City Council | Special and Regular Meetings - December 5, 2024

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I call the December 5th uh 2024 city
council special meeting to order city
clerk man Lan would you please conduct
the roll call thank you mayor mayor
David Ortega pres vice mayor Barry
Graham president Council memb tamy
caputi here Tom Durham here Betty Janik
here Kathy
Littlefield here and Salange Whitehead
here city manager Jim Thompson here City
attorney Sher Scott here and the clerk
is present thank you mayor excellent uh
we have one item on our agenda for this
special meeting that is to appoint uh
boards and commission members at this
point I will turn the meeting over to
vice mayor Graham who will be chairing
this portion of the meeting it's my
honor thank you thank you
mayor the Scot sill city council is
responsible for establishing City
policies and enacting laws in support of
those
policies the council relies on volunteer
citizen-based boards and commissions to
research issues and make recommendations
in support of the council's mission and
goals the information and
recommendations provided by Council
appointed Adis boards is a valuable tool
in helping council members in their
deliberations this afternoon the city
council will be appointing Scott
residents interested in serving on
various boards and commissions I want to
thank the individuals both in this room
and who will be attending and
participating electronically for their
willingness to volunteer their time in
service to this community following the
set of interviews we'll vote on on an
appointment for the board and
commission as I call your name please
approach the podium and briefly cover
the following please state your name and
address and how long you've lived here
tell us your uh tell us how your
education employment and volunteer
experience relate to this board or
commission and what you think is the top
issue facing the board or commission for
which you're applying please limit your
comments to two minutes there will be a
timer for you for you to view to help
you manage your time following each
nominee's response I'll ask council
members if they have follow-up questions
um and then we will vote so the first
commission we will start with is um make
sure these are in alphabetical order
environmental advisory commission this
commission provides guidance on the on
the prioritization of future
environmental activities and recommends
environmental policies to city council
special
qualifications as specified by the Scott
sell city code membership of the board
shall reflect both scientific and
non-scientific interests there are three
vacancies and six nominees Mr John knp
has withdrawn his application from
consideration the nominees are UTA
Brady Scott Newell Andrew Sheek Joshua
Sterns s Cobin rri power and Judo waxel
buum so we will start with uh Udo Brady
and then I'll go to Scott Newell and
because Mr Sheek is participating
electronically I'll probably go to Mr
Sterns after that then ol power and Mr
waxel bomb so I
invite Miss UDA Brady to the podium
thank
you honorable mayor and City Council
Members I'm Dr UTA Brady I live at 8207
East Jack Rabbit Road and have been a
Scottsdale resident since
1995 when when we moved to Scottsdale my
husband and I specifically chose our
home because of its vicinity to the park
and the green belt I cannot imagine a
day when I'm not Outdoors running or
walking our dogs and there are not many
cities where you can do that to the
sound of coyotes and owls or watch Bald
Eagles catch fish in the lake It Is This
Love of our wild urban city and a desire
to contribute to its environmental
stewardship that led me to apply to the
Commission in the first place looking
back at the past three years of service
on seek I have to say what I didn't
expect was it to be such an incredibly
rewarding experience my fellow
Commissioners are some of the most
passionate and dedicated people I have
ever met they each bring a different set
of knowledge and experiences to the
commission and I have learned so much
from their
perspectives this diversity of knowledge
has allowed us as a group to provide you
with solid environmental recommend
commendations on issues like the green
energy codes and the sustainability plan
which will help improve our City's
adaptability to environmental
change I have to share one of my
favorite moments on seik which was the
Earth Day event a few years ago when we
had a table at the farmers market and
spent the morning giving away desert
tree saplings and talking to Citizens
about our pilot tree inventory project
it was a really inspiring morning and I
aimed to facilitate more of these
moments when Commissioners can directly
engage with the public listen to their
needs and advocate for things that make
our city such a remarkable place to live
in in summary three years ago I joined
seek to give back to my community by
sharing my expertise as an environmental
social scientist as a commissioner I did
that and got so much more in return I
would be honored to continue to serve
our beautiful city for another term on
seek thank you thank you Miss Brady Mr
nle
does anybody know has anybody seen Mr
Ral okay I'll move on to Mr Sterns who
oh I see he will be participating
electronically let me go to um raml or
whoever I'm uh communicating with let me
go to let me finish the people that are
in person if I may uh and I'll go to um
um sibian ol R power
apologize if I mispronounced your name
that I apologize that I mispronounced
your name no problem good afternoon um
mayor vice mayor and council members my
name is Siobhan ol R power I know name
tags don't help me at all uh I live at
8337 East San Raphael Drive I've lived
in Scottdale since
1998 First in south Scottdale and now
currently in McCormack Ranch I'm here
today because I want to help Scottsdale
become an environmental Leader by
providing providing a thriving City for
future
Generations um if I may I'd like to read
a simple definition of sustainability
that I love I just came across it
recently development that meets the
needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs Su
sustainability requires um attention to
social economic and environmental
conditions and best project addresses
all three of those um my MBA and project
management experience along with my
passion to improve efficiency um will
help assess projects to make sure that
they
do one of the many challenges facing
Scottdale um is how to engage with
residents on sustainability related
projects together we can increase
engagement on several fronts I'll use my
training and development background to
partner with schools organizations clubs
and libraries we heard from several
inspiring Young people on Tuesday their
voices need to be heard and acknowledged
to increase their engagement with the
city um since their decision-making and
partnership will affect their
future we can make these connections
through High School Eco and science
clubs here in Scottsdale
schools my passion for the environment
is reflected in the work I've done
helping Girl Scouts and schools
introduce Recycling and compost programs
at several Scottdale schools
I'm a Problem Solver and passionate
about sharing tips to make incremental
changes towards a healthier and more
comfortable
environment I would appreciate
contributing my Knowledge and Skills to
seek thank you
sioban thank you very much shabon I'll
invite Mr waxel bomb
up mayor and council members my name is
Judah wwam I live at 1 18004 North 93rd
Place I am a 25-year resident of the
city of Scottsdale and currently serve
as the chief legislative liaison for the
water infrastructure Finance Authority
of Arizona and I am a proud two-time
graduate of Arizona State University
holding a master of public policy
concentrating in environmental policy at
wifa We Believe Arizona does not have to
choose between natural resources and
growth I believe the same is true for
Scottsdale Scottsdale has led for
decades on water and environmental
policy I know I am equipped to continue
that proud Legacy for our city my career
has awarded me the opportunity to travel
to all corners of our great state seeing
the $200 million in conservation grants
rip Whi a distributed in
action away from my government
responsibilities I lead the Arizona
chapter of the American conservation
Coalition an organization that seeks to
bridge the political divide to protect
our beautiful ecosystem and
environment in short my career goal was
is to be The
Lorax I have a proven track record of
bipartisanship and success rooted in the
campsite rules of leaving this place
better than we found it this mindset has
earned me the privilege of working for
both the previous and current governor
administrations also resulting in me
being named a 2024 Flynn Brown fellow
Arizona's Premier Fellowship for those
who care about the future of Arizona
through Civility and bipartisanship
I have been following the work of the
commission for years now I have attended
all of the sustainability plan meetings
here at the council I normally sit right
here in the front row I'm wearing my
Smokey Bear socks right now you get to
see them I am happy to answer any
questions and I promise you have given
the privilege to serve on this
commission I am ready to hit the ground
running thank you Mr waxel bom and I
haven't been asking my colleagues but if
they have any questions please holler
let me know um those are the that is the
balance of the in-person
applicants and now I will see if we can
get Mr Sheek and Mr Sterns who are
participating electronically I don't
know if there's a video conference
component or just a verbal one but is
there can can you hear me uh vice mayor
gr yes thank you Mr Sheek please uh yeah
I didn't know if you would start if you
wanted to start with me or the other
person is fine well you I mean you're
for you're earlier on my list so I
suppose we'll start with you and uh you
have two minutes and please begin
Dar thank you uh first thank you very
much um I wanted a quick note before I
begin to councilman Betty Janik um TOA
Ortega councilman Durham and uh
councilwoman Compu thank thank you so
much for your uh the I wish I was there
in person uh couldn't make it with the
schedule but thank you for all you have
done continue to do and I'm sure after
uh still contribute to scotdale so thank
you very much uh with that being said
I'm the current Vice chair of the uh
environmental advisory commission uh
serving with chairman Brady
um it's it's as as she stated and my
coun commissioner yesterday it's been uh
you know we've treated this uh as an
honor uh We've treated like a full-time
job I'm uh extremely passionate about
what we do and uh what we continue to do
for sustainability for the people of
today and the people of tomorrow in
Scottdale uh it'd be an honor uh to
serve once more and uh to deliver the
same passion uh that that that
commission has and to to deliver uh
great work for the people of Scottdale
um I thank everybody for their time and
it's it's again it's been a privilege uh
so far thank you well very good thank
you Mr Sheek and now I will turn to
staff to see if we can bring in Mr any
questions I see none I need to remind
myself to uh give my colleagues a chance
to ask questions if they desire um I
will look now to City staff to see if we
can bring in Mr Josh Joshua Sterns
good afternoon uh this is Joshua Sterns
here I have been a Scottdale resident
since 2015 of 2630 North Granite Reef
Road
Scottdale I've uh moved here in 2015
from the great state of Texas and I have
been uh very instrumentally involved
with the real estate market I on the
board of directors is now as Board of
government Affairs Committee of the
Scott salale Association Realtors I also
am completing my MBA right now in
environmental and international business
uh a big thing for me that has really
drawn me to be a part of this is getting
more involved within the community that
can not only drive a personal but also a
professional uh and taking consideration
uh within the environmental advisory
commission I do believe that you know
some of the large things that we talk
about on a daily almost uh basis in the
real estate market is uh things that
affect us as far as like you know Urban
heat mitigation and waste water
reduction and that is really what has
sparked my interest in pushing me
forward personally and professionally
and being a part of this uh and the
greater future of what Scottdale will be
thank you thank you Mr cerns I am seeing
no questions uh from my colleagues and
um I'll just check in and make sure
councilwoman Littlefield is on the
line yes I am thank you okay C Kathy
just or councilwoman Littlefield I'm
going to start with the votes I'm gonna
start with council member kaputi and
I'll probably wrap up with you so we can
keep the flow going so I'll start with
her and then I'll finish with you every
time if that's okay and I see raml
Cordova is ready to receive votes so we
can start with Council woman capoy and
move this
direction uh UTA Brady Andrew Shack and
Siobhan Al
power UDA Brady Andrew Sheek and Saban
olrick
power UT Brady Andrew sha and uh Shan um
erck
Power UTA Brady Andrew sha and sioban
power UTA Brady Andrew Sheek and Shaban
ol power I will vote for Mr Newell Mr
Miss sibon r p I'm sorry pardon me ol
Miss alri power and M Mr waxel bomb and
councilwoman
Littlefield uh UTA
Brady Scott Newell
and Andrew
Sheek okay uh UT Brady Andrew Sheek and
Miss power have been uh
appointed I'd like to thank the
remaining environmental advisory
commission applicants for their
application now move on to Historic
preservation commission historic
preservation commission oversees the
development and management the
Scottsdale's historic preservation
program special
qualifications as outlined in Scottdale
city code each member shall have
demonstrated special interest knowledge
and experience in at least one of the
following building construction history
architectural history real estate
historic preservation law or other
historic preservation related field
there are two two vacancies and three
nominees Courtney L has withdrawn her
application from consideration tonight's
nominee are cat zorovich Brandon faden
and Ryan
hbin uh I will call you up in that order
and I will start with Miss jovic and I
will kindly ask you to correct me if I
mispronounced it when because I
mispronounced it yes it's Cat
georgevich hello and thank you for
having me my name is cat georgevich I
live in South Scottdale between 68th
Street in McDow in one of four
Scottsdale historic neighborhoods
Village grow gr I've lived there for
over eight years and have become quite
familiar with the process um and uh the
guidelines of Village Grove my
background is in technology supply chain
and real estate I'm also a
sustainability practitioner and the need
to preserve what you have before you buy
or build new as part of my DNA living in
the neighborhood I'm uniquely positioned
to truly understand the need and pain
points of those that live in the
neighborhood the historic preservation
is the only commission that affects very
specific Scot citizens rather than the
general public yet there is not a
requirement for representation of those
residents on the commission since being
published the guidelines have not been
updated or brought back to homeowners
for feedback for
revision as new owners move in and
realize the heating and cooling costs it
becomes very
challenging um for them to both retain
the historic nature of the home update
to Modern standards and do So within the
guidelines and processes of the historic
preservation commission and the
neighborhood guidelines rather than
toing the issues and not doing anything
about it I'm here to express my interest
in this appointment and work towards
Bridging the Gap between those that live
in their neighborhood and those that
govern it thank you thank you very much
Mr georgevich and uh I again I'll just
kindly remind my colleagues if they have
questions just to let me know uh Mr
Fadden
and then after that if uh Mr Ryan hilbun
can be
ready good afternoon Council thank you
for having me uh my name is Brandon
faden I live at 8702 East Solano Drive
85250 um I've been a resident of
Scottsdale now for 10 years um I
graduated with a degree in construction
management from Northern Arizona
University and Flag Staff um with that I
worked um in all types of different
types of construction from heavy civil
to commercial U most recently about four
years ago I started my own uh General
Contracting firm uh we do small resident
or small commercial and residential uh
with a lot of the residential work that
we've had we've had the pleasure of
working on a lot of historic homes
throughout the valley uh We've developed
good understanding of a lot of the
nuances that come with those homes the
challenges that the different
stakeholders face um but at the same
time a lot of the joy is and
appreciation for the historic side of
them um with that I want to work with
the commission um and the stakeholders
everyone from the neighbors um the
tenants themselves the residents and
being able to achieve their goals but be
able to preserve the different historic
preservation side of it um and that goes
for the residential and the commercial
buildings all throughout our great
City very good thank you Mr fedon I will
invite Mr hilbun up
mayor and council members my name is
Ryan hilin thank you for this
opportunity I live uh at 2324 North 81st
way also in Village Grove I've been a
scotdale resident for 15 years I
received my undergrad uh from ASU in
aviation and I worked in that industry
for a number of years before joining the
Army I served as a helicopter pilot in
the Army for eight years um before
moving back here
Scott still is my home I grew up in a
military family so I never really had a
home to call my own and Scott still is a
special place to me so I call it my home
and now it's important to me to give
back to my community and contribute in a
positive manner and I believe I can do
that through this board
commission um after that I received my
masters from ASU in uh real estate
development and I've worked in that
capacity ever since and I would say the
main skill that allows me to be
successful at my job is collaboration
and I believe this Board needs
collaboration and it's the main thing
that can help us work together with
different stakeholders and moving
preservation and Heritage forward with
valuable growth for the
community I find that the major obstacle
to overcoming challenges is shared
values interests and goals and that's
another major skill that I bring to the
table um I genuinely like to get to know
people find their interests and goals
find common paths that we can lock walk
together along with
and that's what I bring to the table so
I appreciate your time and you're just
setting off alarms aren't you very good
thank you Mr hilbun and uh I will finish
I will start the I will take votes now
as invite Mr
Cordova to the podium to to tally the
votes and I'll finish with council
member Littlefield and I'll start with
uh council member Janik thank you uh
Brandon faden Ryan
Hilburn Brandon fadon and Ryan Hilman
Brandon faden and Ryan
hurn Brandon faden and Ryan Hilburn Mr
faden Mr hilbun Brandon Fen Ryan hilbun
and councilwoman Littlefield
no
additional well you um for the for the
voting you you do cast a vote that's for
the nominations okay Brandon fiden Ryan
hilon well very good thank you and I
believe uh Mr Cordova has talled the
votes and uh appreciate everyone for
their application and their interest in
the commission and with that I will move
on to library board this this board
advises the city council on General
policy relating to program services and
future development of the Scottdale
public libraries with one vacancy and
one nominee we will probably have a very
short section here I will
invite uh I will invite Janice shimbo to
the podium if she so desires to uh give
us a speech thank
you good afternoon mayor OA vice mayor
Graham and City Council Members I would
like to say a few words because um it's
an honor to be here today I'm Janice
shimbo I live at 6114 East soran Trail
and the zip code is
85266 I've lived in Scottdale for 13
years five years at mccormic Ranch
during the 1990s and then I returned to
Scottdale in
2016 the experiences I'll bring to the
library board are twofold first of all
my MBA degree and corporate experience
at Fortune 100 companies managing
marketing programs and leading lines of
businesses taught me the value of
fact-based decision making the
importance of market research and
understanding customer needs and the
importance of innovation to make sure a
business grows and prospers I would
bring those business principles to the
library board but secondly I love
libraries I've been a card caring
Library Patron since the age of eight
when I got my first library card at the
city of Chicago library system through
the years and multiple corporate
relocations I've held library cards in
11 different Library Public Library
systems
I've experienced good very good and
outstanding libraries and I believe the
Scottdale library system is in that very
top tier the top issue facing the
library board is to help our library
systems stay relevant and fiscally
strong through board initiatives like
advocating and promoting library
programs and services through our
neighborhoods as well as through the
community collaborating with other
organizations like the friends of the
library of which I am a m M to raise
funds and visibility and when necessary
to bring recommendations forward to City
Council on critical Library
opportunities or issues as they may
arise I believe that the Scottdale
library system will continue to thrive
in flourish in the years to come it
would be an honor to serve on the board
and I thank you for your
consideration well and we thank you for
your application thank you U Miss shimbo
and uh with that I will finish with
council member Littlefield and I will
start with uh mayor
Ortega Janice shimoo Janice
shimoo Janice shubo Miss
shimbo Janice shimako Janice shimako
councilwoman Littlefield J Janice
shumako well very good thank you and
congratulations and as Mr Cordova is
wrapping that up I will invite um well I
will begin the the next section lost
trust fund
board lost trust fund board is
responsible for recommendations you can
come on up Mr Stevens uh to the city
council regarding the administration of
the Lost trust fund special
qualifications as specified by Scottdale
city code city council shall appoint
five joint Trustees of whom no more than
one shall be a member of the city
council and no more than one trustee may
be a city
employee one vacancy one nominee Mr
Stevens thank for being here you have
two two
minutes okay I uh reside at 12982 North
116th Place um in the Anala Development
I've been there uh for almost five years
uh prior to that I also spent from 1997
to 2008 at 9681 East Point set so that's
15 years I had a break in between where
I was uh transferred to San Diego uh and
I've now been back so I've been here 15
years uh as far as qualifications uh my
background is I spent 36 years with the
uh big four accounting firm of ernston
young uh as an audit person I was also
the uh managing partner for eight years
of the Phoenix office having a couple
hundred people reporting to me and then
in San Diego for four years before I
retired so I'm now retired full-time as
far as the relevant expertise uh
probably the most thing of interest is
while I was working around 2010 I was a
member of a 10-person group of Business
Leaders that looked over the city of San
Diego budget uh with the purpose of
trying to identify and uh address the
structural deficit that was there put
together a report after meeting for
almost a year giving uh city council a
shopping list of things to consider from
which they chose uh those that they
thought were the most relevant in order
to address the structural deficit so
that was successful and uh kudos to you
in going through your budget I noticed
you try to look at structural elements
so congratulations to your your board on
what you had in your uh budget for that
uh the other thing that might be of
interest a couple of years I did a uh
Arizona City so I I audited uh audit
partner on another Arizona City so I
have an awareness and with my 36 years
of being an auditor at ernston Young we
also looked at a lot of self- insurance
reserves and a lot of different claim
type things that I I understand that
this trust funds part of in order to try
to identify whether there was something
that I you know I thought was the
largest area of concern or needed
attention I went through a lot of the
minutes I went through the attachments
to the minutes I went through scan the
2024 budget and frankly uh I didn't see
anything glaring that popped out so I'm
frankly more interested in what you're
looking for from uh my role on this and
I look forward to being an Engaged part
of the Lost trust
fund very good questions there won't be
any questions uh I well well I will
always invite my colleagues to pose
questions but uh I am seeing none okay
so thank you for your
speech um and I will invite back up Mr
Mr Cordova and we can start the vote I
will finish with Council Littlefield and
I will start with councilwoman Whitehead
Mark
Stevens Mark Stevens Mr Stevens Mark
Stevens Mark Stevens Mark Stevens
councilman
Littlefield Mark Stevens well very good
thank you and
congratulations McDow Sonoran preserve
commission I will invite uh Nicholas
Hartman up The mcdal soran Preserve
commission provides C citizen oversight
for acquisition preservation management
and stewardship of the McDow mountain
and related sonor desert for the benefit
of this and future Generations one
vacancy and three nominees and they are
Nicholas Hartman puit Leighton and
Michael pomar pom pomaro excuse me uh Mr
Hartman is um has come to the podium and
I will invite him to begin thank you
thank you Mr Mayor Mr vice mayor C
members of council my name is Nicholas
Hartman I live at 8813 North 85th Court
in McCormick Ranch and I have lived in
Scottsdale for um 11 years now um long
before I moved to Scottdale uh I visited
here and I was an enthusiastic user of
the McDonald sonor preserve which I
found to be a unique refreshing calming
place to be and I found that to be even
more enjoyable when I lived here I also
served as a member of The Preserve and
protect Scottdale task force last last
year and before that we recommended
proposition 490 which the voters
approved and in the course of that I
learned a lot about how some of
Scottdale um city government works I had
a chance to work with a number of the
professional staff who managed the
preserve and was uniformly impressed
with their
professionalism and I qualified several
years ago as a steward in the mcdd
Sonoran conserv y so I have seen that
entity from the inside and I understand
how it works I appreciate the
professionalism and enthusiasm of those
stewards and I understand how that
organization is beginning to develop and
change to meet new challenges I believe
with those three pieces of experience a
love of the land itself an understanding
of how Scottsdale itself manages this
land that it's that it owns and an
inside look at the conservancy and its
stewards I would be well equipped to
work on this commission and contribute
to preserving this extraordinary piece
of land that is unique to this city I
hope to have that opportunity thank you
thank you Mr Hartman uh I will invite Mr
PR Leighton and I will ask uh I will
kindly ask if uh for Michael pomaro to
uh be ready next on Deck thank you Mr
leadon okay
uh thank you mayor Orga uh council
members for this opportunity my name is
PU Leighton I've been in Scottsdale
since about 2010 I currently live at
11755 North 135th place um I appreciate
and understand the importance of The
Preserve to the city of Scottdale I
would like to participate in making
recommendations regarding the
sustainability of The Preserve for
future Generations although the land has
essentially been acquired there's still
much to do to maintain and protect the
desert landscape and the wildlife
wildlife
habitats I believe my background
experience and love for The Preserve
will allow me to make significant
contributions to the
commission my career Spann about 40
years in Aerospace uh including 24 here
in the valley with Honeywell where I had
multiple vice president level roles in
sales marketing and customer management
when I retired in 2020 I read that uh
the biggest retirement challenge is
finding
purpose I think about that daily mainly
because it's on a sticky note above my
computer screen I look at it every
morning uh but over the past four years
I found that my uh purpose seems to be
pushing me or maybe pulling me more and
more into the Sonoran Desert and
specifically The scotchdale Preserve so
a role on The Preserve commission seems
to me to be a nice compliment or
supplement to me finding my
purpose uh I'm an avid hiker I've been a
steward with the Conservancy since uh
2018 volunteering more than 1600 hours
in patrolling trail head Ambassador um
construction maintenance fire wise
working with the fire department youth
education and many other projects I was
also active in helping the citizens of
scotdale understand the importance of of
um passing prop 490 so there will be
dedicated funding allocated to The
Preserve and it's my understanding that
The Preserve commission will have an
oversight role in uh helping figure out
how those funds which are allocated to
the reserve will be spent I have also
read the 2024 ecological resource plan
so I understand how the preserved
commission will play a role in making
sure that the research frequencies and
the priorities uh contained in that plan
are balanced with budget uh
considerations so in summary I very
interested in this role I believe I can
add value to the work of the commission
and I appreciate your
support thank you Mr Leighton uh Mr
pomarico
please has anyone seen Mr
pomarico well very well I guess we'll
begin voting
then um I will um I think it's uh Mr I'm
up to council member Durham to start
there and I'll finish with councilwoman
uh Littlefield and I will ask my
colleague Mr Durham to please cast his
vote thank you nice mayor uh puit
Leighton Mr Leighton puit Leighton Mr
Leighton Mr Leighton Mr
Leighton councilman
field um Michael
Pico well very good thank you uh
congratulations Mr Laden and thank you
and we thank our
applicants neighborhood advisory
commission one
opening one
nominee the neighborhood advisory
commission advises and make makes
recommendations to City Council on
policies plans strategies and programs
to preserve improve and Revitalize Scott
st's housing and
neighborhoods Mr huid uh term expired
and he is eligible for reappointment
thank you for being here and you have
two minutes please begin thank you uh
mayor vice mayor council Larry huitt I
reside at 8208 East monello 85250 I've
been a resident of Scottsdale for six
years I currently serve as the chair of
the neighborhood advisory commission and
I want to thank you for allowing me the
opportunity to interview tonight to
serve a second term as a commissioner on
the commission I proud of the past three
years that I have served on the
commission I feel myself and my fellow
Commissioners have suggested and
implemented some great changes when it
comes to Neighborhood enhancement grants
as well as the spirit of Scot award
there's still work to be done as I
mentioned in my application Str strs are
still an issue for our neighborhoods in
Scottdale the city has made amazing
strides in controlling Str strs despite
being handcuffed by our state
legislature it is important that the
citizens of Scottsdale know that that
there is a city commission that is
focused on Str strs I look forward to
serving another 3 years on the
neighborhood advisory commission and to
continue to work with our amazing City
staff thank you for your time and
consideration well thank you Mr huitt
and I believe I'll start with myself on
this go around I'll invite Mr raml
Cordova to uh tally the votes and I will
vote for Mr huitt and I will move to
councilwoman little or caputi Larry HT
Larry huitt Larry huitt Mr H Larry
hu Larry huitt councilman
Littlefield Larry hu very good thank you
and
congratulations pass and trails
subcommittee this subcommittee advises
the Transportation Commission and
provides a public forum for issues
surrounding paths and trails special
qualifications subcommittee shall
consist of five members two
Transportation Commissioners one parks
and recck commissioner and two
non-commission members non-commission
members are appointed by the city
council for terms of three years with a
maximum of two years there was one
citizen representative vacancy and two
nominees Jack Roberts withdrew his
application from consideration the
nominees are Sarah HEC and Molly Rosen
and I will invite um Sarah HEC to the
podium um Miss hect oh pardon me she
will be uh participating electronically
vice mayor Graham um she's actually not
on the line um at the moment she didn't
join the meeting oh okay well um I guess
we'll give her um we'll give we'll
invite Molly Rosen to the podium and if
by the time Miss Rosen finishes and Miss
HEC is re is connected we will invite
her if that is Molly Rosen is in the
building vice mayor Graham excuse me it
doesn't appear she's here either so if
you want to skip to the next group we go
to Veterans yeah okay well we'll put
down paths and Trail subcommittee give
them a little more time and uh with that
we have one more commission before we
complete our task before us today
Veterans advisory
commission this commission advises City
Council on veteran programs policies and
practices uh practices and serve and
serves as a Community Connection point
for veterans in the community in which
we
live there four vacancies and seven
nominees Tyler penchi has with withdrew
his application from consideration
nominees are Mark Ashley Steven casar
Steven Jackson Hank Sher Mike Smotherman
donatu and Pauline
zaro there are is at least one person
Pauline zaro who participating
electronically uh I believe sir are you
Mr Ashley yes well very good uh please
begin I will invite uh Mr kasaris and Mr
Jackson to stand by and be ready because
you'll be after that and I will invite
Mr Ashley to um to begin mayor members
of council my name is Mark Ashley I have
lived uh at 9330 East D since
1994 uh I'm a long-term public servant
I've recently retired my veterans
experience includes at the federal level
veterans advisory uh Council and I'm
finishing my term here I've also sung
with a veterans chorus
uh in terms of issues uh for the for the
commission we have a winner in
Scottsville salutes I want to commend my
fellow Commissioners members and the
city staff for making that happen if I'm
reappointed I'm going to help sustain
that program and hopefully make the
event even better I want to thank you
for your giving me the opportunity to
serve and hope that I get to saddle up
for a second term thank you can you give
us a small chorus example no I'm just
kidding I'm just I'm not going to making
do that Mr Gars please come to the
podium hello good evening Mr Mayor Mr
vice mayor council staff and all those
in attendance I'm Steve ceris I live at
19777 uh North 76 Street Unit
3213 as a matter of respect for my
parents who are watching in they live at
Tom's Thumb and Westworld so hi Mom hi
Dad hi stepdad um I'd like to be a
member of The Advisory commission I
believe my skill set in my experience
directly aligns with the objectives of
the veterans advisory commission I am a
West Point graduate class 2009 I
represented our congressional district I
spent five years at the Pentagon two
years in Arington National Cemetery and
I just recently finished teaching at
West Point in ethics
I have the unique experience of being
the son of army officers and the brother
of an army officer and I believe that
I'm uni uniquely positioned to do
Outreach we have approximately 19,000
veterans give or take here in
Scottsville 119,000 remaining Veterans
of the World War II Unknown about Korea
and I believe my experience the Iraq and
Afghanistan generation needs to step up
they need to step up and have Outreach
the meeting age according to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics is
38.1 I'm 37 about to be 38 next year
don't ask me where the 0.1 came from but
I believe it's time for outreach and for
a young generation to represent veterans
in Scottdale thank you for your
consideration and your time thank you Mr
casares and I will invite Mr Jackson
up and last of course there are always
questions for my
colleagues don't be afraid to
holler and as Mr Jackson approaches the
podium I will I'll make note that Mr
Hank sherf is unable to participate in
today's interviews but still very much
interested in being appointed to the
commission and I will kindly ask uh Mr
Mike Smotherman to uh stand ready to go
next hi everybody um thank you for all
you've done in the council I appreciate
everything you've done uh my name is
Stephen Jackson I live at 8416 East
Fairmount in 85251 right behind the
police station I've been here for 12
years years uh I've been on the
commission now uh for a few years and as
the chair uh we had the honor to set up
the uh Scottsdale salutes program we've
been able to identify and preserve a lot
of the history for veterans here in the
city of Scottdale uh through that
program uh we interview about 40 people
every year uh we have nominations
throughout the city and we've had some
really just uh insanely T talented
people people who've served alongside
John McCain people who've served this
country great uh our commission has done
a really good job of trying to make sure
that all of Scottsdale's heroes are
honored and that includes setting the
standards uh as well for the Scottsdale
memorial for the Fallen um something
that we worked with the Scottsdale City
staff to do so that moving forward we
can still add people in our current
Generations who are fighting or who have
fought in the Afghan in uh Afghanistan
and Iraq Wars uh the other thing I'd
like to say is U you know my my
background is unique I'm one of the only
enlisted people on the the uh on the
commission so we don't really have too
many uh enlisted people who who actually
work these commissions uh officers are
are are very leadership oriented but I
believe I'm one of two um Justin Layman
who's a great leader I hope will be our
chair moving forward uh is the other
enlisted person in the
commission um as a lawyer I volunteered
here in Scottsdale with this with the
Afghanistan refugees uh the resettlement
program here um in creating Asylum claim
for people who served next to us in
Afghanistan and Iraq in order to obtain
Asylum here in the United States and
these are people who love the United
States there are people who served
alongside us there are people who did
drug enforcement who have worked with
the DEA and a ton of organizations I
think we need a ton of Outreach in the
city of Scottsdale uh the other main
thing that we've done is the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial that's going to be
bigger every year we've got people
who've come from Australia and Prescot
and all kinds of places around the state
because there are no Vietnam better in
memorials I want to continue that thank
you thank you very much Mr Jackson I
will uh invite Mr Smotherman to the
podium and uh as he's approaching the
podium I will ask Donna Donna two to uh
stand
by thank you please
begin mayor vice mayor city council my
name is Mike Smotherman uh I live at
9808 North 64th Place
85253 I've been there since since 2000
after retiring from the air force uh
finished as a squadron commander F-16
squadron commander out at Luke Air Force
Base and I've been over here in
Scottsdale ever
since uh my 20 20 plus years uh in the
Air Force I served as uh staff officer
doing special projects for fourstar
General and several other command
positions and the scotchdale salutes
program is what got me here I saw that
actually nominated my father father and
he was selected he's uh he passed away
recently but he was in the uh
retirement uh or the uh uh alzheimer's
unit there at Sunrise of Scottdale when
he saw his picture up there on that
Banner he was so proud he spent 34 years
in the Air Force and he uh every time we
went somewhere to to lunch breakfast
anywhere in Scottsdale he would thank
the people uh the servers there because
he thought that they had a vote in uh
him being on that that Banner so that
was great and I think that's an
outstanding program that's what brought
me here I would like the opportunity to
uh to help out and find and and make
that program bigger and better and even
add some additional programs uh if
possible thank you very much for your
time appreciate it thank you Mr
Smotherman uh and I will invite Donna
too and then I will share that Pauline
zaro is participating electronically
might have mentioned that but thank you
Donna please begin hi thank you mayor um
vice mayor and uh council members my
name is Donna Tu I have lived in
Scottdale for five years I live at 8485
East Pier Street Scottdale
85257 um I'm seeking appointment to the
veterans advisory commission I served 24
years in the Air Force I recently
retired um as a uh I was a nurse in the
Air Force um I held multiple positions
in leadership role roles um from
anywhere from intensive care to Flying
airvac um I worked for the air Mobility
command Inspector General team for four
years um and I ended up in Scottdale as
a active duty instructor um embedded at
honor Health after I retired I stayed on
at honor health I worked for the
military partnership and I work as a
skillbridge
specialist um I deployed four times um
in support of operation enduring Freedom
Iraqi freedom and New
Dawn um as a Skil bird specialist at
honor Health um I implement the
Department of Defense program that
supports active duty members who are
transitioning back to the civilian
Workforce I help place the members in
internships and gain experience leading
to a high probability of full-time
employment at the end of their
internships I'm a graduate of the
Scottsdale leadership class 38 best in
state I serve on the Scottdale Chambers
veterans and Military Affairs committee
um I am the Workforce Development
subcommittee chair and I also am the
chair at the honor Health um veterans
employee Resource Group I believe that
my experience in healthc care and
Workforce Development um specifically in
the skillbridge and working
relationships with multiple Community
Partners would complement the current
veterans advisory commission members
thank you well thank you Miss to and I
will invite
uh Miss Pauline zaro if she's on the
line to give us uh her two minutes thank
you oh thank you I am on the line um I
was a resident of McDow Mountain Ranch
for 30 years and we just downsized to
7663 East Adobe Drive um I am going to
tell you I'm very impressed with
everybody and the reason that I uh
joined or even put my name on the ballot
was because I took the city of Scottdale
course and they said there was going to
be four openings and they were concerned
that they would not be filled um two of
my three sons are active duty Marines
one is a captain who is deployed in the
Middle East uh the second one is um a
sergeant and he is stationed at myar and
I am going to withdraw my name because
I'm overly impressed with everybody else
and you have enough people and if you
ever need me I will be around but I um
feel that everything has been covered
and I just want to make sure you had
enough people because we need to
continue with our veterans in Scottdale
and both my sons were nominated and
accepted this year and their banners
were up and um let me tell you as a
mother of two marines
um it was very emotional for me and I
just wanted to make sure somebody is uh
keeping up on all our veterans so thank
you to the other candidates and I do
withdraw thank you for your
time well Pauline uh uh that's a new one
for me um to be so impressed although
we've all been very impressed with all
the application applicants here um I
think that says a lot about Pauline to
do that so I hope that we keep her
application on file for a future
opening um and so with that um I will
finish with councilwoman Littlefield and
I think who am I am I back at
councilwoman kaputi I'm not sure you've
started though yet I did start one I did
back to me I think I'm back to you thank
you uh and you have four uh not four
make four picks thank you got it uh Mark
Ashley Steven
ceris uh St Jackson and Donna
T mark Ashley Steven caceras Steph
Jackson and Donna
to Mark Ashley uh Steven cesaris uh
Stephen Jackson and uh Donna too always
so impressive so I just want to say that
as well and thanks to Pauline uh for her
son's service and stay in the you know
stay on the list uh with that I will
vote for Mark Ashley Steven caceras
Stephen Jackson and Donar
two I will vote for Mark Ashley Steven
caceras step Jackson and
donou I will cast my votes for Mark
Ashley Hank Sher Mike Smotherman and
Donna two
is that we have councilwoman Littlefield
councilwoman Littlefield if are you with
us yes I am okay if you please uh I vote
for Mark Mark Ashley Steven
Jackson Hank
sherf and Michael lei lii
um councilwoman Littlefield I don't
think that fourth one uh was on one of
the options
maybe oh was he taken off I can't see
the screen mik did you mean Mike's
Smotherman I should um can you just
restate your four four
selections okay Mark
Ashley Steven
Jackson Hank
sheriff and Donna true very
good okay so Mark Ashley and uh Stephen
Jackson and Donna to have been appointed
well very good but there's four there's
four I'm sorry there's four I'm sleeping
here at the wheel sorry yeah there yeah
I counted four they got a um let me go
back sorry
okay so those three are appointed and um
sorry Steven casseras I skipped over
them so we read them again Mark Ashley
stepen cazer step Jackson and Donna two
are the four very good well again we
thank all the applicants for veterans uh
advisory commission we got through that
one and uh now I will revert back to uh
I think it was path and paths and
trails earlier we were uh entertaining
we have one opening and we were going to
vote for Sarah hect or Molly Rosen and I
will just ask my uh uh colleague staff
anybody on the line or in the house in
the building uh vice mayor she is uh in
the process of connecting to the
meeting do you know how long that
process might take um think just about
quick minute she'll be
joining and would and that that was uh
just so that was uh Molly Rosen uh that
would be Sarah HEC Sarah heck okay and
you haven't you haven't seen Molly Rosen
then have you uh vice mayor no she is
not here
okay I suppose we'll uh spend just a
quick moment here to allow her
um to uh connect so she can uh speak to
us for a couple minutes
hello hello yes hello yes hi Miss Mrs
HEC uh you are um is if you are
connected we would uh invite you to
speak for two minutes uh for the paths
and trails sub
subcommittee okay um I'm just trying to
log in I'm sorry about this um we were
moving today and um so that's I'm just
getting to the computer now so well we
can we can hear you loudly and clearly
and um if you're comfortable you can
begin it um when you're ready
okay sure
um so uh my name is Sarah heck um I'm a
resident of city of Scottsdale um we
live in North Scottsdale um pretty close
to Browns
Ranch and we enjoy um like hiking and
mountain biking and just uh getting out
with
nature um I'm
currently uh um applying to become um a
volunteer at the at the Browns Ranch
facility
also um
so uh first of all I I guess I lived
here um from 2019 to
20121 then I moved to Naples Florida to
help my mom who was ill and now now I'm
back I just we moved back like a week
ago so um that's why you know I'm moving
into a new house anyway but um yeah I
was excited to hear about um the opening
for the path and trails Department in um
position and um I'd love to be a part of
it if if you um still need help um I did
uh do some um volunteering at the Naples
conservancy in Florida I was a boat
captain there and took people on boat
tours and we talked about the mangroves
and um history and um Florida Wildlife
and plant life so I did that for a
couple years while I was down there and
really enjoyed that and um yeah so
that's one of my
qualifications um and before that I was
um a general contractor for 31 years so
this has been something that I'm
passionate about is is nature and
getting outside so this really appeals
to me well your time has expired Miss
HEC and we really appreciate you
connecting and uh and for your for your
comments thank you very much thank okay
well and now I will open the votes uh to
my colleagues um for one opening and two
not two Appo um applicants and I will
start with I will finish with
councilwoman Littlefield and I will
start with councilwoman Janik Sarah
heck Sarah he yes hi we're voting for
you you don't have to respond oh oh I'm
sorry and I'll vote for Sarah
heck Sarah heck Miss hect Sarah hack and
Council M
Littlefield Sarah hick
congratulations Miss hech if you're
still in the line you you have been uh
appointed to the paths and Trail
subcommittee well um wow great yeah
congratulations um well U as we always
talk about how um how fortunate and
blessed we are as a city to have all the
uh people with so much talent and
experience uh offer that skills
knowledge and experience to serve their
City free of charge volunteer and it's
something that you know
is easy to overlook but we um always
remind ourselves to be grateful for that
because of how many great people we have
in this community and who you are so uh
this concludes our appointment process
for the day and uh thanking our nominees
for their interest uh thank you for
being here and speaking as well and um
we're fortunate to continue to receive
qualified applicants for these boards
and commissions if you were not
appointed today please know that your
application will remain on file for
consideration at a future date if there
are additional vacancies for those
appointed City staff will contact you
this evening or at their next
opportunity and provide you with
information on next steps regarding your
appointment uh as I was mentioning City
Scottdale is very fortunate to have such
dedicated and talented individuals who
are so willing to serve and ready to
help our city it's my honor to be uh
lead this part of the city or part of
the uh meeting and with that I will turn
it back over to the mayor thank you
thank you very much um I do want to
point out city of Scottdale has
2600 full-time employees but we have
over 4,000 volunteers and that's a great
statement uh about our great City and
the willingness to serve many good
candidates were presented at this point
I move to adjourn the uh special meeting
do I have a second second we have motion
a second please record your
vote Yes
we are unanimous and we are
adjourned we are we are ready to start
our yeah we'll take two minute break two
minute
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the December 5th 2024 city council
regular meeting to order uh city clerk
Ben Lane please conduct the roll call
thank you mayor mayor David Ortega
present vice mayor Barry Graham presid
Council memb Tammy caputi here Tom
Durham here Betty janick here Kathy
Littlefield here and Salange Whitehead
here city manager Jim Thompson here City
attorney Sher Scott here City treasur
Sonia Andrews here acting City aoto Lake
CL here and the clerk is present thank
you
mayor well thank you we have H
Scottsdale police detective John
moldonado and officer Ryan loing as well
as firefighter k see uh KET if anyone
requires assistance let's begin with the
Pledge of Allegiance I'll call on
councilman Tom
Durham States
at this time I would uh draw our
attention to um War torn
countries who are fighting for their
democracy and freedoms and I'd also ask
us to keep in our reflection uh the
safety of our military personnel uh both
at home and deployed so let's pause for
um a moment of
reflection there speak
result see if I can hear you now or you
can hear them thank you
well okay at this time um we have um a
grand finale meeting of our tenure and I
would like to U uh recognize our city
manager as well as get uh comments from
my colleagues who are um um joining me
and and and um uh have provided service
over the last four years I want mention
u i did me I did meet Jim Thompson about
four and a half years ago and we had a
schedule lunch at the herb box and um u
i was a civilian then I I was a declared
candidate you might remember this gy and
your assistant called me and told me
Jim's running late and I waited about
half an hour and um then she called me
again she said he's almost there and um
he uh Jim was in the process of meeting
all the candidates that were running for
office so uh when he when he arrived he
uh he started with an apology he said
Gee I was running late um two things
were going on uh one number one was
there was a major Monsoon the night
before and it had washed out uh part of
the trails up up in our preserve so he
had been out there early running around
and and guiding some assistance there uh
the other thing that was pretty
startling about our luncheon uh I had a
window seat and Fifth Avenue was just
jammed with people jammed with people
they were all on their phones and uh and
Jim um Jim said oh um the league just
cancelled spring training so this was
February of
2020 um and at that point he discussed
uh it was basically a red alert time uh
in Jim's uh routine and uh we took time
to to uh discuss that and all the other
Provisions that had to be purchased and
bulk purchases and yet uh he he did need
to eat we had an enjoyable lunch and
then he was off um about six months
later I was elected mayor and we got to
know each other you know much better but
uh Jim you are you have been an
outstanding um uh leader in the
organization and of course um with your
experience as City Manager for over 30
years um as you know he's moving on to
um the Alpine Country of Colorado and we
as Council you know wish you well um I
I'd like you to say a few words and I
have a couple gifts from us to
[Laughter]
you well thank you Mr Mayor it's been a
a privilege and honor to to serve the
community and all of you and um you're
right I have been doing it a long time
and at some point um I'll I'll have to
retire but I I keep doing it to myself
and continue on so in my 37th year I've
had the pleasure and uh to work with all
of you but also many councils over the
years and so I've been blessed and I'd
have to say you know in in Scottdale um
the one thing that that's noticeably
different than many other other s is the
culture of the organization and the
employees and they truly have the best
interest of the community at heart I
know at times that um people find
themselves a little bit on the um maybe
the side where they they don't agree
with the decision the city makes or
otherwise but the the reality is we do
care and we take care with every
individual that comes forward with an
issue and you don't see that everywhere
so I'm very proud of all the things
we've been able to accomplish and uh not
to go to through um any long list of
that so um but I I truly appreciate my
time here I I gave up my all as I always
do and will continue to do um and
appreciate the opportunity to to serve
here um I'm not good to goodbyes but um
I am going to change the subject and
reverse it here if you don't mind M so
um thank you for the the opportunity but
the city of scottl is a long-standing
tradition of recognizing the outgoing uh
council members and and and mayor and uh
recognizing of their term and and all
the wonderful things you've accomplished
during those 10 years which are slightly
um varied depending on you know every
time we we have to do this we have some
that serve one term some that serve two
three four and so it always varies a
little bit but we truly appreciate the
time and energy spent so Mayorga council
members caputi Durham and Janik uh on
behalf of myself my fellow Charter
officers up here this evening um and
across the way and um all City staff we
want to thank you for your many years of
service and dedication um this the
city's better off because of it and I
truly appreciate that it makes my job
much easier when we have leadership and
guidance coming from all of you in the
way that we have um as a token of
appreciation for your service who' like
to present teu there's a salary Bell as
well as a custom city of Scots sign it
should be behind you I think cuz they're
fairly large um uh street sign which
you'll find uh up there I know the
police chief dropped off some additional
gifts since there's some others up there
so thank you very much um again we want
to thank each of you uh for the many
many hours it's it's not easy um I may
call you you know odd times and
different times to give you updates on
something major that maybe happen in the
community um you have to come to
different meetings attend multiple
events throughout and that's a a real
commitment I don't think people realize
they they see you up here on Tuesday
evenings and when we have special
meetings but the amount of time and
energy reading the packets alone uh last
Sunday I had had two for the meeting
that wasn't uh long at all but two
really thick binders um and that was a
printed out form and of course you get
them online as well but but that's a lot
of work and energy and time and so thank
you for that dedication
um would like to just final note
um serving with with with all of you has
been been great so I I'm wishing you the
very best um take with you the the
positive things that we've achieved um
and and certainly we've achieved a lot
and I know um you're going to have a
legacy behind you and and those that
come in the Forefront I'm sure they'll
have one as well and we'll do great
things to continue on in the tradition
that we also you know often times
reflect in the past of what was achieved
and you know in this this era we went
through a
pandemic we went we went through a lot
we had a Super Bowl here we had a major
rain event during the open and we got
through it all and we got through it all
with very minimal impacts in fact uh we
came out better than almost all
communities uh following the pandemic
and so we were recognized for that and
we you know we positioned ourselves well
and so that takes you know energy time
and Leadership so I appreciate that and
respect that and thank
you well and um I do want you to come
forward maybe we should meet you with
our signs and then and meet you here um
I am presenting U two gifts um which um
one of them is U Southwestern I hope you
open it there the other one's a little
unusual and uh has to do with the uh the
final
four which was a national tournament and
it is signed by the four of us who are
uh completing our our mission with you
so let's let's uh meet up right right
here right in front
I I want for
back
[Applause]
so at at this time um I will call on my
three colleagues to uh make some
personal remarks and we will begin with
uh uh counselor Tammy caputi thank you
mayor and thank you Jim I don't know how
we could have done this without you I
can't believe how fast four years have
gone and I just want to give a one
second shout out not to embarrass my
family but my husband and my youngest
daughter are here in the audience for
the first time in four it took me four
years to get them here so better late
than
never it's been an honor and a privilege
to serve the people of Scottdale and to
have contributed to the important work
that's been done over the last four
years I think it's truly made a
difference that will have a positive
impact on our future I'm grateful to
live in this amazing City and to have
played a part in its continued success I
want to thank everyone who supported me
and worked hard with me especially my
family who made great sacrifices these
last few years I spent time every day
listening to community stakeholders and
using facts data and good judgment to
carefully analyze each issue that came
before us to make decisions that benefit
benefited our entire Community I want to
take one moment to list some of the
accomplishments I'm most proud of being
a part of in the last four years we
successfully navigated the city through
a global pandemic and brought tourism
back even stronger we increased high
paying jobs over 10% increased cash
reserves fully funded Public Safety with
competitive salaries and paid down
pension
liabilities we passed a voter approved
10-year General plan protected
neighborhoods from Bad short-term rental
operators and helped reduce crime rates
to some of the lowest in the valley
we improved Downtown parking and traffic
safety and bulked up our streets with
many new Lane miles we decreased the
size of our budget decreased property
tax rates and maintained a AAA Bond
rating despite world record inflation we
were able to deliver to our residents
the bond projects they wanted without
compromising quality or issuing more
debt as many other cities have been
forced fored to do we provided
worldclass amenities at the lowest tax
rates in the valley this is our
Scottdale winning
formula in my time on Council our
development project pipeline has
decreased over
50% only one small handful of the
highest quality development projects
have come before us all with meaningful
Community benefits and only one has
broken ground we founded an ed education
subcommittee and wrote an education
element into the general plan all our
residents deserve the best possible
Scotsdale including our next
Generation Scottdale is facing many new
challenges and I hope will continue to
move forward in the right direction I
served as your councilwoman to help keep
Scottdale on top to be a voice of reason
and balance as a longtime homeowner
business business owner and parent I
have a deeply vested interest in
Scottsdale's health and future
Prosperity successful cities do not
stagnate let's keep the positive
momentum going thank
you thank you Council Mand
Durham thank you mayor I I think we can
confidently say that we have left the
city better than than we found it um and
the council majority has done so by
acting on a nonpartisan basis uh we're
trying to do what's best for Scottdale
without regard to Dogma or uh party ey
ideology and I think we've done a very
good job of that uh last night we had a
lengthy discussion about our outstanding
financial situation and I think that's
one of our most important jobs is is to
take care of the money that the citizens
U pay in the form of taxes and I I think
we've done an excellent job on that and
on these jobs we've been helped by our
excellent staff uh at the beginning of
our time here on the council uh no one
ever thought that we could replace
Carolyn Jagger uh but we found an
excellent successor in in Ben Lane and
uh he's done a good job that makes us so
we don't even Miss Carolyn too much a
little bit a little bit but not too much
um and Sonia Andrews has been
exceptional in keeping our finances in
order I've enjoyed meeting with her over
the last few years uh Jim Thompson's
done a great job in keeping us in line
and it'll be missed uh not only by us by
the entire city and Sher Scott has kept
us in line
legally um and special thanks to raml
Cordova and merily Aina who have kept
track of us in our schedules and made
sure that we showed up where we needed
to be uh it's a little bit like hurting
cats I guess but um uh someone needed to
do it and raml and merily Le have done a
great job and of course thanks to my
fellow council members and uh council
member mil Haven who was here at the
beginning of my term um and it's been
really great meeting many of our
wonderful police and fire officers uh
and chief Walther and and chief Shannon
uh do an excellent job and one of the
things I've enjoyed most is going to
award Ceremonies for both fire and
police and learning about the excellent
work that our department departments do
and mayor Ortega has been um an
excellent leader especially on water
issues uh he really held things together
during the the Rover situation and um I
don't know that we would have come to
the same place without his
leadership uh we've been able to
maintain our reputation for low taxes
and high Service uh we have some of the
lowest taxes in the valley and great
services and recently we acted to
protect those Services by uh finding
permanent more permanent funding for our
preserve and parks while reducing our
overall tax burden and the citizens
enthusiastically agreed uh we have a
long list of
accomplishments um council member caputi
mentioned many of them I I think she's
covered most of them I'm interested in
um the general plan after years of
failure on that subject we were
successful in getting a new general plan
and I I believe we've very carefully
followed it uh in the last few years um
we've done everything we can on
short-term rentals uh We've imposed new
restrictions on development council
member Janik has uh helped to lead the
way
negotiating uh lower Heights and many
apartment buildings that have been built
and I think we've been very responsible
in that way so I'm very proud of the
things we've done together um and um
also should add I thank my family too
for the many sacrifices that uh my wife
has made uh I don't know if she views it
as a sacrifice to have me out of the
house a few days a week uh maybe not not
um but um um I'm very proud of the work
we've done and uh very proud of the way
that we're leaving Scottdale
tonight thank you councilman um
councilwoman Betty Jack thank you mayor
uh I agree with everything that my
fellow council members have said um it's
been a privilege to serve the city of
Scottsdale um our Scottdale Community is
a one wonderful place to live work and
play and as the mayor frequently says we
have 4,000
volunteers and 2,600
employees and just the prime example of
the quality of our volunteers were all
the people that applied today to be on
our boards in commission what a
wonderful group of people we also have
so many volunteers at our senior centers
our neighborhood watch Road cleanups
ambassadors for the city offering a
helping hand to neighbors and those in
need at our food banks Library youth
activities to preserve and the list goes
on and I can't thank you enough because
you really make our city one of the best
cities in the country um we have a
totally dedicated staff of employees uh
special shout out to our police and fire
departments and their leadership I can't
think of better people to lead our
police and our firemen to protect us as
a city you guys are wonderful and I know
your
employees love having you in their
leadership position and that really says
a lot about what you bring to the city
so thank you very much um I started uh
with prop 490 in 2018 we got that passed
it was a a great win for the city and
now I'm ending it with a passage of prop
490 which will guarantee that The
Preserve which we love which we pay for
will have the funding to continue into
the future for all the maintenance needs
of The Preserve as well as all of our
open space um a special shout out to my
husband who's been wonderful and very
supportive and intended quite a few
meetings and for his guidance along the
way um I will list some accomplishments
some of them that Tammy already
mentioned our general plan we passed it
our anti-discrimination ordinance our
parking ordinance um the protection we
have offered for downtown um what Jim
Thompson has done to show the value he
places and we all place it all of our
employees by taking out a momentous task
of um equalizing pay so we are among the
tops in the valley in showing I guess
his appreciation our appreciation and
and the value we place in them by making
sure that they have proper pay proper
equipment everything that goes along
with being the best of the best um we
have a wonderful balanced budget I hope
that the next Council keeps it that way
um we have been the leaders in the
valley for short-term rentals so um it's
been an honor like I said um I think
we've left the city in a very very solid
position on every front and I am sure
that that will continue with the people
that are coming on board um the other
thing that I truly appreciate is the
many friends I have made um it's very
nice it's very rewarding so um I think
those friendships will continue into the
future and again um as far as our
fearless leader our city manager I think
people think it's easy to make the
decisions that Jim has to make and I
have to tell you none of those decisions
are easy he works with people in our
community that make our community he
respects them sometimes he tells them
they need to pay more for services and
what's amazing is they thank him in the
end and that is very very special
ability that he has he will be missed um
but I wish him well as he moves on to uh
Colorado which was my former home they
are very lucky to get him so thank you
to all of you for all the way you enrich
our
community thank you um you know so much
has been said about um our
accomplishments uh working as a team uh
my public service began at City Hall uh
24 years ago when I was elected A city
councilman and at that time uh this city
and the world was being tested uh by
September 11th the terrorist attacks
that occurred during the first year of
my uh my Council
ship looking
at getting through that the uncertainty
the day basically that the world Stood
Still and the uncertainty that was
occurring at
911 is memorialized every year in our
whole
country but four years ago there was
also a very deep uncertainty as you know
the pandemic was peaking uh when we were
sworn in it was out outside in the lawn
and uh there was so much uncertainty
unstability as well and um we weathered
that in my um inaugural speech I did say
that uh when the uh pandemic
subsides uh I expect Scottdale uh will
emerge as
one of the best cities in the world and
we have and we've um walked uh in the
path uh with the different councils uh
I've worked with 16 fellow Council
people uh in in um previous Council and
then in this
term uh we have been able to uh I had to
issue a an immediate U emergency um
declaration and on top of that uh we had
the mega outout to contend with the
federal government who owns all the
water Upstream had declared the tier one
and we were in an urgent really red
alert situation uh from the onset of of
of taking office our Council steep
forward uh we always uh promoted uh we
promote conservation uh technology and
of course we uh established new uh water
sources uh as you know uh we unanimously
decided to stop the depletion uh out
into the County area we've saved um uh
actually a 100 million gallons a year uh
by cutting that off and the city had
lost over a billion gallons uh in the
previous time period so uh the result is
we changed the trajectory of water
policy in Arizona and at the present
time uh those County areas are served uh
and under the custody of the Arizona C
Corporation Commission where uh that
Authority will find those Solutions and
they'll pay their way to uh to meet
those their own
needs um as was said uh we um worked
very hard from the onset on the uh
General plan or a vision a 10-year uh
Horizon in how we um expect to learn
from a conversation with the community
uh I had done that in 2021 I'm sorry
2001 so I had that experience knowing
that we could accomplish it uh 20 years
later and we did uh this Council
forwarded and adopted a general plan
2035 and uh it was ratified by the
voters and that's an excellent uh
blueprint as we move forward it's uh uh
it's a full and complete document
including uh
sustainability as you know uh we adopted
the anti discrimination ordinance that
was also uh a unanimous decision by our
Council and it has served us well and
and uh uh KN councilman Kathy
Littlefield uh I know you're remote but
thank you for that as well you you were
part of that uh approval you know as we
look at the stress points in the city
you know how good are you and how how
are we tested we found that uh out with
the uh uh problem with short-term
rentals uh we uh confronted that headon
and we regained some uh control uh as
you know uh we uh passed the stiffest
ordinances for uh to try to to tame them
however uh that problem is getting worse
and it's going to get worse in the next
Council uh uh term um there were many
many bright spots that we can talk about
uh it was great to open the U uh Puma
Dynamite trail head
as one of the as the last trail head
into the McDow sonor preserve and again
I thinking 24 years ago uh Council was
buying bits and pieces and getting that
done and look at what we have today um
we were able to study that whole uh
maintenance and uh preservation for 48
parks that was a two-year effort and uh
we thank the task force for uh providing
us that Insight uh again we forwarded to
the voters and it was passed uh so there
are some immediate needs but these uh uh
this is a 30-year solution to help uh be
great caretakers uh and for our
treasured assets uh we've been able to
whenever we call upon uh the public and
they um uh respond because they know
that we have added value in everything
that we do uh here in Scottdale you know
finally in conclusion um we um I just
want to talk about last week um uh there
was a memorial service for dick Bowers
uh dick uh served the city of Scottsdale
for many years as city manager and uh
going to the celebration of his life he
also had uh helped Glendale and Phoenix
and then he was involved with the
Herberger and and so forth and there was
so many familiar faces there from 24
years ago right people that we had
worked with uh and it was interesting
because their names came came to me as
well some people I hadn't seen for 30
years and I think um that's really what
constitute uh constitutes a city uh they
were former mayors there there were
development service people and there was
a a lot of chatter and talk about uh
What uh contributions both staff and and
uh and staff had done here in the city
and that's a it's it was wonderful to
see that and experience that uh those of
us who are uh in leadership positions
and you know our pictures are on the
wall and uh we we are doing our best uh
to respond and uh certainly have to uh
give a a tremendous uh Applause uh
really for the um uh City staff workers
so I just want to take a break and let's
give ourselves a hand
[Applause]
um you know it's been said that
Scottsdale is a a high maintenance city
right and it's you know it's also a high
expectation City and we know that
because if something's out of place uh
it'll get reported and you know most of
what we can um talk about that Scotsdale
is beautiful we're clean we're safe and
we're all about wellness and so much of
that rests with uh our Public Safety and
I have to say this because four years
ago um our um police and fire were
underpaid uh four years ago uh some of
the facilities were
substandard and some of those were
recognized in the bond
2019 and uh as we speak today we have a
brand new uh Scot fire uh Department
Academy ready to open ready to train the
Next Generation uh uh of
firefighters um it is at Scottdale
standards it's uh going to be a Regional
Training Facility actually the same
thing's true with the police and uh
their uh their faciliity so they cross
train and then we're running a uh new
ambulance service so all of that is the
work of our Council and the the council
moving forward uh in spite again uh no
one I I refrain from you know blaming
inflation and other things how can we
get this done and when we looked and and
discussed it with with Jim Thompson uh
there was enough reserve and for for
planning uh planning ahead to be able to
transfer funds to get these vital uh
facilities built and after all they're
just buildings right it then takes the
people to make everything uh function so
it's it's been a great honor and we will
um again meet another day and be able to
converse with uh fellow um Scott stalans
and uh enjoy uh how we are perceived in
the world and I think how we are
perceived in the world for the most part
is because we are good Travelers
ourselves we get out there and they say
see good
people um that's the best messenger that
we can be right and then once you're
here others will notice it as well and
that rubs off on our kids and our
business uh and the business world as
well with that we will uh get back to um
our schedule program and I know that
there's um
uh well
we are going to we are going to uh
proceed with our program and I will give
a little um oh excuse me I have a
request from uh councilman Whitehead so
I would ask her to make some short
remarks I very very short I just want to
of course thank Jim Thompson because he
had seven bosses and he chose to find
the common ground we have open meeting
laws so we're not actually colluding we
actually um give our best idea is on in
a public form but thank you for
balancing all of the council's input and
coming up with the best Solutions but I
just cannot say enough about our mayor
David Ortega and my three outgoing
friends and council members uh
councilwoman caputi councilwoman Janet
councilman durm I have learned so much
and I just want to say again what the
public may not see is we are
passionately disagreeing with each other
sometimes but that is on issues not with
each other and not with we recognize
that the reason we passionately disagree
sometimes is we want what's best for
Scottdale so thank you for teaching me
thank you for even if we're out at 11
o'clock at night we don't get that
chance to hug and say goodbye and sorry
we disagreed so badly um the next
morning there's always a text message
saying hi so truly thank you it's been a
pleasure working with you and we're all
Scottsdale residents we're all neighbors
and mayor you just made things look too
easy we got so much done so thank you
thank you I also see councilwoman
Littlefield wishing to speak you're
on yes thank you mayor I'd like to thank
Jim Thompson for all the hard work he
has done working with all of us and all
of our employees and our citizens
helping to make our city better more
beautiful stronger and you have done a
tremendous job thank you Jim and I wish
you the very best of luck in your future
endeavors I also would like to thank
Betty and Tom and Tammy for your work
with us and and mayor Ortega and all the
work that you have put into the City and
all the things that have happened that
makes us a better city thank you very
much thank you get well Kathy at this
point uh we will move on with the uh
business at hand uh um during tonight's
meeting the council may make a motion to
recess into executive session to obtain
legal advice on any applicable item on
the agenda if authorized by the council
the executive session will begin
immediately and would not be open to the
public the public meeting then would
resume following the executive session
poor our Council rules of procedure
citizens are welcome to speak and please
observe uh the same rules of order and a
quorum applicable to the council
ourselves um moving on we have public
comment public comment is the
opportunity for citizens to come forward
uh at seeing none therefore I will close
public comment uh next thing we are
going to do is uh approve a minutes I
will uh mention the minutes um I request
a motion to approve the regular meeting
minutes of November 12th
2024 have so move second we have motion
a second please record your
V
yes Mr Graham okay
pardon okay we are unanimous 7 to zero
thank you um next we have consent agenda
items 1 through six uh items 1 through
six have a full file and there's an
opportunity of the from the public to
speak um at this point we have one
request
um but I would also okay so we have one
request to speak so I will call forward
the uh uh uh speaker uh for item number
two uh Steve Sutton and that is uh
regarding um Parks and Recreation master
plan please come forward sir
or is this correct item number
two um
no you can speak yeah no no no
presentation has been requested by the
council and they're all you know it's
all of record um but you're welcome to
come
forward okay well thank you sir very
much again um uh we open public comment
and um I accordingly will close uh
public comment um at this point do I
have a motion to approve consent agenda
items uh one through six yes I move to
approve consent agenda items 1 through
six second we have a motion of second
please record your
vote councilman Littlefield says yes
thank you we are unanimous
um as we go forward into regular agenda
item uh items we have um item number
seven and um I will also make a call to
the public uh but we see that there is
no um request from the public to comment
on item number seven which is the
temporary fire station lease agreement
our presenter is Allison timu our city
engineer please proceed okay thank you
thank you good evening mayor and um
council
members okay so tonight item seven is to
authorize a lease agreement and a budget
appropriation transfer for fire station
606 it uh before you is adoption of
resolution number
13287 authorizing contract number 20241
190c a lease agreement between the city
and Scott sale Unified School District
number 48 for a certain rail property
located at
11130 East choya Street and an fy2 2425
general fund Capital contingency budget
appropriation transfer of up to 2.5
million for the fire station 606
renovation B1 Capital project to be
funded by the general
fund this slide shows the existing
location of fire station 606 the address
is 1085 zero East vinda this station was
originally built in
1984 um it's a trle fire station and it
C currently Services an area of about
16,000
residents the project need the existing
Tri level format without an elevator
does not meet Ada standards the existant
existing open style dormitories have
limited access to natural light and
privacy the building systems are at the
end of their useful life and there is
also an issue with the sewer line and
the station has had long-standing
problems of backups into the locker room
and the dormatory
area these are just some photographs
that show the existing station this is
just trying to um demonstrate the tri
level nature of the station these are
stairs that lead up to the kitchen in
the day room here's a stairwell that
leads down to the
bunks and then these are the exist bunks
you can see that they um are not full
wall
areas okay so the design progression the
original scope had contemplated just
doing a renovation to the interior of
the station with some minor exterior and
infrastructure of the fire station and
it would basically keep the main shell
of the building intact so when the
design began it became EV evident that
it would be challenging to retrofit the
building with an elevator um it was
actually going to require a lot of um
hand work inside of the existing
building to dig 10 ft down for the shaft
and install the
elevator several alternative
configurations were considered including
looking at a new location for the fire
station it became apparent that the best
alternative was to renovate the existing
station to a single level building by
extending the building footprint to the
front
this photo shows a picture of the
existing front of the fire station and
so the area next to the Bays um that
part of the building would extend
forward toward the
street this is admittedly hard to see
but what I really wanted to demonstrate
here you can see on the left hand side
is where the existing bays are and I
don't know if you can see my mouse okay
so this sort of outlines
this whole area up in the front is
basically the new
addition so um the temporary fire
station so originally it was planned for
the fire station staff to be re
relocated on site during construction to
a trailer this turned out to be
infeasible City real estate staff
located the nearby susd facility and
negotiated a lease the fire department
analyzed the site and determined it
would be an optimal location
within the fire station 606 service
area this map shows the location of the
temporary fire station location it is
the address is
11130 East choya Street and it's within
a half a mile of the existing fire
station um the existing fire station is
just located down the way on
vinda this shows um um the site plan of
the temporary fire station um and some
basic schematic of the Interior where we
we would be doing the
ti so the lease is for
um it's approximately 5,800 Square ft of
the existing
building um and then exterior
improvements including fencing um
electronic gate we would need um a
canopy to go over the go over where the
fire uh truck would be parked and then
also an exterior shed for
storage this location um the lease is
proposed to be two years with two
one-year
extensions um and it potentially could
be used for a temporary fire station for
also fire station 604 which is a bond
project that fire station is located at
90th in vinda and the timing could be
appropriate that we we would be able to
use this temporary location for that
construction as
well so the budget progression so
originally in fiscal year 2021 the
budget was $2.75 million but remember
that was um estimated in Fall of 2019 so
that was prior to the unprecedented
covid um constru construction inflation
that we saw and the original scope was
just to renovate the interior with just
some minor exterior work and then the
infrastructure improvements to fire
station 606 again keeping the outer
shell intact so during the FY 2324 CIP
budget development process the project
was reestimated considering inflation
and the total budget was increased to
4.7 million this was the same time that
we had um reestimated a lot of project
including a lot of the bond 2019
projects that we had added additional
funds
to So currently we are requesting an
additional $2.5 million to accommodate
the new scope of converting the station
to a single level and adding the
expansion to the front so it's basically
a new project um it's a new scope
compared to when we were just going to
be renovating the
interior and then it also includes the
temporary fire station tenant
improvements the cost to do the
improvements to um that
location and with that I can answer any
questions that you
have thank you um again repeating I
don't see any request uh to speak and um
I I yes I and I'm going to now go to
councilwoman shanik I see please go
ahead thank you mayor um thank you
Allison uh first of all thanks for
taking the slings and arrows for four
years years for planning uh we get very
emotional about that and you've done a
very very professional job of responding
to all their questions so I wanted to
thank you for that thank you um a
question I have is how long do you think
it's going to take to get the temporary
location uh up and running so that the
fire department can move we're
estimating three to six months for those
improvements that's
good okay that's it thank you council
member
Durham thank you mayor um I don't see a
lot of money in here for the
improvements to the to the school site
the total is
um is 4 million it's
5,25 if my right math is right
5,250 and and if the uh if the fire
station itself is 47 that only leaves
about 500 for the tenant improvements is
that enough money um council member durm
uh we are estimating 750,000 for the
tenant
improvements so these numbers don't
quite up add up then do they yes um it
we're looking for the additional $2.5
million that includes um a total of $4.9
million in construction that includes
the construction for fire station 606
and the temporary um improvements to the
temporary
location um okay all right thank
you okay I see no further questions um
you know my my remarks are this project
is needed uh obviously this this
building is over 35 years old uh it's uh
been able to serve for a while but
probably the maintenance is uh getting
excessive and U uh
Public Safety is uh you know primary our
primary goal and obligation uh therefore
um well let me go to councilwoman caputi
if you have a motion well I wasn't going
to talk but you know it's our last case
I have to say something please I want
you
to um well I just want to say I love the
Adaptive reuse of taking uh an out of
commission school facility and
converting it to something desperately
needed that's brilliant we should be
doing that more and also just um once
again we're incredibly lucky to be able
to provide um a much needed facility
despite inflation and changes of scope
um you know here we are once again being
able to actually provide
that even given those rest constraints
so uh I'm in full support were you going
to make a motion mayor um well then I
will motion to approve the temporary
fire station lease agreement adopt
resolution 132 87 to authorize lease
agreement number 2024 1990 Coos with the
Scottdale Unified School District 48 for
the use of certain real property for a
temporary fire station a fiscal year
2425 general fund Capital contingency
budget appropriation transfer of up to
2.5 two $2.5 million to the fire station
606 renovation Capital project to be
funded by the general fund and the city
manager or design to execute any other
documents and take such other actions as
necessary to carry out the intent of
this resolution second second so we have
a motion in a second please record your
vote councilman Littlefield says
yes thank you 70 uh and the motion
passes next we will go to public
comments second opportunity I open
public comment and close public comment
uh moving on we have an opportunity for
citizen petition seeing none we have
none uh therefore I request a motion to
adjourn so moved second we a motion a
second please record your
vote
yes thank you Council we are
jour for