Buckeye Council Greenlights $4.4M Airport Infrastructure Amid Public Furor Over $350M Expansion's Fiscal Logic and Air-Force Compatibility

excited to have you be a part of this important public process. Tonight, you will have the opportunity to address city council on both agenda and non-aggenda items. To get the process started, you must fill out a speaker request form in order to address the city council. Speaker request forms are located in the back of the council chambers. Please fill it out and deliver your completed form to the city clerk located to the right of the dis.

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Okay, we'll call this meeting to order. This is the city of Buckeye Council meeting for Tuesday, October 20th, 2026. We'll begin with the invocation led by Rhonda Everett from the Verado Prayer Group, followed by the pledge led by Council Member Hustus. Would you please stand? opportunity to recognize you and your authority over all things and the fact that we can seek you for wisdom. Lord, please protect and provide for this city in every way.

Be over all first responders, law enforcement business medical facilities schools farms homes. Please give strong critical thinking skills to all leadership that's here tonight and throughout our city. That wise decisions may be made with clarity of mind, ability for open dialogue, and considering all sides with a long-term perspective to lead in a unity of good decisions that bring order and peace and productivity to our city.

Please help the growth that is here and our resources be stewarded well. so that people can live here, raise families that make an impact and live in peace with productivity and protection. Lord, help us to have a hunger to do what's right for the good of all. In your name we pray. Amen. Join me please to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, thank you both.

Uh, can we have a roll call, please? Council member Yoner, here. Council member Barry here. Council member Hagistad, here. Council member Beard here. Council member Hust here. Vice Mayor Goodman present. Mayor Osborne present. Thank you very much. Uh item number two is comments from the public. Members of the audience may comment on any non-aggenda item of interest. Have two speaker request cards. Uh first is Michael Nuses. Good evening. My name is Michael Nuus.

First, I want to acknowledge the hard work all the council members do for this city. I especially want to thank council members Yoner, Beard, and Barry for their smart objections to a development doubling its size and the concerns over traffic even though it's still passed. I love the growth Buckeye has seen, but I think we can do it smarter. I am standing here tonight because our city's priorities are completely upside down.

We are looking at a $350 million blueprint to transform our municipal airport into a massive commercial and cargo hub. Let me be clear. I am not opposed airport per expansion per se. I support smart and logical growth for our general aviation community.

Mayor Osborne, you were just quoted in the news last week claiming Buckeye could see commercial flights within 10 years, but your own aviation team explicitly contradicted you in the same report, calling that timeline an absolute fantasy, a legacy project we don't need. The comparison to Mesa Gateway is an illusion. Mesa inherited a fully built military base with 10,000 foot runways and massive utility grids already in place from day one.

More importantly, Mesa splits its costs across five different communities. Buckeye taxpayers are being asked to shoulder 100% of the risk at a 2 million $200 million cost of Buckeye to build a regional airport from scratch on raw farmland. Every single local tax dollar spent building a utility grid to a speculative airport zone is a dollar stolen from the existing neighborhoods dealing with severe traffic bottlenecks and explosive residential growth.

Luke Air Force Base has already forced this project to change and the entire runway alignment had to be thrown out because Luke flagged it for airspace conflict. And why would they compromise? The Department of Defense has a chronic severe shortage of air traffic controllers. Any instrument flight rules flight has to talk to Luke because they controlled airspace in the West Valley, not Sky Harbor. Luke is already stretched in managing its F-35 pilot training.

They do not have the manpower to safely separate a massive flood of commercial and cargo jets at all times. To the members of the council, this vote to advance this funding is entirely in your hands. I ask you to have the political courage to stop rubber stamping this expansion. Vote not only your conscience, but vote for what your constituents actually want. You were elected to represent the families living in your districts, not to follow, not to blindly follow the mayor's personal agenda.

def defer the funding for the next phase of the master plan and redirect those resources to the urgent infrastructure deficits facing the citizens who actually put you in those seats. Thank you. Okay. Uh next up, Colonel Rusty Mitchell. Thank you, Mayor, members of council. I came here for two reasons. First off, I wanted to thank you for my association with the city of Buckeye for the last four years.

As you know, for the last 17 almost 20 years, I was director of the community initiatives team at Luke. And my sole purpose was to protect the mission of Luke Air Force Base from surrounding communities who unknowingly, accidentally, or whatever would uh approve development close to the base that we had to be able to uh to talk about. I stood in front of every council in the in the West Valley and said as a fighter pilot I said I would like nothing more than cactus and cows in the west valley.

Those days are gone. The the answer now is to find a solution of development for the surrounding cities that still is compatible with uh with the flight operations of Luke Air Force Base. This city has set the example for the West Valley on how that is done. Uh, I' I've been on contract with you guys for four years. My contract is now uh over and I wanted to thank you for that. I wanted to thank you for the association with this city and the forwardlooking of this council for what you have.

When I came to to the um Phoenix Valley back in the late 70s, I hate to admit um I drove past Lichville Road. It said Luke Air Force Base. I thought, "Wow, I hope I never get based there. That's a long ways out of town." went over to Willie, did my flight school during that year. Um, went to an air show up at Deer Valley, drove all the way up to Deer Valley and I could not understand why we were having an air show at Deer Valley because it was so far out of town.

Well, that city is Phoenix at the time in Deer Valley did not have the foresight that I think that this council has and what you have in a potential for your airport. Uh the way the city is set, the way the Phoenix Valley is set with all Native American lands and everything else, the growth of this valley is out to the west along Interstate 10. City of Buckeye is perfectly uh positioned to take advantage of that growth.

And the ability for you to to expand your airport and bring uh businesses into that airport with your economic development uh staff here is is beyond reproach and absolutely outstanding. You have an opportunity, but I'm Please don't take this as a lecture. I apologize. You You have to make sacrifices now before the growth comes out to the west. If you if you don't do that now, you'll you won't be able to take that area back. So, you need to protect the land now for the airport and expansion.

I cannot thank you enough for the vision that you have. I'm excited to be a to be a citizen in the valley to see that growth and I just hope that you continue to have the success of the expansion of that there. As far as Luke and airspace, I would love to spend more time talking with you because there's so many things about your statements that are not quite correct. I want to know how much the mayor paid for times up. I So I did that for 17 years.

I just want to make sure that I am available to any of you and I'm available to you, sir, and anybody in the community if you want to talk about the operations of Luke Air Force Base and the airspace over Buckeye. My time's up. I could go on for a lot longer. Thank you, Colonel. Okay, item number two is comments from I'm sorry, is awards, presentations, and proclamations. Tonight, we do not have any awards, presentations, or proclamations. We'll move on to agenda item number four.

Consent agenda items and new business approval of items on the consent agenda. All items with an asterct are considered to be routine matters be enacted by one motion and vote of the council. There be no separate discussion of these items unless a council member requests. The section may include the approval of minutes from previous meetings. Uh so on the consent agenda before we take action on that I have two speaker request cards. Uh, first is Michael Nues on agenda item 4D.

Mayor Osborne and members of the council, I am back at this podium. Agenda 4D talks about uh this project that they're doing at the airport and it is a reckless fast-tracked raid on our city's wallet to bail out your personal fantasy. Mayor staff is asking this council to pull $2.7 million directly out of our hard-earned capital improvement savings to subsidize luxury space for high-end corporate aircraft, pushing an unbudgeted project from fiscal year 2028 all the way up to right now.

You want approval to hand a $1.7 million contract straight to DCS Contracting Incorporated to break ground this November to install lines from Wall site number one and build a new hydronneumatic tank for Vermillion Development. And you know what? I'm done with this speech. Me and you are going to have a lot of fun in the next couple of years. Yes, I'm talking to you, mayor, because what you've done at two meetings now and and has what? I can talk about anything I want for three minutes.

Ma'am, this is an agenda. Oh, sorry. This is a consent agenda. I'm sorry. Okay. I don't agree with what you're doing. How's that for plain and simple? You're now you're going to get somebody else up here to retort me. I'll see you around, Mayor. Okay. Uh, Colonel Rusty Mitchell. What a surprise. This is how you run your city, huh? Have a good night to get out of office. Have a good night. Mayor, council members, thank you again.

I've been working on the airport for four years, and this Vermillion project is right there. And this is it goes back to what I was saying previously about now's your opportunity to go forward with this. And I think the movement of this CIP project as forward as you can afford. I know you've got competing uh tasks and and obligations in the city other than the airport.

But if you can see a way to move that forward and get a shovel in the ground and start uh building that those hangers out there, it will make a big difference for your economic development office because they'll see movement out there. they'll have other people come to the airport once they see that development. It'll make a big difference. So, I strongly suggest that uh you spend some effort and try to try to find a way forward with that.

And again, that all sounds like I'm lecturing and I really apologize that it's not meant that way. I just feel so strong about this. Uh I just wanted to make those comments and let you know how um how we feel. Thank Thank you, sir. Uh council for consent agenda. What is your pleasure? Mr. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion that we approve consent agenda items 4 A as in Adam through 4F as in Frank. Second. I have a motion for approval and a second. All in favor say I. I. And opposed.

Consent agenda passes unanimous. Okay. Uh public hearing non-consent new business item 5A. Uh no action will be taken on this item. The item in the accompanying public hearing is continued to the November 3rd, 2026 regular council meeting. Council to hold a public hearing and take action on ordinance number 28- I'm sorry. Uh that that is the uh the end of that on uh item number 5B. Uh we'll take no action on this item.

the item in the accompanying public hearing is continued to the November 3rd, 2026 regular council meeting. So move on to item number 5 C. Council to take action on the public uh the Buckeye Arts and Culture Plan and Lana. Is this the first time you've presented Lana? And Mr. Mayor. All right. Good. Mayor Oresbourne and council members. My name is Alana Lydia Holden and I'm the arts and culture manager here in Buckeye and I'm part of the community services department.

Tonight we're going to be talking about the Buckeye arts and culture plan. This has been prepared by Alex Keane, managing principal and Jennifer Tuckband, general manager and senior consultant. So an overview of the arts and culture plan. It provides a roadmap to guide arts and culture growth, addressing both public art and programming. It was a 10-month process beginning in January.

It developed using strong community and stakeholder input, and it establishes six major priorities to focus on over the next 10 years. I'm going to cheat and use this sheet because I can't see that small. No. So, uh, this is broken down into development, review, and final plan approval. Starting in January of 2026, the planning was launched, and the city engaged keen to develop a 10-year arts and culture plan.

January through March, research and assessment, background research, asset mapping, plan, policy review, and peer benchmarking, which was very, very interesting. Also January through March, community and stakeholder input with over 1,000 participants through interviews, focus groups, questionnaire, and events. April through May, the draft pan plan was prepared. In review, June of 2026, the draft plan was reviewed by staff.

In July of 2026, public stakeholder and board commission reviews with planning and zoning commission on 714 and CSAB on 7:15. In August of 2026, the final draft plan was prepared. And on September 1st, we had a council workshop. On October 7th, the community services advisory board recommended to council to approve the plan. And on October 13th, the planning and zoning commission had discussion and feedback session with us. And tonight we are hoping for an approval of the plan.

So the planning process, the process, the engagement included interviews and focus groups. These had 42 participants and these included artists and business owners, city staff and leadership and other stakeholders. We had community events which were uh voted on by 387 participants. There were six interactive activity stations and the public could put a sticker to vote on their favorite type of art or event.

And these were there were also maps that people could show where they wanted venues or pieces of art in the city. These boards were at events like Buckeye Days and Spring Celebration and they were also placed in city hall at the landing and at the Coyote Library. The public input questionnaire had 650 responses and 84% were Buckeye residents. So here are the six strategic priorities that have come about from the plan. This plan is from 2026 to 2036.

Number one is to expand access to and communications about arts and culture across the city. Two is build a visible and cohesive public art program. Three is strengthen arts programming, events and cultural activation. Four is enhance partnerships and funding models. Five is clarify and strengthen city identity, branding and community pride through arts and culture. Six is build organizational capacity and long-term infrastructure.

So these strategic priorities can be highlighted by looking at the 71 key tactics. We will not have time for all 71 of them, but here are a few. uh develop geographically distributed programming, prioritize themes that reflect Buckeye while honoring the unique character in each of Buckeye's planning areas. So, in other words, downtown has a very different feel from Verado, and we would want to honor both of those in the art making.

Uh develop a public art project list, which we have already started. develop signature public art installations. And this is something that Alex likes to call postcard pieces because they are something that defines a place and provides its character that you'd also like to have your picture taken next to. And then we have identify funding mechanisms which is in progress now. Uh conduct feasibility studies for a community venue, multi-purpose creative space and a regional touring venue.

In conclusion, the plan wide is widely shaped by resident and stakeholder input. It provides direction for the growth of arts and culture for public art and programming. It fulfills council strategic plan goal and the plan is supported by the community service advisory board and has been discussed by the planning and zoning commission. Do we have any questions? Thank you, Alana. Uh, council, any questions on this one tonight? Yep. Councilman Hagistan, who's on the Turn your thing.

Who's on the community services advisory board? Yeah. Uh, Mayor Osborne, Patrick Hagestad, sorry, council member Patrick Hagestad, excuse me. Doing good. Um, they have been appointed by council. So there are 14 11 now. There are 11 members now. Um and the uh subcommittee on arts and culture has five of those members who are voting on each individual piece of art and which artists get to make those pieces of art. Okay. I was just more generally speaking, are they members of the community?

Are they well who are they? Not their names, but what kinds of Do you want to take a Who who are we getting who are we tapping for these decisions? Yeah. U mayor, council member Hagastad. Uh I think typically what happens is that there is a call for applications for people to serve on our boards and commissions. Those are then reviewed by council and recommended by council and then ultimately appointed by council.

So, the members of the communities that want to volunteer and serve on these various boards and commissions, whether it's the community services advisory board, planning and zoning, um those those types of boards. So, but they're people that live here, I guess. Yeah, they're residents of Buckeye. Yes, that's what I'm asking. Yeah. All right. That's all I have. Just Well, I thought it was Any other questions? Any any other questions from council?

Um, so I know there's been a ton of work that's gone into this, obviously the public meetings and the reaching out to uh people in the community and it is a fantastic report and I think uh is right in line with what I think a lot of us hear often from people in the community that we're looking for uh spaces like like you had said to go and and have a picture in front of or uh I know we now that we can traverse it we drive up up and down um Verado and you can see that you had the the mural that was painted there which is fantastic.

Uh I know there's more of that stuff on the way. We hear I hear specifically a lot about uh meeting places or performance um uh performance halls and and areas where we can put on uh music or uh plays or or you name it. So there's a there's a lot of opportunity. We're hearing it all the time in the community. Tony's laughing at me right here, I think, because I'm stumbling over my words.

But, uh, excited to have this done and we have a a path and something that kind of guides where we're headed in the future, uh, from a uh, arts and culture perspective. So, thank you for that. And just a clarification on this, I know it's it is written in the um, the council action report. This doesn't this is just the plan at this time. It doesn't establish any funding. It does. We'll deal with that later.

And I think a step is coming up with what that looks like in the future, how we fund the plan and and uh that there you know whether that's a it's a set rate or it's a set dollar amount or take projects as they come. Uh I'm correct in that. Right. You are mayor. Okay. Okay. I want to add one more thing. I want to just uh a little bit of perspective hone in on something you said during it that you know you made made the the differentiation between Roto and Oldtown.

I think that that's probably something that we need to make sure we really hone in on and don't don't mess that up. That's more easily messed up than it is to get right. Um, it's something maybe something we do like more of like our general plan and have those certain areas that have a particular character and be very conscientious of of the different characters of the city being and what a great uh uh project to be in where you have so many square miles to do those things.

You know, not everybody gets that opportunity in your career. Like I talked to uh the fire chief. He when does a guy get to buy build three fire stations in one year? I mean it never happens, right? I mean you guys are very lucky to be here and do those things. So, it's not the easiest thing to do to be able to do all of the things at once, but let's be really cautious about making sure we get those things right. Thanks. Thank you.

Are you saying like the personality of different areas and the culture history? Yeah. On the same on the same thought process that we have the general plan where we have those activity zones that are meant to be a certain flavor for what's in that particular area. Yeah. So, yeah. Okay. Great. All right. Council, with uh no other questions, item 5C C. What is your pleasure? Mr. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion that we approve agenda item 5C as in Charles. I'll second.

I have a motion for approval and a second for item 5C. All in favor say I. I. And opposed. And 5C passes unanimous. Thank you very much, Alan. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, councel. All right. Item number six, comments from mayor and council. Uh, any comments from council members tonight? I'll just say Alani, you did great. That's a carryover from the last uh the last item. Thank you, Council Member Yunker. Uh, city manager report and summary of current events.

Well, good evening, mayor and council. I have just a few items for you this evening. Um, if you missed this weekend's announcement, the intersection of Verado Way and Yuma Road reopened this Saturday morning with one lane of traffic in each direction two weeks ahead of schedule. So, we'd like to thank and recognize staff for displaying our values so consistently to find a way on a very complex and difficult project.

Um, we've also celebrated several ribbon cutings over the last few weeks, including Salt Handles, Shake Shack, and our new police substation, just to name a few. So, um, again, thank you to mayor and council for attending those ribbon cutings and of course staff for, um, taking the time to celebrate these milestones and make these folks feel feel welcome in Buckeye.

And then my last, uh, announcement is that one of my very favorite Buckeye traditions returns this weekend right out here on Monroe Street. Um, Buckeye's 86th annual Halloween carnival will take place this Saturday from o October 24th from 5:00 to 9:00 pm. The evening will feature carnival games, live entertainment, trunk or treat, costume contests, food, and more.

Um, one of the things that makes this event so special is the involvement of our local nonprofits and organizations and longtime supporters like our friends of the library, the Rotary Clubs, the Main Street. There's there's several that have been supporting this this event, probably all 86 years of it. Um 100% of the ticket proceeds go directly back to the participating organizations.

And then this year, we're also encouraging attendees to bring non-p perishable food items to help us reach our annual food drive goal of 6,000 pounds. I think if we reach that, Jim and I get some pie in the face or something like that to celebrate. So, uh, it's a great great community tradition and we hope to see everybody there. And that's all that I have. Okay, great job filling in, Miranda. Uh, all right. Proposal for future agenda items. Item number eight from council. I'm seeing none.

With nothing else on the agenda, we are adjourned.