Regular Meeting - 1/28/2025 6:30:00 PM

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
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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 25 28th
2025 our in vocation this this evening
will be offered by Pastor Dan money of
the Elliot Road 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 these 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
Kowski 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 libery
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 pres 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 1 800 373
7888 or texting 233 733 or chatting with
a live person by visiting human
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
48503 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 bonani
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 appreciate um
mayor council members your lead uh every
year in 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 is not
something that we're proud of as
arizonas 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 Team Tim TBO
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 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 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
trafficking 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 antihuman 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
okay
than thank you
[Applause]
next up are the are the public hearings
um on poll of the council we have items
2 3 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
kastanis 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
just to be discussed quickly
okay anybody
else I'll entertain 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 let me let me try to reset
it I thought motion passes
70 item four General plan GP 2403 zoning
z245
um like a staff I'll open the public
hearing with the staff
presentation all right good evening
mayor Council 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 Galveston 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
allow 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
reone 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 43,000 Ft to 35,000 squ 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 resoning 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 scene 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 sare
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 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
lot three being
40339 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 20122 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 attendants 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 drive 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 Lots 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 z415 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 Bon
Giovani um so this is the property that
we're talking about tonight South Valley
Junior High is just above that gison is
just above that and the other project is
just North of that okay brle 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 they
may be split at a later time MH
uh to what extent can they be split sure
so 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 widths and depths of a lot
so construction of that first Prim
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 squ ft and the minimum
dimension of the lot would need to be
met as well so 140 ft wide by 150 ft
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'm 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 of
streets that size or has this just been
in the plan that long it's Grant
followed in so mayor Anderson uh council
member torguson 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 gvani
thank you mayor um is there a meeting in
between there or are we making left-hand
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 Divine
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 plat 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 resoning and
changing in in the what the the the
Zoning for this property would change
the fundamental character of the
neighborhood but the reality is is 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 s 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-and
turn there is no median okay thank
you
questions 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 coun member Capri I would move to
approve uh gp2 24- 03 and Zoning Z2
24-15 I'll second that moved 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 Torgerson
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 Tuson 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 idy by and not people not understand
what it
was yeah let me pull up some notes real
quick here um yeah so item number five
is for a temporary construction easement
um and that will be for
um adjacent residential wall that we're
raising from 6 feet to 8 feet 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
in 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 outside of of the small areas that
we have I appreciate the time sir you're
welcome thank you Ryan you're welcome I
Nick like to open the public hearing I
open the public hearing on items 5 six
and seven and close the public hearing
and bring it back to the council for
discussion Andor
motion I'll make a motion to accept 5
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
Council 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 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
CH okay council member Bon thank you VI
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 we 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 help
their their health to begin with and we
save the Town Money AB by catching it
early 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 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 okay 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 the that type of equipment
typically has a 10 to 15 year life
expectancy so um can we come 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 a
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 mans that then
send it either directly to one of our
Wastewater treat plants or to another
part of our gravity sewer system where
it can then continue to flow um to one
of the plants for treatment thank
you U 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 fore to the other
items as well so and go through all of
them and then take questions for
everything or just go one at a time okay
everything and then 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 wellsite
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 arsonic 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 triar
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 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 Freestone 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 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 uh
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 northw treatment
plant
project and that's being paid for out of
the water
fund and that's all of them in the head
questions does anyone have any question
yesc tus 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 emerg
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 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 any does anyone have any questions
CH thank you vice mayor um I love
gramarly I me you 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 cents
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 would hate to see
you know I know we get reports you'll be
getting reports I hate to see a 100
people using this thing for two years
and it would be cheaper if we just
bought it individually you what I'm
saying yes great question uh 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 your
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 adoption
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 org
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 cpri 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 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 Solutions so
that we know it's been competitively bid
thank
you okay thank you eugin anybody else
have any other
questions okay thank you all thank you
all right so moving on uh mayor and
counsel 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 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 necessary for our talent of
progress this is an opport 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
indicated if you if the current Speaker
will be speaking uh will be using 3
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
nios 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 just I 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 have to forgive
me with if I pronounce your name
wrong 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
UMAS
thease 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 would was going for a
walk one night almost a year ago and it
was kind of dark it was like 7 or
8:00 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 three or 4
seconds later 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 bill britz 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 the 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 6:00 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 the cow
cleanup out of our own pockets and that
includes the streets and 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 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 is 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 but 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 or 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 miles hour and rigs here
had a 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
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 CH
cherur and I I know I know I didn't do a
good job at that schable 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 barded on the North by rigs
Road and on the south By The heiler
River Reservation I'm here with my
friends and Neighbors from Ador trails
as well as other communities of Mont
Verde Sania and 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 a door Trails held a town
um hall meeting which three members of
the Gilbert Town Council attended we
realized that due to Quorum uh
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 old 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 discussion 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 o'clock in the morning until 6
o'clock at night unless there evening
activities they'd have to stay open
later and on the weekends as well if
there are different activities so again
we need your help you're going to hear a
lot of people from Ador 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 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're aware um my address
is 2425 East Cherry Hill Drive inad door
Trails like I said I realize you're
aware of the serious issues and Adora
Trails relating to cattle danger to
Residence and then I sent this an 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 8T from my home
entry door I have pictures of that and 6
ft 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 calfs which can be
concerning because calfs they want to
protect them the incident is
unacceptable very dangerous to your
citizens to to your citizens I called to
file a police 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 read 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 I know there
have been multiple vehicle accidents in
the 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 Rabon 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 spectrum 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 visit ility 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 ACD 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 Moon Valley Nursery a 3-foot
pygmy pal would be about $700 that's
including the delivery and the planting
well I have six pygm 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
sheep 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 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 pies it's like walking
through a mine field it's 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 a door Trails was
recognized as a water-wise community
maybe not anymore our community
landscape or landcom planted trees along
Adora Boulevard due to the cows many are
no longer viable landcom suggested
holding off and 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 and 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 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 Lifestyles out of fear
and
concern over the 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
Della
Lester Megan 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 resident since 2016 I moved to
Gilbert uh actually from U Manila
Philippines with my family um I was an
asset management and opened 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 pygm Palm from
Home Depot watering it for 8 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 Bulls 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 a door
Boulevard um on my way to a job and uh
CU I'm in construction now and
uh I stopped the car on the main road as
I watched a bull start aggressively
going towards two girls what am I going
to do against a 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 a community so thank you for
your time okay 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 a 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 not any
one person's fault but something has to
be done I think thank you for your time
thank you our next speaker is Courtney
Bon
Gio or
no 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 ad door Trails I've 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 monver 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 the 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 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 they 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 negatively
affecting property values in and around
the corridor the rigs
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 want to continue discussions with
this concerning matter thank you okay
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 if
there's a Joseph 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 uh Julieta Damiano and I'm a
resident of Gilbert uh in the
neighborhood of Adora Trails I've uh
moved here about 12 years ago and Al
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 aora trails the constant presence of
cattle wandering through our streets and
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 CS um so worst of all um The
Quiet of our evening 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 I thigh 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
heiler River Reservation bypassing our
neighborhood um coming onto rigs road
which we've already seen um we know that
drivers on rig's road are traveling at
speeds of 45 miles per 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
tri 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 on to our Gilbert streets um this
would obviously send a clear message uh
that you have a tool that can help
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
immediate action okay thank you our next
next speaker is madalina
domano hello or hello my my name is
Melina domano 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
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 C house
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
the 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 Driggs
she's speaking
right yeah you well
you yes 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 special 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
i' rather not see my Association does
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 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 cuz 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 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 in poop and they're not laying
on the ground they're just running
playing soccer and um my dog has gotten
sick and
um I have multiple times almost hit the
cows that just Dart in front cuz 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
banavani 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 prolonged
exposure to Airborne dust can lead to
respiratory issues such as as Asma
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 vehic
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 acknowledgement that you are
aware or any response from your
assistant 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
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 Cana
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 theme
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 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 Gil ber 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 gilberg 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 onein
meter as required by the code I use
about 6,000 gallons a month which isn't
very much at all um and I pay about $51
and some Cent 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 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 a 1 inch meter a
channel charges about
$14 uh a month TP charges
$19 Queen Creek charges
$31 um Phoenix charges about uh $8 just
under
$9 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 with a
new increase it'll be
136% I think 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 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 uh 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 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 yes my name
is Kristen Jones and I I live in Gilbert
Arizona thank you um so my
concern um is and 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 wrecker 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
Pac 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 vetting 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 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
bonon 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 andher 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 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 oh okay Carissa Arnold I'm a
resident of
Gilbert 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 things that are
actually going on in the city crimes
andx and so when our officers are having
to head out to Adora Trails house 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 helila River
Indian reservation and creating a no
fence District requiring the reservation
cows to be stayed to be kept within that
lines we have kids running around with
guns we have them checking 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 and 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 very Ro 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
penal 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 the 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 um I'm sorry can I just make a
point of privilege to suggest a f minute
bio break uh certainly so we'll now have
a five minute
break we'll be back in five minutes
know
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this is a two-minute warning we'll be
reconvening in a couple of
minutes
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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 I'm oh okay okay thank you and the
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
trails 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 seven 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
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
strike 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 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 rayan we'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 po a danger yet the
arborous 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
eucalyp trees recently planted in the
median on Val Vista Road between
Baseline and
Guadalupe and do this include the 95
eucalyptus trees across all the public
parks in the that Gilbert
maintains here's your water tower with
the eucalyptus
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 100 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 emitted information that
would have provided a fuller picture to
the council and helped making a decision
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 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 ship sh 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 who it applies 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 ICS or
primary 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 conorms 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
require because it was never part of the
agreement when the town approved
it moreover the town has maintained
RightWay Landscaping in 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 removal of
landscaping in our
neighborhood number two conduct a formal
review of the legal and historic IAL
basis for this policy shift and number
three establish a clear fair and
consistent policy to ensure the 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 and said that that they feel
scared of the
trees thank you for your time and
consideration okay thank you
appears
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 on 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 RI ice 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 vad 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 5T away
from great bodily injury or death once
by passing directly through a gap
between two cows while on my motorcycle
and another face to face with five
livestock anim 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 13- 411 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 13- 47 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 mar Copa
County Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
office has made every reasonable effort
to obtain and maintain the no fense
distri 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 Express or
implied this information should be used
for informational 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
Trail's 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 fail failure to
adequately fence off property because of
the city of Gilbert's failure to
legislate and produce a solution in
collaboration with theora Trails because
of the states the state of Arizona's
failure to maintain 100-year-old laws
such as the no fense districts and
because of a sovereign federally
protected nation's object 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 RIT large
the council 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 dear eltion of
Duty in mitigating this crisis over the
past decade surveillance a perimeter
watchs 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 breaks in the barbwire fence
a complete lack of fencing in other
areas inadequate and inconsistent
signage regarding trespassing and no
clear delineation of property
lines 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 of playing it's a big park with a
lot of beautiful green grass ass 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 happen 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 with 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 I treat your city
employees and do something please do
something now it's
uh 8:58 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 it's
the young person who doesn't know better
it's the young person who goes up very
close to 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 a fence
there are
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 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 add 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 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 a 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
philli
um looks like Ivy I believe Ivy okay
William dur this time to me okay and and
you're William right no William had to
go to our HOA meeting regarding the C
right now at sill however his Pap 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' 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 fence zone so we
did not have this problem but in
santanilla my community we are not in a
noin Zone as neither is Ador
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 caught 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 speaker said earlier there's
an adrenaline rush so out in the open
there were to go I just charged the
steer and started 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 Catal
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 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 rip 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 in the roads
they're going to look for the green
belts anyway so that wouldn't stop them
gating is not financially aaable 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 .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 um 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 of us understood that
position on why it
wouldn't so thank you for your time
thank
you so 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 my
name is Cody Phillips and I'm a resident
of 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 Southside will not
address this issue so it's going to be a
continuing 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 ual 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 me 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 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 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 in the
neighborhood and they have a like a
bright light at the top of the post
that's almost ey 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 so my neighbor across the
street is disabled and he has um Palm 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 bovani thank you
mayor yeah I'd like BR 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 in
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'd 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 wasw 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 and
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 Excellence 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 pedrera she's a
senior benefits at 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
cared for and compassionately assisted
some of our employees through their
hardest life moment ments work help over
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 her 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 rangle Lieutenant Pete
Wrangle will retire at the end of this
week following his distinguished 32-year
career career with the Gilbert Police
Department he started as a Gilbert
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 tenant
Wrangle is deeply grateful for the
opportunity to serve 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 Rec
liaison 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 8 800 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 the Saturday morning morning at
at 8: a.m. so I I challenge them to
actually do that and then I want to read
um for what's going on in parks and R 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 2
to 19 and their dad favorite uncle
grandpa or family friend dance to your
favorite music enjoy dinner and drink
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 gal 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 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 leeon China
Gilbert sister cities is hosting an East
West Fest 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 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 of 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
35 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