03 24 26 City Council Meeting Minutes
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1 TOLLESON CITY COUNCIL MEETING ACTION MINUTES TOLLESON CIVIC CENTER 9055 WEST VAN BUREN STREET, TOLLESON, AZ 85353 ZOOM WEBINAR ID: 840 6967 9194 TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 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 Vice Mayor Davis. 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/Chief Government Affairs Officer Pilar Sinawi, Deputy City Manager/Employee Resources Director Wendy Jackson, Chief Financial Officer Kevin Artz, Chief of Social Impact George Good, City Clerk Crystal Zamora, Development Services Director Jason Earp, Field Operations/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 2 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(s) to the City Clerk prior to the meeting being convened. Citizens must complete one form for each item they want to address. 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. Submissions should be made no later than the Mayor announcing the “Final Call to Submit Speaker Requests”. All speakers will be limited to 3 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.H, 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. Tolleson Union High School Student of the Year Recognition for Tolleson Teen Council Member Emiliano De Anda Huerta – Principal Martin Perez 2. Proclamation honoring David Rousseau for his years of service and distinguished leadership with Salt River Project upon his retirement. A proud Tolleson High School alumnus and founding partner of Rousseau Farming Company in Tolleson, Mr. Rousseau has made lasting contributions to the West Valley community. – Diego Espinoza, SRP Government Relations Representative Mayor Rodriguez extended this proclamation honoring David Rousseau. 3. Proclamation declaring March 2026 as Women's History Month in the City of Tolleson, recognizing the national theme "Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future," and honoring the vital contributions of women throughout history and within our community who have demonstrated leadership, innovation, and dedication in advancing equity, strengthening families, supporting economic growth, promoting environmental stewardship, and shaping a more sustainable and inclusive future for all. – Wendy Jackson, Deputy City Manager/Employee Resources Director Mayor Rodriguez proclaimed March 2026 as Women's History Month in the City of Tolleson. G. BUSINESS FROM THE FLOOR – PUBLIC HEARINGS AND ACTION ITEMS 3 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 February 24, 2026. (City Clerk Department) 2. Approve Claims and Bills Report for the period of February 18, 2026 to March 17, 2026. (Finance Department) 3. Approve Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control Liquor License Application No. 380405, Series 10 – Beer and Wine Store, as submitted by Danitzia Montijo Mariscal for Pescaderia Mariscal located at 189 North 99th Avenue, Suite 105, Tolleson, AZ 85353. This non-transferable, off-sale retail privileges liquor license allows a retail store to sell beer and wine (no other spirituous liquors), only in the original unbroken package, to be taken away from the premises of the retailer and consumed off the premises. (City Clerk Department) Public hearing will be opened for public comment, if any. 4. Approve the Cooperative Purchasing Agreement between the City of Tolleson and Logan Simpson Design Inc. for professional planning services related to the City’s General Plan Update, and authorize the City Manager to execute and deliver said Agreement. The City shall pay the Contractor an annual aggregate amount not to exceed $250,000 for services. This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect until June 30, 2026. (Development Services Department) 5. Approve the Professional Services Agreement between the City of Tolleson and Atlantic Pacific Standard, LLC for welding and metal fabrication services to be performed on an as-needed basis, and authorize the City Manager to execute and deliver said Agreement. The City shall pay the Consultant at the rates set forth in the Fee Proposal in an annual aggregate amount not to exceed $200,000, and the Agreement shall remain in effect through April 1, 2027, with the option to renew for four additional one-year terms. (Utilities Department) Council Member Gámez moved to approve Consent Agenda items 1. through 5.; the motion was seconded by Council Member Vice Mayor Davis. 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 4 Council Member Mendoza – Aye I. CONVENE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION 1. Motion to go into executive session. Vice Mayor Davis moved to convene into executive session at 6:20 PM; 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 Council Member Erives – Aye Council Member Gámez – Aye Council Member Laborin – Aye Council Member Mendoza – Aye 2. Convene into an executive session pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(3) for discussion or consultation for legal advice with the City Attorney regarding a potential rezoning of certain property within the City. J. RECONVENE INTO PUBLIC MEETING K. WORK STUDY AND PRESENTATIONS – FOR DISCUSSION 1. Discussion regarding a proposed rezoning of the property located east of the southeast corner of 99th Avenue and Wolverine Way from Light Industrial (I-1) to Planned Area Development (PAD) to allow the development of a 323-unit multi-family residential community. – Wendy Riddell, Founding and Managing Partner at Berry Riddell LLC L. REGULAR AGENDA – ACTION ITEMS 1. Approve/Deny the Job Order Master Agreement between the City of Tolleson and Filanc for water and wastewater treatment and remote facilities projects, and authorize the City Manager to execute and deliver said Agreement. The City shall pay the Contractor an annual aggregate amount not to exceed $5,000,000 for services. This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect until February 25, 2027, with up to four additional one-year renewal options. (Utilities Department) Council Member Gámez moved to approve the Job Order Master Agreement; the motion was seconded by Council Member Mendoza. 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 5 Council Member Mendoza – Aye 2. Discuss and consider the reappointment of Sheryl Heier as Board Member of the Tolleson Public Safety Personnel Retirement System Boards to serve from April 1, 2026 until April 1, 2028. (Employee Resources Department) Council Member Gámez moved to reappoint Sheryl Heir as Board Member of the Tolleson Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) Boards (Police and Fire) to serve a term from April 1, 2026 until April 1, 2028; 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 Council Member Erives – Aye Council Member Gámez – Aye Council Member Laborin – Aye Council Member Mendoza – Aye M. WORK STUDY AND PRESENTATIONS – FOR DISCUSSION 1. FY 2026 Second Quarter Update – Kevin Artz, Chief Financial Officer 2. FY 2027 First Budget Work Study – Kevin Artz, Chief Financial Officer N. MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER’S REPORT OF CURRENT EVENTS – FOR DISCUSSION 1. Council Update on National League of Cities Congressional City Conference on March 14-18, 2026 in Washington, DC. 2. Community Events Update – Randy Babchuk, Field Operations/Parks & Recreation Director 3. The City Council Meeting scheduled on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 will be rescheduled to Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 6 PM. O. CONVENE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION 1. Motion to go into executive session. Council Member Davis moved to convene into executive session at 8:33 PM; the motion was seconded by Council Member Gámez. 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 6 Council Member Laborin – Aye Council Member Mendoza – Aye 2. Convene into an executive session pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(3) for discussion or consultation for legal advice with the City Attorney regarding employee benefits and potential amendments. P. RECONVENE INTO PUBLIC MEETING Q. ADJOURNMENT Council Member Mendoza moved to adjourn the Regular City Council Meeting at 8:51 PM; the motion was seconded by Council Member Chavira. 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 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 will attend by telephone/video conference call. Note: 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 conformation 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 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 7 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 ACCESIBLE PARA INDIVIDUOS CON DISCAPACIDADES. Con al menos dos días laborables de previo aviso, 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 un alojamiento para participar en esta reunión pública. La Ciudad hará todo lo posible para satisfacer cualquier solicitud de último minuto. VENDOR NAME AMOUNT CHECK NUMBER CHECK DATE CHASSE BUILDING TEAM INC $2,954,179.68 102146 03/10/2026 CHASSE BUILDING TEAM INC $1,922,499.47 102053 02/25/2026 TOLLESON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DIST.#17 $400,000.00 186903 02/19/2026 FELIX CONSTRUCTION COMPANY $263,946.26 187176 03/16/2026 CITY OF PHOENIX $258,440.88 187045 03/03/2026 CITY OF PHOENIX $243,669.36 187136 03/11/2026 HAYDON BUILDING CORP $237,457.50 187177 03/16/2026 AZ MUNICIPAL RISK RETENTION POOL P & C $145,405.74 102139 03/10/2026 METRON FARNIER LLC $89,905.15 187036 03/02/2026 ASR CONSTRUCTION GROUP LLC $78,544.15 187170 03/16/2026 SALT RIVER PROJECT $71,498.74 102177 03/13/2026 CUMMINS INC $62,073.26 186968 02/25/2026 ARIZONA MACHINERY LLC $60,098.45 186939 02/19/2026 SAN TAN AUTO PARTNERS LLC $49,978.02 186935 02/19/2026 SAN TAN AUTO PARTNERS LLC $49,978.02 186935 02/19/2026 KIMLEY-HORN AND ASSOCIATES INC $48,507.44 102057 02/25/2026 MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC $47,628.00 102174 03/13/2026 LYFT, INC. $40,329.74 102019 02/19/2026 DBA CONSTRUCTION, INC. $37,778.95 187006 02/26/2026 MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE $37,280.10 187120 03/09/2026 AZ PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL RETIREMENT SYSTEM $35,378.04 102142 03/10/2026 WESTERN ENVIRONMENTAL EQUIPMENT CO $35,224.60 187147 03/11/2026 AZ PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL RETIREMENT SYSTEM $33,825.19 102040 02/23/2026 SOLENIS LLC $33,470.64 102131 03/06/2026 AZ PUBLIC SAFETY RETIREMENT, POLICE $30,096.44 102042 02/23/2026 AZ PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL RETIREMENT SYSTEM $29,911.51 102041 02/23/2026 AZ PUBLIC SAFETY RETIREMENT, POLICE $28,879.57 102143 03/10/2026 ANCON MARINE $28,317.75 102161 03/13/2026 AZ MUNICIPAL RISK RETENTION POOL P & C $28,138.73 102139 03/10/2026 AZ MUNICIPAL RISK RETENTION POOL P & C $27,948.79 102139 03/10/2026 AZ PUBLIC SAFETY RETIREMENT, POLICE $27,700.86 102043 02/23/2026 ARIZONA COMMERCIAL DIVING SERVICES INC $26,172.55 187169 03/16/2026 DBA CONSTRUCTION, INC. $23,429.10 187006 02/26/2026 WASTE CONNECTIONS OF ARIZONA $20,150.78 186997 02/25/2026 CITY OF PHOENIX $18,596.88 187105 03/09/2026 LEA-ARCHITECTS LLC $17,559.00 186920 02/19/2026 LIBERTY PROCESS EQUIPMENT INC $16,460.18 186981 02/25/2026 REVOLUTIONARY HR CONSULTING, LLC $16,255.00 186932 02/19/2026 PUREOPS LLC $15,922.88 186930 02/19/2026 SUNRISE ENGINEERING LLC $15,268.75 102152 03/10/2026 TA WELDING LLC $15,000.00 187069 03/04/2026 VEOLIA WTS SOLUTIONS USA INC $14,017.36 102097 03/03/2026 CITY OF TOLLESON-MEDICAL $12,853.20 102044 02/23/2026 City of Tolleson Checks Recorded Check Dates: February 18, 2026 to March 17, 2026 PAYMENTS OVER $10,000 MARICOPA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF TRASPORTATION $12,500.00 187047 03/03/2026 MARICOPA COUNTY ANIMAL CARE CONTROL $12,111.54 186983 02/25/2026 ADAPTIVE ARCHITECTS INC $12,044.00 186948 02/25/2026 THE PARTY PEOPLE OF ARIZONA $11,892.29 187167 03/12/2026 TOLLESON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DIST.#17 $11,750.00 187104 03/09/2026 VERIZON WIRELESS SERVICES LLC $11,566.96 187075 03/04/2026 LEA-ARCHITECTS LLC $11,173.90 186920 02/19/2026 DANIEL PENA $11,000.00 187031 03/02/2026 VAN LOON INDUSTRIES $10,534.75 187023 02/26/2026 CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 1 of 43 Post-Production File City of Tolleson City Council Meeting Minutes March 24, 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. * * * * * CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 2 of 43 MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All right. Good evening, everyone. I am Mayor Juan Rodriguez. Today is March 24th, and I would like to call the City Council meeting to order. We're going to begin with our invocation and pledge of allegiance. So Development Services Director Earp, will you please provide the invocation? And Vice Mayor Davis, will you please lead us in the pledge of allegiance? EARP: Heavenly Father, thank you for your abundance of love and blessings for our community. We ask you for peace and unity not only for our country but across the world. Please bless our public safety and military members and allow them to return home safely to their families. Please bless our Mayor and council, and give them the wisdom to make decisions in accordance to your will. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 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: Okay. Thank you, both. We're going to move on to roll call city clerk, please let the record reflect that all city council members are present today. 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 comments will be limited to three items. Number 1 responding to criticism, 2, directing staff to review a matter or 3, asking the matter be put on a future agenda. City clerk, do we have any speaker request forms at this time? ZAMORA: We do not, Mayor. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. It is now called to the public, which is for non-agenda action items. So City Clerk, do we have any call to the public for non-agenda action items? ZAMORA: We do not. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All right. Awesome. Item F, moving on to F scheduled public appearances proclamations for discussion. The first one Principal Martin Perez, who we expect to be here today, is currently attending the Tolleson High School board meeting. So he's going to be running a little bit late, so I'm going to not postpone it, but I'm going to put that off to when he arrives. We'll bring it back for what we need to do as far as a CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 3 of 43 public appearance. We will be moving on to item number two, which is proclamation honoring Mr. David Russo for his years of service and distinguished leadership with Salt River project upon his retirement. A proud Tolleson High School alumnus and founder founding partner of Russo Farming Company in Tolleson, Mr. Russo has made lasting contributions to the West Valley community. He is not here today, unfortunately, but we do have a really good standby who used to be one of our very own council members. I'd like to present at this time, round of applause, I'm just kidding -- Mr. Diego Espinoza, and he's going to say a few words on behalf of Mr. Russo. ESPINOZA: Mayor. Vice mayor, Council members, and staff. It's great to be home. It's nice to see you all. It's always good to be back. You have deep roots. With that being said, David Russo, as we talk about our great leader of our organization is going to be retiring. And so with that being said, in discussions, I thought, what a better idea than to have a sendoff from the City of Tolleson, where many of us maybe have learned to drive in a packing shed with carrots? I know I'm one of those individuals. You know, I even joke that maybe we should have a carrot in there some way, shape, or form just because carrots were one of the vegetables that were processed out of Russo Farms. And so with that being said, we want to honor our great leader. And with that, we did request staff if we could have a proclamation in his honor to present to him at a private event that that our organization will be having for him to send him off for doing such a great work for our organization and leading us into a great future and setting the bench for tomorrow. And so we're looking forward to that and looking forward to this proclamation to give him. I see there's a nice helmet there, Mayor. So thank you for that. And I believe there's also a jersey that was supplied to the Tolleson High School. So thank you for the Tolleson High School. And thank you all for your consideration and looking forward to having that proclamation to deliver to him personally. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: You all didn't know Diego used to be one of our council members, and he went on to serve in the House, and he got elected to the Senate. And it was a CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 4 of 43 short-lived because he was offered a great opportunity with sovereign projects. So thank you for coming home and visiting. Mr. Russo's family has been in Tolleson for a very long time. I can tell you I have two connections to the Russo's. Number one is working in the sheds. And depending on the time of the year, they have different produce that would go through there on the way to the market. It was a great employment base for many, many years. And since then, we've diversified, and we've been able to bring on different employers and increase the wealth of and options of employment here in our community. The other one was as a wrestler. You know, a lot of us wrestled here in Tolleson High School, and it's in track. You can see the same thing about football and track and field, depending on the season. There's no better ally than the smell of rotten potatoes. And when the visiting team shows up in Towson and smells that terrible smell that enters your lung of rotten potatoes because some of them got under the sheds, and you can't get them out. That's like that would be like the sixth man in basketball. You know, that player that comes out and helps you out without really even being there. That odor was the best private secret. A little help for us to get past the victory line. So his family was -- and they'll continue to be -- the Russo families are still here very much so. But Mr. Russo himself was a wolverine. And so we thought a staff, active staff idea And they did a great job along with the high school of getting a couple of momentos for Mr. Russo to use in his private residence or wherever he would like to put it. But first and foremost, a football helmet of the Tolleson Wolverines. This is a different color, I got to admit, I like it. I've never seen the black helmet. It's usually maroon and gold like the Sun Devils, but we won't go there. But I do like this combination. Along with that, we also have -- I don't think 85 was his number, but many moons ago, Mr. Russo did have an opportunity to be a Wolverine himself. So along with the football helmet, we also would like to present him with the Wolverine jersey football jersey. It's got a nice little plaque in the bottom honoring his service to SRP and to the greater southwest community. So I don't know if you want to get this after the meeting. I'll put it down because I don't CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 5 of 43 want to break it; that will be kind of embarrassing. Number 85. Yeah, I don't know. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Maybe he graduated in 1985? No, sir. The mystery continues. So the story continues. There's going to be a mystery. What was the 85 for? So if I find an answer, I promise I'll come back to you. But with all that being said now, therefore, I, Mayor Juan Rodriguez, do hereby deem it in honor and pleasure to extend this proclamation to David Russo. Be proclaimed. ESPINOZA: For the helmet, sir. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. Come on up. You can hold the helmet. We'll hold the jersey. Top comes off. ESPINOZA: Thank you. Good. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: You want the jersey or? He's already got the helmet, so. All right. Thanks again. Diego, and Mr. Russo, for your service. We're going to move on to item number three, proclamation declaring March 2026 as Women's History Month in the City of Tolleson. Recognizing the national theme, Leading the Change Women Shaping a Sustainable Future and honoring the vital contributions of women throughout history and within our community. Proclamation? Yeah, I got two of them, so let me see which one it is. David Russo, here you go. Thank you. Okay. I'm just going to reread that. So proclamation declaring March 2026 as Women's History Month in the City of Tolleson, recognizing the national theme, Leading the Change Women Shaping a Sustainable Future and honoring the vital contributions of women throughout history and within our community who have demonstrated leadership, innovation and dedication in advancing equity, strengthening families, supporting economic growth, promoting environmental stewardship, and shaping a more sustainable and inclusive future for all. JACKSON: Good evening, Mr. Mayor, and members of council. This proclamation honors the progress we have made, and the contributions of women who continue to shape the this nation and our city. I would like to take a moment to recognize the progress we made within our city workforce. In 2008, women represented about 25 percent of our workforce. Today, that number has grown to over 42 percent. That CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 6 of 43 reflects not just growth within numbers, but expanded opportunity, leadership, and impact across our organization. I want to thank you for this proclamation. We are all grateful for it, and we look forward to continuing this progress together. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Thank you. Ms. Jackson. So now, therefore, I, Mayor Rodriguez, do hereby proclaim March 2026 as Women's History Month in the City of Tolleson. Be it proclaimed. And if you haven't noticed, there's a purple theme going on here because that's one of the official colors of this day. This proclamation. So I get the chance to wear purple, which is not typically something that I do, but today I will proudly do. And is there any comments or questions from council at this time? GAMEZ: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Go ahead. GAMEZ: I'm just curious to know, because I asked the question and I thought it would be investigated research but it was not. Okay. How many women have served on the Tolleson City council? Because we at one time, a majority on the City council. When I was mayor, we had majority four -- they would they would still have four. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER 2: We still have four. GAMEZ: We still have four. Yeah. So I think historically we've always had women representing policy, and I think that we should get the exact number and then be proud of that because that's something we can brag about. Simple as that. Thank you. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: And they've done an amazing job over the years. Yeah, I have-- UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER 2: We had a female mayor. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: And then, anybody else? Vice mayor? DAVIS: No, I got something to say because I have it written down, so. Thank you, Wendy, for bringing forward this proclamation recognizing Women's History Month and this year's theme, Leading the Change Women Shaping a Sustainable Future. This theme is not just about reflection; it's a call to action. It asks whether we as leaders are actually building the kind of inclusive future we claim to support. Because when we talk about women shaping the future, we must be clear it means all women, women of color, immigrant women, working mothers, LGBTQ, plus women, many of whom CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 7 of 43 continue to face real and persistent barriers to opportunity, safety and economic mobility. And I'll say this plainly inclusion is not symbolic. It is demonstrated through the through the decisions we make, the leaders we elevate and the standards we are willing to uphold. We're living in a time where rights and protection for marginalized communities, including LGBTQ plus individuals, are being challenged across this country. In that environment, local leadership is not optional. It is essential. And in Tolleson, we have chosen to lead. We have elevated. You left this out. We've elevated two women of color into deputy City manager roles. Will you both please stand and be recognized? Wendy Jackson and -- So thank you guys. Not as a gesture, but as a reflection of our values and our expectations because leadership should look like the community it serves and because diverse leadership makes stronger, makes us stronger, smarter and more resilient cities. We have backed that through our policies, our partnerships, and our economic development efforts, ensuring that people in our community don't just hear that they belong. But see it in action. But leadership does not stop at city limits. The future of the West Valley will be defined by whether all of our communities are willing to meet this moment with the same level of courage and commitment because a truly sustainable future is one where every woman, regardless of her identity, her background, or who she loves, has the opportunity not just to exist, but to thrive. That is the standard, and it is one we should all be striving to meet. Thank you. Mayor. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Vice mayor. Well said. I will add because I just noticed it. Obviously, we have council members on this council that are female, but we also have volunteers that serve the City in our planning and zoning commission. And I believe three of the members happen to be women and also present here. So they are four they four of you guys. Yeah. So thank you for volunteering and everything you do. That's actually where I got my start on the planning and zoning commission, and it was a very good education, kind of fast. I mean, a lot of stuff with zoning stuff, but nonetheless, it takes somebody with a heart that of service. And so the fact that you all volunteer on that, we're very appreciative CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 8 of 43 for you guys. So thank you very much. And I do have a proclamation. It's been signed. So do we want to do a purple shirt picture or -- ERIVES: All women picture for the ladies. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All the staffers planning and zoning commissioners. Come on up. Yeah. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. Vice mayor. DAVIS: I just wanted to just bring something up that we had talked about in the past. There's, like, a 30 percent by 2030. Are we still trying to reach that? MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Women Goal. R. MENDOZA: So vice mayor Davis, mayor, and council. We're getting close. I think I sent a number over to city management. I think we're at 11 women that are police officers, which is more than ever. I want to say we're like 28.7% or something weird like that. So. Yeah. So we're right on the edge of it and we're very proud of that, but I submitted that number and it'll be presented to you at some point. But yeah, more than -- more women working in the PD than we've ever had sworn capacity. DAVIS: How are we looking in the fire department? YOUNG: Well, the 30 by 30 initiative is a police department initiative, but it's something that we're always striving for. The national average is less than five percent. Until recently, we were sitting at 10. But it's something that I definitely believe in. My mom was the first female police officer for the City of El Mirage. And so I absolutely support women in public service. And we've had conversations as well as changes, some recruitment efforts to attract more female recruits for our fire department. DAVIS: Thank you. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Question. That's really good information. And you're going to not only meet the goal but way ahead of schedule. So that's great, chief. We believe in you. Okay. Business from the floor. Item G. We don't have any business from the floor, so we'll just skip over that one. We will go on to item 8, which is consent agenda action items. I see items one through five. Council. I'll see you. We have a motion from council member Gomez. We have a second from Vice Mayor Davis. All those in favor, CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 9 of 43 please signify by saying aye. ALL: Aye. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All those opposed? Not hearing any. City clerk, this motion passes unanimously. We're going to move on to number five, which is approve the professional. No, that was number five. We're going to move into item I, which is convened into executive session. A little bit of bad news. Did you have your hand up? DAVIS: I'm in a motion. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. So I'm going to -- I will entertain. Now is the time for council to convene into executive session. Council staff members involved in the executive session will be temporarily relocating to a meeting room so that attendees can remain in the council chambers. So again, typically, what happens is we say this to the end. The audience is welcome to leave because we basically have to close the doors, but in this case we're obviously going to have to come back because we have a longer agenda. So council will be leaving the meeting along with the appropriate staff. So do we have a motion to go into executive session? Have a motion from vice mayor. ERIVES: Second. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: We have a second from Councilwoman arrives. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. ALL: Aye. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. We are now in executive session, and I will ask everybody to go into executive session room, please, if you can ask appropriate. (Pause) MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. Folks, so we're going to reconvene into a public meeting. So we are now back in a public meeting. Obviously the doors were open, so we're going to have them remain open. But before we move on to the next item, I want to go back and revisit item number 2, the scheduled public appearances. It's a -- I'm sorry, not number two on this. ERIVES: F1. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: F1, got it. F1. All right, so we're going to go back to scheduled CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 10 of 43 public appearances and proclamations for discussion. Item number one, we have Tolleson Union High School Student of the year recognition for tossing teen council member Emiliano de Anda Huerta. Did I get that right? All right. I practiced all night. So I'm going to call to the podium. Principal Martin Perez, who is a proud (foreign language spoken). He was currently at the Tolleson School board meeting. So you're done with that. So you're back. So Principal Perez, you're welcome to come up and see your presentation. Ruben's here also. Ruben. How are you, sir? PEREZ: Good evening, City of Tolleson Mayor Rodriguez, vice mayor Davis, Council members, leadership team, and Tolleson community. The mayor alluded to. Thank you, proud from (foreign language spoken) . Right. Our parents my name is Martin Perez, and I'm very honored and proud to be the principal at Tolleson Union High School, as you all know, known as T-town. Before recognizing Emiliano de la Huerta, a proud senior student at Tolleson Union High School, and a member of the Teen council, I want to first thank the Mayor Rodriguez, Vice Mayor Davis, council members, and leadership team for your continued support and commitment to our student leadership and to developing their advocacy. As the principal of Tolleson and a former leader myself, when I was back then in high school, I can't thank you enough for your support. So with that (foreign language spoken) I also want to extend a thank you to our to Mr. Ruben Aguilar, who I've met over, you know, over some this year as he's visited our campus and recognizing several of the Tolleson teen council students like Emiliano who are in sports different you know, membership on campus. And Mr. Aguilar is always there to support the students. I know several of the Tolleson Teen council leadership from the mayor Alejandro Salazar to Vice mayor Cruz Daly and several of the other officers. They attend our high school as well as University High School. And I can again, thank you enough because they're not future leaders, they are the current leaders of our community. So with that (foreign language spoken) again for your leadership. Tonight, I'm truly honored for this opportunity to recognize a student who represents CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 11 of 43 the very best of our community here in Tolleson. And that's Mr. Emiliano de Anda Huerta. Emiliano reflects what we hope for in evert student at T-town someone that's committed to scholarship, leadership, character, and intentional purpose to serve his community. He has challenged himself with one of the most rigorous academic programs at Tolleson Union High School. Not just this year, but I would like to say, you know, that over many years he's earned top grades and AP, US history, AP language, AP Pre-Calculus, AP psychology, and AP Spanish. Honestly, I don't know when he finds time to do all homework, but he manages his at all with a very positive. For me as a principal this year at Tolleson, I've witnessed Emiliano develop into a natural leadership. He stands out not just in academic excellence, but also with his curiosity and ability to connect learning across his classes with his leadership on campus in meaningful ways. His social studies teacher, Mr. Juan Pedroza he shared a few words of and with Emiliano -- on behalf of Emiliano. And what stands out is that he shared that he's a proven leader in our school community with this strong dedication to his classmates and to future Emiliano at T-town. Again, beyond the classroom, Emiliano has served as the as a secretary for both Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica and the National Honor Society. He's helped launch our first principle leadership council. He's proud president of that group. And they helped me as a principal to be intentional and not come with an agenda without the student voice. So Emiliano has been a big part of that. So whether on the tennis court , supporting his family business, or advocating for his peers, Emiliano leads with integrity, humility and heart. We're incredibly proud of the leader he has become. And I do want to share that Emiliano has many options. Please keep them in your positive thoughts because come Thursday, he's waiting to hear whether or not he's going to be accepted to Harvard. So that's huge for Emiliano. You know, those are very high aspirational goals. And Reuben and I were back there like, wow, to have Harvard as an option, that's huge. We know that he's going to hear great news on Thursday and he's going to represent Tolleson well. Again, at T-Town, we're extremely proud of you, Emiliano. We believe in you. We CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 12 of 43 cannot wait to the leader that you're going to continue to be. And I feel strongly that maybe one day you'll be up there like our council members, mayors and our, our leadership here in the City of Tolleson. So with that, I do want to thank you again for giving me this opportunity. I also would be remiss to not recognize one of our amazing teachers, and that's council member Ms. Clorinda Erives who's a proud T-Town an amazing teacher. I actually have visited her classroom, and she is amazing now because she's here, but she's awesome. So with that, gracias. An award that we presented. Emiliano. And this is a student of the year for Tolleson Union High School. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Emiliano. You're not off the hook that easily. Well, first and foremost, congratulations. You have made us very proud as a community. I should say that when I was your age, I didn't have the dedication, and I didn't have the discipline that you have and that you've already exhibited. And you know, we all have our own paths, right? Mine never got to Harvard. I hope yours does. And beyond. But yeah, our future mayor, our future council member, our future city manager. I mean, you're limitless, you know, work hard. We're very proud of you. We're a small community, but we're familia. So Emiliano, I've always wanted to have another kid because I wanted to name him Milano. The first one got junior. So his name is Juan. You know, my second one wasn't Jose, it's Julian. We're close. But I just -- my heart is full of hope, and just it's charged with ganas. Like, I know you're going to kick butt no matter what you do, man, I probably shouldn't say that, but it's true. It doesn't matter what God has for you, man. You're going to do it and you're going to do it well. And so I want to be the first to congratulate you. I hope this Wednesday is a great day for you. And if it's a great day for you, it's a great day for all of us. But if it's not, it's going to be a great day anyways because you have the right attitude to just get it done. And so I'm going to give you an opportunity to say something. Trust me, Emiliano, so start thinking about that. But before I do, I'm going to ask other council members, do you have anything you'd like to add? GAMEZ: I'm just very proud of him. Excellent. Continue that road. And you know CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 13 of 43 what, we have people here that can advise you can help you. All you do is ask. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. Teacher. ERIVES: So proud. So proud. And you had mentioned the word discipline, mayor, that that's an excellent word. When we sometimes think of discipline as, like how children behave or don't touch this or don't touch that, but discipline when it comes to academics is my friends are all going to go out and do this, but I have the responsibility of doing this assignment, and all my friends are going to do this, or family's going to do this, but I need to finish this assignment, this project, this activity. I need to get it done. And it's not always the fun things to do. Right. It's not, you know, oh, I missed, but that's the discipline, right? That's that word discipline that comes through it that you're disciplined with your studies, that you're disciplined and you're studying your -- you're turning in your assignments when they're required and doing meeting all those deadlines. And you might be exhausted doing it. All right. You're -- but you have the discipline to get it done. That is so challenging. So many people have difficulties with that. If I was going to run a marathon, that means I'd have to run every day and practice all the time. Like, that would be so hard. I don't have the discipline to do that. I know that, right? It's difficult. To say I'm going to apply for Harvard, that's because you have the discipline to do that, and your family that's here with you or that supports you, they understand to leave you alone so that you can get that done, right? But it -- it's so hard and that you've done that, getting ready to graduate and to go, oh my gosh. I don't want you to think that we're not here. We are here. And you need to ask. We're here, whether you ask or not. If your family needs something, we are here. You might -- when you get to Harvard, you might feel lonely and sad. Know that we're thinking about you, that we're there for you. You can pick up the phone. You can put your hand in your pocket, get a little pin of Tolleson, and then you'll know that we're here for you because that's going to take even more discipline, right, once you get there? But since you've done so much of the hard work, it'll be easier once you get there. It'll CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 14 of 43 be easier once you get there. Oh, I'm so excited. You can ask, and we can go visit Harvard and see you there and bring you some swag for Tolleson so that you can show everyone there what it looks like, or wherever you end up as far as going to school. We are here to help you and support you. We're proud of you. (Foreign language spoken) CHAVIRA: So happy to see you here. And your family must be amazingly proud of you. And -- and something my grandmother always told us comes to mind is that we had a responsibility and have a responsibility to our family to raise ourselves up, to work hard, to speak the truth, to live honestly. And in doing that, we take our family to the next level, to the next place, to a better place, and that each generation is more successful. And you have done that. Your family must be amazingly proud, as we are. Thank you. DAVIS: I just want to say we are so proud of you as a community. We love to see, you know, our -- our -- our kids grow and -- and do amazing things, and you're already doing amazing things. Do you participate in the arts at all? DE ANDA HUERTA: Not necessarily; I'm more community service oriented. I'm not -- DAVIS: Okay. That's okay. DE ANDA HUERTA: I wasn't blessed with the talents in the arts, unfortunately. DAVIS: I'm going to forgive you for that. Everyone has a gift in the arts. I -- I had a whole side quest for that, but that's okay. You know, just keep doing what you're doing. And I think discipline is the right word, right? You are a very disciplined student, and that's going to take you really far in life, into your even -- past school, into your career. I think you're going to be an amazing leader. Just don't forget where you came from and come back, you know, and -- and serve our community. All right? MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: So Emiliano, what's the dream? DE ANDA HUERTA: I feel like there's a lot of dreams that I have, but most important of all is the ones that are able to be accomplished here in this community. Like, teen council provided me, like, multiple dreams and opportunities to achieve those. It gave me pathways to find community service. It gave me pathways to find community. And CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 15 of 43 the most important dream of all was one that I've had since I was young, which is to repay the community. Obviously, my debt will never fully be repaid, but teen council provided me an outlet to start working back towards that, working alongside the community, working along great members of the community. Great people trying to find, like, getting to work at these community events and seeing where can I help to make my community be a better place, even if it's just dedicating, like, two or three hours of my time at like, some of the events, it's something. It's showing that the work that you guys put in with all these community events aren't just taken for granted, and that they are -- it's something that, like, the community enjoys. Like, when I was growing a little before, like, I was born, like, my parents made use of some of those systems that you guys have in place. And I'm just thinking, like, yeah, how can I, like, obviously, like, the whole point of the systems is that they're free and they're open to everyone and that you don't owe the community back. But now that we're in better positions in our lives, like, how can I work towards paying back that dream? Yeah. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Come up here. I want to shake your hand before you're too popular to be able to get around. ERIVES: Are your family members here with you? DE ANDA HUERTA: No, they aren't here right now. They're at work. ERIVES: Wish them well for us. MENDOZA: Congratulations, student of the year. What an honor. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: You can stand right here. Come on, Principal Ruben (ph.), come on up. Let's take a picture with our good friend, Emiliano. Get up here, Ruben, it's not a question, buddy. Come on. Right here, Principal. No bunny ears. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Just to tell you guys how small the world is. The principal's parents and family is from the same small village in Mexico that my family is from. Yeah. And so I'm talking to him, and we just happen to bring up Zacatecas. He's like, oh, CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 16 of 43 my family's from Zacatecas. And you know, basically our town is an extension of a ranch. And I said, oh, we're from this ranch. Wow. My family's from that ranch too. And so next thing you know, you have a -- I don't know how many thousands of miles it is away, but here we are together in Tolleson forming new relationships and creating new partnerships. So muchas gracias. Thank you for bringing that to us. And Emiliano, Godspeed, brother. You're going to do great work. Gracias. Okay. So we're going to move on to work study and presentations for discussion. Item number one, discussion regarding a proposed rezoning of the property located east of the southeast corner of 99th Avenue and Wolverine Way from Light Industrial I-1 to planned area development PAD to allow the development of a 323-unit multifamily residential community. Development Services Director Jason Earp, if you can come up here and present our presenters. Take your time. Take your time. EARP: You can always go to the Harvard of the West. It's U of A down in Tucson. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: He wants to go to school in America. DAVIS: He doesn't want his dreams to die, Jason. EARP: It's a close second. ERIVES: You're so funny. EARP: Anyway Mayor, members of council, thank you. Just a reminder. This -- this is just a work study. But the applicant would like feedback to have a good feel on where they stand for tonight. So with that, I'll introduce Wendy Riddell. Thank you. RIDDELL: Thank you, Mayor, council members. Wendy Riddell with the law firm Berry Riddell, 6750 East Camelback. It's my pleasure to be here this evening on behalf of Dominium. I'm hoping staff can help me out and pull up our presentation. I had it up earlier so I know it's -- there we go. So the project we're presenting to you this evening is called The Waverly, 99th and Wolverine Way. Bless you. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Bless you. RIDDELL: Oh, there we go. Oh, let me go back one. So my client tonight is Dominium. CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 17 of 43 Dominium has been developing affordable housing for over 50 years. They've got a total of 223 properties, you know, targeting between that 40 percent to 60 percent median income, 15 homes completed daily. They've got a $2 million annual charitable contribution that we'll talk about in a minute, covering 20 states, lots of employees. They build projects, and they hold them long term. They self-manage each of these properties, and they're very excited and want to be a part of Tolleson. Their current footprint, as I mentioned -- they are across the entire country. They have built a number of different projects here in Arizona alone. They have ten different properties with over 2,800 units. You can see where they are also in Texas, in the East Coast, all the way up in Idaho. They also are here in Tolleson, by the way. So if you look right across that parking lot at that project that is right there called Copper Cove, it's the southeast corner of 91st Avenue and Van Buren. It is actually owned by Dominium and has been owned by them for over 14 years. It is at a 94 percent occupancy. It's doing exceedingly well. And back in 2020, in fact, they rehabbed it with over $8 million. I think it's a beautiful representation of part of why we are very excited to be in Tolleson. Just gives you some of the pictures. One of the things, even though we are talking about a building -- affordable housing, if you look at any of our projects, you would be really challenged to try to distinguish this from any other market-rate multifamily project that you might see in the valley. You can see the amenities, the playgrounds, nice architecture. So we also talked a little bit about their giving. So Dominium also does an opportunity front-door scholarship program that helps bridge the gap to higher education. They give scholarships out. In fact, this past year, they awarded $2 million. They give them out in $5,000 increments. If somebody applies -- somebody who lives in one of their communities applies -- they've got a total scholars of 475 different --representing 75 different properties in 16 states -- part of what they do to give back to their community, to help bridge that gap to higher education and to their residents. Five-year program total puts us at 6.2 million in over 1,200 scholars, pretty impressive. CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 18 of 43 So the site we're talking about tonight is located on property that is owned by the school district; however, we have negotiated a 99-year ground lease, which equates to effective ownership. Dominium maintains full operation, control, and decision-making of the property, and they can buy the school district out in 30 years. And just to be blunt, we very much intend to buy the school district out in 30 years. So the site you see here is 12.68 gross acres. It is currently zoned I-1. I don't have to tell this council, that means light industrial warehousing-type buildings designated as El Districto on the business district on the general plan. Again, just drilling down a little bit more, looking at the I-1 zoning map, you can see immediately to our west is that strip of C-2 between us and 99th Avenue. Part of our thought process here is by bringing this residential, you make that commercial much more viable. There will be residents here that will be able to directly support that commercial development, as well as the existing commercial development that is within Tolleson. So drilling down on our proposal a little bit, there's 323 dwelling units. It's a mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom units, five structures, leasing office, clubhouse, centralized amenities, pool, ramada, play areas. You drill down a little bit, you look at that amenity package, the clubhouse with fitness center, swimming pool, barbecue grills, dedicated open and play structure areas actually dedicated to certain age groups -- play structure areas throughout the community. In terms of access, we have full access along Wolverine Way, in and out. There is exit-only access proposed along Harrison Street. In terms of conceptual elevations -- and the architect is here with me tonight. In fact, I have a whole team. If you want to talk about traffic or architecture, these folks are with me. You can see the elevations here done by Gary Todd and Associates. Give you a flavor of what that will look like. The clubhouse leasing office is actually facing over on Wolverine Way. And then, in terms of unit amenities -- the amenities, they have private balconies. They have full-size washers and dryers in the units. They have gourmet kitchens with full CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 19 of 43 stainless-steel appliances, luxury vinyl wood planking, nine-foot ceilings, walk-in closets, solid-surface countertops, high-speed internet cable-ready, you know, very similar to any type of market-rate or luxury apartment complex that you would see. However, these are in fact, restricted. These are affordable units. A hundred percent of the units will be rent and income restricted for 30 years. Those rent restrictions, when you look at them for the two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom unit, they range from that 1,436 to 1,843. In terms of income limits, the person household, you're looking at a range again from 47,000 to a four-person household, maybe 67,320. And Mark Lambing from Dominium is here if you want to chat a little bit further about how that works. So we -- you know, as I mentioned, we've got a couple of projects here around the valley. And one of the questions we often get asked is who's living in these? What does this look like? Where are they from? And so we've taken real live examples of who's living in these. You've got Don (ph.) and Sarah (ph.) with two sons, a groundskeeper, City of Tolleson. You've got a daycare attendant that works at a learning center. Ultimately, you can see her annual salary, four-person income limit. They qualify for a three-bedroom unit. Same thing, we look at a medical assistant with Banner Health, what she makes per hour, a three-person income limit, and the two-bedroom rent. We've got a warehouse associate over at Amazon. We've got a student teacher. We look at that annual salary, the three-person income limit, and a two-bedroom rental unit. Connor (ph.) and Amber (ph.), this is over in Glendale. You've got an airman, Luke Air Force Base. You've got a cosmetology student. You can see the military housing stipend gets factored in their annual salary. You've got a three-person income limit, and they qualify for a two-bedroom unit. And then, this is just to give you an idea of some reviews. These are all on our website. These are all Arizona projects. These are very happy residents that have written these reviews for projects from Copper Cove, starting in Tolleson, the projects that we have in Mesa and in Phoenix. CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 20 of 43 I would encourage you if you are interested, we are happy to give anyone that would like a tour of any of these projects. We're quite proud of them. We also were very interested and followed your Tolleson housing study, done in cooperation with MAG (ph.) that was presented back in March of 2026, and it confirmed very much what we knew, which is that housing costs are rising faster than incomes, and that there are not sufficient affordable options for a variety of income ranges. So Tolleson is currently in need of 417 units. You know, ideally, that's comprised of 249 rentals and 168 ownership to bridge that gap. Eighty-three percent of those units must be affordable. The housing need by 2030, additionally, is projected to be 468 units. So if you measure that against what we are proposing here this evening, you will see that we're providing a hundred percent of the rental units needed currently at 60 percent AMI, and that the housing need by 2030 of the 468 units, we're providing 69 percent of those units. I think very timely that that housing study was given to you folks. And I think very good that we can come in and demonstrate how we can help you execute on that. So the benefits that we see to Tolleson is providing a hundred percent of the rental units needed right now, and nearly 70 percent of the units needed by 2030. I want to be clear that we're not seeking any funding from Tolleson in any way. We would also generate in construction tax of 2.5 million in TPT taxes to the City, we think a very good economic benefit to the City. And then, as I mentioned earlier, these added housing units will support the existing retail in the area, as well as hopefully cause that retail and 99th Avenue to be developed -- have that commercial development there as well. So we are in a little bit of an awkward position tonight, which it sounds like hopefully, your council has explained to you. On the one hand, we actually won the lottery, which is great news for us. We are -- this project is financed through the state, which is -- it's hard to do. It is a lottery. We're very excited. We were really excited when we thought we were coming here tonight for a vote because on March 31st, we unfortunately, have to put up about $430,000 to the state, nonrefundable. And so it would be highly unusual for a developer to be willing to do that without zoning in place. CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 21 of 43 We, nonetheless, feel like we are so close with you folks. We would like the opportunity to hear feedback from you. We really want to know that we're welcome here in Tolleson and would like the opportunity to invest in your community. There was a noticing error; it was quite unfortunate. It happens. It's put us in this very awkward predicament. So I'm hoping that you can share with us your -- your opinions. If you think you are -- ultimately, I'm in this very unusual position of saying, if you're a no on my case, I actually want you to tell me because it would be very difficult if we believe that you're all there, we go forward and unfortunately, you're not. So I am asking to be as -- please, as transparent as you can. We have a whole team here. We're happy to answer questions. Of course we want the answer to be yes. We want you to be very supportive. But we would certainly appreciate being very direct with us. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Well, Wendy, thank you for your presentation. Is there anybody else from your team that wishes to speak? RIDDELL: Only if you have questions. Thank you. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Just a reminder, this is a work setting presentation. There will be no vote tonight. So this is the time to share your opinions, likes, dislikes. And I think Wendy would appreciate that. RIDDELL: Yes, please. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: There's about a -- RIDDELL: Yes. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: -- (indiscernible) to that tune, but I'll -- I'll open it up to anybody who would like to speak on this matter. I will start. I will tell you that in general, economic development is critical for us. I think the housing -- you guys do a good job of addressing the housing side. These apartments will do a good job of supporting economic development ventures that have already started and would probably promote things in that route. My rub has been that there's -- there's a lot of moving parts here and -- and some of those moving parts, CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 22 of 43 unfortunately, outside of your control, have created a thought process in my head that raises the kind of questions that I'd rather -- that I'd rather not discuss because, quite frankly, it's unfair to you. So I'll just leave it at that. But -- but for me at least, it's -- that's the challenge. I think it's a great project. I just wish you had another partner. I'll leave it at that. RIDDELL: Understood, Mayor, understood. GAMEZ: I'm looking you straight in the face and say no. Okay? Very simple. And basically, what he said. There are other players that you may not have mentioned but that are impacting what -- how we see this project -- a great project -- way for everybody, but the way the other partner or other individual -- institution has acted and behaved, totally, does not deserve our respect and it has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with our community and what has happened. And it's going to stop happening, but had nothing to do with you. Thank you for coming. Appreciate it. But it's a no for me. Okay. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Jimmy? DAVIS: I have to agree with what the mayor said. You know, I think this is an amazing project. I think it would really activate 99th Avenue. But at the end of the day, we have to answer to who we represent, and our community is definitely not in support of -- of this type of project connected to the partner that you're having to work with. I -- I -- I love this -- this -- I love this product. And I think it would be amazing for our community, but it's going to have to be a no from me as well. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Christine? CHAVIRA: I do love the project, but I would be a no. I have been very outspoken in the community about where I stand with the partner in this, and I owe that to the community that elected me and put me in this chair. And I will not sway from that vote. It would be a no. MENDOZA: (Indiscernible) in the presentation, but right now, my personal opinion is I want to hold off on -- on -- on this project because of all the other parties involved. So I -- I -- I have a lot of questions. I have -- I know it's something we need here in -- in our CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 23 of 43 city, but at this time, it's not feasible for -- in my opinion, for all the reasons that they have said. Again, the project and the statistics that you mentioned that we are in need of this, unfortunately, it's no -- sorry -- for me, and I'd rather tell you now like this. RIDDELL: I asked. MENDOZA: Okay. Right, right. RIDDELL: So I appreciate that. MENDOZA: So I'm -- that's what I'm saying. I'd rather tell you like this so that, you know where we're coming -- where I'm coming from. Thank you. LABORIN: I've made a very good suggestion on everything, and I go with the flow on that. RIDDELL: May I ask one follow up question, Mayor? MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely. RIDDELL: Is there anything that we -- Dominium, can be doing that would change this outcome? MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: I think my answer to that is -- is first and foremost, I think our community has always been founded on starting point being respect, and we don't feel respected right now. And it has nothing to do with Dominium. This -- this is the part that I want to be very clear about. Dominium, you guys are putting forward a really good project. You have, I think, acted in good faith. Unfortunately, you're caught up with somebody I wish you weren't -- or an institution that I wish you weren't. And -- and I don't think it's fair that we tell you to go ahead and spend 430,000 of your dollars, and there may be a very slim chance of this getting approved. I don't think it's fair to Dominium. I don't think it's fair to you, Wendy, as an individual, everybody else here, and -- and I think the most respectful thing that we can do is answer your question as honestly as we can. I think we have done that this evening. RIDDELL: I appreciate you guys being as direct as you are. So thank you for that. GAMEZ: We would love to work with you may be somewhere down the line if we get CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 24 of 43 some land in Tolleson that -- RIDDELL: We would love -- I mean, Dominium would love to be in Tolleson again. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER 4: They already are. RIDDELL: Again, that's what I said. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Jason, did you hear that? EARP: Yes, and I've already had conversations with Wendy. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Awesome. RIDDELL: Thank you very much. For your time. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. We're going to move on to regular agenda action items. Item number one is to approve or deny the job order master agreement between the City of Tolleson and Filanc -- did I say that right -- Filanc for water and wastewater treatment and remote facility, projects, and authorize the City manager to execute and deliver said agreement. The City shall pay the construction -- the contractor an annual aggregate amount not to exceed 5 million for services. This agreement shall remain in full force and effect until February 25th, 2027, with up to four additions, one-year renewal options. Utilities Director McCracken, you have the floor, sir. MCCRACKEN: Good evening. Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of council. So this item and this request is to approve a JOC contract with Filanc or Filanc -- I'm still learning the pronunciation as well -- construction to help out with some smaller projects at our wastewater facility. We currently have two other JOC contracts underway and they've been doing a great job for us. But where this adds value to us, it helps us to chip away a little bit faster at our capital improvement project -- project list and continue to -- to keep the -- the plant moving along and adding some additional redundancy. The first project that we'd like to complete with this would be final clarifier number two, and give us some additional redundancy on the back end of the plant. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Questions from council? I'll just state the wastewater treatment plant is a very expensive venture. It is a shared CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 25 of 43 cost. And it is a shared benefit also. So I think if this is something that we need to do to keep that plant rocking and rolling, then we should rock and roll. GAMEZ: Move for approval. MENDOZA: Second. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. We have a motion from Councilmember Gamez. We have a second from Councilwoman Mendoza. All those in favor, please signify by saying -- Did you second or have a question? Second? Okay. So we have a first. We have a second. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. COUNCIL: Aye. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All those opposed? Not hearing any. Mr. McCracken, congratulations. MCCRACKEN: Thank you, all. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Item number two, discuss and consider the reappointment of Sheryl Heier -- Heier? HEIER: Heier. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Heier, okay -- as board member of the Tolleson Public Safety Personnel Retirement Boards to serve from April 1st, 2026 until April 1st of 2045. No, I'm just kidding -- 2028, employee resources department. Deputy City Manager Jackson, you have the floor. JACKSON: Members of council, we have two citizen seats on the Public Safety Retirement Board and Sheryl has been participating with us. This will be, I believe, her third term if -- second term -- second term. So we -- we love having her on -- on the board. And -- and we hope that you go ahead and appoint her again. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Well, before taking action on this, Sheryl, I do want to say on behalf of this council and on behalf of our city, actually, for all three of you, we're very, very appreciative for your service to our boards, whether it's a public safety board or whether it's a planning and zoning commission board. As volunteers, you guys help shape the policy of our city. And -- and I don't think we thank you guys enough. So I want to make sure that if you hear anything from me CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 26 of 43 tonight it's a huge, big, fat thank you for all the work that you do. Now, I'll turn it over to council -- Jimmy -- Vice Mayor, I'm sorry. DAVIS: You -- you are as dedicated as they come. You're here every single week, so we appreciate you. We appreciate all the work that you do. To all of those on all of our boards and commissions, including (indiscernible), you left that one out. Miriam (ph.) is on (indiscernible) as well. Yeah. Thank. Thank you guys so much for your service to our community. You know, it doesn't go unnoticed. GAMEZ: I move for approval, Mr. Mayor. ERIVES: Second. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: We have a first by Councilmember Gamez. We have a second by Councilmember Erives to reappoint Sheryl Heier. I have to get that right. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. COUNCIL: Aye. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All those opposed? Ms. Heier, congratulations. And thank you for your service once again. All right. We got a long agenda tonight. Moving on to M., work study and presentations for discussion. We're going to do fiscal year 2026 second quarter update. Chief Financial Officer Artz and the fiscal year 2027 fiscal budget work study. Again, Chief Artz, CFO Artz. ARTZ: Good evening, Mayor and council. GAMEZ: Good evening. ARTZ: Staff is here to give you an update on the current year budget through the second quarter. We wanted to give an update on the revenues and the expenditures if PowerPoint will come up here. ARTZ: I wanted to start off with the -- the general fund revenues. So our largest revenue source in the general fund is our taxes, which is our sales tax and our property tax. Through December 31st, 2025, we've collected a little over 52 percent of the taxes. So right where we should be, right in line with our collections halfway through the year. Intergovernmental revenue, those are the revenues that the State shares with towns CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 27 of 43 and cities, so that is income tax. The State shared sales tax, the -- the motor vehicle tax. So all of those types of intergovernmental revenues are actually coming in at 66 percent, so we're -- we're significantly over budget there, over budget on the revenue side, which is a good thing. The one revenue source that is coming in a little bit below what we had projected is licenses and permits. So we're not seeing as much activity there. When we get to the presentation on the '27 revenues, you'll see that we're actually dropping that projection back for next year. So we're -- we're making that adjustment going forward. Charges for services, that's primarily the service that we provide in the dispatch, and we charge out to our other partners. There is an increase -- sorry. I'm getting ahead to my next presentation. So this is the -- the charges for services, for dispatch, so we're at 66 percent there. Interest income, we're at 87-and-a-half percent. So we've been able to take advantage of the increases in fund balance that we have, and also going out a little bit longer on the maturity, so we're getting more interest income. So we're at 87 percent on our interest income. And then our miscellaneous, which is our transfers out, are right at budget. So overall in the general fund, a little over 53 percent collected on our revenues, so very comfortable, right where we should be as far as our revenues in the general fund. Looking at all funds public safety tax, that's the dedicated sales tax that we have that goes to the public safety fund. We're at 45.6 percent collected there. HURF, we're at 43 percent. Water, 53 percent. Sanitation, 46. Wastewater, we're at 18 percent but that, again, is the one where we build in for our capital projects. And so if we don't spend the money on the capital side, we don't get the revenue. So the actual collections are -- are paying for the operating costs. And again, we're right where we should be on the wastewater side. So all of the other funds we're -- we're right within range, and very comfortable with where the revenues are projecting. We also like to look at sales tax, and look at it on a month by month basis. So if you look out on the graph on the bottom, the far right, kind of the maroon colored, what we look for is, are we collecting more this year for this CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 28 of 43 month than we did in previous? And so as you can see, five of the six months we're actually collecting more, so we're very comfortable with the trend that our sales taxes are coming in above what we've collected previously. And looking at the numbers in total for fiscal year 2025, we were at $21 million of collections. For '26, we're at 24 million. So we've collected $3 million more in the first six months of this year than we did for the prior year. So things are continuing to look very positive on our sales tax side. This is a listing of all of our departments, and the expenditure side. Most of them are below the 50 percent. I'll just touch on a couple that aren't. Mayor & Council's at almost 56 percent, but that's because we pay for the full year's contract for the city attorney. So we pay that in July, and then we pay it in December. So the full year of expenditures for that have already hit the council budget, and that's why it's over the 50 percent. The next one that's over 50 percent is finance, and it's a similar reason we pay our insurance premiums twice a year. So we pay those in July and December, that's about a $400,000 cost for the year. So as we get to the next quarter, and the final quarter, that number will come back down, and -- and we'll be below budget by the end of the year. The rest of these departments are all -- are all looking good; all under 50 percent here. Transportation we are projecting over budget right now, and that is because of -- we're seeing an increase in usage of our micro transit and the cost for that. And so we are likely going to go over budget this year. We'll have to come back to council and -- and ask for a budget amendment, or a transfer. When we get the -- the budget for next year, you're going to see a large increase on the transit fund because we are seeing such increase in the usage. Economic developments at 73 percent, that's because we've spent some of the capital. There was actually a land purchase that came out of their department. And so if we back that land purchase out and just look at their operating costs, they're right where they should be. But we had -- we did have a large land purchase that's included in that $763,000, and that's why they're showing over budget at this point. Information technology, that's a capital. So we've just spent the majority of the capital through the CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 29 of 43 first six months, so everything looks good there. So in total, we're at 31 percent of our expenditures in the general fund. So again, revenues coming in above budget, expenditures are below budget, so everything looks positive there. When we look at our other funds, HURF, there -- again, it's a capital project. We did some street resurfacing, and so that's already occurred, and that's why that budget is over the 50 percent. But then, everything else in there is -- is looking good. And in total, we're at about 20 percent; 19 percent of our budget has been expended. So the key takeaways for this part of the presentation is just revenues are coming in and projected to exceed budget, expenditures are coming in below budget. So we're confident that we will be adding to our fund balance, based on the operations from this fiscal year, and there's nothing that we're asking council to do as far as making adjustments to the budget at this time. So we feel like we're in very good shape. With that, staff's available if you have any questions. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Budget cycle here, but revenues are up, expenditures are down. If this was my personal bank account, I'd be celebrating. I guarantee you it has a lot more zeros behind it on here than my personal bank account. So I think you and your team do a tremendous job. And you know, I've this year after year, tell us how you spend your money; we'll tell you what you prioritize. And the -- the residents of Tolleson need to know that their money that's collected here is in good hands. It's being managed professionally. It's being spent the way it's supposed to be, and it's accountable. And so you help us be in front of that curve on all three fronts. So thank you very much, CFO. And I will open it up to other questions or comments from our council. Christine? CHAVIRA: Great job. Thank you, Mr. Artz. You do a great job handling our budget. That's always great news to hear that our revenue is higher than our expenditures. I know we have some lofty ideas for the City, so hey, that's great. Thank you so much. Yeah. Right way. Thank you. DAVIS: (Indiscernible). MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: I would say, just to piggyback on what Jimmy just said, you have an amazing ability to take something that's very complex and explain it in a way that CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 30 of 43 laypeople, like myself, can understand. And -- and so you know, thank you for doing that. And number two is, I know you're not alone. Because every time I come to my office, there's a bunch of folks running around this finance section. So please, as much as we appreciate everything that you do, your leadership is amazing, I just want to make sure that the front line staff that help you out in your operation also understand that we appreciate every last one of them for what they do day in and day out. Thank you, sir. And then, were you were you going to do 2027, or any other questions or comments before we move on? You got it, sir. ARTZ: So this is also, then -- tonight will be the kickoff for our 2027 budget. And tonight we just want to go over the revenues just at a very high level. Then we'll come back at the first meeting in April, which I think will be April 15th, and we'll start presenting the expenditure budgets to council. So tonight I'll just focus more on -- on the revenues, and give you a very high level picture of what we think revenues are looking like for the next fiscal year, so that then you have a good baseline for the expenditure side of the budget. So just to start, this is just a real high level summary with our estimated beginning fund balance, our revenues, transfers in, and transfers out, and then our expenditures. The expenditure column is going to change because we're -- we're still working on the expenditure side of it. So when we bring this back to you at the next meeting, we'll fine tune those expenditure numbers. But I just wanted to give you the estimated beginning fund balance and the revenues that we're preparing to -- to give to you tonight. So general fund revenues, as I mentioned earlier, taxes are doing very well. So for the current fiscal year we had budgeted for $43.1 million. We're upping that to almost $46 million for next year, so a $3 million increase. Then we look at every revenue that we have, and we break it down into a one-time revenue, and an ongoing revenue. So we're wanting to make sure that what we feel our ongoing revenues are sufficient to support our ongoing costs, such as salaries, and -- and those types of things. So you can see there how we've broken it down between each of the different line items. Intergovernmental revenue, we are projecting to have about a $600,000 increase for CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 31 of 43 the year. Licenses and permits, we are decreasing this one just based on what we're seeing in the current year, and reducing that down by about $300,000. The charges for services, you can see a pretty substantial increase here. And the reason for that is, we are talking with a potential new partner for dispatch services, and so that is something that would come forward to council if -- if -- if that moves along, but we wanted to at least have it in the budget in case that does move forward. But there's about a $1 million contract for a new partner for dispatch. And so that's why you're seeing a large increase there in the charges for services. We're also projecting about $1 million increase in miscellaneous, which is basically the interest income. So projecting that budget to go up to almost $2.8 million for the amount of interest that we'll be able to generate for the year. So total revenue budget going from $49.6 million, up to $55.2 million, so a total increase of about 12 percent increase in our budgeted revenues for this year. Yeah, Vice Mayor. DAVIS: So the decrease in the licensing and permits, just because of slowed construction, maybe? Because we're not -- we don't have anything -- like, a lot left to develop; is that -- is that why? Okay. Okay. ARTZ: That's exactly what's happening, is we just we don't have a lot of development as far as residential to go, and just the license and permits have -- have slowed down a little bit, so. And you know, would anticipate that it's going to be at a fairly low level going forward. We probably won't see the increases in that line item. For our other funds, got them all listed here. The one thing I just point out is the aquatic center. So we issued bonds in the current year for $21 million, we're not issuing any bonds, so that's why there's a decrease in the -- the revenue budget for the aquatic center. And that basically is the reason that total revenues is going down from 180 million to the 160 million, just because we're not issuing bonds again, and we have those funds set aside for the construction of the aquatic center, so. Then also, I just wanted to touch on the primary and secondary property tax rate. We are able to, again, have a level tax rate this year, is what we're proposing. So for 2027, a tax rate of CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 32 of 43 2.6760, so no increase in the tax rate. And we're able to, within that tax rate, pay for the additional $21 million of aquatic center bonds. So we're able to -- to layer that in and have growth in our levy -- or in our assessed valuation, and we got some bonds paid off so that we weren't -- didn't have to do an increase in our tax rate. So I think that's a positive for the community that we're able to keep our tax rate level and not have to have an increase. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible) if you go back, you know, we've been flat for a couple of years. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. So in '21 it was at $3.52, and we've been able to drop it to the 2.67, and keep it there for several years, so (indiscernible). So it's definitely not Tolleson, but it is great news. And so along with the revenues going up, and projections going up, our taxes are staying flat, I can't ask for nothing else. I mean, can you reduce our taxes? I'm just kidding. I'm just joking. ARTZ: It will be a challenge to reduce it because of the bonds that we issued for the aquatic center, but there's always next year. But we will continue to -- to try to manage that tax rate, and -- and lower it if we can. MAYOR ROGRIGUEZ: Any questions, comments. All right. Once again, great job. This is awesome. I think we're in a good place. I can't -- I can't -- I can't ask for any other factor that makes us look that we are fiscally responsible and fiscally solvent. Yes, sir. DAVIS: I don't know when the right time to ask, because I want to talk a little bit about the (indiscernible) budget. Should I wait on that for another work study session? MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: We're going to have our -- are you going -- do you want to talk about the budget process coming up? ARTZ: Yes. So Mayor, Vice Mayor, so at the next meeting we'll come back with all of the expenditure budgets, and all of the request for this year. So we'll present all of those to council. And then, at that point, if there's something additional that we want to talk about that -- that staff hasn't included in there, then we can have those discussions. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Okay. CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 33 of 43 ARTZ: So we'll have two meetings in April where we will go over the expenditure budgets, and -- and go into detail on that. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Anything else? Am I right, (indiscernible)? CFO, you have done an amazing job, and you are officially done for the day. CHAVIRA: Yes. Thank you. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Mayor City Manager's report of current events. This is for item N for discussion, number 1, Council update on National League of Cities Congressional City Conference, March 14th to the 18th, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Council, for those that attended, would anyone like to share their experience? Go ahead, Vice Mayor. DAVIS: As always, you know, traveling to -- to the nation's capital is just an incredible experience, regardless of the noise that comes out of there, and the lack of work that the federal government might do. You know, it's just -- it's always a -- it takes your breath away to see the capital, that house that's occupied by an Oompa Loompa, and -- and other landmarks. But you know, I have the privilege of sitting on several NLC boards, so I had to go ahead of the rest of the council. And so when I arrived, the temperatures, I think, were in, like, the 80s. And when I left, it was, like, 20 degrees. And then when I got off the plane, it was, like, 100 degrees. So I experienced, I think, every single climate possible. DAVIS: Every season. Every season. But you know, it's -- it's really, I think, important for us as a city that we have a seat at the table, and that we are present. We not only get to meet with all of our congressional representation and have, you know, their ear for -- or their staff's ear for 20-30 minutes, which is essential. We -- we've had some really great success in going to the National League of Cities, up to the tune of $11 million plus, so I think that's a huge win for our community. It's done on some great projects that don't come out of our general budget. But also, in addition to that, you know, some of the committees and the councils that I get to sit on, we really get to help push the policy book for the National League of Cities. And in turn, they are lobbying organizations, and so they're on the ground all of the time CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 34 of 43 there in D.C. So I think, you know, this is a great -- it's just a great place for us to be as council members, and a great way for us to be able to represent our community. And you know, I thank our community and this council for -- you know, for supporting these efforts, because I think they're so, so, so valuable. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. I would just add really quick, and then I'm going to kick it around, I'm very thankful because we met with Greg Stanton's office, we met with Grijalva's office, we met with Kelly's office, we met with Gallego's office, and we did it all running at times. But just to paint the picture, you know, you got 20 minutes to present whatever packages you're going to present. And luckily for me, this year I had four -- three council members that attended with me. We had four packages, so we all got a package. And we do a round robin. And like, this is a package that we want to present. This is what it's going to cost. This is the positive impact. This is what we want you to help us get this appropriation. And it's very fast paced, nonstop. And each one of them is significant. Some of them are very sexy, some of them not so much. Like, this year we had two, one of which was for the wastewater treatment plant, not very sexy. Honestly, most citizens don't know what takes place over there. But they it matters when you flush your toilet; you want that stuff to go somewhere. And really, after that, it goes, people start thinking about it. So that appropriation, I think, was, like, $2.5 million for a digester. Was it a digester? CHAVIRA: Yeah, Digester number 4. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: It's number 4, that's right. And -- and we all get to pick, okay, what are we going to present? Well, Jimmy, which one do you like? Clorinda, which one do you like? Christina, which one do you like? Okay. Well, whatever's left, I'm going to -- I'll do that one, you know. But point being is, in some offices we left, and it was already interest on some of the packages before we, even left the room. Other ones we're going to have to wait on. Hopefully, somebody picks it up. But the reality is, if every city went in there -- and like, our total ask this year was $7 million for our city, which is a big ask. CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 35 of 43 But let's say we could have that. Let's say we get half that every year. In ten years, that's $35 million. So it adds up. And you know, there are federal funds that didn't come out of all the budget, talks that we just had right now about our local economy, our local taxes, and revenues, that's not included in this. That's in addition to that. So -- so it puts us in a really good place. But to walk into a room and have a team of council members and staff, because (indiscernible) were there also, and speak on behalf of Tolleson, and then pour in to some of these packages, and how it impacts us day in and day out, it's -- to say it's empowering and critical would be an understatement. And I am very, very thankful for those that went, and help us carry that message right to our -- our -- you know, governmental delegation. You know, our senators and our House of Representatives. And they hear, firsthand, from us the needs of our community. And -- and you know, and I can say, you know, that we're very disconnected, but it's not true. They've been in -- they've been in our house. Every one of them has been here in Tolleson over this last year, some of them multiple times. So we have a very strong connection, you know. And year, four times (indiscernible). And -- and we told them -- I says, you know -- yeah, five almost. But -- but the reality is, they need to understand that -- that Tolleson is a community familia. And part of that familia is them. And when they buy into the Tolleson reality, they -- they do become familia, and they will advocate for us, because they know that we care enough to drive, to fly to Washington, to go to their office, and to talk to them about serious issues here in Tolleson. And we're going to follow up with the right paperwork. So I'm very -- I'm very comfortable in stating that the -- the -- not only was it a success, but we will get at least two of the four appropriations that we submitted, possibly more. How many did we get last year? Appropriations -- yeah, do you know how many projects were approved? SINAWI: Mayor, members of council, we got one project last year, $1 million -- over $1 million for a multimodal lighting path around a city owned property behind Tolsun Farms. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. So I'm -- as a mayor, I'm thankful for the teammates that CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 36 of 43 went, and the staff that went and created a -- created an environment of success, familia, and embrace. Because I think at the end of the day, every time that we left an office, they felt as if they understood our story, and they understood our needs here locally. And when you're in D.C., and you got every city coming to you, and every labor union, and every you know, different profession coming to you advocating for their needs, you know, at a certain point it just becomes repetitive. But I feel very comfortable that at a certain point, each one of us had a personal connection to them, that they saw a cousin, or a (indiscernible), or somebody that's family like, that -- that really that really got under the skin and said, you know what? I'm going to help this community out. Not because -- not because of anything else other than they -- I feel like they're family to us, and that's critical. I can't do that myself. So I'm very thankful to the ones that went this year. And I would encourage you -- the rest of the council to continue to do that advocacy, because it's worth it, and we get good money for our community, so. Yes, Clorinda? ERIVES: I'm sorry. Okay. I just wanted to say that -- that we've gone several years. I remember talking to Anima (phonetic), why do we have to keep going to these places? Why do we have to keep doing this? And like you had mentioned, Mayor, it's like layering, building the relationship, building the relationships so that they do know our story. When we were at the Department of Defense, they had the map of Tolleson, and so the -- she was able to see who we were presenting to. I'm not sure her name. She saw Tolleson, and then Reyes stands up, and goes, look, this is this, this is this, this is this. How regional we are, not just where this small town, but how we're connected to, like, Avondale, Goodyear, and Surprise, and all these other -- and Phoenix. And so she's like, oh, so wastewater, all these other places that you're talking about, you are, like, the -- you know, that she could see that. But if we're not in the room to tell our story, then she would not have known. She would just see that the -- the map. And I think that was the big takeaway for this particular trip when we were sitting sharing our story, how if Council Member Chavira had a sentence, I could answer -- and with that, and CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 37 of 43 then she could answer on my project. The project we were talking about is the -- being preparedness, right, for an emergency. So again, not just our town, but how we can be regional. And we're small compared to the rest, but we're mighty. So it was -- it was an excellent trip. Excellent trip. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible) runner? ERIVES: Our runners? I literally had to run to one of the meetings because the person who was in charge of my taxi said, get out and run. So I had to get out and run. But the -- the best part -- MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Did make it in time, though. I'll give her that one. ERIVES: In 30-degree weather. The best part of the trip for me is all of you. And to our staff who keeps us organized, who keeps our schedule moving, because it is a hectic schedule. But the best part, this was my second year, and I truly enjoyed that each of us -- regardless of the subject, that each of us knew the four proposals, that each of us had some knowledge, and working knowledge of those proposals, because none of us are wastewater treatment experts. But collectively we knew the subject matter and that we piggybacked off each other, and that we presented it as a team, and as a group. And I think that came across really well this year to the people that we're talking to. When they see that we're united, and we are -- we have a good flow, and we can pitch our projects, all of us together, as a team, and that -- that was my favorite part. So thank you. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Council, thank you all. Coming back to Vice Mayor. DAVIS: Sorry. I didn't even think about this until right now. I'm glad that you mentioned regionalism, right? One of the things that, you know, I think has made our projects so -- so sexy to our congressional delegation is because of the fact that it has a regional impact, right? Like, our wastewater plant -- or even our potable water, all of it -- palatable water, is all it's all -- it's all going to have a regional impact. We literally feed the region. All of the distribution centers for the grocers are in our community. JBS, all of the meat comes out of our community, right? We're feeding the community. We're a community of essential workers. Everything that happens here impacts our CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 38 of 43 region. If our water supply goes down, our wastewater stuff goes down, and these food suppliers can't get groceries out to people, that's a problem. That's a big problem. So that's -- I think was a good selling point for us. And I definitely never follow a script. So I went off script with every single one of these offices, because I do represent this community on the Valley Metro board of directors. And it was very important to me that I talked about the lack of infrastructure when it comes to public transit in our region. We're the fastest growing region in the country, and we do not have adequate -- or equitable public transportation in our region. And it is a huge problem, and it's going to continue to be a huge problem. So we need help from all levels of government -- the federal government, the state government needs to get it together and give us some funding. And so you know, that's -- that's where we are with that. And luckily, you know, because of our amazing staff, we have an amazing micro transit system that works really well for our community. But the rest of the West Valley doesn't have -- Senator Ortiz she represents like Maryvale. She did this day without a car. I mean, a week without a car. She put it on TikTok, right? I like to follow her TikTok. I do recommend you follow her TikTok. She's -- she's on it. But I realized I could not do that. I could not -- I -- my job is in Surprise. Thankfully, I don't have to go there every day, just on Wednesdays. But there is no way for me to get there with public transportation. That is not a possibility, right? I work sometimes as a DJ and nightlife, and in the Melrose district. I can't take a bus at night, let alone with my equipment. But how would I do that, right? So I'm just thinking about our workforce, and people who work at night and can't get to work or work in a different city and can't get to work in the West Valley. And we're bringing in all of these major companies, like TSMC, right? That's a huge thing for our region. Well, how is the workforce going to get to work? They're going to be on the 303. They're going to be on the I-10, and those roads are already super congested. So we really need to -- so it was important to me that I said that to our congressional representation, because we need to shine a spotlight on that because it's a big, big CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 39 of 43 problem, so. But yeah, but I was really, really proud of our team. Our staff is amazing. And of course, we have to thank our federal lobbyists next consulting, Bob (phonetic) and Anime. They are, you know, spectacular at getting us prepared, setting up these meetings. They are surgical, that is a good word for it. You know, then and then our -- our team Tolleson, you know, you guys always do a great job making sure we're prepared. And you know, to -- to my colleagues on -- on this council, you guys were -- you all came prepared and ready to go, and that says a lot about how much this -- this governing body cares about our community. So thank you guys. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely. Thank you all for your input. Anybody else? Yes, sir? GAMEZ: I would like to report out -- and I think it was kind of sexy. I went through ribbon cutting for the Harvest of Compassion Center, and the Women's Hope center, two nonprofits that opened a couple of weeks ago right next to Domino's. And they're going to provide a lot of services -- food -- it's like a food bank, the Harvest Compassion Center. And the other one's helping women having issues, all kinds of issues. They have kids, you know, single mothers. They give clothing. They give all kinds of stuff, the nonprofits give. Donations, tax deductible. And I'm going to tell you something, I was so -- I was floored. There was, like, 150 people there. I mean, there was -- you really could walk. There was a (indiscernible). I mean, there was a lot of folks. And everybody went away impressed of our little community and what type of services we're rendering, what kind of people we -- we worked with. They were really impressed. I know that Cruzita was there and Linda was there, and it was a good time. So I just want to report out that we're well represented. And it was a good -- good -- good event. Awesome. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Thank you for that. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All right. Not seeing any other hands, we're going to move on to item number 2, Community Events Updates, Parks and Recreation Director Babchuk. BABCHUK: Thank you, Mayor, and members of the council. I just wanted to give you a few updates on a past event which we had this past Friday. Our third Friday event was CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 40 of 43 well attended, probably one of the highest attended we've had so far, other than our trunk or treat event. Had a lot of family fun things to do. Easter Bunny was out there, and we streamlined this event with our Easter event with the VFW, so we had a lot of people come out and enjoy. It was a little hot at first. But once the sun went down, I think everyone was just coming out and enjoying the cooler weather at night. So again, (indiscernible) was out there. They put on a great show. I think the bugs kind of deterred a lot of people leaving early, and -- but again, it was well attended, with the kids and the jump houses and train that we had out there. But other than that, I think the vendors did absolutely amazing out there, and that's been a great hit adding those vendors out there for -- for that event so. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: (Indiscernible) just about everything that you mentioned was designed for kids, and it was free to all the community. And you know, that's -- that's critical because it makes it accessible regardless of who you are. BABCHUK: Absolutely. And we had that cakewalk for the whole community. And then we gave out Easter baskets for the little ones. It was, like, K through sixth grade, is who we gave out Easter baskets to. But they -- they loved it. And we -- every year -- or every event gets better and better, and we learn from each one. And you know, we take into consideration the input that we get from the community, and council, and. So thank you guys. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: I'm going to add you know, it's -- it's a third Friday. It's small footprint. But yet, we have food from -- there was a Hawaii food vendor. Excellent. It was Friday, so I -- I don't eat meat on Friday. So really good shrimp selections. Man, we had the garlic shrimp, it was awesome. And then, we also had pupusas out there, which is Salvadorian tradition. And so you go out there and you find these foods that are very difficult to find. And you know, you have -- you have live music playing, you have the kids running around acting crazy. You know, it is hot; you're sweating a little bit. We had a pizza company out there. And so you have these -- these different options for food. It's just -- I think this event, how it started, and how it's evolved and become better, I think staff are definitely in the CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 41 of 43 right -- the right frame of mind, in the right direction. And quite frankly, I think it's -- I'm glad that it's over now, because I don't think the hear would have been very successful, because it's only going to get hotter. But -- but we will revisit again for our series next -- next fall. But -- but whatever you guys are doing, keep doing it, because -- BABCHUK: Thank you. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: -- people are coming out, and they're responding in a very positive way. BABCHUK: Absolutely. Bringing that April event up, we are -- we do have Whoopee Days coming up April 10th through the 12th. We'll have -- it's starting off, actually, April 9th with our youth day starting at 4 p.m. on the baseball field. So we'll have that going on. And then, Friday night we'll start off with a few bands, one being Grupo Secretto, and Las Calakas. And on Sunday we'll end up -- and the event with Ozomatli, which we've gotten a lot of feedback online when we posted it. So we definitely are expecting a huge crowd for this event. That's on top of, you know, the 5K run that we're doing with the elementary school, and the high school district. And we were able to redo the route on that to keep it just on Van Buren between 91st and 99th. There was a cost of that that we were paying to hard close 91st, and then we were just getting too many complaints from the apartment complexes because they couldn't get in and out for that duration of time. So we were able to configure a new route and keep it all on Van Buren between -- actually, between 91st and 99th Avenue, so we'll have a new route. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: 5K run and walk. BABCHUK: Run and walk. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Want to come out and have a good day, you can walk it. I'll be the first to admit, I walk it. I don't run it. I know some -- somebody mentioned running a marathon. You don't even have to run 5K's. You can walk the 5K with me, so. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: But it is a great partnership. And again, it's -- it's a matter of promoting good, healthy living. And it's in line with what we're trying to do as an organization, so it's really good. CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 42 of 43 BABCHUK: And then, following the 5K, we'll have our parade down Van Buren, as well. So -- and then we'll follow right into the De Los Ninos where -- we're trying something new. We're doing Tolleson's Got Talent. So anyone that is involved with the Tolleson school district, or living in the City of Tolleson, we're taking applications. If you want to perform on a stage and see how it is, it'll be 3rd through 12th graders. It's all online. You can send your audition tape in, and then we'll kind of screen it like that. But definitely give them that chance and opportunity to get up on a big stage and -- and play for their family and the community. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Have a master of ceremonies? BABCHUK: For the Tolleson's Got Talent? We do. Vice Mayor Davis had volunteered. DAVIS: Going to get my audition tape ready for you. I'll send it in. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: All right. Sounds great. A lot of fun stuff that's already been happening. And more that's going to definitely come our way. So hopefully, April, it doesn't rain. It's not too hot. It's just perfect Arizona weather. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Can't be worse than 20 degrees and in D.C., so. I think it got up to 40, then went back down. But anyways -- CHAVIRA: Tornado. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, and the tornado warning, but that was just the president landing. Anyways, I think we're good there. We're going to convene into executive session, which is -- BABCHUK: Have another event on Thursday, Tolleson Talks, here at the senior center with you, Mayor. So I just wanted to put that -- it's not on -- on there, but I did want to bring that up for the community to come out. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: At 6 p.m.? MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: 5. RODRIGUEZ: What departments are going to be presenting? BABCHUK: Library, and Parks and Recreation. MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Which is perfect, because we want to get the word out about summer programs. As kids go to break, we have summer programs for the kids. CITY OF TOLLESON MARCH 24, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Page 43 of 43 PALADINI: Don't skip N3. The -- MAYOR RODRIGUEZ: Oh. I thought he was going to announce it. Okay. The city council meeting, scheduled on Tuesday, April 14th, 2026, will be rescheduled to Wednesday, April 15th, 2026, at 6 p.m. Same time, just a day later. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. All right, with that, we're going to move on to -- I don't think we've ever been all the way to O, but today we're in O, which is Convene into Executive Session. So now is the time to -- for council to convene to executive sessions. So we are asking members of the public, and those that are not involved in this executive session, to please exit the meeting at this time. The only action item after the executive session will be, basically, to adjourn the public meeting, so there's not much you'll be missing. But thank you all for coming. We will take a recess. I'll give you five. We're going to take a five-minute recess for those that need to go to the restroom. But thank you. 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 MARCH 24, 2026. I FURTHER CERTIFY THAT THE MEETING WAS DULY CALLED AND HELD, AND THAT A QUORUM WAS PRESENT. ____________________________________ CRYSTAL ZAMORA, CITY CLERK