Glendale council approves consent resolutions including DOE HVAC grant; resident raises transparency questions about resort lease

Glendale City Council on Feb. 25 approved a package of consent resolutions that included intergovernmental agreements with the Arizona Department of Transportation, a license for telecommunications, a $247,266 grant for HVAC/cooling-tower work and a ground-lease involving a private resort.

The council voted to approve resolutions R25-15 through R25-19 by voice vote after city staff read the titles. R25-18 authorizes acceptance and expenditure of a $247,266 Industrial Assessment Centers implementation grant fund agreement with Defense Works and the U.S. Department of Energy. R25-16 and R25-17 direct the city to enter into intergovernmental agreements with the Arizona Department of Transportation for adaptive signal control and signal detection projects.

During public comment, Roy Gray of the Ocotillo District urged the council to increase transparency on item 31 (the ground-lease resolution), saying council items are sometimes added with minimal notice and questioning why, he said, roughly 19.7 acres of city land would be leased to the resort for free. "Far too often, council items are added at the last minute... As a Glendale taxpayer, it feels like we could be getting more for this land," Gray said.

Vice Mayor Lauren Tomachoff answered the concerns, saying the ground lease covers a retention basin behind a parking lot that she described as "maybe 5 acres" and is currently used for runoff; the developer would fill that basin so the parcel becomes developable. Tomachoff said the resort will provide "2,000 or maybe a little more than that square feet to our public safety personnel" for use during heavy event days, but emphasized the city would not be stationing a permanent police squad at the resort. "We're not putting another squad of police officers out there," she said, adding the police chief supported the arrangement.

The council also approved multiple routine items and appointments earlier in the meeting, including several board appointments and the approval of the Feb. 11, 2025 minutes. The motion to approve resolutions 27–31 carried by voice vote.

What happens next: The resolutions become administrative actions per the city clerk's process; details of the ground-lease parcel size, lease terms and long-term public-safety arrangements were discussed but not altered on the council floor. Residents pressing for broader public input urged the council to consider procedural changes to increase notice and comment opportunities for future items.