2026-10-21 - Transportation, Infrastructure and Planning Subcommittee

00:00He's received one of those grants.

00:03He helped grow his apparel and youth

00:04empowerment brand, We Kings Grow. And

00:07while he was still in school, what an

00:09incredible story. That kid's earned it.

00:11He's going to have an incredible

00:12entrepreneurial

00:14career.

00:1626 outstanding local businesses receive

00:18individualized mentoring $25,000 grants

00:20to grow their business.

00:23But I recognize that this moment is a

00:26very difficult time

00:29for black entrepreneurs.

00:31The current administration has been

00:33dismantling some of the very programs

00:35designed to help minority-owned

00:37businesses. It has moved to gut the

00:39Minority Business Development Agency,

00:41which has helped businesses secure

00:43billions in capital and contracts and

00:45supported thousands of jobs. It's gone

00:47after the 8A Business Development

00:49Program, one of the most important tools

00:52for helping disadvantaged small

00:53businesses compete for federal

00:55contracts. So, I want Arizona black

00:57business owners to know this. In

00:59Congress, I will fight to protect these

01:01programs, fight to protect access to

01:04federal contracting, and make sure that

01:06minority-and-women-owned businesses have

01:08the resources and opportunities they

01:10need to grow. It's It's essential for

01:13the American economy. And that is why

01:18>> [applause]

01:22>> And it's also why this moment, this

01:24building, this chamber is needed now

01:28more than ever. Because when

01:30opportunities are being pulled back at

01:31the federal level, institutions like

01:33this one become even more important.

01:36Entrepreneurs need advocates. They need

01:39mentorship, training, connections, and a

01:41place where people are invested in their

01:43success. This chamber is delivering

01:45results. It has helped to launch or

01:47scale more than 1,200 businesses, secure

01:495 million capital for entrepreneurs, and

01:52create more than 500 jobs already on the

01:54pathway to those 100,000 jobs. And now,

01:57the Arizona Legacy Center gives that

01:59work a permanent home. That's how we

02:01grow Arizona's economy. We open doors,

02:03remove barriers, give talented people

02:05the opportunity to succeed. Velma, I

02:07know how hard you have worked to make

02:08this vision a reality. And now, it is my

02:11honor to present you with this here.

02:16I want to present you and your team at

02:18the Black Chamber of Arizona this

02:20certificate of congressional

02:22congressional commendation for all the

02:24work that you have done already and all

02:26the work that you're going to do. You

02:27make our state much so much stronger.

02:29Thank you.

02:31>> [cheering]

02:38>> I did not want to give this to you but

02:39it's for your brains.

02:42Thanks. It is

02:45Right.

03:05Hey, it's your guy to do.

03:10This franchise is dressed.

03:17That that's fun.

03:19Give it up again for Congressman Greg

03:21Stanton.

03:28All right. The next speaker that I'm

03:30going to have come up really needs no

03:32introduction. I'm going to give him a

03:33little one anyway. Y'all heard his name

03:36quite a few times. I he he sent me

03:38something. I was so amazed at at how

03:41many different things in the city that

03:44AP has had his hands in. He's the

03:46founder and chairman and CEO of APN APN

03:49Associates.

03:50A Phoenix branding and strategy firm,

03:53founder of the HeroZona Foundation, Army

03:56veteran, Gulf War Desert Storm, serves

03:59on the city of Phoenix Aviation Advisory

04:01Board and the Phoenix Military Veterans

04:03Commission. A partner on this building

04:06and and he co-leads the tour. Give it up

04:09for Alan Powell.

04:17>> So, the hard thing is going behind my

04:19favorite mayor and councilman Greg

04:21Stanton and Bill what they took

04:22everything I was going to say. So, now I

04:24got to

04:25go through this hyper and skip around.

04:27But, I want to say good morning to

04:28everybody and I want to thank uh Dr.

04:30Traeham. Uh me and me and Dr. Traeham

04:32have been friends about 13 years. I

04:34actually recruited Dr. Traeham to come

04:35to Arizona. And uh she she's done a

04:38great job. Um she she she doesn't give

04:41up and she's going to keep on pushing

04:42and keep on pushing. She don't take no

04:44for an answer.

04:45Um so, if you know her and I want to

04:47thank Ryan, too, because he's been

04:48instrumental in trying to create the

04:50Black Chamber. You know, what they I

04:51mean, I love everything about Chambers,

04:53but this is a little different for me

04:55because I remember Marcel, when she was

04:57at the Chamber, she was like, "Hey, AP,

04:59I need somebody to get I want to replace

05:01to take over. I'm getting too old for

05:02this." She said, "Do you know somebody

05:04that's really, really instrumental in

05:06the community that can make a

05:07difference?" I said, "I got the perfect

05:08person." So, there's they get So, it

05:12worked out.

05:14>> [applause]

05:17>> So,

05:19I had to skip through this because you

05:20took all everything I was going to say,

05:21you and

05:24So, I got a couple people I want to

05:25thank who was instrumental. Uh I want to

05:27thank uh

05:28uh

05:29District 8 Councilwoman Vice Mayor Kate

05:31Gallego Washington. She was instrumental

05:33in uh supporting me to help put this out

05:34for me and Dr. Traeham. Uh she's been on

05:37the front lines with me uh every day.

05:39So, I'm not into the politics, but I

05:41know it's election season, but I hope

05:43she doesn't go anywhere cuz I keep need

05:44to keep her around.

05:46Uh I also want to give a shout out to my

05:48pastor, Pastor Warren Stewart Singer.

05:50Uh, he's a very modest today, but he

05:53paved the way for a lot of this stuff

05:55for all these nonprofits. You know, he

05:56was actually on the front line for

05:57Martin Luther King holiday. A lot of

05:59these things would never happen without

06:00him, Art Hamilton, and a couple guys

06:02that we I'm going to miss is Dr. Jean

06:04Blue and and Mr. Dean. Uh, those are two

06:07of the pioneers in this town that made a

06:09major difference. So, you know, I know

06:11we got the everybody's always talking

06:13about the new guard, but the old guard's

06:15still alive, too. So, don't get don't

06:16get too carried away.

06:18>> Come on.

06:19>> And I want to give a special thanks to

06:20my wife, Latanya Powell, my

06:26>> [applause]

06:27>> my my daughter Elia, who is a recovering

06:30engineer, and now she is

06:32the program manager of the city of

06:33Venice for uh people development. And uh

06:37I want to give a shout out to my aunt

06:38who came in from Louisville, uh Denise

06:40Bailey. She was the first female uh

06:43uh we get it right city council pro tem

06:46in our state of uh Kentucky in

06:48Louisville, my hometown.

06:53Uh,

06:54one of one of my

06:56one of my and uh me and Jeff were just

06:57laughing because Jeff is from Compton.

06:59One of my main guys from the

07:00entertainment business is here today. He

07:02flew in to support me, Michael Harry O.

07:04Harris. He is the founder of Community

07:06First Action in LA. He's the founder of

07:09Godfather Entertainment, Def Row

07:10Records. He was the one that was

07:12instrumental create Snoop, Dre, and uh

07:15Tupac. So, if you don't nobody knows

07:17that, but his main thing is he was

07:19actually the one that gave Denzel

07:20Washington really start. He's the first

07:22one to finance a play in Broadway for

07:24African American.

07:25>> Oh, wow.

07:31>> So, it looks like my speech got cut

07:32short because everybody took everything

07:34I was going to say. And O.D., thanks for

07:36being on your best behavior today.

07:38I appreciate it. I know you can get a a

07:40sideways. I appreciate you being here.

07:42All

07:43you, Leah. So, may God continue to bless

07:45the state of Arizona and the United

07:46States of America, but before I close,

07:48where is Chad at?

07:50Chad McKalsky is

07:53with the frontline guys. So, I never

07:55really understood government until I got

07:57involved with Chad. I was on the board

07:58for 8 years and this was the most

08:01challenging building in the world to

08:03get. And Chad had to go to DC, he had to

08:06have meetings with the FAA because

08:08the airport had a partnership with the

08:09FAA with this building. When it caught

08:11on fire, the city and the FAA was in in

08:14a partnership, so Chad had to get the

08:15FAA to release the building. So, it was

08:18very, very challenging and Chad, he he

08:20he hung in there and that's why we were

08:22here today.

08:23Because without Chad,

08:25it would never happen.

08:30And I'll say someone who's not here

08:31today and Chad, I know you miss her, is

08:33Chris Mackey. Chris Mackey was very

08:36instrumental with me and Chad

08:38to push the frontline to make this thing

08:39happen. Miss Chris and she's moved on to

08:41greater, better things in life, but

08:44once again, thank you for coming today.

08:45We appreciate you.

08:52Give it up again for AP, Alan Powell.

08:58What moves.

08:59Nice song time. All right, next I would

09:02like to call up Chris Dobson, president

09:04of SRP. He's the president of SRP, our

09:07presenting sponsor, elected April of

09:102026, in office since May of 2026. SRP

09:14guests, Jessica Mayor, Buchanan Davis

09:17and Tony Bell. Thank you so much.

09:24>> Thank you. Again, it's an honor to be

09:26here.

09:27And you know what? AP, I understand

09:29everybody said everything that I was

09:31going to say in my speech.

09:33So, I'm going to go a little bit off the

09:34cuff here. You know, I really wanted to

09:37echo Dr. Velma Trayham's comments about

09:40the youth and what this provides,

09:42especially the young black youth, to

09:44give them the keys and opportunities to

09:46open up those doors. We need more jobs

09:48for about economic development and if

09:50you look at the statistics with the

09:52young black youth, we're struggling in

09:54that. We cannot we cannot look away at

09:57that. And I'm here SRP is here to help

10:00and promote that and I really really

10:02mean it and I love that. And it's just

10:05it's just something that I've always had

10:08you know, just to help other different

10:11groups whether it's Latino or Hispanic

10:15or the Asians.

10:16You know, we all need to help. But

10:18looking at the the the young black youth

10:22and where they're at, we need to be here

10:24and we need to stand with you. And I'm

10:26just letting you know I'm here and even

10:28after my role after this, I'm still

10:29going to keep fighting on.

10:31>> I love that.

10:32>> But

10:33Now

10:34>> [applause]

10:38>> Now I'm going to go on my script now.

10:40And many of you as you know, SRP is a

10:42non-for-profit utility serving more than

10:442 million Arizonans with reliable,

10:46affordable water and power. But our

10:48commitment extends beyond that.

10:51It It We believe in communities are

10:54built through strong partnerships.

10:56And that means investing in the

10:57organizations that create pathways and

11:00economic mobility and long-term

11:02prosperity. That is one of the many

11:04reasons SRP is proud to partner with the

11:06Black Chamber of Arizona. For more than

11:09two decades, the chamber has been a

11:10powerful advocate for small businesses,

11:14entrepreneurs and historically

11:16underserved communities across our

11:18state. This work helps businesses owners

11:21gain access to valuable resources,

11:23networks and the tools needed to grow

11:25and compete. The chamber's vision of

11:28helping create pathways to 100,000

11:30Arizona jobs by 2035 is ambitious

11:33and it's exactly the kind of bold

11:35thinking our state needs. The Arizona

11:37Legacy Center will provide a lasting

11:39foundation to help advance the vision

11:41that it has.

11:43Today, we're not just celebrating a new

11:44building, we're celebrating

11:46opportunities

11:47that will be created here inside.

11:50Congratulations to the Black Chamber

11:52of Arizona.

11:54It's truly remarkable what you have done

11:56and we still have a lot more work to do.

11:58Thank you.

12:08>> I'm Rev. Warren Stewart, State Commander

12:09of the Legion. There's There's a few

12:10other shout-outs that I must give. We

12:13also have the State Commander of the

12:15American Legion as well as the uh

12:18Finance Director of the Legion, Jarvis

12:21uh Nomik, I believe, but we have the

12:22State Commander for the American Legion.

12:26And

12:27but

12:30Awesome.

12:31Rev. Warren Stewart reads We also have

12:33Jeff Glover, the first African-American

12:35Director of the Arizona Public Safety

12:37Commission.

12:46>> And I'm going to keep the names coming.

12:48But next we have

12:51our Vice Mayor, Kate Gallego Washington,

12:53Vice Mayor of Phoenix and District 8

12:55Councilmember. The center is in her

12:58district. The first African-American

12:59woman elected to the Phoenix City

13:01Council in 2023, Vice Mayor since 2026,

13:05previously an attorney for 20 years,

13:07including an Assistant Attorney General.

13:10Please give it up for Vice Mayor Kate

13:12Gallego

13:13Washington.

13:21>> Good morning, everyone.

13:23It is beyond a pleasure to welcome you

13:26to the to District 8, of course, and to

13:28celebrate the opening of the Arizona

13:30Legacy Center. The center sits right

13:32here in District in the district where I

13:34have the pleasure of representing, and

13:36that makes today particularly special.

13:39Um District 8 is still to entrepreneurs,

13:41small businesses, families, community

13:43leaders who are helping to shape

14:40>> Good morning and welcome to

14:42the October 21st Transportation

14:44Infrastructure and Planning Subcommittee

14:46meeting.

14:47Um

14:48I'm joined by Councilman Waring and

14:51Councilman Robinson, and the Vice Mayor

14:54is on the telephone.

14:57So, I've called the meeting to order,

14:59and next we'll have the city attorney,

15:01Carolina, explain public comment.

15:05>> [clears throat]

15:07>> Thank you.

15:08Members of the public may speak for up

15:10to 2 minutes to comment on agenda items.

15:13Comments must be related to the agenda

15:15item and action being considered by the

15:16council. General comments that go beyond

15:19the scope of the agenda item must be

15:21made in the citizen comment session at

15:23the end of the agenda.

15:25The city council and staff cannot

15:26discuss or comment on matters relating

15:28to pending investigations, claims, or

15:30litigation.

15:32Additionally, any member of the public

15:33who appears before council in their

15:35capacity as a lobbyist, must, as

15:37required by Phoenix City Code, disclose

15:39this fact before addressing council.

15:42The city code requires speakers to

15:43present their comments in a respectful

15:45and courteous manner. Profane language,

15:47threats, or personal attacks on members

15:49of the public, council members, or staff

15:51are not allowed. As a reminder, speakers

15:53should not act in a disrespectful manner

15:55that is openly hostile to others with

15:57differing viewpoints who have spoken

15:59before them. A person who violates these

16:01rules will lose the opportunity to

16:03continue to speak.

16:04Thank you.

16:06>> Thank you. Next we turn to our

16:08interpreter,

16:09Elsie.

16:12>> Thank you, Madam Chair Stark.

16:14My as you stated, my name is Elsie

16:16Duarte and I will be providing Spanish

16:18interpretation during today's

16:20transportation, infrastructure, and

16:22planning subcommittee session. I will

16:24now take a moment to address our

16:26Spanish-speaking audience.

17:02Thank you, Madam Chair.

17:04>> Thank you.

17:06Next we'll turn to the agenda and first

17:09is the approval of the minutes of the

17:11May 20th, 2026 meeting. Do I have a

17:14motion?

17:15>> So moved.

17:16>> Second.

17:17>> All in favor say I. I.

17:20>> I.

17:21>> It carries unanimously.

17:24Next we have our consent agenda and on

17:26that today we have um

17:29approval to issue solicitation for our

17:32BRT.

17:34We have amending our city code to look

17:37at local speed limits

17:39and our taxi services contract. Are

17:43there any questions?

17:46Okay. I have a motion to approve. Do I

17:49have a second?

17:50>> Second.

17:51>> All in favor say I. I.

17:54Thank you. And I will have to put in a

17:56plug for BRT. This summer I was in

17:59Madison, Wisconsin

18:01at a cousin reunion and I got the

18:04opportunity to experience BRT in Madison

18:07and works beautifully. It'll be a great

18:09compliment to light rail. Thank you.

18:14All right, moving along.

18:17Next we have item five which is parks

18:21and recreation

18:23department master plan.

18:31And Cynthia, if you introduce.

18:36>> Yes, good morning Madam Chair, members

18:38of the subcommittee. Today we have our

18:41parks team. I'll allow Marty to do

18:43introductions and as you know, we've

18:44been working a very long time on the

18:46parks master plan so they're here to

18:47give the latest update as they near

18:49completion.

18:50>> All right, thank you Cynthia and good

18:51morning Madam Chair, members of the

18:53subcommittee.

18:54Our team is happy to be here this

18:56morning to provide an update on our

18:58system-wide city-wide master plan for

19:00the parks department. The parks

19:02department is developing a a new 10-year

19:04master plan that will guide us for the

19:06future. As a reminder, the last parks

19:08master plan was completed in 1988, a

19:11long time ago.

19:12The scope of the master plan will

19:14include uh includes assessments of our

19:16parks, facilities, amenities, our

19:19irrigation systems, and community

19:20feedback that we've gathered through

19:23meetings, surveys, and local events.

19:25These assessments and insights helped

19:27identify key findings and priorities we

19:29will share with the subcommittee this

19:30morning. Joining me at the table this

19:32morning is special projects

19:34administrator Felicity Mendoza, who is

19:36the lead on this project, and Mike Swetz

19:38from PROS Consulting, who will present

19:40on the key findings. With that, I will

19:42turn the presentation over to Mike.

19:45>> Thank you, Director Whitfield,

19:48Madam Chair, members of subcommittee.

19:50Appreciate the opportunity to be here in

19:52front of you this morning. Um as we've

19:55discussed previously, oh,

20:00second.

20:05I'll let you guys run the show.

20:08Okay, there we go. Thank you. So, as

20:10we've discussed previously, the the

20:12master plan really kind of brings

20:14community feedback, access to parks and

20:16recreation, and operating needs together

20:19to kind of guide decisions over the next

20:2110 years

20:23to create safe, inclusive, durable park

20:25system.

20:26These are the items that we will cover

20:28this evening or this morning.

20:30And one thing I just want to be

20:33clear on is that though we will kind of

20:35touch on a community engagement summary,

20:37it is important to recognize the

20:39community input informs every decision

20:41and that recommendation

20:43that will come out of the master plan.

20:47So, in terms of the goals,

20:50we are really looking at this kind of

20:52being a 10-year planning horizon.

20:54We are looking at how this plan will

20:56guide future development efforts both

20:58whether it is within the existing park

21:00system or future expansion. How do we

21:03improve recreation facilities and pools?

21:06What are the operational impacts of

21:08every capital decision that we make? Um

21:11understanding how to uh incorporate

21:14water conservation strategies from the

21:16comprehensive water conservation plan uh

21:19that was completed last year uh as part

21:22of this parks and recreation master

21:23plan. Uh the goal is obviously to create

21:26a sustainable, safe park system uh that

21:29does promote equitable access and

21:31inclusivity.

21:34Phoenix is starting from a position of

21:35strength. This master plan builds upon

21:38the great work that the city and the

21:39department has already done.

21:42Um residents value the system and staff

21:45are already delivering on many strong

21:46experiences.

21:48Uh almost four out of every five

21:50community members use the park system.

21:53Uh a a fairly strong rating of the park

21:55system of 70% uh condition rating of

21:58good or excellent uh and an even

22:00stronger rating of programs and events

22:03that are offered uh with 86% being good

22:06or excellent. All of these are derived

22:08um from the statistically valid survey

22:10and supported through all of the other

22:12community engagement efforts uh tens of

22:15thousands of touch points as part of

22:17this plan um a a going forward.

22:20So, what do residents want? Residents

22:23want the basics. Um they want safe,

22:27clean, shaded, functional park system.

22:31Uh

22:32in terms of putting the the money where

22:34their mouth is. Um

22:36almost two out of every five folks um

22:39prioritized just taking care of what you

22:41already have. Repair and increase

22:44maintenance.

22:45Uh another 1/3 is is really about

22:48understanding how to improve shared use

22:51paths in parks. This is not long linear

22:54stretches. This is having giving people

22:56opportunities uh to walk, walk a dog, um

23:00ride a bike, um push a stroller close to

23:03their homes in existing parks. Uh those

23:06shared use paths are really critical. Uh

23:08walking for exercise is the number one

23:10activity in this community and across

23:12the country.

23:14Uh and providing those safe, clean, uh

23:17act accessible um opportunities is

23:20really important. And then restrooms. Um

23:23we can have a park that provides 10

23:24different experiences and not

23:26everybody's going to participate in all

23:2810. But we do know that there is one

23:31thing in common. Everybody that is using

23:33that park is potentially going to need

23:35to use a restroom. Um so in ensuring

23:38that those major support facilities that

23:40are necessary to providing safe, clean,

23:43functional park experiences, um you

23:46know, leaning into restrooms is really,

23:48really important. These public

23:50priorities really help to guide

23:52reinvestment in the system as opposed to

23:54just saying, "Hey, you know what? We

23:56want more of everything."

23:58So, um a really common key theme, we've

24:01talked about this previously, is safety,

24:04safety, safety. Oftentimes we think

24:06about safety being an enforcement issue,

24:09a reaction to an issue. We are going to

24:11a frame this safety issue as more of a

24:13system-based approach. Um park

24:17maintenance drives the perceptions of

24:19safety. And I've walked the, you know,

24:21community through this example. If you

24:23pull up into a park or walk into a park

24:25and the parking lot has broken glass, or

24:28you go a little bit further and you see

24:29a trash can that's overflowing, uh you

24:31see a playground that's tagged with

24:33vandalism, um you put or graffiti and

24:36you see a a restroom that's, you know,

24:38non-functional because of vandalism, you

24:41don't necessarily feel safe in that

24:43park.

24:45but park maintenance has a way of

24:46helping to overcome some of those

24:48issues. Recreation provides safe havens

24:52for kids, uh safe experiences,

24:55uh and the urban park rangers have a

24:56tendency to bring all of this together.

24:59Fundamentally, we have to look at safety

25:02in the our park system, the largest land

25:04owner in the city of Phoenix, as the

25:07fundamental uh,

25:09outcome of the parks and recreation

25:10master plan and the day-in and day-out

25:12work that the parks department does

25:14going forward.

25:16Productive parks. Um, this is all about

25:19parks being used. And we think about

25:21park utilization, but we think about it

25:23in, you know, typically four different

25:25ways. And public value comes from and

25:27how people define the public value

25:30associated with the park system comes

25:32from four different potential uses.

25:34Programs, swim lessons, for example, um,

25:37could be uh, after-school programs, um,

25:40could be summer camps, uh, and a whole

25:42lot of other programming in between.

25:44Special events, um, sports and rentals,

25:48uh, and self-directed use. We really

25:50have to lean into the self-directed use

25:52and ensure that the parks and recreation

25:54system provides the experiences or

25:57provides the spaces and places that are

26:00necessitated for that self-directed

26:02experience. Three out of every four uses

26:06in your park system is people um, using

26:09it in a self-directed way. Playing on a

26:12playground, um, walking on a pathway,

26:15um, picnicking, uh, just a few examples

26:18of of self-directed use. So, it's not

26:20always just about increasing program

26:22utilization, so that's important, or

26:25getting more attendance at special

26:26events, or booking more fields, but it's

26:29really about looking at it through how

26:31people use the parks and ensuring that

26:34we're providing more of uh, the things

26:37that people are looking for.

26:39Condition and access. Um, a park can be

26:42nearby, it doesn't necessarily mean that

26:44it's going to get used. If the condition

26:46of it is not up to snuff, if it's not

26:49easy to get to, it's not clean, it's not

26:52safe, it's not shaded, it's not

26:54functional, it doesn't necessarily mean

26:56that it's going to get used. Um,

26:58however, access is really, really

27:01important. Um, and so we need to talk

27:03about that in terms of how we improve

27:06the opportunities, um, to to move

27:09forward.

27:10So, um, access isn't defined by any

27:13single amenity. There are people that

27:15use parks, some people use recreation

27:17centers, some people use, um, community

27:19centers, some people use pools, some

27:21people use all of them. What we have

27:23done is created access, um, geographical

27:26access gap map analysis maps, um, for

27:30parks, community centers, recreation

27:31centers, and pools. And so as you look

27:34at the park map, um, you're seeing a lot

27:36of shaded area in pink. That is showing,

27:39uh, the, uh, access coverage that you

27:41have for your existing flatland parks.

27:44You see some green on this map, you also

27:46see blue. Um, those are areas of state

27:49land, be uh, BLM land, and or the

27:52preserves. The idea is is to identify

27:55the gaps associated with, um, you know,

27:57on the map in white, uh, to give you a

27:59sense of where there are opportunities

28:01to create more parks,

28:03and or parks that, um, have the

28:05experiences that your community's

28:07looking for.

28:08And we'll go back to the next map. Um,

28:10recreation centers. Same kind of

28:12exercise, these, um, are more in blue,

28:15but you can see recreation centers were

28:17kind of the first type of recreation

28:19facility developed in the city of

28:20Phoenix. Uh, they're smaller facilities

28:23and they are kind of developed in that

28:25urban core. Next slide, or next map,

28:28sorry. Community centers. Um, now these

28:31provide a a pretty good snapshot of the,

28:34uh, the look at, um, the the the the

28:36larger facilities and the coverage that

28:38it does have. Um, again, this does

28:41complement some of the recreation

28:42centers, it does help close some of

28:44those gaps, um, but it doesn't

28:47necessarily equate to um covering the

28:49experiences that people want because the

28:52community centers are much smaller and

28:54don't necessarily provide the array of

28:56experiences that the um or the

28:58recreation centers are much smaller and

29:00do not necessarily provide the array of

29:02experiences that the community centers

29:04do.

29:05And then pools. Um, we have pretty

29:07strong coverage, um, but we have a lot

29:09of pools, um, in the urban core. Uh, and

29:12so, uh, as we think about uh looking at

29:14pool coverage, we really want to focus

29:16on where, um, you know, gaps exist and

29:19or growth will occur in the future.

29:23So, um, you know, I think it's just

29:25important to reiterate when we look at

29:27the the coverage of the the park map,

29:30um, we have a tendency to to look at it

29:32and say, "Hey, you know what? We have

29:33pretty good coverage." And we do, from

29:35neighborhood parks, pocket parks,

29:37community parks, regional parks.

29:39Um, uh and that is important to note,

29:42but it doesn't mean that investment in

29:44the park system, uh, is complete. We

29:46have to le- lean into the uh priority

29:50provided by the community, which is kind

29:52of taking care of what we already have.

29:54We have to protect that floor, that

29:56strong floor that we already have, uh,

29:59with regards to the existing park

30:00system. Next slide.

30:02So, um, access though, uh, does extend

30:05beyond just city parks. We want to look

30:07at potential HOA parks, master plan

30:09parks, um, county, uh, parks within the

30:12geographic area, even parks that are on

30:15the edges. So, when we look at city and

30:17other parks, we start to see how some of

30:20these potentially fill those gaps. We

30:23are not necessarily using this as a way

30:25to say that, uh, the all of these other

30:27parks have the equal access, uh, to them

30:31or you uh can use them, but it does give

30:34you a snapshot in terms of how some of

30:36those parks, especially those that are

30:38outside of the geographic boundaries of

30:41the city of Phoenix, help to close some

30:43of those gaps. Um, you know, people

30:45don't necessarily always think about I

30:48need to use the city of Phoenix park.

30:50Um, they're going to go and use the park

30:52that um, has the experiences that

30:54they're most interested in, whether that

30:56be within the city of Phoenix or um,

30:58outside.

31:00So, the next slide starts to um, look at

31:02it not just we've talked about existing

31:04city parks, we've talked about city

31:06parks and other parks. Um, but let's

31:08look at uh, future parks. Um, and how

31:11does that potentially impact um, the um,

31:15you know, the gaps? Uh, so this map um,

31:17shows not only existing parks and other

31:20parks, but the purple um, gives you a

31:23sense of what the coverage would be or

31:25the gaps that get closed um, when we um,

31:28overlay uh, onto the the uh, park maps

31:32um, where future parks are being um,

31:35considered. Um, this is not uh, and so

31:38what this helps us do is understand

31:40where there's potential gaps, where

31:42parks eventually um, you know, uh,

31:45new parks will uh, eventually um, help

31:49close those gaps. But one thing to

31:51consider is it's not just geographic

31:53access. So, one of the things that we're

31:55continuing to do is to work through um,

31:58the population uh, that is unserved um,

32:01by your park system. So, we know that we

32:04have denser populations in certain areas

32:06and we have areas that are going to

32:07continue to grow. So, understanding um,

32:11how expansion of the park system impacts

32:14the most amount of people in the right

32:16way. And so that is going to be part of

32:18the decision, part of the analysis and

32:20decision that moves forward to help us

32:23prioritize um, these future but not yet

32:26developed parks.

32:30And then lastly, so we talk about parks

32:33and we talk about them in generalities,

32:35but we want to lean into the experiences

32:38the community has said that they

32:40desire the most where they have placed a

32:43lot of importance but also have levels

32:45of high levels of unmet need. These

32:48three

32:49you know specific amenities are also

32:52very hot across the country. I'm sure

32:55everybody by now has heard of pickleball

32:58and so this gives you a sense of where

33:00our current coverage is with pickleball.

33:03One thing of note this is based on how

33:06pickleball has rolled over the last five

33:08years as soon as we think we have it

33:10covered we don't. And so it is an

33:13anomaly in terms of trends because this

33:16generation of park and recreation

33:18professionals has never kind of

33:19experienced this kind of growth in this

33:22kind of sport. So this is something to

33:25continue to think about that until it

33:28really starts to flatline that as soon

33:30as we think we're done improving

33:31pickleball we have to think about you

33:33know do we need to continue to move

33:35forward. That could be existing parks

33:38could be adding courts in existing parks

33:40or adding them to new parks. Same thing

33:42with dog parks you are a community that

33:44loves your dogs.

33:46You don't have a small little dog park

33:48right outside here if your community

33:50didn't love dogs and so this gives you a

33:52sense of where your coverage is and also

33:55provides opportunities to think about

33:57how do we optimize our existing park

33:59system by potentially adding dog parks

34:01to it

34:02and or off leash areas. Next slide.

34:05So the last map is splash pads.

34:07Splash pads is a great way efficient way

34:11and a water conservation way

34:14to provide cooling and fun during the

34:16summer.

34:17It is not for everybody

34:19it is not going to take the place of

34:21pools and the need to

34:24teach people to swim

34:26and or competitive swimming or all the

34:29water fitness classes that can come with

34:31pools but it is a way to help add to the

34:34aquatic service delivery

34:37in a way that is more expensive and

34:39recognizes

34:41water conservation as a key element in

34:44the city of Phoenix.

34:46All right. So, um

34:49it's important that we've talked about

34:51all of this infrastructure and you have

34:52a great,

34:54you know, park system as we've seen

34:56189 parks, 33 different recreation

34:59facilities,

35:0123 operating pools and so on, but

35:05and the public needs to experience that,

35:07need to experience that in a safe,

35:09shaded, functional way. But we also have

35:12to recognize there's a lot of work that

35:13goes behind that. And so, making sure

35:17that as we go forward, that we are

35:20keeping up with the operating impact.

35:22All of the things that staff does to to

35:26make those experiences happen in a in a

35:30high-quality way.

35:31So, it it goes beyond just a grit, it

35:34goes beyond park counts and visitation,

35:36it goes beyond registration.

35:38There is a lot of work that goes into

35:40this and we have to ensure that the

35:42operating impact associated with

35:44managing a park and recreation system

35:47keeps up with the experiences desired of

35:49the community.

35:51And if we're successful and we create

35:54more work, we create more use of the

35:56park system and facilities and programs,

35:58it's actually going to create more

36:00operating responsibility. I've used the

36:02analogy with the public that if you have

36:04two people in your household, you don't

36:06clean your bathrooms nearly as much as

36:08you do if you have five people in your

36:09household. The same kind of holds true

36:12with regards to a park and recreation

36:14system, but obviously on a much greater

36:17scale. So,

36:18ensuring that we recognize that

36:21utilization, safe utilization of a park

36:23system can increase the public value of

36:26your park creation system, but it also

36:28will increase the operating

36:30responsibility. So, our approach going

36:32forward, protect our floor.

36:35We do not want to lose any utilization.

36:38We do not [clears throat] want to

36:39minimize or reduce our condition and or

36:42quality assessments. We need to continue

36:46to protect that floor. We need to

36:49continue to renew and reinvest in this

36:52parks and recreation system. The growth

36:55of the park and recreation system that

36:56has occurred over the last 40 years

36:59at that breakneck speed will not

37:00continue over the next 10 or 20 or 30.

37:04So, the renewing of the existing park

37:06and recreation system is fundamental to

37:09ensuring that we're matching the public

37:11value expectations of your community.

37:13Optimizing.

37:15Many of the parks in the existing system

37:17today did not ever contemplate such

37:19things as dog park splash pads

37:22and pickleball courts. So, how do we

37:24make use of the existing acreage and the

37:27existing 189 parks and put add those

37:30elements in strategic ways that help

37:32close gaps in alignment with community

37:35need. There may be areas of this

37:37community that are more prone or more

37:39apt to play pickleball than others.

37:42So, it's not kind of necessarily a

37:44one-size-fits-all.

37:45So, we have to continue to prioritize

37:48and communicate with the community about

37:50their needs going forward. So,

37:52maximizing, optimizing the use of your

37:55existing acreage and the expansion. We

37:58know that there are gaps

37:59and we know that there are planned and

38:01future parks on the books,

38:04but let's make sure we prioritize and

38:06expand in a way that makes the most

38:08sense

38:09and positively impacts the most amount

38:12of people. We all have to continue to do

38:15this though within the lens of that

38:17total cost of ownership. Build

38:19something, manage and maintain it,

38:22eventually you're going to have to

38:23replace it and reinvest in it. There's

38:25nothing we build lasts forever.

38:28So, our goal, lasting public value. Need

38:32to align all of this with a the

38:36communities desires to have safe,

38:38productive, sustainable, accessible,

38:40cared for parks

38:42that they can safely use and easily use

38:46over time.

38:48Our timeline, we are getting really,

38:50really close and this kind of does tee

38:53up into our next steps, which I will

38:55turn over to Director Whitfield to run

38:58through with you all.

38:59>> All right, thank you, Mike.

39:01First and foremost, I want to thank Mike

39:02Spetz for all of his hard work on this

39:04project and also

39:06Felicity Mendoza over the past couple

39:07years. So,

39:09yes, next steps

39:10subcommittee members

39:12will include the completion of the draft

39:14master plan this winter and then a

39:16recommendation to the parks board for

39:17adoption

39:19after the first of the year and then

39:21return to this subcommittee to review

39:22the final master plan.

39:24This concludes our presentation and

39:26we'll be happy to answer any questions

39:27you might have.

39:29>> Thank you and we actually do have one

39:31speaker.

39:32Tim, he's already jumping.

39:41>> Tim Surkalowski, thank you so much.

39:44I haven't heard the golf courses listed

39:47in this big plan and I haven't heard

39:49about any of the preserve property.

39:52Huh.

39:53Kind of makes me wonder, is that even

39:56did you even think about it?

39:58There are more people hiking in this

40:00town than are going to other parks.

40:04That's the number one thing in this town

40:06is people going out and hiking.

40:08But it's not addressed. Why not?

40:11Oh, that's right because that wasn't

40:13when they first did the

40:15the contract for this

40:18the other park director said it wasn't

40:20important. That's right. That was stated

40:23at the last meeting that we were at.

40:24Correct.

40:26I guess you know, millions of people

40:28just don't matter in the parks

40:29department.

40:33This This has been going on how many

40:35years? 3 years? 2 2 and 1/2 years?

40:37Data's outdated at this point.

40:41I guess my real question is I have to

40:43pay someone to tell the parks department

40:45that exactly what they should be doing.

40:49Because I thought when they go to school

40:52that they read their books, this is

40:54exactly what they're supposed to be

40:56doing.

40:57Remember, health, safety, and welfare of

40:59the people.

41:02But I still want to discuss the golf

41:03courses. What are they going to do with

41:04the golf courses in this major plan?

41:06Anything?

41:08What are you going to do about hiking?

41:09How about maintenance for hiking, all

41:11the trails?

41:12Nothing's mentioned. We're just going to

41:14let it go. Oh, it's okay. It's cool.

41:16So, we're just doing a bifurcation of

41:18one individual group, peoples that go to

41:20these other places, but the most number

41:23of people go to the trails to hike.

41:28Just gives me something to think about.

41:31Maybe in the next couple years we'll

41:33have this plan done, and then it will be

41:35outdated at that point. It's just a

41:36waste of more money. Thank you.

41:42>> Thank you. Um

41:45I just have a couple comments, couple

41:47questions. Um

41:49First, when you were looking at the

41:50parks, how do you distinguish between

41:55what I'll call parks that have been

41:56around for a long, long time, like a

41:59roadrunner, Christy Cove, or Sandpiper,

42:03versus the new parks? How are you

42:05ensuring that there's equity in how

42:07we're maintaining

42:09the older parks versus our new parks.

42:15>> Madam Chair, members of the

42:15subcommittee, um

42:17you know, this is my seventh department

42:18that I've been in at the city and I I

42:20will share this and my my former boss

42:22probably will co-sign. Um

42:25our maintenance team is amazing. Uh

42:27they're out there Monday through Friday

42:28from 5:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. So, don't

42:31really distinguish between old and new

42:33parks. We we maintain all 189 of our

42:37parks. So, they just do a remarkable job

42:38of that.

42:42>> Right. And then um

42:44you talked a lot about uh some trends in

42:47uh recreation. I know that Councilman

42:50Waring and I have experienced this. We

42:52have quite a following when it comes to

42:54cricket

42:55in our districts and actually two of our

42:57parks now have uh

42:59practice pitch and I'll tell you

43:03it's non-stop. It's amazing how those

43:05parks are now used. How do you address

43:08those kinds of of trends? I mean, is

43:10that a part of what you looked at?

43:21>> Could you um I'm sorry. Could you repeat

43:22the question?

43:23>> So, just talking about trends, uh a

43:26couple years ago during the budget

43:28process, Councilman Waring and I were

43:30approached by avid cricket players and

43:34because of that, two of our parks now

43:37have uh practice pitch fields in them

43:39and they're widely used. I mean, I I

43:42drive by Turtle Basin. It is constantly

43:45in use. So, how do you look at those

43:47kinds of trends cuz I didn't really know

43:49much about cricket until about two years

43:51ago and now I know a lot about cricket.

43:54>> Thank you. I appreciate that for

43:55repeating that. Um

43:57uh trends are um

43:59a great thing. Uh we lean into a a

44:02number of different statistics um

44:04through the Environmental Systems

44:05Research Institute, uh the Sport Fitness

44:07Industry Association uh to give us an

44:10understanding of where

44:12activities have occurred,

44:14where what that growth looks like over

44:16the last 10 years, what it looks like

44:18over the last 1 year, over the last 5

44:19years. In particular, what has been

44:21sustained since COVID,

44:24which has fundamentally increased park

44:27and recreation use

44:28over the last 5 or 6 years.

44:31Continuing to ask your community though,

44:34I I think is paramount.

44:36A park and recreation system master plan

44:39does a great job of engaging the

44:40community, but the recommendation coming

44:43out of this will be to continue to

44:45understand how you're implementing and

44:47how you're meeting those needs coming

44:48out of this community engagement

44:50process.

44:51And being able to do that periodically

44:54at you know, maybe every 3 years, every

44:564 years

44:57to continue to understand, hey, you know

45:00what? How have those trends changed?

45:02Continuing to lean into those data

45:05sources is a great way.

45:07Having lived on the city side of the

45:09table, the last thing you want to do is

45:11make an investment, a capital investment

45:14that becomes outdated within 2, 3, 5

45:17years. So, continuing to understand all

45:19of those data points and engage with the

45:21community is really important.

45:24>> Thank you. Councilman Waring.

45:26>> Were you done, Madam Chair? Okay, I kind

45:28of kind of want to piggyback on what you

45:30were saying with a couple of my

45:31questions. So,

45:32as the Chair said, we added a pickleball

45:36or I excuse me, a cricket pitch

45:39in Sandpiper. And one thing that we

45:41found is that they were having to go out

45:44and set it up every time. It's kind of a

45:46hassle. People who want to play cricket

45:48there. So, do you play cricket? I assume

45:51you play. Is that right? Okay. All

45:52right.

45:54You know, I hadn't known much about

45:56cricket until those fellows started

45:58coming and asking us. I didn't realize

45:59they were we're out to Chandler or

46:01something. So, I sort of feel like we're

46:03getting people off the road, saving some

46:05small percentage of the environment, but

46:08also for people who want to play

46:09softball or baseball, they were using

46:12that same area is my understanding. So,

46:14you're freeing it up so that more kids,

46:17that's what I used to do as a kid. We'd

46:18go down to the local park and we'd find

46:21out who was there and we'd go play a

46:22game and those are some of my fondest

46:23memories. So,

46:25um so, I was happy to see that. Um

46:28but if citizens hadn't come, I don't

46:30really remember anybody coming and

46:31talking about a demand for cricket. So,

46:33that's kind of to your point. So, I'm

46:35glad that you guys are monitoring

46:36trends. That's not what I would have

46:38guessed. Also, um

46:41uh I think we had we had some money

46:45uh I think through a gift, if memory

46:47serves, but um

46:49uh

46:50I think it was about $70,000.

46:52You can't like if we had put out a uh

46:56questionnaire, people might say I want a

46:57restaurant.

46:59You can't build a restroom for $70,000.

47:01There's very few things that you can

47:02build for $70,000, but you could build

47:05the cricket pitch for $70,000 and free

47:07up the softball. So, there is one

47:10neighbor who complains, like that was a

47:12waste of money, what were you basing

47:13that on, but as Deb suggested, it's

47:15definitely getting used. I've heard that

47:16from our parks department and I

47:18appreciate hearing that. But, you also

47:20have to work within the constraints of

47:21how much money you have.

47:23You know, most of the stuff that you

47:24just showed, I mean, that splash pad,

47:26all of it, you couldn't buy for the

47:28money that was available. So, at some

47:31point you just got to make a decision

47:33and I thought that was the correct one.

47:34Regarding pickleball, that's been

47:37uh quite the discussion the last few

47:39years. I have had, not impugning

47:41pickleball, that maybe we are at peak

47:44pickleball. That's sort of been out

47:45there as a discussion. Now, I still know

47:48people who really love it, but then

47:49there are people at my gym who say, yes,

47:50I do play, but it seems like now it's,

47:53you know,

47:54it's more before work and after work,

47:55like during the day you can go to one of

47:57these clubs and play to your heart's

47:59content. They're building a private

48:00club. It's actually in Scottsdale, but

48:01it's

48:02not walking distance by hope, but very

48:04close. They were selling memberships and

48:06stuff. So, people are also building in

48:07the private sector on pickleball. Can

48:10you, I guess from maybe from Marty,

48:12maybe Feli,

48:13how much is a tennis court and how much

48:17I think is it two or four pickleball

48:20courts go on a the size of a tennis

48:22court? And how much is that? Because

48:24it's way more expensive than it used to

48:26be.

48:27>> Yeah.

48:28Uh Madam Chair, uh members of the

48:30subcommittee and Councilman Waring,

48:31yeah, you are correct. Uh two pickleball

48:33courts will fit on one uh tennis court.

48:36And it depends, Councilman, um

48:38if uh the concrete is past

48:41refurbishment, then that is a larger um

48:45uh

48:46a cost that could be upwards of $200,000

48:49to do that. Uh if it just needs

48:51resurfacing, that's a lot less expensive

48:53and that could be around $25,000.

48:56>> Uh

48:57Madam Chair, what about buying building

48:59from scratch?

49:00>> Uh building from scratch, so

49:03you're talking about concrete and

49:04everything that goes along with that.

49:06That could be lighting.

49:07Um that could be uh um

49:11drinking fountains, the water for

49:12drinking fountains. Um the last

49:15pickleball courts that we did from

49:16scratch, we did four of those and it was

49:19upwards of $1 million. Yeah.

49:21>> So, I mean that that was a dramatic

49:23increase as I remember when we built at

49:25Sandpiper another tennis court because

49:28pickleball, when they resurfaced the

49:31courts like you're talking, there were

49:32two tennis courts.

49:33Tennis players were mad that one of the

49:35tennis courts became, I think it was two

49:37pickleball courts with the resurfacing.

49:39So, then we found the money for another

49:41tennis court, but I think building from

49:43scratch, the drainage, all the stuff

49:45you're talking about, if you want to

49:45play at night, which is what a lot of

49:47people are going to play, particularly

49:48obviously in the summer,

49:50it's like 500 grand by the time it was

49:52all done. And you got to find the

49:53contractors to build it. I mean, it it

49:54was a production. So, there's more that

49:56goes into this

49:58um

49:58than the public might think. It's not

50:01kind of a willy-nilly thing,

50:02particularly at a new park. Uh so, the

50:05folks who did the survey are correct.

50:07You don't want to get that wrong. We

50:09want to build stuff people want to use.

50:11That's certainly our goal. Um to that

50:15end, uh and you can cut me off whenever,

50:17Madam Chair. I got a bunch of questions,

50:18but if Kevin wants to go or you do, uh

50:20just let me know.

50:21Uh I'll keep rolling until you tell me

50:22that. Um

50:24uh I'm used to people telling me to shut

50:25up, so it won't hurt my feelings. Um so,

50:28water, uh the splash pads. I get the

50:30splash pads. There are a couple private

50:32splash pads relatively close to my house

50:34at at malls and stuff, but but generally

50:36speaking, they're also we have them in

50:38the parks. Obviously, at a time where

50:40water conservation is a priority,

50:42my understanding is not every splash pad

50:44that we have recaptures that water. So,

50:47I assume any new splash pads will

50:49recapture

50:51or I just would hope that we would be

50:53conscious of that and how that kind of

50:56looks, you know, going forward. Um I

50:59mean, it's great to have them, no doubt,

51:00but um

51:02just want to make sure it's

51:03environmentally friendly. Um replacing

51:05broken equipment. Like, how often I know

51:08you talked about your staff, Arden. I

51:09appreciate that. How often do people go

51:11around and check the equipment?

51:13>> Yeah, um Madam Chair, members of the

51:15subcommittee, Councilman Waring, that is

51:16a daily um task for our maintenance

51:18team.

51:20Um and it depends on, you know, how how

51:22many uh maintenance staff that we have

51:24per park, but like I mentioned, from

51:255:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., that is when our

51:28maintenance teams are out there checking

51:30all of our amenities. That could be our

51:31playgrounds. That could be our

51:32irrigation, restrooms to see if there's

51:35any any vandalism or anything that needs

51:37to be repaired.

51:38>> And also, I assume like dead grass and

51:39you know, you don't want somebody

51:40blowing a knee running through the I

51:42mean, it could happen anytime, but

51:44you're going to check for like soft

51:46areas and so forth in the outfields and

51:49stuff because that is a way to

51:51get hurt.

51:52>> That is correct, Councilman Waring.

51:54>> It's inevitable. At some point it's

51:55going to happen.

51:55>> They they check the entire turf for

51:57potholes or gopher holes and stuff like

51:59that.

51:59>> Um for parking lots, obviously our

52:02street maintenance team they go around

52:03and check every mile of streets. I think

52:06it's once every every couple years. Um

52:09nothing screen you pull in it's kind of

52:11broken up parking lot and crumbly and so

52:13forth. We we've had a little bit of that

52:15um in District 2 where that's been

52:17brought to our attention. How often do

52:19they check the parking lots? And I know

52:21that's really an expensive lift to re-

52:23and it's it's your budget, right, that

52:24repaves it not streets, correct?

52:26>> Um Madam Chair members of the

52:28subcommittee Councilman Waring that that

52:29is correct that repair would come out of

52:31the Parks and Recreation Department

52:32budget. To answer your question that's

52:34still a responsibility of our

52:35maintenance team on a daily basis.

52:38Um

52:39to your point uh we do have course 189

52:42parks. A lot of our parks are old. Uh we

52:44do have a um

52:46a capital item to for on our five-year

52:49to repair parking lots. So

52:51>> Uh thank you for that. Um just

52:54you know, anybody who's lived in an HOA

52:56who's gotten a bill for repaving their

52:58parking lot like that's that's a heavy

53:00lift. Um so I'm glad that you're

53:03addressing that but it's also not

53:05something that can be discounted as

53:06terms of an expense.

53:08Uh what percent so

53:10I'm old so I every once in a while

53:14laugh when I get something somebody

53:15sends me or I see on Twitter or whatever

53:18about old parks equipment from back in

53:20the '80s when things were theoretically

53:21better and they'll show something with

53:23no shade. It's all metal.

53:26It always strikes me whenever I go to

53:27one of our parks how much nicer the

53:28stuff looks that it is shaded and so

53:30forth. And there always be a tagline in

53:33my old guy [clears throat] '80s stuff

53:35where it says, you know, life was just

53:36better back then except for all the dead

53:38and burned kids like all these terrible

53:40parks equipment and like it's just big

53:43big and I still remember that you grab

53:45the equipment and you'd have like the

53:47burned hand like that terrible villain

53:49has in Raiders of the Lost Ark. You're

53:50like, it's imprinted into your palm. So,

53:52I'm glad that stuff is shaded. Like,

53:55what percent is is all of the climbing

53:58equipment and stuff? Is that shaded?

54:00Like, do you know? I I assume you keep

54:02records. I know the shade stuff is

54:03extremely expensive.

54:05>> Madam Chair, members of the

54:06subcommittee, Councilman Waring, I do

54:07not have a percentage about what is

54:09shaded. I I will share this with you.

54:11Obviously, we have our shade master plan

54:13that's going on in the city.

54:15And when we replace playgrounds or other

54:17equipment, we are

54:20putting shade over that over that those

54:22equipment. Um

54:24And we do have some help from David

54:27Ryu's group with some some funding

54:28there. So,

54:30point taken.

54:31You are right.

54:32You know, back in the day, no one really

54:34was was worried about

54:36>> Nothing was shaded

54:37>> Yeah, right. Right.

54:39But, we are making a push to do that

54:40around our system.

54:42>> Restrooms. So, that comes up a lot. We

54:45haven't gotten one recently, but we'll

54:46get like, "Hey, I take my young kids. I

54:48want to use the restroom. There's no

54:50restroom." Or, you know, the restroom's

54:51far away from the stuff that we use at

54:53the park.

54:54Uh but I I it's probably more now. Like,

54:57if you're just starting a restroom from

54:59scratch, how much is that?

55:01>> Yeah. Um

55:02Madam Chair, members of the

55:03subcommittee, Councilman Waring We we we

55:06do acknowledge that a lot of our

55:07restroom restrooms are old and

55:08antiquated. Um The new restrooms that we

55:11are putting in parks right now are

55:12upwards of $1.8 million.

55:15>> Uh and that's jumped a lot since the

55:18last time we discussed this.

55:20Um

55:21It's just one thing, the reason I I'm

55:23harping on these costs is when you do go

55:24out to the community

55:26like maybe get I think I brought this up

55:28the last time we discussed this.

55:30Um

55:31maybe a

55:33kind of a menu sort of ala carte.

55:35Like, you know, we have a million

55:37dollars. If you say, "Well, the number

55:39one thing is a restroom."

55:42Why is that even on there? It's not

55:43going to happen. But, you do have to

55:44explain like why the number one thing

55:46isn't going to get taken care of. I I

55:49would strongly advise like in the future

55:51kind of showing people what things cost.

55:54I didn't know what a cricket pitch cost.

55:57Um

55:58and I didn't realize how inflated the

56:00prices have gotten on the bathrooms, but

56:02I get why people want want a restroom. I

56:05mean, I understand all that, but you

56:07know, at some point reality has to

56:09strike cuz

56:10this stuff is all extremely expensive. I

56:12remember how expensive the state stuff

56:14is and it's kind of shocking.

56:16Um when you are going to build a new

56:18park, cuz this has come up before.

56:21Uh I believe

56:23probably getting the

56:24spot wrong, but like Lone Mountain

56:27east of Tatum.

56:29I mean, you know, people moved in and

56:31I'm If I'm making this up, I apologize.

56:33You probably know sort of where I'm

56:34talking about. There's going to be a

56:36park coming and like the sign was there

56:38for years.

56:40Um

56:41you know, you don't want to trick people

56:43like if the park isn't going to get

56:45built and my kids are going to be 35

56:47years old by the time it's built there

56:48you know, then why why even put that

56:50sign up? Um

56:52you know, is there like when do signs go

56:54up saying, "Hey, a park's going to be

56:55coming at some point?"

56:57Like do you guys have rules on that? Cuz

56:59again

57:00I understood what people were saying

57:02when they were complaining to us several

57:03years ago.

57:05>> Yeah, Madam Chair, members of the

57:06subcommittee, Councilman Waring. We

57:07don't really have a protocol about, you

57:10know, putting signage up when we're

57:11going to build a park. Um

57:15I would say obviously there's a a

57:16community engagement piece. There's a

57:18design element and then there's

57:19construction. So, you know, once we get

57:22to the design phase, that's probably the

57:23appropriate time to put the sign up.

57:25>> We built a new park in district two not

57:27that long ago and it

57:29it was a product of a lot of citizen

57:30feedback. There was a lot of debate

57:31about what should be doing, where the

57:33pickleball courts are. We tried to honor

57:35every request, obviously that was

57:37impossible. So,

57:39for me who's been in this business for

57:4125 years, I'm like, well,

57:43some more enemies made, lucky me. It's

57:45just the way it goes. You can't make

57:46everybody happy, but we do try and try

57:48to put in as much as an input as

57:50possible, but that that also slows down

57:52the process some. Instead of us just

57:54dictating like this is what's going to

57:55happen. I think at one point we're

57:57moving the pickleball courts around and

57:58stuff.

57:59So, [clears throat]

58:01um

58:02you know, how long is it start to

58:04finish?

58:05Like first citizen first decision to

58:07build, then then citizen input, then

58:10actually some kids walking in for the

58:12groundbreaking or not the groundbreaking

58:14the ribbon cutting for the new equipment

58:16and people can actually use it. How long

58:18does that usually take?

58:19>> Yeah, Madam Chair, members of the

58:21subcommittee and Councilman Waring, um

58:24the community engagement piece is

58:25usually

58:276 to 12 months, so you know, we're going

58:29on the longer part there. The design is

58:30usually 12 months as well and depending

58:33on how large the park is, that

58:35construction could take 12 months as

58:37well. So, it's upwards of 3 years for a

58:38new park.

58:39>> Okay, 3 years.

58:41Um

58:42for the capital versus maintenance

58:43discussion, cuz one thing I did take

58:45away from this is people would rather

58:46have a little less stuff that's well

58:48maintained, looks nice, is welcoming.

58:52It nothing's more grim than you walk in

58:55to pretty much any park I probably visit

58:56in the 80s in Illinois and it's just

58:58like that's a broken up park, lot,

59:00whatever, patchy grass.

59:02Um

59:04the capital and the maintenance budgets

59:07are separate and distinct?

59:09>> That is correct.

59:10>> Okay, so there's really can't you can't

59:12really shift one to the other.

59:14>> Um

59:15>> No.

59:15Uh Madam Chair, members of the

59:16subcommittee and Councilman Waring, so

59:18our operating budget uh holds our

59:20maintenance um and I mean just just for

59:23the subcommittee our uh maintenance

59:25budget is about 60% of our operating

59:28budget, so it's very healthy.

59:30Uh we have a 5-year $422

59:35and um

59:37you know, we do have um you know,

59:38pockets for certain type of maintenance.

59:42>> Um in terms of safety, that's been much

59:44discussed both here at the Public Safety

59:45Committee. You know, we've had

59:48I I understand

59:49you know, it's a gazillion square acres.

59:51Our park rangers couldn't possibly

59:53patrol it all. Citizens unfortunately

59:55though have stumbled across things that

59:57you wouldn't want your kids to see in

59:59some of the equipment and so forth.

1:00:00We've had people come to council

1:00:01meetings talk about that. Um

1:00:04uh we've had people come here and talk

1:00:06about that, bathrooms and so forth. So,

1:00:08safety is of paramount importance.

1:00:11Um is the 3PI money available for use

1:00:14for safety?

1:00:17>> Uh Madam Chair, members of the

1:00:18subcommittee, Councilman Waring, uh we

1:00:20we do use um

1:00:223PI for some of our staff costs, so to

1:00:25answer your question, yes.

1:00:28>> Um because I would argue you could use

1:00:31it all for new equipment or buy new

1:00:33parks and so forth, but if people don't

1:00:35really want to go there,

1:00:37what are you really accomplishing? You

1:00:39know, there is a balance between

1:00:41creating new parks,

1:00:43putting new equipment into existing

1:00:45parks, refurbishing new parks,

1:00:47but the whole goal is to attract people

1:00:49to actually want to use them. In the

1:00:50absence of that, then what do you really

1:00:52have? Nice stuff that people isn't using

1:00:54aren't using or new stuff that people

1:00:55aren't using or new facility that people

1:00:57aren't using. None of that really

1:00:59pencils out and makes sense. So, we had

1:01:02a robust discussion a few years ago

1:01:04about hiring private security at um

1:01:08some of our parks, not every single one.

1:01:10Can you tell me where that's at? Um and

1:01:14are we adding to that? Are we using 3PI

1:01:16money for that? How are we coming along

1:01:18with park rangers? Cuz all of that feeds

1:01:20into how people are which was clearly I

1:01:24go back and look at this presentation.

1:01:26If it wasn't number one, it's pretty

1:01:28doggone close.

1:01:29>> Yeah.

1:01:30Madam Chair, members of the subcommittee

1:01:32Councilman Waring, yeah, you are

1:01:33correct. We did implement

1:01:35contracted security back in February of

1:01:372023 and that was 12 of our park

1:01:40locations.

1:01:41Um

1:01:43the contracted security does roll those

1:01:4512 locations between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00

1:01:48a.m. 7 days a week and it has

1:01:50helped out tremendously. They do

1:01:52collaborate with our park rangers and in

1:01:55Phoenix PD and

1:01:56fire department as well on issues. Our

1:01:59park ranger program we have 44 of the

1:02:02urban rangers

1:02:04right now and I I will say that you know

1:02:0644 isn't enough but we we there it's a

1:02:09small but mighty team and they do roll

1:02:12our parks 24 24 hours a day 7 days a

1:02:15week to address code of conduct.

1:02:18>> So you have 44 rangers. What was the

1:02:19peak? That's not peak rangers, is it?

1:02:23>> Yeah, Councilman Waring, that that is

1:02:24the most that we've ever had urban

1:02:26rangers that we've had. Yes.

1:02:27>> Good. Great. That's good news.

1:02:30How many actual physical locations are

1:02:32they expected to cover?

1:02:34>> Madam Chair, members of the subcommittee

1:02:36Councilman Waring,

1:02:38they're they're supposed to get to all

1:02:40of our park location. Now that's that's

1:02:41virtually impossible in one shift. I

1:02:44think what we saw last time that they

1:02:47usually get to about 175 of our parks

1:02:50during the month. So

1:02:51that's pretty good out of the 189.

1:02:53>> Yeah, I was going to say it's 189 so

1:02:55you're you're up there.

1:02:57Okay, well that's that is reassuring.

1:03:00Obviously, I'm sure they can't go to

1:03:01every nook and cranny. I I forgotten I

1:03:03think you guys have told me how many

1:03:04acres

1:03:06but the parks department of the city of

1:03:08Phoenix is a huge property owner.

1:03:11It's kind of amazing how many square

1:03:14feet, acres, etc. that you guys are

1:03:16trying to take care of. So, I appreciate

1:03:18that. Um obviously we've talked about

1:03:20again in public safety more potentially

1:03:22than here. Um for sure about uh you

1:03:26know, patrolling the parks, working with

1:03:27PD. Maybe that's a discussion for

1:03:29another day, but you're making me feel

1:03:31better. We we seem to have some drop in

1:03:33complaints, so that uh makes me happy as

1:03:37well.

1:03:38Um

1:03:39Uh I will say um

1:03:42we're cheap in District 2, so we don't

1:03:44always use all of our budget. Um and a

1:03:46few years ago I probably made the best

1:03:48decision and some of you are going to

1:03:49say it's the only good one you've ever

1:03:50made in 15 years, Jim, but I

1:03:53I heard Christine to be in my office and

1:03:54she's like, "I don't know why you give

1:03:55that money back to the city. We should

1:03:57be buying parks [clears throat]

1:03:58equipment." So, on behalf of District 2,

1:04:01I appreciate your willingness to

1:04:02entertain that, work with her. That is

1:04:05all her. That is not me. That wasn't my

1:04:06idea. I was kind of ashamed when she

1:04:08brought it up. Um and

1:04:11she may be mad at me for even bringing

1:04:12this up, so I may need a food taster for

1:04:14the next couple weeks. Does anybody got

1:04:15an extra intern? That would be helpful

1:04:16to me. Um

1:04:18but uh but in any case, uh I do

1:04:20appreciate that you guys were great to

1:04:21work with. That's kind of how I know how

1:04:23much some of this stuff costs and how

1:04:24expensive it is is from those

1:04:26discussions, like trying to maximize.

1:04:29But obviously having her go out and look

1:04:30at pretty much every park um has been

1:04:34extremely helpful not just to me, but I

1:04:35I think to citizens. They've been very

1:04:37excited when you put in new stuff.

1:04:39People always turn out for the

1:04:40groundbreakings. We got another one um I

1:04:42think on the 28th or something. So, very

1:04:44much appreciate uh you and your

1:04:46predecessors uh willing to work uh with

1:04:49our office on that because I do think if

1:04:51you asked residents of District 2,

1:04:54um you know, I think public safety is

1:04:55number one. Obviously water, you know,

1:04:57that's a

1:04:58that's a thing that's top of mind these

1:04:59days, but I think the parks are

1:05:01something that people really value and

1:05:04um

1:05:05you know, we tried to do our small part

1:05:07to uh to help you with that, but I do

1:05:08appreciate that you're looking at all

1:05:11these different items.

1:05:12I don't know so to the questions that

1:05:15Tim asked about the golf courses,

1:05:18um could you refresh my memory cuz we

1:05:20haven't had a golf course discussion in

1:05:21a while? Are you responsible for running

1:05:23the golf courses? Aren't they a separate

1:05:26entity?

1:05:27>> Yeah,

1:05:28Madam Chair, members of the subcommittee

1:05:29Councilman Wesson, first and foremost,

1:05:30thank you for those kind words

1:05:32about our department and your

1:05:34participation and uh

1:05:36>> Actually Jeff, I'll interrupt right

1:05:37there. Men everyone and very grateful

1:05:40because I do think this is something

1:05:41It's it's a it's a front-facing

1:05:44even maybe more than the libraries,

1:05:46which I also loved as a kid. I know how

1:05:48impactful those two things can be from

1:05:50my own personal experience and what kind

1:05:52of difference it can make and what kind

1:05:54of positive difference instead of

1:05:57and I don't want to bag on any other

1:05:58video games or something, but it's nice

1:06:00for kids to get outside and use a

1:06:02library. So when I think of our parks,

1:06:04top of mind for me is kids. So I sort of

1:06:07feel like if we in District 2 are doing

1:06:09something that helps the parks, we're

1:06:11kind of helping kids and I I think

1:06:13that's something we should keep in mind.

1:06:15But for the parents who are going, if I

1:06:18go and I see a crummy park,

1:06:20I'm

1:06:21kind of thinking what else is crummy?

1:06:24Maybe I haven't had to call the police,

1:06:25maybe I haven't had to call fire, but is

1:06:27it all this ramshackle? So I I've always

1:06:30been pleased with what I've seen in

1:06:31District 2. I do think the security was

1:06:33getting a little out of hand, but again

1:06:34a lot of that wasn't necessarily

1:06:36District 2 parks exactly. We're having a

1:06:38discussion and a lawsuit now about

1:06:40trying to keep our parks more for kids

1:06:43and in lockdown.

1:06:45Um

1:06:45you know, so they get used for the

1:06:46purposes for which our predecessors all

1:06:49intended, but I do

1:06:52>> [clears throat]

1:06:52>> maybe because I'm at sort of the end of

1:06:54the line in my own career, I I just

1:06:55wanted to let you know that I really

1:06:56appreciate what you guys do and

1:06:58thank you for that. Now, back to the

1:07:00golf course.

1:07:01>> Okay, [laughter]

1:07:01thank you again. So Councilman Wesson,

1:07:03your question about golf courses,

1:07:06yes, we we own all of the courses we do

1:07:08have an agreement with

1:07:11Grand Canyon University for the Maryvale

1:07:13Golf Course and they they operate over

1:07:15there and an agreement with ASU for the

1:07:17Papago Golf Course but we are in charge

1:07:19of

1:07:21the remaining golf courses and that's

1:07:22operations on a daily basis.

1:07:24>> So should they have been included then

1:07:26in this plan?

1:07:28>> Madam Chair members of the subcommittee

1:07:29and Councilman Waring

1:07:31back in 2023 as a department we we

1:07:34decided just to concentrate on the urban

1:07:36parks during this parks master plan but

1:07:39do have plans for

1:07:40to

1:07:41to do a master plans in the future for

1:07:43preserves and and other amenities.

1:07:45>> And many years ago

1:07:4712 years ago I don't remember exactly

1:07:50you know the golf courses were

1:07:50hemorrhaging money

1:07:53I paid attention that as a son of a golf

1:07:55coach I actually sort of paid attention

1:07:57this maybe more than the average bear

1:07:58and we were down I think one year was

1:08:00maybe a 2.8 million dollar deficit in

1:08:03like 2012 dollars or something so it'd

1:08:06be more probably like 5 million today.

1:08:07So it was getting a little out of hand

1:08:09and I think our response was to shift

1:08:12responsibility and to actually buy

1:08:13people

1:08:14hire people excuse me

1:08:16that actually run golf courses for a

1:08:18living to run the golf courses.

1:08:21Seems simple and it is simple but it was

1:08:23an inspired idea I think to turn things

1:08:25around and I think they more or less

1:08:26break even now.

1:08:28But like

1:08:29as a former caddy

1:08:32like

1:08:33I don't expect to see you out on the

1:08:34weekends with the lawnmower like cutting

1:08:36the fairway before the first guy's tee

1:08:38off right? I mean that that's something

1:08:41that you're kind of contracting out

1:08:42correct?

1:08:44>> Madam Chair members of the subcommittee

1:08:45Councilman Waring yes we do contract

1:08:47that work out for maintenance.

1:08:49>> Right. So

1:08:51I mean really that seems like a separate

1:08:53thing that you might want to go revisit

1:08:55he's right so like how are the golf

1:08:58courses holding up? I mean part of it is

1:09:00attendance if people stop going, then

1:09:02we'll know that it's not great. I've

1:09:04really only heard good things about the

1:09:06golf courses and people playing there.

1:09:09There are definitely people who play

1:09:10there. Whether the city should be in a

1:09:11golf course business,

1:09:13a lot of golf courses, I don't know.

1:09:14That's a discussion for another day. I

1:09:16have my own views. Uh I didn't think we

1:09:18should be, but that's That wasn't your

1:09:20decision or Cynthia's. Um it just it is

1:09:22what it is. In terms of the trails, uh

1:09:25District 2, I think, has more trails and

1:09:27hiking areas than any of the other

1:09:29districts, I think, or at least I I

1:09:32don't know how we could be anything less

1:09:33than second.

1:09:34Um so, again,

1:09:37those things, I don't know that I would

1:09:40lump that in with what we're talking

1:09:41about here with the equipment and so

1:09:43forth. It seems like different needs.

1:09:44But do you have plans to, as Mr.

1:09:47Zirkelbach suggested,

1:09:49to go through and see what the hikers

1:09:51would like, the people who use the

1:09:52trails? Cuz that's also fantastic. Um

1:09:55more of an adult activity, which is

1:09:57great, getting people outside. And also

1:09:59very top of mind in District 2,

1:10:01[clears throat] where we have a lot of

1:10:02that.

1:10:04>> Yeah, Madam Chair and members of the

1:10:05subcommittee, Councilman Waring, yes, we

1:10:06do have plans. Uh no specific um time

1:10:09frame yet, but uh again, we wanted to

1:10:11concentrate on the urban parks. But

1:10:13you're right, we have a lot of hikers

1:10:14here, a lot of beautiful trails, so we

1:10:16do want to get some feedback from from

1:10:18those customers as well.

1:10:19>> And there's been a lot of investment, uh

1:10:21Madam Chair, sorry. Um

1:10:23in those trails. We've bought

1:10:24properties, quite a bit of properties,

1:10:27to add to it in my time in District 2.

1:10:30Um

1:10:32I just wonder

1:10:33over time, maybe we could get a you

1:10:35know, I've only got 6 months, so I guess

1:10:37if you're like, "We'll get that to you

1:10:38in 7 months," I'll never know the

1:10:40difference, Marty. So, you if you want

1:10:42to roll that, go ahead. Um I probably I

1:10:45can't call you on it. But if I would be

1:10:47curious if there's some sort of update

1:10:49on like how many people are using it,

1:10:50like what are those people asking for.

1:10:52Maybe not a whole survey, but surely at

1:10:55some level, we could find out what's

1:10:57needed. Um that would be really helpful

1:10:59to me.

1:10:59>> Okay, yeah we certainly will and I do

1:11:02know that we do have some individual

1:11:04master plans for some of our preserves

1:11:06already so it will be refresh those but

1:11:09yeah well that is going to happen down

1:11:10the line.

1:11:11>> Okay, thank you Madam Chair and thank

1:11:13you again for everything you guys do. I

1:11:14really appreciate it.

1:11:15>> Thank you.

1:11:16>> Thank you um

1:11:17Councilwoman Robinson.

1:11:18>> Jim answered Jim asked a few of the

1:11:20questions I was going to ask which is

1:11:21perfect.

1:11:22>> Okay.

1:11:23Vice Mayor, do you have any questions?

1:11:25>> Thank

1:11:26I actually do. Thank you so much Chair.

1:11:29Um I want to start off by thanking our

1:11:30Parks and Recreation team for the work

1:11:32that's been that's gone into developing

1:11:34this master plan and for most

1:11:36importantly taking the time over the

1:11:38past year to engage with our residents.

1:11:41Um many of my questions have been

1:11:43answered. There's a few that I just want

1:11:44to just a little more clarification on.

1:11:47So for example the priority needs

1:11:49identified through the community

1:11:50engagement included like park

1:11:52maintenance, safety, shade, walking

1:11:54paths, restrooms, and amenities. How

1:11:57will the master plan help to prioritize

1:12:00those needs? Can you explain a little

1:12:01bit more?

1:12:04>> Madam Chair, members of the

1:12:05subcommittee, Vice Mayor Washington, yes

1:12:08the the master plan fundamentally will

1:12:11start with safety. It was the number one

1:12:13barrier to people using parks or using

1:12:16parks more often and so the spin-off of

1:12:18that is is what are the the operational

1:12:21and capital improvements that can be

1:12:23made to reduce the barriers associated

1:12:27with people's perceptions of feeling

1:12:29unsafe or parks being unsafe.

1:12:33As mentioned earlier, um

1:12:35the there are many elements that go into

1:12:38determining or somebody feeling as if a

1:12:41park is unsafe and so we have to look at

1:12:43those through the lenses of services. We

1:12:45have to look at those through the lens

1:12:46of partnerships across the

1:12:49departments Um, and we [clears throat]

1:12:50also have to look at it through the lens

1:12:52of maintenance. Uh, so that that is

1:12:54fundamentally the the bottom line uh, in

1:12:58terms of the other priorities we will

1:13:00certainly lean into

1:13:02uh, the uh, community engagement uh, as

1:13:05those priorities were prioritized as

1:13:07part of that process and those forward

1:13:10uh, those using those forward uh, will

1:13:13certainly help guide that that

1:13:15reinvestment and operational impact

1:13:17decisions uh, that we will uh,

1:13:19uh, I I guess recommend and prioritize

1:13:21going forward.

1:13:24>> Thank you for that answer. Um, that's

1:13:26helpful. Um, one of the questions that

1:13:28popped into my mind while you were

1:13:30giving that response was um, will we

1:13:33engage the community um, in determining

1:13:36what safety looks like? Because I think

1:13:38we have different parks with different

1:13:40needs and different um,

1:13:43expectations also. So, what might work

1:13:46as a safety plan for one park may not

1:13:50may not um,

1:13:52may not be a a viewed as a right

1:13:54solution for another park. Any thoughts

1:13:56on how we would deal with those types of

1:13:58distinctions?

1:14:01>> Uh, Madam Chair, members of the

1:14:02subcommittee, Vice Mayor Washington, uh,

1:14:04yes. Um, so uh, there were a number of

1:14:07different responses that that led to uh,

1:14:10safety being potential barriers.

1:14:12Um, and those are also uh, broken down

1:14:15by um, you know, council [clears throat]

1:14:17district. Um, however, uh, you know,

1:14:20every council district has a couple

1:14:23hundred thousand people, uh, has

1:14:25different parks and and so even the

1:14:27parks in the safety potential um,

1:14:29barriers uh, in within a a given park in

1:14:33any council district may be different

1:14:35than that of another. And so, um,

1:14:38the idea is is to to use the data at

1:14:41hand as a jumping off point and

1:14:43recommend further analysis to to

1:14:45understand what those um, issues are.

1:14:49Some of that could be police beats. Some

1:14:51of that could be maintenance

1:14:53observations. There could be other data

1:14:56that needs to be analyzed.

1:14:58Ultimately,

1:14:59a

1:15:00strategic plan around safety parks

1:15:03should engage the community

1:15:05at a park by park level

1:15:07in order to to really understand how to

1:15:10make parks

1:15:12in everybody's park. You know how they

1:15:15can feel safer. And so a strategic plan

1:15:18around safe parks absolutely has to have

1:15:20a really strong community engagement

1:15:22component as you suggested.

1:15:25>> Thank you for that.

1:15:27I just wanted to reiterate a couple of

1:15:30one of the points I wanted to make I

1:15:31should say is I understand the the the

1:15:35current I want to say fascination but I

1:15:37recognize that pickleball in my opinion

1:15:40is very trendy right now and that's one

1:15:42of the amenities that our communities

1:15:44are looking are looking for but given

1:15:47that this document is going to guide our

1:15:50direction for

1:15:52a little longer than maybe the timeline

1:15:55for pickleball as we look into possibly

1:15:59um

1:16:00expanding courts of for that or in

1:16:02courts of those natures I would also

1:16:03encourage us to look at possible um

1:16:07facilities that provide multi-use just

1:16:10so that we're not pigeonhole in our all

1:16:13of our um

1:16:15pigeonhole in those into one sport

1:16:17alone.

1:16:19Doesn't require a response I just wanted

1:16:21to share that.

1:16:22The second thing I also wanted to talk

1:16:24about a little bit was

1:16:27you said there was a lot of

1:16:28self-directed activities,

1:16:30playgrounds, picnics, walking, birding.

1:16:33What are some of the types of will your

1:16:35master plan include some metrics for

1:16:37tracking the success or the continued

1:16:40engagement for those self-directed

1:16:41activities or use? Like how do we know

1:16:44that we have actually made adjustments

1:16:47that help for um better utilizations by

1:16:49those that are not coming with a

1:16:52formal

1:16:53um that are just simply self-directed

1:16:56users.

1:16:57>> Uh Madam Chair, members of the

1:16:59subcommittee, Vice Mayor Washington, uh

1:17:01great question. Um how do we determine

1:17:04whether or not a master plan in the

1:17:06implementation thereof is successful? Uh

1:17:10a couple of things. Um number one I I've

1:17:12mentioned a couple of times. I think

1:17:14it's important to ask your community um

1:17:16more frequently. And so um

1:17:20taking the results of the community

1:17:22engagement as part of this master plan

1:17:24becomes your baseline and your

1:17:26foundation. We are saying right now

1:17:28through a statistically valid survey

1:17:30that 78% of your community is using

1:17:32parks and recreation. We should set a

1:17:34goal that in 3 years that use increases

1:17:37to 80% as an example.

1:17:40Um oper- operating uh improvements, um

1:17:43such things as developing a safety

1:17:45program and beginning to implement that.

1:17:48Then measure that against the results

1:17:50that um we have uh we have in front of

1:17:53us uh

1:17:54regarding safety being the number one

1:17:56barrier. How have we um reduced um that

1:18:00uh percentage uh around um safety uh

1:18:04being a a

1:18:05a barrier to using parks. So those are

1:18:08just a couple of examples of how do we

1:18:10leverage the existing information? Uh

1:18:12how do we take the recommendations that

1:18:15in in turn help to address those

1:18:17specific issues? Uh and then kind of

1:18:20moving forward, um how do we how do we

1:18:23re-engage the community to understand

1:18:25how we're doing? Um regarding access to

1:18:28parks, um

1:18:29how do we reduce the percentage of

1:18:31population that uh does not have access

1:18:34to parks within the um the metrics that

1:18:37have been described. Uh and uh

1:18:40you know, that has a little bit longer

1:18:41of a burn. Um you know, Director

1:18:43Whitfield indicated that the development

1:18:45of a park, reinvestment in a park, uh

1:18:48can take anywhere from 1 to 3 years. And

1:18:50so, really understanding what those

1:18:52goals look like over more of what I

1:18:54would say a 5 to 10-year period is how

1:18:56do we close those access gaps to ensure

1:18:59that you have equitable, inclusive um uh

1:19:02you know, equitable, inclusive park

1:19:04system that that everybody feels welcome

1:19:06in.

1:19:13>> Thank you for that. Um my um thank you.

1:19:17So, your what I heard from you is like

1:19:19there'll be a your recommendation or

1:19:20should include an assessment within 3

1:19:23years or some state certain in which we

1:19:25can come back and test against these

1:19:27baseline um results.

1:19:30Um my next question goes a little bit

1:19:33based on a community meeting that was

1:19:36hosted in District 8 and just some of

1:19:38the concerns that the community members

1:19:39raised during that meeting. I just want

1:19:41to make sure that those are um

1:19:45are addressed. For example, I I heard um

1:19:48a mention of like the Shade Phoenix

1:19:50Plan. Is there a Is there a process in

1:19:54which this parks uh master plan will

1:19:57include some of the things that the city

1:19:59has signed off on such as the Shade

1:20:01Phoenix Plan, the Monarch Pledge, the

1:20:03Phoenix Bird Plan? Um will those

1:20:06expressly incorporated into the master

1:20:09I'm sorry, into the parks master plan?

1:20:11>> Uh Madam Chair, members of the

1:20:12subcommittee, Vice Mayor Washington, uh

1:20:14absolutely. Uh this Parks and Recreation

1:20:17Master Plan cannot live in a vacuum. It

1:20:20has to talk to, has to um be reflected

1:20:23uh and of uh it has to reflect um

1:20:26current plans, uh strategic plans such

1:20:29as uh those that you mentioned and and

1:20:32beyond that.

1:20:33Water conservation plans uh that extend

1:20:35beyond

1:20:37the parks and recreation department. So,

1:20:38it is going to ensure that the

1:20:42recommendations

1:20:44reach across the aisle, so to speak, and

1:20:47ensure that they talk to and reflect

1:20:49current plans and or current planning

1:20:51efforts.

1:20:53>> Okay, thank you. And then my last

1:20:55question,

1:20:57Director Refilo, I think you started to

1:20:59answer this in explaining that this is

1:21:01really just for the urban parks,

1:21:04a master plan for those.

1:21:06And I wanted to hear a little bit more

1:21:08for those, for example, the large park

1:21:10um

1:21:11one of the sources of uh

1:21:15park type space in Laveen is the Laveen

1:21:18Conveyance Channel. I think that is

1:21:20considered a linear park under your

1:21:23assessment, so this was not included. Um

1:21:26is there any

1:21:28plans to look into that or create um

1:21:32yeah, or similar plan for that

1:21:35um that locale?

1:21:37>> Madam Chair, members of the

1:21:38subcommittee, Vice Mayor

1:21:39Hodge-Washington, actually the Laveen

1:21:41area conveyance channel is a linear

1:21:43park. Uh so, that would be considered an

1:21:46urban park and reflective in this parks

1:21:49master plan.

1:21:51>> Okay, thank you for that clarification

1:21:53cuz I thought it was not um

1:21:55based on what I have in my notes, but

1:21:57I'm glad to hear that it actually is

1:21:58included. So, thank you for that

1:22:00clarification. Um so, those I thank you,

1:22:02Madam Chair. Thank you to every all of

1:22:05panelists. Those concludes my questions.

1:22:08>> Thank you, Vice Mayor. I think that's

1:22:10it. So, I appreciate the presentation

1:22:14and all the comments from the

1:22:16subcommittee.

1:22:18And I know you still got some work to

1:22:20do, so thank you.

1:22:21>> Okay, thank you.

1:22:27>> Next, we have call to the public and we

1:22:30do have one speaker so we can have

1:22:34Carolina, please explain.

1:22:37>> Thank you, Madam Chair.

1:22:38During citizen comments, members of the

1:22:40public may address the City Council for

1:22:42up to 3 minutes on issues of interest or

1:22:44concern to them. The issues being

1:22:46addressed, however, must be on subject

1:22:47matters that fall within the

1:22:49jurisdiction of the Phoenix City Council

1:22:51and upon which this Phoenix City Council

1:22:53has power to act. The citizen comment

1:22:55session is limited to 30 minutes. The

1:22:58Arizona Open Meeting Law permits the

1:22:59City Council to listen to the comments

1:23:01but prohibits council members from

1:23:03discussing or acting on the matters

1:23:05presented.

1:23:08>> Thank you. Our speaker, Tim Sierakowski.

1:23:18>> Thank you so much.

1:23:21I don't think the parks I don't think

1:23:22this is really a master plan if it's not

1:23:25taking in the entire

1:23:28park.

1:23:29I'm not really sure we're going to piece

1:23:31together a master plan and then figure

1:23:33out where we have to go from there. I'm

1:23:35I'm I'm really confused because it's not

1:23:37a master plan. It is a plan for a

1:23:39specific area in the parks department.

1:23:44So let's stop calling it a master plan.

1:23:46It's not a master plan.

1:23:50That's not really what I wanted to talk

1:23:51about. I'm done with the parks today.

1:23:54What I really want to talk about is

1:23:56notice of claims and police officers and

1:23:59firemen getting served.

1:24:03I think we're at a point that all the

1:24:04different counties

1:24:05in the state of Arizona

1:24:07will allow their firemen and that and

1:24:10their policemen to be served through

1:24:12their city clerk's office.

1:24:15I think this is something that we really

1:24:16need to do at the present time because

1:24:19having process servers going out to

1:24:22where the police officers are or going

1:24:24to their homes or trying to track a

1:24:26police officer down or a fireman down is

1:24:29really beginning to be quite hard to do.

1:24:32I think we need to really upgrade what

1:24:34we're doing at the present time and say

1:24:37to all these people that work for the

1:24:39city that they are city employees and

1:24:41that they probably at this point will

1:24:43accept service of process or notice of

1:24:46claims or summons and complaints when

1:24:49they are involved in an accident during

1:24:52their work hours.

1:24:54I've already spoken to the city clerk's

1:24:56office at the present time and I've

1:24:58talked to Ed Zucker about this.

1:25:00The change to do this is very, very

1:25:03easy.

1:25:04Uh

1:25:05it's just a couple of words that we have

1:25:06to do and then

1:25:08what we would do at that point is send

1:25:10out notification or emails to the fire

1:25:12men and police department. They would

1:25:14check off a list

1:25:16that they accept service of process

1:25:18through the clerk city clerk's office

1:25:20and then when we're doing our notice of

1:25:22claims or things of that nature

1:25:24we would be done at that point and

1:25:25everyone would be served.

1:25:27I don't want to go and interrupt people

1:25:29during their 6:00 a.m. meetings and I

1:25:31think this would be very beneficial for

1:25:34for everyone involved. I've talked to

1:25:36the uh

1:25:37chief

1:25:38of the police department. He thinks it's

1:25:40a great idea. I just wanted to touch

1:25:42base at the sub committee and see where

1:25:44we can go from here to try to get this

1:25:47changed. Thank you so much.

1:25:51>> Thank you. Next on the agenda is future

1:25:54agenda items. Um

1:25:57I'm not sure if we have anything for

1:25:58November yet.

1:26:01>> Uh Madam Chair, members of the sub

1:26:02committee, we will distribute an updated

1:26:04agenda planning sheet. Uh one of the

1:26:07items we're looking at bringing back is

1:26:09a celebration of 10 years of T20 50 as a

1:26:12presentation item and there are some

1:26:14additional items as well.

1:26:15>> Okay. Thank you.

1:26:17Anything you want to add?

1:26:19We are adjourned. Oh, I'm sorry,

1:26:21Councilman.

1:26:22>> No, maybe we can have an update at some

1:26:24point, doesn't have to be next time, on

1:26:25golf courses.

1:26:26>> Okay, updates on golf courses.

1:26:28>> I guess I specifically said that trails,

1:26:29but I never said that about the golf

1:26:30courses, like the finances and stuff.

1:26:35>> Anything else?

1:26:38All right, we are adjourned. Thank you.

1:26:41>> Thank you.