Chandler City Council Meeting & Study Session 12/4/23

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good evening and welcome to the regular
city council meeting of December 4th
2023 like to call this meeting to order
uh cler please take the role mayor
Harkey here vice mayor Orlando president
council member incus here council member
Ellis president council member Stewart
here council member Harris ke council
member Pon here we have a
quorum
bilingual our invitation tonight will be
led by Pastor Victor Hardy of the
Congregational Church of the Valley and
our Pledge of Allegiance led by members
or member of troop 280
pastor
let us
pray
Lord I will
live my
eyes to the
heal
KN my
strength is
coming from
you
the strength you give
me in the
times
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[Applause]
of you are the source of my
strength and you are the strength of my
life I give my head in
Total
Praise
to
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[Applause]
you
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no
in Jesus name we
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pray troop
280 please join me in the pledge
allegiance i al to the flag of the
United States of America and to the for
it stands one nation under God
indivisible with liy and justice for
all thank you Pastor thank you troop 80
member our next on our agenda we have
service recognitions and uh if council
member posted can please join me
out
city manager would you proceed with her
Employee Service recognitions thank you
Mr Mayor members of council we do have
three Employee Service recognitions this
evening and for the first I'd like to
ask our assistant chief of police
Melissa Deanda to come forward and make
the
presentation
all right good evening everyone I'd like
to call officer TJ Ameron forward for
his 10 years of
[Applause]
service all right Officer TJ Ameron has
been a dedicated employee of the
Chandler Police Department for the past
10 years during this time he has served
in Patrol as a bike officer a recruit
training officer Honor Guard crisis neg
negotiator and an impaired and he is one
of our impaired driving experts TJ is
currently assigned to patrol and he
serves as his Patrol team's officer in
charge this position requires him to to
develop internal communication skills
decision-making abilities and lead in
the absence of his Sergeant TJ has
developed the reputation as being a
hardworking Dependable teammate and he's
earned the respect of his supervisors
and peer aik TJ is currently working
towards promoting the sergant and I have
no doubt that he will absolutely attain
this goal goal congratulations uh TJ on
your 10 years of dedicated service to
our to the city of Chandler and I'm
honored to work alongside you
[Applause]
congratulations
mayor and councel for our next service
recognition I'd like to ask Mike
Hollingsworth facilities and fleet
manager to come
forward mayor and Council I'd like to
call Joe Walsh to be come forward to be
recognized for his 10 years of service
with the city of
[Applause]
Chan Joe Walsh has been a car guy his
whole life and started working on
vehicles at a for dealership
he started a new Journey at the city of
Chandler in late
2013 since becoming part of Team
Chandler he has enjoyed taking on any
new challenges and absorbing any
training available such as airbr school
Advanced Hydraulics several specific
manufacturer courses and street sweeper
school he received a master ASC
certification in 2015 no easy feet Joe
enjoys snowboarding fishing hunting and
camping with his family Joe loves being
a grandfather to his beautiful
granddaughter he is always supportive of
of his co-workers and has a unique type
of vehicle knowledge obtained by working
directly for the manufacturer he enjoys
working with his team and feels it is
the most well-rounded group he has ever
worked with congratulations and Joe is
also joined by his wife Tina and his
jent's
[Applause]
son
mayor and Council for our final service
recognition I'd like to ask sandip doia
our Chief Information officer to come
[Applause]
forward mayor councel respected City
management at this time I'd like to
invite Mike Rose to navigate his way on
up to receive his 15year service
anniversary
[Applause]
award I'm gonna try something a little
bit different tonight to celebrate
Mike's Service in Chandler City Halls
where forms abound Mike Rose a system
Guru was proudly found 15 years strong
with a tech savvy smile he's navigated
the entire city GIS style but if you see
something that doesn't look so pretty no
need to worry he also gave us Lucy twins
Allison and Madison a dynamic pair in
his cter then they'd often stare dad in
his systems they'd often plead put away
your computer and compl play with me and
me chip Andale twin K9 code crackers paw
prints on keyboards mischievous
attackers Mike's loyal companions
through bugs and glitches text best
friend will have you laughing in
stitches so here's to Mike a man of
great skill who conquered the digital
and leads with Goodwill 15 years in
Chandler a techie Sage with twins teens
and dogs oh wait we can't forget his
wife his lovely wife Rachel and the
city's digital
[Applause]
Sage
mayor and councel that concludes our
Employee Service recognitions this
evening and we've got
several uh recognitions in our community
first is recognition for our ceas
designation so St Stacy southernland
Arizona anti-trafficking
work and and team come on
[Applause]
up good evening mayor and
Council my name is John Mesa and I'm the
board president of the Arizona
anti-trafficking Network we are here
today to announce that the city of
Chandler has fulfilled the requirements
to become a ceas designated city thank
you to Mayor hary city manager Wright
and city council for inviting us here
tonight to share a few words about this
important accomplishment cease which
stands for cities empowered against
sexual exploitation is a program of the
Arizona anti-trafficking Network tasked
with engaging local governments to
ensure they are best equipped in
combating sexual sex trafficking crimes
our goal at cease is to build a network
of communities across Arizona who are
all committed to ending sexual
exploitation regardless of where you
call home these times types of CRI
crimes are occurring and their Ripple
effects on victims family members and
the community at large cannot be
understated while this is a grim reality
there are interventions Deployable at
the local level that can Aid in cailing
these types of crimes CE aims to equip
cities and towns with these tools
starting with training for municipal
staff and leveraging the education into
action CE offers a variety of sex
trafficking training and resources for
employees at all levels to Aid in
identifying reporting and ultimately
preventing these types of crimes with a
c something say something approach to
attain the distinction of being a ceas
designated City municipal governments
must fulfill the requirements that 75%
of their staff become trained on the
ceased curriculum commit to an annual
retraining and intergrate integrate the
training into new higher onboarding in
August the city of Chandler made this
commitment we are pleased to report that
the city took this challenge very
seriously completing their training
requirements for designation in record
time exceeded by the goal by training
over 80% of their
employees since this accomplishment your
city has continued to go above and
beyond in issue we know that this
accomplish accomplish accomplishment
would not be possible without the
leadership of Mayor hary city manager
Wright and all the city council and our
our sincerest congratulations to your
city for making this a priority we would
also like to express our gratitude to
Tad Willie the assistant City Manager
for Chandler who has been our partner
throughout the implementation process
and an advocate for the importance of
the program as well as the human
trafficking unit and the entire chamber
of police department in closing it is my
honor and privilege to present this
plaque to your city on behalf of the
Arizona trafficking Network for
achieving the ceas as a nation we
applaud your commitment to ending sex
trafficking in the state of Arizona and
may this plaque also serve as a reminder
of the victims in this community that we
aim to assist and that not just one
person department or city can tackle
this in isolation it will take all of us
our best efforts to realize the vision
of an Arizona where no one is bought
sold or exploited thank you very much
thank
[Applause]
you
you guys stand and I I do want to thank
Council this item first came to us at
the sex trafficking uh awareness event
at gamage and um city manager was made
known shortly after that and to put this
into effect with such high regard is uh
one of thank you I want to thank Council
and our
community all
right
our next recognition has to do with just
serve award so at the recent uh National
League of cities vice mayor Orlando and
council member uh Harris attended there
and at that particular point we received
a couple of awards so if we can have
Jane Anderson from Far our City Chandler
Leah Paul and members of the
neighborhood services department and
certainly Robin as
well I come for the
speak go
ahead all right Robin finin and I are
here to present the city of Chandler
with this Banner signifying that
Chandler was selected as one of six
cities in the United States to be named
as a global just serve City vice mayor
yes vice mayor Orlando officially
accepted this recognition at an event at
last month's National League of cities
but we wanted to make sure that everyone
in the city of Chandler was aware of
this just serve is a free service that
seeks to connect those who went to serve
with people who need help since just
serves introduction to Chandler in 2014
there's been one over 1,000 post made
just by nonprofits in Chandler currently
on sered there's about 80 projects just
in Chandler um it provides an easy way
for schools families and businesses to
serve within the city limits and I have
to give a shout out to Robin she has
been spearheading just serve since the
introduction on a completely volunteer
basis for nine years so Robin is
amazing we believe that volunteerism is
a Hallmark of a great city as such the
of organization will annually designate
a handful of global juster cities these
cities will be chosen based on the
utilization of the juster platform and
for the spirit of volunteerism that
exists within the City community events
such as for our city day and for our
city Chandler's operation back to school
demonstrate the Deep involvement of
citizens in their Community the fact
that Chandler was selected as one of the
first cities in the nation to receive
this award highlights just how unique
and service oriented the city is
congratulations on your designation once
again Chandler is leading the way not
only in the state but within the United
States and what better designation to
receive than that our citizens serve one
another so thank
[Applause]
you
thank you Jess sir I would say we could
leave this here but
uh pay no attention to the man behind
the
screen our last recognition also was
awarded to us at uh at NLC did digital
cities award if Kirsten n or information
technology staffer can come forth
Kirsten Kirsten takes this seriously so
last year at NLC she flew out for one
day and re to receive this award and she
did the same thing and uh you really
embody uh just that that Spirit of Pride
for our city and uh making sure that
what we do is always amazing would you
like to say some things yeah absolutely
thank you mayor and councel um without
your support and continued support this
wouldn't be possible but this is not
just an an information technology award
this award represents all of the
technology that goes on at the city um
it is really an honor to be able to
represent my colleagues um here at the
city of Chandler and be at the event um
I want to thank uh OD Harris council
member Harris for joining me there um
but what's really great about this award
is it really shows the human Centric
Focus we have on technology how we're
driving citizen engagement uh to make
sure that we have the voice of everyone
through technology here at the city as
well as working on staff productivity to
drive efficiencies and make sure that
we're spending citizens
dollars uh responsibly and financially
and I want to thank um suep and the IT
leadership team for for all of their
support as we write this huge
application every year and hopefully
next year we will be in the top
[Applause]
three vice mayor where is she flying to
next
year
Tampa
that concludes our recognitions and and
public
appearances
and better
to Tad needs things on his
wall
all right Council next on our agenda our
regular city council meeting is we have
our consent agenda there are three items
we've have seen these before and Council
what is your
what is your it action here mayor vice
mayor I move to approve the consent
agenda December 4th 2023 regular the
meetings items one through three I
second mayor motion second by council
member
Ellis no comments counil please
vote motion carries
unanimously all right thank you Council
that concludes our our regular city
council
meeting Welcome to our study session of
December 4th
2023 Council we've had a number of items
that were called in here tonight and
we'll just go through these uh first one
is item number three that was called in
by myself and council member Poston has
to do with the Tumbleweed recck Center
expansion so actually items number three
for four and five and director John
sepon tell us about that good evening
mayor and Council it's an honor to bring
this forward to you talk briefly leave a
a little picture here will help show the
layout that we have but the tumble weed
this action item for you this week is
the approval of the Construction
contract for the tumble weed recreation
center with Chase Building team as well
as a service agreement uh with collab
who will be managing the public art
component a little bit of History uh the
originally the TRC is it upside down I
had a feeling it would happen that way
oh no is that
better so originally our TR our famed TR
Tumbleweed Recreation Center was built
in 2008 it is a 62,000 square foot
Recreational facility full of joy and
fun every single day uh the project is
intentionally named the
multi-generational facility expansion it
will be add adding 11,000 square fet of
multi-functional multi-purpose what I'm
going to call multi- awesomeness space
the expansion will include three
multi-purpose rooms at one of which is
an events Hall two patios with shade
structures the fitness room game room
restrooms Lobby and a reception area as
well as updating the landscape a few
interesting stats about TRC this past
year nearly 200,000 users have passed
through the doors up 7% year-over-year
of our memberships 40% are already
active adults they're going to continue
to be active adults because they're
coming to TRC 36% of our memberships are
18 to 54 we're over 2700 members and
while classes programs and participation
classes and programs participation is
predominantly the youth ages six to 15
we've had had over encompassing
4600 uh participants or 4600 programs
that folks have participated in now you
guys get notes from the community all
the time and every now and then I'll get
a note from folks and this is our tumble
weed survey and just today I kid you not
I got this in my inbox and I print it
off and have to share it and of course I
printed it really tiny but I'll do my
best to read this if I can entertain you
for just a moment it's the day after
Thanksgiving time to say thank you as a
member and for several years I find the
TRC is better than most private fitness
centers at 80
plus I try to stay active and possibly
never really be fit the TRC offers
something for all all ages and stages of
activities TRC is accessible to all and
affordable for most a public good I hope
Chandler is able to support
and then at the bottom he wrote great
mission statement good work Mr Jay I
didn't get his permission to read this
so we'll keep him
anonymous but uh in your packets we've
got a lot of information in there of
course some photos as well and the
public can follow along at
chandleraz.gov uh TRC Tango Romeo
Charlie and that will take you right to
the tumble weed Recreation Area also as
Mary you mentioned the um this is a kind
of package of uh items related to the
construction project also includes
Professional Services with our architect
as well as um a construction Management
Services agreement as well and with that
I'll do my best to respond to any
questions that you may have so I've got
two um and again I know it's in the
packet but tell us the timeline and then
tell us what are the thoughts for the
existing Senior Center and Community
Center what are our thoughts for those
so timeline of the TRC and what are the
current thoughts on the other great
question mayor um timeline for this
construction project as we get into the
new year we'll start to see dirt moved
as early as February it will take just
about a year maybe a little bit more its
construction I'll not give you a date um
we as we get closer we'll figure that
out but uh late spring spring of 25 for
the new facility as far as the talks
about the community center we're
programming there's all kinds of things
going on at the community center and the
senior center as long as that space is
available we're going to put people in
it having fun and staying well and
connecting with each other so until
something changes significantly uh we
are serving citizens there at the
community center which as you know I
love dearly very good council member
posted thank you mayor well you answered
one of my questions um regarding the
senior center but one thing that I
really liked about this project is that
multigenerational I obviously it's a
multigenerational but that this is in
response to the way our community is
changing the demographics are changing
and the way that maybe the older
community is changing what they want one
could you speak to that a little bit and
then um can you also speak or maybe
assure that we'll have programming
that's integrated we're not keeping
maybe our older residents separated from
our younger ones I really like the idea
that they'll be integrated that is so
good for the health of both communities
I think so if you can tell us a little
bit about the program me that so that's
two questions too I guess mayor council
member Poston thank you so much um it is
and it's been a long time changing our
active adults or what used to be seniors
right I mean it's it's one of those
things Life Is Life is longer for us and
we expect more out of life we're a very
diverse Community we're a very active
community in a lot of ways a recreation
is that life benefit whether it's at a
local park around the corner from your
house or at our Mega centers like tumble
weed Recreation Center uh the flexible
space that we have here gives us that
opportunity to ju do just as what you
mentioned there be able to build
programs whether that it be for a
specific age group or an integrated age
group as I was running through the stats
that I got just this week um on on the
makeup of Tumbleweed Rec Center it
already is a multi-generational center
and um when I look at some of the
popular sports you guys have all heard
about the pickle ball craze right that's
not an aged defined facility any longer
um schools are converting locations for
pickle ball and the kids are learning it
m PE so I have a feeling this is going
to be a trend that's going to stick
around for a little while but the
flexible space there is so much more
that goes on to a Rec Center you go into
the senior center at any time now um You
can find Quilters you can find folks on
the computer you can find folks playing
cards um those are very very important
social connections for them and in some
cases um we all know the the older
generation that can't stand
children we know they exist um
unfortunately um those are things that
we have to deal with and and make
programs happen and keep them safe and
have different areas one of the design
features of this expansion is that we'll
have a separate entrance for when we are
programming for the older active adults
if necessary so we're integrating some
of that field leveraging the experience
that our Architects have uh from across
the country we're not the first to do
this type of expansion um but really
having that multifaceted
multi-functional programmatic space
gives the rec team over there the
opportunity to lean or learn from the
community and provide those unique
opportunities for them just last Friday
we had a dinner a Christmas dinner over
at the SE at the community center too
big for the senior center right so just
having that extra square footage is
something that gives the staff the
opportunity to create something special
and this was in response to what our
residents were telling us they wanted
correct correct I wasn't here but uh
from the 2017 2018 time frame a lot of
work was put into A needs assessment
from feedback from the participants as
well as some uh survey work that was
done uh so hearing from folks and what
we want and what we need as a community
this is definitely in response to that
excellent well thank you thank you
mayor
yeah John great job um couple things the
thing we left out on this too is people
with disabilities I have seen more over
the years I know I've been a member for
a long time over the years you're adding
more and more equipment for people with
disabilities and I'm seeing more and
more individuals actually using our flux
system to get there y so it's that's
another uh entity we shouldn't forget
and continue uh pushing forward on that
the the other thing is I know the
original concept came with a gymnasium
you you had it up there the second part
what are your thoughts on time framing
on the second part of this mayor vice
mayor we have the uh gymnasium expansion
also very much a very popular element
within the the facility we have that in
the outy years of the CIP program that
was adopted this year so it's well on
the radar and uh as we move through the
next iteration of funding we will look
to see how flexible we can be with that
but it's definitely
and I believe the reason why that fell
off because the expenses got too large
that is correct okay all right thanks
John see no other questions thank you
very welc next item called in was item
number 18 council member and cenus
agreement with Maricopa County for heat
relief and we we have Ryan Walch coming
up for a
presentation or did you have you wanted
a briefing or just a question
great did I
get all right good evening mayor uh
Council Council C thanks for thanks for
bringing this um out for a
presentation so this last
year
not having very much luck toight there
we go okay so over the years um the city
of Chandler has been very involved in
having heat relief services particularly
for people who are experiencing
homelessness also though for people who
are lower income and perhaps cannot
afford to turn up the their AC um in the
in the summer and want to go to a public
space or even a private space where they
can get some cooling during the day so
we've done that number of ways over the
year from participating in uh the
Maricopa Association of government's
heat relief efforts and that has it's
been growing over the years so this last
year Maricopa County out of their
Department of Human Services made some
funding available um to three areas in
the valley they wanted to do a central
project a a West project and an East
project and they asked that people
partner cities partner together to Vive
for those funds and their goal was to
have more compreh hensive heat relief
services across the valley so we the
city of Chandler partnered with the city
of Mesa and went in for a proposal to
standardized Services across our
geographic regions and to work together
to have a coordinated effort and to
realize some coste Effectiveness as well
so we did that we were successful um and
we received funding from uh from the
county and Chandler was the primary
recipient and we helped to facilitate
the competitive process for um both in
Chandler and Mesa and we also oversaw
the entire grant for the two
cities um we did this because we had a
little bit more experience in this area
than the city of Mesa and we were very
successful in working together to um to
teach Mesa and to have sort of a more
standardized approach across the East
Valley so um in total this year we spent
just over $400,000 it's
$46,000
this work okay so uh the pro the
services that we provided both in
Chandler and in Mesa um we each had one-
day respit Center so that was a place
where people could come they could cool
off all day long they could get lunch
they could sleep uh the the city of
Chandler Navigators visited our Center
and in Mesa their contractors um visited
their Center so they could also have um
access to other services that might help
them end their homelessness um they also
were able to get shower and laundry
services um and there were mobile heat
relief uh services for um those days
that were what did we call them
um what's the word for that the
excessive heat days when the county
would um issue an excessive heat warning
we would have mobile services that would
go out and perhaps find people that
weren't able to come in and make sure
that they were also being sered um there
were also 10 cooling stations around
Chandler and Mesa so that's where some
somebody could just pop in get a bottle
of water cool off for for a little while
but not somewhere where you could stay
all day like the day respit centers so
each City had all of those Services um
what we've highlighted here for you is
what what we delivered here in the city
of Chandler so we ran our services from
June through September and all in all we
served um 567 unduplicated persons
through the Su through the summer now
those people likely utilize Services
over and over each day but but
unduplicated persons was um
567 we had just over 8600 hours of the
day resit Center serving um it was in
city of Chandler it was five days a week
and then on Saturdays and Sundays when
we had excessive heat warnings um you
can see we distributed over 10,000
bottles of water um over 13,500 meals or
snacks um 600 showers were provided and
then um over 200 um laundry service
Services um the same thing happened in
Mesa so um in total over 1,800
unduplicated persons were served this
summer through this
contract in terms of next steps this
amendment that you see before you the
purpose of it is to just extend the
amendment uh the Maricopa County
Department of Public Health has brought
together um a group of individuals a
group of cities and other entities that
is now participating in a regional heat
relief collaborative and we are looking
very much more seriously at what needs
to happen for the future so it is now a
year-long planning effort so knowing
that um the county wanted to just extend
this contract and then we will be coming
back to you as those plans develop to
put together a scope of work and a
budget for next year we do plan now that
um we've standardized Services across
the East Valley we do plan on going
independently Mesa will have their own
contract we will have our own contract
potentially some other East Valley
Cities um can get in on that action too
with with Mar count
so that's the purpose of this amendment
and um if you have any questions I'd be
happy to take them Council M see
us thank you mayor thank you Ryan for
that presentation I really wanted to
highlight um this collaboration between
Mesa and Chandler and our efforts put
together for this grant um real quick
question the 406,000 that was used was
that just Chandler or was that between
both cities that was between those
cities we um had up to $600,000 to spend
this year because the count got um off
to a little bit of a late start we would
like to start in May and we will do that
next year this year we didn't get to
start till June because they kind of
push the money out a little bit later
but that's part of the reason for this
amendment too is so that we can get an
earlier start next year great and then
as far bringing up next year do you guys
have any additional Services you guys
plan on bringing in or um anything a
little bit more specific I know we had a
tough summer this year with excessive
heat days I think there was like 15 plus
or 20 plus days um where it was really
really hot and I live right here in
downtown Chandler and stuff and I drive
up and down these roads and stuff and I
see this where we have most of our
pedestrian people walking up and down
these streets on those days through the
mayor and councilman and CIS um one of
the things we would like to see for next
summer that we were not able to prare
last summer was 7-Day week service
regardless of the heat because it was
excessive most of the summer um we'd
also like to see um a location outside
of downtown so something downtown but
there are other areas of need in the
city so that's something we'd like to
see as well okay do you guys collaborate
with nonprofits or other organizations
here or is it all services that are
happening right here in our neighborhood
resources yes so we uh through the mayor
councilman we absolutely collaborate
with a lot of agencies so this contract
is just a piece of what's happening
there are many wonderful nonprofits in
our community who are also serving as a
space that people can come in and get um
cool that they are providing water they
are providing meals um we absolutely
support those agencies we will we bring
them water all season um if they need uh
we call them like heat relief bags so
toiletries sunscreen hats things like
that we will also provide them with
those so we do have many collaborations
but we would like to see some additional
agencies um come to the Forefront in
terms of being able to really serve
during that those daytime hours okay and
I know this is aimed towards heat relief
uh do are any of these funds or these
Grant funds being able to use like
during this December time as it's cold
in our winter time uh through the mayor
council
these specific fundes not so far we
haven't seen that so far okay yeah okay
perfect well thank you so much for the
information I look forward to you guys'
efforts this coming summer welcome thank
you council member andus I mean council
member Ellis thank you mayor thank you
so much Miss Ryan for this presentation
this is an amazing thing and we've been
looking to do this almost years ago and
now we are able to do it so I'm so
grateful that you guys said yes a couple
of questions that I have I know that you
said uh we interfaced with about 567
people that were inside of the one day
relief where they were able to spend
time and our Navigators was able to go
there and send sit down with them and
look into what their needs were how many
through those people that we interfac
with were we able to remove from
homelessness do you know uh through the
mayor councilwoman that's an excellent
um question I haven't analyzed to see we
work with a Salvation Army every day we
we absolutely go down there every day
our Navigators and work with folks so I
haven't analyzed um of the folks that
utilized uh the day resit Center how
many of those have we moved but that's
certainly um data I can pull and get
back to you yeah appreciate that because
that will really tell us that we are
killing two birds with one stone in in
this process my second question is on
the line of what our cons M cus was
asking regarding the funds I know that
you said we're going to go year around
right now preparing ahead of time those
funds are allowing some of our staff and
yourselves to sit down to be able to be
part of those planning sessions for the
heat relief com in into the summertime
yes so through the mayor councilwoman
Ellis thank you for stating in that way
let me clarify so we're working together
year round they haven't made the funds
available for year round so the funds
are still for the summer season at this
point okay but we are now I want to say
the minute heat relief services shut
down we were already starting to meet
with this much larger group to talk
about what needs to happen so I suspect
we'll see a much more robust um set of
services in the future and um hopefully
they will start to um go longer and
longer because it really starts to get
hot before May and the heat lasts you
know after September generally through
October so so what you're trying to
explain is that at this time you guys
are just volunteering in all this
program together so nobody's being paid
to be at the table making all those
plans along the way uh through the mayor
councilman yes but it is part of our
duty um in the work that we do these are
the kinds of efforts that we yeah just
want to make sure that uh we know that
the city is also doing its part
absolutely by putting some of our
employees and yourself at the table to
be able to see I am on mag and that's
one of the things that the last time you
came to do a presentation for us we were
able to tell them what channel is doing
an advance and how advanced we are I
mean you testified you know the place
and everybody was able to see and I'm
sure that you got some call back so many
people were very um I will say that they
were so interested and understanding
where you are get all your information
from and how you were proceeding to
remove so many people out of
homelessness in such a little time and
of interfacing with them so thank you so
much for everything that you do
appreciate your team that is here and
we'll continue to work together to do
that thank you mayor council vus you had
another question one last question that
came up to my mind quick Ryan um I don't
have the specific limitations or
restrictions of these Grant funds but is
there any way to do any collaborations
with like our schools like for students
like leaving walking home afterward
providing in heat relief to our students
uh through the mayor council and Cena
that's an excellent question the way
they wrote the the the grant this year
it was people experiencing homelessness
but since we are working year round now
we can bring those needs out and and it
was arpa funds that were used this year
I think the county has plans to expand
what fund sources they would use in the
future so as long as we're file um
following Federal requirements which
certainly arpa can serve that population
we just need to see if they would be
willing to expand Beyond those
experiencing homelessness okay just I'll
certainly bring that up okay great thank
you I love that
idea thank you next item brought forth
item number 19 agreements with our
school resource officers
we had questions uh
from vice mayor Orlando and council
member Poston Chief
Deandra good evening mayor council
members excuse me uh this current
resolution authorizes the presence of
our school resource officers within our
public schools within the city of
Chandler and we currently serve three
school districts we serve the uh
Chandler Unified School District which
there are nine schools uh kirne School
District uh which there are two and then
the Mesa Unified School District and
there is one school so we have a total
of 12 school resource officers uh
throughout the city of Chandler uh they
serve within four of the high schools
within the city and then also eight of
the middle schools and our school
resource officers uh really have a
significant role on campus um they are
meant to be there to Foster positive uh
relationships with youth within our
community uh they develop relationships
with students staff and parents they
provide education whether that be about
social media bullying drug awareness Etc
um and they're also there for physical
safety um of the students and staff with
on campus and they're also acting as a
mentor um we know that the an office
who's present on campus is um provides a
lot of relief not only to students staff
but also parents and so uh late last
year we also implemented that if a if an
officer was not able to be on campus we
would have an officer what we call
absent employee relief that would fill
that position so we would deploy if an
officer is out sick or there's a
pre-planned vacation uh we have another
officer that is able to F fill their
role on campus Because we understand the
importance of their of their presence so
this IGA is good for three years and it
just allows us to continue to provide
the services that we currently are to
those three school districts and I'm
here to answer any questions that you
have
again thanks thanks Andre thank you
mayor thank Sant Andra um my question is
more in general about the
three uh civilian um I guess SRO
officers for lack of better CH we
calling them that'll be working with the
elementary schools how is that
progressing and that's not a part of
this obviously it is not a part of this
but yes uh council member Orlando it is
progressing well um and last year we
received onetime funds around July to
proceed forward with that uh we have
began partnering with the Chandler
Unified School District to create a
program
uh to have anywhere from two to three
what we're calling school education and
engagement specialists in place where
they would work up to 19 hours a week
but not more than 40 hours total between
the two to three of them and uh they
will be providing some type of
educational law enforcement material to
sixth grade students um we have already
started interviews we have identified
two potential applicants that are in our
background process uh we are still
working with the Chandler Unified School
District to create a plan in a program
but we look to have them in place around
mid- March to mid to end of March this
year excellent uh so so for the next
next coming semester correct okay great
and then you said how long they'll be
there for 19 they would be up to 19
hours a week each person or okay but no
more than tot a total of 40 hours
between the two or three that we end up
hiring okay and um so keep us posted on
that that program because I you know
these These are former police officers
as well yes that would be a requirement
that they would be a former law
enforcement officer right which I think
is a good um hopefully this this is a I
know this is a Innovative program it is
we're looking forward to this and I
think it's uh every time I talk to
school officials or other city city
council members from other cities
they're excited to see how this thing
works out because it definitely could be
a gap filler for us over the long short
and the long term scenario so absolutely
I think that a lot of other agencies are
looking to see how we how we pilot this
program um and to see how successful it
is so anytime we can have an officer on
campus providing education um and a
physical presence I think that it's it's
going to do amazing things thank you
thank you mayor and I want to give a
shout out to former council member Terry
row I know this was uh something near
and dear on his heart for probably the
eight years that he was on counil so I'm
really pleased to see that this is
coming into fruition so absolutely
council member Poston thank you mayor
it's um all of these officers this
covers all of the high schools and all
the middle schools in our city limits is
that correct it does we have eight
middle schools within the city and four
high schools that we cover that's
fantastic and then across the multi- um
school districts then yes all of our
Public Schools all of the three um the
three districts that I had mentioned
before we cover all of them throughout
there that's fantastic and then you
answered my question about the that if
someone is out sick or on vacation we'll
still get that coverage and then the one
other final question that I had is these
positions are they all filled or are
they positions do we actually have
officers in place today yes Council poon
we do have officers in place today um
every school is filled uh the eight
Junior highs or middle schools and the
four high schools are completely filled
um and we also looked at um making sure
that we are corresponding our Officers
Training or vacation times when the kids
are out of schools so that we are
lessening the amount of vacancies or
time away from the schools that they're
having okay thank you no I appreciate
this I think it's a fantastic program
and really important and thank you for
your presentation thanks maam council
member Odie Harris yes thanks um thank
you Chief just kind of wanted to um to
highlight that the city of CH is paying
50% and then cusd is paying 50% is that
basically yeah so the council member
Harris the way that the grant works is
is uh the state allots allots a specific
amount of money per each school for
Grant funded so if uh an officer let's
uh I don't want to make up numbers but
let's say that there is a gap between
that needs to be filled for an officer
being on campus uh after the state
funding then that amount would be split
between the Chandler police departments
and the school and they would cover that
cost equally so typically do you see the
state covering most of it yes absolutely
right thank you
all right thank you
Chief next item fourth is item number 21
vice mayor Orlando yeah mayor I couple
of conversation to City attorney today
and city manager um and and this may go
back to some Legacy issues some the the
key I wanted to express to City staff
here is eminent domain uh that is
probably one of the um most powerful
things we could do when it comes to a
property owner and the way this
resolution is written today it says
authorizing imminent domain proceedings
I've talked about this before um so uh
my my thoughts today is that we would uh
either remove this language and work on
a procedure or keep modify this language
to say eminent domain may be necessary
or something like that so that we don't
um look I'm trying try to avoid this and
we've had this before this Council
before individuals walk in here and say
the city's trying to take my property
and then we have to a long discussion um
I'd like to see a procedure in place on
this so that we we do not have that
issue come before a council U so um
that's my thoughts on
this city and if I may mayor um vice
mayor um we are working on that U we
have a process in place but we will put
it into writing to get to the mayor and
councel um we can proceed a couple
different ways um on Thursday on this
issue this is the same language we've
used in at least the seven years I've
been here and longer Pro um than that
however um very aware of Vice mayor's
concerns and um can assure him that we
will be returning to the mayor and
Council in an appropriate Forum before
litigation is pursued yeah and that's my
concern by the time we get the
litigation sometimes we're surprised so
my point is this I like to see us get
there beforehand we've had several
executive sessions in the past where
staff was saying X we are at Y and then
they come to council and say hey what do
you want to do and we would either meet
come up with another number or meet the
number the whole thing was upfront and
not after the fact we actually
litigation starting
and that's my concern right now I don't
want to get to that point we're
litigating when this Council should have
the first shot at this and be able to
discuss any potential eminent domain
procedures and again that's my concern
right now and if I may mayor um vice
mayor um Orlando just a reminder though
um a lot of times when we get to the
point of looking at imminent domain the
project is already in process um there's
often funding tied to it that is under
time restrictions um nonetheless we can
easily address the vice mayor's concerns
again through an appropriate Forum okay
and and I'm sure we could come up with
the appropriate uh telephone calls if
necessary to Mayor have been very
gracious in calling e sessions um so
yeah so okay so that's my concern right
and I did bring this up before it's not
it's not a question I haven't brought
this up in the past I think I brought it
from this Das at least two or three
times and maybe this time I'm a little
more concerned because it keeps coming
back and we haven't really addressed
this and part of it's my fault I admit
but also this um like I said I think we
need to fix something get something in
place being proactive versus waiting
till a lawsuit that's my
point and my thoughts on that I'm I'm
off our communication I wouldn't want to
take the perceived Authority away from
our staff in doing this and if it seems
like well we're the our our role is
vision and policy and policy is
procedures not negotiating on items like
this but I certainly would agree
whatever communication is possible I
would I would support that I just would
not want to I'm concerned about the
timeliness sometimes and as well as uh
giving staff authority to do what we're
asking them to do and not letting our
community think that well I don't got to
listen to those guys I can I they can
appeal to council anyways but I I would
like just for the timel the staff to be
able to do but I I certainly support
communication and and whatever you can
come up with that would address that
yeah council member
El see I in which is PRN we realize that
oh sorry I didn't turn my mic on uh it
is important for us to be able to access
that when the time is right and it's
needed at the time if we remove that I'm
afraid that then that tires our hands in
a position where we either are or not
but when we put as needed it opened the
channel for us a little bit brother for
us to be able to activate what we need
to do in the process to move forward
with any situation like like this that
we have to take care of thank
you so so you're going to work on this
yes and get back to this and I don't I
don't know if there's opportunity for uh
um you know before Thursday on that but
let let's see what we can come up with
and see if there's ways that can uh you
hear what council is saying I think we
want to be expeditious we don't want to
slow down but but uh certainly we want
to make sure that we're the loop on I
guess mayor I'm sorry mayor just I I'm
sorry it's not a question of would we do
amain it's a question of this Council
having that Authority not staff that's
my
concern before we go forward to that
most egregious step in my mind of taking
someone's property or not giving what
they think it's worth the value that's a
council decision it should not be and
it's been done in the past where we've
come to this council with with eminent
domain issues we've discussed it behind
appropriate venues and we've settled in
almost every case there are cities right
now where emminent domain is a
practice and staff's can you know it's
been through staff so I think it's our
our responsibility as this body when we
do the most egregious Act is tell
somebody that their property's not worth
this or we can't work it out behind
proper venues and then we just turn
around and start proceedings and then
boom one day someone walks into the
audience and says your staff is uh
started em eminent domain activities
against us and we got 10 people in the
audience telling us that we're we're bad
guys and gals and we didn't even know
about it so that's my concern right now
we need an upfront process that we could
discuss this in the proper venue before
we take that egregious step and that's
my
concern
council member harrris yeah I have to
agree my colleagues um especially all of
them I agree with everyone but um number
one I don't like the imminent domain I
never liked it that I've always kind of
felt that that invades and takes away
from people's property rights but there
was even something that I thought that I
wanted to point to specifically in the
section where it says section four where
it says where any such written offer is
not accepted within a reasonable period
of time for negoti
that that language within a reasonable
period of time for negotiation concerns
me because that is very vague it's it's
not it's very it's a very open uh ended
conversation what exactly is considered
to be reasonable periods of time um some
people may think 20 years is reasonable
some people may say two weeks is
reasonable uh that's very vague and then
uh also um the fact that is um so once
it's turned over to it says the
challenge C the attorney is authorized
and directed to commence with
condemnation or imminent domain
proceedings to acquire it in the name of
the city of Chandler so that language
right there concerns me too although it
will be something that uh I just kind of
have like section four it really is
really directed pointed and uh um I have
great concerns about the um the
specifics of that so perhaps if the city
comes back with an imminent domain
policy um that we feel comfortable with
and then also within the policy that it
it has to be dealt with um Council has
to come to an ingredients on it it's not
done arbitrarily um util through staff I
think I would feel more comfortable with
having a conversation but I'm not um and
based on where this what we're talking
about here this is just to help with e
ways and lighting things like that but I
just I have big problems about imminent
domain just in general um that should be
used as uh a last resort and that has to
be something that is so egregiously that
the community even says it's egregious
so with that being said I'll I'll um
I'll land there but just uh get back
with us and um I just wanted to put my
thoughts on the record and I know you
guys will work together to get this
taken care of thanks step see what you
can do with us and then if we don't come
up with a uh something that um we can
vote on or pass on Thursday we could
certainly delay this I I realize I don't
want to do that with timing on projects
but so I'm putting the onus on uh you
city manager and City attorney but yeah
let's see where you can come up with and
see where where this lies on Thursday
yeah mayor members of council the
concerns are certainly heard and we will
certainly work before uh Thursday's
meeting to come up with some language
that hopefully will meet your needs I do
want to just real quick be be on the
record I think for council's edification
as well as the public this is an
exceedingly rare instance that we use
eminent domain I don't want anybody to
leave here today thinking this is a tool
that we use all the time it is always
the last of the last of the last options
that we would ever use on a project and
that's every project I've ever been a
part of with the city of chamers so I
want to make sure that's clear that this
is this is an extreme circumstance we're
talking about there's a natural
disincentive to use it because it takes
more time it costs more money anyway
it's never something we like to do so we
will try to make uh a policy or codify
what we already know to be the practice
of the staff and we'll bring that to you
or or find a way to word that before
Thursday's meeting okay thank you last
item item number 22 uh agreement for
quiet Zone
improvements vice mayor um um city
manager said that he's gonna have
something ready for us by Thursday about
this issue or can we is it possible we
can table it because I I have things I
have to do and I may not be able to get
my eyes full eyes on it within this
short period of time between Monday and
Thursday is there any way that we can
look to table it or put it put it off a
little bit because I think you know we
had the conversation I think that is
that is way too fast for us to make that
adjustment that quickly um I don't know
how other council members feel about
that but
that's can can I put them motion on the
table to table
that what's that city manager what's the
timeline on this
it's I don't know where we're at with
this whole project and everything else
yeah Mr members of council I I would
need to check how critical it is for the
timeline for this part of the project
the project is to begin construction
approximately May 1 of next year
obviously we have to have a little bit
of lead time to acquire the I think
there's 14 properties that are minimally
effective we're talking little strips or
easements of land on this one but I can
get you some more information on that I
need to check how this affects the
overall timeline of the project um if we
are not able to come to a a document
that's very simple that would meet the
needs of council before Thursday we can
let you know and we can pull it back if
that's what that needs to happen and how
would you and how would you will be
contacting us because some of us are
gonna listen I'm busy Council I'm not
I'm just trying I'm busy between now and
Thursday and you guys are I feel like
I'm being forced into a situation where
I have to respond very quickly and I'm
I'm really really busy this week so I
really would like to have more time to
wrap my my arms around it even if we
have to come back and have a a special
study session or anything like that I
just kind of between now and Thursday I
got to make a boat I think that's that's
too much that's not enough time for me
to really wrap my arms around it mayor
so let's um number two things for some
uh council member but let's let's see
what you're talking at first and if it
looks complicated again we can delay but
again I uh let's just see where it goes
I'm not we might delay it but if if we
can get there let's see if we can get
there council member Stewart yeah I just
have questions kind on top one if thank
you council member Harris for this
example right we're trying to kind of
fix
some utility issues and things like that
there's 14 different Parcels of which
we're going to pay the residents of
those Parcels to put things underground
that they're never going to see in the
anyway we're going to take that over
from them so 13 say yes and 14 says no
an entire neighborhood could have bad
pipes bad electricity and things like
that because we're not able to get
through this because of eminent domain I
think what vice mayor Orlando is saying
is okay if we get to that place we want
to see it we want to talk about it maybe
even one of us maybe the mayor goes over
and knocks on the door and says Hey
listen we're trying to help the
neighborhood out like those are the
things that we do but if this ordinance
is just for this particular project or
is this a global ordinance that will
cover everything this is is just for
this just this one okay okay tell what
is it just yeah Mr mayor council m
Stewart this item 10 on the agenda is
just for this one project but we can
work on something broader than that
including this project for Thursday
obviously we' then incorporate that
language into future projects on the
rear occasion it's so not to be too
hasty here because I get it there's a
timeline because we've got to get these
things done so that we can get this
project done in front of this business
owners uh location that she's been
asking for for a long time to be done so
um we don't want to delay this too much
if we don't have to and like you said
this isn't something that is going to
probably even be a hiccup it's just
something that we have to have formal
documentation for but I understand vice
mayor Orlando's point right we don't
want to be just taking people's property
without due process but we don't want to
hold this thing up so man if we can
figure out some way to get this this
going I think we could find a win-win
for all of this and protect the
residents that are there yeah all
right thank you all
right moving on item number 22 agreement
for quiet Zone improvements Jeremy ebot
from public works and
utilities actually mayor and Council
will be Warren white from public works
and utilities subbing for Jeremy I
apologize good
evening thank you
cancel um I'm here to give a quick
breaking on quiet zones um so just to
start off the the definition of a quiet
zone is basically what the federal rail
Railroad Administration considers as a
quiet zone is basically a section of
railroad track where automatic train
horn sounds at Crossings are not
required except in certain situations in
Burgen sees uh for maintenance or
construction within 25 foot of the
tracks um as you can imagine um in order
to meet the quiet Zone requirements the
Federal Railroad Administration has some
fairly stringent requirements because of
safety uh have at crossings they must uh
to in order to meet the designation you
have to have proper signage Advan
signage um pavement
markings um and of course the gate arms
have to be at the proper requirements um
the project in front of you is to
perform signage and pavement marking
improvements necessary at The Crossings
along the Union Pacific
railroad crossings uh basically from
Elliott Road South to Germain just
that's our railroad just east of the
roadroad tracks and then also in West
Chandler at railroad at Railroad and
Chandler Boulevard Crossings just east
of 56 Street um in the process of this
effort um staff has worked closely with
the Federal Railroad Administration to
redesignate both our East and West uh
quiet zones setting up us in a better
situation for future in the future to
continue our quiet Zone
status Council has approved a new
capital approvement in addition I guess
c cap Council has previously approved
last year uh a new capital Improvement
program that will provide funds to make
continuous improvements uh at the
railroad crossings to maintain These
Quiet zones as well as funds to expand
the quiet zones south of Germain all the
way down to our future in the future to
our Southern border
Chanel with that I'd be happy to answer
any questions nice mayor thank you mayor
uh yeah thank you for the so you you
answered one of my question this is just
for partial City and then what's what
are your thoughts for the next for the
final piece of the city on South chanler
what are your thoughts on that time
framing sure mayor thank you um vice
mayor Orlando as as soon as we've
completed this project staff plans to
move forward with looking at the
continuing the quiet Zone improvements
south of germine all the way down to hun
Highway perfect applebe and other
Crossings excellent so that so how long
is this first project going going to
take this particular project the
improvements will be completed in in the
spring of this year we're going to begin
construction probably as early as
January and then both the East and West
quiet zones will be um redesignated and
the train horn horn noise will stop
again excellent okay and then so we're
looking about four months five months by
the time we approve the contracts so
hopefully South Chandler we could have
some of the similar time frames right
yes perfect and then we're done with the
Quiet zones yes we think well another qu
zones will always be here we'll have
efforts every two to three years to sure
that they still need the okay Federal
requirements so but at least initial
groundwork will be done for the first
phase Perfect all right thank you very
much appreciate it thank you council
member Poston thank you so I've been
talking to a resident about this who was
in a quiet Zone and then suddenly was
out of the quiet Zone and I understand
that maybe the parameters have changed a
little bit are we are you comfortable
with the fact that when we move forward
with this that it will be approved by
the federal government and we won't have
the bar moved on us
anymore he Council M poon very good
question I think what we have learned
through this process is the what federal
requirements is the rules do change um
but with this new designation that we've
established um it helps set the bar in
such a way where we will be able to
maintain that continuity um but again
we'll have to ensure we do that it'll
every two to three years well have to
look at every intersection to make sure
the signage is properly um in place the
markings are complete along with working
with the federal um Railroad
Administration okay I think she had a
young baby might be two by the time and
all up and sleeping through the night
but thank you very much for your work on
this I I know it's appreciated it
affects some of our residents more than
I think we know so thank you yes we have
all heard the hor
news
uh cons Stewart thank you thank you for
the presentation you know this is one of
those things where kind of we have with
the cell phone towers right where the
federal government is sort of preventing
us from from making our city a more
livable place um do you see any
roadblocks or any headaches with the
getting this through in a timely fashion
and is there anything anybody at sitting
at this Das can do with our Senators and
Congress people to expedite this again
the railroad I forget what the
Department's called but it's an elected
body making rules for our city that that
uh is really hindering your ability to
do your job what can we do up here thank
you uh mayor council member sir that is
a very good question I think in this
particular instance we have the process
in place moving forward to redesignate
the crossings there are instances I
think where we still need to work better
and with the entities outside sometimes
they come in and they they they in they
within their RightWay and they can do
work without Maybe communicating with us
with this in the best fashion so maybe
that's an area that we might talk about
in the
future
mayor oh over here sorry city manager
then Council M if I could just add to uh
mayor council M if I could just add to
Mr White's comment um I want to commend
this Council for actually putting in the
long-term capital program that he
described earlier that did not exist
prior to this fiscal year so we had had
a pre-established quiet Zone but then no
funding to maintain it or continue
reinvesting in the expansion or or or
any other problems that could arise so
this was the first time again thank you
the council for supporting that and
several of you had asked for that um
this is enable us that every few years
we can actually go back now we'll have
kind of that checkpoint forever we can
go back and make sure we're reinvesting
those quiet zones and not wind up in
this situation again so I think that's
probably one of the most effective
things you've been able to do and I
really appreciate that I'm being
nostalgic tonight so I have to bring up
Rick human with this one he was the
anti-al noise guy
so C member Harris um I just wanted to
make sure I live right by railroad uh
and so I am every morning I hear
that like it really rattles my house it
makes the neighbors upset I'm glad that
we actually have funding for that but I
just kind of want to make sure that it
stretches because it stretches by my
house my house is right by railroad
literally right by the railroad uh and
so getting that quiet Zone I've been
telling Josh about this for how long
like almost a year over two year yeah
every morning the train comes by it
wakes me up it makes me upset it
literally goes right I literally hear
that thing through my house okay so yeah
thank you thank you thank you thank you
I'm I'm glad I'm the council member
because now I can let everyone know how
I feel about railroads and Chandler but
if I'm going through the pain everyone
else is going through the pain so thank
you so council member I did my due
diligence and when I bought my house I
made sure there was not a a railroad 100
yards from my house so
uh all right counil anything
else all right uh thank you and that
concludes our study session Council
we'll see you on
Thursday