Prescott Valley Repeals Water-Protection Ordinance Under Goldwater Institute Litigation Threat; Flock Surveillance System Faces Fourth Amendment Audit Demand

Pricing the The main theme. ARIANA. The The City council meeting, Arizona. Proprietary. Arizona. Poco. There's a large range of time with City council meeting, Arizona. The house is a small town of Piper. You can't find yourself until you're a full-time mayor, You can't find us until you're in the city now. Hire to meet everyone. Arizona. It's just not a big risk. M City council meeting, October 22nd. Council please log in. There's one more button.

So, Member Thornton, I'm going to mark you as present. We have a quorum, Mayor. Thank you, ma'am. Next up, I'd like to welcome down Pastor Anthony Mercado with the Quad City Church for our invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. Please stand if you can. Welcome, sir. Well, thank you all. Would you please pray with me? Father God, we first just say thank you. Thank you for the town we get to live in, the free country we get to live in. And God, we surrender this meeting to you.

God, all the decisions that that need to be made, the discussions we're about to have. God, go before us in all sectors of what we're trying to achieve, God, in government, in our families, in churches, in our schools, and at home. God, we give it to you. Give us wisdom. Give this room peace that you understand, God. We love you, and we're just trusting you, and in your holy name we pray. Amen. You want to know the Pledge of Allegiance, buddy? Help us lead it. Come here, brother.

Hey, go ahead, we're going to follow your lead. Go ahead, buddy. I pledge allegiance to your life, and to the love of Jesus Christ, one nation for the life, and to the love of liberty and justice for all.

What his name sir Milo Nicely done sir Next up proclamations First one is National Native American Heritage Mayors the approval of the agenda Of course it is the approval of the agenda Jumping ahead Can I get a motion to approve the agenda So moved Second I second Please call the vote That passes Thank you ma Now we going to do National Native American Heritage Month for our proclamation Whereas the NSDAR Yavapai Chapter of Prescott Valley Arizona is sponsoring National Native American Heritage Month in the Tri-City area during the month of November, and whereas the history and culture of our great nation have been significantly influenced by Native American and indigenous peoples.

And whereas the contributions of Native Americans have enhanced the freedom, prosperity, and greatness of America today. And whereas their customs and traditions are respected and celebrated as part of a rich legacy throughout the United States. And whereas the Native American Awareness Week began in 1976 and recognition was expanded by Congress and approved by President George Bush in August 1990, designated the month of November.

November as National American Indian Heritage Month, now known as National Native American Heritage Month. And whereas in honor of National Native American Heritage Month, community celebrations, as well as numerous cultural, artistic, educational, and historical activities have been planned.

Now therefore, I, Kale Palgoda, mayor of the town of Prescott Valley, Arizona, do here by declare November 2026 as Native American Heritage Month in the town of Prescott Valley and urge all our citizens to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. Thank you.

Mayor Pell Gouda, members of the town council, on behalf of the Yavapai chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, it is my honor to accept this proclamation, recognizing November as Native American Indian Heritage Month. We sincerely appreciate the town of Prescott Valley's support in honoring the rich history, cultures, traditions, and lasting contributions of the Native Americans to our nation.

Thank you for joining the Daughters of the American Revolution in recognizing and celebrating this important month and the heritage of the Native American communities. Thank you. Come on over here. We'll just line up right here. We are also recognizing Family Court Awareness Month. There's no one here to receive that So moving on to Chamber of Commerce, who will be representing the Chamber?

Whereas the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce serves as a dedicated advocate for the business community, promoting a strong local economy and supporting the success of businesses, organizations, and entrepreneurs throughout Prescott Valley.

And whereas the chamber recognizes that a thriving business community contributes to a thriving community and works collaboratively with the town of Prescott Valley, educational institutions, civic leaders, and community organizations to encourage responsible economic growth and opportunity.

And whereas through networking events, educational programs, business resources, workshops, ribbon cuttings, and community events, the chamber connects people and opportunities, helps businesses build relationships, and fosters greater community engagement.

And whereas the chamber advocates on behalf of local businesses, supports leadership development, provides valuable educational opportunities, and encourages civic dialogue to ensure the voice of business remains an important part of community conversations. And whereas guided by its mission of connecting commerce and cultivating community, the chamber strengthens relationships, supports local businesses, and contributes to the quality of life enjoyed by the residents of Prescott Valley.

And whereas the town of Prescott Valley recognizes and appreciates the contributions of the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce, its board of directors, Chamber Foundation, staff, volunteers, ambassadors, and members for their ongoing commitment to the business community and the town as a whole.

Now therefore I Kelpaguda mayor of the town of Prescott Valley do hereby recognize and proclaim October 22 2026 as Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce Day and encourage all residents businesses organizations and community partners to join in recognizing the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce and its commitment to connecting commerce and cultivating community Thank you Thank you Mayor vice mayor and town council I would just like to say thank you for this honor If it wasn for the support of businesses the community our volunteers ambassadors and of course the town of Prescott Valley we wouldn be able to do what we do I just want to thank all of you for giving us the support, not only the Chamber of Commerce, but I'm here also representing the small business community in our town.

And it is so crucial to have a town that is business friendly, small business supportive, and also to have a Chamber of Commerce. I'm also a member of the Brisket Valley Chamber of Commerce board. So we work really hard on keeping the town and the business community thriving. So thank you so much. Next up, Community Planning Month. Whereas change is constant and affects all cities, towns, suburbs, counties, rural areas, and other places.

And whereas community planning and plans can help manage this change in a way that provides better choices for how people work and live. And whereas community planning provides an opportunity for all residents to be meaningfully involved in making choices that determine the future of their community. And whereas the full benefits of planning requires public officials and citizens who understand, support, and demand excellence in planning and plan implementation.

And whereas the month of October is designated as National Community Planning Month throughout the United States of America and its territories. And whereas American Planning Association endorses National Community Planning Month as an opportunity to highlight how planning is essential to recovery and how planners can lead communities to equitable, resilient, and long-lasting recovery.

And whereas the celebration of National Community Planning Month gives us the opportunity to publicly recognize the participation and dedication of the members of planning commissions and other citizen planners who have contributed their time and expertise to the improvement of the town of Presco Valley of Arizona.

And whereas we recognize the many valuable contributions made by professional community and regional planners of the town of Presco Valley of Arizona, and extend their heartfelt thanks for the continued commitment to the public service by these professionals. Now, therefore, I help El Paguda, mayor of the town of Presco Valley, to hereby proclaim the month of October 2026 as community planning month. Thank you.

Mayor, vice mayor, council members, town staff and community members, I just want to say that I'm Stacey, Development Services Director. I am honored and blessed to work with these three individuals. When I think of them, I think of professionalism, integrity, creativity, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking. I'm wildly impressed.

We have a very ambitious three-year strategic plan coming forward and their passion to do the really hard work, hopefully a little bit of fun on occasion, is impressive and exciting. It is my honor to be with them and I thank you all and you rock. Next up is student of the month. The town of Prescott Valley and Bradshaw Mountain High School are honoring two students for October. It's Ella Black and Benjamin Perez.

Today we are proud to recognize these students for their commitment to school and their community engagement. Because of their hard work, they have been nominated by their school staff and instructors at Bradshaw Mountain High School. Congratulations. Now we want to hear a little bit about you. Ella, let's start with you.

All right That seems like it work Good evening everyone My name is Ella Black Thank you so much for having me First I want to say how truly honored and grateful I am to receive the Student of the Month Award Education has always been a privilege that I been deeply thankful for and I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of a school community that has encouraged me to grow challenge myself and thrive I'm especially grateful to the teachers, admin, and peers who have supported me and helped me become the person I am today.

Through my work in the National Art Honor Society, my involvement in theater as both an actress and a student leader, being a link leader and several other extracurricular activities I participated in throughout the years, I have learned the importance of creativity, dedication, leadership, and perseverance. As I reflect on the years that have led me to my senior year, I am reminded that some of my most influential experiences and heartfelt moments have been at Bradshaw.

After high school, I hope to attend college out of state, pursuing the fine arts and education, for which I've recently received the QuestBridge National Match Scholarship. So, fingers crossed on that. I'd like to honor my mother and my sisters, who have inspired me and helped shape the young woman I am becoming. They're in the crowd with me today. Thank you for being here.

To my niece, I hope I can be an example of what it looks like to work hard, follow your passions, your passions and make the most of every opportunity you are given. I'd like to say one more thank you to the town council for having me, for Bradshaw Mountain for this recognition, and to my family for always supporting me. I'm incredibly grateful. Thank you. Benjamin? Good evening, everyone. First, I want to thank Mr. Bradshaw and everyone involved for giving me this recognition.

I'm honored to be selected as one of the student of the month for Bratchamon High School, and I really appreciate the opportunity to be here. High school has been an important part of my life, not just because of what I've learned in the classroom, but also because of the experiences and opportunities I've had outside of it. I played the trumpet for seven years and have played with the jazz band and marching band for all four years of high school. And in the winter season, I'm also in wrestling.

I've pushed myself in the last few years and have been involved in leadership positions in the marching band as a field captain, as well as with link crew. Being involved in my school has helped me grow as a person and a leader and understand the importance of working hard towards my goals. I'm grateful for my teachers, family and friends who have supported me and helped me along the way.

I know that a lot of the challenges I faced and the things I've accomplished wouldn't have been possible without their encouragement and support. As I look toward the future, I have goals that I'm excited to pursue after high school, and I want to continue challenging myself and learning new things.

After high school, I hope to go to college through either an ROTC program at an in-state university or attend a military service academy so I can go into the military and live my dream of becoming a fighter pilot. I'm proud to represent Bradshaw Mountain High School and all its hardworking students. Thank you again for this honor, and I'm taking the time to recognize students in our community. It means a lot to me, and I'm excited to see what the future holds. Thank you.

Principal of Bradshaw Mountain High School, Richard Bradshaw. Thank you. I'm Rick Bradshaw, proud principal of Bradshaw Mountain High School. And thank you, Mayor Pau Gouda and the town council for having us back. We got to miss the first few months and now we've been invited back and we really appreciate that. Our kids do really hard work at our school. Amazing kids. I know they're going to go off to college, but hopefully they will come back and be successful members of our community.

So we look forward to seeing you. Thank you. Next up, call the public. At this time, members of the public may comment on matters listed on the agenda or solely on matters within the jurisdiction of the town. A person who is wishing to address the council must register their name with the town clerk prior to the commencement of the meeting.

At the conclusion of the call to the public, the council may respond to criticism, ask staff to review a matter commented upon, or ask that a matter be put on a future agenda. Such remarks shall be limited to three minutes unless additional time is granted by the mayor. Clerk. Mayor and Council, we have eight members of the public registered. The first four names are David Hall, James O'Reight, Max Hathaway, and Graham Hansen. David Hall. Come on down, sir. Welcome. Mr. Mayor, hello.

Hang on a second. We're going to need to turn that microphone towards you. Thank you, Mayor and Town Council for your time and attention. Please accept my comments as one who is retired from law enforcement and has joined this community as of a couple of years ago. My comments are regarding the flock cameras.

The strongest constitutional argument is that the Fourth Amendment was designed to prevent government power from becoming effectively unlimited simply because technology makes surveillance easier. A single observation of a car traveling on a public road is generally not considered private. The constitutional concern becomes stronger when the government can store, search, aggregate, and retrospectively reconstruct thousands of a person's movements.

There are several court cases from the Supreme Court that supports this. The phrase, under the color of law, is particularly important here because generally it refers to government officials under the color, under the authority given to them by the state when depriving someone of federally protected rights. Congress provides a civil remedy through 42 U.S.C. Section 1983. The Supreme Court recognized in Manel v.

Department of Social Services that municipalities can be held responsible under Section 1983 when unconstitutional deprivation results from an official policy that establishes custom. This is particularly concerning. I'll skip the court cases due to time. These cases illustrate an important concern. Constitutional rights don't cease simply because the government is acting through police procedures, databases, contractors, or technological systems.

A concise way to put it is the Fourth Amendment should not be interpreted to give a government a technological loophole. A citizen does not surrender all reasonable privacy merely by driving on a public road. There is an important constitutional difference between an officer observing a vehicle passing and the government creating a permanent searchable record capable of reconstructing a citizen's movements over an extended period.

If law enforcement can use flock, flock's accumulated data to determine where someone regularly goes, when they associate, who they associate with, where they worship, and what they do and where they go, The government has acquired a powerful surveillance capability that the founding forefathers could never have anticipated. These cameras expose municipalities to a potential to potential lawsuits concerning violation of constitutional rights, leading to significant cost to taxpayers.

And this is something that taxpayers should not be exposed to. Thank you for your time and your attention. I appreciate it. Thank you, sir. James. James. James? Is there a James out there? I don't see him. Max Hathaway? Welcome sir. Thank you very much. Good evening. My name is Max Hathaway. I'm a resident of Prescott Valley. I'm here to urge the council to consider a motion to take off the agenda of the or to vote no on item 11E.

11E is an ordinance, 938, that would repeal another ordinance passed in 2024, it's ordinance 930. 930 was the brainchild of Mr. Legler and many others who were attempting to plug a loophole in the Arizona water laws that permit a bill to lease uh residential development and allow that development not to show sufficient water. That's a bad law to the extent it's been abused and exploited by developers and now it looks like you're being asked to get rid of it.

This all came about because on August 18th, the attorney for the Fane family indicated that the Fane family wanted to put in possible residential developments, Lakeshore Drive and Winsong Drive Six days later they just wanted to know how does this fit in with your ordinance Innocent enough question six days later the Goldwater Institute indicates in a letter to the town hey you going to get sued by the affected landowners The affected landowners don kid yourself it a Fain family This is not being a good neighbor That clear There a better solution to this and it a simple one I understand from this afternoon that Rep Nguyen agreed to request of the Attorney General that she review the potential conflict between state and local law and issue a formal written opinion I believe, and I'm sure there are different opinions, that she will accept that request if she remains in office after November 3rd.

The Fain family only has three approaches it can take to force you guys further and put some pressure on you guys to go ahead and get rid of the ordinance. One, and this is the most likely, under Prop 207, they can bring an action and seek the reduction in the market value of their land that results from them having to show their sufficient water to support their development. That would take at least 90 days, if not longer.

Another approach is for them to convince or the Goldwater Institution to convince a legislator to go to the attorney general and say, hey, you've got to investigate this. And the doom and gloom at the end of that road that I've heard is that the attorney general can issue an order pulling your shared state revenue. That's going to take 120 days if it were ever to happen. So there's no good reason and no immediate harm to the town. Thank you, Mr. Hapel. Appreciate very much your time.

Thank you, sir. Graham Hanson. Welcome, sir. You might just need to adjust that. Thank you, Mayor and Council. My name is Graham, president of Prescott Valley and member of Together Strong, and I'm asking for a staff report on how the town plans to deliver homes people who live here can afford to buy. $254,000 is what your housing needs assessment says a typical Prescott Valley resident can afford to pay for a house, Prescott Valley household rather, sorry.

That's a family earning the town's median income of I believe 70,000 a year, putting 10% down. What actually sold in 2024 out of more than a thousand home sales in the town, 137 went for under $300,000, and at most six of those were new construction. And those numbers are directly from page 28 of the Prescott Valley Housing Needs Assessment done by Elliott D. Pollock and Co., which this council paid for. And I'd encourage anyone watching or listening here to go and read that.

It's a very interesting read. The same study says about 1,800 more households earning between 50 and $100,000 will be looking to buy a home by 2040 and at prices between 200 and $350,000 with, you know, nurses and police officers included in those numbers. And it looks like you've already started on the tools. You've made room for smaller lots and manufactured homes. and residential zones, and in March you adopted a housing plan with a focus area called affordable owner-occupied housing.

So my ask really is to have your staff come back with a report on that focus area, which tactics they're prioritizing, and how many homes that fall under that $350,000 cap they expected to produce. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Greg? Welcome, sir. Greg Fulc, Thank you. Good evening again, Mayor and Honorable Mayor and Council, and thank you for this public call to the public.

In the continued talk of ALPRs, license plate reader cameras, currently we have the Flock cameras here in Prescott Valley, And watching the October 1st presentation from the chief and assistant chief they talk about it about people and it about victims And I have the same concerns and it just seems that we have different ways of wanting to get there These tools are creating a whole other class of victims And I just want to mention a few because I mean I got 10 zillion bookmarks on my computer for ones but Chrisanna Elzer this is a woman from Colorado who was falsely accused of package theft because again the fly Flock data misread her plate, information went to the police, and they show up at her door accusing her of stealing a package.

She actually had to prove her innocence. So we've gone from an innocent until proven guilty to a guilty until proven innocent. So it's Chris Alana Elzer. I'd encourage you to look these up. There was a deputy Lamar Roman in Florida who used flock data to sock a woman. Not an ex, not a lover, just a woman he met when he was working security on a TV show and she was an actress. Found her, literally did a high speed chase to chase her down for no other reason than to get her phone number.

Probably the big one was Lindsay Isaacs, who, again, a flock Miss Reed falsely accused her of vehicular manslaughter. And there was no damage to her car. She spent 13 days in jail, had her car impounded for over a year, while the actual culprit was able to go free because they thought they had the real culprit. And in that time, the real culprit had gotten their car fixed so the damage wouldn't be noticed and they were hoping they would get away with it. And they did for about a year.

So that one made its all the way up to she testified last month before the U.S. Senate. Okay, fourth one is Highland Heights, Ohio, a part-time police dispatcher, accessed flock data over unauthorized searches of over 20,000 searches. There is nobody working part-time that would need to do that many searches for police business in a small community. So my question is what were they doing, who are they doing that for? A few other points, but my time is up. I thank you again. Thank you, sir. Ms.

Betzel, welcome. Patricia Betzel, a resident of Chino Valley, formerly of Granville. I'm here to talk about the ordinance that you're talking about repealing tonight, Ordinance 2023-930. This ordinance requires the non-subdivision residential developments for proof of water, basically. In 1999, the AWR declared that we, along with others, were no longer in safe yield. But the state created workarounds to help developers build anyway. Remember the great plant rush.

Ordinance 2023 930 was one of the bravest pieces of legislation this town has ever created or approved. Quite frankly, we were shocked but proud that the town would take this risk because we understood at the time that this challenged the state law that allows commercial residential developments not to provide proof of water. We're talking about millions of gallons of water just in this town, much less the state. So Prescott Valley needs this ordinance. The state needs this ordinance.

Quite frankly, it's surprising that other municipalities have not followed suit. It was risky considering, again, that it challenged state law, but it closed a loophole. And how we would replace the amount of water that we would lose, and we don't know yet until you discuss this at that agenda item, whether this removes the requirement retroactively for the developments that have been approved in the last two years or not.

But I just want to say on behalf of many, many others, do not let the Fane family bully this town. There are people here who have fought the Fanes and won, and we don't have the resources that all of you do. We just can't afford to lose this water because we'll end up paying for it, and we are willing to fight for it. So we're asking that you remove this item from the agenda at least this evening.

Take a look at some of the options that were presented earlier in public's call to the public and reach out. But as I said don let the FANES bully you They can be beat Thank you so much Thank you ma What up Ms Couple Welcome Good evening. My name is Laura Cabell. I'm a small business owner here in Prescott Valley. When exactly did you tell the public that you were signing us up to live in a surveillance state? I've spent months going through your records.

I can find grants, MOUs, budgets, and software purchases. What I can't find is where you openly voted to authorize this entire surveillance network. On June 11th, you unanimously approved a $219,279 fire hydrant contract. But when asked, when I asked Gilbert about the surveillance contracts, I was told that those decisions were made administratively. So a fire hydrant contract requires a public vote, but tracking the entire community is an administrative decision.

On July 8th, I requested my own vehicle's existing location records from 30 days of data that this system collects. I demanded preservation before a deletion. I was told a warrant or law enforcement purpose was required. You can collect and store a record of my travels for 30 days, but I can't even get access to the information that you've collected about me. Am I being given language resembling Senate Bill 1111 to justify the withholding of the records? That bill didn't pass.

You don't get to enforce legislation that never became a law. I submitted a formal open meeting law notice in July. Those concerns remain unresolved, and I'm still waiting on outstanding public records. ARS 38.431.05 provides that actions taken in violation of open meeting laws are non-void unless properly ratified. I'm no attorney, but I'd certainly like to know what legal authority justifies continuing this program if its authorization violated the law.

You took an oath to uphold the Constitution and Arizona law. That oath doesn't come with an administration exemption. So release the records, commission an independent audit of the entire connected system, include outside agency access, publish the findings and the removal costs, and give this community a properly noticed public discussion and recorded vote on removal. You found the time to vote on a fire hydrant contract.

It's time to address the constitutional rights of the people you represent. Mayor. Ms. Kennedy. Welcome, ma'am. Good evening, council and mayor. I came here over a year ago concerned about these flat cameras. I don't have any stats. I just want some common sense. How many cameras are out there? I was told there's over 300. Okay. I think the law enforcement was doing fine before all these cameras came out. So it is a fourth amendment right. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am.

We've gone council communications to my right. Vice Mayor. Mr. Davidson. Mr. Mayor, members of the council, just Ryan, Judy, the deputy manager and I work on the last several days. We were able to attend the International City County Management Association Conference. It was an incredible opportunity, tons of great sessions on different topics, including AI, communications, budgeting, community planning, engagement. So lots of good takeaways.

And I will be loading up our team on lots of new ideas and thoughts. So thank you for the opportunity to attend that. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Next up, consent agenda. All matters listed under the consent agenda are considered routine by the town council and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion on these items. If discussion is desired, that item will be removed from the consent agenda and be considered separately. Council have all had a chance to review.

There's nothing to remove. I take a motion. I have a motion and a second. Mr. Mayor, I make a motion to approve the consent agenda items 9A through 9C by electronic vote. Clerk, please follow the vote. Can I pass this, Mayor? Thank you, ma'am. Next up, proposed amendment, Town Code 11-03-040, authority to designate restricted parking areas. This is This is a second reading. Counsel leave anything additional to ask Mr. Murphy? See none. Clerk? Ordinance number 2026-986.

An ordinance of the mayor and common council of the town of Presco Valley, a municipal corporation of Arizona, amending town code section 113-40, authority to erect signs restricting parking in article 11-3, parking, and chapter 11, traffic.

As recommended in the Prescott Valley Safe Streets for All SS4A Safety Action Plan, providing that all other chapters, articles, and sections of the town code not hearing amended shall remain in full force in effect, and providing that this ordinance shall be effective 30 days after its passage and approval according to law. Thank you, ma'am. Shall this ordinance pass? That passes, Mayor. Thank you, ma'am. attendee, CMC26-002, Stonebridge cell tower. Any additional questions or comments for Mr.

Norlach? Seeing none, hearing none, Clerk. Ordinance number 2026-986.

An ordinance of the mayor and common council of the town of Fresca Valley and Municipal Corporation of Arizona amended the town zoning map by changing the zoning district classification of approximately .30 acres portion of APN 103-61-004C line in section 26, Township 14, North Range 1 west of the Hill and Salt River base in Meridian, Stone Ridge Cell Tower site from CNPD Commercial Neighborhood Stealth and Services Planned Area Development to RL10PD Residential Single Family Limited Planned Area Development zoning and providing that this ordinance shall be effective 30 days after its passage and approval according to law.

Thank you, ma'am. Shall this open its pass? Mayor, that passes. Thank you, ma'am. Next up, item 11A, agreement with Summit West Signs for entrance arch light controllers, Project CIP CF 2709. Mr. Neuschen, welcome. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Councilmembers. Thanks for having me here. I brought with me today, we brought Marshall from Southwest Symba Science and we also brought Xavier. He is the LED manufacturer. So today we're just going to go over the ARCH project.

I'll give you a brief description of it. Right now we're going to be replacing and having RBG colors. So you have red, green, blue, white, purple. It's going to be all web-based. So we can change the colors for the ARCH at the web base. So we can do it in one location. We will have to go out to the arch, open it up, go inside of it, and change it that way. Both PV medallions will be able to be different colors than the whole Prescott Valley portion.

Along with the lettering for the established will be able to be a different color, along with the cooler side of Arizona will be another color. These are your standard colors. You got your red, your orange, your yellow, your green, blue, purple. We'll be able to do scheduling, so we can schedule it for certain months to have certain colors along with holidays. We can do holiday patterns, things like that.

With changing out the system, it'll just make it more modern and a lot easier to focus being web-based. This is what the arch currently looks like today. With all these changes that we could make, it could look like this with different portions of different colors on the arch. I do have these gentlemen with me. If you guys have any other technical questions for it, we're here to answer this for you. Thank you, sir. Council, do you have any questions for Mr. Neusom or representatives? Councilman?

Councilman? So I just wanted to make clear when this was originally approved, the taxpayers were told it was just going to be taken out of COVID recovery funds, that it would be a grant covering COVID recovery. Subsequently, now, a few months later, we're being asked to spend about $146,000, if I'm correct, in ground numbers. And this does not repair any structural defect. There's no safety factor involved. It's just a cosmetic thing. Is that right?

It'll make things a lot easier on us, but yes, it's getting the lights to a better standard and web-based. Okay, so it's not actually necessary for the safe operation of it?

Not for the safe operation Thank you I think the whole goal of Presque Valley when we established this or when citizens were questioned many many moons ago talked about how do we drive people from the highway into our core area of the town Glassford Hill is our major artery, and this basically creates an entrance avenue to point people into where basically we make money.

It goes to our business district, it goes to our restaurants, goes to our entertainment district, and this is something that has been going on for 20 plus years on how to enhance people from stop driving all the way through Prescott Valley on their way into Prescott. It's been in the budget, and this is definitely going to help enhance our businesses.

I know small business owners are thanking us every single day that we provide them with the tools necessary to bring business or bring residents and customers to their business. I am all for this. I'll entertain a motion. Go ahead, sir. Have there been any impartial studies to determine if this arch has, in fact, actually increased any businesses anywhere? Mr. Mayor, Councilmember, no, there's- we've not done any informal studies, as if it's, you know, broad.

But it certainly has- there was an arch plan that the town adopted in the early 2000s, There was a whole study that was done along the ADOC corridor. They identified the need for some sort of a signature gateway piece that would welcome people into the community. Prescott Valley, as we all know, along Highway 69, there's not a main entrance into the town. There's not a defined location. And so that plan was what was the basis for this concept. Thank you, Gilbert.

I still think that this money could be used in other ways, for example, for safety paths, footpaths or something for children coming from school or any kind of thing that would help keep our children safe, for example. Councilwoman. I just want to make a comment. Back when COVID hit our area, that was a worldwide pandemic, and it was a real rough thing for a lot of people to get through. This has brought a lot of joy to a lot of people.

We see cars that are the show cars or the antique cars that will park and people have pride in their cars that like to get it with the arch there. When this arch was conceived, it was going to have different colors that we could use for like breast care month and green for St. Patrick's Day or whatever. So that was the original plan. So just because someone goes out of business and isn't able to finish a job doesn't mean we don't follow through. We do.

And to me this is the pride of our community. And for those that don't like it, I'm sorry, but I know more people that I've had contact me say that they do like it. And it's a monument. It's a welcoming end to coming home. And I'm sorry, I don't always agree with everyone. Thank you. Can I get a motion? I think I froze up a little bit on my tablet. There you go. Thank you, Mayor.

Mayor, I make a motion to approve an agreement with Summit West Sines in the amount of $144,483.26 for lighting and system control upgraded installation services for the town entrance archlight controllers project, CIPCF, C.F. 2709, including $1,352 as owner contingency by electronic vote. I'll second. Second. Call the vote, please. Mayor, that passes. Thank you, ma'am. I'm actually going to—go ahead, sir. Did you have anything? Just going to say have a good night. Thank you. Thank you, sir.

I'm actually going to pause on 11B and go right to 11E. Proposed repeal legal ordinance number 2023-930 water requirements, non-subdivision residential developments. Mr. Leggler. Mr. Mayor and Council, you may remember three or four years ago that there were a number of potential developments that were knocking at the door for residential developments that were non-subdivisions. And therefore, under Arizona law, did not have to get any kind of separate water interests in order to be approved.

They didn't have to go to the Department of Water Resources and get what's called a Certificate of Assured Water Supply.

Because we live in the Prescott AMA every other residential type of residential development does have to go get separate water rights in order to avoid using additional groundwater There was a lot of concern at that time There seemed to be even statewide push for people to use that type of development because it did not require the CAWS that everything else did And the town felt a lot of concern about the little bit of water it had left to be able to apply it to commercial and industrial and other types of beneficial use.

And so some of you may remember three years ago we did sit down and talk extensively about adopting ordinance number 2026-930 that was intended to require folks to get water resources as if they had gotten a CAWS. Now at the time, we talked about the fact that there was no Arizona rule or statute that allowed us to require that, but we felt we could make the argument that it was something that was within our authority as a municipality.

Now, early in my career, I learned that you can hobble a lawyer by chopping off one of their arms because they can no longer say on the one hand or on the other. And one of the challenges we have is that we disagree with each other about what is or is not allowed under statutes or what is or is not part of authority.

And so the town has received, as you know, a communication from a well-known entity that is kind of a watchdog that has indicated to us that they represent others who are concerned about whether we had the authority or whether we were in violation of the law, and indicated that they would assist in pursuing litigation if we didn't consider repealing that ordinance. Now again, having prepared it, I'd certainly love to have the opportunity to defend it.

But, as your attorney, I also have to give you advice about the use of your resources. And the various types of actions that could be brought against the town could take a great deal of our time, could take a great deal of our resources in terms of our budget. And so I have recommended to you that we pursue legislation rather than make an effort to continue to defend this ordinance of ours.

To answer a question that was raised, the ordinance grandfathered certain projects that had come in at a certain time. And so those projects were built, and they did not have to meet the requirements of this ordinance. And no one has ever come and asked to get permission to build their development based on this ordinance. So there is no issue of having to worry about anything that has already been approved and whether it's grandfathered.

Those projects did not have to meet the requirements of this ordinance. So if we do repeal it, there will be no issue related to any of our developments. If you have any questions of me or if you'd like to ask any additional questions. Any questions of Mr. Lightfoot? Councilman? Our water supply is basically the lifeblood of this town. And without it, we're doomed. I think that ordinance 2023-930 was a good piece of the legislation that sought to try to protect our future, our water supply.

And I think it's something that's worth fighting for. I think that we need to take a stand, and I think that we could take the $146,000 that's being used on the cosmetics for our sign and use part of that to defend our water future. Thank you. Councilor. I also think that we should fight for our water. It may not be running out, but it's going to get very, very expensive. One of the speakers today said, we've got 90 to 120 days.

Once an action takes place, to my knowledge, there is no action at this point. Do I understand correctly?

Mr Mayor and Council there are three different types of actions that could be brought One could be brought to declare the ordinance unconstitutional or in violation of statute One could be a Prop 207 action brought by any of the property owners that might argue that their property has been diminished as a result of the action And there are various limitations on how soon such a claim has to be filed and how quickly we would then have to respond.

And yes, we would have 90 days to respond to such a claim. And then there's another possibility of someone going to the attorney general and asking the attorney general to declare that it was a violation. And once the attorney general, within 30 days, makes a decision about that, we would then have a very short period of time before we would then have to take an action to undo it. So what I hear is there is still time. There is still time. I believe we've exhausted this.

We were in executive session at one point, and of course, executive session, you can't go into details. But I do recall all of this information being presented to council. I believe everyone was in agreement with the direction of this is a state legislature fight. We are not waving the white flag and giving up hope and saying that we don't care about water. We just recognize that we were out on a limb.

We put ourselves subjective to a lawsuit that would cost us money and we said, all right, they called it. Let's just let the fight play its way out. And then I find it comical that here we start hearing different ideas of what we should be doing and not be doing. I guess, I don't know, I guess maybe good thing we don't allow political action committees to be an executive session, I guess, right? Mr. Mayor, I do have one comment as well.

I used to be a business owner and a lot of things that I would have dilemmas about, and there's always, like, legal counsel involved when there's lawsuits. One of my favorite sayings is, seek ye first wise counsel. And that is why we have wise counsel. We have people who go to bat for us. They're doing what's best for our community. And we should follow the advice of what the decisions are because how many people like paying for a lawyer and it's endless?

And we don't have that kind of money to be trying to fight the fight, is my opinion. So Ciki first vice counsel is how I'm going to vote. Thank you. Councilman? We also have to keep in mind if the state sued us, it would be considerably more than $140,000. As I mentioned, we're not giving up folks. We are reaching out to our legislators. This is something that if we can get through the state legislature and get a law passed instead of a town ordinance, that goes a lot, lot further.

So I will also challenge one of our speakers this evening who spoke of a state legislator reaching out to an attorney general. That, from what I understand, did not happen. So I question everything else being said in regards to what we can and can't do. Mr. Davidson, do you have anything there? Mr. Mayor, Manager of the Council, we're going to be tenacious about the legislative side of this. We have a legislator that's already prepared to introduce a bill.

This bill has been introduced in the past. I think that, you know, with headlines that we've all read over the last several months with, you know, Colorado River water impacts, this is the time for that conversation at the state legislature. There's some new dynamics that will take place within the legislature that I think this will be our time to really push forward.

There's going to be a number of municipal partners that we'll have across the state on this, and that's where I think that we need to put our focus and energy. And nothing stops this council from just pumping the brakes, maybe prevent the town from getting sued. We take away this ordinance. We let the fight go to Phoenix with our state legislators. Let's see how that plays out in the next session.

Nothing stops council from bringing it back and saying, hey, let's reissue another ordinance that we tried with the state legislators. Let's fight for water again. Nothing stops them. But what it does stop is preventing us from being subjective to a lawsuit. So like I said, we're not waving white flag, folks. We're still fighting for it. Like Mr. Davidson said, we're gonna be tenacious. We just need to be a little patient and play offense and defense. Mr.

Mayor, if I could also explain this ordinance undoes another ordinance. Now, we don't do that very often. It'll take two readings and it'll be effective 30 days after it's adopted if it's adopted. I'd also like to just remind you that this is only one aspect of many, many things, as you know, the town is working on when it comes to water. We certainly recognize that water is our lifeblood. And if we had Tracy Lund, well, there she is. Wave, Tracy.

If Tracy Lund were up here talking with us, she would share with you the things that we talk about weekly that we're doing both on a legal side and a policy side to try to deal with many aspects of water. So again, we want you to know that we are continuing to work in that area. Thank you, sir. I'll entertain a motion, please. Mr.

Mayor, I'd like a motion to make a motion to read Ordinance Number 2026-988, repealing Prior Ordinance Number 2023-930, related to water requirements for non-subdivision residential developments by title only on two separate occasions, then place the same on final passage by electronic vote. I'll second. Court, please move up. Mayor, that passes.

Ordinance number 2026-988, an ordinance of the Mayor and Common Council of the Town of Prescott Valley, a municipal corporation of Arizona, repealing ordinance number 2023-930, adopted on January 11, 2024, and effective February 11, 2024, that enacted a new section 14-2-80, non-2024, 1. Subdivision Residential Developments in Article 14-2, Planning Procedures and Requirements in Chapter 14, Subdivisions.

Now sections 14-7-10 and 14-7-20 in Article 14-7, Non-Subdivision Residential Development in Chapter 14, Subdivisions and Other Land Projects of the Town Code.

related to non-subdivision residential developments that do not otherwise require issuance of certificates of Assured Water Supplies, caused by the Arizona Department of Water Resources, ADWR, in the Prescott Active Management Area, AMA, providing that all other chapters, articles, and sections of the town code not hearing repeal shall remain in full force in effect, and providing that this ordinance shall be effected 30 days after its passage and approval according to law. Thank you, ma'am.

Next up, 11B Quillwood Well, number three PFAS treatment. Welcome- Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council. That reading took a little bit longer than I expected. But I'm here tonight to request the approval of an engineering services agreement with Jacobs Engineering Group for the construction phase services for the Quillwood Well three PFAS treatment project. I'll start out by giving you a little bit of project background.

Back in 2022, the EPA identified PFAS compounds as an emerging contaminant. And at that time, the town started testing for those compounds. We found that three wells in the lower system, the quailwood well two, three, and four routinely tested very near or above the regulated limit for those compounds. So those wells were immediately taken out of service.

And after taking those wells out of service, we have found that in times of high demand, that production in the lower part of the system failed to keep up with that demand. So town started looking at ways that we could look to increase production or supplement by providing a reliable, redundant feed. So two projects came out of that review. One, the quail wood well number three treatment.

Second, the old Black Canyon transmission main, which we will be bringing before you here in a couple months for construction, hopefully. So what does the PFAS treatment project consist of Well on the top screen or image there on the screen you see the existing well site that shows the existing well building and the proposed treatment building that will be constructed Inside that existing building, we will be changing out the well pumps and the electrical components.

Then we will be constructing a treatment building, which you can see in the lower image there shows that we have on the right, pre-treatment filters. And then on the left, you see the two ion exchange vessels that'll be in lead and lag configuration to treat and remove the PFAS from the water that is coming out of that well. So where are we now? We have completed design. We have, this project is being funded through an EPA grant and 90% forgivable with a loan.

Both those agencies have reviewed the bid packet and the plans and have approved those for construction. We have submitted documents to ADEQ for the approval of the construct permit. They have returned comments back on that submittal and we're actually scheduled to resubmit those updated documents back to ADEQ tomorrow. And then we have broken the project bidding into two phases for this project due to the lead time for those vessels.

So we have earlier this week actually advertised for bidding for those vessels and that will be closing mid-November. And then mid-November, we intend to be bidding the construction package with that closing in mid-December. So all that brings us to the professional services contract for construction services at the total of $1,022,061. That'll be a time and materials contract with a not to exceed value. I have listed out the six subtasks to that value with the maximum amounts there.

As you can see, task three is construction management. That involves reviewing pay applications, overseeing testing, overseeing the construction, documenting anything that changes during construction for the as-built document preparation, and that includes the total for the special inspections as well. Task two, meetings, review submittals, RFIs, clarifications, change orders.

This being a little bit more involved than our typical utility project, we're constructing a building, there will be electrical, mechanical equipment, plumbing. We would expect a few more of the clarifications and submittals than normal. And then task five, or excuse me, task four funding coordination. Since this is an EPA grant funded and with a loan funded project, it brings federal requirements.

So we will be having Jacob assist us with reviewing pay records, conducting the pay interviews, making sure that other certifications such as Build America, Buy America are all followed. So we comply with those grant and loan requirements. And then lastly, task six. That is our owner's allowance task. That's a task that can only be billed to with town approval. That's to cover any unforeseen conditions or any value engineering options that present themselves during construction.

So all that adds up to the $1,022,061. That concludes my presentation and I'm available for any questions you may have. Any questions or comments? Councilman? I agree that this is necessary and I glad to see it being done and I very happy that we getting that we gotten a WIFE grant and so forth and a you know a forgivable portion a major portion of the loan That all great My concern is that we're...

I've heard some serious talk that this PFAS, the source of this PFAS, is from our sewage treatment plant effluent. And that hasn't changed. We're still doing the same thing. So if our sewage treatment, effluent and recharge, is still going into the ground and still possibly, you know, getting into the aquifer and into these wells, what's to stop it from contaminating other wells? And this will be like a domino effect with million-dollar dominoes. And that's a good comment.

As you can see on the little map here, the wells, Quailwood 2, 3, and 4, are the wells that are closest to the aquafria, is where we discharge our effluent. We haven't seen any other wells in the area testing positive on any of any significant concentration. So PFAS has been around for a long time. It's becoming less and less frequent in products now that it has been identified as an emerging contaminant. So you're correct. It's not an easily treated chemical.

So ultimately the only way to address that would start treating the sanitary sewer effluent, which would be something that may become later as we're looking into a treatment plan upgrade now. The treatment for the PFAS, is that similar to a reverse osmosis system? No, the reverse osmosis would be like a micro filtration process. This is going to be an ion exchange process.

So it's a resin that is in bead form in those vessels and it has typically like a chloride ion that is attached to those beads that is easily broken and the PFAS attaches more easily. So the reason we didn't look at a microfilitation project is you have a lot of water loss with that technology, and then that requires back flushing and you have water waste that we would have to deal with, where the ion exchange has no back flushing and water waste. Thank you very much. No further questions?

I'll entertain a motion. Mr. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to approve a professional services agreement with Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., in the amount of $1,022,061 for construction-phase services for the Quailwood Well No. 3 PFAS treatment project by electronic vote. I'll second. Okay, please call vote. Mayor, that passes. Thank you, ma'am. Next up, item 11C. Welcome back, sir. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the council. No presentation for you tonight.

This is an item to consider awarding a design contract for the signal just out here at Lake Valley Road and Lakeshore Drive. If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer. Also, any questions about this much-needed project? Seeing none, I'll entertain a motion.

Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve the professional services agreement with Burgess and Neiple based on the City Prescott Co Agreement contract number 20247 in the amount of for design services for the Lakeshore Lake Valley intersection CIP CS2704 by electronic vote I second Please call vote Mayor, that passes. Thank you, ma'am. Mr. Murphy, you want to hit us with 11D? Yes, sir. Thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the council.

This is another item for a design contract for the Glassford Hill left turn offset project. Do we have any questions for Mr. Murphy on this project? Seeing none, hearing now, I'll entertain a motion. Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve the professional services agreement with HDR Engineering Inc. in the amount of $284,821.76 for design services, plus an owner contingency in the amount of $14,241 for the Glassford Hill Road left-turn offsets project CIP CS2705 by electronic code. I'll second.

Court, please go over. Mayor, that passes. Thank you, ma'am. Next up, item 11F. Welcome, sir. Good evening, Mayor and Councilor. Mike Townsend, interim finance director. I'm here to present this item.

This is something that I'm sure you remember from about a month ago, the original contract for ABDO Financial Solutions, and working with them, and as we transition with some additional turnover and vacancies in the department, There's some additional work that needs to be done regarding the audit, some ongoing accounting services, and then the continued documentation of the process and establishing that for the new finance team that will be coming in hopefully in the near future.

I'm here to answer any questions you may have on the contract. Any questions for Mr. Townsend? Thank you, sir. Appreciate you. I will make a motion approved to have the financial solutions agreement change order for professional accounting support services, including a one-time cost increase of $70,600 and an ongoing monthly cost increase of $9,880 for accounting services by electronic vote. A second. Clerk, please call the vote. Mayor, that passes. Thank you, ma'am. Next up, 11G.

Assistant Chief, welcome. Mayor, vice mayor, council. Good evening. No presentation. The Presbyterian Police Department was awarded $108,500 through the Arizona State Parks and Trails OHV Recreation Fund. The police department's asking that the town accept these funds and use them for an OHV and also other officer safety and response capabilities. Thank you, sir. Council have questions for assistant chief? Seeing that, I'll entertain a motion. Mr.

Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to authorize signature of resolution number 2026-2464, accepting the fiscal year 2027, Arizona State Parks and Trails Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Fund Grant award in the amount of $108,500, and authorizing the town manager or designee to execute required grant documents by electronic vote. Second. Please call vote. Mayor, that passes. Thank you, ma'am. Thanks, everyone, for coming out. Have a good night. Anya.