City of Chandler Council Meeting 2.6.25

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right hello and good evening to our
February 6 regular city council meeting
I would like to call our meeting to
order Clerk
mayor Harkey here vice mayor Ellis here
council member incus here council member
Poston here council member Orlando here
council member Harris here council
member Hawkins here we have a quorum
thank you so much our invocation tonight
will be brought forth by Reverend father
tayor wand AJ from St Andrew the Apostle
Catholic church if you'd like to come up
sir and afterwards our Pledge of
Allegiance by council member Jennifer
Hawkins please
stand stand here you we the mic is just
right there there you
go let us
pray almighty God we are thank we are
thankful for the gift of life and our
great nation and our city of
Chandler We Gather this evening as a
community to express our gratitude for
chandless many blessings its diversity
values and dedicated leadership we thank
you for counselors and staff you have
given to serve the people of CH Lord
Empower our leaders to be always
dedicated servants to all they counter
Inspire them with the gift of wisdom to
speak the truth with respect and to
glorify you in every word they utter and
each action they undertake as a council
we know their thoughtful discussions and
decisions will serve the common good of
our
city guide them as they navigate the
challenges and seize opportunities to
Foster hope and prosperity for Chanda
May their actions reflect Integrity
Justice and compassion for all members
of our community let them ensure that
each voice in the community is respected
and valued for this diversity of
perspectives and reaches our city we ask
this through Christ Our Lord amen amen
amen
amen please join me in the pledge of
allegiance toag of the United States of
America to
the stand
na
indivisible andice
for thank you Father wday thank you
council member Hawkins
before we um uh take a a motion for our
consent agenda I would like to recognize
there's uh one of the groups here in the
audience tonight are uh people who are
who have uh will be serving on our
resident uh action or Community Action
Council for our I'm saying that wrong
but for our general planned update which
will be a 10-year plan that they will
help us formulate so if you are either
serving on that or one of the other
appointees tonight uh Matt if you please
grab a okay Alexis if you please stand
up and I'd like to give you a chance
just to uh state your name and uh Alexis
will go around and capture
you hi I'm Jack sers former chander city
council
member I'm Rick human Jack's assistant
no I'm Rick human former Chan city
council member
Christy Rodriguez resident a Chandler
for 29
years I'm Allison Gerard and I'm a four
year almost fiveyear resident of
Chandler looking forward to work with
everybody Mike Monte resident of
Chandler for 41
years hi Crystal Blackwell resident of
the channnel for 24
years Renee baros resident
since 89 I was trying to count the
years pepper Chambers resident for three
years and on the Chandler cultural uh
Foundation
board good evening I'm Lori Collins I've
been a channel resident for 24 years I'm
currently the Director of Business and
economic development for Mesa Gateway
Airport
Terry kimle presid CEO of the Chandler
chamber and a Chandler resident for 15
almost 16
years well we want to thank you
[Applause]
all for being willing to serve uh uh
part of your requirements is you have to
be future thinking and at least in your
mind have a crystal ball to help us plan
for the future so we look forward to
that this point I'd like i' entertain a
motion for our consent agenda council
member post thank you
mayor mayor I'd like to make a motion to
approve the consent agenda consent
agenda of the February 6 2025 regular
meeting items 1 through 20 with a
special note on item number four to add
an additional stipulation item number
eight of a minimum of six electric
vehicle charging stations to be provided
at the location all right we have a
motion with a second council member in
Cena second all right motion and a
second there uh comments before we vote
on this I think there are few um council
member Orlando no I just want to thank
council member Poston for working with
uh Costco and getting those additional
uh
uh electric vehicle Chargers I think
it's a good good move and it'll serve
the community as well as the residents
and excuse me the employees in that area
so thank you and thank you for uh being
receptive to that additional comments or
questions before we vote I just wanted
to thank the applicant for moving so
quickly and being willing to do this I
think it'll be a great addition to that
business development appreciate that
council member Harris yeah I just wanted
to thank Council for bringing such a
great project to Chandler I think that
um they are organization that embodies
our values when it comes to family and I
really think that's great and actually
their whole team is here today I just
can they just be stand up just to be
recognize so everyone know who they are
can you guys stand up right
[Applause]
quick and I will say I've heard from
quite a few business owners in Chandler
that are excited that they don't have to
drive off of 17th and Indian school to
go to a store that will now be available
in East Valley so this would be a great
addition additional comments Vice thank
you mayor would love to thank staff for
working so D diligently because when I
was in the room with Costco that's the
only thing you guys talked about how
great staff were and how they worked
with you along the way and enable you to
bring this great product to Chandler so
thank you s for doing your part and
appreciate all you
do all right Council please vote
motion carries
unanimously very good thank you next on
our agenda is unscheduled public
appearances do we have anyone that's
filled out a card no mayor we do have no
cards no unscheduled public appearances
current events I'll start off got a few
uh want to do a recap this last weekend
we uh hosted a Chandler International
Film Festival we uh it was a a fun fun
week we drew filmmakers and Cinema
enthusiasts from around the globe to
downtown Chandler I had coffee with a
bunch of them one morning at Maple house
and it was fun to see their enthusiasm
to have them find a median to tell their
story uh which is really what life is
about telling living and telling stories
so it was a a fantastic event it
showcased over 150 films from 35 count
countes including last year's state of
the city
struthio uh which was really fun and it
even set a new Guinness world record for
the largest display of movie posters so
I would say go into look theater and
look on the walls and see these but look
theater has closed their doors so that's
not fun event participants got to
experience the excitement of our
downtown many inv visitors in inquired
about opportunities for filming in
Chandler recognizing our potential as a
prime location people love the
friendliness of our community the
cleanliness and they felt safe so thank
you to our CIF team our host look Cinema
for making this possible speaking of
state of the City videos I want to
invite you all to our next annual state
of the city address on Thursday February
13th please join myself and members of
council at the Chandler Center for the
Arts where we will highlight our
community's accomplishments from past
years and look forward to
2025 this starts at 5:30 with a
reception in the 4year guests can mingle
sample food from Chandler restaurants
take selfies with council members and
enjoy a theme Lobby experience then join
us for videos and formal comments at
6:30 you can find out more information
and RSVP at Chandler e.gov stateof thee
City we would like you to RSVP because
we want to have enough food so uh we'll
have food brought in from Santan from
Geto and my favorite one of my favorite
Indian Community restaurants for ringi
next Happy Valentine's Day and happy
statehood day so Valentine's Day and
state Hood day are around the corner uh
to our our young tag team did you know
that Valentine's Day was the day that
Arizona became a state pretty cool this
is our
113 birthday and so we wish all of you a
love-filled Day celebrating Family
Friends Community in this incredible
state that we love and call home next I
do want to give a shout out to our teen
Advisory Group if you guys would all
stand
[Applause]
this awesome uh looking group of young
men and women have contributed over a
thousand hours of service major hours
are of service include um a Unity
collage project Lunar New Year Festival
Christmas Chronicles they participate in
blood drives charity events and cultural
programming overall they help make the
library and Chandler pretty incredible
so we're grateful to each and every one
of you for your service in making
Chandler awesome thank you again let's
give him another round of
applause council member and
SAS thank you mayor I just want to give
a uh thank you to our police officers um
here in Chandler we had a peaceful
protest demonstration this earlier this
week and I want to thank them for their
coordination with the residents um they
made sure that everyone was safe and
that traffic continued to flow here in
our city and I just want to give them a
thank you for their efforts of the
coordination with the organizers so
thank you council member Poston thank
you mayor um so I wanted to take just a
moment to address some of the recent
changes coming from the federal level
particularly regarding executive orders
and I just want to reass reassure our
residents that the Chandler city council
and our staff are monitoring all of
these items that are coming to us and
trying to deter what the effects are on
our residents and then just to reassure
that the mayor and Council will continue
to make decisions that are best for
Chandler residents and make sure that
our community feels safe and welcome to
that end I have asked staff to put
together a web page that would outline
some of those um effects that we might
be experiencing here in Chandler from
those executive orders right now there
might be more answers than questions so
we might we'll have a date on those so
they can be upd regularly pardon me did
I say it the wrong way yeah
unfortunately so yes I wish we had more
answers than questions no more questions
than answers but we'll have a date on
that and just continue to keep that page
updated as it evolves with an eye on
potentially even doing a community
meeting with some of our Community
Partners like the school district that
might have some effects or nonprofits or
such so um just letting you know that
we're keeping the eye on the ball City
staff is doing an outstanding job of
continuing to update all of council with
all of our questions I know they're
coming at you fast and furious so given
these National events as council member
incus mentioned we did have some
peaceful protests here in downtown
Chandler there is another protest
planned for Friday evening um freedom of
speech is a constitutional right and
it's a right that I value I support
everyone's right to peaceably assemble
that being said we want to make sure
everybody gets home safe again on Friday
night so please be sure to stay on
public property don't block traffic
don't block those entrances to business
get home safely and I too would like to
thank the police department for their
work on Monday and their continued work
to make sure that Friday's event is
peaceful and safe as well they are
prepared for the protest and they're
going to continue to keep Chandler safe
on a separate note um it was a busy week
in downtown Chandler Monday morning we
had a few people for a completely
different reason protesting at a
Chandler School
so this is one I don't want to give more
attention than it deserves um but it
does need to be said I I feel the need
to say that their message of hate is not
welcome here in Chandler um grown men
yelling hateful remarks to children in
no way reflects our values which is why
I was so proud that so many people
showed up the next day with counter
messaging they had signs of love and
support um there were parents there were
teachers there were administrators there
were community members just making sure
that those Chandler students knew that
we value every single one of our
students in Chandler they are loved they
are supported every single one of them
is important um and that's who we are
here in Chandler thank you
mayor vice
mayor thank you mayor I don't have any
announcement tonight but I saw that when
we were asking if we want to stand up
that that is on the committee uh coach
Underwood did not stand and said who he
was if we could please have him stand
off right
now okay thank
you council member Orlando nothing
tonight mayor all right council member
Harris thank you mayor um well happy
National Black History Month everyone
super excited this whole entire month
we're going to be celebrating black
history and so many different events
will be taking place so I just want you
guys to tune in we have it on our
agendas on our calendars um for events
that's going to be happening celebrating
black history and what that looks like
so I'm really excited about that I will
be at some of the events that's
happening around here and then also I'll
be speaking at some of the events uh as
well I've already posted some of the
things I'm going to be doing as you guys
know I have a book coming out called my
Mantra so it's going to be all in
coordination with it so I'm super
excited about that um this morning I had
the opportunity to inspir some young
minds at the National Junior Honor
Society meeting at Arizona College Prep
middle school and for 20 minutes this
morning we dove into the essential
topics of leadership and success
discussing how each of them can embody
the values scholarship opportunities
Services citizenship leadership and
truly it was pretty amazing these
students are very very bright and as you
can see I was with the leadership our
future Mayors and our future council
members our future presidents right
there in that picture and I love being
there with them and let me just tell you
they asked me some very tough questions
so I was able to Deep dive into those
questions none that I never thought of
they asked that question so I was really
excited to be a part of that and you
won't believe this mayor it was at 7
o'clock this morning and that those
students were there at 7:00 a.m. this
morning you were there and I was there
and I was there and you were there at
7:05 that's why I had to take a picture
to make sure because I knew you guys
would not believe I was up that early in
the morning
time so I'm also excited as well as
round one grand opening in the Chan of
Mall um will be opening officially this
Saturday at the Channeler Fashion Square
mall and I'm going to be there to share
some remarks the the dynamic
entertainment destination will be
bringing more family friend funly
excitement uh and energy to our
community and it's going to also have
arcade games and bowling and
state-of-the-art Lanes arcade uh
Billboards karaoke and more it's so much
stuff that's going to be happening but
it's going to be this Saturday at 9:30
a.m. so I hope to see you guys there um
for the ribbon cutting and again this I
I love this because it gets back to our
family values Chandler core is our
family values and I think this is
another way and guess what it's pretty
economical for families to go and have a
good time so I'm super excited about
being there this morning um Saturday
morning at 9:30 I will be there I'll be
there at 9:30 but I also want to Echo
some of the sentiments I would be remiss
if I did not Echo some of the sentiments
on my colleague council member Poston my
colleague uh Angelz to talk about the
protest I think it's a it's the right
it's freedom of speech and let me just
tell you sometimes you may not always
like what people have to say but a part
of being American is being able to say
whatever you want to say and we want
people to temper down their speech
there's no reason why you should be
screaming fanes to children it's just
craziness that's just
Madness um but also I want to make sure
that we as those that decide to assemble
this week that if I can do a call out
with any power or ability that I have
that I just want to help us set some
guidelines so that way we can work
together in a community so we can all
exercise our free speech and then go
home safely so some of the things I'm
going to be encouraging many of the
protesters and leaders and I'm going to
give them a piece of paper and I'm going
to ask them to do this on my behalf
number one be respectful okay if you're
going to be on the sidewalk allow people
who are not looking to protest to get by
don't just clog up the sidewalk allow
people to get to their destination don't
block the driveways as council member
poon have already said work with our law
enforcement if you if you see something
that's not right if you're if you're a
part of it say something to your
neighbor we only want you to be able to
share your thoughts and get back home
safely peaceful protest to do a peaceful
protest is a part of our constitutional
right we want to make sure that each
protester um does not o overshadow
unlawful orders so for instance walking
in the bike lane don't do that that's
not what that's for that's for people to
ride their bike in the bike lane so walk
on the sidewalk that's what it's for if
you notice that if you're walking with a
group of individuals and they tend to
walk on other people's grass and
property that's not the cities
then you're in violation so get back on
the sidewalk if the line got to be
longer let it be longer okay also um
make sure you understand destruction of
property is not right this is not your
property so be respectful okay because
what I don't want to see happen is
whatever your message is to be missed
because of destruction of property
that's not what we're here to do and
that's not what I know these peaceful
protesters are doing also if a if one of
our law enforcements just asks you hey I
noticed that you're walking on on the
street or I noticed that you're walking
on someone else's property or hey I
noticed that you're blocking someone
from leaving the wherever they parked at
just just kindly obey say okay so my cry
out is to make sure that everyone we
work together as a community and I know
we can do this because not too many
years ago Chandler experienced two to
three months mons of protesting here and
we were able to do this well and worked
well with our law enforcement so if this
is you want to activate your speech hey
give law enforcement a call say hey I'm
activating my speech because that
protection will be there for you and for
them so please let's do it together as a
community okay we can do this in unity I
know it I believe
it um lastly and this is probably one of
the most important things avoid
confrontations with counter
protesters for every protesters is a
counter protest so there's always
someone who has op that's their freedom
of speech too let them talk you talk let
them talk move on just do what you just
do what you feel you need to do and
lastly vote get engaged I want to see
everyone register to vote because that's
how your voice is heard you don't like
something in our country we use the
power of vote so I hope everyone that's
out there organizing prot I hope they're
registered to vote because that's
important to do that with that being
said I love you guys let's do this
together Chandler happy black history
month and that's the longest
announcement ever in history but um I'm
sure somebody will record it and tell me
everything I said and let me know how
many minutes it was thanks
mayor it was 37
minutes I was the keynote speaker for
the council meeting tonight
council member Hawkins I'm not sure I
should go after like thank you all for
staying here council member Hawkins I'll
I'll I'll give you exercise right to
move so you're not always following him
if we want we thank you s
seat we'll discuss offline yeah okay so
this one is for my bookworms um we have
a local author fair so I'm excited
excited to invite everyone to Chandler's
Public Library local author Fair on
March 1st and 2nd it's a wonderful
opportunity to celebrate talented
authors that are right here in our very
own community so whether you're an Avid
Reader an aspiring writer or just
looking for a fun and engaging event
there's something for everyone um so
this event is actually just more than
about books it's supporting our local
talent encouraging creativity bringing
our community together um I can stand
behind all of that and I get behind all
of it so Chandler is home to so many
gifted writers it's just a chance to
uplift their voices hear more about it
enjoy the storytelling um in all the
different forms that it comes in so I
encourage everyone to stop by and um I
hope to see you there thank you city
manager nothing tonight mayor thank you
all right so right after I gavel if we
could have our volunteers our tag team
coming up we'd love to as Council get a
picture with yall so with that meeting's
over