More turbulence for Axon's mammoth project

Feb. 25—A vague email concerning Axon — the billion-dollar giant that employs hundreds in Scottsdale — has been deemed "concerning and upsetting" by the Scottsdale city attorney.

Though the city refuses to say if any type of investigation is underway, at best it seems to be "not a good look," as Councilwoman Betty Janik put it.

Lauded by law enforcement agencies around the country that use its Tasers and body cameras, Axon thinks big. "Our moonshot goal is to cut gun-related deaths between police and the public by 50% before 2033," the company states.

But founder Rick Smith's more modest — though still impressive — hometown moonshot is not off to a strong launch.

After Axon purchased state land for $49 million in 2020, Smith announced plans for an unprecedented live-work "corporate campus." The plan requires rezoning, as it was sold with industrial zoning that prohibits residential development.

During crucial meetings before the Airport Advisory and Planning commissions, Axon's sudden shift from its original plan of a mere expansion of its headquarters to include a hotel and 2,000 apartments met stiff opposition — and even scorn.

After he criticized Axon's plan, Planning Commission member Christian Serena said someone from the company called the financial company where he works.

In an email to Sherry Scott, the city's attorney, Serena said "a person who claimed to represent Axon's leadership contacted my employer wanting to discuss my public comments about the applicant's case."

The company denied the accusation, issuing a statement that said: "No Axon employee or representative has ever tried to pressure Commissioner Serena, or any member of the Scottsdale Planning Commission. Commissioner Serena has made his opposition to our project clear.

"No one from Axon has attempted to force him to change his mind."

Janik said that, on the surface, the Axon statement rings true.

"But it is not a good look for Axon," Janik added, "that perhaps someone in their administration or company would call and make derogatory comments or challenge a commissioner — or ask for an investigation into what the commissioner said or did."

The Axon executive who allegedly called Serena's employer and allegedly criticized him "in my mind, made a mistake," Janik said.

She said the purported conversation potentially violates the "good faith" language of the Axon-city development agreement.

"I do think it was intimidation. I think it was a power play," Janik said.

"And I think there could be some corrective action — if the allegations are true," Janik said.

Serena's email does not state the name of the person from Axon who allegedly called his employer. Nor does the email get into details of what the Axon representative allegedly said.

"I have never had an applicant contact my employer to discuss what I said during a commission meeting because my role as a commissioner and my employment are not associated," he wrote.

Serena has been a Planning Commission member — a voluntary, unpaid position appointed by the council — since 2018. His second term ends in May.

In the email, Serena said the alleged call took place Jan. 25 — the day after he spent nearly 20 minutes publicly grilling Axon's representatives at a Planning Commission meeting.

Serena was the only commissioner to vote against a continuance of Axon's request that night.

The Progress asked Serena for details of the alleged conversation or conversations but he refused — referring to his rather fuzzy email.

The Merrill Lynch Wealth Management website lists Serena as a member of its Scottsdale "A Team." In his Linkedin profile, Serena describes himself as a portfolio manager and University of Chicago MBA graduate. He has been with Merrill Lynch for more than a decade.

Three weeks after the alleged Axon executive's call, Serena voted against Axon's request to the commission for an indefinite continuance of its request.

Shortly after the Feb. 14 commission meeting ended, Serena emailed Scott.

"As you know, my role as a planning commissioner is not associated with my employment," Serena wrote the city attorney. "I serve on the commission as a citizen who volunteers as part of my civic duty."

His only request in the email:

"Respectfully, please confirm with the applicant that members of boards and commissions act in their capacity as Scottsdale citizens — and do not represent their employers."

"I know Christian to be of very high integrity," Councilman Barry Graham said.

Just the same, Graham said he was not rushing to judgment.

"I agree with the city attorney that this is very concerning," Graham said. "There's not much I can say since we're in the fact collecting-phase."

Scott and City Manager Jim Thompson did not respond to an email from the Progress asking if Serena's allegations regarding Axon are being investigated — and, if so, if Axon cooperating with any investigation.

In a Feb. 16 email to City Council, Scott wrote, "The events described in Mr. Serena's email are concerning and upsetting. There is no question that I take this seriously and intend to respond."

The background

The Progress asked Serena to summarize his two votes against Axon continuation requests Planning Commission meetings.

"The company continually failed to respect the integrity of the city's zoning process," Serena answered via email.

He said his Jan. 24 vote "was based on the fact that they signed an agreement to purchase trust land from the State Land Department with the explicit knowledge that building apartments was prohibited."

Serena said he was upset that instead of answering his concerns, Axon representatives "pivoted to making veiled threats that they would probably leave Scottsdale if we didn't give them exactly what they wanted."

On Feb. 14, he again voted against Axon's request for an extension — this time "because they changed their story from the first meeting. They initially said they needed our immediate approval to start work on the project.

"Then they contradicted themselves in the second meeting by saying they wanted the commission to approve an open-ended time frame to continue working on their proposal. I wasn't comfortable with that."

By a 5-2 vote, the Planning Commission approved the extension.

Serena's conclusion of the email to the Progress showed he is far from backing down from Axon:

"In my opinion, applicants should not be allowed to disregard the city's process and disrespect residents."