Surprise council weighs splitting Veterans, Disability and Human Services commission; commissioners urge delay until after VetFest

City staff and members of the Veterans Disability Human Services Commission told the City Council on Sept. 2 that they support creating separate advisory bodies for veterans and for disability and human services but urged the council to delay any formal sunsetting until after this winter's planning cycle for VetFest.

Seth (city staff) presented background: the combined Veterans Disability Human Services (VDHS) commission was created in 2018 and has overseen items including VetFest, the mayor's disability roundtable, a HUD consolidated plan public hearing and a resource satellite hub in partnership with the Surprise Regional Library. "They were supposed to be the eyes and ears of our veteran community or individuals with disabilities," Seth said as he summarized the commission's duties.

Michael Tread, chair of the VDHS commission, told council members the commission supports the split in concept but asked the council to avoid sunsetting the existing commission while the body is still planning VetFest, which Tread described as the commission's "Super Bowl." He and other commissioners raised three operational concerns: timing (avoid creating a gap before VetFest), meeting frequency (commissioners recommended maintaining more frequent meetings than quarterly during transition to cover event planning), and staffing/capacity (staff resources needed for two separate advisory bodies).

Commissioners suggested ways to preserve continuity: staggered start dates for the new commissions so experienced commissioners remain available to advise VetFest planning, alternating monthly meeting schedules (each new commission meeting every other month to approximate the current monthly cadence), and ensuring staff capacity to support meeting workloads.

Councilmembers offered general support for the change and agreed not to rush a transition. Councilmember Jack Melton suggested appointing new commissioners in a phased manner so two bodies retain experienced members; Councilmember John Haney said the split could create more volunteer opportunities. Several commissioners proposed adding "Military" to the veterans commission name (for example, "Military and Veteran Advisory Commission") to explicitly include active‑duty personnel and National Guard members.

No formal motion or vote occurred; staff said the item had been brought as a concept and that any code changes, appointment processes and a formal sunset/creation timeline would return to council for direction.