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El Mirage approves application for Tohono O'odham Nation gaming grant to add shade and cameras to four pocket parks
Summary
The council authorized staff to submit an application and accept funding if awarded from the Tohono O'odham Nation 2025 revenue-sharing program to install shade structures at four neighborhood playgrounds and add security cameras and lighting.
The El Mirage Common Council approved submission of an application and authorized acceptance, if awarded, of approximately $300,000 from the Tohono O'odham Nation 2025 revenue sharing program to add shade coverings at four neighborhood playgrounds and to install security cameras and lighting.
Council member Aldridge said she pulled the item to make sure the public understood how funds would be used and why the selected parks were proposed. City staff identified the four pocket parks targeted for shade structures as Dahlia Park, Dreyfus Park, Buena Bridal Park and Brown Family Park. Staff said those four sites currently lack shade over playground equipment and do not have existing lighting and camera coverage; combining shade installation with cameras and lighting creates efficiencies in construction.
Staff said the grant application proposes only an in-kind match from city staff (project management from public works, parks and recreation, and development services) and does not commit city cash at this stage because the capital items are programmed for FY2026 but have not yet come back to council for full project approval. "We are proposing to only offer in-kind as a match ... we haven't committed any dollars," staff said.
On camera monitoring, staff explained the planned cameras would be part of the city's existing Meraki system and would not be actively monitored in real time: "They are not monitored. These would be incorporated into our existing park system ... we do have a backup ... we only look at them retroactively if we have something that occurred that we need to go back and look at. PD does have access to them."
Council member Dorothy Dorsey cautioned that the grant has not yet been awarded: "I just want to be really clear that we don't have this money yet. And we may not get it. So we're sort of counting our chickens before they're hatched."
Vice Mayor Parsons moved to approve the application submission and accept funding if awarded; Council member Dorsey seconded. The council approved the motion by voice vote.
