City Council Regular Meeting on 2024-12-03 6:00 PM

City Hall City of Maricopa 39700 W. Civic Center Plaza Maricopa, AZ 85138 Meeting Minutes - Final Ph: (520) 568-9098 Fx: (520) 568-9120 City Council Regular Meeting www.maricopa-az.gov Mayor Nancy Smith Vice-Mayor Amber Liermann Councilmember Eric Goettl Councilmember AnnaMarie Knorr Councilmember Vincent Manfredi Councilmember Bob Marsh Councilmember Henry Wade Tuesday, December 3, 2024 6:00 PM Council Chambers 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:14 p.m. The Door Church Pastor, Kevin Teeling gave the invocation and Councilmember Marsh led the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. Roll Call Present: 7 - Councilmember AnnaMarie Knorr, Councilmember Vincent Manfredi, Councilmember Henry Wade, Mayor Nancy Smith, Councilmember Bob Marsh, Councilmember Amber Liermann and Councilmember Eric Goettl 3. Swearing in Ceremony 3.1 OATH 24-02 The newly re-elected Mayor and Councilmembers will be sworn in to office. The Honorable Judge Stephen McCarville will administer the oaths of office. Councilmember Goettl, Councilmember Liermann, Councilmember Marsh and Mayor Smith were sworn into office by Honorable Judge McCarville. The newly elected and re-elected members of the Council and the Mayor were Appointed. 4. Proclamations, Acknowledgements, Awards and Presentations 5. Report from the Mayor Councilmember Marsh reported attending the Pinal Partnership meeting and added City Manager Bitter was there and commended him for representing Maricopa well. He reported that on November 25th, he chaired the Pinal County Board of Adjustment and the big news out of that meeting was that the head of the Planning Department who runs the board was resigning and as a result the county zoning code revision that was scheduled to be in today was pushed out another month. He hoped that when Mr. Vitiello went into the position, the schedules improve. He informed everyone he would be out of town until the 22nd visiting the Panama Canal. Councilmember Goettl reported that on November 23rd, he had the opportunity to participate in the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, in partnership with the Red Cross, on how to set up an emergency shelter in the city. He thanked everyone for a wonderful 2024, and stated it was a great year serving the City of Maricopa Page 1 City Council Regular Meeting Meeting Minutes - Final December 3, 2024 community. He expressed excitement for the next four years of his term. Next, he announced Merry Copa would be on Saturday (December 7th) at Copper Sky at 5 p.m. He added the event was free, parking was $10 and elaborated on the activities. Lastly, he shared that on December 30th there would be a Menorah lighting at the Maricopa Library and Cultural Center at 6 p.m. and elaborated. Councilmember Wade reported participating in the community Thanksgiving hosted at Maricopa Wells Elementary School by Jim Shoaf and his organization. He elaborated on the event and thanked Mr. Shoaf, the Maricopa Unified School District (MUSD) for allowing the use of their facility, and the families that volunteered to serve including Mayor Smith. Councilmember Knorr reported concluding a tour of the city earlier today and elaborated that City Manager Bitter took her to all the different departments and facilities to get a better understanding of how the city operates. She thanked all the staff behind the scenes for their work. Next, she gave information on the Angel Trees in several places around town where people could get a tag to help needy families purchase Christmas gifts. She listed the following location for the Angel trees, the Fire Department’s administration office, Desert Sunrise High School, and at the MUSD administration office. Councilmember Manfredi wished everyone a Merry Christmas since this was the last meeting of the year. He stated he had the opportunity to visit the Be Awesome Youth Coalition and elaborated on their space camp program they held at Pima Butte this past semester. He encouraged support for the organization. Next, he announced that on December 12th he would host a Business Town Hall with local business owners to talk about what they believe the city should be doing for businesses and go over what the city currently offers. He added the event would start at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers. He added that there was also a new informational pamphlet for those interested in launching a home-based business in the city available at the front desk. He stated the pamphlet was meant to inform small businesses how to launch. He congratulated the newly elected members of the council including Mayor Smith and commented on the hard work that goes into running for council and being an elected official. He hoped that in 2026 there would be more people running for office. Liermann recognized the National Guard's birthday on December 14th and the Space Force’s birthday on December 20th. She acknowledged the loss of two Maricopa motorcyclist who lost their lives in Tucson in November and the loss of a highly esteemed Maricopa High School student. Mayor Smith reported meeting with Senator Farnsworth specifically to talk about State Route (SR) 347 and highlighted the importance of being invited to meet. She elaborated he expressed great interest and in a press release after, he used the information on SR 347. Next, she reported meeting with Representatives Lopez, Martinez and Senate president Petersen and talked about SR 347 and housing. Next, she reported on her opportunity to take a tour of the SRP watershed and elaborated on their plans to build a new dam with extra capacity. She reported attending the Firefighter’s toy and food drive event, and volunteering to serve at the Maricopa Pantry Community Thanksgiving. She thanked the Maricopa Pantry for the event. Lastly, she thanked the community for electing her and stated she looked forward to the next four years. 6. Report from the City Manager City of Maricopa Page 2 City Council Regular Meeting Meeting Minutes - Final December 3, 2024 City Manager Bitter reminded the community that a link in the city's website under 'What's New Maricopa' showed all the new projects coming up including GIS maps, and progress updates. 7. Call to the Public Brendan Small and Katie Heien gave information on a backpack and clothing drive for the students at Desert Sunrise High School. They stated donations could be dropped off at the front office. Elizabeth Howell thanked the mayor and council for the support of the advisory committees. She announced she was stepping down from the Senior Advisory Committee because she no longer drove, and it was hard to get rides. She announced the Shred-a-ton would be at the end of April at the Maricopa school district office. Sherill Kramer, Homestead North, expressed concerns with recent drilling of the concrete sidewalk in her area and that the patching was done with asphalt instead of concrete. She asked that the work be looked into. Ocean Kent congratulated the newly elected. She stated she was CEO of Ocean Industries and thanked the Maricopa Police Chief Goodman and Councilmember Wade for approving her sessions for the Maricopa Police Department. She gave information on the upcoming Technology 101 for seniors and other programs. 8. Consent Agenda Approval of the Consent Agenda A motion was made by Councilmember Bob Marsh, seconded by Councilmember Amber Liermann, to Adopt the Consent Agenda. The motion carried by unanimous vote. 8.1 SPEVLIQ 24-07 The Mayor and City Council shall discuss and take action on recommending approval to the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control for a Special Event Liquor License application submitted by Wendy Webb for approval of an event known as Thirsty Thirdsday on January 16, February 20, March 20, and April 17, 2025 to be held at 20942 N. Province Parkway, Maricopa, Arizona 85138. Discussion and Action. This Special Event Liquor License was Approved. 8.2 MIN 24-75 Approval of Minutes from the November 19, 2024 City Council Regular meeting. Discussion and Action. The Minutes were Approved. 8.3 CON 24-33 The Mayor and City Council shall discuss and take action to approve the Purchase and Sale Agreement and Escrow Instructions with Outside the Box Marketing, Inc., an Arizona corporation related to the sale of approximately 4.12 acres of the real property generally located on the Southeast corner of W Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and State Route 347, in Maricopa, Pinal County, Arizona, a portion of Assessor Parcel No. 51012014P for $717,869.00 and authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement and any future amendments to extend the Closing as he deems necessary, and any closing documents related thereto. Discussion and Action. City of Maricopa Page 3 City Council Regular Meeting Meeting Minutes - Final December 3, 2024 This Contract was Approved. 8.4 CON 24-34 The Mayor and City Council shall discuss and take action on approving a contract with Global Water - Santa Cruz Water Company, Inc. for an asset purchase agreement of a domestic water system serving property generally located south of Honeycutt Road between N. White and Parker Road and N. Porter Road . Discussion and Action. This Contract was Approved. 8.5 RES 24-44 A Resolution of the Mayor and City Council of the City of Maricopa, Arizona, authorizing the City Manager to execute documents, agreements, and applications necessary to act as a sponsor or designated grantee for federal and state grants and loans, at no cost to the City, for planning and infrastructure related to Redevco Solutions LLC’s development of approximately 680 acres of real property generally located south of Maricopa Casa Grande Highway between N. White and Parker Road and N. Hartman Road within the City of Maricopa. Discussion and Action. This Resolution was Approved. 9. Regular Agenda and/or Public Hearings 9.1 APP 24-09 The Mayor and City Council shall discuss and take action on making an appointment to fill the vacancy on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. Discussion and Action. Councilmember Goettl nominated Devin Pitcher to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee and provided a brief background of Mr. Pitcher. A motion was made by Councilmember Goettl, seconded by Councilmember Wade, that this Appointment be Appointed. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. 9.2 MISC 24-24 The Mayor and City Council shall discuss and take action on the Community Outreach and Communication Plan for the 2026 Maricopa General Plan Update as requested by Michael Baker International, on behalf of the City of Maricopa. Discussion and Action. Planning and Zoning Manager Rick Williams introduced the item on the General Plan Update public participation plan. He introduced Matthew from Michael Baker International to detail the plan. Matthew gave a PowerPoint presentation on the City of Maricopa General Plan Update Public Participation Plan. He stated that the purpose was to be in accordance with Arizona Revised Statues (ARS) 9-461.06 to adopt written procedures to provide effective, early, and continuous public participation in the development of the General Plan. He detailed the General Plan process from August 2024 to May 2026, when it would go for voter ratification in November 2026. He stated the process required a public participation plan be adopted by the city per ARS and elaborated on the outreach, and engagement opportunity requirements. He explained public participation plan included community members and stakeholders. He discussed the different phases of the engagement goals including to inform, consult, involve, collaborate and empower the community. He discussed the awareness campaign including the branding, website, and print/social media. Lastly, he elaborated on the “Go to them approach” which would include a General Plan Advisory Committee, 3 community workshops, mobile studios, a Youth Council workshop, and digital engagement. He thanked the Mayor and Council and opened the floor for questions. City of Maricopa Page 4 City Council Regular Meeting Meeting Minutes - Final December 3, 2024 Councilmember Goettl thanked him for including the youth in the public outreach and stated he looked forward to the process. Councilmember Wade asked about the digital formats and the possibility of electronic fillable forms. Mr. Matthew responded that information would be available both by hard copy and electronic formats Councilmember Marsh thanked him for including seniors and emphasized their knowledge and experience. Mr. Matthews responded. A motion was made by Councilmember Marsh, seconded by Councilmember Knorr, that the Community Outreach and Communication Plan for the 2026 Maricopa General Plan Update be Approved. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. 9.3 MISC 24-23 The Mayor and City Council shall discuss and take action on approving the 2025 Legislative Platform. Discussion and Action. Intergovernmental Affairs Director, Katy Proctor presented the 2025 Legislative Platform. She reviewed the legislative changes at the state and federal levels. She stated that on the state side, both the House and Senate, saw an increase in the republican majority. She stated there would be new folks joining in both chambers, in Maricopa there was a new member of the State House; Representative-elect Chris Lopez who would be joined by incumbents Representative Teresa Martinez and Senator T.J. Shope. She stated Senator Shope would continue as the president pro temp in the Senate, and Chair of the Natural Resources Committee this year. She stated Representative Martinez would be Vice-Chair of Transportation, in addition to other assignments, and Representative-elect Lopez would be Vice-Chair of the Natural Resources and Water Committee, in addition to other assignments. She stated at the state legislature there were already bills in the hopper and added that opening day would be on January 13th. She stated the Governor’s annual State of the State Address would be streamed live on the legislatures website and added the bill introduction deadlines of the session would fall at the end of the month followed by the first committee cut-off date on February 21st. She explained key issues this year included housing and some of the concerning legislation that was introduced last year was expected to come back. She continued that the other key issue would be budget, she stated the budget numbers were trending in a positive way right now and elaborated on possible budget numbers. She explained that even though we were ahead of the game, it was not quite ahead enough to make up that deficit. She stated that on the federal side the numbers did not add up to 435 and because as of last week we were still waiting for a few races in the in the federal house to be called and as of tonight we were still actually waiting on one out of California. She stated it looked like we're going to end up at about 220 Republicans and 215 Democrats and noted that some folks would not be sworn in, so the effective majority would probably be closer to 2:17 to 2:15 until those were filled. She continued that in the US Senate 53 to 47 of all the incumbents in Arizona were reelected including Congressman Crane and Senators Kelly and Gallegos. She stated that on the federal side we were still waiting for the current fiscal year budget and elaborated. She stated committee assignments would be made in the next week or so, along with the schedule which would provide an idea of what the budget process will be like. She stated the Legislative Platform gave direction to staff on how to proceed in the legislative arenas over the next coming year for staff, and for the city’s contract lobbyists Policy Development Group (PDG) and Nexxus. She reminded Council that if anything came up during the sessions where further direction was needed, they would come back and ask and emphasized it was an ongoing process. She discussed the state legislative platform and noted many of City of Maricopa Page 5 City Council Regular Meeting Meeting Minutes - Final December 3, 2024 the items were like previous sessions. She highlighted that under revenue and finance we were asking the state to maintain its transportation network to minimize the cost to our city and other local governments. She continued that under governance they would be talking about respecting local decision making especially in relation to zoning. She stated that under infrastructure there were two new concepts, the first was to address anything that would redirect funds away from projects that benefit the city, and then the third bullet point under infrastructure was seeking restoration of funds that were delayed for SR 347 in TI last fiscal year and would try to move those up this year at the legislature if possible. She stated the platform would also advocate with federal agencies to enhance the City’s ability to receive its appropriate share of federal aid programs. Lastly, the federal platform would also advocate for project delivery options that reduce costs and eliminate red tape for projects that utilize federal funds within the City. She thanked the city staff who would spend a lot of time analyzing bills and providing subject matter experience over the next few months, contract folks both at PDG and Nexxus, and the Mayor and Council for staying engaged in the process for the benefit of the community. She opened the floor for questions. Mayor Smith thanked the number of residents who communicated with legislators on various bills and would be asked to engage again. A motion was made by Councilmember Goettl, seconded by Councilmember Marsh, that the 2025 Legislative Platform be Approved. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. 9.4 APP 24-10 The Mayor and City Council shall discuss and take action on appointing a Vice-Mayor from among the members of the City Council. Discussion and Action. Mayor Smith commended Vice Mayor Liermann for her term as Vice Mayor. She stated that every time she called on her, she was willing to attend, she was willing to speak and was willing to handle any task she requested. She thanked her and stated she appreciated her efforts as Vice Mayor and invited her to say a few words. Vice Mayor Liermann thanked Mayor Smith and the Council for the opportunity to serve as Vice Mayor the past year and stated it was an honor to represent Maricopa locally and regionally. She stated the experience allowed her to build regional relationships and the learn from the experience serving. She motioned to nominate Councilmember Wade for the Vice Mayor seat. She stated Councilmember Wade has been a leader in the community for many years, he cared very much for community members and, as a servant at heart, he has a passion to build a sense of community when he makes himself available and he served selflessly. A motion was made by Councilmember Liermann, seconded by Councilmember Manfredi, that Councilmember Wade be Appointment Vice Mayor. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. 10. Executive Session There was no executive session. 11. Adjournment This meeting was Adjourned at 7:22 p.m. Certification of Minutes City of Maricopa Page 6 City Council Regular Meeting Meeting Minutes - Final December 3, 2024 I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the regular meeting of the City Council of Maricopa, Arizona, held on the 3rd day of December, 2024. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 21st day of January, 2025. __________________________ Vanessa Bueras City Clerk City of Maricopa Page 7