e good afternoon welcome to the April 17 2024 formal meeting of the Phoenix City Council we'll begin with an invocation and welcome Rabbi Lov almighty God look favorably upon the elected officials of the City of Phoenix bless these individuals elected by the people in whom faith and confidence have been placed to legislate laws to make decisions that will affect the lives of the citizens of our great City let them recognize that this is not only a great honor and civic responsibility but also a holy Endeavor the Jewish tradition tells of the seven universal laws given to mankind by God through Noah one of which instructs us to create a peaceful and moral Society governed by law almighty God grant that those assembled here be aware of your presence in their holy Godly Mission as they labor to enact just laws this Friday our nation will celebrate education and sharing Day USA an annual observance recognized by our president Congress and many States including our own dedicated to the promotion of education and the values of sharing and giving back to the community it honors the Legacy and teachings of the laich rebbi rabbi manah Mandel schneerson he stressed education is not only the acquisition of knowledge but also the development of character and the cultivation of a sense of responsibility towards others through acts of kindness charity and generosity as we face face Rising levels of hatred anti-Semitism acts of Terror Around the World As We Mark 193 days of captivity of 133 innocent civilians including six Americans let us do our part to make this world better by increasing in our acts of goodness and kindness let us reach out to one person we would not otherwise have spoken to whether that means across the aisle or just across a desk let us gain inspiration from the words of Moses spoken to the Jewish Nation as they entered the land of Israel you will have done what is accumbent upon you so I will do what is incumbent upon me says God almighty God please guide our council members and city leaders through this very difficult time guide them in in their deliberations so that they may govern with wisdom Justice ethics morals Grace and compassion may they have the courage to be a beacon of light bringing honor to your name and your blessing to humankind and all of the people of the City of Phoenix and finally in order to do their own work efficiently and well please heal their bodies sooth their minds and bring peace to their families so they can give their full attention attention to their sacred work amen thank you Rabbi please remain standing councilwoman pestor will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance thank thank you councilwoman I'll Now call to the me the meeting to order will the clerk call the role councilman Galindo here councilwoman wado here councilwoman hodj Washington here councilwoman O'Brien here councilwoman Pastor here councilman Robinson councilman wearing here vice mayor Stark here mayor geko here this is the first public meeting for councilman councilman Galindo alira so let's give him a welcome thank you mayor we are glad to have you next we'll introduce our interpreter we have Mario baras and Elsie dwarte with us today Mario would you introduce your team yes mayor thank you hello my name is Mario wahas and I'm going to be serving As an interpreter along with my colleague elar I'll now introduce ourselves to our Spanish speaking audience thank you mayor thank you Mario would 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 of this council meeting and therefore may be read by title or agenda item only ordinance number G 7246 through 7248 S 50752 through 50 781 and resol motions 22183 and 22191 through 22194 thank you would the City attorney please explain the role of public comment yes thank you mayor members of the public may speak for up to two minutes to comment on agenda items comments must be related to the agenda item in the action being considered by the council General comments that go beyond the scope of the agenda item must be made in the citizen comment session at the end of the agenda city council and staff cannot discuss or comment on matters related to pending investigations claims or litigation additionally any member of the public who appears before Council in their capacity as a lobbyist must as required by Phoenix city code disclose this fact before addressing Council the city code requires speakers to present their comments in a respectful and courteous manner profane language threats or personal attacks on members of the public council members or staff are not allowed a person who violates these rules will lose the opportunity to continue to speak thank you so much we first begin with the meeting minutes vice mayor do have a motion on item one move to approve item one second comments all those in favor say I I I any oppose nay I passes unanimously councilwoman Pastor do you have a motion on item two move to uh move meeting minutes on uh I think it's August 15 2021 September sorry September second have motion a second comment all those in favor say I I I I any oppos n passes unanimously councilman wearing do you have an motion on item three uh yes thank you mayor I move approval of the minutes uh for October 6 2021 second any comments all those in favor please say I I any oppos a passes unanimously councilwoman HUD Washington do you have a motion on item four yes mayor I move for the approval of the February 7 20 24 M minutes second a motion and a second any comments all those in favor say I I any oppose nay passes unanimously thank you all for reviewing the minutes item five is boards and commissions vice mayor do you have a motion yes I move to approve mayor and city council boards and commission nominations second motion and a second all those in favor please say I I any opposed n i we will now passes unanimously we will now swear in the great group of individuals who have agreed to serve our city please raise your right hand I state your name Amanda MC Michael Mark do solemnly swear do swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and laws of the State of Arizona St Arizona that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same I will bear true faith and aliance to the same and defend them against all enemies foreign and domestic enemies Dom and that I will faithfully and impartially and I will discharge the duties of the office of discharge the duties of the office of vision zero Community advisory committee Dear Valley Village Planning Commission South Mountain Village Planning Commission according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations we are so honored to have you serve our city if you could go behind the council members would love to thank you Welcome to our new Commissioners so many of us here got our start with the city's boards and commissions and it's great to have you help helping us uh we next go to the liquor license portion of our agenda the City of Phoenix provides an advisory role to the State of Arizona vice mayor do we have a motion yes I move to approve items 6 through 22 second motion and second any comments all those in favor please say I I I any oppose nay passes unanimously city clerk are we ready for ordinances resolutions new business planning and zoning yes mayor vice mayor do we have a a motion yes I move to approve items 23 through 66 except the following items 46 51 52 and 66 noting that item 40 is withdrawn and can the clerk confirm if there are any other items that should be excluded for in-person public condent mayor vice mayor members of the of the council no there are no other items to exclude thank you second we have a motion and a second roll call Galindo Ela yes wado yes HJ Washington yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes Robinson wearing yes Stark yes Gayo yes passes 80 item 46 is next will the city clerk please read the title item 46 is for ordinance G 7247 an ordinance amending Phoenix city code chapter 36 article 11 section 36-1 157.5 to add Area 31 to the residential parking permit ordinance vice mayor do we have a motion I move to approve item 46 a motion in a second comments roll call Galindo wado yes hjge washhington yes O'Brien yes pastor yes wearing yes Stark yes goo yes passes 80 vice mayor item 51 thank you I move to approve item 51 second I'll turn to the vice mayor for comments she's been working hard to make this possible thank you um several years ago we invited The Flood Control District to come to the transportation and infrastructure planning subcommittee um there was some concern about how the money are spent um as we all know the City of Phoenix provides a significant amount to the F Control District actually the most and um we wanted to make sure we had a good partnership with the flood control district for projects like this and so I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to the Board of Supervisors because they heard us loud and clear and they made sure that City of Phoenix gets their fair share so credit to our Board of Supervisors it's good to have have a partner in Maricopa County well said roll call Galindo wado yes hudge Washington yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes wearing yes Stark yes GGO yes passes 8 Z Item 52 is to apply for the bridge investment Grant opportunity vice mayor do we have a motion I move to approve item 52 second Motion in a second this is another opportunity to take advantage of the bipartisan infrastructure law this time through the US Department of Transportation Bridge investment program this item if successful would reconstruct the Grand Canal Bridge across the Salt River Project Grand Canal this bridge was originally constructed in 1927 and is the bridge of the highest need of replacement within the City of Phoenix in addition to the bridge we see the infrastructure signals by and pedestrian Crossings of vanen Street and 40th Street located at top the Grand Canal Bridge deck we've had great Partnerships with the federal government along the Grand Canal including receiving a very successful Grant in 2015 a tiger Grant to upgrade The Pedestrian Pathways better lighting much more investment in safety and uh just quality Transportation Corridor particularly for people who walk or bicycle and we want to continue the partnership at last count we have received 120 million in bipar infrastructure law funding that's over two dozen different projects including 60 million in transportation roads public transit airport and then another 60 million announced for clean water so it's a great partnership and and will really make a difference for the people of Phoenix any additional comments roll call Galindo yes wado yes HJ Washington yes O'Brien yes Pastor yes wearing yes Stark yes GGO yes passes 8 Z the good news continues with item 66 which is our general plan and I'll invite our team to come forward they have been working so hard on this many cities hire a large team of Consultants to do the general plan which is our 10-year strategic plan focused on land use uh but we did not do that here in the city of Phoenix so Josh berck and his team put in long hours to get us here today uh special thanks to Trisha and Joelle and the entire Planning and Development Department as well as the amazing 16 member Phoenix 2025 leadership committee led by our three time chairman most time that is a true servant to the City of Phoenix so thank you for stepping up yet again chairman Stein you have assisted many mayors and City councils and has really connected the plans across the decades I was proud to serve as Vice chair the last time we updated the general plan to Chairman Stein 10 years ago so thank you for sticking with us we also had committee members who joined us Midstream and didn't miss a beat and we just want to thank them for the really important work they did this is a plan that puts Equity at the Forefront that looks at how technology is changing looks at the important link between water and land use and really says we are a diverse City that we want us to celebrate unique neighborhoods throughout and multiple Village cores it was approved by all 15 Village planning communities Village planning committees and the cumulative vote was 147 to4 to1 in favor so very impressive number members um could those of us everyone who is here who um was involved with the plan if you could just raise your hand including our great Commissioners who are here so we can say thank you and now we will turn to our team to provide a staff report thank you mayor members of the council um great introduction to our efforts um as we said with me today is Joel Carrasco who has co-led this project and our leadership committee chairman uh Mr moin and we are here to present the 2025 General Plan update so for the past 15 months we have worked with the mayor and Council leadership committee Village planning committees the community at large and City staff to bring forth an update to the the general plan that reflects the community's vision of a more connected Phoenix as you know state law requires that the general plan is updated every 10 years but more importantly we made a commitment to keep the conversation going with the community and to keep the general plan relevant as the primary source of land use growth and preservation policies for the city the general plan provides a purposeful and strategic alignment with our variety of city and community driven policies plans and initiatives and mayor and Council thank you again and uh just to highlight again we did receive unanimous approval by our Villages some of the numbers are there on the screen for you uh so we are very grateful and thankful for all of their volunteer time and uh to ensure that this plan is really representing all corners of our communities in our city and then shortly after that uh we went to Planning Commission received another recommendation for approval uh a unanimous recommendation with several revisions which I wanted to highlight in a couple of slides um and they were in direct response to the VPC comments and directions that we received and as well as responding to some of the 60-day review drafts so as as was mentioned by the mayor uh planning Equity is one of the the most significant changes with this update and we took the opportunity after the Planning Commission recommendation for approval to um more clearly Express how understanding planning Equity is a critical Foundation to more Equitable outcomes and so that is one of the changes that you will see um since the Planning Commission recommendation to continue with that uh we also updated one particular section in the plan that talks about downtown our core and we integrated one new policy statement on that page as well again um to ensure that Equitable entrepreneurship opportunities are part of the future growth of our downtown and around our downtown and then just a couple more updates here uh we worked very closely with our Aviation department and we had a few additional policies really to ensure there strong alignment with the Avi Department's Master plans and goals that uh we wanted to incorporate in this Draft before it came to you for your vote and so there's one there on the screen for you and then the next slide as well and then lastly uh another minor update uh in the memo that you received is the addition of ecotourism as a definition in our glossery as part of the 60-day review draft we did get some comments about ecotourism and integrated those and we just wanted to make sure that we included that term in our glossery with this final draft and so now I'm going to pass it over to our plan Phoenix committee chairman Mo Stein so he can continue to tell this great story that that we're telling with this uh latest draft of of the general plan thank you uh mayor council what a great honor it is for us to be here with you today it was why it seems like it was only about a year and a year and three months ago that we were here starting this process because it actually was a year and three months ago um normally I can tell you that it takes two to three sometimes four years to do a general plan councilwoman met pestor will know that process as very well but this year we had a little bit less and we had a little bit less because we were purposeful and decisive and we have benefited from great leadership in the from the elected Podium and from our staff and we cannot be more thankful for the work that Josh did you know Josh was our our planning lead 10 years ago and now Trish and Joelle have done Yan's work not only doing their day job but doing a little extra job while we're at it really makes a difference we're really proud of this work uh because you asked us to be specific you asked us to be strategic you asked us to really look at what has changed in our city and what continues to change our plan is not just a code of documents and what you shall do it is a real look at strategy especially for land use strategy and how land use affects our lives in Phoenix that is a unique aspect one of the things we did and mayor you'll remember this we looked at General plans from all over the United States it was very difficult to find General plans that were strategic we could find land use calculations and land use maps but finding strategy was a little bit more difficult and that's what we set out to do was to create that strategy and to tell that story very clearly one of the things we found out and we continue to believe is that people really believe in the story of this city the story of where we've been where we are and where we intend to go is is is really quite important and we tell that story in our general plan in doing so we changed the way planning conversations occur in Phoenix we did that by creating the Strategic we call it the pyramid but this time we've continued our pyramid making just a few tweaks that I think are really important we reemphasized double down if you would on the idea that this is a connected City and people want to be part of a connected City that's not just Transportation that's about all things it's about ideas it's about people it's about opportunity and it's about the challenges we all face together as one Community our three Community benefits are are ordinarily important Prosperity health and wellness or well-being and the environment but we did something that I think was very bold and most cities don't have the opportunity to do which is we appli the lens of equity to planning and we found out that how that important that was to our citizens of all walks equity and planning just is something that you take for granted and we're not taking it for granted our plan is based on the fundamental of how Equitable planning is important to everybody in this city our five core values are extraordinarily important as well this year we changed one and we had quite the debate in our committee meetings should we change them at all or should we go less the one we change said to create an even more vibrant downtown that's still really important to create an even more vibrant downtown and we continue to do a really great job and there are challenges with downtown that we have to do but it's hard to say that that is the Strategic goal and one of the things that came up was very clear message from our village members and it's time to really dive back into our village model maintain the model but to encourage a real dialogue about what's happening in our in our Villages is it turns out not everything is the way we thought it would be some things are much better some things aren't working the same way some things maybe the core isn't even the core so by doing that it allowed us to really examine downtown and say downtown is not a place with a core downtown is the core it's not only the core of our city it's the heart of Arizona and I think that that's a statement that's extraordinarily important in our general plan and why that works and we replaced that strategy with the idea that we can create a network of cores centers and corridors it allows our Villages for the first time in many years to really focus in on what planning is about and to really think through their core plans and their Village plans in a way that we haven't had a chance to do before our staff is totally excited I can tell you Joel tell me he won't tell you that I'll tell you that we're already getting phone calls from Village planners and from Village leaders asking us when can we start that process I think that's an extraordinary benefit and lastly our five our seven strategic tools we emphasize one which is I plan Phoenix the idea that everybody has an opportunity to participate in planning in our community and we encourage it feedback is essential our plan is not just an isolated plan but it works with many Community Voices there are two things that I think are really important first that our plan speaks to all sides of 360 degrees of any presentation and I think you as from the podium have seen that in presentations where both a proponent perhaps an opponent will use the general plan to support their their case in their presentation we think that's extraordinarily important and the other part is how important it is to recognize this is just the general plan there are hundreds of other plans in the city there are Village plans core plans overlays downtown plan housing plan other kinds of plans we attempt to make some sense of order to that and how that all ties together which is something that we started last time and we've been fortunate to be able to continue that process really well one of the things that often happens in plans like this is that we we spend a lot of time saying what you cannot do you cannot be this close to the street you cannot be this High you cannot be this way we take a little bit more optimistic look and say here's what we want you to do we encourage these kinds of outcomes and Phoenix because they're good for everybody and by good planning brings great people and great ideas together as we say if you connect people and place you get really great ideas and we think that's what that speaks to rather than to limit our opportunity and our Innovation and our optimism we encourage it by doing that we simply don't take a whole lot of time on the land use map fortunately there's a process to change the land use map but I can assure you that had we attempted to change the land use map we would have a thousand land map amendments and we would be here for the rest of our lives there's still a really good process we encourage that to happen we think our plan will encourage people to take a look at the plan and be purposeful about their recommendations next of course that this is a living model and Joelle talked about that this is not something that sits on the shelf for 10 years just like it has happened in other cities but we report to you every year on our work and we may even be bold and say what other cities do which is to do a five-year update where they dive into one specific item and do an update just on one item and a midcourse a midcourse move and maybe that's something that we could think about as we move forward and then lastly it was really important that uh mayor I really appreciate your comments about what's what's happened in in our work but uh This Is Us uh we had no paid Consultants we had no editors we have no graphic artists we have no writers we have no photographers we have us uh and we're really proud of the fact and I think it makes it even better and I think makes it more important to the community members who supported us and came out to thousands of email comments online the cards that you saw the little postcards that we had that people could write in and leave their messages the public meetings we had all across the city that many of you participated in and then our village meetings not one but Three Village meetings with each Village so that they knew that they were part of the planning process we're really excited to bring it to you today and really appreciate your support and with that mayor and Council staff recommends approval per the April 8th 2024 Memo from the planning and development director and Adoption of the related resolution thank you so much thanks for the great work before we open the planning he the public hearing any comments vice mayor and then council member El um first off Mo you should be a part of the Phoenix Planning and Development Department you have done so much for that department you have been such a great voice uh for planning and I I really admire you and thank you again for doing this another time you've always been there for us you know I was um a member of the governor's a growing smarter oversight Council when they were talking about all the updated legislation including taking General plans to the voters and that was quite controversial at the time but I think it was important because it really made us as planners make sure that the public was involved in the process and certainly your presentation today shows that you got to every part of our city and made sure everyone had a voice in the process and so I really thank you um as a planner I'm proud of the planning department so you know I'm going to support it thank you well said council member Galindo alira thank you mayor last week I had the benefit of a briefing by staff to bring me up to speed on the general plan and what I thought last week I still think today it's thoughtful it's smart and it's Forward Thinking and an important aspect at least for me and for district 7 is that it reflects community and its diversity so thank you for doing that very much appreciated thank you so much we will open the public hearing we have three individuals who are very involved with the plan available to speak if necessary uh Devy Gabe and Christa would any of you like to come forward and speak about the great work you have done wonderful we appreciate you being here any questions for the folks including our commissioners all right close the public hearing and I'll turn to the councilwoman thank you mayor um I echo my colleague sentiments I know this was a labor of love and I thank you guys for putting all the effort into this um it's a great step in identifying what we want our city to look like um I for I just want to ask a couple of questions to help um some of my Villages had some concerns I just want to make sure that those concerns were were um either addressed or we have a plan going forward for those so if I could take a few minut minutes and indulge me by asking a couple of questions um for example um I'm going to start off with South Mountain South Mountain has some questions about the implementation campaign and the next steps could you give us some answers or what the thought process would be for the implementation or campaign on next steps for this cly um mayor councilwoman Hodge Washington members of the council um certainly if if the council is inclined to approve the general plan uh and we will be back um in May to refer it to the ballot and should the voters of Phoenix um support the approval we will be working with our village planning committees um and Joel and I prepared to start that process this summer to start that conversation of developing a work program um with our village planning committees um to talk about um our place types the land use uh uh the land use map which I know is a is a major um item that has come up and to work through that program of 2025 so that we can move forward with some updates to the overall land use map and develop Place types for throughout the city and I know I'm asking you to to kind of do a little crystal ball here but I'm just trying to address the concerns that were raised here so thank you for that um the other question was presented from the LaVine Village that talked about some of the um the metric sorry I have here some of the metrics that they wanted to see included in the general plan they included specific measurable achievable time bound metrics for the goals such as identifying corridors and exploring establishing funding for infrastructure um do you have any comments on that recommendation certainly mayor uh councilwoman hod Washington members of the council I think that would also be a part of that work program with the villages so that each Village um could have input on how they want some of those things measured and what is important uh to them as part of that work program my last one is a question from my Central City V Village which talked about requesting annual updates on the progress of these initiatives as part of the village process anything you would like to add on that uh certainly mayor councilwoman hod Washington members of the council um it is our uh approach to go and do um annual updates or through our annual reports of what the status um of those efforts are to our Villages thank you so much I just felt the need because they they'd have a little um they weren't an outright approval they'd approval some recommendations I wanted to make sure they knew I read it I understood it and I wanted to make sure they had an answer as well so thank you so much again for your time and for all of the hard work that went into the general plan I truly appreciate it councilwoman pestor thank you mayor um Mo you mentioned the villages and uh I think it's a great topic to talk about right now now since there is language at the legislation uh at the legislature to uh really remove the villages and the process uh or Joel whoever from the team why do you consider the villages important to be part of the general plan well mayor councilwoman thank you for the question um Villages Villages have been part of our city for since I was in college and I got to serve on the urban land use planning committee way back when U The Villages provide so many opportunities to connect people in place which is part of our plan it's hard not everybody under can be down here at a city council meeting and frankly I don't think the city council travels to a whole lot other than budget time to to have different meetings in the community but the villages are made up of neighbors and I think that neighbor to neighbor is where really planning conversations can occur and I think it's so important that we maintain those kinds of conversations and the mayor and Council have been very efficient in providing a mix of of people from all walks home homeowners business people Civic leaders people who've never been involved in community work before that conversation is occurring on week nights be after dinner or before dinner sometimes on weekends sometimes in people's yards and I don't think that it can be replaced by a legislation and then I don't want to speak to the the politics of what the legislature may do but I think it would be shortsighted to think that we who are pioneers in the idea of bringing planning to the community would be welcome the idea of bringing it away from the community in fact our plan in I plan Phoenix which is one of our tools says we want that occur to occur we want that regular review we want to be held accountable any good strategic plan as you know not just sets out the goals but it sets out the accountability of what we intend to do about it and we intend to be able to hold this committee together one of the great things that happened with plan Phoenix the last time around is we contined to have regular meetings with Josh about what we were doing and how we were doing it and were we were we purposeful did we hit the targets or are we hitting the targets did we miss something and those are conversations that I think can continue to occur and I think that you all can be part of those conversations and should be part of those conversations so that we're doing what council woman hjj Washington is saying which is to be accountable and to be representative and to report back on a regular basis that mechanism which allows us to do that I can't imagine a more proud opportunity we have for people our city to be part of that process eloquently said um I think the villages represent everyone within our city and the community and it's very diverse uh one of the things that as a former Village member of Encanto was really learning my diverse voices within the area of the historic neighborhoods and the different needs and wants uh with the different areas because it is diverse throughout District 4 and it's specifically the Encanto Village uh representing the central core but also going further east to 16th Street which is very different and then going further west to uh the freeway and it's it's completely different on what you want to put there so uh I think the villages are important I think one of our responsibilities as an elected is to really make sure our Villages have diverse diverse voices and also diverse thinking and so I have tried really really super hard to make sure that is happening from advocate of advocates for affordability to advocates for with height to infield um you name it I've been trying to diversity some of them hav't been been male dominance on some of my Villages so I've had to go back out and and seek women willing to sit on the Village um and so for me it's about the represent our Villages represent the representation of our diversity and being really cognizant as we sit here selecting people to sit on the those committees so uh thank you for that because I needed to hear some validation of that we're doing a good job and that it's represented within the general plan so thank you for everything thank you so much for all of the hard work believe we are ready for uh a motion vice mayor thank you mayor I move to approve the item for the April 8th 2024 Memo from the planning and development director and adopt the related resolution second we have a motion in a second and then a a double second from councilwoman Pastor roll call Galindo yes wado yes hjge Washington yes O'Brien mayor may I explain my vote please do I will be supporting this but I do want to say thank you so much to chairman Stein and all the Commissioners and all the hard work put on by the department um especially given the fact that normally cities go out um to a consultant and you all did this as well as your daytime jobs so much appreciated and with that I vote I Pastor I'll explain my vote I just want to say we have some awesome employees along with constituents and citizens that are willing to put in their time and effort uh to write and listen really listen and uh and then be able to write a general plan in a strategic way to hear and incorporate all the voices so great appreciation yes wearing yes Stark yes GGO yes passes 8 Z adding to the already impressive tally of votes in favor of the plan congratulations to the thank you whole team [Applause] thank you everyone for the hard work to get us here today we will now go to our final portion of the meeting citizen public comment and I will turn to our City attorney to introduce this portion thank you mayor 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 citizen comment session is limited to 30 minutes the Arizona Opa 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 so much we will begin with a virtual comment from Julia Julia will be followed by inperson Nick Julia can you hear us Julia the floor is yours all right I do not hear Julia so we will go on to Nick followed by David in person is Nick you're here all right thank you all right good afternoon mayor and city council uh my name is Nick Ethier a member of Unite Here Local Local 11 I was formerly a member or formerly a cook for SSP America at Sky Harbor Airport we believe that our employer SSP America is punishing workers in a discriminatory Way for their Union involvement so far at least nine Union activists have been fired from SSP America since we first went on strike and uh I myself was recently fired if SSP believes they can intimidate Us by uh targeting our most vocal leaders they're in for a surprise it will not be working um even though I have been fired from SSP we will not be silenced and I will keep fighting with my co-workers but we are here today because SSP America is your contractor and they are your responsibility uh do you think that all our allegations of racial disparities mean nothing we are asking you to investigate these issues not just blindly take their side um it's time that the City of Phoenix takes its responsibility seriously and for the city to investigate these allegations of racial disparities and it's sign the city really asks uh themselves if SSP America is the type of company that's best for the job thank you David is next followed by Isabella good afternoon mayor and city council my name is David Bonia and I'm a cashier for SSP America at Sky Harbor I am currently on a leave of absence to work as an organizer with unite ha Local 11 so far at least nine Union activists have been fired from SSP America since they first went on strike if SSP thinks that they'll scare us by singling out the most outspoken leaders they're in for a rude awakening those tactics won't work workers will not be silenced but we are here today because SSP I mean because Sky Harbor is your airport SSP America is your contractor and in and investigating these allegations is your responsibility do you believe that these allegations of racial disparities hold no weight we urge you to conduct a thorough investigation into these matters rather than simply doing nothing investigate SSP America and these allegations of racial disparity it's time you get to the bottom of what is happening with SSP America and ask if they are the if they are right if they are the right fit for the job thank you Isabella is next followed by as good morning may and Council I am Isabella I work as a Lon cook at the tavern in Sky Harbor airport we have been raising our concerns about unfair treatment by an employee SSP America including allegations of racial disparities and hiring and pay practices workers have filed several unfair Labor practice charges against the city's sub subcontractor SSP America alleging that the company has violated labor laws in recent nine month in recent months nine vocal unit act activists have been fired including Jasmine glass who spoke out and was a whistleblower in the complaints filed with the city of Phoenix SSP is you contracted the year responsibility do you think that all the allegations of racial disparities mean nothing we're asking for a fair investigation not for you to blindly this take us aside we ask time and time again investigate SSP America and these allegations of racial disparity with your contractor it's time for you to get to the bottom of what of what is happening with SSP America and they asked and ask if they are the right fit for the [Applause] job chasa is next followed by Eric neelson hello mayor and city council my name is chasa kogasa I work for SSP America as a barista at Sky Harbor Airport workers have filed several unfair Labor practice charges against the city subcontractor SSP America alleging that the company violated labor laws in recent months nine of my fellow co-workers including Jasmine glass and Nick Ethier were fired for being vocal Union activists this all happened after we first went on strike and only continued SSP America is your contractor and they're your responsibility uh do you think that all of our allegations of racial disparity mean nothing we are asking you to investigate these issues not just blindly take our side it's time that the City of Phoenix takes responsibility seriously and investigates SSP America and the allegations and really consider if this company SSP America is the right for the job the right one for the job Eric is next followed by Matthew uh hello my name is Eric um I want to I before I get to what I came to say I want to start by saying um the Stein guy was really impressive that guy was cool I uh talk about speaking softly but carrying a big stick um but what I came here to speak about today is something that seems to really be affecting City of Phoenix employees um and I saw I saw article on ay Central about they fired this lady um kind of the same thing these people were talking about uh in terms of they fired a lady who was like a janitor on the mayor's office and I saw I've never seen City of Phoenix employees swearing all over Twitter like that before so when I come here today I don't come here just to harp on what's wrong I come here offering a possible solution to Jeff Barton's office which to me would um I well first of all City of Phoenix are not really responsible legally or financially for what goes on their contractors that's why they contract out in the first place um that's that's the issue of the problem so I think the the mayor uh the mayor's office and the Jeff Barton's office should work to identify maybe city employees who are contractors and have worked long enough for the city then they should be automatically on boarded onto the city because Maria's story May may not strike home to a lot of people but and I hope no one hope I hope no one thinks I'm being melodramatic here but when it comes to Maria story I'm immediately reminded of a man who store down Hitler himself and won a golden medal y'all named the street after him his name was Jesse Owens and you know what he did when he got back to Alabama he was also a fing janitor so I just want to leave yall with that thought and finally lastly I if anyone's watching or something 11 please vote Democrat I just want to add that a vote for the magga agenda is a vote for World War II and nuclear or non nuclear that equals at least a million coffins coming home and lastly I'm 33 so y'all y'all want to get down with fascist go ahead and do it cuz it's going to be your children not me thank you for your time thank you Matthew is next followed by Michael hello mayor and uh Council my name is Matthew Crocker I am currently an employee for SSP America at the Sky Harbor Airport I work as a line cook um we have been raising our concerns about unfair treatment by our employer SSP America uh including allegations of racial disparities in hiring and pay practices workers have filed several unfair Labor practice charges charges against the city's subcontractor SSP alleging that the company has violated labor laws in recent months nine vocal Union activists have been fired including Jasmine G glass and Nick uh who spoke out and was a whistleblower in the complaints filed with the city of Phoenix SSP America is your contractor they are your responsibility do you think that our allegations of racial disparities mean nothing uh we're asking for a fair investigation not for you just to blindly believe them we have asked you time and time again investigate SSP America and these allegations of racial disparity with your contractor it's time you get to the bottom of this of what is happening with SSP and ask if they are the right fit for the [Applause] job Michael is next followed by Greg hello mayor city council my name is Michael Smith I am a utility at humble P for SSP America so far at least nine Union activists have been fired from SSP America since they first went on strike SSP think they can scare us by picking out the loudest leaders but they're in for a rude awakening workers will not be silent when will it be enough for this Council to take what is happening at your airport seriously do you think that all the allegations and racial disparities mean nothing we are asking you to investigate these issues not just blindly take our side time and again we ask you to investigate these allegations of racial disparities which your contractor SSP America the City of Phoenix City of Phoenix needs to step up take this responsibility serious and determine if SSP America is truly the fit for the job thank you Greg is next mayor and councel uh my name is Greg depper um on and off for the last five and a half years I've spent in homelessness here in Phoenix um my original home was California I was born and raised there but I consider Phoenix in Washington DC home um this article is actually from The Wall Street Journal this past Thursday in the last five years California has spent $24 billion on homelessness well that 24 billion just got audited the article is actually the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal and the heading of it is California's homeless Folly in that audit of that 24 billion the auditor found only two two environments that were actually fiscally sound and actually had and get this not even a good but a moderate effect on the homeless environment I've been sitting on this proposal for five years between the pandemic and everything else but for the last two I've been knocking on the door of Phoenix with a proposal to help with the situation well now instead of knocking I'm doing the camera the ring camera and coming here I have a proposal I'm currently dealing um working with uh San Francisco um because quite frankly what's being done isn't working I know intimately the homeless depart environment here in Phoenix I know the people who work with the homeless and I am on the street dealing with the people so I know exactly what's going on you're doing the exact same thing California's doing there's nothing you're doing they haven't done and you're going down the exact same road you're just doing it on a smaller scale if California was an independent state with its 39 million people it would be the fifth largest economy on the planet you're just doing it on a smaller scale and not only that the auditor gave even the numbers of the growth of the homeless hence why Governor Nome was pulling his hair out and I recommend he doesn't because when I was his age I still had a full head of hair so but anyway I just want to leave you with this nobody even wants to look at it they want to avoid it unless you start looking at it and really look at it nothing's going to change thank you Miss tagert will be our final speaker oh hi uh I wish I could be there in person with you guys but uh I have a very busy week with doing the Wallace and ladmo exhibit at the sunny soap historical society and planning a panel now um so but I just wanted to thank you for all you're doing for the City of Phoenix um and thank you for coming to slopfest uh this past weekend DEA Stark and mayor Kio um it was a great event and it was so much fun for everybody and coming to see our booth and learning more about what we're doing in Sunny Slope um and I hope you guys can make it next year and I'm sure it will be even bigger next year so I just wanted to make that public comment thanking you guys I know you're very busy but you took the time to come out and support us in that methal world so thank you so much well thank you we are adjourned and but there was also Mexicans Crossing looking to make a living early Phoenix was half the population was Mexican Mexican ameran and there was also Soldiers of Fortune here uh veterans from the war the Civil War uh so you had a a conglomeration of a lot of different type of people a lot of uh EUR some Europeans also