Tempe approves second reading of $2.1B Entertainment District with NHL arena

It's very effective good evening everyone welcome to the Tempe city council special meeting of the Harry e Mitchell Government Center item number one is call to order members of the public who attend the meeting physically are asked to maintain distance between other parties and masks are optional for all attendees per City of Tempe policy alternatively members of the public May attend the meeting virtually through Cisco WebEx events by visiting tempe.gov council meeting info for more information Council meetings can also be watched in real time via Cox Cable channel 11 and at tempe.gov Tempe 11.

next thing is item number two here the following agenda items scheduled for second public hearing and final adoption were already introduced on November 22nd 2022 and votes on these items will be taken tonight the first item of the section is 2A which is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt a resolution authorizing a general plan projected land use map Amendment from commercial to mixed use for approximately 34.4 Acres a general plan projected density map Amendment from no density to high density Urban core which is more than 65 dwelling units per acre for approximately 34.4 acres to adopt an ordinance for a zoning map Amendment from RS 0 rsod from r16rsod and GID rsod giod to mu4 rsod for approximately 46.26 acres and a planned area development overlay to establish development standards for Tempe entertain District located on 50 South Priest Drive 53 South Priest Drive consisting of varying Heights of up to 129 feet 2100 dwelling units and Commercial consisting of a multi-purpose entertainment facility retail restaurant hotel and office uses the applicant is snow and Wilmer this resolution I just want to note for the crowd and for the council does for a general plan Amendment it needs at least a two-thirds majority vote of the council that would be five out of six of us who were here currently I know councilmember Devar will be here a little bit as well uh in the evening but I know he's going to be virtual for a portion of the meeting so we will need five votes on this one for it to pass so the property address 53 South Priest Drive has been corrected in the resolution just wanted to note that as well for transparency uh this address was correctly stated on the agenda as well as the staff report so I will look right now to uh Nick Wood from stellen Wilmer if you'd like to give a presentation on this item mayor members of the council Nick Woods another woman one East Washington damn it's nice to be here um I gave a presentation last week I think with your permission may not forego that I did want to make one change after meeting with the airport we have agreed to reduce the density that's permitted under the zoning from we've applied for 2100 and we're going to reduce that to 1995.

1995.

thank you and with that I'm happy to answer any questions you might have sounds good thank you Mr wood uh I do know as well just for the audience here for the council I know that Ryan lebake our Deputy planning director will be up as well and he's going to talk more about the general plan Amendment and specifically what that entails so just from a transparency standpoint we wanted to let people know that that will be discussed later on in tonight's agenda so does anyone on the council have any comments or questions for Mr wood on this item yeah okay next up um does council want a presentation from City staff on this item I think we will uh let's see is Ryan can I see him right here there we go so Ryan lebeck who's our Deputy community development director for planning uh he can talk a little bit about the general plan Amendment for transparency purposes just so people know what the council will be voting on tonight thank you mayor members of City Council again you've identified this request for you tonight which is item 2A so to go over the summary of the items that entail regarding the general plan and zoning map event requests we have a GP land use map Amendment and projected density map Amendment we also have a zoning map amendment in the planned area development overlay which basically establishes those development standard rights for the project site you see in the image here so again focusing on the general plan element we currently have a projected land use of commercial land use the proposed land use change includes about approximately 34 acres to mixed use projected land use and then with the images on your right you have a current density projection of no density the project proposes a density of um Urban core high density which is greater than 65 donus breaker depicted on this map so what's excluded from that area specifically is site one which includes the multi-purpose entertainment facility the zoning map Amendment as you see today includes two different zoning districts General industrial GID R16 which is a single-family zoning designation and two different overlay zoning districts on the property the request will combine all those different zoning districts into an mu4 with the established pad standards the applicant has previously provided us a presentation on this item but here's the aggregate information provided in the project scope 1995 drawn units of up to 500 hotel rooms building area approximately 4.2 million square feet with lock coverage at 95 percent and there are varying building Heights from each phase in each site plan but the maximum Building height proposed will be 129 feet establishing setbacks landscape area vehicle parking requirements and bicycle parking for the project site here is a depiction of the site plan shown in Phase One and phase two based on the planned remediation area for phase one and then each site designation for building areas site one site two will have incremental phases that'll then have to come back to you all for designer view approval of each of these building faces at a future to be determined meeting date again we've had neighborhood meetings on the request well attended public attendance of 35 people we've had public input at the developerative commission as well as city council meeting first hearing on this request and we also have a staff recommendation of approval for the request the DRC recommended approval 7-0 vote with 18 total conditions 15 of which are unique conditions I'll need to note too as well as it's um liquid has identified that they're wanting to reduce the total number of dilutes on their project so condition number four stayed in here will need to be amended to be re-read into the record that that 2100 dwell units will now read 1995 Dawn units if the council has any questions from staff at this time I'd be happy to answer Ernie sounds good thank you Ryan appreciate it council members any comments or questions for whistle Levick all right hearing none thank you Ryan appreciate it next up I know from a speaker standpoint we have more staff um I believe it's going to be uh Marilyn De Rosa or Kathy Hollow or Julia Julian drisang who's going to come up and give a presentation regarding traffic good evening mayor and Council Julie andrewsang Deputy engineering and transportation director and I'm joined this evening by Kathy Hollow our city traffic engineer this project like any development project is required to submit a traffic impact study and I believe last week Don Cartier was able to do a short presentation her team put together the traffic impact study for this project and the purpose of that study is really to understand the existing traffic conditions and then also what the site-generated traffic conditions will be if the development moves forward to get an idea of long-term what the traffic might be like in the future and so um so when you put those two together the existing traffic with growth as well as the site generic site generated traffic combining those together we get a good idea of the projection of what we can expect the projected traffic condition is then used to be able to mitigate what future traffic conditions might be and our ability to then manage traffic and I think that's a really important point to be made is that our job will be then to manage that uh traffic at that point um we all know that the development will add additional traffic I don't think that is in question here the question is then how can we manage that traffic and we have a history of doing that this isn't this wouldn't be the first large sporting event that we deal with we've had the Arizona Cardinals here ASU football games basketball games other large events and so um we plan on mitigating traffic using techniques like technology working with staff police department and such um so Staffing those barricading and also providing Transportation Alternatives so we know that if we can take some of the traffic off the street and use shuttles and buses and Transit bicycles pedestrians scooters we have all these great Alternatives um that we can reduce that traffic demand so uh Kathy and I are now going to share some key findings and strategies that our team has identified in reviewing the traffic impact study uh next slide quicker oh thank you so uh the project as Ryan had mentioned is uh broken up into phases phase one a and one B were analyzed together for future year 2025 when doing the analysis and then phase 2A and 2B were analyzed uh for the 2030 years so now I'm going to turn it over to Kathy Hollow to discuss specific findings from the traffic impact study okay thank you man Council happy to be here and present what has been presented by To Us by the consultant team for the traffic impact study a draft traffic impact study so to start with uh how many we've talked about the traffic how much traffic is it really going to generate um opening year with phase one as Julian said this phase one and phase two the numbers are here about over ten thousand on a daily basis the important thing is looking at the what we look at is the peak hour because that's when it's most the traffic's most concentrated uh when phase two goes into effect it'll be the build out year 2030 the daily trips are expected to jump to an additional 25 000 and during a special event they'll be in another almost 8 000 trips on top of that on a daily basis another thing to point out here is that the even though the event scenario adds to the day it occurs at a different time right the event the game will be at 7 or 7 30 at Night by then our evening Peak is over hopefully the two do not Collide and we should be able to as Julian said manage traffic uh the development is proposing five access points um so uh you might be able to see them on your map there's one that'll be right in right out on the north side of the project on Priest Drive access B is about halfway down the project on Priest Drive and it will be signalized or need to be signalized with this development xsc will be a write in write out only driveway and then xsd is a signalized intersection which is being signaled being designed right now is part of the carvana development and then there's one more driveway proposed to the east side of the development at what is called accesse now this as Julian said we take a look at what's out there today and then the site traffic is added to this and and analyzed to see how things are going to be impacted so this is kind of just a snapshot of what's out there today you see the highest volumes around priest drive around the 202 as it collects all the traffic trying to get on and off the freeway and it kind of dissipates as it goes south into the city um none of the other streets get even approached even approach those kind of numbers so um and to kind of sum up with the findings that were presented in the study all the intersections are expected to operate an acceptable level of service with mitigation except Priest Drive in Loop 202 on for the eastbound ramp and Priest Drive in Liberty Way and the mitigation measures that they proposed are include the signalization of priest driving Liberty which I mentioned and then adjustments to Signal timing average delay is approximately 30 to 55 seconds per vehicle though some movements may have delayed over 55 seconds in the build out scenario in the peak hours only and then the key strategies and mitigation measures that they presented uh to sum up here they they said there's infrastructure improvements that are identified in the study that will have to be built implementation of the trans Transportation demands management strategies which includes um enhancements to Transit routes 48 and 56 and the extension of orbit Venus and then implementation of strategies to limit the impact of event traffic into the adjacent neighborhoods like um Sunset Riverside to the South so and then we'll continue to implement event strategies as the events occur and we see how traffic is operating so that'll be an ongoing thing we'll do active traffic management as the events are happening so um with that I think that concludes our presentation if there's any questions we'd be happy to answer them sounds good thank you so much vice mayor Adams uh yes uh the light rail goes right by there on Washington and I'm just wondering have we looked at like people movers or anything like that from that area for the light rail to the stadium so the um the study references shuttles going from the site to both Light Rail stations the one up at Preston Washington and the one over at third and mill so it has two sets of shuttles that they're proposing thank you vice mayor Adams anywhere else Council comments or questions I guess my very kind of simple question I guess sort of boiling a lot of this down I mean we all know that you know we've got ASU here that's the largest public university in the country you know we are pretty much the hotbed in the region for class A office and there is a lot of traffic kind of in and around the downtown and the residents have raised that as a concern in your professional opinion do you feel like we have the ability to manage the traffic that would come in as a result of the Civil development and can we put in mitigation standards standards that would actually help to make sure that traffic continues to move about the city at an acceptable level well from what I've seen in the study I do think that it can be mitigated I think that the site being where it is off on the west side of the city where there's um not uh same kind of development as there is around campus uh gives us some opportunities to be able to to manage traffic and to get them um to get people in and out of the site without uh hopefully without too much delay so yeah and I think that we have we've shown from previous events that we can find mitigation tools that handle that we have a lot of technology that we've invested in to manage traffic and also I think an important part of this is where the traffic is and so I think that we can do a good job of maintaining traffic on the freeways on the arterials and keeping traffic out of the neighborhoods where I think uh probably a lot of the concern is and so we will definitely if this is to move forward with those neighborhoods to make sure that traffic is mitigated and that trap you know and part of that is dealing with parking dealing with um you know in Ingress and egress and and managing that so having a plan in place but with with those tools similar what we do with football games similar we do with others um working with our police officers and their team working with our barricading staff and having a plan in place to move that traffic is going to be key and if I could just add one more thing something that we're pretty proud of in the department is um we actually are putting in an Adaptive signal system and that includes pre-strive as part of this system so it's part of a grant we got from ADOT for the mitigating the curve traffic and um and it includes Priest Drive so hopefully that will be a key component to helping move traffic too sounds good thank you vice mayor Adams could you explain that to folks that aren't in this industry sure so thank you sorry about that adaptive traffic signals are have detection on uh for every movement that occurs at the intersection so the the signal sees where the traffic is and changes its time um depending on the demand on each leg of the intersection so thank you absolutely thank you are anyone else from Council further comments or questions for Kathy or Julian thank you so much for your time great thank you so much appreciate it so what I'm going to do in this situation there are three separate votes this evening uh on three sort of separate issues but I want to make sure I was trying to think in my head before coming down here how I wanted to handle the public comment but what I think I'd like to do is try to take all of the public comment now just to make sure that the council has an opportunity to hear from members of the public prior to any of the three votes I want to make sure that if that someone doesn't speak during the third vote and say wait a minute my question kind of or my concern had to do with the general plan Amendment or the zoning so I'd like to see if we could actually take the speakers this evening plus uh there might be people who want to remain for the entire meeting there might be folks who just might want to get their comment and and then head home so I want to make sure that you're not sitting here for the full length of the meeting if that's not what you choose to do so with that I'm going to go ahead and do the public comment now uh I've got a total of 39 comment cards this evening and I'm basically going to take these in the order uh that I received them the first Speaker this evening is Chad makopsky please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes to address the council good to see you this evening yeah thank you Mayors uh members of council I'm Chad mccowski I'm a 32-year professional in aviation industry and I'm currently the director of Aviation at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Phoenix Sky Harbor continues to be among the busiest airports in the world and in 2021 we were in fact the surprising to to many the busiest three Runway airport in the world for takeoffs and landings we serve our community our region and the State of Arizona by driving a 38 billion dollar economic uh impact on an annual basis which supports tourism trade and travel according to a study that was completed by asu's WP Carey School of Business we're among the largest employment hubs in the state supporting more than 57 000 jobs and a 13 billion dollar annual payroll and this year alone we will have activated more than one billion dollars of new infrastructure to support our customers and to better serve our growing Community Sky Harbor in my opinion is a part of the fabric of our community with that kind of responsibility I'm sure you can appreciate it I don't take my job and my responsibilities lightly I'm responsible for not only ensuring the smooth operation of the airport on a day-to-day basis but also for ensuring that our airport ecosystem can continue to grow serve and support our shared Community for generations to come as I showed back in the June 2nd Tempe council meeting this proposed development does sit directly underneath the converging flight Paths of two of our busiest departure runways at Sky Harbor as a federally obligated airport sponsor and because of the 1994 intergovernmental agreement between our two cities I continue to object to adding the 1995 residential units in the 1.2 square mile high noise Contour that said mayor Woods I I want to thank you for meeting with me and my team several times over the last few weeks to see if we can find a way to amicably address our differences while it was always apparent to me and rightly so that your priority was first and foremost to represent and support the citizens of Tempe I very much appreciated your leadership your sincerity and your openness to hearing out our concerns you rightly deserve credit for helping to develop a viable path to ensure that Tempe continues to support the operations and development of the airport while we work towards productively and fully resolving our differences with regard to the intergovernmental agreement I also very much appreciate this important professionalism of your dedicated City staff as they worked with the developer to negotiate and incorporate a number of Provisions in the development and disposition agreement to further mitigate the risks associated with this development I also want to acknowledge Arizona Coyote's CEO Javier Gutierrez and their land use attorney Nick Wood over the last year and a half I think it's fair to say that we have disagreed on many many issues however I believe a true test of characters revealed not by how entrenched we get in our respective positions but rather how we come together to find a common ground when times actually get tough the added protections offered here today should not only help to mitigate expected impacts to Sky Harbor airport but if they are fully implemented we think that actually will be in a good place to be able to continue to develop our airport and this frankly would not have been possible without their cooperation as we went through this so mayor and council members a positive and productive relationship between Tempe Sky Harbor and the City of Phoenix has been and continues to be incredibly important to us our relationship long predates the development proposal that you're hearing tonight and will endure long after this decision is made I look forward to working through the few of the remaining issues that we will continue to work on in the coming weeks and months and I wish you the best as you make this important decision for your community thank you thank you Mr bakowsky I wanted to say too thank you very much for coming this evening and thank you for your professionalism and your work as well I appreciate uh the fact that anytime we've uh talked about meeting you've always been very available to meet uh and anytime we've even wanted to have a conversation even on an early Sunday morning before both of us have gotten our workouts in we've had the opportunity to talk and so I appreciate your advocacy on behalf of Phoenix Sky Harbor airport and definitely look forward to the continuing good relationship between both of our cities and we recognize the airport it's a huge economic Revenue generator for our region and the City of Tempe as well so we want to make sure that we're doing things that uh that the region continues to cooperate in a really positive way moving forward and I just appreciate your willingness to come forward this evening thank you mayor appreciate it thank you so much appreciate it foreign Jacob Shepard is Jacob Shepard here okay the next speaker I have is Monica Villalobos yes I'm here thank you so much mayor woods and uh the entire city council my name is Monica Villalobos I serve as president and CEO of the Arizona Hispanic chamber of commerce uh we have we are celebrating our 75th Anniversary next year we've been in Arizona since 1948 helping small businesses um gain access to contracts financing and job creation we also have represent many small businesses many minority-owned businesses about a thousand in membership now we do know that Arizona is 30 percent Hispanic and are the fastest growing business segment is Latino owned businesses and so it is my honor to be in front of you today I am so incredibly pleased uh I in June um I I had mentioned that I've worked with your city I've worked with the city of Phoenix I've worked with the coyotes and there was never any doubt in my mind that you would all come to a great agreement that would serve the people of Arizona today I want to vouch for the corporate citizenship of the Arizona Coyotes under the leadership of its owner Alex Morello as well as its president Javier Gutierrez I can tell you in from the moment that they came into Arizona they have contributed not only financially to many organizations but have been amazing philanthropic supporters and have spent tens of thousands with different organizations to help the people of Arizona their diversity is really a staple in the industry there are many firsts at the coyotes is the first Hispanic owner first Hispanic president the first Hispanic female NHL marketing executive and so diversity really is at the Forefront of the coyotes organization and I think they will bring that to the City of Tempe as well and finally just the economic growth I think that the coyotes not only in their philanthropy but in their business have shown their contributions to the economic growth of Arizona and the sheer dollar amounts have been significant for this particular project that have been pledged so with that um thank you all for your service really appreciate the time and I cannot think of a better corporate citizen than the Arizona Coyotes for the City of Tempe thank you thank you Mr Lobos really appreciate it the next speaker I have in the queue is Neil Giuliano or should I say mayor Juliana good to see you Sarah please state your name and place of residence 21 East 13th Street Tempe Arizona 48-year resident thank you mayor and Council um I really just wanted to stand up and say thank you thank you for continuing the vision of the river bottom in Tempe thank you for putting an RFP out for this piece of land um this is a tough piece of land as you all know and you have been able to work on a proposal that will I believe meet the moment and what I mean by that is this is really transformative for the city from an economic standpoint from a revenue standpoint from a lifestyle standpoint and for meeting the goals and visions that a lot of us had a long time ago 25 years ago at a folding table here with a green tablecloth on it we weren't fancy back then I sat there 25 years ago and signed the documents to create the Tempe Town Lake and even on the night that we did that and I say this because I know how these meetings go there were people who said don't build a lake it's a bad idea it's going to be too much traffic too much congestion uh no one is going to want to work there the jobs aren't good enough and certainly no one's going to really want to ever do anything near a fake Lake in the middle of the desert well we know how that worked out and I think you have another meet the moment opportunity to do something really tremendous and you've gone through all the evaluation all of the discernment all of the vetting of the partnership that you'll be working with and no project is ever going to be perfect and no project will be exactly the way you envision it from when you first you know think you want it to happen but you have all the ingredients here you have all of the ingredients here with a strong partner to meet this moment for uh moving forward with what we talked about many years ago with this end of the river bottom and this part of Rio Salado so thank you for keeping it moving thank you for making it happen these things don't happen unless a group of community leaders elected by the citizens like yourselves don't sit around and talk about what the vision might be able to be and can we do this and who might do this and that's all we all know that's a long process tonight's the night to meet that moment and to move it forward and you'll hear people who will not be in favor of it that's fine that's part of the process we all know that they love Tempe the way we love Tempe the way I love Tempe but you have the opportunity to meet the moment and I urge you to do that and I urge you to move this forward and I'm happy to help anyway I know it's not the end of the story tonight there's other things that we're going to have to do in the community and I'll be happy to help you in any way that I can so thank you thank you mayor appreciate it the next speaker I have is David adame who I believe is virtual this evening yes mayor thank you for allowing me to speak mayor and Council I'm calling you from Mexico City and I'm calling you from here because I thought it was very important for me to add my comments into this wonderful project because this project is beyond just development and numbers this is something that's huge for the Latino Community it's it's a symbol of our community growing as we saw in the last elections a record turnout of Latino voters coming out this last election and this is a project that Latino Community is looking at and saying where we've arrived uh we've arrived that we can be you know the first NHL ownership first NHL president and I know here speaking in Mexico City they've been making the rounds just like the Cardinals they they love to have the coyotes come and play a game here because I see the commissioner there but uh the other thing I'd like to say is uh from a community leadership standpoint Javi Javier Gutierrez from day one came running he started working with all the economic councils including the one that our former mayor leads and has been very involved in including the the Canadian Business Association which which believe it or not to Council Bluff house is a member of that too because we have employees in in Canada but this is something that um that's important for the community if you go to any of their games they're always there's always a non-profit or charity being highlighted by being supported by this organization and finally from a a role model owner Alex Morello you know he's he's a role model he's people look at as the American dream that Rags to Riches from you know starting his small businesses and growing but you know more importantly for hockey fans he stabilized the team as people remember it was very unstable for you know the last several years and finally we have an owner that's making the investment I've been proud of the draft picks they've been making we know this team's going to get stronger as they go and so with all that I think we couldn't have a better partner and can change an area of the City of Tempe and by the way for the record I do not live in Tempe but my organization Chicanos policaza which I'm the president has over 440 units of housing in Tempe we made millions and millions of PPP loans during the pandemic and we've made millions and millions of scholarships to students attending Arizona State University so I'll end it with that but I'm fully behind the support and support this project thank you mayor thank you Mr Domi really appreci here the next speaker I have is Colin Diaz please come forward and state your name in place of residence you have three minutes good evening mayor as well as esteemed Council my name is Colin Diaz I have the honor of serving as president CEO of the Tempe chamber and I'm going to fill this plug in there as well as of earlier this month I'm a proud Tempe resident as well so um happy to be here speaking in front of you and thank you for the time I just want to start by applauding you all here on Council as well as the countless City staff that have been working through this process for the Tempe Entertainment District from the RFP to the application the review process as well as working with Bluebird development it's obviously a huge opportunity and project with great potential for the City of Tempe as a chamber we thought it was important to weigh in on the project as well but this was not something we wanted to do lightly so we formed an ad hoc subcommittee that met multiple times over the course of eight weeks we met with the developer multiple stakeholders and spent several weeks looking at all the public facing documents and information as well as answering and asking questions throughout the process and as a result a recommendation was made to our our board of directors which they codify to support the project and so I'm here today speaking in favor of the project and encouraging you all to unanimously support it one thing that I did want to add um I'm glad that I didn't go right after the mayor it's never good to go after a mayor but um what he mentions about kind of the timing and the moment if you think about Tempe Town Lake I was at an economic development meeting for the region not too long ago and they cited that next to the Grand Canyon the second highest attraction in the state of Arizona is Tempe Town Lake when you think about the things that are on the lake I think every one of you will say that we're proud of what's there now but there's an opportunity for additional attraction as well as additional activation this project being on the west end of that has an opportunity to do that so it literally checks a lot of boxes you're remediating Prime lands that obviously hasn't been up until now bringing new streams of Revenue into the city creating thousands of jobs I think just around almost 7 000 addressing housing challenges establishing multi-use facilities which will bring folks from all over the community and outside of the region and additionally there will be additional excuse me there'll be opportunities for new streams of Revenue and I can go into you know the ownership group that I've had an opportunity to work with as well as Javier Gutierrez and the team since they've been in Tempe and their partnership with non-profits here in the community the chamber as well and to me being doing good doing well by doing good matters and being able to partner and that's something that I think they're committed to doing moving forward so again speaking in strong support encourage you all to vote to support the project so thank you for the time thank you sir appreciate it the next speaker I have is Robin Reed please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes to dress the council good evening mayor city council thank you for this opportunity to to speak to you uh my name is Robin Reed I live at 33 228 North 60th way in Scottsdale my corporate offices are in Phoenix and as the president and CEO of the Black Chamber of Arizona we serve small businesses throughout the valley with a number of them here in Phoenix I just want to touch on three main points of why we're in support of the Tempe Entertainment District and the work that the coyotes intend to do the first is the financial impact we've we've all read the numbers gone over them interestingly of My Three Points each one of them could stand on their own but we'll go through them one at a time this is a 2.1 billion dollar self-funded program most cities in this country would stop right there and say yes but they really stacked the deck on this one thousands of permanent jobs 225 million in taxes slated for the City of Tempe 224 million in tax revenue for the county of Maricopa one billion dollars in benefit to the State of Arizona in fact I think I read that the total overall impact would be over 13 billion dollars for this project but let's look at the social impact they want to build a community skating rink and I know that seems kind of simple like here let's start another business but if you've had a chance to speak with Javier and you understand where his heart is and where the passion is for this work the reason he wants a community skating rink is so that young people of all Races all genders all orientations can learn to love the sport of hockey that's vitally important as we move forward because we know there's not a lot of minority representation in the sport the other benefit is that it dovetails perfectly with their existing plan to increase management and Leadership among minorities within the NHL they took a very bold step and were the first ones to show their intent so this really works hand in hand with that they're turning a landfill into a landmark I actually love that saying but that's really true and then on the public and charitable impact uh I recently met with the uh Chief Pub uh what is it the chief purpose and vision officer for the Morello group um and it was just all I wanted was an authentic conversation I didn't want a bunch of catchphrases and buzzwords and and I got what I asked for I got a very straightforward conversation and I learned that this organization has already built into their strategy how they're going to be supportive of programs and communities and projects for example they've already got translated to to support affordable housing Education First Responders public Arts public transportation and here's why that's so important I was recently the chair of the subcommittee and part of the executive committee for the City of Phoenix Journal obligation Bond and every one of those issues that I just named were hugely important the fact that we have a benefactor that's going to support that is a godsend this is an easy decision and I encourage the city to move forward with it thank you thank you Mr Reed appreciate it the next speaker I have is Jim Hayden please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes to address the council mayor council uh thank you for the opportunity to speak my name is Jim Hayden I live at 120 East Rio Salado Parkway so my residence is right on the corner of Rio Salado Parkway and right on the River Bottom as uh Neil said the fake Lake I live on I live in the little glass area right in the very corner where it stands today so I'm an affected resident and this is a very sentimental project means a lot to our family what we do for our community and we encourage you to take the next step forward to support our partner what it means to the community as a whole you hear from a lot of people that I'm going to call naysayers what does it mean to be the boisterous minority but my advice is to pay attention to the uh silent majority thank you for your time thank you Mr Hayden appreciate it next speaker I have is Kenneth Manuel please come forward state your name in place of residence you have three minutes good evening mayor council members my name is Kenneth Manuel I'm the chief executive officer for Gila River Resorts and casinos I live in Scottsdale Arizona and I'm a lifelong resident of Arizona 51 years it's an honor to be here today to speak before you all I want to speak from a business standpoint Gila River Resorts and casinos are proud partners with the Arizona Coyotes the coyotes have been a an amazing partner since day one um we operate three casinos in the valley as a as the chief executive officer I've been employed with Gila River Resorts and casinos for 28 years when we first opened our casinos in 1994 I was one of the original employees as a resident of Arizona it's been amazing to see the growth not only in the valley but the surrounding communities as well I he I'm I'm speaking today from the business standpoint the Arizona Coyotes are an amazing business partner Mr marullo Javier the the entire team have been amazing to work with Class Act from day one professional their principles their business morals are a lot of what we employ also at Gila River they have been their Outreach to the surrounding communities their philanthropic arm have been genuine we enjoy working with them on a daily basis their their economic impact of this project in our view from the business standpoint makes total sense they have consistently partnered with different groups throughout the valley even in the summertime that was the first time I got to meet Javier when he first came to Arizona with his team one of his first meetings was with us and he got introduced to our summer heat it was it was admirable and just as you see him today in his suit and tie is exactly what he was wearing the day that I met him I think it was probably 110 degrees in July um council members mayor I'd stand here before you just to in support of their development their their proposal and it's an honor to be here today so thank you thank you so much appreciate it the next speaker I have is Dominic Orozco please come forward state your name in place of residence you have three minutes thank you mayor members of council uh Dominic Orozco Phoenix Arizona uh president and CMO of Gila River Resorts and casinos we currently operate three casinos as you just heard soon to be four in the Arizona Market I possess over 21 years of gaming Hospitality in multiple jurisdictions and happy to say that Phoenix is my home now for eight years now we have worked with the coyotes trusted partners for over 15 years and just recently we signed a new three-year deal under the direction of Javier guterres we also feature the first Native American patch on an NHL jersey which is the first of its kind this is the the Mind genius behind Javier and his group and what they bring the table and offer businesses like ours they are trusted Partners in helping them deliver us a sporting entertainment to over 7 million visitors that we see in our casinos each year they also help our economic growth for over 3 000 employees that here that work here at Gila River we are proud and honored of the brand the logo everything that the Arizona county stand for we put in our rooms we put on our clothing we put it on our table games we also put it on the side of our building that's how much we believe in what they offer I encourage you to vote Yes so we can continue our Arizona Coyotes historic trusted partnership in Tempe thank you mayor thank you council members thank you so much appreciate it the next speaker I have is Gary Bettman good evening commissioner please come forward state your name and place of residence and if anyone ever asks if I definitely read the cards in order you know when the NHL commissioner is like my 10th or 11th card I'm clearly reading the cards in the order that I received them so commissioner good to see you this evening mayor members of the council I'm honored to be here with you this evening and thank you for your time and attention on what we think is a vitally important matter not just for the Phoenix Arizona Coyotes but for Tempe uh I have a little bit of experience with the coyotes I've been commissioner for 30 years which is longer than the club has been here in Arizona and it's been an interesting ride I don't think anybody can doubt our support NHL support for a team in Arizona for the coyotes because we were involved in litigation to keep the team from moving we actually owned the team for a while and operated it here and the team is playing with our support in a temporary facility which is quite unusual at the major league level and I also would be remiss if I didn't thank Arizona State University for sharing mullet Arena on a temporary basis with the coyotes but also in that regard it shows Alex Morello's and the coyotes commitment to Arizona and their passion for and commitment to seeing this project go forward because Mr Morello has spent probably 30 million dollars in monies that had have been spent in order to make mullet Arena habitable for the coyotes on a temporary basis and without that type of commitment we wouldn't be here tonight uh Alex Morello the coyotes Javier Gutierrez they have the league support we have confidence in them we know that they have a passion not just for hockey but for Arizona and for this project we are confident that Mr Morello has the wherewithal to complete this project it's a private funded project as you know and the club's prepared if that's not enough of a demonstration of commitment to the community to execute a 30-year non-relocation agreement all of things that say this club wants to be here and frankly the NHL wants the club to be here the impact of projects like this we've seen all over North America yes they're economic engines but Arenas and entertainment districts change the quality of life in a community creates a win-win it it actually gives a community an opportunity not just to have events and bring people together but it also puts you on the world stage particularly when you have one of the four major professional leagues playing regularly in an arena and media from all over the world and people tourists fans follow their teams on the road and they'll be here as well uh can I keep going a little bit give it up 30 seconds yeah sure okay thank you and it gives an opportunity for our game to be developed at all the levels particularly for young people instilling the values of our game which is leadership teamwork physical fitness hard work and and we think that's all important and as they said it will shine a light on Tempe we will bring League events here whether it's an All-Star game or a draft that is our commitment to you if this project goes forward we believe this is a win-win it has our complete support and we respectfully urge you to support it we're fully supportive of the process that's been engaged with and hopefully tonight will be one step closer to taking us to the public referendum where hopefully the community will have its opportunity to speak thank you and it was great to be here thank you commissioner appreciate it the next speaker is Isaiah Jose Chavez please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes to address the council hello how are you all doing good my name is Isaiah Chavez I am from Phoenix Arizona you all may remember me from the Arizona Coyotes public hearing on June 2nd 2022.

um oh yeah my bad um I'm sorry I'm I'm trying to remember no worries I am so sorry that was literally my bed no worries take your time um I was want to say I meant to say I've been a fan of the Arizona Coyotes for 20 years um and I have some great thoughts on the proposed Arena I am looking forward to visiting the new arena in Tempe besides the arena in Tempe having an Entertainment District along with the arena is a very amazing idea that the coyotes have brought up um I know the coyotes left the Desert Diamond Arena but we would like to once again thank the Desert Diamond arena for 19 years and the city of Glendale for playing hockey I once again wish you all the best of luck thank you thank you so much appreciate it the next speaker I have is Michael Martin please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes to reach the council hello good evening I'm Michael Martin I live at 1953 East Calle De Arcos in Tempe Arizona 85284 I'm also the president CEO of the Tempe tourism office so tonight I just want to say that the Tempe tourism office is hopeful that city council will give this um this opportunity that the opportunity to move forward is the next step um we have full faith that the city council and City staff will mitigate any issues with concerns involving this proposed development in order to provide the best possible agreement for Tempe residents as a landlocked city as you know development and Redevelopment within our borders must be examined carefully with the future in mind we realize that if built this complex will be used and enjoyed by local residents from a tourism perspective we are always encouraged by developments in Tempe that have the potential to bring additional tourists to Tempe we recently commissioned our annual economic impact of tourism in Tempe research study reflecting the calendar year 2021.

some few highlights from that it shows that tourism brought in 3.6 million visitors in 2021 generated over 781 million dollars in direct spending showed that overnight visitors on average spent 302 dollars per day and per per person and showed that day visitors spent 72 dollars per person tourism generated up to 85 million dollars in local and state taxes and that came from lodging sales tax property taxes those types of things and also is obviously a big job creator with one in 18 jobs in Tempe This research study is available for Tempe residents and the public at large to view on our website at Tempe tourism.com under the About Us section we anticipate that this data for a calendar year 2022 will be even stronger as we move further away from the covid pandemic now I believe that this data from this study is important information provided to the public because it demonstrates how revenues generated through tourism provide the City of Tempe funding sources to help pay for important quality of life services such as Public Safety Parks and Recreation and Human Services any development with hospitality component has the potential to generate new visitors to Tempe thus amplifying the impact of Tourism for Tempe again we're hopeful that the city council will decide to move forward with the next step on this matter so that we can see this through I also want to say that in my 30 years of being at the Tempe tourism office I've been able to witness some pretty amazing things in Tempe Super Bowl 96 I was there when the Lakes started filling up when TCA was opened um but when you look at tourism and it brings people together if you've never been to Iron Man at the Finish Line at 10 o'clock 11 o'clock or at midnight you don't really understand the power of Tourism because those people from around the world who are racing and you see an 85 year old person run across the Finish Line it's very emotional so tourism has the ability to really bring people together and I know that this project if it does get built has that potential for 10p so I want to congratulate you on the work so far and encourage you to continue working out all the issues so that everybody will be happy in the end I appreciate it thank you so much thank you Mr Martin appreciate it the next speaker I have is Tim O'Neill please come forward state your name in place of residence you have three minutes to address the council hello Mr mayor council members I'm Tim O'Neill I'm the CEO of Goodwill and I live in Phoenix Arizona and a proud resident of Arizona for on and off for 36 years 24 years uh just this last May so for the past 75 years Goodwill has been all about this idea of serving the community and this idea of strengthening families empowering individuals and building stronger communities and I have to tell you with our relationship with the Phoenix Coyotes it's been nothing short of spectacular having a chance to meet Mr Gutierrez and talk to him about what they thought was important for Arizona never once talked about hockey he talked about impact he talked about sustainability and social change and when you look at this Entertainment District it's really the best of what can happen around public and private Partnerships and this idea about how we can actually make a community in a state something that can be kind of a beacon for what the United States should look at as development and so for us when you think about the fiscal benefits that are out there it's something really special Goodwill right now we have 120 locations that employs 6 000 people we have 19 million customer transactions a year and over a million items a day are donated to our stores that is something that that we're very proud of but it's a very small Port part of what Arizona needs around this idea of social change and so when you look at what the coyotes have really talked about through Mr gutierrez's leadership is this idea of an unwavering support of the people of Arizona he's actually personally attended meetings around homelessness with me meetings around education with me not once did he ever talk about hockey he talked about Arizona and he talked about what they thought the responsibility of the coyotes was to this state and so in my role I lead the largest social impact organization in Arizona we're going to continue to grow and what I found over the years is most people and again businesses sports teams they come to Goodwill and they almost ask us what we can do for them that may seem surprising but that's really how it happens Mr Gutierrez in every meeting I've ever been with him leaves and says what can we do for you what can we do to make Arizona a better place and I think that's exactly the kind of business the kind of people the kind of leadership that Arizona needs and that we should expect and so we fully myself and Goodwill support the coyotes and Mr Gutierrez on every effort that they have and we appreciate your time in listening to us tonight so thank you very much thank you so much appreciate it the next speaker I have is Robert Nordman thank you very Circa please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes hi Council mayor I'm Robert Norman I live at 1065 1065 West First Street which I got five minute walk from the proposed site to start I want to say that I dove to see this land developed into something amazing this looks amazing I love the idea behind it I really hate to see it get wasted on just a bunch of boring housing or for it to continue being used as basically a landfill um that desire that desire to see this be turned into something amazing is something that makes me hesitant but I I need to say something that I want you guys to be very careful if you're considering making a long-term relationship with the coyotes last week Mr wood made a point about how when designing the deal he didn't want to be one-sided he didn't want the coyotes to win big at the expense of Tempe he didn't want he wanted to make it he still made it sound like he was doing us a really big favor but who is he he is the legal representative for the coyotes he works for them he doesn't represent us we should ask why should we trust what he is saying why should we trust the coyotes for that matter if we look at Glendale we can see maybe looking at Glendale at the time the coyotes were in Glendale we can see how our long-term relationship might be if we were to go into this with them so why are they moving away from Glendale well from what I can tell it seems like Glendale terminated the lease with the coyotes they didn't want them in their Stadium anymore and well if we can blame them after the coyotes failed to pay or pay it late 1.3 million dollars in taxes between June 2020 and December 2021 only pain after being threatened with being locked out of the Arena the coyotes of course claim this was the result of an unfortunate human error human error that's somewhat common in their organization going back to 2020 and they also failed to pay or failed or were late to pay some of their uh team members their bonuses or maybe we could look at their overdue payments to ASM Global in the 2019 to 2020 season and then again in the 2020 to 2021 season we look at their history and we see a repeated failure to pay their dues on time and that should tell us something about how much we can trust them to conclude I'm not asking you to vote against changing the zoning like I think that that would be mixed use is a way better use for this land um but I think we need to be really careful about doing this with the coyotes I would urge you to look for other options thank you thank you appreciate it the next speaker I have is uh Ronald pies and actually I have a letter that I need to read into the record on behalf of Mr files so this says mayor woods and members of the city council my name is Ronald pies I've been a student property owner resident and City administrator in Tempe since 1961.

I've also been an elected member of the Kyrene School Board in all those years I've never seen a proposal coming before an elected body that disturbs me more the city council the Tempe city council must project this proposal unfortunately my health prevents me from attending the hearings I respectively request that this communication be read into the record I will not go into detail as I've communicated my concerns to you previously I know that others will be presenting specifics that make this project untenable my concerns are as follows one Glendale all that you need to Lou is look at the Glendale experience including the fact that an arena was built for this franchise the economic impact on that Community was devastating causing that City to cut off their relationship with this coyote owner two Financial instability previously former council member cubey presented a Dun and Bradstreet analysis of this owner and his organization while there has been criticism of presenting this the fact is that it is true three airport IGA or intergovernmental agreement there's an intergovernmental agreement between Tempe and Phoenix that must be complied with for any projects in the proposed site for the developer to pay for any litigation is totally unacceptable there must not be litigation if this project violates the agreement it must be abandoned Four history of taxpayers supported sports stadiums substantial documentation and Studies have been provided to the council previously the fact is that these facilities are not Revenue generators they end up costing taxpayers again check with Glendale number five gambling the team's president and CEO explained the significance because this isn't just about hockey or Sports no it is really about gambling within walking distance of a major university with thousands of young men and women away from home for the first time I promise that if gambling is removed from this proposal the developer will skate away number six finally if this project is so beneficial it should be done without tax incentives the owner is a billionaire he can afford it as I indicated earlier I provided substantial documentation to the mayor and City Council on why this proposal must be rejected I respectfully and strongly recommend that the mayor and Council reject the proposal now Ronald pies foreign the next speaker I have is Bill Armstrong please come forward State your neighbor place of residence you have three minutes mayor council um Bill Armstrong Paradise Valley I'm the GM of the coyotes my purpose here was to come tonight to tell you about the plan of the coyotes and where we're moving as a franchise when I my first press conference I had I told everybody I didn't come to Arizona for Tan I came here to win a championship and since that day all my actions and words have been based around building this organization into a Stanley Cup winning organization from the from my history and from my experiences there's only one way to build a Stanley Cup championship team and that is through the draft since I've arrived in this organization we've assembled the front office including myself we've got three people in the front office that have built a Stanley Cup winner through the draft and also we've acquired a massive NHL draft picks through trades taking on bad contracts our drafts draft picks combined with our experienced scouting staff will allow this franchise to operate and assemble an elite team on the ice and the one thing that I would pose we most teams in the NHL have seven picks per year because of taking on bad contracts and um and other things other trades that we've made we average anywhere from 10 to 12 draft picks and that doesn't include last year's three first rounders that we've had and even through it's an early in the rebuild you can see the talent that we've drafted slowly Rising I think where I believe we're the first team from the 2021 draft and we've already got two players playing yeah Moser and Dylan Gunther um if you looked at ASU last weekend I don't know if anybody went to the games but you could see some of our top level Talent with Logan Cooley and Josh Doan they put on a clinic out there on the ice we were proud to say and if you were an Arizona Coyotes fan you'd be extremely excited if you went to the mullet Center and see a sold out Arena and those two putting on a performance my belief is if you can see it you have a chance to become it and if we look at one of the Premier teams in our league it's Tampa Bay and Tampa Bay has a lot of similarities to where we sit today and believe it or not at one point I'm sure Mr Gary Bettman and Bill Daley can attest to this they played out of an airplane Hangar and now they are three-time Stanley Cup winner and they are similar to us in the sense that they were built through the draft they've got warm weather they've got good taxes and they've got a beautiful rink surrounded by an Entertainment District with hotels restaurants and condos and if we can take a landfill and make it a landmark in Tempe we have a chance to become an elite NHL Franchise right here in this city the impact of having an NHL team in your community can be absolutely massive I can give you about another 15 seconds so with this organization players in our organization with schools Charities and youth hockeys and you can have great role models in the community um I've had the ability to win three championships at different levels and the one thing that ends you get a cup and you get a parade and nothing and I mean nothing will bond a community more than us winning a championship with them so vote yes let's win together thank you thank you so much appreciate it the next speaker I have is Shane Doane please come forward state your name in place of residence you have three minutes to address the council hello Council mayor I'm Shane Doane I live in uh Scottsdale but I have two kids that live in Tempe now so I'm down here way way more than I ever planned on being down here and I have a third one that's on his way so he's anticipating being here as well but thank you so much for the opportunity to come up and speak it's uh you hear everybody talk about all the numbers and everything and I'm probably not the best one to speak on all of that but I do have a history here with the club Mr bettman's the only one that has been with the club longer than I have been and uh have the opportunity to have him as an owner as well as Mr morillo and ownership matters it matters so much and it's so important for an organization to be successful you have to have that we have that here I've got to know Mr morillo and his family over the last few years and it's been an absolute pleasure it's something that we're actually at his wife and his renewal of their vows which was something that was absolutely just the way that he treats people is very special to me my history here has been that I believe hockey works here I believe enough that I put my whole career based on that I bet my career on that and I still do but it needs to have a home that we're talking about now in order to make the playing field equal and the same you just heard Mr Armstrong talk about how important it is to Tampa Bay to have their organized to have the success that they had through the organization with the building we need that here it's something that if we do it right we will be a staple franchise that will be somebody that everyone else kind of looks to as an example I've been here long enough to see when Tempe was filled when the when they filled the Tempe Town Lake I was here I was driving down the 202 when the Sun Devils beat Nebraska 17 nothing and won the won the went to the Rose Bowl unfortunately we didn't win it but we went there and it was an unbelievable experience for the City of Tempe and the way that it brought Tempe together I've watched what tempe's done with the Tempe Town lake has it's been talked about how it's only the second most visited landmark in the whole state the foresight that has been shown is incredible I think that if we continue to do that and we have the opportunity to do that with putting an explanation mark kind of at the end of Tempe Town Lake and saying hey this is this is a district that everybody wants to go to I've seen the pictures of Barry Goldwater water skiing on the river behind a truck and I've seen the way that the city's grown and it's absolutely amazing that the fact all the A-Class business offices that are downtown and the foresight that the city's shown is so encouraging and as somebody that is this is my home and I've bet everything on this organization it means so much to me that you guys would take that next step and put us in the league that we want to be in where we are we are the staple League we are the staple team in the inside the league that Mr Batman and Mr Daley have shown so much support by being here that if we do this it will repay so many people back and it will be the opportunity for us to be an example for everyone but on behalf of my family thank you so much and on behalf of the coyotes who I'm so honored to work with thank you so much for taking the time and looking at this appreciate it thank you Mr Dome appreciate it the next speaker is Cynthia yarmiel fairwoods and members of the Tempe city council my name is Cynthia Jaramillo I am the senior vice president for the United States Hispanic chamber of commerce also served as the economic development director for the City of Albuquerque so I've seen many I've seen the fruits of many of these types of development projects uh greetings from Washington D.C I am here to speak on behalf of the United States Hispanic chamber of commerce and our board of directors we want to express our full support for the approval of the proposed Tempe Entertainment District the United States Hispanic chamber of commerce actively promotes the economic growth and development and interests of more than 5 million hispanic-owned businesses that combined contribute over 800 billion dollars to the American economy every year we also serve as a platform for our Nationwide network of over 260 local Hispanic members of Commerce including the Arizona Hispanic chamber of commerce we believe that the proposed Tempe Entertainment District represents a tremendous opportunity for the City of Tempe and will greatly benefit the arizonian economy for generations to come the Tempe Entertainment District not only represents a private investment of 2.1 billion dollars that will create more than 7 000 permanent jobs it will also generate 225 million dollars in taxes to the City of Tempe that will ultimately contribute to America's economy this project is is set to provide a world-class Leisure and commercial space to the Tempe Community removing more than one and a half million tons of trash in the process we are especially excited about this project due to its ambition to provide private and public benefits to the entire Community as you know this project also contains an important piece of significant Community contributions in affordable housing affordable Transportation education funding emergency services and other very important Social Services we believe that this project represents a win-win for the private sector and the Tempe Community who will enjoy firsthand the impact of this private investment in the development and modernization of the city infrastructure thank you for the opportunity mayor thank you so much really appreciate it the next card I have is Chris nickel is Chris nickel available anyone virtually nope okay the next card I have is from Tom Brown please come forward state your name in place of residence you have three minutes to address the council good evening Council staff and mayor this is an impressive lineup of speakers I appreciate the the momentum and that's actually a kind of the point of my chatting for you today no one in this room expects that the word is spoken by the most eloquent uh eloquent speaker what changed anyone's mind so it's time to look towards the future the time to hammer out the airport issues or the shoe cost of land mail landfill remediation are passed your minds are probably made up in recent meetings we've heard words of wisdom from past Generations and this is useful a lot of cliches become cliches because they are distilled truths here are a few the past is prologue the leopard will not change his spots the Scorpion will sting the Frog because it's his nature those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it glendale's history for example one cliche I learned from a fellow I worked for in the 80s Nick you remember the 80s when we didn't get to work good looking socks [Laughter] no I admired it the 80s yes I worked for a fellow Mill Avenue uh he had one good staying which I recall there's many as many as slipped Twix the cup and the lip I cite that because no one in this room can predict exactly what will actually end up being constructed on the 46 Acres at priest in Rio Salado I have more years witnessing Grand schemes here in Arizona than almost all of you certainly Mr Woods has been here in this business for longer than that uh none of these Grand schemes really have emerged into daylight with faithful faithful adherence to the pretty renderings or the developer's verbiage shared to gain zoning to gain zoning uh rulings or giblet approvals so watch this space for Value engineering and other possibly disappointing slips between the cup and the lip so dear council members vote as you will tempy's watching and looking forward to our chance to vote the Ted team plans to get the petition signed and submitted I understand in time for the May 16th ballot some of us will circulate petitions for the later August ballot just in case the Ted petitions have some typos and get tossed people can sign both petitions let's see how many people actually feel that a 30-year 500 million dollar tax giveaway makes sense thank you for this chance to speak my mind I do hope that the council can now turn its attention to the much more important issues that the Tempe City of Tempe needs to address thank you thank you Mr Brown appreciate it the next speaker is Wes McClure foreign is Wes McClure here this evening no the next speaker is David sokolowski please come forward state your name and place the presidents you have three minutes my name is David sokolowski I live in Tempe it's enticing to hear how this development could generate billions but we can't determine if this development will create 3 000 jobs or seven thousand will temp you generate 400 million in revenue or will Tempe generate 200 million will the counties actually bring new visitors to Tempe we're giving the counties 100 million in marketing value this they get our city brain and they get Tempe Town Lake the county said the stadium doesn't make money it's the other half of the development that is profitable the counties are completely independent totally dependent on the city for this development to succeed the Town Lake is one of the most popular places to visit and the counties are depending on that to pay for the stadium doesn't need naming rights because we already own Tempe Town link the Coyote's own letter of explanation says the project will leverage its proximity to Tempe Town Lake the median income for the jobs was estimated at 50 000 a year but you need to earn 60 000 around an apartment in Tempe an economist Elliot Pollock estimated that people will need to earn 73 000 a year and unless we can solve our housing shortage it will increase to 90 000 a year Tempe has plans for about 1 500 affordable apartments but the city actually needs more like twenty thousand affordable apartments this one development project could completely wipe out all the progress we are making to create affordable housing Tempe would need to purchase Food City 10 times just to House people from the County's Entertainment District we need to leverage this land of the best of our ability if the land is suitable for market rate then why can't we include affordable housing the county said we don't have millions to clean this land and it would be ridiculous to do that we don't have millions to house thousands of low-income workers and it would be ridiculous if we did that for our sports team the responsible and Equitable thing to do is to build housing to support the temping Works program please vote no and thank you for your time thanks so much appreciate it the next speaker I have is Greg Foster please come forward state your name in place of residence you have three minutes thank you mayor woods and Council my name is Greg Foster I'm at 593 South Roosevelt Street literally four blocks Due West of here we're on Tempe Town Lake all the time I'm Donna Mill climbing a mountain everything my wife and I moved here eight years ago we love the City of Tempe eight years ago for people who've lived here you'll notice how much the skyline has changed it is beautiful here you look at what happens whenever they film a show that highlights Phoenix what do they show Tempe Town Lake the current leaders of the council and mayor and past leaders have a real wheel we can we will attitude this project for me I'm biased we love it and it's going to direct directly affect us just because of where we live there's so much upside to this project that is unbelievable and for us we love spending our money here locally we don't like to have to go everywhere um the new owners the ownership group for the coyotes they've presented a project here that is such a game changer that's going to only accent what people perceive Tempe to be because Tempe is an incredible City and we love it and we really hope you push us forward so we can get this project going because a 5 000 seed Arena where they're playing at ASU chess isn't big enough but also I'm biased from the standpoint too that yes it is the coyotes but do you know how many other venues can now come here to 10B that's going to benefit other people that type of Arena the concerts there's so many things happening in Tempe this is only a only a major asset that can be added thank you all very much thank you so much my next speaker is Brendan Walsh please come forward state your name in place of residence you have three minutes good evening mayor and members of the council thanks for having me here today and thanks for your deliberations um yeah as as the mayor said my name is Brendan Walsh I am a resident of Phoenix and I'm the executive director of central Arizona's for sustainable economy or case among other work case seeks to represent the interests of working people in Maricopa County when it comes to Economic Development and our most significant cities I myself am one of those working people my mother was a waitress at IHOP and my father was a police officer as I was growing up police officer in Boston Massachusetts in fact and our our Bruins have the best winning percentage in the NHL right now um very massive Bruins fan so uh my parents moved to Arizona though in 1991 primarily because they couldn't afford a home in Boston my two of my brothers also came here to live they were ASU graduates and they also raised families here in Tempe and Scottsdale um and I myself moved to Arizona in 2005 because Arizona is a Bellwether for issues in the United States for issues like family sustaining jobs access to Quality Education Health Care and especially housing affordability so I came here to be part of creating positive change for Working Families in the fast what was the fastest growing state in this in the United States from that perspective it's hard to see how this development as it is benefits current working residents of Tempe whatever very limited contributions the development will make to Hometown for all or other affordable housing initiatives it does nothing at all to help housing affordability in general and may actually lead to further gentrification and exacerbation of the housing crisis in Tempe I uh Mr sokolov I think pointed out exactly what it costs to live here and that I think the the development if it does create jobs as Mr zakov said it's unlikely to be jobs these jobs are unlikely to be filled by people who live in Tempe because most of the people who are in these jobs can't afford to live here anymore my organization works with murky men and women who've always experienced this as Downtown Phoenix has developed largely in projects that uh Mr wood has represented in their request for gyppless as well the hotel workers and Convention Center workers that we represent in downtown Phoenix have to travel 90 minutes by bus to get there for the most part none of them can afford to wear it live anywhere near the development in fact most of them live in Glendale we also work with employees at ASU Food Service here and at the Tempe Mission Palms across the street we actually those workers did a fast for end strike when they were trying to get Union recognition across the street many of them have testified here that they've had to move out of of Tempe because of the housing crisis and they can't afford to deliver anymore so I can't see we can't see how the development as currently constituted helps working family in Tempe but potential negative impacts abound I do want to say also that the contention that the divide the development is privately funded entirely is obviously false there are hundreds of million dollars in giblet uh tax abatements as part of the agreement and uh you know to say otherwise it's just not true so 30 seconds there'll be 10 seconds I think so like the bulk of the actual Tempe residents who have testified here we a case are not convinced that the proposed entertainment development here is one of the majority of citizens of Tempe support by giving a recent vote to reserve a space in the May ballot it seems like you too think that it will ultimately ultimately be Tempe residents who have the final say should you approve it tonight I hope you I appreciate and we all appreciate the time you've taken to deliberate this matter we hope you'll ultimately do what's best for the city and particularly For the Working Families struggling to hang on and live here thanks thank you so much appreciate it the next speaker I have is Leslie Thomas is Leslie Thomas available either virtually or here oh yes please come no problem let's make sure to speak up the microphone just make sure we can hear you so oh sorry um hi my name is Daphne Thomas and I'm in my second year of one of the kachinas 8u10u development teams it means so much to have the coyotes make this dream of girls hockey come true for us here in Arizona with the coyote support this opportunity to learn and grow in hotkey has also given so much more than I ever expected I have built awesome friendships a big hockey family that is here for everyone and the confidence to know that our hard work really does pay off I've already beaten my personal record for from for girls from last year and I'm going to keep working to score more I love my coaches too not just for hockey but in seeing their work with so many charities in order organizations helping others brings a lot of joy to everyone I've volunteered multiple times too and it's incredible to be a kid be welcome to buy the coyotes to help make a difference it's amazing that the coyotes give so much back to their home and I know that Tempe will be perfect for them to continue showing all that they can do off and on the ice thank you so much appreciate it thank you for your time have a good have a good evening [Applause] you you know someone said earlier that they felt bad following a former mayor um but I feel bad for the person who has to now follow her um and that person is Jerry McPherson please come forward stay to David place of residence you have three minutes to rest the council and thank you again Daphne foreign I promise you I was thinking the same thing same wavelength evening mayor Woods council members my name is Jerry McPherson and I am both the resident and business owner here in the City of Tempe separate from my direct ties to Tempe as a taxpayer and a job Creator I serve as director of economic empowerment for the greater Phoenix Urban League where I oversee our entrepreneurship Center and Workforce Development initiatives I speak before you today in support of the proposed Tempe Entertainment District the Urban League has been serving the region for the past 77 years helping minorities and others from underserved communities obtain economic and social equality with that in mind the Urban League is encouraged by the efforts of team owner Alex Morello and team president Javier Gutierrez to make an impact in minority communities through the sport of hockey organizations like the coyotes should be rewarded for the efforts and accomplishments in Breaking barriers and creating opportunities for others we believe the Tempe Entertainment District will be yet another vehicle to create new and permanent opportunities through jobs and careers we trust this development will enhance the Partnerships and the investments in organizations that that the community will benefit from thank you all for your time and continued leadership I trust you will see this transformative opportunity thank you thank you Mr Pearson appreciate it Madam clerk uh I believe you have a card to read into the record from Philip Yates Mary yes I do as an accommodation for a medical issue Philip Yates resident of Tempe he writes I am the President of the Riverside neighborhood association the Riverside Community and surrounding areas have expressed many concerns that I will list Below in regard to the coyotes Project Riverside and sunset are currently one of the only neighborhoods left in Tempe where it is still slightly possible to afford a rental home people on the verge of homelessness will increase due to Rising rents and properties being converted to airbnbs Crime will increase heavily due to gambling drinking and driving the city will be responsible for installing new sewer lines utilities and a fire station near this location because of the sheer magnitude of this project 2100 Apartments 500 hotel rooms the Entertainment District plus a 50 000 seat Stadium the area is already difficult to navigate and the developer has stated that they will be installing temporary one-way signs and barrier to deflect traffic during their 270 yearly events that will take place this will make it difficult for emergency services to get to their needed destinations without building a new fire station this will also make traveling to the freeway or airport very difficult for nearby residents the City of Phoenix has confirmed if the proposal were to be passed that they would be suing the City of Tempe will the developer pay the legal costs the FAA is opposed to the project for safety issues and confirmed that sound in the general area will be elevated they have also confirmed that the city of Scottsdale's noise levels will increase due to flight patterns that may need to change this has angered many Scottsdale residents Sky Harbor International is also against the proposal due to safety concerns knowing all the facts if a mid-air Collision were to take place the City of Tempe would be responsible for the deceased and also other damages in 1993 the City of Tempe sued the FAA for 100 million dollars due to aircraft noise from flight patterns being altered the lawsuit was settled in the amount of 30 million dollars so residents could sound proof their homes well there was will the residents be suing the City of Tempe because of this new project Alex Morello has a long history of not paying taxes and following his lease agreements what will the consequences from the developer be if this happens again a clear list of Legally binding obligations that the Morello group has proposed must be clearly defined alongside this a list of Legally binding consequences must be stated and followed if any of the obligations are violated in conclusion with all these concerns listed above the coyotes project is far too greater risk for the City of Tempe to take on in this location or any location City of Tempe should also be asking themselves why other cities have not wanted the coyote Stadium again that was Philip Yates and read as an accommodation for a medical issue thank you madam clerk appreciate it and a quick question for you as well the next card I have has actually two names on it so what would you like should I take them separately and give three minutes a piece what's what's the your ruling merits your call they're two individuals and they each could speak for three minutes if that's your will okay sure I will I want to be Equitable so uh so the next card I have is from Juan Avila yes my fiance Stephanie Williams sure thank you my better half she makes me more palatable thank you my fiance and I spent our most formidable years in Tempe we fell in love on Middle Avenue we met on Mill Avenue we had to find new jobs out of Tempe where we could make more money we had to move out of Tempe to find a home we could afford the reason we're coming here today is because we love Tempe and it's not that I hate hockey or I hate this project that's that I don't think you should enter an agreement with people with unclean hands I come here to support essential employees how can we focus on extracurricular activities when our resources are so thin this facility is so beautiful it is exquisite are we going to have enough 911 operators to staff it are we going to have enough police officers to accommodate the traffic are we going to have enough firefighters to respond to the drunk people passing out a hockey game this is why I come to you for protections for essential employees I understand I can't stand in the way of progress my grandmother's house is in the middle of the freeway but I am here asking for the very least to limit foreign investors to stop foreign investors from buying up our land I'm asking for an equal number of affordable housing for essential employees and I'm not asking also for the City of Tempe to be the first to be the first in Arizona we know this is a right to work state but it doesn't work that way for employees that are hurt on the job we're met with insurance companies who categorically deny the claims of people who were hurt working on the job I'm asking that Tempe start today to protect essential employees from having their benefits categorically denied by insurance companies who are contracted by companies such as the coyotes I was injured while working a flight for them and I've since been hung out to dry I have to pay my own medical benefits and rely on the love of my family the charity of others it shouldn't be like that I'm asking the council to help me call out the City of Phoenix Aviation department and help to hold these people who have not been good stewards of these good resources to them help to hold these people accountable here honor thank you so much for your time thank you appreciate it is William said anything on your end or are you okay okay you said it all sounds good okay thank you both appreciate it thank you the next speaker is Shanna Ellis former council member Shannon Ellis I should say please come forward state your name and place of residents who have three minutes to address the council Shanna Ellis Phoenix Arizona thank you Marion Council for allowing me to address you today as most of you know I was born and raised here attended Tempe High ASU and I sat in your seats although they look totally different for eight years um my husband and I have children who live in Tempe and we also own a condo here I have not come to speak at a council meeting since I left office over eight years ago but I believe this is one of the most pivotal and important items that you may see in your tenure and it will have such a positive impact for Generations I'm very disappointed that there is so much misinformation circulating and I doubt that I'm going to say anything tonight that you don't already know but I want you to realize that there are many individuals who have made an effort to fully inform themselves on this project and are very supportive Tempe has a history of thinking outside of the box to have the downtown we have now land was offered for pennies on the dollar to entice development Tempe was also the first city to pass a Transit tax in Arizona and an early adopter of Light Rail and all of these cases Tempe was the innovator and other cities followed and let me say every city wishes they had a Town Lake an economic development engine that will support our city for decades much has also been said about the giblet in this case but it is proposed to do exactly what it was designed to do to be an economic development tool to be used in an urban area costs over the years will and continue to rise because tempia's landlocked these costs can either be a burden to existing residents Services can be dramatically cut or the tax base here can be increased for decades Tempe residents and councils agreed to increase the tax base through Redevelopment mainly in the downtown area being landlocked can be an advantage it prevents sprawl and it forces government bodies to thoroughly examine each parcel of land as you're doing today because land is scarce we wouldn't have Tempe Marketplace Center Point on Mill and most developments on the Town Lake without this tool these councils were very forward-thinking and I believe all of you are also I've been to many public meetings on this development and I've seen many of you there and I originally had my doubts too but I witnessed many individuals coming to these meetings very skeptical and they got their questions answered and they ended up being in favor I want to end by saying I believe that many members of the public may not give you credit for the countless hours over these past months that you have dedicated to this project there have been lots and lots of negotiations up to this point Based on data that you gathered input you received from the public legal questions that were answered and based on this you have made dozens if not hundreds of changes to make this a truly remarkable project for Tempe for generations to come the parcel of land is currently not generating any revenue and needs millions and millions of dollars of remediation before anyone can build I encourage you to do what's best for Tempe and I honestly believe Tempe will not have this opportunity again thank you thank you so much the next speaker is Peter Kovacs please come forward stay true David place of residence you have three minutes thanks Corey I'm Professor Peter B Kovach former resident of Hungary New Jersey Sarasota and now Tempe for a year I'm also an independent U.S Senate candidate who ran against Cory Booker in New Jersey and also I am an independent U.S Senate candidate here this is an issue that my buddy Dick Vitale would say it's all about the money baby because it is and you guys have a lot to consider now because I've heard all the arguments on all the sides I've seen this in Jersey with the Meadowlands I've seen it in Tampa with the lightning and what they did in Tampa Bay but then you on the other hand not just by fingers you've got to make a decision on the homelessness issue and I was homeless and I'm living in um or rather dysfunctional rooming house at 30 20 South Cottonwood and look I respect everything you guys are doing in terms of you know Arlene getting elected and John Skelton trying to get elected and all that I think you guys are doing a fabulous job on the homeless issue it's the number one problem in this state number two in my opinion is U.S Senate candidate this water issues and number three is the Border so I'm going to wrap this up quickly I did this in Mesa too with a lot of time left on with John Giles and the council there this is a big decision for you guys all right you know we've heard the nice third grader my mom taught third grade in Jersey you got a lot to consider here all right and these guys know that the devils and the lightning have built Championship organizations with human capital and big cash so I'll wrap this up by saying God bless all of you and you got a heck of a decision you're gonna have to make and I'll be here for the rest of the meetings because I'm doing this and I'm doing uh Mesa and I've been all over the place I've run the most unorthodox U.S Senate campaign you guys have ever seen if you ever saw a camera on me I can't even go into all this in the last 57 seconds but I'll wrap it up I will show you well God bless you thank you and God bless all of you Joe thank you appreciate it sir the next speaker is Charles Seiler please come forward state your name in place of residence you have three minutes to address the council good evening my name is Charles Seiler I'm a Tempe resident and a small business owner I just want to applaud the members of this Council for taking on much of the risks for a Billionaire's vanity Sports and gambling complex on behalf of the Tempe residents and taxpayers I mean with his 14.5 billion dollar estimated net worth how could he really do it without us after all right so as virtually every municipality or Municipal investment that's ever been made in a professional sports complex has failed to recoup its investment I'm really glad that you all are cautiously only offering an estimated 500 million dollars over 30 years I appreciate that Prudence I mean it's not like they've ever had any issues paying their taxes or generating revenues for other cities that they've been in right instead of cleaning up our parks and making them safer I love that we're passing new taxes to bring a gambling Center to Tempe along with its Associated human trafficking I'm really happy we'll see both increased traffic as well as increased rents Tempe has gotten way more diverse over time because it's been affordable so I really thank you for helping make the town more white again it's definitely great to price out that pesky diversity in our neighborhoods I also think it's genius how you all have steamed up a way to kind of wash your hands of all of this and I'm sure that the Tempe residents and voters won't remember how you all colluded with the Morello PR machine to turn Tempe into his piggy bank so congratulations and given the size of the Entourage Amarillo's payroll that's present tonight and the revolving door of pro speakers we've heard it's clear that you all have set up quite the public trough for them to belly up to and just for tens of thousands of dollars in philanthropy in the area he can soon rest 500 million dollars away from taxpayers he's kind of a genius so thank you all from the Tempe resident for creating new taxes to publicly fund a billionaire Stadium instead of improving city services and as a small business owner I appreciate the early retirement because we know that small businesses won't be able to afford space in this area as it's going to be overpriced and I'll probably have to move out of Tempe because the rents are going to go up so thank you so much I really appreciate it and can't wait to vote on this as soon as we get the chance have a great evening thank you the next speaker is Andrew marwick please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes to rest the council hello thank you mayor wood city council 12 years ago Matthew holtzeiser and him hasn't come up tonight he came in front of the Glendale city council asking the city council to put up 10 million dollars to help him buy the coyotes I thought that was a ridiculous proposal so I came to the Glendale city council and spoke against it have spoken there dozens of times and it's when I first went there most of the city council was strongly in favor the mayor some of the council members were very unhappy with what I was saying about the coyotes organization a few months later Mr Daley over here had two teams that were failing the Arizona Coyotes and the Atlanta Thrashers and he said oh we have a buyer's lined up it's going to close soon we just need a backstop 25 million dollars you're not gonna need to do it it's just a backstep to cover our operating the buyer will be coming through soon that was the second time Glendale lost 25 million dollars in subsidies to the coyotes the release agreements the history goes on and on this year last year Glendale had it all seven council members including some who were there 12 years ago our one million percent against the Coyotes as I said commissioner Beckman do not go to Glendale you would not be welcome there um I also have issues with the transportation they talk about Transportation Light Rail it's not going to work people are not going to walk from 7th in Universe 7th and Mill over the two miles over to the arena well same thing with the light rail it's over a mile crossing the 202 crossing the Salt River it's not going to happen it's going to be a parking issue there's a shortage of parking there's a lot of issues there another issue is this is not the City of Phoenix there's airport issues I won't be able to get into now but this is not about losing a few events at the footprint Center this is a foolish thing to do to add a third Arena to the Phoenix area I think you've heard of Live Nation Ticketmaster they will be able to play the three Arenas off against each other and all three of the Arenas will be losing money just think of what happened with the Taylor Swift ticketing Fiasco recently they also be competing with the um desert Financial Arena over here and the ASU Campus and the gambage auditorium with the facilities they are talking about putting in um withhold your vote vote against this um one of the issues I see is Mr Woods has done an excellent job of Javier Gutierrez commissioner Batman Captain coyote over here they've come up and spoken very eloquently for this development one person is missing Alex morose is he going to come up here and come to this microphone why when he's the principal owner of this team why should you vote when he hasn't come up to this microphone for one second and answered questions from the city council I think before you vote on this before you approve this you should have some questions for Alex Merlot including about his brother the Marilla Maddox Group which collapsed with a lot of foreclosures in Los Angeles the the issues with Miami Beach in the DeVille hotel which was imploded earlier this month there was a lot of issues that he has to answer questions for I think he should come up to this microphone and answer your questions before you approve this deal thank you thank you the next speaker I have is Matt Capaldi please come forward state your name in place of residents who have three minutes to address the council good evening mayor Woods council members my name is Matthew Capaldi excuse me I am a government Affairs representative for the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters Union and also for local 1912 here in Arizona we want to express our support which we have in the past for this project and I also would like to take an opportunity to commend Mr Gutierrez and his team for reaching out to us and uh guaranteeing that a percentage at least of this job and this is unprecedented uh will be Union um and that's a first uh actually I think anywhere in Arizona where that's happened uh so I do I want to thank you Mr Gutierrez for your efforts and also I'd like to uh just take a moment uh for myself to speak to my brothers and sisters in the other labor organizations that this is an opportunity uh granted we have issues that we have to work with you all on regarding affordable housing cost of living location Etc to to people's jobs that's very important we have a mantra at the Carpenters and that is uh jobs wages and benefits and that's what we believe this project is going to provide our skilled professional Carpenters construction workers are going to be working on this project and that's absolutely key and we think beneficial to the Working Families across the board and so we urge the other labor organizations to reach out to the coyotes talk to them to develop a conversation a dialogue and to make sure that the issues and interests pertaining to Working Families here in Arizona especially here in Tempe our address we think that's absolutely critical and again a lot of the time we get the door slammed in our face being a union and that's not the case with the coyotes they've been very open and honest with us in their efforts and we certainly appreciate that so again we on behalf of our membership I want to express uh our support for this project and uh at the same time we hope that the coyotes as well as the the council look into the matters regarding affordable housing and transportation so Working Families aren't shut out of this project right thank you thank you appreciate it the next speaker I have is Bill Ruiz please come forward state your name in place of residents who have three minutes good evening mayor and city council uh I want to Echo what my colleague Matt capabi says William Reese I'm a representative from the Southwest Mountain States Regional Regional Council and uh a lot of what uh Matt had mentioned earlier uh regarding the collective bargaining language in the DDA was reviewed by our staff internally and uh it is a it's a very very promising uh uh language that we can look forward to uh bringing to our membership an opportunity for high-wage projects such as this one that sustained our membership our growth and our members that live in the communities within the Tempe and in all the other uh our lying areas of Phoenix uh I do want to commend the coyotes for reaching out to us uh the council for hearing our concerns regarding a community-based agreement uh when I was before you back in June um again we did look at the the language and the DDA and uh I think it's a it's a good start um and uh again it doesn't have to be uh this way but we we are we're willing to um have that first step that it needs to happen and we want to be a part of it and our members are excited about it we do have uh also a lot of uh members that live here in Tucson in Tempe that uh are also concerned about a lot of the other uh concerns that have brought up before our Council uh this evening and uh We've we've addressed those in-house with our membership and uh we've come up with some solutions so we don't just build uh we don't build only buildings but we Forge relationships and we begin with Solutions within the communities and the reason why we do what we do is because our organization were self-funded we don't rely on medical outside we're self-funded our training self-funded we have men and women that get up every morning they put their boots on two o'clock three o'clock and they're out there in the morning pouring concrete in the afternoon in the hot sun they're getting it done and when the rents go up they're working overtime and it's because of collective bargaining agreements of of uh projects such as this that go forward with collective bargaining agreements that we can enjoy the type of Lifestyles that they deserve to have and so I want to thank you for your time this evening thank you thank you appreciate it [Music] the next speaker I have is Jewel Valenzuela please come forward state your name in place of residence you have three minutes so much Valenzuela my name is Joe Valenzuela my name is Joe Valenzuela I live here in Tempe right just down here on 5th Street and priest um I'm a Tempe public school teacher I'm a Grassroots volunteer with samias I also volunteer artwork and teach some summer art classes and volunteer teaching art to for free all my volunteer work is for free so um what you're talking about here I see that it's coded oh one of the things I wanted to do too is everything that predates this with green tables and mares and everything I'd also like to acknowledge the land we're on which is tahuna Odom then and so please remember whose land you're on and what it stands for because we're the community and our voice matters um I'm here representing our friends and family members that couldn't be here because kids are doing homework and people are working double jobs um you said that here that it's a big deal it is a big deal and our community needs to vote on this and that the City of Tempe needs to look at everything over everything really clearly we don't just want to jump into it I know that's what they want they want you guys just to go ahead and take it and then what's your legacy mayor Woods because when this goes down and it's going to last 30 years if you sign that or that's going to be on you 30 years from now I'll still think of you and what happened there if that's what you do and our community as a public school teacher you want to help our community you come over here want to help where are you when we have families living out of cars where are you when our homeless people need socks and everything else that they need um not you I'm talking about these guys that just come in and say they can help um it looks to me like Glendale got rid of them for a real good reason um Tempe doesn't need them they need us they need you they need what Tempe stands for our rent has gone up and keeps going up here in Tempe and I keep honoring my community keep volunteering keep educating my students in school and I want to say that um that will affect me everything that's around there and also when the we voted to have the Cardinals here a long time ago it wouldn't go because of the because of the airport and that was like right after 9 11 and that they said no why because if a plane goes into that Stadium guess what you're responsible are you willing to can you sleep with that at night thinking about that I know because I live on the plane tracks of where they go by when the president flew in I could see him right there his plane so our community needs to look at this vote on it and remember they need us we don't need them thank you appreciate it the next speaker I have is Judy Tapscott please come forward stay true David place of residents who have three minutes to dress the council mayor council my name is Judy Tapscott I'm a 22-year resident at the City of Tempe and I'm here tonight to express my opposition to the Morello coyote development I'm against it based on history speaks the truth we the Tempe taxpayers never ask for this development it is a high risk and we should not have to pay for it the Morello coyotes say the Tempe project will be financed privately no taxpayers money but here's the truth the project includes massive developer tax breaks including an unprecedented 30-year tax break known as a giblet for a hockey rink practice Rank and theater this is taxpayers money a subsidy of many millions of dollars the developer does not pay who pays instead we do the Tempe taxpayers the Morello coyotes say the Glendale Entertainment District created for them would be a successful venture but here's the truth the coyotes failed to pay 1.3 million dollars in owed city and state taxes they were kicked out of Glendale after years of acrimony and because they failed to pay vendors contractors and Arena charges if that happens in Tempe who pays instead we do the Tempe taxpayers the Morello coyotes say they will invest 2.1 billion dollars in private funds no public taxpayer funds will be put at risk but here's the truth the dun and Bradstreet evaluated their risk the ability to pay privately the result the Morello coyotes were cited as a high failure risk uh delinquency risk and a high overall risk expert Financial analysts based on the exact history of the Morello coyote organization tell the story of Tempe taxpayer risk my reasons for strong opposition are based on the track record history speaks the truth we the Tempe taxpayers never ask for this development it is high risk and we should not have to pay for it thank you thank you so much appreciate it the next speaker is Glenn Williamson please come forward state your name in place of residence you have three minutes to dress the council mayor council Glenn Williamson 36 years citizen of the United States and the town of Phoenix Arizona I am the chairman and CEO of the Canada Arizona Business Council I am also chairman of epcor the largest private water utility in the state of Arizona Canadians for two seconds let's think about that about 2.5 billion dollars a year come down here just as tourists and snowbirds billions and billions and billions of dollars of which I've spent about 3 billion here in the last 10 years go into your communities they help people philanthropically make sure they have things 500 Canadian companies operate here large companies and small companies Canada's position in this state goes all the way back to when Dr Chandler founded Chandler think about that one for a second so then you can also go down to other parts of the state and see Canadians doing mining 50 of the mining employing people where people are not employed so what is the one thing the Canadians absolutely adore it's like catnip councilwoman it's exactly like catnip and many of these Canadians that come down here end up as a tourist than a snowbird and then they move companies down here and they start investing in the communities and they've been doing this for 60 or 70 years and this is something that's not going to stop hockey is an added value it's an added benefit it's something that's really important who knows they may go side by side investing with Mr Morello they do it everywhere else in the state they do it every well also everywhere else in this city Canadians adore this town they adore this region and they adore this state so I'm hopeful that you decide to go forward with what you have heard on a positive note from these people with that I would like to say thank you very much to heck to Mr Gutierrez Amigo Mr Batman thank you very much Nick you're a great lawyer you always have been stay on this one thank you very much Council thank you so much appreciate it the next speaker I have is Fabian Sanders please come forward stay true David place of residence you have three minutes to address the council foreign thank you mayor um council members thank you for the opportunity my name is Fabian sandis I'm a regional manager for the Southwest Mountain State Regional Council carpenters and president of local 1912.

uh first of all I wanted to thank the City of Tempe for being a hub and uh and creating year in and year out union jobs you guys and ASU have been supportive of union jobs and this project is no different I want to thank the coyotes team for reaching out to us and uh uh feel really privileged to uh have for the first time in a long time a professional team on the East Valley so this project is not only going to serve the City of Tempe it's going to serve the entire East Valley it's going to create a lot of jobs he's going to put a lot of food in the table for a lot of families to leave out in the East Valley so I encourage you guys to uh to vote on for this project thank you very much for the opportunity thank you so much appreciate it that is all the cards I have for this evening but before I close that portion of the agenda is there anyone else who wishes to speak before the Tempe city council if so please get my attention now yes sir please come forward state your name in place of residence you have three minutes to dress the council alrighty you guys ready yes please okay so my name is Tyler I live in Glendale I actually live across the street from Westgate I used to live in Tempe just really wasn't digging it uh I wanted to do more I wanted to always live next to the coyotes so I finally moved to Glendale then a couple weeks later they said they were moving to Tempe I was like all right cool thanks but uh I I don't see why I can't move back this Entertainment District is amazing um I didn't come here and suit and tie I've always been a real person which sees what you get I'm not a car salesman I'm not here to kiss but I'm just an honest person I feel like you get further in life that way um I've met a good chunk of these people right here multiple times um I hope they remember me Shane don't hope you remember me I've got more things signed in my bedrooms and more people here I've Javier Gutierrez Alex Merlot I've met them a handful of times Gary Bettman I just met today so thank you for signing my Puck uh gmba I never met you but you rock um you guys there's nothing there right now you guys want something to do they're giving you something to do you guys want jobs they're giving you jobs you guys want money they're giving you money you guys want places to live guess what they're giving you places to live uh there's a lot of stuff going around that I've been hearing uh I don't know where they're getting information from but you guys want to take away the business side of it like I said just look at look at these people they're look at the people I don't think Shane Doane is Gonna Come into something crazy and awful lot is not that man that dude's a God but no like I said we seize what you get and I just wanted to voice my opinion thank you thank you so much appreciate it is there anyone in the audience pushing to address the city council uh please get my attention if so okay all right last call all right but I will close that portion uh quick question actually Madam City attorney I know we don't get to the uh the DDA until item 2B we have a couple of votes before that is there a way to get the presentation on the actual project and the DDA before going back to take all three votes just to make sure that in full transparency people see everything before any vote takes place certainly mayor you could you could seek the presentation right now okay sounds good I just want to make sure for the folks who are here and people watching at home so okay I'm gonna move on then to item 2B which is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt an ordinance authorizing the mayor to execute a development and disposition agreement with Bluebird Development LLC a Delaware limited liability company for the project known as the Tempe Entertainment District located at the northeast corner of Priest Drive in Rio Salado Parkway in Tempe that also establishes policy regarding referenda involving professional sports franchises foreign so I'd like to see if there's any presentation from the developer on this item and I just wanted to say too thank you Mr Gutierrez appreciate you stepping up to the podium I wanted to say too you know normally during presentations regarding development agreements we usually have a presentation during the first hearing for public transparency and usually a much more abbreviated presentation for the second public hearing but given the size of the magnitude of this project I would definitely love Mr Gutierrez if you and Mr wood could give a full presentation like you gave last week on the 22nd just to make sure that people have uh two opportunities to see the full scope of what you're attempting to do absolutely mayor council members Javier Gutierrez president CEO of the Arizona Coyotes first and foremost what a momentous night we really want to thank you for all of the work that you have done all of the hours all of the conversations all of your diligence your dedication and your commitment it really does start with you and we appreciate you second really have to do so many thank yous to your staff truly incredible individuals who have spent countless hours on behalf of this community we'd like to publicly recognize each and every one of them and thank them as you mentioned mayor we'd like to share some of the comments that we shared last week right and I'd like to start with something that I made uh part of my presentation a couple of opening remarks to set the tone about this presentation that you're about to hear and it really starts with the concept of impact the reality is that we're not here just to talk about hockey we're not here to just talk about sports we're here to talk about impact the idea and the mission of leveraging the power of our voice to make a difference in the lives of others and in particular in this community our community that we are a member of today I bring up impact because that is the mission that defines Alex Morello and his family it really does start with Alex many people have heard of him but very few people know him so I'd like to introduce him Alex Morello is the son of Cuban immigrants he started his first business a tuxedo shop catering to the Latino immigrant community in Los Angeles when he was barely a teenager this is a self-made entrepreneur has been in business successfully for 40 years he's managed to weather ups and downs of multiple economic cycles never once having a business in bankruptcy and having secured financing from some of the largest and Global Banks and financial institutions in the world the business he's built which you've heard a lot about the Morello group it's not a nameless or faceless Corporation it's a family-run business it's a family-owned business it includes the largest Latino Bank in California one of the largest Union infrastructure construction subcontractors in the West and one of the largest English and Spanish language media businesses in the U.S and we are very proud to say that the Morello group is one of the most successful minority business enterprises in the country and in 2019 Alex with his family his wife Lizette his children Alexis Alexander and Lissette they fulfilled a lifelong dream of owning a sports franchise and in doing so Alex Morello became the first Latino majority owner in the history of the NHL but all along his family had and Alex have had one Mission and that's really to make impact and they have chosen Tempe this community to make that impact when Alex reached out to me to be a part of what he was building it was this mission of impact that resonated and moved me to join him on this journey I've had a chance to share my story with several of you as we've gone to know each other and you as you all know I'm an immigrant to this country from Mexico and I have been blessed to live the American dream due to the hard work and sacrifice of my parents and my family and I've been on a lifelong journey to help others live their American Dream and so I'm here having moved my family my wife Jerica is here tonight my son Javi who's at his first basketball game of high school tonight and due to Alex's vision I became a part of this journey and I'm proud that I am the first Latino president CEO in the history of the NHL but I'm especially proud of the fact that we are making an impact here but as we'll all be argued this isn't just about a bunch of fancy words this is about action and we as an organization are very proud of the impact that we have made come a reality we're very proud of having one of the largest female front offices in the NHL we're very proud of having started one of the first diverse coaches internship program we're very proud of having the first and only Native American community on our Jersey and you heard from our partner Gila River tonight and we're also very proud of having the leading social impact Enterprise in the state as on our helmet and that's good to them and you heard from them tonight we're very proud of being a Tempe business today and again I want to start by recognizing Alex Morello and his financial commitment of over 30 million dollars for a temporary solution and as a result we are here in Tempe today we've built one of the most exciting an electric environments in the NHL at mullet Arena right down the street from here and write down where we hope to stay permanently I would like to at this point also thank ASU for having partnered with us and allowing us to be a part of their community on their campus while we hope to work with you all to stay here in Tempe permanently and according to the Tempe chamber we are very proud to be the largest minority business Enterprise in Tempe today and so while we're respectfully requesting you all to approve this proposed project that we will present yet again tonight what we're really asking you is to help us with this opportunity to continue on our mission to make an impact right here in this community to turn a landfill into a landmark to bring almost 7 000 permanent jobs to Tempe to create a 2.1 billion dollar sports and entertainment complex that we envision being the main and Main of the valley to be the first and only privately financed sports and entertainment facility in the history of Arizona and to fulfill the vision of Rio Salado that you heard eloquently from former mayor Neil Giuliano that led to the creation of Tempe Town Lake in short we are asking you to help us make impact a reality here in the community that we are very proud to be a part of and with that I would like to turn to our presentation and I'll start with highlighting what we'll talk about which is we will address what the project is what the deal looks like what the benefits are and then we will show a video that you probably have now seen at least a hundred times but many folks in this audience have not I think it's important for us to start with this picture this is what it looks like today 46 Acres on priest in Rio Salado half of it is contaminated though the whole site is a contaminated landfill but part of it is your facility's maintenance yard there is no economic activity on this site right now if anything it's a liability as I get sent articles constantly that compost pile caught on fire last summer you're very well aware of that this is what we envision the opportunity to turn that site into this landmark and it's very important to highlight right here everything you see there all those buildings all that development we will be paying for that there are no taxpayer dollars that are paying for any of those buildings so let's talk about the project I always start by highlighting that your third party a very respected global market feasibility study firm noted that this proposal was the site's highest and best use this is a 2.1 billion dollar project one of the largest property developments in the history of Arizona it's an opportunity to turn that landfill into a landmark by removing 1.5 million tons of trash it will include yes a 16 000 plus seat Arena that will be the home of the Arizona Coyotes but it will also be a world-class entertainment venue it will include our coyotes practice facility which is a community of medicine and we've stressed this over and over again we are here to make impact that practice facility will be a public benefit open to the public and also the headquarters of one of the best youth hockey programs in the country it will include a restaurant row and a retail Center so that folks can shop and eat here in Tempe it will include two hotels and we've had many discussions with many members of you the community here who have talked about the need for more hotels in Tempe it will include a 200 key Boutique Hotel and a 300 key more convention style hotel we envision these to be incredibly popular and continue on this growth of Tourism the Tempe isn't is experiencing it will also include a private medical office campus and you have in your possession and have had it since our June meeting a letter of interest from a major arizona-based medical company that seeks to move their offices to this project and bring 3 000 jobs and in large part because it is Tempe and because of the amenities of this District it will also include as we've discussed on numerous occasions 1995 residential units so that this becomes a live work play community and also a 3 500 person theater to have be flexible space for smaller shows and performances this is the site map that you've seen the only thing I will point out is obviously phase one is the easternmost site it includes the arena The Practice Facility the hotel that's what we would be seeking to start first you will hear from Nick Wood in terms of the deal the part of the deal will be a 40 million dollar non-refundable deposit to help start the remediation and the build out of that first phase the only other thing I will point out about the sitemap because it was a comment brought up in a number of community meetings we are committed to building this entire project and in fact the economic viability of the first phase relies on the development of the second phase we cannot have one without the other and we are fully committed to that and that is squarely in every document and every analysis and every conversation that we've had with you and your staff so what are we actually asking the city to do as you all know it's quite a complicated project and deal but let's summarize it into four major requests first sell us the lamb 46 Acres contaminated land at twenty five dollars a square foot which is a market rate that you all have underwritten number two create a community facilities District which is a common structure that you all are very well familiar with it is a separate legal entity from the city and that's cfd would be the entity that would then for number three create public infrastructure bonds for the public infrastructure whose sole collateral would be the land and the real estate that we're building and a portion of the on-site taxes and I know this was a question asked last time and we'll get into what that means as well as a user fee what that means and I'll let Nick get into it is if you come onto the property and you buy a ticket or you stay at the hotel you will be creating the taxes that pay those infrastructure bonds if you don't you will have no tax burden and that's why we say that there is no tax burden on the city's residence and finally we can talk about the g-blitz which I know is a topic of conversation in many of these Community meetings that we've had we are seeking a 30-year jeeply for the arena the practice facility and the theater and we are seeking an eight-year Jeep win for the other uses by comparison and you will hear every other sports facility in the state of Arizona pays no property taxes and perpetuity we're asking for 30.

you are very familiar with the eight-year jeepletes for the other uses because they exist along Tempe Town Lake those are the ass I will then ask Nick Wood to please come up thank you Nick I brought a good belt this time um Everybody chocolates but last week my belt broke so I sat here lifting up my pants during the entire presentation um I've been the coyotes organization's lawyer for almost 10 years and um one of the original ownership groups hired me in 2013 to negotiate their deal with the city of Glendale and to acquire the franchise from the NHL and that's where Mr Batman and I met um and I've seen a number of ownership changes why each new ownership continues to keep me honest their outside lawyers is surprising to me but for whatever reason they do and when Mr Morello came on the scene um he and I speak often and we speak usually pretty late at night it's not an uncommon for us to be on the phone at 11 o'clock or midnight or one o'clock in the morning and my wife Jennifer was here sometimes wonders you know why I'm speaking to somebody so late and I'm sure the phone she goes oh um but I've come to learn two very special qualities of Alex Morello ones that I admire one is his humility someone said he should be up here talking right well the thing about someone like Mr Morello who has really created a such a diversified portfolio of major businesses to get where he is today usually you know men especially who rise to that level and that level of achievement in particular humility is usually kicked to the curb as we've noticed in a former president whose name Will remains silent um but then Alex is is not anything like that he's very humble which is one of the reasons why he doesn't come up here and speak another thing that I admire about him is we we talk about how hard this project has been and how hard everyone works and how hard he has worked his entire life to get where he is and you know we talked about us as I mentioned last week that everything you do matters and he mentioned that he holds himself to a higher standard and he has his entire life of course I asked you know is that because being Latino some people view you through a distorted lens and he said no it has nothing to do with that he said I don't want to let anyone down he said so many people rely upon me for what I do my family my business partners my employees and when it comes to this project and the City of Tempe okay I don't want to let them down so we have spent an incredible amount of time putting this this deal together several all-nighters right to get to where we are today and I want to thank your staff by the way and and your representatives to get us where we are today it's tremendous effort on their part um so when I met with Mr Morello and Mr Gutierrez the first time they showed me this site and as I mentioned last time it looks like it's out near globe or something near an iron mine but it's right here in the in in Tempe um and he explained that you know I want to convert this to this of course this is magnificent as you heard Javier say all of this will be done with private money all of it will be done with private money and I said that that's absolutely incredible and as a former resident of the City of Tempe but I was a resident at the time um I was really pretty excited about you know this whole idea and he said I'm gonna you know they're going to do an RFP it's going to be 25 a square foot um I said great you know it should be a pretty easy deal so well not so fast he said the property contains 1.5 million tons of contaminated soil a lot of garbage now my kids growing up I got a lot of garbage in their bedrooms but nothing of this size of this nature and um I said okay and he said well he said we've estimated the cost of remediating the site and it's not just the remediation itself which will cost between 73 and 93 million dollars but as you can see there's a levy there that lovely Levy is over three stories tall and it runs the length of the property and all the way up and down the riverbed the amount of contamination that's here runs 30 to 40 feet deep and it extends throughout the entire area of the property and right up against the levy so in addition to doing a remediation obviously we have to shore up the levy which costs tens of millions of dollars along with everything else then of course as you remediate it there are power lines 69 KV lines that exist here and they have to be moved they're APS lines and then there happens to be a 48 inch sewer pipe that runs through it and that has to be moved um and then there's a a title issue that has to be solved there's there's a number of things that have to be done that total between 210 million and 230 million dollars so he said I need your help okay put on your tax attorney hat and figure out how to help me and I said well um I said you know I've had some ideas and he said well let me give you three rules before you start thinking about this number one you're prohibited from asking the City of Tempe for any money period rule number two do not break rule number one rule number three do not create any risk Financial Risk particularly for the City of Tempe and Tempe taxpayers so I'm going wow that's interesting um because you know as I think some of you know I represented along with my partner Bill Sims Maricopa County when we negotiated with Jerry Colangelo and built the uh Chase Field there of course you know Mr kalange will put up 100 million dollars the rest of it was done by uh uh 20 a quarter of a cent tax right county-wide you all paid that right in over eight years it paid for that Stadium um I also represented ironically the city of Glendale when they built Camelback Ranch for both the Dodgers and the White Sox again all funded by the taxpayers really easy deal to do and I've done you know many many others like that but here with those three rules and looking at the amount of money we had to think about a way to get it done so obviously we took a look at different mechanisms right to do it and one of those of course is going out to Conventional Capital markets well that's expensive money to get the other is using the city's bonding capacity and there's two types that you can use one is Improvement districts right the problem with Improvement districts is it's cheap money but the reason it's cheap money is because your full faith and credit stands behind it which means it goes on your balance sheet as a contingent liability that violates rule number three right and that is no risk for the taxpayers which left us with the cfd committee facilities District the community facilities District because it is not a liability of the City of Tempe because your full faith and credit doesn't stand behind it because you owe no obligation behind it it's expensive it's expensive money and going out basically 30 years you have 210 to 230 million dollars worth of principal but over 30 years the total amount of payments will be between 450 and 470 million dollars I don't care who you're talking to that's a hell of a lot of money so we talked about how we find the money for that and uh Ed Pasquale who's here tonight you know did an analysis and of course worked with the city on that analysis to make sure we're all in agreement that it's both predictable and reliable basically it says that if the City of Tempe allows us to use half of the transaction privilege tax that's as created on site now you heard Javier said if you don't want to pay for any is public infrastructure don't come on the site don't spend any money you won't have to pay it because it's only revenue generated on site well you collect 1.8 percent transaction privilege tax on all business transactions in the City of Tempe that's what's your what's your uh residence and everybody else pays you've agreed to put up at least your staff has agreed to put up half of that right which is 0.9 percent then we asked if you would consider putting up 75 percent of the hotel bed tax that is generated and then we asked for percentage of the property tax that would then rise of course after the cheap puts uh are expired the problem with that is it only generates 210 to 230 million dollars worth of Revenue that means that we're short 240 million dollars where does that money come from so Mr Morello asked me well let's talk about this issue who's responsible legally to clean up contaminated soil because it's the owner right it's always the owner but the City of Tempe doesn't have 210 or 230 million dollars and it's in its back pocket nor if you did should you spend it that way it's not a good use of taxpayer money so the question is obviously we have to find another source so I suggest that we do a surcharge and the surcharge of course is like a TPT like a transaction privilege tax over and above the transaction privilege tax that everyone pays when they come will come to the site so if for example if someone buys a ticket for a hundred dollars right they will pay the city Tempe uh dollar eighty right in in TPT but we will predict a a surcharge on top of that up to six percent so it could be two dollars additional money could be six dollars additional money but we put that on there so basically my client basically is self-taxing itself right for all ticket sales merchandise sales food and beverage you name it he's taxing himself right to cover uh what we hope to be the rest of the amount of money and it turns out with all the analysis that was done um it's enough so Mr Morello said all right great I will go ahead and I'll pay more than 50 right 240 million versus the city's 210 to 230.

I will go ahead and pay that right even though it would ordinarily be the city's obligation he said does that is that is that it is that all that's necessary I said no I said when we go out to sell bonds the bond Underwriters and more importantly the buyers are the bonds they want to make sure that there's collateral security I said for example if you go out and you buy a home and you place a a mortgage on it right with a deed of trust you know that's because your lender lends you the money but they want collateral security so they put a lien on your home it's the same thing here the bond buyers and the underwriters going to require that these bonds be what's called assessment bonds and that means that the obligations to pay every penny of that 450 to 470 million dollars is has to be secured with a super priority lien on real estate now what I mean by super priority is your property tax on your homes right that takes priority over even your lender's interest right that's what we call super priority your lender is subordinate to that so if you don't pay your taxes and the lender doesn't step up and pay the taxes guess what whoever holds a tax certificate forecloses and they own It Free and Clear of your lender and you and everybody else so they said well how much of the property will have to be put up as collateral security that's an assessment lien I said all of it 2.1 billion dollars to secure essentially 450 um the 470 million dollars worth of debt so he said let me get this straight he said I'm paying for half of the public infrastructure that's really the obligation of the City of Tempe and I'm not only securing my half I'm also securing the city's half I said yes he says well is that it I said no I said one of the issues is when you do the remediation right the city will still own the land because you will not want to own right the real estate that is subject to any kind of contaminated condition so you're going to have to remediate it in phases and then as it's remediated and clean then of course you'll buy this thing in pieces he goes okay that's fine I said well the problem is where's the money going to come from to do that first set of remediations in that first phase I said the City of Tempe doesn't have it so it's going to come from you you're going to put up as part of the purchase price okay that 25 bucks a square foot the purchase price is 50 million dollars you're going to put up 40 million dollars of non-refundable earnest money right to the City of Tempe before you even own anything and the City of Tempe will then authorize the use of those funds to begin remediating the first portion of the project and that would be the arena site once that's done then we'll close in the acquisition of the site then of course we can now sell bonds because now we have real property owned privately that's subject to the assessment lien and he said um okay is that done and I said no so the total amount of what he's going to be investing basically is 240 million dollars right out of his pocket plus 10 million dollars worth of construction permits plus he's going to pay 50 50 million 400 000 for land he's already paying the equivalent of 150 dollars per square foot but the bottom line is paying 240 million dollars to pick up more than half of the cost of remediation and he said well what do you mean that's not it I said well you're not going to become part right of the City of Tempe that means there's Community benefits that are expected expected to be paid to become a resident so we look at the additional contributions of the City of Tempe naming rights all right there's going to be there's a name the city Tempe right there in Center ice so every time there's a game no matter who's watching it that name will be seen everywhere the name of the actual um uh Entertainment District will have the name of Tempe in it whether it's Tempe live Tempe go whatever is going to be named tempe's name is in it and other naming rights as well and that's over 30 years so that's a value of 130 million dollars and that's basically naming rights in space that they could sell to someone else but they're going to give it to the City of Tempe um in addition there's going to be facility usage you'll have three days a year right for 30 years for the city to use the entire Arena anywhere that you like there will be five days essentially a year when you can use the entertainment facility right for whatever you like there will be 10 days a year where you can use the plaza right as you like and you're going to receive a suite right free of charge including all the tickets that go with it the only thing you're responsible for is for food and beverage in addition we've got Public Safety contributions one of the concerns you've heard some people say is what if people are drunk there's not enough police officers Etc well we're going to contribute on an annual basis 1.1 million dollars for 30 years for the city to use for for um uh basically uh fire police whatever your Public Safety Services are and again it's not limited to just taking care of our site it's however you want to spend it on on your public safety light rail incentives we are going to Grant an easement essentially um for the for the right-of-way but in addition we're going to have an agreement with with Light Rail and that is our tickets can be used basically as a ticket to use light rail to encourage people to use light rail rather than their cars to come public shuttle okay we'll work with orbit and we'll have our own shuttle system bringing people back and forth between the different stations ASU partnership we're going to provide ASU with 3 500 square feet of space to be used again n over the uh the 30-year period free office space for the City of Tempe you have the ability to have three thousand square feet of office space for whatever you choose as a city public Arts contribution the zoning requires us to do 2.5 million dollars basically in public art we're actually doing seven million which is Far and Away above what's required airport traffic mitigation basically the idea was we were going to contribute about 250 000 a year for mitigation for people going back and forth to the airport however we've changed that basically to allow the city to use that for mitigation for streets around the site uh police substation we are going to provide you with a 1500 square foot police substation on site again free of charge Workforce housing contribution of two million dollars in inclusive Arena features again time out places for people who may you know get anxiety because of the excitement of the of the game Etc that is a that adds up to 293 million dollars okay or 145 dollars a square foot now if we go back to the previous slide right we're talking about 150 bucks a square foot he's paying then he's going to pay another 145 that's 295 a square foot for land that really is only worth 25.

but the other thing is take a look at what he's contributing in dollars 293 million right and all of the additional contributions you go back another basically 240 million dollars um that comes up to 495 um I'm sorry 533 million dollars so he took a deep breath right and said what's in it for me I'm going to be spending 533 million dollars over 30 years what's in it for me and that's where we got into the discussion of the jeepletes you know as you know I've done inordinate amount of G Plus eight-year style Etc and um I actually did a lot of the negotiations for the Jeep lit statute back in 2010 2017 2018.

and one of the provisions in the statute encourages private investment in things like stadiums Arenas convention centers right so basically they say that although most jeepletes are eight years in duration so you get basic abatement for eight years and at the end of the eight years and the property is conveyed back to the developer it goes back on tax rolls but 42 6208.4 says that if you're going to build an arena a stadium a Convention Center you are exempt from the time the term limits right for the abatement and that means you can go up to 30 years and go up to 99 years if that's what you choose to do so at the end of the day we chose we first talked about doing 60 and 65 years but again in discussions with your staff we thought that 30 years would be more appropriate the savings for Mr Morello and tax benefits over 30 years for the arena for the practice facility and for the entertainment facility is only 495 million dollars okay but he's paying off 533 million so when anybody says you know he's getting all this money for free right by not paying any property tax that's just not accurate he's not even getting back enough money to cover the cost of what he's going to be contributing to make all of this work um what this comes down to is the fact that you have a piece of land that's owned by the City of Tempe that hasn't generated any Revenue for decades and there's only one project that's possible that has enough Revenue generation enough business I mean think about this Tempe Marketplace was you know the the thing when it was built and it still is it's 1.3 million square feet okay State Farm right which again was a great deal for the City of Tempe as you know I structured that tax deal right and I got hauled before the Appropriations Committee at the legislature to explain why it wasn't a violation of the gift Clause but that's two million square feet this project is 4 million 300 000 square feet more than twice of what State Farm is that size and the business generation and the tax generation right there's not another project possible that could generate that money to be able to cover all the costs the remediation and all the things I just described to you that's why this project you hear about the people say well you should use it for for affordable housing that that would never pencil not under any circumstances there's examples of other stadiums I mean I mean all the other stadiums in in the state basically are paid by taxpayer money in one form another this is going to be the first one ever that isn't um I'm gonna move on uh same thing with financing as I mentioned a lot of these were all financed with with tax money labor uh I mentioned last week I've known Israel Torres right who represents a number of the um uh Union Union Subs um I've known him in fact when he was worked as a staff member for then councilman Stanton at the City of Phoenix and I consider him a friend and and he called me when you know the things came out and and we talked um and he said is there a way that we could have some kind of an agreement right between you and the trades so we talked about it and you heard Javier say that you know the Morello group owns one of the largest right Union Contracting uh companies in the country so obviously he has experience with unions um so we sat down and figure out what we could do essentially we first looked at 20 right and and what you see here is two Provisions out of the DDA whatever says to assure the application of the preceding sentence which is we're going to use some some Union trades the general contractor and or the construction manager will ensure at least 20 percent and we're going to raise it to 25 percent by Dollar volume of the subcontracts for work for the arena and practice facility will be awarded to firms falling within a collective bargaining agreement in Arizona so a minimum of 25 percent of the of the aggregate amount of contracts that are going to be awarded to subcontractors will be Union again that's something that we're volunteering to do it's not something that any of you asked us to do but it's something that we're doing and again Mr Morello his response was it's the right thing to do okay same thing with uh 12.6.6.2 on-site construction of infrastructure improvements will include Etc so with the exception of excavation and Remediation all of the public infrastructure work again 25 of that worked quick question Mr wood just wanted to ask you're young in the two Provisions you're talking about here you said 25 it says 20 on the slides okay so it's gonna be five percent more that's correct okay and just a quick question on your end uh as well do you know what the additional five percent actually equates to in actual dollars of work let me ask Mr Pasquale Ed he's got a little computer out about 20 minutes digital 20 million okay additional 20 minutes okay I'm sorry okay that sounds good thank you no I I pre I was just looking for clarification based on what you said kind of depending you know I was looking to see make sure you were saying 25 when the slide said 20.

so but thank you that's very generous so yeah um yes uh councilmember Hodge okay uh follow-up question how much is it all together it that they're going to get for the unions I want that to be public too right turn the the man with the numbers 130 million by square Adams yes I understood what you meant but uh when you said that affordable House housing would not pencil out um can you just elaborate on that a little bit just so the public understands what that means for this site sure so there's two types of affordability factors when you talk about um housing one is of course Workforce housing Workforce housing is a creature of Hud although it's not controlled by Hud it's something that we would you know enter into and we do this in different cities where we enter in agreements to a development agreement with the city and provide that we'll you know provide a certain percentage of the units as Workforce housing Workforce housing means that people whose income Falls within a range that ranges from 80 percent to 120 percent of the area mean income from Maricopa County and those who whose income Falls within that range they're permitted to pay no more than 30 percent of their annual income on rent that doesn't include utilities does include parking or things like that um and you know that range of rent typically is anywhere from uh and it's really measured on the number of people who occupy the unit not the size of the unit so if there's one person in the unit that comes to about twelve hundred and twenty dollars I think it is then when you look at three or more people in the unit it comes into about two two thousand uh twenty one hundred dollars a month and that's for Workforce housing for affordable housing that range now is lower it's anyone who falls within 60 to 80 percent of the area mean income and those rents of course are well below a thousand dollars a month when you look at the investment that's being made in this project by Mr Morello um I showed you you know just what he's paying just on the for the price of the land at 150 bucks a square foot plus 145 is 295 that was a square foot and then you look at all of the other elements that go into building this uh sorry I'm technologically impaired um it would never pencil the cost of building a unit right is a minimum of five hundred thousand dollars a unit okay thanks for that clarification also uh the 25 for the union wages I'm very happy about so I think there's some Union representatives in here still tonight so um I hope that was music to their ears so thank you I will I will Echo with vice mayor Adam said I appreciate that commitment as well by your client to do that that's a you know adding an additional 30 million on top of what was already set aside I think is a big number and I just wanted to say thank you publicly thank you now we have a few uh additional changes to the DDA I gave those um the Sonia um two of them are just cleanup items and then the third is in our discussions with the airport we agreed to add some language to an indemnification provision for the airport so I don't know how you want to handle that mayor if it's going to be right into the record but I'll leave that to Sonia to make that decision I guess I'll look to her on Madam City attorney foreign thank you mayor we have already Incorporated those changes into the document that will be signed and the way that I read the ordinance approving this development agreement if Council chooses to approve this development agreement you are receiving authority to execute a document in substantially the same form as the document on file with the clerk these changes are not substantial changes and therefore I don't believe they need to be read into the record so basically just a quick sort of clarification so the changes that Mr wood has agreed to with Mr mccovsky earlier uh are these at that language is already incorporated into the DDA and so therefore if the council does vote to approve this it would actually be reflective of the language of the conversations they've had at the agreement that they reached that is correct okay thank you and with that with your permission Mr Mayor I'll turn it back to Mr yes thank you Mr wood I think interesting okay um hold on a second sure mayor council Alex Morello would request the opportunity to speak and address you sure absolutely thank you Mr Morello thank you mayor thank you Council I am so grateful for everything you guys have done I know the countless amount of hours you have spent on this project not on yourself but your staff entirely now right about now my my counselor and Javier are probably scared of what I'm going to say I don't blame you I've got the commissioner I've got bill I got Shane I've got so many people to be thankful for I will be here all night thanking everybody but I especially want to thank not only the council and the mayor for the City of Tempe there's residents of Tempe because they've been so kind to me and so warm and so helpful and I that to me is very personal I've got my kids here with me my daughter and my son and the rest of the group and I just want to say that um I think it's only fair that I show you the respect as I show the people the residence respect to see you know just to come out here if you have any questions for me I'd be happy to answer them um I have dedicated my life to making changes and helping other people and everything that's been said about Javier is true Nick Woods I talked about 1 30 in the morning true I don't sleep very much and so he was going what the hell are you doing calling me at 1 30 in the morning but I did it and it's because I care because I want to make a difference I don't profess to have all the answers so the love coming low housing you know affordability I can only say one thing that we're committed to making a difference and helping the city and with that helping this project this project by now I'm sure you've already made up your mind it's an incredible project and I have given so much and compromised so much because it's the right thing to do like Nick Nick has been saying from the day one we have sat down over and over again I said okay what's next what else what else and every time I say what is fair for the city for the residents and for the coyotes in itself I would love nothing more than to stay here for 30 40 years it's a project I think has a lot of benefit in many ways it creates a lot of jobs a lot of opportunities it doesn't solve all the problems nothing solves all the problems nothing but I am committed to making sure that I am an impact in solving problems when it comes to housing affordability and also for the community of company and that's my promise to you and I think it's important for me to say that because if you get a vote for this you want to hear me you want to now look I've got professionals and they do a great job right they're incredible people and they've got my back and they've done the right thing because I believe in this and anything that's been said here is because I wanted this to happen so I just want to thank every single one of you for taking the time in the countless hours that you have spent because I know it's been a year almost a year and a half that you everybody here has spent and your staff has spent and it's been a lot of negotiations where the residents believe they don't the amount of negotiations has been incredible but we all compromise for the good of the city and for the people and for this project I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them there one thing I always say I was in front probably about six months ago in front of the gaming commission which is that's really scary I'm not sure if you've been in front of the gaming Commission but don't don't avoid it avoid it I mean they said to me you know there's so many things that are written about you I go most of them are not true but unfortunately I don't I am very humble I don't speak in public only when I have to do it in this case I felt very on you know first of all honored and said about very it's my I have to show you respect because you deserve the respect you've given me the respect and so you know I've been asked about things that do I own an island in Spain no am I selling the team in the Houston uh Houston Rockets no you know the story's gone on and on and I I can't commit all that I can't control that but I can't show you the time that I that I'm here that I'm willing to do whatever it takes and this is my legacy it's my family's Legacy it's my legacy I'm not a famous I'm not a faceless Corporation I'm an individual who's worked my butt off for 44 years of my life and I'm very proud of what we've accomplished and the changes we've made to people's lives and that's very important to me thank you thank you Mr Morello appreciate it anyone have any questions for Mr Morello or sounds good no I just wanted to make sure to take you up on the on the Q a offer so but I don't think everyone's okay I cannot comment on people like oh one one comment for vice mayor Adams okay sure uh yes I do appreciate you coming up and and and speaking to us this evening I think it's really important that people get to know you and uh you know you're gonna be here for a long time so I just appreciate you coming up and talking to us thank you thank you thank you very much and for the people who are new I also want to thank you I haven't had a chance I haven't had a chance to meet all of you but I'm sure I will and I've kind of kind of stayed behind because I didn't want to influence anybody I didn't want to do anything that I shouldn't be doing so I kind of stayed away to my detriment to my detriment but now they hopefully when this vote is over I'll get a chance to to spend time and and show you what we're all about and I think you'll be very happy with not only myself but my kids and the organization that I have built over 40 years speaks for itself thank you thank you appreciate it Mr Gutierrez I actually don't think that I want to add much further um I do want to summarize it ever this is a transformative opportunity it's privately Finance it's going to be a job Creator it's going to be a new tax revenues coming to the city there's not going to be cost to Tempe taxpayers we're not asking for any favors the the cheaply as you know very well is a structure that's utilized and it's a chance to turn a landfill into a landmark with that if you want to just close it out with the video I think it's important for several people here in the audience to see it thank you very much thank you Mr Gutierrez appreciate it [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] thank you we're here for question questions if you have any sounds good thank you so much gentlemen um counsel any comments or questions great not at the moment now thank you okay thank you so much appreciate it all right so next up we have a couple of Staff presentations I'm going to look to uh Tom dunsing our Deputy city manager and Chief Financial Officer foreign Council good evening I'll be as brief as I can what you have before you tonight is the same presentation that we gave a week ago except for the date on this first slide everything is the same I'll go through it as quickly as we can um I would like to thank a number of Staff um Mr Gutierrez and Mr wood um rightfully referred to a lot of work that the staff has put into this this RFP was issued in July 2021 and here we are in almost December 2022 so there's been a lot of work and it's it's Sonya Blaine Elizabeth Higgins our economic development team of Donna Kennedy and Maria lofner Mark day has his fingers in this and is a finance professional through and through Jeff tamalevich Ryan Levesque and I'm sure there's many others and I would like to thank the council and ensure the public that you all did ask the tough questions throughout this process um and continued up until today to ask the tough questions and it's appreciated if they can keep staff on our toes so what I'm here to do tonight is is kind of give a high level overview of the economic benefits in the Salient terms of the of the finances in this development agreement that's before you tonight what you're going to see is you saw some some economic benefits from the developer staff went out and had an independent firm hundred strategic Partners value the benefits I can tell you they're very close that's a good thing the revenue projections from the developer and from our independent look are very close that's a good thing and it really allowed us to set the stage to negotiate a development agreement that's before you tonight so real quick economic impact analysis private capital investment of at least 1.9 million dollars it's going to be developed over many years that number could go up or down um probably up in this in this case but the public infrastructure on this the city's liability is capped currently in the agreement it spells out 209 to 229 million dollars of public infrastructure that's roads that's Shoring the levy that's underground power lines relocation of sewer lines and things like that public infrastructure we could not issue public financing unless it was public infrastructure the anticipated Debt Service on that just like a mortgage principle against up to 229 million interest on that is about 213 million so that's about the 240 million dollars that you've heard multiple times tonight night of the cost or excuse me 440 million dollars of the cost of the public infrastructure so real quick economic impact um as evaluated by hundon 13.6 billion dollars of this development revenues at the site total revenues 397 million dollars taxes coming to Tempe almost 200 million dollars and again those figures are over 30 years I'll dive into a little bit deeper into the tax revenues and how that's structured to be able to use a portion to repay the debt of the public infrastructure on the site and then the portion that that goes to Tempe um the city so public benefits what you see here I won't go down the list you've seen it a couple times you can see the the first two Ted naming rights and City use of the facilities um those valuations were were given to us by 100 strategic Partners again a little bit different than the developer but um overall it's really a a pretty close valuation of the public benefits the bonding um again here is a list of the public infrastructure at the site totaling 208 million dollars in the development agreement um the the Delta the difference between the 209 and the 229 is there is a 20 million dollar allowance for site Remediation in other words right now the current estimates are 73 million we don't know how bad the site is so what we've done is is at um allowed for a 20 million dollar allowance on the site remediation only and um you know we'll just time will tell on what the cost of the remediation of that site is going to be but we've done our all our calculations on the conservative 229 million dollar number it could be less than that let me talk real quick about the land transaction um developer will be paying um a little over 50 million dollars two phases 40 million of that will be up front it will be non-refundable and I'll talk about that in a minute um the land will be remediated if approved of course that remediation will be Bond Finance so what we're going to do is we're going to use that 40 million dollars to proceed with the remediation right out of the shoot what will happen then is We Will We Will issue bonds to basically repay us that 40 million dollars so that 40 million dollars will come back to us unrestricted and so um it'll be up to Marin Council on on how they want to use those funds but that 40 million dollars will come back in addition the the second the 10 million on the second phase same thing that money will come back to the city um unrestricted and then the last bullet point on here it's just another um illustration of the the range of cost to remediate the site so real quick giblet what you see here is the valuation of the giblet the Tempe City the City of Tempe portion of the giblet abatement and and like Mr Gutierrez and Mr wood explained the um Arena um headquarters and music facility the request is a 30-year giblet abatement and then on all the other properties it's an eight-year giblet abatement um for um for the public I do want to confirm what the developer did say the other Arenas and stadiums within Arizona are publicly financed they don't pay property taxes this in essence this giblet abatement on these essentially functions as the same way um what you see on the right is the the public benefits and and I put up the list of projects supplied public benefits as calculated by 100 strategic Partners 240 million dollars if you add to that the 240 million dollars and I'll talk a little bit about that of developer assessments on sales at the site you get a total public benefits of 480 million dollars on this site so let's get into financial terms I'll talk very briefly about the entire project and and a lot of the focus of this discussion a lot of the questions you've been been getting is the public facilities that we were going to finance at this site and repay from revenues on this site so I'll talk a little bit about the entire development um one of the very unique things and I alluded to a little bit earlier is this is a publicly funded Arena again most Arenas most stadiums are pardon me a privately funded Arena I apologize it's a big mistake a privately funded Arena most Arena's in state and stadiums in Arizona are publicly funded in other words there's a tax and and the tax goes to pay for the facilities this is different than that this is privately funded Arena headquarters practice facility and the developer from the beginning has said this project doesn't work without the entire development so I'll get to the last I'll kind of the last slide but one of the things that that gives me peace is the developer is extremely incentivized to make this development work and so it works with all the funk all the components in addition to the arena and they've said that from the beginning again there's the public infrastructure 209 to 229 I want to now dive into the public infrastructure at the site what you see is is a extraction of the site plan on the right and that really is the district and I'll get into a community facilities district and how it works and so the the primary costs of getting this site ready and the the public infrastructure that we've talked about a little bit earlier is the remediation again the 20 20 million dollars in excess that can only go toward remediation the infrastructure you see below you've seen that a couple times the transition transmission line relocation Levy Shoring the roadway on the site Riverbank improvements Etc there's also a 10 million dollar option termination that that we have listed to be Bond funded and that's to clear the light right of first refusal on this site a little bit different look again what we um or what has been requested and what's in the development agreement is that a community facilities District be formed a cfd and I'm such a visual person what you see on the right is really a visualization of the community facilities District and what is it a community facilities District very common in the state of Arizona very common to put in public infrastructure that benefits certain areas a lot of housing developments when they expand they create a community facilities District put in roads street lights and things they pay it back so the public infrastructure that that the private property owners benefit from is repaid from by the private property owners and this essentially functions the same way so there are established boundaries and then the proposal um that is before you tonight in the development agreement is to issue Community facility District bonds to basically pay for um eligible public infrastructure on this site and the repayment of these bonds are going to be from revenues generated at this site and I'll get into there's several different components of project revenues I've got a really neat slide that Mark they put together that really helps to illustrate it and it's very understandable I think and here it is so what you see you see the arrows pointing to the left those are revenues that the city will retain that's that 190 million dollars or so that um we sort of showed on the first Slide the arrows on the right are revenues generated at that site that will be used to pay for this public infrastructure so I'll go down through these quickly in blue what we call those are really the city taxes that are generated at the site you've got City transaction privilege tax that's just simply a fancy word for saying the sales tax bed tax and and those the transaction probably sales tax it's 50 50 50 retained by the city 50 percent going to repay the bonds bed tax 25 to the city 75 percent to be repaid from the bonds and those are only bed tax again taxes again generated from the hotels um proposed to be on this site city property taxes splits a little bit different 77.23.

um and the reason these these percentages are a little bit different overall we wanted to get a fair um sort of a goal of 50 50. um the calculations are the developer will be paying more than the 50 but but it's that was kind of the goals the 50 50.

um that 50 50 really comes from that green box that developer surcharge um and I'll I'll talk about that in in the last slide um well I can I can talk about it here that's the up to six percent um on the sales generated at the site in other words if the blue boxes or the taxes generated are not adequate to make The Debt Service payments fund any reserves that we're going to have or anything you know um or a shortfall the we go to the developer surcharge so what the developer would do is assess this surcharge and all the sales within this site to be able to make the bond payments that orange box at the bottom cfd assessments although the estimates that we've done the estimates that the developer has done we don't anticipate having to do cfd assessments I really looked at that as a safety net if the taxes on the site and the the developer imposed surcharges up to six percent on the site are not enough to make the bond payments we go through and and and the cfd can assess the property owners all um with the goal of making The Debt Service payments on the 209 to 229 million dollars worth of bonds it's my last slide City protections so um when we set out a staff really my goal I had two goals the first goal is to be objective to not come up and sell a project to just come out here and give you the Salient points of of the proposed agreement also my second goal was to protect the city are there are there protections built in um that will protect the city in case things go happen in case revenues aren't produced and I'll go through those really quickly again I alluded to a little bit earlier probably the biggest protection we have is is the vast majority of this development is privately funded again a little bit different than than Arenas and stadiums in Arizona the cfd it is a separate legal entity the council will go through the process it it needs Council action in order to form but it functions as a completely separate legal entity the 40 million dollars again is non-refundable um the the 200 and 229 million dollars in bonds to finance this project again are only repaid from revenues generate tax revenues generated at the site and developer imposed surcharges at the site tax revenues I talked about a little bit earlier they're capped for the City of Tempe you would see that in exhibit J that 247 million dollars the developer projected revenues or or surcharges are a minimum of 240 million dollars but those are not capped so it's a little bit different and then finally the bonds are going to be issued in phases we won't go out issue 200 million dollars in bonds when you have an unremediated site that's not going to happen they're going to be issued in phases we're going to use the cash up front the 40 million dollars up front to begin remediation so if everything falls apart right at the beginning we will have um part of that site half that site remediated at no cost to Tempe because that 40 million dollars will go to remediate that site so bonds will only be issued when developer financing is in place and that is in the development agreement and then lastly the I talked about the um oops the cfd assessments on that site um we will be assessing liens on all the property um on this site and those liens actually have priority over anything else other than property taxes so exactly similar to what how Mr wood explained it so the bottom line takeaway is very secure very secure more than likely when we get when we get building on that site you get a you get a 600 million dollar Arena on that site it more than covers the um the um The Debt Service that will be required on the entire site for this public infrastructure and with that mayor I went through as quickly as possible be more than happy to answer any questions sounds good thank you Tom really appreciate it counsel any comments or questions vice mayor Adams Tom I just want to tell you what a great job you've done through this whole um process and I'm just glad that we got you back from Glendale and uh he just uh thanks thanks for all of your hard work and really crunching the numbers and I have a lot of faith in you in your ability to Crunch the numbers and to make this package work for uh the residents of of Tempe and the hockey um team so um thank you very much thank you vice mayor council for Keating thank you very much Tom I really appreciate the presentation and of course the echo vice mayor Addison's sentiment you've done a fantastic job on this deal and explaining it so thoroughly and the slides are great and everything I have a quick question about the giblet um so the gibblade is going to essentially it's an abatement on property tax that would be generated on the site if anything was built there which of course it is not currently in sounds like it won't be without a substantial amount of work to be done so without so if we Grant this shiplet the the money that would go to the city no longer does because they're getting an abatement correct the mayor uh vice mayor councilmember Keating um the giblet abatement the only abatement long term is Arena practice facility music venue the eight-year abatement once that expires the property taxes um about 77 percent will come to the city and again that's after the eight years on the the private stuff and then the other 23 percent will go to help repay the bonds appreciate that I'm not doing a great job at answering my or uh asking my question has this been a long night I guess my question is do the taxpayers of Tempe somehow have to make up the missing money from a giblet through other taxes uh mayor members of the council the um the site right now city owns it it's generating zero in property taxes um once it's developed once the giblet abatements are complete it will then now uh or it will then generate property taxes to the city I hope that answered your question what I'm trying to get at is because there's a giblet and there's an abatement for eight years on the arena and then or excuse me 30 years on the arena in eight years and everything else that goes there there is money that when isn't coming to the city that would be if say there was there was no giblet and they just did it anyway my question is do the taxpayers somehow then have to make up that difference of legit through other taxes no short answers no thank you very much okay thank you Council for Keating uh by square Adams yes as someone that worked at that facility for over a decade I'm really glad that we're going to be moving that that yard because um it's not healthy for our employees and I really appreciate the coyotes uh coming forward and and doing the abatement and having this uh property be uh appropriate for human living so thank you so much thank you vice mayor Adams councilmember Hodge okay I just want to alliterate because we do have some people on Facebook and Twitter trying to say that we are taking money for it so I want to say it again is the council I mean is the is the City of Tempe going to pay anything in taxes if they don't come and show up and Shop or buy a ticket at the arena is any taxes coming out of their pockets go ahead yeah yeah uh mayor council member Hodge um no no you if you buy a shirt downtown not a penny of that will go to the repayment of this debt if you buy a shirt in the district which is which is not developed yet a portion of that and the percentages I had will go can you tell everybody that did we get as Council get a dollar of this money you know I just want to make sure that it's known that we didn't take any money because that's what's going around right now same answer thank you thank you Council Raj uh Indiana council members further comments or questions for Tom sounds good Tom thank you so much appreciate it thank you all right Mr city manager are there any other staff presentations this evening yeah no I think everybody already spoke who was going to speak to the entitlement piece and uh and I believe that it was covered all by uh by Tom so okay sounds good thank you very much okay with that said I'm gonna now go back to item 2A to getting to the three votes it seems like council members have made all the comments they want to make on these specific items or to staff or to the developer and so I want to get back to the actual votes before I start though um I believe that council member Navarro might be in the queue as well these are funny mayor can you hear me yes I can sir wonderful okay perfect I just want to let you know I'm here excellent Wisconsin but I'm ready for the vote sounds good thank you councilman I appreciate it all right so I will move back then to item 2A which once again is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt a resolution authorizing a general plan projected land use map Amendment from commercial to mixed use for approximately 34.4 Acres a general plan projected density map Amendment from no density to high density Urban core which is more than 65 dwelling units per acre for approximately 34.4 acres to adopt an ordinance for a zoning map Amendment from R1 rsod and GID rsod uh g-i-o-d to mu4 rsod for approximately 46.26 acres and a planned area development overlay to establish development standards for Tempe Entertainment District located on 53 South Priest Drive consisting of varying Heights up to 129 feet uh 2100 dwelling units which I know Mr wood talked about now is up to 19.95 and Commercial consisting of a multi-purpose entertainment facility retail restaurant hotel and office uses the applicant is Snell and Wilmer once again just reminding the council that everyone in the audience and those watching at home that the resolution for the general plan amendment requires at least a two-third city council majority for passage and that would be at least five members of this governing body so with that said I want to see uh if there is a motion on item 2A it's been moved by vice mayor Adams and seconded by council member Hodge please vote mine is not working mine's not working on it okay all right let me do this really quickly then um do a quick refresh it should work okay so uh vice versa Adams voted I councilmember Hodge voted I uh councilmember Navarro also voted I and Council for Keating hi okay and that item passes seven to zero the let's see now go here yep going back to 2B yep um quick thing here okay so the second boat is the so just uh Madam City attorney just to make sure just one other vote which is the item to be yes mayor okay just wanted to make sure so and and don't worry Council I can do a roll call vote if things are not working so no worries on that so once again uh the last item under the section is 2b which is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt an ordinance there's actually two votes on 2A one was for the resolution which we've passed now with the second portion is for the ordinance related to 2A ah yes okay so okay so let's go ahead and take that boat as well give you one second here laughs it's been moved by vice mayor Adams do I have a second by councilmember Keating uh I'll just go ahead and take a roll call vote councilmember brevar council member for davar aye Council for chin counselor for Garland vice mayor Adams councilmember Keating yes councilmember Hodge aye and I vote I as well that item passes unanimously seven to zero now moving on to 2B thank you madam clerk for catching that that last item once again is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt an ordinance authorizing the mayor to execute a development and disposition agreement with Bluebird Development LLC a Delaware limited liability company for the project known as the Tempe Entertainment District located at the northeast corner of Priest Drive in Rio Salado Parkway in Tempe that also establishes policy regarding referenda involving professional sports franchises so I guess I will look to council to see if there's a motion and obviously if people want to make comments after the Motions of the floor they can or we can just vote it's been moved by Council for Keating seconded by vice mayor Adams uh any comments from Council councilmember chin thank you mayor um just a comment about the process we've heard a lot tonight we've heard a lot for the last uh I have for the last five six months that I've been on Council I want to reassure our residents and our community stakeholders that we heard you we heard your questions we heard your input and we asked your questions and we asked our questions ad nausea and we we looked over the details I'd like to extend my appreciation and public thanks to some people that put a lot of work to get us here tonight I'd like to publicly thank the following City staff Sonya Blaine Donna Kennedy Carla Reese Jeff Tammy levitch and Tom dunsing and their respective team members they spent considerable time and energy to make sure that deadlines were met so that our community members had the information to review they analyzed they debated and they sweat over all of the details and they helped me and for that I'm forever grateful they helped me learn a lot about a very big deal and at every moment their concern was about Tempe about our community and what was best for our community so I am so very proud to work with all of you thank you thank you councilmember chin councilmember Garland thank you mayor so earlier this summer our Council voted to move the Entertainment District RFP forward and there were two votes in opposition and one of them was mine at that time I had several concerns about this project one of them was some Financial viability a 30-year abatement of taxes a partnership with this particular organization and if it was the right fit for all of our residents in Tempe over the past few months of doing research getting our staff presentations working with staff and having a third party look into the finances of the Murillo group I am now comfortable with all but one of my original issues well I've still got some reservations about this being the best fit for our last large chunk of city-owned land it makes sense for us to give the residents of Tempe the opportunity to weigh in with their vote if their votes say this is a good fit then I fully support it and I will look forward to a great future with the Morello group if the votes say they don't I will be working to find another solution that creates an equally compelling opportunity for our city and that's let's say thank you thank you councilman Garland councilmember Hodge thank you I just want to Echo my counselors I want to thank the staff and I was the newest council member coming on councilmember chin did had a year on me before so um we couldn't have done it without you you guys took the energy the time to explain to understand to help me to get where I'm at and I was the farthest away from it because I was the newest so I just want to thank everybody that was involved in it I want to thank all of our constituents as we said we have listened to our because we have listened to the questions concerns we brought we brought them to the table I want to thank the coyotes Foundation the co-finalist group because every time that we have had those hard 12 questions they have been willing to answer those questions for us and they've given me the satisfaction that is you know that if our constituents want this I think it's going to be a great project for them I will be fully supporting it if our constituents wanted and as like Council Garland said if they seem not to want it then we will be looking towards something else that we can put there but um I just have very much in good faith that our constituents of Tempe will do what's best for that area and I just want to thank everyone and explain why I kind of said what I said earlier the reason why I say that is because I don't want our Council we have worked so hard and I don't want a dim light to look on it that we took something or we didn't we we stepped across it or we didn't put dot our eyes across our teeth this was a hard process this has been the hardest process I came in in the midst of it and it's been nothing but step by step by step in our city staff has took us they grabbed Us by the hand and it took us step by step to step to get to tonight and I'm just so honored and proud to be able to work along with these people so thank you so much for that sounds good thank you councilmember councilmer Keating thank you mayor um councilmember chin had the word of the night with ad nauseam as far as as the robustness of this process um you know really the coyotes have been sniffing around Tempe for six years in in one form or another and me and councilman member Navarro were here you know the whole time for that and to see this deal go from well besides the skateboarding yes all right um you know to see that this process move forward and how robust it was and how much staff worked on this um you know there was because membership named only a handful but really it was kind of a city-wide staff effort to get the deal to the point where it is where we are comfortable enough to have a 7-0 vote on this deal and we're going to give it to the the voters of the City of Tempe to ratify having been through two elections but having worked on countless others in this city I've known the City of Tempe voters to be thoughtful analytical passionate and thorough I have no doubt that the people of Tempe once they look at this deal and they're able to read it all in black and white and they're able to get the facts straight from the city not from a politician not from the coyotes not from some forwarded email from your crazy uncle they'll make the best decision for the city that they live in and I'm proud of that process mayor I'm proud that the coyotes have not only agreed to put this to a public vote but are taking it upon themselves to refer it to the ballot there's been a lot of talk about transparency through this process in my excuse seven years now on this body no process has been more robust more grueling um I can't tell you how many executive sessions we've had over this maybe 30 how many public meetings we've had over this it's been it's been quite a ride if I if I could sit still for more than five minutes outside of a city council meeting I'd probably write a book on it someday instead I'll hire a ghost writer I'm proud of this process I'm proud of my colleagues this was divisive um but you know we managed to get through it together we managed to find Common Ground we managed to come up with a solution that will make everybody happy so I'm proud of everybody the citizens of Tempe whether you're for or against it thank you for participating in this process I look forward to the election and as I said earlier I have no doubt that the people of Tempe will do what's best for this city because every data point I have on that shows that they they are fully capable and willing to do that so thank you very much Mr Mayor thank you coyotes thank you staff thank you members of the public thank you councilmember Keating any other comments vice mayor Adams ditto to what uh council member Keating said he took my thunder but it's all good I'm glad to share it with you so uh yeah I just I really appreciate all the staff I know you've worked just just countless hours and we've been through it in trenches and until almost midnight for e-sessions over and over and over again and I'm just happy to move this forward so um thanks to everyone that participated in thanks to the coyotes for agreeing to give us a chance thank you vice mayor Adams uh councilmember Navarro thank you mayor yeah I think a lot of it's been said tonight um uh councilman Chen she said you know a great deal recognizing the staff and the staff did a tremendous job um and the coyotes did too it was a real process a true process we've uh been doing this for it seems like two years now you know trying to figure out this this this this deal and how we can make things happen and longer before that I would imagine too with other opportunities that just never worked out but at the end of the day I think we found the best and highest use for that piece of property hands down I think our community is going to be able to have an opportunity to understand it even further and I have to tell you the community process was was tremendous um in my 14 years on Council this has been one of the most uh transparent processes I've seen with questions and answers and and trying to understand the concepts of this deal and and where it's at and how it benefits our community and or how it might affect our community I think all that's there laid out but uh I also want to make sure that we're thinking um a former mayor Hugh Hallman who actually really helped us out uh through this process in his time um and also want to recognize other Mayors Mayor Bill Giuliano and his support in this process too I think really when I say that stuff I recognize the Mayors and councils of the past what they did to make the downtown what it is today to make the lake what it is today the fact that we're adding a piece in my opinion that is going to truly transform but not really transformed but actually just really kind of get that into the the West End of the lake that connection that we've been dying to have and I think this opportunity to have this deal and the placement of this deal where it's located at is going to be tremendous for families to come and the fact that we're going to have the ability to have such quality entertainment in our city so I just want to thank everyone um there's been a tireless process and I just wanted to say that I appreciate everybody's time and effort into this and um it's truly noted thank you thank you councilman Navarro and I guess that leaves me so I'll try to make this very brief because a couple of council members talked about you know getting their Thunder stolen but it's always challenging when you have to go last after the six of the people have talked so uh so I'll be brief here so I I've been sitting up here in some capacity for about 10 and a half years now I as as a council member for eight years and this mayor for almost two and a half and I can tell you that there has never been a project that I've been involved in as a member of this governing body where there's been this much due diligence done literally every couch cushion looked under every stone you know turned over to see exactly what was going on because we had a lot of questions from our residents we as the council had questions but a lot of our constituents and business owners also had questions and we felt it was important as a council to make sure that we investigated all of those in a thoughtful and thorough fashion uh and so I'm very proud as a lot of our council members have said of the work that our staff has done and some of the other folks that we've brought in to help us work on this uh it is a tremendously heavy lift to work on a 2.1 billion dollar deal on the as councilmember Garland talked about the last sort of large chunk of land 46 contiguous acres in the city uh it's a tremendously heavy lift while our staff still has to do everything else from providing Public Safety to working on issues pertaining to unsheltered homelessness affordable housing transportation and other Economic Development needs but frankly they do the job incredibly each and every day with such an amazing amount of Grace uh they did all of this and still performed all of their other job responsibilities and kept the city moving forward in a positive fashion each and every day and as every one of my colleagues said I can't thank them enough for all of their work it really has been tremendous uh I also wanted to say too the reality is you know the vote this evening will give the residents in this city an unprecedented opportunity to weigh in and let them let us know what their feelings are about this I truly do believe at this point and I and I've looked at this for quite some time it is councilman Garland talked about we've all had a lot of questions along the way and I don't actually think that Javier would mind me sharing this story because I mean he and I met you know probably two or three times and it was probably a point uh in our conversations where I think he looked at the 80s said because of my I tend to what I'm negotiating deals because I've been doing this for such a long time now I don't really show a lot of emotion what I'm actually talking to people I'm just trying to process everything and trying to understand I'm trying to ask thoughtful questions and at one point I think he said to me you know mayor what do I have to do to actually get you excited about this and I said well it's not that I'm not excited it's just that I'm trying to make sure that I'm understanding every piece and every element of the deal because this is arguably the biggest vote I will have to take during my time sitting up here but I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to uh you know have these conversations with you and to sort of understand this on my own timeline and ask whatever questions I need to ask of you or your team as well as members of our staff and it so I said it was not about you know a lack of excitement on my end it's just I've seen many deals come and I've seen many deals go and so many times I can't really get excited about something until I get kind of close to the end sort of that you know five yard line to unfortunately bring it another Sports metaphor so I apologize for that um but the reality is you know after looking at this for a long time uh and looking at all the due diligence our staff and all of the outside counsel and people who've worked on this have done my perspective really is what has been put together here is the best entertainment slash Arena deal that's been put together in the history of this state when you look at talking about one 2.1 billion dollars minimum of economic investment in the city 1.9 billion dollars of private financing and all of the protections that are built into this process because that's been one of the major questions that I've been asked for many residents is what protections do we have and what backstops do we have if something doesn't go exactly the way that you plan it and I think Mr dunsing you know gave a great presentation not only on the 22nd but also tonight about all the work that he and his team and our legal team and everyone else did to really ensure that there were protections built in for Tempe residents and taxpayers to make sure that this is a privately funded Arena deal and if for whatever reason the projections don't come back as we initially thought they would the reality is that will be recouped by up to six percent surcharge on the people within the Tempe Entertainment District or additional Community facilities District assessments it's not if you don't go and watch a game if you don't buy a hat or a jersey in the Tempe Entertainment District if you don't dine at one of the restaurants if you don't stay in the apartments if you don't go to the hotel you're not going to be paying for it it's going to be entirely privately financed and it's going to be the people who actually want to enjoy this opportunity with the Tempe Entertainment District that are going to be footing the bill for the experience I think when you look at all of that and with the 203 pages of materials that we've already released including a Cliffs notes version there will be more information coming out in the next few days uh people I think will look at this and as they pull it apart I think they will realize what's been structured and put together by our team here really is the best arena deal in the history of the State of Arizona and at the end of the day though we trust our voters to make this decision and when we talked about this at the November 10th meeting about talking to Maricopa County elections about reserving a date uh the reality was the database 16th was something that was done for the purpose of making sure that our voters are actually going to be here to actively take part in the election our City elections by Charter are held in March and May so our residents are used to voting for mayor and Council school bond you know all types of Elections frankly in March and May so it's very consistent with what we've done for pretty much every election in this City's history with the exception of one and so the other thing is when you talk about a May 16th election voters basically get their ballots about 30 days before uh they actually and so they actually have an opportunity to really review and study the issues and make a thoughtful decision kids are in school here until the end of May so families will be here people will be around Tempe they will be actively involved and engaged and will have the opportunity to really thoughtfully study this issue and make a determination that they think is in the best interest of the city and both the way that they like and also inform their friends and family and fellow Neighbors about what they think the right thing is and so I think that is the right decision when it comes to public transparency not to mention the fact that if this does pass this evening uh the reality is people are going to have from now November 29th all the way up until the middle of April of 2023 along with the weeks after that to really kick the tires and take a look at the 203 pages of documents that the city's released and make that determination for yourself uh but I really do believe when you take a look at it and peel back all the layers and look at everything you're going to find something that really is a great deal on behalf of the residents of the City of Tempe and I am truly proud of that and I will say as councilman Keating talked about before I close uh I I am very proud of all my colleagues in this situation um you know for people who have said the only criticism that I'll address is for people who have said well you know this was already predetermined and you guys already knew what you were going to do beforehand the fact of the matter is anyone who understands anything about the heires and open meeting law and the inability to create quorums knows we can't get together and have conversations about these things outside of here and determine exactly which way we're going to go and for the executive sessions that even councilmember Keating talked about that we were a part of uh there were loads of disagreement payments and we all know from sitting in those rooms there was not uniformity in terms of thought there wasn't grouping going on there were lots of tough questions and even some heated debates and arguments at times about you know specific aspects and details of this proposal so the fact of the matter is I think that this process has been done consistent with what we have always done in the city in an open transparent and fair way and I do believe the residents wanted the opportunity to be able to vote on this and I and the last thing I'll say too is that you know one of the other things that I've heard from people saying well the the challenge is there's going to be a lot of money potentially spent on an election there'll be a lot of PR and a lot of marketing our residents every couple of years get an opportunity to vote not just for mayor and Council but to vote for a school board governing board members they get to vote for legislators in Congress and U.S senator and president there's a lot of money spent there are a lot of digital ads and signs and mail pieces that are sent out on a regular basis and voters are able to distill it down and make the decision that they think is is in their best interest to move their community and frankly our nation forward and I and I give our residents a ton of credit and I know they have the ability to look at all of this and make the decision that they think is in the best interest of the City of Tempe but I think this is a good deal and I will be supporting this this evening with that said um please vote oh okay councilor Boulevard aye Council councilman councilmember Garland aye vice mayor Adams councilman Keating yes councilmember Hodge aye and I vote I as well that item passes unanimously seven to zero one other quick thing I'll just say so just as a note for everybody uh inclusion of the three items on a future special election ballot would require bluebird bluebird and or any other interested parties to submit the required number of qualifying petition signatures to be certified by the Maricopa County elections department and deem sufficient by the Tempe city clerk Tempe voters would then decide whether or not the project should move forward that election date has already been set for May 16 2023.

so I just wanted to make sure that I I put that out there for once again full transparency perspective with that said I want to thank everyone for hanging in there with us tonight uh and really appreciate it I hope you all have a great rescue week we are adjourned at 9 54 pm thank you [Applause]