Attachment A - EDH Minutes 5.28.25.pdf

Phoenix City Council 
Economic Development and Housing (EDH) Subcommittee 
Summary Minutes 
Wednesday, May 28, 2025 
City Council Chambers 
200 W. Jefferson Street 
Phoenix, AZ 
Subcommittee Members Present     
 Subcommittee Members Absent 
Vice Mayor Ann O’Brien, Chair 
  Councilwoman Debra Stark 
Councilman Kevin Robinson 
Councilwoman Kesha Hodge Washington 
CALL TO ORDER 
Chairwoman O’Brien called the Economic Development and Housing Subcommittee to 
order at 10:02 a.m. with Councilman Robinson and Councilwoman Hodge Washington 
present. 
CALL TO THE PUBLIC 
None. 
MINUTES OF MEETINGS 
1. Minutes of the Economic Development and Housing Subcommittee Meeting
Councilwoman Hodge Washington made a motion to approve the minutes of the April 9,
2025, Economic Development and Housing Subcommittee meeting. Councilman
Robinson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously, 3-0.
CONSENT ACTION (ITEMS 2-5)  
Items 2-5 were for consent action. No presentations were planned, but staff was 
available to answer questions. 
2. Maricopa County Community Colleges District – Phoenix Forge Expansion
Consent only. No councilmember requested additional information.
3. Request Approval to Submit Updated Program Options to the Office of Head
Start
Consent only. No councilmember requested additional information.
4. Request Approval for the Head Start Birth to Five Program to Purchase Capital
Equipment Over $10,000
Consent only. No councilmember requested additional information.
5. Request Approval to Apply for a Head Start Birth to Five Non-Federal Share
Waiver
ATTACHMENT A

Consent only. No councilmember requested additional information. 
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington made a motion to approve Items 2 through 5. 
Councilman Robinson seconded the motion which passed unanimously, 3-0. 
 
INFORMATION ONLY (ITEMS 6)  
6. Head Start Birth to Five Monthly Report – March 
Information only. No councilmember requested additional information. 
 
INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION (ITEMS 7-8)  
Item 8 was heard out of order as requested by Chairwoman O’Brien. 
 
8. Economic Power of the Arts 
Arts and Culture Director Mitch Menchaca, Chairman and CEO of Plaza Companies 
Sharon Harper, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications of Greater 
Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) Serena Remy, and Community and Economic 
Development Director Christine Mackay presented the item. 
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington inquired if there were strategies to increase public-
private partnerships for public art. 
 
Ms. Harper spoke about the importance of including and supporting the arts community 
in future developments. She noted that promoting public art and implementing broader 
stakeholder engagement will help increase the collaboration needed for a greater 
presence of public art in the City.  
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington asked about the timeline for each phase of short-
term and long-term public art documentation and marketing strategy development. 
 
Ms. Remy stated the focus over the past year has been to centralize the documentation 
of existing public art. She aims to continue documentation and leverage data for 
marketing purposes simultaneously. 
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington asked what the process was for an artist to ensure 
their work is included in the documentation. 
 
Ms. Remy answered artists can directly go to the Street Art Cities website or work with 
GPEC staff directly to be registered on the documentation platform. 
 
Councilman Robinson asked if there were areas within the City that do not have as 
much public art, and if there were efforts to install public art in those areas. 
 
Mr. Menchaca answered the Arts and Culture Department aims for equitable distribution 
of the Public Art program across the City and is looking to partner with the artists and 
the private sector to highlight public art that exists throughout the City.

Ms. Harper explained Artlink Website opens projects to as many interested artists as 
possible to reach more artists. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked how public art ordinances in other cities throughout the 
region play a role in integrating public art developments. 
 
Ms. Harper stated the City of Scottsdale has a committee that facilitates the recruitment 
process for public art, which has been effective. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked if there was feedback for the importance of public art for 
economic development. 
 
Ms. Mackay answered public art is critical for developing a sense community, which can 
attract economic development. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien inquired if members of the community can access the Street Art 
Cities website to report existing public art. 
 
Ms. Remy explained residents can directly upload images to the Street Art Cities 
website. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked if the City of Phoenix is looking into adopting an Art 
Ordinance, and what role the Arts and Culture Department would have in adopting this 
ordinance. 
 
Mr. Menchaca answered the effort in creating a Public Art ordinance would need to be 
in collaboration with the Planning and Development Department and the private sector. 
He explained it would call for research into costs and processes associated with the 
administration of the ordinance.  
 
Chairwoman O’Brien stated if such ordinance was to be adopted, it must be designed in 
a way that does not slow down development. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien thanked Ms. Harper and Ms. Remy on presenting how important 
the Arts is to our City and economic aspect. 
 
7. Tenant Assistance Programs 
Human Services Director Jacqueline Edwards presented the item. She provided data on 
three primary programs: Rental and Utility Assistance, Landlord Tenant Program, and 
the Eviction Legal Services. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked why 55 cases have not been accepted for Eviction Legal 
Services.

Ms. Edwards answered the cases were not accepted due to incomplete applications or 
the applicant refusing service. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien inquired which cases were considered non-eligible. 
 
Ms. Edwards stated out of the 85 cases that were accepted and referred to one of the 
service providers, none of them were deemed non-eligible. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked for statistics and description of the 55 cases that were not 
accepted. 
 
Ms. Edwards explained 41 of the cases had incomplete applications and 14 cases were 
ineligible because the applicant was not a resident of the City of Phoenix, not on lease, 
not at the threat of an eviction, or refused services. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien requested information regarding what the factors were for 
incomplete applications. 
 
Ms. Edwards, shared the Human Services Department, is looking into additional ways 
to support tenants in completion of the application, such as reducing documentation 
requirements for income verification. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked how the City is reaching out to people that are not directly 
paying their water bills, therefore not receiving the Phoenix At Your Service monthly 
newsletter. 
 
Ms. Edwards answered staff are using social media as well as other services that are 
provided by the Human Services Department to share information regarding Legal 
Eviction Services. The Human Services Department focuses its outreach on 
communities with higher rates of eviction, which may be living in larger apartment 
complexes and not directly paying their water bills. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked staff to explore partnering with other utilities and services 
such as phone and electricity, in order to provide outreach. She asked if the number of 
cases presented are unique cases. 
 
Ms. Edwards said yes. 
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington asked if there were any recommendations to bridge 
the gap between eligibility criteria amongst different tenant assistance programs. 
 
Ms. Edwards answered the differences in eligibility criteria are tied to the fund source for 
each program. She noted that staff are frequently looking for funding and grant 
opportunities to widen the eligibility criteria for all programs.

Councilwoman Hodge Washington asked if the gap in eligibility criteria is acting as a 
barrier to residents. 
 
Ms. Edwards explained staff have not deemed any applicant ineligible based on income 
for Eviction Legal Services and would follow up on other tenant assistance programs. 
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington asked if the City will be able to maintain the funding 
for the Rental Assistance Program in the next fiscal year. 
 
Ms. Edwards answered that the City is required by the Arizona Department of Economic 
Security to operate a 12-month program and the City’s funding for the program will carry 
the program through the end of June 2026. 
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington inquired what the average turnaround time is for the 
Rental Assistance Program from application to funds being paid to landlords. 
 
Ms. Edwards said once resident calls staff, they get scheduled for an appointment in 
approximately two-week timeframe, in which information and documentation is 
conducted, and working with the landlords to provide information on the process. She 
said she will follow up with information on the entire turnaround time. 
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington stated a two-week wait time for an appointment can 
be lengthy for residents facing potential eviction. She asked if staff have considered 
consolidating the different phone lines to one hotline for tenant assistance programs. 
 
Ms. Edwards explained the Rental Assistance Program has emergency criteria that 
expedite the process. She shared staff was investigating ways to streamline calls to 
connect tenants to appropriate programs and develop a new client facing module and 
case management system to expedite the process. 
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington stated the way the City requests information for 
applicants of the Eviction Legal Services makes it difficult to identify the full range of 
needs for each applicant. 
 
Ms. Edwards explained the screening questions are in place to prevent ineligible 
applicants from proceeding further through the process. 
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington asked what the process is for identifying 
communities with greater rates of eviction. 
 
Ms. Edwards answered the process is based on eviction filings by zip code. She also 
noted HSD works with community partners and landlords to get ahead of the eviction 
process to provide support to tenants and landlords.

Councilwoman Hodge Washington inquired if the information regarding the process can 
be shared once the communities are identified. 
 
Ms. Edwards said yes.  
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington suggested partnering with landlords and exploring 
other community partners to share information regarding the programs. She asked what 
the capacity for caseload is for Eviction Legal Services. 
 
Ms. Edwards answered the program was at roughly 50 percent capacity, with the 
maximum capacity being 50 new cases per month. 
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington inquired what was being done to gather feedback 
from program participants for all tenant assistance programs. 
 
Ms. Edwards explained for Eviction Legal Services, there was a survey that goes out 30 
days after each case closes and another survey six months after closing to assess 
whether the participants’ housing stability and the department was looking into sending 
out a feedback survey for participants of all programs starting in July.  
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked if the application forms are available in both English and 
Spanish. 
 
Ms. Edwards answered while the application for Eviction Legal Services is available in 
both languages, the form for Emergency Landlord-Tenant Program is only available in 
English. However, she noted this document was in the process of being translated to 
Spanish. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien inquired when the translation is expected to be complete. 
 
Ms. Edwards said it was expected to be completed in the next week. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked what the timeline was for reviewing applications for Eviction 
Legal Services. 
 
Ms. Edwards answered that applications are reviewed within one business day.  
 
Chairwoman O’Brien inquired what the timeline is for the vendors. 
 
Ms. Edwards replied it was two business days. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked if there were any clients that have experienced difficulties in 
the process.

Ms. Edwards answered while there were clients that failed to provide timely information, 
staff has been able to follow up with most clients to help ensure their needs are met in a 
timely manner.  
 
Chairwoman O’Brien inquired what the current process was for Eviction Legal Services. 
 
Ms. Edwards explained there are a set number of appointments with applicants in 
emergency situations being given priority to get an appointment scheduled.  
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked what the timeline was for improving the process. 
 
Ms. Edwards answered the timeline can be broken down to short, medium and long-
term. She noted the short and medium timeline focused on streamlining phoneline 
reception while working on developing new public facing management system in the 
long term. 
 
Chairman O’Brien opened the floor to public comment for this item. 
 
Evelynne Castillo said the Eviction Legal Services program was not well known, not 
easy to access and was not at the scale needed to mitigate the rate of evictions that 
occur in the City. 
 
John Escobar stated housing insecurity disproportionately impact Native Americans and 
people of color and stated there needs to be greater efforts to publicize and expand the 
program. 
 
Danielle Witcher said she tried to receive Eviction Legal Services but was unsuccessful 
in accessing the program. 
 
Andrea Luna Cervantes stated the Tenant Assistance Programs were difficult to 
navigate and the City must improve accessibility of the programs. 
 
Miesha Fish said she had applied to Emergency Rental Assistance Program but did not 
receive a response and that the programs need to improve accessibility. 
 
Sebastian Del Portillo stated the low usage of the Eviction Legal Services was a result 
of poor promotion and outreach regarding the program. 
 
Pamela Bridge, Director of Litigation and Advocacy at Community Legal Services, were 
referred 25 cases for Eviction Legal Services, where 15 were taken as limited or full 
representation and 10 received post eviction services. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked if there are any recommendation for improvement of the 
program.

Pamela Bridge answered that the City should consider including cases of tenants with 
notice of non-renewal and speed up the referral process.  
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington asked if there were hurdles for tenants to access the 
City’s Eviction Legal Services and if there was a way to capture data regarding the 
cases Community Legal Services receives directly to the cases coming through the 
City. 
 
Pamela Bridge explained that there were tenants facing eviction that reach out to 
Community Legal Services directly for assistance that Community Legal Services are 
able to provide with resources outside of funding received from the City and agreed on 
the need to incorporate data from all vendors to better understand the demand for the 
services. 
 
Danielle Fernandez Lertzman, Associate Attorney at Barton Mendez Soto, said it was 
important to have legal representation for those facing evictions.  
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked if there were any recommendation for improvement of the 
program. 
 
Danielle Fernandez Lertzman answered greater outreach regarding the program would 
help those in need of the services to receive services sooner. 
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington inquired what post eviction services entails. 
 
Danielle Fernandez Lertzman explained post eviction services consists of negotiation 
with the landlord to get the eviction judgment vacated. 
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington stated it is important to incorporate the calls vendors 
receive directly to fully capture the demand for the program and the City should look into 
possibly expanding the capacity of the program. She added the City should investigate 
outreach plans to better engage community partners. Councilwoman Hodge 
Washington asked if applicants receive confirmation that shows their application is 
complete once they are done. 
 
Ms. Edwards answered all clients that submitted applications received confirmation and 
recently have been receiving a copy of their responses.  
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington suggested providing an expected timeline and 
contact information of staff in the confirmation, so clients have a way of reaching out 
and connecting with staff and inquire if there is any information that is used to prioritize 
clients.

Ms. Edwards stated if clients include any information on eviction notice such as a 
timeframe or court date, it would be highlighted in the application to prioritize those 
cases. 
 
Robin Dugas, an attorney at Cronus Law, said Eviction Legal Services program was 
vital to ensure housing stability for the community and there was a great demand for 
these services.  
 
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION (ITEM 9)  
9. Fiscal Year 2025-30 Public Art Plan 
Arts and Culture Director Mitch Menchaca and Deputy Arts and Culture Director Carrie 
Brown presented on the item. 
 
Patrick McDaniel expressed support for the 2025-30 Public Art Plan.  
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked how the City can get more public art installations in the 
public right of way. 
 
Mr. Menchaca answered that the location of public art projects depends on where the 
capital improvement projects take place. He noted that if there was not a capital 
improvement project in the area, there are potential temporary projects and community 
celebrations that could be explored as well. 
 
Councilwoman Hodge Washington made a motion to approve Item 9. Councilman 
Robinson seconded the motion which passed unanimously, 3-0. 
 
CALL TO THE PUBLIC  
None. 
 
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 
None. 
 
ADJOURNMENT 
Chairwoman O’Brien adjourned the meeting at 12:26 p.m. 
 
Respectfully submitted, 
 
Brian Seo 
Management Fellow