails a job I
love my scooter is what gets me there
again if a herur it is coming it is very
difficult for me to get out of the way
in the dark it's almost impossible to
avoid cattle or cow pies I have been
scared and stressed every time I have
left my home in the last few months I
believe this is unfair and we need to
remedy this
situation these herds cannot be allowed
to roam unchecked when President Bush
signed the Americans with Disabilities
Act in 1990 he was thinking of Americans
like me desite despite being disabled we
choose to go above and beyond to
contribute to our community to
participate in life and to be an asset
instead of a burden all I ask is that I
am allowed to continue to live my life
as best and safe as I can I would like
to implore the C council members to
consider working with the community and
the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors
to change the ordinances in
Gilbert I just would like to add on my
own as a former safety person I'm
embarrassed to say that I never really
thought about the issues um facing
people who are handicapped with the
cattle and the cow pies in our community
but after talking to Basha there several
hand cap people in our community never
mind the families who try and walk with
their children in the baby carriages
that can't do it now so I as well add my
voice to my friends and neighbors who
are imploring you to really work
together collectively all the parties
that should be sitting at the table to
sit at the table together and come up
with a
solution thank you thank you very much
so our next speaker is uh we
have rayan wood and I believe she is
donating her time to
Robert
B thank you thank
you thank you very much um okay
uh ran you'll have six minutes
good evening members of the Town Council
and the mayor I stand before you today
to express my concern regarding the
town's attempt to remove the Landscaping
in the public RightWay within College
Park Country States what is being
proposed here is not only misguided but
it is also
wrong the decision to remove these trees
is based on the
assumption that they pose a danger yet
the barous report commissioned by the
town itself clearly deems the trees low
risk this report was prepared by a
professional tree risk assessment
qualified
arborist who
accounted for all potential hazards
including sudden Branch
drop I want to point out that the report
highlights that all eucalyptus trees are
prone to Southern
sudden Branch drop all eucalyptus trees
so I ask is it the town stance to remove
all eucalyptus trees from publicly owned
property if so does this include the
five newly planted eucalyptus trees in
Water Tower
Park trees that were approved by all of
you less than a month
ago and does this apply to the 16
eucalyptus trees recently planted in the
median on Val Vista Road between
Baseline and
Guadalupe and does this include the 95
eucalyptus trees across all the public
parks in the that Gilbert
maintains here's your water tower with
the eukalyptus
trees here's your plaque that you guys
all got recognized for and here's more
eucalyptus trees along Valvista
Road it is worth noting
that Public Works director Jessica Marlo
recently stated that eucalyptus trees
are no longer planted in the
town yet as I've just pointed out there
are new eucalyptus trees planted in both
Water Tower Park along Val
Vista and in your Parks how does this
discrepancy align with the
town's supposed policy furthermore I
want to remind the council that the
Landscaping in our subdivision College
Park Country Estates according to the
town staff is valued at over
$200,000 the idea of placing these
publicly owned assets into the hands of
just six residents without considering
the broader community's concern is
reckless and
unacceptable Jessica Marlo also stated
that our subdivision is the only one
where the streets department is
responsible for Landscape Maintenance
however this is simply not
true the town
maintains in public right of ways in
multiple subdivisions in the Heritage
District in multiple
subdivisions and it was the town itself
that planted most of these trees as she
stated well let me remind you the town
planted nearly all the trees in our
neighborhood in the right of way as well
this raises an important question why is
our neighborhood being treated
differently in a 1998 Town council
meeting it was noted that the town
spends nearly
$166,000 annually to maintain older
subdivisions that lack a PK or an
HOA given this historical commitment to
maintaining Landscaping in similar areas
I respectfully request clarification on
why these
trees has been a why there's been a
change in maintenance practices in these
in our subdivision if our neighborhood
is now the sole remaining subdivision
that the town maintains what has
happened to all the Landscaping in the
other older subdivisions has the town
removed Landscaping from those areas
based on unfounded claims of risk or is
there another underlying reason for this
shift addressing council member koski's
concerns it is critical to emphasize
that the arbor report does not identify
the trees in question as hazardous
instead it classifies them at low risk
and recommends pruning to mitigate any
further concerns the street Department's
failure to follow the recommendations is
what has led to the current risk and
concerns of
liability it is important to note that
creating a
pkid as mentioned by staff is not
optional in some nebor
neighborhoods it is a requirement on the
plat our plat does not have such a
requirement in conclusion I respectfully
urged the town to reconsider its
position on implying the 1982 ride
of-way Landscape Maintenance ordinance
to a pre-1982
plat the acceptance of our plat in
1972 combined with Arizona law suggests
that these require requirement should
not apply to our property furthermore
section
5.4.2 of the ordinance supports these
requirements are meant for new
developments not existing properties
like
ours lastly I must express my concern
regarding the presentation given to the
Town Council during the executive
session it is clear that critical
information was omitted information that
would have provided a fuller picture to
the council and helped in making a
decision ision that is the best interest
of the town and its
citizens not just the street
Department's bottom
line thank you for your time thank you
very
much the next speaker will be We Have
Allison well we have I believe it's
Brendan wood and
Allison
hogra and
okay and you're donating your time right
okay good evening Mayor Scott Anderson
and members of the Town Council I
appreciate your time and commitment to
our community my name is Brendan wood
I'm a Gilbert
resident um I'm a member of College Park
Country Estates and I'm here to oppose
the town of Gilbert Street Department's
plan to remove Landscaping from the
town-owned ride of way in our
neighborhood and shift maintenance
responsibility onto adjacent
homeowners the town claims our
subdivision is in violation of the Land
Development code but that claim does not
hold up under
scrutiny first and foremost section 5.7
of the Land Development code explicitly
addresses legal non-conforming
properties commonly referred to as being
grandfathered
in despite what town attorney Chris
Payne has stated this principle should
apply here as well
the town should not be enforcing new
regulations on something that was
legally established and accepted under
previous
rules to understand this issue fully we
need to look at ordinance number
315 which was incorporated into the Land
Development code in
1982 at the last Town council meeting
staff agreed this ordinance was adopted
in
1982 but they failed to read the section
that clarifies who it applied to so I'll
do that
now the original ordinance States
section B
applicability this part shall apply to
the following buildings and uses in all
districts except single family
residential
uses a all new buildings and New Uses of
land section B substantial additions to
or remodelings of existing buildings
where there is a change in the
distinguishing characteristics or Prim
Ary features of the building or
land nowhere does it say the ordinance
applies
retroactively nowhere Does it include
single family Residential
Properties in fact Arizona law ars1
d244 clearly states that no law is
retroactive unless it is explicitly
stated that is not the case here our
Subdivision plat recorded in 1972
further confirms that homeowners were
never obligated to maintain RightWay
Landscaping when the town of Gilbert
approved our
neighborhood it accepted all dedications
including improvements like
Landscaping there is no mention of a
homeowner's maintenance requirement nor
any reference to a
[Music]
pkid compare this to other plats in
Gilbert that do explicitly require a a
pkid for maintenance the distinction is
clear our plat was never included such a
requirement because of was never part of
the agreement when the town approved
it moreover the town has maintained
RightWay landscaping and other
neighborhoods establishing a
precedent if the town has been
maintaining similar Landscaping
elsewhere why is it now trying to shift
the burden onto
US beyond the legal issues this decision
is simply unfair homeowners purchased
purchase their properties with the
expectation that the town would would
maintain these areas now with little
notice the town is attempting to offload
this responsibility onto US
contradicting its own policies on
neighborhood maintenance and
reinvestment
goals policy 16 of the of Gilbert's
General plan States it should recognize
sustain and promote the quality and
character of existing residential
neighborhoods as they
mature policy 17 States ensure the
conservation and maintenance of existing
housing and encourage
reinvestment the town should uphold
these commitments by maintaining by
maintaining public infrastructure
including Landscaping rather than
pushing that responsibility onto
homeowners furthermore the town's
recorded easement agreement grants the
town the right to construct operate and
maintain a public
roadway this includes Landscaping within
the rideway according to the town's own
Public Works and engineering ing
standards a a street includes its right
of way which is which is designated for
utilities and
Landscaping by these definitions
RightWay Landscaping is part of the
public Street
system yet the town is now attempting to
disregard its own policies and
standards Town staff already knows all
this
information but they're not sharing the
full picture with you if this code or
truly enforceable the town would simply
enforce it instead they are asking
homeowners to voluntarily sign a
covenant for ongoing Landscape
Maintenance that tells you everything
you need to know if the town had the
legal authority to mandate this change
it wouldn't be seeking voluntary
compliance the fact that they are
relying on homeowners to accept this
responsibility willingly suggest they
lack a strong legal basis to impose it
given all
this I respectfully ask the council to
number one re-evaluate the streets
Department's actions and prevent the
undusted removal of landscaping in our
neighborhood number two conduct a formal
review of the legal and historical basis
for this policy shift and number three
establish a clear fair and consistent
policy to ensure that other
neighborhoods do not face similar issues
in the future
it seems to me that the cows are posing
more danger than the trees in our
neighborhood no one has came up here to
the podium in said that that they feel
scared of the
trees thank you for your time and
consideration okay thank
you all right so our next speakers we
have um I believe will be vinon
ruelo and uh it
appears that
that Debbie ruelo is donating her time
Vincent are you
here okay you'll have you'll have six
minutes and Debbie could you state your
name and the city you live
in thank
you hello all right it
works well despite everything you've
heard I Like Cows my name is Vincent
ruolo Gilbert resident for the past 3
years I like animals I Like Cows
tenderloin ribe I strip doesn't matter
it's all the same to
me the reality
is the cows are a bit of a nuisance a
threat to property and Public Safety I
can't go outside walk the dog at night
without the concern of a Raging Bull
skewering me like blad the Impaler if
livestock rushes the road and destroys
my vehicle and causes bodily injury
Arizona revised Statute 31311 and 31421
says I am responsible for the damages to
my vehicle and not the livestock owner
I'm also required by 28- 667 to report
the accident to law enforcement and
failure to report May incur criminal pen
penalties T Mount to a hit and run last
month I was 5 ft away from great bodily
injury or death once by passing directly
through a gap between two cows while on
my motorcycle and another face Toof face
with five livestock animals on my
property it's important to mention
Arizona revised Statute
13-3112 Arizona is a constitutional
carry state with or without a permit
13-45 13411 stand your ground law
meaning there is no duty to retreat
before using deadly force in a place
where you have a legal right to be use
of deadly force is Justified if you
reasonably believe it is necessary to
prevent imminent death or great bodily
harm 1347 13- 48 13- 49 castle doctrine
is the use of deadly force to defend
their home or vehicle without the duty
to retreat should anybody any of the
residents find themselves in a lawful
self-defense situation against the cow
the only expenses they should incur is a
meat freezer and a trip to the
butcher under Arizona statute title 3
chapter 11 article 8 no fence districts
Maricopa County Clerk of the Board of
Supervisors office
maintains and I quote the meropa county
clerk of the board of supervisor office
has made every reasonable effort to
obtain and maintain the no fence
District Maps as accurately as possible
however this material may be dated which
would have an impact on its accuracy and
human or mechanical error remain a
possibility the clerk's office and other
Maricopa County departments assume no
responsibility or liability arising from
the use of this data or information the
data and maps are provided without
warranty of any kind either expressed or
implied this information should be used
for information AAL use and does not
constitute a legal document for the
description of these properties unquote
so to me it looks like we have Maricopa
County abdicating the responsibility or
liability pertaining to the standard
used to enforce anything within the node
District laws so if the state does not
maintain the standard of which is the
basis for enforcing statute of what
value is the
statute if one of these livestock
animals threatens an individual with
bodily injury or death what choice will
an IND individual have but to defend
their life is the risk of strolling the
Adora Trails neighborhood worth minimum
of $25,000 in possible legal fees
property damage bodily injury up to it
including death liability for
replacement of livestock up to four
times the value of a single cow a total
vehicle increased
Insurance
why because of the hoa's failure to
adequately fence off property because of
the city Gilbert's failure to legislate
and produce a solution in collaboration
with theora Trails because of the
state's the state of Arizona's failure
to maintain 100-year-old laws such as
the noof fense districts and because of
a sovereign federally protected nation's
abject failure to build a wall root
cause analysis is obviously lacking with
the proposed legislative solution as it
neglects individual liability
self-defense mitigation and
responsibility r large the council and
congregation and attendance must
understand and agree and act to avert
the threats posed by the Arizona cow
Club we're in the hundreds of thousands
of dollars of property maintenance and
damage in the neighborhood r large and
we have to take action before somebody
gets killed lastly I'm volunteering my
expertise as an auditor to dig into our
hoa's records and even the state's
records to determine if there is willful
negligent willful negligence or de
eltion of Duty in mitigating this crisis
over the past decade surveillance audits
perimeter wats fencing contracts
meetings with state Representatives I
would be interested in looking into all
of it the HOA is quick to slap its
residents with HOA fines due to the cow
destruction but it took 10 years of
complaints to bring this issue here
today I can also audit the records of
the HOA fines to ensure each resident
sees a refund in full in fact I've
already started this audit by surveying
the southwestern corner of Adora trails
and witness two open pedestrian gates at
least seven Brakes in the barb wire
fence a complete lack of fencing in
other areas in quate and inconsistent
signage regarding trespassing and no
clear delineation of property
lens that's all I
have thank you for your time thank you
for having me thank
you our next speakers will
be we have looks like
Lori B has donated her time to Tom
thank
you Thomas Bow City of Gilbert uh Mr
Mayor uh council members thank you so
very kindly for being here this evening
and hearing our issue and hopefully
acting upon our our issue uh I'm not
going to rehash everything that you've
heard at this meeting as well as
countless other meetings but I will
would like to give you my unique uh I
think perspective of what's going on I
think I live in probably the most unique
lot in Adora Trails I have a view fence
in the back of my lot which immediately
looks onto a a very large Park it's a
park that has a playground in it for
children the kids are there all the time
my my grandchildren are there all the
time playing it's a big park with a lot
of beautiful green grass that the cows
love to go over there and eat and then
if you look immediately to my left I
don't have a house to my left what I do
have is another large green
belt and those two areas are where the
cows uh congregate uh immediately
adjacent to my residence keeps us up at
night uh causes a lot of damage you've
heard that over and over
again but what really uh heightened
my
angst was um a week ago
Saturday uh now I'm a member of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints at the corner of
constellation and rigs there's the
church building that I happened to go to
and I was there on Saturday morning to
clean the
building and while I was there there
were a group of people that were setting
up for the
funeral of a 15-year-old young
man and those people that were there
setting up to honor this young man's
life had to step
over walk through and walk
around piles of cow
dong while they were trying to honor
this young man's life
and that really got me upset now I'm a
retired police officer and I'm a retired
attorney I've tried over 50 lawsuits to
juries uh I'll tell you why I think
that's
important earlier this evening uh you
all uh took out your checkbooks and you
uh spent more than
$500,000 for risk management issues
over $300,000 for MRIs for city
employees and over
$200,000 to hopefully prevent slip and
fall accidents on uh city property the
trail system in
particular now I would hope that you
would open your checkbook to the
residents of Adora
trails and uh treat us the same way that
you might treat your city employees
and do something please do something now
it's
uh 858 on January 28th and I'm going to
make a prediction and it's on the
record sooner or
later a young person is going to be
killed by one of these bulls and why do
I say a young person because it's the
young person who doesn't know better
it's it's the young person who goes up
very close to the bull and I've seen
that over and over again from my
backyard and sooner or later just like
in Yellowstone that we all read about or
we all see on the news one of those
Bulls just like those bison in
Yellowstone is going to charge one of
those children and they're going to kill
one that children or that bull that was
roaming around that down at the church
is going to roam down
on to Rigs and uh you or me or somebody
is going to hit one of those bulls and
some
rabid plan of sloyer out there is going
to sue everybody that they can possibly
think of including this town the HOA you
name it they're going to sue everybody
and whether they have governmental
immunity whether you the town has
governmental immunity or not I don't
know I'm not an expert on Arizona
governmental imunity law but you are
going to get sued so take some of those
riskmanagement
dollars that you so freely spent earlier
tonight and please please help us that
lawsuit is coming I guarantee it and
Council will understand this issue is
out in the open it in the words of the
law it's notorious it's open it's
obvious it's here and it's there's no
more time for committees there's no more
time for studies there's no more time
for meetings there's no more time to
pass the buck or to Kick the Can down
the road we we ask you to please do
something now I don't know what you can
do I I think that you can do something
because otherwise we're all wasting our
time for being here this evening now I
was at the meeting last week or two
weeks ago at the community center and
our the HOA attorneys said that you that
you can do something please adopt the
statutes that have been adopted in other
cities and let's do something instead of
talking about it thank you so very much
for your time thank
you our next
speaker
is oops
okay it looks like um Dora
Christensen has donated your
time oh it's Dana okay and uh Ruth Davis
are you here
okay okay thank you Ruth my name is Dana
Christensen and I'm from Gilbert Arizona
I've been here almost four years and we
have lived in Adora Trails our whole our
whole time that we've been here on um
January
10th we looked out the window at the
cows that were loudly out our in our
green belt and there were 11 cattle
there my kids it was 8:00 they leave at
8:10 8:15 to school and so do hundred of
other children I
called the police department to report
the concern and they said is any cattle
chasing your children is anyone being
chased by them and I said no well then
we can't do anything about this that's a
concern that's a great safety concern so
these cattle as we've heard large and
small go around and my 8-year-old
daughter and my 11-year-old daughter are
walking to school and they're heading
just about a quar mile down the road to
the school it's not far I can see it out
my wind my window of my bedroom and
there's cattle
surrounding the fields and in the
walkways and in the
streets I'm very concerned not only
about our long-term plan but a shortterm
solution for safety now just a couple
days
later my kids went out open the garage
to leave to school and guess what we had
a ton of cattle sitting in our driveway
so they're running back inside for their
safety I know that we talk about offense
there are six
6,000 cattle or more at this point but
we have been informed over 6,000 cattle
that are around us putting a fence to
protect our community doesn't stop 6,000
cattle from being around from going to
rigs from coming on Constellation I also
attend the church right there and they
the kids on Wednesday nights are coming
out of the building and there are herds
of cattle right there this is a major
safety concern and I as we've said
before or it is only a matter of time
till something happens we can't even
gate the community with the school there
it's not going to work and in addition
to a discussion that you guys brought up
earlier you talked about a road that
needed if it had a gated community that
it would create a backup on the road
rigs road is incredibly busy there's no
way that even if we put a gate there it
wouldn't cause major traffic issues that
could potentially cause more issues I
don't have
Solutions but I know that you guys are
here as Gilbert Town Council Members to
serve their community and we need you we
need your help and we appreciate your
willingness to serve Gilbert is a
beautiful community and we chose it out
of all the other towns because we wanted
to live in Gilbert
Arizona and I know you chose to be on
this board to represent us and we need
your help this isn't door Trails problem
this is a community problem and we all
need to work together to find Solutions
not just longterm but right now for the
safety of our children and our community
thank you thank
you okay so our next speakers speaker
has also donated their time and it's
Philip
um look look like Ivy I believe Ivy okay
dur okay and and you're William right no
William had to go to our HOA meeting
regarding the cattle right now at
sanilla however his paper to mine so my
name is also okay so so the which which
one of you left William left okay and
then you would have your three minutes
okay yes ma'am thank you
hello and thank you for having us here
uh my name is Philip iy I am a resident
of Queen Creek to the immediate east of
Adora Trails I recently moved from the
immediate west of Adora Trails but we
did have a no fent zone so we did not
have this problem but in santanilla my
community we are not in a noin Zone as
neither is Adora
trails and I've had several incidents
with the cows well I could say 20 or 30
but two of them come to mind one when I
walked into the garage and there was a
steer in the garage I C him off guard
and it was easy to shoe him out uh with
no I really didn't feel in danger
another time recently I was walking
through a door trails in the evening
with my wife and I didn't see it or hear
it but she said look out and from the
shadows of a wall a steer was charging
us and I couldn't leave my wife and as
one of the speakers said earlier there
was an adrenaline rush so out in the
open nowhere to go I just charged the
steer and start throwing rocks at him so
he halted the thousands of dollars
they've damaged on my Landscaping would
have been dwarfed by the hospital or the
funeral Bill had that steer not
stopped so when people Express
frustration and fear and anger it's
valid now I've had uh Communications
indirectly with the cattle
owner and to try to be diplomatically
correct it was communicated that they
don't care we are not of that Nation
they don't care so I don't feel that's
going to be very helpful trying to
interact with them if that is indeed
their
position we've tried to insulate our
neighborhood we added RI Rock the cattle
will walk right across it we can't fence
our neighborhood because the size of our
community doesn't allow for that and
they would still come in on the roads
and when they get on the roads they're
going to look for the green belts anyway
so that wouldn't stop them gating is not
financially available for us Barb Wire
along Hunt Highway is not going to stop
them I've spent more hours than I can
count repairing the barb wire and the
next week I come back and it's cut again
so that's not going to work a hurricane
fence would work it takes too long to
cut that for the vandals to stand there
cut it so they can enter it it's about a
0.9 to 1 Mile Stretch where You' to get
hurricane fence and that's not that
expensive especially compared to the
cost of gating a community I was told
that it's approaching a million dollars
to gate Adora Trails though as we've
heard it's not a viable
alternative I don't understand earlier
at the study session when they brought
up creating no fence zone why it wasn't
possible the statute seems clear in the
Maricopa County statute but we are told
by uh T of Gilbert's legal that it would
not work uh the sentinella residents who
are accompanying me earlier none us
understood that position on why it
wouldn't so thank you for your time
thank
you so our next speakers um it looks
like Cody
Phillips and Cody it looks like
Charlotte Jones has donated her time is
she still here no she had to leave okay
well then you will have three minutes
I'll do my best okay thank you all right
my name is Cody Phillips and I'm a
resident to the town of Gilbert that
lives in Adora Trails um before moving
to Adora Trails though I lived a mile
and a half down the road in Sun Groves
for multiple years and never once had a
cattle issue and that's the city of
Chandler obviously so there's different
rules different ordinances and I know
somebody else has mentioned this and I
want to continue to mention this that's
part of what we're asking you
transparently to do is look at those
other laws try to Institute some of them
might they all work maybe they won't
maybe they will but at least you're
taking action to try to do something
because right now to the residents it
doesn't look like you are doing action
it looks like you're just defending
things uh as I was sitting here one of
our members of the community who could
not be here sent me a live video of 20
plus cattle on the west side of door
Trails approaching his house this is an
area that's not going to be solved by
the fence that was specifically talked
about okay the fence that is on the
South Side will not address this issue
so it's going to be a Contin
issue despite hoa's best efforts and I
appreciate that they are actually taking
real action to try to solve this we need
more help from other individuals now I
appreciate also that the Town Council is
aware of the situation obviously in the
last meeting there was quite a bit
shared and one of the things that was
shared specifically was the town remains
committed to to Community Education and
enforcing state laws and I'm going to
stop there on what was specifically
stated because what I would ask each of
you is will the town and will each of
you commit to changing state laws
because the laws that are in place
clearly are not working in that exact
same meeting it was mentioned that the
hila River Police specifically have
talked with the Rancher and the Rancher
is doing exactly what the law prescribes
that is an ineffective
law part of your responsibility and part
of what we need your assistance and help
with is getting these laws changed it's
not just enough to say it's a state law
there's open range problems it's not
just enough enough to say it's
complicated we know it's complicated we
can appreciate that it's complicated but
the lack of a simple solution doesn't
mean that we take no action the last
thing that I want to talk about and this
is to me a very important piece you may
be doing a lot we don't know there is no
transparency there isn't even
communication here like I can't even ask
you a question and say what are you
doing to try to address this all I can
hear is a report of what is being done
offered by the the legal folks or by
excuse me by the
police I would like to know what we can
do how can we work with you to solve
this problem as opposed to just saying
it's an issue and everyone observing the
problem everybody knows it's a problem
let's work together to actually fix it
thank you for the time thank
you our last speaker it appears Holly
um white I
believe W okay has
um don't now you've donated your time to
Hillary Howard is she Hillary has
donated her time to
me thank you okay thank you oh I'm Holly
W from uh Adora trails in Gilbert and uh
we've lived here for seven years and I
love Gilbert it's a beautiful place um I
especially chose a door Trails because I
like walking and we have tons of walking
trails as you already know and um I Like
Cows I like them I like them in fenced
Fields where I can watch them and and
they can watch me but they're not in my
front yard eating all my plants we moved
here from Oregon and we love to Garden
we have probably more trees in our yard
than almost all of our neighbors um so
we love plants and and U definitely it's
extremely expensive to replace them um
I've come out of my home to find six to
eight cows eating my expensive plants um
uh We've almost hit cows on the road on
several
occasions um our daughter has walked out
our front door to find them on our front
porch and just terrified her and so she
was able to get him away but um they're
huge they're scary um I enjoy walking
while my husband trains for a marathon
so he runs and I will walk while he'll
go running but it's dark and they're
black like they're black and they're
dark brown and you can't see them
because we have these posts in the
neighborhood and they have a like a
bright light at the top of the post
that's almost eye level so when you're
walking the trails you can't see the
cows until they're in your face and I
was walking one day by myself and there
was this huge cow out of nowhere and I
was terrified and and then I find that
there was more than one there was at
least 20 in the area where I was walking
by myself in the dark morning and it was
scary and they started following me the
whole herd like it was scary so um I
don't like to go walking alone anymore
um so I make him go walking with me
after he's done running because it's not
safe um also my neighbor across the
street is disabled and he has um palm
trees and it took a lot of um money for
him to pay for someone to come in and
install these palm trees and they've
literally eaten half of them thousands
of dollars of damage and and he can't
even go out and replace them um um we
our kids on the playground are so used
to seeing you know cow dong everywhere
that we've even seen them decorate piles
of crap with googly eyes and sticks so
that can't be healthy for the kids so um
we just we appreciate your time and and
hearing our concerns and
um we just want safety and peace and to
be able to walk trails at night or in
the morning and not feel like we're
going to get stabbed by a bull um so
we've also heard them crying in the
middle of the night you'll hear outside
your windows baby cows crying for their
mothers and then you'll hear the moms
and it it's terrifying they're really
loud and they're right outside your
house um so we appreciate any um
protection and safety that you can give
us and and also helping us to retain our
property values thank you for your time
okay thank
you well that concludes I believe the
citizens communication so with that back
to you
mayor thank you vice mayor
uh Patrick I I think I saw Jessica here
earlier could we ask that she contact
those who were talking about red light
traffic and Street improvements that she
could make contact with them and maybe
Robert could make contact with the idea
about community
garden thank you future
meetings council member bavani thank you
mayor yeah I'd like for us to consider a
um study session with comparative um
traffic accident data over the last
couple of years um especially as it
relates to Red Light Runners an accident
you get that
Patrick thank you Communications report
from the town
manager thank you mayor members of the
council uh couple announcements tonight
A welcome home for one of our employees
and then some uh fond farewells for some
employees that we've got that are
retiring first uh welcome back Ken snow
Ken snow our Wastewater division manager
he' been on military leave for the last
14 months serving as a battalion
executive officer in the Army National
Guard we thank him for his service and
we also thank Patty Jordan who has
filled in as our interim Wastewater
manager for these last 14 months leading
our Wastewater Division and maintaining
the quality services our residents and
businesses rely on
oh and Ken is in the audience with us
tonight Ken if you raise your hand I'm
sure it's a familiar face to many of
[Applause]
you thank you Ken next we've got a
retirement Roy Jones he's been with US
23 years um his hard work and commitment
to our facility maintenance team in
maintaining the public safety building
genuinely made a lasting impact his
efforts have ensured a safe and secure
environment for our community and our
his Devotion to excellent Ence has truly
been inspiring as he moves on to the
next chapter of his life we wish Roy all
the best of luck and Roy is really one
of those employees that knew just how to
do just about everything and we turned
to for a lot of things uh and issues we
had thank you Roy for your service to
our organization and to our
community next we've got a retirement on
our people team Donna padrera she's a
Senior Benefits analyst she's retiring
after 10 years of service to Gilbert as
a member of the people team Donna was a
key contributor to many benefit programs
over the years most importantly she
assisted employees with requests for
FMLA military leave life insurance
claims retirement from Public Safety and
various other life issues carared for
and compassionately assisted some of our
employees through their hardest life
moments work help earn awards for
employee Wellness recognition by the
Department of Defense for supporting
military service members and the receipt
of the extraordinary employer support
award by
esgr thank Donna for the impact she's
had on organization and wish her well in
her
retirement and we also have the
retirement of a base that is familiar to
all of us um Pete Wrangle Lieutenant
Pete Wrangle will retire at the end of
this week following his distinguished
32-year career with the GT Police
Department he started as a GT police
officer in 1993 and has served as an
acting Commander for the last four
months as enduring passion for working
Patrol and SWAT has been a constant
motivation throughout his service
liutenant Wrangle is deeply grateful for
the opportunity of serving the citizens
of Gilbert for the past 32 years and we
certainly thank Pete for all of his
service to to this community and we wish
him the best of
luck with that mayor that's all I have
this evening thank you report from the
council council member bonani thank you
mayor first I want to thank you for
allowing me to continue to be the parks
directly aison I I really um enjoy that
matter of fact over the break I bought a
new bike and I rode 15 miles on the
canal pathways on a Friday I I'm sorry
on a Saturday morning at 8 8:00 a.m. and
saw hundreds of people not only riding
their bikes walking on the trail but
also playing baseball with their kids
and just being in the Parks and it
saddens me sometimes when I look at
social media which I probably really
shouldn't do but when I look at social
media and see that some people make it a
part-time job to tell everyone how much
we're overspending on our parks and and
I really want to say to those people and
everyone out everyone else to um go out
use our Parks enjoy them use our
programs spend some time with your
family out on them and see those other
other hundreds of people that are out
there on Saturday morning at at 8:00
a.m. so I I challenge them to actually
do that and then I want to read it um
for what's going on in parks and ret I
want you all to know that I don't write
this okay I just read it okay so father
daughter dance on Friday January 31st
from 6 to 8:00 p.m. at the Gilbert
Community Center the father
fatherdaughter dance will be taking
place it's open to all you ladies Age
Two to 19 and their dad favorite uncle
grandpa or family friend dance to your
favorite music enjoy dinner and drinks
and make crafts this will be a night to
remember and then we also have our
galentine's Bingo hi ladies join us for
a special galentine's Bingo full of
sweet treats prizes great company and
plenty of laughs grab your best guest
pal I'm sorry Grab Your Best gal Pals
thanks Rocky and leave the boys behind
the girls uh the night is for girls only
taking place febru Friday February 7th
from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Queen McQueen
Park Activity Center thank
you council member
Kowski just wanted to announce a save
the date for the next Gilbert symphony
orchestra concert this is free to the
public on February 20th at 700 p.m. at
the Higley Center for Performing Arts
and the theme at this next concert is
from dorak to Queen a Bohemian spring
this will also be a dementia friendly
event and as I mentioned is free to the
public and that is um because of
generous support from the Gilbert Parks
and Rec foundation and
sponsors also at as someone of Chinese
Heritage I'd like to recognize the Lunar
New Year tomorrow it's the year of the
wood snake and around the world this is
a time of family reunions traditions and
celebrations to welcome the new year of
prosperity and good fortune I encourage
everyone to take the opportunity to
learn about the significance of the
Lunar New Year Gilbert's connection to
Chinese culture exists with our sister
cities partnership with leean China
Gilbert sister cities is hosting an East
westfest dinner next Thursday where you
can meet our student ambassador
candidates and see a performance by the
Phoenix woou Academy which is a Chinese
martial arts school located in Gilbert
their athletes represent the US and
international competitions around the
world and I wish you all a happy healthy
and prosperous new year thank
you thank you any
others report from the mayor uh just a
couple of items
first I wanted to
um recognize before I talk about the
Gilbert volunteer Fair let me any of you
that have been a long-term resident in
Gilbert new Dr Wally Dei who was one of
our superintendents at public education
in the Gilbert schools if you did not
know him he was a pillar of our
community uh I've known Wall-E for um 30
5 36 years I guess and he passed away a
couple of weeks ago and we want to
recognize him and all the work he's did
in this community he truly was uh like I
said a pillar of the community uh he and
I spent a lot of time as the town was
exploding in growth we sat down together
to talk about ways to address that
growth both the students and also
everything else that came along with
everybody was moving into the community
but uh Wally was
um he was a great man and and he'll be
truly missed and I believe that there is
a memorial for him it's either February
12th or
13th but um please remember him in your
prayers his family U at his
passing um he was truly
remarkable um then I'd like to also
mention the Gilbert volunteer Fair which
is Saturday February first at the
Southeast Regional Library you can serve
there are many opportunities we have 20
nonprofit organizations that are part of
this volunteer Fair that's 10 to 12 on
Saturday February
1st next is the Gilbert volunteer MVP
awards uh we look to nominate volunteers
who leading examples of Gilbert's values
like driven kind bold and humble or
accept accepting nominations for youth
volunteer of the year and Gilbert
kindness group Awards this is
nominations are open from February 3rd
through the 24th so if you know somebody
you can volunteer or you can nominate as
a volunteer of the year please do that
and last I think there's one more about
Gilbert feeding
families uh the food drive for Gilbert
feeding families February 10th through
the 23rd this is a a big thing in the in
the community I'd encourage you to get
involved with this you can see all the
sponsors that get involved
uh please check it out and uh uh make
this a successful um food drive that
we've always done every year so thank
you very
much and with that I believe I'll take a
motion to adjourn so
moved all in favor I we are
adjourned
e e