Regular Meeting - 2/20/2024 6:30:00 PM

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good evening welcome to the Gilbert Town
council meeting for February 20th 2024 I
will go ahead and call this meeting to
order a reminder to please turn off or
silence cell phones and devices before
we get started our first item on our
agenda this evening is the invocation if
I could please invite Judy albre stake
Relief Society president of the Gilbert
Highland West Stake of the Church of
Jesus Christ of latterday saints good
evening thanks for joining us this
evening you'll just need to push the
button to turn the microphone on I think
it's the button on the right there you
go thank you right there is that better
thank you for inviting
me our dear Father in heaven we are
grateful together as citizens of Gilbert
this evening for this town council
meeting we are grateful for our mayor
and This Town Council and for all that
they do to serve the citizens of our
town that we love and we ask this night
that thy Spirit can be present that
those who have come to voice their
thoughts and opinions and feelings can
do so peacefully and with respect and
that they can be heard and received in
that same manner we are grateful for all
those who serve this community
especially those who serve to protect
our safety and the First Responders and
we ask a blessing on them that they can
be safe as they do their work and and
serve in this community we ask a
blessing on our youth who are challenged
in many different ways we pray that the
teachers who work with them their
parents Faith leaders might be able to
inspire and guide them in the way that
thou would see fit and that they might
feel and know of their Divine worth and
who they are as children of God we are
thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ we
pray that we can follow him and his
example and how we reach out to and
and serve and lift and build others and
we pray humbly for these blessings and
give thanks for all that we have in the
name of Jesus Christ
amen thank you so much we appreciate you
sharing that invocation with us this
evening I did have council member tilki
down to do the pledge council member
torguson could I ask you to lead us in
the pledge please everyone please stand
and remove your
hats Al to the flag of the United States
of
America thank you council
member Shelli if you could please take
the RO mayor Bridget Peterson here vice
mayor Scott Anderson here council member
Chuck Bon Giovani present council member
Bobby Buckley present council member Yan
Kowski here and council member Jim
torguson here forum is present thank you
so much cheli do we have council member
tilky online or no uh she indicated she
would not be attending virtu thank you
thank you chali moving on to our first
item on our agenda which is
presentations and proclamations this
evening council member Kowski will be
assisting with the presentation of the
green Gilbert partnership program for
2024 new
certifications we have staff to come on
down and help with
that
have to push the right button I think it
is there you go thank you thank you
perfect thank you everyone um hello my
name is Aaron uh fosle I work for the
town of Gilbert's environmental
compliance office with the uh with the
public works Public Works division
excuse me I also represent the green
Gilbert Business Partnership prog
program I'm the coordinator for it uh is
a coordinated effort between four
different divisions uh within that
public works department environmental
compliance Solid Waste and Recycling
water conservation and our Wastewater
pre-treatment uh division uh it was
basically founded as a way to give all
the local businesses in Gilbert a way to
show the community how much they care
about the environment all the efforts
that they make to give back and really
make a minimal impact on the
environmental efforts that we do within
our divisions to keep Gilbert clean and
beautiful we help prioritize changes
that will have the biggest impact within
those businesses and we work with the
businesses to kind of increase their
sustainability goals through a tailored
approach you know it's very unique
process getting to know a lot of these
businesses and kind of learning what
sort of uh issues they tend to deal with
more uh often than others um so today we
are certifying four new businesses as
green Gilbert business partners um and
I'll have a little bit to say about each
uh each one of them here uh first is the
uprooted kitchen um the uprooted kitchen
is a small family run plant-based
kitchen that started as a vegetarian
food truck uh in 2012 is now located
within uh bar one in the agritopia
community a lot of their menu items are
created using produce that's grown just
right outside their front door as well
as from other local Partners uh they
strive to provide our community with a
beautiful Gathering Place to enjoy
thoughtful and nourishing food our
second business is priority pumping they
are a local pumping and Wastewater
service provider whose mission is to not
only provide top-notch services and what
they do but also to educate our
communities and customers about the
importance of proper septic system and
Wastewater maintenance something that we
actually do a big part of within our
Wastewater pre-treatment program is
trying to educate um the residents of
Gilbert of all the proper and safe
practices about using these systems so
the fact that priority PR pumping
highlights that in their mission
statement is a big um is a really
important thing for
us um Cooper vision is our third
business uh they are uh they are a
vision based company that is committed
to helping people around the world see
better every day um through a scientific
and technological innovation operational
excellence and close working
relationship with Eye Care Professionals
coer Vision has helped Millions help
improve the vision of millions and
become a trusted Global leader in the
contact lens
industry um and then our last business
today is Galapagos copy shop Galapagos
copy shop it opened in September 2021
and is bringing authentic Ecuadorian
coffee and food to the Gilbert Community
founder Alexander States I would like to
create an environment where every single
individual is treated with respect and
kindness while partaking in the unique
and exotic Ecuadorian handcrafted baking
Goods Galapagos coffee shop is actually
um one our first business that's going
to be certified as well as part of our
local first partnership and here to tell
us a little bit more about that is
Taylor from local
first hello everyone I'm Taylor shadron
from local first Arizona uh I'm the
Green Team coordinator with them and so
I'm here to tell you a little bit about
a local business Coalition that really
Statewide it's for all communities City
municipalities tribal rural metro
whatever you identify as we're got
something for you guys um and so we're
really excited about being partnered
with Gilbert because this is just
another way to extend the resources and
that technical assistance piece to help
these businesses transition into a
sustainable Journey whether they're just
starting today or if they've already
been out it for for 20 years so we have
something for everybody um when it comes
to our certification our certification
is a little bit of a self-guided
question air where we let the business
owners do it at their own pace and then
we go out there verify that everything
that they say they're doing is there and
then at the end of it we're able to give
them a report that tells them what their
best practices are and what those
achievable measures are that they can
start to build into their day-to-day
practices as they continue that Journey
um and so Alexandra is just an amazing
example of that she is a genuine
community leader who cares about culture
and biodiversity and family and
community and she just personifies that
every single day and it shines through
in the shop that she has um she has
reusable cups that she likes to use and
there her old teacups that she has um a
lot of the furniture in there is
repurposed and reused it's not bought
new so you're saving materials that way
um a little bit of education and she
implemented a brand new recycling
program just day one of talking to her
about some things that she could do she
was ready for it eager and so I am
beyond proud to be introducing her to
you guys and if you haven't been to
galpagos Coffee Shop it is just on
Gilbert Road right past Elliott
depending on which way you're going
before or past you should definitely go
check it out because everything there is
amazing um and then yeah guess we got to
get to the
certificates so we'll call the
businesses that are present up uh one by
one to get their certificates and uh get
a quick photo so first we'll have
Alexandra come up from golop go C qu up
[Applause]
Alexandra
you
and then next we have Cooper
vision
[Applause]
and then last we have priority pumping
present
today
for
[Applause]
thank you so
much thank you Aon great presentation
thanks for all those businesses thanks
to local first for coming out to be part
part of this presentation also we
appreciate your time this evening before
we get started with Communications from
citizens I just wanted to read a
statement um we've had several requests
about lighting of the water tower for
members of the audience here and online
Please be aware that water tower will be
lit orange tonight Tuesday February 20th
and tomorrow night Wednesday February
21st from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. to
signify our community solidarity against
teen violence and in remembrance of
Preston Lord a Young Man Who Lost His
Life in Quin Creek as a result of a
senseless crime this Council approved
the redesign and renovation of Water
Tower Plaza in in the spring with the
Demolition timeline always slated for
early January and I'm so grateful for
the extraordinary efforts of our Parks
and Rec team Welling and Mark Taylor
Construction in finding a way to provide
temporary power during this challenging
phase of construction to bring this
water tower lighting request to fruition
Water Tower Plaza remains an active
construction zone with areas closed off
complete with fencing and no Public
Access which prevents people from
congregating Water Tower Plaza will
remain closed until fall of
2024 as we work through the different
phases of the renovation process the
parks and rec team continues to evaluate
water tower lighting requests submitted
online and the project is currently on
track to conclude in Fall of 2024 so the
water tower will be lit this evening and
tomorrow evening Orange um in honor of
Preston thank you um vice
mayor thank you and thank you all for
being here thank you for the orange
candles that were brought up here thank
you for that uh I'm going to read a
short statement before we get into the
uh comment section from the
communications for
Citizens the Gilbert Town Council values
citizen comments and input anyone
wishing to speak before coun the council
must fill out a request to speak card
for each item they wish to speak on and
submit it to the town clerk or place it
in the bin provided prior to the start
of the meeting the communication from
citizens portion on the agenda provide
citizens an opportunity to identify for
the Town Council matters of Interest or
concern related to town government under
the provisions of the Arizona open
meeting law the Town Council is
prohibited from responding to issues
that have not been properly noticed
therefore the Town Council may only
listen to citizens who wish to address
them and at the conclusion of the open
call to the public response is limited
to individual members of the council
responding to criticism made by those
who have addressed the public public
body asking staff to review a matter or
asking that a matter be put on a future
agenda I don't want to re reiterate the
meeting protocol that has been posted on
the screens but I do want to take a
moment to address the conduct within our
public Communications and Council
meetings we value the participation of
our community members in the robust
exchange of ideas however it's essential
that this discourse remains respectful
and constructive reflecting the
professionalism expected Ed in such
forums misinformation and personal
attacks undermine our Collective efforts
and do not contribute to the productive
dialogue necessary for our Town's
progress while we understand and
appreciate the passion our community
members bring to these sessions we must
remind everyone that clapping during the
meeting is not acceptable this practice
can disrupt the flow of discussion
potentially intimidate others who may
wish to speak and detract from the
respectful atmosphere we strive to
maintain as we we move forward let's
commit to a standard of communication
that upholds the values of respect truth
and
civility this approach will enable us to
work more effectively together in
addressing the challenges and
opportunities fa facing Gilbert thank
you so much for your
cooperation um when your name is called
um please come forward to the podium
state your name and your place of
residence and begin speaking and each
one will have three minutes to
speak our first one up tonight is Daniel
straza
he will be followed
by Sarah
straza good evening mayor and Town
Council my name is Daniel straza I am
the father of the little girl who was
hit by a red light runner at Freestone
Park aside from the fact that this
uninsured driver had no business being
on the road and our state officials
aren't doing enough to to prevent things
like this from happening it's equally
troubling that there aren't helmet laws
in place for miners with highspeed bikes
and ebikes in
production while the man driving
illegally that blew through the red
light and at a huge known Trail Crossing
with all other traffic
stopped and seriously injured my
daughter will likely get off with a slap
on the wrist because of the way current
walls are written while our child is
wheelchair bound and has scars all over
her face to no fault of her own we are
not protecting the people that follow
the rules and do the right thing it
wasn't long ago when DUI offenders would
get a would get off with a similar slap
on the wrist and fines until x amount of
innocent people had to die before we
took problem seriously well now we have
a new serious problem on our hands with
the increased traffic lack of laws in
place to punish reckless drivers we need
to come together and attack an issue
that we can all get behind and swiftly
protect the children in our
communities
while the road ahead is long I'm
confident that my daughter is lucky to
be alive due to the helmet that she was
wearing that day and I'm positive that
without it she would be
dead there are studies that prove
wearing a helmet decreases the risk of
traumatic brain injuries and increases
the overall survival rate I believe my
daughter is a good example of that
study we see kids every day taking over
intersections riding down the roads
riding in traffic on ebikes with no
helmets and it's a matter of time before
more tragedy strikes the fact is drivers
are in a rush they are distracted they
aren't paying attention for kids on
bikes and many children don't know the
rules of the road nor the right of way
because they've never been subjected to
formal education around this
topic there is education that needs to
go into the solution educating both
parents and children on the importance
of safy equipment and I know that takes
time but we can Implement a helmet law
now and help protect our children now
before we see another accident having an
ordinance in place where bikers under
the age of 18 regardless of the type of
bike or ebike they are operating need to
be wearing a helmet could greatly reduce
the traumatic accidents hopefully with
council's help we can get this to the
appropriate parties to get in place
thank
you thank you Sarah straza she will be
followed by Jennifer
wada council members mayor Peterson my
name is Sarah straza and Gilbert
resident if you had a chance to save a
child's life SAR can I ask you to make
sure you're closer thank you thank you I
just want to make sure we hear you thank
you if you had a chance to save a
child's life would you take it I stand
before you today not only as a concerned
citizen but as a mother who has
witnessed firsthand the devastating
consequences of reckless driving on
January 15th my daughter Alexandria of
vibrant 7-year-old was struck by a red
light runner on her bike it was a
harrowing experience that could have
easily ended in tragedy but thanks to
her wearing her bike helmet her life was
spared I want to stress that this
incident was not the fault of my
daughter it was the result of a
distracted driver unfortunately
incidents like these are not isolated
they happen far too often leaving
families shatters and and communities
mourning are crucial aspect that stands
out from the situation that's super
important is bike helmet laws as we know
these laws vary from state to state
leaving gaps in protection for our
children and it's our duty to advocate
for them and put legislation safeguards
in place in 2019 Gilbert issued a bike
plan I have it right here and on page
four it states that the purpose was to
provide safe and convenient
opportunities for community members of
all ages and abilities to utilize
multimodal Transportation Alternatives
it goes on to say in 2015 to 16 there
were nearly 11% increase in bicyclist
fatalities and then then on page eight
it went on to say that safety is
commonly provided as the number one
reason that people choose not to ride a
bike in
Gilbert the 5-year goal in the Gilbert
bike plan was to reduce the total number
of crashes involving bicycles now in
2024 we know due to our growing
population increased use of ebikes
distracted drivers this goal has not
been obtained since we as a community
have been unable to reduce the number of
bicycle related crashes we need to
implement another approach my proposal
is to implement a helmet law I have sent
you all an email last Thursday that
included the spike Gilbert plan which
outlines the strategies of promoting
bite safely uh infrastructure with our
our own town additionally I attached an
evidence-based research for uh injury
epidemology uh Journal I also um drafted
proposed language for the new law that I
believe aligns with our community's
values and safety objectives I please
encourage you to review these materials
and ask for the council members to
Champion this initiative together with
me to save children's lives thank you so
much for your attention and
consideration thank you Jennifer W
Jennifer will be followed by an
duet mayor Peterson council members my
name is Jennifer W and I live in the
Morrison Ranch Community here in Gilbert
it's nice to be speaking to you about
something other than the ranch
development I'm here tonight to support
sarin Daniel Straw's effort to update
our laws to include bike helmet safety
for Riders under 18 when I was a kid in
the 70s car seats and seat belts were
not required in fact you could even sit
in the back of your dad's pickup truck
in an aluminum lawn chair that slid back
and forth as he turned corners but
finally someone started looking at the
statistics and realized that car seats
and seat belts save lives which resulted
in the adoption of laws around the
country in California the seat Bel law
went into effect when I was 16 and I
remember remember thinking that seat
belts were annoying especially requiring
my friends to use them if they were
going to ride in my car eventually
though we all adapted we used them
regularly and once we were older we
understood why they were important but
it was the law that changed our behavior
and it made it easier to deal with the
peer pressure when not everyone was on
board as a community we put laws in
place to protect kids so that they or
their parents are compelled to make the
safe Choice when they might not
otherwise we don't let kids Buy alcohol
weapons or vape products we have curfews
and while we rightly allow teens to
drive we have limits on when and we use
a graduated license we have labor laws
that protect kids from being forced to
work too much or in unsafe conditions
these are all things that parents of
children and teens could choose to abide
by on their own but that's not what
always happens requiring helmets by Law
changes it from a parental or a personal
choice to a legal decision and just like
seat belts people will adapt and it will
become a house hit Gilbert is a
beautiful town with so many places for
kids to bike to with their family and
friends but every day I see kids riding
without a helmet I also hear stories and
witness kids on bikes riding through
stop signs looking at their phones
turning on red lights without stopping
and even worse I see distracted drivers
doing the same thing creating the
perfect opportunity for accidents how
many more kids need to be injured or
killed before we decide that along with
the growth in population and development
we need to update our laws to protect
our kids we can't avoid all accidents
but we can help reduce the chance that
our kids are severely injured or killed
when they
happen Tucson adopted a helmet law for
kids in 1993 and eventually Puma County
as a whole adopted it Flagstaff Tempe
Sierra Vista and Yuma all have Bel bike
helmet laws for kids under 18 as well
it's time for Gilbert to step up we are
supposedly one of the safest cities in
the country we need to make the protect
of our kids while they're out in our
community a priority I urge you to
support the Straw's proposal and make
bike helmets for writers under 18 the
law thank you thank you and duet and
will be followed by Bridget
Vega hi my name is Ann ducet I've been
in Gilbert for over 26 years a few weeks
ago before I stood at this very podium I
sat back in my chair and I listened to
the internal turmoil within the town of
Gilbert it was a revelation uncovering
things that I had no clue
about I've always loved Gilbert I've
raised a family here I've proudly worn
the I love Gilbert t-shirt I've sipped
from the I love Gilbert mug I've adored
my Christmas tree with the I love
Gilbert ornament and I even have a
Gilbert sign displayed in my home I
thought I knew this town but with the
recent challenges within Gilbert it has
shaken me to research what is really
going on here it pains me to admit that
I was unaware of the turmoil simmering
beneath the surface which is now spilled
over affecting the entire Community it's
disheartening to witness overlooked
crimes and criminals receiving nothing
more than a slap on the
wrist when myself a law-abiding citizen
is is just fearful of getting a traffic
violation there are criminals that are
getting set free there are more
criminals that are out there that are
engaging in teen violence fights sexual
assaults theft and even murder seeing
this unfold before my eyes forces me and
I'm sure the
279,000 with a lack of trust in our
Town's leadership the lack of
transparency the desire to look good or
safe face rather than confront the harsh
realities of our community it deeply
saddens
me when police report about making 22
arrests it's important to clarify that
it's not 22 individuals brought to
Justice it's merely 22 charges a mere
checkbox to close a file
some of those arrests came from cases
that have previously been closed or
characterized as inactive the truth is
it's the citizens and the media who have
pressed for Action not just checkboxes
on a report we the citizens know more
than you might think we see through the
vade of the half truths and
misinformation it's time for our leaders
to step up and to be honest and to
address the real issues played in our
town we deserve better than empty
promises and superficial Solutions let's
work together to create a Gilbert that
we can truly be proud of Gilbert I ask
you rise up and take a stand just take a
stand thank you for letting me
share thank you Bridget Vega she will be
followed by RZA
Anderson Rea and I are together if we
can do the six
minutes um can you do it in three
minutes two of you together three
minutes each it'll take about five it'll
take six
okay good evening mayor and Town Council
in order to get to the root cause of
teen violence we must address the
elephant in the
room where are the children getting the
drugs and the guns Media or chief can
you please provide the community with
the chain of command for local law
enforcement and tell us if the Narco and
human trafficking unit is involved in
helping look over these cases teens are
vulnerable due to the development of
their bodies and brains which puts them
at higher societal risk and Vapes are
the Gateway device for younger
Generations we cannot turn a blind eye
to the ethical and societal implications
according to a CDC study found in 2022
more than 2. 5 million middle schoolers
report past or present ecigarette use
can the town put on the teen violence
website how to put down the pen and
provide addiction resources on porn
Vapes drug and alcohol abuse including
domestic violence along with the K9
dog with the resource officer at schools
mayor Bridget and council members you
took a proclamation in January for human
trafficking awareness month for to say
not in our city when you say that you're
saying no to drug trafficking in child
sexual abuse it's happening in Arizona
schools and within our backyards when
you say not in my city you're saying no
to grooming which is a form of sexual
abuse and if you meet the person who is
grooming you try or I'm sorry person who
is grooming then you know they may try
to sexually assault you which is when
they touch you in a sexual way that you
don't agree with they might use secrecy
blame blame gifts or threats a violence
to stop you from telling somebody
grooming Behavior involves the
perpetrator manipulating a child to gain
the trust build rapport and exert their
power over them when you say not in my
city that includes teen Dating
Violence also called Dating Violence it
it is an adverse childhood experience
that affects millions of Youth in the
United States Dating Violence can take
place in person online or through
technology it's a type of intimate
partner violence that can include the
following types physical violence sexual
abuse psychological aggression and
stalking as suicide rates have
skyrocketed sex tortion drug trafficking
addiction use including the use of
alcohol Vapes weed fentanyl on
Elementary and high school campuses and
sexual assault
good evening mayor and Town Council
Gilbert must take a stand to eradicate
teen violence and stop allowing the
abusers to continue to perpetrate
intentional inflection of emotional
distress on the youth and Community due
to sense acts of violence adverse
childhood experiences are the lead
contributor to what we are witnessing
today amongst our youth what are the
consequences if we don't take a stand we
are witnessing it now in all of these
cases it creates unhealthy abusive or
violent relationships can have short and
long-term negative effects including
severe consequences on a developing
teen youth who are victims of teen
dating violences or violence are more
likely to experience depression and
anxiety and even suicide engage in
unhealthy behaviors like using tobacco
drugs alcohol they exhibit antisocial
and I'm sorry antisocial Behavior like
lying theft bullying or hitting violence
is an adolescent relationship sets the
stage for future relationship problems
including intimate partner violence and
sexual violation or violence
perpetration Andor VI
victimization throughout life as I pray
Lord I ask for protection over the youth
teen violence victims and
survivors Lord may you soften the hearts
of the mayor and Town Council and lift
the veil I also want to thank you for
the tower being lit Orange um I don't
think to days is enough if we can have
it for as long as there's Justice that
would be greatly served for the
Lords we have no future if we don't
protect the children we have a duty to
protect the innocent if not that blood
is on our hands together we must rise
for the children it starts with one
person it starts with you stand tall
speak your truth and the world will
adjust they can not take your voice it's
never too late to do what's right to the
youth I'm sorry for everything you've
endured please know we are here for you
you are enough your voice matters we see
you we hear you we stand by you and we
love you please continue to keep the
Lord family and all of the youth who've
been murdered assaulted mentally
physically and sexually if we can take a
moment of silence for Preston Lord and
for all of the youth and those we've
lost due to senseless acts of violence
rise up if you see something say
something do do something
Gilbert thank you mayor Bridget we would
also like to give you an invite to light
the night for the community walk to
honor Preston Lord Wednesday February
28th at 5:30 at Chandler Unified and we
printed it out for you
guys
thank you next is Don
Edwards Don will be followed by Crystal
kol I'mma take her time I'll try to keep
it at a tight
five we have to keep this at three
minutes good evening Madame mayor Mr
vice mayor and esteemed council members
my name is Captain Don Edwards I was
hired as a reserve firefighter in '97
fulltime in '99
I was a captain for the last 18 years uh
I retired this past December after I was
retaliated against for filing a
complaint I just want to let you know uh
for the last 26 years my only goal was
to try to make Gilbert the best fire
department that we could in the
valley sometimes that meant being an
enthusiastic cheerleader sometimes that
meant being a member of the loyal
opposition I viewed it the same way I
viewed my uh when I swear swore my oath
to defend the
Constitution my goal and my loyalty was
for the to the department and the
citizens we serve not necessarily any
particular fire chief at any particular
time uh in the fire service we refer to
it as challenging the plan I'm sure
there's plenty of different corporate
speak terms for the same thing it just
means that any organization will
stagnate if it's if you only promote Yes
Men Innovation and progress only come
from questioning the status quo
unfortunately the current fire
management team does not take kindly to
questions make no mistake being critical
of fire management was the real reason
that I was investigation investigated
the fire chief basically admitted that
on a recorded
conversation prior to be uh getting a
new supervisor in 2021 I had literally
no issues
none um then I was on the receiving end
of gaslighting and a smear campaign I'm
not going to sit here and try to tell
you that I was the best Captain to ever
walk to Earth but hopefully after the
next few months as I tell you the story
and I relate it to things that are
currently going on in the fire
department you'll come to understand
um if you were to do a
new uh employee survey like we've done
done in the past you would find that
most of your firefighters currently feel
like they will be retaliated against
lose out on coveted position and special
duties or as the most recent Captain
process shows not get promoted if you're
not looked upon favorably despite good
reviews or if you're not part of the
current in
group I know half of you weren't around
when we were based Ally abandoned by uh
the fire department management to figure
out how to deal with covid and during
the fire chief selection process but if
you go back and read those unredacted
employee engagement surveys you'll feel
you'll find out that a good portion of
the fire department feels as though
their management faces little or no
accountability and having the wrong
opinion can cost you I will show you how
as a group they continually fall short
of meeting the standards for honesty
integrity and character they set for the
rest of the department I will show you
how Management's actions fall far short
of their R rhetoric and mostly most
importantly I will talk about how your
firefighters don't feel comfortable with
their current group of management I'm
not speaking out because I think the
fire department is special in any way
I'm just speaking out because I was
there for 27 years and I saw what we did
when we had a good Chief and I've seen
what happened when we don't and I'm
speaking out because others can't thank
you for giving me the opportunity thank
you for listening see you in two weeks
that was close to five minutes that
wasn't bad close you actually about four
minutes Bo good thank you thank you
Crystal did you want to
speak
next up is Chris
Brennan Chris will be followed by Lisa
aler
hello good evening Town Council Members
I am Christine Brennan um I'm a resident
of
Gilbert tonight I actually want to
address the mayor's comments from the
February 6 Town council meeting during
that session you stated that the
community um is dealing with the tragedy
of teen violence in our community by
driving hate towards the council and its
leaders the pressure you feel it's not
hate it's the community trying to push
you to get involved to quote you mayor I
don't know about these events I cannot
possibly show up to something I just
don't know about the walks again I can't
be someplace I just don't know about but
you and I both know that's a complete
falsehood don't we how do we know
because the evening of December 27th I
called your personal cell phone to
request police presence at that Gilbert
walk I personally invited you to join
that walk both when I asked for the
police presence and when I called you
back to thank you for forwarding my
requests to the police who Then followed
up with me directly and they sent off
officers to the walk but to say you know
nothing about these events it's just
false it's false because you have been
told of these events if your staff is
not passing on the information about
what the community is doing then it's
your failing if you ignore direct
invitations from the public then it's
your failing you are the leader mayor
your staff reports to you if they don't
get you the information information then
that is your failing the other count the
Town Council Members seem to be able to
attend these events just fine leaders
lead through action and through
involvement you don't want to
participate you don't want to be
involved you should you should be
reaching out to the community to ask us
what you can do you haven't and you
don't you are waiting to be told to
attend via public decree
that is not how leadership Works mayor
that is how royalty and figure heads
work you are neither you complain that
since 2020 people have been showing up
to these meetings to push an agenda of
hate that the council should limit
speech here so you can get your job done
you keep blaming others and the
community for the things you don't like
instead of looking at the one big change
that happened in 2020 which is you got
elected stop portraying yourself as a
victim set upon by an unruly mob from
the community acknowledge that you are a
leader that just doesn't care who is
trying to quiet dissent and who doesn't
want to deal with any of this and who
hasn't dealt with any of this so kindly
do the right thing resign let someone
anyone take over and provide some real
leadership thank you for letting me go
over today
thank you Chris Lisa Alger Lisa will be
followed by Katie
mcferson mayor council um I won't take
the full three minutes so it'll make up
for those that took a little extra time
um I just wanted to Simply say thank you
lighting the water tower in Orange that
Beacon of light shining down across
Gilbert will continue to bring awareness
to teen violence and hopefully start
Paving the way to take action and find
Justice for not only Preston as well as
all the other teen violence victims so
again thank you greatly
appreciated thank you Katie mcferson
followed by Dan
Reynolds good evening mayor
councel um Preston Lord Has Lifted a
veil the Gilbert water tower will be
illuminated tonight in Orange for a
reason it's a call to action to stop
being
bystanders those of you that have not
come to our events I hope that you will
come and show up I can only point to a
couple of you that I've seen during a
recent town hall on teen violence Dr
Erin crno associate vice president of
ASU who I would love for you to consult
with said to witness is a verb when we
witness something we are saying yes I
agree do it more and as we stood by for
two years these boys and girls and as
salant certainly did it more on December
6th of
2023 I emailed this entire dis and the
chief about the runway of Blitz style
assault
that I had witnessed on videos that
ultimately led to Preston Lord's death
not one of you not one of you responded
to my email I saw something I said
something I didn't see any of you do
anything I I wake up every morning
thinking what can we do I work for this
town I'm on a contract with you I love
Gilbert I was is part and Lead share of
one Gilbert and I don't see a plan ahead
still after all of this time 90 days
shuck is working his tail off with the
subcommittee that is not the answer to
this tonight I want to read to you a
crucial voice in this which is a child
who I've never met I've only met her
online because she doesn't feel safe
meeting me in person and telling me
these things the pressures East Valley
teens have faced are immense the things
we experience and deal with and witness
on campus on a daily basis are out of
this world we want to feel safe at
school at friends parties at bonfires
and fast food Change students have been
familiar with with what's been happening
since early
2021 how can we be safe at school when
we're walking around in biology lab
partners with somebody who killed
someone we have truly been failed as
much as I'd love to be here tonight and
speak for myself as a 17-year-old I'm
terrified for my safety for saying
something and doing something about this
problem so many of us deal with things
that take place against teens we
certainly don't deserve this I'm asking
today Council for you to make available
better resources that encourag kids to
speak up thank you from a tremendous
heroin in my life thank
you thank you Dan Reynolds followed by
Steve
LVL mayor councel thanks for the
opportunity tonight um some of you know
me I'm going to be redundant when I say
some of this stuff but I was a um former
employee here of 25 years I'm a current
resident of 35 years
plus um I know how much you guys love
this town just like I do I'm hoping the
information that I put
forward um is getting taken seriously so
we can do something about it and fix
some of the problems we have
here so I'm here tonight on uh behalf of
Josh Reynolds who is a uh fire
department employee who was basically
forced to
resign the reason he's not here to speak
is because your current Fire Chief and
uh your current HR Director has put an
injunction of harassment on him for the
second
time so I wish he was here because if he
was here he would be able to explain in
very good detail what's going on but
I'll do my
best Josh did a video at the fire
station with another firefighter over a
cup of
coffee and if you have a sense of humor
you'll laugh at it because it's funny
somebody saw the video they said they
they're not on social media but somebody
shared them with this video with them
and they were offended this person's
name is is uh Jason
Smith uh Jason
Smith said he was identifying himself as
a minority and he was
offended our former fire chief Jim Joe
Bush and your current assistant Town
manager Leah reinheimer responded to
this email complaint with another email
from them basically saying I'll
paraphrase it but they were sorry uh
they didn't condone this behavior and
apologized Jason Smith never responded
to that in fact Jason Smith never even
opened his email
account Jason Smith opened this email
account a very short time before this
was
filed and it's been dormant ever
since I hope that kind of makes sense to
you because it's kind of
odd
um I'm going go back now to the
discipline to
Josh he was put on paid administrative
leave on February 23rd
he was told to go home not to not to go
back to the stations not to go in town
buildings or do anything until he was
told
again on March
23rd he was told to report to the town
because they wanted to show him the
paperwork and tell him why he was why he
was um
disciplined when he read the
paperwork he noticed that it said that
the complaint came on March 3rd
and when Josh told the assistant fire
chief I don't get this because I was
suspended on February
23rd but the complaint came afterwards
and he said I'll get back to
you so they did get back to
him and what they said was there was
also an internal
complaint but that was not on the
paperwork and they didn't tell us who it
was that seems odd to
me so the question I have which I
understand you can't answer but I like
you to ponder
it does the town of Gilbert Target
people do they look at people's
opinions and when they get a
complaint do they vet it and do they
verify it because this person lost his
job partially due to the fact that he
had this complaint
I appreciate the time that you gave me
to do this and I'll say this like I said
last time let your conscience be your
guide please do the right thing thank
you very much thank you Dan Steve
lville followed by Stacy
laville I'm going to be taking Stacy's
three minutes tonight and hopefully won
take
we need to keep your comments to about 3
minutes yeah I'm taking her time okay
okay so diversity equity and inclusion I
have listened to the early de Andi team
meetings through a foyer request they
are quite painstaking to think our tax
paying payer money is being spent on
these types of meetings is
mindblowing let me start by saying the D
team is a group think team prove me
wrong every meeting I watched there were
zero conservative or opposing views the
team openly talked about their heavy
left-leaning uni party views this
philosophy breeds nothing but
divisiveness and any qu in INE
inequities excuse me uh it has brought
dissension to your team and your work
groups and most of them will not speak
up for fear of retaliation so I here to
stand in the Gap not all will agree with
me but many do and they don't have a
voice so let's get it in a meeting on
January 4th 2021 your Chief people
people's officer Nathan Williams I wish
was here stated quote de and I is minor
in our organization because we are not a
very diverse organization end quote what
did he mean by that if Nathan was here
I'd ask him Nathan are we are we not
diverse Patrick are we not
diverse are we not diverse or is it
because we all look the same we're not
diverse is Nathan making judgments based
on
color
H all right remember this is the god
along with Patrick Baner that gave a
hiring advantage to 28 people based on
their race and their and their gender
also if you recall an HR person I
believe it to be Nathan Williams and I
know I believe also I don't know I
believe Bob badget was in that room told
a room of firefighters who were
preparing to do interviews with
potential new candidates that we meaning
the town of Gilbert are not looking for
people who look like you is this de and
I hm
Patrick council member bushay if you
guys are having a medical emergency if
you're stuck inside your house in a fire
do you really care what the person looks
like if they show up do you care if it's
a man or woman black white gray or do
you want them to be
competent uh capable and
qualified that's a question back to the
dni meeting on January 4th while
discussing how some employees were not
receptive to the idea of dni to me a
Harman stated three times three times in
one minute that she was okay with quote
shove it down their throats end
quote all well her boss Nathan Williams
he didn't address this anger at all I
have the recording and I can play it for
you if you'd like tamaa Hartman is the
same town employee that the odg team
reached out to when discussing the video
that my engineer did with a black
firefighter about liking coffee likes he
like like he likes his firefighters
strong bold and black Tama called it
egregious I ask you what is more
egregious to Tama Hartman saying we want
to shove it down their throats or an
employee saying that he likes his coffee
like he likes his
firefighters what's more humorous and
light-hearted the Baner dossier the AKA
Pierce Coleman report you put up on your
code two weeks ago where they stated
that those comments were troubling on
the surface but were made in a joking
manner that's their report that you guys
said rules for me but not for thee just
make it up as we go along
right I didn't think it was a joke she
said it three times in a minute and her
boss did nothing let's look at the
investigation into the coffa video the
Revolutionary HR Consulting report
finished on May 4th 2022 I'll read a few
excerpts they interviewed the black
firefighter in the video I'm going to
call him John Doe along with me and two
other employees who were working that
day I found a very interesting that
revolutionary HR Consulting hired by you
guys clearly stated that John Doe
identifies as a
black and is the firefighter in the
video at issue who is preparing coffee
end quote funny thing revolutionary HR
doesn't speak or mention how the other
two employees identify and nor did they
say I identify as white is this de and I
are those the firms we hire to do our
investigations
H John do John Doe goes on to say that
he agreed to do the video this person
received zero disciplinary action from
the same video that my engineer was
coerced and signed an NDA and forced to
sign an NDA into retirement nothing
happened to the other guy and he
shouldn't have it was a funny video John
Doe stated that he indeed felt very
welcomed ever since his first day
further stated that he had not observed
or experienced any behavior from
co-workers that was concerning to him he
also stated that he has no issues with
my engineer's post and finds them
humorous entertaining and not offensive
he claimed that he and my engineer are
very close and have been since he was in
the academy this is what revolutionary
HR
reported two months later two weeks
before my Engineers 20 years they stick
an NDA in front of his face and say sign
this or you're
fired is that de Andi and then not only
that it gets worse cuz they then they
try to write me up for saying black
coffee and chase me the hell out of here
the ones leading the charge besides
Patrick Baner and Nathan Williams of
course are Dana Burman and Leah
reinheimer don't let her get out of this
because you don't have any leaders in
fire department Rob and Bob they're
nothing but yes man as mentioned earlier
I use that term loosely Dana Burman
clearly identified herself in s social
media accounts as a chief digital
officer of town of Gilbert and then
posted things like this NBC said uh 2016
who are the president-elect Trump's top
picks Dana Burman a bunch of old white
guys not interested is that de and
I here's another post on 1020 20
breaking lawyers say they can't find
parents of 545 migrant children
separated by the Trump Administration
Dana Burman this is sickening a disgrace
for the current Administration and for
our country and I'll be done here in
just a second how many times has Dana Bo
Dana Burman made a post about the open
border and the immense amount of human
trafficking and drug trafficking come
across our open border since 2021 how
about about the children being
trafficked how about these children
right here I feel bad for these people
all right her silence says it all she's
part of the Mockingbird media a former
Hillary Clinton intern pushing the uni
party agenda right here in Gilbert and
you give her a taxpayer platform and to
be honest with you your organization
lacks complete leadership and it's
affecting the youth which is even
worse next is uh
Kisa followed by Bill
Conley
hi hi my name is Carissa and some of you
will remember me because I spoke about
my daughter being sexually assaulted um
about four weeks ago at the Town council
meeting it was hard to come back into
the meeting just two weeks later and to
hear Cathy's presentation to the mayor
of the day um and just so casually
speaking about teen dating violence and
just giving statistics and I have to say
I sat in the back of the room and it hit
my heart really hard I also have been a
victim of domestic violence and hearing
it spoken about so casually was
completely uncalled for abuse
perpetuates abuse according to the
Department of Justice frequent exposure
to violence in the home not only
predisposes children to numerous social
and physical problems but it also
teaches them that VI is the normal way
of life therefore increasing their risk
of becoming society's next generation of
victims and abusers the abuser believes
that the world revolves around them they
believe that they do no wrong they
believe that their victims deserved the
abuse or that they were justified in the
actions that were taken to control their
victims they believe that they were
justified in having their physical needs
met that their victims didn't have a
right to say no for the victims they
feel like they are the problem that
deserves the beating or sexual assault
that they are receiving they wrestle
with a wonder if they can survive and
get through another day they wonder if
today will be the day that they end it
all because it is too hard to continue
surviving they struggle with the fear of
not knowing when the next verbal or
physical altercation will happen they
struggle with the fear of not knowing if
the altercation will land them in the
hospital or in a grave it is a daily
fight to having to comply with their
abuse or Justice survive when they
finally find Freedom it is learning how
to navigate a new worlds a new world
where you have to thrive and make
decisions but doubt that you will make
the right ones your self-confidence has
been so shredded that you no longer
believe in yourself it is constantly
watching your back and always
questioning if your friend cooworker
classmate or partner will have your best
interest at heart or will they take
advantage of you just as has been
happened to you in the past it is a
simple tap on your shoulder from a
friend or family member that causes you
to jump because you didn't know you
don't know what you will meet when you
turn around it is the fear that one
night they will enter your home and inv
invited it is a fear that on that one
night you may have to use the weapon you
keep by your bedside to take a life that
you never wanted to take just so you can
survive so many wonder why people stay
in abusive relationships but they don't
understand that it is not always easy
just to walk away they don't understand
that the victim can't always see the
abuse that the victim has been
brainwashed into believing that they are
the problem and they deserve the pain
that has been inflicted on them they
don't understand that sometimes the
victim stays just to survive that
walking out that door May the last step
they take domestic violence is not
something to smile about it's not
something to casually present in a
proclamation for mayor of the day it is
not something that is easy to walk
through or to get out of it is something
that causes trauma and can last for a
lifetime thank you Bill
Conley thank you guys for allowing me to
speak gosh I promised I wasn't going to
get emotional but I sure did
um so uh I've uh written something down
on my phone so I got to be that guy
reading off the phone it's quite small I
can't see thank you for allowing us to
be here thank you for lighting the tower
that's very much appreciated um the
invocation I if she's hearing
more she's gone she's gone okay well uh
thank you for giving that invocation uh
at 12% of the population of Gilbert uh I
will learn more about that faith
um because I just want to educate myself
and learn more um the green program have
you guys left as well he
hasn't right
on that's awesome I mean I'm so
appreciative of those businesses I
cannot wait to go to uh was it
guadalahara what is it
again what is it galpagos oh yeah I'm
going there tomorrow and get some treats
I'm sure it's going to look good on me
so I appreciate you guys recognizing
them uh the family of
the of the daughter uh I worked at
Freestone rec center for about a year
and a half uh I personally witnessed so
many issues with electric bikes
um for what it's worth I support you in
that um I want to miss uh is it Bley or
Buckley Buckley I just want to recognize
you uh from a few meetings ago we were
talking about the
team the teen subcommittee on violence
and besides besides some others you
really impressed me uh by your emotions
and how heartfelt you were and for what
it's worth um it's above my pay grade
I'm just asking that if there can be any
kind of
consideration I and many others would
love for you to be involved uh in the
subcommittee for team violence uh I
think you would offer a lot of
value so you know as they say you know
noodle on that right uh so let me get to
this uh here I just wanted to share with
you
um oh my God I'm almost out of time okay
I uh I've lost my enthusiasm I mean I'm
worn down one of the parents of
the of the suspects uh called me uh
through I'm hesitate to say anything but
let's just say that one of the parents
called me under the ruse of talking
about a career opportunity and they
wanted me to come and meet
him um I put it off I'm I'm officially
scared I'm officially worn down so just
quickly uh in an effort of what the
community can do uh a few weeks ago at
the meeting uh the community community
Forum I'll be so fast guys um here's a
few things uh that we we can do just at
home to start right um make sure your
home is lighted make sure you have uh
your Gates locked on the side make sure
you have motion detector lights on the
side post signs telling ever people that
your uh your property's under
surveillance um get to know your
neighbors go get to know them right I
mean I was amazed over the weekend of of
how much I've been missing get to know
all the friends of your kids and get to
know their parents that turns out that
that was one of the hardest ones to do
because there's divorce and they're not
like you Dad they don't want to meet you
whatever but uh anyway I gotta go but I
I just just would encourage everyone to
try to take control um you guys have a
job to do it's very difficult and I
understand and we can't rely on you to
be the night and shining armor but
there's a lot the community can do just
to start by protecting our homes and
getting out of our community so thank
you guys very much I'm sorry for going
over it thank you
Bill thank you all for your comments
mayor that concludes the
communications thank you vice mayor um
now I would like
to I could please Council mayor bani
thank you mayor um Sarah and Daniel um
pictures of your daughter broke my heart
and I spoke with Chris P our attorney
earlier in the week he's looking into to
um potential ordinances if he gives us
to go ahead and says we can do something
like this then um I'll make sure that um
I asked several of my council members to
um get this important issue on the
agenda at this time yeah at this time I
would like to invite assistant chief
sley to give us an update from the
Gilbert Police Department
chief
there we go good evening mayor counsel
and our Gilbert Community Jim Bley
assistant chief of police here in
Gilbert on behalf of Chief soberg thank
you for allowing me a few moments
tonight to talk about teen
violence before I share tonight's
comments I'm going to take a minute to
read from a statement Chief sober
provided AZ Central several weeks
ago
he provided this statement when the
newspaper first shared their intention
to write a story tying race into some
recent arrest on teen
violence we want to categorically
categorically deny any insinuation that
race plays a role in any arrest in
Gilbert arrests are only made as new
information becomes available and
probable cause is
established our primary focus is justice
for all victims the safety of our
community and to put those responsible
Behind
Bars to suggest suggest otherwise is
irresponsible disgraceful and
disheartening the public should know the
facts which are the Gilbert Police did
not share the mug shots that were
published by the media in the cases of
Christopher fantastic and Aris Arondo
these mug shots were released by The
Agency involved and responsible for
booking and processing those individuals
brought into its
custody
it should be noted that two individual
juveniles were also arrested within the
same 24 hours as you may be aware
information involving juvenile arrest
records are not releasable due to the
restrictions outlined in Arizona law
unless and until the County Attorney
prosecutes the juveniles as an
adult the only mug shots released by
Gilbert PD on January 30th 2024 and
January 31st 2024 were that of Travis
Runner and Kira h sapple because those
arrests were processing Gilbert through
the Gilbert Chandler Unified holding
facility I also want to make you aware
of something in our community called
doxing some people in our community are
posting incorrect information regarding
addresses of alleged suspects in fact we
recently learned someone posted what
they believed was an address of a
suspect but the person no longer lived
at that
address as a result of this and other
incidents of doxine in uh inoc
Gilbert residents with no connections to
any teen violence are being threatened
and
harassed those individuals reached out
to the Gilbert Police Department and
we've made one arrest related to doxine
and there are other investigations
pending let me be very
clear posting this inaccurate
information is irresponsible and puts
innocent lives at stake and will not be
tolerated by the Gilbert Police
Department with these facts in mind
respectfully I would like to shift our
Focus back to where it belongs this
evening first and foremost I want to
thank our community for coming out
tonight your input ideas and your voices
are
heard we have 26 arrests since January
of this year and 41 total grp te
violence arrests made since February of
2022 and I could assure you more arrests
are
coming today we were able to make
another arrest stemming from New
Evidence discovered in January of this
year while reviewing an Associated case
this new evidence pertains to an assault
that took place in September of 2023
that was previously unreported to the
Gilbert Police Department in this new
case today a female juvenile was
arrested and charged with aggravated
robbery assault and disorderly conduct
these charges are being referred to the
Maricopa County Attorney's
Office we also want to thank our
community for continuing to provide us
with valuable
information last week during Chief
silberg's media briefing we once again
came to our community asking for help we
came to Community asking for help
identifying people involved in these
violent
acts thank you to everybody that
responded with helpful information that
will Aid Us in bringing justice to all
of our
victims many of these recent arrests are
a direct result of new information that
has been provided to us and shared with
us please for an upto-date listing of
people we are trying to identify whether
it's a photo or a video please visit our
teen violence
website as a reminder Monday the 26th at
6 p.m. as we already said our next
meeting of the teen violence
subcommittee will be held at the
Southeast Regional Library we look
forward to continue this dialogue with
our community and working together in
the meantime please our residents and
businesses should be confident in
knowing that the safety of the Gilbert
Community is the number one
priority by continuing to work together
we will bring Justice to our victims and
ensure Gilbert remains one of the best
towns to live in thrive in and be proud
of thank
you thank you Chief
Bley moving on to our next item on our
agenda which is the consent calendar
vice
mayor thank you
mayor I've had a request to pull two
items item number
five and item
number
14 with that I'll move approval of items
2 3 4 4 6 7 8 9 10
11 12
13
15 and
16 I have a motion from the vice mayor
can I get a second I'll second that I
have a second by council member Bon
Giovani please
vote
motion passes 60 they were even able to
change your name in the order that we
sit in that's great our old system we
couldn't do that so this is wonderful to
have this opportunity thank you vice
mayor item five councilman
torguson is there anyone staff that's
available to explain the scope of these
license plate
readers
Chief assistant chief Bley round
two uh mayor council member torgenson uh
currently we have 25 license plate
readers positioned uh around town uh
mostly by the SanTan mall and the exits
and entrances to the highway
um does that answer your question sir no
I just wanted to see what kind of
information gathering is going with that
because sure it's putting everybody
that's out there is subject to being
scanned yeah it's just it's just
capturing the license plate um and if a
car is entered as stolen somewhere or if
a uh let's say another agency that
shares information is looking for a car
for a a homicide or another crime they
could enter that into the system
essentially though once the plate runs
through the License Plate Reader it
gives an alert and the officer he or she
That Gets behind the car if they are
able to needs to verify all that stuff
before enforcement action is taken the
debt is stored for uh 30
days thank you assistant chief Bley oh
council member bani thank you mayor
quick question Chief our assistant chief
um technology isn't 100% so have you had
false reads and if so what's happened
from them yeah absolutely so that's one
of the uh interesting things with the
software is that the uh if you get a
read and it's false you can tell the
software that it's false and it's
continuous learning trying to get better
uh but like I said before the most
important thing to understand with this
is a after the plate comes through if we
are able to find the car all that
verification needs to be done by human
Ison he or she in a squad car
identifying the plate making sure what
it was entered into the system for is
accurate before any enforcement actions
taken thanks Chief appreciate it yeah um
for the council members we had a long
discussion about this when this was F
brought first brought to our attention
because we were had I think some of the
same concerns that you're probably
having but we really vetted it at that
time I hope that makes you feel more
comfortable would anyone like to make a
motion I'll move to approve item five I
have a motion by council member Koski
can I get a second I'll second that oh
second by council member Bon Giovani
please
[Music]
vote motion passes
51 moving on to the next item vice
mayor item 14 council member
Tuson I would just love somebody from
staff to come up and this is more of a
uh to show exactly how this works for
the public because as running in this
enterprise system this shows how it
works in so many ways is anybody
available to make a quick ah there she
is
budget Guru Cali
F good evening mayor and Council um item
number 14 is an internal loan with the
environmental service or solid waste
residential fund the residential trash
fund we uh spoke with you when we were
building the budget and at the financial
Retreats that the rates that were
planned would need to be earlier in the
year if we were to get enough money to
stay above minimum fund balance in this
fund but that creates some difficulty um
with having the water rates later and
the residential rates earlier so in
order to maintain the same timeline for
both of them um this fund would need an
internal loan of about .5 million so
this document would allow the general
fund to send some money over to stay
above minimum fund balance in that area
the rates were designed to be able to
pay back this loan uh with interest to
the uh general fund over the next four
or five years um and so we don't
subsidize the trash fund all of the rate
Revenue will go to pay the service and
pay this loan just like any uh business
um that had a a cash flow need would
need to repay that
loan thank you Kelly appreciate your
time can I get a motion for this item
please I move to accept item number 14
can you turn your microphone on please
that's okay thank you uh make a motion
to accept item 14 budget consideration
considering adoption of resol resolution
number
4445 I have a motion second second by
vice mayor Anderson please
vote motion passes 60 thank you vice
mayor moving on to the public hearing
portion of our agenda we have two items
on our public hearing agenda this
evening I have no slips for anyone
wishing to speak we had no comment
online on either of these items I'll go
ahead and open the public hearing anyone
on the dis have any comments questions
concerns one's a liquor license and one
is a zoning text amendment that we
discussed during a study session two
weeks ago I see none so I'll close the
public hearing and ask if someone would
like to make a motion on item 17 and
18 and it would be as easy as that move
to approve I move to approve public
hearing items 17 and 18 good job can I
have a second you beat me to it I'll
second it oh and council member B
Buckley beat you so I have a motion by
council member torguson seconded by
council member Buckley please
vote motion passes 60 moving on to our
administrative items we have three items
on our administrative agenda this
evening consider acceptance of the
budget report and contingency report for
the second quarter of FY 2024 does
anyone need AE are we having a
presentation on this I does anyone need
a presentation on this item would
someone like to make a motion for this
item I'd make a motion to accept
administrative item number
19 I have a motion from council member
torguson I second seconded by council
member Buckley please vote see how easy
motions are when you get used to
[Laughter]
them council member
Buckley oh did oh I'm sorry you might
have pressed too early it it takes a
second to Circle it is U passes 60
moving on to item number two Council
Administration discussion and possible
action related to the status update from
the Council subcommittee on teen
violence vice mayor I'll just take a a
moment and have my
colleagues uh express some of their
thoughts
also um it's too bad that the people
this relates to have left and don't get
to hear the report our next meeting is
scheduled as assistant chief said next
Monday night at the library the
Southeast Regional Library at six
o'clock and we hope to have the the them
present uh we've been doing our homework
on various items and I'll let the two of
them talk about what they've been
working on but I had a very productive
meeting with a um resident in the
community that had a suggestion about
creating uh or using what is an
existing uh structure within our
organization which is each of us or some
of of us have responsibilities as
liaison to school districts and it's a
wonderful opportunity to maybe expand
that I remember when I was at leaon with
Higley I just met with the
superintendent but there's an
opportunity to expand that maybe have
principles involved teachers involved
students
parents uh in some way to discuss issues
and um she's very interested in being a
using that as a vehicle to communicate
with their uh their parents in the
district when they are aware of
something happening um some danger in
the community or something that may
affect their children that they can we
can quickly respond to that in some way
and notifying but um the she used the um
East Valley partnership as kind of a the
uh
um that structure to the same type of
idea where we bring communities together
but uh I thought that was a great idea
and something we we should explore one
thing I'm interested in doing possibly
after the next meeting is um compiling
these uh recommendations that we've been
working on and come up with an actual
plan to of recommendation to the council
because I think it's close to time to do
that um we've had a lot of work that
we've been doing and we can show some
success stories and I think we ought to
take the time to do that uh after our
next meeting so I'll turn it over to uh
either one of you two if you have
anything you want to add Giovanni
already has his mic on so um our no
brass knuckles. org is approaching 2,000
signatures we're at 19900 right now so
if you haven't um done that yet and you
feel the need to the urge to want to do
this with us it's no no brass knuckles.
org um I want to thank staff for working
um with me and the outside vendor to
identify schools that will be
participating in the ay s uh
survey um I met this week with a group
of people most of them were here um they
called themselves project Lily and they
started to organize um uh with Katie and
with a gentleman by the name of Eric um
who um uh was a gang member and he has
pretty much devoted his life to talk to
kids uh about kids and parents about um
his life and and how what he needed from
his parents and didn't get and so
they're um starting to organize a large
workshop and um Eric and I spoke about
uh doing some um Zoom meetings for
parents in elementary
schools um also there's been some
discussion from the community wanting to
set up a kind of a a Mobile Blog watch
so I've been um you know inter
interacting with staff and the chief to
see we already have some programs
already in um uh are already working for
um block watches and just see how we can
if we can make those kind of mobile
um let me see um and also the uh the
community has asked me to
invite um some Town Council Members and
school boards to our next um uh our next
meeting uh on the 26 so I've done that
and they they'll have to figure out
amongst themselves uh who will attend
that that's all I have to
report Council M Tuson well Chuck should
get a little orange Cape or something
because if something comes in front of
him he's he's taken this bull by the
horns in a lot of ways and I wanted to
thank Dawn uh Prince because uh making
sure that we're not stepping over each
other as each one of us tries to reach
out to someone and she's taken that that
responsibility to make sure that we're
not belaboring people with multiple
requests from different councilmen and
uh really Chuck's pretty much said it
all thank you um council member Bon
Giovani were you referring to inviting
other council members from this Council
or from other cities and towns from
other cities like maybe one one or two
from each City I've asked them to that
they can choose which ones they they
want to participate or just come to the
meeting because I want them I want them
to hear some of the ideas the community
has had some great ideas so I want them
to hear the
uh those ideas yeah thank you I just
wanted to clarify because I wasn't clear
what you were stating so I just wanted
to make sure for the audience that's out
there and sure listening or will be
tuning in later they'll understand that
council member Kowski has the
subcommittee received um suggestions
that relate to targeted Outreach or
education to
pre-teens yeah um most of the things
we're talking about right now is for um
uh Elementary School parents par
Elementary School aged uh children yes
great and so we might be hearing some of
those Solutions
soon what's amazing to me is U Melanie
dyster came and made a presentation to
us at one of our meetings and it's
pretty amazing what we already do in the
community and I think we need to make
sure that we express that there are
programs that we are running now that
address a lot of these
issues I think that's one thing that's
been said is that there are there are
other things going on that we didn't
even know about that were going on and
so it's hard to get the information out
to
288,000 people when the seven of us may
not even know these things are going on
behind the scenes because there's so
much going on in this town every single
day and I wanted to be clear about um
who was who you were inviting to the
subcommittee meeting because an
invitation was offered to council member
Buckley tonight and I didn't want her to
feel uncomfortable because of the
structure of the subcommittee and how
this works only three of you can can be
members of it right and so we run into a
situation of that and we knew that and
we talked about that when we set the
subcommittee up so can I can I ask this
maybe Chris can answer this can Bobby or
anyone else attend but not participate
attend can we notice
it I think we run into a gray area of
four of you being in the room while the
discussions are Happ it's it's the last
couple of meetings have all been pretty
much publicized live I mean any one of
you guys can watch it too
live it's not like it's a big secret
yeah yeah so mayor council member Juan
Giovani and Town Council the answer is
yes but it's it's discouraged from a
legal standpoint because it may give the
appearance that there is a breach of an
open meeting law that there's a
conversation that may happen among four
or five or the majority of the council
members so certainly that's the right to
do so and a council member could attend
um but it's something you need to be
very careful of that you if a council
member that's not on the subcommittee is
there you would have to be very careful
to not talk to the council members or at
least give the appearance that you are
because people may think you're having a
larger
conversation and I I think we're we're
getting close to maybe handing it to a
subcommittee recommending that uh I just
want to wait till we got some of the uh
ideas scheduled and running and you know
build from there yeah totally agree and
I think we talk about this a lot it's
perception versus reality sometimes and
I think it's hard that if you're sitting
in a room you're sitting in a room at a
table and one of us is in the room you
might even refer to us and that gets to
be kind of sticky so it's easier like
Chris said just to avoid the situation I
just wanted to comment on that because I
know I will I will promise I'll ignore
Bobby totally if she wants to
so and that's not the way it should work
either but it's it's you know we're
human and and that's your natural
instinct is to do that when someone's in
the room with you and so it gets to be
so again perception versus reality vice
mayor did you have something else just
to add to follow up with council member
bovani is um we are very close and
that's why I said I'd like to get to a
point where we can actually provide to
the council recommended actions that we
can take and recommended actions we can
pass on to the community engagement task
force because we've talked all along
that they probably need to get involved
at some
point and um just as a followup to
continue that conversation if we do
choose to engage the community
engagement task force their numbers have
been dwindling so we may need to appoint
more members to that I know they have
they're struggling with um attendance
and having a quorum so just keep that in
the back of your head as you're moving
forward um and the lighting of the water
tower I wanted to be clear because I
know people will go back and watch this
so they can use my words um there is no
power to the water tower right now
because of the construction and our team
has found a mechanism to get power to
the water tower so that it can be lit
orange for tonight and for tomorrow
night we can't guarantee that power can
stay on each time the power goes off to
the water tower they have to literally
reprogram the whole LED system from what
I understand and so I just wanted to be
super clear that that's why we've
struggled with how to get the water
tower back on and the rain last week set
us back a little bit cuz it became a as
you can imagine imagine a muddy mess in
there so um our team has done a great
job and and thank you again to wiing and
Mark Taylor Construction for that too
and it it wasn't just an easy solution
of going and turning it orange
unfortunately it's just weird timing
let's say this weird timing so and if
you hear of any events um I think some
are getting and and this was my point at
the last meeting I think some of you are
getting invitations to attend things
that the rest of us were not getting to
attend and that makes it difficult too
cuz obvious obviously the public is
seeing one thing and we're experiencing
something else on this side um anything
else on the
subcommittee great job thank you thanks
for the update moving on to our next
item Council Administration consider
discussion and possible considered
discussion and possible action on
revision Amendment or repeal of the
ethics handbook and or code of conduct
we had a study session on this item
earlier based on that discussion would
anybody like to attempt a motion or do
we want to have more discussion on it
now oh council member kosi I was hoping
I would see you turn your mic
on um for our discussion during the
study session earlier I would like to um
I moved to postpone this item to the
first meeting in April to give staff
time to um prepare some revisions to the
code of conduct um that would add
in um some of the penalties for Miss
conduct and then be able to give a
presentation at that time um for our
consideration and discussion so
continuation to the first meeting in
April I'll second that so is that a
motion is everybody good with that yeah
so we have a motion from council member
Kowski to continue to the first meeting
in April a second by council member ban
Giovani please
vote motion passes 60
great resolution on that I believe next
policy items um do I have any policy
items to discuss seeing none future
meetings any future meetings that we
would like to
discuss seeing none Communications
report from the town manager who has
laryngitis mayor council members nothing
tonight thank you that's good because
that's hard to get through when you have
laryngitis report from the Council on
current events or any events no council
member Buckley I'm counting on you oh
well I have no report to liveen
everybody up tonight so you're going to
have to wait till the next meeting what
I'm shocked because you've been um doing
a report every meeting council member
bani next thank you mayor and thank you
Rocky and the team uh Gilbert Outdoor
Expo put on your camouflage and boots
and head over to Gilbert Outdoor Expo on
February 27th from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00
p.m. at the repairing Preserve at Water
Ranch go fishing explore Wildlife CL on
the rock wall and much more this event
is free uh no this this free event is
sure to be something the whole family
can
enjoy but there's more concert in the
park there's more grab a basket grab a
blanket a basket grab a blanket or lawn
chair and meet us in downtown Gilbert
this spring for our free concerts in the
park concerts will take place in a new
temporary location in the Green Space
just south of The Canal at the Heritage
Marketplace and just north of aario
Queen every Thursday in March
performances will run from 6:30 p.m. to
8:30 p.m. thank
you I was like where are we going to do
concerts in the park we don't have a
park council member Tois it's kind of
hard to follow that up you know it just
is but wait there's more uh tomorrow
night here the Redevelopment commission
will convene uh the agenda includes a
study session for a bowling and
restaurant concept and a public hearing
for bottled BL Bond but wait there is
more if you act next next Wednesday
February 28th a public meeting will be
held at 6m at Freestone Recreation
Center in the assembly room for the
Northwest Gilbert revitalization efforts
please join this public meeting to
provide feedback on where Gilbert should
focus its revitalization efforts and
what outcomes you want to see from
revitalization of the most mature area
in the community if you're unable to
attend an online form will be available
after the meeting at www. gilbertaz.gov
NW Gilbert but I do encourage you to
intend because it it will be it's the
future of our town
please no more and there's more wait
there's more at that point but wait
there's no more there no wait there is
more from the mayor no actually council
member
Koski hi everyone I wanted to um wish
everyone a happy Lunar New Year the town
of Gilbert is sister cities with lean
China and the Lunar New Year began on
February 10th and lasts for 2 weeks this
is the year of the dragon which is the
only mythical creature in the Zodiac
symbolizing power luck and Innovation so
I hope that this year of the dragon
brings everyone in Gilbert um an extra
Touch of Magic and everyone uh
Prosperity health and opportunities for
growth and I one more
announcement um this week is also
Engineers week um celebrated nationally
and as a from one civil engineer to all
the engineers that are in the town of
Gilbert that are helping us um you know
keep our town running and all of the
people having a great quality of life
just want to say um happy Engineers week
thank
you thank you for that anything else
from Council Members seeing done now
it's my turn wait there's more and I see
the slides coming up on the screen I'll
see which slide comes up first so that I
know which order okay so we have a food
drive going on right now A CommunityWide
food drive until February 26th so you'll
have till this weekend to scan that code
and make sure you're getting your
donations out there are lots of
locations to donate to there's a great
need within our community and um like I
said all the information there is at
that if you scan that code and and these
are all the locations that are
collecting donations this month I didn't
realize you had that slide too that's a
good one yeah thank you on next we have
the community needs assessment survey
that is going until
tomorrow if you scan this code please
fill out our community needs assessment
and you could be entered to win one of
four $50 Visa gift cards thank
you next we have our military tribute
banners program through our veterans
Advisory Board each year they'll be
running this as a fundraiser and a way
to play tribute to our own Heroes right
here in downtown Gilbert if you purchase
your banner by March 31st it will be
hung in the Heritage District in May
around Memorial Day and in November
around Veterans Day and in Gilbert we do
love our veterans so this is a way for
you to pay a pay honor to your military
hero right here in your hometown and
supporters can pay this year here online
through our town of Gilbert store which
is a new Option and very much
appreciated next next we cordially
invite you to uh meet and greet with the
new Commander for the Arizon USS Arizona
SSN 803 Commander Thomas Degan will be
here at Town Hall on Friday March 1st
for an opportunity for the public to
come and meet with him he's a very nice
man I had the opportunity to meet him in
December in Washington DC and I welcome
all of you to come and attend this event
to get to know him for those that don't
realize the town of Gilbert is the host
town for the USS Arizona submarine that
is currently under construction we're
excited to be able to participate in
that I think that's all my slides right
one other thing that I wanted to mention
and I wanted to thank council member
Kowski for was um the Gilbert Symphony
so I attended the Gilbert Symphony a
couple two weeks ago two weeks ago
tomorrow and they finally were able to
put on their hundred-year celebration
because our H 100th birthday got
interrupted in 2020 with the pandemic
and they were so close to having that
100th celebration in March of that year
and the event was cancelled and they did
an amazing job big thank you to Dr
Martin Province the conductor and 75
volunteer members of that Symphony
Orchestra they had um two live singers
come out and did a sing along with the
audience and it was just an amazing
evening so thank you to council member
Kowski and the sponsors that are
sponsoring that and I wanted to tell you
that a lady came over to me during the
break and thanked us and the town's part
for this event because she said every
other city and town around us has a
symphony I don't know if that's true but
every other town has a symphony and she
was grateful to have it in Gilbert
absolutely and the website is Gilbert
symphony.org our VIP sponsor is Bush but
we are currently seeking additional
sponsors and Community donors if you're
interested all the information is there
and all the photos from that event are
actually on the um Gilbert flicker page
and they played a John William song at
the end and the conductor and came out
with a jacket and a hat and a lot of the
players were wearing cowboy hats and it
was just very Gilbert and fun so you can
see those pictures if you'd like on that
site and it was a dementia friendly
event and so it was very that was proud
too counc ban Giovani did you have a
comment uh a great event when no strings
attached Dollar in the jar upstairs bad
puns um and I wanted to thank my Aid
Kirsten Morgan and all of the staff here
in Gilbert that helped put on student
government day last week we had 44
students from 16 high schools 44
students from 16 high schools that came
in and shadowed our team members shadow
shadowed um the member a member from the
Chamber of Commerce and they all then
got to come here and participate in a
mock council meeting and Kirsten and I
actually played um residents during
Communications from
citizens it's a little therapy um and it
was a wonderful day and such a great
opportunity for our high school students
to find opportunities that they'd be
able to have a future job right here in
their communities because if ask
students they think the only thing we
have in Gilbert are police officers
firefighters and garbage truck drivers
and so they learned that there are a lot
more there are Engineers there are water
Specialists there are managers and
attorneys and clerks and they don't have
that opportunity to learn that so it's
great for future Workforce Development
for our community so thank big thank you
to um Kirsten for that because she
really carries a heavy load on that
event and thank you to council members
Buckley and tilki and cowsky for
stopping by and parti ipating with the
students that day too they love the
opportunity and just one last parks and
wreck thing for the fifth year in a row
Cactus yard boasts the title of
outstanding Park of the year so way to
go on that Cactus yards and Parks and
Rec and that's all I
have I move to a journ are we doing that
yet I move to a journ all in favor I
thank
you