good afternoon welcome to the September 8th formal meeting minutes formal meeting of the Phoenix City Council thank you for joining us will the clerk please call the order councilwoman I'm sorry councilman decisio councilwoman guardado here councilwoman O'Brien here councilwoman pastor councilwoman Stark here councilman Waring here vice mayor Garcia here mayor Gallego here thank you for joining us Mario Barajas is here today to provide interpretation Services Mario would you introduce yourself yes mayor thank you hello my name is Mario warajas I will be serving as Spanish interpreter for today's city council formal meeting I will now take a moment to introduce myself to our Spanish-speaking audience Hispana this is [Music] thank you mayor thank you so much Mario will the city clerk please read the 24-hour paragraph the titles of the following ordinance and resolution numbers on the agenda were available to the public at least 24 hours prior to this council meeting and therefore may be read by title or agenda item only ordinances number g6884-6891-s-47905-47938 and resolutions thank you item number one is the meeting minutes from the May 6 2020 meeting does anyone have a motion to approve second those in favor please please any opposed please signal nay emotion passes item number two is boards and commissions vice mayor do we have a motion uh motion to approve mayor and city council boards and commissions nominations second any discussion all those in favor please say aye aye aye any opposed please signal nay passes unanimously we next move to items 3 through 22 liquor license applications noting that the City of Phoenix serves an advisory capacity to the state vice mayor do we have a motion motion to approve items 3 through 21 noting that item 22 will be continued to September 15 2021. we have a motion and a second any discussion all those in favor please say aye aye aye aye aye any opposed nay s unanimously we next move city clerk are we ready for ordinances resolutions new business planning and zoning yes mayor vice mayor do we have a motion motion to approve items 23 through 74 except the following items 28 29 34 46 47 49 51 56 and 72-74 and excluding these items for public comment 28 and 63. second do we have a motion from the vice mayor and a second from councilwoman Stark any changes or additions roll call I'm sorry yes decision yes yes O'Brien yes pastor Pastor do you hear me yes thank you very much Stark yes wearing yes Garcia yes there you go yes that says nine zero we next moved to a very important item item 28 vice mayor do we have a motion yes really important really excited to motion to approve uh item 28. second second thank you with a motion from the vice mayor and I think I heard councilwoman Stark although strong support for this particular item the resolution to appoint the city manager it is one of the most important votes that we take as an elected body our next city manager will help lead us and the City of Phoenix into the future and we have a very strong applicant in Jeff Barton so very excited to move this one forward Jeff Barton has given so much of his life to the City of Phoenix has been experienced in helping us navigate through difficult Financial Times he's helped us develop a strategic plan for navigating covid-19 and supporting our community we are grateful to his entire family especially his wife Danette and so excited to move this one forward we're going to go ahead and begin with council member comments on this and then we will go to comments from members of the public um so we'll open it up to members starting with councilwoman guardato thank you mayor yes this one is very exciting um Jeff um congratulations I'm incredibly excited um to be working with you I think that um your your appointment to this position being able to get you to lead the city um moving forward after after in starting in October I think it's uh it's gonna start a new era for for our city um I think that one of the things that I think you and I spoke about um was the fact having someone you know someone moving up you started here as an auditor and you worked really hard to get to where you're at I know that you were definitely essential when I started as a new council member in understanding how the budget runs and how the city runs I think um I I think you know I I learned a lot from you in the in that process and I'm and I'm very thankful um to see all the great work that you're gonna that you're gonna continue to do for our city um last year was a very harsh year and of course it's thanks to everyone in the city manager's office but I do think that thanks um to the fact of the work that you've done for so many years we we continue to have a resilient budget we continue to be able to deliver a lot of amazing things for our constituents um and I am again excited happy to see you in this new role then and see that people can look at you and know that they have hope if they work really hard that they someday can come and be in the position that you're about about to start and to me that's exciting to see and how we continue to promote um within the City of Phoenix and if you come in you work here and you work really hard and you put your heart into the city then you will then you will get somewhere and I know that I've talked to a lot of people um that work that work for the city and are excited to see you be the next city manager and that gives them hope to continue to be able to move up themselves so that's very exciting so once again congratulations thank you well said councilwoman and sorry thank you mayor I'm equally so so so thrilled um to vote today to make uh Jeff Barton the next city manager um from the very first time I met Jeff I guess four or five months ago now you know it was very very obvious the institutional knowledge that you have your composure your strategic approach to everything was just abundantly clear I recall very distinctly um talking about the city budget as it was in the middle of the budget cycle and hearing about how we have a budget surplus which obviously coming out of a pandemic absolutely nobody expected and I think that just goes to show how data driven you are you're a numbers guy and having that sort of knowledge coupled with your Innovative approach and the fact that you're always willing to get your hands dirty and find a solution I think is going to be really amazing for our city I'm also incredibly excited about the diversity that you're bringing and you know I think it's incredibly historic being the first black city manager and with such a diverse Council that we have right now I think it's just phenomenal for our residents to be able to see this kind of diversity leading the City of Phoenix so I'm really excited to work with you um you know you were the force behind developing the plan for how we move forward and Implement American Rescue plan dollars and that's going to be super important moving ahead so congratulations I hope you get to celebrate and I will be very thrilled to vote yesterday thank you thank you councilwoman O'Brien we'll go to the vice mayor and then councilman O'Brien thank you mayor um like Elders I'm really excited uh for Jeff today for the City of Phoenix I think you know you've dedicated 22 years of your life to this city um and have come a long ways um we should all be proud that you come from HBCU um and and noting that you're the first uh black city manager of the city is not just yes it's great for diversity but it also I want to acknowledge how hard it it probably was for you harder than it might be for others to rise and come to the place where you're at your expected Perfection to be able to get to a place where you're at and you've given us Perfection and so it says a lot that the entire council is behind you and excited for you to take this new role have full confidence that you will tackle the city's deep rooted issues head on and the one thing out of the many that I appreciate from you is that you speak truth you let us know what's what's good and what's not um and we hope uh that we continue to have this great relationship and and really excited to vote for you today and excited for the influence that it's going to have beyond the City of Phoenix and obviously to the residents of the City of Phoenix to be proud to have a strong uh black city manager like yourself so thank you so much Jeff and I'm excited to go yesterday thank you councilwoman O'Brien thank you mayor while I've only known Jeff since um about January of this year I think that he is the epitome of a person who you know works hard and smart to achieve success and one of our chats he's shared with me his childhood experiences and challenges of growing up in Pennsylvania raised by his grandmother who saw potential in him and he is most certainly lived up to his potential since making Phoenix's home Jeff has shown an outstanding ability to manage a multi-billion dollar operating budget and capital Improvement budget for the fifth largest city in the nation he's embraced Innovation evidenced by his use of coveted relief funds to implement new services or to enhance our existing programs that assist residents in need and he certainly understands the importance of Resident engagement and feedback specifically when he championed funds Phoenix an online tool designed to educate and involve the public in the city's annual budget process I personally appreciate Jeff's honest approach to the issues facing Phoenix and when he fills the position of city manager next month he's very much aware of the challenges he'll be walking into but Jeff's tenacious nature pushes him to find solutions that benefits the majority and I'm certain that he will face these challenges strategically and mindfully and Jeff judging by your predecessors previous city managers who've come before and before you including Ed zerker you have big shoes to fill but I understand that you have an impressive sneakers collection so I have no doubt that you're right person for the job and I'm excited to give you my full support and vote Yes mayor thank you we'll go to councilman Stark and then councilman decisio thank you mayor I don't know what else I can say everyone said so many wonderful things about Jeff but I am very excited to support Jeff in his new position as city manager I first met him when we were co-workers and I always admired his steadfast work ethic I really learned a lot from him and I must tell you we're really lucky to have such a smart and dedicated person like Jeff to lead our city and City staff I personally think he's the right person for the job right now and I'm very proud to say I second the motion congratulations Jeff thank you councilman decisio hi Jeff look I got everyone said everything about you but the bottom line is your family's very proud of you there's to come where you've come from and you know managing a household budget now managing the fifth largest city in the country is just amazing you're an example for so much of our youth you've done so much in your life the main thing about you Jeff is that you never give up your perseverance you just never ever give up and that is why you are so successful at what you are people like myself look at you and think gosh you know we're in good hands when we when I look at you uh and the fact is the the work that you put together a lot of people don't realize they see you as a numbers guy but you're really an idea guy I remember having a conversation with Ed oh gosh I think it was probably three or four years ago and that's what I really got to know you and I said you gotta let this guy release him just let him do what he has to do let him do it you know and you know because you just had so many good ideas that were logical that would work for the City of Phoenix they were out of the box some of them were in the box a lot of them were out of the box things that you would take into consideration that no one else would think of you're definitely the right person for the job uh I don't think that that shows any color at all it just shows that your strong abilities are why you got this job you got it because you're the right guy for the right time uh the next two years I think are going to be good times and this is where your planning needs to come into play once you use coveted dollars run dry we're really going to be facing some walls and it's going to be up to you Jeff to plan for what we're going to be seeing in the next three five seven and ten years God bless you and your family um I just can't imagine how proud they are of you because of what you've been able to get done take care thank you councilman Jim wearing uh thank you mayor I appreciate it um I did have some a couple different takes but I also want to Echo something that Sal said if I had to sum up what he just said you know just a problem solver I think that's critical for a physician like this um but for me a couple of the other things uh he's hyper responsive uh you know a lot of times I think I don't want to speak for my colleagues but I think you'll you'll recognize this in my remarks you know we're not calling for ourselves we're calling because a citizen needs something off times and they want a quick response I mean your predecessor was phenomenal at that and uh I've always found you to be too and I just want you to know I really appreciate that I also uh from a perspective from a different job in the past uh having someone who's been the budget director I I would say going forward you always want somebody who has had at least some of that experience it's not that you've worked in every department but those departments have had to come to you to explain what they're doing why they're doing it why it's important how much money it is I just don't think there's a better way to learn an organization than the experience you've had uh in this last decade or so and um I just I just appreciate uh our working relationship uh you are the best person for the job I I had concerns that would be able to fill the void that was going to be left when Ed zerker left and it's your day so I won't belabor that but you know Ed has been phenomenal for us for I think eight years almost uh I think it'll be next month and uh but I have every confidence you'll be able to fill his shoes and that to my mind is High Praise I would also say uh promoting you was one of the last great services that uh that Ed could have done for all of us because in the city because it put you in a position um to be in a position to have this job you know uh and I so that was uh wisdom I think just right there and I'm glad that we're gonna have a chance to continue to work together congratulations thank you councilman do we have any additional comments before we go to members of the public who are here to testify mayor councilman so Jeff I just want to say congratulations um you have big shoes to feel that I'm very confident that you will be you were mentored and groomed uh for this position and I am very confident that you will lead in the same way of the past but also bring in the future where Innovation will come in we have to think differently we are in transition and by being in transition there's new ways of solving problems uh as a budget director I have the most confidence uh of you being a view in the past of being the budget director because I know you'll keep the city moving forward uh you're very conscientious about how money is spent you're very conscientious about how we spend tax sale taxpayers dollars and what in what programming and being able to demonstrate and put the benchmarks and performance marks where the measurements where are needed to show our constituents and our city how we are running a very effective City you you dig in and that's what I like you dig in to know what the constituent is feeling or experiencing and you on your own will go through the path of what a constituent has gone through to see where the glitches are to understand them and then you fix them and you fix it it's not you that fixes it it's your team that you bring together to fix the problem you are a problem solver and that's what we need but most importantly you're trustworthy you have integrity and you're honest and you're honest with the with the council and you are willing to take the risk of telling us no you can't do that or know here are the legal implications of doing that you give us the different examples that are needed in order for us to make a decision but I think what's at your heart is your family and you are a family man who will take have the boundaries around us in the sense of taking your boys to soccer taking your daughter to school and being there for your wife in many different occasions of birthdays anniversaries your very cognitive conscious of that in order to keep your family intact and growing and moving forward in their life experiences and understanding their life experience what they're feeling so congratulations once again and thank you for serving thank you councilwoman it's remarkable in this day that we've heard from all elected officials at the City of Phoenix in support of Jeff Barton that gives me great hope for what you'll be able to accomplish Jeff we have a very diverse council with a lot of different political philosophies and that we are all coming together in this moment this really exciting one for the City of Phoenix we have many members of the public who wish to weigh in and we are going to begin with a former colleague of ours councilman nowakowski and then he will be followed by Rachel Aha and our staff will call the rolls so I will turn it to councilman nowakowsk former councilman nowakowski hello good afternoon thank you mayor well mayor I thank you for allowing me to speak on support of Jeff Bartlett saw um nominee to becoming our city manager you know um I had the privilege of serving under three different city managers from Frank Fairbanks to David Cavazos to um Ed zerker and I just really want to take this opportunity to thank Ed for all of his leadership and all the things that all the programs that he allowed happen and all those crazy times in Levine with the cowbells and and milking cows and all that I mean our city manager rolled up his sleeves and got dirty there so thank you Ed for helping out in the community and being a part of the community and listening to the community and I think that's exactly what we're going to get with um Jeff a person that has Integrity a person that believes in God that believes in family that believes in community and I believe that's what makes him successful and that's who Jeff is all about it's about who he is as a human being who he is as a father and a family member and what role he plays in this great City of Phoenix I remember the bad times that we had where where we were looking at either actually laying off people and it was the team that Jeff was a part of that came up with some great ideas of how to keeping people hired not laying people off how cutting down some of the library hours how we can keep the senior programs up and running the after school programs and all that and it took a lot of work it took a lot it took that team Phoenix approach to sit everyone together and figure it out and it was sacrificed from all around from our employees giving up some of their hours to all those sacrifices of our families that had to give up those Library hours those senior hours and all that but we figured it out working together as a team and I think that's what the type of leadership we have with um Jeff and I really like to thank Ed for allowing him to be that assistant manager and learning as he goes so with that congratulations Jeff and and God bless our next speaker is Rachel aha followed by Nathan kabil Rachel are you on the line hello I'm here uh Rachel aha with Cox Communications uh as a resident and a member of the business Community I have had the opportunity to work with Jeff on a number of occasions uh and I'm just calling in to support his appointment he has always been well prepared and willing to answer any questions that I had throughout the process and I really look forward to working with him in his new world thank you our next speaker is Nathan kabill followed by Jason calleman Nathan are you on the line Nathan is not on the line our next speaker is Jason callerman followed by Carol Chapman Jason are you on the line Jason is not on the line our next speaker is Carol uh Chapman followed by Carol Coles Henry uh Carolyn are you on the line yes I am yes I am oh uh we can hear you and you may proceed good afternoon mayor and Council thank you for your wise timely superb choice of Jeff Barton as the next Phoenix City Manager you have related your first-hand knowledge and you are the first hand eyewitnesses of Jeff's Stellar performance and his Stellar results and his exceptional ability to get the job done with Excellence professionalism Integrity Ingenuity and class in spite of a recession the pandemic all man of upheaval politics and a lot of crazy Phoenix needs a professional Nimble resourceful city manager who can hit the ground running not miss a b not lose any ground in transition and deliver the highest and best for you the city employees and most importantly for all of us Phoenix residents you have rightly and wisely chosen that leader in Jeff Barton thank you and congratulations Jeff our next speaker is Carol Cole's Henry followed by Victoria uh Elizalde uh Carol are you online yes I'm here uh we can hear me oh yeah yes we can you may proceed okay thank you well it's an honor and a privilege to make remarks today in support of Mr Barton's historic appointment mayor and city council vice vice mayor mayor vice mayor and city council your intentions to appoint Mr Barton as the next Phoenix city manager is greatly valued and appreciated had the opportunity to work with him during my tenure in Phoenix City government is more than 20 years filler municipal government career and his Public Service Excellence makes him the perfect candidate to lead the fifth largest city in the country into the future his leadership ethics Integrity reputation sound judgment steadfast commitment to building models of success exemplary stewardship of city and Community Resources professionalism and commitment to fairness and Equity are noteworthy he's always available and accessible Mr Barton is a Visionary for a Time such as this without hesitation and with great honor I wholeheartedly recommend him as the next Phoenix city manager Jeff is also from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where we pursue our happiness if we're so proud of you and God bless you thank you mayor and city council our next speaker is Victoria Elizalde followed by Annie Ender Victoria are you online yes I'm here uh we can hear you and you may proceed good afternoon mayor and city council my name is Victoria Elizalde um I am a resident of district 7 and the assistant director of dfab a youth program in the city of Phoenix I have had the pleasure of meeting with Jeff several times during budget hearings over the years which I have attended to advocate for youth program Sports parks and after school programs for underserved kids Jeff had always took the time to learn more about the needs of the kids in the community he was engaged approachable and always had a great attitude he became a familiar face and someone the community could trust to ensure the city's budget supported many of the youth programs especially in underserved areas Jeff is a great example of someone who overcame adversity through his first-hand experiences and he serves as a role model for our youth I know that as a city manager he will lead with compassion and understanding in every decision he makes to help make Phoenix a better place to live for All Families I just wanted to thank you guys for your time and best of luck Jeff thank you our next speaker is Annie Ender followed by Dr anhart Annie are you on the line uh can you hear us Annie oh uh no audio Annie can I hear can you hear me okay now oh uh yes we can and you may proceed apologies mayor vice mayor and council members on behalf of many neighborhoods and communities Citywide we respectfully request unanimous approval to appoint assistant manager Jeff Barton as city manager upon city manager Ed Vickers retirement we will most certainly miss working with Mr zuker and are grateful for the interactions with him over the years he's been extraordinarily kind and fair and he has served the city well We Believe Mr Barton is truly the best choice to follow Mr zuker's Legacy and yet established practices he adeptly applies to his current duties Mr Barton masterfully created 2021-22 annual budget and managed the process to adoption and throughout those public meetings he handled it so well so professionally it focused on the facts while keeping an open mind to the many suggestions offered clearly the best interests of the City of Phoenix are his priority and we are grateful for you to appoint them and we're looking forward to working with him thank you our next speaker is Dr Anne Hart followed by Kurt Mangum Dr Hart are you on the line Dr Hart can you hear us uh you have no audio Dr Hart if you can hear us uh Dr Hart we cannot hear you so our next speaker is Kurt Mangum followed by Luz Rodriguez Kurt are you on the line yes I'm on the line can you hear me ah yes we can and you may proceed well thank you mayor Gallego vice mayor Garcia an honorable City Council Members I just want to thank you for your decisiveness uh in the selection of assistant city manager Jeff Barton um I will not repeat all the Minneapolis and highlights of his accomplishments I just like simply say that I support your decision and we support Mr Barton 100 thank you very much our next speaker is Luz Rodriguez followed by Stephanie Romero Luz are you on the line yes I am uh we can hear you and you may proceed okay good afternoon Marion city council my name is loose Rodriguez and I'm a resident of district one I'm calling to express my support for Jeff Barton I had the pleasure to work with Jeff in the past and I was always very impressed with his depth knowledge of the City of Phoenix as an organization and his passion to serve the public um and Jeff like you guys said yourself has had over two decades of City experience and a track record that has proven results he has demonstrated time and time again he can handle complicated issues such as the covid-19 pandemic uh he has been an outstanding Steward of the city's budget for years which has maintained the city in Good Financial Health and I commend the city council for choosing to appoint Jeff as our new city manager and I'm super excited and proud to see someone lead the fifth largest city in this country who represents communities of color best of luck Jeff I know the city will be in great good hands thank you mayor our next speaker is Stephanie Romero followed by loriandra vanher Stephanie are you online I am we can hear you and you may proceed thank you hello mayor and council members my name is Stephanie Romero and I currently live in District 8. I'm a native of Phoenix and I've spent the last 14 years working in government Communications with the majority of my career as a Pio in Phoenix I was absolutely thrilled to hear the news that the Phoenix City Council will appoint Mr Jeff Barton at the next city manager he has all the qualities you would want as a leader of the fifth largest city in the nation he's brilliant he's engaged he's professional he's kind he keeps it real employees and Community leaders respect and like him plus he's a hard worker with a humble background and I'm extremely confident he'll do an excellent job Phoenix will always be my home and will always have my heart I'm excited for Phoenix residents and employees to have a city manager who's worked at several levels levels of the organization and knows it inside and out Mr Barton is ready to hit the ground running and lead the city into the future I fully support and am grateful for the council's decision to appoint Jeff Barton as the next city manager best of luck and congratulations to Jeff and to Ed as well thank you our next speaker is loriandra vanher followed by Aaron Wilson loriandra are you on the line yes good afternoon mayor and members of the city council my name is Lori Van heren I'm a fifth generation Arizona and Arizona and a former city of Phoenix employee I'm speaking in support of this motion I worked for the city for seven years and first saw Mr Barton speak when he was the budget and research director Jeff spoke about his incredibly inspirational story and I was struck by his dedication to his family and his incredible work ethic and although he has terrible tastes in sports teams I found him to later when I worked with him to be honest and straightforward without regard to politics or Personal Agenda he clearly cares very deeply about our employees and the community he led the city through the past 19 months in our budget when we were terrified of losing our jobs and he was able to prevent Mass cuts and layoffs I want to congratulate Ed and his uh incredible job in leading the city and I hope that he has a wonderful retirement enjoys this respite and I'm super excited for Jeff and and super excited for the city and one congratulate him as well thank you our next speaker is Aaron Wilson Aaron are you on the line yes can you hear me uh yes we can you may proceed yes I am okay thank you Mary council members I support Jeff Barton as our next city manager he has been and is a leader he is a proud graduate of Morehouse College he has been dedicated to the City of Phoenix for 22 years his strategic fiscal policies sustained US during the pandemic this pandemic in every job he has had he has worked with the mindset to serve in the best interest of the city he makes decisions based on facts and data yet he is a man of the community and operates with compassion I strongly believe he will continue to strengthen our City's brand grow our economy and make Phoenix the number one place for families to live frankly with his qualifications we are blessed to have Jeff Barton as a leader of our city Mr Barton definitely should be our next city manager congratulations thank you mayor that was our final speaker on this item thank you so much thank you to all members of the public who called in on this item as well as the council members Who provided wonderful comments I will now call for a roll call on the appointment of Jeff Barton as City Manager for Phoenix I'm sorry yes deceasio yes yes O'Brien yes pastor yes Stark heck yes wearing yes Garcia yes Gallego yes passes nine zero by unanimous vote of the Phoenix City Council Jeff Barton is the next city manager for the City of Phoenix congratulations Jeff I will turn for you turn to you for comments foreign members of the council first most of you who know me know I don't like a lot of fanfare and attention so so this is this is a little difficult for me but um I'm going to get through it so first let me thank you for this unbelievable opportunity I am more than humbled by your belief and your confidence and my ability to lead this amazing organization with dedicated employees that provide incredible services to over 1.7 million residents each and every day I also want to thank my support team which includes my wife and children my family my extended family my city of Phoenix family and the list of mentors and friends that I've been blessed to have learned through from throughout my career including the big guy next to me on the right he's been nothing but a fan and encouraged me my entire career ever since we first met when he was Transit director I also want to publicly acknowledge my guardian angel who I lost three years ago that that's my grandmother Rachel Barton who saw something in me that I didn't see in myself um my career I I've taken pride in honesty Integrity accountability transparency and responsiveness my intent is that this organization will commit to the same principles while we enhance our commitment dedication and connection to the community now I have I would be remiss if I didn't recognize the importance of today from a historical perspective being city manager is not something that I take lightly nor did I take the decision to accept this appointment lightly and so what I would like to do is share with you something that I kept going back to as I was making this decision and this is a little bit against my what this is rubbing my wife's nose in a little bit because you know my wife went to Spelman I went to Morehouse and there's always this this competition and pride but Dr Elijah Mays Benjamin Elijah Mays was a president of Morehouse College he was also Martin Luther King's mentor and he read the eulogy at Martin Luther King's funeral he gave a a speech commencement speech to Morehouse College way back in the day and this is something that has always driven me and it's also what I think got me to here today and I want to read an excerpt of that speech Dr May said there's an air of expectancy at Morehouse College he said it's expected that the student who enters here will do well it's also expected that once a man Bears the Insignia of a Morehouse graduate that he will do exceptionally well we expect nothing less may you perform so well that when a man is needed for an important job in your field your work will be so impressive that the committee of selection will be compelled to examine your credentials may you stand may you forever stand for something Noble and high this is kind of what has inspired me throughout my career besides my family and my grandmother so I stand before you today I want to give thanks to Morehouse College as well but I stand before you today ready to work ready to roll up my sleeves and I am incredibly humbled to you and I am give my dedication and commitment to the community of Phoenix that we will get better and we will run like you've never seen this run before thank you [Applause] well said and congratulations we look forward to the official transition date of October 8th and thank you for accepting this important position thank you to our city manager Ed zerker for all he has done to bring us to this day and his work as well we next moved to item 29 which is some of the details of the contract vice mayor do we have a motion yes uh now we got to get Jeff paid so we'll motion to approve item 29. second we have a motion and a second any discussion roll call I'm sorry yes to cicisio yes yes O'Brien yes pastor yes let's go wearing yes it's dark yes wearing no Garcia yes Gallego yes passes eight one we next moved to item 34 which is the audio video equipment contract vice mayor do we have a motion sorry counseling that store made me made me smile a little um uh uh motion to approve item 34. second comments roll call I'm sorry decisio yes O'Brien yes pastor Stark I apologize Stark yes thank you wearing no Garcia yes there you go passes eight one we next moved to item 46 which is related to our Phoenix Brazilian food System Program I'll turn to councilwoman Ansari thank you mayor um I just wanted to take an opportunity to highlight the incredible work of the Office of Environmental programs especially Roseanne Albright who along with Community input has put together a really Innovative plan to strengthen our local food system what's cool about this program is that it touches everyone Farmers local and small business owners and helps feed our most vulnerable residents we know that the pandemic shined a light on our urgent need to help protect our food systems and we can all remember when our supply chains were crumbling our local our grocery stores um we couldn't find any food and local farmers are the ones who actually stepped up to help feed us the feed Phoenix Program was incredibly successful and then we know that we have many challenges ahead to address food deserts in our district in our city especially in my district this program's focus on backyard gardens Farmland preservation and food entrepreneurship will be key to building a sustainable future and we're not being shy about who needs that support it's black indigenous and people of color we're thinking about our water usage this is a mouthful but water efficient aquaponic Gardens where residents can grow fish and shrimp are also part of a part of this program and I think that's really awesome as we work on solutions for many local farmers it's already too late Abby Lee Farms on Baseline Road which is located in district 7 has already moved to Flagstaff although they continue to feed Phoenix residents crooked Sky Farms on 27th Avenue and lower by Buckeye Road is also running out of time we need to remember that most Farmers don't actually own their land and all levels of government haven't acted on the solutions to this problem for many many years we're the fifth largest and fastest growing city in the U.S and we're building new homes faster than ever we cannot let food resiliency be an afterthought I'm so proud to be able to vote on this today that I really want to give a major shout out to the folks who have been leading this effort at the City of Phoenix and I look forward to supporting future items like this one as well so with that I motion to approve item 46. second we have a motion and a second from the vice mayor vice mayor thank you mayor just also really excited for this item um it'll be something that's greatly going to impact District they really excited for the collaboration with the Tiger Mountain Foundation um they do incredible work in District 8 and so really excited saying shout out to Rosanne and on the whole team for doing great work we'll be voting yes on this thank you any additional comments roll call I'm sorry yes to cicisio yes guardado yes O'Brien yes pastor yes dark wearing yes Garcia yes Gallego passes 9-0 we next moved to item 47 which is an agreement with the Department of Education Arizona Department of Education for college Depot laptop Wi-Fi hotspot lending program I'll turn to councilwoman Ansari for comments I believe that's Council I'm sorry counselor I say councilman O'Brien I'm sorry councilman O'Brien thank you no no thank you mayor um as I said in our last formal meeting College Depot is an amazing program which works with families and students to Aid them through the post-secondary education application and funding process originally the program was only available in person and only at the Burton Bar Public Library when the worldwide health crisis hit and public spaces began closing down College Depot pivoted by introducing a pilot program to check out hot spots and laptops to students in Need for their virtual classes by helping to close the digital divide College Depot insured current high school students and adults seeking their GED could continue to better their futures using money from the Arizona Department of Education this item will allow College Depot to purchase an additional 425 laptops and 200 Wi-Fi hotspots to expand their program and close the digital divide by doubling the number of students who'll be able to connect with their teachers and their peers I'm a firm believer that education is the gateway to a better more prosperous future post-secondary education can take many forms from universities to trade schools to apprenticeships and I look forward to working with college Depot in the future to expand access to all forms of post-secondary attainment and with that I would like to make a motion to approve item number 47. second a motion from councilman O'Brien and a second from councilwoman Stark thank you both very excited to see this item move forward superintendent Hoffman's office received cares act dollars from the federal government and then subsequent pieces of legislation she went out to cities and the mayor's education Roundtable and asked for innovative ideas about how to help students during the global pandemic was excited to work with our library who immediately came up with this idea related to college Depot and Wi-Fi hotspots thank you to Rita Hamilton and her team for working with us on this application and thank you to superintendent Hoffman for awarding it I've already gotten to meet with several students who were able to apply to college thanks to this program and we will continue to extend its reach this Council approved additional hiring for college Depot and if you're looking for a cool job there will be a job posted soon for college Depot so if you know anyone who wants to help Phoenix build our future this is a great way to do it we know from data from ASU Helios and others that helping students apply and complete the FAFSA is a huge indicator of increasing college going and we have ambitious goals in the state to increase the amount of students who go to college and complete a four-year degree as well as those who find their career Pathways elsewhere this is a very exciting opportunity for the City of Phoenix and really appreciate the partnership with the state of Arizona and the federal government connectivity is so important looking forward to supporting this item roll call I'm sorry yes decision yes guardado O'Brien yes pastor yes Stark yes wearing yes Garcia yes there you go passes 9-0 we next moved to item 49 which is related to golf merchandise vice mayor do we have a motion motion to approve item 49. second we have a motion in a second any comments roll call I'm sorry yes to cease you yes O'Brien yes pastor Stark yes wearing no Garcia yes Gallego passes eight one we next moved to item 51 which is related to the Tempe Union School District councilwoman O'Brien do you have a motion I moved to approve item 51. second Motion in a second any comments roll call I'm sorry decisio yes guardado yes O'Brien yes pastor Stark nice wearing yes Garcia no there you go passes eight one next is 56 city-wide construction project management information services vice mayor do we have a motion motion to approve item 56. second thanks to our city engineer and others who are moving this one forward any comments roll call I'm sorry decisio yes yes O'Brien yes pastor yes Stark wearing no Garcia yes there you go passes eight one we next move to item 63 which is a final plot in District Seven I will turn to councilwoman Ansari for a motion kind of to approve item 63. second we have a motion and a second we do have one member of the public to address the council so we will go to the phones from Mark Rodriguez Rodriguez hello Mayor Kate Gallego and konnichiwa and everybody at the PC phxt C city council how are you doing uh this afternoon we're doing great mark good great Mary Kate Gallego I'm just referencing to penis like Charlie Brown and Snoopy and Charles Schulz even though rest in Pizza strokes but anyways I'm here for the 19th Avenue and Baseline that I go to that McDonald's and that Burger King Goodwill and all that stuff and you're building like everything and all that stuff and also I don't know if you're a fan of the peanuts but I love the peanuts back then because I was thinking about cartoons and all that because I can't get it on my head and also I'll give you a shout out to Yasmin asari Carlos Garcia and O'Brien Deborah Stark Laura Pastor Betty wongato Jim Waring child the CCO which I'm not a fan of that guy but hey it is what it is but it's all good to you mayor because I love to see you guys again now especially you mayor kid guy I want to see you in person one of these days because I wanted to see you so badly because I like to talk Japanese and all that stuff because I love Japan and all that because even though you're starting to do like all the cities and all that stuff because and all that stuff because I'm just a fan of you guys except Sal but it's all good what it is anyways have a great day and also America Gallego Blinded By the Light ran up like a deuce and a roller in the night it's a song reference bye thank you for your testimony any comments roll call I'm sorry yes deceasia yes O'Brien yes pastor Stark yes wearing yes Garcia yes there you go passes 9-0 we next go to items 72 and 74 which are related items concerning the south east corner of 35th Avenue and I-10 we will hear them together we don't have any members of the public to testify we'll begin with a brief staff report and then a very short public hearing thank you mayor and I will introduce our planning and development director Alan Stevenson thank you mayor members of council I item 72 and 73 as you noted our related cases uh the first one item 72 is a general plan amendment that both deal with the same corner at the southeast corner of 35th Avenue and Interstate 10. item 72 is the general plan Amendment staff request approval of a resolution to change the general plan land use designation from Public public quasi-public to mixed use to allow a commercial and multi-family project this case was approved by the Estrella Village planning committee on a 7-0 vote and the Planning Commission also approved it by a 7-0 vote the related case which is the rezoning of that same site is a request from R16 to C2 and r4a to allow for the multi-family residential development and Commercial uses including a convenience store with a fuel station this request was approved by Estrella Village planning committee uh by a 7-0 vote and the Planning Commission also by a 7-0 vote uh there is no members uh no one in the public is in opposition to that or what's that staff is happy to answer any questions thank you do any members of the council have any questions for staff seeing none we will go ahead and open a public hearing we do not have any members of the public to testify at the hearing so we will close the public hearing this item is in Council District Four so I will turn to councilwoman pastor thank you mayor I would like to thank staff and uh those that have been actively involved in on 35th Avenue and Interstate 10. this is the area where it was an old Marine Army uh Center that has been blighted for I would say the last eight ten years and we have been working really hard with the community as to see as to wanting to see what would uh what they would like to see we've had many Community meetings and uh the great thing about this project is the possibility or the not the possibility what will happen is uh there will be a qt in the front and then with QT assisting and building affordable housing in particular we would like to build it for our veterans and so this is a unique Innovative project that I I was able to work on with the community and uh QT on making this happen so really appreciate it and very supportive thank you councilwoman do we have a motion I move let me see I move to approve per planning commission's recommendation and adopted the related resolution and or thank you any yep resolution was perfect for this one okay any comments roll call I'm sorry yes decision yes cuardado O'Brien yes pastor yes Stark I apologize Stark yes thank you wearing yes Garcia yes there you go passes 9-0 let's continue the streak item 73. councilwoman best story do you have a motion yes a motion to approve per Planning Commission recommendation and adopt the related ordinance second any comments roll call I'm sorry decisio yes yes O'Brien yes pastor yes Stark yes wearing yes Garcia yes there you go passes 9-0 awesome thank you we next go to item 74 which is related to the downtown code density map alley map and Townsend Park character area we'll begin with a brief staff report thank you mayor members of council this is a text amendment to amend three portions of the downtown code related to the density map the buffer alley map and the Townsend Park character area development standards they all are related for a parcel that is 160 feet south of the southeast corner of Third Street and McDowell Road for those of you that are food aficionados it's just south of the Taco Bell at McDowell and Third Street the intent of the proposed text amendment is to address the density map to increase the allowable density and the parcel from a maximum of 43.5 dwelling units per acre to 125 dwelling units per acre to amend the regulating maps for buffer alleys to remove the buffer alley designation within the area between those third and Fifth Street for the subject site and within the area between willetta Street and McDowell Road and also to amend the Townsend Park character area to allow a high density bonus or a height bonus up to 30 percent for the the sustainability bonus points that are already contained within the downtown code the Central City Village planning committee approved this request 10 to 1. the Planning Commission approved the request seven to zero and with that staff is happy to answer any questions thank you any questions mayor just one please go ahead councilwoman really Alan Taco Bell thank you I'm on a roll I thought we would keep going yeah if you have a meeting with Alan maybe don't do a lunch meeting and yeah um it is a wonderful area and um exciting uh wonderful great the Townsend Park Community have been great partners for us at the city all right we will open the public hearing we do not have any members of the public here to testify we'll close the public hearing this is in District eight vice mayor do you have a motion yes I motion to approve for planning commissions recommendation and adopt the related ordinance second motion and a second any final comments roll call I'm sorry yes decision yes O'Brien yes pastor Stark yes wearing yes Garcia yes there you go passes 9-0 that is our final agendized item of the day we will now go to public comments and I will turn to our City attorney to indirect introduce this portion of the council meeting thank you during citizen comment members of the public May address the city council for up to three minutes on issues of Interest or concern to them the Arizona open meeting law permits the city council to listen to the comments but prohibits council members from discussing or acting on the matters presented thank you we will now ask our staff to call the members of the public who are here we get uh beginning with Ari baronghuber we're giving some feedback on your end Ari oh I'm sorry about that my friend so um good afternoon uh members of the Phoenix City Council my name is Ari and I've worked for HMS host for about six months now uh as a host in uh Barrio Cafe at terminal four we've repeatedly come to the city council to talk about uh how we Face an elevated risk of covid while serving the traveling public at Phoenix Sky Harbor uh and that we're constantly understaffed we still do not believe that the company is handling itself appropriately um in my position I'm often expected to do the work of two or three people by myself um this means doing to-go orders feeding guests restocking the front of house um uh you know multiple jobs that really should have multiple people for it um and again I'm alone for seven to eight hours of every shift by myself and of course when things go wrong um you know these conditions aren't really recognized it's generally the staff itself the understaffed staff who takes the blame for these issues um you know whether it's been us talking about workers talking about discrimination understaffing safety or Health Care issues with an HMS host we've waited for the council to ask and unfortunately the issues have not been resolved so we asked this Council to believe workers and not continue rewarding HMS hosts in our uh airport thank you so much for your time our next speaker is Annie Ender followed by John Forsythe Annie are you there yes I am can you hear me uh yes we can and you may proceed um thank you very much once again mayor vice mayor and council members and Ender I'm president of operation Blue Ribbon I'm a Navy Wife and an army mother earlier today during the public safety and Justice subcommittee meeting executive Chief kurtenbach and assistant chief Conley delivered an insightful yet troubling presentation regarding the retention Recruitment and hiring efforts of the police department um clearly the sworn civilian vacant sworn and civilian Acres vacancies are at a critical level the Chiefs identified uh different avenues for which they do the recruiting and the military was discussed as part of that and that has traditionally been a positive conduit for a recruitment sadly councilwoman Ansari commented about some research that she had read that recruitment from the military is negative that it has an a negative impact they have a culture to fight versus a culture to protect and was asking that emphasis be put on the University's community colleges as preferred method of recruitment and then she ended up by saying with all due respect to veterans well there is no respect in that comment to any veteran and most important this comment just added another layer of difficulty for the police department's recruiting efforts so ideal research and actually found evidence that a 2020 study that was done shows that military folks with military backgrounds that actually go in the police department are less likely to have civilian complaints they have a positive perception of what their job is and their ability to connect with the community so with all that said maybe perhaps the reason that it's difficult for the Phoenix Police Department to recruit is not because of these things but because of the of short-sighted comments such as that last um I'm hoping that my organization Operation Blue women can partner with Phoenix Police Department to um during our events to make sure that a part of that will always have a recruitment effort available thank you our next speaker is John Forsythe followed by Gia Gaba John are you on the line yes I am we can hear you and you may proceed thank you um mayor and Council I like to bring storm clouds to the end of this meeting my name is John Forsyth I'm here today to petition my government for redress of grievances mayor you and chief Williams have not answered my mailed in comments so I'm here today the Phoenix the Phoenix Police Department is in my opinion out of control they are literally black and blue whether it's the coins the doj are refusing to follow the people's laws they have no accountability no ethics I cannot fathom how a law enforcement agency refuses to follow the law of the people it would be funny if it was not ironic how can police demand respect when they fail to respect the laws of the people when people do not follow the law um the police pulled this accountable yet the police are not held accountable themselves let's take a step back for a second we live in a republican Republic is defined as a system of government where the people and their elective Representatives hold the power this book I don't know if you can see it I don't know if I'm on video is the Arizona revised statutes specifically title 28 these laws are of by and for the people so they are the people's laws it's an absolute obligation for everyone everyone you me the police everyone to follow these laws it seems that the police don't the Phoenix police don't feel that these laws apply to them I'm going to give you a challenge tomorrow take 15 minutes and follow one of your fine police officers your fine police officers Phoenix police officers and see if they follow these laws I'm going to guarantee you they will not um I posted a video of four of your officers on YouTube driving through Peoria Glendale and Phoenix at up to 20 miles an hour over the posted speed limit for are you ready for this 13 miles I complained your sergeant Sergeant wood told me that I was actually on I was the wrong person for actually following them um his supervisor a lieutenant told me that I was actually 100 correct but he can't force his officers to obey the law and this is kind of my problem there's just no accountability in the Phoenix Police Department um shouldn't shouldn't the police be the mentors shouldn't they show us how to follow the law that's my point I appreciate your time thank you our next speaker is Gia Gaba followed by April Hernandez Gia are you on the line G is not on the line our next speaker is April Hernandez followed by Ruby Hernandez April are you on the line uh good afternoon um members of the Phoenix City Council my name is April Hernandez and I have worked for HMS host for four years as a barista I am coming here today to voice my experience working as a barista at being asked Starbucks at the Sky Harbor staff this past year it makes it more difficult um when they have to quarantine um people for no reason when they have a negative test result so the more people who are out there for Unnecessary quarantine it makes it so much harder for other Baristas to do the work alone um before my shift um I cried because the stress I have accumulated throughout throughout the two years that we've been through this pandemic and I don't I don't even know like what my shift will look like so that's a lot harder to keep you know a good face on um I am coming here today to voice I'm sorry um so what is it going to take for Phoenix City councils stand up to stand with HMS host workers and hold this company accountable for their inaction thank you our next speaker is Ruby Hernandez followed by Rosa Hernandez Ruby are you on the line yes good afternoon members of the Phoenix City Council my name is Ruby Hernandez and I have worked for HMS hosts for some years now and I've worked for um Barista at Starbucks for six months now I'm coming here today to voice my experience working at the Barista Starbucks at Phoenix Sky Harbor I have personally experienced the understaffing while working multiple times throughout the shift with no manager and I am expected to do things that are not even in my job description and I've actually had management called police army with no reason to why and if there's just so much discriminatory going on in the workplace and it's it's been addressed to HRS and nothing is being resolved or addressed and it's happening not only just out you know one store in the location it's happening in multiple places and nothing is being addressed and I'm here to ask you to stop supporting HMS hosts um workers and what it's going to to take four Phoenix City Council to stand with htms health workers and hold this company accountable for their inactions our next speaker is Rosa Hernandez followed by Vivian Lavery Rosa are you on the line Rose is not on the line our next speaker is Vivian Lavery followed by Aquila muhammadi Vivian are you on the line I am on the line hello everyone I hope everyone's having a great afternoon can you hear me okay right uh yes we can okay great um and some of you have heard me before I'm Vivian Lavery I work for hm hosts and have them for eight and a half years but I just want to thank the city council for all the hard work that we have done so far that I finally got recalled I am back at my job as of May which has been amazing to finally be back much like everyone else at the airport though I'm in the commissary we are also running into the same issues with severe understaffing we do most of the both production in our kitchen it gets sent to the airport to be sent to our customers and that is currently being done by nine people they're going to be upgrading up to 10 people as of today I believe it is but we are severely understaffed still at this point the City of Phoenix has given HMS hosts about 4.7 million dollars in loan relief and other assistance which has been great but we still have not seen any form of pay increase in the past four years so this is an issue that's been existing since before covid at this point while I support you know still being able to continue to work watching the company to continue to receive these benefits and everything while the workers are expected to do the work of four five six people I mean my position where I was before we were run by 75 people who are down to nine and we are you know people haven't been able to take vacations that they have earned during this entire time so I'm hoping that the city council can come together to assist us to where we can get to where we're able to support our families and continue to live both a happy life and one that's fulfilled with time with our family that we can take off because we have the coverage and the income to do so thank you very much and again thank you for all of your hard work that you have done with us in the past world and future endeavors have a great afternoon and congratulations to Jeff our next speaker is Akila muhammadi followed by Maria Ocampo Aquila are you on the line Aquila is not on the line our next speaker is Maria El Campo followed by josmar uh paita Maria are you on the line yes I am working here good afternoon members of the Phoenix City Council my name is Maria Ocampo my name is Maria Ocampo HMS and I've been working for HMS host for 32 years lead as a lead is Starbucks in Phoenix Sky Harbor and I come here express my experiences uh as a barista at Sky Harbor working at Starbucks extra foreign baguette foreign [Music] por favor see it has yes and so I come here to express myself the fact that we need for the city council to support us we as workers at HMS host uh we need this representation from our city council members I feel very bad the fact that we're working so so much time extra time and they put us in quarantine for no reason at all with covid-19 I'm going on right now right right now I just feel that it's not fair because a lot of people are are being told to quarantine themselves and they don't even have covet and so I asked the state of council members for support here not for me but the fact that I do have vacation time and they do there's other people that they are being laid off but they're not getting paid for this so where's these other disease why are they asking them to be put in quarantine foreign and so that's all I want to say I just asked for the support from council members and let them know that it's not fair to be laying people off other companies they do this and and they pay other people but HMS HMS host is not paying their peop people thank you our next speaker is uh Jose's Mar uh paita followed by Maria Rios josmar are you on the line because Mars not on the line our next speaker is Maria Rios followed by Sam Rivers Maria are you on the line Buenas Tardes um good afternoon members of the Phoenix City Council as I mentioned my name is Maria Rios and I have worked for HMS hosts for 17 years at the commissary regresar the cancer is they laid me off in March 2020 when the pandemic started I waited a year for them to call me back I struggled this past year when I lost my insurance while in the middle of retaining or having cancer treatment I was forced to make a difficult decision pay 700 a month for insurance for myself and my husband or not be able to treat my cancer it was also incredibly demoralizing not having enough money to pay my mortgage or to pay bills Colonial I respectfully ask that this Council listened to us and tell HMS hosts that it must negotiate a good contract with the Union Mississippi foreign what else is needed for the council to join in with us the HMS host workers what else is needed thank you for your time our next speaker is Sam Rivers followed by Jessica Segundo Sam are you on the line lamb is not on the line our next speaker is Jessica Segundo followed by Victoria Stahl Jessica are you on the line Jessica's not on the line our next speaker is Victoria Stahl followed by Matteo Vargas Victoria are you on the line yeah yes I am oh uh we can hear you and you may proceed good afternoon members of the Phoenix City Council my name is Victoria Stahl I've worked for HMS host for about six months as a barista for Starbucks in terminal 4. as you've heard from many of my colleagues today um we are facing severe understaffing and we deal with this day-to-day shift after shift it's incredibly stressful and physically exhausting to do our jobs because of understaffing while we are professionals at our job it's it's been overwhelming to try to meet the standards that Starbucks expects while also trying to provide our passengers at the airport with the best possible service we sometimes work longer than we're scheduled to I myself have worked many late days I've had many other co-workers who have had to work late hours or come in early or adjust their shifts in order to address the understaffing issues many of our co-workers have expressed that they can't handle the amount of stress that this job has put on them especially during the pandemic and many have left to go find other jobs elsewhere you know these are just a number a very small number of the reasons why I am respectfully asking the council to ask HMS health and to require HMF totes to bargain as a good a good contract with us workers and with our Union thank you very much our next speaker is Mateo Vargas Mateo are you on the line yes I am oh we can hear you and you may proceed good afternoon members of the Phoenix City Council my name is Mateo Vargas and I've been working with HMS hosts for going on six weeks now as a barista in the Starbucks at terminal 3. for 15 months the City of Phoenix has been providing HMS host a waiver of their minimum annual guarantee which has resulted in host paid limited rent to the airport I respectfully ask that the council does not provide any further release to HFS hosts until there's a place a plan in place that benefits workers these have been this has been one of the most stressful jobs I have ever worked through Casa understaffing but the extremely high standard Starbucks expects it many workers are left unable to cope there has not been a single day I have worked in the my six weeks here that we have been sufficiently staffed and on the days where we finally achieve our minimum Staffing co-workers are sent to other stores that are also struggling leaving us stripped the amount of work and recipes to remember is far too much to run a store with only two employees working shifts of early S3 in the morning I respectfully ask the council to please stand with HMS house workers and require HMS hosts to work and work with us and bargain a fair Union contract the city is carried this Corporation through the pandemic and enough is enough we have seen none of this money and excuse me we have been coming to the council month after month asking you to support us what is it going to take for the council to stand up hmos post workers thank you for your time mayor that was our final speaker thank you so much thanks for joining us today we are adjourned foreign and you can save money at the same time I love it and don't forget when you do in fact Park like