250826_AGEFRIENDLYPLAN MEETING MINUTES.PDF

City of Tempe — Regular City Council Meeting (2026-01-08)

View PDF Meeting page

Extracted text (via pymupdf) 4083 characters
Minutes of the Age-Friendly Plan Council Subcommittee meeting held on Aug. 26, 2025, 
4:00 p.m., Hybrid Meeting- Tempe Public Library, 3500 S. Rural Rd. and virtually through 
Microsoft Teams 
 
Members Present: 
 
 
 
 
 
Vice Mayor Doreen Garlid – Chair 
Councilmember Randy Keating 
Councilmember Nikki Amberg 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
City Staff Present: 
Eric Anderson, City Attorney 
Keith Burke, Deputy City Manager 
Greg Ruiz, Deputy City Manager 
Lisette Camacho, Deputy City Manager 
Wydale Holmes, Strategic Mgmt & Innovation Director 
Dr. Velicia McMillan Humes, Chief Diversity Officer 
Mary Mezey, Deputy Director, CHHS 
Megan Wilson, Program Manager, CHHS 
Camden Sahlinger, Coordinator, CHHS 
Tanya Chavez, Mayor and Council Chief of Staff 
Melissa Westbrook, Council Assistant 
Quincy Carrillo, Council Assistant 
Parrish Spisz, Council Assistant 
Mariana Pena, Mayor’s Assistant 
 
 
Stakeholders: 
Dr. Johannah Uriri-Glover 
Lisa Zyriek 
Bill Armbruster, AARP 
Carolyn Hutchens, All Thrive 365 
 
Members of the Public: 
Judy Aldrich 
Jolene Gosling 
Norma Joiner 
Ryan Spillers 
Carla Rose 
Minutes 
Age-Friendly Plan Council Subcommittee 
Aug. 26, 2025

Call to Order: 4:00 p.m. 
 
 
 
 
 
Agenda Item 1 – Public Appearances 
No public appearances 
 
Agenda Item 2 – Welcome and Introductions 
Vice Mayor Garlid opened meeting by welcoming everyone and leading self-introductions. 
 
Agenda Item 3 – Age-Friendly Tempe Framework 
VM Garlid noted that this committee and stakeholder group would be working on an update of 
the city’s 2020-2025 Age-Friendly Action Plan. She asked Mary Mezey to provide a framework 
for the plan development and how we will work as a steering committee for the Action Team 
Committee. She provided a look back at what was done to create the 2020-2025 plan. 
Discussed why it matters citing that by 2030 one-in-five Tempe residents will be over 65 years 
of age, and that 90 percent of residents are aging in place. 
 
Mary Mezey introduced Bill Armbruster from AARP to the foundation for planning based on 
AARP certification objectives. Tempe is one of 1,006 cities who are certified as Age-Friendly. 
The work begins with elected leaders making a commitment to actively work with residents and 
local advocates. He emphasized that the work is based on meeting the eight domains of 
livability: 
1. Outdoor Spaces and Buildings 
2. Transportation 
3. Housing 
4. Social Participation 
5. Respect and Social Inclusion 
6. Work and Civic Engagement 
7. Communication and Information 
8. Community and Health Services 
 
Cites enrolled in this AARP program have increased their Livability Index and create community 
value. 
 
Agenda Item 4 – Age-Friendly Tempe Plan development and discussion 
Mary Mezey took the subcommittee through the timeline for the plan development, which begins 
with an assessment. Data will be collected from a survey that opens to all residents age 50-plus 
from Sept. 1 – Sept. 30. CM Amberg asked if the demographic data will be separated by age 
groups since there are different interests and needs based on age. Mary Mezey confirmed that 
the data will be grouped by five-year age gaps. There will also be a listening session in Oct/Nov. 
 
Megan Wilson reviewed the previous plan’s progress using the eight domains of livability. There 
are opportunities to build on these achievements for the new five-year plan. As we closed, VM 
Garlid cited that in the last census, there are 20,000 residents over the age of 65 in Tempe – 
10.8 percent. This makes our work very important. CM Keating asked if staff could make the 
Age-Friendly webpage more accessible by changing the short web address from 
Tempe.gov/agefriendly to Tempe.gov/seniors. Staff agreed to look into making change.

Next meeting date: Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 4:00 p.m. Subcommittee agreed to meet regularly 
every fourth Tuesday of the month at 4:00 p.m. 
 
 
Meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m. 
Prepared by:   Parrish Spisz, Council Assistant, (480) 350-8599 
Reviewed by:  Tanya Chavez, Mayor and Council Chief of Staff, (480) 858-2215