Tempe Council Unanimously Rescinds Parks Ordinance Following Successful Referendum Campaign

All right, good evening everyone. Welcome to the Tempe City Council regular council meeting on Tuesday, September 2nd. The time is now officially 6 pm. Just as a note, uh council meetings can be watched live on CoxCable channel 11 and at tempe.gov/temp1 and virtually through Microsoft Teams as you are this evening. Just a couple of quick notes here regarding item 888.

If you submitted an electronic speaker card to speak on item 888, discussion and possible reconsideration regarding the July 1st, 2025 vote on ordinance number 02025.25, which was amusements and parks and recreation code amendments. Please note that public comment will take place after council and staff discussions on that item, which will be moved up in the agenda to be considered immediately after we get done with city manager announcements.

Also just want to note too that speakers will be called in the order in which speaker cards were received and will state their name and city of residence for the record. Also regarding public appearances, which is item number six, if you submitted an electronic speaker card to speak on a matter that's not on tonight's agenda, you will be recognized in the order in which your card was received during the public appearances portion of the meeting.

Just as a note too, if you speak on an agenda item during public appearances, that will be your only opportunity to speak on that topic. You may not speak again when the scheduled item comes up later in the meeting. Also, instructions for public speakers this evening. For members of the public who did not have the opportunity to submit an electronic speaker card in advance, you may still sign up now to speak on an agenda item.

To get into the speaker queue, please follow the instructions on the slide that we're going to display. So, if we can put that slide up one moment, Mr. Mayor, I'm working on that. Sounds good. Thank you. I apologize. There's a very loud dog barking outside uh my place right now. So, my apologies if anyone can can hear that online. Mr. Mayor, I apologize. some technical issues. Which slide did you want to see? Uh, so basically about how people can get into the speaker queue.

I can I can read this while you're looking for it. Uh, if you visit Apologies, I don't actually have a slide that has that information on it. Okay. Well, I'm then I will go ahead and read this for the folks who are watching in attendance. Uh, so if you visit www.temp.gov/countscomment. So once again, www.temp.gov/countselcomment GV/countsilcomment and complete the electronic speaker card and select the first option. Uh I will be attending the meeting virtually to personally comment.

When it's your turn to speak, I will call your name. You will be then given the ability to unmute your microphone and you'll have up to three minutes to address the city council. A countdown timer will be visible on the screen to help you keep track of your time. For tonight's meeting, we kindly ask that you submit your card no later than 6:15 p.m. So, 12 minutes from now or 11 minutes from now to ensure the smooth operation of this virtual meeting.

Please note that uh when Microsoft Teams, which is the vehicle that we're using for tonight's meeting, the handra function is not monitored during city council meetings as it is not practical for staff to manage that while trying to run the meeting at the same time. Submitting the electronic speaker card at once again www.temp.go GV/countsilcomment is the best way to guarantee your place in the speaker queue.

So, I'd now like to invite everyone to join me in a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance. Thank you. Next up, item number three, the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Tonight's agenda has a number of items that the city council must consider in order to conduct city business.

We will now play a video with the proper protocol for ensuring the appropriate conduct at city council meetings. One moment, Mr. Mayor. Chase. Jason. Jason. Yeah, Mr. Mayor. Uh, apologies for that. Would you like me to play that again with audio? We had some technical difficulties there. Yeah. And if if not, I will just simply read it. So, um, so let's So, yeah, let's play that. At this point, it it may be Okay, give me just a moment, please. Okay. Thank you.

The city of Tempe welcomes public comment at this time. Disruptive behavior will not be allowed. Continued disruptive behavior will lead to removal from the council chambers. We need to be able to hear everyone in the room. Behavior that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of any city council meeting is not helpful and is not permitted. This includes behavior both inside and outside of the council chambers.

Should individuals inside the council chambers become disruptive so that city business is not able to be conducted, the mayor will first ask that the individuals allow city business to be completed. There will be time for public comment during the call to the audience portion of the meeting. If no cooperation, the mayor will issue a verbal warning and let them know that the continued disruptive behavior will lead to removal from the council chambers.

If there is still no cooperation, the mayor will issue a second verbal warning and let them know that the continued disruptive behavior will lead to removal from the council chambers. If there is no cooperation after asking and two verbal warnings, then the mayor will ask security officers to remove only those individuals who are causing the disruption. Security personnel should not engage in any way, but only escort them from the council chambers.

If individuals refuse to leave, security personnel shall warn them that they are trespassing and that the next step will be arrest by a Tempe police officer. Tempe officers may have to arrest if individuals refuse to leave. Charges for trespass and disorderly conduct may apply as well as other charges. Should anyone be asked to be removed, the mayor will recess the meeting. Thank you very much. We're now going to play a video conveying the city of Tempee's native land acknowledgement statement.

We wish to acknowledge that Tempe is the homeland of the native people who have inhabited this landscape since time immemorial. These ancestral lands of the AAM known as Puma Peiposh known as the Maricopa and their ancestors extend far beyond our city. This land continues to be spiritually connected to the aam of the Salt River Puma Maricopa Indian Community and Hila River Indian Community.

We accept the responsibility of stewarding those places and solemnly pledge to consider this commitment in every action. Excellent. We're now going to move forward to item number four, which are meeting minutes. And tonight I'll be assisted by Vice Mayor Garland. Thank you, Mayor. I would like to um make a motion to um approve the city council meeting minutes in item a 4 A1. It's been moved by Vice Mayor Garland. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Council Member Hajj.

Uh for the ease of this, I'm just going to do a roll call vote based on where I see you in my screen. Uh Council Member Amber I. Council member Chin I. Council member Abs I. Vice Mayor Garland I. Council member Hajj I. And I vote I as well. That item passes six to zero with council member Keading absent. Next up item 4B, acceptance of board commission and committee meeting minutes. Vice Mayor Garland. Thank you, Mayor.

I move to accept the board commission and committee meeting minutes in items 4B1 through 4B14. Okay. It's been moved by Vice Mayor Garland. Do I have a second? Second. I think that was who was it? It was a second. Council member Amber. Yes. No, it was me. It was Adams. Okay. No, it was Hodgej. That was It was Hodgej. Wow. Okay. Sounds good. I heard a couple of voice. I heard a couple of voices at the same time. So, I'm totally flexible on it. It's all good. We're right back in 2020.

So, u So, I'm going to say this. It's been moved by Vice Mayor Garland and seconded by Council Member Hajj. Once again, I'll call for a roll call. Council member Amber I. Council member Chin I. Council member Adams I. Vice Mayor Garland I. Council member Hodgej I. And I vote I as well. That item passes six to zero with Council Member Keating absent. Next up item five, reports and announcements. Item 5A1 is the recognition of career ready intern Grace Wombacher.

This item is actually going to be continued to another regular council meeting date to be determined, but we want to make sure that we recognize Grace here, but we will do a proper recognition of her at an upcoming meeting. Next up, item 52, the Mayor's Youth Advisory Commission appointments for the 2025 2026 school year. I just want to note too uh these appointments are outlined in item 7A1 on this evening's consent agenda which the council will vote on immediately following my announcements.

But I want to make sure that I can actually read out here the names of the people who are the commissioners and it's unfortunate they were at the last meeting on Thursday. Um and they were they were going to be sworn in in person. So we're going to go ahead and do this virtually though. Um so I want to first uh introduce here from Corona del Soul High School. Shajjuti Islam. Also from Xavier College Preparatory, Michaela Schmall from Coronadel Soul High School, Shinathi Shri Sharia.

Next up from Coronadel High School, Nathan Brawn. Uh also from Mcccleintoch High School, Margaret Casease. from also from Mcccleintoch High School, Zoe Ackley. From Brophy College Preparatory, Charles Chen from Tempe Preparatory Academy, Emma Han from Tempe High School, Adeline Schlemer, and from Coronadel Soul High School, Prop Suresh. Please all kind of in your own way virtually give those wonderful young students a round of applause.

and we appreciate all of our MYAT commissioners for taking part in this activity with the city. So now uh let's see, I'd like to move with the support of the city council, I'd like to see if we could get a motion on item 7A1 to approve 10 new appointments to the city of Tempy's mayor's youth advisory commission. So moved. Uh it looks like it was moved by council member Hajj and seconded by council member Chin. Uh once again, I'm going to go ahead and call for a roll call vote.

Council member Amber. Council member Chin. I. Council member Adams. I. Vice Mayor Garland. I. Council member Hajj. I. And I vote I as well. Uh that item passes five to zero with council member. So Oh, you're back. Ah, okay. Perfect. Then that item passes six to zero with council member Keading absent. Thank you, Council Member Anberg. Just want to also note too that all commissioners will complete their oath of office forms and then file them with the city clerk's office.

So once again, congratulations to our new commissioners. Next up, item 5A. Three, appointments to the Family Justice Commission, Veterans Commission, and Public Safety Personnel Retirement System.

I want to congratulate the following individuals on their new appointments to the Family Justice Commission, which is Assistant Chief Dne Sorenson from the Tempe Police Department, the Veterans Commission, uh, Dylan McDade, who's an atlarge Tempy resident, and the fire and police public safety personnel retirement system boards, and that would be Lori Messer. All of these appointments are detailed in agenda item 782. And so to each of you, thank you for your commitment and your service.

Your contributions help shape the future of our great city. That are those are all of my announcements for this evening. Next up, I'm going to turn to our city manager for for item 5B, city manager reports and announcements. But can I also just note too uh madam city manager? I wanted to say congratulations on the birth of your new grandchild before you actually continue with your announcements. Thank you, mayor. We are pretty excited.

Um Auggie Dean Camperry was born 8 lb 6 o and now Sam has a little brother. So thank you. Yeah, very excited here. So good evening, mayor. I uh for the time that I that I'm yielded um for this meeting, I thought it would be appropriate in light of the incident last Thursday to ask assistant chief uh Swig to provide an update to the mayor and council and the community. Um Assistant Chief Swig, are you on? Yes, I am. Thank you, Madam City Manager. Can you hear me? Thank you. Yes. Perfect.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor, council members, and community members. Last Thursday, just before 6 p.m., our department was alerted to a threat made on social media against those attending the Tempe City Council meeting. No matter the source, online, by phone, in person, or otherwise, we treat every threat with the utmost seriousness. After evaluating this one, we determined it to be credible. Out of abundance of caution, the in-person meeting was cancelled.

Officers assisted approximately 75 community members in safely leaving the council chambers and then secured the area. There is no meeting or event that outweighs the safety of our community. In today's charge environment, vigilance and precaution are essential. The Tempe Police Department's criminal investigations bureau is actively investigating this case.

because it is ongoing, we cannot release additional details at this time, but we are committed to a thorough and professional investigation. We are also conducting a review of security procedures at Tempe City Hall and council chambers. Until that review is complete, and we are confident in the safety of these spaces, we are recommending that city council meetings be held virtually. Our responsibility is clear to safeguard the people of Tempe.

That was our priority on August 28th and will remain our priority every day. Thank you, Madam City Manager. Thank you, Chief Mayor. That is all we have for this evening. Thank you, Madam City Manager, and thank you, Assistant Chief Swig, as well. Greatly appreciate it.

Next up, I want to now uh move an item up here um that I know was the reason that most people were here for the August 28th meeting and it's probably the reason that the majority of people are logged in this evening uh to make sure that people are not waiting uh long to get to this item which is item 888. Uh which is now it's under miscellaneous items, bids, contracts, and resolutions.

Uh this item actually reads discussion and possible reconsideration regarding July 1st, 2025 vote to adopt ordinance number 02025.25 amending the Tempe City Code Chapter 5 relating to amusements and by amending chapter 23 relating to parks and recreation. I also need to note to uh rule 21 of the city council rules of procedure for reconsideration of decisions because this is not a very common thing that happens in front of this governing body after the decision on any question.

So that was after the decision of anything that happened back on um the during the previous council meeting on July 1st. Any council member who voted with the prevailing side may move for reconsideration of any action at the same or at the next succeeding meeting. Provided, however, a resolution authorizing or relating to any contract may be reconsidered at any time before the final execution thereof.

A motion to reconsider shall require a twothirds vote of all council members, whether present or not, not disqualified from voting by an actual conflict of interest or who abstain from voting due to a potential conflict of interest, but in no le no event by less than four affirmative votes. So what that means in actual sort of English is that it would take five votes by the council to actually formally reconsider an item. That would constitute twothirds of the council.

The August 28th 20 28 2025 regular council meeting was to be the next succeeding meeting uh after the July 1st uh 2025 regular council meeting. But because that meeting had to be postponed, this September 2nd meeting would then be the next succeeding meeting after that July 1st, 2025 meeting. All members of council voted in favor of ordinance number 02025.25. So, any council member could move for reconsideration of the vote.

Uh, if anyone is inclined, the suggested wording of the motion is as follows. Mayor, I move that the council reconsider its July 1st, 2025 vote in favor of ordinance number 02025.25 and now vote against the adoption of ordinance number 02025.25 25 with the intended result that ordinance number 02025.25 be withdrawn and of no further force or effect. So once again, the way we're going to do this this evening, I'm going to first turn to our city attorney, Eric Anderson, for some comments.

Uh I've got a brief statement afterwards. We are then going to go to the public comment for the folks who signed up for this item. and then I will turn to council member comments or a possible motion after that. So, first of all, we're going to go ahead and turn to our city attorney, uh, Mr. Eric Anderson. Uh, thank you. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Are you able to hear me? Okay. Yes, we can. Okay, I will proceed.

Uh, for convenience sake, I'm just going to refer to it as the ordinance um rather than uh the numbers.

Uh so just a brief recollection in um rehash of the events I in June of 2025 earlier this year uh there was litigation ongoing against the city and our office legal recommended that we move forward with consideration of an ordinance the ordinance in fact uh at that time because of the pending litigation that was in light of um several months some work on the ordinance and it kind of gave us a position where because of the status of litigation at that time we felt from the legal perspective that was the best procedure and we couldn't necessarily do some of the public outreach that the city might have ordinarily done.

Uh as you recall uh this council voted uh to adopt the ordinance at the July 1st July 2nd meeting after it was first introduced at the June meeting and then there was a referendum filed by a group interested. um that referendum petition uh did submit enough signatures and the court uh excuse me the clerk has certified those petition signatures so it will be subject to referendum. Just a quick comment on the legal effect that once the referendum uh was certified.

The legal effect is the ordinance itself will not become effective and can't become effective until such time as it were approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting in in the election that it was scheduled for. So our next scheduled election is March of 2026. um that'll include the candidate election, but this could be added as a special election item to have the Tempe voters vote on the ordinance.

I put this um matter on your agenda just to discuss where we are statuswise as well as give you the option for reconsideration as set forth in your council rules of procedure as you pointed out, mayor, in your opening statement there. Uh quick update on the litigation status. Um after the referendum was submitted uh we did speak with the um council for the uh plaintiffs in that litigation.

We discussed um proceeding in light of the referendum that was largely considered to be moot and now um through some discussions and ultimately court action that case is now dismissed. So the litigation status is that case is dismissed and therefore it gives us a little bit of a luxury of time because there are there isn't any litigation hanging over our head. So um in light of that I brought this item forward so this council could consider um how it wants to proceed.

Um there is no pending litigation at this time. we do have uh time um and whether or not we want to consider a I'll just also point out that the law is such that this council's legislative power is not taken away by the referendum. It just means that that particular ordinance uh would be referred to the voters. Um this council still has the power to um adopt different legislation.

So, I'm asking the council uh tonight to just discuss the next steps, whether you want to take a look at the uh vote in accordance with your rules of procedure or um any other direction you might want to give to staff. So, with that, mayor, I'm happy to entertain any questions that there might be or I'll also stand by if there's future questions. Thank you, Mr. City Attorney. Appreciate that. So, just a quick statement on my part regarding this.

So, I just want to say I I really do appreciate the background uh and the clear presentation of the options this council can consider tonight. So, I also appreciate of course how important this issue is to many of our residents, our business community, city staff, as well as of course my fellow council members. As such, we need to make sure that everyone feels safe and I mean everyone uh safe and welcome in Tempy's 50 neighborhood and community parks.

We need to preserve the quality of life for Tempe residents who live near the parks. And we need to protect the constitutional rights of our residents who use the parks as a place to gather. The drive to find the best solutions and to strike the proper balance among these competing interests is what led us to revise special events ordinance 5-2. Now, a year into that process, though, the challenge is we find ourselves no closer to a workable, worthy solution than we were a year ago.

But, as the city attorney did explain to us this evening, we do have some options. So, the first option is we don't have to do anything. We can wait until March and we can let the voters weigh in. The election result might stay our new ordinance, or it might return us back to the original ordinance, which was challenged in court once and surely would be challenged again. Our other options each involved taking action to resend the ordinance.

That's the or that's actually for me personally the approach that I favor. Uh, and I'd actually just like to explain why to the council and to the folks watching this meeting. So before council summer break, we passed that new special events ordinance because of the lawsuit that our city attorney, Eric Anderson, mentioned. We had a really tough decision that we had to make and we had to move very quickly. To me, public involvement really is missionritical.

It's also one of the things that the city of Tempe frankly does best. Last year, we actually had more than 100 neighborhood and public meetings on everything from the heat safety ordinance to street improvements.

I and the council I know went to dozens of those meetings and I can tell you in every instance the feedback that we got from residents and the full range of city stakeholders always makes the solutions better and gets more buyin from members of the public and I can tell you this happens every single time.

So, as the city attorney mentioned, now without the threat of litigation, we have the opportunity to take the time necessary to have important conversations about what we as a community want for our parks, for our events, and for our city as a whole. I really do think that it would give everyone a voice on this issue that's obviously of enormous importance, and it will mo most importantly create a better ordinance.

So, I personally would like to see us reconsider ordinance 02025.25 and ask our neighborhood services office to create a public improvement plan to discuss the creation of a potential new ordinance for our parks and special events. But with that, before we get to council member comments, as I promised before, we're going to go ahead and turn to the public comment uh on item 888. And I'm going to then once again take these in the order in which we receive them.

And the first speaker this evening is Bobby Nichols. And and and and for everyone, if you could please state your name and city of residence, you have three minutes. Good evening, Mayor and Council. My name is Bobby Nichols. I'm speaking today as a Tempe resident of 25 years, an ASU graduate, a local lawyer, and the legal author of the referendum that gathered nearly 5,000 signatures to protect our parks, our organizers, and our unhoused neighbors.

On July 1st, more than a hundred of us packed these chambers while the chambers that we were in July 1st uh to tell you how harmful the parks ordinance was. We expressed concern about how the language of the ordinance encouraged arbitrary enforcement and unequal standards. We spoke about how it created issues for the expression of free speech like how it would impact the protest put on by Tempe Rising Indivisible.

And we implored you to vote no because we know that cities across the valley lack the resources to sufficiently address issues of housing and homelessness and ordinances that target good Samaritans are not evidence-based answers to addressing the root causes of homelessness. The experience of watching you all unanimously vote in favor of the ordinance after hours and hours of public comment about how harmful it was drove community members to engage in this fight.

and our hard work collecting signatures in the brutal July heat has brought us to this point. We are now asking you, our elected leaders, to do your part in listening to the community. It's time for the city of Tempee, to engage with residents in good faith and complete transparency.

If the concern is isn't the political will to push back on anti-homeless rhetoric, let this referendum effort and the coalition of involved community groups assure you that will exists in Tempee and it isn't going anywhere anytime soon. When you are all ready to have a conversation about what an ordinance that meets the needs of the community looks like, my door is open. The ball is in your court.

Before I yield the rest of my time, I want to thank our coalition of comrades from the Phoenix Metro chapter of DSA, Arizona Asian-American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders for Equity Advocates, Tempe First, the Sharing Food is not a crime coalition, and the Young Democrats of Arizona at Arizona State University for standing up to defend our communities and our constitutional rights. This is what civil engagement looks like. This is what democracy looks like.

and I am so inspired by our success. Today we are protecting public event organizers. Tomorrow we will make Tempe affordable for everyone. Thank you very much. Next speaker I have in the queue is Mandy Everett. If you can please state your name and city of residence, you have three minutes. Hello. Um my name is Mandy Everett. I am a resident here in Tempee. I spoke at the last council meeting um urging you not to pass the ordinance. Um and to be completely honest, I have lost a little faith.

Um like any expectation that what I say here today is going to have an effect on your decision. But I I do hope you'll hear me out. Um but that honestly was part of the problem. I think at the July 1 meeting when you said that we're in the minority on this, it's because um the circles you were spending your time in might be donor circles or circles with people with time and resources to engage regularly and I don't really feel like you took the time to hear from your residents.

Um so we wound up doing it for you. Over 120 of us from a diverse coalition of organizations came together to brave the triple digit weather and spoke to thousands of Tempe residents. I personally collected signatures from over 160 residents, even with pay opposition trying to stop people from signing my petition for much of that time.

Um, I'm telling you this not because I want to brag or anything like that, but because that level of effort I don't feel should be necessary to having my voice as your constituent heard. Um, the best time to get community input so we can have an ordinance that meets the needs of all Tempy residents was before this was unanimously passed despite all of us who spoke out against it. But the next best time is now. And I want to thank you for considering repealing this ordinance now.

Um, and it is my hope that you will uh repeal it and going forward we can get something that actually works for all of us. So with that, I yield my time. Thank you. Thank you. The next speaker I have is Paul Joseph Sacko. Uh, and please state your name and city of residence. You have three minutes. Mr. Mayor. Yes. We do not see a Paul in the virtual audience. Okay. Uh, then in that case, I will move to our next speaker which is Dave Wells.

There there is a David, but I believe he's on the public appearances list. Okay. Um, is that is that David Dave Wells or David Sokowski? They are. Are you talking to me? Can you hear me? I'm sorry. Who's this? This is David Krenshaw. I I I'm just like I'm I'm not any of these people. So, okay. Okay. No, thank you. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Krenshaw. Appreciate you tuning in tonight. So, so, uh, Madam Clerk, I'll ask uh, is is D Mr. Dave Wells in the virtual audience this evening?

We do not see a Dave Wells in the audience. Okay. Okay. Then I'm gonna turn to uh the next speaker is Katherine Marggo Dorne. Is Katherine Margot Dorne in the virtual audience? Yes. And we enabled her mic. Oh, there we go. Hi. Hi, Miss Dorne. Could you please state your name and city of residence? You have three minutes. Yes, sir. Um I'm Katherine Dorne. I'm a Tempe resident. Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

Um like the previous two speakers, I urge you to please rescend this ordinance and rather than attempt to draft uh something with either similar intent or similar effect later, I'm ask I am asking you to please um stop the efforts to basically uh appease the nimiest crowd. Um, and please stop enforcing and implementing new regulations that basically criminalize the act of existing while homeless. Um, I know that you are under a lot of pressure.

I know that a lot of Tempe residents um have genuinely bought into the fear-mongering about homeless people. And although they themselves, the people afraid of their homeless neighbors, have shelter, have locked doors, have adequate food, water, AC, and fundamentally in every way are much safer on a regular basis than the homeless people they are terrified of.

the fear-mongering has been effective and um they really are pleading with you to save them from people who are much worse off and in much more dire straits than they are.

Um, I believe that the answer to this is public outreach and educating those people who are afraid of their homeless neighbors that they have been brainwashed, with all due respect to them, um, by abbleist and classist and antihomeless fear-mongering, and that if they would really like to do a service for their neighbors, themselves, and their community, they should advocate for higher taxes, especially for wealthier people and those who own more property.

um to fund more and better services to get people housing, get people city purchased food. Um but in the meantime, since I realize those resources do not currently exist for the city, the best that the city council can do is to cease the attacks on homeless people and instead prioritize their right to exist in public. any of us could become homeless. I am very aware of that personally. Um it has not happened yet to me. It may very well in the near future.

Homeless people have the right to exist in public especially when a city cannot provide them with housing in lie of living on the streets. Thank you so much for your time. Uh I yield the rest of my time. Sorry. Thank you. Appreciate it. The next speaker I have um madame clerk is Samuel. I don't have a last name here, just a first. We We do have a Samuel in the virtual audience, so we'll unmute him. Okay. Samuel, if you could please state your name and city of residence. You have three minutes.

Um yes. Um thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is Samuel Titlebelm. Um I am a um resident of Tempe. Um I live in North Tempe. I'm also a faculty member at ASU. Um, I was one of the folks in this coalition who was out there uh collecting signatures in the middle of the summer um in between writing grants and doing experiments and preparing for my next class because I think this is important.

I think that um democracy is important and I think that um first of all I want to thank you for um putting this on the item on the agenda and I do hope that the city council will vote to reconsider this ordinance.

Um I am a big believer in the fact that a politician can do things that you don't like as many time many many times and you should still congratulate them and praise them and say that you know it is good and right and helpful um if you do the right thing even if it's a little later than you would have liked.

So, um, thank you for reconsidering this ordinance, and I hope that the, um, product of the the campaign that this coalition has been running over the course of the summer helps you get a better sense of where the community is at, where your constituents are at, um, and what our needs are. And I also hope that it gives you the sense that um we are willing to work hard to help you get to where we as a community want to be.

Um, we are here to help craft um a new ordinance to craft other complimentary policies that can help with um homelessness in Tempe, that can help with uh protest in Tempe, that can help with all of these issues that we brought up during the consideration of this ordinance. But maybe the solution isn't to repeal the ordinance or not to repeal the ordin ordinance, but letting this be the start of a broader conversation um that we can engage with with the city on. So, thank you. Thank you.

And the last speaker I have at the queue this evening is Dylan Wild. Hello. Can you all hear me? Okay. Yes, Mr. Mr. W, if you could state your name and city of residence, you have three minutes. Right. Good evening, mayor and council. My name is Dylan Wild. I am a Tempe resident and the co-chair of the Phoenix Metro chapter of DSA. I would like first to share on behalf of Phoenix DSA our unequivocal condemnation of any and all threats to the safety of city council meetings.

These threats are not helpful and only serve to undermine our ability to come together and participate in our local democracy. Everybody, including the unhoused, deserve a safe city. Furthermore, we also condemn any and all racist remarks against the mayor and council members. This is not the kind of politics the hundreds of DSA members who live in Tempe try to champion.

When I was last before you, I spoke at length about our experience as an organization providing aid to the unhoused on a shoestring budget while also trying to navigate stepped up enforcement and expensive permits. It was also clear from our conversations with other or aid organizations in Tempe that permits were being denied to groups who sought to use them to assist the less fortunate in public spaces.

When council voted to approve the July 1st ordinance, DSA members decided unanimously to join forces with organizations like AAA and HHPI, Tempe First, and A Young Dems to launch an ambitious referendum campaign with the ultimate goal of repealing the ordinance. Our experience on the campaign is that the people of Tempe overwhelmingly support our cause. If this were not true, it would not have been possible for us to collect 4,500 signatures in the short period of one month.

Phoenix Metro DSA supports a repeal of the ordinance and would interpret such an action as a sign of good faith. We too are committed to engaging in good faith. It is time to invite those of us who have been impacted by these policies to come to come together with council to draft an ordinance that protects freedom of speech, assembly, and the ability to provide aid in public spaces.

Furthermore, we are confident that Bobby Nichols has the experience and credibility in the community to mend the damaged relationship between council and organizations like ours. He has the vision and the knowhow to unify the community in this challenging moment and get things done. DSA trust him. DSA members trust him to speak with us and for us on this important issue.

We're optimistic that by coming together with local government, we can restore these damaged relationships and once again share a positive vision for Tempe. Thank you, mayor and council. Should you wish to meet, our door is open. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Uh, our clerk has also indicated to me that there are no other cards this evening on that item. Uh, I do know that I got a note here from uh, Council Member Chin as well, uh, who's had a comment.

Thank you, Mayor. Well, in light of the updates this evening on the lawsuit and now that the lawsuit has been dismissed, it seems that we are now afforded an opportunity to expand resident input. So, with that, I'd like to submit a motion and then depending on the out the outcome of the motion, I may have some requests for staff. Okay. So, I took some notes as you were speaking. So, let me let me get this right.

I move that the council reconsider its July 1st, 2025 vote in favor of ordinance 02025.25. And now vote against the adoption of 02025.25 with the intended result that the ordinance be withdrawn and be voided. I'll second that motion. Mayor. Okay. Thank you very much. It's been moved by Council Member Chin uh to reconsider the ordinance and it's been seconded by Vice Mayor Garland. Uh any other comments by council. Mayor, I'd just like to um add on to what um Council Member Chin just said.

I agree since we don't have the urgency any longer. I'm looking forward to the the extended community outreach and I also look forward to um continuing the discussion on this ordinance and the reasons why um and you know any parks and special events ordinance um that we bring back in the future with updates and uh community input. So I appreciate the time. Thank you. Sounds good. Thank you uh Vice Mayor Garland. Uh Council Member Amber. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I too want to echo that.

I am very glad that uh we've now got the time to send this back through the normal ordinance process and that we're going to get a bunch of feedback before it comes back to us. Um I'm sorry it's those are actually my dogs that you hear in the background, all five of them.

Um, as somebody that has utilized the parks a lot in the last 15 uh to 16 years with my kids, sports uh with a bunch of fundraisers that I've done, I'm adam I am intimately involved in what goes uh through getting these permits. So, I'm very excited that we're going to have a second chance at this. Mayor, thank you, Council. Uh, Council Hodge, yes, I echo my other council members and you on this.

I do believe that um it should be heard by all um everyone in the community because I don't think that um even I agree what they said. I don't think that everybody got a chance to weigh in on it. I also believe that also the education community has came to me and said they didn't get a chance to weigh in and on it also and they would like that chance too.

So I think it's good that we're going to bring it back and let everybody every single person in Tempi who wants to weigh on it get a chance to weigh on it. Thank you. Thank you very much. Uh, anyone else from council? Anything? Okay. Hearing none, just want to note uh that there was a motion on the floor by council member Chin uh to and once again I can read the um I can read what you said.

I believe council member Chin that you moved that the council reconsider the July it's July 1st 2025 vote in favor of ordinance number 02025.25 25. And now vote against the adoption of ordinance number 00 uh O2025.25 with the intended result that ordinance number 02025.25 be withdrawn and of no further force or effect. That motion was made by council member Chin and it was seconded by Vice Mayor Garland.

Uh, hearing no other comments from council, I will once again take a roll call vote in and from where I can see people here. So, um, council member Amber I. Council member Hajj I. Council member Chin I. Vice Mayor Garland I. Is council member Adams there? Yes. I Okay. And I vote I as well. Uh that item passes six to zero with council member Keading absent which means it does clear the 2/3 threshold. So that ordinance is now rescended. That brings me to item number six, public appearances.

According to the Arizona open meeting law, the city council may only discuss, respond to, or take action on matters listed on this agenda for discussion and legal action. The purpose of the open call to the public is to allow individuals to address the city council on any issue within its jurisdiction. No person shall speak more than once and comments are limited to three minutes per speaker. To allow all members of the public a reasonable opportunity to speak.

If there are a large number of requests, I may limit speaking time to less than three minutes. Speakers will be called in order in which the speaker cards were received. Each speaker must state their name and city of residence for the record before beginning their remarks. Visual aids, phone callins, and pre-recorded comments are not allowed.

Members of the public are asked to refrain from making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks or from becoming boisterous while uh while while addressing the city council or while attending virtually. The city council is prohibited by state law from discussing, responding to, or taking action on matters raised during the call to the public unless the subject is listed as a specific agenda item.

However, individual members of the council may respond to criticism, ask staff to review a matter, or request that an item be placed on a future agenda. Once again, this portion of the meeting is reserved for those wishing to speak on matters within the jurisdiction of the city council that are not listed elsewhere on tonight's agenda for discussion or legal action. If you speak now about a topic that appears on the agenda, this will be your only opportunity to speak on that item.

I should also note as well, I forgot to read this portion here. Um, just wanted to take a moment before we start also to address campaign related activity, especially as we are now in the 2026 election season. City council meetings are open to the public and are a vital forum for civic engagement. We welcome all individuals, including candidates, to speak on matters of public concern during the public comment portion of the meeting.

However, because this is an official city council meeting that is both televised and live streamed using city resources, we ask all candidates, including any current council members, to refrain from electioneering or campaign related activity while participating in this meeting. That means no discussing your candidacy, asking for votes of signatures, or displaying campaign material such as signs, t-shirts, or literature while speaking.

Thank you again for helping us to maintain the integrity and neutrality of our public meetings. With that, I will go ahead and start the public appearances section in the order in which I received the comments. And first up, I have Anelie Swami. Uh, Madam Clerk, is is Anelie in the audience this evening? Yes, she is. And we did allow her to unmute herself. Okay. Uh, Miss Wami, can you hear me? Oh, can you hear me? Yes. Yes.

Please state, please state your name and city of residence, you have three minutes. Uh, respected mayor and members of the city council, I speak to you today as a proud member of the American Hindu community in Arizona. And as someone who cherishes both the values of our great nation and the bonds of friendship between the United States and India, our community is heartbroken by the horrific attack that took place in Minneapolis last week.

Two innocent children were killed and two more are in critical condition. The attackers manifesto and paraphernelia glorified radical Islam in the September 11 hijacker Muhammad Ata and called for destruction of Israel and India. A similar attack was carried out by a radical Islamist in Pahelgam, India on April 22nd, 2025.

This brutal and cowardly act took the lives of 26 innocent Hindus, wounded many more, and devastated families and communities, not only in India, but among the Indian diaspora here in the United States. We urge you to stand with us in unequivocally condemning the senseless act of terror and expressing solidarity with the victims, their families, and the people. We remember the horrors of September 11, 2001, when terror struck the heart of America.

We recall the October 2023 Hamas massacre on Israel, where innocent civilians were targeted with cruality and hate. We see monthly attacks across Europe from Paris to Brussels to London. All remind us that terrorism is not bound by borders. It is a global threat. So we must ask, is the United States truly safe and free from terror? As long as terrorism thrives anywhere fueled by extremist ideologies, crossber support and state sponsored actors, no democracy is completely secure.

This is why we call on you not just to denounce the Minneapolis attack and the Pelgam attack, but to help lead a united front among the world's democracy. We must stand together. The United States, India, Israel, Europe, and other freedomloving nations to confront terrorism in all its forms, wherever it arises. This means cutting off funding, dismantling networks, holding enablers accountable, and speaking out against their ideological extremism without fear or favor.

India as a sovereign democracy and close ally of the United States must have the right to defend its people just as America would. It is well documented that many of these attacks are planned and launched from across India's border with Pakistan. Addressing crossber terrorism is not just a regional necessity. It is a global imperative. We respectfully urge this body to raise its voice not only for the victims of behelgam but for all victims of terrorism past present.

Let us reaffirm a simple powerful principle. There can be no tolerance for terrorism anywhere under any justification or by any state or group that enables shelters or sponsors it. In unity, our voices can send the message that is louder than hate. a message of peace, justice, and an unshakable commitment to I'm sorry that's time. So, thank thank you. Okay, the next speaker I have in the queue is Mario Martinez. Please state your name and city of residence. You have three minutes.

Can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you, Mr. Martinez. Uh please state your name and city of residence. You have three minutes. Yes. Uh my name is Mario Martinez. I reside in Tempee. At this point the inperson city council meetings have been cancelled. There might have been a valid threat this uh last Thursday and today we are still not sure. While I con I definitely condemn any threats. I have we have not seen sufficient evidence that they occurred. Okay.

What is that we are sure is that the Corey led city governments conveniently canled uh that meeting and this one is not is not in person. It is indisputable that the corrupt public officials who passed the park ordinance including Corey's $370 uh,000 per year city manager were present at the well publicized three illegal city hall meetings.

They severely undermined their governmental legal investigative credibility by illegally discussing a covert uh surveillance program targeting tempy citizens described as cave people. The organized effort against the petition drive was funded by unnamed parties who needed no identification. Corey and or his allies were the only ones who had the campaign infrastructure, the funding, and most of all the motivation to fund a bunch of mercenary uh thugs against the petition.

In fact, the campaign follow the money trail immediately disclosed financial links between Cory's past campaign, his pack allies to the same groups these operatives claim to be working for. The Cory Allied thugs relentlessly harassed petitioners and petition signers. One lang goon named Pat sent out mass unsolicited e uh text messages to tempt these citizens. In June, my wife passed away at home and my sons were wi with her in the room when the hospice nurse declared her dead.

Eight days after my deceased wife was taken off of the voter roles by the county recorder, my family received a message from Pat on my wife's cell phone telling her not to sign the the socialist positions. These are the reprehensible uh tactics of Cory's park uh ordinance allies who have evidently failed. Cory's always talking to us about civility and then uh and integrity. Then he turns around and lets this stuff uh uh uh uh go on. Corey, quit being such a hypocrite for once. Goodbye.

Thank you very much. We're going to move on to the next speaker. Uh David Sokalowski, you have Please state your name and city of residence. You have three minutes. Hello. Can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you. Yep. My name is David Solowski. I live in Tempee. I just want to thank council members for reconstruing parks and I hope we can continue to work on that. But I'm going to talk about housing.

Tempe has one of the worst housing shortages in the state and is the leading cause of the housing crisis in Maricopa County. Based on the general plan, Tempe's housing shortage would increase at least 70% by 2050 because of new jobs. That's why it's not enough for the general plan to theoretically produce 200,000 units. You have to actually build them. But the purpose of the general plan is to prevent housing from being built because we know projects will pencil out.

A good example was the student housing project in Apache when the general plan was used as justification to deny housing to 10,00 people. Unless it's Shalomar, then the general plan doesn't matter and you shouldn't build housing there either. We need to triple the current rate of construction. And that's why it's imperative that Tempe implements a density bonus program. It will build market rate housing to support job growth and it will build low-income housing to prevent displacement.

It will also generate more income through permit fees and tax revenue, and it will replace the rental tax. You voted to cut funding for affordable housing, and I think a density bonus program is the only way forward. But the city's new program could displace up to 30% of the city's population and build only 10% of our low-income housing. I think 90% of Tempe will be renters. The city is reaching a point of absurdity, but denial is a luxury that no renter can afford, and the state is listening.

Anyone can read the writing on the wall. Many states are taking away local control. The state will look at Tempy's housing report and will see that you're not building 8,000 units a year, and there's no way the general plan could ever produce 200,000 by 2050. If you can't solve the housing shortage, then the general plan no longer serves its purpose. You might ignore me because you don't like what I'm saying or because you don't like my tone.

But Tempe's affordable housing is being completely wiped out. The city spending millions of dollars and not solving the root cause of the problems. The city needs to reduce the 23,000 unit housing shortage and increase revenue for the city by millions of dollars so we can continue to fund services in our city. That's how cities pay for amenities like public transit and parks. Tempe claims it's doing everything it can to solve the housing crisis, but it's not offering a density bonus.

Maybe the state can help with that. I don't care how long it takes, and I'm not going to stop because I don't have the privilege of giving up. Thank you for listening. Thank you. Next speaker I have in the queue is Deborah Zjac. you hear me? Yes. Uh, please state your name and city of residence. You have three minutes. Good evening, mayor and council. My name is Deborah Zjac, a North North Tempe resident, and today I'd like to address two items, the economy and comparative data.

Regarding item number one, the economy, at a previous council meeting where the city manager's raise was approved, you spent some time explaining your concerns that the reactions that some re residents have regarding the amount of the raise may be because she is a woman. Looking at the composition of our current city council, I see that your constituents do not have an issue with women holding positions of power and influence, and it is not an issue for me. I view it through a different lens.

I speak for myself, but I know that there are others who are in agreement on this topic. I share this also so that you might broaden your view of the concerns of your constituents. For me, it is the economy. We recently have seen the cost of living go up. That has not been seen in years. For those with discretionary income, we see that shrinking. For those living paycheck to paycheck, it is a real squeeze.

It is also during this time period that we're re we were reminded by you that the city is going to lose revenue from the elimination of the rental tax passed by the state. The city's manager pay raise last year was 5% or $15,750. This year the percentage is more than double that, closer to 12% and the amount is also more than double or $40,000. Council member Adam pulled this from the agenda last year to question why nobody was concerned about the previous city manager salary.

From what I understood, it was 267,000. Going from 267,000 to 370,000 in 2 and a half to two years is a 38% increase. I don't know too many average working people who have seen their wages increase by 38% during that same time period. Regarding item number two, comparative data, I think I have the same list that you quoted from because I was surprised that you included Glendale and it was included on this list.

One thing to note is that Tempe is the smallest city on the list with a population under 200,000. Phoenix does pay their city manager over 400,000, but they are more than eight times larger than Tempe at 1.6 million residents. Mesa pays $350,000 a year and is two and a half times the size of Tempe. Most cities have 70 to 100,000 more residents. Also consider that a large portion of Tempe is under the control of ASU, so there is not the property tax revenue generated for the city.

I know this won't make a difference to the contract, but maybe you will glean a greater understanding of and appreciation for the concerns of your constituents. Thank you for the time. Thank you. The next speaker I have is Alli Barnett. Is Ally Barnett there? Hi. Yes. Muting my mic. Um, hi. My name is Ally Barnett. I live in Tempe.

Uh formerly I lived up in uh North 32nd and I am here today because I want to implore the city of Tempi to replicate what was done to facilitate the reimagining of North 32nd from one of the most once the 51 went in it became undervalued and within three years it was one of the top neighborhoods in Phoenix to accomplish this the city of Phoenix conducted a ULI top study which identified where more housing was needed, what kind of businesses we should bring in, where senior housing needed to be and I really strongly believe that this is a necessary step.

Uh formerly I was part of ULI next. I've served on the Paradise Valley Village Planning Committee and the city of Phoenix transferred all of the licensing for North 32nd to me. I have started Allegra Tempe to focus on the areas outside of the downtown Tempe corridor and the ASU land because we are peacemealing together Danielle Plaza, Food City and all of this and we need a comprehensive strategic plan to be able to accomplish this.

Um I additionally uh for transparency I am an Arizona and California real estate broker with over 23 years of experience in both commercial infill building and making developments appear as though they've been there for 20 years when maybe they've only been there for two. Um uh and I also serve on Valley Leaderships Housing Committee and Tempe is one of our next areas of focus.

These comprehensive plans need to include sustainability, affordable housing, continuation of multimodal transit, more trees through organizations like trees matter which already offers complimentary trees with SRP and is a beautiful organization. Easier access to food, water, and shelter for our most vulnerable homeless and domestic violence survivors.

Um, Allegre Tempe, like I said, will be modeled after the success of North 32nd, which is located from Dreamy all the way up to Paradise Valley Village or Paradise Valley Community College. A very large area akin to Tempi where we have 85281, 85282, 85283. And each of these has its own already, you know, yaka tap room. I mean, each of these has its own unique portion.

Um, and I'd also encourage the city of Tempee to make more stringent policies for absentee landlords who do not provide for the basic safety of and and I'm sorry that that that's time, Miss Barnett. I'm sorry. Thank you. Appreciate it. Yeah. Okay. The next speaker I have in the queue this evening is Brook St. George say George can you hear me? Mr. Mayor, we do have her mic out loud. Oh, hi Cara. Sorry to interrupt. I am here, but I had signed up to speak on Thursday.

I was I was not planning on speaking tonight. So, okay. Submitted a card for this evening. No, no worries at all. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Appreciate it. All right. The next speaker I have then is Curtis Wood. Okay. I've unmuted my mic. I'm sure you can hear me. Yes. You have three minutes. Yes. Uh Curtis Wood. I'm a resident of Tempe. I'm here tonight representing the Shalomar Association. I'm the treasurer of that organization.

I wanted to say I'm sorry that we've had to do this uh virtual meeting because of some threats from somebody, but I'm confident that Chief McCoy, Assistant Chief Swag, and all the good people of the Tempe Police Department will get to the bottom of this issue. Um, I just want to let you know that the Shalomar Association and the thousands of people who have signed our petition, including those that uh have houses that touch the golf course, are not going away. We are going to be back.

When you have ver uh meetings in person, you will see the green shirts again. We are vigorously opposed to any reszoning of the Shalomar Golf Course. It would be great if it stays a golf course, but if it becomes something else under its current zoning uh situation, that is fine with us. Uh but again, we're not going away. We'll see you at the next council meeting in our Darene shirts. Thank you. Thank you so much. Uh Madame Clerk, is uh is Maria Herz in the uh virtual audience? She is not. Mr.

Premiere, we do not see her in the virtual audience. Okay, then I will move forward to my last speaker here, which is Noah James Mara. Can you hear me? Yes. Please state your name and city of residence. You have three minutes. Okay. Um, aloha, mayor, and to the rest of the city council. My name is Noah James Markham and I'm a resident of uh 10B. Um and I would like to talk about uh consent agenda 7C15 7C16 7C5.

Um I am very happy that Tempe is thinking about disabilities and I hope that you spread more awareness through this.

as having a disability my whole life and feeling unsafe around a police officer is a big concern in this city and other cities in Arizona around the country and just because someone of a parent that has a kid with a disability doesn't mean that the parent will understand another concern I hope that Tempe Diablo Stadium does a better job with the fire work show next time um during Fourth of July. Um and I s I suggest maybe a New Year's show at the stadium too maybe.

Um and then also I totally disagree with the council um with the Coyote hockey team. That was um not okay for me. Um, and then with the Tempe Parks, um, I am for the Tempe Parks and I hope that you guys create, um, good concerts, loud concerts, and amazing, uh, concerts. So, mahalo and thank you for your time. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you. All right, that is the last speaker in the queue.

So, that will end the public appearances portion of this evening's agenda, which means I will move on to item number seven, which is the consent agenda. All items on the consent agenda will be considered as a group and will be enacted with one motion by the city council unless an item is removed for separate consideration. Public hearing items are designated as public hearing item at the beginning of the item title.

Council members may remove any item for separate consideration or to declare a conflict of interest. If a council member would like to declare a conflict at this time, the city clerk will provide the council member with the disclosure form. As a reminder, anyone wishing to speak on a public hearing item needed to submit an electronic speaker card at tiffy.go. GV/counts comment to guarantee their place in the speaker queue.

With that said, the consent agenda this evening is listed as miscellaneous items 7 A2 through 7 A12, awards of bits and contracts items 7B1 through 7B37 and resolutions items 7C1 through 7C16. Also, as a reminder, item 71 had already been voted on by the council earlier this evening to approve the mayor's youth advisory commission appointments. Uh, so I'll ask the council now. Are there any agenda items that you'd like to have removed from the consent agenda for separate consideration? No.

Move to approve. Okay. So, um, it's been moved by Vice Mayor Garland, uh, to pass the consent agenda, which is once again miscellaneous items 72 through 7 A12, awards of bids and contracts items 7B1- 7B37, and resolutions items 7C1 through 7C16. Do I have a second? Yes, you have a second. Seconded by council member Hajj. Um, once again, I'm going to call for a roll call based on where I see you on the screen, which means council member Hodgej. I, Vice Mayor Garland, I, Council Member Chin, I.

Um, Council Member Adams, I. And Council Member Amber, I. that and I vote I as well. That item passes six to zero with council member Keading absent. What's very interesting now is that the screen now has other people in it but actually not all the council members at the top. I don't know if there's any way uh Jason or Cara to kind of reorder things so all the council members are on the screen. That would be helpful. I'm not sure if that's possible.

I'm not exactly the tech guy, but I figured I would at least put in that request. All right, here. So, with that said, I'm going to move on to item eight, non-consent agenda. Um, all items listed on the non-consent agenda will be considered separately. I've just been told that that's not possible. So, I'm going to make sure I'm just going to remember to keep calling on all of you. So, if I don't count to six for whatever reason, just throw something at me.

So, all items listed on the non-consent agenda will be considered separately. Agenda items scheduled for introduction and first public hearing will be heard but will not be voted upon at this meeting. Agenda items scheduled for second public hearing and final adoption will be voted upon tonight. Council members who may have a conflict of interest may abstain from voting on a matter and the city clerk will provide the council members with the disclosure form at this time.

Please note that the zoning items with public hearing notice requirements, including the ADU hearing and the revalry second hearing, originally scheduled for the August 28th regular council meeting, are we are being moved to the September 18th regular council meeting. With that said, we're going to move on to item 8A, miscellaneous items, bids, contracts, and resolutions.

The first item under the section is 8A1, which is to adopt a notice of intention to increase waste, water, wastewater, and solid waste rates and set the time and date for the public hearing on proposed increases at 6 pm on November 6th, 2025. Council, any comments or discussion? So moved. Moved by Council Member Amber. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Council Member Hajj. Okay, let's let's go here. Uh, roll call vote. Council member Hodgej I. Vice Mayor Garland I. Council member Chin I.

Council member Amber I. Council member Adams I. And I vote I as well. That item passes six to zero with council member Keating absent. The next item under the section is 882 which is to ratify the annual excess insurance renewal program administratively approved by the riskmanagement trust board for coverages including property damage autophysical damage workers compensation public entity liability, cyber liability, dam and bridges and environmental pollution for fiscal year 2025 2026.

Council members, any comments or discussion? Move to approve. It's been moved by council member Adams. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by council member Chin. Um let's see. Roll call vote. Council member Hajj. I. Vice Mayor Garland. I. Council member Chin. I. Council member Amber I. And council member Adams. I. And I vote I as well. That item passes six to zero with council member Keading absent.

The next item under the section is 8A3, which is to ratify the utilization of a 17-month Sourcewell cooperative contract with Vertisoft LLC for professional project management services to assist with the selection and implementation of the new enterprise resource planning software solution. Council members, any comments or discussion? So move. Been moved by council member Hodgej. I have a second. Seconded by Council Member Amber. Uh roll call vote. Council member Hajj.

I, Vice Mayor Garland, I, Council Member Chin, I, Council Member Amber, I, and Council Member Adams. I, and I vote I as well. That item passes 6 to zero with Council Member Keading absent. The next item under the section is 8A4, which is to approve a two-year contract renewal with high-tech network and security solutions LLC to provide Cisco networking and voiceover internet protocol equipment and services. Council members, any comments or discussion? Move to approve.

It's been moved by Vice Mayor Garland. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Council Member Amber. Um, roll call vote. Council member Hajj. I. Vice Mayor Garland. I. Council member Chin. I. Council member Amber. I. Council member Adams. I. I vote I as well. That item passes 6 to zero with council member Keading absent.

The next item under the section is 85 which is to approve the utiliz utilization of a one-year National Association of State Procurement Officials cooperative contract with knowledge services for temporary staffing services. Council members, any comments or discussion? So moved by council member Hajj and seconded by council member Adams. Uh let's do a roll call. Council member Hajj. I. Vice Mayor Garland.

I council member Chin I council member Amber I and council member Adams I and I vote I as well that item passes six to zero with council member Keading absent.

The next item under the section is 8A6, which is to approve the utilization of one-year state of Arizona cooperative contracts with Tucson Business Interiors, Transact Commercial Furnishing, Dave Scott Associates Incorporated, Goodman's Incorporated, Corporate Interior Systems Incorporated, uh, Atmosphere Commercial Interior Systems Incorporated, Tab Office Resources Incorporated, Facilit Wist Office Products, and Elon Tech LLC for the purchase of furniture products and related services council.

Any comments or discussion? Motion to approve. Been moved by council member Adams. I have a second. Second. Seconded by Vice Mayor Garland. Roll call vote. Council member Hajj. I. Vice Mayor Garland. I. Council member Chin. I. Council member Amber. I. Council member Adams. I. And I vote I as well. That item passes six to zero with council member Keading absent.

Next item under the section is 8A7, which is to adopt a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign operations funding agreement number 18 with Valley Metro Rail Incorporated for the purchase and supply of light rail and street car transit services. Council members, any comments or discussion? I motion to approve. Uh, it's been moved by council member Adams and who was the other one? I was vice mayor. Ah, seconded by Vice Mayor Garland. It was like your voices merged into one.

Um, roll call vote here. Council member Hajj I. Vice Mayor Garland. Hi. Council member Chin. I. Council member Amber. I. And council member Adams. I. And that item and I actually I vote I as well. And that count that item then passes six to zero with council member Keading absent.

Next up, the last item in the section is 8A9, which is to approve a 5-year commercial lease with renewal options with GKI Industrial Phoenix LLC for 27,540 ft of Redible space located at 2404 West 14th Street that will be utilized to house the facility services division and information technology operations. Council members, any comments or questions? Been moved by council member Adams and seconded by council member Hajj. Uh, roll call vote. Council member Hajj. Hi. Vice Mayor Garland. Hi.

Council member Chin. Hi. Um, Council Member Amber. I. Council member Adams. I. And I vote I as well. That item passes six to zero with Council Member Keating absent. The next section on the non-consent agenda is ordinances and items for introduction and first hearing. The items under the section will be read and introduced tonight, but no substantive votes will be taken. The second hearing and votes are scheduled for September 18th, 2025.

So the first item under the section is 8V1, which is to introduce and hold the first public hearing to adopt an ordinance amending Tempe City Code Chapter 12, articles 2 and three relating to drainage and flood control by amending sections 12-16 through 12-35 relating to flood plane management and repealing section 12-36 relating to floodways. Council members, any questions for city staff regarding item 8B1? Mr. Mayor, I'll um council. Yes.

I just want to uh say that I'm really happy this is um going forward. We've been working on this for many years and um it looks great to me. So, thank you very much. Thank you, Council Member Adams. Uh do you have a motion on that item? Sure. Actually, there's no there's no motion. Actually, no motion. So, I got ahead of myself. I was already looking forward to September 18th. So, me too. Um, any any other um comments or questions from council? All right.

Uh, seeing none, uh, this also is a public hearing item. So, um, if there's any public testimony, Madam Clerk, I will look to you, Mr. Mayor. We have not received any cards on this item. Excellent. Thank you so much that I will close the public testimony portion of the public hearing and uh council members just want to reiterate the second and final public hearing on this item is scheduled for September 18th, 2025.

The next item under this section is 8B2 which is to introduce an old the first public hearing to adopt an ordinance amending the temp code chapter 2 article 5 division 6 section 2-225 to add youth members to the human relations commission. Council members, any comments or questions of city staff on item 8B2? Mayor, this is Vice Mayor. I don't Yes, Vice Mayor Garland. I just want to make a comment. I think adding um youth members to any and all of our commissions is the right thing to do.

I think they're their voice um is really important and you know, we are going to be in their hands soon and so it's great to have them a part of some of the decision-m that we do. So, I think this is great. Excellent. Thank you so much, Vice Mayor. Uh, anyone else any comments or questions? Yeah, I have a question. Yes. Uh, council member Hajj, I just want to ask the question is how are they going to recruit for it? I I agree with Vice Mayor.

I think it's great that we have representation from the youth, but I was just wondering how they plan to recruit to get those those s those uh positions filled. Let's see. Is uh is uh Dr. McMillan Humes on the line? Um, madame clerk, we know of Dr. McMillan. Oh, there she is. Hi, Dr. McMillan. Mr. Mayor, we've made her a presenter, so she can unmute her mic. Fantastic. So, uh, Dr.

uh you know council member Haj's question I know was she thinks it's a great idea that we're going to be adding youth members to the human relations commission but the question is how will we go about actually recruiting those members to make sure that uh all students in the city of Tempe know this opportunity is available to them well one will um energize our pio pass so that this information will go out to the public but we plan to to work real closely with our school district um it's for 9th through 12th graders we are actually making it even easier for them to participate so that they have a year-to-year basis to re-up their membership.

Um, they'll have the same duration as all the other commissioners, but a lot more flexibility with time because we know their lives change very very very much often than than our adult um or our older commissioners. So we plan to work with our school district as well as our charter schools and other any other outlets where young people are. So yes, we will be good partners with our school districts. Thank you so much for that question.

My other suggestion is we have a lot of homeschool kids in our neighborhood. So, we have to figure out to make sure it's out in our websites and our water bills because some of the homeschool kids will not be able to see it as well as the school kids in schools. Thank you. Thank you for for mentioning that. And I have to say um working in our colleges um a lot of um homeschool students have been very good leaders um and very active um in volunteer positions.

So, it would be a miss if we didn't do everything we could to get those there. So, thank you for that recommendation, Council Member Haj. Excellent. Thank you. Um, any other council members? Any comments or questions for city staff on this item? All right, so hearing none. Uh, once again, the second and final public hearing on this item is scheduled for September 18th, 2025.

The next item under the section is 8B3 which is to introduce an old the first public hearing to adopt an ordinance to transfer budget appropriation from fund 31 water wastewater fund to fund 35 solid waste fund to provide sufficient appropriation for debt service payments. This is also a public hearing. So is there any public testimony on this item madam clerk? Mr. Mayor, no cards received on this item or the next items. Okay, sounds good. I have to say that I'm shocked by that.

Um, uh, so I'll go ahead and close the public testimony portion of the public hearing. Uh, council members, any comments or discussion? All right, hearing none, the second and final public hearing on this item is scheduled for September 18th, 2025.

So that takes us to the next item uh here which is 8B4 which is to introduce an old the first public hearing to adopt an ordinance to transfer cash from fund 35 solid waste fund to fund 34 solid waste capital improvement program to provide sufficient funding for CIP project number 3407449 which is the city regional radio system maintenance and replacement. Uh, I know madam clerk said there aren't any speakers. So, council members, any comments or questions on this item 84. Mr.

Mayor, this is council member Adams. Yes. Yes. Council, I'm just really I'm really glad that we're considering this because it is about police um and our safety in our communities. So, um I will be supporting this project. Thank you. Wonderful. Thank you so much. Um any other council members? Any further comments or discussion or questions for staff? All right. All right, hearing none. Once again, the second and final public hearing on this item is scheduled for September 18th, 2025.

The next item under the section is 8V5, which is to introduce and hold the first public hearing to adopt an ordinance to transfer cash from fund 39 transit fund to fund 60 transit capital improvement program to provide sufficient funding for CIP project number 6010499. There were no uh comment cards received for this item. Um, so I'm going to go ahead and look to see if council members have any comments or discussion. All right, hearing none.

The second and final public hearing on this item is scheduled for September 18th, 2025. The last item under the section is 8B6, which is to introduce and hold the first public hearing to adopt an ordinance authorizing the partial abandonment of a public waterline easement located on the west side of Smith Road and south side of Third Street. There also were not any um cards received uh for the public testimony portion of the public hearing.

So that means I will move on to see if there's any council member comments or questions on this item 8B6. All right, seeing none, once again, the second and final public hearing on this item is scheduled for September 18th, 2025. Next up, the last section on the non-consent agenda is ordinances and items scheduled for second hearing and final adoption. So votes on these items will be taken tonight.

Just want to remind everyone that the second read zoning items with public hearing notice requirements that were originally scheduled for the August 28th regular council meeting are going to be moved to the September 18th regular council meeting.

So the only item under the section is 8C1, which is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt an ordinance authorizing the city manager to negotiate and execute a lease agreement for lease of city-owned real property located at 34 East 7th Street in Tempe, Arizona. subject to approval of the lease terms by the city attorney. Council members, any questions or comments for city staff on item 8 C1. So move. Second. Um actually Oh, there's um wait a minute.

Actually, quick question on this one. Um Madame Clerk, is there a vote on this item this evening? So, yes, Mr. Mayor, that was just a uh copy uh um incorrectly on your script. This is the second and final rating. That's what I assume. No worries at all. So, um, thank you so much. Um, uh, was the motion by Council Hajj? Yes. Okay. And was the second was that Vice Mayor Garland? Was that you? Or was there a second? Second. Chin. Oh, okay. Look. Hey, I'm My apologies.

Uh, so it's been moved by Council Member Hajj and seconded by Council Member Chin. Um, there were no speakers on this item for the public testimony portion because this is a public hearing. But since that's the case, uh, any further comments or questions from the council before we take the vote. All right. Hearing none, I'll take the roll call vote here once again in the order in which I see people on my screen. And this time it's Vice Mayor Garland. I, Council Member Hodgej, I.

Council member Chin, I. Council member Amber I. Council member Adams I. And I vote I as well. That item passes six to zero with council member Keating absent. Which brings me to item number nine, current events, council announcements and future agenda items. Once again, council members may request that an agenda item be added to a future council meeting during their allotted time.

But in accordance with the open meeting law, there should be no discussion on the item other than to clarify the request. this evening. I'm going to start with Council Member Amber. I have no announcements at this time. Thanks Mayor. Thank you, Council Member. Next up, Vice Mayor Garland. Thank you, Mayor. I have two announcements and the first one is um our age friendly community survey.

I am honored to be on a committee um with that I'm chairing with council member Anberg and council member Keading on our ed age friendly community um age friendly action plan. So part of that is for us to do a survey of our community. So if you um are available to screenshot or look at this little QR code or go on to our our our Facebook page or our website, I'm sorry, and look up um the tempe.govfriendly. gov/agegefriendly. You can take part in our survey.

It's really important that we survey um people in our community. It's 50 plus. Um if you are available, we would really love your information. We're taking the survey between September 1st um through September 30th. Um I'm really looking forward to the results and a lot of action, a lot of community members taking a part in this. So, if you can, it'd be great to have you. And then the last um slide that I have is Tempe Healing Fields.

So, if you are interested in volunteering or going and seeing the healing fields, it's a really spectacular event that the city of Tempe does. It's so unique um to Arizona and um it is really a beautiful thing to see. They stand up flags if you can volunteer. They put up the flags on September 11th at 5:46 in the morning at 5 in the morning. Um they take down the flags on Monday, September 15th. They start at 6:00 a.m.

This um organization that puts on our um Tempe Healing Fields is a small nonprofit. Um, so if you are not able to volunteer, they would certainly appreciate donations to help keep up this incredible event. So if you can participate or volunteer with them or um donate money, that would be a really wonderful thing.

And I just want to p point out that that handsome guy on the right hand side is my father um who would go with me to put up the flags and it was one of the things that he really really looked forward to doing. So thank you so much, Mayor. Thank you very much, Vice Mayor. Appreciate it. Next up, uh, Council Member Adams. Yes. Uh I just um want to speak to vice vice mayor uh comments. Thank you for bringing up the healing fields.

Every year I lost one of my good friends in that and I go and see her flag. So um thanks for doing that. I also rec recognize your father. So um uh so thank you for sharing that vice mayor. Um second is my my announcement is my parents' 71st anniversary. um Gordon and Gloria and that's a picture of them and I'm just really uh happy. Uh a lot of people don't make it seven days and they made it 71 years. So um congratulations to my parents for their anniversary. Thank you. That's all I have, Mr.

Mayor. Thank you, Council Adams. Beautiful. Thank you. Um next up, uh Council Member Chin. Thank you, Mayor. I don't know if there's a slide for this, but I There it is. All right, it's game day in Tempee for this season's home series. Uh, Sunundable fans have the option of parking and pregaming at many of the great restaurants like 100 Mile Brewing on the north side of the lake. And there will be a water taxi that you can take that'll bring you right across the way to the stadium area.

So, every home game and you can access tickets and reservations for that via that QR code. Excellent. Thank you, Council Member Chin. Uh, Council Member Hodgej, do you mind if I go first for like one quick second? All right. Well, I I I see her nodding, so I'm going to go ahead and go. Uh, and the reason why I asked to go right before Council Member Hajj is because she has a birthday tomorrow.

So, I am just here as the mayor of this incredible community to wish my fellow council member and longtime friend Betta Hajj a very happy birthday. Thank you, mayor. Thank you. And with that, I seed my time to you. Thank you. I I I apologize. My dog wants to play catch. We have to get back into the chamber very fast because I don't have time to play catch with him through the meeting. Um, also, uh, I just want to wish ASU a welcome back, um, for all our students that are coming back into town.

And also, Council Member, um, Adams, my parents celebrated their anniversary, and they celebrated their anniversary. They weren't married as long as yours were, but they were married for 49 years to on September 1st. So, congratulations. Yes. Hey, that's great. Yes. And all right. Well, that's all I have to say. Thank you, guys. Excellent. Thank you so much. That brings me to item number 10, public appearances.

So, rules for speaking during the second public appearances item shall be the same as stated earlier for the first public appearances item. Um, and I should ask, madame clerk, was there anyone who signed up for item number 10? Mr. Mayor, no cards for this item. All right. Well, then that brings me to item number 11, adjournment. The next scheduled regular city council meeting will be on September 18th, 2025. We are adjourned. Thank you so much everyone for joining us this evening.

Have a great night.