Council Regular/Special Meeting

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL, IN REGULAR MEETING OF TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2023 AT 6:30 PM, MUNICIPAL BUILDING I, COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 50 E. CIVIC CENTER DRIVE, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Brigette Peterson, Vice Mayor Kathy Tilque, Councilmembers Scott Anderson, Chuck Bongiovanni, Bobbi Buchli, Yung Koprowski, and Jim Torgeson COUNCIL ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Town Manager Patrick Banger, Town Clerk Chaveli Herrera, Deputy Clerk Judy Martinez, Town Attorney Christopher Payne, Office of Management and Budget Director Kelly Pfost, and Assistant Public Works Director Eric Braun AGENDA ITEM CALL TO ORDER Mayor Peterson called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Lay Leader Sharon Kotsonas of First United Methodist Church gave the invocation. Councilmember Anderson led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Town Clerk Herrera called roll and declared a quorum present. PRESENTATIONS; PROCLAMATIONS 1 None. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS Brandon Ryff, Gilbert resident, discussed a court document he said was filed by the Town stating he had previously caused a disruption and failed to abide by the Town’s rules of decorum. He read excerpts from other cases in other cities defining what courts defined as disruptions. He said the investigator Ken Fields was not licensed and he and his attorney would be filing a formal request for a criminal investigation, adding it was against the law to perform a private investigation without a license. He spoke of the investigation done regarding his case and provided examples of the responses from the witness that was interviewed. He said the report indicated the request to leave was made by the police officers and argued that video evidence showed the Mayor ordering the police officers to remove them from the meeting. Bruce Levitch, Gilbert resident, stated he wanted to speak on Item 9 on the agenda regarding a rate increase. He said he went to the website and it was not there and no one got back to him. He said he was in support of the strong infrastructure, and the rate increase should be gradual to not hurt the senior citizens and hard-working residents. He said the Town needed to prioritize and said Gilbert was still approving apartments and a water park, then discussed the water shortage. He said he was in support of what the Town planned, but it needed to be gradual. He discussed the replacement of trucks and said things needed to be accurate, transparent, and available for public viewing. CONSENT CALENDAR A MOTION was made by Vice Mayor Tilque, seconded by Councilmember Bongiovanni, to approve Consent Items 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Motion carried 7-0. 1. CHANGE ORDER – consider approval of: 2 a) Change Order No. 8 to Contract No. 321000135 with Arizona Pro Clean Empire, increasing the contract amount by $66,000 for Town Wide Custodial services and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents; and b) General Fund contingency in the amount of $66,000 to cover the cost of the extension and continue custodial services town wide. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 2. CHANGE ORDER – consider approval of Change Order No. 1 to Contract No. 323000335 with Felix Construction Company increasing the contract amount by $230,161 for the Wells Development Program, Project No.’s WA1610 and WA1611, and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 3. CHANGE ORDER – consider approval of Change Order No. 1 to Job Order Contract (JOC) Task Order Contract No. 320000122 with Willmeng Construction Inc. increasing the contract amount by $101,404.74 for South Area Service Center (SASC) Vehicle Service/Repair Facility, Project No. MF2532, and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 4. BUDGET – consider approval of Wastewater Fund contingency for: a) emergency repair on the 24-inch reclaimed water line valve in Greenfield Road, north of Williams Field Road in the amount of $210,000; b) spare Concrete Cylinder Pipe (CCP) pipe and parts for repairs in the amount of $30,000; and 3 c) the reclaimed water reservoir site 3 motor and pump repair in the amount of $70,000. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 5. MINUTES – consider approval of the minutes of the Special Meetings of November 6, 2023, November 7, 2023 and November 13, 2023 and the Regular Meeting of November 14, 2023. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Peterson opened the public hearing for Items 6 and 7. 6. LIQUOR LICENSE – conduct hearing and consider approval of a Series 12 Restaurant Liquor License Alcohol License for Senor Taco Express located at 2505 South Val Vista Drive. A MOTION was made by Vice Mayor Tilque, seconded by Councilmember Buchli, to approve Item 6. Motion carried 7-0. 7. FEES — conduct hearing on Proposed System Development Fees for the Necessary Public Services of Land Use Assumptions and Infrastructure Improvement Plan for Update of System Development Fees pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) Section 9-463.05. Office of Management and Budget Director Pfost discussed the System Development Fees (SDF), Land Use Assumptions (LUA) and Infrastructure Improvement Plan (IIP) including the planned timeline. She said the next step would be in January 2024 to adopt the LUA and IIP, and the fees would come after. She said a public hearing was planned in February 2024 for the SDF, adoption in April 2024, and it would take effect in July 2024. She discussed stakeholder outreach and the growth assumptions, noting service areas were broken into two wastewater areas of Neely and Greenfield, because they were serviced by two different 4 wastewater plants. She summarized the single-family home comparison and illustrations of residential and commercial changes in rates. She highlighted the next steps including the current public hearing and the adoption of the land use assumptions in January 2024. Councilmember Koprowski stated the agenda packet had a report that showed assumptions on inflation rate increase and some anticipated projects. She said she was surprised to see projects that had other funding sources, such as the Ocotillo Road Bridge Project. She asked how the report separated infrastructure and how it could be paid for by other means. Director Pfost said different infrastructure was included and explained the study looked at what current traffic was for existing and new growth and included prorated portions of new development to be paid for with SDF funds. Councilmember Koprowski asked for information on assumption for inflation in the coming years. Director Pfost stated the study started with the current FY2024 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) information, recognized the amounts of inflation, and included the assumption amounts. She said the study fees would increase from where they were now if it was updated with the FY2025 CIP plan project information, adding it was a conservative assumption in comparison to the actuals from the CIP plan. Councilmember Koprowski noted that a large part of the increase was related to water and wastewater projects and infrastructure and asked if the increase was due to the Wastewater Treatment Plant project or if it was a combination. Director Pfost stated the water treatment plant was a large part of it and said only a portion of the plant costs were included in the study. She said the new cost to construct the plant was substantially higher than the cost per gallon in the past. Councilmember Koprowski said it was good to hear that it was due to the increase in capacity and said it was concerning that big projects skewed numbers when the facility would serve the community for decades. She added she would not want to over burden the community in the short term due to a large capital improvement project. Councilmember Torgeson noted the slide referencing a 2,500 square foot restaurant and asked if that would prevent growth. Director Pfost stated she hoped it would not, but said that would be a question for the Council. She said they were calculating the cost for the 5 Town to provide service to the residents and businesses to maintain the level of service in the community. Councilmember Torgeson said he understood growth paying for growth and said that was a stout number. He asked who would pay for the Ocotillo Bridge if it was being subsidized by the SDF and if there was no growth because of the increased fees. Director Pfost said they would pay their portion of it and she assumed at some point in the future the growth would come. She said those were assumptions for policy level items and the financial side. Councilmember Anderson discussed growth and infill areas, asking if it was factored in or if they were being charged double. Director Pfost stated they worked hard not to charge doubly, adding they would only need to pay for the increase. Councilmember Anderson asked if that would also be for fire and police service, to which Director Pfost responded that they would only need to pay for the increased square footage. Vice Mayor Tilque stated regarding Councilmember Torgeson’s concern that if growth were to stop, they would have to restructure, and every business would have to pay; she said the bottom line was that they would all end up paying at a different time. She said she was part of the group when they developed the SDFs and said what they were seeing was that growth had slowed and the cost was going up. She said growth paying for growth was a little different than when the Town was growing rapidly. She said it was the big question they were faced with. Councilmember Torgeson agreed, stating his point was that the bridge became everyone’s burden if there was no growth to support it. He spoke of the balance needed for the encouragement to grow without having to fall back on the residents. Councilmember Buchli stated she was in agreement with Vice Mayor Tilque’s comments and thought it was a huge number; she said she would like to see them reevaluate the numbers. Councilmember Bongiovanni asked if they were meeting with the Chamber of Commerce and other stakeholders for feedback. Director Pfost said yes, noting staff created the study 6 that was the maximum amount supported by statute and the Council as policymakers could implement the fee. She explained the Council could do a lower fee, but not higher, and said if they did a lower fee the options would be a lower level of service going forward or existing residents would have to pay to maintain the same level of service for the new residents. Councilmember Bongiovanni said it was a big number and hoped they could work on it together. Mayor Peterson stated the big number was due to inflation and they were facing challenges because of infrastructure projects that needed to be done. She said it was unfortunate that it was happening now when inflation was also high. Andrew Miller and Madison Leake, not Gilbert residents, completed a request to speak card on Item 7, but requested to give their time to Brennan Ray. Brennan Ray, Gilbert resident, stated he represented a number of clients and the Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona. He noted meeting with staff and expressed concerns upon review of the draft. He said he believed there were statutory issues and referenced Supreme Court cases related to proportionality. He said there were a number of underlined assumptions that should make them question placing the burden on 17,000 people, the population assumption, and discussed the estimated amounts that a homeowner would have to pay based on a 30-year mortgage. He said there was a concern with the inflation rates and the cumulative effect. He said the proposed fees were going to be double what anyone charged across the Valley. He said he believed in growth paying for growth but wanted to make sure that the Town was not double-dipping, as some of the improvements would benefit the existing residents as well. He asked for the opportunity to work together. Mayor Peterson closed the public hearing. Mayor Peterson noted that no online public comments were received. There were no additional comments and no action was needed on the item. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 7 8. COUNCIL ADMINISTRATION- review, discussion, and possible action of final report and recommendation of a Code of Ethics complaint filed against Mayor Peterson by Brandon Ryff and Ryan Handelsman. Vice Mayor Tilque discussed the process and the background of the item. She said at the September 19, 2023 Council meeting, the Council voted to have a second investigation into the original ethics complaint against Mayor Peterson regarding the removal of citizens from a meeting. She said the action was an exception and should not be seen as precedent for future claims and spoke of the new process in place. She explained the investigation process for ethics complaints and spoke of mediation and resolution measures. She discussed the options of actions that could be taken which were to take no action and the complaint would be deemed dismissed with prejudice, which meant there was no motion or one was not seconded; the second option would be to adopt the report findings that the Mayor’s conduct did not constitute an ethics violation with no further action, which required a motion and a second; the third option would be to accept receipt of the report as presented but consider additional Council action following a motion and a second, which meant the Council would be accepting the report but not adopting the findings; and lastly, the option to reject the report findings that conduct did not constitute an ethics violation of the former code, which means the Council did believe there was an ethical violation and may direct action penalties following a motion and a second. Vice Mayor Tilque asked if Mayor Peterson had any comments. Mayor Peterson asked if she would be able to comment at the end after everyone else and have a final say, as she did at a prior meeting. Councilmember Bongiovanni discussed putting politics aside and about his experience at the League of Cities Conference he attended in Atlanta with Councilmember Torgeson. He said Gilbert had previously voted 4-1 to reopen the ethics complaint and that a new investigation should be performed, including witnesses being interviewed by the investigator. He said in the final report the investigator stated that the interviews with Councilmembers Anderson, Bongiovanni, and Torgeson would not be fruitful. He questioned how the investigator could 8 determine that without interviewing them and asked when the decision not to interview them was made. He said the Council gave the direction that they wanted an investigation to be completed and instead received an opinion of whether an investigation should be performed. He said their directive was ignored and, although not every Council decision in the past was 100% correct, they had been followed up on. He encouraged the Council to vote “yes” to accept the finding of the report but to vote “no” on the findings of the report itself. He said he wanted their votes to count and be executed every time, regardless of the issue. He added if they accepted the findings of the report they would be approving to ignore what they asked for, a fair and thorough investigation. He spoke of advice he had received from the Mayor about disappearing from the view on the dais when he leaned back in his chair, then asked the Council not to disappear in this matter. Councilmember Torgeson said the Council asked for an investigation and it was indefensible and incomplete. He said the investigations did not bear any fruit and the Town spent a lot of money on those things. He said the actual complaint may be more of a First Amendment complaint beyond ethics and he did not want to spend more money going through fruitless investigations. He said he did not want to adopt the findings and did not agree with the conclusion based on the lack of investigation. Councilmember Anderson said he also wanted it to be over and said he felt the investigation was questionable. He expressed concerns about the possibility of the matter being elevated to a First Amendment challenge with the courts. He said looking to the future he believed the new process was fair and more transparent. Vice Mayor Buchli asked if the recommendation by Councilmember Bongiovanni to accept the report but not the findings in the report was approved, if it would end the matter, stating she agreed it needed to be over and did not want to spend more money. Vice Mayor Tilque stated they could include that in the motion. 9 Councilmember Bongiovanni clarified that it had nothing to do with the outcome of the investigation, but he did not believe a proper investigation was done, which was why he did not want to accept the findings of the investigation. Vice Mayor Tilque said it was the priority of the Council to stay focused on finding the best solutions to the many challenges facing the community. She said the burden of proof had fallen short regarding the former ethics policy and she was speaking from her vantage point. She discussed the time of the prior incident and said the level of unrest and angry residents at the Council meetings had escalated, which resulted in additional security measures put in place. She said based on the escalation she believed the Mayor felt overwhelmed and acted poorly in a moment of frustration, adding that removing people from the Council Chambers should be a last resort. She spoke of their trainings with the Arizona League of Cities and Towns, then said sadly the Mayor displayed inconsistencies in management of meetings during stressful periods. She said she was saddened that the Mayor did not recognize that she should have handled the situations differently, adding that was a lack of leadership and the community deserved better. She spoke about working with fellow Councilmembers and staff to bring forward new policies and procedures, then said the responsibility was still with the Mayor to keep decorum. She said she believed the Mayor required additional training to continue chairing the Council meetings. Mayor Peterson said she honored the process and welcomed the findings and, like the rest of the Council, she had no hand in the investigation process. She said she was concerned with the appearance of being penalized by not being accepting of the investigation process that she had nothing to do with. She said she was saddened to see this was continuing in the community. She stated she loved and served the community honorably for many years and would continue to do so. Vice Mayor Tilque repeated the possible action options and restated a few points regarding concerns about the investigation as a whole. A MOTION was made by Vice Mayor Tilque, seconded by Councilmember Bongiovanni, to accept receipt of the report as presented with the note, while some witnesses were not 10 interviewed, this complaint would not be reopened; to require the Mayor to complete the Council and Open Meeting Law training presented by the Arizona League of Cities; and place an item on the agenda for the December 12, 2023 Council Meeting for a report on if the training had been completed and if any additional penalties need to be considered. Motion carried 6-0-1, with Mayor Peterson abstaining. Vice Mayor Tilque explained that the action did not require the Mayor to leave the dais during the Council meetings or relinquish her Chair role. She said the training was open to the Council and they all could attend. Mayor Peterson asked for clarification about the scheduling for the training, stating she would be traveling. Vice Mayor Tilque clarified that the training did not need to be completed by the December 12, 2023 Council meeting date, but an update on the status would be needed at that time. 9. FEES – consider: a) a motion to direct staff to publish a Notice of Intention to Increase Rates and Fees for Water and Solid Waste and Recycling Rate and Fees; b) set the public hearing date for February 6, 2024; and c) a contingency request for $70,000 for traditional media and print educational campaign outreach activities. Assistant Public Works Director Braun acknowledged the responsibly of the Council in planning for the future. He spoke of outside forces on the ability to provide clean water service to residents such as pollution, drought and infrastructure wear out over time. He spoke of the 2021 National Community Survey and discussed the positive reviews from respondents. He said the high quality of life was the result of vision and strategic planning, investments in infrastructure, and sound financial policies adopted by the Council. He discussed the financial policies and user fees and said Gilbert had a Triple A bond rating 11 that enabled the best interest rates. He noted that the utility rates in discussion were water and solid waste and recycling, stating reasons for the rate increase were due to the increase of the volume of trash and cost of disposal, cost of trucks had doubled, and the cost to keep the aging fleet running had skyrocketed. He discussed the residential and voluntary commercial services noting significant growth. He said Gilbert’s expenses were exceeding its revenues and the rate proposal helped bring them into balance. He discussed the quality of services offered by Gilbert and stated the cost was $8.52 additionally per month for most residents, then discussed the commercial services stating the increase was 25% across the board. He discussed the water service and noted different disasters nationally that came from vulnerable water systems; he then noted different incidents in Gilbert that could have been disastrous without planning and resources. He summarized utility fund components with rate revenue including operation and maintenance, one- time expenses (not based on new growth), and the Repair and Replacement fund. He highlighted water resource needs and pressures, including the Tier 1 shortage with the Colorado River and the Central Arizona Project (CAP) reductions. He also noted raw water cost increases and increased construction costs for capital improvement projects. He summarized the strategy for the Colorado River shortage and the acceleration of existing well projects with $56 million over two years instead of over 10 years. He discussed challenging market conditions and construction market volatility while highlighting the North Water Treatment Plant Reconstruction Project. Assistant Public Works Director Braun summarized the following two proposed water rate options: The first option was the Cash Funded Option which would collect and pay cash for all Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) projects within the five-year plan stating it would require an immediate average residential water bill increase of $44. He said there would be no planned increase the following year and would not result in new debt, would allow ongoing capacity of $6 million for one-time CIP in the Operating Fund, and ongoing Repair and Replacement Fund capacity of $73 million in FY2029. He said the average residential water bill of $34 would increase to $78 in April 2024. 12 The second option of Cash/Bond Gradual Funded Option which would be a bond of $80 million in CIP costs with the 5-year plan and would require an immediate average residential water bill increase of $17, followed by an additional increase of $13 in 2025, and at least an increase of $16 in 2026. He noted it would bring $80 million in new debt, with $43 million anticipated interest paid over 20 years, ongoing capacity of $5 million for one-time CIP in the Operating Fund, ongoing Repair and Replacement Fund capacity of $66 million in FY2029, and would be a phased increase to allow customers to plan. He said the average residential water bill of $34 would increase to $51 in April 2024, $64 in 2025, and $80 in 2026. He reviewed the recommendation from the Public Works Advisory Board (PWAB) and the 5 key criteria they used to develop their recommendation to guide their decision making which were; the customer impact on the immediate near term, customer impact over the 5-year rate plan, if the plan adequately funded the Repair and Replacement Fund, if the plan adequately funded the Operating Budget, and what the total cost of utility ownership were for the customers and discussed the benefits and drawbacks of each option. He stated the main ideas from the Public Works Advisory Board were that the cost pressures mandated additional investment in both funds and the Capital Plan was essential to the needs of the community. He stated their recommendation was that the Council adopt the Notice of Intent considering the “Cash/Bond Gradual Option” for the Water Fund, and the SWR increase as presented, and to have staff research financial support options for customers who needed assistance. Assistant Director Braun shared a comparison of the two options and discussed the next steps in the process noting Council adoption of selected rate options in February 2024 and said rates would go into effect as of April 1, 2024 and stated an Open House would be held on January 24, 2024. He discussed the planned outreach efforts and said digital and traditional outreach would be done. Mayor Peterson noted that the Council had asked staff to come to them with two different options. 13 Mayor Peterson recessed the meeting at 7:46 p.m. and resumed the meeting at 7:55 p.m. Councilmember Buchli asked in Option 1 if there was no debt incurred, what would happen with the interest that might be incurring. She asked about the amount of interest, noting that Option 1 saved the Town a lot of money. She said if there would be a large amount of interest accrued that could offset the amount of increase. Assistant Director Braun stated that was essentially a cash flow question if money was going to be collected up front and collect interest in the bank, he said the money would be used for projects immediately and said the North Water Treatment Plant cost $677 million and checks were due over the next three years. He said not all of it was funded with utility rates, but the Cash Funded Option was designed so the money would be coming in when needed. Councilmember Buchli asked what percentage was planned in the budget for the wells coming in. Assistant Director Braun said one new well was in the operating fund in the five-year plan, about $8 million. Councilmember Buchli said she liked Option 1 because of the money it saved and did not have extra debt for the Town, but then discussed the massive numbers of inflation. She said with Option 2 they were not thinking about how there were residents who were struggling and facing inflation. She wanted the residents to know that they were thinking of them as well. She said she thought the numbers of Option 2 were even a bit high, but she understood why it was needed. Councilmember Anderson discussed a table shown at the Council Retreat and said he would still like to get a summary with the total of other fees on a monthly basis for normal residents, adding he wanted to know the total impact to a typical resident. 14 Assistant Director Braun stated they were working on gathering that information for the Council Workshop on December 11, 2023. He spoke of the 270 lines of service across the Town offered to residents and businesses, stating it was very difficult to know all at once when those fees needed to be increased and the end result of which customer that bill would be footed by. He said they needed to deal with the water and trash service that night, they had looked into those fees extensively, and they provided the level of service the community expected. Councilmember Bongiovanni stated he recalled that former Councilmember Hendrix had brought forth money for wells and asked if that had been included in the numbers; Assistant Director Braun stated it did include that. Councilmember Torgeson asked when would the amount of money necessary to offset the project stop. Assistant Director Braun stated they currently did not have any plans to lower the rates. Councilmember Torgeson asked if in coming years it would keep collecting money. Assistant Director Braun said the rates were reviewed every other year and if changes needed to be made the Council could reduce rates if revenue was no longer needed. Councilmember Torgeson asked if the option of borrowing money would go on for 20 years no matter what. Assistant Director Braun stated in some cases bonds had been paid off early when they had additional revenue, but the plan would be a 20 year bond. Councilmember Koprowski stated she supported the Cash/Bond Gradual Option because the North Water Treatment Plant was a special circumstance that would serve the community for 50 years or more, and added it merited bonding. She stated with the well projects planned to be over 10 years but accelerated due to the potential and anticipated shortage of the CAP water it also merited bonding. She said with the impact to residents the Gradual Option would provide additional time to plan for the additional expense and any water reduction measures. Vice Mayor Tilque stated she agreed with Councilmember Koprowski and confirmed that only a portion of the increase would be paying back the bond and not the entire increase. 15 Assistant Director Braun affirmed. Vice Mayor Tilque stated she had concerns for the residents and businesses, but the Gradual Option made it easier and she supported the recommendation of the Public Works Advisory Board. Mayor Peterson stated she did not like taking on debt and said to take on $43 million in debt did not sit well with her. She discussed seeing the figures from the North Water Treatment Plant and how it would serve the community, then discussed changes in the quality of water and how it was costing the Town more to make sure it met those levels of quality. She discussed how Gilbert residents expected a certain level of service including trash volume. She said she would be supporting the Cash Funded Option and discussed the impact to bills, then said she would rather face it at one time. Councilmember Torgeson said if they bonded $80 million, they would get access to it right away at a rate of 4.5%. He asked if there would be a benefit of pulling in the funds now and paying for things as quickly as possible because of the increase in construction. Assistant Director Braun said under the Gradual Bond Option they had the ability to pay cash for a certain amount of time until they had to bond, and they generally did the bond at the last moment. A MOTION was made by Councilmember Koprowski, seconded by Vice Mayor Tilque, to publish Notice of Intention to Increase Rates and Fees for Water and Solid Waste and Recycling Rates and Fees with the Cash/Bond Gradual Option. Motion carried 4-3, with Mayor Peterson and Councilmembers Bongiovanni and Torgeson casting the dissenting votes. A MOTION was made by Councilmember Koprowski, seconded by Vice Mayor Tilque, to set the public hearing date for February 6, 2024. Motion carried 7-0. A MOTION was made by Councilmember Koprowski, seconded by Vice Mayor Tilque, to approve a contingency request for $70,000 for traditional media and print educational campaign outreach activities. Motion carried 7-0. 16 COMMUNICATIONS Report from the TOWN MANAGER. Town Manager Banger recognized the Information Technology Department for being a 2023 Top 100 Technology Team Award winner. He also congratulated Eugene Mejia as the new Chief Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy and Transformation Officer. He said a policy was under review and looked forward to all the benefits this new technology would offer to our service lines. Report from the COUNCIL. Councilmember Torgeson stated if any members of the public missed the Study Session earlier that evening on the Heritage District Wayfinding and Placemarketing, a final study session would be held on December 6, 2023 at the Planning Commission. He noted the Town, in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, would host a Heritage District meet- up on December 7, 2023, adding it was a free event and sign up was available on the Chamber website at www.gilbertaz.com. He expressed that the conference he attended with Councilmember Bongiovanni was a great learning experience and he walked away with how far ahead and efficient Gilbert staff was in comparison to other cities and towns. Vice Mayor Tilque wished Mayor Peterson a happy birthday. Councilmember Bongiovanni reiterated Councilmember Torgeson’s comments and said hearing about other cities and towns enforced Gilbert’s “City of the Future” initiative. Report from the MAYOR. Mayor Peterson stated she would be traveling to Washington, D.C. for the 82nd Anniversary of the Pearl Harbor and noted she would be paying for the trip out of her own pocket. She listed some upcoming holiday events and said to visit www.gilbertaz.gov for more information. ADJOURN 17 Mayor Peterson adjourned the meeting at 8:51 p.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Brigette Peterson, Mayor Chaveli Herrera, Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Gilbert held on the 28th day of November, 2023. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this ____ day of ____________________2023. ___________________________________ Chaveli Herrera, Town Clerk 18