Council discusses budget, Connie’s intersection, and more at busy May 13 meeting

New signage and enforcement coming to Connie’s intersection

Public Works Director John Angulo presented a detailed update on the status of the Upper Pinal Creek Bridge and the reconfigured Connie’s intersection, followed by a long Council discussion on safety at the intersection. 

Angulo said the construction phase is nearing completion, with materials still being hauled away and pedestal lighting being relocated from the east to the west side of Hill Street for improved nighttime visibility and pedestrian safety. Landscaping for the islands is scheduled to begin in early June and is expected to take approximately two weeks. Meanwhile, city engineers are obtaining quotes to address a rough patch of roadway left from the transition between the new bridge and the older section of the intersection.

The discussion mostly centered on public safety and driver adjustments to the new traffic flow. Jepson pointed out that the reconfiguration significantly alters previous patterns, as instead of a free flow east–west on Broad Street, the new design promotes movement from Hill into Connie’s and up Jesse Hayes. While the design adheres to federal MUTCD standards and was constructed as originally approved, safety concerns have arisen, especially about vehicles speeding downhill on Hill Street, surprising other drivers at the intersection.

“All you’ve got to do is slow down. If you just go at your normal speed, you’re okay. But people have to take their feet off the gas pedal.” Councilman Pastor

Angulo explained that original traffic projections used during the design phase were based on historical numbers, rather than current, post-construction traffic behavior. Because of this shift, the city is considering a new traffic study to evaluate actual current use patterns.

Council discussed the best way to move forward. Jepson raised a concern about the timing of a new study, especially with the school year ending in two weeks, which will temporarily reduce traffic volumes. Councilman Leetham emphasized the potential legal liability to the City if an accident occurs and felt the City should conduct a study as soon as possible.

Police Chief Walters and Angulo both supported immediate low-cost interventions. Chief Walters reported that although there have been complaints, no accidents have been documented. He suggested enhanced signage, reduced speed limits, flashing radar signs, and possibly rumble strips, or potentially making the intersection a three-way stop. He also committed to targeted enforcement efforts focusing on driver education rather than ticketing. He emphasized the value of giving the public time to adjust to the new layout.

“It took me a long time to adjust, not being from Globe, to how the traffic flowed before, which was completely opposite of anything that I’d been exposed to. It was pretty creative, is what it was. I think it’s much safer the way it is now.” Chief Dale Walters

Councilmembers described their own observations of the area and reiterated that the main issues seem to be speed-related—especially vehicles descending Hill Street too fast—as well as visibility when turning onto the bridge. Councilmen also highlighted that the current signage is too cluttered or poorly placed, and proposed installing illuminated signs or larger indicators to slow traffic down and alert drivers to the intersection. 

In the end, the consensus was to move forward with enhanced signage, enforcement, and educational outreach, such as a potential public service announcement. Council agreed to reassess in August, after school traffic patterns return, to determine if a formal study is still needed.

Angulo said quotes have already been obtained for radar speed signs and other improvements. The city intends to proceed quickly with these enhancements.

FY2025–2026 Budget Update

City Manager Paul Jepson presented a detailed update on the 2025–2026 budget development process, highlighting important dates, insurance costs, wellness initiatives, and council priorities.

The key dates for budget milestones are as follows:

• May 21: Council work group on fund balances and contingencies
• May 28 (Wednesday): Public meeting on contingency funds, CIP, and property tax
• June 10: Tentative budget presentation and possible adoption
• June 18: Tentative budget to be posted on the City’s website
• July 8: Final budget adoption
• July 16: Final budget to be posted on the City’s website
• July 22: Adoption of property tax levy

Employee Insurance and Wellness Programs

For the third year in a row, the city reported no increase in base health insurance premiums. Instead, the only changes are annual incremental adjustments to employee contributions, part of a long-term plan to reach a 33% contribution target for dependent coverage.

Jepson highlighted two health and wellness screening programs:

• Simon-Medical MRI body scans. These are low-resolution scans that can pick up signs of early-stage diseases and abnormalities. The cost is $600 per employee, with approximately 50 employees expected to participate, for a total budgeted cost of $30,000. This programs will be funded from restricted Blue Cross Blue Shield wellness funds.
• CVRMC stroke risk screenings. These screenings include blood tests, carotid ultrasounds, and optional CT/CTA heart scans. The cost is $600 per person, with approximately 45 participants expected, for a total budgeted cost of $27,000, which will be increased if the response is higher than expected.

Additional health and wellness initiatives include potentially increasing gym reimbursement to $40/month, continuing to offer city-paid family pool passes for employees, and launching an optional annual fitness challenge program.

Emergency Air Evacuation Coverage

• PHI (primary provider) is expected to be renewed at a cost of $18,000 for residents and $6,000 for City employees. Jepson said PHI flew 25 residents and two employees out in the past year.
• Banner (backup provider) is more expensive, and council is delaying inclusion until utilization data is available.

City Council Budget Priorities

• Bed tax organizations: $250,000
• Copper Mountain Transit support: $73,000
• Federal lobbyist (Holmes & Associates): $60,000
• US-60 cleanup (Gila Proud): $10,000 (This is part of a larger $136,000 regional effort, including contributions from the county at $50,000, the hospital at $20,000, and Freeport at $20,000.)
• Travel and conference attendance: $18,000 (Includes AZ League, a trip to DC, and, ideally, NAL or NLC.)
• Branded clothing allowance for council: Council is considering allotting $600 per member for attire used during city representation.
• Nonprofit grant fund: Tentatively set at $15,000, subject to revision based on final budget. Mayor Gameros spoke in favor of spending money to establish a youth club downtown.

Property Tax and Revenue Outlook

The city has committed to maintaining the property tax levy flat, as promised when the sales tax was increased in previous years. To keep that promise, City staff propose reducing the property tax rate from 1.22% to 1.18%, offsetting rising property valuations. This move helps avoid triggering Arizona’s Truth in Taxation requirements and additional public hearings.

Jepson pointed out that city revenue streams—including sales tax—have consistently exceeded projections. He also said that Council needs to keep an eye on the state legislature potentially targeting shared revenue or the city’s food tax, although that is not happening now.

2025 Employee Survey results show increasing trust and positivity

LaCoya Shelton of Revolutionary HR Consulting presented the findings of the City of Globe’s 2025 Employee Survey. This marks the fourth year of the survey, with previous surveys conducted in 2020, 2022, and 2023. Shelton praised the city for its consistency and follow-through, noting that gathering and acting on employee feedback builds trust.

Participation was strong in 2025, with 86% of employees (103 of 120) completing the survey. That marks a 14-point increase from 2023. Shelton attributed this improvement to growing employee trust in the survey process and the administration’s efforts to follow through on feedback from past surveys. Shelton said several employees specifically commented that they believe the city listens and acts on the feedback they give.

The survey was conducted between January 13 and February 4, 2025, in both English and Spanish. All responses were anonymous.

Overall Sentiment

• Favorable responses: 75% (up 8% from 2023)
• Neutral responses: 17% (down 4%)
• Unfavorable responses: 8% (down 5%)

Shelton noted that this year’s favorable scores were just two points shy of the city’s highest ever (77% in 2022). The decline in both neutral and unfavorable responses suggests a meaningful shift in employee sentiment toward the positive.

Departmental Trends

• Top performing departments:
  • Administration: 86% favorable (+8% from 2023)
  • Library, Museum, and Active Adult Center: 81%
  • Police: 79%
  • Fire: 74%
• Departments with lower scores:
  • Public Works (Fleet & Street): 66%
  • Public Works (Water, Sewer, Water Office): 57%

Newer employees report the highest satisfaction. Shelton noted that this is often the case, as longer-tenured employees have more experiences—positive and negative—that shape their views.

With regard to age-group trends, 41–50-year-olds make up the largest group of City employees (27 respondents), and they reported the highest unfavorable responses in key areas. Shelton advised the city to consider follow-up with this group specifically.

Top Five Survey Questions by Favorability

1. “My department is personally important to me.” — 92% favorable (+1% over 2023)
2. “My supervisor treats me with fairness and respect.” — 89% (+12%)
3. “I respect and value my team members and their contributions.” — 88% (slight decrease)
4. “The people I work with treat me with respect.” — 87% (+6%)
5. “I feel comfortable working with people in other departments.” — 84% (+5%)

These results continue a trend seen in previous years, where employees rate their immediate teams and supervisors more favorably than the organization as a whole.

Lowest Scoring Survey Questions

1. “The organization communicates necessary information effectively.” — 61% favorable, 13% unfavorable
2. “Overall, I am satisfied with the benefits offered.” — 63% favorable, 12% unfavorable
3. “I can share my ideas without fear of negative consequences.” — 71% favorable, 12% unfavorable
4. “The City of Globe cares about employees.” — 53% favorable, 11% unfavorable
5. “I am satisfied with advancement opportunities.” — 60% favorable, 11% unfavorable

While these were the lowest-scoring items, several still showed improvement. For example, even though communication remains a concern, the percentage of favorable responses on that question rose by 13%.

Comment Themes

Open-ended questions showed that employees ranked the top strengths of working for the City as co-workers and team, teamwork/family culture, leadership, and culture/caring/support, in that order. They identified areas for improvement as compensation, staffing/retention, communication, insurance costs, and equipment. 

Some employees raised concerns about aging or inadequate equipment, suggesting past requests were met with “the cheapest solution.” A few comments mentioned perceived favoritism, especially in Public Works, where certain employees were seen as receiving more leeway or opportunities.

The survey results showed that employees cite community connection/mission, mission and vision, passion for the work, retirement benefits, and opportunities to learn and grow as reasons to stay.

Positive comments about leadership nearly doubled from the previous year (27%, up from 13% in 2023). Several employees praised specific leaders including the mayor, city manager, chief of police, and the council as a whole for providing support and caring about employees.

The City will share the survey results with all levels of staff. Jepson said there will also be group meetings to examine some of the key findings that need to be addressed.

Upper Pinal Creek Bridge to get a new name

Paul Jepson explained that the Upper Pinal Creek Bridge needs an official name that can be used in documentation, maps, and public communications. Many residents refer to it as Connie’s Bridge, and ADOT refers to it as the Upper Pinal Creek Bridge, but no formal name has ever been adopted. Jepson said there has been growing momentum among residents and some council members to assign a more historically and locally resonant name.

Councilmember Mike Pastor, who represents the district where the bridge is located, presented a detailed 20-page packet of historical documentation submitted to him by constituents. The materials trace the name “Ruiz Canyon Bridge” back as far as the late 1950s. Pastor stated that his constituents support naming the new bridge “Ruiz Canyon Bridge” and urged council members to review the documents before making a decision.

“I think it’s proper to look deeply into the history of Ruiz Canyon, of the region, the beginning days of this area and this bridge…. We need to enrich the history of this area and preserve it.” Councilman Freddy Rios

Councilman Rios expressed appreciation for the historical research and emphasized the importance of honoring the heritage of the area. Rios supported getting input from the public but expressed caution about setting a precedent that every future infrastructure project would require a public vote.

Councilman Leetham stated he had no strong objection to calling the bridge Ruiz Canyon Bridge and noted that using a regional name could help prevent public confusion. He also supported allowing residents to have input in the decision-making process. Councilman Gonzalez echoed this sentiment, saying that involving the public would be a fair and inclusive approach. 

“Leave it up to the residents and let them decide. I think that it will give the residents something good to look forward to.” Councilman Leetham

Several councilmembers expressed the desire to review the historical information in Pastor’s packet before deciding how to proceed with either a council-led decision or a community-driven process, and Mayor Gameros agreed that the council should first study the provided research before taking any formal action. Council agreed to review the historical documents and return in the future to discuss how best to proceed with the naming process.

Globe Clean & Beautiful Spring Clean event draws 87 volunteers

Linda Oddonetto updated the audience on April’s Globe Clean & Beautiful Spring Clean event, calling it one of the most successful cleanups to date. The three-day event combined a downtown beautification effort with a citywide cleanup, drawing strong volunteer participation and resulting in record-breaking waste collection.

The first two days were dedicated to downtown improvements, including planting flowers in all of the flower boxes and in front of the historic depot. The event brought in 87 registered volunteers, who also painted curbs and railings, planted a tree sponsored by Tally-Ho Engineering, and took on a range of other beautification tasks. A group of 4-H students participated in planting at the depot, and volunteers from Freeport focused on restoring benches. 

Oddonetto thanked Connie and Melissa for coordinating logistics and ensuring each volunteer had supplies and a designated task. Public Works crews also received praise for their extensive behind-the-scenes work, including prepping all the flower beds in advance so they would be ready for planting. Oddonetto also expressed gratitude to the Globe Police Department, Mormon Missionaries, and DJ’s Companies for their participation.

“This is huge. We now have people that call Community Development, when they anticipate when we do these cleanups now.” Public Works Director John Angulo

John Angulo pointed out that the City does Dumpster Days three times a year. This year, residents brought large amounts of waste to designated roll-off locations. This year’s event collected a total of 68.62 tons of trash—more than 137,000 pounds—and included 217 tires. Oddonetto said this is the largest volume of waste ever collected during one of the city’s cleanup events. The dumpsters were placed at sites such as the old hospital and baseball field, and DJ’s managed the removal. Oddonetto confirmed that all material was taken to the dump, and the field was only a temporary collection point.

Cat Vega takes over as Recreation Special Events Manager

Kathleen “Cat” Vega has moved into a new role as Recreation Special Events Manager as of March 18. Introducing her, Linda Oddonetto informed Council that she has already conducted 55 lifeguard interviews, hiring 30, and led 12 lead lifeguard interviews, selecting four. In total, the pool staff now includes 38 people, 23 of whom are returning from previous seasons. The pool opens on May 23.

Vega has worked for the City for nine years, including at the Besh Ba Gowah Museum and Globe Police Department. Her goals in her new role include expanding the parks and recreation department and continuing to create programs and events that serve and uplift the community.

Motions approved

Council also approved motions for the following:

• Accounts payable in the amount of $981,102.18
• Approving a Type 12 liquor license for beer, wine, and spirits for Salina’s Smoke Street, located at 999 N. Broad St. A public hearing was held, but no commenters appeared.
• Moving funds related to a contract with Living Street Alliance (Safe Streets Grant Expenditure), which Council approved on April 22. This adjustment represents no additional financial impact. 
• Approving an application to ADOT for a Transportation Alternatives Grant in the amount of $1,091,810, to be utilized to complete the Broad Street Sidewalk Replacement Project. The grant requires a local match of $60,523. Travis Ashbaugh explained that in 2023, the city applied to ADOT for both design and construction funds under this same program. However, at that time, ADOT only awarded design funding for projects that lacked pre-existing plans. The city’s design phase, which focused on Broad Street, was recently completed by Ardura, a consultant selected by ADOT. With that design in hand, staff now sought council’s approval to submit a new application for construction funds during this current two-year grant cycle.
  The project scope includes sidewalk replacements along both sides of Broad Street, specifically from Mesquite to Sycamore, with an additional segment near the Yuma Bridge extending toward Haskins. Jepson emphasized the advantageous nature of the grant, noting the required local match of only 5.7%—far lower than the more typical 25% seen in other federal programs. If awarded, the funds would likely be available by October 1, though it could take close to a year for the paperwork and approvals to be finalized, Ashbaugh said. The item will return for further council action should the city be awarded the funds.
• Moving forward the FY2025-26 Library Service Agreement with Gila County Library District, which would include a distribution to the City of Globe for $131,900, plus $1,200 for telephone expenses, for a total distribution to the City of $133,100. Jepson explained that this is an annual agreement, and emphasized that it involves money being distributed to the City, not an expenditure.
• Approving an intergovernmental agreement with Gila County whereby Gila County will provide law enforcement dispatch services for the City of Globe at an annual fee of $272,047.92 for the period of July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. The agreement includes the option to renew for three additional one-year terms. Police Chief Dale Walters explained that this is a continuation of an agreement with the county sheriff’s department to provide dispatch services for first responders, and that the county can provide this service at lower expense than the PD could do it themselves. He said the higher amount this year resulted from necessary increases in dispatchers’ salaries.Fire Chief Gary Robinson said the agreement has been working well and many other local agencies are now also using the county for dispatch services.
• Approving an intergovernmental agreement with Gila County to employ two interns with the City of Globe through the 2025 Summer Youth Program. Shelly Salazar explained that these interns will be placed within the City of Globe’s Public Works department and Gila County for the summer. The program begins in early June and runs through mid-July, and is fully funded by Gila County, requiring no financial contribution from the city.

 

Members of the Globe City Council: Mayor Al Gameros, Vice Mayor Mike Stapleton (District 4), and Council members Freddy Rios (District 1), Mike Pastor (District 2), Jesse Leetham (District 3), Mariano Gonzalez (District 5), and Fernando Shipley (District 6). All members were in attendance at this meeting except Vice Mayor Stapleton and Councilman Shipley. Councilmen Rios and Leetham attended via Zoom.

To view this meeting online, visit City Council Meeting – May 13, 2025.

To view documents related to this meeting, click here. 

Full minutes can be found by going to the City Hall website at https://www.globeaz.gov/government and clicking on Agendas/Minutes in the bottom left-hand corner.

The Globe City Council meets every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. The meetings are currently open to the public at 50% capacity. Members of the public are requested to wear a mask except when seated. Seating is limited to allow for social distancing.

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