Council Report

City of Mesa — City Council (2026-04-20)

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City Council Report 
 
Date:   
April 20, 2026 
To:  
 
City Council 
Through:  
Miranda DeWitt, Government Relations Director 
From:  
Sharon Skinner, Grants Coordinator 
Subject:  
Resolution of support for the submittal of a grant application Technical 
Assistance Partnership of Arizona to the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in the 
amount of $15,000.00 for their Life Startup Essentials/Housing Heroes 
Program and approving the City Manager to accept and administer 
subsequent awarded funds as a pass-thru grant. 
 
Purpose and Recommendation 
 
This request is seeking a City Council resolution of support for Technical Assistance 
Partnership of Arizona application to Pascua Yaqui Tribe for Proposition 202 funding. If 
awarded, the grant will provide $15,000.00 in funding for their Life Startup 
Essentials/Housing Heroes Program. A Council Resolution supports this effort to secure 
a grant and commits the city to receive it on behalf of the non-profit and pass it through 
in its entirety to them if awarded.  As these programs serve the needs of City of Mesa 
residents, staff recommendation is for Council to adopt this resolution. 
 
Background 
 
Technical Assistance Partnership of Arizona is a local nonprofit agency. 
 
Through a partnership between TAPAZ (a non-profit 501c3 fiscal sponsor) and Life 
Startup Essentials (LSE), Mesa residents exiting homelessness and domestic violence 
situations receive a complete Welcome Home Kit at the moment they move into 
housing. Each kit is packed with the everyday essentials that make a unit a functioning 
home: cookware, dishes, flatware, bedding, towels, cleaning supplies, hygiene items, 
and household basics. These are tools a person needs to cook breakfast for her kids, to 
sleep safely in a real bed, and to maintain a clean, stable home she will not lose.  
 
LSE has delivered over 100,000 kits to more than 200,000 individuals across Arizona 
and beyond, partnering with over 225 public agencies and nonprofits over 10 years. 
This funding will provide approximately 43 complete Welcome Home Kits for 43 Mesa 
residents and families. Every household served will be a Mesa resident referred through 
partner nonprofit providers such as A New Leaf, the Arizona Department of Child 
Safety, CASS, and Catholic Charities Community Services..

Discussion 
 
A resolution of support for this grant request will complete the necessary documentation 
for the organization to file their application by the funder’s deadline and be considered 
for funding. Mesa’s participation in Proposition 202 Indian Gaming Grants has returned 
over $1 billion to Arizona communities since its passage in 2002 from four surrounding 
tribal governments.  
  
Alternatives 
 
The only alternative to adopting this resolution would be to not adopt. Such an action 
would deny Mesa sponsorship for this request and require the organization to seek an 
alternate local government for access to this funding source.  
 
Fiscal Impact 
 
The fiscal impact on the City of Mesa, should this grant be awarded, will be negligible 
except overhead expenses in accounting to accept and reissue the grant check. The 
City does not administer the grant and signs an MOU or IGA with each tribe to limit our 
liability to only the pass-through transaction.