09 22 26 City Council Meeting Minutes

TOLLESON CITY COUNCIL MEETING ACTION MINUTES
TOLLESON CIVIC CENTER
9055 WEST VAN BUREN STREET, TOLLESON, AZ 85353
ZOOM WEBINAR ID: 840 6967 9194
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
6:00 PM
Doors open to Council Chambers at 5:45 PM for public seating. The public may be asked to
temporarily relocate if an executive session occurs. The public will be invited back into Council
Chambers when the Council returns from executive session.
Members of the public may also participate in the meeting via Zoom Webinar
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84069679194) with a computer or cell phone.
A. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Rodriguez called the Tolleson City Council Meeting to order at 6:00 PM.
B. INVOCATION/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Invocation was delivered by City Attorney Pierce, and the Pledge of Allegiance was
led by Council Member Linda Laborin.
C. ROLL CALL
City Council: Mayor Juan Rodriguez, Vice Mayor Jimmy Davis, Council Member Christine
Chavira, Council Member Clorinda Erives, Council Member Adolfo Gámez, Council
Member Linda Laborin, and Council Member Cruzita Mendoza.
Department Directors: City Manager Reyes Medrano Jr., Deputy City Manager/Employee
Resources Director Wendy Jackson, Chief Financial Officer Kevin Artz, Chief of Social
Impact George Good, City Clerk Crystal Zamora, Fire Chief Michael Young, and Library
Director Mandy Carrico.
City Representative: City Attorney Justin Pierce
D. FINAL CALL TO SUBMIT SPEAKER REQUESTS
All citizens and interested parties wishing to speak before the Council regarding non-
agenda items or during a public hearing shall fully complete a Speaker Request Form and
submit the form to the City Clerk no later than the Mayor’s announcement of the “Final
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Call to Submit Speaker Requests.” Speaker Request Forms are located at the entrance of
the Council Chambers. For Zoom participants, click the chat button, and enter your name
and the item you would like to address. All speakers will be limited to three minutes unless
otherwise noted by the Mayor. Speakers are not required to disclose their identities or
personal information. You may also submit an online speaker request form at
https://www.tolleson.az.gov/speakerrequest at least one hour prior to the meeting.
E. CALL TO THE PUBLIC (NON-AGENDA ITEMS)
This is the time for the public to comment on non-agenda items. Members of the Council
may not discuss items that are not specifically identified on the agenda. Therefore,
pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.01(I), action taken as a result of public comment will be limited
to (1) responding to criticism; (2) directing staff to review the matter; or (3) asking that a
matter be put on a future agenda.
F. SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES AND PROCLAMATIONS – FOR DISCUSSION
1. Proclamation declaring October 4–10, 2026, as Fire Prevention Week in the City of
Tolleson and recognizing this year’s theme, “Charge into Fire Safety: Safe Charging Is
a Superpower,” to educate residents about safe charging practices and reduce the risk
of lithium-ion battery fires. – Michael Young, Fire Chief
Mayor Rodriguez proclaimed October 4–10, 2026 as Fire Prevention Week in the City
of Tolleson.
2. Proclamation declaring September 2026 as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and
recognizing September 24–27, 2026 as First Responder Suicide Prevention Awareness
Week in the City of Tolleson, raising awareness of suicide prevention, promoting
available mental health resources, and encouraging support for those who may be
struggling. – Michael Young, Fire Chief
Mayor Rodriguez proclaimed September 2026 as Suicide Prevention Awareness
Month and recognizing September 24–27, 2026 as First Responder Suicide
Prevention Awareness Week in the City of Tolleson.
3. Proclamation declaring September 25, 2026, as Dolly Parton Day in the City of Tolleson
in heartfelt tribute to the beloved singer, songwriter, and humanitarian, honoring the
joy of her iconic song “9 to 5,” her lifelong commitment to childhood literacy, her
generosity toward families and communities in need, and her enduring message of
kindness, acceptance, and dignity for all. – Jimmy Davis, Vice Mayor
Mayor Rodriguez proclaimed September 25, 2026, as Dolly Parton Day in the City of
Tolleson.
G. BUSINESS FROM THE FLOOR – PUBLIC HEARINGS AND ACTION ITEMS
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H. CONSENT AGENDA – ACTION ITEMS
Items on the Consent Agenda are of a routine nature and are intended to be acted upon in
one motion. Council Members may pull items from Consent if they would like them
considered separately.
1. Approve Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of September 8, 2026. (City Clerk
Department)
2. Approve Claims and Bills Report for the period of September 2, 2026 to September 15,
2026. (Finance Department)
3. Approve the Cooperative Purchasing Agreement between the City of Tolleson and
Premise One LLC for security and protection equipment and services, and authorize
the City Manager to execute and deliver said Agreement. The City shall pay the
Contractor an aggregate amount not to exceed $300,000 per fiscal year for equipment
and services. The Agreement shall remain in full force and effect until July 27, 2027.
(Information Technology Department)
4. Approve the Cooperative Purchasing Agreement between the City of Tolleson and
Motorola Solutions, Inc. for public communication equipment and services, and
authorize the City Manager to execute and deliver said Agreement. The City shall pay
the Contractor an aggregate amount not to exceed $500,000 per fiscal year for
equipment and services. The Agreement shall remain in full force and effect through
October 9, 2026. (Police Department)
5. Adopt Resolution No. 2664 of the Mayor and Council of the City of Tolleson, Arizona,
approving the First Amendment to the Agreement for the Sale and Purchase of
Wastewater Effluent between the City of Tolleson, Arizona, Arizona Public Service
Company, and Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District,
establishing a temporary price of $275.00 per acre-foot for effluent sold and delivered
during calendar years 2026 and 2027, and authorizing the Mayor to execute and
deliver said Amendment. (Utilities Department)
6. Approve First Amendment to the General Services Agreement between the City of
Tolleson and Lyft, Inc. for enterprise transportation related solutions, products, and
services, and authorize the City Manager to execute and deliver said Agreement. The
Amendment increases the annual aggregate amount from $400,000 to $650,000 for
supplementary transit services and extends the Agreement through June 30, 2027.
(Development Services Department)
Council Member Gámez moved to approve Consent Agenda items 1 through 6; the
motion was seconded by Council Member Erives. The motion carried 7 to 0.
Mayor Rodriguez – Aye
Vice Mayor Davis – Aye
Council Member Chavira – Aye
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Council Member Erives – Aye
Council Member Gámez – Aye
Council Member Laborin – Aye
Council Member Mendoza – Aye
I. REGULAR AGENDA – ACTION ITEMS
1. Adopt/Deny Resolution No. 2662 of the Mayor and Council of the City of Tolleson,
Arizona, approving the Second Amendment to the Intergovernmental Agreement
between the City of Tolleson and the City of Phoenix for water service to divert, treat
and transport entitlement water, and to provide backup service for emergency water
supply; and authorizing the City Manager to execute and deliver said Amendment.
(Utilities Department)
Vice Mayor Davis moved to adopt Resolution No. 2662; the motion was seconded
by Council Member Laborin. The motion carried 7 to 0.
Mayor Rodriguez – Aye
Vice Mayor Davis – Aye
Council Member Chavira – Aye
Council Member Erives – Aye
Council Member Gámez – Aye
Council Member Laborin – Aye
Council Member Mendoza – Aye
J. WORK STUDY AND PRESENTATIONS – FOR DISCUSSION
1. City Clerk Department Update – Crystal Zamora, City Clerk
K. MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER’S REPORT OF CURRENT EVENTS – FOR DISCUSSION
1. Community Events Update – Francis Ortiz, Parks & Recreation Superintendent
L. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 PM.
Pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.01 and A.R.S. § 38-431.02, notice is hereby given to the members of
the Tolleson City Council and to the general public that the Council of the City of Tolleson will
hold a meeting open to the public. Council Members of the City of Tolleson may attend by
telephone/video conference call.
The City Council of the City of Tolleson, by a duly passed motion, may vote in public session to
adjourn to executive session on any agenda item in accordance with A.R.S. § 38-431.03 for legal
advice from the City Attorney.
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Arizona law prohibits any City resource, including staff time, equipment, and anything of value
to influence an election. This prohibition applies to Call to the Public at the Council Meeting. You
may discuss a City issue but do not “advocate” for a specific candidate or ballot measure.
Additionally, soliciting petition signatures or campaign contributions or distributing campaign
materials is prohibited on City property. The City appreciates your efforts to help the City comply
with state law and avoid using taxpayer monies to influence an election.
Zoom’s live transcription feature can provide automatic captioning by clicking on the Closed
Caption (CC) button during the meeting.
THE CITY OF TOLLESON ENDEAVORS TO MAKE ALL PUBLIC MEETINGS ACCESSIBLE TO
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. With at least two business days' advance notice,
accommodations can be provided at this meeting for individuals with vision, hearing and/or
speech disabilities, including a transcriber, large print, an interpreter, an assistive listening
device, etc. Please call the City Clerk at (623) 936-7111, or TTY users may dial 711 for Arizona
Relay Service (AZRS), to request an accommodation to participate in this public meeting. The
City will try its best to accommodate any last-minute requests.
LA CIUDAD DE TOLLESON SE ESFUERZA PARA HACER TODAS LAS REUNIONES PÚBLICAS
ACCESIBLES PARA INDIVIDUOS CON DISCAPACIDADES. Con al menos dos días laborables de
anticipación, se pueden proporcionar adaptaciones en esta reunión para personas con
discapacidades visuales, auditivas o del habla, incluido un transcriptor, letra grande, un
intérprete, un dispositivo de asistencia auditiva, etc. Llame a la Secretaría Municipal al (623) 936-
7111, o los usuarios de TTY pueden marcar 711 para el Servicio de Retransmisión de Arizona
(AZRS), para solicitar una adaptación para participar en esta reunión pública. La Ciudad hará
todo lo posible para satisfacer cualquier solicitud de último minuto.
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City of Tolleson
Checks Recorded
Check Dates: September 2, 2026 to September 15, 2026
PAYMENTS OVER $10,000
VENDOR NAME AMOUNT CHECK NUMBER CHECK DATE
SAGUARO SUMMIT, LLC $43,669.40 188500 9/3/2026
METRON FARNIER LLC $26,220.84 188566 9/10/2026
MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE $22,263.10 188565 9/10/2026
NORWOOD EQUIPMENT LLC $21,993.57 188567 9/10/2026
CITY OF PHOENIX $20,889.62 188556 9/10/2026
ARIZONA STATE TREASURERS OFFICE $20,456.09 188545 9/8/2026

CITY OF TOLLESON
SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Post-Production File
City of Tolleson
City Council Meeting Minutes
September 22, 2026
Transcription Provided By:
eScribers, LLC
* * * * *
Transcription is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not
be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings.
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CITY OF TOLLESON
SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Good evening, everyone. I am Mayor Juan F. Rodriguez. Today is
September 22nd and I would like to call the City meeting, the City Council Meeting of
Tolleson to order. We're going to begin with our invocation, our Pledge of Allegiance.
We invite everyone to participate in the invocation if they wish to do so. Participation is
optional.
City attorney, will you please deliver the invocation?
And Councilmember Laborin, will you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? Please
stand if you can.
PIERCE: Our beloved father, who art in heaven, we're grateful for the opportunity that
we once again have to meet together in exercise of self-governance. We pray for this
council to be able to make wise decisions and decisions that will be beneficial and
helpful to the wonderful people of the great City of Tolleson. Please continue to bless
those that protect us, several of whom are here tonight, that spend their time making
sure that the rest of us are safe. And we pray for them and their families. We pray for
our country and that peace will abide in this tumultuous world that we live in. And we
pray for these blessings and these favors at this time. In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
LABORIN: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the
Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice
for all.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Thank you. All right. Thank you, Justin Pierce and Councilmember
Laborin.
We're going to move on to roll call. Please let the record reflect that all councilmembers
are present today. Awesome.
All right. And now is the final call to submit speaker requests to the City clerk. All
speakers will be limited to three minutes for comments only. Actions taken as a result
of public comment will be limited to one of three items: one, responding to criticism;
two, directing staff to review the matter; or three, asking that the matter be put on a
future agenda item.
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CITY OF TOLLESON
SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
City clerk, I believe we have one.
ZAMORA: We only have one, Mayor.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. At this point, I have one speaker request form and that is
by Joyce plus Rosie Peacock Joyce Desanka.
Hi, Joyce, and Ms. Peacock. How you doing? Welcome. Okay. You have the floor. Take
your time.
DISANKA: Afternoon, Mayor and Board. My name is Joyce, and I'm a senior at
University High School. Today, I'm speaking on behalf of Tolleson Union High School in
regard to our annual homecoming parade. Last year, in April, I came here to request
that Van Buren be used by our school as the route for our homecoming parade. It's the
route we used in previous years, including my freshman year. That was my -- that was
my first board meeting I've ever spoken at. I filled out the request form like an hour
before it started because I didn't know how anything worked. All I knew was that there
was an issue at my school that people were upset about and that I was personally upset
about, and I had the ability to make a change if I wanted to. I'm glad I did come speak to
you guys on Friday. Sorry. I'm glad I did come speak to you guys, because on Friday
we're going to have our parade and it's on Van Buren. I wanted to come back here and
give my personal thanks for opening up your ears to me five months back. I mean, all
my life I've heard, use your voice and be the change you want to see. It's just insane to
think it was that easy. I'm proud to be a part of a city that listens. So once again, thank
you.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Well, Joyce, I guess I have to admit that we used to have the
parade when I went to Tolleson High School, and that was over 20 years ago, and it was
also on Van Buren. So I'm glad to see that the application was submitted correctly, on
time.
LABORIN: Just 20?
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Just 20. 20-plus. Yeah. But I -- but luckily, the Tolleson food
keeps you looking very young. So you know, I look like I'm 20, supposedly.
But anyways, it's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's a big celebration. And I love it
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CITY OF TOLLESON
SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
when, you know, a plan comes together and partners can come together and do
something good for our kids. So Joyce, thanks again for your time. Your name is on
there. I don't know if you wanted to say anything or anybody else. I don't want to cut
you off your time because technically your name is on here, so.
PEACOCK: Right. So I'm Ms. -- I'm Rosie Peacock and I am a alumni of Tolleson, and I've
been working for Tolleson High School for 24 years now. So bringing back the parade is
something dear to my heart, as a lot of you all have graduated from Tolleson as well,
and this being our upcoming hundredth year, but actually next year will be the actual
hundredth year for the big Tolleson parade. So all alumnus are welcome to come back
as well, and we'll have more information as we go on further down the year. But I'd like
to thank you guys. My student council kids would like to thank you guys as well for
having this opportunity to bring back the parade to Van Buren and bring back the years
of tradition that we've had at Tolleson Union High School. Thank you guys. We
appreciate it.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Thank you very much. Thank staff for the processing of the
paperwork and everything that goes along with that and working with them hand in
hand. Anybody else on council like to make any comments?
Yeah. Go ahead, Jimmy. Vice mayor.
DAVIS: I think he's going to yell at us. But I just want to tell you to use your voice all the
time, always. Good job. It takes a lot of bravery to do that. And you came, you stood
before us, and you got your way, right? The squeaky wheel is going to get the grease.
So continue to speak up and use your voice.
And I would also love to visit with your student council at some point. I served on
student council, like, my whole life and I love it. So anything you guys ever need, you
can reach out to me. That's all.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Awesome.
DAVIS: Sorry, Justin.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Thank you.
ZAMORA: And we have one more, one more speaker. Jasmine. Sorry, didn't mean to
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CITY OF TOLLESON
SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
cut you off. We have another speaker. Jasmine (ph.).
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Hi, Jasmine.
JASMINE: Hi.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Do you have your form? Okay.
JASMINE: I'm the student body president of Tolleson Union High School, so it's nice to
meet you guys, if you guys didn't know who I am. So I'm really thankful that you guys
actually have the parade onto the -- on Van Buren. So thank you guys for that, for
approving that. And I think this year is going to be so good. This is my third year in
student council. And I know Joyce brought this to you guys because she's been in stu co
(ph.) longer than me, so she's way more experienced. So I want to thank her for that. I
didn't want to take her shine away, but thank you guys so much. And that's all I had to
say.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Thank you. Jasmine, what's your last name?
Do you have it? I'm going to try it anyways. I know I'm going to misspell it, so we'll
compare notes later. Thanks again to all of you.
Okay. We're going to move on to call to the public for nonagenda action items. City
Clerk, do we have any at this time.
ZAMORA: No more.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. Scheduled public appearances and proclamations for
discussion. Proclamation number one, declaring October 4th through the 10th, 2026, as
Fire Prevention Week in the City of Tolleson and recognizing this year's theme, which is
"Charge into Fire Safety: Safe Charging is a Superpower", to educate residents about
safe charging practices and reduce the risk of lithium ion battery fires. For that, we have
our Fire Chief Young.
Sir, you have the floor.
YOUNG: Mayor. Mayor, Vice Mayor, councilmembers, thank you for recognizing Fire
Prevention Week and continuing to support the prevention and education efforts of our
fire department. When most people think about fire prevention, they probably think
about smoke alarms, cooking fires, candles, and fire escape plans. Those things are still
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CITY OF TOLLESON
SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
extremely important, but the risks we face in our homes continue to change as
technology changes. Lithium ion batteries are a good example of that. They're
everywhere now. They power our phones, our laptops, children's toys, tools, scooters,
e-bikes, and many other things that we use every day. Most of the time, we don't --
probably don't even think about the battery inside the devices that we're using, but
from a fire service perspective, we all -- we know that when one of these batteries is
damaged, begin to fail, or overheat, it can create a serious situation very quickly.
For us, these fires behave differently than some traditional fires that people may be
familiar with, which is why prevention education is so important.
The good news is that this is an area where simple decisions can make a difference.
Paying attention to what you're charging, where you're charging it, are you using the
proper cord that it came with, and recognizing when something doesn't look or feel
right can go a long way in preventing an emergency. This is what I really hope our
community takes away from Fire Prevention Week this year: to learn how to create
good habits, pay attention to the things around us, and take a few extra seconds to
make a safe decision.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Awesome. Well, Chief Good -- Chief Good. I'm sorry. Yeah.
YOUNG: Young.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Young. Chief Young. We also have Chief Good here.
How you doing, sir?
But Chief Young, I do have a proclamation that we've signed. And I don't know if you
want to bring up the team and the firefighters, so. Let's take a nice picture.
Come on up, folks, and thank you for your service. Oh, maybe not. He's got a call. Is
everybody going? We have just enough for a picture. Perfect. Thank you. Council, let's
make ourselves small. Awesome. Thank you. Thanks again, folks. Appreciate all your
help. Thank you.
DAVIS: Thank you guys.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: And please thank the other firefighters that had to leave.
ERIVES: I got one more.
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CITY OF TOLLESON
SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: You got another one?
ERIVES: For fire. For fire prevention.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. Go ahead, Councilmember.
ERIVES: So sorry. Chief Young, thank you, thank you for this proclamation. Can you just
help me, like a couple of tips? When you're mentioning these lithium batteries and -- I
just thought my cell phone, but then you said, computer, and then, like, sleeping with
the phone is going to be kind of close to my bed. So do I put it on the mattress, not by
the mattress?
YOUNG: Not on the mattress. So --
ERIVES: Can you just give us, like, couple of tips of what we should do or?
YOUNG: Yeah. Make sure my daughter's not watching, so I'll put her on blast. She
tends to have a habit of charging her cell phone and her laptop with her, and then she
leaves them on her bed. Her cell phone goes underneath her pillow, and it's on -- now
it's a flammable surface. So if that overheats, the battery malfunctions for whatever,
now she's creating that. So I'm on her constantly. So you're going to want to have it on
a hard surface, like a nightstand, you know, on your countertops. Some people, I get it,
want it to be near the couch, but some, you know, will leave it there, fall asleep, falls
through the cushions. Okay.
And then you also want -- when a battery malfunctions, you can -- you have to recycle
them properly. This isn't something you want to just throw away. In places like Home
Depot, Lowe's, Best Buy, you can take your damaged batteries there and they'll recycle
them for you. They'll dispose of them properly.
And then I also know that it's very easy -- hey, like I've been on a trip before -- man, I
forgot my charger. Instead of turning around, going back home, pop in the gas station,
you buy the $1.99. We don't recommend that. You want to use an approved charger
for the device that you're trying to charge, versus just the cheaper option. So those
would be some tips.
ERIVES: Thank you, thank you.
YOUNG: Yes.
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CITY OF TOLLESON
SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
ERIVES: And think about the one that the phone came to -- yeah.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: How are we going to get that out to the public?
YOUNG: Yeah. And I also know it's easy, there's some things -- I see my kids do it
constantly. The charger for their new iPhone, the cord actually fits into their PlayStation
5 controller and they'll swap it out. And I know that's easy to do, but we don't
recommend that as well.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Vice Mayor.
DAVIS: I actually have a suggestion. Maybe some of your firefighters can make some
social media content --
YOUNG: Yeah, well --
DAVIS: -- talking about that exactly.
YOUNG: Talking about before the meeting that we're going to plan to have Aaliyah (ph.)
come to the station and we're -- over two days, we'll film some videos and put it out on
social media.
ERIVES: Oh, thank you.
DAVIS: And I'm pretty sure I break every single one of those (indiscernible).
ERIVES: Yeah. Especially the chargers, because they just disappear. And you're like,
who took my chargers? One of my kids.
YOUNG: I've got a lot of charging thieves in my house.
ERIVES: Yeah.
YOUNG: So I get it.
ERIVES: Yes. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Appreciate it.
DAVIS: I pretty much fall asleep with my phone next to me all the time, so.
CHAVIRA: I have a question. I have the really bad habit of plugging in my
grandchildren's tablets, but it's not something I use. So I walk away and they could be
on the charger all week before I see them again, but it's sounding like I really should not
let that happen because it sounds like they could overheat.
YOUNG: In fact, anything, your phone, tablets, when it's done charging, it's a hundred
percent, take it off the charger. Yeah. It's not only going to be helpful for fire safety,
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
but it's also going to extend the life of that device.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Any other ones, Council? Okay.
And you're doing proclamation 2 also? Okay, well let's rock and roll.
Let's move on to proclamation number 2, declaring September 2026 as Suicide
Prevention Awareness Month, and recognizing September 24th through the 27th, 2026,
as First Responder Suicide Prevention Awareness Week in the City of Tolleson, raising
awareness of suicide prevention, promoting available mental health resources, and
encouraging support for those who may be struggling.
Again, Fire Chief Young, you have the floor.
YOUNG: Sure. Mayor, Vice Mayor, Councilmembers, suicide can impact anyone in our
community. It could be a family member, a friend, coworker, our neighbor. And many
times we have no idea that someone we care about is struggling. I've experienced this
unfortunately, personally. My mentor unfortunately took his life in 2013. And I think
that's why this month is so important is because it touched so many of us. It gives us an
opportunity to have conversations that, historically, people may not have -- or people
that may have been uncomfortable having. And it's a good reminder that it's okay to
ask people if they're okay as well as us as people that say that we are not okay. That is
not a weakness.
This especially applies to our first responders. As first responders, we have chosen
careers centered around helping other people. Firefighters, police officers, our 911
dispatchers are there when someone is having what could be the worst day of their life.
We see and hear things that are difficult to forget. Then we go back to the station, a
patrol car -- a patrol car, or have to answer the 911 call. And we do it again and again.
Over a 25-to-30-year-career, that can add up. The National Fallen Firefighters
Foundation estimates that up to 200 firefighters die by suicide each year. But the
suicide rate approximately twice that of the general population. We also know that
firefighters and police officers are more likely now to die by suicide than they are in the
line of duty.
We spend a tremendous amount of time making sure other people go home safely. But
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CITY OF TOLLESON
SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
if we really mean that, mental health has to be part of that conversation, too. And that
absolutely includes our dispatchers. They hear the panic in someone's voice. They may
talk a parent through CPR on their child, or stay on the phone with someone who is
terrified while help is on the way. Then that call ends and another one immediately
comes on and they have to -- and it comes in and they merely have to do it again. That
takes a toll on them as well.
Overall, we have a responsibility to look out for one another. So I'll finish with
something very simple. Don't be afraid to check on people. Don't be afraid -- sorry.
Don't be afraid to ask them how they're doing. When you ask, really take the time to
listen. Whether it's someone you work with, someone in your family, a friend, a
neighbor, you never know how important that conversation may be.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All right, Chief. Well, I'm sorry for the loss of the many firefighters
over the years, public safety officers, and I'm glad that we're doing this in hopes to
prevent future losses due to suicide or any other reason.
So I did kind of drop the ball. I'm going to try to tie these two into one. Now, therefore,
I, Mayor Juan F. Rodriguez, do hereby proclaim October 4th through the 10th, 2026, as
Fire Prevention Week, and do hereby proclaim September 2026 as Suicide Prevention
Awareness Month, and recognize September 24th to the 27th of 2026 as First
Responder Suicide Prevention Awareness Week in the City of Tolleson. So be it
proclaimed.
So Chief, I do have a proclamation. I don't know if you want to take a picture or if you
just -- you want to take it? All right. Thanks, Chief. Appreciate it. Thanks for sharing.
Again, thank you all back there. Make sure you thank the rest of the team that's out on
the call.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Stay safe.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yes. Always stay safe.
Okay. So we're going to -- we have one more proclamation I want to rock and roll
through so we can get on to the rest of the business. But this proclamation declares
September 25th, 2026 as Dolly Parton Day in the City of Tolleson, and heartfelt tribute
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
to the beloved singer, songwriter, and humanitarian, honoring the joy of her iconic song
9 to 5, her lifelong commitment to childhood literacy, and her generosity toward
families and communities in need, and her enduring message of kindness, acceptance,
and dignity for all. I'm going to turn the floor over to our Vice Mayor, Jimmy Davis,
who's going to share some words with us.
DAVIS: Thank you, Mayor. So I have to admit, this proclamation actually started with a
meme. After Dolly Parton passed away, I saw something online calling for communities
across the country to recognize September 25th, 9/25, as Dolly Parton Day in honor of
her iconic song 9 to 5. And I immediately thought, Tolleson needs to do this. At first, I
just thought it would be something fun. But then after I started thinking about Dolly's
life, what she stood for, and the way she chose to use her success, I recognized there
was actually a lot about her story that connects with the story of Tolleson.
We are a community built by working people. Our roots are in agriculture. Generations
of families work the fields here. They did difficult, backbreaking work to provide for
their families and create opportunities for generations who came after them. Our
economy looks very different today, but that spirit hasn't changed. Thousands of
people coming to Tolleson every day to work in our warehouses, distribution centers,
schools, restaurants, and businesses. And yes, I think we know a little something about
working 9 to 5, and probably 5 to 9 -- or 9 to 5, you know, at night.
But Dolly's legacy goes far beyond one song. She came from very humble beginnings in
rural Tennessee. And when she became successful, she never forgot where she came
from. One of my favorite parts of her legacy is her commitment to childhood literacy.
Through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, what began in her home community
became a worldwide literacy movement, putting books directly into the hands of
children from birth to age five. And I especially appreciate the effort to reach Spanish-
speaking families with bilingual books, because here in Tolleson, generations of children
have grown up speaking Spanish, English, or both, or neither, like me. And no matter
what language a child speaks at home, literacy matters. Every child deserves the
opportunity to open a book, discover a world they haven't seen before, and begin
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
imagining possibilities for their own future.
There's another story about Dolly that I love. Dolly wrote "I Will Always love You", and
years later, Whitney Houston turned that song into the one -- one of the most iconic
recordings of all time. Dolly earned millions of dollars in songwriting royalties for
Whitney's recording. It was later revealed that she used some of that money to
purchase an office complex in what was a predominantly black area in Nashville. She
loved knowing that the money generated through Whitney's incredible interpretation of
her song was being invested there. She affectionately called it "the house that Whitney
built". I love that story because it says something about the way Dolly approached
success. It wasn't simply about what she could accumulate for herself. It was about
what she could do and what she could give.
And that brings me to the part of Dolly's legacy that I think we need most right now.
Kindness. We are living in incredibly divided times. And somewhere along the way, I
think we have started to forget our own humanness. We put each other into categories.
Where are you from? What do you believe? What religion are you? Are you gay,
straight, trans, black, white, brown, or even orange? And sometimes we become
focused on those labels, that we forget that there's a human being standing in front of
us. I believe we need to rehumanize our society. And Dolly gave us a pretty good
example of how to do that.
You can know exactly who you are and still be kind to someone who isn't like you. You
can have deeply-held beliefs and still treat another person with dignity. You can
disagree with someone and still recognize their humanity. Kindness does not require
agreements, and I -- and that certainly doesn't require sameness. Gay, straight, or trans,
black, white, brown or orange, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, atheist, or anything else,
wherever you come from, whatever you believe, whatever your background, whatever
your story, you deserve to be treated like a human being, and you have a responsibility
to extend that same humanity to somebody else.
So I want September 25th, 9/25 day, to not be a proclamation -- a simple proclamation
and play on Dolly Parton. I want to challenge our Tolleson family to make September
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
25th a day of acts of kindness in honor of Dolly. Let's spread the Tolleson love. It
doesn't have to be something big. Buy somebody a cup of coffee. Read a book to a
child. Check on an elderly neighbor. Thank somebody whose work usually goes
unnoticed. Support a local business. Tell somebody you're proud of them. Forgive
somebody. Call somebody you haven't talked to in a while. Help someone without
expecting anything in return. And especially, show kindness to somebody who isn't like
you. Someone who looks different than you. Someone who loves different than you.
Someone who worships differently than you or doesn't worship at all. Someone who
believes differently than you. Because kindness, again, does not require agreement. It
requires humanity.
Imagine what could happen if, for one day, an entire community intentionally decided
to be a little kinder to one another. And then imagine if we didn't stop when September
25th was over. That is the Dolly Parton legacy I hope we celebrate, not simply the music
she gave us, but the way she used her life to lift other people up. So this September
25th, let's fill Tolleson with acts of kindness. Let's spread a little joy. Let's spread a little
love. And let's remind people what Tolleson love looks like. Dolly, from this little city in
Arizona, thank you for your music. Thank you for your laughter. Thank you for
reminding us that kindness still matters. And while we're borrowing the title of one
more song, Tolleson will always love you.
Thanks, Mayor.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: I must admit, knowing Jimmy's many hats, I was a little nervous
when I read this because I thought to myself, Jimmy does karaoke, which is one of his
songs -- or one of his many gigs, one of his many talents. And I thought, man, Jimmy's
going to come into the council meeting and he's going to sing 9 to 5, and that would be
kind of awesome. But I don't --
DAVIS: I don't have acrylic nails, but.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: It could also be kind of weird. But in any case, that was much
better than your rendition of 9 to 5. That was very, very touching and very educational.
There's a lot of things about Dolly Parton I did not know. And so thank you for sharing
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
that with all of us.
DAVIS: Yeah. She invested a lot of money into her home community. Graduation rates
are, like, through the roof there because she gave money to -- if they -- once they
graduated, they got money. Like, she put her Dollywood in her home community so
people would come there for tourism and all kinds of things. She's really amazing. Do
some research on her and you're going to be blown away. And more things just keep
coming out. For the record, I just had this in my closet. I didn't have to buy anything.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: So I guess more than a proclamation, this is a call to action for all
of us to spread the love, care about one another, and show how much you care about
your community and how much you care about everybody in your family and
neighborhood. So spread the love.
So with that, I, Mayor Juan F. Rodriguez, it is my honor to proclaim September 25th,
2026 as Dolly Parton Day in the City of Tolleson. Be it proclaimed. So.
I guess silly question, but I'm wondering if there's any other cities in the West Valley or
even in the Valley, period, who have done a Dolly Parton Day. I'd like to know. I would
be surprised to hear that there is. But I think that'd be pretty cool if we're the only city
to do that. Pretty awesome. Did you want to take a picture with this, or?
DAVIS: Sure. Yeah.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. All right.
ERIVES: Yes. I think even our students that came up.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yes, come on up. Everybody. Make them sing 9 to 5.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Up here, up here. Tell Rosie; she'll jump right in.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: By the way, that's an awesome shirt. It says, you are enough.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: It works.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: It works. Yeah.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Come on. Everybody. You've got to come around this way. Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Dolly.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Awesome. Thank you everybody.
Thanks again, Jimmy.
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Okay. We're going to get back to our agenda really quick. Business from the floor,
which is item G. We have none this evening. So we're going to move on to H, which is
consent agenda action items. I see items 1 through 6. Council, if have you had an
opportunity to review items 1 through 6, I will entertain a motion.
GAMEZ: Approval.
ERIVES: Second.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. Paper, rock, scissors. I'm going to go with first from Adolfo,
second from -- is that you, Clorinda?
ERIVES: Yes.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. Councilmember Erives.
ERIVES: But I don't know if I want to do paper, rock, scissors.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: I saw; you won.
ERIVES: Okay. Thank you.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: So you got those?
ERIVES: Yep.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye.
ALL: Aye.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All those opposed? Not hearing any. The consent agenda action
item passes unanimously.
We're going to move on to regular agenda action items. We have one item. Short
agenda tonight. All right. We're going to adopt or we're going to deny Resolution
Number 2662 of the Mayor and City Council and the City of Tolleson, Arizona, approving
the Second Amendment to the Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of
Tolleson, the City of Phoenix, for water services to divert, treat, and transport
entitlement water, and to provide backup services for emergency water supply and
authorizing the City manager to execute and deliver said amendments. Utility Director
McCracken is not here, so. No.
MELTON: Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council, Lisa Melton (ph.), facilities engineer.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Lisa Melton.
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MELTON: Pleasure to be before you to present this item. So basically, we have the
Second Amendment to an existing IGA for the City of Phoenix to divert, treat, and
transport water through our SRP allotment to the City. This is additional water that
we'd be taking through a new interconnect. So this interconnect is proposed to be at
91st Avenue and Buckeye. And it will provide an opportunity to add an additional two
million gallons per day of water to our portfolio. This will support additional
redundancy close to our industrial base, as well as providing opportunities to take on
new customers and users. The City will fund the design and construction of this project,
as well as additional improvements required at our two existing interconnects. And so
in summary, the staff is requesting approval of this item and to authorize the City
manager to execute this agreement.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. A quick question. I don't see a dollar amount here, but I'm
assuming that that's going to be spread amongst all the users, whatever that dollar
amount is. We're going to pay for it.
MEDRANO: We fund our own water. Mayor, members of Council, Lisa Melton.
Members of Council, I was speaking to our wolverines, which we're always proud to
have here. So I'm not sure what Ms. Melton shared, but our water system is local. We
are solely responsible for our own water system. It's the wastewater utility that is
regional. So this is our third connection to the Phoenix system that Ms. Melton just --
Mrs. Melton just explained. So it's water.
MELTON: The current budget for this project is two and a half million dollars. It is
funded in our current CIP.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Thank you for that information. Awesome.
Council, is there any questions for Ms. Melton at this time? Not seeing any. Seems
pretty straightforward to me.
MELTON: Excited about it.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: We have a motion to approve by Vice Mayor. Do we have a
second? We have a second from Councilwoman Laborin. Spreading the love here.
All those in favor, please signify by saying aye.
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ALL: Aye.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All those opposed?
All right, Ms. Melton, congratulations. You got an approved motion.
MELTON: Thank you.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Great job, Lisa.
Mr. Mayor, we'll make sure Jason knows you got a great applause. Yes, we do. Just to
clarify, it's not that Tolleson does welcome any other municipality to partner with us on
the water side as well. We're open to that. I don't want -- I want to make that clear,
too.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. No, we're -- I a hundred percent agree with you. We've got
to do what we've got to do for Tolleson. And if this is the best route, then we've got to
do that.
All right. So we're going to move on to work study and presentations. Did I miss
anything? No, I did not. Work study and presentations for discussion. I see number 1,
city clerk department update.
City Clerk Zamora, you have the floor.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: What? Handouts? Thank you.
ZAMORA: Good evening, Mayor and Council. Deputy City Clerk Citlaly Salas and I will be
reviewing the City Clerk's current initiatives, how they align with fiscal year '26 council
priorities, and one key goal for fiscal year '27.
SALAS: Mayor, Council, the clerk's office serves as a bridge between council staff and
the public. We oversee elections, legislative compliance, records management, and
public transparency. Our role ensures that counsel actions are lawful, accessible.
ZAMORA: We recently implemented CivicClerk, our new agenda management system,
has streamlined internal routing and improved public access to agendas, minutes, and
meeting videos. This aligns with smart city initiatives and strengthens transparency.
SALAS: We transitioned records management to SharePoint and continue working with
access to digitize our permanent records. In 2025, we processed 346 public records
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
requests with an average turnaround of 5.2 days, and half were completed within four
days. All public records requests are now submitted electronically through
NextRequest, our portal that we have, and approximately 45 percent of our paper
records have been digitized. This improves accessibility, efficiency, and long-term
records preservation.
ZAMORA: The clerk's office successfully administered the 2026 primary election for
three councilmember seats, with voter turnout of 19.86 percent. We're now
transitioning into the general election, including the city's role as a vote center. We're
also preparing for the permanent base adjustment, which supports long-term financial
stability. Our focus throughout the election cycle is compliance, voter access,
education, and transparent election administration.
SALAS: The clerk's office prepares and codifies all ordinances and resolutions, ensures
open meeting law compliance, and manages required public notices. We maintain a
hundred percent timely compliance and zero open meeting law violations.
ZAMORA: Snap, snap.
SALAS: This enables every strategic initiative to move forward lawfully and
transparently.
ZAMORA: For fiscal year '27, we plan to implement a centralized legal and legislative
tracking system. This will improve organization, communication, and visibility across
departments, so staff can easily identify where an item is in the process and what action
may still be needed. Our goal is full tracking capability and fewer processing delays.
SALAS: All right. In the end, the clerk's office straightens trust through transparency,
compliance, and modernization. While we may not lead every initiative, we enable each
one through lawful, accountable -- and accountable governance. Thank you.
ZAMORA: Any questions?
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: I just got some comments. First of all, thank you both for the
presentation. It was very quick and very informative. And yeah, exactly. But two words
really jumped out at me. And I think a lot of folks don't really put too much thought into
this. But as a governing board, it's extremely important as the Mayor, and I think to
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
everybody on Council, that we underscore the importance of trust and transparency,
not only amongst staff, but also to our community. I think the building is symbolic of
that. When you look at the frontage, it's all glass. It's designed for our public to be able
to look in and know that this is their house, and if they do have a public records request
or if an election comes down the road, whatever the case may be, that trust and
transparency is what they get first. You know, we have the documents. You're
requesting them, follow the process, we're more than happy to give them to you. We
got nothing to hide because we're doing what we need to do. And you can't do that
without having the right quarterbacks in that position. And you two are the right
quarterbacks. So I thank you both for all your efforts throughout the year, not your one-
time presentation, but every effort that you do throughout the entire year and
everybody else that supports you as well.
ZAMORA: Thank you, Mayor.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. Council. Yes, go ahead.
GAMEZ Just look, we have two ladies leading this department.
How long have you been doing this, Crystal?
CITY CLERK: 20 years.
GAMEZ: We come out ahead of the game with other cities in terms of women being
chairmen or directors of their departments and doing an excellent job. And Citlaly is
kind of new, but she's doing a great -- three years doing a great job. Not only that, they
match when they dress, you know. So that's pretty cool.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: I didn't get the memo, but okay.
GAMEZ: Congratulations. I like what you're doing and continue doing it. Very simple.
We're proud of you. I'm proud of you.
ZAMORA: Thank you, Councilmember Gamez.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Councilmembers. Yes, go ahead, Councilmember Erives.
ERIVES: I just love your statistics. Well, for everything. Thank you for the presentation,
ladies, but statistics, right. When the election came up, right, there's so many people
that are so distrustful of this. So you all mentioned the, you know, transparency and the
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
trust of the community. Here's an -- you know, exemplary example where, you know,
oh, does my vote count? But it does. Every vote counts. And you kept everyone on
track. You kept everyone informed. There was ways for people to learn where to go for
voting polls. There was just lots of information to help people feel comfortable with
that. And so again, I know there's lots of different jobs that you're all doing, but as far
as the election and keeping that secure for our community to feel that every vote -- that
their vote counts, that that's not -- that there's nothing fraudulent going through, thank
you, ladies. That was very helpful to help our community. Thank you. Thank you.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: I got a couple of hands. Let's go to Christine.
CHAVIRA: I want to say thank you to all the staff. Sometimes we are the face of
Tolleson in as much as we're elected to represent people. But behind the scenes,
there's so many of you that work hard all day, every day to make sure that we're doing
what's correct, what's lawful, that we are transparent, that people can ask a question --
and they should -- and to be able to obtain information. And you guys make it look
really easy. After working 30 years for Phoenix, I know it's not easy, but you really do
make it look easy and you do a great job. And to all of you and to all the staff, thank you
for all that you do. It helps us to be better in what we do and I appreciate it.
ZAMORA: Thank you, Councilmember Chavira.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Vice Mayor.
DAVIS: You're not done yet.
ZAMORA: I'm sorry.
DAVIS: (Audio interference) approachable. They're going to make the process easy.
When I was at the Arizona League of Cities conference this year, I was fighting with
some of the boomers in the room because we had to take up a vote on -- they were
wanting to.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Verify boomers from other cities, not in the City of Tolleson.
CHAVIRA: Yes.
DAVIS: Yes, yes, I was representing Tolleson.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay.
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DAVIS: So their big complaint was that their cities are getting bombarded by records
requests from what they called "content creators". They were using that like a bad
word, which I argued is not a bad word because lots of content creators are very fine
journalists, right? And never mind. Anyway, my question to you is -- so you do have
quite a bit of record requests that are coming through. One, can you walk me through
the process? How can a community member request records? What can they request?
And then do you need additional resources for that? Because I know that, you know,
especially in the age of social media, when everyone does have a phone and a camera
and they're requesting things and trying to monetize their content, right. that could --
eventually could create some issues for your department. So kind of talk to me a little
bit about that.
SALAS: Council, so we do have the portal, NextRequest, where we have all our public
records requests that goes straight there. If they even come in person, we have them
fill out a form. If they don't, then we would send them straight to the website. But it
does -- it is a whole effort. I mean, I do start them, but I start adding Renee (ph.) and
fire. I mean, you name it, every department, they go from development services to PD.
Except PD. Police has their own records requests. So anything that is PD related, we
automatically send it to them. So we obtain the records request and then we start
adding every department that is -- that are going to be able to assist us. If not, we get
also the -- all the information together. But it's a big effort with the whole city. I mean,
they are -- we even talk to Justin if we have some questions that we don't know how to
answer them.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: He answered your -- he answered your phone call?
SALAS: Our legal is also involved. Let me rephrase that.
ZAMORA: We really have to.
SALAS: Yes.
DAVIS: So what would you say? How many man hours go into one -- the average
records request?
SALAS: That's a good question. It depends a lot on what type of records request it is
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
and if one department could provide them. If it's one department that -- and I want to
use Renee as an example from fire, she's really good at providing all the information at
once, you know, but once you have, like, other big departments, development services
that a business needs all these permits, I mean, they're really good. It does take about, I
would say maybe two to three days depending if the person is here. It just depends a
lot on the record requests, the type of records requests. Yeah. Because then when also,
if employee resources involved, that's a whole different time frame. But we -- as well as
Citlaly, as myself, we always inform the customer how long it's going to take, if it's
another extra day or we're still -- or even if nothing hasn't happened, we just let them
know that we're currently still working on it.
DAVIS: So the other part of my question was, is there going to be a need for additional
resources for you guys to be able to meet -- I guess, is this a growing need? Records
requests? Because that's what it was sounding like from some of the other cities. So I
just wanted to ask if that is something that you think you might need additional
resources for eventually.
ZAMORA: I think we're okay for now. Citlaly is in the process of digitizing all our
records. So the response time will be even quicker in getting older records, but we
hardly get any requests for older records. It's usually for more recent ones that are
already digital. But yeah, with SharePoint, our new program, it searches the body of the
document even if it's PDF, Word, it's really easy to do.
DAVIS: Excellent.
CITY CLERK: The whole city is going to be on SharePoint.
DAVIS: I just know that so many of our staff -- and we do appreciate the fact that so
many of you wear so many hats and have to do so many different things. So I just want
to make sure -- because this was, like, a big deal for some cities. So I just wanted to
make sure that you guys have the resources that you need, so.
CITY CLERK: Yes. Thank you for asking.
SALAS: I do want to say this, Mayor, Council, that the team, like you said, overall, the
City, they're very, like, teamwork oriented. They know how to -- even if they're going to
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
take a long time, they'll immediately tell me, like, can you give me a day or two? And
like I said, if they don't, the communication is just great. So I think that's why we're very
successful.
ZAMORA: It's always a top priority for everyone.
SALAS: Yes. Exactly.
ZAMORA: They say as soon as possible, which we took it as six days or less, but there's
no official amount of days. You just try to do it as soon as possible. But we say three to
six days.
SALAS: There is other cities that do take, like, two weeks.
ZAMORA: Yeah, they take longer.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Is there a cost to the request?
ZAMORA: No, only if it was paper, but nobody requests paper. Or a CD.
SALAS: A CD is, like (indiscernible).
ZAMORA: But everything is digital, so we don't charge for that. And it's our staff time,
so we can't charge for that. I know, CDs are so old now.
SALAS: We got one request on CDs.
ZAMORA: Oh, okay.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Well, you got a lot of good compliments. I think you guys have
created a system of success, and there's a lot of moving parts, but ultimately creating
that system and following up with customers keeps them happy and lets us stay
transparent and speak the truth on behalf of our organization and the people that we
represent. So thank you both. Keep up the great work and thanks again for the
presentation.
ZAMORA: Thank you, Mayor.
All right. We're going to move on to K, community events. Parks and Recreation
Superintendent Ortiz. There she is. Speak into the microphone.
ORTIZ: Thank you, Mayor, members of Council. I just wanted to provide a few brief
parks and recreation updates on some recent and upcoming events in our community.
I'll start with a quick recap of our most recent, Tolleson 3rd Friday event. We welcomed
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
back Tolleson 3rd Friday series on Friday, September 18th at the place in downtown
Tolleson. The event celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with live music, cultural
performances, food trucks, vendors, and a variety of family activities. Entertainment
included the Cachito Dance Project. We also had Banda La Llegadora. We had some
videos on there and we'll post some more. It was popping. It was pretty, pretty lively.
Our Tolleson Teen Council hosted a photo booth and craft activities for kids. And we
also offered free face painting and balloon twisting. So the community really loved that.
Our estimated attendance for the evening was approximately 1,800 people. So it was a
great evening bringing our families and community together to celebrate Hispanic
Heritage Month here in Tolleson, so.
And then with that great turnout, we're already looking ahead to our next 3rd Friday in
October. It's going to take place October 9th. We're kind of setting the tone for the
Fiesta de Amistad, the local church here in the community. So that will be Friday,
November 9th -- or I'm sorry, October 9th. The theme is noche de familia. Community,
culture, and candy, of course. Mariachi Hermanas Del Corazon. They'll be opening for
the event. And local band, Al Estilo Norteno. So we're having, like, Norteno-style music
that's going to be for that evening. They'll close out the night. We also have a variety of
food trucks and vendors, activities. And then our highly sought after trunk-or-treat
event. As you guys know, it was a larger scale on Van Buren and we're super blessed to
have it more community oriented in the parking lot at the Tolleson Elementary School
District parking lot. So we'll have that there. And so we've invited local businesses,
organizations, community groups, families, and also some of the City departments to
participate by hosting a trunk or a table. So if you guys haven't signed up, our email --
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Council. Student council.
ORTIZ: The high school usually comes out as well. Friday, October 9th. So we're looking
forward to another fun, family-friendly evening in our community. So honestly, October
stays busy for us because later in the month, we'll also have another full day of
community-focused activities. Just wanted to give you a brief update on Saturday,
October 24th. Save the date. We'll continue our long-standing Community Pride Day
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cleanup tradition. Volunteers will assist with community cleanup, beautification, and
special projects throughout the City of Tolleson. That same day, we'll also host our
community resource fair. So we kind of two events in one, the big party there in
Veterans Park. So we'll have community resource fair and also community swap, and
that's at Veterans Park. So the resource fair will connect residents with local
organizations, service providers, program, and just many community resources.
And then the community swap is a free exchange where residents can bring gently used
items they no longer need and take the items that they can use. So we've held two
previously, including one at Luces, and both were very well received by the community.
And it was awesome.
So we have quite a bit coming up. And over the next several weeks, our Parks &
Recreation team is excited about all the opportunities to bring the community together.
That's our favorite part. That's my favorite part of my job here. We look forward to
seeing our residents out there at these upcoming events, and we'll continue sharing
more information as we get closer with each one of you. So just be on the lookout with
your emails, so. Do you guys have any questions?
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: I have a comment. I'm always split. Where we're from in Mexico,
you go, you know, a wedding or a quinceanera, you start off with the mariachi at
church, and then when you go to the fiesta afterwards, they -- you know, they continue
to play. And then sometime after a certain amount of beer and after, you know, you
eat, you know, the banda that starts to come in, and where we're from, people get
crazy, right? So they love their banda. But you know, here in Tolleson, it's like we've
always had this Tex-Mex, almost like I'm going to call it an addiction to the point that if
it's not Tex-Mex, it's not going to be good. But I've got to tell -- I'll tell you what. And
yes, I said it, but the banda, they got down, and I was amazed to see the dance floor. I
mean, there were people, they were getting down. I mean, there were some people
that were just --
ORTIZ: Lively.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. And so you know, I -- I'm glad that we're mixing it up. I'm
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not saying, you know, let's not do Tex-Mex. I'm not saying that at all. We definitely --
you know, it definitely has a very strong place in our community. But it's okay to mix it
up every once in a while. And I'm always like, should we do mariachi or should we do
banda? I think we should do both when it -- when we have that opportunity. And it's
good to see that there's diversity in the type of music and the type of celebration. And
we embrace it all here in Tolleson. So thank you very much for doing that.
And then I know, Jimmy, you had some comments you wanted to add.
DAVIS: Amazing job as always. All of our events are always exceptional. Yeah, that
band was really lively. They were really loud. Yeah, yeah, it was great. I mean, the
community loved it. And I think it is, like Mayor said, it's very important, you know, that
we have something for everyone.
One of the things, you know, the 3rd Fridays, Thea (ph.), all of that, that's my baby,
right? I'm so proud to see what it has -- what it has become, what it has grown into.
One of the things, one of the components that I would like to see, though, is live arts,
like visual art, right? We have the music piece, you know, we do have a ton of art
around Tolleson now, but.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: We did have a muralist painting a --
DAVIS: Yes, I know, Blood N Ink does it so. But that's one.
ORTIZ: Yeah, absolutely. We're still trying to --
DAVIS: More is more.
ORTIZ: Absolutely.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Sadko is a really cool -- Sadko, the artist, is a really good rendering.
I know one time he did Jimi Hendrix, but he just, like, starts splashing paint out there,
and then all of a sudden there's an image that comes out of it. There's a bunch of artists
here in the Valley, but I like the idea. It's pretty cool.
DAVIS: Yeah. They're getting, you know, better and better attendance. I think people
know about it now. It's amazing. Other municipalities -- Avondale -- are trying to
(indiscernible) .
ORTIZ: I have seen.
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DAVIS: It is what it is. But amazing work.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Other councilmembers?
DAVIS: One more thing.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Oh, go ahead.
DAVIS: I would also like to see -- when I went to Somerton for their Tamale Festival --
amazing event, by the way. I recommend anyone who -- anyone should go. Everyone
should go.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Don't go as a judge.
DAVIS: There's not a bad tamale there. I'm very picky with tamales, and I'm like, I'm not
(indiscernible). I ate so many tamales, including sweet tamales, which I especially hate.
(Indiscernible). That's 10 out of 10. Sorry, Justin's going to have a heart attack
(indiscernible).
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: We'll take you next time.
DAVIS: The way that they have their festival set up, like they have a main stage with,
like, the big bands and stuff. And then they had a community stage, like, way off -- you
know, not way off in the back, but on the other end of the thing. And I think it'd be
really cool to do something like that. I know we've done, like, now the smaller stage
with some different solutions.
ORTIZ: For Luces, we do that. We have a stage closer to 91st Avenue with
entertainment. We have a car show and stuff, and then we have our main stage where
we try to bring -- yeah. Wow. Local bands.
DAVIS: Fires and (indiscernible) baile folklorico and whatever else it was. Cheer teams.
Like, lots of stuff like that. So I think if we were to create, you know, a community stage,
one, a lot of people would probably volunteer to do that, right? Like I think of the pride
community stages for Phoenix Pride. Lots of people just volunteer to perform for this
because they want to perform for their community, right? So I think that's just another
opportunity for us to increase our arts footprint and give more people the opportunity
to present their art, which is really important for young artists. So.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible).
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MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Well, I will say.
DAVIS: I'm just one person, but I --
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: I will say it's an amazing -- they're -- they've turned into an
amazing event. Remember the first one? It was hot out there. And I'm like, man, we've
got to call the crowd in here. We've got to pay people. And then little by little, they
started showing up when they started hearing the music. But I mean, when we showed
up, it's September, which is the first of the season, and it was warm out there. It was a
little humid, actually, and there were people already sitting down and they were ready
to rock and roll. And I'm like, man, it's going to be a good turnout. Sure enough, later
on that night, the whole place was just packed. So it just turned out to be an amazing,
amazing event. And you know, I can say -- I mean, Jimmy's ideas have a lot to do with it,
but more than that, it's all you guys' efforts, you know?
You, Randy, the entire team was there. PD was there; fire was there. Who else was
there? Public works was there setting up and breaking down. Wendy (ph.) was there.
Streets department. Yeah. I mean, everybody was there pitching in. And I think that's
the part that a lot of folks don't really focus on. It's a team effort and it's a team effort
that -- and that team happens to bring a big splash of love to these events. And it's
reflected in the way it's presented and the people feel that love and so they respond
accordingly and you get a bigger turnout and you get a much better festival sense. And
so all of that is on you guys. You guys did an amazing job. So congratulations on that.
Absolutely. Yeah.
Anybody else, council? Yeah I know you were there.
CHAVIRA: Thank you. So I like the mariachi, but hey. I do like the banda and different
types of music. I just think it's important to just have different things for different
people, but. Enjoyed it. You guys always do a great job.
DAVIS: Keep it up.
ORTIZ: Absolutely will. Thank you.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: I do have one quick comment.
Yeah. Let me just do this and I'll send it over to you.
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Tomorrow, September 24th -- no, Thursday, September 24th, here at the Tolleson
Senior Center, we're going to continue our Tolleson Talks series. It's in English and
Spanish. This is an event that we came up with years ago. And it's basically an
opportunity for us as a council to talk to the community about different things that are
going on. We usually highlight a department, new businesses, and we talk about how
we can make the services that we provide better for the community. So we even have
open dialog. If people have concerns about what's going on with the City or any
concerns at all, that's the time to actually communicate that and put a plan of action
together. So that is this September 24th at the Tulsa Senior Center, starting at, I believe
it's 5 p.m. So I look forward to seeing everybody there and of course, council. The same
thing. Hopefully folks can show up and be ready to answer some community questions
and have some very good dialog. So thank you very much.
Whoever did the flier, I look forward to the event.
And Jimmy, you had something else you wanted to add?
DAVIS: Yeah. So today, actually, we had our very first Vice Mayor's luncheon with all
the vice mayors in the West Valley. We got together and we had lunch and kind of
discussed our cities and what we have going on. And it was awesome. So a special
thank you to the City of Surprise for hosting the first one.
But one of the items that we talked about was Valley Metro-specific. So I've been
serving on the board representing Tolleson, Valley Metro, the Regional Transportation
Authority board of directors for a couple of years now. I don't know how long, maybe
three, I don't know, a long time. Anyway, one of the things that I noticed out the gates
when they -- when I did my onboarding is that all of the infrastructure for public
transportation is in the East Valley, and we really don't have anything in the West Valley.
So I have requested that Valley Metro, MAG, and all of the West Valley cities get
together to discuss what's our plan, what is that going to look like? It's really disturbing
to me that we are the fastest-growing region in the country and we do not have
equitable or just any access really to public transportation across the West Valley cities.
And more recently, Phoenix changed the priorities of the light rail extension. So the
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next extension was supposed to come down the I-10 corridor to the 79th Avenue Park
and Ride. That has now been moved to come down to Indian School, and that I-10
corridor, it's moved to, like -- I'll be dead by then, so we'll probably never see that. So
that essentially cuts off the southwest valley from potential access to light rail. And I
mean, I took the light rail into downtown Phoenix this weekend, right? It would be so
beneficial for our community to have access to these things, and the entire West Valley.
So I just wanted to update you from -- with that Valley Metro hat, that that should be
coming soon. I'm kind of making a really big deal about it. So we need to really come
up with a plan as a region and we need to work together, right? Because all of our cities
would benefit from this. All of us, right? Our workforce, whoever it is, students.
Everybody needs access to public transportation. We're lucky that we -- we're small
because we've been able to create our amazing micro transit system, right? And that's
really connected our community. But that's only with -- really within our borders. And
there are some other destinations, but there are plenty of other destinations that
people cannot get to with public transportation.
Just one more note on that. Senator Ortiz, she represents kind of the Maryvale area.
She did a TikTok series where she did a day without a car and she just took public
transportation for, like, an entire week. And I shared with her I could not do that. My
employer at the time was in Surprise. There was no way that I could take public
transportation to Surprise. Not to mention, I gig at night. What am I going to do? Like,
wheel my speakers, like, down Van Buren? Because I couldn't take a bus, right? There's
no way for most people to do that in our city. We're so car-centric. And I think we all
complain about the I-10 all the time, the 101, you know, the traffic is so congested. We
need to do something. So that's kind of where we're at with that. I just wanted to let
you guys know that that should be coming soon. So if you have any suggestions or
whatever, shoot them my way.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: I think it's critical to also state that when the transportation
proposition passed, I didn't say, you know, we're going to spend the majority of the
money on the East -- in the East Valley because that's where all the money is coming
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
from. The reality is the entire region is being taxed for transportation services, so the
entire valley should be represented in the benefit that is produced to the residents. And
you know, I agree with you. I don't think the West Valley right now in general is being
represented equitably. When you look at some of the construction projects that have
been adopted in other parts of the Valley and the West Valley, in many cases,
Southwest Valley in particular has been somewhat ignored. I mean, we do have SR 30
coming down the pike, and that's going to take a very long time. But I echo your
thoughts. Having said that, I don't want our attorney to beat us up. So that hasn't been
agendized, but we -- I think we made our point.
All right. Anybody else that won't get me in trouble? No. All right, well, with that, I will
take a motion to adjourn the meeting.
GAMEZ: Moved.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Motion from Councilmember Gamez.
DAVIS: Second.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Second from Vice Mayor Jimmy Davis. Thank you very much and
have yourself a wonderful evening.
APPROVED:
____________________________________
JUAN F. RODRIGUEZ, MAYOR
ATTEST:
____________________________________
CRYSTAL ZAMORA, CITY CLERK
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
CERTIFICATION
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE FOREGOING MINUTES ARE A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF
THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TOLLESON,
ARIZONA, HELD ON SEPTEMBER 22, 2026. I FURTHER CERTIFY THAT THE MEETING WAS
DULY CALLED AND HELD, AND THAT A QUORUM WAS PRESENT.
____________________________________
CRYSTAL ZAMORA, CITY CLERK
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