Photo: Courthouse Lighting 2022 (Michael Wilson, photographer)
Prescott Regional Airport, in cooperation with local nonprofit Beyond The Label, has unveiled specialized communications boards at the terminal, designed to assist passengers and visitors on the autism spectrum. Prescott Regional Airport is the first airport in the nation to feature these boards.
According to Joanna Sweeney, with the local nonprofit ‘Beyond The Label’ in Prescott, they have helped install board alternatives in several locations already in our Prescott community. Kayla’s Hands park has a board as well as the downtown splash pad has two. These boards can also be found at Dr. Raber, a pediatric dentist at DMD Pediatric Dentistry, and inside the Lessons by Lexe dance studio. We are excited to share this communication tool.
*****************************
I am pleased to announce that the Glassford Hill Land Auction took place on Tuesday, November 21 at the Yavapai County Courthouse. In this auction, the City of Prescott acquired 967 acres of land, and the Town of Prescott Valley acquired 1,317 acres of land on Glassford Hill between the two communities.
Securing this Open Space will help to create a large regional park and preserve, which includes the acquisitions of the thousands of acres our city has worked so hard to obtain over the last few decades through Prescott’s Open Space program.
Prescott’s trail system, especially the trails around the Dells, are renowned. Adding a regional park and so many more miles of connected trails just elevates our community resources and our status as an ecotourism destination to the next level.
This partnership still has much to accomplish, as we plan and develop the regional park, featuring approximately 4000 contiguous acres. In the near future, residents and visitors can expect a wide diversity of trail types with connectivity to the “arterial” trails like the Iron King and the Peavine trails, which provide access to both Prescott Valley and Chino valley as well as Watson and Willow lakes. This project will provide long term economic benefits through ecotourism, benefitting our entire region.
I am proud of the cooperation that was reached among Prescott Valley, Yavapai County, the State of Arizona, and the city of Prescott. This demonstrates that we can work together to benefit the greater community and bring good things to all.
**********************
Now that Thanksgiving has passed, Prescott is ramping up for Christmas! As the official site of Arizona’s Christmas City, there are many activities planned for the month of December.
First up, this Saturday December 2nd, the 41st Annual Prescott Chamber Christmas Parade will start at 1 PM. The 69th Annual Courthouse Lighting will begin at 5 PM with music followed by the opening ceremony at 5:45PM and the reading of the biblical story of the birth of Jesus from the book of Luke will begin at 6 PM. Be sure to check out the website below for a calendar of all events.
**********************
The City Council will have three meetings today. The Executive Session will be at 10 AM to discuss a variety of legal matters with our attorneys.
The Council Study Session will start at 1 PM. During this meeting, we will have a presentation and discussion regarding an Overview of the Public Works Department, including areas of responsibility, budget overview, goals and objectives as well as accomplishments.
Due to the immensity and the complexity of the Public Works Department, we anticipate that this may take quite a bit of time, and we are allowing over the normal two hours for this meeting. You can get a preview of the presentation on the City’s website in the City Meeting Portal.
That means the regularly scheduled Council Voting Meeting will not start until 4 PM.
During the voting meeting, we will recognize our outgoing members of Council, Steve Sischka and Clark Tenney. I want to take this moment now to share my appreciation of all their years of service to our community and the City of Prescott.
I am also pleased to welcome back Connie Cantelme and Cathey Rusing as they both won re-election to their council seats. Lois Fruhwirth and Ted Gambogi will be sworn in as the newest members of the Prescott City Council. And I am very honored to be sworn in for my second term as the Mayor of the City of Prescott.
