Gilbert Dismisses Harvest Grove Appeal on Standing; Water Audit Released with Minimal Error Rate

Mhm. I could have everybody take a seat. We'll get started here in just a second. Thank you. I'll um call to order now our regular council meeting of June 23rd, 2026, which happens to be our last regular council meeting of the fiscal year 25-26. Our invocation this evening will be led by Pastor Thor Strandhold of Valor Christian Center. Pastor. I'm assuming this is on. Yes. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Town Council, and to our great audience that's here tonight.

Um before I pray, there's something that I I want to announce here, and that is that Valor Christian Center is celebrating its 10th anniversary of serving our community with our fireworks sales at our church. And we had 30-plus people setting up table after table of after table of fireworks so that we would have the best selection in town and the best prices as well.

So, we want to invite everybody to come, and uh as you know, we're all going to be celebrating our 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation. We're excited about that. And we encourage you to come and we're we're on Valor between Higley and Greenfield. And here's the good part. If you mention Pastor Thor, you will receive a free firework with your purchase of $10 or more. [laughter] Come early and get the best selection.

This fundraiser though will help our children's educational department and our veterans. Let's pray. Father, tonight we come together and we just ask you to give our town council wisdom, discernment this evening concerning all the decisions that have to be made concerning our town, our residents, our businesses. And Lord, it's to your glory, to your honor, and your praise that we submit this prayer. And it's in Jesus' name we pray and everyone agreed by saying, "Amen." And amen. Thank you.

Thank you. The Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Council Member Torgerson. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Roll call. Mayor Scott Anderson. Here. Vice Mayor Chuck BonGiovanni. Here. Council Member Bobby Buckley. Here. Council Member Kenny Buckland. Here. Council Member Yunka Prawski. Here. Council Member Monti Lyons. Here.

And Council Member Jim Torgerson. Here. A quorum is present. Thank you. We have one proclamation this evening uh to the Parks and Recreation team about Parks and Recreation Month. Council Vice Mayor BonGiovanni will be coordinating this. Just you? Come on. Oh, there you go. My team left me hung with a with a microphone in my hand. [snorts] Okay, so this is parks and recreation month.

Whereas parks and recreation is an integral integral part of the communities throughout this community, including the town of Gilbert. And whereas parks and recreation promotes health and wellness, improving the physical and mental health of people in the community. And whereas parks and recreation promotes time spent in nature, um which positively impacts mental health by increasing cognitive performance and well-being.

And where parks and recreation encourages physical activity by providing space for popular sports, multi-use paths, swimming pools, and many other activities designed to promote active lifestyles. And whereas parks and recreation programming and educational activities such as youth programming, special events, and environmental education are critical to childhood development. And whereas parks and recreation done. [snorts] Chuck, you just talk loud. House of Reps Rep Thank you.

Representatives has designated July as parks and recreation month. And whereas the town of Gilbert recognizes the benefits derived from parks and recreation resources. And now therefore, I Chuck Bongiovanni, for Scott Anderson, mayor of town of Gilbert, Arizona do hereby proclaim July as parks and recreation month in July in month in July in in Gilbert. I urge all citizens to celebrate by visiting your parks and recreation locations. Mike, you want to start off by saying something?

Uh thank you, Vice Mayor. I think the mic shuts off after like five or six whereases, so that's no worries. Uh but uh we just want to thank the uh council support for parks and recreation, right? Well, there's always this misnomer that we're the fun department, and that exists for a reason because we are the fun department. We do all the cool things in the town, and so just having the support of the council and of the citizens, uh it just really makes our jobs worthwhile.

So, again, we appreciate it and urge you guys to go out and recreate. How about a quick introduction of which which Oh, absolutely. Uh well, actually, we'll pass the mic and let everyone talk. I'm Tyler Smith, recreation manager. Hi, I'm Elaine Graham. I'm the assistant director. I'm Mike Wylie, the parks and recreation director. Zack Poelwijk, parks superintendent. Kylie Sorenson, parks manager. Cat Alongi, admin assistant. Awesome. And I was hoping one of you would just say whereas just once.

[snorts] Okay, picture. Okay. I'll get one more next. Next up is our communications from citizens, Vice Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. I have another speech to go here, though. Okay. We value the participation of our community members and robust exchange of ideas. However, it's essential that this discourse remains respectful and constructive, reflecting the professionalism expected in such forums.

Misinformation and personal attacks undermine our collective efforts and do not contribute to the productive dialogue necessary for our town's progress. This is an opportunity for the public to address the town council directly about issues impacting the town. According accordingly, the town council will not allow for moments of silence or playing of music or other recorded materials which which could distract from the meeting decorum and violate copyrights.

While we understand and appreciate the passion our community members bring to the session, we remind everyone that clapping during the meeting is not acceptable. This practice can disrupt the flow of discussion, potentially intimidate others, and distract from the respectful atmosphere we strive to maintain. In accordance with state law, we are unable to respond to issues that have not been properly noticed.

Therefore, the town council may only listen to citizens who wish to address them and at the end and at the conclusion of the open call to public Response is limited to individual members of the council responding to criticism made by those uh who have addressed the public body, asking staff to review a matter, or asking that a matter be put on a future agenda. However, please be assured that your concerns and input are heard and valued.

In accordance with town code, speakers may not use this forum to advocate for or against any candidate for public office. Town resources, including this public meeting, may not be used for campaign or election purposes. Each speaker is to three minutes. Priority will be given to Gilbert residents, business owners, and property owners. Public comments will be limited to 30 minutes total to the beginning of the meeting.

The town clerk will notify the council once the 30-minute limit has been reached. Uh if additional comments remain, they will be heard after the conclusion of the public hearing items with the same 3-minute limit per speaker. When you come up, please come to the podium, state your name, and city of residence. And council, we only have three today, so we won't be going into the second session. All right, Barbara, you ready? Yes, my name is Barbara, and I live in Gilbert.

My concerns tonight are about rates. I have heard rumors that the sewer portion of our utility bill will return to the $30 rate it was prior to the extortion amount the town exercised upon us. Once the sewer project is complete, will the doubled $60 rate return to the $30 rate, or will this money go into a slush fund? This also brings into question the water treatment plant and the new wells.

Will the rates return to a normal affordable rate once these projects are completed, or will this money also go into a slush fund? I would venture to wager that many of our residents do not believe the charts provided by Kelly, Rebecca, and Jessica were totally accurate. Their numbers just don't gel. The charts projected what they wanted the council and the residents to see.

Most of us also don't believe that these hundreds of thousands of apartments that appeared are paying the same rate single-family homes do. And the contractors were given reduced fees. So, who's making the decisions? Is it the town staff, the council, or is it a combined decision? Since the former town manager so conveniently left when the town staff and town council was falling apart during this budget crisis, where does that leave us, the residents?

Will the new town manager, Mario Paniagua, follow in his predecessor's footsteps, or will he take steps to do what is right for the town? Or will he be folded in folded into the circle of those that have not done right by the citizens? We were also told that there would be another water rate increase in 2027. Then on Facebook, I happen to cross what appeared to be a town of Gilbert film clip talking about the plans for Gilbert.

In this reel, it was stated there would be there would not be another water increase in 27. So, what is true? Very recently, June 15th to be exact, I heard the comments, quote, "We are in great shape." Obviously, there are different definitions to what great shape is. There needs to be accountability to the residents. There needs to be factual information shared.

And something that just caught my eye as I was sitting here, tonight's going to be considering approval of a contingency transfer of 3 and 1/2 million dollars from the water wastewater fund to the Greenfield service area system development fees for fiscal year 2026. I know nothing about this, but you can be sure I'm going to check into it. Thank you. Thanks, Barbara. Uh Charles Montenegro. Uh hello.

Uh Mayor and and Council, um in less than 1 month, uh the Gilbert schools are going back in session for the fall season. And can you imagine I'm a parent. And can you imagine the stress levels of moms and dads taking their kids to school. Uh if you can visualize Power Road, we have Power Road, Ray Road on intersections, Ray Road. Then you have uh Williams Field. You have um Pecos, Rittenhouse, Germain, Queen Creek. All these intersections uh have a a left turn signal.

Except one of the busiest uh intersections is the Power and Rittenhouse. No left turn. So, if you ever join me for coffee at the Circle K at Power Road and Rittenhouse, and I'll buy the cup of coffee, most people will wait two or three cycles to go through and turn left on Power Road from from Los Altos Rittenhouse into Power Road. There's no turn left turn signal. Imagine the stress levels of a parent trying to take their kids to school or go to work and without a left turn signal.

So, there's a lot of building going on in in in Gilbert, and I think it's all, you know, most part for the most part positive, but if Mario if he controls the the equipment acquisition of equipment to buy a left or repurpose a left turn signal for that intersection, it would be greatly appreciated. Imagine everyone here can be a a help our first responders by preventing an accident on that intersection.

The other benefits, I mentioned the reduced level of stress on moms and dads, and if you ever had a kid a van full of kids as a mom or dad, you know what that feels like, and you don't want to be at the tail end of that stress level.

And finally, because there's two or three cycles of um of cars trying to get through after the without a left turn signal, the other benefit would be reduced car emissions, which is you know, a tertiary benefit, but again, there's a lot of things that we can do, and this is a easy solve. It's not like solving world hunger. So, I implore you guys to approve or repurpose a left turn signal at Rittenhouse and Power. Thank you very much. Thank you, Charles. Noah Markham.

Hello uh uh Mayor into the rest of the city council. My name is Noah James Markham and I'm from the great city of uh uh of Tempe, but um this is my hometown. I love this hometown. When I come back it's just the greatest [snorts] feeling. But you know, just people talk about this and it's so funny that the you know, the Gilbert residents, you guys complain so much about how this traffic and how these, you know, uh I don't know, cones and stuff, but you guys be knocking down the cones.

You guys be going 95 mph in a 40 mph lane. Like don't tell me that we need to do something. You guys don't do anything here. Okay? Let's just think about that. Maybe we need some anxiety check or something because no, you guys do not go at that speed of 45. You go at least 100 mph. Maybe 1,000 mph. Also, I would like to talk about happy Pride Month and happy Black History Month. Yes, black people like the LGBTQ too.

Also, I I need to talk about this because Preston Lord situation is just it is something that just bothers me and it's not just because of the Gilbert Goons. We're talking about the Devil Dogs. Now, these are two separate gangs. The Devil Dogs supposedly you know, they they did something really bad to two Asians out here. They sunk them. And you know, that story hasn't come out, but there is people that talk about it. And it's just very frustrating.

I hope nothing happens like this again because I am I do not like it. The The Queen Creek police officers and the Gilbert police officers need to do better job. And you know, I I just do not like the police chief here. You know, he's just not a good person.

Also, I would like to talk about the political science because you know, there was another cop that came up to me, showed me a picture, "Oh my god, is this you putting somebody's sign up?" And I was like, "Yeah, because it was down." And they're like, "Oh, well, you know what? You were uh People were complaining that maybe you might have put the sign down." And I'm like, "Are you serious?" But you know what is so funny?

That you you guys, you know what you don't like is Mary Rose because she cares about women's rights. And that's because she wants to run for office. And who you know, who doesn't want to protect women's rights or do want you know, the the Republicans in the race do not want to protect the women's votes. They don't want women to run in the town of Gilbert. We need to extend the light rail. And also um 4th of July um is amazing here.

And also we need to make sure that we have a New Year's Eve party here. And please um get the park the surf park here. Thank you so much, Milo. Thank you, Noah. Trudy, can we um get information for Mr. Montenegro? I want to take him up on that coffee. Okay. Mario, I'm going to try your last name tonight. We're going to do it. Um so, I want to this time I want to turn over the consent calendar to Mario Montenegro. Close? No. Close. Yes, Mr. Vice Mayor. Thank you.

Uh appreciate that you keep trying, that you haven't given up. [laughter] Uh Mayor, members of the council, uh I'll be giving an overview of the items on the consent agenda tonight. There are uh a good number of items uh that we'll be walking through this evening. Um just as a reminder, uh all of the items are part of continuing to advance us uh toward our our three pillars of a strong economy, prosperous community, and an exceptional built environment.

Uh item two is an amended intergovernmental agreement with the regional public transportation authority. Uh it's a resolution for the renewal of transit services including bus and paratransit in the town, and this is funded by a Proposition 479, which is the Maricopa County public transportation funds and Arizona lottery funds.

Item three is an intergovernmental agreement with Maricopa County Library District for the operation of the Southeast Regional Library and Perry Branch Library for a 5-year term with renewal options. A total of uh $4,078,170 is funded through the general fund with offsets from Chandler Unified School District and the Library Assistance Program totaling $598,000.

Item four is a contract with KAA M Group for refrigerated carbon dioxide used in treating potable water at the Santan Vista Water Treatment Plant, not to exceed $100,000 over 5 years, and this is through the rate-supported water fund.

Items five is a contract with Axon Enterprise Incorporated for software licenses and services for the preservation of digital evidence related to fire investigations, ensuring compliance with state and federal laws, uh funded through the general fund in the amount of $96,754.

Item six is the contract with Wastewater Acquisition Services LLC for chemical and dosing services of microbiological substance used to treat wastewater up to $252,000 per year for 5 years also from the rate supported wastewater fund. Item seven is a contract with Shade and Net of Arizona ink providing for pre-engineered fabric shade structure services, materials, and equipment used in parks facilities not to exceed $150,000 through the general fund.

Item eight is a contract with Curtis Blue Line for police uniforms and equipment to Gilbert's Police Department officers, reserves, and field operations personnel of up to $300,000 a year for a term of 5 years through the general fund. Item nine is a contract with Duke's Root Control Inc.

enabling the evaluation of underground storage tanks and associated infrastructure inspections as part of the stormwater conveyance infrastructure up to $30,000 per year for a 6-year term by the rate supported environmental compliance fund.

Item 10 is a vendor list approval for turf and ball field repairs contract agreements with Turf Enterprise or excuse me Turf Equipment Source, Maricopa Posa Landscaping Arizona, Professional Turf Services, and FX Turf Specialists for athletic field maintenance in our parks. The contracts will not exceed exceed $100,000 across all agreements. And this is funded through the general revenue fund.

Item 11 is a contract with Qmation LLC for customer support services for the supervisory controls and data acquisition systems that control network operations for water production at the North Water Treatment plant, Santan Vista water treatment plant, and all wells for up to 35,350 $350 per year for a term of 5 years through the rate supported water funds. Item 11A is an amendment to the development reimbursement and lien agreement with Simon CRE V LLC and GF Investments Inc.

increasing the previously approved reimbursement amount from developers at Higley and Acotillo to the town for required road improvements and utility connections. This increase is a total of 351,452 reimbursed to the town. Item 11B is an amendment to the lease contract with Park University updating and extending the lease agreement for terms of space within the university building and providing for an education investment credit available to qualified Gilbert residents and business owners.

Over the 3-year term, Park University will pay 2,668,424 for the lease. Item 12 is a contract with Gartner Incorporated enabling the utilization of tools to evaluate and vet appropriate costs and options for enterprise capable technology solutions and services for the town. Uh this is a total of 128,903 via the general fund.

Item 13 is a contract renewal and contingency funding authorization for Numo contract uh supporting the technology solution used for short-term rental licensing needs and related compliance functions. A total of 421,000 421,903 over 5 years via the general fund uh with 12,000 of that requested in contingency for fiscal year 2027 uh to supplement the already budgeted amount. Item 14 is job order number 13 with Archer Western Construction and contract with Stanley Consultants Inc.

for the construction and PMCM services in the construction of reclaimed water pipeline along Higley Road from Pecos to Germain. The Archer Western Construction job order is not to exceed $241,910 and Stanley Consultants Inc. agreement is not to exceed $32,380 from the rate supported wastewater fund. Item 15 is the contract with Huitt-Zollars Inc.

providing engineering design services for the channel restoration of approximately 1.8 miles of the Sonoqui Wash funded by the rate supported environmental compliance fund for $199,800. Item 16 is a JOC task order with Caliente Construction providing for the replacement and repair of public of the public safety facility roof total of 1 million 502,346 dollars from the general fund.

Item 17 is a contract renewal with Sprout Social renewing the contract for the management of 20 plus town social media accounts ensuring continued resident engagement and timely delivery of community information total of $116,141 over 3 years via the general fund.

Item 18 is a contract amendment with Caretaker Landscape and Tree Management providing for landscape maintenance services and tree services at town-owned water production facilities and 30 remote well and booster sites up to $380,128 annually via the rate supported water fund.

Item 19 is phase two of architectural and engineering services with J2 Engineering and Environmental Design LLC for the phase two approval of the Urban Lakes Renovation Project providing lake dredging, lake liner replacements, sediment and seepage testing, installation of new aeration equipment and rehabilitation of pump stations at Crossroads and Freestone Parks. A total of $173,514 by the general fund.

Item 20 is guaranteed maximum price two with Hunter Contracting for phase two of the McQueen and Elliott intersection improvements adding turn lanes, updating signal components and conforming with current design standards. GMP two allows for the procurement of long lead items for signals and street lights. A total of 680,000 7,804 from general obligation transportation bonds, MAG revolving fund, MAG regional transportation program, art arterial fund and roads system development fees.

Item 21 is phase two GMP two and phase three GMP three with Hunter Contracting and water replacement fund contingency. Phase two and GMP two approval for the Vaughn Avenue connector project for improvements along Vaughn Avenue. Phase three and GMP approve GMP three approval for the Vaughn Basin relocation to improve storm water drainage and improve area accessibility.

Phase two GMP two is for 21,816,693 dollars via general obligation transportation bonds and the general fund and phase three GMP three is for 5,498,738 via general obligation transportation bonds, outside sources revolving fund. Included in these agreements is 1,430,000 of contingency from the rate supported water replacement fund and 410,000 dollars of contingency from the general fund. Item 22 is a change order three with Legend Technical Services of Arizona Inc.

providing for the analytical services for water and waste water sample testing to ensure continued regulatory compliance. Uh it's an increase of $40,000 to the contract amount and is funded by the rate supported wastewater fund. Item 23 is the proposition 202 grant application with Ak-Chin Indian community providing for funding transportation for senior and adaptive recreation participants for the purchase of a 12-passenger van. Uh the 70 Uh the amount of the grant application is for $70,000.

Item 24 is an employment contracts the town attorney and presiding judge approving employment agreements for the town attorney and presiding judge. Item 25 approves the judicial contract for the associate judge. Item 26 is a transfer of $3.5 million from the wastewater fund to the Greenfield service area system development fee fund for ongoing improvement projects. Thank you, Mayor and Council. That concludes the consent agenda items. Thank you, Mark.

Would any of the council like to pull any one of those items for more discussion or presentation? Is that a yes? Okay. Councilman Torreson like to number 13, 17, 20, and 26. So, the appropriate staff for 13, please come up. Good evening, Mayor and Council. My name is Ashley Namour. I'm a business compliance project manager here at the town of Gilbert, and I manage our short-term rental program. Um today we are coming to you for approval for our contract renewal with Neumo.

Um this allows us to offer multiple services to Gilbert residents. Um that includes a 24/7 hotline, an online complaint system, um but it also is our licensing system. So for folks who are running short-term rentals in the town of Gilbert, this software allows us to identify, notify, and contain all of their licensing application and information. Um if you have any questions, I'd love to address them. We also have a short presentation if that would be helpful as well. Does my mic work, Susan?

Um I'm just curious cuz you're saying that there's more than just the short-term rental. Does this contract is the 421 just for short-term rental or is it for the entirety of the software you use? It's the entirety of the software that we use. So that includes the licensing, the compliance, the the reports that we're able to pull. So it's for the entire software. All right. Thank you. Yes. I think I have a question. Yeah.

So 421,000 I'm hoping I understand this right cuz when I read it, I want to make sure I understand it. Um how much revenue do we make from the short-term rentals? Like licensing and such. Yeah. So right now we're netting about $40,000 a year. Also on the agenda for approval tonight is a notice of intent to increase the fee for that license application, which would allow us to cover the cost of operating the program. Okay, that's where I was going. Thank you. Of course. Um number 17, please.

Thank you. Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'm here to talk about item number 17, Candace Quan, Communications Director. Uh, Sprout Social is a social media management platform since 2018. We've been using it as a town. It helps us manage over 20 different social media accounts that we own, anywhere from Facebook, Instagram, uh, X, and YouTube. It it creates an efficiency with an already lean employee, uh, team, about two to three content strategists that are managing this.

This allows us to do that efficiently without asking for a full-time FTE. Um, this is a three-year agreement over, uh, between that's about just under 38 grand, uh, for the over the three years. Um, and if we were not to utilize this, we'd probably have to ask for two additional FTEs to manage the 20-plus social accounts that we have. Any questions? The software also pushes it, like you make one post and it pushes it to everything, correct? Mayor, Council Member Bon Giovanni, that's correct.

It, uh, allows us to publish and schedule, allows us to manage all of the comments that are being sent to our own channels, and allows us to respond to it all in one centralized platform. Great, thank you. Item number 20. 21, please. 21. 21. Mayor and Council, uh, Ryan Blair, CAP Manager. Um, item number 20 is for the long lead items. 20 21, I'm sorry. Oh, 21? 21, yeah. heard 20 first. Okay. Um, so, same name, uh, CAP Manager I'm Blair.

Um, Um and mayor council is here to answer any questions you have regarding item number 21. I think my my big question on it is where have things been left with the Legion? Cuz I know you were trying to work a plan so that they were able to stay and feel comfortable. And I hadn't heard about it until just now that it was moving forward. Um mayor council, um that is uh a different project. I'll be happy to answer that question.

Um in meetings with the um Legion the the those conversations we met with the Legion and the conversations were agreed upon about the parking spaces and different things. So, we came to a preliminary agreement. Um we are 60% design. So, as we proceed forward from 60 to 90%, um if any things alter or change um depending on that, we'll have additional conversations with them. But as of right now, um those conversations have been agreed upon. All right. Thank you.

So, this project has nothing to do with that one. No, that is the Ash Street project. This is the Von Connector project. Right. Thank you. Yeah, I thought they were connected. I'm sorry. Well, it has the word connection in it, so. Uh number 26, please. Hi Kelly. Good evening, mayor council. I'm Kelly Fast, budget director. Um this item before you is related with the system development fees for the wastewater um specifically the Greenfield service area.

As part of the fiscal 2017 budget, we recognized the cash flow for those system development fee projects was not as strong as we had hoped or anticipated, um and that we would need to transfer about $9 million from the wastewater fund into the wastewater system development fee fund. It's all wastewater related projects.

Um as we've continued to watch that cash flow, we We have some more expenditures coming towards the end of fiscal 26, so we are asking to move forward 3 and 1/2 million dollars of that 9 million dollars transfer into fiscal 26. It'll be the same total of 9 million overall, just advancing the timing on a portion of that. So, as such, since it's just a timing difference, it will not have an impact on wastewater rates or the 5-year plan that was adopted as part of the budget.

Any questions for anyone? Yeah, well, we move things like this. Isn't that that's something we you and I had discussed about uh was it 4899 and 4900? Was it? Where it's almost like a no interest loan if we wish to bond this out and we can be paid back from future bonds. Is that correct? Um that would be like a reimbursement resolution. This is not that type of setup.

Um based on the cash flow and getting close to build out, I don't anticipate that we will have funds to repay this, which is why it's not set up as an internal loan. Uh but if in the future there was the cash flow, we do have the records that uh this was transferred over and we could set that up uh if there was sufficient cash to be able to do that in the future. Any questions? Any more questions? Yes. Yeah. Um Kaproski.

Kelly, um this is a unique situation where system development fees are capped by state law. Could you explain that and are we able to charge any higher system development fees? Great question. Um system development fees are highly regulated under state statute. The town is currently charging the maximum we are allowed under state statute. Um we would have to do a whole new study.

It takes about a year to do the study, uh and we could look if there was a potential to increase the fees um based off of updated information. But no, at this time we are uh getting as much reimbursement as we can from those growth-related fees, um but there are um deficiencies in statute that don't cover everything. Um and so in in this case, the wastewater fund has to pick up some of that gap. So, Kelly, are you saying that we anticipated more growth than what happened?

Timing of growth makes a difference in it, um but some of it it's just as we get closer to build out, some of those gaps are becoming more apparent than they weren't in our high high growth stage. Okay. Thank you. That makes sense. Thank you, Kelly. Anyone you guys want to separate or take out as a separate vote? No? Okay, then I'll make a motion to pass uh 20 or I'm sorry, 2 to 27. Uh can I have a second? Seconded by Councilmember Buckley. Please vote. Motion passes 7 to 0. Mayor?

Thank you, Vice Mayor. We'll move now to our public hearing section of the agenda. We have two items on public hearings tonight, item 28 and 29. I know that we'll want to listen to item number 28 separately, but don't Does anyone want to discuss item 29 or can we take action on that one? 29 A and B. If so, I'll open the public hearing on 29 A and B and close the public hearing and call for a motion. I motion to approve 29 A and B. I second.

It's been moved and seconded that we approve 29 A and B. Please vote. Motion carried 7-0. We'll move back to item number 28, which is a zoning appeal, appeal 2601 and design review 25100, Harvest Grove commercial. What I'm proposing at the uh the council's the council's approval is that on this item we'll open uh the public hearing and I I'm going to ask the staff to give a short presentation on that will give kind of the the procedural history.

Then open the the request to speak for the public at that time. And um then take after that is concluded take a presentation from the town attorney's office about the requirements for standing for items such as this particular item. And then we'll move from there to uh the appellant and the developer arguments uh to address the standing question and and anything else that may be want they want to bring up and then we'll bring it back to the council.

I'll close the public hearing and bring it back to the council so we can make a decision on what we want to do with this case tonight. Is that okay with everybody? Okay. In that case, I'll open the public hearing and call for staff presentation, short presentation on the procedural history first. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, council members. Veronica Gonzalez, principal planner. Um I'll be providing you a brief history of the design review case thus far.

Um Mayor, as you had mentioned, um we do have a procedural um layout for how this is go this um is intended to go. Um so I'll just go ahead and get right into the um the project. So, the Harvest Grove development is uh a 311 project located at the corner of Bell Vista and Germain Road. Um the subject of tonight's discussion though is specific to the 27-acre commercial component that is located at the northwest corner of the overall site and does not include any of the residential component.

So, while our focus tonight will be on the 27-acre commercial portion, I think it helps to understand or to see the history of the entire site. I'm not going to go through each one of these items, but as you can see here, we received our first formal application for the rezoning and the general plan applications on January 30th 30th of 2025. Um that takes us through to April 7th, 2026 where the um the land use entitlement was granted.

And then following that on May 6th was the planning commission approval of the design review case and for the commercial component and brings us to the subject of the appeal today. Um that is my very brief synopsis of the procedural history for you. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about that. Otherwise, as you had noted, you're you may um decide to open the public hearing for comment at this time. Thank you, any questions at this point? Thank you.

Yes, at this point we'll take public comment, and I have two requests to speak on this item. The first is Noah Markham. Noah. Aloha, Mayor, and to the rest of the city council. Um yeah, I really do like this and um if this is going to help us and um I you guys might have to make a different decision. I don't know, but um I like this. It's close to Campo Verde, right? Um yeah, so consider it things. Thank you, Noel. Justin Willie Press the the button there on the podium. Thank you. Good evening.

Thank you. He has told you, "O man, what is good and what does Yahweh require of you but to do justice, to love loving kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" I'm uh here to speak against uh Harvest Grove. We live in the neighborhood that is directly next to the cornfield. Um I'm assuming it's cornfield. Never actually seen what's growing there, but um we have We used to live on Higley and Ray. And uh that was about 5 6 years ago. Prior to that, there was It was a nice place to live.

There was a lot of build-up around there. They built a school really close to there, really big school. Built a lot of restaurants there. Next thing you know, it was really hard to get out of our neighborhood. Turn left, turn right. They had to put stop lights everywhere. Kind of became a mess. We were happy to move out of there. We moved to Germany and in between Greenfield and Val Vista now. And uh it's been It's been great, but over the last couple years we've seen a lot of growth.

Um obviously a lot of building, a lot of people moving in. It's great. It's getting Again, it's been really hard to get in and out of our neighborhood, specifically out when you got to make a left-hand turn. It's already crazy. We're trying to teach our daughter how to drive. She is uh got her permit. Uh now she has her license actually, but um you know, it's it's scary for us to come out of that neighborhood. And for her, it's even worse. Um it's just we worry as parents.

Um we know that she's not the only kid learning to drive that lives in that neighborhood. She also goes to Campo Verde High School. Our other child goes to Val Vista Academy, right across street from the cornfield. Also a disaster trying to make a left-hand turn out of that place. Um there's a preschool right next to that, Primrose. Also a disaster. Actually, they can't even turn left out of there. They got to turn right.

And uh make a U-turn, which also makes it really hard to get out of that Val Vista Academy. Long story short, um you know, this building that's being pushed on this field, I mean, it is uh do we need another grocery store right there? Do we need another gas station right there? Um it just it seems like a lot. They're building a Safeway right there next to Campo Verde. We got a 7-Eleven on Queen Creek, Circle K now on Germaine. And uh you know, there'll be another one now right there.

It just seems like a lot. It seems like a little much. And you know, we would like to uh just keep Gilbert small small as possible. Well, I know there has to be growth, but not at this level. Thank you. I have three that have not requested to speak. Uh one opposed, Samantha Willie. Uh Rio Aramo Lamo looks like Aram Mamblo also is against the project, did not wish to speak. And Mark Thompson who is in favor of the project uh to approve the commercial corner.

And that's all in the public input at this time. Um what we'd like to do this time is ask our town attorney to discuss um the legal requirements of standing since this case will consider that and give us a synopsis of that as a threshold matter. So, Mayor and Council, I'm going to briefly just talk about the legal aspects of an appeal like this. And it's [clears throat] really a two-part analysis for the Council to consider.

The first consideration you should make is the threshold issue is does the appellant, the person that filed the appeal, have standing under the law? So, before we get into what standing means, I'm going to talk about you know, why it exists, why does the law require standing?

Um standing is a legal requirement that basically says, "Hey, we want to make sure that the person bringing the appeal or filing the lawsuit, whatever that is, has is actually a personal stake in what's going on." So, an example would be and this is going to be an exaggerated example. Um take take this matter for example, if the appeal was filed by someone that lives in Scottsdale, that's clearly that person doesn't have any direct stake.

They couldn't be harmed by whatever's happening on that corner, so that person would not have standing. So, that's the analysis that the Council should make is taking a look at the appellant, you'll have an opportunity here from the appellant's attorney as well as the developer's attorney to talk about whether or not the appellant here has actual standing. Um standing is a requirement that's required by the law.

It's also required in our land development code at section 6.2.12a and it says it limits those people that can file appeals and it limited it limits it to the owner of a property um as property that's actually the subject of the the decision of the planning commission which is not the case here obviously but it also allows any other and I'm going to quote this any other person aggrieved by a final decision of a decision-making body in this case the planning commission and who has standing to appeal pursuant to state law.

So that's what we're looking at here and for the council to consider is is the appellant the person that filed this are they aggrieved by a final decision of the planning commission and they have standing to appeal pursuant to state law. We could go to the other slide now please. So these are the factors that courts consider that whether or not a person is aggrieved under the law.

So you look at it right there has to be the person has to have a particularized harm right the injury has to be unique it has to be direct it can't be something that applies to the public as a whole. There has to be a direct causation. Right the harm has to be tied to the decision in this case the decision of the design the approval of the design review board the planning commission. The injury has to be real it can't be just hypothetical um and proximity alone's not sufficient.

Proximity is important but they also have to establish these other factors and then the last one is generalized concerns do not qualify. Again you have to have some direct specific unique impact to the property. That's what's sufficient to provide standing. Any questions about that? Thank you at this point with that information we'll call upon the appellant to present the case addressing the standing question and and any other material. Thank you, Mayor.

You need to press the button there on the podium. How about that? That's good. Okay, thank you. It's been a while since I've been down here. Um Doug Jordan, Paradise Valley. You know, before we get into this, I just want to take a moment to say that I appreciate town attorney. Uh we've agreed to disagree, but he has been responsive and he's been respectful, and I do appreciate that. Okay, so press the button here. You've seen this. We don't need to spend any time there. Okay.

Um actually four people that I'm representing uh here today, my uh direct client, Robert Monastero, and there's also three other people who live in the neighborhood there to the east, and their houses are shown with the yellow dots. Um So let's go to the standing issue, cuz that's You know, I've been doing this for almost 50 years. Come September, it will be 50 years, and never in my life have I seen such a rush to move something forward.

You know, and this is a direct tie to our request that this matter be continued to a later date. I got involved in this on June 6th. And uh it has just been an absolute rush ever since then. And the only thing that we are asking for right now is for an opportunity to have a fair hearing for the appellants. That's our main request tonight. So, some of some of these people, the yellow dots, they live within a half a mile of the commercial development.

Common sense says that if you're within that distance, you have the ability to establish establish particularized harm. That's kind of the legal phrase that Mr. Payne referred to. The problem is we haven't had that time. We haven't had the time to do traffic studies or other types of studies. Uh there's no traffic study that we've seen anywhere in the town packet for this item. Uh the there was no lighting, noise, air quality, other environmental impacts that were presented to the design review.

We simply haven't had time to do it. I am absolutely convinced that given the proximity of these people, that they have that particularized harm that is necessary to establish standing. I don't disagree with that. Simply give us an opportunity to do that. Please. That's what I'm asking. My my main client, Robert Monastero, long planned family trip. He is out of town. He couldn't be here tonight to speak.

Um when at the May 6th Planning Commission when they considered this design review approval, he did express concerns about traffic and being directly affected by dust and dirt. Uh dust and dirt, excuse me, not dessert. Given the negative impacts of other similar projects in the area.

Again, we absolutely believe that we have established standing just by the proximity and what we haven't had the time to do is to come up with the studies that the applicant didn't come up with, no traffic report, so that we can dig into this a little bit more.

And I I and I just don't understand what's so crazy about asking for some more time and we respectfully ask that the council continue this matter so that we will have an opportunity to dig deeper into that and to establish what I already know is the fact based on proximity that the people that I'm here talking before talking on behalf of do in fact have standing. Thank you. I'd like to ask the uh developer's representative at this time to come forward.

Uh good evening, Mayor and members of the council. Brennan Ray, 2325 East Camelback, here on behalf of Barkley's Group, who is the proposed developer of this commercial corner. Um certainly um have a a profound amount of respect for the town attorney as well as for Doug Jordan. Uh he wrote the book uh as as I was a a young attorney on zoning and land use regulation in the state.

Uh and it's a book that I studied from um very early on in my career, and so um certainly have a a a healthy amount of respect for for Mr. Jordan and what he says. Um respectfully, though, we we certainly disagree uh with his assertion um that in this particular instance the um appellant, the neighbors, do have standing. You're all very familiar with this map uh that shows Harvest Grove in the context of the surrounding area.

And as we look at it, when we look at it a little bit closer, again, Mr. Montenegro's house is in blue, and you can see the Harvest Grove development. Now, that site plan is the same site plan that uh I showed you uh during the uh minor plan amend minor general plan amendment and rezoning case. Uh and it's consistent with it.

So, as you know, we're talking about this particular commercial development um that is absolutely consistent with the general plan with the development plan, again, that you guys saw when we came through in the entitlements for this case. So, when we look at it, this is the letter that was in the packet. Um I I'll I'll I'll touch on it briefly, but we look at where um the standing is and the arguments for standing.

Um and it talks in there specifically about construction disruption, uh increased traffic and commute times, and declines in property values. Uh and it's on the basis of those that standing is established. There is no um contrary to what um Mr. Jordan said, there is no standing based on, "Hey, we we need we need reports.

We we need uh stuff that's not particularly related to the design review." Your town attorney, Chris Payne, quoted the statute or your uh land development code relative to standing, and I just flashed it on the screen so that you can see the words yourself. And clearly, um the key to establishing standing is that it's um pursuant to state law. So, when we look at it, this is a little more detailed. This is kind of the Arizona state law and what an aggrieved party is.

And this is an excerpt from the case of Arcadia Osborn Neighborhood versus Clear Channel Outdoor. Um and when you look at it, um and this was decided by the Arizona Court of Appeals in 23. And when you look on it uh again a little more detail to what Mr. Payne presented in terms of an allegation of generalized harm that is shared alike by all or a large class of citizens generally is not sufficient to confer standing.

And it's not enough that a plaintiff or in this case the neighbors have suffered the same kind of harm or interference as the general public but to a greater extent or degree. And so when we look at it again, the focus is on the harm and it can't be the same as everything else. Again, when you look at it, the distance Mr. Jordan believes that it's distance alone that qualifies for standing. That is not the case under state law.

Again, when we're talking about construction disruptions, increased traffic, potential decline in property values that is that is what we are looking at when alleged harms. And if you were just to look at the parcel map again, there are roughly 1,200 parcels that surround this site. All 1,200 of those parcels in the same vein as as been alleged by the appellant could certainly say we're experiencing construction delays because of construction. We are experiencing increase in traffic.

You know, we're concerned about property values. And again, when you look at the state law on it those are generalized harms. What they are arguing that is shared alike by a large class of citizens. All citizens again within the same distance as Mr. Montenegro is could could say we suffer the same harms but under state law that is not sufficient to confer standing. And I think that's important to note um as we look at it.

Um again as we talk about time for studies um I know that there's been a request to continue. Um we respectfully um request that that it not be continued and the decision be made tonight if the council agrees um or finds that there is standing. We again do not believe that there is uh sufficient.

Um I can go into more details in terms of the other things if necessary, but as we look at the analysis um of state law of the harms that have been alleged, we would um um find that um there is not standing in this case for this appeal. And we would request you find the same. Happy to answer any questions or go into any details that you all might want. Thank you. Any questions? Council member Buckley. Hello, Mr. Ray. Um I I have a question.

If this is delayed, is there going to be a a cost to the developer because if they're ready and they're pulling permits what what is the damage that could be done to the developer? Yeah, through the mayor uh Council member Buckley, yes, the developer will suffer damages as a result of this.

Barkley's has closed on the property um as staff indicated in their procedural history, they have been working on this design review component at risk um since I believe it's July of 25 is when they started their process on this.

Uh and they went at risk the entire time as we were visiting with you all about the zoning case um to get to the point to where uh if the council uh was going to approve the zoning case, which took place in April, that they then could immediately proceed into construction documents uh and get going to move dirt. We know there's a a desperate need for sales tax dollars uh in the town and um we talked at length about that. So, yes, there will be a delay as a result of it.

And if I may, when we're talking about a design review case, uh and and looking at it in your uh land development code, what that focuses on um from your code, it's uh article uh section 6.6. And if you were to read it, it's talking about the aesthetics of the community. A design review is focused on aesthetics. What does it look like? What does the What do the buildings look like? Uh is the site laid out in appropriate manner? A design review case is not the time to talk about land uses.

That's what the zoning case is for. And so, in this instance, when we're talking about it, there's no um complaints, there's no issues relative to hey, that building looks ugly or you need to put more landscaping there of those things. We talked for close to 16 months about traffic uh on this site and area. And there absolutely has been uh more of an in-depth study on traffic relative to that.

And so, when you look at what a design review case is, we're just talking about what it looks like, not not the uses. Okay. I have I have one more question. When when we're talking about distance, um you know, and and get and having determining if they're standing or no no standing. When we send out, what are we required? What is the distance that we're required to notify residents, the residents that could be affected, maybe?

Yeah, through the mayor, Councilman Buckley, I will defer that question to staff. They are better experts at the notification requirements than I am off the top of my head. Yeah, well well the reason I asked that is when I look at the blue spot way over to the right, that appears to be almost a mile away or close to 3/4 maybe. Um does that mean somebody another 2 miles down the road can come in and do the I guess they can say this same thing, right?

Yeah, through the mayor Councilmember Buckley, exactly. I believe that Mr. Payne um presented the example of someone in Scottsdale coming in and complaining about it. That as he said was a very um uh kind of over the top type of example, but nevertheless to illustrate standing. This particular as the crow flies, it's it's a little over a half mile. I think it's 0.56 as I mapped it out. Again, as the crow flies on the assessor's website.

Um but yes, they they can say the exact same things um that again anybody uh within the within the immediate area, within the adjacent area um can say uh about this particular development. So, to what what Mr. Payne said and what the state statute says or the state law says is it it it it it has to be very particularized. It can't be a general harm that's shared by kind of the that could be shared by the public at large. All right. Okay. All right, thank you for that. Any other questions? Yep.

Vice Mayor Thank you, Mr. Ray. Uh thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Mr. Ray Um obviously, your position is that they don't have standing. So, can you give us an example of another case where someone totally had standing in a situation so we can compare and contrast with that. Uh through the mayor Vice mayor, Bon Giovanni, um, I I can say that in the course of my 20 years, um, this is probably one of the first times where I've had to address the standing issue like this.

So, off the top of my head, I could not give you an example, um, that I have experienced, uh, that I could say, "Yeah, in that instance, if X, Y, and Z happened, then they could, uh, have standing and and can, um, would then be able to proceed with the appeal." I noted what Mr. Payne said, standing is a very important threshold matter, uh, in litigation as well, that needs to be established.

And when we look at these harms, again, that are alleged, it once we get past it, um, that could be true of of any development. It doesn't have to be a commercial development. A vacant dirt that that gets developed with single-family homes, that gets developed with, um, multi-family, that gets developed with industrial, that gets developed with commercial.

All of those land uses, um, will generate the types of comments that that, um, the the appellants are raising of construction delays, traffic, property values. So, it's not it's not unique to this case. Thank you. Can I ask Chris the same question? Sure. Chris, any past cases that you're aware of where someone did have standing, so we have an idea of what the difference is?

Mayor, vice mayor, council, um, we haven't had just in the la- in my in my tenure here, we haven't had one, but I think an example would be, um, if you go back to, um, think of the go-kart, um, issue where there were some unique things with the with the noise with the go-karts, and your property owner lives right next door, um, I think you could, you know, if you're the the the parcel that's right next to it I think that's one where you know the property owner would be able to make a really good argument that they have standing cuz they're uniquely affected they're adjacent to what could be a very loud area.

Thank you that's what I was looking for thank you. Any other questions? Thank you. Thank you. At this [clears throat] point I'll close the public hearing and bring it back to the council for discussion and or motion. At this time though I'd like to take a 5-minute break. Uh so we give council member Lions a chance to get back. Thank you. We'll recess for 5 minutes and we'll be right back. Mhm. Okay, we've got everybody back. We ready to start back up. Got everybody here. Thank you.

Again, I've closed the public hearing and brought it back to the council for discussion. We have three options. One is that we make a finding that there is no standing, in which case this case wouldn't uh uh would not the appeal would not be valid, or we could if we do make a finding that there is standing, we could go ahead and hear the merits of the arguments against the project, or uh the third option is a continuance, which the applicant has mentioned. Council. Vice Mayor. Thank you, Mayor.

Okay, well, I'm not an attorney, of course, so uh I think even if we had a traffic study done, and it was outrageous traffic, I don't think the um the person who filed this is close enough to see any kind of effect of that. I don't I don't see standing. Councilmember Bucklin. Thank you, Mayor. I agree with Councilmember Bon Giovanni. Um This is my life as a cop. Two attorneys, two different opinions. [laughter] Um I do um in listening to both sides, Mr.

Jordan, uh actually all three sides, I do believe uh our legal um our attorney provided um um what standing is and what it is not and I do not find it in this case. I I understand you know the need to appeal and he's out of town and I felt that during the campaign.

I had to defend myself from Mount Fuji Kawaguchiko in Japan at midnight on my 10th wedding anniversary because the rules required it to go fast and but I I think giving an appeal and allowing this to go forward when there is no standing sets horrible precedents and I just [snorts] don't think that's the right thing to do. Council member Kaprowski I agree with what Council member Buckland mentioned about setting precedent.

From what I heard these concerns appear generalized and um are shared by the general public. Therefore, I believe this case doesn't have standing. Council member Buckley Um I also agree with the three other council members that have um stated that they don't feel that there is a standing.

I don't feel it is there either and I've done substantial research and had conversations with the town attorney as a well cuz I want to be sure of my decision but and also you know based on the harm that can happen for the developer as well. Um I don't believe there is standing. Thank you. Do we have a motion? Council member Buckland Thank you, Mayor. I move to deny based on the lack of standing. I'll second that.

It's been moved and seconded that there is a termination there is no standing in this case. Please vote. Motion carries, 7-0. Thank you. We'll move on to uh administrative items. Item 30, fees which is the notice of intent to increase short-term rental licensing and renewal fees. Um Did you want to make another presentation about this? Mayor and council members, we do have a presentation ready.

It's It is essentially the same presentation that was shown in April uh as the information, and so we can run through that, or if there are any questions, we can respond to those as well. Council, what's your pleasure? I'll be run through it just for residents. I mean, like run though, right? Run, Forrest. Thank you, Mayor and council. Again, Ashley Nemore, I run our short-term rental program here at the town of Gilbert.

Tonight, we're seeking your approval to publish a notice of of intent to increase the fees for the licensing and renewal applications for the short-term rental program. So, first, to quickly define what a short-term rental is, it's any property rented out for a period of 29 days or less.

Um this is reported in the hotel motel tax classification, and these are properties that you'll see commonly listed on an online lodging marketplace like Airbnb, VRBO, um or the multiple of others that you may use.

For a quick overview on what the legislation has looked like for short-term rentals, it started in 2016 with SB 1350, um which basically said towns cannot regulate STR properties, um leading us all the way through to 2022 where SB 1168 passed, um which allowed the option for towns to monitor short-term rentals and charge a licensing fee.

Um in 2023, Gilbert Town Council adopted our short-term rental ordinance, which allowed us to license properties, monitor them, um and that's where we stand today. For an overview of what the current status for short-term rentals looks like in the town of Gilbert, we have about 450 active short-term rentals. We see it an average of 25 booked nights per month, so we are pretty busy. We have a 98% compliance rating for the short-term rental licensing requirement.

Um we also have the ability to fulfill uh quite a few public records requests. Um and because of the software that we use, it does take us uh a fairly low amount of time. The notice of intent that we're looking to seek approval for is to increase the fee from $100 to $250. So, this is for the initial application as well as the renewal. Um this increased fee would allow us to cover the cost of operating the program, um which went before you for approval tonight as well.

Um and this would allow us to hear a public hearing and then have a have a final vote in September 1st uh later this year. Um to the right, you can see a table of what Gilbert's fee looks like compared to others across the valley. And that's the last slide, but I'll leave it there in case there are any questions about this. Thank you. Questions, Council? Council member Alliance? Yeah, just a question. We're we're looking at increasing this to cover the cost of the operating program.

Um but I I I have suspect on things when I I see things rounded up and uh equalized across the whole deal. Are are we are we running short? Is this costing us is it costing us the town money right now if we if we don't do this to run the program? Are we running in the red? Currently, yes.

So, when we first started this program, we were running off of the data that was provided at the time with this X amount of properties that we believed were operating as short-term rentals in the town of Gilbert. Over the last 3 years, our team has corrected that number to a true amount of short-term rentals, which is almost half of what the projected original number was.

So, we are currently operating in the red, which is why we're coming before you to seek an increase [clears throat] to this fee. That way we can ensure that the cost of operating is covered by this fee alone. So, how have we been covering the deficit to date? And for how long have we been covering this? Mayor and council member Lyons, we have a budget allocated to acquire the software, but the revenue coming in is not enough to cover that.

And so, the general fund is covering the difference right now. I see Kelly shaking her head, yeah. What does the software allow us to do? I mean, what's its purpose? I'll let Ashley take that one. Okay. Mayor and council member, what the software allows us to do is kind of twofold. It helps us serve property owners as well as neighboring residents in Gilbert. So, for property owners, this software allows us to identify short-term rentals throughout the town of Gilbert.

It allows us to create notifications, letting them know what the licensing requirements are. And then it also sets up the licensing application for them online. So, it's a fully automated online process that allows them to get a license in as little as 20 to 30 minutes. On the resident side, this software also provides a 24/7 hotline for residents who have complaints or issues with a short-term rental to notify our team so that we can deal with it through either us or another town department.

That 24/7 hotline is a hotline, but it's also an online complaint form. So, it's kind of like a centralized complaint system for us. Before, we saw these kind of go all the way across the town. Now, they're centralized into this one system, and then our team kind of giving them out and partner with other departments to help address those issues. So, what happens if we We do this?

Uh Mayor and Council Member, we would continue to operate where we have been, which is pulling from the general fund um to cover the cost of the software. I mean, what if we didn't do I'm I'm looking at Peoria here. They don't charge anything, and I'm just curious why. Are they even managing this? Uh Mayor and Council Member, Peoria has a fully They've created the process using their own software.

Um what Peoria does is they kind of take a data dump every 2 to 3 years of what they believe is current software or short-term rental information. Um they take that, they send out notifications using their own licensing system. Um what our software does is we do sweeps two to three times a week. So, if a new short-term rental pops up, we can catch them and notify them within a couple of days.

Um which it's quick for us, um but it also ensures that we're capturing and we have the most up-to-date information regarding short-term rentals. Um but this software also it provides us the service in that our team and staff doesn't have to do 100% of the licensing 100% of the time. Okay. All right, thank you. Thank you. Council Member Torrez Sen. Yeah, I'm not I'm never a fan of raising a fee or a rate if we don't have to, but we're losing money. So, we're saying it's the general fund money.

The average person is subsidizing the STR owner in this case. Mayor and Council Member, that is correct. Okay, so 250 puts us somewhere reasonably in the break-even category. We're not capitalizing on them. Uh no, this is meant to be a revenue-neutral program. The The goal is never to create revenue. It's just to ensure that the fund the fees cover the cost of the program. And I wanted to get a number straight. You said it was 25 rentals per month is the average for some of these these STRs?

Mayor and Council Member, that is correct. be 300 nights a year. So, it'd be a a dollar a day, basically. And how many were there? 500? We have about 450. So, close so that's about 140,000 [snorts] hotel rooms a year we're missing out on? Fantastic. Thank you. Nice mayor. Thank you, mayor. I can tell the council I was in a meeting this week last week with Rob Amy and Monica discussing this with other cities.

There was probably 30 35 other cities on there and only two or three of them um didn't support um raising fees, but the majority of them like all the rest um actually wanted to double it to $500 because of these these uh costs that they have. Council member Bucklin? Thank you, mayor. I just want to remind um ourselves and the public that when we say general fund is paying for this, this is what funds our hardworking staff and we are the shortest there is in Maricopa County.

That's how you hire police officers, firefighters, other staff. We don't have enough, so we have to at least break even if not do better in my opinion. Thank you. Any other comments? If not, I'll entertain a motion. Motion to approve item 30. Second. It's moved, moved and seconded to approve item 30 A and B. Please vote. Motion carries 7-0. Item 31 is policy number 202602.

Consider approval of council policy 202602 regarding policies of responsible financial management repealing policy number 202402. Kelly, are going to be brief on this one? Certainly, Mayor and Council. This is really straightforward and easy. Earlier in the year, we talked about the health trust fund um and the rate [snorts] increases that were needed there and that the health trust board had recommended decreasing the minimum fund balance required from 30% to 25%.

Uh it still meets our needs for protection in the fund against spikes um but doesn't require us to over-collect on our premiums to keep a higher balance. So, this is codifying that into our financial policies to decrease that back down to 25% and then updating the name of OCE uh in the policies. So, quick and easy changes there. Happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Questions? A motion? I'll make a motion to approve item 31. I'll second that. It's moved and seconded to approve item 31.

Please vote. Mine didn't vote. Motion carries 7-0. Item 32 is discussion and direction of staff uh to staff regarding potential council meeting efficiency measures including adjustments and public comment and other procedures and meeting times. I'm suggesting at this point to postpone this until our first meeting in August uh cuz we will have a probably some lively discussion on this one.

So, if Council you support that, I'll take a entertain a motion to postpone until the first meeting in August. That's a really good example of making things streamlined. Yeah. I make a motion to uh extend extend this meeting to August. First meeting in August. First meeting of August. [laughter] Is there a second? Second. It's been moved and seconded, we postpone item 32 to our first meeting in August. Please vote. Bobby Bobby. I'll meet. Motion carried 7-0.

Item 33 is a presentation on the water meter audit final report. Hawkin. Mayor, council members. Thank you. Uh here this evening to provide an update on the water meter meter audit and to announce that the final audit report from the Kimley-Horn team is being released today. So, we'll have a brief overview of the audit and next action steps for the town. Uh we'll touch on process improvement opportunities as staff will have time to digest that final report.

Uh we'll discuss the return to normal utility billing operations and look at the communication plan uh and wrap up with a summary. So, beginning with some background on why the audit was conducted, uh there were many within the community that were frustrated with the increased utility rates and felt that there were errors uh with the meters uh and or the water consumption calculations.

And it was critical that we maintain transparency and have an independent audit firm dig deep into our utility system and receive whatever they found. So, the audit team came in to evaluate our metering system and business practices to ensure that water usage is measured and billed accurately, reliably, and on time in accordance with industry standards. We selected an auditor in November of last year.

Speed was important and the auditors dug into over 50 million rows of data, performed statistical testing on hundreds of physical meters and evaluated office and field operations, asset management infrastructure and procedures, all while following generally accepted auditing standards. The Kimley-Horn audit report has been finalized and is now or will shortly be available on the town website as well as the Kimley-Horn audit website. The final audit report is about 350 pages.

[snorts] It includes quite a bit of data at the end. It contains a lot of information and it does have some color coding to help guide the reader to see the different areas of review and how each falls into one of these three main buckets, infrastructure, data, or business operations. And while the purpose of today's presentation is not to go into depth of of that final audit report as it's just being released today, there are some key initial findings.

First, no system-wide or systemic failures. Yes, some issues were found, but very small both in terms of accounts potentially affected and in terms of dollar impact. There were a small number of multiplier setting issues to review. The new Mueller meters are functioning exceptionally well. The older meters are still reliable, but are showing their age, which is why staff already had an active replacement program underway.

Some of the old meters are just outside what we would like to see in terms of variability, but with minimal to no actual impact. The report also highlights opportunities to further explore improvements with regard to asset management tools, automation opportunities, enhanced collaboration opportunities between office and field staff activities, and more. So, going back to a slide that that we saw in April, the key takeaway here again, no systemic issues, the system is working as intended.

There were some issues that needed to be addressed and we were working to do just that. The data presented by Kimley-Horn in April was not yet finalized and as the audit team was able to complete their analysis some of their conclusions around abnormalities were finalized to what we see here. And you can see that the number of customers affected dropped from about 2700 to about 2200 which which means we had fewer than the 2.9% of accounts potentially impacted with an abnormality.

And here's another slide we saw in April as a reminder of the scale of the audit review and the heavy slant towards residential accounts over the 6-year audit period. And this slide again we've seen before it's a review of the water consumption data portion of the audit which covered all accounts not just those whose physical meters were tested. And again emphasizing that the review concluded that fewer than 0.5% of those transactions had a potential issue.

This is a fantastic level of precision. So let's look at the data findings of the audit starting our focus on the residential side. When we look at the abnormalities that could result in a credit owed Kimley-Horn has identified 381 potentially impacted customers. Gilbert staff are reviewing the details and have found that some of those confirmed as over billed have already received a credit reducing the amount potentially owed.

Staff also need to confirm which account was active at the time of the potential error. We are working quickly to confirm the status so we can proceed with issuing credits to these impacted customers as appropriate. Moving to the potentially under billed accounts staff continue to review this data and will provide these results to the council for any potential action once that review is complete. Switching to the non-residential zero over billing is fantastic.

We are digging into the data of these potentially under billed abnormalities that were found and this review is more manual and sometimes requires a physical inspection before conclusive data can be confirmed. What we have been able to review is the hydrant meter data and we were able to confirm that there were in fact no billing no errors in billing significantly reducing the potential under billed amount.

Staff will continue to review this non-residential data as well and will provide recommendations to the council for any potential action once that is completed. So, what are the next steps? We're working to issue credits related to the audit period as soon as possible. This would be that approximately $44,000 once we can confirm which accounts have not already received a credit and that the correct account holder is identified.

Our target is to have that ready by the July-August time frame and we will continue work to confirm if any additional credits may be owed since January of 2026, which is after the end of the audit period, and issue those credits as appropriate. The next steps for potentially under billed residential accounts, uh, some of these also require physical in the field review to move forward, which will take more time. Options will be provided to the council once the analysis is completed.

Very similar for the non-residential accounts as well. We are reviewing these 250 potentially impacted accounts with the same many requiring physical review before we can move forward. There are other aspects of the audit report for staff to review and consider uh, process and procedural changes and that work continues as well. The audit identified several additional recommendations to further strengthen our system and operations.

The following five focus areas reflect the work our team will be actively pursuing going forward. Asset and system infrastructure. These recommendations look at strengthening the foundational controls, tools, and spatial data that govern how meters are configured, tracked, and overseen. We'll look at billing processes and collaborations. The recommendations here for improving processes around documentation, and cross-team collaboration.

Performance monitoring, looking to enhance proactive oversight by implementing meter alarms, automation, automated anomaly detection, and real-time operational visibility. Process and communication, again looking at opportunities to improve standardization of work order documentation, the way the town communicates with customers about their service and data.

And then governance and improvement look at those opportunities recommended to enhance the policies, data standards, and feedback loops needed to sustain long-term operational quality and continuous improvement. We know that in the near future we will need to return to normal billing operations. And throughout this process we recognize that every customer's situation is different.

For customers that may need additional support, the town offers several resources designed to designed to help, and also seeks to connect residents with other available assistance programs. This includes flexible payment plans that provide a manageable path forward to resolve outstanding balances, as well as programs that may help reduce the utility costs, or provide assistance during times of financial hardship.

Our customer service team is prepared to work directly with customers to understand their individual circumstances and help identify the best available options. Whether you have questions about your account, need assistance navigating available available programs, or would like to discuss a payment plan, please reach out. We encourage you to do so.

Our top priority will continue to be reviewing the audit findings and ensuring any affected customers receive the appropriate credits, adjustments, or other remedies based on their individual circumstances. At the same time, we want to be transparent about what comes next. As this work is completed, the town will need to return to normal utility billing operations. And what does that look like?

Of the about 4,000 past due accounts, the following communication process will apply prior to any action being taken by the town. And we know this can be challenging, so we have worked to enhance this process and will also increase the ways we communicate using additional notification methods to ensure customers have ample time, information, and support before any action is taken. And now, I'll turn the time over to Candace to go over the some communication plans.

Mayor and Council, good to see you again. As Hawkin just mentioned, we understand the importance of clear and transparent communication. So, tonight I'll be sharing our communications plan that is intended to garner trust through transparency. Before we get into the details, it's important to recognize why communication matters so much in moments like this. Over the past year, many residents have had questions about the utility bills and confidence in the systems that support essential services.

Regardless of the audit findings, we know uncertainty is frustrating, and that's why our approach is grounded in a simple principle, clear is kind. When people are concerned, they deserve information that is timely, transparent, and easy to understand. They shouldn't have to navigate technical reports or complex processes to know what's happening. At its core, residents are seeking three simple questions. What exactly happened? How does it affect me? And what are you going to do about it?

Our communication strategy is designed to answer those questions clearly and consistently. We know success of how we communicate essential information isn't measured whether everyone agrees with us. Residents success is measured by whether residents feel understood. They need to get a clear understanding of the key findings from the full report and how that directly impacts them.

And now, there's accountability in making sure that they know town is facing things are facing things head-on and taking accountability. They also need to get gain confidence, know what decisions are being taken, and of course with the approximate timing. And lastly, start to garner trust. Begin to trust the systems that support these essential services. As again, like Hawkins said, no systemic issues were found and anomalies are in fact being remediated.

Well, tonight marks an important milestone. It's not the end of the process. Reviewing the report, addressing the findings, implementing an improvement, and ultimately returning to normal operations will take time. Because of that, we believe it's important to provide residents with a clear Oh, I'm sorry. It's important Uh ultimately returning to normal operations will take time.

Because of that, we believe it's important to provide residents with a clear road map of what they can expect moving forward. The first phase focuses on the final report and immediate next steps. We will help residents understand the purpose of the audit, the independent review process, the key findings, and what those findings mean for them. And most importantly, we will establish clear expectations for what comes next. The second phase centers on accountability and remediation.

This is where staff will carefully review individual accounts, validate those findings, determine impact, and implement any credit, adjustments, or other actions that may be warranted. Throughout this process, affected customers will receive direct outreach and updates. Third phase focuses on returning to normal billing operations, which which Hawkins addressed.

This includes helping customers understand the timing of the standard billing practices, available payment options, customer service assistance. And our goal is to ensure customers have the information and support they need as we transition back to normal utility billing operations. And finally, focusing on operational improvements. While this audit found no systemic issues, it's also provided valuable insight into opportunities uh to strengthen our operations.

As we review the full report, we will share improvements related to procedures, tracking, quality control, oversight, and other enhancements designed to improve the experience. At every stage, our goal remains to be the same, to provide timely, transparent information that helps residents understand what is happening. While we've shared a high-level overview, there's considerable amount of information that needs to be communicated communicated.

To ensure transparency and avoid overwhelming residents, we want to quickly double click into each of the phases. First step is making sure every customer knows the report is available. We'll be sharing this through various things such as the news items, press releases, newsletters, the billing portal itself, uh, direct customer email, of course, on our town website, FAQs, any media coordination as necessary, and supporting that customer service staff.

Phase two focuses on customers whose accounts were identified as overbilled through the audit review process. Affected customers will be contacted directly, and credits will begin to be applied to their accounts. Because each account is unique, credits may vary based on specific circumstances identified during the audit. It's important to note here, again, that 381 resident accounts were identified as likely over billed, and no commercial accounts were identified as overbilled through the audit.

Meaning the vast majority of customers will not be directly impacted or contacted during this phase. For customers who are affected, the town will provide direct outreach through a variety of channels, including email, text, billing portal notifications, and phone calls. Customers receive information about their credit amount, how it was determined, and when it will be applied to their account. So, again, if you were not contacted directly, no action is required from you.

Your account was not identified as overbilled through the audit review process. Phase three focus on transitioning back to normal billing operations. As we've already discussed, customers will receive ample notice, multiple reminders, and opportunities to work with staff before any action is taken. For customers who need additional support, payment plan options, and customer assistance will remain available. The release of the audit findings does not mark the end of this work.

While many of the immediate actions will occur in the months following the report, our commitment to transparency and continuous improvement extends well beyond that timeline. As we continue reviewing the findings, including potential underbilling, and implementing improvements, we will keep the community informed about the enhancements to our processes, operational updates, and additional actions that may may be necessary to ensure fair, accurate, and reliable utility service.

Throughout this presentation, you have seen examples of tools and tactics we will use at each phase of the process. We understand residents access information in different ways, and because of that we'll meet them where they are using multiple channels, including the emails, utility bills, billing the portal itself, customer service, and direct outreach. One of the most common questions we anticipate receiving is when will all of this happen?

While the audit report is available today, the work will follow that follows will occur over several months. As shown here, each phase has its own timeline and purpose. The first phase begins with sharing the report findings, which is live, and helping customers understand what was reviewed reviewed, what was found, and what they can expect. Thank you.

From there, we move into remediation, where staff will review affected accounts, validate findings, and implement any necessary credits or corrective actions. Throughout that process, we will also continue identifying, implementing operational improvements designed to strengthen our systems, procedures, and customer service.

And finally, as remediation efforts progress, we will begin transitioning back to normal billing operations while continuing to provide customers with information, notice, and support. While ti- while the timing may evolve as our review continues, this roadmap should provide a clear view of how information and actions will be shared in the months ahead. And I'll throw it back to Hawkin to close us out for next steps. Thank you, Candace. Right, again, summarize what comes next.

The final report is available today. And we're working as fast as we can to confirm what is necessary so we can issue credits to impacted customers. We are also working to address any other issues that may have been found as a part of this audit.

Finalizing and executing that communication plan that Candace just uh emphasized, uh continuing our data review and making recommendations for uh anything left to to research, uh and then ongoing efforts to look at the other recommendations found in the audit report. So, there's a lot more work to do, um but with that, I'll leave it here with and ask if there are any questions. Vice Mayor, thank you, Mayor.

[clears throat] Hawkin, I think you gave me this number before, but um we looked at data for what, 5, 6 years? 6 years, was it? 6 years. Mayor, yeah. Found overbilled $44,000 over 6 years. How much have we billed total during those 6 years? Uh Mayor, Vice Mayor, the audit period was calendar years. Mhm. We report in fiscal years, so these numbers aren't precise, but they're very close.

And if I go back 6 fiscal years, uh the total revenue uh, of the water, uh, division was about 409, 410 million dollars. And so, 44,000 out of that number is about 0. 036% of a potential, you know, revenue error. You knew right where I was going. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Councilmember Torgersen. The houses. Okay. Councilmember Kuberski. Thank you, Mayor. Um, Hawkin and to the rest of the team, I just wanted to share my appreciation for you all during this entire process.

It's been a burden, but at the same time, I think it was, um, in the best interest of transparency, and we did find some things that we can take action on, so I appreciate that very much.

I also wanted to share that recently, um, a resident shared their experience where they were proactively contacted by the town because we re- we re-engaged that system, um, where they had some high water use, they were contacted, and it they did have a leak, and that got resolved, and they were very appreciative of that. Thank you.

I too want to thank you all so very much, Hawkin, for the work on this, and as you mentioned, and I hope everyone has noticed, the report is available today, so I'd encourage those who are watching or listening to, uh, contact us to get a copy of that report. Councilmember Torgersen. Just because we have some people that are cantankerous about water, can we make sure that you guys are available to speak to people that maybe don't understand it, this report?

Mayor and councilmembers, yeah, the report will be available online. Our communication team will push that out into the community in in a variety of ways and and we are here to answer any questions as well as the Kimley-Horn team. That that audit website continues to be available for for comments and questions as is our customer service team and a number of staff. Thank you. Thank you, Hawkin. That's it. Thank you. Uh future meetings, future agenda items, you can see what's listed here.

Communications, report from the town manager. Thank you very much, Mayor. Um I know, Mayor, that you're going to be discussing some of the town's accomplishments uh coming up uh but I just want to take this opportunity, given that this is the final meeting of the fiscal year, I want to thank all of our very service-minded and hard-working employees who provide the outstanding service to our residents day in and day out.

Our police officers, firefighters, parks rangers, recreation coordinators, administrative staff, technology teams, and and many many more critical staff keep Gilbert running at a very high level. And it's with great gratitude I want to recognize their those outstanding employees for their excellent work this year. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Reports from the council. Should have some slides coming up here, Councilmember Lyons.

Um we just wanted to say thank you um to different members of the Veterans Advisory Board who are uh now moving on to do other things. Uh Chair Dyne is now going to be our vice chair and did a very good job in that position. Uh Pam has been with us a long time and uh Payton and and Aaron have done a fantastic [snorts] job on the board and we're just thankful for the service that they brought to us.

Uh we do have uh new board members that have stepped in four more and we're looking forward to the years ahead. Uh these members who are stepping aside right now are going to continue to work with the board on a volunteer basis. So, just wanted to recognize them and say thank you for all the work that they have done. It has been greatly appreciated. So, thank you. Thank you. Vice Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. Uh let's talk about Parks and Rec.

Um so, uh Dine-In Movie Night, please join us in celebrating Parks and Recreation Month for a free uh Dine-In Dine-In Movie Night at Mesquite Aqua Aquatic Center uh where Zootopia 2 will be shown. The doors will be open at 7:00 p.m. and the movie will begin at approximately 7:30. Date is Friday, July 24th at the Mesquite uh Aquatic Center at 7:00 p.m. Next is Nerf Wars in the Stacks. Get ready for competitive action-packed uh Gilbert Nerf Wars at the library.

Participate Participants will uh be split into two teams and will play three games. Registration's required based on the appropriate age bracket. That's going to be Friday, July 31st, 2026 at Southwest Regional Library from 5:30 to 8:30 and don't forget this little party we're having on July 4th at Gilbert Regional Park where we're having fireworks and a drone show. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Any others? I do have a uh a I'm going to outdo you guys this time with slides.

Tonight marks our final council meeting for the fiscal year and before we do close the books out on fiscal year 2026, I want to take a moment to recognize some of the many things that our team has accomplished over the year. Everything that we do comes back to three commitments for today, for tomorrow, for Gilbert. And this past year, every department, all the team members delivered on all three of these. And what you what I'm going to describe now is just a part.

It's just a sample, but it tells the story of a team that's totally dedicated to Gilbert. Um, first is public works water. Uh, Gilbert continued construction of its well drilling program. You know where we're at with our water resources, and this is a very important program, and they're doing an excellent job. And public works waste water purchased and started using a new recycler sewer cleaning truck to clean sewers and main arterials using less water and improving inspection capabilities.

Public works environmental compliance held the first household hazardous waste and recycling event in 20 years. 848 vehicles served averaging 79 lb per vehicle. I bet Chuck's car was probably heavier than that. 46,033 lb of household hazardous waste collected, 20,000 840 lb of documents shredded. Public works solid waste and recycling residential collected over 84,000 tons of trash and recycling and picked up almost 6 million cans.

Uh, bulk service serviced over 140,000 bulk piles totaling 12,995 tons. Commercial, over 100,000 cans serviced for our business community. Streets, we treated 119 miles of asphalt roadways. Engineering, we added three new traffic signals to our system. Capital improvement project substantial completion of the advocacy center phase one. Uh, and which I think is now at Is it 75% now complete? Is that where we're at?

The North Water Treatment Plant is at 66% completion and in the Advocacy Center, we did hire a new director, an assistant director, and there's extensive cross-mental coordination underway in preparation for opening of that great center. Parks and Recreation was named a finalist for the second consecutive year for the 2026 National Gold Medal Award for excellence in park and recreation management.

Fire, the Community Risk Reduction's Fall Prevention Program reduces fall falls in congregate care facilities by 30 to 50%, which I understand this is the vast majority of your calls for medical assistance are falls. Is that Is that true? You have any fire guys here? No? Yeah. This reduces low acuity call volume, improves residents' lives, estimated $1 million in medical cost savings, reduces industrial injuries for first responders.

Office of Management Budget, uh PSPRS, the um Emergency Services uh Public Employee uh Retirement System returned to 90% funded, which is the goal for Tier 1 and Tier 2, which is I I think this puts us ahead of many of the other communities in the valley. Is that true, Kelly? Yes. Finance implemented a modernized vendor payment process, eliminated paper check printing, which is projected to save over $900,000 over 5 years.

Our People Team launched Leadership Essentials and Agile Mentoring, over 110 mentoring conversations logged. Development Services advanced several important legislative text amendments, including adaptive reuse, middle housing, at-risk grading, and international headquarters work. IT, uh the What's Developing Nearby uh went live, which helps residents understand what is going on in development around them.

Police had 51 recruits in class 10, 800 applications, different recruitment strategies, close coordination with OCE, biggest class to date. Economic development earned a re-accreditation as an accredited economic development organization by IEDC. Um Legal launched a proactive hazard reporting app enabling town employees to identify and report risk before they generate claims.

Intergovernmental relations advocated for Gilbert's core interests this legislative session protecting local authority and revenue while building regional partnerships to advance solutions that benefit municipalities statewide. OCE launched two strategic communications campaigns for Gilbert and Your Dollars Your Gilbert. Courts implemented a juvenile court. Emerging technologies facilitated multiple AI tool pilots, Claude, Scribe AI, Adobe Adobe AI Assist, and additional emerging tools.

Facilities, public safety building a memorial garden renovation. I might also add that the leadership team 34 also added to improvement in our facilities over at the McQueen Activity Center and their project that they completed. Water resources removed 349,000 square feet of grass through residential and non-residential grass removal rebates saving an estimated 17 million gallons annually. Thank you so much, Team Gilbert. You've done a wonderful job. You deserve a round of applause.

Thank you all. That concludes my report. Anything else, Council? If not, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn our final fiscal year 2025-2026 meeting. I'll make a motion to adjourn. We are adjourned.