This is Rodeo week in Prescott, with the World’s Oldest Rodeo and the Prescott Frontier Days Parade taking place in the next several days, we have an extremely busy week coming up and expect a lot of people to be visiting Prescott from near and far.
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During Tuesday’s Executive Session, Council will receive information regarding a possible development agreement for business expansion as part of Project Desert Oasis.
We will also consider a lease extension with National Bank of Arizona, which is the primary tenant in our new City Hall building. We will possibly vote to approve such a lease amendment after adjourning the Executive Session and reconvening into a regular Council meeting.
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Today’s Study Session will start at 1 PM, at which time we will hear about the update to the State Route 89 corridor, generally, between the Watson Lake roundabout and the Phippen Trail roundabout .
This is a very important and large project, and I hope you will be alert as we will have many discussions and presentations about this in the upcoming future.
The presentation will include information relating to:
• The Effluent Collection Tank
• Waterline upgrade and realignment
• SR89 Widening Project through the “narrows”
This presentation is the start of the public outreach portion of the project and an introduction to the Virtual Meeting Room, which will be the way that the City collects comments and feedback from the community on the conceptual plan.
The main focus of the project is the sewer infrastructure to be constructed within the SR89 corridor.
This infrastructure is a part of centralization of the City’s Wastewater Operations as outlined by the Wastewater Model.
The project includes the installation of a new effluent main from a yet-to-be-added effluent storage tank at SR89 and Willow Lake Road to a line which is already installed at the old entrance to the Kiekheffer Ranch north of the old SR89 interchange.
The centralization project requires replacement of the entirety of the SR89 pavement surface. So, the question to be considered is whether the project should include the widening of SR89 to 2 lanes in each direction from the roundabout at Willow Lake Road to the roundabout at Phippen Trail. The widening would go through the Granite Dells area. This would address increasingly difficult traffic congestion and safety concerns. One or more controlled intersections are also being considered.
I am sure that you understand that any changes being contemplated through Granite Dells require a great deal of thought and consideration from City staff, Council and affected residents. We hope that the public will come with open minds as we consider this very important project affecting our water and wastewater infrastructure, as well as traffic and safety through Granite Dells.
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During the Voting Meeting, we will hear from Barry Aarons, our city lobbyist at the state capital, regarding the 2023 Legislative Session. This year’s legislative session held a few surprises and some uncertainty as representatives worked with a new governor for the first time in 8 years. Barry should be able to provide some valuable insight, as well as guidance looking forward.
As part of the One Arizona Distribution of Opioid Settlement Funds Agreement, the City of Prescott has received $168,112.77 as distributed through Yavapai County Community Health Services (YCCHS).
Council will consider how best to spend these funds to support local law enforcement due to the extreme impact the city of Prescott experienced during the past and ongoing opioid crisis.
We will also consider placing thirteen Charter amendments on the ballot in November, 2023. Here is a very brief summary of what the “Yes” votes would mean:
Proposition 461: Updates attendance requirements for Council members to reflect the Council Rules of Procedure, clarifies expectations and definitions.
Proposition 462: Allows citizen submitted petitions to be considered in 60 days, rather than 30 days.
Proposition 463: Updates ministerial duties of the city clerk in receiving nomination petition papers to align with state law.
Proposition 464: Allows for a 5 year, rather than a 3 year, financial auditing contract with the City.
Proposition 465: Adds requirements for the City regarding lease of city property with the option to purchase, sets appraisal requirements.
Proposition 466: Specifies the term of Mayor Pro tempore as one year, and determines the meeting date for the designation.
Proposition 467: Updates language for nomination for general election by simplifying the qualifications for the candidates to move on to the general election.
Proposition 468: Changes the residency requirements for Mayor and Council candidates from one year to three-years and cleans up language of the section.
Proposition 469: Clarifies language that the City Manager shall serve at the pleasure of Council.
Proposition 470: Adds requirements related to the sale of city property exceeding a value of four million dollars.
Proposition 471: Raises the Council member stipends from $500/month to $850/month. The Mayor’s stipend would be raised from $750/month to $1250/month. Subsequent raises would be adjusted based on the annual Consumer Price Index. These pay raise adjustments would be solely limited to Council and Mayor.
Proposition 472: Changes the term of mayor from two years to four years.
Proposition 473: Would establish new appointment procedures for vacancies on council and in the Office of Mayor.
Council will also hold a public hearing on the proposed annexation of 603.2 acres north of the city limits adjoining the future Dignity Health Medical Campus site.
Finally, Council will consider an updated patient transportation agreement with Lifeline Ambulance. The Council will also take the final vote for the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget.
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Mark your calendar now, by the way, because following the Frontier Days Parade, the fireworks will be on Saturday, July 1st at Watson Lake.
In addition, there are several commemorations occurring this week for the Granite Mountain 19 Hotshot Firefighters who died so tragically ten years ago.
Please watch our website and Social Media for important information on these events, as well as road closures.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the Rodeo and associated events!
