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MINUTES
WICKENBURG COMMON COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 5:30 P.M.
155 N. TEGNER - COUNCIL CHAMBERS
WICKENBURG, ARIZONA 85390
A. CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Bratcher called the meeting to order at 5:31 PM
B. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - Led by Councilmember Margaret Nyberg
C. INVOCATION - Led by Barbara Willis, Wickenburg Christian Academy
D. ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor BG Bratcher
Vice Mayor Brian Jones
Councilmember Kristy Bedoian
Councilmember Shawn Clark (Arrived at 5:35 PM)
Councilmember Margaret Nyberg
Councilmember Rebecca Rovey
Councilmember Art Rubash
Staff Present:
Troy Smith, Interim Town Manager
Trish Stuhan, Town Attorney (Via Zoom)
Tim Suan, Deputy Town Manager/Economic Development
Steve Boyle, Community Development Director
Amy Brown, Town Clerk
Les Brown, Police Chief
Robert Martinez, Finance Director
Tarah Mayerhofer, Human Resources Director
Ed Temerowski, Fire Chief
Herschel Workman, Public Works Director
E. MAYOR & COUNCILMEMBERS REPORT ON CURRENT EVENTS
• Vice Mayor Brian Jones congratulated the Chamber of Commerce on an
awesome Gold Rush Days as there were lots of people at the rodeo grounds. He
thanked the town staff for all their work in making it successful.
• Councilmembers Art Rubash, Margaret Nyberg and Rebecca Rovey agreed with
the sentiments regarding Gold Rush Days and thanked everyone for all the work.
• Councilmember Margaret Nyberg thanked staff for working on the change to the
insurance requirements.
Town Council Minutes of February 18, 2025
Page 2 of 6
• Councilmember Rebecca Rovey attended Westmarc’s annual meeting. She also
volunteered with Kristi Henson at Gold Rush Days and at the Phoenix
Convention Center to represent Wickenburg and the Chamber of Commerce.
• Councilmember Shawn Clark thanked the town staff and Chamber for the best
Gold Rush Days that his company has had. The museum has now raised 51% of
the budget for the new building.
• Mayor BG Bratcher attended a Community Development Advisory Committee
(CDAC) orientation, housing affordability meeting, grand openings, League
legislative update, town council retreat, West Valley Mayors & Managers
meeting, League meeting to oppose HCR2021, GPEC Meeting and Governor’s
briefing regarding Federal Funding.
F. TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT
• Interim Town Manager Troy Smith congratulated Joshua Boone on five years
and Matt Egan on ten years’ service with the town. He said Gold Rush Days went
well and thanked all the town employees who worked over the weekend. For
Lewis Addition roads, the town attorney is working on the parcel list to confirm
who has the legal title to the properties. The Zoning Code update was expected
in January based on conversations with the consultants on December 16, 2024.
Unfortunately, the code has not been received yet, so the attorney sent a letter
on February 10, 2025, requiring them to respond within 30 days, hopefully with
the full draft of the Zoning Code. On February 3, the Council left the authority to
the Town Manager to make modifications to the insurance requirements. Thanks
to the efforts of Town Attorney Trish Stuhan and HR and Risk Management
Director Tarah Mayerhofer, there was a permanent solution to not require sub
vendors to provide the primary and non-contributory endorsements on their
insurance. They are only required to provide proof of insurance and list the town
as additionally insured. There will be a job fair on February 25, an access to
capital for businesses training on February 26, All Vulture’s Eve on March 13,
Town Talk on March 18, Beer Fest on March 22, West Fest on April 4 and
Moonshot Rural Pitch competition on April 17.
G. FINAL CALL for Request to Speak Cards to be turned into the Town Clerk.
H. CALL TO THE PUBLIC - None
I. NEW BUSINESS
1. Action on the Consent Agenda -
MOVED BY Vice Mayor Brian Jones to approve items a, b, and c of the consent
agenda
SECONDED BY Councilmember Rebecca Rovey
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Yes – Mayor Bratcher, Vice Mayor Jones, Councilmembers
Bedoian, Clark, Nyberg, Rovey, and Rubash)
Town Council Minutes of February 18, 2025
Page 3 of 6
a. Consideration and Action to Approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of
February 3, 2025
By a 7-0 vote under the Consent Agenda, Council moved to approve the
minutes of February 3, 2025.
b. Consideration and Action to Approve Resolution No. 2367 Designating the
Chief Fiscal Officer for Submitting the Annual Expenditure Limitation Report
for Fiscal Year 2023-24
Robert Martinez, Finance Director, reported in his Council routing form that
Arizona Revised Statues 41-1279.07(E) annually requires a letter to be
submitted to the Auditor General stating the name of the Chief Fiscal Officer
that will be submitting the Annual Expenditure Limitation Report (AELR)
certifying the accuracy of the report. Effective fiscal year ending 6/30/19 the
Auditor General’s office has decided this needs to be done by submitting
either a resolution or meeting minutes annually. This report is prepared by our
contracted auditors, then reviewed and approved by the Town’s Finance
Director. With the change in personnel in the Finance Director position, these
documents need to be updated to reflect the new Finance Director.
By a 7-0 vote under the Consent Agenda, Council moved to approve
Resolution No. 2367 designating the Chief Fiscal Officer for submitting the
Annual Expenditure Limitation Report for FY 2023-24.
c. Consideration and Action to Approve Resolution No. 2368 Designating the
Chief Fiscal Officer for Submitting the Annual Expenditure Limitation Report
for Fiscal Year 2024-25
Robert Martinez, Finance Director, reported in his Council routing form that
Arizona Revised Statues 41-1279.07(E) annually requires a letter to be
submitted to the Auditor General stating the name of the Chief Fiscal Officer
that will be submitting the Annual Expenditure Limitation Report (AELR)
certifying the accuracy of the report. Effective fiscal year ending 6/30/19 the
Auditor General’s office has decided this needs to be done by submitting
either a resolution or meeting minutes annually. This report is prepared by our
contracted auditors, then reviewed and approved by the Town’s Finance
Director. With the change in personnel in the Finance Director position, these
documents need to be updated to reflect the new Finance Director.
By a 7-0 vote under the Consent Agenda, Council moved to approve
Resolution No. 2368 designating the Chief Fiscal Officer for submitting the
Annual Expenditure Limitation Report for FY 2024-25.
Town Council Minutes of February 18, 2025
Page 4 of 6
2. Consideration and Action Approving the Adopt-a-Park Program
Herschel Workman, Public Works Director, reported that the proposed Adopt-a-
Park program is designed to encourage community involvement in the care and
maintenance of our town parks. Under this program, local organizations,
businesses, and residents can "adopt" a park or specific areas within a park,
volunteering their time and resources to help keep the space clean, safe, and
well-maintained.
Some Examples of possible volunteer activities include
•
Rake leaves
•
Paint benches and tables
•
Spread mulch
•
Remove weeds and invasive plants
•
Remove graffiti
•
Clean playgrounds
•
Pick up litter
•
Paint backboards and fences
•
Special Projects such as planting drought tolerant native plants or tree
This initiative aims to enhance the quality of our public parks while fostering a
sense of ownership and pride within the community. The Parks & Trails Advisory
Committee voted on December 11, 2024, and approved a recommendation that
the Town Council should approve the program. Any future changes or updates to
the program will be reviewed and approved by the Parks & Trails Advisory
Committee to ensure that it aligns with the town's needs and objectives.
If approved by the Town Council, Staff will develop an administrative policy that
provides program guidance, such as, a minimum commitment requirements, an
application form, an FAQ form, marketing materials and other program details
necessary to implement this community-based program.
MOVED BY Councilmember Kristy Bedoian to approve the adoption of the
Adopt-a-Park program as presented, with any future changes being reviewed
and approved by the Parks & Trails Advisory Committee
SECONDED BY Councilmember Rebecca Rovey
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Yes – Mayor Bratcher, Vice Mayor Jones, Councilmembers
Bedoian, Clark, Nyberg, Rovey, and Rubash)
3. Consideration and Action to Approve Resolution No. 2369 Adopting the 2025
Legislative Program
Troy Smith, Interim Town Manager, reported that the state is now in their
legislative process. Council and staff need direction from the Council in order to
react to legislative action that will affect the town. The resolution that is included
for this item is from the League of Arizona Cities and Towns annual policy
Town Council Minutes of February 18, 2025
Page 5 of 6
statement. The legislature moves very rapidly and if there is a bill that the League
would like cities and towns to testify regarding, it needs to happen quickly without
time to come to the Council at their meetings. If there was an area that is not
covered in the resolution categories, it would have to come to the Council for
direction on the stance the Council wants to take. The categories are:
• Revenue Preservation
• Housing & Community Stability
• Good Governance
• Public Safety and Community Protection
Councilmember Clark stated that it looks like the League is in opposition to much
of the legislature but supportive of the governor’s position. Interim Town Manager
Smith stated that the League is dedicated to principals and not politics. They try
to protect the revenues for cities and towns that are needed for keeping service
to the communities at their current level. The idea is that the Town Council has a
better idea of what is best for Wickenburg, not the legislature. The categories and
areas of concern come from the Policy Committee that is made up of Mayors and
Councilmembers from cities and towns across Arizona. Currently the Council and
Town Manager are the only lobbyists for the town. The League is our legislative
lobbyist. Larger cities have their own lobbyists. They have staff and can afford to
hire lobbyists. The town will only be authorized to lobby regarding bills in these
four categories.
Councilmember Bedoian didn’t like the sentence in the housing regarding
preventing eviction, funding shelters and transitional housing. She also didn’t
understand the bullet of restoring authority to cities and towns to regulate and
limit investor-owned short-term rentals. She wondered if that was taken away.
Interim Town Manager Smith stated that the Council can change this to fit
Wickenburg’s priorities. Regarding the short-term rentals, the ability to regulate
them was taken away from the cities and towns. Now all that they have to do is
register and if there are a number of violations, then maybe the city/town can do
something to cause a change. This has resulted in a loss of housing as a
corporation can come in to buy a house above the market value and turn it into a
short-term rental. Sedona and Scottsdale have been hit with this issue. The
League will argue that those cities are in the best position to regulate housing in
their jurisdiction.
Councilmember Bedoian stated that she is for local control.
Mayor Bratcher stated that the League does a lot of work. They have a legislative
update call each week to explain why they oppose or support different bills and
send out an email with an update on upcoming legislation. They work with the
legislature to make amendments to bill to reduce the amount of local control that
is taken away. For example, the food tax bill has a proposed amendment. The
League is there to protect the cities and towns.
Town Council Minutes of February 18, 2025
Page 6 of 6
Councilmember Nyberg stated that it is always good to read the actual bill to see
how it will affect the town. Lake Havasu City is dealing with Airbnb’s coming into
there and destroying neighborhoods. The council can also contact their
legislators to ask them about bills.
Councilmember Bedoian wanted to take out the wording “prevent eviction, fund
shelters and transitional housing.”
MOVED BY Councilmember Kristy Bedoian to approve Resolution 2369 adopting
the 2025 Legislative Program and take out “prevent eviction, fund shelters and
transitional housing”
SECONDED BY Councilmember Rebecca Rovey
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Yes – Mayor Bratcher, Vice Mayor Jones, Councilmembers
Bedoian, Clark, Nyberg, Rovey, and Rubash)
J. EXECUTIVE SESSION - (Council May Vote to Go Into Executive Session Pursuant
to A.R.S §38-431.03(A)(3) to Receive Legal Advice from the Town Attorney on Any
of the Above Agenda Items.)
K. SCHEDULING OF FUTURE COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS - None
L. ADJOURNMENT
MOVED BY Councilmember Rebecca Rovey to adjourn at approximately 6:11 PM
SECONDED BY Councilmember Margaret Nyberg
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Yes – Mayor Bratcher, Vice Mayor Jones, Councilmembers Bedoian,
Clark, Nyberg, Rovey, and Rubash)
BG Bratcher, Mayor
ATTEST:
Amy Brown, Town Clerk
CERTIFICATION
I, Amy Brown, the duly appointed and qualified Town Clerk of the Town of Wickenburg,
do hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes
of the regular meeting of the Town Council of Wickenburg, Arizona held on February 18,
2025. I further certify the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was
present.
Amy Brown, MMC
Town Clerk