10 13 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, OCTOBER 13, 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 Development Services Director Earp, and the Pledge of
Allegiance was led by Council Member Clorinda Erives.
C. ROLL CALL
City Council: Mayor Juan Rodriguez, Vice Mayor Jimmy Davis, Council Member Christine
Chavira, Council Member Clorinda Erives, Council Member Adolfo Gámez (departed at
6:04 PM), 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, Deputy City Clerk Citlaly Salas, Development Services Director
Jason Earp, Parks & Recreation Director Randy Babchuk, Fire Chief Michael Young, Library
Director Mandy Carrico, Public Safety Director/Police Chief Rudy Mendoza, and Utilities
Director Jamie McCracken.
City Representative: City Attorney Jon Paladini
D. FINAL CALL TO SUBMIT SPEAKER REQUESTS
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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
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. Welcome and introduction of the Arizona Desert Elementary School Student Council,
Porfirio H. Gonzales Elementary School Student Council, and Tolleson Teen Council.
2. Proclamation declaring October 24, 2026 as Teen Lifeline Day in the City of Tolleson in
recognition of Teen Lifeline’s 40th anniversary and its continued commitment to
providing crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and peer-to-peer support to Arizona
youth. – Michelle Moorhead, Executive Director of Teen Lifeline
Mayor Rodriguez proclaimed October 24, 2026 as Teen Lifeline Day in the City of
Tolleson.
3. Proclamation declaring October 2026 as Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month in
the City of Tolleson, recognizing the importance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation
(CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) awareness, education, and
preparedness in helping save lives during cardiac emergencies. – Michael Young, Fire
Chief
Mayor Rodriguez proclaimed October 2026 as Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness
Month in the City of Tolleson.
4. Proclamation declaring October 2026 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the City
of Tolleson, raising awareness of breast cancer and the importance of early detection
and screening, while honoring survivors, those undergoing treatment, and the loved
ones and families affected by the disease. – Wendy Jackson, Deputy City Manager
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Mayor Rodriguez proclaimed October 2026 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in
the City of Tolleson.
5. Introduction of New Employees:
Human Services Department – Belen Garcia, Human Services Technician
Police Department – Karissa Eckstein, Public Safety Dispatcher
Utilities Department – Donald Lucas, Utilities Technician
G. BUSINESS FROM THE FLOOR – PUBLIC HEARINGS AND ACTION ITEMS
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 22, 2026. (City Clerk
Department)
2. Approve Claims and Bills Report for the period of September 16, 2026 to October 6,
2026. (Finance Department)
3. Approve Second Amendment to the Agreement for Design-Build Services between the
City of Tolleson and Haydon Companies, LLC for the 91st Avenue Pedestrian Bridge
Project, and authorize the City Manager to execute and deliver said Amendment. The
Amendment establishes the scope of work and Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) of
$5,447,758.65 for construction of the 91st Avenue Pedestrian Bridge. (Development
Services Department)
Council Member Erives moved to approve Consent Agenda items 1 through 3; the
motion was seconded by Council Member Laborin. The motion carried 6 to 0.
Mayor Rodriguez – Aye
Vice Mayor Davis – Aye
Council Member Chavira – Aye
Council Member Erives – Aye
Council Member Laborin – Aye
Council Member Mendoza – Aye
I. REGULAR AGENDA – ACTION ITEMS
J. WORK STUDY AND PRESENTATIONS – FOR DISCUSSION
K. MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER’S REPORT OF CURRENT EVENTS – FOR DISCUSSION
1. Community Events Update – Randy Babchuk, Parks & Recreation Director
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2. Reminder: The Tolleson Public Library will be closed Wednesday, October 21, through
Friday, October 23, 2026, to accommodate the replacement of furniture throughout
the facility.
L. CONVENE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION
1. Motion to go into executive session.
Council Member Chavira moved to convene into executive session at 6:46 PM; the
motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Davis. The motion carried 6 to 0.
Mayor Rodriguez – Aye
Vice Mayor Davis – Aye
Council Member Chavira – Aye
Council Member Erives – Aye
Council Member Laborin – Aye
Council Member Mendoza – Aye
2. Convene into executive session pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(7) for discussion or
consultation with designated representatives of the City to consider the City’s position
and instruct its representatives regarding negotiations for the lease of City-owned real
property.
3. Convene into executive session pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(3) and (A)(7) for
discussion or consultation for legal advice with the City Attorney and for discussion or
consultation with designated representatives of the City to consider the City’s position
and instruct its representatives regarding negotiations for the possible acquisition of
real property.
M. RECONVENE INTO PUBLIC MEETING
Mayor Rodriguez reconvened the public meeting at 7:19 PM.
N. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 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.
Arizona law prohibits any City resource, including staff time, equipment, and anything of value
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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 16, 2026 to October 6, 2026
PAYMENTS OVER $10,000
VENDOR NAME AMOUNT CHECK NUMBER CHECK DATE
CITY OF PHOENIX $365,444.39 188672 10/6/2026
WASTE CONNECTIONS OF ARIZONA $27,348.89 188661 9/24/2026
TOLLESON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DIST. #17 $13,360.00 188669 10/6/2026
THATCHER COMPANY OF ARIZONA INC $11,895.41 188715 10/6/2026

CITY OF TOLLESON
OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Post-Production File
City of Tolleson
City Council Meeting Minutes
October 13, 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
OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All right, ladies and gentlemen. Good evening everyone. I am
Mayor Juan F. Rodriguez. And today is October 13th. It's not Friday, so it's not bad 13.
It's just October 13th. I would like to call the City Council meeting to order. We are
going to begin today with our invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. So we invite
everyone to participate in the invocation if they wish to do so. Participation is optional.
Development Services Director Earp, will you please deliver the invocation?
And Councilmember Erives, will you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance?
EARP: Heavenly Father, we come before you today asking you for guidance, wisdom,
and support as we begin this council meeting. We ask for clarity to make decisions that
best serve our community. Please lift up our students, guard their minds and hearts,
protect them from harm, and grant them a safe, nurturing environment to learn and
grow. Please bless and strengthen our school community. We ask for a blessing of
comfort upon individuals and families in our city who are currently walking through the
reality of cancer diagnosis. May that [sic] find strength in their struggle, solace in their
fear, and a community that stands firmly behind them. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
ERIVES: Students, will you help lead me with the pledge? Will you help with me,
please? Ready? Let's begin.
ALL: 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: All right, folks.
Well, thank you, Jason Earp.
And thank you, Councilwoman Erives.
And for all the participants, appreciate you guys' contributions to that.
Let's move on to our roll call. City Clerk, please let the record reflect that all council
members are present at today's meeting in person.
SALAS: (Indiscernible) Sorry.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: It's okay. It happens. Final call to submit speaker requests. Now
is the final call to submit speaker request to the City Clerk. All speakers will be limited
to three minutes for comments only. Action taken as a result of public comments will
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
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.
City Clerk, do we have any speaker request forms at this time?
SALAS: No, Mayor.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. Moving on to E, call to the public. This is for nonagenda
items. So it is now time to call to the public.
City Clerk, do we have any submissions?
SALAS: No, Mayor.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Thank you.
Moving on to F, scheduled public appearances and proclamations for discussion, of
course. Number 1, welcome and introduction to the Arizona Desert Elementary School
Student Council. You present? Okay. I'm going to say your name again, and clap this
time for yourself. That'd be great. Welcome and introductions of the Arizona Desert
Elementary School Student Council.
ALL: (Applause).
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: And we also have with us today Porfirio H. Gonzalez
(indiscernible). (Indiscernible) from both schools and our Teen Council. Earlier this
afternoon, we had the pleasure of spending time with these great students sharing
information about the city government, public safety, and the many services of our
city -- that our city provides. So every year, we have an event. And it's been growing
over the years, and this is amazing. I mean, we're going to have to get a bigger room or
more chairs, one of the two. But the whole premise is that we have many leaders
within our organization. And we have been blessed to hear some of their words of
wisdom. And of course, you don't become a police chief or a fire chief or a public works
director by accident. You ascend an organization, you work hard, you learn, you prove
yourself, and you promote until you get to that level of leadership ability. And so
today -- last year, we were honored with our police chief who came out, and he spoke
to our kids. And this year, we were honored with having somebody talk about our
library section; all the programs that we have to offer our kids, which are critical
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
because we have high-schoolers and those that are about to be high-schoolers. And the
reality is, our library has a bunch of resources. And assignments you guys are going to
be given, that's the place to do your research. You can meet with your buddies and
work as a group to come up with whatever your goals are. A lot of resources, so I want
to make sure that you guys are all aware of it.
And so our other speaker today was our very own Fire Chief Young. So let's give Fire
Chief Young a round of applause. I gave him a smile because earlier, I called him the
wrong fire chief. But that's Fire Chief Young. Do you guys think he did an amazing job
today?
ERIVES: He did an excellent job.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah? Did anybody pick up anything in particular that he said that
stuck with you?
Yes, ma'am. She forgot. All right. Anything else? Anybody else? Yeah. Well --
SALAS: There's a gentleman --
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yes, sir. Always do what you want to do? Awesome. That's very
true. Always do what you want to do. Another hand up there somewhere? Be a
leader? You're already a leader by being here. You're on your council. It's great work. I
think what I took away from it is two words. Be happy. Whatever you do, do it in a way
that makes you happy and that you know that you're contributing back to your
community in the best way possible. So I think that's the dream, right? Let's get our
education, let's get our work, and let's get to working and do the best work that we can
doing something that we really love and enjoy. And that ultimately, if it's done right,
equates in happiness. So this is Tolleson. We're the opportunity city. So great things
happen here. And I look forward to the great day that I'm in your seats looking up here,
and I have the pleasure of seeing the Council at that time reflected in you guys' faces.
So you guys will be looking at me, and I'll be in the audience looking at you guys. So I
want to give you guys a big recognition. You guys are already volunteering as leaders
within your respective organizations in your schools. You're doing great work. And so
I'm very proud that you guys came out today. And I'm, again, very proud of our
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
speakers. I think the program in general has developed into something that is
qualitative and something that really is hopefully going to promote you guys to continue
your journey as becoming better leaders as you move forward in your own lives. Okay?
So give yourself a big round of applause for participating.
I'm going to open it up to other council members who were present also. But before I
do, I would be remiss if I just ignore the fact that you guys didn't get here by accident,
right. Who are you guys' leaders? Let's start with the school right next door. Who's you
guys' leader over here? Ms. Gould (ph.)? Okay.
And how about P.H. Gonzalez? Ms. Barrios and Mr. Weete. And of course, our Teen
Council. Okay. Okay. So why don't we give a big round of applause to Ms. Gould, Mr.
Weete, Ms. Barrios, and Ruben. Let's give a big round of applause.
Okay. So Council, I know some of you guys are present today. Is there anything you all
would like to add to the conversation?
Vice Mayor?
DAVIS: I just want to say it's so awesome to have all of you here. It's such a joy to have
youth in our council chambers. We don't get that very often. So keep doing what
you're doing. Keep being leaders in your school. Just keep pushing forward. Keep
pushing the envelope. And I like what Chief Young did say today. Do things that make
you happy. If I were to listen to people, I wouldn't have, you know, paved a path for
myself in the arts. And I work solely in the arts. I make music, and I sing for people, and
I do all kinds of things. But you know, it's -- you have to follow your dreams because you
have to be happy. Because from one day to the next, it could be your time is up. Right?
So we got to be happy no matter what. And I actually started in student council in the
4th grade. And I was in student council all through school. I love student council. A lot
of the skills that I learned in student council, I still use today as a council member,
whether that's, you know, the procedures for running a meeting or just how to just
navigate things, right? How to call a business and, you know, order whatever it is you
need for whatever event you're doing. Because you guys plan events, right? That's
what you do? Yeah. That's what I do as an adult, too. So it's a lot of fun. It's a great
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
learning experience. But keep doing what you're doing, and always be happy, and
spread Tolleson love. Can you do that for me? Yeah? Can we take a selfie? Is that
okay? Can we do that? Yeah?
Take a selfie, Juan.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: It's a lot easier this way, guys.
DAVIS: I think I got to sit down. I'm a (indiscernible) right now. Okay. Here we go.
Ready?
LABORIN: Smile. Don't move. Don't move, or else the picture won't come out.
DAVIS: All right. That'll work.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All right. Staff, did you guys need us to take any other kind of
picture. Bring them up, or --
LABORIN: Photographer.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: That's a lot of kids, huh? All right.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER 1: There you go.
DAVIS: Oh, yeah. Okay.
CHAVIRA: That would be smart.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. I don't want to lose this opportunity to take a picture.
(Photo/video taken)
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. Well, I heard from the Vice Mayor, so I'm going to give
other council members opportunities if they so choose to at this time.
Councilmember Chavira, you have the floor.
CHAVIRA: Thank you, everybody. I love that you had questions, and that you
interacted with Fire Chief, and that's awesome. That's so awesome that you all
participated and tried on the gear and listened to what was being said and just
interacted with us. And I love it. I love all your smiling faces. Thank you so much for
being here.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Councilwoman?
ERIVES: Yeah. I just want to say the same thing. Thank you for coming and attending
with us and sharing a meal with us. Your questions were wonderful. And then, I got to
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
connect with two former students that are now 8th-graders about to graduate at the
end of this year and going to high school. They're very excited. So it was a great
opportunity to reconnect. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yes, sir.
ERIVES: He has a question.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Oh. Thank you. Absolutely. It was a pleasure. It is a pleasure on
behalf of the Council to have all you guys here. You all are leaders by definition, and we
need to celebrate that. I think sometimes, we just forget about that fact. And as long as
you recognize that and you're willing to work to become a better leader, good things are
going to happen. So on behalf of our Council, we want to thank all of you guys for doing
that. I look forward to next year, and I look forward to the great work you guys will do
as your life develops into adulthood, and you guys figure out the great work that you're
going to do and contribute back to our community. So muchas, muchas, muchas
gracias. Anything else that the sponsors would like to say? No? That's fine. Okay. All
right. Well thank you everybody. We're going to move on to item number 2, which is
proclamation.
SALAS: Mayor, I think one of the students were going to speak. They were not going to
speak? One?
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: That's fine. You can come up.
SALAS: Yeah. There you go. Thank you, Mayor.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. It's just -- please.
F. GALLARDO (PH.): Good evening, everyone. My name is Faith (ph.) Gallardo, and I'm
honored to serve as the president of the P.H.G. Student Council. I'm here today with
Mr. Weete, Ms. Barrios, and our P.H.G. Student Council representatives. First, on behalf
of P.H.G., I want to say thank you for inviting us here today. We really appreciate you.
We really appreciate this opportunity to visit the Tolleson City Council and to get a
firsthand look at how our city leaders work together to make decisions for our
community. It's a great opportunity for us to learn more about leadership, teamwork,
and how we can make a difference even as students. You may notice that we are
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CITY OF TOLLESON
OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
wearing pink ribbons today since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We
wanted to show our support and help spread awareness. The pink ribbon reminds us
that behind every person affected by breast cancer, there is a story, a family, and a
community that helps -- a community that cares. We're proud to wear pink and do our
part to support.
At P.H.G., our Student Council is always looking for ways to bring people together to
celebrate and what makes our school community special. Just recently, we hosted a
Hispanic Heritage Month Spirit Lunch. And it was exciting to see our school celebrate
the culture, traditions, and that makes us who we are. Families joined us for lunch.
Students weared [sic] outfits that represent their family heritage. It was a wonderful
way for students to share their backgrounds, celebrate their roots, and learn more
about one another. Events like these remind us that our differences make our
community stronger. Now, I would like to share a few exciting things happening at
P.H.G. On October 23rd, our Student Council will be partnering with the Tolleson
Community Coalition to host a family movie night featuring "Coco." This event will run
from 6 to 8 p.m., and we're looking forward to bringing our school families and
community together for a fun evening. There will be a great movie, snacks, and plenty
of opportunities to spend time together.
We will be also celebrating Red Ribbon Week through October 23rd through October
31st. This is an opportunity -- this is an important time for us to encourage students to
make healthy choices, stay drug-free, and remember that the decisions we make today
can help shape our futures. At P.H.G., we want our students to know that they have the
power to make a positive choices [sic] and be a leader among their peers. Another
special event coming up is our Veterans Day Breakfast on November 10th from 9 to
10:15 a.m. Our Student Council is proud to host this event to honor the brave men and
women who served our country. We would love the members of the City Council and
our community to join us for this, and for us to show our gratitude to our veterans. It's
a small way we could say a very big thank you. Thank you to those who have sacrificed
so much for us.
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
As Student Council members, we believe that being a leader isn't just about having a
title. It's about serving others, getting involved, and finding ways to make our school
and community a better place. Whether it's organizing events, celebrating our cultures,
supporting important causes, or volunteering our time, we want to show that students
can make a difference, too. Once again, thank you for welcoming us here today and
giving us this opportunity. We appreciate everything you do for the City of Tolleson,
and we're looking forward to continuing to build a stronger relationship between our
school and our community. Have a wonderful evening, and thank you for your time.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Thank you. Very well-said.
Anybody else from other schools? Go ahead. Or I don't know if you guys -- okay. Go for
it. Please state your names.
By the way, great job. That was amazing.
No pressure, guys.
GONZALEZ (PH.): Good evening, everyone. Hello. My name is Aron (ph.) Gonzalez, and
I am the Student Council Secretary at Arizona Desert Elementary. I would like to give a
big thank you to Mayor Rodriguez for the pizza. We really appreciate you thinking of us
and doing something so kind for our school. Your generosity means a lot to all of us,
and it makes us feel special to know that you care about our students and our
community. Thank you for taking the time to support us and bring a smile to our faces.
Small acts of kindness like this can make a big difference, and we are very grateful for
everything you do for our community.
I. GALLARDO (PH.): Good evening, Mayor Rodriguez, Councilmembers, city officials,
guests and Teen Council. My name is Iris (ph.) Gallardo, and I am the vice president of
the Arizona Desert Student Council. We are a very active council with 38 members from
4th through 8th grade. Student Council is an opportunity for kids to help the
environment and prepare the upcoming generation for success. It shows us that
anything is possible. We are learning strong leadership skills, being responsible, learning
independence, integrity, and being a role model for others. We believe in serving our
community and the City of Tolleson. Our student council volunteers with Stella's Market
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
twice a month, visiting with our senior citizens on occasion, and participating in
activities with the city. We had an amazing time at Trunk or Treat, and we are looking
forward to cleaning the alleys during Tolleson Community Pride Day next week. As
members of the Arizona Association of Junior High Student Councils, we lead
workshops, participate in speeches, and learn leadership skills. Working on the Master
Council Award also includes writing, fundraising, school spirit, diversity, school, and
community reports. We must list all our school activities for the year, make a
scrapbook, banner, and fill out the required 13-page application. We have won the
Master Council Award for the last five years, and we are working towards our sixth
Master Council Award this year. Last year, our current president, Iliana Delgadillo (ph.),
won Councilmember of the Year. We are the only fundraising club at Arizona Desert,
and we fund many activities such as our Veterans Day Breakfast, Teacher Appreciation,
Fun Day activities, kindergarten and 8th grade promotions, along with many other
things at our school. We invite you to attend our weekly meetings on Tuesday mornings
at 7:15 a.m. Thank you for your time.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Thank you. I know we're waiting for a speaker. But I will say right
now in the interim, when I was you guys' age, no way would I get in front of a
microphone and speak in front of a crowd this size. So kudos to you guys. It takes a lot
of courage. Great job to all three of you so far.
Is that Nathan (ph.)? Okay.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER 2: Good evening, Mayor and Council. On behalf of Tolleson
Teen Council, I want to thank you all for taking the time to have pizza for us today. We
truly appreciate the opportunity to spend time with you guys, to get to know you guys
better, and to share our thoughts and ideas and experiences. It means a lot to us that
you are willing to listen to what we have to say, include us in conversations, and about
our community. We also want to thank the Fire Chief for the presentation during the
leadership session. We learned a lot about important work the Fire Department does to
protect and serve our community. The presentation gave us a better understanding of
leadership and teamwork and responsibility and dedication required to serve others.
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Thank you for always supporting us and encouraging us, our involvement, and giving us
opportunities to grow as young leaders. Your guidance and support inspires us to
become more involved and make a positive difference in Tolleson where we are looking
forward to continue to work together, learning from you, and helping make Tolleson
even a better place for everyone. We also look forward to seeing you in Nashville for
the National Leagues of Cities. Thank you for the pizza again, for spending time with us,
and everything you guys do for us. Thank you.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. On that note, guys, I need to let you guys know as you
evolve into high school, there's going to be many opportunities for you guys to get
involved with Student Council and JAG and all kinds of other programs. But here in the
City of Tolleson, we also have a Teen Council. So if you want to get involved in
something locally here, our man of the program is Ruben.
Ruben, wave your hand.
So as you get older -- let's give Ruben a round of applause because it embarrasses him.
But Ruben works out of our Parks and Recreation Center. So come on over, meet
Ruben, ask him questions. How can I get involved? How can I be a Teen Council
member? We always are in the business of growing the program and developing
leadership into the next generation of council members, corporate leaders, business
owners, you name it. We're in the business of developing leaders, and that takes an
active person that wants to get involved. And Ruben is our conduit to all the kids. So
please remember Ruben as you guys evolve and get a little bit older. Come visit Ruben.
He'll give you guys all the great information.
You have your hand up? Go ahead. Yeah, come on up. That's fine.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER 3: Thank you for having us here today because it's, like,
thoughtful for you guys having us here today because you guys are giving us food.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: You're good. Thank you for coming out. Okay.
DAVIS: What grade can you start Teen Council? Is it 7th grade, or is it freshmen?
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Teen Council, I think, is 7th grade.
You started 7th grade? Okay. There you go.
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All right. So thank you for everybody who came up and spoke. Thank you all for
participating. And I'm excited about doing it again next year. I know Chief Young did an
amazing job. And he had two new firefighters that joined our team. What were their
names? Dylan (ph.) and Adrian (ph.). So they're not here today, but they're the ones
that helped you guys try out the fire equipment. So just give them a round of applause
even though they're not here today. It takes a team.
So Chief, thank you for volunteering to lead this charge, this here. And we'll see what
director steps up for next year, and we'll keep the ball rolling. Sound like a plan? All
right. We'll do it.
We're going to move on with the meeting now. We're going to move on to item
number 2, which is a proclamation declaring October 24th, 2026 as Teen Lifeline Day in
the City of Tolleson in recognition of Teen Lifeline 40th Anniversary and its continued
commitment to providing crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and peer-to-peer
support to Arizona youth. Michelle Moorhead, Executive Director of Teen Lifeline, will
say a few words regarding this proclamation. Is she here, or is she on Zoom?
Oh. You have the floor, ma'am. And thanks for joining us.
MOORHEAD: I am in awe of the students who are here today. My name is Michelle
Moorhead, and I am the Executive Director. I'm proud to say that I am a graduate of
Tolleson High School.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Awesome.
MOORHEAD: And I was also involved in student council. I'm here today to talk briefly
about Teen Lifeline and the services we provide. We are 40 years old, which is quite an
accomplishment. This year, we will take over 30,000 calls and texts on our hotline from
young people who are struggling with a variety of things. One in three of those young
people will call with thoughts of suicide. What makes our program unique is that we
train teens. And I'm hoping some of these people, young students when they turn 15,
will think about volunteering with us, who answer the phone and help their peers with
problems that they're having. They go through 70 hours of initial training. And the
average length of stay for our teen volunteers is three years. Over our 40 years, we've
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
trained thousands of kids who have served on the hotline. The amazing thing about
service and being somebody who is in the service business, really from starting from
student council moving on, is that once you do that, you know you can make a
difference in your world. And I'm happy to say that many of our volunteers go on to
serve on other nonprofit organizations, serve on boards, and continue their service to
make their community better.
We have been active in the Tolleson community since the early 90s. I started back in '86
when we began. So nobody do the math on how old I am. But we expanded. And
being somebody who is from Tolleson, I was proud to bring the services here. And
we've been working within this community. This year, we have been active in Tolleson,
Sierra Linda, Copper Canyon, Westview, West Point, and Copper Canyon Schools.
Tolleson High School this year was the winner of our Chains of Hope competition, where
they created paper chains with messages of encouragement for students. They won for
the most student participation. And in fact, in the 14 school districts that we've been
involved in, Tolleson is number 3 in terms of the number of activities that we're
providing in this community. I'm proud to say that this year, when we did our Messages
of Hope campaign where we get student football players, cheerleaders, band leaders to
do PSAs, and then they push it out on their social media letting kids know that it's okay
to ask for help and providing Teen Lifelines' information, that we had one student from
Tolleson High School who participated in this year's campaign. I guess one of the things
that I want to say, and why this proclamation is so important for us, is we're proud to be
a recipient of funding for the City of Tolleson. We're proud to serve this community,
and I'm proud to be a resident. So thank you.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: No, thank you. We're very proud to have you. Thank you.
So one of the things I get to do as Mayor is bring awareness to a lot of these great
organizations and a lot of these great efforts in the form of a proclamation. So I usually
proclaim something, and then everybody applauds to celebrate it. So just preparing you
guys. So now, therefore I, Mayor Juan F. Rodriguez, do hereby proclaim October 24th,
2026 as Teen Lifeline Day in the City of Tolleson. Be it proclaimed. And we do have an
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official proclamation. I don't know if you all want to take a picture with us. Yeah, come
on up. And then, we'll just gather around Linda, and we'll take a picture.
(Photo taken)
CHAVIRA: Thank you so much.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: No. Thank you. Thanks again.
All right. We're going to move on to the next item, which is a proclamation declaring
October 2026 as Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month in the City of Tolleson,
recognizing the importance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, also known as CPR, and
automated external defibrillators, also known as AED awareness, education, and
preparedness, and helping save lives during cardiac emergencies. For this one, I'm going
to call up or ask Fire Chief Young to say a couple of words regarding this proclamation.
Chief Young, you have the floor.
YOUNG: Thank you, Mayor.
Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of Council, sudden cardiac arrest can strike anyone,
anywhere, at any time. More than 350,000 people experience it outside of a hospital
each year. And unfortunately, almost 90 percent of them do not survive. Most of these
events happen at home. Immediate action saves lives. Bystander CPR can double or
even triple survival rates. Call 911, start chest compressions, and use an AED if one is
available. The City of Tolleson is committed to training our community in handling CPR
and AED use so more people are ready to respond. We encourage everyone to take a
class and know where the nearest AED is located. Thank you.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Awesome. Thank you, Chief Young.
So are you guys ready? All right. Now, therefore I, Mayor Juan F. Rodriguez, do hereby
proclaim October 2026 as Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month in the City of
Tolleson. So be it proclaimed. And it's my understanding that we're going to start
teaching CPR here in the near future.
YOUNG: Yes. We've already started. So right now, the link isn't up on the website yet,
but we are -- if they want to contact the Fire Department, we do have first aid and CPR
classes available for the public, not just our employees.
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: That's great news. If you all want more information, go to our
website and you, too, can become certified to do CPR. We never know. And if you're
doing CPR on somebody, it's because you're okay, and somebody that you really care
about is not. So if you think of it that way, you're helping somebody in your family and
your community get through their issue to be able to move on and live another day or
many more days. So it's a really good skill set. I'm glad that we're teaching that as an
organization.
So thank you, Chief.
All right. We're going to move on to proclamation number -- the next proclamation
declaring October '26 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the City of Tolleson, raising
awareness of breast cancer and the importance of early detection and screening while
honoring survivors, those undergoing treatment, and the loved ones and families
affected by the disease. I'm going to ask Deputy City Manager Jackson to say a couple of
words. And it goes back to the ribbons that were discussed earlier today.
So Ms. Jackson?
JACKSON: Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of Council. Thank you for this
proclamation. Breast cancer affects women of all backgrounds, but its impact on the
Latino community deserves particular attention. Hispanic women have lower breast
cancer incident rates than non-Hispanic women. Breast cancer still, though, remains the
most common diagnosed cancer amongst Latinas. Barriers such as access to health
care, financial challenges, and delayed screenings can make early detection more
difficult. In a community like Tolleson where family is such an important part of who we
are, this message is meaningful. Early detection saves lives. Regular mammograms can
identify breast cancer before symptoms appear, when treatment is most often effective.
It is also important to encourage women in our community to make their own health a
priority. Too often, we are busy taking care of our children, parents, spouses, and
everyone around us while putting our own needs aside. A simple reminder to schedule
a mammogram or have a conversation with a health care provider can make a
difference. These proclamations that we do show our support for these different
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
initiatives for breast cancer survivors, those currently undergoing treatment, and the
families who support them are important. We also honor those who we have lost. To
show our support and to help raise awareness, our city employees will be participating
in a wellness walk tomorrow. While it may be a simple gesture, we hope it will have
meaningful impact. Perhaps someone driving by will see our employees walking
together and be reminded to schedule a mammogram or encourage a family member or
friend to get screened. Sometimes, all it takes is a simple reminder to start a
conversation, encourage someone we care about, or to take the important step towards
early detection. If our walk inspires even one person to take action, it will have made a
big difference in our community. Thank you.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All right. Thank you, Deputy City Manager Jackson.
Now, therefore I, Mayor Juan F. Rodriguez, do hereby proclaim October '26 as Breast
Cancer Awareness Month in the City of Tolleson. Be it proclaimed. I will admit even the
Mayor makes mistakes every once in a while. We do have two proclamations. The first
one is for the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month that I proclaimed first. We never
took a picture.
So Chief, if you want to come up and take a quick one.
And then, we're going to follow up with the proclamation for Breast Cancer Awareness
also. And then, that'll be Deputy City Manager Wendy Jackson.
There you go, sir.
(Photos taken)
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Thanks, everybody. All right. Next item of business is number 5.
This is the introduction of new employees. And as such, I give that responsibility over to
our City Manager, Reyes Medrano, to introduce our new employees.
MEDRANO JR.: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of Council. This is certainly one of the
greater benefits of working for the City of Tolleson, as I get to introduce our new
teammates who have chosen to serve our beloved community. So beginning with the
Human Services Department, Belen Garcia, Human Services Technician. I don't know if
she's here or on Zoom, but I know she runs around Human Services, working in the
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
kitchen, helping in bingo. She covers everything.
So George, great choice. I met her at Orange Frog, and she's outstanding. Next, we
have Karissa Eckstein, a public safety dispatcher. And the one thing I would say about
dispatchers is they're incredible people that do an amazing job. It's a very stressful job,
and they're there to help. So anytime you're out and you just wonder whether or not
when you see something that might be an emergency, or you don't know for sure, or if
someone's just lying on the ground, you don't know if they're sleeping under a shade
tree -- we don't know -- and you call 911, that's what they're for. Don't feel bad about
it. The dispatcher will ask you a bunch of questions because they need to understand
what you're seeing so they can send the appropriate amount of resources; police, fire,
whoever. Never hesitate to call 911. And Karissa, I've met her as well, and she's
outstanding. And she'll be more than happy to help you.
Next, we have Donald Lucas, a utilities technician. He very likely makes sure that you
either have clean water, or when you need to use the sewer system, that the system
takes what we need it to take without getting too graphic. So Mr. Lucas, I've also met.
And we have outstanding people that serve this community, and it's an absolute honor
to serve with them every day. And Chiefs, we met a young -- I met a young man over
here that wants to work for the city, and he looks like he'd be a great police officer or
firefighter. So I told him when he turns 18 to call one of you. Thank you all for being
here. Thank you.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: That's three new team members that we want to add on to our
family. So just give them a round of applause whether they were able to be here or not.
Okay. Now, we're going to move pretty quick. We're going to move to item G, which is
business from the floor. At this point, we have no public hearings or action items.
We're going to move on action item H, which is consent agenda. I see three items on
our agenda. If you've had an opportunity to review and would like to make a motion, I
would certainly consider it.
ERIVES: Motion to approve, Mayor.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: We have a motion to approve by Councilmember Erives. We have
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
a second by Councilmember Laborin. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye.
ALL: Aye.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All those opposed? Not hearing any. This motion passes
unanimously. Thank you very much. We're going to move on to regular agenda action
items. Again, none at this time. Work study and presentations for discussion, we have
none. Mayor and City Manager reports of current events for discussion, I'm going to
kick it over to our community events -- for our community events updates, I'm going to
kick it over to our Parks and Recreation Director, Babchuk.
BABCHUK: Thank you, Mayor and members of the Council. Just a couple updates. On
our second Friday we had this past Friday, October 10th in conjunction with Blessed
Sacrament, we had over 2,000 participants that came out to enjoy our Trunk or Treat
event. It was amazing to see all the community out there to support. Thank you to all
the departments that showed up; fire, police. You guys did an outstanding job keeping
our patrons safe. So kudos to them. Also, some upcoming events; October 24th is our
Community Pride Day and Resource Fair. The Pride Day -- our Pride Day event will start
registration at 7 a.m. in the morning at Veterans Park, and the Resource Fair will start
from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Veterans Park as well. And November 20th, we'll continue our
3rd Friday celebration with celebrating our VFW and all veterans across the world. So
thank you, guys.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: No. Thank you for the update. And I do want to say, I wasn't able
to attend the 3rd Friday event this last Friday. I had family business to tend to. But I do
want to thank everybody who comes out. The event is mixed in with Halloween. So we
have a lot of vendors, car clubs, and folks. Student Council, I know was out there.
Student councils were out there giving out candy. So I want to thank everybody who
came out and was an active participant in the form of giving out candy to our kids and
creating a safe Halloween environment for everybody to really enjoy and have a good
time. And it's my understanding that a lot of those are lowriders from car clubs.
BABCHUK: Mayor, members of the Council, yes. There was a few. But I think this year,
we saw a lot more community businesses and community members out there as well. I
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
think it's probably about evenly matched this year. So there was a good mix of all.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Well, whoever was out there, I'm glad they were there. And I
personally, on behalf of the Council, want to thank them for taking time out of their
busy schedule on a Friday to come out and take part in our community event and give
back a little bit to our youngest of our audiences, which is our kids, while they're out
there trick-or-treating and getting the Halloween spirit up and running. So thank you to
all. And again, I wasn't able to attend. I had asked Vice Mayor Davis to take the lead
and introduce the community. I know we have a lot of staff out there as well, so I want
to thank them. But in particular, Councilmember Davis or Vice Mayor Davis, I don't
know if other council members were present.
DAVIS: Um-hum.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: If you want to recognize them or say a couple words.
DAVIS: Yeah, all four of our women council members were there.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: So we had four council members out there.
DAVIS: Plus me.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: And so it was a great event. And we look forward to continued
events. And so I think you said the next one is October 24th?
BABCHUK: September [sic] 20th is our next 3rd Friday. But our next event this month
will be our Community Pride Day on October 24th.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: And I know our Teen -- our student government groups are also
very much involved with that as well. So I look forward to cleaning up Tolleson like we
do every single year.
BABCHUK: We have about 300 volunteers that pre-registered.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Pre-registered already?
BABCHUK: Yup.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Awesome.
DAVIS: Amazing.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All right. Well, let's go out there and make a make a significant
impact in our community. So let's move on to item number 2, which is a reminder that
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OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
the Tolleson Public Library will be closed Wednesday, October 24th [sic] through Friday,
October 23rd because we are going to be getting furniture throughout. So we will be
replacing old furniture with new furniture, and kind of giving it a modern face and
probably more comfortable chairs so you guys can go in there and read a book or look at
your computers or do what you need to do in the library. Okay? But again, it's for that
window, and then we'll reopen right after that.
Yes, ma'am. The library closes at --
CARRICO: The library closes at 7 p.m. every weekday, and 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: There you go.
CARRICO: And Mayor, members of Council, just to note that the closure does include
curbside service. We will have limited curbside service so patrons can still get to the
materials, the books, the DVDs, Library of Things and culture passes. And passport
services will remain uninterrupted.
MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Awesome. Thank you for the update. Appreciate that. Just so
you guys know, that's our director right there. Give her a round of applause, the library.
All right. With that, I got some kind of good news and bad news. The good news is the
meeting is about to be over. The bad news is that it's not, so. But we have to convene
into an executive session, which means that it's a closed conversation between our
attorney, our city management and Council, and you all get to go home now. So we
can't have the executive session with members of the audience or people that it doesn't
directly pertain. So we will take, let's say, a five-minute recess, restroom break,
whatever you all need to do. And then, we'll come back and --
Do we want to convene into executive session now? Yeah. So we will convene after the
five-minute break.
So thank you all. You guys have a wonderful evening.
ERIVES: Thank you again.
CHAVIRA: Thank you, everybody.
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CITY OF TOLLESON
OCTOBER 13, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
APPROVED:
____________________________________
JUAN F. RODRIGUEZ, MAYOR
ATTEST:
____________________________________
CRYSTAL ZAMORA, CITY CLERK
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 OCTOBER 13, 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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