This is it. The City Council will be making a decision on Falcon Field, and it is critical that our community shows up. If you’ve been following this issue, signed the petition, or talked with neighbors about it, this is the moment to be heard.

Please plan to arrive early, ideally by 5:00 PM, as seats will fill up quickly and speaker opportunities may be limited. The meeting will be held at Mesa City Hall on the upper level, starting at 5:45 PM.

If you want to speak, this is very important: Speaker sign-up opens at 5:00 PM sharp, and it is done digitally, you are essentially getting in a virtual line. You can sign up from your phone either at City Hall or even before you arrive, but timing matters. If you are at City Hall, connect to the city WiFi, as cell service (especially Verizon) may be unreliable. The Mayor has discretion to limit the number of speakers, so not everyone who signs up may get the opportunity. That means getting in line right at 5:00 PM is critical, waiting even a few minutes could make the difference.

If you’re comfortable speaking, we strongly encourage you to do so. If speaking isn’t for you, that’s completely okay. Your presence alone still matters. A full room sends a powerful message to the Council that the community is paying attention, that this issue affects real people, and that voters care about the outcome.

It’s also important to understand what happens if landing fees are NOT approved.

According to the City’s own Notice of Proposed Fees, the airport would likely not remain financially self-sustaining long-term. That means one of two things happens:

Funds from the City’s General Fund (taxpayer dollars) would need to be used to support airport operations and projects, or

Essential projects like maintaining runway pavement and ongoing maintenance of city-owned hangars would be delayed or deferred.

The notice also referenced removal of aging citrus trees. While those trees have since been deferred and taken off, the broader issue remains the same: essential projects are still being deferred. None of these projects are eligible for federal or state grant funding, meaning the financial burden ultimately falls locally.

One important reminder, when speaking, please keep your message focused on financial sustainability and fairness to taxpayers. Operational concerns like noise and pollution are real (we’ll deal with those later with minimum standards for SASOs), but this specific decision is about the financial side, and that’s where your message will be most effective.

A lot of people have worked hard to get to this point, and now it comes down to showing up. Whether you speak or simply sit in the room, you are part of this.

Let’s show the Council that this community cares about the airport staying self sustaining!!