Mayor Phil Goode’s Weekly Update – April 28, 2025

I want to recognize May 4th as the 229th birthday of William Hickling Prescott for which our city was named in 1864.
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The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is honoring nine Arizona entrepreneurs, small business champions and lending partners for their contributions to the economy during its national and local award ceremonies.

Congratulations to the Prescott business, True Course Simulations, owned by Raynald Bédard and Brett Watts. True Course Simulations has been recognized as the 2025 Arizona Veteran Small Business of the Year.
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I want to welcome Kristy Diaz-Trahan to the City of Prescott. She has been named the new Recreation Services Director for the City of Prescott. A respected leader with over 25 years of experience in Arizona parks and recreation, Diaz-Trahan brings a strong record of innovation, collaboration, and community-centered service to this important role.

Long time Director Joe Baynes will retire as of May 1, 2025. The City of Prescott has benefited greatly from his vision for our community in so many ways. Thank you, Joe, your service to Prescott is deeply appreciated.

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It is time to start thinking about wildfire season in our area.  With the late spring and early summer months comes generally drier weather, and the increased wildfire threat.  Wildfire is the greatest natural disaster our community faces.

We need to prepare our homes and businesses, and we also need to know how to respond in the event of a fire.  That includes getting emergency information from a credible source.

Please remember that wildfire preparedness starts with you.

Finally, it is critical that citizens get early and accurate information on fires and evacuations.  Register with the County at AlertYAVAPAI for notifications. Additionally, install the  Genasys Protect app on your phone or mobile devices.  This is a relatively new system that the City and the County use for managing evacuation notification.  This is interactive, so you can look at a map and know which areas are being evacuated and get information on Red Cross centers and animal shelters.

Please use trusted sources like these as social media can snowball with distorted or inaccurate information.  Have a “go bag” ready in case you have to evacuate, and make sure you have a plan for your pets.

Prepare for the upcoming fire season now, and don’t wait until the last minute. Please join your neighbors and invest in our community’s safety. Thanks to Wildfire Risk Manager Conrad Jackson for his contributions to this information.
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You may have heard in the background, but downtown bollard installation will continue starting Monday at the intersection of Willis and Montezuma through the week of May 19th.

During this time, the intersection will be completely closed  24 hours a day. Detour routes will be posted during the closure times.

This is the final bollard installation. Thank you for your patience as we complete this downtown safety project.
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The Prescott Public Library is celebrating 50 years on Goodwin Street. Be sure to pick up your Library Passport Book to commemorate library adventures by collecting stamps from now until May 30 by completing a variety tasks.

On May 30th from 9 am – 8 pm, visit the library to redeem your passport stamps for raffle tickets. Every two stamps collected will earn 1 raffle ticket to the drawing of your choice. Drawings include prizes for a range of ages and will take place Saturday, May 31.
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City Council meetings will begin taking place on the first floor of the City Hall at 202 North Montezuma Street.

Beginning Tuesday, May 13, all Council and Board/Committee/Commission Meetings typically held in Chambers will be relocated to the new, updated Chambers on the first floor.
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The Utility Billing and Community Development offices will be closed during their relocation to the first floor of the New City Hall next week, beginning May 9th. Building Inspections will be performed but must be scheduled through prescottpermits.com.

Please note that Utility Billing will no longer have a drive-through vehicle window at the new location. A payment drop box is available in the parking lot for customers’ payments.

Regular operating hours will resume Monday, May 12th at the new location, 201 North Montezuma Street. We encourage customers to use the City’s online payment portal to view and pay bills.

With these changes, there will no longer be public access or city business conducted at the “old” City Hall at 201 S. Cortez Street after May 8th as redevelopment of the property begins.
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In adherence to the Prescott City Code, watering restrictions started as of April 15th.

Please water after 8 PM and finish before 8 AM. This helps conserve water and also ensures that your plants can absorb the moisture before evaporating.
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The Launch Pad will host Chalk It Up! this weekend in the City Hall parking lot. This means there will be no parking in the City Hall parking lot beginning Friday May 2nd after 5:30 PM.

Chalk it Up! Is a free event which offers an open space to everyone to express their creativity with sidewalk chalk. Please come out and take part or watch, it is a uniquely creative event.
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The City has received 5 applications to fill the vacancy of Councilmember Cathey Rusing through November 2027.

Those applicants are:
Sherrie Hanna
John Stevens
Jim Garing
Patrick Grady
Rex Mason

Applications will be reviewed in an Executive Session Meeting on Tuesday, May 13th, at which time Council will select the candidates to be interviewed at a Special Meeting on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

Council hopes to select the appointee and swear them at the conclusion of the Tuesday, May 20 meeting in order for them to begin serving as a member of Council by Tuesday, May 27, 2025.

I want to thank all who have offered to serve on Council. The quality of these applicants makes the selection more difficult. Our City is fortunate to have such dedicated citizens.