City of Chandler Study Session 3.24.25

Everyone
Are you
All right, here
comes like we are
okay.
Here we go.
Good evening and welcome to the Chandler
Chamber uh council chambers. We do have
three separate meetings tonight. Most of
you are here for the second one in which
we'll be honoring individuals reading
proclamations etc. So our first one is
the public housing authority commission
a regular meeting of which we also have
a member of our public housing authority
who's also part of this particular
committee. Uh so with that I'd like to
call the PAC or public housing authority
commission regular meeting to order and
uh clerk would you please take the role.
Chairman Hartkey here. Vice Chair Ellis
here. Commissioner Lauren here.
Commissioner Encas here. Commissioner
Poston here. Commissioner Orlando here.
Commissioner Harris here. Commissioner
Hawkins here. Have a qu. Thank you so
much. And do we have any unscheduled
public appearances for tonight? No, we
do not. All right. Thank you. Uh
commissioners, what's before us tonight
is a pretty simple uh consent agenda.
How would you like to proceed, Mayor? Uh
Commissioner Orlando. Just quick
question from staff on item two. I know
we do this every year, every five years.
Any major changes from previous
years that we should be
aware. All right. All right. Amy
is dashing to the microphone. You look
dashing. Thank you. Dashing roller
skating up here, right?
Good evening, um, commission members.
Um, we do not have any substantial
changes uh for our five-year annual
plan. And again, this is a um prescribed
plan that HUD requires our public
housing authority to submit every year.
And then this uh year, it's a five-year
plan. We are adhering to all the
regulations per HUD and there are some
um increases and or minor changes, but
again, this is all required under the
HUD. So, no major I mean I I glanced at
it earlier today, but I just want to
make sure there nothing glaring came out
at me. I want to double check with you.
Yes, that's correct. No, no, uh high
level issues at this moment that would
cause any concern at this point. Thank
you, Amy. So, with that, mayor, a
motion's in order. Thank you,
Commissioner. I move that we approve the
PA Hack Commission, excuse me, the PA
Hack regular meeting March 24th, 2025,
items one through two. Second. All
right. We have a motion by Commissioner
Orlando, a second
by Vice Chair uh
Ellis. Seeing no further conversation
pieces, Rusos, um please uh take the the
vote. Vice Chair Ellis, yes.
Commissioner Lauren,
Commissioner Encas, yes. Commissioner
Poston, yes. Commissioner Orlando, yes.
Commissioner Harris, yes. Commissioner
Hawkins, yes. Chairman Hartkey, yes.
Motion carries unanimously. Thank you
all commissioners. That concludes our
PAC meeting.
Welcome to the uh regular meeting of the
Chandler City Council of March 24th,
2025. Like to call this meeting to the
to order. Clerk, please take the role.
Mayor Hartkey here. Vice Mayor Ellis,
here. Council member Incinus, here.
Council member Poston, here. Council
member Orlando here. Council member
Harris present. Council member Hawkins
here. We have a quorum. Thank you. Our
invocation tonight will be delivered by
Pastor Gary Davis of the Southeast
Valley Bible Church and our pledge of
allegiance following by Council Member
Matt Orlando. Pastor,
Father in heaven, we come before you
this evening with grateful hearts of
what you've given to us. You are our
God. You're our savior, our creator.
You've given us life and that life is an
abundant life. We have joys in our
heart. We have
loves. We have desires. We have
emotions. All a gift from you. Thank you
for that. You have put in to this
council room here
leaders. And I thank you for those. May
no one take it for granted or take it
lightly for the position that you have
put them in. I pray, Father, as Solomon
prayed, that you would give each one
wisdom, godly wisdom, wisdom from on
high that they need to have so easy to
make decisions just based on our own uh
feudal thoughts, of our own personal
desires, but we need the wisdom of God
in matters. We thank you, Father, for
all the individuals you've brought into
our community, the the police officers,
the first responders in so many areas.
Um, I thank you for the businesses that
you brought into this community, but
what you have brought into this
community is people. Chandler is made up
of we the people. And I pray, Father,
that we would always remember what you
you have primarily said that we have two
focuses in life. And that's to love you
with all our mind, heart, and soul, and
to love our neighbor as oursel. And I
pray that every decision that's made in
here might remember that you are our God
and that they're servants of yours, but
also to remember to treat our neighbor
as ourselves. I pray that you would give
wisdom as decisions are made. May they
be made
injust in justice, but with tempered
with mercy and grace because that's the
kind of God you are and that's the kind
of people that you have created. We
thank you for this opportunity of
service and may you watch over us. May
you guide us through each decision and
may you receive the glory and it all. I
pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.
Please join me in the pledge of
allegiance.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
republic for it stands, one nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
Thank you,
pastor. Thank you, council
member. Next on our agenda tonight is
scheduled public appearances. And I'd
like to invite Council Member Hawkins to
join me up front.
I like to be here on the site because
it's my good
sign if I have such a
thing. All right. First up are our
service recognitions. Uh, city manager
Josh. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of
city council. We do have three employee
service recognitions this evening. And
for the first, I'd like to call up our
chief information officer, Sundep
Dlokia.
Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'd
like to invite Mitch Robinson come on
board to celebrate his 20th year
anniversary with the city.
[Applause]
So Mitch brings to the city one of the
most important firsts and that being
he's our first cyber security expert
here at the city. For 20 years through
thick and thin, Mitch kept our city safe
from within. A cyber security guru that
is so wise he is the city's platinum
prize for so many years. He built cyber
tracks with policies, tools, and strong
IT stacks. Encryption enforced, threats
held at bay, citywide protections
leading the way. A friend to all, he's
always near. For team Chandler, he is
very dear. Leaf recognition awards
countless council's
praise. He brings humor, smarts, and
bright work days. But beyond the screens
and cyber fights, Mitch tends to his
garden, which is a quite a sight.
Flowers bloom and shrubs stand tall. His
green thumb rivals the city's
firewalls. With jazz and blues, he set
the tone. And at home, he sometimes
codes alone. Oh, I have to mention that
he is an amazing
granddad. In fact, voted twice the
best. In cyber and in life, he most
certainly passed the test. So, here's to
Mitch with gratitude. So true. Our city
is safer. All thanks to you.
Congratulations. Thank you.
Mayor, council, for our second service
recognition, I'd like to call forward
Kevin Snyder, our development services
director.
Are we checking out Kevin Schneider's
poetic skills tonight?
Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'd
like to invite invite Abraham Marua up
for
[Applause]
recognition. And I'd like to know for
the record that it is a little unfair to
follow that. Um, and I am not a poet, so
I'm not even going to try. But we
are here this evening to recognize 25
years of service by Abe. Uh Abe has been
with the city since 2000 and he's served
at his current capacity as traffic
engineer inspector since 2004. Abe has
been almost a one-man show for the last
21 years, making sure that all of our
barricading plans are approved. Our all
of our maps are up so our public knows
where the restrictions are and making
sure that the barricades come down as
quickly as possible.
Throughout his time with the
city, Throughout his time with the city,
Abe has received multiple awards and
recognitions for his professionalism,
his work efforts, and most of all for
being an amazing team member in the
development services department and
through the other departments that he
served in as well. Outside of work, Abe
enjoys camping and hunting. He has been
happily married for 31 years and is a
proud father and grandfather and I think
a brand new granddaughter is in the
audience this evening. and we appreciate
all that Abe has done for the city and
are glad to have him as part of team
Chandler. But most of all, we want to
thank him for 25 years of service to the
Gemma community. Thank you, Ed.
[Applause]
Mayor and Council, for our third and
final service recognition of the
evening, I'd like to call up John
Kudson, our public works and utilities
director.
So, uh, this evening I'd like to call
down, uh, Joe Flores, um, for his 35
year, uh, recognition.
Joe's journey with the city of Chandler
began as a fuel attendant with the at
the city municipal airport in 1990. He
was later promoted to the best
department in the city, public works and
utilities. As a meter reader and then
more recently as a metering services
technician. Throughout his tenure, Joe
has been an integral part of the
evolution in how we read water meters.
Joe has consistently offered excellent
customer service while adapting to
technology changes and ensuring services
remain efficient and effective. Joe's
positive attitude and willingness to
help his co-workers have made him a
valuable member of the team. Joe not
only enjoys his work but also takes
pride in serving the citizens of
Chandler through his dedication, hard
work, and unwavering commitment. Thanks
Joe for your amazing 35 years of
outstanding service to the residents of
channel.
[Applause]
Mayor and Council, that concludes our
service recognitions this evening. Thank
you.
All right. For our next recognition, I'd
like to invite all of council to come
down and join me as we uh this new
recognition, the community hero award,
Officer Brian Larrison. And as well, if
you can join us with Chief Chapman and
Chandler Police Representatives.
[Applause]
All right. I am deeply honored to join
council this evening recognizing the
exceptional bravery, quick thinking of
Chandler Police Officer Brian Larrison.
At our recent state of the city address,
we took time to look deep within
Chandler and look for stories of brains
and heart and
courage. And uh this came after that or
we would have called you up. But uh
we're really grateful for your
thoughtfulness. On February 18th,
Officer Larrison was on his way to work
when he witnessed a severe accident on
the US60 near Val Vista. A cement truck
collided with a Nissan pickup, causing
it to overturn and become engulfed in
flames. Without hesitation, Officer
Larrison approached the burning vehicle,
used his baton to break the window, and
with assistance of offduty Peoria
firefighter Asa Pagua, rescued the
driver, Amy Ruiz, from the wreckage.
Officer Larrison's actions exemplify the
highest standard of courage and
selflessness. His unwavering commitment
to protect human life, even in the face
of imminent danger, serves as an
inspiration to us all. It is individuals
like Officer Larrison who make our
community safer, more compassionate, and
we are honored here to recognize your
bravery. And it is our honor as myself
and council to print you present you
today with the community hero award on
behalf of mayor and council. And would
you like uh Chief Chapman or you or any
of your team like to make any remarks
before we turn the mic over to Officer
L? Are you prepared to speak, Brian? No.
Okay. Uh well, Brian exemplifies the
professionalism and dedication of every
Chandler police officer. Um but I want
to be clear, what he did on the freeway
that day is nothing that we train for.
Um that's just a basic human kindness
trying to help someone who was going to
perish if not for his actions. So um you
know we all know there are no
coincidence in life. I think you know
we're put in certain positions for
certain actions and Brian was put in
that position to save Amy's life that
day and really acknowledge the greatness
that we have here in the city of
Chandler. So uh Brian, congratulations
to you and um we look forward to
celebrating you more throughout the
year. Congratulations. you
[Applause]
want. And
uh Amy, would you like to stand up?
Would you like to say anything?
This is probably going to be like the
millionth thank you, but thank you again
and thank you so much for having me here
to be a part of this. It really is an
honor to be here and to be with this
whole recognition. He definitely
deserves it and of course everybody
else. But it is an honor to be here and
to be able to stand here, talk about it
again and just to say thank you once
again and thank you for everybody once
again and for having me here.
Thank you.
All right, let's take a photo.
Thank you again.
All right. Um, our next uh part up in
front is Proclamation Library Week if
Sue Van Horn and Joel Miller can join
us. And uh we're going to break Council
Member Hawkins in tonight and ever read
her first proclamation. I intentionally
chose one with lots of hard words and uh
so let's root her on.
[Music]
Thank you for coming up and en uh being
here with us tonight. So our
proclamation whereas libraries serve as
vibrant community hubs connecting people
with knowledge, technology and resources
while fostering engagement, community
enrichment and lifelong learning. And
whereas these resources celebrate the
diversity of our communities by
providing inclusive places that welcome
people of all ages from all backgrounds,
cultures, and walks of life. And whereas
libraries protect the right to read,
think, explore without censorship,
standing as champions of intellectual
freedom and free expression. And whereas
Chandler Public Library has served as a
trusted institution at the heart of our
city neighborhoods and school campuses
leading innovation providing technology
training and access to state-of-the-art
creator equipment. And whereas Chandler
Public Library and librarians I'm not it
keeps going I promise look beyond their
traditional roles providing
transformative opportunities for
education employment entrepreneurship
empowerment and engagement while
thoughtfully developing collections and
programs that explore the diversity of
our everchanging society. And
whereas America is celebrating National
Library Week to recognize the
far-reaching impact and importance of
libraries and librarians, including
National Library Giving Day on April
1st, encouraging community support for
local libraries. Now, therefore, Kevin
Harky, mayor of City of Chandler,
Arizona, does hereby proclaim April 6th
through the 12th, 2025 as National
Library Week. and we encourage all
residents to visit our libraries and
explore all that they have to offer.
[Applause]
I don't know if we can follow
that. Um, I just want to say that if you
haven't visited the library recently or
you need to come in and get a library
card, come on in. We've got something
for everyone. So, thank you so much. We
appreciate it. All right, let's take a
photo. and I never can pronounce
entrepreneurship. So that's why
All right. And our next um proclamation
only has three syllable words. Uh Valley
Bike Month. Can we have the the Okasen
family come join us up
here? I hope I pronounced your name
right. Oaken. Okasen. focusing. All
right, I was
right. I shouldn't have second guessed.
Whereas the city of Chandler celebrates
its 17th annual family bike ride event
on April 5th. And whereas the city of
Chandler Valley Metro and surrounding
communities will be promoting Valley
Bike Month in April 2025. And whereas
throughout the month of April, residents
of Chandler and its visitors will
experience the joys of bicycling through
educational programs, commuting
incentives, community events, or by
simply getting out and going for a ride.
And whereas bicycling as an alternative
to driving contributes to reduce
pollution, congestion, and wear and tear
on our streets and roads. And whereas
creating a bicycle friendly community
has been shown to improve citizens
health, well-being, and quality of life,
encourage economic activity, and attract
tourism dollars. Now, therefore, I Kevin
Hartkey, mayor of the city of Chandler,
Arizona, and do hereby proclaim April
2025 as Valley Bike Month.
[Applause]
Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to
mention that there is still time to
register for the family bike ride. It is
on April 5th. The event starts at 7:30
with the ride starting at 8:30. And I
wanted to recognize the Okasin family.
Dave, Lesie, Anna, and their other
daughter, Caitlyn, who couldn't be here,
have been loyal participants. They've
been at every event, I think, over the
past decade. So, marvelous track record.
Just wanted to appreciate their
commitment to bicycling as well.
Yes. So, why do you like biking?
I like it as just a combination. It's
relaxing. It's exercising. It can be
social. Um and and really we're grateful
to the city for sponsoring us for this
for this event. It's been a great event
for our family. Um a great time to meet
other people, too.
Great. Well, thank you. All right, let's
take a photo.
Well, I look forward to seeing you on
April 5th.
All right. And that concludes our
proclamations and special recognitions.
I did offer my spare bicycle to council
member Harris last year. So, we'll see
if he takes me up on it this
year. All right, council. We've had a
number of uh items called in for this
study session. The first is uh number
eight. Um
Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
See, Vice Mayor, you're supposed to
remind me on on these things.
I don't have the script in front of All
right, council, we have uh a few items,
mostly uh second reads, and uh on this
consent agenda, how would you like to
proceed?
All right, mayor. I'll council member
Lando propose a motion to approve the
consent agenda of March 24, 2025 regular
meeting items one through four. Very
good. Is there a second? Second. Second
by council member
Poston. Questions, comments, recusals.
Seeing none, council, please vote.
Motion carries unanimously.
All right. Thank you. Thank you, Council
Member Orlando for keeping me on track
here. All right. Next, we have some
items that have been called in. First
was item number eight by Council Member
Poston. Looking for a presentation.
Good evening, Mayor and Council, and
Council Member Poston. Thank you so much
for the opportunity to talk about
Mosquite Groves Park.
This uh specific action is a staff
request for you to approve the
professional services agreement with J2
Engineering and Environmental Design for
the Mosquet Groves Park Design Services
not to exceed just north of $4.7
million.
So the city of Chandler was able to
purchase a nice piece of property about
100 acres just a few years
ago 2002 to be exact. So what's that 23
years or so uh and is will serve a very
significant portion of our city with our
recreation services. Already we have uh
the pool that was built there in 2008.
Mosquite grows our most popular most
populous uh park or aquatic center that
we have and of course the this community
uh will and certainly enjoy the
amenities that we have. I don't know
does it come up pretty well? So quick
list of a lot of the activities that we
have here. the five acre fishing lake,
the um four soccer fields, multi-purpose
fields at this point that will also
multiple play as a potential cricket
pitch as well. So, we've heard the
community with cricket, we've heard the
community with multisport, we've heard
the community with soccer, and that
demand is certainly accommodated with
this layout. We also have three of the
diamond fields. We have a future phase
unfunded at this point. Potential for a
small rec center about 25,000 square
feet to be determined in the future
years. Of course, the typical uh
community park will have the uh
playground area, splash pad area. We've
got space for a skate
BMX pump track. We've got space for a
little bit of pickle ball, maybe six
courts or so. We've got uh basketball as
well and of course picnic areas. One of
the top of the list as always with our
park areas is just walking paths, a
chance to be able to connect with nature
and to be out into open space into park
areas. So this 90 acres addition will
add a tremendous amount of opportunity
for that walking and fitness. Along
those fitness trails, we may have things
like fitness facilities, uh pull-up
bars, the old park horse type of things.
remember those, Council Member
Orlando? Yeah. Yeah, we we we worked on
we worked on a lot of those back in the
day. Right. Right on. So, the park
horses, that kind of fitness facility.
We're having a lot of fun and uh this is
the real kickoff. I want to recognize uh
first and foremost the residents of the
area. Uh some of the folks that moved
there with little ones and excited about
having a park now have perhaps
grandchildren that will maybe get to
enjoy uh this park. Now, it's not to
take away. We've had a lot of financial
challenges throughout the city through
our fiscal conservancy and through our
strategic um use of our funds, both our
community development impact fees as
well as our bond funding. And you guys
will, the mayor and council will have a
chance to put uh this project as well,
phase two on this project for the bond
consideration for this year. But we have
uh a significant amount of uh planning
ahead of that. Uh this kicks off this
agreement kicks off uh a summary of the
past two meet since October we've had
two different public meetings. We sent
out in invites to over 6,500 homes in
the area and we received over 460
responses to that survey. So we've had a
significant amount of public engagement
uh significantly heard our community and
what's important to them and this plan
really reflects that. and J2 uh the
design firm has their fingerprints
across a number of our city parks in
Chandler and have been a wonderful
partner throughout the years and we're
really excited to see them kick this
off. So with that um I also want to
recognize the hard work of uh Alyssa
Securos and Dan Haskins and our CIP
program as well of course uh Mickey
Oland our uh pro parks CIP manager. And
with that, uh, I will encourage anybody
that's interested in this to visit
chandleraz.gov/mosquer park, all one
word, and check out a little bit more.
And with that, I'll do my very best to
answer any questions.
John, thank you. I I just really wanted
a brief overview of this because I think
we all deserve a little good news these
days. And I think just by the reaction
of council when you first started, I
think that shows that this is a very
positive um item on our agenda. I
actually went to the public meetings and
those neighbors have waited. You know,
you do the math. Those kids are 23.
They're in college. Some of those
families that moved in when this was
first started. And I know that some of
these projects don't happen exactly when
when they need to. I'm certainly not
second-guessing any decisions, but I'm
just so proud and glad that we're able
to take a look and and at least meet our
promise to those neighbors and it looks
like everything that we have in this
park will meet their expectations and
exceed them. I also did like that you
have accommodated a cricket field which
we might not have accommodated or even
thought about 23 years ago because we
have that increasing demand in our
community and I think that speaks
volumes to what you and your staff do
when it comes to listening to the
residents and what they want and what's
important in their neighborhood. So,
thank you for this. Thank you for the
presentation and let's get going on it.
Thank you. Thanks, Mayor. Thank you. Any
other questions or comments? Seeing.
All right. Seeing none. Thank you, Jan.
Second. Thank you. Our next item called
in item number 11, also by council
member Poston. A question regarding the
uh first amendment to the development
agreement between one Chandler and the
city of Chandler. Kim
Moyers. Council member Poston. You um
thank you Kim. Thank you, mayor. I was
just wanting to know um it always
concerns me when we're putting off a
development agreement. You know, we've
done that many times in the past where
we put it off and put it off and put it
off and what we promised our residents
to happen in our downtown. And I know
it's particularly difficult to develop
in a downtown. What I'd like to know
tonight is where did we come up with
that one-year number? Is that strategic?
Is it just sort of a number we pulled
out of the air or or what is the
expectation that will change between now
and a year from now? Through the mayor,
council member Poston. Um great
question. Um when we signed the
development agreement with Jackson
Dearborn back in 2022, we were still in
the midst of CO. Um since that time,
we've seen a lot of changes in the
economy. Um, despite that, they have
continued to meet every deadline from
the time that they started until today.
They've been extremely communicative
with us and let us know what some of
their issues and challenges were within
today's market, particularly in the
office market. And they're looking for
12 months to see if they can shore up
some um changes within smaller changes
within um uh their mixed use to be able
to make this pencil a little better. And
so they're looking for that 12 months,
but they have said that if they're able
to do that, that they will move even
quicker if they can. So what I would say
is um while we've seen this a time and
time again, um they have always picked
up the phone to call us to let us know
every step of the way and they've met
every obligation that they've told us
that they would were able to. And in
today's market, I think that it is um uh
not expected necessarily, but common for
this to happen throughout the valley.
Okay. All right. I think you I think
you've answered my questions. I
appreciate it. I do appreciate that they
have been communicating with city staff.
I know that they've been communicating
with our city manager as well. So, um
I'm in I'm in favor of giving them the
time that they need, but just want to
make sure that they continue to move
forward. meet that obligation because
this is a big signature project for
downtown. It's going to be our northern
entryway. So, I'm really excited about
what they're doing there. I just want to
make sure that they are able to deliver
on that. Thanks, Kim. Additional
questions or comments for Kim Moyer.
Vice Mayor. Thank you, Miss Cam. If I
may ask, is this solely because of
financial constraints? because I
remember talking to Josh about that and
what they wanted to do was probably
adding more units to the areas where
they were going to put the mixed use. Um
were we able to talk to them regarding
to see how we can come up with something
to even be part of that solution through
the mayor vice mayor? Uh that's exactly
what we'll see in the next few months.
Um, as we as I mentioned earlier, uh,
office is a tough market right now and
it's difficult to find f financing,
especially with a small amount with the
larger project. So, there's an
opportunity to perhaps have additional
multifamily. So, we'll be working
through those in the next few months to
get that right mixture so that they
might be able to shore up that
financing.
Thank you.
Thank you, Kim. Thank you. Next item
called in by council member Orlando.
Discussion questions relating to item
number 12. Nirvana at Ellis.
Kevin, I've never forgotten your name.
Uh, Council Member
Elena. Kevin. Um, we had some
conversation about this earlier today.
Um and actually this goes back a little
bit further. How many units do we have
today that have been approved
um zoned all that activity that city has
participated in to enable
development? Through the mayor, council
member Orlando, members of council, we
have as of today the total number of
units are 1,839 units. 2% of those units
are single family. The rest are multif
family units. They are approved, have
received their entitlements, and we're
simply waiting for them to move forward
into the next step of the process. So
that's kind of a little bit less than
what we heard maybe a year or so ago,
right? We've seen some through the
mayor. We've seen some absorption uh by
the market. Uh however, there are
national forces going on, mortgage rates
and and construction financing and other
factors that have limited uh maybe the
number of units we would have seen in
normal times. So that's left in the
hopper or that's being built the 10,00
through the mayor. That's left in the
hopper. Okay, that's good. Well, that's
that's good news there. Um this is a
great project. Um it's, you know,
single, it's uh duplexes. It's about 58
units, I believe, or 29 units through
the mayor. 35 units. 35 units. And I I
look forward to seeing this built. Um to
go back to item number 11 and some of
the other the thousand units and one
time was over 2,000. So that's good news
to hear that there is some movement.
There's sticks being put in the ground.
Um my concern has been it's a number one
issue in Arizona. That's number one
issue nationally is housing. And um my
frustration is with all of these units
that are pent up demand and we're
getting help from the legislators. We're
getting help in a lot of areas and we're
just not seeing the projects coming out
of the ground. Uh I know there's
economic issues. We just talked about
that and I get all that stuff. But I
guess my question to you is, do we have
a high confident level that this is
going to occur or am I going to be here
a year from now adding to that 1,00 some
odd units? Through the mayor, it's a
great question, council member. Uh well,
no one can predict the market. Uh we as
staff are committed to working uh across
multiple departments and with the
council to explore ways that we can help
bring these units to market. Obviously,
as as council member Lando noted, there
is a need for housing. It is a topic
desour uh across the state of Arizona
and through all states and across the
country. Uh and so uh in order to help
move the market along, we will be
working as staff and ultimately with
council to explore alternate means and
opportunities to to make that happen in
our city. Is the applicant here tonight?
Unfortunately, the applicant was not
able to attend. However, they did notify
us by email that uh they do intend to
start construction by this summer and if
approved this evening by city council,
uh they will be submitting their
construction documents for approval uh
in the very near future and hope to be
under construction, early construction
activities by uh summer of 2025. Have we
worked with this developer before? We
have not. Okay. So, it's first time here
and through the mayor. Yes. So, we have
a history does anybody in the valley
have a history with this developer
through the mayor? Unfortunately,
council member, I I can't answer that,
but we could certainly follow up on
that. Again, I'm not challenging their
their emails. Again, I've heard I've
seen these emails the last 20 years.
I've 30 23 years I've seen these emails.
We just had a good example here, best
intentions, and it's three years later.
Uh we're still not getting sticks in the
ground. Uh okay. So, look, I'm
um uh I'm okay with moving forward. I'd
like to see a stronger u some stronger
language in there perhaps about uh what
we could do with this development to
move it forward. Um I also like staff to
look at some kind of uh carrot or
incentive to be able to move these
projects off of the funnel and into
sticks in the ground and potentially
look at some um accountability means if
you know we're not meeting our
obligation. uh every unit helps to
reduce some of this activity going on
out there where we have this um you know
this over this under served community of
of folks not having a decent place to
live. So through the mayor we will
communicate very strongly to the
applicant the council's interest in
seeing this project move forward and we
will work with them as closely as
possible to make it happen uh to meet
the timelines that the council expects
and that they've also indicated uh in
their communications to us. So, what
ideas do you have for the future and
Wayne? How fast can you get what state?
You knew I was going to ask that, Kevin.
Come on now.
Through the mayor, what are your
thoughts and timelines on that? Through
the mayor, uh, as the council is aware,
uh, we are working on a housing uh,
assessment and study uh, that will
identify potential strategies and
recommendations for the council to
consider. We will be done uh, with that
project later this summer. uh between
now and then we will be meeting
internally to talk about different
alternate ways. Uh as the council is
likely aware we have certain statutory
limitations placed upon us uh in terms
of requiring through stipulations. Uh
there are other methods uh perhaps
regulatory methods or financial
incentives where we can go to the market
and uh see if we can get the proverbial
wheels of uh building activity moving
along. So, we will be putting a package
together and ultimately bringing that
back for your consideration and be
working over the next several months
while that study is completed. Perfect.
I appreciate that. Again, we're not
trying to be punitive here. I'm just
trying to figure out how we could
accelerate this housing. That's one of
the issues. I mean, we were all at the
National League of City a few weeks ago
and that was the number one topic
throughout the United States of of
housing. So, hopefully we could do our
little bit here to make it a little bit
more comfortable for everyone. Thank
you, Mayor. Thank you, Kevin.
Kevin, I've got a question for you, too.
Um, and I don't need the answer today,
but I I am just curious concerning where
the market is at in Chandler. So, where
what if you could get that to us
sometime soon in terms of saturation?
What's the rate? What's the rent
percentage across the city? A rough
number. It doesn't need to be exact on
that, but get that to us as in your best
convenience. Additional questions. Vice
Mayor. Yes. Thank you, Mayor Kevin. uh
in light of the fact that we are not
familiar with this builder uh what has
been the relationship with them along
the way. I know I want I really want to
see a timeline kind of like visualize it
from the time they put the application
in how responsive they have been and
continually with you to the point where
now they believe that they're ready for
the summer to put shovel in the ground.
Can you give me a good understanding of
that because that will give us a big
sense of confidence through the mayor.
Uh, council member uh we have had a good
working relationship. Uh, Mikuela Libert
who's been the assigned planner has
worked very diligently with them.
They've been responsive to our
information requests. Their application
material revisions have been done
promptly. Uh, they were uh they went to
the planning and zoning commission
recently and received approval through
the planning and zoning commission. Uh,
so they have been throughout the steps
in the process working with us
diligently to get through the process
and to meet our needs and expectations.
they've responded to our design
modifications and also the inputs on
where we think they could do better uh
overall with the project. So I would say
in in summary they have been good to
work with and at this point we have no
concerns as staff to believe that they
won't progress forward but we will again
deliver that message very strongly that
the council would like to see them move
forward with this project. Well that's
great. What I'm hearing is that you said
that want to is there you know that
strong want to and then they have it
with them. In other word, there is a
good thing in there for them because
they wouldn't want to be in Chandler if
it was not going to happen. Furthermore,
it's going to be on Ellie Street. What
can go
wrong? All right. Additional questions
or
comments? All right. Thank you so much,
Kevin. Item number 24, a briefing called
for by Council Member Orlando on our
pension funding policies update. Would
that be you, Don? All
right. Thank you, mayor. Um, council
member Orlando, uh, just quick briefing.
We have nine financial policies in the
city of Chandler that set sustainable
financial practices. Each year, uh, we
review them. This year, we're only
bringing forward one with changes and it
is the pension funding policy. It is
required by Arizona revised statute that
this come forward annually to update the
assets, liabilities and the current
funded ratio of the pension plan. So
this is the public safety personnel uh
retirement system that covers police and
fire. Um back in
2021 the funded ratio was only
59.9% funded. I'm happy to report that
on this update it is being updated to
94.4% funded. Um this policy also uh it
iterates the goal of council in the
policy and that goal is stated as um
becoming 100% funded and then
maintaining that funding status.
We also update the Arizona revised
statute or I'm sorry the ASRS the
um retirement system Arizona state
retirement system called it Arizona
advice statute my goodness that is
actually updated this year and this is a
poolled policy at 74% funded and with
that I can answer any questions you
might have right so there's really no
major changes other than the fact that
we're moving forward with the
percentages
updating the percentages and adding that
we will not only fully fund but maintain
in the future. That is the big change to
the goal. And we just had a budget
session. I don't want to go to details
on that. You answer a lot of questions
on that too. So appreciate that. The the
message very clear is we're saving the
taxpayers a multi-million multi- million
dollars just by paying down that debt
and we'll continue working forward with
that. Correct. That is absolutely
correct. Thank you.
Thank you, mayor.
Um, next we're going to do item number
32 called in by council member Ellis and
Orlando and then, uh, Leah Power, if
you're if you're prepared for a brief
briefing on item number three as well.
So, all right, John Kudson.
Yes, Vice Mayor, I understand you had a
question about uh the alley program.
Well, I understand you were going to do
a presentation. Well, I have
um I was unsure of the question, but I
am prepared to give you kind of an
overview of the alley program and then a
quick discussion about the particular um
item that we have in front of you
tonight. Thank you. So, uh, the city of
Channer has had a formal, uh, alley
rehabilitation program since about 2008,
um, when, uh, the EPA enacted an air
quality regulation called PM10. And it
has to do with particulate matter less
than 10 microns in diameter. Uh, and the
the program is really, uh, to try to
mitigate dust in the air that we
breathe. Um so in recent years um we've
received grant funding from the federal
government through Maricopa Association
of Governments to help us with the cost
of completing these PM10
rehabilitations. Um the map that I have
here
uh shows um the it's difficult to see
but all those little lines are all the
alleyways within the city that we
maintain. These are the unpaved
alleyways.
um approximately 104 miles. So there's
considerable uh
amount. Uh so again in recent years the
grant funding has come about. Um we have
taken advantage of that grant funding to
the best that we can. Uh the grant
funding requires uh along with grant
funding also comes some rules and
regulations. So uh with this grant
funding we have to do environmental
surveys of the alleys. We also have to
provide um proof that we own the
properties underlying the areas that we
are improving. So if we're improving a
road, you'll often see us come with very
similar council memos asking for
authority to acquire. This is no
different. This is just an authority to
acquire um some remnant pieces of land.
Um I have another image here to show
you. Uh and this
would be an image of those two small
they're not small in in length but
they're small in width so it's just
small square footage actually and these
are uh like half alley pieces uh that
you can see
um and these are the areas that when the
when the property was platted when the
subdivision was platted these were left
out so uh they should be part of the
city rightaway within those alleys but
today they're not. So when uh our real
estate group Eric was doing the research
on this program uh he discovered these
two areas that uh needed to come into
city ownership and that's that's
basically what this memo is concerning.
Um so the property must be purchased
become part of the city rightway then we
can obligate for the grant funding and
then we can move forward with the
project. Uh in addition to the formal
alley rehab program that I discussed,
our uh streets rightway crews are
constantly looking in the alleys
cleaning and clearing up debris. Uh so
it's pretty much a constant effort uh in
those alleyways. Um and next council me
uh meeting um to continue uh the care of
our alleyways, we'll be um introducing
to you the purchase of a slurry tanker
truck. And the slurry tanker truck will
be used not only in our new parking lot
program uh for restoration and
rehabilitation of the city's parking
lots, but we do intend to use this uh al
this uh slurry tanker as well to
maintain our alleys into the future. Um
we are now as of next year we will have
completed all 104 miles of alleys uh in
this in this PM10 program. So, we kind
of view the alleys kind of like painting
the Golden Gate Bridge. You finish and
then you go right back to the beginning
and and you start again. And so, that's
kind of where we're at with this. Um,
but we're unsure if we're going to be
able to get future grant funding for the
the next round. So, that's what this
slurry tanker will be for. That's what
the the program will be uh to kind of
take us into the future. So, thank you
so much, John. This is wonderful.
um really appreciate the investment
because for the last five years pretty
much I've been hearing it from the
resident of north pretty much the north
of the city which is where you show us
all the where everything is really
congregate in that area with the alleys
that their quality of life because of
those alleys have not been the same with
the people in the south and so I wanted
to make sure that today you come and
tell and show us that we are making
efforts and that what we're doing right
now is going to improve their quality of
lives can you speak a little a little
bit about that in what way I know the
truck you mentioned is going to continue
to improve with metance and cleanness
and everything but what we're seeing
what the main complaints that we have
been getting specifically for those
alleys of people uh living into them
which I know neighborhood services is
doing their part but also people dumping
in those areas how would you be able to
continue to maintain those areas so we
don't have those problems anymore
through the mayor uh vice mayor the care
of these alleyways is difficult um other
cities have uh Tempe, Mesa, and others
have actually gone and blocked the
alleys, you know, with with fences or
gates. Um, in Chandler, that's a
difficult thing to do because we have
alley trash service in in our alleys and
that is something that residents seem to
seem to like and that is something that
we're going to continue. So, blocking
our alleyways is not an option for us.
So, I just think with um elevated
patrol, elevated uh care and maintenance
of the alleys like our like our rightway
folks do on a daily basis as part of
their routine, our solid waste folks are
are always on it. Um, this particular
program, the PM10 program is nice
because when they finish an alley, it's
not paved necessarily with an asphalt,
but they use um mil material and then
they then they adhere it in a way that
and then they roll it in. So, it's very
much like a an asphalt material. So, it
does create a good surface. Um, the very
next program that we're doing is going
to be right in the downtown. It'll be
from McQueen to uh Dobson will have some
work from Chandler Boulevard over to Ray
and it it's represents about 20 miles of
of alleyways and that represents about
$6 million in in cost uh which we get
about 40% back from the grant. So we
fund about 60% and the grant uh pays for
about 40%. That's wonderful. Last
question for you. How much of public
involvement have we gotten into these
projects as going along getting people
excited about it and bringing them to
the table getting their input on what
they would like to see being done
because that's their backyards in other
words
uh through the mayor uh vice mayor. It
it it is interesting. They have a uh in
Chandler we have a love of our alleys
and there's no doubt about that. Um, and
when we come into an alley, when we come
into one of our projects, we do an awful
lot of notification, but it is difficult
because we have to remove the trash
containers from the alley, put them in
the front. Um, and we have to remember
what those alleys are there for. Um, the
alleys were created in those days for
really a utility access. So in that
alley is not only in many cases water
and wastewater pipes but also uh all
your natural gas everything is
down those alleys. So um as much as we
hear from some neighbors oh let's get
rid of the alleys or you know it's
difficult because there's so much
utility infrastructure there that we
have a difficult time you know dealing
with that. So, uh, we do reach out. We
do, uh, make contact when we're coming
into these neighborhoods, and we do our
very, very best to be, you know, good,
uh, good citizens and and good
contractors trying to to keep everything
clean and and get in and out as, as as
quickly as possible, but it's difficult
work as well. So, we we do occasionally
have a bump in the road, but we try to
we try to smooth those out. Well, I'm
grateful that you're doing this with the
staff and everybody else that's on board
to help with that. when I leave here
this evening, I'm going to call Miss
Linda Sawyer and let her know her wish
has been granted because I'm sure she
will be happy knowing that we're putting
some investments in those eyes. Thank
you,
Council Member Orlando. Mayor, my
question was answered. Thank you. All
right. Um, city manager, just a a
comment. We can never let him go. He
compares alleys to the Golden Gate
Bridge. I I don't know what else to say.
We agree, mayor. I think he heard it
tonight. He can't go anywhere.
Thank you. Uh item number three called
in by council member inus leas pal.
Good evening mayor and council. I we
have a full presentation but I'm also
happy to go over it quickly and just
answer questions. Whatever your
preference would be if you just want to
do a quick brief overview of item number
three. Um and then I have some follow-up
questions for you. Okay. Through the
mayor, members of the council. Items
actually number two and three kind of go
together. We are looking at changing a
couple of city ordinances. As you know,
the city of Chandler has been following
any of the recent Supreme Court rulings
regarding people experiencing
homelessness as well as Proposition 312
that was passed in the fall. Chandler
believes in leading with services and we
will continue to do that throughout this
process. These ordinances are simply
another tool in our toolbox to encourage
people who are experiencing homelessness
to engage in services. This allows us to
put some hours onto our bus stops and be
able to close them approximately about
an hour after the last bus run and open
about 30 minutes to an hour prior to the
the first bus route in the morning. And
when we see people that are camping,
setting up homes at those transit stops,
this allows police and the navigation
team to work together as they do now.
But it gives police an additional tool
to be able to provide a warning first
and then eventually sight if somebody
will not leave and is setting up an
encampment at the transit spot. Police
and navigation team already work
together on people who have created
encampments, people who need to engage
in services but have a tremendous amount
of items with them. That will continue.
We have a mechanism in place should
someone need to be cited and they have
their items. There is a mechanism in
place. Police is already using some bins
to go ahead and collect the items and
put them into storage. Same thing with a
navigation team. We have people who walk
into our office on a daily basis that
need to replace their items somewhere.
So they may engage in services. We will
continue to do that. So again, I think
the effort that police and navigation do
together now will continue on as we go
forward. Um the ordinance also will
allow for citations for urban camping
should that take place. We again will
try to get services, get people to move
on to understand the situation. Already
code enforcement, police and navigation
work together when there are encampments
on private property, notifying the
private property owners and working
together to make sure encampments are
cleaned.
Thank you for that briefing, Leah. Um, I
live in downtown and I've seen these
encampments pop up at a bus station and
our team has been very good to work with
them and get that cleared up. Can you
walk me through um a scenario where if
we do have an encampment being built,
maybe if it's less than 24 hours or so
at a bus station, what does that process
looked like? Is our PD going out there
first? Is our navigation team going out
there first? What is the the line of
process for that through the mayor,
council member, and Cenus? It it
certainly will be case by case how case
by case. However, I will tell you that
most of the time our navigation team is
already going to be aware and again they
are just in constant communication with
the officers that are on the beat and so
it will be addressed through whatever
the appropriate mechanism is at that
point. So for example, if if it's
somebody who's starting to build an
encampment, our navigators are usually
going to get on that first and
immediately contact the person. If
something starts, if the person's not
moving on or let's say something more
begins to happen, there starts to be
vandalism that police will be coming
out, but there will be that constant
communication and working together on
this situation. So, it would not
necessarily be a police officer who may
approach first. Navigation certainly
doesn't have any enforcement capability.
That's not what they're going to do.
when they see something start an
encampment start anywhere they're going
to start with services and then of
course like I said work with the police
department when the police department
gets called out for um situations that
involve people experiencing homelessness
they too to work out they call the
navigators to come out and assist where
appropriate. Obviously, they're going to
take public safety as the first thing
that they're looking at and and respond
appropriately if it's a safety
situation, but they will work very
closely with the navigator. So, it
really is on a case-byase basis. Again,
we're just trying to make sure that we
have one more tool in our toolbox to try
to move people on to resources, which is
ultimately what's going to be better for
their lives. Correct. Correct. And one
thing that I'm wrestling with as part of
this update is the penalties that go
along with this um if it gets that
instance. You know, we're dealing with
people that are already in tough
situations and it's potentially a
misdemeanor for them creating that
encampment. How do we get to that level?
I know there's some level of discretion
as well too depending. So, can you walk
me through that as well? Absolutely.
Through the mayor, council member,
police officers do have the discretion
and we'll do a warning first. Um
obviously again if there's an intimate
safety issue they're going to deal with
it differently but they have the um
opportunity to use discretion they
absolutely will do a warning first.
They're going to offer services first.
They can make that connection to to
resources to the navigators if it's not
somebody who's already engaged. And then
if someone is cited we have the ability
to have the person go through support
court. Um we have our our support court
that we've been running for about three
years now with the court system. And so
people experiencing homelessness will
have that opportunity to go through
support court and there um they will be
working with the navigation team again.
The judge will look at a situation and
there will be a plan that is is created
for that person. And if they work their
plan then usually charges are either
reduced or dropped. And so that too will
be another tool that we can use for
people who are experiencing homelessness
if they find themselves in the situation
of getting a citation. Gotcha. If they
do get to the point of a misdemeanor, is
this the lowest type of penalty through
the mayor, council member Cenis? Yes, it
is on the criminal side. Now, if it's
something occurs on private property, a
private property owner certainly could
go with the civil case. I haven't seen
that occur in Chandler yet. Um, but it
could happen, but from a criminal
standpoint, misdemeanor would be the
lowest. Okay. Thanks for that
clarification. Mayor, if I may add a
little bit more to that. Proceed. Um,
most of the defined crimes in our code,
the vast majority are class one
misdemeanors or we have the option of a
civil traffic offense where we just
issue citation and the only remedy
available there is a fine. The advantage
of having these designated as crimes if
you have the reluctant cooperator
um it gives us an opportunity for
support court, an opportunity for
probation to help with monitoring and um
encouraging that person to comply with
the law. There are three levels of
misdemeanor and they are the lowest
class of criminal uh of crimes defined
in our state law. There's class one,
class two, and a class three.
Um, again, most of our everything in our
code is class one, and this is
consistent with the other municipalities
around the area. We can go down to a
class three. Um, I would not recommend
in these type cases a civil because it
really ties our hands with just a fine
and and not being able to add those
additional incentives. Sure. Thank you
for that clarification. That was mainly
I I wanted to get a better understanding
of that process and it sounds like there
there will be some level of discretion
and a plan for for them to make
adjustments if it needs to get there. So
um and then you also answered my other
question regarding their their value
their items valuable items. Your PD is
working on a collection process you said
through the mayor council member it
happens on both ends. So the PD does
have a process to collect and even right
now if something occurs in the middle of
the night whenever possible we will try
to assist through the navigation team.
So it could be there's a situation maybe
somebody's staying in a bus stop
overnight and it can wait until the
navigation team is on in the morning and
the navigation team can come out and
help the police department and take that
off them to have to worry about the
items. And again, we're going to we
there already are bins that we use and
we're going to be purchasing additional
bins to be able to have people put their
items in the bin, lock the bin, and then
put the bin in storage. Okay. And we
also have um a cleanup for we already
have a contract for encampment cleanup.
Okay. Thank you. That answers all my
questions regarding this. Yeah, I've got
one question. I think um city attorney
answered one of them, which is every
city around us has adopted or is
adopting similar measures to this. Is
that correct? Yes, mayor, that is
correct. And then again, that is one of
the reasons that we feel like it's
important for Chandler to have the same
tools that other cities have um so that
it is consistent with throughout the
valley and we don't see any pressure
just on Chandler for a lack of resources
and tools. My second question is um you
will recall as we had commencerated
about this in the past that at the
Burger King at Arizona and Ray Road we
had a on again off-again couple that
were consistently
um taking over that bus stop were being
antagonistic to any question to move or
really others that wanted to use that
bus stop as they kind of claimed that
again they had their own struggles but
with This uh ordinance made it easier
for us to both help them in their in
their homeless situation as well as move
them to where they were not a threat to
themselves or others. Mayor, you are
correct. We dealt with that situation
for a number of years and didn't have
the tools or the resources to con to
really um I think convince them to go
into services, we'll say. Um, and
unfortunately there were some very
extreme health situations that occurred
with that individual. And we've seen
that in other places and actually I can
think of a couple other bus stops in
particular where had we had this tool we
probably could have gotten that person
into care sooner. Um, and that's
ultimately what we want. We are trying
to make sure that people get connected
to resources because it truly does
become a health and safety issue for
many of them. Thank you. Any additional
questions, please? Last question
quickly. You mentioned something about
us being uh boggled down with more
having to put out more resources because
everyone around us have this plan and
that they are have it in place right
now. What does that look like? Can
explain why will Chandler be burdened
more now if we don't have this in place
through the mayor vice mayor. what we
have seen in the past, we typically know
when a city is doing some type of
enforcement because you will see
homelessness at times cross borders and
we have experience that people will come
into Chandler that are not necessarily
from Chandler and we may hear that this
is happening because they're getting
pressure from that other city. So, we
just want to basically level the playing
field so that we're all dealing with the
same tools so you don't have one city
pushing people into another city. Yeah.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you, mayor.
Additional questions or
comments? Seeing none, thank you so
much, council. That concludes the the
questions and comment uh portion of our
meeting. We'll see you all on Thursday
for budget session three and uh voting
on these items tonight. Have a good
evening.
I am walking.