2026-04-21 City Council Meeting Minutes_DRAFT

D R A F T
REGULAR MEETING OF THE COMMON COUNCIL
CITY OF EL MIRAGE
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
10000 N. EL MIRAGE ROAD
6:00 PM -TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2026
 
Minutes
 
 
         
 
1.
ROLL CALL
Present: 
Mayor Alexis Hermosillo; Vice Mayor Jacquelyn Parsons; Councilmember Monica
Dorcey; Councilmember Ryan Eldridge; Councilmember Scottie Gentry;
Councilmember Anita Norton; Councilmember Donna Winston 
2.
CALL TO ORDER - meeting called to order at 6:00 p.m. 
Pledge of Allegiance — led by Dysart School District students
Moment of Silence
Introduction of new Police Department employees
Lieutenant Takashige gave a brief background and introduced the following new Police
employees: Evan Rosenthal, Property and Evidence Technician, Kirk Keilholtz, Police Fleet
Coordinator, Officer Osman Hilowle, Officer Eric Lucero, Officer Jace Morgan, Officer
Alexcia Ortega, Officer McKenzie Porhola, Officer Danny Sanchez, and Officer David
Velazquez.
 
3.
PRESENTATION
 
1.
Presentation for Dysart Unified School District/El Mirage Video Script Contest Winners.
Mayor Hermosillo presented awards for the Dysart Unified School District/El Mirage Video
Script Contest. Winners included: Kenzie Johnson, Lucas Dobos, Alexia Espinoza, Mia
Espinosa, Billiabella Leyena, Nina Marmullaku, Xavier Chavez, Trevor Scholes, Genesis
Cottrell, Othoniel Valdez, Ricardo Cano and Hayden Olson.
 
4.
PROCLAMATION
 
1.
Proclaiming April as Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month
Mayor Hermosillo proclaimed April as Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month.

5.
CALL TO THE PUBLIC 
Citizens desiring to speak on any issue within the jurisdiction of the public body may do
so at this time. Comments shall be limited to three (3) minutes per person and shall be
addressed to the City Council as a whole. At the conclusion of the Call to the Public,
individual City Council Members may (1) respond to criticism made by those who have
spoken, (2) direct staff to review or follow up on the matter, and/or (3) direct that the
matter be put on a future agenda.
Philip Bynum, resident, stated he lives off of 129th and Thunderbird Road, and he has
almost been hit four times by vehicles speeding in that area.  He asked if someone could
check out the hot spots around town where vehicles are speeding. He also stated that
neighborhoods are being overrun by businesses, and that consideration should be given
to where businesses are allowed to operate in conjunction with residents. 
Steve Gilliam, resident, stated he received a list of non-profit organizations in El Mirage
that may apply for the grant opportunity that is on the agenda. He requested the
definition of a non-profit organization that the city uses for grant purposes, and whether
citizens could be involved in the process of awarding grants.
Aaron Flannery, resident, stated he wanted to publicly apologize to Councilmember
Winston for his attribution of negative comments to her when he made the incorrect
assumption that she had made a comment during a homeowners association meeting
when, in fact, she had not made the comment. 
  
 
6.
CONSENT AGENDA
All items listed under the Consent Agenda will be voted on with one motion. If discussion
is desired regarding any Consent Agenda Item, that item will be removed from the
Consent Agenda and voted on separately.
 
1.
Consideration and action to approve the minutes of the Work Session and Regular
Council meeting held on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (City Clerk)
 
2.
Consideration and action to appoint Vice Mayor Jacque Parsons, Councilmember Monica
Dorcey, and Mayor Alexis Hermosillo to serve as members for the El Mirage Community
Grant Review Committee for the FY2026-2027 grant cycle. (Administration)
At the request of Councilmember Norton-McDaniel, Consent Agenda Item 6.2
was pulled for consideration and action on the Regular Agenda as 7.1.a. 
 
3.
Consideration and action to accept grant funds in the amount of $3,000 from the Arizona
Governor's Office of Highway Safety for the El Mirage Police Department to participate in
the 2026 Click It or Ticket National Enforcement Campaign. (Grants/Police)
 
4.
Consideration and action to approve a 5-year agreement with Wyyerd fiber to provide
Internet services to the City. (Information Technology)
At the request of Councilmember Eldridge, Consent Agenda Item 6.4 was pulled
for consideration and action on the Regular Agenda as 7.1.b. 
 
2 
Regular Meeting - Council Minutes
April 21, 2026

5.
Consideration and action for the City of El Mirage to enter into an Intergovernmental
Agreement with Borrowing Partnering Agencies to lend and borrow various fire apparatus
on an as-needed basis to benefit public safety. (Fire)
At the request of Councilmember Eldridge, Consent Agenda Item 6.5 was pulled
for consideration and action on the Regular Agenda as 7.1.c. 
 
6.
Consideration and action to adopt Resolution R26-04-07 establishing the STREET
NAMING, RENAMING, AND CO-NAMING Policy to govern the naming of Public Streets in
the City of El Mirage. (Development Services)
At the request of Councilmember Norton-McDaniel, Consent Agenda Item 6.6
was pulled for consideration and action on the Regular Agenda as 7.1.d. 
Vice Mayor Parsons moved to approve Consent Agenda items 6.1 and 6.3,
seconded by Councilmember Winston.
Motion passed 7/0
 
7.
REGULAR AGENDA
7.1.a. Consideration and action to appoint Vice Mayor Jacque Parsons,
Councilmember Monica Dorcey, and Mayor Alexis Hermosillo to serve as
members for the El Mirage Community Grant Review Committee for the
FY2026-2027 grant cycle. (Administration)
Mayor Hermosillo stated this item was pulled for discussion by Councilmember
Norton-McDaniel.
Councilmember Norton-McDaniel provided background on the El Mirage Community Grant
Review Committee for the FY26/27 grant cycle. She stated that a rubric had been
created for the scoring process and should be used as an objective tool to ensure
fairness, consistency, and transparency, and that scoring should be an administrative
process, not a legislative function. Some residents have also expressed concern about
references to the city partnering with the nonprofits, which imply shared operations or
control, which should not apply. She stated that the council's role is to set policy and
adopt ordinances, not to administer programs or score applications.
Mayor Hermosillo stated she takes this opportunity to serve on the committee, similar to
serving on the committee for the Planning and Zoning Commission application process.
She stated that she and Councilmember Norton-McDaniel served on that committee, that
they would interview applicants and review applications for positions, and that the
program used a more sophisticated rubric. This committee would review applications
submitted by members of the public, with the responsibility of upholding the committee's
representation, and she entrusted that any member of this committee would uphold that
integrity and responsibility. 
Councilmember Dorcey stated it is important for the council to pay attention to this to
work out any kinks in the process, since this is the first go-round, and to ensure this
becomes a fair process. She stated this is a multilayered process, with staff reviewing
applications to ensure applicants meet all criteria before council review. This process
does use a rubric, but when making the final decisions, there should be a meeting of the
minds. This is a healthy process, and there may be an element of subjectivity, but that
does not mean the process lacks integrity. 
Councilmember Eldridge stated that this is a multilayered process and, if there are going
to be councilmembers as part of the review process, he would like to see one or two
residents, as well as staff members, on the committee. 
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Regular Meeting - Council Minutes
April 21, 2026

Councilmember Norton-McDaniel moved to decline the appointment of council
members to a grants committee and direct that the evaluation and scoring be
completed by staff using the established rubric, seconded by Councilmember
Gentry.
Motion failed (3/4) NAY - Mayor Hermosillo, Vice Mayor Parsons,
Councilmember Dorcey, Councilmember Winston
Mayor Hermosillo moved to appoint Vice Mayor Jacque Parsons, Councilmember
Monica Dorcey, and Mayor Alexis Hermosillo to serve as members for the El
Mirage Community Grant Review Committee for the FY2026-2027 grant cycle,
seconded by Councilmember Dorcey.
Motion passed (4/3) - NAY - Councilmember Eldridge, Councilmember Gentry,
Councilmember Norton-McDaniel
7.1.b. Consideration and action to approve a 5-year agreement with Wyyerd
Fiber to provide Internet services to the City. (Information Technology)
Mayor Hermosillo stated this item was pulled for discussion by Councilmember Eldridge.
Councilmember Eldridge stated this was pulled to discuss the need for this item. He
asked whether the Fire Department was experiencing internet issues, how many outages
there have been in the past two years, and expressed his concern that the contract
would provide protection for the vendor but nothing for the city.
Tom Bacome, Information Technology Director, stated the Fire Department is not
currently experiencing internet issues, and there have been no internet outages over the
past several years. He stated that the city has reached its bandwidth threshold at times,
but this contract would allow splitting that bandwidth between Cox and Wyyerd and
alleviate that concern. 
Councilmember Norton-McDaniel asked about the cost of the new service.  Mr. Bacome
stated that the cost of the Wyyerd agreement is $350 per month and would eliminate the
$275 per month cost to Cox. The net increase would be $75 per month. He stated that
this would increase usage to 3 gigabytes from the current 1 gigabyte of capacity. 
Jon Palidini, City Attorney, stated after review that this is a relatively benign service
agreement and that the indemnity issues, limitations of liability, and termination
provision are legally sufficient. 
Vice Mayor Parsons moved to approve a 5-year agreement with Wyyerd Fiber to
provide Internet services to the city, seconded by Councilmember Winston.
Motion passed (6/1) NAY - Councilmember Gentry
7.1.c. Consideration and action for the City of El Mirage to enter into an
Intergovernmental Agreement with Borrowing Partnering Agencies to lend and
borrow various fire apparatus on an as-needed basis to benefit public safety.
(Fire)
Mayor Hermosillo stated this item was pulled for discussion by Councilmember Eldridge.
Councilmember Eldridge asked who would be responsible for the cost to repair an engine
if it were damaged by another City and how many times El Mirage has had to lend and/or
borrow an engine. Chief Long stated whoever owns the engine would be responsible for
any damages through their insurance. He stated that over the past few years, El Mirage
has borrowed an engine from Sun City three times and has not lent out any engines. 
Councilmember Norton-McDaniel asked how long the vehicles were in our possession
when borrowed. Chief Long stated the average is three days. 
Vice Mayor Parsons moved to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with
4 
Regular Meeting - Council Minutes
April 21, 2026

Borrowing Partnering Agencies to lend and borrow various fire apparatus on an
as-needed basis to benefit public safety, seconded by Councilmember Winston.
Motion passed (7/0)
Consideration and action to adopt Resolution R26-04-07 establishing the
STREET NAMING, RENAMING, AND CO-NAMING Policy to govern the naming of
Public Streets in the City of El Mirage. (Development Services)
Mayor Hermosillo stated this item was pulled for discussion by Councilmember
Norton-McDaniel.
Councilmember Norton-McDaniel stated that she pulled this item to allow staff to explain
why this is necessary and to discuss the policies included in this item. She stated that
this item should have been brought to a Council Work Session so the council could have
reviewed it, made comments, and considered possible revisions. This policy allows 75%
of people living on a street to request a name change, and many residents travel all the
streets and would be affected by the change. She asked what the current policy for
ceremonial designation is.
Jorge Gastellum, Development Services Director, stated that City Code allows naming
new streets but does not provide a policy for renaming an existing street. He stated there
have been a few requests to change the name of Cesar Chavez Drive. The reason for the
requirement of 75% of people living on a street is that they will be the most affected
with having to change their mailing address, driver's license, and other things related to
their address. 
Councilmember Dorcey stated the policy is very thorough because currently there is no
policy.
Councilmember Eldridge asked what the cost to an applicant would be to make all these
changes. Mr. Gastellum stated that the majority of the cost would be for signage. Nick
Russo, Public Works Director, stated the cost of a new street sign would be
approximately $250 for a double-sided placard. 
Councilmember Norton-McDaniel moved to table this item and schedule a work
session to discuss it further for more input, seconded by Councilmember Gentry.
Motion failed (3/4) NAY - Mayor Hermosillo, Vice Mayor Parsons,
Councilmember Dorcey, Councilmember Winston
Mayor Hermosillo moved to adopt Resolution R26-04-07 establishing the
STREET NAMING, RENAMING, AND CO-NAMING Policy to govern the naming of
Public Streets in the City of El Mirage, seconded by Councilmember Dorcey.
Motion passed (4/3) NAY - Councilmember Eldridge, Councilmember Gentry,
Councilmember Norton-McDaniel
 
1.
Consideration and action to approve contract EM26-URR01 for City Hall roof resealing
with Northern Arizona Roof Services in an amount not to exceed $39,874 and authorize
the finance department to make any transfers. (Public Works)
Mayor Hermosillo moved to table this item until the May 19, 2026, City Council
meeting, seconded by Councilmember Dorcey.
Motion passed 7/0
 
8.
CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS & SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS
The City Council may not act upon any matter in the City Manager's summary, but may
have general comments or questions.
 
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Regular Meeting - Council Minutes
April 21, 2026

9.
MAYOR'S COMMENTS and COUNCIL SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS 
The Mayor and City Council may not discuss or act upon any matter in the summary
unless the specific matter is properly noticed for legal action.
Councilmember Eldridge stated the Movie in the Park event was a huge success, and he
attended the Police Awards Ceremony.
Councilmember Gentry acknowledged the passing of two long-time El Mirage residents:
Josephina Madrid and Cecil Skaggs.
Councilmember Norton-McDaniel thanked Nick Russo and Sean VonRoenn for providing a
tour of Basin Park.
Councilmember Winston attended the Police Award Ceremony.
 
10.
ADJOURNMENT - meeting adjourned at 7:43 p.m.
 
_____________________________
Alexis A. Hermosillo, Mayor
ATTEST: 
 
I hereby certify the aforementioned minutes are a true and accurate record of the Regular El
Mirage City Council Meeting held on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, and a quorum was present. 
6 
Regular Meeting - Council Minutes
April 21, 2026