good evening everyone and again welcome to the Mesa city council meeting for the evening of November the 6th I will note for the record that all of our council is present uh we will begin our meeting with an invocation offered by Rabbi Lael blotner with the Chabad Jewish center of Mesa followed by the Pledge of Allegiance so please stand for the invocation and remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance as we stand here today exactly one month since terrific attacks on the country of Israel and the Jewish people not seen since the holocausts the men women and children and especially the 240 hostages are on our mind in our prayers as we pray for peace in the Holy Land of Israel in the entire world almighty God Master of the Universe please Grant this distinguished body the mayor and the members of the mesa city council the wisdom understanding and knowledge to do the special work that they do we beseech you almighty God to extend your blessings to each and every member and bestow upon them the joy of life good health and prosperity we are blessed and fortunate to live in a city that members of all religions live together in peace and Harmony as we watch read and hear everything that is going on in the Holy Land our hearts ache we find inspiration the words of the most influential Rabbi in modern history the RAB schneerson who taught us to fight Darkness with light hate with love dispear with hope complaint with action we often take for granted that the only way to address the evil of anti-Semitism is to fight it we fight we confront we condemn however we cannot stand adly by the rebba urged us to spread goodness and kindness by spreading love and goodness visible and loving ways we could create real positive change almighty God Bless The Honorable public officials gather here today give these honorable men and women guidance so they will always be conscience of your presence and strive to lead with honesty Integrity in accordance with your Godly will may we serve as a beacon of light strength and and moral courage as we look to a Kinder more loving world and let us say amen amen amen please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance IED Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation God indivisible with liy and justice for all thank you before we uh move move on to the rest of our meeting I just want to again recognize and thank my friend Rabbi blotner for being here today thank you for accepting the invitation to give the invocation at this meeting um it uh I I'll just I just want to underline what he said it's unbearable and unimaginable U the last month since the horrific attacks in Israel by Hamas we often talk about values here in the city of Mesa and one that always Rises to the top that describes our community as compassion we share the grief and pain pain felt by the families and individuals impacted by this War uh we condemn this violence there's no place for hate no place for violence and no place for anti-Semitism uh and I hope that you will join me in continuing to pray with Rabbi blotner and so many others for stability and peace in Israel and the entire region so thank you Rabbi blatner for being with us uh next item on our agenda is item um Awards recognitions and and proclamations uh we have one item on this agenda it's to Proclaim November of this month as Native American Heritage Month the city of Mace is proud to work with our tribal partners and the tribal leaders of Arizona to amplify native American traditions and voices we deeply value our long-standing relationships with the tribes who are our neighbors and our brothers and sisters and we acknowledge the legacies and contributions of those who are indigenous to this land here tonight to accept the proclamation and share about their organization is the founder found ER and president of the Native American fatherhood and families Association Albert pulley Mr pulley we'd welcome you to come to the microphone and give us your thoughts on this Proclamation and then we'll we'll join you for a photograph well it's nice to be here I think I'm met most of you up in the council thank you for this U award or this recognition um as you know that there's 21 tribes here in Arizona Native American tribes and a lot of our native people actually live in urban centers and a lot of them come leave the reservation for various reasons I actually myself I attended the Phoenix Indian School I attended that back in 1960 when I was just a young boy I want to rate one story just just one quick story about that I was born and raised on the reservation and uh when I'm going to college for the first time I I went to boarding schools and things like that and my younger brothers and sisters did also and we said goodbye to them as they were going off to boarding school and then we go home with me and my dad and my mom and uh my mom cooks dinner for us and everything seems normal and my we sat down to have dinner my mom didn't join us and I said to my father where's mom she said well she's probably in her room I said well should I go tell her to eat he says probably she won't eat son she's probably in her room crying I said crying she said yes she said you know what he saids you know what son every year when you kids went for off to boarding school your mother would come back and wouldn't eat for days and would just cry because she missed you kids so much why do I tell you that story now I never knew that cuz I never saw my mom and dad I said goodbye at the bus that was it now I'm home with them because I'm because I'm going to college for the first time I tell people this if I want to destroy somebody I don't destroy your profession I don't destroy your automobiles I destroy your family and the governments different kind of governments have done a very good job of that by destroying our families so I'm really glad to see you acknowledging this month as our month because we have a lot to give and you know what some of the most patriotic people in this country are Native Americans in fact per capita of all the native all the groups that go off to serve this country per capita our Native Americans so again thank you for that it's an honor to be here with you all and I want to thank you for coming to our office one last point we have our national conference it's it's like starts tomorrow here in m at the Hilton Hotel we have we we we work our our or our organization works with over 300 tribes throughout North America and you know what we have never received one dime from the federal government or any state government or any government like that the tribes are buying our services on their own over 300 tribes that's unheard of because we because because because the message we have is this we have three things how do you strengthen families that are already intact how do you keep families together because divorce is so rampid these days but if there's kids involved the most two important people of the kids' life were their mother and father and then how do you reunite families that's our whole goal and now we're not part of the United Nations so now we're getting inquiries from different countries for example we got inquiries from Hong K from uh um uh Korea and New Zealand so i' like to join have city council learn more about our program and say we are we are working together as a nonprofit and the city council so thank you once again thank you Mr pulie uh Council let's go down and share a photograph with Mr py when we present this [Applause] Proclamation [Applause] you're G to see her tomorrow night right oh yeah yeah can you please Photoshop that for no guy like me all right thank you Mr thank you congratulations I'm GNA let you take [Applause] that wish to speak okay that's your wish to speak P got it all right thank you the next item on our agenda is the consent agenda we invite Mr Kevin Christopher forward to read the consent agenda good evening mayor and council members these are the items on the consent agenda all items listed with an asterisk will be considered as a group by the city council and will be enacted with one motion there will be no separate discussion unless a council member or citizen request in which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered as a separate item item two approval minutes of previous meetings is written item 3A act on liquor license application for ultimate imaginations wonday event November 24th at 1 North McDonald item 3B act on liquor license application for US Army reserve one day event December 9th 59.99 South backas Mall item 3 C act on liquor license application for Mesa drummer Bar and Grill 1211 North Country Country Club Drive item 3D act on liquor license application for Quick Cash Market 1107 North Mesa Drive item 3E act on liquor license application for laen Chana 8830 West Southern Avenue item 3F act on liquor license application for Arizona Distilling Company 155 West Main Street item 3G act on liquor license application for pescaderia alerto de wus 1241 East Broadway Road item 38 Jack on liquor license application for Oregano's 6821 East Superion Springs Boulevard item 4A approving Cooperative contract use for three-month renewal contracts for PC cycle replacement and supplemental computers ruggedized laptops and tablets for city-wide departments item 4B approving Cooperative contract use for the purchase of one heavyduty forklift for the energy resources department item 4 C approving job order Master contracts for mechanical and plumbing Construction Services item 4D approving Cooperative contract use for the purchase of three crew cab commercial Motor Vehicles for the human resources department item 4 e approving one-year term contract for DNA crime lab supplies for the Mesa Police Department item 4 F approving three-year term contract with two years of renewal options for automated driveway gate operators preventative maintenance and repairs for the parks recreation and Community facilities Department item 4G approving three-year term contract with two years of renewal options for fire protection equipment maintenance and repair services for the parks recreation and Community facilities Department item 4 H approving dollar limit increase to the term contract for Traffic Control cabinets and controllers traffic signal video detection systems and schoolone flasher controls for the transportation department item 4 I approving contract to rebuild a bar screen conveyor system at the Greenfield Water Reclamation plan for the Water Resources Department item 5A approving resolution authorizing the signing of an application to the Arizona Department of Water Resources to notify the city's designation of assured water supply item 5B approving a resolution to enter into an intergovernmental agreement identifying and defining the responsibilities of Maricopa County and the City of Mesa for maintenance and operations of the bus stop p add and new drainage facilities being installed as part of the Broadway Road Bridge Project item 5c approving resolution to enter into an amended intergovermental agreement with the City of Tempe to accept additional funding for expanded forensic services and training provided by the police department's forensic services division item 5D approving resolution to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the town of Fountain Hills for fire dispatch Services provided by the city of Mesa and adding Fountain Hills as a dispatch partner item 5e approving resolution to enter into contracts to the purchase of natural gas supplies and asset management for the city item 5f approving resolution vacating public rideway located in the 1600 block of North 96 Street to combine with the adjacent parcel for future development item 5G approving resolution extinguishing a portion of a 20ft public utilities and Facilities easement located at 5400 East McDow Road item 6A has been removed from the consent agenda item 6B introduction of ordinance for zoning case 22- 610 for property generally located west of Greenfield Road on the north side of Southern Avenue rezone with plan area development and bonus intensity Zone overlay and sight planner view to allow for Industrial Development item 6 C introduction of ordinance zoning case 22-1 1311 for property generally located west of Higley Road and south of mccallops Road rezone of the bonus intensity Zone overlay Insight planner view to allow for Industrial Development item 6D introduction of ordinance for zoning case 23432 for property generally located north of Elliot Road on the west side of hos road rezon with planned area development overlay to expand the existing ing Haw Crossing Village 1 plan area development to include a single residence development known as Village 1 Phase 2 item 6E introduction of ordinance for zoning case 23548 for property located north of posos Road and East of Ellsworth Road modification of an existing plan area development overlay major site plan modification and amending conditions of approval for zoning case 22- 268 to allow for Industrial Development item 6f introduction of ordinance of zoning case 22-10 38 for property located south of Main Street and West of krisman road rezone with plan area development overlay Insight planner view to allow for a multiple residence development item 6G introduction of annexation case 22- 738 annexing property located on the south side of Main Street West of krisman Road item 7A has been removed from the consent agenda item 7B approving ordinance was zoning case 23-40 for property generally located south of Main Street and West of Ellsworth Road reson with plan area development overlay and site planner View to allow for multiple residence development and item 8A approving Subdivision plat Gallery Park replat 3 for property located in Norther Railroad on the east side of Power Road mayor and council members these are the items on the consent agenda thank you Mr Christopher just to make sure I know we had items 6A and 7A were off of the consent agenda correct all right thank you we have a motion from council member spillsbury and a second from council member Heredia for approval of the consent agenda please vote thank you the Voting is unanimous uh in favor of the consent agenda the first item off of our agenda is item 6A this is Introduction of an ordinance and sitting November 20th of uh of this year as the date for the public hearing on this ordinance uh this is zoning case 23- 0949 amending the city code to establish a speed limit of 45 miles per hour on williamsfield Road between krisman and the East City Limits and a speed of 40 m hour on Williams Field Road between Ellsworth and krisman road as recommended by staff um is there any discussion on this item I know this was discussed in council meeting so I don't know if we need any uh Miss Duff would you like to have any staff presentation um no no and I apologize for pulling it off consent agenda at this point um initially I was thinking tonight was the vote and it's just the introduction I am not oppos to the introduction um at this time I plan on voting no for various re reasons I can certainly save those comments for you know that council meeting on November 20th okay so again that that'll be November 20th that we'll have the public hearing on this this is just for introduction I see we have a motion from Mr Summers uh seconded by council member spillsbury uh please vote thank you so that's unanimous to set that item for a hearing on the 20th next item off of our consent is agenda item 7A this is to discuss rece receive public comment and take action on uh zoning ordinance z23 d469 this is to rezone from limited commercial to limited commercial with bonus intensity overlay with a council use permit and site plan review this request will allow a change in use from a hotel to a social service facility to allow the city to locate at the site portions of an existing temporary housing program for people experiencing homelessness more specifically for targeted populations of families domestic violence victims and elderly the city of Mesa is the applicant uh I've received several cards so we we'll just start thank you for being here we're looking forward to hearing from the community on on this so uh given the volume of cards we are going to strictly enforce the three minute limit so uh I apologize uh I don't care if you're for it or against it we're just we're going to limit it to 3 minutes uh feel free to not take the entire 3 minutes if you feel like you're saying things that maybe other people have already said but but I'm not going to cut you off until we get to 3 minutes but I am going to cut you off there uh we'll begin with uh Diane Yazi Divine I'll I'll try not to take my three minutes um my name is Diana azi Divine I live at 1263 West Mountain View Drive I moved to Mesa in 1984 so I'm a 40-year resident of the city of Mesa um I've just recently retired I spent 44 years as the president and CEO of a nonprofit organization called Native American Connections which was a u a premier one of the larger nonprofit housing homeless housing affordable housing developers operators and service providers uh Native American Connections operated about a 100 units of shelter programs and converted some motels to shelter um one of the positive I would say probably the most positive we all know I'm not going to spend time on the housing crisis and what the issues are 13,000 homeless people but when you convert motels to when you convert motels you're significantly decreasing the cost of the uh uh per unit cost um it's um coming to about $400,000 per unit to build multif family housing now on a conversion of a motel is closer to about $100,000 So you you're reducing significant cost in terms of creating the unit um instead of building new construction you're significantly reducing the time of being able to house a homeless person by uh the conversion of a of a motel into to homeless housing you're reducing acute health care costs which we know um people that are house homeless people that are house and so these reductions of uh cost time to house somebody um acute uh Health Care um and I would like to say in our in our 100 units we've been operating those 100 units of shelter for probably 15 years we have about a 40% uh success rate of getting someone from coming right directly from the street who's been unhoused or considered what they say chronic homeless to becoming permanently housed in a permanent housing situation it gives the resident time to get the paperwork together to get the case management they need to uh get the entitlement documents they need to become permanently housed and so there's a very high correlation of people that go into the uh transitional Motel housing that actually stay uh go into permanent housing and then stay permanently housed so I'm a high high support of uh this project and of any project that takes advantage of converting lower cost Motel housing to making a permanent housing situation for homeless individuals thank you thank you m Divine uh next uh Pastor David Wade David Wade 1720 East Broadway Road Calvary Baptist Church I'm standing today because there is a Great Divide of homelessness that is growing in the city of Mesa within this uh we recognize that the tents have been taken down in Phoenix there are so many individuals that are looking for a place to sleep now if we open the door to give homelessness training and opportunities to grow this is something our city can be a stall worth and a Beacon Light to help people in this community uh within the fabric of where we are are we no longer interested in helping the lease the left out and the last if we're not we ought to be and if we allow an opportunity where we can help house mothers with children give some training and opportunities then we don't care about people we talk about our neighborhoods a lot of the people that are making noise about this matter don't even live in the area and I think we need to be conscious of the fact that everybody needs a place to sleep at night thank you thank you Pastor Wade uh Blanca I apologize for mispronouncing this name Blanca deos hi my name is Blanca de wtow and I'm staying at the windir hotel I'm currently staying there with my family I was staying um in a shelter um the school provided the information they worked really fast to to get me and my family in a shelter like to have them safely to get to school um for us to get help to get back on our feet we're getting counseling um they're really helping us really a lot um that's all I have great thank you for being here um Gretchen caroway good evening mayor and Council thank you so much for the opportunity to speak I am speaking in support of this project um as a member of the board of Catholic Charities of Arizona I'm not speaking in that official capacity however I am speaking as an individual because that organization serves the most vulnerable and thank you for all you do to serve Mesa and the most vulnerable um they have been involved in many affordable housing projects which have been able to serve many people very similar to this project as a victim of domestic violence personally I speak to the fact that if I had not had a place to go I could be one of these homeless today that needs a place and so I speak in support for domestic violence and also as a child of a parent in a nursing home who was on Medicaid if she did not have a place to have a roof over her head it would be impossible for me to care for her so I am speaking truly as a citizen of Arizona in support of this project and thank you thank you Miss carway uh Hans Hans Ru Ray excuse me Hans Ray hi there Council and mayor how are you doing this evening good I'm speaking in support of the hotel being acquisition I guess it would be um I went through the program over there at the windir and uh I was on the street for 2 years uh without a facet like that to be able to kind of grow and have a stepping stone to get back into uh the real world it um sorry if I didn't have a stepping stone to get to where I'm at today by having somewhere to stay and get through this situation I would still be homeless I spent two years homeless and was able to finally get housing and get my life back on track because of it and I guess that's for I'm that thank you Hans congratulations and best of luck to you uh David Ferguson take your time I'm sorry no no problem [Music] don't we're going to work on a mic for you Mr Ferguson thank you we've got a we've got a mic on the way Mr Ferguson okay thank you I don't know if you guys were hired because you were good-look or because of the credentials take I was one day out of the hospital I had my leg amputated because of the diabetes with the Heat this last summer I wouldn't have made it I mean I had to call the fire department when I fell out of my chair once just to get back in my chair I had never had that situation to where I mean I played pro football and yet I couldn't get up from the ground to get in my chair the wind mirror project was a lifesaver for me I got it if you follow the rules you do what they ask you to do you can get places I'm staying at 425 South Power Road a very big uh studio apartment I now have a dog which I love to death and uh this program if you do what it's meant to do I I wouldn't be in a place now I'd be one of those homeless people people were dead one of the other so I thank them and I thank the city of Mesa for everything they've done for me thank you Mr Ferguson congratulations you're doing great thank you uh Tiffany Williams I'm okay hello my name is Tiffany Williams and I was a client of of um the windir project um I owe my life to these guys um I've been an addict my whole life sorry I didn't have a place to go I went to the woods and I had a hit out in the woods and I was out there for like 10 days and I was I was 30 days sober and um I had called a friend that that I I was told got sober and um he told me about this program and you know told me I can come out of the woods and get my my act together um this place is more than just a shelter I mean they help you get your your documents to be able to do anything um they they they helped to me get a job they I was able to use their computer to do the resumés um I was very very scared to do anything cuz I've never been sober before and um I was able to do I was able to do things and and become a part of society again I I now work at unhooked recovery and I've been there two and a half years and I'm I'm helping other people like myself and um I I would I I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for them I I was 105 lbs with five teeth when I came out of the [Music] woods I don't have nothing but good things to say about these guys I owe my life to them and you know know you know what a relief it is to have a bed to sleep in and a shower be able to take a shower and put on clean clothes it's the small things that that mean the most and if I didn't have that safe place to lay my head I wouldn't have been able to to become a part of society again I mean right now I I never thought I'd be able to get my own apartment they helped me sign up for the rapid rehousing program and so now I have my own house I have a car that's completely legal to drive I have my my world is just greater than I ever could imagine I I had I'd given up hope I I just I accepted that I was going to die like that and my kids don't have to worry about their mom anymore so I thank you guys very much and um I'm definitely for the program thank you Miss congratulations normally I get mad at people when they clap but I'm not going to do that uh Howard gemo and I apologize for mispronouncing your name Howard thank you Howard gimo 7954 East Obispo a decision to buy a used Hotel would be a poorly thought out decision by the way I had 28 rental units in Phoenix on Thomas Road and I know what I'm speaking about you will take many units out the commercial market and the remaining units will be able to increase their rents because of removing the competition of the ones you're taking off the market your maintenance will be high often replacing serviceable equipment and not anticipating failures you will use city employees who will be full beneficial and will and they may not be available nights and weekends when emergencies occur how will you choose the new residents to be selected by income or by skin color by sex or by gender maybe by the age or the age of the residents but those who are not chosen will be free to Su to sue you for discrimination when it is time for them to move out no you will have a process processor give them notice then you'll start a suit in court to move them out the court date will be moved to a residential to a presented to a resident by a process server and after you win in court you will serve them with a process server by a process server of the Court's eviction notice and then you can have a courta appointed bayth put their personal property on the sidewalk and there they will be with their personal property while telling their sad story to the 5:00 news are you ready for that are you ready for this who's in my parking place who left the laundry in a washer all day why are those loud noises after quiet time etc etc etc are you ready for all of that it will be a millstone around your neck and a financial burden and cost to all the taxpayers of the Mesa for your not thought out management decisions and for good intentions that backfire this building will be a millstone on the next of future city councils and while they try to figure out a way to get rid of it and possibly get some of the all the money you're putting into this thing you can vote no today and stop this mistake thank you thank you har okay all right let's just decide we both both sides got the clap and so we're done with the Clapping okay I I you can do one of these if you'd like but we we don't want this to turn into a pepper Alle or get a little bit out of control so I hope just for the the sake of both sides we'll just agree that we're not going to demonstrate uh support or lack of support for any other speakers okay uh Janna Scott well good evening Mr Mayor and city council people I'm honored to stand here today on behalf of the African-American Christian clergy Coalition a coalition of over 110 churches in Maricopa County many who are right here in your city and I just want to acknowledge Pastor David Wade who's been an active leader in our Coalition we're at a time in really our era that well-governed cities are having to make sometimes tough decisions since coid a lot of things have happened so that we're not operating what we might have done prior to that for example the number of evictions in Maricopa County has continued to rise since coid with this last month we made the record of over 8,000 evictions now I've worked in the uh homeless Community with people experiencing homelessness and the people who are being evicted are really Elders who are on fixed income and who cannot afford the 50% sometimes 50% increases in the rents that have happened so think about that first of all times have changed the PO population of who you might considered to be homeless has changed and then you have families with children where our wages in this state have not kept up with the cost of housing so many cities across this nation are dealing with this conundrum many have choosen the hotel model and I want to applaud you for having this on your agenda tonight tonight not only for the families and the survivors of domestic violence who are looking for a a Level Playing Field to live out their lives in peace but especially for people who are Elders who have given their lives to laying the platform for what we're all benefiting from today and who now we're turning away from them and leaving them out on the street so I ask you I encourage you I implore you to look deep not just at what you think might happen because this model is happening all over the country even here in Phoenix and it's happening with success people's lives are being turned around they're being able to get back on an even ke like the young lady said and Elders are being given the Dignity of living out their older years in peace in security and in community so I ask you to think about that and I want to thank you for even having this on your agenda today as one of the best governed cities in the state I know you will make the right decision thank you and God bless you thank you Miss Scott uh Pete anelo mayor and Council glad to be here tonight my name is Peter anello I'm a PC in ld15 and I have connections with PCS and all the LDS that are represented on this day is tonight once again the city is disregarding the will of the people signatures were turned in to the city from Property Owners around the hotel because one of the people who collected the signatures didn't turn them directly into the city clerk they were rejected rather than letting them know they needed to turn them into the city clerk they were just kicked out because you wanted to do your will and not the will of the people exactly as you did with the ASU Campus the people voted that down but you twisted it around and you put the campus in anyway you did your will and not the will of the people and the games you play signatures that were turned into the city clerk on October 18th you changed the rules and how they could be accepted and you didn't notify us until November 1st which didn't give us enough time to gather the signatures based on the new rules as a PC we work hard to get people elected and believe me we also work hard to get those who do not represent the people's will un elected no more games do the will of the people vote no in this hotel we are watching and we will remember how you vote thank you Pete I'm sorry folks we're not we're not going to clap okay just to keep it fair for everyone you feel free to to give us some jazz hands if you feel so inclined uh Allan Tom Allan Tom okay there we go my name is Alan Tom 116 North Sunrise Street mes Arizona I'm an old resident here Mr Freeman Mr spillsbury knows me you know uh people here talk about all the good things about this Hess Shelter they don't live there they don't own real estate there they are they got this Noble idea they don't live there they don't have real estate there I with my family we've own for 65 years 5 Acres almost in northeast corner power main we got our share of homelessness panhandler transience sex offenders you name it over there we don't need any more all that homeless children do is going to draw more people there I feel sve for all those people that own homes behind there you folks represent people there and you have to protect the private property over there and the valuation of property it's going to affect my property but it's not as much as going to affect all those homeowners back there I'm going to try to be real nice and I want to ask the honorable mayor and city council to do the right things and turn this project down it's one of those things n be not my backyard you mentioned about people there need help this government here the man of the White House and this party has spent hundreds of billions of dollars trying to get people into a better shape in this country you know they've accomplished mostly nothing and this country is about opportunity and you have to get on your own two feet do something about my family started real poor like Millions other family nobody took no welfare from nobody and I'm proud and arrogant of that and I did very well my family but please I'm being respectful I'm even begging you honorable mayor and the council please do the right thing and turn this project down it's one of these things again not in my backyard thank you very much thank you Mr Tom thank you thank you for not clapping uh shal Chavez hello everyone um so my name is Shaylee Chavez um I live in Mesa I've lived here for about 30 years um I was living in Tucson for a few years managing housing programs for homeless families and that really got my passion as a social worker passionate about housing um you know I I don't want to Echo everything that everyone else said but I really think it's important for us to consider the responsibility that we have as Mesa residence to our neighbors the folks that are over here are amazing people people and they deserve to be considered when we're thinking about our community they are not not residents of Mesa they live here they contribute they are part of our community they are working they're doing the best that they can and they need a place to live we cannot push our problems off to Phoenix and other communities I work also in the Phoenix area with folks experiencing homelessness and there is a lot of services that people are using in that area that they need but then they're just going to Mesa or going to Phoenix and not getting a lot of this support where they could be around their family if someone's getting evicted in Mesa they shouldn't have to be shipped off to Phoenix to figure out their H housing situation they should be able to stay in Mesa get the Housing Services that they need so they can go back into their community so thank you thank you sh uh representative Barbara Parker I'm representative Barbara Parker I represent the C of this very District right in the center of where this hotel will be located not only that I am on the House Appropriations Committee and I'm also Vice chair of the Health and Human Services committee I'm also a health professional and a May was owna native and I am a subject matter expert and we have been dealing with everything down at the legislature as you know representative Gres myself and our lead legal council has opened an investigation into the Arizona Department of Housing and now mesa's use of the state tax dollars you should have received that paperwork and you know that you have to return that back to us in a timely manner so you cannot proceed with this vote tonight when we passed it appropriated the $20 million um to in Senate Bill 1720 um for the health health and ser Services fund we had very clear and limited language that only we are allowed to make law in the state the Arizona Department of Housing violated state law by adding Provisions that they were not allowed to do that the grant would only be awarded to cities who prioritized people from the Phoenix Zone and illegal immigrants which was a direct quote from their paperwork the 8 88 nor Mesa has any Authority ever given to you by the legislature to make stipulations for this housing uh including other groups your attachment a um page 30 you stated you were going to take and relocate people from The Zone that's a city of Phoenix issue you're not allowed to do that according to the law also you stated using CBI you were going to issue social security cards you are also not allowed to do that for foreign Nationals um also regarding CBI since I needed to bring that up quickly they are currently under an es investigation and audit right now by the auditor general of the State of Arizona and in the circles of Behavioral Health which we are working very hard on they have one of the worst reputations in the state and everybody knows that um you state that it's going to go to a certain Target families yet your own paperwork states that you're going to deal with CBI CBI solely only does drug abuse and um addiction and mental health why on Earth is the elderly population a displaced veteran an abused Mom are you saying that they need daily drug checks and that they need to be in a lockdown facility they do not and your plan with CBA is not to provide stable housing for the homeless you're actually churning them every 90 days and billing Medicaid on Federal and State dollars which again is not allowed and your md psychiatrists believe they can cure these problems in 90 days I need to speak to them and to make $400,000 as an MD psychiatrist thinks he can cure mental health in 990 days we need to talk to him it's inhumane it is not a good policy and it's actually human trafficking for profit I invite you tonight to stop this human trafficking for profit and to come up with a Humane solution that is kind and fair and stable for the residents of Arizona again you're taking on Phoenix's problems you don't need to do that thank you thank you hey I'll add I'll add cheering to the things that we don't do okay so feel free to give us the the the jazz hands if you'd like thank you representative Parker uh Sher anelo thank you mayor and Council my name is Sher anello I'm a resident of Mesa Arizona I am a PC and a state committee in ld15 I'm here today to remind you that your responsibilities as Council are to serve the taxpayers and residents of Mesa um your scope of government responsibility is not to purchase property and maintain property in the name of the city of Mesa your scope of government is to operate and maintain the city of Mesa in a way that makes it beneficial safe uh for residents to live work and raise families transients I.E the homeless are not residents though they are referred to as mesa's residents um they are homeless and uh the fact that the homeless ride the rail for free from Phoenix to Mesa is evident that they can be here one day and Phoenix the next that is not a resident uh Shane krower a lawyer and constitutional Professor told me personally that the law does not require a city to provide a bed to move residents off public property all that is required is to tell them where they might find a Bed your responsibility is to work for the tax payers and residents of Mesa instead of putting money into the purchase and maintenance of a hotel for non-residents why are you not pressuring our state and federal government to close the border which is bringing in the majority of drugs into our area why are you not creating tax deductions for Builders and homeowners that rent and could make reasonable rent and places to live why are you um not working to bring the church and parah church organizations into the place of handling property they have the burden on their hearts to help these people it is not your scope of responsibility and lastly your refusal to accept petition signatures because they were not turned into the proper desket City Hall um and your changing of the language of the guidelines for property owner signatures in opposition to this hotel without proper notification to comply attest to the complete disre guard you have for residents and taxpayers I ask this Council to propose this project and or excuse me postpone this project and allow proper time frame and interpretation of regulations for these signatures to be attained and counted any council member do that does not do this is making a clear statement of their failure to work for the residents and taxpayers of this city thank you Sher also remind you that as PCS we work to make sure your your vote Betsy flatten is Betsy flatten in the room welcome Betsy thank you greetings to the council and mayor and uh I am Betsy fayton I uh am here representing the public policy group of the American Association of University women of East Mesa and most of us live very close to the area that will hold that the Grand Hotel is in and recently I drove by and I thought wow when the city takes this over it's going to be great it's going to be an improvement to the area in AAW we are really concerned about women and children that's what we're all about and this project will serve women and children Elder women families have children that need a safe place to call home and yes this is only three months but three months you can accomplish a lot I've worked in the past with agency serving domestic violence and they have transitional housing and that's how it works and that's what you're doing and I'm going to leave you with this thought this is a season coming up where we invite the stranger to come to the table we talk about a child who had no home these are our children these are our community and maybe they don't all live in Mesa but they are still part of us we are a community thank you thank you bet uh Carrie Davis good evening honorable mayor and city council my name is Carrie Davis I respectfully request the mayor and Council vote no on agenda item 7A in my opinion approval of item 7A will increase the homeless population and and negatively impact the surrounding residents and businesses the 2023 Homeless Point and time count includes 11 cities in the East Valley the population of these 11 cities is approximately 1.6 million Mesa and Tempe make up 43% of the East Valley population but shelter approximately 80 70% of the sheltered homeless the other cities make up 57% of the East Valley population but only shelter approximately 30% of the sheltered homeless approving item 7A is a formula for continuing to discourage the other nine cities in the East Valley from addressing homeless issues according to the Tempe website in September 2021 the Tempe city council approved 450,000 nonprofit grants to expand emergency shelter beds those grants were to support 62 shelter beds 32 of these shelter beds at the East Valley men Center in Mesa operated by a new Leaf individuals will be transported directly to the Mesa shelter temp's Human Services Outreach teams will assist with Transportation approval of item 7A will increase the homeless population in Mesa I encourage you to vote no on it item 7 a to protect Mesa residents and businesses I recommend you reach out to other cities in the East Valley and encourage them to address homeless needs within their communities thank you thank you Mr Davis uh Duncan MacArthur good evening Mr Mayor mad M of the council thank you for the opportunity to address you on this issue um I offer a little bit different perspective a lot of the arguments I hear against it is a expense to the taxpayers and a burden on them but the truth is homelessness is not free it's a burden to the taxpayers 247 365 days a year it drains on the city services police fire judicial uh the judicial process in the municipality uh They confiscated an asset to the city The Hite rail as a matter of survival to escape the summer heat that's not its intended purpose um uh I served on city council up in Colorado for six years prior to moving here four and a half years ago I was involved in the homeless issue we there was a program called housing first on the concept let's get them in housing first and see if we can help them deal with their issues it's a path forward and I in I on my own I went and uh toured facilities in Denver and Boulder Colorado and Salt Lake City Salt Lake City has at the time about 11 facilities such and they estimated that it reduced their cost to the community for homelessness by as much as half in Grand Junction we had a study done by the police that came out with a report and they estimated that the cost of homelessness was approximately $55,000 per year per person and the top 10 of those was $98,000 almost a million dollars for those two people that the cost the community through all of those processes um and I didn't mention medical facilities with emergency room rehab detox counseling so on and so so forth um homelessness is not an ideological issue it's a community issue and we must address it it won't go away as they see when they cleared out the Zone those people didn't disappear if they didn't go to shelters and moving on to other private property we want to protect the private property owners this is a step in that direction it will not eliminate homelessness I don't know that we ever will they are on the steps of the temple in ancient Jerusalem but it it voting no will do nothing but contribute to the exac the exasperation of the issue much like we have record uh evictions in process now that is going to continue to exacerbate the issue it is in the taxpayers interest to deal with this uh and in the property owners interest because if they don't know where to go like the Zone they're going to go on the private property and again and and when it's full it's not going to draw more people although Salt Lake did acknowledge that it did draw some people people there because of the services it was a negligible amount relative to the good it did their Community I'd urge you to vote Yes on this issue i' also urge you to join in a coalition of communities in the valley to form a Homeless Coalition if you will including some outfits such as uh Catholic Outreach which I worked with in in Grand Junction facilities that were built housing homeless veterans and uh as a priority thank you sir thank you very much uh will stassy good evening mayor and Council uh I know you don't want to hear what I have to say but I will not distort the facts you can fact check and find validity to my my comments I will not tell you that Gilbert Road is the dividing line between East and West Mesa I will not tell you the news Zoning for the Grand Hotel is a temporary shelter for homeless I will not attend a mayor's conference until you is converted to emergency housing for homeless populations fact new mes zoning eliminated it defining the location as a hotel and defines the facility as the CL Social Service facility I have included in your packet a list of Social Service facilities community service facilities Human Service facilities the old Grand Hotel reson will be unique in all of Arizona and maybe the entire United States the social service facility will be the only one providing housing for people and animals with no provision for people or animal food service with no transportation to Medical visitors police protection 24/7 and on-site medical service within EMT and PRI registered nurse available Mesa zoning intentionally add added chapter 21 bonus intensi only overated District knowing that the city of Mesa OTS program could not or will not legally comply with over 90% of the sections I've included a copy of chapter 21 and I'm not sure anybody has read it I question that a quality control system is in place to ensure compliance with the law that everyone that prepares transports distributes donated food has a valid food handlers card I question if a quality control system is in place to ensure dog's house have dog license and documents validating rabies and parvo shots if they have the shots do they have the documentation projection is 7.4 million capital expenditure plus 3 million Capital Improvements plus operating cost with a hidden budget cost and unknown source of funds for 23 24 25 additionally 1.2 million to CBI total operating cost 2.2 million per year o or 1,800 units over three years years 600 a year uh $3,667 per participant projected operating costs at about 1 million a year if accounting and journal entries show actual cost and not hidden in other budgets examples utility water waste fuel for police vehicles City Maintenance workers overhead Vehicles fuel change light bulbs plunge toilets repair AC units accountant salary tracking cost if only $10 a month program manager salary landline cell phone costs other interesting fact iamy at 70 rooms participants does laundry once a week 10 rooms a day do laundry laundry cycle 1 hour 70 loads a week two coin Opera machines not always working on site plus commercial laundry of sheets tiles 10 rooms A Day 70 loads a week 3,640 laundry loads a year how long will the machines last MAA is not sorry Mr stassy your time is up thank you uh Bethany lambre thank you um greetings mayor Giles and council members some of us we've already met before I'm Bethany lambre um this is a heavy topic um I am a Dobson Ranch resident uh in Mesa and a leader with Valley Interfaith project VIP VIP is a community organizing group made up of faith-based and other nonprofit institutions across the valley if you're here from VIP you there standing you please stand with me um three weeks ago VIP gathered more than 100 people at St Matthew United Methodist Church in Mesa to urge the city to take significant steps to address the affordable housing crisis in Mesa uh we represent hundreds of families who are struggling and Rising H Rising housing costs we are here hearing stories not just from the poor but from citizens who are solidly employed but cannot afford to find housing or to remain where they are due to Rising rents we understand just how many families are only one Mis paycheck away from falling into homelessness I hope that gives another picture as to what we're looking at as people of faith we are called to especially address the needs of the poor and struggling but providing shelter is not only the right thing to do it is also the smart thing to do we see what happens to communities when people cannot find shelter and they have to live on the streets providing safe emergency housing is critical for preserving the safety and economic Vitality of our neighborhoods and our business corridors we urge you to vote Yes to reone and purchase the Grand Hotel in addition we urge you to look at other solutions for increasing the avail a ability of affordable housing such as including affordable housing at site 17 uh we need to be seeking many options to deal with this multifaceted crisis thank you thank you Bethany uh that completes the cards that I have that wish to speak there were two cards that indicated that they were both opposed to going forward uh from Gwen lyes and Doug Beck but they indicated they did not want to speak but I'll note that they did turn in the cars do we have any additional requests to speak no additional requests mayor all right thank you uh before I open it up for discussion I I would like to have uh I was I think we do need to respond to uh at least a couple of questions that were raised by the speakers that some gentleman indicated that that they thought maybe the city had rejected some signatures challenging this case or that they the city had changed the rules Midstream so uh Mary Andor Jim could you just give us a description of how that process unfolded with regard to this case sure mayor and councel there were two separate um protests filed uh the first one was uh misfiled in the planning department and then the second one was filed in the city clerk's office um even if we were to combine both signatures from both both of these filings um it it fell short of the required numbers um there's two different um criteria the critical one becomes the zoning area it requires 20% of the zoning area to be in protest uh even if you combine both U both filings it only came up to 11% so even if you combine them as far as changing the rules the state statute was changed about 7 years ago um the state statute and the city code clearly state that you file it within the city clerk but again even if you accept all the signatures on both of them um it fall short okay thank you Mary anything to add to that okay thank you thanks for clarifying that I I hope there just I hope there's not not I hope that clears up any misunderstanding I have a question if I can speak no you can't thank you though uh Council any discussion on this item mayor can I just quickly there's one other item I wanted just clarify yes uh that was brought up um I want to make it very clear that the funds that are being used to purchase this hotel are all federal dollars there are no dollars coming from the state uh it's all coming from federal dollars that were appropriated to the city for this purpose I just want to make sure that's clear because I think there's confusion about whether we are using State dollars for the purchase of this facil for this hotel and we are not okay thank you so there was some reference to some State funds but that that's being used uh I think maybe we had a million doll Grant that's that's in process from the state but that is for other program not not the purchase of the hotel that is correct thank you for for clarifying that all right Council Let's uh open it up for discussion U Miss Duff I would just like to tag on to Mr Brady said and then clarifying that these federal funds were appropriated directly to the city and not through the state any City over a population of 500,000 qualified to receive Direct Federal funding so we are um we are I I can't think of the word but we are um abiding by the requirements and rules that we received on that funding and as well as many other cities across the United States This Is Not Unusual thank you council member D Council other comments or discussion on this item M I didn't know who all wanted to speak about this um I wanted to thank everyone for coming um on both sides I love seeing when the community is engaged in these issues um whether you agree with me or not I I appreciate that you are willing to be involved and that you take the time to come and to speak at our Council meetings and so thank you so much for that um I could talk for hours on this I'm not going to but I could talk for hours on this because I have spent hours and hours and days and months um studying this and researching it and being out in the community and talking to people um I've tried to keep an open mind I've tried to listen to all different perspectives I've tried to listen to the different perspectives of my colleague colleagues our Planning and Zoning um board and especially our community and this is in my district so I take this very very seriously these are my constituents these are these are the people that I'm in charge of that that maybe or maybe didn't vote me in but that I'm the one who um represents them I have spoken at length with multiple faith-based organizations and nonprofit organizations um to try to gather facts and to find a way forward that allows our city to continue this great program that serves people who want help while still investing in this location and the area around it um it is my job to represent District 2 but it's also my job on this Council to recognize and support our Citywide needs that we all vote on things that affect our whole city not just our districts um in case you are not aware the current off the streets program is being run at the windir hotel which is in my district and it's about a little over a mile to the west of the proposed project we've been running it for three years it has a 75% success rate which is way high way higher than other other um programs and so this isn't something new that we're doing in the city or that we're going to try this is something that we already have a really good track record on we have been working with CBI for three years and they have done an excellent job with our program um I know that a lot of people I've heard a lot of people tell me that this is not the government's responsibility and I think that if there is a place for government in this it is for the housing housing is the foundation to all other resources you can't um worry about what you're going to eat and your job and your car you're going to drive and how your kids are going to get to school if you don't have a place to live and I just I feel like this is a really good um way for our city to use this government um this Federal money that has been given to our city and that um this is this helps people get back on their feet which we've heard tonight and I want to thank those that shared their personal stories that's very very brave and courageous for you to do that um our goal and is to have a really strong Safe program um that will actually just help make the neighborhood stronger and uplift it um I even though there is some pretty intense opposition as we've heard from my my they're my constituents oh I'm going to cry sorry this is what I do um even though there's some intense opposition from the nearby neighborhood and from someon Leisure World I can honestly say that I believe that our city will stick to what we're we're going to do and let me read some of the things that we're going to do we are going to update update and maintain the campus we have new walls going in security cameras Gates new Landscaping a play area and a pet area if you driven by there doesn't look like that today I I honestly believe that it will improve the area and improve the neighborhood our city will oversight oversee the on-site program to make sure that we are using best PR practices and meeting the conditions of being a good neighbor our Good Neighbor policy is incredible I encourage you to look it up and to read it the city will be held accountable for helping this program be successful the city has committed to investing in the neighborhood and I would not have this any other way I told them if this Pro program doesn't go through I still want this neighborhood to get attention it is a neighborhood that needs attention we already are in there putting more lights in changing the the lights on power right now in that area to LED lights to help brighten up that area um this is an area that needs some attention and I wasn't really aware of that until this came up and so I am committed to working on this and and to make that neighborhood feel safe um the our city is as has been mentioned we're prioritizing the most vulnerable populations families domestic violence victims our elderly and our veterans um we have an investment of 247 police presence that will be in this area there are no walk up services there will not be people walking up to this location and in the the council has flexibility to decide how long we run this program um we can we can make sure that we're keeping up on what's going on in the progress and and making sure that it's working for everyone in the area um and we aren't going to take away that option from future councils the council decides what is best for Mesa and and we we have that responsibility to also make sure that this program is functioning the way that we expected it to so obviously I will be supporting this project because I really do see this as an investment in our district 2 neighborhood and for the city at large I do think it is the right thing to do when I have been out in the community overwhelmingly I get support the faith-based organizations support it our nonprofits support it they are the ones who are on the streets working Hands-On with with this population they know that each of these people have a different story and that they need something different to help them get back on their feet um I I truly think it's the right thing to do that we are helping people who are the ones that want to get help um and and like I said we have data to back up all of this with this program it does make economic and financial sense for our city to use this funding it saves money to get people off the streets um and I did want to mention that Tempe and Scottdale have both just purchased hotels for this exact same reason so they are also doing um their share to help um again I just want to thank you I know some of you are really mad at me right now um but I I love that you care yep nodding heads yep I'm so sorry believe me this is really painful for me and I I just want to thank you for caring about your neighborhood I also care about your neighborhood I hate I hate to have conflict and disagreement and I think it's we've all learned a lot through this whole process um and I think it's important that we can all listen to each other with respect and to understand where each other is coming from and I know that for this to work we need to have this great partnership between the city and the surrounding community and I am committed to do that and this is not the end of this process thank you thank you m filbur Council uh any other comments prior to the vote um we have a motion by Mr Heredia is there a second I have some comments here okay Mr Freeman council member spillsbury thank you for your comments at their they well they're well meaning and I I feel your heart on this you know Sheltering is a very important part of our community and it's very important that all of us weigh in pro and con and I appreciate all the comments tonight I've been in our neighborhoods As A Firefighter and I've seen exactly this area that's kind of been an underperforming area so I appreciate the effort council members spilsbury and staff have put in to rejuvenate the area however I've always prior prioritized uh our welfare and Improvement of our neighborhoods and I believe this proposal um aligns with that priority in other words it does not align with what we're trying to do tonight however solving one problem creates another problem and is not a solution I'm not in support of a homeless solution that creates a future financial burden for our general fund and the liability for our citizens of Mesa however I believe that Sheltering is an important concept we have a foundation out at windir and it's working very well and I appreciate all those have come out of homelessness and sheling and we' have fine-tuned it so that we can reach out to those in need thank you thank you Mr Fran um let me just remind us all we this is the second time that we've kind of had a bite at this apple we we made a decision to proceed with purchasing this hotel a couple of months ago the the the subject matter of this meeting is issuing a counil use permit which is holding the city accountable as the owner of this property to be good neighbors so this is all about what can the city do to mitigate any negative impact this facility might have on the neighborhood and in order to draft that policy the city engaged in a lot of community engagement there were public meetings uh virtual and in person and a lot of effort was put into listening to the concerns of the neighborhood I get that this is scary I absolutely get that this is scary for the neighborhood uh but I I our commitment the city's commitment is that we are going to be good neighbors uh this hotel is going to be safer it's going to look better it's going to be uh have a less negative impact on your on your community when it's in the city's hands than it is now uh for those and we've been operating a very successful off the streets program just down the street from this and it has not been a negative impact on that neighborhood and it has been a very successful program four out of five of the PE people that are involved in this program are women children uh domestic violence victims and seniors and disabled that's the population that is treated in this program uh they're not people that linger in the neighborhoods they're not people that that walk up to this facility uh it's it's that very vulnerable population that's going to be bust in and bust out it's and and and I think it's good that the city is going to be the owner of this property because uh you can hold us accountable so uh we we meet first and third Monday nights from here in perpetuity and so if this facility is not uh meeting the expectations of the neighborhood of course we invite you to come and let us know that because we want to be held accountable um I I for those who who are under the impression that we can just decide not to respond to this problem I I just I don't get where you're coming from uh when there's a tent that is when there's a tent encampment in the in the uh retention Basin across the street from your house you're going to call the city of Mesa and you're going to want us to enforce urban camping and you're going to want us to to address that problem uh I'm sure the the the mayor and City Council of Phoenix would love to say we don't want to be in this business they they're they're being sued in multiple courts uh by multiple parties a city cannot turn its back on this problem this is our jurisdiction this is our responsibility to respond to this situation and there's a couple of ways to do it we can either do it in this proactive way that is creating a wraparound Services uh very affordable program the alternative to this is we arrest people and we put them in jail uh and that's not a legal correctly legal response and that is a dramatically more expensive response to addressing this problem so uh this is a more compassionate response it's a more financially responsible response uh and I am U I'm proud that we are taking this step um we have a motion made by council member by VI mayor Heredia seconded by council member spilsbury please vote motion passes uh 43 with go for Freeman and Summers voting no uh thank you for being here tonight ladies and Gentlemen We Appreciate uh your sharing your opinions with us um Miss Mosley do we have any requests to speak on agenda item nine have request mayor that concludes our agenda for this meeting is our motion to adjourn thank you Mr Summers all favor please say I I thank you we are [Music] [Music] adjourned