On the agenda: Gila Bend meeting — Data Center (Jun 9)

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NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
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GILA BEND TOWN COUNCIL
Tuesday June 9, 2026; 6:00pm
Gila Bend Unified School District Media Center
308 North Martin Avenue
Minutes

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CALL TO ORDER

Call to Order meeting called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Mayor Tommy Sikes.
Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Tommy Sikes.

Invocation given by Councilmember Mary Grogg.

ROLL CALL

Mayor Tommy Sikes Present Councilmember Scott Swanson Present
Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs Present Councilmember Mary Grogg Present
Councilmember Fernando Fernandez Absent Councilmember Donny Young Absent

Councilmember Will Sipes Present
PUBLIC HEARING

Alternative Expenditure Limitation Public Hearing #1: The Mayor and Town Council will hold the first

public hearing to receive public comments regarding the proposed Alternative Expenditure Limitation (home
Rule Option), to be considered in connection with the 2026 Town Election. Public comment only.

No Public comments.

PRESENTATION AND DISCUSION ITEMS

. Zoning Ordinance update: Town Staff will provide an overview of the draft updated Town of Gila Bend zoning

ordinance, including key revisions and proposed changes. Discussion only.

Town of Gila Bend, Community Planner, Sandra Hoffman provided Mayor, and Town Council, an overview
draft of updated Town of Gila Bend zoning ordinances, including key revisions and proposed changes. This is
a time for Mayor and Council to discuss possible changes. Sandra Hoffman has presented the ordinances to
Planning and Zoning, she will address what some of the concerns they had and how she has addressed them
in the ordinances.

Inoperable vehicles in residential districts, is to try to control the number of broken-down vehicles in a yard
while still allowing property owners to work on one as needed. A definition for what is an inoperable vehicle
and a temporary repair status being 30 days if a car has broken down and they are trying to fix it, has also
been included.

Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs asked, what if an individual is doing a restoration. His concern is that a restoration
could take years.

Sandra Hoffman replied that on page 117, is a temporary repair status. No person shall maintain or permit
an inoperable vehicle to remain within a front side or rear yard driveway or an unenclosed area visible from

the right of way or adjoining property. A maximum of one temporary repair status motorized vehicle is
permitted for a maximum of 30 calendar days.

Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs does not believe that 30 calendar days is enough time for someone to restore a vehicle
and would like to see a permit system to allow individuals a longer period.

Town Attorney, Allen Quist added that by having the permitting process it would allow code enforcement to
distinguish between a broken-down vehicle and one which is being restored.

Planning and Zoning Commission also commented on chickens, in residential districts. There is a State Statue
that allows up to five chickens. On page 170 per Arizona Revised Statue 9-462.12, says a female domestic
chicken or hen is kept for a non-commercial purpose, including egg production and companionship. It does
not include make chickens, roosters, gamecocks, crowing, male poultry. For purposes of a residential zoning
regulation under this ordinance, the kicking of fowl shall be limited to hens only, and roosters are expressly
prohibited.

One other change was that all references to the Town Fire Marshal have been changed to the State Fire
Marshal.

. Solar Field Overlay Zone Amendment: The Mayor and Town Council may discuss and provide feedback on

the draft Solar Field Overlay Zone text amendment language included in the current draft of the Town of Gila
Bend Zoning Ordinance update. Discussion only.

Town of Gila Bend, Community Planner, Sandra Hoffman provided information on the Solar Field Overlay
Zone Amendment. The Mayor and Town Council may discuss and provide feedback on the draft Solar Field
Overlay Zone text amendment language included in the current draft of the Town of Gila Bend Zoning
Ordinance update. The draft Solar Field Overlay Zone has its own receivable section in section 16312, where
it walks through the application process. This is to clarify what process you would need to go through to try
to apply for a solar field overlay. It has a lot of language in it related to procedures and applications; it is like
the process of a rezoning application. Sandra referenced the map on the screen to show graphics. In previous
work sessions, an option that had been discussed was possibly setting a maximum percentage of the town
area having solar field overlay zone. A map was shown with a different approach, which is basically having
setback requirements or minimum setback requirements, this would give a minimum and a maximum. Solar
field overlay zone, the purpose was to refine and again clarify that it is a temporary use and accommodate,
again, a solar field installation. It will still need to be 100 acres of land; 40 acres is allowed only if itis contiguous
with an existing solar field overlay zone. What it does for battery energy storage is make this accessory use of
a solar field of itself. The maximum area of a project would be 20% to be battery energy storage. Currently
the zoning ordinance allows solar field overlay zone applications anywhere in town. There are suggested
separation requirements. Residential districts, it's 2500 feet. School, church, public parks, it would be 3,000
feet. Airport property 3,000 feet, because there have been studies done related to solar panels and proximity
to airports, and the airflow impacts to small airplanes in that area. A stipulation would be, you have to be
within 1,000 feet of an existing transmission corridor that’s 230 kilovolt or greater, within 1,000 feet of the first
2,000 feet of an APS or SRP or other public utility that is 500 to 230 kilovolt substation or within 2,000 feet of
an existing constructed solar field overlay energy project or an approved one that's under construction that
has council approval.

Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs asked what the reason was they chose to move away from having a percentage of
solar field overlay in the town.

Town Attorney Allen Quist pointed out that there are a couple of key points to Sandra’s presentation. One is
that these cases would still come to the council for approval. This would be an added limitation. Where it was
pointed out on the map, the area in green that can automatically become solar field overlay. However, it will
still need to go before council for approval. An important point is when it comes to these proximity restrictions

is that as more infrastructure is developed, that green space could grow under this current proximity. Allen
pointed out that we are early in the zoning code process. He emphasized that we haven't gone through the
formal process. There has only been discussion by Council. The public hasn’t weighed in. There are a lot of
interested stakeholders in the community that feel very strongly one way or the other on the solar building
overlays. We still need to hear feedback from the community.

Public comments on item B:

Autumn Johnson on behalf of the Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association. We are a statewide nonprofit
organization that works on energy policy at every level of government in the state. We've worked on similar
ordinances with solar and battery energy storage all over the state, including Maricopa County, Mohave
County, Navajo County, Apache County, and Yavapai County. And for cities, we've worked on them in Mesa,
Buckeye, Goodyear, Surprise, and Eloy. Through that work, we've developed recommendations based on our
experience here in Arizona, as well as industry best practices from around the country that focus on protecting
public health and safety while also supporting responsible economic development. And to your comment,
Vice Mayor, we have not done economic impact statements for individual cities. We have done them for a
number of counties. | am planning on submitting written comments. I'd be happy to attach some of the county
studies. We could see about doing a specific one for Gila Bend if that would be helpful to the council.

| could explore doing that for you. Thank you for the opportunity to do comments on the solar field overlay
zone. We do have a couple of recommendations. We encourage you just to go back to the conversation that
you were just having to not do a cap. | think that part of the responsibility but also the privilege of being on
the council is that you can individually vet projects. And so they're not all the same, right? And a cap in some
ways actually restricts your own authority. If you don't have a cap, you can look at every project and say, we
like it here, we don't like it here, we like what they're doing for the community, we don't like what they're doing
for the community, and then you have the authority to decide whether or not it's a good project. Because it's
not just the tax base, right? Sometimes there are community development agreements where you can actually
have developers agree to do a certain number of benefits specifically in the community. And those are things
you would all do through the contract negotiation process. So | would encourage you not to kind of eliminate
that on the front end, sort of keep an open mind that there might be creative ways to think about
opportunities for the local community. And that's one of the ways to do that. | have a couple of other, we're
going to do written comments, so | don't want to get too in the weeds on some of the aspects of the ordinance
here. | do think that we should, you all should consider the separation requirements. Those are very large
relative to what we've seen in other communities, it's important to think about the setbacks as far as how
they balance private property rights and also economic development and also the things that you want to
preserve about your own community. And so some amount of flexibility there | think would be a good idea.
There's also some requirements about specific distances for existing utility infrastructure. And so | would
consider you to also recommend keeping an open mind about those as well because interconnection
feasibility is usually determined through the utility interconnection process. It's not typically a part of the
zoning process and so because transmission infrastructure does change over time, it would be good to have
a zoning ordinance that can also, doesn't need to be updated regularly because those things are changing.
Another thing to be thinking about is the use of battery energy storage systems as an accessory use within
this. There is a cap specific to the size relative to solar and so that's something you might want to think about
as energy storage is becoming more and more of an integral part to solar deployment so that the utilities
have a greater capacity resource. So as we all know when we talk about it, the sun doesn't always shine and
so batteries are a really important part to be able to move the power around in time for when it's most useful
for the grid. So | wouldn't want to unnecessarily restrict that too much on the front end. And then the last
thing | would think about is just some sort of administrative or waiver process that might allow minor
modifications. So something that we see in a lot of the communities that we've been doing these ordinances
in is that there are a lot of things that the council or the supervisors or want various government officials want
to consider on the front end. But if you have a really good project and they meet 99 of the 100 requirements,
We think it's good to have some amount of administrative flexibility to improve the projects that you do like.
And so we encourage you to think about some sort of waiver or modification on the front end.

Fredrick Buss: Read and presented a letter to the Mayor, and Town Council.

June 9,2026

Honorable Mayor and Town Council
Town of Gila Bend

644 West Pima Street

Gila Bend, AZ 85337

RE: Solar Field Overlay Zone (SFOZ) / Utility-Scale Solar- Zoning Code Update
Dear Mayor and Council,

As many of you know | had the honor of serving this unique community as Town Manager from 2008 to
2014. During that time, | co-authored the Solar Field Overlay Zone (SFOZ) and was responsible for the
oversight and implementation of the ordinance. To this day, | remain a strong advocate for renewable
energy and its sensible integration into utility scale power generation portfolios.

The Solar Field Overlay Zone was a tremendous success, and brought to the Town of Gila Bend local,
regional, statewide, and national accolades and an identity. It also brought considerable construction jobs
and associated revenues to the Town.

The subprime lending crisis led to the great recession during this time and construction jobs were scarce.
Not surprisingly, the SFOZ construction jobs and associated revenues to the Town were welcomed during
the recession. There were trades that traveled from as far away as Apache Junction every day- a 2.5 hour
trip each way-just for the opportunity to work here in Gila Bend.

Those times have passed and so have the jobs and the revenues that came with the SFOZ boom.

That said, and for many reasons, | am strongly urging the Mayor and Council to restrict the SFOZ and utility-
scale solar within the Town limits to no more than 15% of the Town's total municipal area- consistent
with the direction this Council itself expressed in September 2025, and as reflected in the approved
minutes of that meeting.

The Urgency is Real and Immediate. Approximately 6,500 acres of utility-scale solar is already targeted
within the Town limits and is in advanced stages of the APS interconnection queue (currently, there are 184
requests in just the APS interconnection queue for Maricopa, Yuma, and Pinal). Gila Bend's total municipal
area is roughly 64 square miles- about 41,200 acres. That means this single wave of queued projects, at
6,500 acres, by itself will already exceed 15% of the entire Town. If the Town does not act now, the cap this
Council has called for willbe breached before a single additional application is even reviewed.

1. Minimal Long-Term Revenues. Utility Scale Solar does NOT provide for long-term revenues to the
Town. A small ad valorem increase to property tax on the property that Utility Scale Solar
consumes is miniscule and does not adequately compensate the Town for the services it provides.
Under Arizona law, renewable-energy generation equipment is valued on a depreciated-cost basis,
so the recurring tax contribution from a solar field is small relative to the acreage it consumes -
and well below what a manufacturing, logistics, distribution, etc. on the same land would
generate? Utility scale solar consumes the Town's scarcest resource - developable,
transmission-adjacentland- while returning little to its long-term tax base.

2. Inefficient, Decades-Long Land Use. Utility-scale solar consumes enormous acreage and, once
built, locks that land away for thirty years or more. Every acre committed to panels is an acre that
cannever host a higher-value employer. Land near major transportation corridors like Interstate 8,
SR85, and UPRR are far too valuable to bury under racking. This pushes away other industries with
much higher job prospects because there's no desirable land left.

3. Far Better Economic Development Opportunities. Gila Bend’s location, transmission access, and
1-8 corridor frontage make it one of the more attractive industrial sites in the Southwest. The Town
should prioritize land uses that generate larger long-term employment bases. The Town can welcome
these employers on the Town's terms - terms that protect the community. Companies should be
expected to create Local jobs and where applicable, to bring their own water and their own power
to Gila Bend, so that growth never comes at the expense of residents' resources. This is how a small
town turns finite land into lasting prosperity for its future generations. Examples include:

a. Advanced Manufacturing

b. Distribution and Logistics {Land near transportation corridors, Like Gila Bend, is more
valuable for commercial and industrial uses).

c. Data Centers (no water use)

d. Semiconductor Supply Chain (80% of the Jobs and CapEx)

e. Defense and Aerospace

‘Socioeconomic analysis of utility-scale solar employment drawing on the U.S. Department of Energy's
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Jobs and Economic Development Impact JED!) modeling
finds photovoltaic facilities create roughly 0.91-1.3 peak construction jobs per MW but only about 0.05-0.09
permanent operations-and-maintenance jobs per MW (University of Michigan, Renewable Energy
Communities of Distinction analysis, summarizing NREUJEDI data).

Example: the 250-MW Moapa Southern Paiute Solar Project sustains approximately five permanent
operations-and-maintenance positions (First Solar Energy Services / project operator reporting).

3Under Arizona's centrally-assessed valuation methodology, renewable-energy generation equipment
is valued on a depreciated-cost basis (Arizona Department of Revenue. Centrally Valued Property),
producing a recurring per-acre tax contribution that is modest relative to active commercial, industrial,
or data-center improvements on comparable land.

4. Almost No Local Economic Multiplier. Panels, inverters, and racking are manufactured outside Gila
Bend, and the engineering and development firms are headquartered elsewhere. Those revenues
never make it to Gila Bend, and instead end up staying in other cities.

5. There is Ample Land for Solar Elsewhere. There is plenty of land in the County and on State land to
place utility scale solar. Gila Bend need not be the only destination. The right home for utility-scale
solar is the vast, open Arizona State Trust Land that surrounds Gila Bend- not the Town's Limited
incorporated acreage. Siting solar on State Land keeps the panels off the parcels Gila Bend needs for
employers, while the clean power those arrays produce can be delivered right back into Town to run
local industry. The Town captures the benefit of the sun without surrendering the Land. That is the
best of both worlds: renewable generation placed where there is no higher use, and the Town's own
scarce, transmission-adjacent acreage is reserved for high value economic development prospects
that actually create longterm jobs and revenue.

6. Previous Mayor and Council Direction. In September of 2025, the Mayor and Council discussed
support for limiting, by percentage, SFOZ/Utility Scale Solar. The Council as a whole expressed support
for a 13-15% Limit. This limit by percentage desire is reflected in the approved minutes of the meeting.
Mayor and Council, your expressed desire for percent limitation is a simple, wise solution.

Vi.

7. Percent Limitation is the Superior Method. The current zoning code draft does not reflect the
percent limitation as expressed by Council but rather only proposes a "proximity" approach. The
proximity approach is not the best or effective way to address SFOZ limits and is not what Council
requested. This approach also opens loopholes for developers to run through. It is far better,
cleaner, effective, and more understandable by all parties - both public and private - to simply
restrict utility scale solar toa maximum of 15%.

The Choice In Front of the Council. Gila Bend is being asked to make a generational decision. If the
Town allows solar developers to gobble up its limited land, those developers will collect their returns
and move on - leaving the Town with fenced solar fields, almost no permanent jobs, and little lasting
revenue, for decades. The land will be gone, and the chance to put it to better use will be gone with it.

In closing, again, | am strongly urging the Mayor and Town Council to simply restrict the SFOZ and Utility
Scale Solar within the Town limits to no more than 15% of the Town's municipal area.

Respectfully,

redrick M

Call to the Public

(Council requests that you express your ideas in three minutes or less and refrain from any personal attacks
or derogatory statements about any individual. The Mayor will limit discussion whenever he deems such an
action appropriate to the proper conduct of the meeting. At the conclusion of an open call to the public,
individual members of the Council may respond to criticism made by those who have addressed the Council,
may ask staff to review a matter, or may ask that a matter be put on a future agenda. However, members of
the Council shall not discuss or take legal action on any matters during an open call to the public unless the
matters are properly noticed for discussion and legal action.)

Ron Cisco, New Director of the Gila Bend Power Station. Introduce himself and express his desire to work with
the Town and looks forward to improve and increase the partnerships in the future.

CONSENT AGENDA
(All items subject to approval by a single motion; any Councilmember may require any of these items to be
voted on separately).

A. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes: The Mayor and Town Council may discuss, consider, and possibly
take action to approve the following minutes of the May 12, 2026, regular meeting and the May 23, 2026,

special meeting/work session.

B. Payment of Claims: The Mayor and Town Council may discuss and possibly take action to ratify claims in
the amount of $479,463.07 and approve claims in the amount of $87,453.72 for the period ending May
31, 2026.

C. RESOLUTION NO. 26-04: The Mayor and Town Council may discuss, consider, and take action to approve
Resolution No. 26-04, which confirms the Town's prior approval of the Maricopa County CDBG
Cooperation Agreement and provides the formal resolution required by Maricopa County for the Town's
continued participation in the County's CDBG urban county program for federal fiscal years 2027, 2028,
and 2029.

Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs moved to approve the Consent Agenda.

Second by Councilmember Scott Swanson.

Motion to approve passed unanimously, Ayes (5) Mayor Tommy Sikes, Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs,
Councilmember Mary Grogg, Councilmember Will Sipes, Councilmember Scott Swanson; Absent (2)
Councilmember Fernando Fernandez, and Councilmember Donny Young.

Vil. | BUSINESS:

A. Ambulance Billing Services: The Mayor and Council may discuss and possibly approve a contract with
EMS Management & Consultants, INC., for ambulance billing services and authorize any related transition
from the Town's current ambulance billing provider. Discussion and possible action.

Ambulance Billing Services: Tabled

B. Professional Services Agreement Corey Drury Airport Manager: The Mayor and Council may discuss

and possibly take action to approve the Professional Services Agreement between the Town of Gila Bend
and Corey Drury for the marketing and management of operations for the Gila Bend Municipal Airport in
an amount not to exceed $15,000.00 for Fiscal Year 2026-2027. Discussion and Possible action.

Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs moved to approve the Professional Services Agreement between the Town of Gila
Bend and Corey Drury for the marketing and management of operations for the Gila Bend Municipal
Airport in an amount not to exceed $15,000.00 for Fiscal Year 2026-2027.

Second by Councilmember Will Sipes.

Motion to approve passed unanimously, Ayes (5) Mayor Tommy Sikes, Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs,
Councilmember Mary Grogg, Councilmember Will Sipes, Councilmember Scott Swanson; Absent (2)
Councilmember Fernando Fernandez, and Councilmember Donny Young.

Vill. > MCSO REPORT
(This is the time MCSO may present a brief summary on MCSO crime statistics, data, and cases. The Council
may not propose, discuss, deliberate, or take any legal action on the information presented.)

No report.

IX. DEPARTMENT UPDATES (This is the time the Town Manager and/or department heads may provide
departmental updates based on written reports submitted in advance. Any such reports are included with the
agenda packet and are available to the public prior to the meeting upon request. Council may ask clarifying
questions limited to the content of these reports.)

No discussion about department updates.

X. | MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBER’S REPORT ON CURRENT EVENTS
(This is the time Councilmember’s may present a brief summary on current events. The Council may not
propose, discuss, deliberate or take any legal action on the information presented.)

Councilmember Scott Swanson informed the Council that he will now be rescuing cats.
Councilmember Mary Grogg attended the Memorial Day Service and commented on how beautiful it was.
Mayor Tommy Sikes agreed.

Xl. TOWN MANAGER REPORT
(This is the time the Town Manager may present a brief summary on current events. The Council may not

propose, discuss, deliberate, or take any legal action on the information presented.)

Town Manager, Katherine Valenzuela, reported that she and Mayor Sikes attended the Mayors’ and Managers’
meeting. Attending MAG Management Meeting Small group session specifically for the small towns and
municipalities, which has been very fruitful for the town. It allowed us to share in more detail some of the
challenges in needing additional support for our road conditions on Pima Street. MAG spent their own
resources to not only do a study but continue to put into their programming an earmark for design for a turn
signal. Something else that had been long-awaited was a streetlight on Butterfield Trail and Main Street. The
Town has been working with APS. That streetlight should be operational by August 2026. Kathy is exploring
sharing positions with other municipalities via an IGA. There are other municipalities, small municipalities,
also struggling to hire in key positions. The idea is to possibly share positions, in which case we could make
ourselves more attractive. Uniting with other small municipalities would allow us to attract a different set of
candidates.

XI. | FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
(This is the time Councilmembers may request items be placed on future agendas. Requests for future agenda
items that are supported by at least 3 Councilmembers shall be added to future agendas. No discussion or

voting shall occur on future agenda items.)

XII. | EXECUTIVE SESSIONS:
(This is the time Council may hold an executive session pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.01. No action shall be taken
in executive session. Executive sessions are confidential and closed to the public.)

A. Aluminum Dynamics Lawsuit: The Mayor and Town Council may convene into executive session
pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431,03(A)(3) and (A)(4) for discussion and/or consultation for legal advice

concerning the Aluminum Dynamics, Inc. lawsuits. Discussion only.

B. Zoning Ordinance Legal Review: The Mayor and Town Council may vote to recess into executive session
pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(3) for discussion or consultation with the Town Attorney for legal advice
regarding potential amendments to the Town Zoning Ordinance relating to Solar development and
overlay zoning. Discussion only.

C. Non-Disclosure Agreements: The Mayor and Town Council may vote to recess into executive session
pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(3) for discussion or consultation for legal advice with the Town Attorney
concerning legal issues associated with non-disclosure agreements. Discussion only.

Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs moved to go into executive session at 6:59p.m.

Second by Councilmember Will Sipes.

Motion to approve passed unanimously, Ayes (5) Mayor Tommy Sikes, Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs,
Councilmember Mary Grogg, Councilmember Will Sipes, Councilmember Scott Swanson; Absent (2)
Councilmember Fernando Fernandez, and Councilmember Donny Young.

Councilmember Scott Swanson moved to reconvene the meeting at 7:53 p.m.

Second by Councilmember Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs.

Motion to approve passed unanimously, Ayes (5) Mayor Tommy Sikes, Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs,
Councilmember Mary Grogg, Councilmember Will Sipes, Councilmember Scott Swanson; Absent (2)
Councilmember Fernando Fernandez, and Councilmember Donny Young.

Xlv. ADJOURNMENT

Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:54 p.m.

Second by Councilmember Will Sipes.

Motion to approve passed unanimously, Ayes (5) Mayor Tommy Sikes, Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs, Councilmember
Mary Grogg, Councilmember Will Sipes, Councilmember Scott Swanson; Absent (2) Councilmember Fernando
Fernandez, and Councilmember Donny Young.

NOTE: The Council may go into Executive Session for the purpose of obtaining legal advice from the Town's Attorneys)

on any of the above agenda items pursuant to A.R.S. 38-431.03(A)(3).
Tommy ied Mayor

Pat Riggs
Interim Town Clerk

CERTIFICATION
| hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the Council meeting held on
June 9, 2026, and that the meeting was duly called and posted and that a quorum was present.

in Riggs, Interim Town Clerk