Chandler City Council Study Session 4.7.2025

Good evening and welcome to the uh study
session of April 7th of the Chandler
City Council. I'd like to call this
meeting to order. Uh noting that one of
our council members, uh council member
Encus, uh his flight was delayed and he
is on a plane right now, so unable to
call in. and two of our council members,
council member Poston and Harris are uh
online. They're out of town, so they are
listening, watching us audibly,
visually. So, uh with that, clerk,
please take the role. Mayor Hartkey
here. Vice Mayor Ellis here. Um Council
Member Poston
here. Council member Orlando here.
Council member Harris
here. And council member Hawkins here.
We have a quorum. Great. Next on our
schedule, our agenda tonight is
scheduled public appearances. And I
would like to invite Council Member
Hawkins to join me up front. If you need
reading glasses, bring them with you.
You'll be a reading.
All right. First up is service
recognition. City manager. Thank you,
Mr. Mayor, members of council. We do
have three outstanding employee service
recognitions this evening. And to make
the first presentation, I'd like to call
up Ryan Reeves, our airport manager.
Mayor, Council, it's my honor tonight to
uh call up Danna Alonzo Fritz.
[Applause]
Diana Alonzo Fritz began with Chandler's
courts as a court clerk one in April of
2015, a time she fondly remembers for
the experience afforded her there as
well as the wonderful friendships she
made. But in October of 2019, we happily
welcomed her to the airport. At that
time, she was quite concerned as she
knew very little of flying uh when she
was hired because aviation, as you know,
is a demanding, exacting, and an intense
industry. all characteristics we know
Deanna possesses in abundance herself.
What she has shown since 2019 to her
colleagues and the entire flying
community has proven there was no need
for her trepidation. Her tenacity and
her duties, relationships she has
developed within the community and her
infectious humor and kindness to
co-workers and the crews which call our
airport home have all fundamentally
changed the airport community for the
better. Her highest achievement in my
estimation is that the airport community
now considers her family and in aviation
there is no higher compliment. So
congratulations on 10 years.
[Applause]
Mayor and Council, for our next service
recognition, I'd like to call forward
our public works and utilities director,
John Kudson.
Thank you, city manager, mayor, council.
I'd like to invite Rosa Beresa uh to
come forward for her 25 year service
[Applause]
recognition. On behalf of public works
and utilities department, we'd like to
recognize Rosenda Beresa for an
outstanding 25 years of dedicated
service. Since joining the city of
Chandler in 2000, Rosa has consistently
demonstrated exceptional professionalism
and commitment in various roles across
multiple departments. Rosa's energetic
personality, time management skills, and
ability to encourage staff to share
ideas has added greatly to her streets
and traffic teams morale and efficiency.
Rosa came to our streets and traffic
division two years ago at a time when
key staff had retired. She learned
quickly and noticeably staff began
relying on her for all her knowledge.
Rosa was a key player in assisting with
the LED street light conversion project
and a team member for our fifth APWA
reacreditation. She's also involved in
the city's mentorship program and
successfully completed a two-year
Chandler Chamber community foundation
leadership program. Throughout her 25-y
year career with the city of Chamber,
Rosa has consistently gone above and
beyond, demonstrating a deep commitment
to public service, innovation, and
community enhancement. We thank Rosa for
her 25 years of dedication, exceptional
service, and efforts to make Chandler a
better place. We look forward to many
more years of continued excellence.
Thank you, Rosa.
[Applause]
Mayor and Council, for our third and
final service recognition, I'd like to
call forward our Chief of Police, Brian
Chapman.
Good evening, Mayor Council. I'm honored
to bring up uh Detective Paul Key to
recognize him for his 30 years of
[Applause]
service. Detective Paul Key was hired 30
years ago and graduated from the Arizona
Law Enforcement Training Academy. His
early career in Chandler included the
patrol division, where he earned a
reputation for sound judgment, the bike
team, and a school resource officer for
Willis Junior High, where, according to
his then supervisor, he made a
tremendous effort to work well with the
students. From 2003 to 2013, Detective
Key was assigned to the sex crimes unit
where he diligently worked to provide
justice for adult and child victims of
dangerous crimes, leading to the
conviction of numerous violent
offenders. Since 2013, Detective Key has
worked as the asset forefer detective.
Detective Key consistently demonstrates
city of city of Chandler values, most
especially that of teamwork. Helps
conduct interviews of computer crime
suspects. He's a member of our SWAT
team's technical unit, and he assists
our narcotics team on a regular basis.
In 2025, Detective Key was recognized
for his involvement in furthering a
complicated narcotics investigation
involving moneyaundering, authoring
numerous search warrants, and
subsequently seizing substantial amount
of criminal proceeds. And I think the
best thing I can say about Detective
Paul Key is that you would not know if
he's ever had a bad day. He's a great
human being. He's always smiling, happy
to help people, and he's a wonderful
compliment to our great team at the
Chandler Police Department.
Congratulations, Paul.
[Applause]
Mayor and Council, that concludes our
service recognitions this evening. Thank
you. Thank you, city manager. Uh we have
three proclamations. The first is child
abuse prevention month. If I could call
it members of our domestic violence
commission and exchange club
representatives, I think vice mayor,
you're in the exchange club. Come join
us everybody.
All right. Are we settled?
Whereas the Arizona Department of Health
Services 31st annual report from the
Arizona Child Fatality Review team
published in November 2024 reports 116
children
died of neglect and child abuse in
2023. And whereas 71% of the children
who died of neglect and abuse were under
the age of five. And 44% of these deaths
occurred in infants less than a year
old. And whereas every child deserves to
grow up in a safe and nurturing
environment free from abuse and neglect.
Whereas research shows that having a
supportive community reduces the
incidence of abuse. Therefore, the city
of Chandler strives to create a safe
community for all children. And whereas
the city of Chandler domestic violence
commission is committed to supporting
child abuse awareness and prevention
initiatives. Now therefore I Kevin
Herkkey mayor of the city of Chandler do
hereby proclaim April 2025 as child
abuse prevention
month. And who would like to share about
this or related?
So with domestic violence awareness
month um we also and child abuse
awareness month we collaborate with the
exchange club of Chandler and they have
an event that they'd like to speak
about.
The Exchange Club of Chandler has what
we call a child abuse reduction effort
program and it is called the field of
hope. So I'd like to thank Mayor Hartkey
and the city uh of Chandler and Vice
Mayor Ellis who as mayor noted is also
an exchange. uh our field uh of hope um
is based on the report that the mayor
mentioned and so we will stand up 116
flags for the victims of child abuse in
2023 in Arizona. We'll stand the field
up at 2:30 on Sunday, April 13th and
would love it if anybody would like to
come and join us and help us stand that
field up. And we will dedicate the field
at 6 pm on Sunday, April 13th along with
the mayor. Uh so again, if you are able
to come out and take part in our um u
field of hope, which is a memorial to
the children that were lost due to child
abuse and
neglect. Thank
you. All right, Alexis is going to want
to move us in a better semblance rather
than So if we could maybe get if other
people consider consider you short,
please stand in front.
Move our way. All right. Who's our
centerpiece? Who is the person?
All right. Ready?
Thank you.
You want me to sit down or go back?
Yeah, go back up.
All right. Thank you guys.
Are we taking a photo? Okay. We're doing
another proclamation. Oh, that's right.
All right. And our next proclamation,
uh, sexual assault awareness month. And
look who's already up here, the Domestic
Violence Commission. Let's let Council
Member Hawkins read this one.
All right. Proclamation. Whereas sexual
assault occurs in epidemic proportions
across the United States, affecting one
adult every 98 seconds and one child
every 9 minutes. And whereas sexual
violence is a tool used to intimidate,
control, and demean victims and
survivors of domestic violence. And
whereas in the United States, 41% of
women and 26% of men have experienced
sexual violence by an intimate partner.
And whereas sexual violence
disproportionately impacts immigrant
populations, people of color, people
with disabilities, and members of the
LGBTQ community. And whereas by wearing
the color teal during the month of
April, the Chandler community stands
united to hold offenders accountable and
create a safer and more supportive
environment for all survivors. Now,
therefore, Kevin Harky, mayor of the
city of Chandler, Arizona, does hereby
proclaim April 25th as Sexual Assault
Awareness Month.
All
right. On behalf of the on behalf of the
domestic violence commission, I want to
thank the mayor and the city council for
recognizing April as sexual assault
awareness month. Thank you.
All right, let's do another
photo. I know we need to move this way
more. All right. Katie, you're probably
the middle. Can you picture where my
where the is behind you there? How's
this?
Thank you all again.
See you there on Sunday. Yes.
Our last proclamation, Earth Day. If
Derek Gerson, recreational supervisor,
and Ty Trent, recreational specialist,
can join
us. All right. Whereas the city of
Chandler is enriched by its
environmental beauty and natural
landscapes which enhance the lives of
residents and visitors while providing
valuable resources for native flora and
fauna growth and providing an essential
habitat for wildlife. And whereas
Chandler and his residents recognize the
importance of preserving and protecting
our natural environment, the commitment
to environmental education and
importance of using natural resources
wisely. And whereas the city of Chandler
has adopted strategies to migrate,
mitigate climate impacts, conserve water
and energy, reduce waste, preserve and
expand our urban tree canopy, and pursue
renewable energy alternatives. And
whereas Earth Day acknowledges the
positive progress made in the
environmental movement and achievements,
the dedication to climate literacy, and
deepens our commitment to environmental
stewardship. And whereas the city of
Chandler urges all community members to
join in celebrating the importance of
environmental advocacy and renew our
collective commitment to future
environmental actions for current and
future Chandler residents. Now
therefore, I Kevin Hartkey, mayor of the
city of Chandler, to hereby proclaim
April 22nd, 2025 as Earth Day.
[Applause]
Thank you, mayor, council, uh, city
administration. I don't think I could
have said it any better myself. I think
you covered it all. Um, I think that,
you know, the city recognizes that every
day is Earth Day. Um, in the city of
Chandler, we do so much in all our
departments and divisions to be more
sustainable to, um, help our community
learn how to do that at home and help
the planet. So, um, it's great to be a
part of that here, um, with my staff
here where we're part of the nature
center team, so we get to educate the
community and, uh, we have fun doing it
and, um, it's a great responsibility as
well. Um, with that being said, I just
want to take the opportunity to invite
you all to the, uh, Earth Day
celebration that's going to happen on
Saturday, April 19th from 9 to noon at
the Chandler Nature Center down at
Veterans Oasis Park. There's going to be
uh, crafts, activities, vendors. you can
learn uh more about how to protect the
planet. It's gonna be a great time. So,
thank you.
All
right. All right, that concludes our
special announcements and proclamations.
Council member Incitus, welcome to the
meeting. You must have just gotten off
your phone or off the plane. Thanks for
joining us. Council, there are no items
that were called in. to our audience
members who were wondering if you had a
particular item. What that means is that
we understand the the particular items
and we are prepared to vote on them.
Means that in our mind there is no
controversy in our heads that we feel we
need to get straightened out and we're
prepared to vote on these on Thursday.
So it is it is not a negative if you
were wondering if there was something
related to your item that was going to
be talked on. So with no consent uh
agenda that concludes our meeting
tonight and we will see you all on
Thursday.