Tempe approves $4.5 million prevailing wage ordinance, pursues bridal path easement court action

good evening everyone welcome to the Tempe city council regular council meeting item number one is called the order council meeting can be watched in real time via Cox Cable channel 11 and at tempe.gov 11 members of the public may also attend the meeting virtually through Microsoft teams if you're here to speak on items designated as public hearing items later on in the agenda please know that you will have an opportunity to speak when I introduce those items at the time of their public hearing the city council and I will need to complete the other items of business business leading up to those items so we appreciate your patience if you wish to speak on a public hearing item and you haven't filled out a speaker card yet please make sure to fill out and submit your completed card to the city clerk prior to the agenda item coming forward for Council discussion I will call your name when it is your turn for public Comet I'd now like to invite everyone who's able and willing to stand to join me in a moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance thank you 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 [Music] all all right tonight's agenda has a a number of items that the city council must consider in order to conduct City business guidelines for conduct at City Council meetings are on the table near the entrance for those in attendance at tonight's meeting we will now play a video with the proper protocol for ensuring the appropriate conduct at City Council meetings 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 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 eruptive 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 in 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 so much we're now going to play a video conveying the city of temp's native land acknowledgement statement we wish to acknowledge that Tempe is the homeland of the native people who have in inhabited this landscape since time immemorial these ancestral lands of the aam known as Pima pipos 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 Pima 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 thank you so much that makes me turn to item number four meeting minutes tonight I'll be assisted by council member Garland council member Garland thank you mayor I'd like to make a motion to approve the city council meeting minutes 4 A1 it's been moved by council member Garland do I have a second seconded by Council M d'aro please vote couldn't get there and that item passes 6 to Zer with Council M chin absent next up we have item 4B acceptance of board commission and committee meeting minutes council member Garland mayor I'd like to make um a motion to accept the board commission and committee meeting minutes 4 B1 to 4 B2 it's been moved by Council M Garland and seconded by vice mayor Adams please vote and that item passes 6 to zero with council member chin absent next up I have a number of announcements that I will come down to read [Music] all right got a number of these this evening a number of proclamations so the first one I have here is item 5 A1 the Kid Zone mayor Awards presentation the mayor's office of the Tempe city council were invested in honoring outstanding children in our community and adults who help provide quality care and education for those children tonight we are proud to honor and recognize those children and adults because of their outstanding participation in the KidZone enrichment programs KidZone is an award-winning State accredited school age enrichment program administered by the City of Tempe in cooperation with the Tempe Elementary School District it offers an exciting safe place for students from preschool through 8th grade where they may interact with their friends while they participate in enrichment activities and develop new interests after school kid Zone could not have provided these services without the help and support of some outstanding School Partners from the Tempe Elementary District while there are too many to mention this evening there are three we'd like to particularly recognize the dedicated School Partners we honor denied are individuals who demonstrate cooperation mutual respect and knowledge of the importance of quality outof time School enrichment they understand the significant learning that still takes place before and after the school bell rings their support exemplifies how cooperation between the city and the school district can work at the highest level to make exceptional programming available to students at each school so I'd like to now invite three folks to please come down as soon as I announce your name the first person is the principal at Arondo Elementary School Allison Bruning hamat [Applause] next up the school office assistant at Fuller Elementary School Joanna [Applause] Olen and custodian at Scales Technology Academy kaija [Applause] Moon coun you want be far at do I was thinking look I always have to ask when I've got a governing board member from Tempe Union on the board I got to make sure that she and the other council members are invited so come on down folks see she knows everyone Don sorry about that so I'm going to do this here you like [Music] it congratulations thank you thank you just want to note too the next up we have here the 28 students we're going to recognize tonight represent over, 1300 children enrolled in Kid Zone this past year they were selected by the kid Zone staff because of quite a few attributes their kind and respectful attitude towards other children and staff their ini itive and enthusiastic partic positive participation and their display of cooperation good sportsmanship responsibility and Leadership so we now like to direct your attention to the screens here for a slideshow recognizing kid zones outstanding [Music] students she's here you can take a break I'm air balloon that could go to space with the air like I don't care baby by the way because I'm clap alone if you feel like a room without roof because I'm happy clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth because I'm happy clap long if you know what happiness is to you because I'm Happ Al if you feel like that's what you want to do here come bad news talking [Music] this give me all you got don't hold it back I should prob War you I'll be just fine no offs to you don't waste your time here's why because I'm happy clap along if you feel like a room without roof because I'm clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth because clap along if you know what happiness is you Al if you feel like that's what you want to do bring me down bring me down the love is too high bring me down bring me down I bring me down bring me down love is tooing me down bring me down I said clap Al if you feel like a room without roof clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth because I'm happy CL Al if you know what happiness is to you I'm happy Al if you feel like that's what you want to do CL if you feel like a room without a roof because I'm clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth because I'm happy clap along if you know what happiness is to you because I'm happy clap alone if you feel like that's what you want to do bring me down bring me down love is too high bring me down bring me down I said because I'm clap Al if you feel like a room without a roof because I'm happy alone if you feel like happiness is your truth because I'm happy clap alone give you know what happiness is you clap Al give you feel like that's what you want to do alone if you feel like a room [Applause] out all right who could not be happy after watching that so congratulations to all the folks recognized this evening which brings me to item 5 A2 which is the 55th annual professional Municipal Clerk's week Proclamation and I see the clerk staff here in front do you want to come on forward come on come with me [Applause] Cara all right so this Proclamation reads it's like you're all scared of me what I like don't get too close to him like I promise I bathed my goodness all right so this Proclamation reads whereas the office of the professional municipal clerk a time honored and vital part of local government exists throughout the world and whereas the office of the professional municipal clerk is the oldest among public servants and whereas the office of the professional municipal clerk provides the professional link between the citizens the local governing bodies and agencies of government at other levels and whereas professional Municipal clerks have pledged to be ever mindful of their neutrality and impartiality rendering equal service to all and whereas the professional municipal clerk serves as the information center on functions of local government and community and whereas professional Municipal clerks continually strive to improve the administration of the Affairs of the office of the profession municipal clerk through participation in education programs seminars workshops and the annual meetings of their state provincial County and international professional organizations and whereas it is most appropriate that we recognize the accomplishments of the office of the professional municipal clerk now therefore I Corey Woods mayor of the city of tempy Arizona do hereby declare May 5th through May 11th 2024 as professional Municipal clerks week in temp Arizona actually I'll do one here then I'll do one without [Applause] all right next up item 583 National peace officer Memorial and National Police Week Proclamation I see Chief McCoy if you and any members of your team would like to join us down here please feel free all right so this Proclamation reads they're they're laughing at me again because I'm so short that I can never be seen I I know that no it's okay it's fine let's go ahead it's fine no it's okay go it's okay it's all good you're you're you know you're not to blame for my genetics uh so this Proclamation reads whereas as a nation we honor the memory and sacrifice of Fallen Law Enforcement Officers during peace officer Memorial week so dedicated by President John F Kennedy in 1962 and whereas Tempe police officers and their families are members of our community striving to earn trust build Partnerships and keep the peace protect lives safety and property uphold the US Constitution and respect the rights of all those with whom we engage and whereas Tempe Police responded to 151,000 Total calls for service in 2023 which is approximately 12,500 calls each month and whereas since the first known line of death line of duty death in 1791 over 23,000 law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice according to the national law enforcement memorial fund and whereas the safety and quality quality of life of our community depends in great measure on the dedication capability compassion and daily service of our Tempe police officers now therefore I Corey Woods mayor of the City of Tempe Arizona do hereby declare May 9th through the 18th 2024 as National peace officer Memorial and National Police Week in Tempe Arizona [Applause] wo I'm gonna wait for the [Music] little yellow [Music] [Applause] thank you Chief oh no I'm good yeah next up item five A4 National League of cities 100th anniversary Proclamation and do I have our chief of staff Tanya Chavez here yep you're on the you're on my list she's like me I'm like yes you come on down actually you know what I should probably do as well uh how about you know Jonathan shelfield you want to come down as well come on now Jonathan is our is our sort of new is now government relations officer and Tanya is our chief of staff of the city so this Proclamation reads where as the national league of cities was founded in 1924 in Lawrence Kansas as the American Municipal Association by state Municipal leagues seeking more coordination and National representation As Cities towns and Villages expanded rapidly and whereas the nonpartisan National League of cities is the oldest and largest organization representing Municipal governments throughout the United States representing the interests of more than 19,000 cities towns and Villages across the country and whereas the national league of cities Works in partnership with 49 State Municipal leagues across the country to strengthen local leadership Drive Innovation and influence the federal policies that impact local programs and operations in whereas as the voice of cities towns and villages in Washington DC the national league of cities has successfully Champion federal legislative solutions that support municipalities and has worked closely with Congress and the executive branch to educate policy makers on the realities of local implementation and whereas the City of Tempe is a proud member of the national League of cities and has benefited from the organization's research technical expertise Federal advocacy and opportunities to learn from other local governments and whereas local governments are the Bedrock of American democracy providing 336 million residents with the most accountable responsive inclusive ethical and transparent government in the world and whereas from the nation's smallest villages to its largest cities America's local governments have been essential in transforming the United States of America into the greatest most influential nation in world history and whereas City of Tempe was first Incorporated in 1894 and is proudly served today by mayor Corey Woods vice mayor Jennifer Adams council member Joel Navaro council member Randy keading council member dorine Garland council member Arlene chin and council member Bretta Hajj and a municipal Workforce of 2,231 dedicated public servants now therefore in celebration of America's local governments and the national league of cities historic Centennial anniversary the City of Tempe hereby proclaims May 2024 as National cities towns and Villages month in Tempe Arizona [Applause] the last Proclamation I have this evening is item 5 A5 which is the Arizona heat Awareness Week Proclamation so I know some folks uh accepting this this evening from the Tempe Church of Christ Arizona Faith Network Community Health and Human Services Department sustainability and resilience department and representatives from the Tempe Police Department so if anyone who would like to join me can come on down Chief welcome back all right so this Proclamation reads whereas the City of Tempe joins the Arizona Department of Health Services and Maricopa County Public Health in recognizing Arizona heat Awareness Week With education awareness and actions to take around hydration and preparedness for extreme heat and whereas temp b along with the greater Metropolitan region is expected to experience multiple days of 110 degree temperatures this summer and these extreme these levels of extreme heat have disproportionate negative effects on our community and whereas heat related deaths increased 52% in 2023 compared to 2022 and whereas the City of Tempe is preparing this summer with nine heat relief locations all of which allow any individual to come to hydrate and seek respit from the Summer sun and if needed get connected to shelter and social services and and whereas departments across the city work collaboratively on responding to extreme heat including Community Health and Human Services Tempe Police Department Tempe fire and medical rescue Community Services sustainability and resilience office and risk management and whereas the these departments also work with external Partners including Tempe resilience hubs faith-based institutions Arizona Faith Network and passionate local businesses and residents and whereas the City of Tempe asks its residents businesses and organizations to prepare their families friends colleagues and neighbors to get educated and prepared for the extreme heat season and consider the City of Tempe as a partner and resource to help mitigate vulnerabilities to this threat now therefore I Corey Woods mayor of the City of Tempe Arizona to hereby declare May 6th through May 10th 2024 as Arizona heat Awareness Week in Tempe Arizona [Applause] May would you like to come right all right thank you very much everyone that concludes my reports and announcements this evening I'm going to turn to item 5B city manager reports and announcements Madam city manager thank you mayor um briefly as this is National Teachers Appreciation Week I thought it would be fitting to talk about Zeta Johnson Zeta Johnson was acknowledged this past week at the Tempe Diablo excellence and education event I can't think of a better person to to acknowledge so thank you Diablos for all the service and acknowledging this great woman Zeta I can go on and on about her her resume but she was uh served on the school board for many years as president as a as a noble servant she was a Don Don Carlos recipient award recipient um she she's championed children families women in strong positions I met Zeta in 2002 when I stepped into the role of diversity director she was on the human relations commission and I was the staff and she always looked to Mentor everyone around her um I think about uh the mark and what the Legacy she has left in this in this city as an educator as a community member and two passions that she had serving this community well families and serving and loving her family passionately the gentleman you see right there in the middle next to me is pen Johnson who she she was married to for 62 years she passed over a year ago but I believe um though she may be physically gone her spirit and impact endur in inspiring generations to come so thank you for the opportunity to acknowledge Zeta Johnson thank you madam city manager appreciate it wonderful wonderful woman absolute tempy Legend all right that brings me to item number six public appearances according to the Arizona open meeting law the city council may only discuss matters listed Elsewhere 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 the jurisdiction of the city council no person shall speak more than once and there is a limit of three minutes per speaker speakers president at the podium must State their name and city of residents and provide a speaker Card members of the public shall refrain from making personal impertinent or slanderous remarks and from becoming boisterous while addressing the city council or while attending the meeting speakers will be taken first come first serve in the order in which the cards are received speakers visual aids and appearances by phone or recordings are not allowed council members are prohibited by state law from taking action on commenting or discussing a matter raised by a member of the public even if asked to do so by a member of the public so long as the subject discussed by the speaker is not listed as a specific agenda item for council's consideration for discussion and legal action at the conclusion of public appearances the council may ask the city manager to review a matter or place a matter on a future agenda just as a quick note here I've got a couple of items uh items 7 C1 which is actually on the consent agenda which I will be pulling off separately so I want to make folks to know that there are going to be people who I know a lot of people are going to be speaking on that item so don't think that I'm skipping you if I'm waiting till that item comes up in the agenda I will pull it separately so you can talk and then I know we have plenty of people here for item 8 C4 and so you'll have the opportunity to speak when that item comes up as well so just wanted to make sure I noted that for the record so with that said is there anyone else in the audience wishing to speak on any other public appearance if so please get my attention all right seeing none I'll close that portion of the hearing and 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 members of the public May remove public hearing items 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 a disclosure form if you wish to speak on a public hearing item please fill out a speaker card and submit your completed card to the city clerk prior to the agenda item coming forward for Council discussion I will call your name when it is your turn for public comment this evening the consent agenda is listed as miscellaneous items 7 A1 through 7 A6 Awards of bids and contracts items 7b1 through 7b7 and resolutions items 7 C1 through 7 C9 quick note um Mr City attorney am I allowed to pull any item or would a council member need to pull that item just make sure I'm doing things according to how I should be doing mayor it's certainly within your prerogative all right all right okay sounds good then I will then I will pull uh myself and vice mayor Adams item 7 C1 will be removed for separate uh consideration off the consent agenda uh is there any once again I want to note too that any agenda item designated as public hearing item can be removed by a member of the public for separate consideration if anyone would like to have a public hearing item removed please get my attention now all right seeing none I will move on then uh I'm going to ask for a motion to approve the consent agenda items some hold on hold on with with items 7 A1 through 7 A6 Awards of bids and contract 7b1 through 7b7 and resolutions items 7 C1 through 7 C9 with item 7 C1 being removed for separate consideration it's been moved by council member Hajj do I have a second seconded by council member devaro please vote and that item passes six to zero with council member chin absent that turns makes me turn here to item 7 C1 give me one quick second here and that item is to adopt a resolution authorizing City staff to prepare and file a declaratory action to determine the rights and obligations of various parties and Property Owners with respect to a certain Bridal path easement in the Shady Lane Estates subdivision this was removed by myself and vice mayor Adams for a separate consideration um before I call up people and once again I will call all the cards in the order in which I received them this evening I wanted to see if I could turn to Mr Anderson our City attorney for just a quick explanation about what this item is not legal but just explaining exactly what this is to the public here and for those who might be watching at home thank you mayor yes this item concerns a bridal path easement that was designated on a plat recorded uh in the uh 1990s and I believe it was the Shady Lane Estates that plat did not designate who the holder of the easement was this has been an issue for several years now for the city um I'm getting the hand sign of four years um and there's confusion there's a number of parties that are potentially interested that e and there's also diametrically opposed viewpoints as to uh between the property owner of the city and as well as some of the neighboring property owners in light of the circumstances and the lack of clarity uh the recommendation from the city's office city attorney's office was was to ask Superior Court as the appropriate jurisdiction uh for that matter to make a declaratory statement as to what the rights and interests are so this matter could be resolved formally as it it should be as a property interest dispute so sounds good thank you so much Miss City attorney all right with that said I'm going to go on and start uh calling the cards in the order which I received them this evening the first Speaker I have is Stanley nickon please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes uh Mr Mayor members of the council my name is Stanley nickon I live at 1307 East kayab bios in South Tempe uh we're coming up to the fourth anniversary of this issue and uh up until about a couple of days ago I felt that uh we were getting pretty close to some closure but uh having read 7 C1 on your agenda uh I'm not I'm not so sure that's going to happen uh adopting this resolution authorizing staff to file for declaratory action by someone someone else is uh very disappointing to me Mr Mayor members of the council making a decision on the wall issue is your responsibility and putting it off that someone else makes no sense and a couple years ago by the way you guys the council voted 7 to Z in favor to enforce the code stipulations uh uh restrictions uh to remove the wall which ironically was placed on top of the major water line that goes to kadea bios then for some explained reason the council backed off so I'm asking to please you vote against please vote against 7 C1 caucus and review all the facts then vote on the wall removal up or down one way or the other and in so doing please remember that it's our Tempe thank you the next speaker is Shelley leptic please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes yes my name is Shelley brute leage at 1441 East kaidos I wanted to speak because I'm one of two original owners in kco BIOS that built in the 60s and my parents built because I loved horses and it was a wonderful rural area and as other houses have come around what was nice about K kabos was I had Bridal paths that I could ride in with my five children my 18 grandchildren and I hope someday my great-grandchildren and even though it's busy out there in the roads it's like a little bit of Heaven to ride in this community and I ride now I ride almost every day and I go behind Shady Lane and those trees that I used to get the drink the water and have the shade are cut down and this fence is incuded into my Bridal path and we we ask you to help us this is a unique way of life I am the animal lady that has the llamas and the alpacas and the horses and people come by every day to see my animals because it's a rural area and they love it and that's why we built there and I hope you'll listen to our pleas because we don't have a high-priced attorney we keep our dues really low for the people who live in there and we can't afford it we call upon you for help that we might be able to keep this way of life and that one man will not be able to intrude on our unique way of life and that that will hear our please because we don't know what else to do and we hope that you will listen to us and that you will help us in this time and I'm thankful that you could listen to us and I say this in name of going to say in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ thank you the next speaker I have this evening is Jackie Beals please come forward state your name and place of residence we have three minutes hello my name is Jackie Beals I live at 1620 East citation and my husband and I have lived there for over 30 years reason why we moved there is to have space and land um um and um I feel like I'm a very law-abiding citizen and I respect the law it's frustrating to me when people do not respect the law and I feel like perhaps this is what has occurred with a homeowner that lives at 1710 East Carver it's my understanding he was told that he cannot put up the wall but he put it up anyway and that's that is such a such an affront to my respect of the law all right um and and now it it appears as was already mentioned that you folks on the city council did say that the wall had to come down but then you backtracked did you backtrack because you're afraid of legal issues um I know the homeowner probably has Deep Pockets deeper Pockets than we do and the as homeowners and no one likes to be sued but we have to follow the law thank you for your time thank you so much the next speaker I have this evening is Kimberly cendo please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes good evening I'm Kimberly cendo I reside at 1318 East secretar at Drive Tempe um we raised our kids in this same area um my kids went to school with doran's kids and Joel's kids um my concern is that if this is allowed to continue if the wall stays up now it's a precedence everyone in Shady Lane that backs up to the to the bridal path can now take up their easement because well we've set a precedent somebody else got away with it let's just keep going eventually it will erode the entire um equestrian feel of our neighborhood so I I'm appealing to all of you to make sure you vote against this especially people from our neighborhood I would appreciate it thank you thank you the next speaker this evening is John cendo please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes sure John cendo uh 1318 e Secretariat as well um so we all live in this community to have the room in the space and to enjoy the uh the the easements in the property Not only was this wall put up it was put up on the opposite side of a really nice set of trees and then now those trees have been taken down so not only should the wall be removed but the trees should be put back should be put back up by passing what you're looking at resolution wise you're just passing the buck it is your responsibility to stick with this and stay with it is not somebody else's responsibility once you've made that decision ision to have someone else look at it then you've made that decision that you're no longer going to support the people of Tempe okay to me watch a lot of movies a lot of old westerns this isn't the old days you can't just steal property you can't just take over somebody else's land and make a decision that it's yours there's no squatter's right rights on this nobody should own that property that property is the easement it should remain the easement and it's up to you to help support this community and most of the people in that Community have lived there for many many years and we expected it to stay that way turn down that resolution there's no reason to do it stick by your guns and do what you're supposed to do thank you thank you the next speaker I have this evening is Susie Edwards please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes good evening my name is Susan Edwards I live at 1024 East Point of Vista Drive I appreciate the acknowledgement of Tempe stewardship responsibilities for Native American lands that was presented at the start of this meeting towards that end I encourage this Council to vote no on resolution 7c as fencing in more public land for private use as a resident in shady as a resident in Shady Lane illegally did with a public Bridal path is not in keeping with the expressed stewardship of native lands by this Council further a sh sh Lane resident it is allowed to Prevail this sets precedent for bordering communities like mine for residents to also ignore Tempe code and move their own fences out to capture public land for private use in my case if I were to follow Shady Lane resident land grab I could increase my backyard in the Buena Vista Ranchos by 3500 Square fet however unlike the owner of lot s in Shady Lane I believe in keeping our wonderful and Unique Bridal path intact for everyone to enjoy not for my own personal enrichment All City Council Members took an oath to uphold and enforce the laws and codes of Tempe this would include the plat map registered in 1995 that explicitly sets the boundaries of the bital path in question consequently I would urge the city council to vote no on 7c and not Kick the Can down the bridal path for the courts thank you thank you the next speaker I have this evening is David mitchelson please come forward stay name and place of residence you have three minutes my name is David mitchelson at 1529 East Caya Cabos Tempe Arizona mayor councel thank you for giving me the time to speak today yesterday I sent you documents related to a previous easement issue from 2010 on lot 16 of the kayad Cabos Association also known as CDC the City of Tempe acted and enforced the the city code in 2010 on lot 16 as if the easement is a public easement the power and the authority of the City of Tempe issued ordinance 210.12 which I have right here therefore as clearly demonstrated in 2010 the city can enforce city code and preserve and protect the Shady Lane e easement as described on the plat for the public in 1961 Kaya de Cabos was formed as described by the plat map 9733 it includes Bridal path easements on the property these easements were not enclosed or obstructed as to restrict the free use and enjoyment of the public for equin activities stated in 1962 by the developer of CDC in the Declaration of restrictions quote kayos is a special purpose subdivision and is intended for the exclusive use and enjoyment of Horsemen end quote it did not say for the exclusive or private use of CDC homeowners the developers of buav Vesta Ranchos Sunburst farms and Shady Lane Estates continued with this desire of the community to be a unique area with Bridal path easements to be enjoyed by the public for the purpose of equin activities governmental agencies put their stamp of of approval on all of this none of these easements were ever never restricted from one another until now we have one homeowner who has decided that he alone has the authority and right to take away our free use and enjoyment of the Shady Lane Bridal path easement this is so wrong in so many ways the public has harmoniously been able to use all of these easements for over 60 years and no homeowner or HOA should have the power to take this right of enjoyment away from the public on their own if a homeowner is allowed to have this power then there will sure be more walls and obstructions that will restrict The public's use of the bridal path this will deteriorate the function and condition of our equin community like to remind the council one of the Clauses in the city of temp's mission statement quote to protect our local communities from deterioration end quote please enforce the city code as the city did so in 2010 I urge to vote no on the resol on the resolution 7c and protect us from any deterioration of our community thank you for your time thank you very much the next speaker I have is Ellen Pope please come forward state your name in place of residence you have three minutes hello mayor woods and members of the council I just wanted to ask you to vote no on the resolution regarding the wall I live at 1619 East citation Lane in Sunburst Farms my home is about 250 meters to this house and I walk the I don't have horses but I love the neighborhood that we live with in respect of each other I could move my wall all the way to Shady Lane but I won't because it's not right it's also a city code that we respect I'm asking you to take the obvious and to me simple solution is to have this wall put back where it's supposed to be there's a major water line that runs under it the trees are gone I walk that path every single day and I admire the llamas and um the horses I like to see the horses walking by that's why I move to that neighborhood we all move there because we have land and because people respect each other and um I just think it sets a really scary precedent and I think it's punishing those of us that follow the rules that if you don't take a stand that this is wrong and that wall needs to come down then we'll we will incur costs this is not going to go away for us it might go away for the city council but if the water lines have issues or other people start encroaching more we all have to deal with it so I'm asking you to please go back to the original question and have the wall removed and set back where it's supposed to be and um vote no on 7 C1 thank you thank you the next speaker I have is Matthew schmell please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes mayor Woods council members my name is Matt Schell I live in Sunburst farms in Tempe and again I'm speaking on behalf of the bune of V Ranchos K Cabos and sbers Farms neighborhoods the city attorney's office started down this declaration path once before and I and the other neighbors were threatened with being dragged into court this resolution to take this Bridal path matter behind 1710 East Carver to court was wrong before and it is still wrong and unethical although it will certainly enable many facts to be brought forth examples include the 1995 agreement establishing the bridal path of eement at the end of shady Lanes clearly benefiting the public and showing that Tempe was in control as they wouldn't approve the development until the conditions were agreed to including the public easement Tempe told nerwin he couldn't eliminate the bridal path easement you asserted control of that Bridal path again at that time and it is public tempe's purchase and construction of their water pumping plant which is public property connected to the bridal path easement at the end of Shady Lane Estates continues that additional failures in this include the refusal of this Council to honor and enforce the legal agreement that the 199 5 Tempe city council signed additionally when Dave mitchelson the CDC HOA president at the time and the CDC neighborhood wanted to eliminate a portion of a CDC public Bridal path in 2010 a path dedicated on the CDC plat map in a very similar manner as the Shady Lane dedication Tempe asserted they had full control and authority over the public Bridal path shown on the CDC plat map it is unethical and wrong to change that policy now and further in October of 21 this Council voted unanimously to take legal action to resolve this a decision never publicly repealed and yet the notice of violation was quietly cancelled on a Sunday Jeff tamik told me that Tempe had a policy against code enforcement regarding residential property turns out that wasn't true and he had to retract those words the City attorney and the mayor approached the neighborhood and offered us $100,000 to Sue N to Sue nuran and stated m mistakes were made ironically tonight item 7 A4 five and six is this city council proving final plats for La Victoria Commons will the future homeowners know the city won't honor its word and commitment for their homes and Community this Council and the city needs to do its job and follow your Oaths the only ethical path before you is to vote no in this resolution enforce the city code and get that wall down thank you thank you the next speaker is Lawrence Hudson please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes mayor council members my name is Lawrence Hudson and I live at 1517 East ktic Kos what Mr nuran has done is simply theft he has stolen property that we own in common and I call on you this evening to vote against this resolution to Kick the Can to another court and take responsibility for this and force him to give the property back thank you thank you so much that is the final speaker card I have on item 7 C1 in my hand is there anyone else in the audience wishing to address the coun yes sir please come forward I filled the card out I don't know why it's not there but that's okay okay my name is Craig haglin my wife was the assistant City attorney for the city of Chandler we were in that whole mess when they decided to form Shady Lane Estates okay she was in front of the council when they wanted to change the zoning because that was originally a ranch and it was then broken into the multiple homes that it is now and one of the the big problems that we had was this situation with the horse path in the beginning and that was that he wanted to take the horse path over and he agreed when he did the set the plat to leave the horse path the full width and sacrific those few feet okay so this was from the original developer of this property moving this wall should have never been allowed when we called when they tore it down because we called the city at that point okay then my wife passed away since then and I I wish she were here because she was so much better at it as the assistant City attorney she did many of these things for Chandler okay and we really sat in front of you very specifically and said you have to keep these guys on the proper setback for the horse paths and their water supply systems all have other issues and by the way that was originally one Ranch the whole area okay and it was irrigated also and there is a line that runs under the wall that they just cut off right essentially where the wall is okay and that could be another problem that we end up having to do some work on and have to tear the wall down again on that so if we move the wall to the correct spot in the first place none of these problems would exist and I I rest my case on the fact that the developer agreed to the wall where it was he did not get permission to move this wall from you and it's very important that you guys stand the ground of the city and do what was originally planned in this kind of a situation okay thank you thank you is there anyone else oh yes sir please come forward state your name in place of residence you have three minutes hi William Owens uh 1309 East secretari at Drive in um Sunburst Farms Tempe so uh I just wanted to come up and represent some of a lot of the other homeowners that can't be here tonight to express their frustration with the council to have this go on for almost four years now we just request that you honor the plat that was there to remove the wall that this gentleman has taken that's all we're asking follow the law that you guys set forward this previous Council set forward when they set the plat for the bridal path he asked for permission did not get it and we and probably a dozen other homeowners are just asking that you please follow this plat and take it back make the make the homeowner please follow the law thank you thank you is is there anyone else in the audience wishing to address the Council on item 7 C1 if so please get my attention Okay seeing none I will close that portion do okay do you want okay uh vice mayor yes thank thank you um Mr Mayor I've worked tirelessly um over the last four years to remove what I believe is this illegal wall I've met with residents over and over again and share their concerns and agree with what what they've presented tonight I am also a horseback rider I've ridden by that wall many times and when it first came up was actually I think it was about four years ago the Wrangler um um newspaper came out and interviewed all of us or a lot of us that were horse bike riders and we sent the message uh to the community and I know that there were hundreds of signatures collected by um Matt and other folks uh that um like Katie holdich in our neighborhood collected signatures and so this isn't like a few people this isn't affecting 10 people that are you know very vocal this is hundreds of people that that are being affected by this wall and are upset about this wall and I I know that um that it probably would be faster to get in front of a judge which I think you would win but I I can't vote Yes on this in good faith I think it's wrong and and I think it should should have been never been allowed to go up in the first place those trees were beautiful that were there that are now gone they've provided a lot of shade on that path they're gone and I I just will be voting no on this and I appreciate all the residents that I've met with and some I haven't met with but have come up tonight and and I just really um appreciate your hard work and Matt you've really led the charge on this and Stan and uh I want people to to know that publicly so thank you very much Mr Mayor thank you okay no no clapping please I'm sorry Council Nar thank you mayor and yeah I know this has been going on for a while and and it's frustrating um the first thing is frustrating is you know every neighbor should be a good neighbor right to encroach just to encroach because I think they can you're not being a good neighbor it's horrible but then the other side of it too is when we when we look and I think the city has more clarification than I do on the legalities of this because at the end of the day I always just say put the wall back and be done with it done I mean it was the stupidest move ever but the situation I think the city had was is this a city issue is this an HOA issue and where does it lie and I think that the thought of and I and I take this is going to another judge to get clarification and I agree with um vice mayor you probably would win because I don't know how this guy can do what he did and especially if there's a waterline now I'm going off of what I'm told without seeing a map or talking to anybody else that understand this I know the SRP has to get their trucks in there and presently the SRP SRP has never said anything about it uh in terms of their because they usually scream if their rideways are taken away and they haven't said anything about this but at the end of the day it's a horrible deal so I think we need clarification but you guys don't want to go to court so be it I'll vote no all right next up anyone else or Council regard I mean I don't think any of us want that wall to be there but I think because it has been going on for so long it seems like that this resolution this this um um vote that we were looking at was something that was not done just by the City of Phoenix I mean temp coming up with this but this was done with the residents that are involved to come up with this solution to take it to a court so that we can find out exactly who the parties are and how we can move forward and it seems like as as it has been said that we have been going through this for four years and going back and forth and getting different information it just seems like the right thing to do would be to go ahead and move forward with this to get that final information and have it by the court and then we all know exactly where we're at and what we can do because it still seems like there there is some gray in there that is frustrating that is making it difficult for us to be able to figure out any of us on Council um and our residents to find out how we can remove that wall that shouldn't be there um as as um vice mayor Adams had said I've ridden down there on my horse I've walked down there I know exactly where it is I've taken other people down there so I know what you're talking about that wall um in our neighborhood in boavista Ranchos we had somebody that started to build a wall and dug the footings for a wall and we had to talk to them because they were encroaching on the bridal path and the board was able to get them very kindly it worked out really well for them to not do it so I know that if an H steps up it can be it we stopped it in our neighborhood and it was very easy to do but um I'm not sure what happened in Shady Lanes but I thought that this proposal that was brought to the city was brought because of the work that was done between um our staff and our our mayor and our residents so I'm I'm really don't I'm I'm surprised that we are where we're at right now because again I think the quickest way for us to find out exactly who is responsible and exactly how we can move forward and to get a good great path would be to take this to court and let this move forward um so I just have a question for the City attorney could you explain that again exactly what this does and how this can help move this forward uh mayor C Garland yeah the the fundamental issue here is is an adjudicative body the city council is a legislative body make laws but courts are adjudicative bodies that would decide these questions that are not clearly although the bridal path Ean is set forth it doesn't identify who the legal owner the rights to enforce that so that's what we would look to a court to say is you have the right you this property owner City whoever it may be the court will decide who has the rights to enforce the easement and that would be the pathway to if it is appropriate to have the Wall taken down that would be somebody that has the rights and easement would have to be the one to force that so the court so it really has to be in accord so there's two options City Court versus superior court because there's property issues those would normally go to a superior court that's the proper adjudicative body so that's what's proposed by my office in consultation with the city manager's office to put this to bed have the Court decide because that's the one entity that can truly make a declaration and clear up the ambiguities that are on the plat unfortunately okay so I I again it goes back to I think that this this I look at this as giving us Clarity in how we can move forward so that we can do the right thing in working to get this fence removed um I because I look at this and say well yeah Mr nuran should not have put that fence up but I also look at Shady Lane's HOA and say why did you tell him not he couldn't do it so I'd like to see more clarity in that so is that the information and is that the what we would be getting from the courts if this if we move this forward and again once we get that information your city Council will be supporting whatever that decision is on how we can come to a resolution but I think again this is this is the right path and trying to figure out who's at fault is that right mayor councilwoman yeah that's that's a fundamental that's the heart of the issue is again the ambiguity and the easement um The Plaid is actually Shady Lane States if I I could be corrected but I haven't seen anyone here from the actual Shady Lane Estates that has asserted in my understand in from the investigation is that the Shady Lane homeowners association hasn't asserted any interest in it so yeah the there's a lot of ambiguity and the path forward to resolving the ambiguities through a legal action there isn't one that the city council can offer short of having directing staff to take a matter to a legal matter to a court to have it adjudicated so okay um Council keing thank you mayor uh thank you to the members of the public came to speak to us today it has been a long long time been four years I sat with uh Stan leye and Matt at the porch four years ago maybe even a little bit longer to talk about this issue and it is unfortunate that it is still going on to this day I think Doren did a great job excuse me m did a great job of kind of laying out and of course our City attorney laying out kind of the the the issue that we have here kind pickle that we're in I don't think any member of this council is in agreement that the wall should be there I think what we're struggling with is what is the course of action if any that we have the legal authority to take to address this wall there's a lot of ambiguity in it as our City attorney just kind of pointed out to us there's a lot of ambiguity in another issue we're going to have a little bit later as a lot of people are here to to uh discuss as well um I agree with council member Garland in that I'm a little surprised that folks don't want this to go for a summary judgment to the superior court because to me that seems like that's kind of our fastest path to a resolution um if they they come back and I can tell you the council is you know hopeful I don't want to say confident because you try to couch your words when you're when you're in public office but that you'll be you'll Prevail in this judgment and then when that happens I'll be the first to say Mr nerwin tear down this wall but the fact of the matter is we can't act without being given that Authority not in a legally responsible way and I think again we're all looking to fix this problem but we have to make sure that we're going about the correct process to do so no one is trying to encroach on your Bridal path any further than other than one individual no one is hoping that this will continue on for another year two years Etc but without some sort of clarity on our Authority on the interested parties there's not a whole lot we can do legally yet so when I will be voting yes because I want to put this issue to bed I want a judgment and then I want that judgment to be in favor of you all and then I want the Wall taken down and I think this is the clearest way to do that and I say that with some Authority in that we've been talking about it for four years and if we could have done it four years ago we would have and we could have done it two years ago we would have and and this is our best attempt to date to bring you guys some resolution so thank you thank you very much Council brj okay okay thank you well thank you for everybody um their comments I'm the newest council member so I have to ask a couple of clarifying questions cuz cuz I'm I'm getting in there but I'm the newest one this has been um complicated so I'm going to ask you as the attorney um if we were to go say it was voted down what would be the I want them to understand what will happen next it what could we do as city council or what we cannot do because I think I think they need to be clear on what we can and we cannot do because that's where I think that's where that line mucks because they I'm hearing you got to you you have to start you have to do something so if we were to voted down what would be our next step if that was the situation because I need to know if there's anything we actually can do after that or would we still have to just go to court in the same way that we send them I'm just I'm just making it clear mayor Woods uh council member hjj that again I think that's the Crux of the issue is as as pointed out by council member keing it's been just talking for a few years we don't see we've evaluated this I've had two attorneys working on this evaluating we've reviewed every public comment that came in we reviewed the uh documents that came in from the speaker regarding which by the way was an abandonment which is a statement that the city does doesn't have a public public interest there so um there isn't another reasonable path forward to recommend other than to just let the issue Fester um public comment well yes citizens have the right to public comment but that doesn't that's not going to reach a resolution of the issue the other thing we have to keep in mind is uh right or wrong Mr nuran is the property owner he is the underlying legal property owner for that which the easement sits on so right or wrong he has rights that have to be are entitled to due process so the reasonable path forward to put this matter to a resolution is is the one we've recommended we don't have an alternate recommendation for you other than that or you know speak now or or we just leave it and it it continues to Fester without any resolutions okay so let me let me make sure I'm clear so if we say if it votes no we can say oh no we won't go to it won't go to court we won't put the resolution left but there's nothing more we can do except wait is what you're saying on your agenda tonight is is our request yeah is is is the my microphone on I'm just want to sure sorry sorry M the the request there is is the after my office we've we've studied this we've looked through the files multiple attorneys this is the reasonable recommendation that we have as a reasonable path forward towards resolution we didn't provide an alternative recommendation because we don't have one at this time so if the council were to decide to vote down the resolution we would have to go back to the drawing board uh potentially come back to you in another executive session um and talk further and and discuss if we think there's another way but as of right now we haven't really identified a reasonable path to solution short of this so it's not something we're anxious to do this is just the the recommendation we have as a council to to have it resolved so okay thank you I just wanted to clarify that thank you okay Council for keing is something to that point then Council barar yeah so so so to that point so I'm understanding Mr City attorney without some sort of movement for uh adjudication resolution whatever in the Superior Court the status quo as it has been for the last four years remains mayor would ccil member keing that's the the likely scenario at this time the the original proposal discussion was a code enforcement action we have uh reviewed that that's been reviewed by previous attorneys prior to me joining the city um that was determined not to be a a good path forward keeping in mind what we talked about in terms of Mr nuran is the property owner his right and his right to have an adjudicative process so as of right now yeah if the resolution is voted down it will sit there there's nothing we don't have an alternative solution other than if the parties were willing to talk or something but right now we don't have an alternative solution available thank you Council and that's to my point point I guess thanks no no you're good but but just to be clear uh we turn this down and and just as I said we go in and say hey tear that fence down he says no um we're going to court we go to court this starts festering off a little bit more so going that process is it the same outcome as the outcome we're going proposing tonight mayor Woods councilman Neo essentially that's that's where it it it would likely to be to end up the you know the superior court is the body that has the authority to adjudicate property rights in this County so how it ends up there it could the city could say tear this down uh Mr nuran May ignore us which um he certainly ignored to to this point in time to do to follow through that we would have to go to Superior Court either way so the likely result would be because there's an adjudication necessary and the proper adjudicative body is the Superior Court that's the likely if it goes anywhere it goes to goes that route I think I guess my question would yeah my question would be to the people that spoke has this conversation changed your mind by a raise of hand okay one got one all right yeah yeah I I guess I'll chime in I I think this is my my big issue here too because I mean this has I think my first meeting about this matter was during probably the second month of my term so probably around I would say August September of 2020 was the first time I actually talked with residents in the area regarding this matter you know and now you know the challenge is you know I've been here now almost four years um you know Eric Mr Anderson is our third City attorney who's actually been looking at this matter and I've got a couple of college degrees but none of them is a law degree and as a matter of fact none of the folks up here are attorneys I'll be the first one to admit things that I know and and first of all the things that I do not know and my thought about going down this path was to try to find a way to get a definitive answer about exactly what is the situation here on this matter uh you know I I the res there are residents here who I've I've talked to for nearly the last four years and folks who were clearly in the audience who want the Wall taken down I'm absolutely sympathetic to that issue and don't feel that the no of putting of moving a wall further back into the bridal path is the right thing to do just from frankly a neighborly standpoint I mean that's just so I want folks in here to understand that my perspective is I'm not saying that I think that this is a good thing to do or the neighborly thing to do when you have so many other people 250 to 300 people living in all of these different neighborhoods that are affected by this uh it was something that I personally would not have chosen to do at the same time I'm not fully understanding of some of the law behind this and going through the all the different opinions that we've gotten over the years from our city Attorneys at the end of the day I tend to fall on the side of trying to say I have to rely on my City attorney and the team of attorneys that we have in our office to provide me with the best advice about how to move forward and frankly my desire in this matter is not I think like many of the council members are saying is not to Kick the Can further down the road on this matter at all we've been doing this as you talked about for roughly about four years now and I would love to get a resolution ution tomorrow if at all possible but at the same time what I'm looking for in this situation is a definitive answer by the court that actually can provide one which is the Maricopa County superior court and my perspective would be if the if the ruling came back from a judge there that said absolutely City of Tempe this is your responsibility to enforce this I would be the first one saying let's do it let's go ahead and take care of it we now have a definitive decision about who is actually responsible for this matter and we can take action immediately at that point but without that you know I'm basically as a person who's a non-lawyer going against the opinion of pretty much all of the attorneys in my in my office who actually have the ability to to provide advice to me on what I think is the best thing to do and as I mentioned before you know Mr Anderson is now the third attorney I've talked to on this matter during the nearly four years that I've sat up here so my my purpose in any way shape or form is not to Kick the Can down the road because I would like to resolve this I would like to resolve this frankly I would hope on behalf of the neighbors who are sitting here and folks watching at home but I feel like I need a definitive answer from the court and from a judge that is that that is the appropriate one to make this decision and I can promise you if the decision that comes back is something that says the city city of Tempe this is your responsibility you have to enforce this the conditions on the plat map are the ones that you absolutely have to enforce I would be the first person down here saying we need to do that 100% but without me being an attorney myself I have to r on the best advice that I'm being given by my city attorney's office about how to best proceed to get a 100% definitive answer on this matter because I said this has been going on for four years and I would like to bring this to a resolution and I know all the folks in the audience would hundred times more than I would like to bring it to a resolution because you are the ones that are affected by this matter and I definitely want to be a partner in that but I need to get a resolution from the court that can actually provide it anyone else Council brj okay I have one more question everybody they keep talking about the past Council and they passed it but they it was resented can you explain a little bit do you understand a little bit what happened because I think I don't want to fall into the same trap that we already did before if we do we go into it and we say no and we're going to go fight it but then we turn find out that we're not legally binding so I just want to know a little bit more about that because I've heard that over and over again the past council did this and but it was also rechanged resent back so can you explain that a little bit more uh mayor Woods council member hjj I'll do my best as you know I wasn't here I I this is from reviewing the file I did see the resolution it's a little bit different than what's been uh identified it's very similar to what was proposed here um because that actually dates back to to City attorneys I didn't have full clarity as to why it was not pursued um so I felt it was best to bring it back to the C Council especially since there had been a council change two City attorneys changed for essentially asking a very similar question from this Council I will tell you that we are prepared to move forward and if the council decides to adopt the resolution we're prepared to move forward and it's worked for us but we're we're ready and willing to do that work to to put a resolution to to this and we think that's the best way to go forward okay thank you um okay anyone else is is like to make a motion to move forward on to approve 7 C1 okay there's been a motion to approve item 7 C1 do I have a second seconded by Council M keing any further comments okay here hearing none please vote and that motion passes 4-2 with council member chin absent okay that moves us to item to the non-consent agenda item number eight all items listed on the non-consent agenda will be considered separately agenda item scheduled for introduction in first public hearing will be heard but will not be voted upon at this meeting agenda item 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 the first section is item 8A miscellaneous items bids contracts and resolutions first item of the section is 8 A1 which is to adopt a resolution providing for the sale and issuance of City of Tempe Arizona General obligation bonds series 2024a and general obligation refunding bond series 2024b authorizing the execution and delivery of certain documents providing for the annual Levy of a tax for the payment of the bonds delegating the authority to approve certain related matters and authorizing and ratifying related actions agreements and documents is there any questions from Council are there any questions I should say okay hearing none uh is there a motion it's been moved by council member Garland seconded by vice mayor Adams please vote and that item passes five to zero with council member chin and council member keading absent the next item under the section is 882 which is to adopt a resolution authorizing and providing for the issuance and sale of city of Tempi Arizona excise tax revenue refunding obligations series 2024 and related documents authorizing the redemp in advance of maturity of certain outstanding obligations and authorizing The Taking of all other necessary actions contemplated by this resolution Council any comments or questions it's been moved by council member Garland seconded by council member hodj please vote and that item passes five to zero with council member chin and council member keing absent next up is item 883 which is to award a 2-year contract with three one-year renewal options to West Coast arborist Incorporated for tree pring services at various locations throughout the city council members any comments or discussion so move it's been moved by council member hodj and seconded by vice mayor Adams please vote and that item passes six to zero with council member chin absent the last item of the section is 8 B4 which is to approve the utilization of the State of Arizona Cooperative contract with velocity Truck Centers for the purchase of solid waste collection uh I was goingon to say videos Vehicles my goodness they both start with V that's about all they have in common um any comments or questions all right I have a motion moved by Council and seconded by vice mayor Adams please vote and that item passes 6 to zero with council member chin absent the next section on the non-consent agenda is ordinances and items for introduction in first hearing there are actually no items scheduled this evening which moves us on to the second hearing and final adoption for items on the non-consent agenda the first item under the section is 8 C1 which is to hold the second and final public hearing to receive public comment on the fiscal year 2024 2025 annual action plan for the Community Development block grant home investment partnership program Grant an emergency Solutions Grant and adopt a resolution authorizing the submission of the fiscal year 2024 2025 action plan upon approval of the funding activities this is also a public public hearing so is there anyone in the audience wishing to address the Council on this item if so please get my attention seeing none I'll close the public testimony portion of the public hearing uh council is there a motion uh it's been moved by vice mayor Adams seconded by council member keading please vote and that item passes 6 to Zer with council member chin absent the next item under the section is 8 C2 which is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt an ordinance for a zoning map Amendment from cssod to mu4 to a planned area development overlay to establish development standards and a development plan review for a new seven-story mixed use development consisting of 275 dwelling units and Commercial uses on two acres for Apache and mlto located at 1734 East Apache Boulevard the applicant is abuse Gilbert mcgroder pllc I know we had a presentation during the first hearing on the side of council do you wish to see anything else okay this is a public hearing item is everyone in the audience wishing to address the council uh please get my attention all right seeing that I will close the public testimony portion and I will move on to see if there's any further comments or discussion from Council or is there a motion so move second move by council member Haj and I believe seconded by council member keing please vote was not it and that item passes 6 to zero with council member chin absent the next item under the section is 8c3 which is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt an ordinance authorizing the abandonment of a public waterline easement located on the south side of Apache Boulevard and west of Rural Road this is also a public hearing item so if there's any public testimony please get my attention seeing none I will close the public testimony portion uh Council any comments or discussion so move moved by council member hjj seconded by vice mayor Adams please vote and that item passes six to zero with council member chin absent the last item under of the section is 8 C4 which is to hold the second and final public hearing to adopt an ordinance of the City of Tempe Arizona amending chapter 26a Tempe city code by adding article three relating to the payment of prevailing wages on City construction contracts subject to the requirements of title 34 public and building improvements Arizona revised statutes uh I see Tom duning and LTE kamacho coming up so I'll go ahead and bring them thank you mayor members of the council um just a couple of short comments here tonight um I'm going to speak specific oh I'm sorry Tom duning Deputy city manager joined by L kamacho Financial Services director I'm going to speak very specifically to one issue that was brought up in the city of Phoenix and hopefully provide Council a little bit of clarity um as you know our ordinance was modeled after the City of Phoenix that's up for consideration tonight one of the questions that came up was from the public utility providers are they subject to the ordinance um so public utility providers we typically have work done on our contracts public utility providers come in and work on their infrastructure that they own and and so the way our ordinance was crafted it basically says um this includes contracts solicited in accordance with the city's procurement code and Arizona revised statutes title 34 now our procurement code expressly um excludes U utility work or utility services from our procurement code therefore it's our stance and I just wanted to be clear to council that public utilities are not subject to this ordinance and be happy to to certainly answer any questions or any other questions and if there are no questions mayor we ask that you open the public hearing okay thank you very much all right then let's go to the public testimony portion of the public hearing and I've got all my cards here once again I will call these up in the order in which I received them the first uh speaker I have this evening is Matthew kapab please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes mayor council members it's a pleasure to be here this evening uh my name is Matthew Kelby and I'm actually here uh tonight as a citizen uh not as a formal representative of any particular organization uh I actually currently uh reside in Tucson but felt that it was definitely worthwhile to uh to be here this evening and speak on this very pointed matter so uh anyway I wanted to thank you all and council member keing and mayor Woods for your uh very deliberative and careful uh process regarding this matter and uh it it's again very very poignant and important to many of the working folks uh within the City of Tempe we also want to thank your staff and consultant for their diligent efforts regarding this issue as well uh adopting this prevailing wage ordinance will help reconstitute the social contract that used to belong between business and workers and help buil our build our nation's middle class soon skilled workers here in Tempe will be able to afford and contribute to temp's economy and tax base they'll be able to afford rent food and utilities which they're struggling to do now and without relying on others and Welfare in order to make that possible and they'll even possibly be able to afford to buy homes because they're finally going to be getting a livable wage that meets their skill set most of all this will help close the disparity between the wealthy and the Working Poor the Working Poor I think is a ridiculous term but unfortunately it's much too common here nowadays in our in our communities and this is is a step in the right direction and again I want to thank you all uh for your deliberative and careful uh efforts in making making this happen so thank you thank you the next speaker I have this evening is Colin Diaz please come forward state your name and city of residence you have three minutes good evening mayor and fellow council members uh for the record my name is Colin Diaz and I serve as the president and CEO for the Tempe Chamber of Commerce as you all know the Tempe chamber has opposed the prevailing wage ordinance for um over over time for several reasons and today I'm here to articulate three that had ask for you to consider as you guys deliberate this um vote firstly should the ordinance pass uh it's anticipated that the city of tempy will face legal challenges notably from Goldwater Institute um they've explicitly stated that the intent to sue based on violations of um Arizona's revised statutes 34-32 uh the defense of such litigation could drain valuable City resources as well as staff time with a strong possibility that the Institute uh could Prevail secondly a no vote would allow the Judiciary um to resolve ongoing prevailing wage litigation independently permitting the court to assess the legitimate legit excuse me legality of prevailing wage in the current Goldwater lawsuit aligns with prudent policymaking and ensures that any uh legislative action is informed by judicial review and thirdly the ordinance will disproportionately impact our local small businesses and I know many of you on Council are uh firm proponents of our small business Community but many local contractors and our mom and pop shop uh contractors may be financially impacted by this which would uh not only effectively um exclude them from participating in City projects uh but would also be a detriment to our community's economic diversity what we have uh held very closely and I know many of you have here as well on Council so again on behalf of uh the business community and the Tempe chamber I urge you to uh consider these carefully and vote against the prevailing wage thank you for you time thank you the next speaker I have this evening is Mike Gardner please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes Mr Mayor members of the council thank you very much for giving me the opportunity it's great being back in this this chamber many years ago I served in the Arizona legislature and I used to come and visit the Tempe City counts on a regular basis since this was my legislative district but I'm here today I'm representing the Arizona Builder Alliance we're opposed very much opposed to this item the prevailing wage item is is has been discussed in couple in two different cities so far multiple cities City flag step has also considered this and and it's not moved forward with it but City of Phoenix has adopted one as you know City of Tucson and those are both being litigated as been referred to they're being litigated because Arizona revised statue is crystal clear this is one of those unlike the previous one where you're looking for for legal guidance Arizona Revis statue 34 320 when is crystal clear it says the city a city shall not adopt prevailing wage now some are throwing out the smoke screen well you can do a minimum wage and minimum wage might be similar enough to a prevailing wage or maybe there's some wiggle room a a minimum wage and a prevailing wage are completely different animals so make no mistake this is an illegal act this will be and you will end up in court but beyond that let's talk about the policy itself is there a public policy benefit for passing this and I would I would propose to you that there is not currently in in the City of Tempe construction wages are the highest they've ever been It's Not Unusual for somebody working for a construction company to make 98 90 thou $900,000 a year on average those are good paying uh jobs in addition that the benefits are also profound whether this paid time off tuition reimbursement uh housing assistance other things that it takes to attract and retain quality workers so we this is not a a solution that has founding problem that that needs to be fixed but it as alluded to it does create additional problems two problems that I want to make sure you're aware of that's been alluded to this will hurt small businesses not my opinion it's not my opinion I want to quote the city of temp City of Phoenix Phoenix when they uh looked at this city of Phoenix staff report said this will reduce the number of contractors bidding on City projects that could result in delays cancellations or changes to the scope of the project see if Phoenix recognized this is going to hurt small businesses now number two your own staff has said this is going to hurt 10p taxpayers if you pass this if you survive the court challenge would you most likely won't that's going to be costly in addition to that the city of according to your own staff the City of Tempe is going to have to pay between another 2 and half to7 million annually to pay for this two and half to 7 and half million dollar a year annually that's not going to fix any New Roads that's not going to build any new affordable housing that's not going to build any new projects for for city parks that just goes for administrative cost now I there in Builder lines I represent Union and non-union I don't care which shop you are but the City of Tempe should not put their thumb to saying that a Union contract is more valuable than a non-union contract we say reject this treat all contractors equally thank you appreciate thank you for your time any time thank you the next speaker I have is Ricardo Carlo please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes mayor and Council my name is Ricardo Carlo I live in Phoenix Arizona but I am the President of the associated minority contractors of Arizona and I represent small business throughout the state especially in the Contracting industry this is something that has been brought forth and we have discussed how the effects it would have on these small businesses at the same time eliminating them from being able to participate in in City of Tempe projects because they will not meet that criteria they would rather face the injuries than have to put waste money and possibly put themselves out of business just to meet your criteria of prevailing wage the other thing on that and I've mentioned this before is that our members or companies that are part of my Association also the ABA you know we have Union and non-union and depending on the job if it's signatory they do the signatory work if the signatory is not needed then they don't do the signatory work because a lot of our companies especially our larger corporations do work on multi-states and everything else where it's required but here in the state it's not required but I have been pulled my my members and other small businesses and I've been told that they refuse to do prevailing wage they've done it before and they refuse to do it again so the passing this ordinance will eliminate them from being able to compete on city of tempu projects and you can't say that the projects built in this city aren't quality products and it's been done by these contractors that have been longtime contractors and faithful to the city of tempy and other municipalities and building their cities so again I ask you um not only on my behalf but on behalf of all my members that to please do not pass this ordinance thank you the next speaker I have is Jason Sangster please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes good evening mayor Woods Council my name is Jason sster business manager Iron Workers Local 75 Arizona I represent over 1300 iron workers throughout the state we ask that you pass prevailing wage in 10p one of the biggest problems 10p is currently facing is homelessness in fact the city just approved 10 million acquisation of a property to convert a former Hotel into a homeless shelter a recent study has shown that people are not homeless because of addiction drugs or alcohol but because they are not making enough money to afford rant passing prevailing wage will help address this is issue here we can be proactive instead of reactive when trying to solve the homeless crisis while putting more money into the local economy by passing prevailing wage I guarantee you that all the 10piece construction workers earning prevailing wage aren't going to go aren't going to require taxpayers assistance and instead are going to be able to pay their mortgage buy food for their family shoes for their children this ordinance is going to stop weight H theft and make sure that an iron worker gets paid as an iron worker no long no no longer can money be skimmed off the top of their paychecks to boost corporate profits by including certified payroll Bad actors will be weeded out which is going to create new opportunities for small midsize minority owned contractors in the City of Tempe I know there are plenty of contractors including those that are owned by native and women members that are looking to expand their businesses and they will not have that they will now have that opportunity to do so when prevailing wages passed this will level the playing field for for our for our contractors and eliminate wage theft lastly we are aware that the opposition groups that are threatening to sue 10p once you pay once you pass prevailing wage in your city just like they did Phoenix and Tucson please know that we feel very confident that a judge will agree with the attorney general the City of Phoenix the City of Tucson and other legal experts experts to find that once and for all cities have the right under prop 206 to set minimum wage and benefits we ask that you don't succumb to the fear tactics and instead stand with temp's Working Families by passing this ordinance thank you very much thank you the next speaker I have is Mark cardinus please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes mayor Woods honorable council members for the record Mark Carden is of Phoenix Arizona representing Sheet Metal Workers Local 359 Teamsters Local 104 ormers local 627 Carpenters Local 1912 Laborers Local 1184 and the service employees International Union more come first of all I wanted to thank our friends from the various contractors associations and Chambers of Commerce that spoke here right before I did I have no doubt their passion and words are sincere but I came here to assert today that their fight is also ours now what is that fight it is a fight that began over 140 years ago that was when construction companies from the Southern United States began to undercut and underbid contractors in the Western and Northern us including Arizona contractors they did this by forcing lower pay upon their workers misclassifying workers and using lower quality materials after years of losing out on local jobs and local opportunity our elected leaders had enough two Visionary leaders Senator James Davis from Pennsylvania and representative Robert bacon from New York decided to pass legislation establishing a minimum wage for construction workers on federal projects that one piece of legislation saved thousands of jobs for local skilled workers and continues to do so on federal projects today now the next time many of you step on a large construction site in Arizona I ask that you look at the cars in the parking lot the overwhelming majority of vehicles you will see license plates from the states of Alabama Florida Louisiana Mississippi and Texas the contractors doing this work undercut our local contractors and their workers using the same methods they did 140 years ago this is why the local workers sitting behind me are asking for your consideration of this ordinance today by the way some of the contractors are the same contractors that are owned by L large Wall Street hedge funds such as Black Rock Investments and Carlile group you know the same hedge funds that continue to purchase homes in our community by the hundreds driving up the cost of living the price of Housing and the cost of groceries and forces our families to make the hard choices on clothing food and even eviction our workers deserve the same construction minimum wage that other states and cities have deemed appropriate to enshrine into law a wage that Val the thousands of hours they spent training to graduate their apprenticeship and a wage that values the hours they spend building project in Tempe ensuring our tax dollars go to projects that finish on time and on budget passing prevailing wage tonight will ensure that TP dollars stay with Tempe workers I ask that you value Tempe workers you show excuse me I ask that you show you value Tempe workers and vote Yes on this ordinance thank you thank you the next speaker I have is James crutch field please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes mayor members of the council my name is James Crutchfield I'm the business manager of ibw Local Union 640 in Phoenix I'm here today to promote prevailing wage for several reasons number one it prevents substandard work and unqualified people from getting on jobs how many of you here have tried to get a permit from the City of Tempe I have you know why because the plan reviewers are extremely strict and they want to make sure that when you go out and do a job they make sure that it's done exactly according to the plans when I first started I started as a contractor one out of every four jobs I got was going around fixing other people's work because people didn't know what they were doing I recommend that you pass this ordinance don't play to the fear of anybody saying they're going to sue you this is right this is what we should do thank you Council thank you the next speaker I have is Sean Hutchinson evening mayor councel uh thank you for having me uh Sean Hutchinson I live at 18180 North 89th Lane in Poria uh came down tonight for this uh for this hearing it was of my interest to uh to see you guys get some good information about the impact of what prevailing wage um ordinances can have on the workers uh that work on these jobs that's really what the focuses of this entire effort is is to make sure that um workers that are working construction workers that are building the buildings that uh are needed to drive this economy both you know with the large projects the high profile projects right on down to Mama and pop shops and uh and um you know commercial installations um the people that build these um jobs they they go to work every day and they they do the work in construction and they really are subject to you know the the bidding process on a lot of the projects that go on and you know I I kind of like uh one of the previous presenters reference to the Davis bacon Act and the history of the Davis bacon act and how it came into play you know it was put into play it was actually uh a republican uh uh LED effort to make sure that um you know Contracting is fair um it it is it is um it is an act that um prevented basically contractors using low-wage workers to make themselves more competitive and get bids awarded to them based on the fact that they could pay their workers less and in in local sense in and and keeping good governance and good policy you know protecting the people that are doing the work uh by passing ordinances that protect their wages protect their benefits and protect their ability to you know make a make a living for to support their families that's the most important thing that you can actually consider um because these people are really you know as the economy comes and goes and as construction is very cyclical where ups and downs of construction are very impactful to a lot of these workers all of these workers I I come from that field I'm not a I'm not a speaker I'm just here on my own um I do work in the electrical trade I'm a uh director for uh the state's largest apprenticeship program for electricians um you know I see the impact of wages and and the and the um you know ups and downs of construction and their impact on our young workers as they are trying to learn a trade uh coming through an apprenticeship program um look the these these ordinances that are that are being uh considered right now across the valley across the state uh they're going to have a positive impact on their Futures and um I really do appreciate all of your consideration in this in this ordinance um I think there's a lot of Scare Tactics being put out there and I think it's um you know this has already been proven to be good legislation and and you know supporting good corporate citizens with the good contractors that pay their workers Fair wages and fair benefits so again I do appreciate your time tonight and uh great seeing you all I've seen some of you several years so um good seeing you and thank you again thank you so much appreciate it the next speaker I have this evening is Bill Ruiz please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes good evening mayor and members of the council uh William re I'm uh a resident of Phoenix Arizona I'm a business manager for the Western Regional States of uh Council of Carpenters and it's an honor to address you tonight and uh ask for your support for this uh Monumental uh passage of this this uh ordinance um the many uh uh comments you heard tonight I can only articulate Su up in one uh word and that's training uh our training is who we are uh everything about our craft and our trade is to elevate that craft and trade through our training uh much like our military who trains every day uh much like uh every other profession doctors lawyers um they train they School uh we do the same thing and uh for the council to consider a prevailing wage uh that would honor the time spent in the classroom and in the field learning their craft to the highest level of professionalism possible is is what what uh we ask of you tonight um I don't think there's anybody here that would um uh disagree with me that uh uh we see time and time again um that there are like like you heard earlier a lot of uh uh workers that come from out of town um and they're just trying to make a living they're trying to do whatever they can to survive they'll there'll be a labor one day if somebody puts them doing carpentry work they'll do what they can what they know but that doesn't make them uh a a certified trades person uh any more than if you went to the uh dentist and a podiatrist walked in and you know he's hey I'm just filling in today it doesn't work that way um but what we do is we pride ourselves in our training uh all all the trades here represented tonight uh we we we pride ourselves in our training of who we are and that the professionalism that you're going to see in the in the work on these jobs are going to be uh something that the city can be proud of and that the the members the workers themselves are going to be securing their right to a dignified retirement at the end of the day we believe that government is our partner not our better factor and so we manage our own trust funds we manage our own health care plans were self-funded and all of our contractors that we deal with in the Carpenters some 57 plus are all private business Enterprise that realize the value the most important asset in their company is their employees thank you thank you so much the last card I have is from Albert dare please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes yeah thank you San thank you sir good evening Mr Mayor and city council persons uh my name is Albert D um some of you know me by another name but that's okay we won't say it all right but anyway um just to let you know I want some don't know me um the city at Tempe moved to me 63 years ago at that time I lived three miles out of town and the city moved to me okay so I never moved to tempy but I've been here one long time all right okay um I want to thank you for first what you folks have done the last few weeks for the homeless people in tempy it shows me that tempy has a heart and that's important in everything no one to be left behind for any reason I will tell you I've I am a discipled iron worker have been and very proud so I worked over 20 or 30 years uh for fair labor contractors that recognize my skills and my abilities and we saw to it that the job got done correctly on time and made money one of the responsibilities of building the building is not to see how cheap you can do it but to hope and pray to God that it stands up all right and sometimes you get what you pay for and they fall down I've got over 12 highrises in downtown see they're still there okay I'm older than them but I have five buildings here in Tempe that I worked on in all those years they're still standing but I going to tell you something you know I hear this saying every once in a while that some contractor or some arrangement has been made and someone's coming to town and they're bringing a lot of high pain jobs right ever hear that yeah all the time well what they're saying when they say that is that they're acknowledging that there are people who don't have those jobs already okay but we want those good jobs why because those people can afford to they don't become a burden on the city they buy their children some shoes well I'm telling you right quick I lived here all this time I see I'm on yellow and I can talk all night but I won't I believe this is the fairest thing for you to do is to pass this ordinance it shows that you care that no one will be left behind and let me tell you I appreciate it thank you for your time thank you good day that's my pacemaker oh okay I'm sorry it was a good life all right I I I can I can tell you I've been here for 12 years that is the first time I've heard that my 12 years here all right um all right so um that was the last card I had uh is there anyone else in the audience wishing to address the Council on item 8 C4 yes please come forward state your name and place of residence you have three minutes thank you mayam mayor and Council uh my name is Fabian sandz I'm a regional manager for the Western State's Regional Council of Carpenters and I'm also the president of local 1912 I'm here representing over 5,500 members and uh the core purpose of uh prevailing wage is to prevent workers under payment on public contracts compared to similar private sector jobs in the area prevailing wage rates are based on local market conditions in to ensure taxpayers funded projects do not are not subsidized by substandard paid and benefits uh I'll give you a little analogy about this and what you are creating by passing prevailing wage is when you have a a boxing match you're always looking for the same uh both fighters to be on the same uh same weight you're doing the same thing you're creating a Level Playing Field for contractors to compete under under those standards so so that way he assures taxpayers that their money is being invested correctly we thank you and uh we urge that you pass prevailing W joing us thank thank you so much appreciate it is there anyone else in the audience wishing to address the Council on item 8 C4 if so please get my attention all right seeing none I will close the public testimony portion of this hearing uh and I'm going to move on I I've got a couple of council members who wanted to speak uh council member ke heting and then vice mayor Adams uh thank you mayor um thank you for everybody who came out today and members of the public who wrote in whether you're for or against whether you're here today to speak for against this ordinance it's important that you participate in the process and your voices are heard whether we may disagree on issue from time to time your input is valued and is taken seriously um I know that most of you rather be somewhere else right now I don't know why you'd want to spend your Thursday evening here at the Tempe city council other than this gentleman's great sense of humor is um you know I mean the entertainment's great you know there is a two drink minimum so make sure you tip the clerk on that um I I want to talk a little bit just about this ordinance and I'm more of a facts guy but some of the some of the things that the speaker said kind kind of mve me a little so I like to address those as well before I get into that I I I do want to thank my colleagues this has been going on prevailing wage working group was started in 2019 so it's been a long road getting from getting from there to here A lot's happened since 2019 I mean a lot I don't want to go into it but it's it's been quite a process and particularly in the last year or so this has been before this Council in executive session eight times let me tell you those discussions were were certainly very spirited so I I think I speak for all my colleagues when I say that we're tired of talking about prevailing wage and and we're ready to to move on it and I'm glad that we're in the position that we are today and I want to speak a little bit about why I am supporting this ordinance um as it's been something that I've been frankly trying to get done here the city for over 5 years now so with that I'm going to speak on some items I'd like to address some of the questions that have been asked uh you know one of them is what's the problem that we're trying to address what's the cost of this to the city what's the rush and what are the legal ramifications and are there any unintended consequences that we might not be considering this is my point of view as someone's worked on this project for a very long time time and and as an advocate for the the men and women who who build our city so when we when you say things like like what's the problem that's actually a tough question to ask I I had uh I had lunch with YouTube gentl or breakfast remember 20 early 2020 or 19 it's pre- pandemic I know that and you know you asked me that question and and I struggled with that at the time because I wasn't quite sure you know I know that conceptually this is something that I support but what really am I trying to do and I have done some some research into it and looked into it a little bit and and there there's been stories as far as wage theft goes right uh there was just an article in the Republic the Valley Metro workers to receive 600k in back wages and here's why to the point that was made earlier by a gentleman I forget which one almost everybody on this project was misclassified they they were they had iron workers classified as as I mean I don't want to read it's hard to read I work iron workers classified as power tool operators and a whole host of other thing I mean it seemed every every skilled laborer in in this project was somehow misclassified and this was a project that was subject to mon Davis so they were misclassified knowing that someone very well could come and check up on it and make sure that they were being paid the correct wage and they were they were still misclassified now I'm a Believer in the benefit of the doubt I don't think you should ever subscribe malice to what could just be incompetence what could be an honest mistake but when you look deeper into the same article you see that the firm that misclassified them had a history of misclassifying their workers they've been fed for it previously to the tune of millions of dollars now if I made a mistake that cost me even a few hundred dollars is very unlikely that I'd make that mistake again but again you know maybe there's some sort of reasonable explanation here well this firm was did not take the opportunity to provide an explanation when asked by the Arizona Republic they just quietly paid Their fines and paid their back their back wages and and went along with with their life so I I I think that's telling in that I'm not saying all companies that that deal with construction projects whether you're big firm smaller pop small small or or large mom and pop are necessarily out to exploit workers I'm merely suggesting that there are people who would exploit workers should they get the opportunity should they have a legal pathway or even not even have a legal Pathway to do so does this happen in temp we don't know but I'm sure it does I'm sure it does there was an article sent to me from KTR about a um a construction company in Tempe that was fined um in 2022 for similar violations so what this seeks to do is make sure that if there is some sort of violation of what workers are legally entitled to whether that's money whether that's benefits there is some recompense for the victims of that wage theft there is some way that the city can check that work worker that that that there will be a record of people that were shorted their wages this is money out of working fam's Pockets that they now they they can't afford on rent they can't pay their rent you know food tuition Etc these are wages that are rightfully due to individuals and if someone had not checked those workers who built the uh the light rail would still be out over $600,000 in wages owed to them so the timeline's been um quite long and from 2019 when we started to 2020 when we did our first study 2021 it came to um me and council member Aron dando's um working group uh 2022 it came to work study session five times an executive session in 20123 three times in 2024 with our first draft ordinance that we had first read just a few weeks back so is there is there a problem here I yeah I I think there is and I think if we can take uh reasonable steps to prevent any sort of victimization of the people that we're relying on to build our Public Works projects I think we should absolutely do that a lot of there's been a lot of talk about the cost to the city we heard the ter we heard the uh the numbers of um2 million to7 million annually out of our budget I'm going to split that difference I'm going to take the mean of that I'm going to take 4 and a half million for the numbers that I'm going to talk about so we're just go right down the middle and say you know what it's not too it's not seven we'll say four and a half now when we say this is $4.5 million annually out of our budget we are talking about a our CIP budget our Capital our Capital Improvement projects budget our CIP budget annually is $616 million so yes it will cost more out of our CIP budget to ensure that prevailing wages to ensure that fair wages and the wages owed to the workers that are building our city funded projects um will will uh are paid and are enforced in a manner that is reasonable so for what is uh what percentage is 4.4 of $616 million it's less than 1% it's 72% so we are talking about an increase to the annual CIP budget of 72% for for some perspective that is 72 per $100 spent I think if you take that to the public and you say if you could guarantee if you buy anything you buy a pair of shoes you buy clothes a jacket whatever if you can say this is going to cost you $100 but for $100.

72 cents I will guarantee you no one who produced this item for you was taken advantage of I would find it hard to believe anyone would say you know what I'm going to save that $72 so th this is I'm not going to sit here and say $4.5 million is not a lot of money because that's a ridiculous sound bite it is a lot of money but compared to the amount of money and the amount of projects that we do in the City of Tempe annually it is not a significant amount the City of Tempe I believe and I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong I believe we have 221 individual projects being funded by the CIP this year and next year will be the same and the year after that if not more so this is again it's a significant amount of money but in the long run in the bigger picture it is a small price to pay to ensure equity and fairness in the city there's been some talk about the rental tax repeal and the effect that it has on the city budget and that is very concerning and I I get calls about it an individual quite often wanted me to run this campaign to like reinstitute the rental tax and I'm like that is losing campaign he's like well why do you think that well it's called the rental tax so but anyway it does it does provide challenges to the city but what's important to remember is the rental tax goes into the general fund the general fund has taken that hit of I believe it's $15 million and our staff has done a great job of making sure that we mitigate any sort of losses that we have there so no city services will be cut we're not doing layoffs we're not freezing hiring of our police officers and our firefighters we we are we have a plan to mitigate those costs however the prevailing wage monies come out of our CIP budget our CIP budget is not affected by the R Rental tax um loss the rent the CIP budget is funded almost most entirely out of our secondary property tax now the thing about and I'm getting into the weeds here but this is an important distinction to make the thing about the general fund and the CIP is we can sub we can supplement the general fund with CIP money but we can't take CIP money to make the general fund whole so when we say that we're losing this $15 million that's regard that adding prevailing wage to the CIP has these are two separate issues these are these are two universes and and one is not going to fix the other so just to be clear we are not compounding the financial stress put on on the city by the legislature and and and the and the the repealing of of the rental tax now is prevailing wage legal I don't know I'm not a lawyer but I do know very smart lawyers who tell me it is and I know smart lawyers who tell me that it isn't and I know there's a law that says that the gentleman pointed out that says that it's not and I know that there was a proposition passed by the voters that says that it is it's ambiguous enough where I think this is worth pursuing just like our Shady deal right it's not entirely clear if it is legal or if it's not I can tell you who thinks it's legal the Attorney General of the State of Arizona thinks it's legal she's probably pretty smart smarter than me smarter than some of you know the the emails I've gotten calling me a jerk and etc etc and hey I'm not saying I'm not a jerk but you got to spell it right so and I and I tell you who who I'm not entirely convinced is sure it is illegal is some of the folks in opposition and I say this because in 2021 almost three years ago to the day in on May 28th 2021 I wrote a letter to representative David Cook reassuring him that I would not push prevailing wage on private projects only City funded projects why did I do that because there was an effort at the time in the legislature to explicitly make prevailing wage illegal so if it my question would be to that if it was illegal why are we trying to make it more illegal right so I I wrote this letter to representative cook he voted against the the majority or voted against the majority party and prilling wage was not taken up as as a legal action in legislature that year so to me again that kind of says that this is ambiguous enough where we need some sort of clarification on it now does that mean we'll get sued almost certainly right I mean I think that's kind of what is is to be expected at this point is there value in doing the right thing when it means having to have a fight absolutely we've seen that time and time again throughout our history some of the most dramatic moments in our history Landmark court cases that disrupt the status quo and and change society at its fun fundamental level remember when marriage equality was ruled on that was that was one of the most significant moments that I can remember in my lifetime happening how overnight the entire Zeitgeist the entire status quo was changed in in the United States Goldwater Institute hey they say they're going to sue us and I'm a believer that when someone tells you they're going to do something they're probably going to do it gold w Institute sues a lot of people you go on their website and they have 144 cases listed on their website the this is a litigious group of people this is something that they do in fact they're currently suing ASU over its quote discriminatory diversity diversity inclusion equity and inclusion regime that's that's something Dei regime what could they possibly be talking about yeah it turns out it's a training that their employees ASU employees have to take and that there's apparently is no real consequence if you don't take it other than your supervisor will know so do I think that there is um a lot of Merit in suing the City of Tempe again I don't know but some of the um lawsuits that have been posted seem to be uh rather frivolous so yeah do I think we'll get sued yes and and I do think we'll we'll Prevail there is this this this idea that prevailing wage is only for unions this is some sort of giveaway to to unions which is I mean just on the face of it false but I do want to talk about that a little bit it's just the opposite union members already get the wages and benefits that uh the Dignity of work provides them they are already they they are already at that level this is for the people that don't have those protections of union membership that don't have uh brothers and sisters it they don't have legal representation when they find out that they are short in their paycheck the only option they have is to go hire a lawyer they can't afford to try to get wages back from a company that has much more resources than them this is to level the plane field for all all workers whether you're in a union or not and you want to come to 10p and we're going to use 10p taxpayer money to defund a projects you will be paid what is the standard wage and I think that's an important distinction as well now it's been it's been said that prevailing wage will will hurt affordable housing and certainly I know no one wants to do that here I think house the housing crisis in my opinion is is the biggest issue that the that any municipal government can face right now we have got to do something about this housing Supply said I've said it a million times I'm not going to say it again so I would never do anything I know none of my colleagues would ever do anything that that could possibly hurt affordable housing to that end our ordinance excludes private development which is largely additional housing in the city this is only for City funded Public Works projects now may I heard it said I heard that it has been said that the City of Tempe should get into affordable housing the business of affordable housing nonetheless the City of Tempe is in the business of affordable housing as a matter of fact so what happens now when as was also mentioned you know we're trying to build affordable housing on various sites in the city of temp now is this going to drive it up and prevent the City of Tempe from building affordable housing no because we excluded affordable housing projects from this ordinance as well to build as much housing as fast as we can as affordable as we can so I'm I'm almost done here my colleagues one of the things I wasn't going to say but but it did strike me when we're talking about doing what what's right and there'll be a lot of talk about the law and and what this is now going to play out in a different venue than Tempe City Hall and there'll be a lot of discussion on what's legal what is the law um and again that these aren't questions I have the answer to but I I do think that one of the My Favorite Things is you guys all know the uh the first codex of laws ham Rob's code right first guy to write down laws like I mean what what what a profound uh uh innovation but the preamble to the hamurabi code says the purpose of this document is to bring about the rule of righteousness across the land so that the strong may not harm the weak and I think that is something that all elected officials all bodies of government should strive to live for to every strive to to meet every day with passing this ordinance we are taking a small step in that direction is it going to solve every problem we have with labor no is it going to save the world from the city of Tempi no but it's going to move the needle in the direction that I think everyone can be proud of so I was Long window there mayor I'm sorry uh with with that um I would like to make a motion mayor to approve item 8 C4 thank you Council foring uh so the motion's been made by Council B keing I think was seconded earlier by C okay uh now I've got time for other discussion to take place uh vice mayor Adams yes thank you Mr Mayor prevailing wage in my opinion is a basic right of workers you get health insurance pensions and competitive wages they all know how much they will be able to make and can actually buy a house as opposed to living in their cars you get quality work I want want Arizona license plates in the on those job sites I don't want to see Texas Texas plates or anybody else out of state plates at those job sites I want the Arizona workers to be there I know that they will be able to support our local businesses because you're going to have more money in your pocket and you're going to able to stimulate the economy I'm about I'm about jobs I'm about stimulating the Eon economy taking care of businesses and you guys are going to be able to you men and women um are going to be able to do that in a better way with prevailing wage I was Deputy Public Works director for many years at the City of Tempe I personally worked on Davis bacon act because we received Federal funding on many of the cips so it was not difficult we just knew that we were enforcing Davis bacon or bacon D Davis bacon act and it was not difficult to do it was not a big Boogeyman you know over hanging over our heads we just paid the right wages the the wages that were deserved by these employees so I know firsthand what it is with this with to to um have the Davis bacon act and I manage the cips the entire cips for the entire city so I I'm I'm not new to this this is my first rodeo and most important to me is that they are able to support their families and and give them a good life and a home and whatever they need for their basic needs and how about some extra things right you can enjoy your families and and and take care of your children and that's why I will be supporting this tonight thank you very much Mr Mayor thank you anyone else further yes Council perj yes please okay um thank you I want to thank everybody who spoke tonight oppose for I do um I wear another hat I'm a governing board member so this is going to explain why I believe in prevailing wages I've always said I can't look my students in the eye and say it's never a wrong time to do what's right for my students and when I look at my students and I look at the ones that are going off to college and the ones that are not and my job is to make sure that the next generation is prepared financially and has the support that they need to make sure that they can maintain in this world and when I look at prevailing wages I'm not just looking at the people in this audience I'm looking at their kids and their grandkids that's going to be coming after that and I can't look my kids in the eye and say that I've done what's right if I don't do what's right in my heart and what's in my heart has always been that I'm going to fight for the common man because I am the common man I am the person who has been in those situations my family has always had to support by either someone helping pushing it up we we weren't fully gra college graduates we've always been the workers we've always been the people who has done the job and for me to sit here and my the people who stand before me who put me where I'm at my family I could never look them in the eye and say I didn't do what's right and this is the time no matter what it takes and I know we're looking at lawsuits we're going to always look at lawsuits for a city um I know that there is good and you know people look at it there might be pros and cons but I look in my heart and the pros outweigh the cons so I'm going to definitely be supporting yes and I hope that the people that my students look at me when I see them next week on Wednesday I can look them in the eye and said I did something that was going to make sure that I sustain their future so I'm definitely supporting yes on that thank you very much uh council member darar thank you mayor uh I'll keep it short I don't think I can upstage council member keing but here I go try try uh no I I think you know this actually is a topic that probably longer than 2019 because it seems like as soon as I got on Council this was the topic that kept on coming up kept on coming up and 2008 was the downturn I stepped into and and there was nothing going on in fact we had buildings over here that were halfway constructed and stopped uh then we come into getting out of that right to the pandemic and then we come into something else you know it's just the timing of everything but as council member HJ says when is a good time you know always you have an issue coming up and we're always asking when is a good time when is a good time time is now time is now to take a stand time is now to St a charge on this my my dad was a steel worker in Marathon steel over here in 10 B for number of years and that was our income as a family you know while you supported my mom going through school and and uh you know then he got himself a job you know at APS but the process is there the process for people to actually achieve and just to like council member Haj said the process for the Youth to actually find a a trade that they can get into and be paid well and I think it's said you know I'm a union worker myself for the Phoenix fire department but at the end of the day it's about the people have an opportunity not me but other people that want to have that trade they want to learn a skill they want to actually better themselves the opportunities is out there and the pay is out there respectable pay and I I think that at the end of the day we're just trying to make sure that we're doing right um by the type of work we're doing here at the city and this is a step you know this is a good step and I think it's a fair step and I don't see much impact to the local business I don't see anything like that I see this is a construction thing I see that this is going to be something that we're at a position in the City of Tempe with what we're doing and how we're doing here and what we're achieving it's time uh we're a small City but we're Mighty and here we are we'll make that stand thank you any other comments Council m m Garland thank you mayor I want to say also thank you um so much to um everybody who is here and and really all of the representatives from both sides who have been so kind to take my goofy questions by email or by phone um so that I could understand the prevailing wage and how that looks and how that affects um ours Tempe residents um I have a statement that I want to go ahead and read um but again I just want to say thank you so much for everybody who's taken the time to um walk with me through this and um just want to say um thank you for everybody who's here um to speak also so I strongly support unions and I believe in Fair wages for all I believe skilled Tradesmen and women are essential to our economy and building our infrastructure and I also believe in being a good Steward of tax SP funds I have a responsibility to ensure that City funds are managed carefully and are used wisely our community is one that invests in Health and Human Services education Community safety Community parks and Safe Streets Tans can be proud to say we invest more in these areas than many other Valley Cities and our quality of life is better for it with every investment we can measure return of value to our community's benefit Fair wages and trades um to Tradesmen and women are important it's also important that residents of Tempe are protected and this is my first responsibility in this particular case obligating the city with its prevailing wage statute will guarantee two things one it will um cost the city between 5.9 million to 17.8 million over the next five years two it will pull Tempe into an existing lawsuit that will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and is unnecessary for us to be in those legal costs will be 100% borne by the residents of 10p and will directly result in cuts to Capital Improvement projects for water infrastructure parks and Street improvements again I strongly support Fair wages and I support our unions in this particular case and at this particular time I have too many concerns of the unknown risks as a leader I believe we need to mitigate the risks the risks of the unknown cost and a lawsuit of our choosing are too great especially at a time of financial uncertainty and the loss of 21 million in rental tax rental sales revenues it that affects our budget I believe it's now time to be prudent I will be voting no not against the prevailing wage or ordinance but no to the unknown legal cost to our temp taxpayers thanks mayor thank you anyone else any comments further comments all right seeing none um normally I would have tons of comments but I think everything has been said this evening so in the spirit of moving the meeting along I think if we don't have anything else uh we I'm here to just call the question uh so it's been moved by council member keing and seconded by council member Hajj please vote uh oh it's re it's re it's reloading hold on here excuse me okay try again okay yes I'm okay so I hear oh there it is um Council hod I okay uh and that vote therefore passes five to one with Council mber garlett voting no and Council M chin absent all right next up item number nine current events Council announcements and future agenda items council members May request that an agenda item be added to a future council meeting during their allotted time in accordance with the open meeting law there should be no discussion on the item other than to clarify the request I will call on council members for their comments and or requests to add an agenda item to a future meeting this evening I'll be started with council member keing not another speech come on well let me tell you now I just uh want to wish my brother a happy birthday on May 16th and my girlfriend a happy birthday on May 17th thank you thank you very much uh next up Council M dearo oh man you know Mar got one thing and and it was a shock to me come draft day well not really a shock but a local kid Ricky piol from cor Del Soul got drafted in the first round for the San Francisco 49ers and just thought you'd be mentioned that's awesome all right thank you so much next up vice mayor Adams thank you Mr Mayor I have several announcements this evening my first announcement is about our SE committee meeting coming up it will be on Friday May 17th at 1M right here in council chambers and that is sustainability and economic Vitality Council committee that's why I said seev it's much easier to say uh we have two items on the agenda this month we will be hearing all about growing together our community tree Steward program trees for Tempe did you get that Jason so um yeah so I'm very excited about that so we're the City of Tempe has rolled out a new program um on trees so I really want anybody that's interested in trees to come on down or listen online um we'll also give an update on the economic economic impact of special events here in Tempe a virtual option is available and the meeting will also be posted on temp's Channel 11 page on YouTube after the meeting May is mental health awareness month hence the green ribbons that we have um social worker is my background uh I practice for 14 years at the City of Tempe I'm a master's level social worker and a licensed clinical social worker so this is very near and dear to my heart and I got my masters from ASU go devils and we will be hosting the be kind to your mind 5K run walk at Kanas Park this Saturday May 11th from 9:00 a.m.

to 11:00 a.m.

so please consider coming out for the event it the event is free but you have to register so for more information email care7 t.gov that ends by announcements this evening thank you Mr Mayor thank you so much next up Council M Garland thank you so much mayor I don't have a slide um but I just want to say h thank you so much to uh Tempe Constable Karen leam she allowed me to go on a ride along with her this morning um I wanted to see I think in order for us to be sitting up here it's really important for us to be seeing some of the things that happen in our city and she is a conable and she was is delivering um eviction notices and I think for me to be able to understand what it looks like and how we are trying to help people from being keeping them from being evicted or the services that we can offer people I wanted to see what it was like on the on her side um and I just wanted to say that it was um it was very eye opening um it broke my heart a bit um but it it's a necessary job that she um she does and she does a great job at it and she really does work really hard to offer services as she does it it's a tough job but she does it with compassion and with respect to the people we um at least the three people that we um met with today so I just want to say thank you so much to all of our constables and the job that they do it it is it's a necessary very difficult job to do but thank you for what you do and the fact that we were sitting in the car and she said I'll let you know if I need to give you a bulletproof vest to wear um just makes you realize the type of job that she has so I just want to say thank you so much to our constables thank you so much next up Council HJ oh okay um on May 18th um we have breakfast with Beretta and we have it with uh keep tempy beautiful so we're going to be at timy Town Lake from 8 a.m.

to 11 a.m.

so everybody who wants to come out and volunteer come out put some sunscreen on and just come on out and put your hat on let's get cleaning um also want to congratulate um Mr Wardell he got teacher a year uh me and may Woods we have a competition because we both speak every year and I think I'm better at it than he is but we'll just keep that to ourselves but um he is a phenomenal teacher and welld deserved Mr wildell I mean just well reserved and I just want to we had tempy s um salutes uh last uh this Monday this past Monday and uh myself vice mayor and council member Garden were there to give out um to our future kids who are coming into the military who's graduating from high school it was a phenomenal event I just want to give a special special um thank you to um our um I call them our Chiefs of Staff but our Council uh assistants um sapan and Parish they did a phenomenal job of picking it up and running with it and putting it all together um and because our person who was over it he's no longer with us and you guys picked that ball up and you continue to run with it so I just want to thank both of you guys from the dearest of my heart how that was a hard work and um thank you so much and my last thing is it's not only a thing but I'm GNA be I'm gonna be a police officer on Saturday I'm excited I'm G to be there from 1 to 9: I'm doing a full time with the police department so I'm riding with them um and also it's a it's a big competition because the following Saturday I have um I'm going with the fire for 24 hours now police feeds me well at a restaurant but fire cooks for me so I want to see what's going to happen with this right now so I'm just giving that competition out there last year fire beat y'all because they actually cook me a good meal so let's just see what happens with this one to nine on on Saturday so thank you so much all right thank you Council RJ to her Point earlier I cannot top that so I will continue my Trend this evening of foregoing my comments and that will take me to item number 10 public appearance is there anyone in the audience who would like to address the city council if so please get my attention all right seeing none I will go ahead and close that portion of the meeting and move on to item number 11 which is adjournment the next regular city council meeting is scheduled for May 21st 2024 we are adjourned have a great evening and a great weekend everyone