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[1. Call to Order NOTICE OF OPTION TO RECESS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.02, notice is hereby given to the members of the City Council and to the general public that, at this work session, the City Council may vote to go into executive session, which will not be open to the public, for legal advice and discussion with the City’s attorneys for legal advice on any item listed on the following agenda, pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(3).]
OH MY GOSH.I AM AS WE GO LIVE STREAMING, I AM REALLY SPEECHLESS, BUT I'M SO GLAD I HAVE A MASK ON SO YOU DON'T SEE HOW RED MY FACE IS.
HEIDI GOT WHAT SHE WANTED OUT OF THIS SITUATION.
ALL RIGHT, WELL, WITH THAT, WE CAN PRESS THE RESET BUTTON FOR THE PUBLIC
[4. Public Participation Public Participation enables the public to address the council about items that are not on the prepared agenda. Public Participation appears on the agenda twice, at the beginning and at the end of the work session. You may speak at one or the other, but not both. Anyone wishing to comment at the meeting is asked to fill out a speaker card and submit it to the recording clerk. When the item comes up on the agenda, your name will be called. You may address the Council up to three times throughout the meeting, including comments made during Public Participation. Please limit your remarks to three minutes per item to allow everyone to have an opportunity to speak. At the discretion of the Chair, ten or more persons present at the meeting and wishing to speak may appoint a representative who may have no more than fifteen minutes to speak.]
PARTICIPATION SECTION.WELL, THANK YOU, MAYOR, COUNCIL.
I AM SO GLAD TO BE HERE TODAY.
THE PURPOSE OF ME BEING HERE REALLY IS JUST TO EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE FOR THE PARTNERSHIP WE HAVE WITH THE CITY.
THERE'S TOO MANY PEOPLE TO NAME, BUT I'M GOING TO START BY NAMING A FEW.
STARTING FROM THE CITY MANAGER, HIS TEAM ECONOMIC VITALITY, HIS TEAM WITH HEIDI DAVE, THEIR STAFF DISCOVER FLAGSTAFF STREETS, ITS PARKS AND REC.
EVERY DIVISION AT THE CITY HAS HAD THEIR HAND IN BEING OUR PARTNERS IN TERMS OF MAKING DOWNTOWN REALLY TURN INTO ARIZONA'S WINTER WONDERLAND, BOTH WITH THE EVENTS AS WELL AS THE DECOR.
SO IT DOESN'T HAPPEN ALONE AND IT DOESN'T HAPPEN WITHOUT A LOT OF EFFORT.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO EXPRESS OUR APPRECIATION FOR EVERYBODY SORT OF WORKING TOGETHER.
AND YOU KNOW, THE CITY HAS BEEN A GREAT PARTNER, BUT THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY HAS ALREADY STEPPED UP.
WE HAVE OUR PROPERTY OWNERS WHO ARE LIGHTING ROOF LINES.
THEY'RE HELPING BY ADDING MORE LIGHTS TO TREES.
OUR BUSINESSES ARE DECORATING WINDOWS, SO IT REALLY IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF A TRUE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP RESULTING IN SOMETHING WONDERFUL.
I ALSO WANTED TO GIVE YOU A QUICK UPDATE ON THE EVENTS YOU MOST OF YOU I SAW AT WINTER WONDERLAND.
ABOUT 5000 CAME FOR THAT EVENT.
MANY THANKS TO YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN AND LEADING THE COUNTDOWN.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING THERE.
THREE SATURDAYS EACH SATURDAY HAS BEEN SOLD OUT.
WE DID FOR ADULTS THE 12 BARS OF CHRISTMAS.
WE HAD OVER A HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN PARTICIPANTS.
AND WITH EACH OF THESE EVENTS, WHAT I'M SEEING IS PEOPLE WANTING TO BE OUT AND ABOUT.
THEY WANT TO BE OUTDOORS, THEY WANT TO BE AROUND OTHERS AND THEY WANT TO BE IN FLAGSTAFF, WHERE THEY FEEL LIKE THEY'RE PART OF THE HOLIDAYS.
WE DO HAVE AN EVENT COMING UP.
NEW YEAR'S EVE, WE'RE DOING A THIRD PINE CONE DROP.
THIS IS NOON YEAR'S EVE, SO I COUNT DOWN TO 12 NOON.
I'D LIKE TO INVITE YOU ALL TO COME OUT.
IT'S FREE, FAMILY FRIENDLY AND SHOULD BE A LOT OF FUN, SO YOU'LL SEE AN INVITE COME.
BUT I WANTED TO BE HERE TO PERSONALLY INVITE YOU AS WELL.
ALL RIGHT, AND I SEE WE DON'T HAVE ONLINE PARTICIPATION.
THEN WE CAN TAKE THAT INDIVIDUAL NOW.
MAYOR, GIVE US JUST A QUICK SECOND.
VICE MAYOR, COUNCIL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE TODAY, CAN YOU HEAR ME? JUST A QUICK SECOND.
OR DON'T WE HAVE A FEW LITTLE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WHERE WE'RE WORKING THROUGH HERE, OVER HERE? MS. DON RODRIGUEZ, YOU MAY GO AHEAD AND SPEAK.
THANK YOU, MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, COUNCIL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE TODAY.
ONE IS A REMINDER EVERY ROAD IN EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD ON THE WEST SIDE ALONG THE RIO DE FLAG HAS A BOX BRIDGE.
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THEY ARE THERE FOR A REASON.WHILE SUNNY SIDE DOES NOT HAVE ANY ANDY MENTION, THE DEBRIS SHOULD NOT TRAVEL DOWNSTREAM.
IN THE BOX BRIDGE AT CEDAR ALLOWS THE TRIMMINGS FROM GRANDVIEW TO FLOW INTO SUNNY SIDE.
SUNNY SIDE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH CLIPPINGS FROM ANOTHER NEIGHBORHOOD.
IT WAS STATED THAT UNFORTUNATELY, THE BASIN AT KILLIP WILL ONLY BENEFIT RESIDENTS SOUTH OF 6TH STREET.
THE BASIN CAN HOLD THE WATER FROM HAVING A BOX BRIDGE AT DORTHA.
I AM LEARNING SO MUCH MORE THAN I EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT WATER AND LAWS, AND IT'S NOT NEARLY ENOUGH.
I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF SOMEONE CAN CONTACT ME TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS.
I DON'T KNOW IF THE ALLEY WAS EVER LISTED AS A FLOOD ZONE BEFORE NOW, BUT IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BECAUSE FOR 18 YEARS MY HUSBAND CLEANED THE ALLEY AND IT NEVER FLOODED BEFORE THAT ANY FLOODING WAS BECAUSE THE CITY DID NOT CLEAN THE ALLEY OF THE BRANCHES FROM LINDA VISTA TO DORTHA, AND MY HUSBAND WAS NOT AROUND TO DO IT.
AS TO THIS RECENT CLASSIFICATION OF BOX BRIDGE, EXCUSE ME AS TO THIS RECENT CLASSIFICATION OF BOX BRIDGE WOULD ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR IT.
AND THERE'S ANOTHER REASON DORTHA NEEDS A BOX BRIDGE.
NUMBER FOUR, FOCUS AND PLANNING ARE MAINLY ON THE FIRST THREE CRITERIA OF TECHNICAL, FINANCIAL AND LEGAL BEFORE SOCIAL AND ITS DISASTER NEEDS TO BE IMPLEMENTED AS WELL.
THE DISASTER IN FIVE STATES FROM POWERFUL TORNADOES OVER THE WEEKEND HUMBLES HUMANS.
FLAGSTAFF NEEDS TO PREPARE NOW FOR FUTURE DISASTERS.
WISDOM IS GAINED FROM BOOKS, ENGAGING WITH OTHERS AND FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
IN THE ABSENCE OF THIS, WHAT IS LEFT TV MOVIES AND SOCIAL MEDIA SITES, ALL OF WHICH CAN BE POLARIZING.
IT IS URGENT THAT THE CITY STAFF BE TRAINED ON CUSTOMER SERVICE AND WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM THEM ON A CONTINUAL BASIS BECAUSE OUR ETHICS DULL OVER TIME.
I DO NOT DOUBT THE SINCERITY OF THIS COUNCIL, AND I AM AMAZED AS TO YOUR BRAVERY.
I WOULD CHALLENGE YOU TO CHALLENGE YOUR STAFF TO REMEMBER THAT THE CITY SERVES NOT ONLY LEGAL RESIDENTS, BUT ALL WHO COME INTO CITY LIMITS.
REMIND THE STAFF THAT THEY ARE PUBLIC SERVANTS AND THEIR THANKS AND REWARD IS THE PAYCHECK THEY EARN EVERY PAYDAY.
IF THAT REMINDER COMES IN THE FORM OF SEMI YEARLY EVALUATIONS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE CHECKS, I HOPE THAT YOU'RE BRAVE ENOUGH TO FOLLOW THROUGH AND HELP US ALL TO BE BETTER CITIZENS.
AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION.
IS THAT THE ONLY PUBLIC PARTICIPANT WE HAVE VIRTUALLY? ALL RIGHT.
[5. Flagstaff Pulliam Airport Parking Lot Beautification Project Design Inform Council of the design for the new art piece at the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, answer Council questions, provide opportunity for ideas for the art opening anticipated in Summer 2022. ]
WELL, THAT WE'RE DOWN TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE, THIS IS THE FLAGSTAFF PULLIAM AIRPORT PARKING LOT BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT DESIGN.WE'VE NOW CHANGED BACK TO THE WINTER SLIDES.
YES, I THINK IT'S THE STORM TONIGHT, IT'S GOING TO BE OFFICIALLY WINTER.
OK, SO A GOOD EVENING MAYOR, VICE MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
I'M YOUR BEAUTIFICATION ARTS AND PROJECTS ADMINISTRATOR, JANNA WELDON.
AND THIS WORK SESSION ITEMS TO SHARE THE ART DESIGN THAT IS PART OF THE NEW PARKING AMENITIES AT THE AIRPORT.
TO POTENTIALLY ANSWER QUESTIONS OR ADD COMMENTS HERE, EITHER VIRTUALLY OR IN PERSON ADDITION TO MYSELF, ARE PATRICK BROWN, THE PURCHASING DIRECTOR, MATT LUHMAN, PURCHASING MANAGER, ROSE TOHE COORDINATOR OF INDIGENOUS INITIATIVES.
JENNIFER SHAVER, CREATIVE SPECIALIST FOR DISCOVER FLAGSTAFF.
HEIDI HANSEN, OF COURSE, OUR ECONOMIC VITALITY DIRECTOR.
BARNEY HELMICK, THE AIRPORT DIRECTOR.
AND KEVIN SHINDLER IS HERE FROM LOWELL OBSERVATORY, THE HISTORIAN.
SO I WILL GO OVER A LITTLE PROJECT BACKGROUND, INCLUDING THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, AND I WILL SHOW YOU SOME PAST PROJECTS OF THE ARTISTS THAT WAS RECOMMENDED BY THE SELECTION PANEL AND BPAC AND I WILL DISCUSS THE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION USING FOCUS GROUPS.
MOST OF THE PRESENTATION, THOUGH, WILL COVER THE ART CONCEPT ITSELF AND THE SAFETY REVIEWS THAT IT HAS UNDERGONE.
THEN I WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS AND HOPEFULLY START A DISCUSSION ABOUT SOME IDEAS FOR THE OPENING OF THIS PIECE BECAUSE YOU WILL SEE THAT THE DESIGN LENDS ITSELF TO AN EVENT WITH COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT.
COUNCIL APPROVED THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR THE SECOND PARKING LOT IN AUGUST OF THIS YEAR.
THE ART AND BEAUTIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES LAY MORE IN THE AMENITIES RATHER THAN THE SURFACE PARKING LOT, SUCH AS THERE WAS A FENCE AROUND THE LOT.
THERE WAS LIGHTING POLES WITHIN.
AND THEN THERE WAS THIS MULTIMODAL SIDEWALK THAT GOES FROM THE SECOND PARKING LOT TO THE TERMINAL AND CONNECTS THEM.
AND THEN THERE'S A FOOT FENCE THAT RUNS ADJACENT TO IT.
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EACH OF THESE WERE EXPLORED BY THE SELECTED ARTIST, BUT THE FINAL DESIGN INTEGRATES THE ART INTO THE CONNECTING SIDEWALK AND THAT ADJACENT FUTS FENCE.PROJECT FUNDING IS SOURCED FROM BBB REVENUE.
THROUGH AN INFORMAL REQUEST FOR SOLICITATION OF QUALIFICATIONS, THE ARTIST WAS SELECTED FOR A DESIGN SERVICES CONTRACT.
IT WAS FIRST THOUGHT BECAUSE THERE WAS THIS VERY FAST PACED TIMELINE FOR THIS PARKING LOT THAT WE WOULD HAVE THE CONTRACTOR WHO WAS AWARDED THE CONTRACT FOR THE LOT HIRED THE ARTIST AS A SUB.
BUT OUR ADDED PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS, WHICH IS PRETTY EXTENSIVE, DID NOT MEET THAT SCHEDULE.
AND SO WITH THAT, WE WENT BACK TO PROCUREMENT.
WE HAD A CONSULTATION AND WE ARE NOW PROCURING THE MATERIALS, THE FABRICATION FOR EACH OF THE ART PIECES SEPARATELY, AND WE'RE KEEPING THE ARTISTS ON AN OVERSIGHT CONSULTING POSITION.
WE DREW UPON THE WISDOM OF A VERY DIVERSE SELECTION PANEL TO CHOOSE THE ARTISTS.
THIS WORK WAS REVIEWED AND ACCEPTED BY BPAC.
THE RECOMMENDED ARTIST TEAM IS A HUSBAND AND WIFE TEAM, PETE AND MELANIE, WHO USED TO LIVE IN BISBEE, ARIZONA.
WHO ORIGINALLY LIVED IN BISBEE, ARIZONA, BUT NOW HAIL FROM EUGENE, OREGON.
I'M SHOWING YOU SOME SAMPLES OF THE PAST WORK THAT THE SELECTION PANEL ALSO REVIEWED.
IT'S ONE ELEMENT OF A NEW BRANCH LIBRARY IN GLENDALE.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE ELEGANT ORGANIC LINES AND THE WHIMSY IN WHICH THE ARTIST WORKS.
THE ARTIST ALSO BROUGHT THE DESIGN TO THE ETCHED GLASS AND THE TERRAZZO FLOORS AT THE LIBRARY.
THIS IS THE STREETCAR IN TUCSON AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S ALMOST A SICILIAN WHIMSY.
AND HERE'S SOME PROPOSED BLOCK FENCE AND BLOCK WALL CONCEPTS FOR ANOTHER CITY.
AND IN CONCRETE FORM LINERS FOR A PROJECT IN TEXAS, THE ARTIST DELVES INTO EVEN MORE CARTOON ILLUSTRATIVE STYLE.
THIS SENSE OF PLAYFULNESS, FUN USE OF FLORA AND FAUNA, ALONG WITH EXPERIENCE AND FENCES AND WALLS, ARE THE FOREMOST REASONS THE SELECTION PANEL RECOMMENDED THIS ARTIST.
STAFF FORMED A FOCUS GROUP TO BE A SOUNDING BOARD FOR THE ARTIST.
WE DREW FROM NEARBY RESIDENTS, TOURISM CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS, AS WELL AS BE PARK AND CITY STAFF INVOLVED WITH THE AIRPORT.
PRIOR TO DESIGN, WE ASKED THE FOCUS GROUP FOR HIDDEN STORIES WHERE PEOPLE TAKE VISITORS AND OTHER QUESTIONS THAT ELICITED MORE CREATIVE, OPEN ENDED RESPONSES FOR THE ARTISTS TO USE.
THE ARTISTS ALSO MET WITH THE FOCUS GROUP TO DISCUSS THEIR RESPONSES, AND FROM THIS, THE ARTIST TEAM DREW ON FIVE AREAS OF INSPIRATION FOR THEIR WORK.
THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND FOSSIL RECORD, LUNAR LEGACY, ASTRONOMICAL EXPLORATION, THE CULTURAL AND HISTORIC LEGACY, AND THEN LEISURE ACTIVITIES AND TRAVEL.
INITIALLY, THE ARTISTS CHOSE TO FOCUS ON A WALL AT THE PARKING LOT ITSELF WITH A KIND OF LARGE, BOLD IMAGES.
OUR FOCUS GROUP HAD A LOT OF POSITIVE RESPONSES TO THAT, BUT ALSO GUIDANCE WHICH LED TO CHANGES.
THE ARTIST TEAM CONSULTED WITH ROSE TOHE AND HER ARTIST HUSBAND STEVE, ON APPROPRIATE INDIGENOUS IMAGERY.
THEY WORK CLOSELY WITH THE ARIZONA HISTORICAL MUSEUM, AND SO MANY OF OUR FOCUS GROUP LENT THEIR EXPERTISE LIKE JENNIFER SHAVER OF DISCOVER FLAGSTAFF AND KEVIN SCHINDLER AT LOWELL.
THE ARTIST TEAM REFOCUSED ON A NEW LOCATION, THE PORTION OF THE WALKWAY BETWEEN THE NEW LOT AND THE TERMINAL.
THE ARTIST'S VISION IS NOW A MORE BACKGROUND LYRICAL ORGANIC LANDSCAPE IN WHICH YOU FIND SMALL, HIDDEN GEMS SMALL, SURPRISING VIGNETTES.
IT BOTH WELCOMES VISITORS AND THOSE RETURNING HOME.
THE ARTWORK IS DECORATIVE PANELS AND THE FENCE AND BRONZE MEDALLION PLAQUES IN THE SIDEWALK.
THE SPACE BETWEEN IS ABOUT FOUR FEET HIGH AND ABOUT 10 FEET WIDE.
THE ART PANELS WILL COMPLETELY REPLACE THE RAILS.
ONLY THE POST WILL BE LEFT AND THEN THERE WILL BE 28 PANELS INSTEAD PLACED WITHIN.
HENCE, THE PROJECT IS TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FEET LONG.
THE FENCE IS ADJACENT TO THE SIDEWALK AND ABOUT TWO AND A HALF FEET FROM IT.
THE FENCE PANELS ARE MADE OF CUT THREE SIX TENTHS EACH NATURALLY RUSTING, CAUGHT 10
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STEEL JUST LIKE THE FOOT FENCE ARE HERE, YOU SEE THE IMAGERY AND FOUR SECTIONS.THE ROUND CIRCLES BELOW ARE THE BRONZE MEDALLION PLAQUES IN THE SIDEWALK.
THEY APPEAR BY THE IMAGE THEY ARE MEANT TO FOOTNOTE.
AND THAT'S WHY THEY'RE CALLED FOOTNOTES.
THE COLOR YOU SEE IN THE RENDERINGS IS INDUSTRIAL GLASS.
THE GLASS IS THICK AND WILL BE HELD BETWEEN STEEL PANELS WITH EPOXY AND BOLTS.
THE ARTIST IS SHOWING A SAMPLE ON ANOTHER PROJECT THAT HE DID USING A VERY SIMILAR FABRICATION METHOD.
THE DESIGN CONCEPT WAS REVIEWED AND ACCEPTED BY THE BEAUTIFICATION AND PUBLIC ART COMMISSION, AND THIS WILL BE AN OVERVIEW TOUR.
THERE'S SO MANY DETAILS IN THIS.
THE NOTE AND ALSO NOTE THAT EVEN THOUGH THERE'S LOTS IN THIS FENCE, LOTS OF CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL LEGACY AND THINGS, THE ARTIST ISN'T TRYING TO BE COMPREHENSIVE OF ALL THAT THERE IS.
HE HAS MADE SOME KIND OF ECLECTIC AND FUN CHOICES.
THEY HAVE INTENTIONALLY STAYED AWAY FROM ESTABLISHED NARRATIVES.
THE VISION HERE IS MORE THE UNKNOWN VIGNETTES.
THEY HOPE FOR A SENSE OF DISCOVERY AND THEN VENTURING ON TO KNOW MORE.
SO WE START WITH A CAR, MAYBE SOMEONE COMING TO PICK UP A RETURNING LOCAL OR A VISITOR.
WE SEE A LOCAL HAWK WATCHING AND LUGGAGE AS IF ON A CONVEYOR BELT.
THE LANDSCAPE UNDULATE, WE SEE THE FIRST FOOTNOTES, LUGGAGE IS PICKED UP, THERE IS CORNS, BEANS, SQUASH, WE SEE A HIKER AND SHEEP.
A SPIDER HOLDS OUT A FLOWER TO A KAYAKER, LOWELL OBSERVATORY WALKS WITH HIS EYES TOWARDS MARS, AN EXOTIC BIRD SITS NEXT TO A IHEART PLUTO.
YOU MAY VERY MUCH BE ASKING WHAT IS THAT SCARLET MACAW DOING THERE? SO HOLD YOUR THOUGHTS AND WE'LL EXPLORE THAT IN THE FOOTNOTE.
NEXT, THE LANDSCAPE OF SUNSET CRATER AND THE PONDEROSA PINE FOREST, A HELPFUL LUMBERJACK ASSISTS SOME FOREIGN VISITORS.
THE ARROW INDICATES THAT ANOTHER FOOTNOTE MEDALLION IS IN THE WORKS HERE, REFERENCING IN A USED MASCOT.
THE LANDSCAPE UNDULATES INTO SPACE.
THIS SKY AND SPACE SCAPE HAS ITS OWN FLIGHTS OF FANCY CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL LEGACY WITH MANY FOOTNOTES, WHICH AGAIN, WE WILL BE GETTING TO JUST A LITTLE BIT LATER.
THE ARTWORK COMES BACK TO EARTH WITH AN HISTORICAL ROUTE SIXTY SIX LEGACY LEADING TO AND FROM THE SACRED PEAKS WITH RAIN CLOUDS.
THEN IT TRAVELS TO THE CANYONS WITH MEMORIES, POTTERY ICONOGRAPHY AS FOSSILS.
ANOTHER THUNDERSTORM AND FINALLY INTO ELK BIKING AND A LOST PIECE OF LUGGAGE WITH THE DINOSAURS.
THE FOOTNOTES ILLUMINATE THE IMAGERY THEY ARE CAST IN BRONZE.
THEY WILL BE SET FLUSH WITH THE POURED CONCRETE TO ALLOW FOR SNOW REMOVAL AND GOOD TRACTION.
THE ARTIST TEAM IS CURRENTLY VETTING THESE FOOTNOTES WITH RELEVANT COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS.
THE ARIZONA HISTORICAL MUSEUM IS INVOLVED.
LOWELL IS INVOLVED, AMONGST OTHERS, AND SOME CASES WE'RE REACHING OUT TO THE INDIVIDUAL FAMILIES WHO ARE REFERENCED.
I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU 23 FOOTNOTES.
MY OVERVIEW OF THESE IS TO GIVE YOU THE SENSE OF RICH TAPESTRY RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, REVIEWING EACH INDIVIDUALLY.
JUST KIND OF KIND OF GIVE YOU THIS, YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF WONDERFUL THING THAT'S BEING WOVEN.
FIRST UP, WE HAVE THE THREE SISTERS OF CORNS, BEANS AND SQUASH IN THE BASQUE.
THESE ARE OUR FIRST FOOTNOTES.
WE HAVE SPIDER WOMAN AND THE FRYING PAN CAT OF CLARK TELESCOPE.
THE ROLE THE SEARCH FOR CANALS ON MARS PLAYED IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF LOWELL OBSERVATORY, THIS COVETED TRADE ITEM IN HISTORIC INDIGENOUS TRADE.
THE VETTING OF THIS FOOTNOTE HAS ALREADY WE'VE GOTTEN SOME FEEDBACK STORIES OF FAMILIES WHO HAD POSSESSIONS OF MACAWS A FEW GENERATIONS BACK.
THE PLUTO DISCOVERY AND THE PONDEROSA PINE.
THESE ARE PROBABLY SOME OF THE MOST STRAIGHTFORWARD OF THE FOOTNOTES.
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A LUNAR LEGACY FACTOID IS PAIRED WITH THE ROLE OF A CONSTELLATION AND TRADITIONAL INDIGENOUS HUNTING.AS THE PROTECTOR OF THE SKY SCAPE AND A REVELATION IN FLIGHT HISTORY.
A FEW MORE VIGNETTES FROM ASTRONOMICAL EXPLORATION CONCERNING DR.
HARRIS AND A VERY INTERESTING CONVERSATION WITH HOUSTON CONTROL AND THE ASTRONAUTS.
WE HAVE DARK SKIES AND EDWARD BEALS CAMELS.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE HOPI AND NAVAJO NAMES FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO PEAKS.
AND A NAU LIBRARIANS ROLE IN PRESERVING UNTOLD STORIES.
THE STORIES OF THE GREEN BOOK HOTELS AND THE GREAT MIGRATION INFLUX OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN LUMBERJACKS.
AN INFLUENTIAL HOPI ARTIST WHO REINVIGORATED MEMORIES, POTTERY AND INDIGENOUS ART, AND AN EARLY INFLUENTIAL COMIC WHO SET HIS STRIP IN COCONINO COUNTY.
AND THE ARIZONA SAURUS, AND I'M NOT SURE HOW TO PRONOUNCE THIS [INAUDIBLE].
AND OTHER DINOS FROLIC AGAIN WITH THAT LAST PIECE OF LUGGAGE.
THE COCONINO SCROLL, AND THAT'S THE ARTIST'S TITLE FOR THE PIECE, IS SOMETIMES WHIMSICAL AND OFTEN ECLECTIC, AS FAMILIAR LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS AND LOTS OF CREATIVE STORIES.
IT IS MEANT TO SPARK IMAGINATION AND ANTICIPATION FOR FLAGSTAFF AND NORTHERN ARIZONA.
THIS DESIGN CONCEPT WENT THROUGH SAFETY REVIEWS AGAIN, THE FENCE IS ABOUT TWO AND A HALF FEET AT ITS CLOSEST POINT FROM THE ADJACENT SIDEWALK.
OUR TEAM FIRST MET WITH VICTORIA ST.
CLAIR BUILDING PLANS EXAMINERS TO REVIEW POTENTIAL CODE APPLICATIONS.
THERE WAS BUILDING BUILDING RAILS, BUT THEY ACTUALLY DIDN'T APPLY.
BUT THE ARTIST TEAM IS FOLLOWING IN SPIRIT.
THEY'RE PLANNING NO GAPS THAT COULD TRAP FINGERS OR HEADS IF INSERTED.
AND THEY MODIFIED ALREADY SOME OF THE UNDULATIONS SO THAT THE SWEEPS NOT LOW ENOUGH TO INVITE PEOPLE TO STEP THROUGH THE FENCE LIKE IT DIPPED.
BUT HE FIRST HAD IT DIPPING WAY DOWN, AND THEN WE RAISED IT SO THAT IT WAS A LITTLE HIGHER AND DIDN'T INVITE THAT INVITATION.
NEXT, WE MET WITH RISK MANAGEMENT, AND THE REVIEW FOCUSED ON THE EDGES AND THE SHARP PROTRUSIONS AT THE TOP OF THE FENCE, THE THINGS THAT ARE STICKING OUT ON TOP.
THE CORN ORIGINALLY DIDN'T HAVE THE LEAF SWEEP OVER THE TOP.
WE CHANGED THAT TO MINIMIZE THE PROTRUDING TIP AT DEAN'S REQUEST.
AND THEN WE ALSO MADE A MODEL AT DEAN'S REQUEST, WHICH I HAVE HERE.
NOW THIS IS MADE OF STAINLESS STEEL AND NOT CORTEN STEEL.
JUST BECAUSE IT WAS WHAT WAS ON HAND, BUT IT IS THE SAME THICKNESS AND IT HAS THE SAME EDGES.
AND SO WE BROUGHT THIS TO DEAN AND HE GRABBED IT AND HE APPROVED IT.
SO I WANTED TO BRING THAT TO YOU TO SHOW WE HOPE TO INSTALL IN MAY OR JUNE OF 2022 IN THE BELIEF THAT THIS PROJECT IS VERY INVITING TO COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, I CLOSED NOT ONLY BY WELCOMING YOUR QUESTIONS BUT INVITE YOU TO BRAINSTORM SOME IDEAS FOR AN INCLUSIVE EVENT AT THE AIRPORT THIS SUMMER TO CELEBRATE.
COUNCIL, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT COUNCIL MEMBER SWEET? THANK YOU.
I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING THE COUNCIL LIAISON FOR THE BPAC COMMISSION AND I'VE WATCHED THIS COME TO FRUITION AND THE COMMISSION HAS WORKED SO HARD ON THIS AND IT'S JUST LOVELY TO SEE THE PRESENTATION AND TO SEE IT COMING TO LIFE.
I JUST HAVE TO SAY THAT I'VE LIVED HERE SINCE 93 AND I LEARNED A LOT OF INFORMATION READING THAT AND THE PRESENTATION, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE EVENT THIS SUMMER.
I THINK THIS COULD BE A GREAT TIME TO GET THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO BRAINSTORMING ON THAT.
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK.
THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER SWEET THANK YOU.
VICE MAYOR AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY.
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THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU, JENNA, FOR THIS GREAT PRESENTATION.I LEARNED A LOT TOO, AND I'M I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
I SEE THAT THE MEDALLIONS ARE UNDERNEATH KIND OF THE STORY BOARD, BUT IT'S UNCLEAR TO ME WHETHER THE TEXT THAT YOU SHARED WITH US IN THIS PRESENTATION, WHETHER THAT EXISTS SOMEWHERE.
THE TEXT IS ACTUALLY WITHIN THE MEDALLION DESIGN.
ALL RIGHT, SO IT'LL IT'LL BE CAST IN BRONZE.
AND SO YOU CAN GET DEFINITION OF LETTERS.
SO I LOVE IT, AND I JUST WANT TO ECHO THANKS TO BPAC, WHAT A HARDWORKING COMMISSION THAT IS, AND I JUST APPRECIATE SEEING ALL THE ART THAT IS POPPING UP ALL OVER TOWN AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THIS INSTALLED.
THANK YOU, VICE MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY.
WELL, THE LAST TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT COMMENTED SAID THAT THEY LEARNED A LOT.
AND I THINK THAT'S WONDERFUL, AND THERE ARE THINGS IN THERE THAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
MAYBE WE COULD MAKE A LITTLE ONE PAGE HANDOUT THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE AT THE AIRPORT FOR PEOPLE THAT WANTED TO INVESTIGATE AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DEFENSE AND THE HISTORY OF FLAGSTAFF.
I'M JUST THINKING OF A ONE PAGER.
YOU'D PROBABLY BE MINIMAL COST, AND NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE WOULD PROBABLY PICK IT UP, BUT THE ONES THAT DO WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE LEARNING ABOUT IT.
I THINK KIDS IN PARTICULAR WOULD, YOU KNOW, CHILDREN WOULD PARTICULARLY BE INTERESTED.
I THINK HEIDI HANSEN PERHAPS HAS EVEN MORE IN MIND WITH A FULL COLOR LITTLE BROCHURE THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE AIRPORT.
AND WE'RE GOING TO PROBABLY BE WORKING WITH DISCOVER FLAGSTAFF ON THAT.
SO SHE PUT FORTH THAT IDEA, AND I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT, THAT YOU CONCUR THAT, THAT WOULD BE SUCH A WONDERFUL THING TO ADD.
WELL, I MADE UP MYSELF, BUT I WOULD SAY TO MR. CLIFTON, IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY TIME THAT I MAKE A SUGGESTION TO STAFF TO DO SOMETHING GOOD, THEY'RE ALREADY DOING IT.
AND WE'RE TAKING NEXT WEEK OFF, WE GOT THAT IDEA FROM YOU ALSO.
COUNCIL MEMBER SHIMONI THANK YOU, MAYOR AND JOHN.
THIS IS A REALLY FUN AND EXCITING PROJECT.
I REALLY ENJOYED GOING THROUGH THE SLIDES IN PREPARATION FOR TODAY'S CONVERSATION, AND I JUST THINK IT WAS A VERY NICE EXECUTED.
COLLABORATIVE APPROACH THAT YOU ALL TOOK IN AN INCLUSIVE, AND I WAS JUST SO GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
I WANT TO THANK PETE MELANIE FOR THEIR SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A REALLY NICE FEATURE OF FLAGSTAFF AND IT'S VERY EXCITING GOING TO.
VICE MAYOR GETS COMMENTS ABOUT THE FOOTNOTES IN THE MEDALLIONS WHEN I DID ZOOM IN ON THE MEDALLIONS.
IT DOESN'T, I DON'T THINK, INCLUDE THE ENTIRE TEXT THAT IS LIKE ON THE SLIDE ADJACENT TO THE MEDALLION.
I MIGHT BE WRONG TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK MYSELF, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THE MEDALLION WAS ALMOST LIKE AN ABBREVIATED VERSION OF THE TEXT.
IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE IT'S MEANT TO ALL BE THERE, BUT I GUESS I DIDN'T READ THE FINE PRINT ON EVERY MEDALLION JUST BECAUSE OF THE SIZE AND MY NEED FOR SPECS.
BUT LIKE ON THIS ANOTHER DEVICE, I SEE IT'S ALL THERE.
AND AGAIN, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THE OUTER PART OF THE CIRCUMFERENCE IS LARGER.
YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT.
I'M LOOKING CLOSER TO I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT, YEAH, I THINK SO.
AND NOW THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT LIKE WE'RE STILL VETTING, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE'RE GOING TO CAPITALIZE INDIGENOUS.
THERE'S, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE STILL IN THE VETTING PROCESS.
WE'VE HAD A LOT COME BACK ALREADY, BUT IT'S NOT FINISHED YET.
AND ON THAT TOPIC OF INDIGENOUS, I WAS GLAD TO SEE THAT ROSE AND HER HUSBAND WERE INCLUDED.
I DO THINK, IF POSSIBLE, IN THE FUTURE THAT WE ALSO TRY TO WORK WITH THE INDIGENOUS COMMISSION.
I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT ON THAT COMMISSION'S PLATE AND THEY BEAT QUARTERLY, I BELIEVE, OR EVERY TWO MONTHS.
BUT I JUST KNOW FOR THE SAKE OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MANY DIFFERENT TRIBES AND MAYBE WE DON'T NEED TO SPEAK TO EACH ONE, SPECIFICALLY EVERY TIME, BUT HOPI AND NAVAJO.
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SO I GUESS MY QUESTION TOO IS DO WE CONSULT WITH ANYONE THAT'S HOPI? DO WE KNOW THROUGH ROSE AND STEVE, WE WERE PUT IN TOUCH, AND THAT'S HOW THE HOPI ARTIST GOT INCLUDED.BUT I WASN'T DIRECTLY PARTICIPATING IN THAT.
THE ARTIST WAS WORKING DIRECTLY THROUGH OUR INDIGENOUS COORDINATOR TO MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS FOR SOME SOME OTHER REFERENCES.
AND I WAS VERY GLAD TO SEE THAT THE HOPI FEATURES AND THE MEDALLIONS ALONG WITH THE NAVAJO, BUT VERY GOOD.
MY LAST COMMENT GOES TO COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY COMMENTS.
TWO THINGS I'M THINKING POSTERS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE ONE LIKE BY THE CHECK IN THAT KIND OF LIKE SUMMARIZES THE ART AND THEN MAYBE ALSO ONE IN THE CAFE, YOU KNOW, AND THEN MY OTHER COMMENTS.
IN ADDITION TO THAT ONE PAGER COMMENT IS A QR CODES, OF COURSE, AND HOPEFULLY STAFF IS AHEAD OF ME ON THIS TOO, SINCE I KEEP PREACHING ABOUT IT.
BUT MAYBE NOT AND WHAT I'M THINKING.
JANA AND TIM IS, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, AS YOU GO THROUGH THIS, THERE COULD BE JUST A SMALL LITTLE QR CODE AS PART OF THE ARTWORK THAT FOLKS CAN, IN ADDITION TO THE MEDALLION, SIMPLY SCAN THEIR PHONES AS ARE WALKING BY AND THEN ALSO INTEGRATED INTO THE POSTER.
BUT HEIDI, PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE ALREADY ON IT.
MAYOR VICE MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBER MS. HEIDI HANSEN, ECONOMIC VITALITY DIRECTOR.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING A MASSIVE ADVERTISING AND MARKETING PLAN FOR THE AIRPORT TERMINAL.
WE NO LONGER USING AN OUTSIDE SERVICE CALLED CLEAR CHANNEL.
AND SO I'M WORKING ON PUTTING THAT TOGETHER, AND I PLAN TO HAVE A SPACE IN THE AIRPORT THAT TALKS ABOUT THE COCONINO SCROLL GIVES THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO PICK UP INFORMATION ABOUT IT.
WE COULD HAVE THE QR CODE ON THAT INSTALLATION AND THESE ARE THINGS I'LL BE DOING WITH THE AIRPORT BUDGET THAT WILL BE TYING THIS ALL IN.
SO THERE'S GOING TO BE A MASSIVE WAY TO REALLY NOT LET PEOPLE MISS THE FENCE, RIGHT? WE DON'T WANT THEM JUST TO COME IN AND COME OUT.
WE WANT THEM TO ACTUALLY INTERACT WITH IT.
MAYBE DO SOME SELFIES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO WE'LL DEFINITELY BE HAVING MORE ON THAT AND HAVE A QUICK FOLLOW UP.
DO YOU KNOW AT THE SCROLL ITSELF, WILL WE HAVE LIKE A LITTLE LIKE, WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR, LIKE SOME SOME KIND OF INFORMATIONAL PIECE, EITHER THE BEGINNING OR THE END? I DON'T BELIEVE SO BECAUSE IT WILL BE OUT IN THE WEATHER, SO WE'D RATHER HAVE IT INSIDE THE TERMINAL AND THEY CAN GET THE INFORMATION THERE.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER SHIMONI.
YEAH, WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
THIS IS GOING TO BE REALLY A GREAT ADDITION TO THE AIRPORT AND I'M IT'S VERY FLAGSTAFF.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HARD WORK ON THIS AND SPEAKERS] BE PACKING UP.
YEAH LET ME JUST FINISH THIS UP HERE WITH MY ENTHUSIASM AND EXCITEMENT.
I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS AS GETTING A LITTLE TEARY EYED, CHECKING IT OUT, AND I LOVE THE WHIMSY.
CAN'T WAIT TO GO CHECK THIS OUT.
SO MY ONLY OTHER ADDITIONAL COMMENTS WERE SO IN TERMS OF QR CODES, I WAS ACTUALLY THINKING OF AN AUGMENTED REALITY SORT OF THING LIKE THE TALK, THE WALK THE TALK PROJECT THAT DISCOVERY FLAGSTAFF HAS DONE.
MAYBE SOMETHING WHERE YOU CAN JUST AS YOU'RE WALKING ALONG THIS AH TABLEAU, YOU KNOW, ON YOUR WAY TO THE AIRPORT OR ON YOUR WAY HOME FROM THE AIRPORT, YOU COULD FOLLOW ALONG ON YOUR PHONE IN A VIRTUALLY COMPATIBLE WAY BASED ON YOUR LOCATION ALONG THE PATH.
SO JUST ANOTHER SLIGHT LITTLE AUGMENTATION OR IDEA TO CONSIDER TO FURTHER THAT INTERPRETIVE ASPECT OF THINGS.
AND THEN FINALLY, I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO MORTALLY OFFEND ANYBODY IF WE'RE ALREADY PLANNING SOME ART OR IF THERE IS ALREADY ART AT THE SHEEP'S TUNNEL.
BUT I SAW THE ARTIST'S EXAMPLE OF SOME WORK THEY'VE DONE FOR PEDESTRIAN CYCLING TUNNELS UNDER AN UNDERPASS.
AND GIVEN THE PROXIMITY TO THE AIRPORT AND WHAT WE'RE YOU KNOW, WHAT'S IN THE OFFING WITH THE HOSPITAL, IF THAT WERE TO MOVE AND JUST OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COUNTY ON THE ON THE FUTS TRAIL THROUGH THERE, I WONDER IF THIS STYLE AND THESE TWO ARTISTS, THEIR CONTRIBUTION CAN BE CONTINUED IN THAT SPACE AS
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WELL.IT'S A GREAT SPOT IN NEED OF ART.
OR AT LEAST IT WAS LAST TIME I WAS OUT THERE.
AND AGAIN, I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S ALREADY SOMETHING IN THE QUEUE FOR THAT, BUT JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
THANK YOU, WE'LL TAKE IT INTO OUR WORK PLANNING SESSIONS.
SO JUST EXPRESSING GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION OF YOUR TEAM AT BPAC COMMISSION AND EVERY MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY WHO PARTICIPATE IN DEVELOPING AND EVOLVING THE COCONINO SCROLL, I AM JUST IN AWE AND AN AMAZEMENT OF THE LEARNING EXPERIENCES.
THE COCONINO CRAWL WOULD INVITE, AND YOU KNOW, YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY AS A AS A LOCAL, AS VISITORS AND AS GUESS AND COCONINO CRAWL JUST DELIVERS THAT.
SO THANK YOU, WITH MY GRATEFUL HEART.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER SALAS AND COUNCIL MEMBER ASLAN THANK YOU FOR ALL THE IDEAS.
I KNOW THAT WITH HEIDI AND DISCOVER FLAGSTAFF, WE WILL BE DISCUSSING ALL OF THEM.
WE'RE DOWN TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SIX, OUR FEDERAL AND
[6. Federal and State Legislative Priorities Update Obtain feedback and input from Council on the 2022 draft state and federal legislative priorities. ]
STATE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES UPDATE.ALL RIGHT, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL SARAH LANGLEY, PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIRECTOR, MYSELF, BOB HOLMES, WHO'S JOINING US THERE HE IS ON THE ON THE CAMERA, AND TODD MADEKSZA ARE ALL HERE TONIGHT TO DISCUSS WITH YOU THE COUNCIL'S 2022 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES.
SO OUR DISCUSSION THIS AFTERNOON WILL BEGIN WITH A QUICK OVERVIEW OF HOW THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS PROGRAM WORKS AND WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO SEE IN THE COMING MONTHS.
I'LL THEN PASS IT OVER TO BOB TO GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF KIND OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN THE FEDERAL LANDSCAPE FOR 2022.
AND HE'LL ALSO GO THROUGH THE DRAFT FEDERAL PRIORITIES WITH YOU.
AND THEN FOLLOWING THE SAME FORMAT, WE'LL HEAR FROM TODD ON THE STATE LEGISLATIVE OUTLOOK AND THE STATE DRAFT PRIORITIES.
SO TO BEGIN, THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS PROGRAM IS REALLY CENTERED AROUND THE PRIORITIES THAT WILL CREATE HERE TONIGHT, THESE PRIORITIES SIGNAL TO STAFF, YOU KNOW WHAT YOU AS COUNCIL, WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES ARE AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU WHERE WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING OUR TIME AND ENERGY.
IDEALLY, THESE PRIORITIES SHOULD ALSO BE STRATEGIC AND FOCUS ON WHERE, YOU KNOW, OUR STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATORS AREAS THAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN, OR AREAS THAT WE THINK WILL SEE MOVEMENT WITHIN THE LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS COMING UP.
THE PRIORITIES ALSO ALLOW US TO ANTICIPATE COUNCIL'S POSITION ON A BILL, SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE BILL IS INTRODUCED AND IT STARTS MOVING QUICKLY THROUGH THE STATE LEGISLATURE, ESPECIALLY WILL REFERENCE YOUR PRIORITIES TO SEE IF WE THINK YOU WOULD LIKELY BE IN SUPPORT OR OPPOSITION TO THAT BILL IF A RELEVANT BILLS INTRODUCED THAT THE COUNCIL'S POSITION IS NOT QUITE CLEAR.
WE'LL ALWAYS COME BACK TO YOU TO BE SURE WE KNOW WHERE YOU STAND ON THAT.
AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, THROUGHOUT THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION, YOU'LL BE RECEIVING REGULAR EMAIL UPDATES FROM BOTH BOB AND TODD SO YOU CAN STAY UP TO DATE ON CURRENT EVENTS, AND THEN LASTLY, COUNCIL, AS YOU KNOW, TRADITIONALLY PARTICIPATES IN LOBBYING TRIPS TO BOTH PHOENIX AND WASHINGTON DC.
LAST YEAR, THOSE TRIPS WERE VIRTUAL.
THIS YEAR WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH COVID IN THE COMING MONTHS, BUT WE WILL BE REACHING OUT SOON IN TERMS OF LOGISTICS AND SCHEDULING THOSE TRIPS SO THEY WILL HAPPEN.
WE'RE NOT SURE WHETHER IT'S VIRTUAL OR NOT YET, BUT WE'LL KEEP YOU UPDATED.
SO THAT'S JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS PROGRAM THAT'S RUN OUT OF THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL HAND IT OVER TO BOB HOLMES TO GO THROUGH THE FEDERAL LANDSCAPE AND PRIORITIES.
GREAT, THANK YOU, SARAH, AND THANK YOU, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
BOB HOLMES, NEXXUS CONSULTING THE CITY'S FEDERAL LOBBYISTS.
I SPENT SOME TIME WITH YOU LAST WEEK, SO A LOT OF THIS STUFF WILL BE-- A LOT OF IT WILL BE REVIEW FOR YOU.
BUT I WANT YOU TO LEAVE TIME FOR QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THIS SO WE CAN HAVE A FURTHER DISCUSSION ABOUT YOUR PRIORITIES.
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SO WITH THAT, WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.AND OF COURSE, OBVIOUSLY FOR THE TOP PRIORITY OF THE CITIES FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS HAS BEEN RIO DE FLAG.
OBVIOUSLY, WE RECEIVED THE FINAL FIFTY TWO MILLION DOLLARS FOR RIO AND WE ARE WORKING WITH THE ARMY CORPS AND BNSF AND ADOT TO FUND VARIOUS CMAS, CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS, TO GET THE PROJECT CONSTRUCTED AND HOPEFULLY REACH ONE OF THOSE MILESTONES IN THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.
WE'VE HAD SOME VERY GOOD DISCUSSIONS RECENTLY WITH BNSF AND THE CORPS.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO MOVING THAT PROJECT AS EXPEDITIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE.
IN TERMS OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE, WE HAD THIS DISCUSSION EARLIER LAST WEEK ABOUT THE IIJA, THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT, WHICH IS THE LEGISLATION THAT WAS SHEPHERDED INTO LAW BY SENATOR SINEMA.
IT INCLUDES A LOT OF FUNDING THAT'S GOING TO BE BENEFICIAL TO FLAGSTAFF, INCLUDING FUNDING FOR-- FORMULA FUNDING FOR MOUNTAIN LINE, ABOUT 20 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS, FUNDING FOR SOME NEW BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES AND HIGHWAYS, AND AS WELL AS SOME WATER EWPP FUNDING, AS WELL AS SOME FOREST SERVICE FUNDING FOR 4FRI AND SOME OF THE REGIONS AROUND HERE.
WE HAVE THIS DISCUSSION AND WE CAN DISCUSS FURTHER ABOUT SOME OF THESE PRIORITIES.
OBVIOUSLY, THERE'S ABOUT ABOUT $8 BILLION IN WATER INFRASTRUCTURE FOR DRINKING WATER AND FOR CLEAN WATER REVOLVING FUND, A LOT OF IT, WHICH WE CAN UTILIZE.
THERE'S GOING TO BE ABOUT TWO HUNDRED AND TEN MILLION DOLLARS FOR DRINKING WATER, ABOUT SEVENTY NINE MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE CLEAN WATER.
SO WE'LL, AGAIN WE DISCUSSED THIS LAST WEEK AND WE CAN DISCUSS IN MORE DETAIL, BUT THERE'S SOME REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITIES IN THE IIJA AND THERE WILL CONTINUE TO BE.
AND OBVIOUSLY, ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT IS RURAL BROADBAND.
I KNOW THAT'S BEEN A PRIORITY FOR YOU, THE MAYOR AND THE COUNCIL.
THERE'S SIXTY FIVE BILLION DOLLARS IN THE IIJA.
ABOUT FORTY TWO AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS WILL GO TO STATE BLOCK GRANTS TO ADDRESS LOW INCOME AND UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.
ABOUT A MILLION-- ABOUT A BILLION DOLLARS RATHER WILL GO TO MIDDLE MILE CONNECTIVITY.
AND THERE'S ABOUT 14 BILLION DOLLARS THAT WILL CREATE A $30 PER MONTH VOUCHER FOR LOW INCOME FAMILIES TO HELP THEM PAY FOR INTERNET SERVICE.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD THINGS WE SHOULD WORK CLOSELY WITH THE ARIZONA COMMERCE AUTHORITY.
KEITH WATKINS IN PARTICULAR TO KIND OF UTILIZE SOME OF THOSE DOLLARS TO GET THEM UP TO NORTHERN ARIZONA.
OBVIOUSLY, THE AIRPORT HAS DONE VERY WELL.
YESTERDAY, THEY JUST RELEASED THE FORMULA FUNDS IN THE IIJA FOR THE AIRPORT.
WE'VE RECEIVED A LITTLE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS, WHICH IS GREAT NEWS.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE'LL BE DOING IN OUR LOBBYING TRIP THIS YEAR, WHICH I IMAGINE WILL BE VIRTUAL, WILL BE ASKING FOR THE SNOW REMOVAL EQUIPMENT BUILDING.
WE RECEIVED THE SNOW REMOVAL EQUIPMENT LAST YEAR THROUGH OUR ENTITLEMENT AND DISCRETIONARY FUNDS, AND WE'LL BE ASKING FOR MORE AIP FUNDING FOR THE SNOW REMOVAL EQUIPMENT BUILDING.
FINALLY, I KNOW ESPECIALLY COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON AMTRAK AND THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS KEEPING YOUR EYE ON THAT BALL.
YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR, DUE TO COVID, WE LOST DAILY SERVICE TO THE SOUTHWEST CHIEF THAT WAS RESTORED.
ONE OF THE THINGS THE PRESIDENT FOCUSED ON WAS AMTRAK.
SO THERE'S ABOUT SIXTY FIVE BILLION DOLLARS IN AMTRAK FUNDING THAT WILL ADD CERTAINTY AND RELIABILITY TO HOPEFULLY TO THE TRAINS AND THE SOUTHWEST CHIEF IN PARTICULAR.
IT WILL ALSO ADD MORE SERVICE ALONG THE ARIZONA CORRIDOR.
I KNOW VICE MAYOR DAGGETT HAS BEEN STAYING ON TOP OF ME WITH REGARDS TO PUBLIC HOUSING AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND IT'S A HUGE ISSUE FOR THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF.
THE FLAGSTAFF HAS THE THIRD MOST EXPENSIVE ZIP CODE IN ARIZONA.
ONLY SEDONA AND SCOTTSDALE HAVE HIGHER HOUSING COSTS, SO AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS CRITICAL TO ATTRACT THE WORKFORCE AND TO GET PEOPLE INTO HOUSING.
SO THERE IS MONEY IN THE BUILD BACK BETTER AGENDA, A BILL THAT MAY OR MAY NOT
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PASS.THERE WAS ABOUT ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY BILLION DOLLARS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THAT BILL, AND WE EXPECT THE SENATE BILL TO INCLUDE SIMILAR FUNDING.
IT'S JUST A DYNAMIC THAT WE DON'T KNOW AND LIKELY WILL BE DELAYED UNTIL NEXT YEAR, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING WE CONTINUE TO BE FOCUSED ON.
WE'RE ALSO FOCUSED, OBVIOUSLY A LOT ON IMMIGRATION REFORM.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME MOVES AFOOT TO TRY TO INCLUDE IMMIGRATION REFORM, IN PARTICULAR DACA IN THE BUILD BACK BETTER BILL.
IT IS UNCERTAIN WHETHER THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN WILL ALLOW THIS BECAUSE IT IS VIEWED BY SOME AS EXTRANEOUS TO THE BILL BECAUSE IT DOESN'T AFFECT BUDGET.
SO WE'LL HAVE TO SEE IF THAT'S IN THERE, IF IT'S NOT.
WE EXPECT A COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL TO BE INTRODUCED.
THE QUESTION IS WHETHER IT WILL MOVE AND IF THERE WILL BE ENOUGH TIME NEXT YEAR.
OBVIOUSLY, VETERANS ARE CRITICAL WITH A LARGE VETERAN POPULATION, ESPECIALLY OF NATIVE AMERICAN VETERANS IN FLAGSTAFF AND IN THE SURROUNDING REGION WITH THE NEW VETERANS HOME.
THAT'S A HUGE BOON FOR ARIZONA, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON FUNDING TO ENSURE THAT OUR VETERANS ARE TAKEN CARE OF.
GUN VIOLENCE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN ISSUE OF UTMOST CONCERN.
THERE HAS BEEN MOVES AFOOT IN CONGRESS TO REINSTATE THE AUTOMATIC WEAPONS BAN, AND THERE HAVE BEEN OTHERS TO LIMIT CLIPS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
THEY HAVEN'T BEEN TALKED ABOUT RECENTLY BECAUSE OF THE ENERGY HAS BEEN SUCKED UP OUT OF THE ROOM BY COVID AND SOME OF THE OTHER ISSUES WITH REGARDS TO BUILD BACK BETTER.
THE NDAA AND APPROPRIATIONS WHICH ARE STILL OUT THERE.
AND FINALLY, A LOT OF COMMUNITIES IN ARIZONA WERE AFFECTED BY THE CENSUS NEGATIVELY.
AND WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR AND ASSIST TO GET AN ACCURATE COUNT.
ARIZONA WAS PROJECTED TO GET ANOTHER CONGRESSIONAL SEAT BECAUSE OF OUR INCREASING POPULATION THAT DIDN'T PAN OUT AND MANY FOLKS FEEL LIKE THE NUMBERS WEREN'T COUNTED CORRECTLY, SO WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT.
THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER ISSUES.
MY RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL WOULD BE TO FOCUS ON THREE OR FOUR.
OH, THERE'S ONE MORE SLIDE TOO.
THERE'S-- MY RECOMMENDATION, WE FOCUS ON A LOT OF ISSUES THAT ARE PAROCHIAL IN NATURE BECAUSE ONLY THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF CAN ADVOCATE FOR SOMETHING LIKE RIO DE FLAG BECAUSE WE'RE THE ONLY ONES AFFECTED.
ANOTHER ISSUE THAT WE'VE BEEN MONITORING CLOSELY IS THE GRAND CANYON PROTECTION ACT.
IT WAS INCLUDED IN THE HOUSE BUILD BACK BETTER AGENDA BILL, AND WE EXPECT THERE TO BE A FIGHT IN THE SENATE WHETHER TO RETAIN THAT LANGUAGE OR NOT.
SO WE'RE REALLY CONTINUING TO MONITOR THAT.
CONGRESSMAN CHAIRMAN GRIJALVA HAS BEEN A CHAMPION FOR THIS ISSUE.
WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR IT, AND HE HAS MOVED HIS BILL AS A STANDALONE MEASURE THROUGH THE SENATE-- THROUGH THE I'M SORRY, THE HOUSE COMMITTEE, THE HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE, WHICH HE CHAIRS.
IT'S SUPPORTED BY BOTH OUR SENATORS.
SO, BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHETHER THAT CAN BE INCLUDED OR NOT IN THE FINAL BUILD BACK BETTER IN TERMS OF URANIUM, TRANSPORT IS OBVIOUSLY VERY IMPORTANT, BUT SOMETHING I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IN THE IIJA.
THERE WAS FUNDING IN THERE TO CLEAN UP SOME OF THE BROWNFIELDS AND URANIUM [INAUDIBLE] FROM SOME OF THE OLD MINES THAT-- BEEN AROUND FLAGSTAFF AND AROUND THE NAVAJO NATION.
SO THOSE WILL-- THERE'S ENOUGH FUNDING-- I'M SORRY IN IIJA TO CLEAN UP THOSE OLD URANIUM MINES, SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO.
AND THEN OBVIOUSLY, FOREST HEALTH IS THE LIFEBLOOD.
A [INAUDIBLE] FIRE CAN RIP THROUGH THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF IN ABOUT 60 SECONDS.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF GREAT WORK DONE AT NAU'S ERI ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION INSTITUTE.
I KNOW THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS PARTICIPATED IN A MEETING WITH THE CHIEF OF THE FOREST SERVICE, RANDY MOORE, WHO PLEDGED $54 MILLION TO HELP CLEAN UP AND DO SOME SMALL SCALE RESTORATION EFFORTS THROUGH 4FRI.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT CLEANING UP, CLEANING UP SOME OF THE CLEANING UP AND MAKING OUR FORESTS MORE HEALTHY.
ALSO, THERE WAS FIFTY EIGHT, I'M SORRY, $7 MILLION PLEDGED FROM THE FOREST
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SERVICE TO GO LOOK AT POST WILDFIRE MITIGATION AND ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE NEEDS.FINALLY, THERE IS AN APPROPRIATION IN THE SENATE BILL FOR THREE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE FOREST HEALTH NEEDS WITH REGARDS TO FLAGSTAFF WATERSHED PROTECTION PROGRAM.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT SOME OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL.
CARBON FEE IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE THE WAY WE SEE SOME CLIMATE MOVEMENT, AND SENATOR MANCHIN HAS BEEN OPPOSED TO SOME OF THESE CLIMATE PROVISIONS INCLUDED BECAUSE HE'S PROTECTING HIS HOME STATE INTEREST.
BUT A CARBON FEE IS SOMETHING THAT BOTH DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS HAVE BEEN COMING TO THE TABLE TO TALK ABOUT.
SO THERE MAY BE SOME CARBON FEE AND DIVIDEND LEGISLATION IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE, AND IT COULD BE INCLUDED IN THE BUILD BACK BETTER BILL.
OBVIOUSLY, DARK SKIES ARE CRITICAL TO ARIZONA.
WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO CONTINUE THOSE INITIATIVES, AS WELL AS OPEN SPACE PARKS AND NATURAL AREAS, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THOSE AS WELL AS THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT THAT HAS BEEN CRITICAL TO PROTECTING SPECIES IN AND AROUND ARIZONA AND NORTHERN.
OPEN UP THE DISCUSSION, AND I THANK SARAH FOR ALL OF HER HELP IN GETTING US TO THIS PLACE AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE DISCUSSION TONIGHT.
COUNCIL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU, BOB.
I-- YOU WON'T BE SURPRISED, BOB, TO HEAR ME SAY THAT I WANT TO SEE US EMPHASIZE AFFORDABLE HOUSING EVERYWHERE THAT WE CAN.
AND JUST A GENERAL NOTE IN BOTH IN BOTH FEDERAL AND STATE PRIORITIES, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US REALLY FOCUSING ON, ALL THE AREAS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT THE AREAS WHERE WE'VE DECLARED AN EMERGENCY, WHICH OF COURSE, IS CLIMATE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND I THINK REGARDING VETERANS AND SARAH DARR CAN CORRECT ME, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE HOUSING VOUCHERS FOR VETERANS THAT WE'VE ONLY RECEIVED A HANDFUL OF THOSE.
AND I WOULD THINK THAT ADDITIONAL VOUCHERS FOR VETERANS WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT MOST ALL OF OUR LEGISLATORS COULD GET BEHIND AND WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL TO US IN TERMS OF FINDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
BUT JUST IN GENERAL, I'D LIKE TO SEE EMPHASIS AND URGENCY PLACED ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND ON CLIMATE RELATED ISSUES.
THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND HI, BOB, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND YOUR HELP FOR THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF.
YEAH, MY COMMENTS ARE GOING TO ECHO VICE MAYORS IS A LITTLE BIT.
I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO SEE AN INCREASED FOCUS ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND I WAS HOPING, OH, I JUST GOT AN EMAIL FROM THE PERSON THAT I WAS HOPING TO GET MORE INSIGHT FROM, BUT DOESN'T GIVE ME CLARITY.
SO I'LL JUST SAY THAT I KNOW THERE'S EFFORTS AT THE STATE LEVEL WHICH I THINK WE WERE TALKING ABOUT NEXT.
YOU KNOW, I'M GOING TO HOLD THAT.
BUT IN ADDITION TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOCUS POINTS, I THINK LIHTC REALLY COMES TO MIND IN TERMS OF LOW INCOME TAX CREDIT HOUSING AND ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO FURTHER SUPPORT THAT PROCESS LOCALLY, I THINK, WOULD BE REALLY BENEFICIAL TO CREATING WORKFORCE HOUSING.
AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, GOING TO THE OTHER EMERGENCY THAT VICE MAYOR SPOKE TO, WHICH IS THE CLIMATE THAT WE'VE DECLARED MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS.
WE HAVE A LOT OF BIG TICKET ITEMS ON OUR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN THAT NEED TO BE FUNDED WITH LIMITED FUNDS THAT WE HAVE ALLOCATED, BUT FUNDS THAT WE COULD LEVERAGE WITH FEDERAL AND STATE MONEY TO GET THE JOB DONE.
AND SO ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO EITHER UNDER TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE OR
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SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE, WHENEVER WE CAN THINK ABOUT BIKE AND PED AND MULTIMODAL AND BUS, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT BENEFIT TO THIS COMMUNITY.THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER SHIMONI.
I WILL NOTE THAT WE DO HAVE MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION WITHIN THE DESCRIPTION HERE, BUT I THINK YOU ALL KNOW WHERE WE'RE HEADED AS A CITY IN OUR VALUES HERE THAT NEEDS TO BE A BIG PRIORITY AMIDST OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, WITH HOW WE'RE MOVING.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER SHIMONI.
SENDING YOU GRATEFUL HEARTS TO YOU AND ANA AND GRATEFUL HEART TO MISS LANGLEY JUST FOR YOUR STELLAR WORK ADVOCATING ON BEHALF OF THE CITY.
YOU KNOW, I WOULD WANT TO CONTINUE WITH OUR ITERATED PRIORITIES, YOU KNOW, AS YOU HAVE ENUMERATED THEM ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE, COMMUNITY, SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENVIRONMENT.
I DO WANT TO DEDICATE A SPACE TO SPEAK TO ANOTHER CATEGORY ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WHICH CAN ACTUALLY BE TIED TO IIJA AND MORE IS SUPPORT LEGISLATION AND FUNDING THAT IMPROVE WORKFORCE SYSTEMS AND STRENGTHEN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO JOB TRAINING, INTERNSHIP, RESKILLING AND APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS WITHIN THE REGION.
BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THE IIJA SPEAKS TO THE APPRENTICESHIP AND PRE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS RELATED TO CONSTRUCTION INFRASTRUCTURE WORK.
BUT THERE'S A WHOLE GAMUT OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND WELFARE SYSTEM, AND I UNDERSTAND THE WIOA, WHICH IS THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY ACT, IS UP FOR REAUTHORIZATION SOON.
AND HOPEFULLY THOSE DOLLARS WILL BE TRICKLED DOWN TO THE STATE LEVEL AND TO OUR REGION, NOT ONLY THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF, BUT THROUGH NORTHERN ARIZONA AND COCONINO COUNTY.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER SALAS.
WELL, I'LL ADD IN MY TWO CENTS.
FIRST OFF, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE IT CATEGORIZED AS CARBON FEES AND DIVIDENDS OR YEAH, CARBON FEE AND DIVIDEND LEGISLATION.
THAT SHOULD BE PART OF THE DESCRIPTION, BUT REALLY FOCUSING ON CLIMATE ACTION AND ADAPTATION GOALS THAT COULD INCLUDE ANYTHING FROM CARBON FEE AND DIVIDEND TO CARBON CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION.
IT COULD BE A MATTER OF INCREASED INVESTMENTS IN ALTERNATIVE ENERGIES, WHATEVER IT MAY BE, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO CHANGE THAT CATEGORY HEAD AND HAVE THAT CARBON FEE A DIVIDEND AS A SUBCATEGORY OF IT.
SECONDLY, I WANTED TO GET AN IDEA ABOUT HOW THE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IS CURRENTLY SHAPING UP WITH THE BUILD BACK BETTER.
AND YOUR THOUGHTS ON INCLUDING THAT IF THIS IS A POSSIBILITY FOR LOCALITIES, OR IT JUST SEEMS THIS IS GOING TO BE A LARGE OPPORTUNITY IF WE'RE IN A SITUATION WHERE WE ARE GETTING LARGE OF MONEY FOR THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS TO GET SCHOOLING AND WITH SOME CONCERNS FROM MANY OF US THAT THE STATE'S NOT GOING TO MATCH IT, COULD WE DO THAT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL? ANYWAYS, IF YOU COULD KIND OF SPEAK TO THE EARLY CHILD EDUCATION ON WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT, I'D APPRECIATE IT.
SO A COUPLE OF THINGS, YES, THERE IS IN BUILD BACK BETTER.
THERE IS TWO THINGS THAT I THINK ARE OF INTEREST TO YOU.
CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, WHICH WOULD HEAD START PROGRAMS, WOULD START AT FOR THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS AS OPPOSED TO KINDERGARTEN.
AND THE SECOND THING WOULD BE CHILD CARE.
[01:00:03]
BOTH ARE IN FLUX, MORE SO THE CHILD CARE PROVISION.SENATOR MANCHIN HAS RAISED SOME CONCERNS WITH THAT.
BUT I THINK TO YOUR QUESTION, CAN THE LOCALS MATCH THAT? AND I THINK THE ANSWER IS YES.
I CAN'T SAY THAT DEFINITIVELY IF THE STATE DOESN'T MATCH, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE CITY WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT MATCH.
SORRY, DID YOU SAY WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO THE [INAUDIBLE]? WOULD.
AND THAT WAS THE ONE THING I REALLY WANTED TO ADVOCATE FOR.
THE MAYOR'S EDUCATION ROUNDTABLE, WE'VE BEEN VERY CONCERNED AND WANTING TO ENSURE THAT IF STATES DO NOT MATCH THAT, WE STILL HAVE THE POSSIBILITY AS A LOCALITY TO ACCESS FUNDS THROUGH MATCHING OR HOWEVER MEANS WE CAN THROUGH OTHER PARTNERSHIPS.
SO I'LL GET YOU AN ANSWER TO THAT, AND I WILL SEND IT TO YOU AND TO SARAH.
AND THAT IF WE ARE PUTTING THIS INTO LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES, THAT MAY BE SOMETHING WE COULD FIT IN AND ALSO WITH THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ASPECT, SINCE THOSE ARE INTRINSICALLY CONNECTED.
ONE LAST PRIORITY I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT MAYBE IS WORTH HIGHLIGHTING.
AND BOB, I'M LOOKING TO YOU FOR YOUR EXPERTISE AND SAYING TO OUR TEAM HERE AT THE CITY IS IN REGARDS TO PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN COMMUNITIES SPECIFICALLY THINKING ABOUT OUR INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES, YOU KNOW, BEING A BORDER TOWN.
I DO WONDER IF THERE'S FEDERAL LEGISLATION OR EVEN FUNDING OR ADVOCACY THAT THE CITY SHOULD DO TO FURTHER ENHANCE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR TRIBAL PARTNERS.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF, I THINK, FOCUS GOING TOWARDS THE DIFFERENT TRIBAL COMMUNITIES FROM THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND WE ARE VERY MUCH AN EXTENSION OF THEM AND THIS IS TRIBAL LAND.
SO I DO WONDER WHAT THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF CAN DO TO POTENTIALLY FURTHER THAT RELATIONSHIP THROUGH OUR FEDERAL PRIORITIES.
BOB, WHAT DO YOU THINK? IS THERE ANYTHING THAT COMES TO MIND? WELL, I CAN'T SAY THIS MAYOR, I MEAN, I'M SORRY, COUNCIL MEMBER SHIMONI.
THAT'S A THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION AND OVERLOOKED PROVISION AND IIJA IS THAT THERE IS ABOUT $12 BILLION FOR A LOT A LOT OF THESE PROGRAMS, TRIBAL WATER TRANSPORTATION AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
ARE THERE MORE COUNTY RELATED THAN THAN CITY RELATED, BUT YOU CAN COMBINE SOME OF THESE MONIES.
FOR INSTANCE, THERE'S A NEW PROGRAM CREATED CALLED THE NATIONAL ROADS AND LEGACY PROGRAM.
IT'S ABOUT A TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS PROGRAM WITHIN IIJA THAT CONNECTS FEDERAL ENTITIES, FOR INSTANCE, FEDERAL LAND, OF WHICH THERE'S A LOT IN NORTHERN ARIZONA AND THE TRIBES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
THERE'S ALSO A PROVISION, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUNDING MECHANISM IS, BUT IT ONE OF THE POINTS IS OF THIS FUNDING.
IT'S TO INTERCONNECT COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST.
AND SO THERE'S YOU KNOW THAT COULD BE ANOTHER POTENTIAL FUNDING AVENUE.
COUNCIL MEMBER, LET ME GET YOU-- I'LL SEND YOU SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THAT.
AND THEN LET'S HAVE A FURTHER DISCUSSION.
WITH THAT, I THINK WE ARE READY TO MOVE ON TO OUR STATE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES.
HEY, MR. MAYOR, IT'S ME AGAIN, I PUT A C IN THE COMMENT BOX, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S SHOWING UP CORRECTLY.
WELL, YEAH, MY APOLOGIES FOR MISSING THAT I'M GOING TO CHECK WHAT'S GOING ON HERE AND REBOOT IT.
NO WORRIES WHATSOEVER, AND I'LL KEEP THIS BRIEF.
BOB, I JUST WANTED TO POP IN REAL QUICKLY TO GIVE MY THUMBS UP.
I WANTED TO ECHO THE MAYOR'S IDEA ABOUT PUTTING A CARBON FEE AND DIVIDEND LEGISLATION UNDER A LARGER UMBRELLA.
AS LONG AS WE DO CONTINUE TO SINGLE THAT OUT SPECIFICALLY AS A GOOD IDEA TO BE PURSUING UNDER THAT UMBRELLA.
AND THEN I DON'T WANT TO OPEN A BIG CAN OF WORMS HERE COUNCIL, AND I WANT TO BE SURE TO NOT TO, YOU KNOW, BE TRYING TO INTRODUCE MY PARTICULAR PET LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS.
BUT I DID WANT TO JUST GIVE VOICE TO ONE CONCERN THAT'S CERTAINLY ON THE
[01:05:04]
HORIZON, IF NOT ALREADY HERE AND SOMETHING WE MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER WEIGHING IN ON AT SOME POINT, EVEN IF WE DON'T DO IT NOW.AND THAT IS VOTING RIGHTS AND A VERY, VERY TROUBLING SORT OF LANDSCAPE OUT THERE WHERE WE'RE SEEING VOTING RIGHTS BEING WHITTLED AWAY AT AT EVERY CONCEIVABLE LEVEL, INCLUDING DOWN AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
AND SO I MEAN, I'M VERY, VERY TROUBLED AND CONCERNED ABOUT THE VERY STATE OF OUR DEMOCRACY IN THE NEXT DECADE.
AND SO I DIDN'T WANT TO JUST STAY COMPLETELY QUIET ON THAT FRONT.
IT MAY NOT BE SOMETHING THAT'S OF A FEDERAL PRIORITY LEVEL FOR US HERE IN FLAGSTAFF, BUT I DID WANT TO GIVE VOICE TO IT IF WE CAN, IF WE CAN BE SUPPORTIVE OF ANY EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND THE CONVENIENCE OF VOTING, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT IMPARTIAL, FAIR JURISTS ARE IN CHARGE OF ALL THE LEVERS AND ALL THE APPARATUS OF OUR VOTING MECHANISM FROM THE LOCAL LEVEL ON UP TO STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL.
I THINK IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT TO SHARE OUR VOICE IN THAT REGARD.
AND I MAY HAVE OTHER COMMENTS ABOUT THE STATE LANDSCAPE, BUT I'LL SAY THOSE FOR LATER.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY.
I AM SUPPORTIVE OF THE LIST AS PRESENTED, AND I DO SUPPORT THE COMMENTS THAT WE'VE HEARD AROUND THE TABLE HERE, INCLUDING IN PARTICULAR, THE COMMENTS OF MR. ASLAN ABOUT VOTING RIGHTS.
THAT'S JUST SO BASIC TO OUR DEMOCRACY, OUR REPUBLIC, AND THESE EFFORTS TO DIMINISH PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO VOTE IS VERY TROUBLING.
AND I WILL NOTE THAT, THAT IS CURRENTLY IN OUR STATE PRIORITIES.
BUT OBVIOUSLY, WE'RE COMING TO THE LEVEL OF MEETING SOME FEDERAL INTERVENTION ON THIS PROCESS.
SO I'M NOT SURE IF WE NEED TO FORMALIZE IT.
BUT I MEAN, WE DO FOR THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
BUT IT IS IN OUR STATE LEVEL AND WE'RE I THINK WE'RE ALL REAL CLEAR WHERE WE'RE STANDING FROM THIS DAIS ON THAT FRONT.
WELL, THANK YOU, BOB, AND WE CAN TURN IT OVER TO.
THANK YOU, MAYOR TODD MADEKSZA CAN JOIN US NOW.
MAYOR COUNCILMEN-- COUNCIL MEMBERS IS TODD MADEKSZA, ELEVATED ADVOCACY.
THANKS FOR HAVING ME TONIGHT, AND IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO SORT OF REHASH AND REVISIT OUR STATE PRIORITIES THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED OVER THE PAST YEAR AND SEE WHAT KIND OF TWEAKS WE NEED TO MAKE.
I WROTE DOWN A COUPLE OF THOUGHTS I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT BEFORE WE START TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE TOPICS.
I WANT TO SORT OF DESCRIBE WHAT THE ATMOSPHERE WE THINK IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE THIS COMING YEAR.
FIRST OF ALL, SO I STARTED TAKING SOME NOTES YESTERDAY.
SO THE FIRST THING I REALLY WROTE DOWN WAS TIMING.
THE TIMING OF THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION IS VERY INTERESTING.
YOU ALL MAY BE INTERESTED TO KNOW TWENTY TWENTY TWO IS GOING TO BE AN ELECTION YEAR.
SOME OF YOU MAY BE RUNNING AS WELL.
THERE'S A GUBERNATORIAL RACE GOING ON, AND THERE'S ALSO SOME STATEWIDE RACES BEING COMPETED FOR BY [INAUDIBLE] LEGISLATORS AT THE CAPITOL.
SO WE HAVE THIS DYNAMIC GOING ON WHERE PEOPLE ARE REALLY TRYING TO BRING THEIR, WHAT THEY VIEW AS THEIR VITAL TOPICS, THEIR TOPICS [INAUDIBLE] TO THE FOREFRONT.
I THINK IT'S NEXT WEEK MIGHT BE RIGHT AFTER CHRISTMAS, WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO BE EXAMINING THE ELECTION OF 2020 AGAIN AT THE LEGISLATURE.
THIS IS FOLLOWING A VERY TUMULTUOUS INTERIM WHERE WE HAD AN AUDIT THAT WAS CONDUCTED ON MARICOPA COUNTY AND WE HAD VARIOUS DRAMA ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, AND I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT.
BUT WHAT IT CREATED WAS AN ATMOSPHERE THAT BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT TOPIC WAS MARGINS.
THE LEGISLATIVE HOUSES HAVE VERY TIGHT MARGINS, BUT WHAT WAS INTERESTING TO ME AND TO OTHER-- TO SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES THAT DOWN THERE IS THE NUMBER OF NEW MEMBERS ALREADY IN THE LEGISLATURE IS ROUGHLY ABOUT A THIRD.
NOW THAT'S WHAT YOU WOULD SEE IN AN ELECTION YEAR.
SO WE'RE STARTING TO LOOK AT IT LIKE, OK, WE HAVE A BRAND NEW, A THIRD OF A BRAND NEW LEGISLATORS THIS SESSION AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER ELECTION IS THIS IS A SIGNS OF SOMETHING COMING WE DON'T KNOW YET.
YOU KNOW, I BROUGHT UP THE AUDIT OF TWENTY TWENTY ONE AND WHAT IT'S REALLY RESULTED IN A VERY POLARIZED.
[01:10:02]
SOME PEOPLE WILL CALL IT A HYPERPARTISAN ATMOSPHERE AT THE LEGISLATURE.THERE ARE THERE ARE TALKS EVERY SO OFTEN ABOUT, LET'S DO SOME THINGS BIPARTISAN.
FOREST HEALTH IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE.
FOREST FIRES DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT.
THOSE TOPICS, THOSE TYPE OF TOPICS PROBABLY AREN'T GOING TO BE THE KIND OF TOPICS THAT WE HAVE THIS YEAR, AND THAT'S THAT MEANS IT'S GOING TO BE A LOT HARDER FOR FOLKS LIKE ME TO DO MY JOB BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE I CAN'T TALK TO HALF THE LEGISLATURE ABOUT THIS BECAUSE OF THE NAME ON THE BILL OR BECAUSE OF THE TOPIC, THEY JUST WON'T EVEN CONSIDER IT.
AND THEN FINALLY, I WILL TELL YOU, THERE ARE THINGS THAT SURPASSED MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WILL AFFECT US.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE YET.
THIS IS JUST ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING THERE ARE THINGS I DON'T KNOW AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE.
YOU KNOW? SO WHAT I WROTE DOWN HERE IS THE EFFECTS FROM ELECTIONS, FROM THE AUDIT.
AS I TALKED ABOUT, THERE'S ABOUT $2 BILLION OF MONEY THAT WE WEREN'T ANTICIPATING.
AND YOU WOULD THINK THAT, THAT WOULD BE A GOOD THING THERE'S MONEY TO SPEND, AND THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS IT'S MUCH HARDER.
IT'S ABOUT $700 MILLION OF IDENTIFIED ONGOING REVENUE.
IT'S ABOUT ONE POINT TWO BILLION OF ONE TIME ARPA MONEY, ONE TIME MONEY THAT WE HAD COMING IN, THAT THE LEGISLATIVE BUDGET TIERS ARE NOT COMFORTABLE SAYING YOU WILL HAVE THIS AGAIN NEXT YEAR.
WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE FIGHTS SAYING, OK, DO WE HAVE A TAX CUT? DO WE SPEND MONEY ON PROGRAMS? WHERE DO WE SPEND THAT MONEY? AND THAT WILL DELAY SESSION FROM GETTING OUT.
AND THEN THE LAST THING I PUT DOWN HERE, LET'S SEE WHAT ELSE.
OH, OTHER OTHER ISSUES THAT ARE GOING TO PLAY A ROLE.
SO THE TAX CUT REFERENDUM THAT'S GOING IN FRONT OF THE VOTERS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT'S GOING TO AFFECT THE LEGISLATURE RIGHT NOW, BUT IT IS GOING TO AFFECT IT.
THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DECIDE HOW TO DO FUTURE TAX CUTS AND IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO DO FUTURE TAX CUTS.
OR IS IT BETTER JUST TO GO TO THE VOTERS WITH THOSE THINGS RIGHT AWAY? THE SECOND ONE WAS THERE WAS A COURT DECISION THAT SAID IT BASICALLY STRUCK DOWN A LOT OF THE BUDGET BILLS BECAUSE THEY SAID, WELL, YOU'RE INCLUDING POLICY DISCUSSIONS IN THE BUDGET BILLS.
AND SO IT VIOLATES THE ONE SUBJECT LAW AND THAT IS GOING TO HAVE A LASTING IMPACT ON HOW WE CRAFT POLICY IN THE STATE MOVING FORWARD.
AND THEN FINALLY, AS ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES SAID, HEY, THE LEGISLATURE DECIDED THERE WAS A DROUGHT.
SO WE ANTICIPATE SOME SIGNIFICANT WATER LEGISLATION IN THE COMING YEAR.
WE'RE GOING TO WATCH THAT FROM THE NORTHERN ARIZONA PERSPECTIVE.
AND I DO WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT CAME UP.
SO LAST SESSION THERE WAS THE HEAD OF THE GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE WAS MICHELLE [INAUDIBLE], AND SHE GOT INTO A FIGHT WITH ANOTHER MEMBER AND BASICALLY HELD THAT MEMBERS BILLS-- SENATOR TOWNSEND'S BILLS, HELD HER BILLS AND PUSHED HER ELECTION BILLS ALL FORWARD, EVOLVED TO WHERE SHE WAS A CRITIC OF THE AUDIT AND THROUGH A SERIES OF MISSIVES WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, RESIGNED HER SEAT AS THE GOVERNMENT CHAIR.
NOW SENATOR TOWNSEND, WHO WAS ON THE OUTS LAST SESSION, IS NOW THE CHAIR OF THE GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE, AND SO WE ANTICIPATE SEEING ALL OF THOSE BILLS THAT SHE WAS RUNNING ON ELECTIONS TO COME TO THE FORE.
SO YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT VOTING RIGHTS, YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT HOW ELECTIONS ARE CONDUCTED ARE WELL-FOUNDED, WELL TIMED AND WE ARE AWARE OF THEM AND WE'RE WATCHING IT.
THE BILLS ARE THINGS LIKE YOU HAVE TO DO A MANDATORY RECOUNT IF THE VOTE IS WITHIN A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OR THINGS ALONG THOSE LINES.
AND SO WE'LL START WATCHING THIS AND SEEING WHAT THOSE ARE AND CERTAINLY ARE GOING TO BE CONCERNED WITH ANY KIND OF MOVE TO RESTRICT VOTING ACCESS TO FOLKS.
I'M GOING TO TAKE A BREATH RIGHT THERE AND WE CAN I CAN TRY AND ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS IF THERE ARE ANY AND THEN YOU WANT TO GO THROUGH THE SLIDES OR WOULD YOU LIKE? SURE.
BUT LET'S STOP RIGHT THERE FOR RIGHT NOW.
ARE THERE QUESTIONS? MR. MAYOR, IF I CAN ANSWER ANY.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME? COUNCIL MEMBER SHIMONI.
THANK YOU TODD FOR BEING WITH US AND YOUR UPDATES SO FAR.
YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE POLITICAL LENS THAT YOU SPOKE TO IN REGARDS TO THIS BEING AN ELECTION YEAR, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGER TOPICS THAT INDIVIDUALS WILL BE RUNNING ON AND REALLY, YOU KNOW, MAKING DRIVING POINTS HOME ON? IT'S GOING TO BE ELECTIONS.
IT'S GOING TO BE ACCUSATIONS OF VOTER FRAUD.
IT'S GOING TO BE ACCUSATIONS OF, WELL, WE DON'T KNOW IF THERE IS VOTER FRAUD BECAUSE WE DIDN'T DO A REALLY GOOD AUDIT.
IT'S GOING TO BE AGAIN, JUST HYPER PARTISANSHIP.
AND IT'S EVERYTHING YOU'RE READING IN THE NEWSPAPER AND COMING OUT.
[01:15:03]
THERE ARE MULTIPLE PEOPLE RUNNING FOR MULTIPLE OFFICES, FOR INSTANCE, SECRETARY OF STATE.AND SO THOSE FOLKS WILL BE FOCUSED ON ELECTIONS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE SECRETARY OF STATE BASICALLY DOES, RIGHT? PEOPLE RUNNING FOR TREASURER WILL BE FOCUSING ON TRYING TO GET THEIR NAME RECOGNITION UP.
IT'S GOING TO BE A VERY INTERESTING SESSION.
IS THERE ANY BUZZ AROUND SHORT TERM RENTALS OR HOUSING THAT YOU'RE HEARING OF? THERE IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S PREMATURE TO SORT OF REALLY TELL YOU WHAT IS GOING TO BE OFFERED BECAUSE WE HAVE JUST STARTED SAYING, OK, WELL, WHAT'S THE BEST APPROACH TO MOVE FORWARD? SHORT TERM RENTALS ARE BEING DISCUSSED IN TWO SORT OF ALONG TWO DIFFERENT PATHWAYS, AND I DON'T WANT TO TAKE YOUR THUNDER.
OK? SO THEY'RE BEING DISCUSSED ALONG TWO DIFFERENT PATHWAYS.
ONE IS A PROLIFERATION OF SHORT TERM RENTALS THAT CROWDS OUT THE HOUSING MARKET, AND SO IT MAKES AFFORDABLE HOUSING LESS AFFORDABLE.
IT MAKES HOUSING JUST HOUSING IN GENERAL LESS AFFORDABLE, AND IT TIGHTENS THE SUPPLY OF AVAILABLE HOUSING.
THE SECOND AVENUE IS HOUSES THAT ARE REPEATEDLY RENTED OUT WEEK AFTER WEEK FOR LARGE GROUPS TO COME IN AND DISRUPT THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, WE'LL CALL THOSE PARTY HOUSES.
YOU KNOW, OUR IMPRESSION IS WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT INTEREST IN THE PROLIFERATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN FLAGSTAFF AND IN NORTHERN ARIZONA IN GENERAL.
WE SHARE THOSE CONCERNS WITH COMMUNITIES LIKE SEDONA.
BUT THEN THERE ARE OTHER COMMUNITIES LIKE LAKE HAVASU CITY, WHICH IS SAYING THAT'S NOT OUR MAIN CONCERN.
WE'RE MORE CONCERNED WE WOULD LIKE TO TAKE CARE OF THAT, BUT OUR MAIN CONCERN IS WITH THE PARTY HOUSES.
AND SO WHICH ONE BECOMES MORE LIKELY TO GET PASSED? WHAT DOES IT MEAN IF YOU PASS SOMETHING, BUT IT'S NOT EVERYTHING.
AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THAT THROUGH AS A STAKEHOLDER GROUP AND SEE WHERE WE CAN GET THE MOST TRACTION.
SO YES, THAT IS DEFINITELY AN ISSUE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT AS PART OF A COALITION ACROSS THE STATE.
IT'S KIND OF A FOLLOW UP TO THAT LAST CONVERSATION.
I THINK IF YOU TOOK A POLL OF THIS COUNCIL, THERE WOULD BE UNANIMOUS AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE A HOUSING PROBLEM.
AND I'M SURE THAT WOULD BE TRUE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
MY QUESTION IS DOES THE STATE LEGISLATURE IN GENERAL UNDERSTAND THAT THIS STATE HAS A HOUSING PROBLEM.
IT ISN'T JUST A FLAGSTAFF PROBLEM.
IT'S MORE ACUTE HERE, BUT IT'S A PROBLEM ALL ACROSS THE STATE.
DO YOU THINK THERE'S ANY APPRECIATION FOR THAT ISSUE IN GENERAL AT THE LEGISLATURE? MY ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS THAT THERE IS AN APPRECIATION THAT IS GROWING.
SO IT'S NOT AT OUR LEVEL YET, YOU KNOW, FLAGSTAFF IS LIKE OUT OF 10, THE REST OF THE STATE IS COMING UP, BUT IT'S FUNNY WHEN YOU GO DOWN THERE AND YOU HAVE MEMBERS STOP YOU AND SAY, MAN, DID YOU HEAR ABOUT JEROME? THEIR EMPLOYEES HAVE TO LIVE SOMEPLACE ELSE AND COME INTO JEROME, AND THEY'RE CREATING, GUESS WHAT A PARKING ISSUE? WELL, YOU KNOW, IT'S FUN TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THEM AND SAY, WELL, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT FLAGSTAFF.
HERE'S WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH IN FLAGSTAFF AND WE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN.
AND I'M SORRY THAT THEY'RE HAVING AN ISSUE, BUT WE'RE SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER AND WE HAVE THAT ISSUE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S HELPFUL TO US WHEN WE HAVE PLACES LIKE SEDONA, AGREE WITH US AND COMPLIMENT OUR TALKING POINTS WITH THEIR OWN TALKING POINTS.
AND THEN THIS IS THE LAST THING I'LL SAY ABOUT IT.
AND YOU KNOW, WE CAN HAVE MORE OF A DIALOG.
I SAW A PRESENTATION REGARDING THE HOUSING SUPPLY FOR PHOENIX, AND THE STATEMENT WAS SOMETHING I'M PARAPHRASING, SO I DON'T WANT TO BE QUOTED, BUT IT WAS SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF WE COULD BUILD HOUSING FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND STILL JUST BE RIGHT AT ZERO.
YOU KNOW, THAT IS TO SAY WE WOULD HAVE ENOUGH HOUSING FOR PEOPLE, BUT WE WOULDN'T HAVE A SURPLUS.
AND SO WHEN THE PROBLEM HITS MARICOPA COUNTY, WHEN THE PROBLEM HITS PHOENIX, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THAT RAISES THE KNOWLEDGE BASE AT THE LEGISLATURE.
AND SO WHILE WE DON'T WISH THAT ON OUR NEIGHBORS, IT CERTAINLY WE'RE GOING TO REAP BENEFITS FROM THEM COMING UP TO THE SAME ISSUE THAT WE HAVE AND HAVING, YOU KNOW, STATEWIDE ECONOMISTS SAYING, YEAH, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE FACING.
IT'S HELPFUL TO US AND TO OUR TALKING POINTS.
WITH YOUR PERMISSION, I'LL JUST START GOING THROUGH SOME OF THESE PRIORITIES.
THESE WILL BE FAMILIAR TO MOST OF YOU.
I BELIEVE WE TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF THESE LAST SESSION, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO SORT OF DISCUSS THEM AND RE EXPLAIN WHAT WE MEAN AND TO HEAR WHAT KIND OF TWEAKS MIGHT BE ADVISABLE OR TO HAVE YOU ALL ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT [INAUDIBLE].
YOU KNOW, IT ALL REALLY STARTS OFF WITH PRESERVE LOCAL DECISION MAKING.
WE DO NOT BENEFIT FROM PEOPLE IN PHOENIX TRYING TO TELL US WHAT WE SHOULD BE
[01:20:02]
DOING UP HERE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.AND SO REALLY, I DON'T KNOW OF A LOCAL GOVERNMENT THAT I'VE EVER WORKED FOR OR THAT I'VE WORKED WITH THAT DOESN'T SAY, OK, WE NEED TO SUPPORT THE ABILITY FOR US TO MAKE LOCAL DECISIONS UP HERE LOCALLY.
AND SO AGAIN, IT'S JUST AN OVERARCHING SORT OF PRINCIPLE THAT GUIDES MY DIRECTION DOWN THERE.
IT GUIDES SARAH'S DIRECTION, AND IT REALLY HELPS US KIND OF DECIDE.
HERE'S HOW WE'RE GOING TO PROCEED ON ANY GIVEN ISSUE.
IF IT VIOLATES US, WE DON'T NEED TO COME BACK TO YOU AND SAY, WE OPPOSE IT.
IF IT'S QUESTIONABLE, OK, WE'D COME BACK AND SAY, HEY, THIS IS WHAT IT DOES.
CAN WE HAVE SOME DIRECTION? STATE SHARED REVENUES.
YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO PRESERVE OUR SHARE OF THE STATE SHARED REVENUES.
IT'S JUST TOO IMPORTANT FOR US TO GIVE UP AND WHERE POSSIBLE, TO RECOVER THOSE ANYTHING THAT IS IS STRIPPED FROM US DUE TO UNFUNDED MANDATES FROM THE STATE.
AND THEN THE THIRD TOPIC IS A SHORT TERM RENTALS, YOU SEE THAT THERE.
I THINK I JUST TALKED ABOUT THAT ENOUGH.
SO I WILL, IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS SLIDE, I GUESS I WILL POINT OUT SOMETHING ABOUT THIS, IS ANOTHER TALKING POINT THAT REALLY IS SALIENT TO US IS THE IDEA THAT, WELL, HOTELS PAY A CERTAIN TAX RATE.
YOU KNOW, SHORT TERM RENTALS NEED TO BE TREATED LIKE HOTELS.
PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE, CORPORATIONS, YOU KNOW, BUSINESSES ARE PURCHASING SHORT TERM RENTALS IN NUMBERS AND THEY'RE OPERATING THEM JUST LIKE A HOTEL.
AND SO THEY'RE THINGS THAT WE SHOULD DO TO TRY AND LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD, YOU KNOW, ACROSS THE STATE, AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE SORT OF THAT IS IN THE TALKING POINTS AND THAT'S WORKING.
AND IT'S ALSO SALIENT, YOU KNOW IT IS ONE OF OUR MORE EFFECTIVE ONES.
MY UNDERSTANDING BASED ON AN EMAIL FROM SARAH TODAY.
IS THAT THERE'S ALREADY SOME PROVISIONS IN THE LAW THAT GIVE PRIMARY RESIDENCES CERTAIN TAX ADVANTAGES OVER SECOND HOMES.
THERE'S MY SON WORKS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, AND HE'S TELLING ME THAT THE NEW HOUSES THAT ARE BEING BUILT.
THEY'RE NOT FOR PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN FLAGSTAFF TO LIVE IN.
THEY'RE BEING SOLD TO PEOPLE FROM CALIFORNIA AND PHOENIX THAT HAVE TWO AND THREE AND FOUR HOUSES.
AND IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE'S HOUSES THAT THE PEOPLE ARE THERE TWO OR THREE DAYS A MONTH.
SO MY QUESTION IS, DO YOU THINK WE COULD DO SOME MORE TO GIVE AN ADVANTAGE, AT LEAST PROPERTY TAX WISE, TO PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN A PRIMARY RESIDENCE AS OPPOSED TO SECOND HOMES WEEKENDER HOMES? SO THIS IS WHY YOU ALL HIRE ME BECAUSE I HAVE TO DELIVER BAD NEWS TO YOU.
THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS.
THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS NO, NOT THE SESSION.
MR. MCCARTHY, WHAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING IS IS A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING OF REWRITING SOME PROPERTY TAX BILLS.
AND SO THAT MEANS WE'D HAVE TO INCLUDE OTHER CITIES.
WE'D HAVE TO INCLUDE THE COUNTY TREASURER'S COUNTY ASSESSORS, PROBABLY THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
BUT YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT UP HERE AND DO IT IN A QUICK MEETING.
AND SO I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING.
I THINK WE'RE 95 PERCENT OF THE WAY THERE.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WHAT YOU HAVE WHAT IN YOUR EMAIL, WHAT YOU OUTLINED, WE ALREADY DO MOST OF THAT WE DO TREAT THEM DIFFERENTLY.
THE COUNTY ASSESSORS ARE PUTTING FORWARD A BILL TO TRY AND SAY, OK, WELL, IF YOU HAVE TWO OR MORE, I THINK IF YOU HAVE THREE OR MORE THAN YOU'RE AUTOMATICALLY GROUPED AS A COMMERCIAL PROPERTY AND IT'S NOT YOU DON'T GET THE HOMEOWNER BENEFIT.
I'D HAVE TO GO BACK AND REREAD THE BILL.
THE BILL HAS AN UPHILL BATTLE TO GO, BUT YOU KNOW, THE ASSESSORS ARE RUNNING IT.
THE ARIZONA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES IS THE PRIMARY SORT OF THE TIP OF THE SPEAR DRIVING THAT, AND SO WE'LL KEEP AN EYE ON IT AND CERTAINLY WE'VE SUPPORTED IT IN THE PAST, WE'LL SUPPORT IT AGAIN, BUT IT HAS AN UPHILL BATTLE.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE FOR NOW, IT WOULD BE UNNECESSARY TO ADD THIS TO OUR FORMAL LIST.
BUT I WOULD JUST ASK YOU, YOU KNOW, A PERSON TO PERSON TO KIND OF KEEP THAT ON YOUR RADAR AND GET BACK TO US IF THERE'S SOMETHING WE CAN DO ON IT.
I THINK THAT'S I LIKE MR. MCCARTHY, MR. MAYOR AND MR. MCCARTHY.
I WILL TELL YOU, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE SORT OF REALLY, IF YOU WANT TO MOVE FORWARD ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A MULTIYEAR PROCESS AND WE REALLY NEED TO KIND OF FLESH OUT LIKE, WHAT IS IT YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH SO THAT WE KNOW GOING TO
[01:25:01]
STAKEHOLDERS HERE'S WHAT WE WANT TO DO.AND THEN WE CAN START THE PROCESS, YOU KNOW, BUT THAT'S GOING TO BE MAKING SURE THAT THE ASSESSOR AND YAVAPAI COUNTY AGREES WITH THE ASSESSOR IN MOHAVE COUNTY WHO AGREES WITH THE COCONINO COUNTY ASSESSOR.
SO ARE YOU SAYING THAT MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST KIND OF KEEP OUR EYES AND EARS OPEN ON THIS? OR ARE YOU SAYING THAT MAYBE WE SHOULD START THE SLOW AND LONG PROCESS A LITTLE MORE FORMALLY, I WOULD SAY BOTH.
WE CAN KEEP OUR EYES AND EARS OPEN.
IN MY EXPERIENCE, THINGS LIKE THAT DON'T JUST POP UP.
THEY'RE A RESULT OF AN IN-DEPTH STAKEHOLDER PROCESS WHERE PEOPLE COME TO THE LEGISLATURE AND SAY, WE'VE ALL TALKED ABOUT IT.
SO IT MAY BE APPROPRIATE FOR YOU AND YOUR INFORMAL MEETINGS WITH OTHER PEOPLE, OTHER CITIES.
KIND OF LIKE PUT A LITTLE WATER ON THE PLANT AND HOPEFULLY IT'LL GROW, EVEN THOUGH THAT'S A SLOW PROCESS.
RIGHT? I MEAN, THAT'S A GREAT ANALOGY.
YOU KNOW, THE FOREST HEALTH IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S TANTAMOUNT TO THIS COMMUNITY.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN THINK ABOUT.
YOU KNOW, IN THE ABSTRACT, IT AFFECTS US DAILY.
I THINK OUR FORESTS ARE GETTING BETTER BECAUSE OF OUR TREATMENT EFFORTS.
YOU KNOW, BUT ESPECIALLY AFTER THE LAST SEASON, THE FOREST FIRES OF LAST SEASON AND ESPECIALLY AFTER THE FLOODING THAT WE SAW IN THIS COMMUNITY RESULTING FROM PREVIOUS FIRES.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S CERTAINLY SOME, TRACTION TO BE HAD.
AGAIN, FOREST HEALTH IS REALLY NOT A PARTISAN ISSUE, RIGHT? SO IT MIGHT BE ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT COULD SLIP THROUGH, BUT WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE.
TRANSPORTATION SIMILARLY, POTHOLES DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE A REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT.
YOU KNOW, SO, LOOKING AT THE ADOT AND THEIR TRANSPORTATION PLAN, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE NOTICED IN THE PAST SESSION THAT I WANT TO MENTION BRIEFLY IS.
WHEN I STARTED DOING THIS THE WAY YOU FUNDED TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS, IS YOU WENT TO THE TRANSPORTATION BOARD AND YOU SAID, OK, I WANT THIS PROJECT TO BE INCLUDED.
AND SO THE TRANSPORTATION BOARD WILL COME UP WITH A LIST, AND THEN AS YOUR PROJECT MOVED UP THE LIST, YOUR PROJECT WAS CLOSER TO BEING FUNDED.
WHAT WE'VE NOTICED IN THE PAST TWO SESSIONS, I'LL SAY.
AN INCREASE IN LEGISLATORS SAYING I'LL GIVE YOU MY VOTE FOR THE BUDGET IF YOU FUND THIS TRANSPORTATION PROJECT.
AND SO THAT TRANSPORTATION PROJECT JUMPS.
ANYTHING ELSE THAT'S IN ITS WAY AND THEY WILL FUND A SPECIFIC TRANSPORTATION PROJECT IN STATUTE.
FROM A PUBLIC POLICY PERSPECTIVE, IT'S NOT THE WAY YOU SHOULD BE FUNDING TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS, REALLY.
FROM A POLITICAL STANDPOINT, IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE BECAUSE IT'S A WAY TO PAY OFF FOR VOTES, TO SAY, OK, WE'LL FIND A ROAD IN YOUR DISTRICT AND YOU WILL VOTE FOR OUR BUDGET AND IT'LL WORK.
SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
IF YOU HAVE A WEAK LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION, YOU'RE PROBABLY LESS LIKELY TO SUCCEED IF YOU HAVE A STRONG.
I DON'T WANT TO SAY STRONG, IF YOU HAVE A LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION THAT'S WILLING TO HOLD UP THEIR VOTE ON THE BUDGET FOR THESE SPECIFIC ITEMS, THEN IT WORKS FOR THEM.
AND THEN WE HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON HERE AS WELL.
WE'VE NOTICED AT THE STATE LEVEL AN INCREASE IN THE CONVERSATION SURROUNDING HOMELESSNESS SURROUNDING THE ISSUE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR LOWER WAGE WORKERS.
WHILE YOU'RE SORRY TO HEAR THOSE DISCUSSIONS GOING ON, IT'S GIVES US HOPE THAT, OK, MAYBE THIS IS BECOMING MORE OF A SALIENT TOPIC AGAIN.
A RURAL BROADBAND, CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM DIVERSION PROGRAMS, I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND.
WALT BLACKMAN IS GOING TO BE THE CHAIR OF THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE IN THE HOUSE, AND SO HE WILL BE SEEING ALL OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE BILLS GO THROUGH HIS COMMITTEE.
AND SO HE HAS BEEN A STRONG ADVOCATE FOR SOME OF THESE REFORM AND DIVERSION PROGRAMS. HE'S PROBABLY BEEN ONE OF THE MORE ACTIVE AND VOCAL PROPONENTS FOR IT.
SO IT BODES WELL THAT MAYBE THIS YEAR IS SOMETHING THAT CAN GO THROUGH.
BUT THIS GOES BACK TO WILL DEMOCRATS VOTE FOR WALT BLACKMAN BILL? YOU KNOW, WE'RE WAITING TO SEE, BUT IN THE AIR WHERE THERE'S HYPER PARTISANSHIP WILL PEOPLE BE ABLE TO PUT THAT PARTISANSHIP ASIDE AND SAY, YEAH, BUT THIS IS REALLY A GOOD IDEA FOR IT, AND THIS WILL HELP A LOT OF PEOPLE AND YOU KNOW, WE CAN BE HOPEFUL ABOUT IT.
[01:30:01]
CORPORATION COMMISSION, WE STILL ARE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MONITORING THEM AS MUCH AS THEY CAN BE LOBBIED.WE'RE LOBBYING THEM AND PUSHING FOR 100 PERCENT CARBON FREE CLEAN ENERGY.
ELECTIONS, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.
I THINK IT IS SORT OF IT WORKS ITSELF PRETTY WELL.
I KNOW THAT HEIDI HANSEN HAS A VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THE STATE OFFICE OF TOURISM, AND SO WE CAPITALIZE ON THAT RELATIONSHIP AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
SO I AM HAPPY TO GO BACKWARDS AND WE CAN PUT UP PULL UP ANY OF THESE.
YOU ALL HAVE TALKED ABOUT, I DIDN'T REALLY TALK ABOUT THAT TOO MUCH.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT SOMEWHAT, ESPECIALLY IN THE PAST TWO YEARS.
IT REALLY HAS DRIVEN HOME THE NECESSITY FOR BROADBAND ACCESS TO RURAL ARIZONA.
AND I THINK PEOPLE SEE THAT AND THEY'RE STARTING TO HOPEFULLY PUT SOME MORE MONEY COMING OUR WAY, BOTH WITH THE ARPA FUNDS AND WITH THE STATE.
AND SO, MR. MAYOR, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS IF THERE ARE ANY.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY, OH, OK, THEN I WILL GO AHEAD.
A COUPLE OF THINGS AGAIN, I KNOW THE LANDSCAPE IS GOING TO BE TUMULTUOUS AND THIS MIGHT NOT BE IN THE REALM OF POSSIBILITIES, BUT WE REALLY NEED TO BE PUSHING FOR INCLUSIONARY ZONING INTO HOUSING AT OUR STATE LEVEL TO ALLOW US TO HAVE THAT AUTHORITY HERE LOCALLY TO REQUIRE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND NEW DEVELOPMENTS.
THE OTHER THING WOULD BE WE'RE KIND OF MOVING INTO SOME UNCHARTED TERRITORY REGARDING POTENTIALLY BONDING FOR CLIMATE ACTION AND ADAPTATION.
AND THERE ARE SOME RULES AND PROCEDURES THAT WITHIN AT THE STATE LEVEL THAT MAY CAUSE CERTAIN DIFFICULTIES IN US SEEING THAT THROUGH.
AND I JUST WANTED WE'RE STILL WORKING OUT WHAT THAT MIGHT BE, BUT I WANTED TO PUT IT ON THE RADAR THAT WE MAY BE IN A POSITION THAT WE REALLY NEED SOME LEGISLATION DOWN SOUTH TO LOOSEN RESTRICTIONS OR AT LEAST CLARIFY HOW AND STERLING, IF YOU WANTED TO POP IN, I SEE YOU LOOKING AT ME.
I DON'T WANT TO TREAD ON LEGAL TERRITORY.
SO I JUST WANT TO PUT THAT ON OUR RADAR, ESPECIALLY AS WE START MOVING FORWARD.
WE MAY HAVE SOME ROADBLOCKS AT THE STATE LEVEL.
THE THIRD THING I WANT TO MENTION THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY NEED TO GO INTO THESE STATE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES, BUT I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE CAP ON SPENDING FOR OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
IF USD IS GOING TO LOSE $12 MILLION DOLLARS COME THIS SPRING UNLESS THE STATE LEGISLATURE ALLOWS THE CAP TO EITHER BE REMOVED OR EXTENDED UNTIL AN INITIATIVE CAN GET ON THE BALLOT.
THIS IS DUE TO THE PROPOSITION FOR INCREASING TAXES ON OUR WEALTHIER INDIVIDUALS IN THE STATE TO FUND OUR EDUCATION PROGRAMS, WELL NOW THEY'RE RUNNING INTO AN EXPENDITURE CAP.
SO THINK ABOUT 15 SCHOOLS IN FUSD GETTING HIT BY $12 MILLION DOLLARS IS SUBSTANTIAL AND EFFECTS DRASTICALLY OUR COMMUNITY AND I WANT US TO BE PRESSING THAT AT THE STATE LEVEL SO THAT WHATEVER INTERVENTIONS CAN HAPPEN, THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
I MEAN, THAT'S A GREAT POINT FOR ME TO JUST SORT OF OUTLINE HOW I LIKE TO WORK, AS I WOULD IMAGINE SOMETHING LIKE THAT AS BEING DISCUSSED WITH THE SCHOOL BOARD SUPERINTENDENTS AND WITH THE SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONS.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DEFINITELY INJECT OURSELVES INTO THE PROCESS AND WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THE LEAD ON THAT.
BUT WHAT WE CAN DO IS STAND BEHIND THEM AND SAY, YEAH, WE SUPPORT THAT AS WELL, AND YOU SHOULD BE VOTING FOR WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, UTILIZING THEIR EXPERTISE AND THEN WE CAN JUST LEND OUR VOICE TO THEIR VOICE.
AND SO I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF JUST COALITION BUILDING THAT, OK, WELL, LET'S GO, YOU KNOW, MAKE OURSELVES PART OF THAT COALITION AND LET'S FOLLOW THEIR LEAD AND LET'S LEARN SOMETHING ALONG THE PROCESS.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SUPPORTING THEM AND AS THE CITY IN THOSE EFFORTS, SO.
WELL, AND THANK YOU FOR KEEPING YOUR PULSE ON THE STATE, SO TO SPEAK.
I'M GOING TO ASK YOU A QUESTION AND YOU MAY JUST SAY, WELL, I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO THAT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS ON THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS?
[01:35:01]
I ALWAYS HAVE THAT OPTION, MR. MCCARTHY.YOU KNOW, THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS IS THE POLITICAL PROCESS.
I DON'T WANT TO BE GLIB ABOUT IT.
AND 10 YEARS FROM NOW, IT'S GOING TO BE FLIP FLOPPED.
SO I'VE SEEN THIS IS THE THIRD REDISTRICTING COMMISSION I'VE SEEN.
I'VE NEVER MET ANYONE WHO'S HAPPY WITH HOW THE REDISTRICTING COMMISSION HAS OPERATED, EVER.
IT'S PROBABLY THE BEST PROCESS IN THE COUNTRY.
SO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE UPSET WITH IT, I'M SORRY, YOU'RE UPSET WITH IT.
I'M NOT SURE I BELIEVE THAT, BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENT.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY.
ANYONE ELSE, COUNCIL MEMBER SHIMONI? SURE, I'LL JUMP IN.
THANK YOU, TODD, AGAIN FOR YOUR CANDOR AND YOUR HONESTY AND COMMUNICATION THIS EVENING AND YOUR ADVOCACY FOR THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF.
[LAUGHTER] I JUST WANTED TO CIRCLE BACK TO HOUSING AND SAY THAT I'VE HEARD ABOUT SOMETHING AT THE STATE LEVEL, AND I'M SORRY I'M BEING VAGUE ABOUT THIS, AND IT'S JUST SIMPLY BECAUSE I DON'T REMEMBER THE DETAILS.
BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING IN REGARDS TO LIHTC FUNDING OF DEVELOPERS, LOW INCOME TAX CREDITS, AND IT WAS SOMETHING THAT THE STATE WAS CONSIDERING AGAIN.
AND I HEARD THIS FROM A LIHTC DEVELOPER WHO SAID, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ANYTHING, THE CITY CAN DO TO HELP THE STATE PROGRESS IN THAT LIHTC FUNDING THAT USED TO BE THERE FROM THE STATE.
AND I CAN GET YOU MORE DETAILS ABOUT THIS WHEN I FIND OUT I'LL REACH OUT TO THIS INDIVIDUAL.
BUT IF THE COUNCIL SUPPORTS THIS WITHIN THE HOUSING AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING CATEGORY, WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT IT'LL HELP A LOT OF LIHTC DEVELOPERS CONTINUE TO DO THEIR BUSINESS WITHIN THE STATE, INCLUDING FLAGSTAFF.
I THINK I ATTENDED A MEETING LAST SESSION ABOUT THIS, AND IT DIDN'T GO ANY PLACE, I'M HAPPY IF YOU SEND ME WHAT INFORMATION YOU HAVE, I'M HAPPY TO LOOK INTO IT AGAIN.
THIS GOES BACK TO THE SAME THING AS THE SCHOOL ISSUE, MR. MAYOR.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DEFINITELY GET INVOLVED IN AND WE SHOULD BE PART OF THE, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD BE PART OF THE COALITION.
AND IF IT'S MOVING FORWARD, WE CAN DO SO AGAIN.
BUT YEAH, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT INFORMATION.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S SOMETHING.
I MEAN, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT I WOULD GO FORWARD WITH AND THEN CALL SARAH AND SAY, HEY, MAKE SURE THE COUNCIL'S, YOU KNOW, AND WE WOULD BRIEF YOU ON IT AND MAKE SURE THAT THERE WERE AT LEAST FIVE OF YOU SAYING YES, MOVE FORWARD.
OK, THAT'S HELPFUL, AND THEN, MAYOR, THANKS FOR BRINGING UP, INCLUSIONARY ZONING, I HAVE NO IDEA HOW REALISTIC THIS IS AT THE STATE IN TERMS OF WORKING THROUGH THIS, BUT I THINK WE SHOULD BE AT LEAST TRYING TO OR PLANTING THE SEEDS TO SEE THAT COME TO FRUITION WITHIN OUR LIFETIMES.
[LAUGHTER] BUT I THINK THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF, I THINK, WOULD DEFINITELY GET BEHIND THAT ADVOCACY AND THAT THAT PRIORITY WITHIN HOUSING.
AND THEN MOVING ON FROM HOUSING VOTING RIGHTS, YOU KNOW, AS COUNCIL MEMBER ASLAN BROUGHT UP IN THE LAST TOPIC, I DEFINITELY SEE A LOT OF VALUE IN THAT TOPIC AT THE STATE LEVEL, I KNOW IT'S EXTREMELY PARTISAN AND I DON'T KNOW HOW, WELL WE CAN BE EFFECTIVE, BUT WHATEVER WE CAN DO, THAT MAKES SENSE, I SUPPORT.
AND, YOU KNOW, JUST SPEAKING ABOUT THE PARTISAN NATURE OF THE STATE RIGHT NOW MAKES ME THINK ABOUT WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY AND I SPOKE TO LAST WEEK AFTER THE MEETING AND IN MY COMMENT TO HIM, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT THE VALUE OF WHAT'S BEING SAID, NOT WHO'S SAYING IT AND THAT, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE SHOULD DO IN TERMS OF A STATE PRIORITY, ASKING OUR STATE LEGISLATORS TO RISE ABOVE THE FRAY AND THE POLITICS TO GET THE WORK DONE FOR OUR COMMUNITIES AND FOR OUR PEOPLE, MAYBE THAT SHOULD BE A PRIORITY TO REMIND THEM, HEY, YOU WORK FOR THE PEOPLE AND NOT JUST YOUR PARTY AND YOU REPRESENT ALL OF US.
I HAVE NO IDEA IF THAT WOULD CARRY OR HAVE ANY VALUE OR EVEN BACKFIRE.
BUT I JUST CAN'T STAND THE GAMES.
AND YOU KNOW, IF OUR REPRESENTATIVE WALT BLACKMAN IS BRINGING FORWARD GREAT BILLS AND LEGISLATURE AND EFFORTS THAT I 100 PERCENT SUPPORT AND I BELIEVE THIS COUNCIL AN THE CITY SUPPORTS, MAYBE WE NEED TO BE ENGAGING OUR LIKE THE DEMOCRATS AT THE STATE AND SAY, HEY FOLKS, YES, WALT, MAYBE A REGISTERED REPUBLICAN OR INDEPENDENT OR WHAT? WHAT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER? BUT WE SUPPORT WHAT HE'S ADVOCATING FOR.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? MR. MAYOR MR. SHIMONI.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S AN EXCELLENT IDEA.
I DON'T SEE ANY REASON WHY YOU WOULDN'T DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
HE HAS SOME VERY STRONG IDEAS NOW.
YOU KNOW, TO THE LEVEL THAT YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, WELCOMED AND ACCEPTED FOR THAT AND THAT YOU CAN PERSUADE PEOPLE YOU'VE GOT TO MAKE THE EFFORT, YOU KNOW, AND THEN AT LEAST YOU
[01:40:01]
CAN SLEEP AT NIGHT, YOU KNOW.I WANTED TO MENTION WITH THE ARIZONA THAT WHAT YOU MAY BE THINKING ABOUT IS THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING, AND THEY HAVE REDUCED THEIR PROCESS FOR FILING LIHTC FROM LIKE THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY PAGES TO NOW 30 PAGES.
SO YOU MAY BE THINKING MORE OF ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS RATHER THAN STATE LEGISLATIVE DECISIONS, BUT I COULD BE WRONG.
I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT AS WELL, TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON AND WHAT WE CAN DO.
IS THAT FOR A FOLLOW UP FOR YEAH.
AND THEN WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER SALAS AND THEN VICE MAYOR ONLINE.
I JUST WANT TO STRONGLY SUPPORT WHAT MR. SHIMONI SAID.
IF THERE'S A GOOD BILL OUT THERE, I DON'T CARE WHO INTRODUCED IT, I DON'T CARE IF HE'S A REPUBLICAN, A DEMOCRAT, A SOCIALIST.
IF IT'S A GOOD BILL, SUPPORT IT.
AND JUST AS A FOOTNOTE, I'M READING A BOOK RIGHT NOW CALLED THE SECOND CIVIL WAR, AND IT'S ABOUT THE VERY SUBJECT OF PARTISANSHIP HYPER PARTISANSHIP POLARIZATION.
THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY.
I BELIEVE THAT'S THE ESSENCE OF, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFYING OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES AT THE FEDERAL AND STATE LEVEL ONCE WE ADOPT THESE PRIORITIES.
WE SUPPORT LEGISLATION AND FUNDING THAT SUPPORT OUR PRIORITIES AND THEN OPPOSE THAT DO NOT SUPPORT OR NEGATE OUR PRIORITIES.
I DO WANT TO GIVE MR. MADEKSZA A GRATEFUL HEART.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ADVOCATING ON BEHALF OF THE CITY AT OUR STATE LEGISLATURE.
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW TOUGH IT IS TO WRESTLE WITH MANY POLITICAL ISSUES AND NEW ONES THAT YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH ON A DAILY BASIS, REPRESENTING FLAGSTAFF.
FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE WITH OUR PRIORITIES AND MAYBE FINE TUNE OR EVEN ADD BULLET POINTS ON SPECIFIC OR TARGET OBJECTIVES.
I DO WANT TO ADD A VOICE TO THE SAME AS THAT I FOCUS IN TERMS OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND I HEARD THIS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC SECURITY REPRESENTATIVES.
WHICH OVERSEE THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY ACT AND THE WORKFORCE BUDGET FOR THE STATE IS TO IN FACT, THE SPECIFIC AS TO LAUNCH, YOU KNOW JOB TRAINING SKILLS.
APPRENTICESHIP AND [INAUDIBLE] APPRENTICESHIP, SO WE COULD HAVE AN ITERATION OF A PRIORITY THAT WILL SUPPORT LEGISLATION AND FUNDING TO IMPROVE WORKFORCE SYSTEMS AND STRENGTHEN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO JOB TRAINING, INTERNSHIP, RESKILLING AND APPRENTICESHIP.
BECAUSE THERE IS A SURVEY THAT WAS DONE BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WORKFORCE BOARD.
I'M SAYING THIS WITH INFORMATION, BECAUSE I'M ON THE COCONINO COUNTY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD, SO I HAVE I'M VERY CLOSE TO THE ISSUE.
THERE WAS A SURVEY THAT, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR RESPONDENT OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARDS ACROSS THE NATION HAVE REDUCED FUNDING.
AND FUNDING DISPLACED YOUTH AND DISPLACED WORKERS AND YOUTH.
SO WHICH IS AND I ACTUALLY PUT SOME ON THE CHART JUST TO ENUMERATE THOSE OTHER SALIENT POINTS FROM THAT SURVEY, SO I BELIEVE WE HAVE TO ADD A VOICE AT A LOCAL LEVEL IN SUPPORT OF A STATEWIDE EFFORT AND IN IMPROVING OUR WELFARE SYSTEM AND STRENGTHENING OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FUND AND MAKE SURE OUR WORKFORCE BOARDS RECEIVE THE FUNDING, THE ALLOCATED FUNDING, AT LEAST THE FULL ALLOCATION.
[01:45:01]
THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER SALAS.WHY IS MY CAMERA OK, THERE WE GO.
I JUST WANT TO ECHO WHAT HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT LOCAL CONTROL, SPECIFICALLY AROUND AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND AROUND SHORT TERM RENTALS.
I KNOW THAT OUR STAFF TALKS WITH STAFF AND OTHER COMMUNITIES REALLY FREQUENTLY AND I KNOW THAT OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE VOICING CONCERN ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO REGULATE SHORT TERM RENTALS AND ALSO JUST NOT HAVING ALL THE TOOLS THAT WE NEED IN OUR TOOLBOX IN ORDER TO CREATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR OUR VARIOUS COMMUNITIES.
AND SO I THINK THAT THERE'S ROOM TO START CREATING THOSE OR STRENGTHENING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH REAL INTENTION AND THAT INTENTION BEING GETTING SOME LEGISLATION INTRODUCED THAT WOULD GIVE LOCAL COMMUNITIES MORE CONTROL OVER THINGS LIKE HOUSING.
AND I THINK THAT THE LANDSCAPE HAS CHANGED A LITTLE IN TERMS OF COMMUNITIES ARE RECOGNIZING THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROBLEMS THAT THEY HAVE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
AND SO MAYBE THE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN HAVE THE REALTORS AND JOIN IN WITH US AND GET SOME LEGISLATION INTO MAYBE WE DON'T EVEN WANT TO USE ALL THE TOOLS, BUT JUST ALLOWING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY THEM WHERE THEY WOULD BE HELPFUL AND INCLUSIONARY ZONING IS ONE OF THOSE.
ANYWAY, I THINK THAT WE COULD AND WITH YOUR HELP WORK TO STRENGTHEN AND BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER COMMUNITIES AND ALSO HAVE THEM LOBBY THEIR REPRESENTATIVES TO GET SOME CHANGE DOWN THERE THAT WOULD MAKE IT MORE POSSIBLE FOR US TO CREATE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT WE DESPERATELY NEED.
YEAH, JUST REALLY QUICK, I WANTED TO ALSO JUST PUT MY SUPPORT BEHIND WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER SALAS TALKED ABOUT AND JUST SAY THAT I FULLY AGREE WITH WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER SALAS IS ADVOCATING FOR AND APPRECIATE THE ADVOCACY.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER SHIMONI.
ONCE AGAIN, I'LL TRY TO KEEP THIS BRIEF.
I JUST WANT TO THROW MY SUPPORT BEHIND MOST OF THE THINGS I'VE HEARD THIS EVENING, AND I WANTED TO GIVE A PARTICULAR SHOUT OUT, TODD, TO YOUR MENTION OF THE ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSION.
THANK YOU FOR KEEPING AN EYE OUT ON THEM AND FOR MAINTAINING THOSE LINES OF COMMUNICATION.
I HOPE WE CAN ACTIVATE WHENEVER WE NEED TO WITH SOME STRONG RELATIONSHIPS THERE, AND LET'S CONTINUE BUILDING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CORPORATION COMMISSION MEMBERS AND OUR OWN COUNCIL.
AND I JUST WANTED TO ADD ONE LAST THING AGAIN.
AGAIN, THIS WAS MENTIONED IN THE PACKET.
SUPPORTING STATE FUNDING AND INITIATIVES AROUND DARK SKIES, THIS ALSO INCLUDES OPPOSING MEASURES THAT WOULD ENDANGER OUR DARK SKIES, INCLUDING LIGHTED BILLBOARDS ON OUR HIGHWAYS AND ROADS, AND OTHER MEASURES THAT MIGHT DEGRADE THE CRITICAL MISSION OF THE NAVAL OBSERVATORY UP HERE AND OUR OWN SPECIAL INTERESTS IN HAVING DARK SKIES FOR TOURISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PURPOSES.
SO WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO BOOST MEASURES THAT WILL PROTECT DARK SKIES AND OPPOSE MEASURES THAT WOULD WEAKEN OUR DARK SKIES, I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN.
I LIKE HOW YOU APPROACHED BEING IN A SUPPORTIVE ROLE FOR FUNDING WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
I DO LIKE TO TREAD VERY LIGHTLY ON THAT.
THAT IS A DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONAL BEAST, AND OUR OWN LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON THE FUNDING THAT WE NEED TO OPERATE AS A CITY AND TO ACHIEVE OUR GOALS.
BUT OF COURSE, WHAT ARE WE DOING ANYTHING FOR IF WE ARE NOT SUPPORTIVE OF WELL-FUNDED PUBLIC EDUCATION? SO I JUST APPRECIATE THE NUANCED APPROACH TO THAT.
[01:50:06]
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER ASLAN.
WITH THAT, I'M NOT SEEING ANYTHING FURTHER IN THE CHAT AND HERE, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, TODD AND SARAH, FOR ALL YOUR WORK ON THIS.
[LAUGHTER] SO WITH THAT, THOUGH, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A BIT OF A BREAK.
LET'S LET'S HAVE A DECENT BREAK, 20 MINUTES, SO WE'LL BE BACK HERE AT 5:17.
HERE WE ARE DOWN TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.
[7. Southside Character Overlay Zone - Citizen Petition Discuss and provide direction to staff on a Citizen Petition to create a character overlay zone for a portion of the Southside Neighborhood.]
THIS IS THE SOUTH SIDE CHARACTER OVERLAY ZONE FROM THE CITIZEN'S PETITION.MR. SYMER, MAYOR MEMBERS OF COUNCIL DAN SYMER, ZONING CODE MANAGER FOR THE CITY FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER WEEK.
THE CASE BEFORE YOU TODAY IS REGARDING A CITIZEN PETITION THAT WAS SUBMITTED BACK IN SEPTEMBER 28TH OF 2011.
IN OCTOBER, Y'ALL LOOKED AT THAT AND ASKED FOR A WORK SESSION ON THIS ITEM AND I HAVE WITH ME TODAY MARK RIVAS, WHO'S OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNER AND OUR HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER.
AT THAT MEETING, THE COUNCIL HAD A HANDFUL OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW THIS RELATES TO THE SOUTH SIDE COMMUNITY PLAN AND HOW IT WOULD FURTHER PROMOTE THOSE GOALS.
HOW A CHARACTER OVERLAY CAN BE INCORPORATED AND HOW THE PROVISIONS OF THE OVERLAY WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED.
THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT IS NOT JUST APPLICABLE TO THIS APPLICATION, BUT TO MANY CHARACTER OVERLAYS AND WHAT'S IN YOUR PACKET IS A LOT OF GENERAL INFORMATION, TOO.
SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU HAD A GAMUT OF INFORMATION TO BE PREPARED FOR THIS.
SO BEFORE I HAND IT OFF TO MARK THE LOCATION WE'RE SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT IS GENERALLY LOCATED EAST OF SAN FRANCISCO AVENUE.
IN THE GREEN THICK LINE, AND WE'RE REFERRING TO THIS AREA VERY GENERALLY AS THE WC RILES AREA, SO IT WAS AN EASY WAY TO PICK A NAME SO THAT WE'RE SEPARATING THE AREAS OUT OF THE DOWNTOWN AND IT'S NORTH OF BUTLER.
SO IN THAT KIND OF GENERAL LOCATION IS THE AREA WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
THERE ARE OTHER AREAS THAT A HISTORIC OVERLAY COULD BE APPLIED, BUT THIS PETITION IS SPECIFIC TO THAT AREA.
AND I'LL HAND IT OFF TO MARK FOR HIS PART OF THE PRESENTATION.
I'M MARK REAVIS, HERITAGE PRESERVATION OFFICER AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNER.
THAT'S SOMETHING I WANT MORE PEOPLE TO COME TO ME REGARDING NEIGHBORHOOD ISSUES ALONG THE WAY.
SO THE REQUEST FROM IT CAME FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
THEY CAME AND CALLED ME UP AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD GOT TOGETHER.
IT WAS VERY MUCH A GRASSROOTS EFFORT TO APPROACH ME AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE CONCERNED ABOUT PRESSURES THAT WERE COMING THEIR WAY AND THEY WANT TO PROTECT THEIR RESIDENTIAL QUALITY.
I HELD MULTIPLE MEETINGS IN THE SOUTH SIDE WITHIN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.
I ALWAYS MADE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT IT WAS COMING FROM THEM WHAT THEY WERE ASKING FOR.
OF COURSE, IT'S A HISTORIC AREA IN THE SOUTH SIDE PLAN, IT WAS CALLED OUT AS A PRESERVATION FOCUS AREA.
IT'S ALSO TARGETED IN THE SOUTH SIDE PLAN IS THAT VERY RESIDENTIAL AREA? THEY CONSIDER IT THEY'RE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
IT DOES HAVE A HIGHER DENSITY JUST BY BEING IN A HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD.
THEY DID WRITE A LETTER AS WELL THAT I THINK YOU RECEIVED, WHICH ALSO TALKED ABOUT THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT IT WAS GOING TO GROW.
THEY ALSO UNDERSTOOD THAT THEY HAD A DESIRE FOR HIGHER DENSITY WHEN NEED BE SO ADU'S OR ADDING ON TO THEIR HOMES THAT THEY HAVE THERE.
SO THE NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZED THEMSELVES.
WE HAD THOSE MULTIPLE MEETINGS.
I LISTENED A LOT AND THEY FINALLY CAME TO THIS DIRECTION AND KNOWING THAT THEY HAD TO WRITE A LETTER AND ALSO TO DO A PETITION.
SO IT IS DEFINITELY CONSISTENT WITH THE SOUTH SIDE PLAN, THE ADOPTED PLAN.
THERE'S ACTUALLY THREE NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION FOCUS AREAS THAT ARE VERY MUCH RESIDENTIAL AND THAT'S IN THE SOUTH SIDE PLAN AS WELL.
CERTAINLY A SOUTH SIDE, THEY WERE AWARE OF THE SOUTH SIDE PLAN.
THEY WERE ALSO AWARE OF WE RECENTLY JUST FINISHED UPDATING THE HISTORIC INVENTORY FOR THE SOUTH SIDE PLAN.
SO THEY ARE AWARE OF WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE.
SO THE OVERLAY IS GUIDED BY THE REGIONAL PLAN.
IT'S ALSO GUIDED BY THE SOUTH SIDE COMMUNITY PLAN AND CHAPTER THREE GOALS AND
[01:55:05]
POLICIES.SO SOUTHSIDE COMMUNITY SHALL PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ENHANCE AND EMBRACE OUR HERITAGE THROUGH CULTURAL STEWARDSHIP, RETAINING THE UNIQUE CHARACTER AND CULTURAL FABRIC AND FLAVOR OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND OF COURSE, WE KNOW SOUTH SIDE ETHNIC NEIGHBORHOOD STORY.
THE INVENTORY UPDATE BUMPED INTO THE SIXTIES AND THE WHOLE STORY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IS ALSO GOING TO BE INCLUDED.
SO PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT DOING THE INVENTORY UPDATE THAT I HAVE TO GO IN FRONT OF THE STATE AND HAVE THAT INVENTORY UPDATED.
WE GOT A LOT OF POLICIES HERE.
BUT BE ASSURED THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE REGIONAL PLAN AND THOSE POLICIES THAT ARE FULLY INCORPORATED INTO THE REGIONAL PLAN AND MEETING THOSE GOALS AND POLICIES.
AND THEN THE SOUTH SIDE COMMUNITY PLAN.
PROTECT THE HISTORIC CHARACTER OF THE SOUTH SIDE, A UNIQUE COMMUNITY IN FLAGSTAFF.
PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY OF THOSE STRUCTURES.
PROTECT AND PROMOTE ADAPTIVE REUSE OF LANDMARKS.
IT WAS NOTED IN THEIR LETTER AS WELL, THE MOST SUSTAINABLE PIECE OF ARCHITECTURE IS ONE THAT ALREADY EXISTS.
SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SAVING RESOURCES, CERTAINLY REUSING AND ADAPTIVELY REUSING BUILDINGS IS IMPORTANT.
ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES HISTORIC BUILDINGS CAN BE COMPATIBLE WITH NEW CONSTRUCTION AND ENCOURAGE PRESERVATION AND REHABILITATION OF STRUCTURES, AND THEY AGAIN ARE SMALL HOUSES.
I'VE HEARD IT AGAIN AND AGAIN.
THE RESIDENTS THAT CAME TO ME, THEY GO, THAT IS OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THEY TAKE CARE OF IT.
THE AREA THAT'S CALLED OUT IS A RESIDENTIAL CORE AND AS A HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOCUS AREA.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS MAP, YOU'LL SEE THE ONE IN THE UPPER RIGHT, WHICH WOULD BE THE NORTHEAST CORNER IS ONE PRESERVATION FOCUS AREA, ONE BELOW BUTLER IS ANOTHER AREA AND THEN ONE OVER TOWARD MIKES PIKE IS ANOTHER ONE.
HERITAGE PRESERVATION IN THIS CASE, BECAUSE WE'RE CALLING IT PRESERVATION AND CHARACTER OVERLAY, IT ACCOMMODATES GROWTH AND CHANGE.
AND AGAIN, THE RESIDENTS MADE THAT CLEAR IN THEIR LETTER.
SO APPROXIMATELY 70 PERCENT OF THE LOTS IN THE AREA CONTAIN HISTORIC STRUCTURES, AND MANY OTHERS COULD POSSIBLY BE ADAPTED AND CHANGED TO AGAIN PROMOTE THAT HISTORIC CHARACTER THAT THEY WERE CONCERNED ABOUT.
WHY NOW, CONCERNS OF ENCROACHING DEVELOPMENT AND LOSS OF NEIGHBORLY QUALITY.
THEY MADE A POINT, YOU KNOW, A CHILD ABLE TO RIDE A BIKE THROUGH THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
CONCERNS OF LOSS OF DIVERSITY IN AGE AND ETHNICITY.
CONCERNS, A LOSS OF HISTORIC CHARACTER.
KNOWING YOUR NEIGHBOR WALKABLE SAFE, THAT IS DEFINITELY THE CASE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD AND CONCERN OF INCREASED UNSAFE STREET TRAFFIC.
THAT'S RIDING YOUR BICYCLE AND HAVING A FAMILY.
SO THERE'S A PRETTY INCREDIBLE MIX OF YOUNG AND OLD THAT ARE CONCERNED ABOUT PRESERVING THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
THE NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT WILL TAKE PLACE THERE.
THAT'S SAYING THAT THERE WILL BE DEMOLITIONS, THERE WILL BE CHANGES, THERE WILL BE ADDITIONS.
IT SHOULD REFLECT THE VALUES AND CONCERNS OF THE EXISTING COMMUNITY USING AN OVERLAY WITH SIMPLE DESIGN STANDARDS, GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA THAT ALLOW AN ENHANCED NEW DEVELOPMENT AND RESPECT THE EXISTING STRUCTURES.
IT'S CERTAINLY ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE.
REUSING STRUCTURES OF SMALL LOTS AGAIN ARE PROBABLY HIGHER DENSITY THAN YOU WOULD IMAGINE IN OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS.
THERE'S A LARGE VARIETY OF HOMES THAT WERE BUILT VERY SIMPLE, VERNACULAR TYPE ARCHITECTURE.
IT'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THE FAMILIES THAT LIVE THERE, AND CERTAINLY WE TALKED ABOUT TOURISM AND THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT AND CERTAINLY OUR ETHNIC HISTORY IS IMPORTANT IN THE AREA.
SO TO MAKE THIS OVERLAY PROPOSAL GO FORWARD, THERE IS PROCESS AND EACH OF THE HISTORICAL OVERLAYS OR CHARACTER OVERLAYS DO REQUIRE A ZONING CODE TEXT AMENDMENT TO CREATE THE ZONE IN THE ZONING CODE.
AND THEN IT'S FOLLOWED UP WITH A SUPPLEMENTAL ZONING MAP AMENDMENT TO REZONE THAT
[02:00:01]
PORTION OF THE SOUTH SIDE AS BEING PROPOSED WITH THE OVERLAY.AND AS PART OF THAT PROCESS, MARK TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS AND DESIGN STANDARDS THAT WOULD BE USED.
THERE IS A REQUIREMENT TO ADOPT THOSE STANDARDS AS PART OF AN ORDINANCE THAT WOULD COME ALONG WITH THAT.
SO WHEN IT COMES TO INITIATING A ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT AND A MAP, WHEN IT PERTAINS TO THIS TYPE OF AN OVERLAY.
ANY PROPERTY OWNER THAT OWNS LAND IN THE AREA WHERE IT'S GOING TO BE APPLIED CAN APPLY FOR THAT ZONE.
IT CAN ALSO BE INITIATED BY THE PLANNING DIRECTOR AT THE CITY COUNCIL'S DIRECTION OR BY THE PLANNING DIRECTOR AT THE DIRECTION OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION WHEN THEY INITIATE.
THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION, WOULD HAVE TO INITIATE THEM THE ZONING CODE TEXT AMENDMENT AND THE MAP AT THE SAME TIME, WHEREAS THE COUNCIL CAN INITIATE ONE SEPARATELY, BUT IT'S UNCOMMON TO DO THEM SEPARATELY SO THEY CAN BE INITIATED.
ONE OF THE BIG THINGS ABOUT THE MAP PART OF IT, THOUGH, IS REGARDLESS OF WHO INITIATES IT, IT DOES REQUIRE AT LEAST 51 PERCENT OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE BOUNDARY OF THE OVERLAY TO BE IN SUPPORT, SO THEY WOULD HAVE TO SUBMIT A SEPARATE PETITION TO HAVE THOSE AND OF COURSE WE WOULD VERIFY THOSE SIGNATURES, THE PETITION THAT WAS SUBMITTED TO START, THIS PROCESS HAD 15 SIGNATURES, WHICH REPRESENTED A VERY SMALL AMOUNT OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS, BUT THEY HAVE ALL BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH MARK, NOT ALL OF THEM A GOOD MAJORITY.
I'VE BEEN TALKING, ALTHOUGH ONCE THAT MAP AMENDMENT STARTS REALLY GRAVITATING TEETH AND THE COUNCIL WANTS TO MAKE A DECISION ON IT, WE WOULD NEED THOSE FIFTY ONE PERCENT OF THOSE PROPERTY OWNERS TO PROCEED.
WHEN IT COMES TO OUR WORK PROGRAM, AT LEAST FOR THIS YEAR AND NEXT YEAR, WE'LL BE BACK AGAIN TO ADDRESS THIS.
IT IS PART OF THE SOUTH SIDE SPECIFIC PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.
IN YOUR PACKET, I DID GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE WITH ALL THE OTHER AMENDMENTS.
AND LAST WEEK YOU INITIATED A CONTRACT AGREEMENT TO START THE PLAZA VIEJAS CHARACTER PLAN.
TRANSECTS WILL ALSO BE A CONTRACT, AND WE HAVE BEEN TALKING STAFF HAS BEEN TALKING WITH ON THE RESOURCE PROTECTION KIND OF OVERLAY STUFF.
BUT THE SOUTH SIDE SPECIFIC PLAN IMPLEMENTATION IS A MANTRA OF AMENDMENTS.
IT'S NOT JUST ONE AMENDMENT, IT HAS MANY AMENDMENTS AND THIS IS JUST ONE OF THOSE.
AND A LIST OF SOUTH SIDE IMPLEMENTATION TASKS.
SO THAT'S WHERE IT WOULD FIT IN THE WORK PROGRAM.
AND SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO CONSIDER IS IF WHETHER THE COUNCIL WOULD LIKE TO INITIATE AND TO CREATE THE OVERLAY.
BUT ALSO TO MOVE IT UP AS PART OF THE WORK PROGRAM, WE'RE CURRENTLY HAVE DONE AN RFQ.
[INAUDIBLE] REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS, AND WE HAVE SELECTED A CONSULTANT FOR THE SOUTH SIDE AND WE HAVE STARTED THE NEGOTIATIONS ON THEM ON THIS, AND THEY ARE AWARE OF IT AND THEY ARE THE ONES WHO GAVE US THE COST ESTIMATE THAT'S IN YOUR PACKET.
SO IT'S JUST A MATTER OF DO WE MOVE IT UP IN THAT WORKLOAD AS PART OF IT? DO IT ONE OF THE FIRST AMENDMENTS OR NOT? BUT IT WILL BE EVENTUALLY, IF NOT SO.
AND NOW THAT I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE FOR MARK OR I.
THANK YOU, AND DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC PARTICIPANTS ON THIS? OK, JUST WANTED TO CHECK.
SO IS THERE ANYTHING IN THIS CHARACTER OVERLAY THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR THAT IS FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT OR COULD WOULD NOT ACTUALLY FIT WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE SOUTH SIDE COMMUNITY PLAN IMPLEMENTATION? I DON'T BELIEVE SO, BUT I WOULD REFER THAT TO MARK.
IT CERTAINLY FITS IN WITH THE SOUTH SIDE PLAN AND THE INPUT THAT WAS GIVEN ON THE VALUES THAT THEY HAVE THERE.
IT DOES IT VERY WELL WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A CHARACTER OVERLAY IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION.
I DID SHOW THEM THE GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS FOR TOWN SITE.
I THINK IT'S PRINCIPALLY DIFFERENT AND I COULD SEE THE MINDSET TALKING TO THEM THAT IT'S MORE ABOUT ADAPTING, PRESERVING THEIR QUALITIES OF THEIR STREET FRONTAGE, THOSE TYPE OF THINGS.
SO WHEN SOMEBODY SAYS, YOU KNOW, TOWN SITE'S, THIS TYPE OF OVERLAY, I THINK THIS IS PRINCIPALLY GOING TO BE DIFFERENT AND I HAVE WRITTEN THAT DOWN.
[02:05:02]
I HAVE DISCUSSED IT WITH THEM.I THINK THEY HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THEY'LL BE ASKING FOR DESIGN STANDARDS AND THAT IT'LL BE CLEAR AND CONCISE AND NOT OVERLY COMPLICATED.
I HAVE A LOT OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THAT, PARTICULARLY THINKING ABOUT SOME OF THE WAYS I WOULD CHANGE THE REVIEWS.
SO THEY'RE CLEAR AND THEY'RE BASED UPON 10 STANDARDS, GUIDELINES AND SIMPLE TO UNDERSTAND IN A VERY ORGANIZED WAY.
CERTAINLY HAVING THE CONSULTANTS ON BOARD TO PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION GRAPHICS AND UNDERSTANDING HOW IT WOULD INTEGRATE WITH SOUTH SIDE PLAN AND WITH OUR ORDINANCES THAT EXIST, THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME AS WELL.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS.
NORMALLY I HAVE TWO COMPUTERS SO I CAN LOOK OVER THE AGENDA AT THE SAME TIME AS THE MONITORING ON THERE, BUT BUMPING BACK AND FORTH.
COUNCIL ANY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW OR COMMENTS.
YEAH, I AM CURIOUS TO FIND OUT IF WE RECEIVE ANY FEEDBACK FROM THE SOUTH SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION.
MARK WILL BE ABLE TO ANSWER THAT, BUT I DO BELIEVE THEY WERE PART OF THOSE MEETINGS.
[INAUDIBLE] COUNCILWOMAN, THEY HAVE DEFINITELY IN THEIR LETTER AND THEY HAVE BEEN TO THEIR MEETINGS AND THE SOUTH SIDE ASSOCIATION DOES ENDORSE THIS OVERLAY.
SO I'M TRYING TO SORT OUT IN MY MIND WHAT THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS WOULD BE.
WOULD IT BE THAT THERE COULD BE NO SIGNIFICANT NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THERE OR THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THERE COULDN'T BE ANY TWO STORIES OR THERE WOULD BE ARCHITECTURAL CONTROLS? OR WHAT WERE THE IN PRACTICAL TERMS, WHAT WOULD BE THE EFFECT IF WE ENDED UP APPROVING THIS DESIGNATION? AGAIN, THAT MR. MAYOR COUNCILMAN MCCARTHY.
I THINK THE DIRECTION THAT IT'S GOING, THAT I GOT FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY WAS PRESERVING THE ONE AND ONE AND A HALF STORY OF STRUCTURES FOR A CERTAIN DEPTH THAT LOOK AND FEEL OF THAT WHILE ALLOWING A LOT OF THE PEOPLE ARE GOING AND THERE ARE EXAMPLES DOWN THERE WHERE THEY'VE ACTUALLY INCREASED THE HEIGHT TOWARD THE BACK OF THE LOT.
THAT'D BE LIKE A PRINCIPAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TOWN SITE.
TOWN SITE HAS A PRIMARY STRUCTURE AND THEN SMALLER SECONDARY STRUCTURES IN THE BACK.
SO I THINK THERE'S A DESIRE TO HAVE THAT ABILITY TO FILL UP THOSE LOTS THAT ARE THERE.
CERTAINLY, THE HERITAGE PRESERVATION ORDINANCE ALLOWS FOR DEMOLITIONS AND THAT PROCESS AND DEVELOPMENT, AND I THINK THEY'RE FULLY AWARE OF THAT AND THEY KNOW THAT THAT WILL TAKE PLACE.
BUT PRESERVING THAT QUALITY IS IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE THERE.
CERTAINLY, THOSE FOCUS AREAS ARE LIMITED AND WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE PLAN.
THERE'S LOTS OF ADDITIONAL AREA WHERE NEW DEVELOPMENT COULD TAKE PLACE AND HIGHER DENSITIES AND AGAIN, THE SOUTH SIDE PLAN CALLED FOR THAT IN CERTAIN AREAS, SO IN THAT OVERALL SCOPE OF THINGS, PRESERVING RESIDENTIAL QUALITIES, ACCOMMODATING LARGER DEVELOPMENTS IN CERTAIN AREAS, I THINK THAT WAS CLEARLY CALLED OUT IN THE SOUTH SIDE PLAN.
SO IT'S A LARGE AREA WITH LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES TO PROVIDE ALL SORTS OF HOUSING AS WELL AS COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT.
SO UNFAMILIAR WITH THIS AREA AND THERE'S SOME HOUSES THERE THAT HAVE UNIQUE CHARACTER.
THEY'RE VERY INTERESTING AND I CAN SEE WHY PEOPLE WOULD WANT TO PRESERVE THEM.
BUT IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, THERE'S ALSO SOME APARTMENT DWELLINGS WHICH HAVE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STYLE, SHALL WE SAY.
AND I PRESUME THOSE WOULD ALL BE GRANDFATHERED IN.
BUT TO BUILD NEW STRUCTURES SIMILAR TO THOSE WOULD PROBABLY BE OUT OF THE QUESTION IF THIS PASSED, IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY.
MR. MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY, I DON'T THINK IT'S OUT OF THE QUESTION.
AGAIN WE'RE AT A VERY BEGINNING STAGE OF THAT AND HOW THOSE GUIDELINES ARE WRITTEN.
THERE'S NO INTENT TO LIMIT DEVELOPMENT IN THAT AREA.
IT'S ESTABLISHING A CHARACTER AND HOW THAT'S DONE.
SO THAT'S PUBLIC INPUT FROM A DEVELOPER STANDPOINT, FROM RESIDENTIAL STANDPOINT ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
SO AGAIN, IT'S A LIMITED SMALLER AREA OF AN OVERLAY VERSUS THE ENTIRE SOUTH
[02:10:02]
SIDE.AN MY LAST QUESTION IS, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN ANSWER THAT IN THIS FORUM.
BUT IT WOULD SEEM TO ME THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO BE PUTTING RESTRICTIONS ON THESE PROPERTIES, THAT THERE COULD BE TAKING THIS IMPLICATIONS.
AND I SEE THAT THE CITY ATTORNEY IS STARING AT ME.
SO THAT'S A QUESTION FOR E-SESSION, I PRESUME.
BUT I WILL JUST SAY THAT IT'S A CONCERN OF MINE.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY.
I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THESE QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER.
ARE THESE BOTH JUST A MATTER OF TIMING? ONE MEANING DO WE WANT TO INITIATE NOW AND CREATE THIS OVERLAY? OR DO WE WANT TO HAVE IT KIND OF FOLDED IN WITH THE COMMUNITY PLAN IMPLEMENTATIONS? MAYOR MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL.
VICE MAYOR DAGGETT THE QUESTIONS ARE TWO PART.
YOU WOULD NOT BE INITIATING IT NOW WE WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK AND DO A FORMAL INITIATION OR GET DIRECTION FOR THAT.
YOU CAN PROVIDE DIRECTION AN THE PLANNING DIRECTOR COULD INITIATE.
AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW.
IT WOULD BE PART OF THE SOUTH SIDE COMMUNITY PLAN.
IT'S JUST A MATTER OF DO WE MOVE IT FORWARD ABOVE OTHER PARTS OF THE PLAN THAT WE HAVE TO WORK ON BECAUSE IT HAS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT ALREADY.
WHEREAS MUCH, OF THE OTHER PART IMPLEMENTATION TASKS OF THE SOUTH SIDE PLAN STILL NEED TO GO THROUGH THAT WE STILL HAVE THE PLANS SUPPORT, BUT THE ACTUAL ZONING PART NEEDS TO GO THROUGH THAT SUPPORT OF EFFORT.
SO THIS COULD BE LOOKED AT AS A EASY CHECK TO GET COMPLETED NOW TO SHOW THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SOUTH SIDE PLAN.
SO BY MOVING IT FORWARD SOONER, IT SHOWS THAT OUR COMMITMENT THAT WE KEEP GOING OR DO WE DELAY IT TO BE PART OF A LARGER GROUP OF AMENDMENTS? SO.
OTHERS WOULD LIKE TO CHIME IN.
THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH, DAN AND MARK FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, YOUR WORK ON THIS SO FAR AND OBVIOUSLY APPRECIATION TO THE COMMUNITY FOR THEIR EFFORTS AND BRINGING THIS TO US.
THIS IS TOUGH BECAUSE ON THE ONE HAND, I HAVE MY VALUES OF SUSTAINABILITY AND INFILL AND REDUCING VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED.
AND SO WHERE IS THERE A BETTER LOCATION FOR INFILL THAN THE HEART OF THE CITY? BUT THEN, ON THE OTHER HAND, I APPRECIATE THE DESIRES AND THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT LIVE IN THIS AREA, ASKING FOR THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD TO MAINTAIN ITS CHARACTER AND THEIR CORE VALUES.
AND SO COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY, I APPRECIATE YOUR LINE OF THOUGHT AND YOUR QUESTIONING, BUT I THINK ULTIMATELY I SIDE WITH THE NEIGHBORS HERE JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES LIVING THERE AND THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD HAS BEEN SO BEATEN UP AT TIMES THROUGHOUT HISTORY AND SO I THINK WE SHOULD DEFINITELY SUPPORT THEM.
IT'S IN THE SOUTH SIDE A PLAN LIKE YOU'VE MENTIONED A FEW TIMES.
BUT I CAN'T HELP BUT THINK ABOUT THE SUSTAINABILITY, YOU KNOW, COMPONENT OF MY OWN VALUES THAT ARE JUST KIND OF, YOU KNOW, BATTLING INTERNALLY.
AND I JUST WANTED TO AIR THAT HERE.
I DON'T REALLY HAVE MANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
I'M HAPPY TO SEE THIS PROGRESS.
AND DAN, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
I'VE REALLY ENJOYED WORKING WITH YOU.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR FUTURE LOOKS LIKE.
AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET INTO THAT.
BUT I JUST WANT TO SAY IT'S REALLY BEEN AN HONOR TO WORK WITH YOU, AND I SO APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE TO THE CITY FOR HOWEVER MUCH LONGER THAT MIGHT BE.
I DO HAVE ONE ONE QUESTION, ACTUALLY REGARDING THE 51 PERCENT OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS.
SO IF, FOR EXAMPLE, SOMEBODY OWNS SIX LOTS IS THE FIFTY ONE PERCENT OF EACH INDIVIDUAL OWNER OR EACH INDIVIDUAL OWNER, LOT.
IT'S EACH LOT SO IF ONE PERSON OWNS SIX.
[02:15:02]
THAT'S SIX VOTE, ONE VOTE PER LOT.OK, YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I FIGURED, I JUST WANTED A LITTLE CLARIFICATION, SO I UNDERSTAND.
WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PROCEED IF WE DO NOT HAVE THAT, IN OTHER WORDS, WE CAN DO ALL THE WORK, WE CAN GET THERE.
BUT IF WE CANNOT BRING IT TO YOU FOR A VOTE OR DECISION WITHOUT THAT? SO, THAT'S KIND OF IT HELPS WITH THAT ASSURANCE THAT THE COMMUNITY IS IN SUPPORT.
AND THAT WOULD BE PROBABLY BETTER TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION BEFORE YOU REALLY DELVE INTO IT AND USE A LOT OF STAFF TIME IS WHAT I'M GATHERING.
COUNCILMAN, I JUST WANTED TO RESPOND TO COMMISSIONER SHIMONI'S ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY.
ONE OF MY ABSOLUTE HEROES, WHICH I GET TO MEET AT THE PRESERVATION CONFERENCE RECENTLY IS DONOVAN RYPKEMA.
AND HE DOES THE ECONOMICS OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY.
AND HE IS REALLY SOMEBODY TO FOLLOW TO JUSTIFY WHY INTACT NEIGHBORHOODS ARE AS EFFICIENT AND AS SUSTAINABLE AS THEY ARE.
SO I RECOMMEND LOOKING UP DONOVAN.
DONOVAN, IT'S A STRANGE NAME, BUT DONOVAN RYPKEMA IS HIS NAME, AND HE'S DONE STUDIES ALL THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS AND THOSE CLASSICAL SUGGESTIONS OF WHY PRESERVATION DOESN'T WORK.
HE DOES COUNTER THOSE WITH VERY HARD ECONOMIC FACTS, SO I RECOMMEND LOOKING INTO THAT.
SO I SEE ON THE MAP THIS LITTLE AREA IN GREEN THAT WE CALL THE WC RILES AREA, BUT I SEE THAT THE MAP HAS GOT ALL KINDS OF OTHER COLORS, REDS AND ORANGES AND BLUES AND TURQUOISE.
DO WE ANTICIPATE THAT ALL OF THOSE AREAS WILL EVENTUALLY BE WANTING TO DO ESSENTIALLY THE SAME THING? YES AND NO.
WHAT THE SOUTH SIDE COMMUNITY PLAN, STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES OR IMPLEMENTATION POLICIES THAT YOU ALL ADOPTED SAY IS TO REPLACE THE TRANSECT AND NON TRANSECT ZONING WITH A NEW ZONE.
THAT IMPLEMENTS THESE SPECIFIC AREAS.
AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, YOU HAVE THE ADDITIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ELEMENTS THAT WILL GO WITH THAT.
SO AN AS OUTLINED IN THE SPECIFIC PLANS, EVENTUALLY IF IT GOES FORWARD THE WAY IT'S WRITTEN IN THE PLAN YOU WILL SEE A WHOLE NEW ZONING CATEGORY IN THIS AREA THAT'S SPECIFIC TO SOUTH SIDE.
UNLIKE OTHER BECAUSE A LOT OF THE ZONING RIGHT NOW IS THE SAME ZONING THAT YOU GET IN SUBURBAN AREAS.
APPLIES HERE OR SAME COMMERCIAL AREA ZONING THAT, YOU KNOW, FORGET THE NAME OF IT SUNNYSIDE ALSO APPLIES HERE.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE GOALS AND POLICIES AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES OF THE SOUTH SIDE PLAN IS TO LOOK AT THIS AS A LARGER WHOLE AND DO THOSE STUDIES.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE BRINGING THAT CONSULTANT ON TO DO.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY.
ALL RIGHT, WELL, I'M HAPPY TO PROVIDE SOME FEEDBACK, BUT WE'RE GOING TO OPEN IT UP TO OTHERS ON THE TWO QUESTIONS IF YOU WANT TO GO TO THOSE FOR US TO CONSIDER.
AND IF NOBODY ELSE IS JUMPING IN, I'LL JUST SAY THAT IF WE DO REQUIRE FIFTY ONE PERCENT, WE SHOULD GET INFORMATION FROM THEM THAT THAT IS ACTUALLY THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S INTENT AS A MAJORITY BEFORE WE MOVE TOO HEAVILY FORWARD WITH THE CHARACTER OVERLAY.
SO YES, TO THE FIRST QUESTION.
AND THE SECOND ONE? ALSO, A YES, I THINK THAT SHOULD BE THE CHARACTER OVERLAY SHOULD BE INCLUDED WITH OUR SOUTH SIDE COMMUNITY PLAN IMPLEMENTATIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER SWEET? THANK YOU.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR WORKING WITH THE SOUTHSIDE COMMUNITY ON THIS, AND I AM A YES ON BOTH.
OTHERS COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY.
JUST TO CLARIFY THE SECOND QUESTION.
THE WAY I READ IT IS THAT WE WOULD JUST DO THIS WHEN WE DO THE REST OF THE SOUTH SIDE ISSUES AS OPPOSED TO BRINGING IT FORWARD FASTER.
IS THAT CORRECT? I WOULD RECOMMEND MAYOR OR MEMBERS OF COUNCIL THAT IF YOU HAVE THE SUPPORT TO DO
[02:20:02]
IT NOW, TO DO IT.BUT MY QUESTION IS, WHAT IS THE SECOND QUESTION IS THE SECOND QUESTION, DO IT WITH THE PLAN OR IS IT TO EXPEDITE IT AND PUSH IT FORWARD.
SO YOUR INTERPRETATION IS A YES TO THE SECOND ONE WOULD BE EXPEDITE IT NOW GET HER DONE WHEN THE IRON IS HOT.
THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
YEAH, I AM A YES ON BOTH, AND IF THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO SEE THIS DONE, THEN LET'S HAVE THIS BE ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT'S IMPLEMENTED IN THE SOUTH SIDE COMMUNITY PLAN.
WE GOT A THUMBS UP FROM COUNCIL MEMBER SALAS AS WELL.
SO YEAH, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WORK ON THIS.
APPRECIATE IT AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HOW IT DEVELOPS.
MAYOR, IF I MAY SUMMARIZE IN GENERAL, IT IS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE INITIATION OF THESE OVERLAYS, ENSURE THAT WE HAVE THE 51 PERCENT BEFORE WE START ACTUAL WORK ON IT AND ASSUMING THAT WE HAVE THAT 51 PERCENT RELATIVELY QUICKLY, WE'LL BE STARTING THAT AS THE FIRST PART OF THE CHARACTER OR THE SOUTH SIDE COMMUNITY PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THE CITY ATTORNEY TO HAVE AN E SESSION ON THIS SOMETIME SO WE CAN DISCUSS TAKINGS ISSUES REGARDING THIS SPECIFIC ITEM.
MR. MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY AND COUNCIL, I'VE MADE NOTE OF THAT AND WE ALSO WITH THIS DIRECTION, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THE ENTIRE OVERLAY ZONE QUESTION.
LIKE I SAY IN ITS ENTIRETY, WE'LL ADVISE YOU ON THAT.
WE'RE NOW DOWN TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER EIGHT.
[8. Transportation Commission Findings regarding the recommended status of Woody Way Determine the status of Woody Way between Presidio and Boulder Pointe. Options include, but are not limited to: Close Woody Way Leave Woody Way Open Designate Woody Way One Way (Eastbound or Westbound) Prohibit Parking on both sides of Woody Way - currently, parking is allowed on the North side Install traffic-calming in the vicinity of Woody Way]
THIS IS THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION FINDINGS REGARDING THE RECOMMENDED STATUS OF WOODY WAY.TO DETERMINE THE STATUS OF WOODY WAY BETWEEN PRESIDIO AND BOULDER POINTE.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, JEFF BAUMAN, CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER HERE THIS EVENING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT WOODY WAY GATE AND THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION DELIBERATIONS ON WOODY WAY GATE.
I'M JOINED BY THE CHAIR OF THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION.
MADAM CHAIR JULIE HERE IN A FEW SLIDES.
SO WITH THAT, WE'LL JUMP RIGHT IN.
BOULDER POINTE NEIGHBORHOOD, I THINK MOST EVERYBODY IS FAMILIAR, BUT BOULDER POINTE NEIGHBORHOOD IS ON THE EAST SIDE AND THE PRESIDIO NEIGHBORHOOD IS ON THE WEST, CONNECTED BY WOODY WAY.
PERHAPS A LITTLE HARD TO SEE, BUT I THINK MOST EVERYONE IS PRETTY FAMILIAR.
I THINK EVERYONE'S MOSTLY FAMILIAR WITH WOODY WAY, BUT THIS IS THE WOODY WAY CONNECTION.
AND WE HAVE JUST A COUPLE OF NOTES TO TALK ABOUT THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO NEIGHBORHOODS BECAUSE WE'VE TALKED MORE GENERALLY IN THE PAST THAT THE CONNECTION IS SUPPORTED BY DIFFERENT PARTS OF OUR REGIONAL PLAN, DIFFERENT PARTS OF OUR ZONING CODE.
EVEN THE CARBON NEUTRALITY PLAN APPLIES TO KIND OF A DISCUSSION THIS EVENING ON KEEPING WOODY WAY OPEN OR NOT.
SO ALL OF THOSE PLANS SUPPORT CONNECTIVITY.
CONNECTIVITY IS GOOD FOR SHORTENING TRIPS, WHICH IS KIND OF THE CARBON NEUTRALITY PLAN CONNECTION, BUT ALSO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SHORTENING TRIPS AND MAKING OUR ROAD NETWORK MORE EFFICIENT.
IT ALSO MAKES EMERGENCY SERVICES AND MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS MORE EFFICIENT, TENDS TO CONNECT NEIGHBORHOODS BETTER.
IF YOU MAKE THIS SEPARATION, YOU TEND TO HAVE TWO KIND OF CUL DE SAC NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO IT'S JUST EXCUSE ME, A COUPLE OF THOUGHTS ON THAT.
HERE'S A LITTLE BACKGROUND IN HISTORY.
WE HAVE A PICTURE UP THERE THAT IS WOODY WAY LOOKING TOWARDS BOULDER POINTE AN THE NEXT PICTURE LOOKS TOWARDS THE PRESIDIO.
BOULDER POINTE BUILT THE FIRST PIECE, AND THEN PRESIDIO BUILT THAT SECOND PIECE CONNECTING THERE WAS A GATE INSTALLED BASED ON THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FROM THE PRESIDIO DEVELOPMENT, AND THE GIST OF THE REASON FOR THE GATE WAS WE THOUGHT THE PRESIDIO DEVELOPMENT WOULD START UP RIGHT AWAY AND PEOPLE IN BOULDER POINTE WERE CONCERNED THAT CONSTRUCTION TRAFFIC WOULD BE CUTTING THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
[02:25:02]
SO THERE IS A GATE INSTALLED DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT TALKED ABOUT A CERTAIN TIME WHEN THE GATE WOULD BE REMOVED.GREAT RECESSION OCCURRED, PRESIDIO DIDN'T REALLY HAPPEN ON A NORMAL TIMEFRAME, IT SAT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
EVENTUALLY, A NEW DEVELOPER PICKED UP THE DEVELOPMENT AND THE CITY THAT TIME FRAME HAD ALREADY PASSED.
SO IF WE HAD TO FOLLOW THE ORIGINAL DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, THE GATE WOULD HAVE BEEN REMOVED, BUT WE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO AVOID THE CONSTRUCTION TRAFFIC.
SO THE CITY SAID WE'LL WAIT UNTIL 90 PERCENT OF THE UNITS ARE OCCUPIED IN PRESIDIO AND WE'LL STILL COMMIT TO DOING THE BEFORE AND AFTER STUDIES.
THE GATE WAS REMOVED IN APRIL OF 2020.
IN THE PAST YEAR, WE'VE RECEIVED A COUPLE OF CITIZEN PETITIONS, AND THIS IS A KIND OF A SUMMARY OF THOSE.
FIRST CITIZEN PETITION CAME IN APRIL OF 21 AND ASKED TO CLOSE WOODY WAY.
TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION REVIEWED THAT REQUEST AND RECOMMENDED THAT WOODY WAY REMAIN OPEN.
CITY COUNCIL RECEIVED A SECOND PETITION, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE KIND OF TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT OR THE CONTINUATION OF THAT SECOND PETITION, WHICH WAS IN SEPTEMBER OF 21.
YOU ASKED THAT THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TAKE ON THIS ITEM, WHICH WAS KIND OF AN ON GOING ITEM WITH THEM ALREADY.
THEY'VE HAD A COUPLE OF MEETINGS AND WE'RE HERE TONIGHT TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION IS RECOMMENDING FOR THE STATUS OF WOODY WAY.
AND LOOKING FOR YOUR INPUT AND DIRECTION SO WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.
SINCE THE LAST TIME WE TALKED, WE'VE DONE A LITTLE BIT.
A QUESTION THAT KEPT COMING UP FROM THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND FOR US AS WELL, WHO'S USING THIS ROAD? WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR PEOPLE GOING BACK AND FORTH? WE DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW THE REASONS, BUT WE KNOW WHERE THEY'RE COMING FROM AND WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO.
AND WE CAN ESTIMATE WHAT THEIR REASONS ARE.
SO WE HAVE A SUBSCRIPTION TO A SERVICE CALLED STREETLIGHT.
NOTHING TO DO WITH STREETLIGHTS.
IT'S CELL PHONE DATA, SO IT'S CELL PHONE LOCATION DATA.
METRO PLAN, MOUNTAIN LINE AND THE CITY ALL JOINED IN ON THIS.
SO BASICALLY, THIS COMPANY AGGREGATES LOCATION DATA FROM CELL PHONES AND ANONYMIZE IT.
BUT THEN IT CREATES A HUGE DATABASE SO WE CAN GO IN AND FIGURE OUT WHERE TRIPS START AND END, HOW LONG THEY TAKE, WHAT ROUTES THEY TAKE.
THERE'LL BE MORE CLEAR WHEN WE LOOK AT SOME MAPS, THE DATA THAT COMES OUT OF THAT, BUT WE TOOK A LOOK AT THE DATA AND THIS IS THE TIME PERIOD THAT WE PICKED THE MOST RECENT MONTH THAT WAS AVAILABLE NORMAL WEEKDAYS TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY AND BROKE IT DOWN BY THREE PEAK PERIODS.
SO THIS IS OUR FIRST MAP IN A SERIES OF MAPS, AND THEY ALL KIND OF LOOK SIMILAR, BUT I'LL WALK THROUGH THIS ONE.
I'LL WALK THROUGH ALL OF THEM, BUT WE'LL GO KIND OF SLOW THROUGH THIS ONE TO MAKE SURE IT ALL MAKES SENSE.
SO EVERYTHING IS COLOR COORDINATED AND THE SIZE OF THE ARROWS KIND OF CORRESPOND TO THE NUMBER OF TRIPS.
SO THE FIRST THING AT THE TOP RIGHT.
TRIPS ORIGINATING IN THE PRESIDIO, SO TRIPS THAT START KIND OF IN THIS AREA OF THE PRESIDIO ARE GREEN.
SO IN ORDER TO BE A GREEN TRIP, START IN THE PRESIDIO PASS THROUGH WOODY WAY AND THEN EXIT.
EITHER ON UNIVERSITY OR HIGHLAND MESA.
PEAK PERIOD FOR THOSE EASTBOUND TRIPS, THAT'S 94 PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE TRAVELING ON WOODY WAY.
THE BLUE COLOR ARE TRIPS THAT START EXTERNAL OR FURTHER TO THE WEST OF PRESIDIO, SO SOMEWHERE ON WOODY WOODY MOUNTAIN ROAD, PASS THROUGH WOODY WAY AND THEN END UP IN BOULDER POINTE, SO THEY HAVE A DESTINATION IN BOULDER POINTE IN THAT MONTH.
AND THEN THIS IS KIND OF A CLASSIC CUT THROUGH IS EXTERNAL TO EXTERNAL.
THAT'S USUALLY WHAT WE'RE DOING.
THAT'S USUALLY WHAT WE'RE CONCERNED WITH WITH A CUT THROUGH KIND OF ANALYSIS.
SO RED TRIPS START SOMEWHERE WEST OF WOODY MOUNTAIN ROAD PASS THROUGH WOODY WAY PASS THROUGH THE PRESIDIO WOODY WAY, BOULDER POINTE AND THEN END UP SOMEWHERE FURTHER TO THE EAST.
AND THAT WAS SIX PERCENT OF THE TRIPS IN THE MORNING, SO YOU CAN SEE MOST OF THE TRIPS IN THE MORNING GOING EASTBOUND ARE ORIGINATED IN PRESIDIO.
ACTUALLY, A PRETTY SIMILAR PATTERN, I WON'T GO THROUGH ALL THE NUMBERS, BUT A PRETTY SIMILAR PATTERN FOR EASTBOUND MIDDAY.
TO THREE P.M., BUT YOU CAN SEE EIGHTY FOUR PERCENT OF THAT FIRST TYPE ZERO PERCENT STOPPING AT BOULDER POINTE AND THEN WE'RE UP TO 16 PERCENT.
SO WE HAVE A LITTLE HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE CUTTING THROUGH NOT HAVING THE DESTINATION OR AN ORIGIN IN EITHER NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND FINALLY, THE PM PEAK PERIOD FOR EASTBOUND, STILL THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE ARE TRIPS ORIGINATING IN PRESIDIO AND HEADING TO THE WEST, OR I'M SORRY, HEADING TO THE EAST THROUGH WOODY WAY TO PEOPLE WITH DESTINATIONS IN BOULDER POINTE AND ARE CUT THROUGH TYPICAL CUT THROUGH IS UP TO 23 PERCENT IN THE EVENING, PROBABLY PEOPLE COMING FROM A WORK DESTINATION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT OFF TO THE WEST.
[02:30:02]
NOT AS DRAMATIC AND ACTUALLY FLIPS A LITTLE BIT WITH THE PERCENTAGES, SO THIS IS THE MORNING GOING WESTBOUND, SO SAME KIND OF THING.GREEN TRIPS START EXTERNAL TO BOULDER POINTE, WORK THEIR WAY THROUGH BOULDER POINTE WOODY WAY AND END UP IN PRESIDIO.
THAT'S 40 PERCENT OF THE TRIPS.
ZERO PERCENT START IN BOULDER POINTE AND PASS THROUGH AND 60 PERCENT ARE ACTUALLY EXTERNAL CUT THROUGHS.
HIGH PERCENTAGE NOT A HUGE NUMBER 34 ON AVERAGE OVER FOUR HOURS.
HERE'S WHAT OUR MIDDAY LOOKS LIKE SPLITS ARE SEVENTY ONE, TWO AND TWENTY SEVEN FOR THE EXTERNAL CUT THROUGHS.
KIND OF FOLLOW A PATTERN, SO I'LL GO A LITTLE BIT QUICKER.
AND THERE'S THE PM PEAK 81 PERCENT.
ONE PERCENT AND 19 PERCENT SO FAIRLY CONSISTENT, AND WE HAVE A SUMMARY SLIDE AS WELL.
PAUSE THERE, IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR INFORMATION, THIS IS NEW, WE PRESENTED THIS TO THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TWO WEEKS AGO.
COUNCIL, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME? ALL RIGHT, PLEASE PROCEED.
SO WE ALSO TOOK A LOOK, THIS WAS A QUESTION THAT HAD BEEN COMING UP.
YOU KNOW, WHY ARE PEOPLE PROBABLY DRIVING THROUGH THESE NEIGHBORHOODS? WELL, A LOT OF TRIP MAKING CHARACTERISTICS ARE DETERMINED BY TIME.
AND YOU CAN SEE HERE THROUGH THE DIFFERENT TIME PERIODS THAT THE TRIPS GOING THROUGH WOODY WAY ARE QUICKER THAN THE TRIPS ON ROUTE 66.
SO THE BLUE TRIP AND THE ORANGE TRIP BOTH ORIGINATE ABOUT THE CENTER OF THE PRESIDIO NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE PICKED THE DOG PARK AND WE JUST PICKED THE DESTINATION TO THE EAST WAL-MART.
SO THE ORANGE TRIP IS ABOUT THREE MILES.
THE BLUE TRIP WAS ABOUT TWO MILES, SO THAT'S PART OF OUR CARBON NEUTRALITY PLAN.
YOU KNOW, IT'S ONLY A MILE DIFFERENCE, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO A LOT OF THINGS TO MAKE UP SOME VMT GROUNDS.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE TRIPS, EXCEPT FOR THE ONE WESTBOUND TRIP IN THE MORNING, ARE ALWAYS QUICKER GOING THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOODS BOTH SHORTER AND PROBABLY LESS CONGESTED THAN THE ROUTE 66 IN WOODLANDS VILLAGE ROUTING.
SO THIS WAS A QUESTION PEOPLE WOULD ASK.
THERE'S ONE MORE SUMMARY OF EAST BOUND, AND THIS IS KIND OF SHOWING THE SPLITS.
THE FIRST NUMBER IS THE AM, THE SECOND NUMBER IS THE MIDDAY AND THE THIRD NUMBER IS THE PM.
SO YOU CAN SEE THOSE SPLITS FOR EASTBOUND ON WOODY WAY AND YOU CAN SEE THE SPLITS FOR WESTBOUND ON WOODY WAY.
SO HERE'S THE OPTIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN CONSIDERING WITH THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION SO OBVIOUS LEAVE WOODY WAY OPEN.
SECOND, OBVIOUS CLOSE WOODY WAY.
WE'VE LOOKED AT MAKING WOODY WAY AN EASTBOUND OR WESTBOUND ONE WAY STREET, PROHIBITING PARKING ON BOTH SIDES OF WOODY WAY.
CURRENTLY, PARKING IS PROHIBITED ONLY ON THE SOUTH SIDE.
IT'S A FAIRLY NARROW STREET, ACTS A BIT LIKE A QUEUING STREET, SO PEOPLE HAVE TO TAKE TURNS DRIVING IN BOTH DIRECTIONS.
TYPICALLY, WE LIKE QUEUING STREETS TO SLOW PEOPLE DOWN BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT'S NOT WIDE OPEN.
IN THIS CASE, WE'VE MEASURED SPEEDS ARE PRETTY LOW THERE, WELL UNDER 20 MILES PER HOUR.
SO REMOVING PARKING IS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO CHANGE THAT MUCH.
SO NOT-- SO IN THIS CASE, WE'RE FINE WITH REMOVING PARKING ACTUALLY.
IT'S PART OF OUR RECOMMENDATION.
INSTALL TRAFFIC CALMING IN THE VICINITY OF WOODY WAY, THAT WAS SOMETHING THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION WANTED US TO TAKE A LOOK AT AND WE'LL LOOK AT A COUPLE OF OPTIONS FOR THAT AND THEN MAKE AX HANDLE ONE-- AX HANDLE, UNIVERSITY AVENUE LOOP ONE WAY.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.
WE'VE SPENT A COUPLE OF YEARS DISCUSSING AND DELIBERATING THIS TOPIC AND LISTENING TO RESIDENTS IN BOTH PRESIDIO AND BOULDER POINTE.
AND OUR RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL IS TO LEAVE WOODY WAY OPEN.
WE'VE REVIEWED THE SUBDIVISION PLATS FOR BOTH PRESIDIO AND BOULDER POINTE AND THEIR RIGHT OF WAY DEDICATION.
WE'VE HAD STAFF COLLECT DATA, AND THE COMMISSION HAS REVIEWED THAT DATA ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS.
AND LIKE I SAID BEFORE, WE HAVE LISTENED TO PUBLIC INPUT OVER MULTIPLE MEETINGS IN ADDITION TO RECEIVING AND REVIEWING WRITTEN COMMENTS OUTSIDE OF THOSE MEETINGS.
SO OUR RECOMMENDATION IS BASED ON THESE THINGS, THAT THERE IS NO REDUCTION OF LEVEL OF SERVICE OR RESULTING IN INTERSECTIONS OPERATING AT OR BELOW A TOLERABLE THRESHOLD FOR CONGESTION.
THE DESIGNATION OF WOODY WAY AS A PUBLIC STREET MAINTAINED BY THE CITIZENS OF FLAGSTAFF
[02:35:01]
FOR THE UNEXCLUSIVE USE FOR THE TRAVELING PUBLIC, REGARDLESS OF THEIR DESTINATION OR ORIGIN.ANOTHER REASON THE EMERGENCY SERVICES RESPONSE TIME, AND THERE IS ALSO COMMENTS ABOUT BUS TIME BEING ABLE TO BUS STUDENTS IN THAT CONNECTION.
BASED ON THE COMMENTS THAT WE HAVE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY, IT SEEMS THAT WE MAY HAVE A PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE NOT LIMITED TO JUST BOULDER POINTE, BUT ALSO IN PRESIDIO BY THE GENERAL TRAVELING PUBLIC AND RESIDENTS AND NEIGHBORS OF BOTH OF THESE NEIGHBORHOODS.
THIS PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS SPEEDING AND DISREGARD FOR THE STOP SIGN.
SO THE REGIONAL PLAN SPEAKS ABOUT BOTH CONNECTIVITY AND SAFETY IN THE TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE SECTIONS, AND THESE SHOULD NOT BE COMPETING VALUES.
SO THERE'S A PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE THAT NEEDS A DEFINITION SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A TARGETED SOLUTION AND THAT PROBLEM IS THE PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE THAT I JUST DESCRIBED THAT THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION HAS BEEN DISCUSSING.
SO WE ASKED STAFF TO CONSIDER TRAFFIC MITIGATION IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA, AND THEY'VE COME UP WITH SOME GREAT IDEAS.
THOSE ARE THE IDEAS THAT WERE PRESENTED TO US JUST RECENTLY, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
AND SOME OF THESE IDEAS ARE FIRST TIME IMPLEMENTATIONS IN FLAGSTAFF THAT JEFF IS GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU.
SO THESE IDEAS WERE PRESENTED TO US ON DECEMBER 2ND AND COMMISSIONERS WERE IN FULL SUPPORT OF MOVING FORWARD.
I WANT TO NOTE THAT THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION WAS UNANIMOUS AND UNWAVERING.
OH, AND I KNOW YOU'D BE DISAPPOINTED IF I DIDN'T DO MY USUAL PLUG AND I DON'T WANT TO DISAPPOINT YOU, SO WE DO HAVE AN OPENING ON TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, SO I ENCOURAGE THOSE THAT ARE LISTENING AND INTERESTED.
PLEASE SEND IN YOUR APPLICATION FOR REVIEW.
AND HERE'S A COUPLE OF OTHER PIECES OF MITIGATION THAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING WITH THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, SO WE HEARD SOME CONCERNS FROM ACTUALLY THIS RESIDENCE.
THIS IS LOOKING DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM HIGHLAND MESA ONTO AX HANDLE.
SO MAYBE THE AERIAL PHOTO SS BEST.
SO, LOOKING STRAIGHT ACROSS TO HERE.
WE KNOW HE HAD A VEHICLE, I BELIEVE IT WAS LAST WINTER.
THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF [INAUDIBLE] ON HIGHLAND MESA.
THERE IS PROBABLY SOME SNOW ON THE GROUND AND THEY SLID INTO KIND OF THE CURVE AND OVER THE CURB HERE.
SO SOMETHING THAT WE'VE CONSIDERED AND WE'RE COMFORTABLE WITH AND THESE ARE MAYBE A LITTLE BIGGER THAN WHAT WE'D ACTUALLY DO, BUT SOME SORT OF LANDSCAPE BOULDERS ALONG THIS SECTION OF PARKWAY TO PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE SEPARATION BETWEEN THE SIDEWALK AND I SUPPOSE, THE HOME, EVEN IN THIS CASE FROM VEHICLES THAT COULD SLIDE DOWN HIGHLAND MESA.
SO THIS IS ONE PIECE OF MITIGATION THAT WE'VE CONSIDERED AND THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION IS RECOMMENDING.
THIS IS ANOTHER PIECE OF MITIGATION AND CALMING.
SO THERE'S TWO THINGS GOING ON HERE.
THE PICTURE ON THE RIGHT, THE FIRST AND EASIEST THING TO LOOK AT.
NORMALLY AT LOCAL INTERSECTIONS, WE DON'T INSTALL STOP BARS, WE DON'T INSTALL CROSSWALKS, AND WE DON'T INSTALL CENTERLINE MARKINGS BECAUSE THEY'RE JUST LOCAL INTERSECTIONS, A LOT OF TIMES THEIR YIELD CONTROL, SOMETIMES STOP CONTROL.
SOMETIMES THERE'S NO SIGNS AT ALL.
WE'VE HEARD CONCERNS THAT VEHICLES ARE CUTTING THE CORNER, TURNING LEFT AND TURNING RIGHT AROUND THESE CORNERS.
WE'VE HEARD CONCERNS THAT PEOPLE ARE RUNNING THE STOP SIGN, WHICH WE'VE SEEN IN OTHER PLACES AS WELL, BUT THIS COULD PROVIDE SOME INCREASED VISIBILITY AND HOPEFULLY BETTER BEHAVIOR IN THIS VICINITY.
SO STOP BAR, CROSSWALK AND YELLOW CENTER LINE.
AND THEN THE BIG ENHANCEMENT THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH PUBLIC WORKS ON A BIT AND THEY'RE WILLING TO GIVE THIS A SHOT IN THIS AREA IS TO ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT RAISED CROSSINGS.
SO THESE ARE THESE LOOK A LITTLE ABRUPT.
THESE LOOK A LITTLE MORE LIKE A SPEED HUMP TO ME.
AT THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHLAND MESA AND AX HANDLE AND THEN TALKING THROUGH THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION AND WE HAD SOME PUBLIC INPUT ON DECEMBER 1ST, THEY'RE RECOMMENDING AT ALL THREE INTERSECTIONS.
SO HIGHLAND MESA AND AX HANDLE, WOODY WAY AND AX HANDLE ON THE BOULDER POINTE END, THAT'S WOODY WAY AND AX HANDLE, AND WOODY WAY AND MISSION TIMBER IS ON THE PRESIDIO SIDE, SO THREE INTERSECTIONS WORTH OF RAISED CROSSINGS.
AND HERE'S A SUMMARY OF THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY I'M SORRY, I'M SLOW.
COULD YOU AGAIN GO OVER THE THREE INTERSECTIONS THAT WOULD HAVE THE RAISED CROSSWALK? OBVIOUSLY, THAT ONE RIGHT THERE ON THE PICTURE? AND THEN WHAT WERE THE OTHER TWO?
[02:40:02]
THE BOTH ENDS OF WOODY WAY.AX HANDLE END, AND THE MISSION TIMBER END.
AND HERE'S JUST A SUMMARY OF THE MITIGATION PROPOSAL, SO BOULDERS IN THE PARKWAY NOT AS BIG AS WHAT'S SHOWN IN THAT PICTURE, RAISED CROSSWALKS, RAISE CROSSINGS AT THE INTERSECTIONS, ALL THREE STRIPING STOP BARS AND DOUBLE YELLOW CENTER LINES AND REMOVING THE PARKING ON WOODY WAY [INAUDIBLE] NOT LISTED BECAUSE IT'S NOT A MITIGATION.
BUT OF COURSE, THE COMMISSION IS RECOMMENDING KEEPING WOODY WAY OPEN.
[INAUDIBLE] COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE IDEA BEHIND TAKING PARKING OFF WOODY WAY.
AS YOU ALREADY MENTIONED, IF PARKING IS ALLOWED THERE, THAT WILL TEND TO SLOW THE CARS DOWN, WHICH SEEMS TO BE ONE OF THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVES.
TAKING PARKING OFF THERE IS NOT GOING TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC THAT GOES THROUGH THERE, SO BOTH THE NUMBER OF VEHICLE TRIPS AND THE SPEED DON'T SEEM TO LEAD TO THE IDEA OF GETTING RID OF PARKING.
CAN YOU COMMENT TO THAT? SURE.
THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION AND THE GOOD OBSERVATION, BECAUSE TYPICALLY WE WOULDN'T RECOMMEND REMOVING PARKING IF WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT SPEEDS, BUT BECAUSE SPEEDS ARE FAIRLY LOW ON THIS SEGMENT OF WOODY WAY, WE'RE NOT CONCERNED IF THERE IS A SMALL INCREASE.
WE SHOULDN'T SEE ANY CHANGE IN VOLUMES.
THIS WAS A REQUEST THAT KEPT COMING UP FROM THE PUBLIC AND HAD LITTLE HARM, IF ANY, HARM.
BUT IT'S PROBABLY THE WEAKEST RECOMMENDATION OF ALL OF THESE BECAUSE WE REALLY COULD GO EITHER WAY.
BUT WE CONSISTENTLY HEAR, OH, IT'S-- BUT THAT'S GOOD, RIGHT? IN TRAFFIC CALMING WORLD, WE HEAR, OH, IT'S CONGESTED.
IT'S UNCOMFORTABLE DRIVING THROUGH THERE.
TYPICALLY NOT WHAT WE WANT TO DO, BUT IN THIS CASE, I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE REALLY ANY IMPACT, AND IT IS A FAIRLY NARROW STREET FOR THE VOLUME, SO WE'RE COMFORTABLE WITH IT.
BUT YEAH, NOT WHAT WE TYPICALLY RECOMMEND.
HAVE A VICE MAYOR WITH THE QUESTION, AND JUST SO EVERYONE KNOWS WE HAVE A COUPLE SPEAKER CARDS AND I WANT TO GET TO THOSE BEFORE WE START FULL DISCUSSION AMONGST COUNCIL, BUT VICE MAYOR.
THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU, JEFF, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
ARE YOU AWARE OF OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE THIS KIND OF THROUGH TRAFFIC? I MEAN, I KNOW THAT WE HEAR FROM A LOT OF NEIGHBORHOODS ABOUT SPEEDING AND OTHER ISSUES, BUT IS THERE ANOTHER ONE THAT COMES TO MIND THAT HAS THIS KIND OF TRAFFIC VOLUME? YES, WE HAVE MANY.
WE HAVE MANY STREETS WITH THIS TYPE OF VOLUME OF NINE HUNDRED, I THINK.
YOU KNOW, UNIVERSITY AVENUE, JUST IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FURTHER TO THE EAST HAS TWO OR THREE TIMES THIS LEVEL OF TRAFFIC.
ROADS LIKE LINDA VISTA FOUR, FIVE, SIX TIMES AS MUCH TRAFFIC, THOUGH THEY ARE-- THEY LOOK DIFFERENT ON THE CROSS SECTION, BUT THEY ARE ALSO ROADS WITH HOUSES FRONTING THEM.
RECENT TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ITEMS MOUNT PLEASANT IN THE COUNTRY CLUB AREA IS ABOUT SIX HUNDRED VEHICLES A DAY, SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT LOWER.
ALSO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT SPEEDS, NOT VOLUMES IN THAT CASE, SPEEDS.
BUT YEAH, NINE HUNDRED IS NOT-- NINE HUNDRED IS HIGHER THAN WE LIKE TO SEE ON A LOCAL STREET.
IT'S RIGHT AT THAT THRESHOLD WHERE PEOPLE TYPICALLY START COMPLAINING ABOUT TRAFFIC IS RIGHT ABOUT A THOUSAND.
BUT WE HAVE MANY, MANY ROADS WITH HIGHER VOLUMES THAN THIS.
AND YOU'RE PROPOSING A RAISED CROSSWALK.
BUT IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, YOU WERE NOT IN FAVOR OF SPEED BUMPS ON THE STREET, AND I THINK THAT WAS A SNOW PLOWING ISSUE.
AND I GUESS THAT RAISED CROSSWALKS AREN'T A SNOW PLOWING ISSUE? YES, WE'VE SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME WITH THE PUBLIC WORKS AND STREETS CREWS, AND THEY'RE WILLING TO GIVE THESE A CHANCE IN THIS LOCATION.
THERE'S-- YOU MIGHT WANT TO ASK THEM FOR THEIR MORE DIRECT OPINION OR RESPONSE TO THIS, BUT BASICALLY IN THIS LOCATION WITH THE TYPE OF VEHICLES THAT THEY USE TO PLOW THESE NEIGHBORHOODS, THEY'RE WILLING TO GIVE THIS A CHANCE TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO, UNDERSTANDING THAT WE'VE TRIED MANY THINGS IN THIS AREA.
THEY'RE WILLING TO GIVE IT A SHOT.
IT, YOU KNOW, IT WILL SLOW DOWN EMERGENCY SERVICE VEHICLES.
IT WILL SLOW DOWN, IT'LL SLOW DOWN EVERYBODY, BUT IT'LL SLOW DOWN EMERGENCY SERVICES.
IT'LL SLOW DOWN PLOWING SWEEPING OPERATIONS.
IT IS AN IMPEDIMENT, BUT THEY ARE WILLING TO GIVE THIS A SHOT HERE, BUT THEY'RE VERY CLEAR.
IT'S NOT, HEY, JEFF, GO INSTALL FOUR HUNDRED OF THESE NEXT WEEK.
IT'S WE'RE WILLING TO TRY THIS ONE SET UP HERE.
[02:45:01]
OK, AND THEN I HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION, AND THAT IS I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHETHER THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS POSSIBLE, AND I'M GUESSING NOT OR YOU WOULD HAVE SUGGESTED IT.BUT ARE THERE ADDITIONAL TREATMENTS THAT CAN LOWER THE SPEED LIMIT ANY MORE, LIKE A SCHOOL ZONE THAT LOWERS IT DOWN TO 15 MILES AN HOUR? ARE THERE ANY AREAS WHERE SOME SORT OF TREATMENT LIKE THAT WOULD BE-- WHERE WE'D BE ABLE TO USE IT AND WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT? SO SCHOOL ZONE THAT YOU MENTIONED IS VERY SPECIFIC.
RIGHT? SPECIFIC CRITERIA WITH THE SCHOOL AND NUMBER OF KIDS AND ALL THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS, SPEEDS ON WOODY WERE ACTUALLY BELOW 20.
SO THEY'RE ACTUALLY REALLY WELL BEHAVED.
OUR SPEED STUDIES SHOW ON WOODY WAY AND EVEN ON THIS PIECE OF HIGHLAND MESA, THE SPEEDS ARE NOT REALLY AN ISSUE HERE.
I MEAN, THIS IS SOME OF THE LOWEST SPEEDS WE EVER RECORD.
VOLUMES ARE REALLY THE ISSUE, SO WE HAVEN'T BEEN FOCUSING ON SPEED SO MUCH, BUT WE HAVE HAD COMPLAINTS ABOUT PEOPLE NOT BEHAVING PROPERLY OR AS WELL AS WE'D LIKE IN THOSE INTERSECTIONS.
AND WE THINK MAYBE SOME MORE CONCENTRATION ON THOSE RAISED CROSSINGS WILL HELP GET PEOPLE A LITTLE MORE ORGANIZED.
SO IT'S KIND OF SPEED THROUGH THE INTERSECTION.
PEOPLE JUST NOT PAYING ENOUGH ATTENTION TO THE WAY THEY'RE DRIVING AND BEHAVING IN THEIR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS, AS OPPOSED TO WHITE OPEN SPEED, WHICH IS WHAT WE NORMALLY ARE CONCERNED WITH.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IT DOES.
THANK YOU AND THANK YOU, MAYOR.
JUST CURIOUS, WHAT'S THE VOLUME OF CUT THROUGH TRAFFIC IN LA PLAZA VIEJA, FOR EXAMPLE? WE HAVE NEVER DONE THIS TYPE OF STUDY.
WE COULD WE HAVE THE TOOLS AND RESOURCES, WE COULD DEFINITELY LOOK INTO IT.
AND I'M NOT NECESSARILY ASKING THAT WE DO.
THE VOLUME ON CLAY AVENUE IS MUCH HIGHER THAN NINE HUNDRED, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE CUT THROUGH VOLUME IS.
I WOULD SUSPECT IT'S HIGHER, BUT I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE.
IT WAS GOOD TO HEAR YOUR REFERENCES THAT VICE MAYOR ASKED ABOUT.
AND I THINK WITH THAT, WE CAN MOVE ON TO PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER ASLAN, I DO SEE YOUR COMMENTS FOR IT, SO YOU'LL BE FIRST IN LINE UP AFTER PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
WE WILL START WITH BRIAN LEE WILSON AND THEN FOLLOWED BY CYNTHIA [INAUDIBLE].
GOOD EVENING, AND THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I'D ALSO LIKE THANK YOU TO THE STAFF AND THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION FOR THE THOUGHTFUL ANALYSIS AND PROPOSALS WE'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT TODAY.
I'M GOING TO DEFER TO OTHER OWNERS TO COMMENT ON THOSE ITEMS IN PARTICULAR, BUT I'D LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT THE FUTURE.
I REMEMBER WORDING A COUNCIL MEMBER USED IN AN EARLIER MEETING WHEN THE COUNCIL WAS DIRECTING STAFF AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO STUDY THIS MATTER FURTHER.
HE REQUESTED A QUOTE HOLISTIC APPROACH.
I AGREE THAT, THAT'S IMPORTANT.
GOING BACK MORE THAN 15 YEARS AGO, EVERYBODY KNEW THAT TRAFFIC WOULD INCREASE AFTER OPENING THE GATE.
EARLY TRAFFIC COUNTS WERE TAKEN A COUPLE OF QUARTERS AFTER COVID RESTRICTIONS WERE LOOSENED, BUT STILL, KEEP IN MIND THAT SOME OF THE NEARBY TRAFFIC GENERATORS WERE STILL OPERATING AT REDUCED CAPACITY.
SO EVEN UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS, TRAFFIC ON WOODY WAY WAS ALREADY 67 PERCENT HIGHER THAN THE FORECAST THAT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT INTO THE DEVELOPMENT.
RECENT FOCUS HAS BEEN TO ADDRESS HIGH TRAFFIC VOLUMES ON AX HANDLE AND SPEEDING TRAFFIC ON UNIVERSITY, BUT A HOLISTIC APPROACH WOULD ALSO EVALUATE OTHER ISSUES, FOR EXAMPLE, FURTHER EAST ON HIGHLAND MESA.
TRAFFIC VOLUMES THERE HAVE INCREASED BY A LARGER PERCENT THAN THEY HAVE ON UNIVERSITY AVENUE, AND RESIDENTS THERE ARE ALSO ALREADY SEEING EXCESSIVE SPEEDS AND RECKLESS DRIVING.
RECENTLY, A HIGH SPEED INTOXICATED DRIVER FAILED TO MAKE THE CURVE AT 1:15.
IN THE MORNING HE JUMPED THE CURB, TOTALED HIS TRUCK AND TOOK OUT THE OWNER'S TWO VEHICLES PARKED IN THEIR DRIVEWAY.
THAT'S WORSE THAN THE TYPE OF DANGEROUS INCIDENTS WERE ADDRESSING ON AX HANDLE.
SO WITH SUBSTANTIAL DEVELOPMENT CONTINUING TO THE WEST, DANGEROUS DRIVING WILL CONTINUE TO GROW IN BOULDER POINTE.
WE NEED TO BE READY AND WILLING TO CONTINUE TO REGULARLY MEASURE TRAFFIC
[02:50:01]
VOLUMES AND SPEEDS AND ADDRESS PROBLEMS ON OTHER STREETS IN BOULDER POINTE AS THEY CONTINUE TO GROW.THESE ARE EXCELLENT FIRST STEPS TODAY, BUT THEY WILL NOT RESOLVE ALL THE GROWING PROBLEMS. WE PLAN TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH STAFF AND THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO ADDRESS THESE NEW ISSUES AND WILL UPDATE THE CITY COUNCIL PERIODICALLY.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION.
HELLO COUNCIL, SO I'M A RESIDENT OF PRESIDIO.
I ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT I'M ALSO AN EMT FOR GUARDIAN MEDICAL TRANSPORT, SO DRIVING THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS IS PART OF MY JOB AND I JUST WANT TO SAY I ACTUALLY LOVE THE IDEA THAT THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION HAS ACTUALLY PUSHED THROUGH.
AS AN EMT, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY AS FAR AS LIKE THE DRIVING, SPEEDING, THE FAILURE [INAUDIBLE] STOPS IS A HUGE THING, EVEN BEING A PART OF PRESIDIO.
I SEE IT ALL THE TIME FOR BOULDER POINTE AND I DO FEEL FOR THAT COMMUNITY AS WELL BECAUSE I SEE IT IN A LOT OF OTHER PLACES AS WELL.
AND I THINK HAVING THOSE RAISED SIDEWALKS, SORRY CROSSWALKS AND THE STOP SIGNS, I THINK ARE HUGE IN HELPING US SLOW DOWN SOME OF THAT TRAFFIC.
AS THAT TOO, I'M ALSO A CYCLIST, SO I BIKE AROUND TOWN A LOT TOO, AND I DO USE WOODY WAY A LOT FOR THAT AREA.
AND I KNOW ONE OF THE POINTS OF LIKE REMOVING ALL PARKING OUT OF THAT ROAD IS KIND OF BEEN LIKE, WHY WOULD WE DO THAT? AND AS A RESIDENT THAT USES-- AND A CYCLIST THAT USES THAT, MY BIGGEST PROBLEM HAVING PARKING ON THAT NORTH SIDE HAS BEEN THE BLIND VIEW.
THERE HAVE BEEN A COUPLE OF TIMES WHERE I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT GOING HEAD ON WITH SOMEBODY, NOT JUST IN MY VEHICLE, BUT AS A CYCLIST, BECAUSE THE VEHICLE THAT'S THERE TYPICALLY IS A VERY LARGE FORD, AND I DON'T HAVE A GOOD LINE OF SIGHT OVER THAT TRUCK AS A CYCLIST.
SO THERE ARE TIMES WHERE EVEN IF THEY ARE GOING, YOU KNOW, 10, 15 MILES AN HOUR AT THAT AREA, I'M STILL GOING TO GO UP AGAINST A VERY LARGE CAR.
AND I'VE SEEN UNFORTUNATELY WHAT THAT CAN DO SOMETIMES EVEN IF IT'S JUST ROAD RASH.
SO I WOULD LIKE COUNCIL, I THINK LONG TERM, HAVING THAT CONSIDERATION IN OTHER PLACES IS HUGE BECAUSE I DO USE THOSE AREAS TOO.
I DO GO DOWN HIGHLAND MESA ROAD.
I DO USE WOODY WAY AND ROUTE SIXTY SIX, I DO GO DOWN UNIVERSITY AVENUE, WHETHER IT'S FOR MY PERSONAL CAR OR IF IT'S AS AN EMT, IF YOU GUYS DID CONSIDER HAVING TO DO IT ONE WAY.
I THINK HAVING IT GOING FROM BOULDER POINTE TO PRESIDIO ONE WAY IS THE BEST SUGGESTION, I WOULD SAY, BECAUSE AS AN EMT, WHEN I'VE HAD TO RUN CALLS INTO THAT AREA, I CAN CERTAINLY SAY THAT, THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY FASTEST ACCESS TO PEOPLE ON THAT KIND OF WEST END OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND JUST SOMETHING TO CONSIDER THAT IF A GATE WAS TO BE PUT IN AND I DID HAVE A CALL IN PRESIDIO, I HAVE TO TAKE SO MUCH MORE TIME NOW TO NOT BE ABLE TO JUST CUT DOWN THROUGH WOODY WAY TO GET TO MAYBE SOMEWHERE OFF, YOU KNOW, HIGHLAND MESA OR ANOTHER NEIGHBORHOOD DOWN THE ROAD.
I NOW HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY AROUND TO ACTUALLY GET TO THAT PERSON IF THAT WAS TO BE A CASE.
NOW THE CHANCES OF THAT PROBABLY ARE, I CAN'T GIVE YOU THOSE ANSWERS, BUT JUST SOMETHING TO CONSIDER THAT I, AS AN EMT RESPONDER, WE DO HAVE THAT.
IT DOES MATTER FOR SOME OF US ON THAT RESPONSE TIME OR JUST HAVING ANOTHER ACCESS IN AND OUT OF A COMMUNITY IS HUGE FOR US.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU FROM COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY IF YOU DON'T [INAUDIBLE].
YEAH, IN ALL HONESTY, IT'S MORE OF A COMMENT.
I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR RATIONAL REASON ON WHY WE SHOULD GET RID OF PARKING ON THAT STREET.
YOU MADE A VERY RATIONAL ARGUMENT.
AND MAYBE YOU SHOULD APPLY FOR THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION SEAT.
[LAUGHTER] FULL TIME JOB AS IT IS, IT'S A LOT OF WORK ALREADY.
THANK YOU FOR THE RATIONAL EXPLANATION.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THIS.
WITH THAT I'LL GO TO THE ONLINE PARTICIPANTS.
WE HAVE KIM TITTELBAUGH ON THE LINE, YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND UNMUTE.
THANK YOU, MAYOR DEASY AND COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
I AM HERE TONIGHT ON BEHALF OF THE PRESIDIO IN THE PINES HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
THE BOARD HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THIS ISSUE VERY CLOSELY AND SUPPORTS THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO KEEP WOODY WAY OPEN AND INSTALL THE TRAFFIC MITIGATION MEASURES NOTED TONIGHT IN ALL THREE AREAS.
[02:55:02]
ALL THREE INTERSECTIONS THAT THEY PRESENTED JUST TO REITERATE A FEW POINTS THAT HAVE BEEN RAISED HERE TONIGHT, AS WELL AS IN PREVIOUS MEETINGS THAT WOODY WAY HAS ALWAYS BEEN INTENDED TO SERVE AS SECONDARY EMERGENCY ACCESS AND CONNECTIVITY FOR BOTH NEIGHBORHOODS.AND WITH THE AVAILABILITY OF LAND BEING LIMITED IN HIGHER DENSITIES, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO KEEP THAT CONNECTIVITY TO DISTRIBUTE TRAFFIC VOLUMES AND PROVIDE FOR THE EMERGENCY INGRESS AND EGRESS FOR BOTH SUBDIVISIONS.
AND WITH THAT, WE JUST CONTINUE TO SUPPORT WHAT THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION HAS DONE AND THE IDEAS THAT THEY HAVE PRESENTED.
I LIVE IN PRESIDIO, AND I DO AGREE WITH A LOT OF THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS, ESPECIALLY POSSIBLY INSTALLING THE RAISED CROSSWALKS, BUT SOME OF THE THINGS I SEEMS TO BE A CONCERN TO ME IS THE COMMUNITY'S FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY BECAUSE OF A GATE.
IT SEEMS THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE.
SEEM TO HAVE LOWERED THEIR-- WHAT'S THE TERM I AM LOOKING FOR? THEY SEEM THAT THIS GATE SEEMS TO BE A SAFETY FOR THEM AND THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE TO SAY OTHER THAN THAT.
I LIKE THE TRANSPORTATION BOARD'S RECOMMENDATION, SO.
WELL, WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT BACK INTO COUNCIL DISCUSSION.
I DID HAVE ONE QUESTION ACTUALLY, BEFORE WE GET INTO COMMENTS.
I'LL KICK IT TO COUNCIL MEMBER ASLAN.
HOW MANY PARKING SPOTS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT THERE? I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE, BUT LET'S LOOK AT THE PICTURE.
THERE'S A QUESTION I JUST WANT TO KIND OF FOLLOW UP.
I LIVE A BLOCK AND A HALF FROM HERE, SO WHEN I WALK THROUGH THIS INTERSECTION FREQUENTLY, THERE IS OFTEN TWO TRUCKS PARKED THERE IN ONE IN PARTICULAR, AS THEY'RE ALMOST ALL THE TIME.
BUT I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER SEEN MORE THAN TWO VEHICLES PARKED ON THAT STREET.
EVEN THOUGH WE PROBABLY COULD GET MAYBE UP TO 10 OR SO, THAT SEEMS A LITTLE HIGH, BUT SOMETHING IN THAT BALLPARK CERTAINLY.
I APPRECIATE THAT YOU AND I WILL SEND IT COUNCIL MEMBER ASLAN.
I'M SORRY, I'M NOT THERE RIGHT NOW FOR THE FOR THE CONVERSATION, BUT I AM DEFINITELY PRESENT AND HERE READY TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION AND THIS IS NOT EASY.
I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND SET THE TONE BY JUST, YOU KNOW, BEING TOTALLY STRAIGHTFORWARD WITH EVERYBODY ON BOTH SIDES OF THIS.
LITERALLY ON BOTH SIDES OF WOODY WAY.
I'M COMPLETELY OPEN STILL TO CLOSING THAT GATE.
THE PRESENTATION AND THE RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS THAT'S BEEN DONE.
IS VERY, VERY HELPFUL, AND IT TROUBLES ME MORE THAN I'VE BEEN TROUBLED BEFORE.
YOU KNOW, AND I SPEAK THIS TRUTH FROM MY HEART FULL WELL, KNOWING THAT OUR TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION HAS OFFERED ITS UNANIMOUS VOTE OF SUPPORT FOR KEEPING THE ROAD OPEN.
AND I APPRECIATE THE THOUGHTFULNESS THAT WENT INTO THAT, THE DELIBERATION THAT WENT INTO THAT.
AND ALL THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED FOR MAKING THAT RECOMMENDATION, AND I SUSPECT IT WILL PROBABLY WIN OUT AT THE END OF THE EVENING HERE TODAY, REGARDLESS, I HOPE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO KEEP A PULSE ON THIS AND MAINTAIN A LONG VIEW AND REVISIT THIS AS OFTEN AS NECESSARY.
CAN WE GO BACK TO FIGURE NUMBER SEVEN? SLIDE NUMBER 13, IT'S THE ONE THAT HAS THE WESTBOUND AND EASTBOUND SUMMARIES ON
[03:00:03]
THEM.I'M SORRY, WHAT WAS THE NUMBER? FIGURE SEVEN.
I LIKE HOW THIS ADDS A COUPLE OF THE PREVIOUS SLIDES TOGETHER, IT SORT OF PROVIDES JUST AN OVERALL PICTURE.
WE HAVE 800 TOTAL TRIPS GOING THROUGH WOODY WAY FROM SIX A.M.
IF YOU DIVIDE EIGHT HUNDRED BY 13, WHAT YOU COME UP WITH IS EXACTLY ONE CAR PER MINUTE ALL DAY LONG.
FROM MORNING THROUGH LUNCH THROUGH THE AFTERNOON, WELL INTO THE EVENING.
ONE CAR PER MINUTE GOING EITHER ONE DIRECTION OR THE OTHER ON WOODY WAY.
I DON'T THINK THE RESIDENTS SIGNED UP FOR THAT.
THAT IS NOT A NEIGHBORHOOD CONNECTIVITY ISSUE.
THIS IS A SMALL NEIGHBORHOOD STREET, IT'S NARROW.
WE CAN'T EVEN FIT PARKED CARS ON BOTH SIDES OF IT.
AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A CAR PER MINUTE ALL DAY LONG PASSING THROUGH HERE.
AND THE OTHER, I WANTED TO JUST VISIT WITH THIS CONCEPT, IT'S THE SAME PAGE SO WE CAN STAY IN FIGURE SEVEN.
IF YOU LOOK AT WHO IS EXPERIENCING THE BURDEN OF THIS CONNECTIVITY, IT IS ENTIRELY BOULDER POINTE.
ONE POINT FIVE PERCENT OF THE TRAFFIC THAT IS REPRESENTED ON THIS ON THESE TWO TABLES, ON THESE TABLES HERE, REFLECT UPON TRAFFIC GOING INTO BOULDER POINTE OR TRAFFIC GOING OUT OF BOULDER POINTE.
BORDER POINTE IS RECEIVING NINETY EIGHT POINT FIVE PERCENT OF THE THROUGH TRAFFIC THROUGHOUT THE DAY WHERE THIS IS HAPPENING.
SO, I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT VOLUME, AND THIS JUST TOTALLY SPEAKS VOLUMES TO ME.
I'M NOT SATISFIED WITH ANY OF THESE SOLUTIONS.
I'M NOT TRYING TO GET CUTE WITH PRESIDIO.
I CERTAINLY DON'T MEAN TO FEEL BIGOTED AS WAS POINTED OUT IN A VERY NASTY [INAUDIBLE] EMAIL THAT I RECEIVED FROM A PRESIDIO RESIDENT.
BUT THIS ISSUE IS A CONCERN THAT IS BEING ENTIRELY SHOULDERED BY THE BOULDER POINTE COMMUNITY.
AT THE LEISURE OF THE PRESIDIO COMMUNITY.
SO I'M, I MEAN, I JUST WANT TO SIT WITH THAT FOR A MINUTE.
I THINK THAT'S INCREDIBLE, ONE CAR PER MINUTE, ALL DAY LONG, GOING BACK AND FORTH.
AND NINETY NINE OUT OF 100 OF THOSE CARS ARE COMING FROM PRESIDIO AND PASSING THROUGH BOULDER POINTE OR PASSING THROUGH BOULDER POINTE TO RETURN TO PRESIDIO.
THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT FAR EXCEEDS THE SUM OF ITS PARTS.
THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT IS GREATER THAN THE MATHEMATICAL DATA ANALYSIS PROVIDES AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
BUT I JUST WANT TO LET COUNCIL KNOW AS AN OPENING BID THAT I AM PERFECTLY COMFORTABLE WITH THE CONSIDERATION THAT WE CLOSE THIS GATE.
THAT STREET WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE FOR COMMUTER TRAFFIC PASSING AT THE EXPENSE OF ONE COMMUNITY ONLY.
AND ONE OF THE SPEAKERS MENTIONED HOW THIS WILL GET WORSE, I BELIEVE THAT, THAT IS A CORRECT ASSESSMENT.
WITH THE INCREASED DEVELOPMENT TO THE WEST, THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT IS ONLY GOING TO INCREASE.
AND THE REASON IT'S A PROBLEM IS BECAUSE A QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD STREET, IS BEING USED AS A COMMUTER THROUGHWAY.
AND WE CAN'T JUST SIMPLY LOOK AT THE SUM OF THE MATH ON THIS WHEN WE'RE CONSIDERING THE HEADACHE AND THE IMPACT AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE IMPACT THAT THIS HAS ON THE RESIDENTS IN THE IMPACTED NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO I'LL LEAVE IT THERE FOR NOW.
I'D LOVE TO BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION AS IT CONTINUES, BUT THIS JUST SPEAKS REALLY LOUDLY TO ME.
[03:05:01]
IT IS SHOULDERED ENTIRELY BY ONE COMMUNITY AND IT IS ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE.THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER ASLAN.
I UNDERSTAND WE ACTUALLY DO HAVE ONE MORE PUBLIC COMMENTER, IF WE CAN CUE THAT UP AND THEN WE'LL CONTINUE OUR DISCUSSION.
YOU COULD GO AHEAD AND UNMUTE AND SHARE VIDEO IF YOU'D LIKE.
THE UNMUTE SHOULD BE ON THE UPPER RIGHT HAND SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN.
YOU NEED TO UNMUTE FOR US TO HEAR YOU.
MIKE, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO UNMUTE YOUR PHONE NOW.
MIKE YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOUR PHONE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU NOW.
I, YEAH, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
APOLOGIES FOR THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF IS OPENING OF WOODY WAY AND ONGOING PUSH TO KEEP IT OPEN IS UNTENABLE.
IT ENDANGERS PUBLIC SAFETY, DECREASES THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, IT DEVALUES OUR HOMES AND ITS STONEWALLS THE LEGITIMATE GRIEVANCES BEING RAISED BY RESIDENTS.
WOODY WAY NEEDS TO BE CLOSED IMMEDIATELY AND PERMANENTLY TO VEHICULAR THROUGH TRAFFIC WHILE REMAINING OPEN TO PEDESTRIANS, BIKES AND FOR EMERGENCY ACCESS.
THERE ARE TWO FACTORS THAT SHOULD WEIGH MOST HEAVILY IN YOUR DECISION.
FOREMOST SHOULD BE THE PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES BEING RAISED BY RESIDENTS.
THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF POLICIES ARE ENDANGERING CITIZENS IN THEIR HOMES, YARDS AND STREETS AND CAUSING DAMAGE TO PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PROPERTY.
THE ONGOING FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE THIS BY CITY STAFF AND COUNCIL, I THINK, IS NEGLIGENT.
THE SECOND FACTOR AND THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEMS I THINK WE HAVE IS WHETHER OR NOT THE OPENING OF WOODY WAY MEETS MUNICIPAL CODE, SPECIFICALLY TITLE 13, THE ENGINEERING STANDARDS.
I'D ARGUE THAT VERY PLAINLY, IT DOES NOT.
THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF IS NOT FOLLOWING ITS OWN CODES FOR STREET DESIGN BASED ON ACCEPTED ENGINEERING STANDARDS AND CRITERIA.
HERE ARE A FEW OF THE MAIN PROBLEMS. THERE ARE MANY MORE.
ACCORDING TO CITY CODE, THROUGH TRAFFIC AND RESIDENTIAL AREAS, QUOTE SHALL BE CARRIED ON ARTERIAL AND COLLECTOR STREETS.
WOODY WAY GENERATES A THOUSAND CARS A DAY OF THROUGH TRAFFIC ON LOCAL STREETS IN BOULDER POINTE.
TWO, FLAGSTAFF HAS A REGIONAL CIRCULATION PLAN THAT'S 13 DASH 10 DASH 14.
WOODY WAY INVALIDATES THIS PLAN FOR THE ENTIRE WEST SIDE OF FLAGSTAFF BY CREATING AN ALTERNATIVE TO ROUTE 66 THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS AND ON STREETS EXPLICITLY NOT DESIGNED OR DESIGNATED FOR THIS TRAFFIC.
WOODY WAY DOES NOT MEET ANY ESTABLISHED DESIGN CRITERIA FOR A STREET CARRYING A THOUSAND VEHICLES A DAY AND CAUSES OTHER STREETS LIKE AX HANDLE AND HIGHLAND MESA TO EXCEED THEIR DESIGN CAPACITIES AS WELL.
INCREASING IT ON PURPOSE IS ALSO BAD.
DESIGN CRITERIA ARE GOOD, ENGINEERED ROADS ARE GOOD, TRAFFIC PLANNING IS GOOD AND THE CIRCULATION PLAN IS GOOD.
IT IS FRUSTRATING AT THIS POINT, ALMOST 20 MONTHS AFTER OPENING THAT, I HAVE TO ARGUE BEFORE THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL TRAFFIC ENGINEER AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION THAT INCREASING TRAFFIC IN THE HEART OF AN ESTABLISHED RESIDENTIAL AREA USING A CLASSIC BOTTLENECK ON UNDER DESIGNED LOCAL STREETS IS A BAD IDEA.
ALL OF THIS WAS ALREADY WELL ESTABLISHED ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE A LONG TIME AGO, AND
[03:10:01]
IT'S CODIFIED IN THE LAWS OF FLAGSTAFF.WE'VE PROVED IT AGAIN AND ALL AT THE EXPENSE OF ALL THE CITIZENS THAT ARE APPEALING TO COUNCIL FOR REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES.
FINALLY, I HAVE A REASONABLE EXPECTATION THAT THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF, WITHOUT MY INTERVENTION, PROVIDE INFRASTRUCTURE IN A MANNER THAT PROMOTES THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND GENERAL WELFARE, AND TO MINIMIZE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LOSSES DUE TO THE FAILURE OF INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF.
WRECKING OFF OF AN UNDER UNDER DESIGNED LOCAL STREET.
COULD YOU? OF THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF IS A CLEAR FAILURE OF THAT INFRASTRUCTURE.
ALL RIGHT, COUNCIL, WITH THAT, WE WILL CONTINUE TO OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION AMONGST OURSELVES SO.
DON'T ALL JUMP ON AT ONCE [LAUGHTER] COUNCIL MEMBER [INAUDIBLE].
I WANTED TO ADD ONE MORE THOUGHT I WAS-- HOLD ON COUNCIL MEMBER ASLAN.
I WANTED TO GET COUNCIL MEMBER SHIMONI WAS CALLED UPON.
AND THANK YOU, MAYOR, I'M HAPPY TO LET YOU GO FIRST, COUNCIL MEMBER ASLAN, BUT I'LL GO AHEAD AND JUST GO REALLY QUICK AND CIRCLE BACK AROUND TO YOU.
I WANT TO THANK STAFF AND THE COMMISSIONS AND MS. LEID FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATION AND EFFORTS ON THIS TOPIC.
I WANT TO THANK THE PUBLIC FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT AND SUPPORT OF US.
CYNTHIA, YOUR COMMENTS HAVE DEFINITELY SHAPED MY OPINION ABOUT THE PARKING, AS COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY SPOKE TO, BECAUSE AT FIRST I WAS ALSO THINKING THROW THE [EXPLETIVE] CAR, WE NEED MORE CARS ON THAT ROAD TO SLOW DOWN TRAFFIC.
AND NOW I'M THINKING FOR THE SAKE OF SAFETY AND VISIBILITY, MAYBE WE SHOULD PROHIBIT PARKING.
JEFF, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
YOU KNOW, ON THAT SAME LINE OF THOUGHT OF VISIBILITY AND CONGESTION AND SLOWING VEHICLES DOWN.
WOULD IT MAKE SENSE, SO SOMETHING I SAW IN PORTLAND, AND EUGENE IS AT NEIGHBORHOOD INTERSECTIONS, THEY WOULD BASICALLY INDENT THE CURB TO BASICALLY CREATE THAT NARROW FEEL ALMOST LIKE AS IF CARS WERE PARKED ON EITHER SIDE.
ARE THERE FURTHER MITIGATIONS THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY CONSIDER? YOU SEE HOW THOSE CURVES ARE KIND OF.
THEY OPEN UP AS YOU TURN LIKE, MAYBE WE SHOULD ALMOST BRING THOSE BACK IN AND TIGHTEN IT EVEN FURTHER.
WOULD THAT MAKE ANY SENSE IN YOUR MIND? YES, I MEAN, THERE'S CERTAINLY OTHER MITIGATION MEASURES THAT WE COULD CONSIDER HERE.
I THINK WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN YOU SAID INDENT, YOU THREW ME OFF, BUT I THINK YOU'RE I'M USING MY CURSOR.
SO BRINGING THE CURVE OUT, I'M EXAGGERATING, BUT BRINGING THE CURVE OUT.
SO CURVE EXTENSIONS OR BUMP OUTS, OK? THEY ARE AN OPTION.
I DON'T KNOW HOW FAR WE COULD GO HERE BECAUSE THE ROAD IS FAIRLY NARROW ALREADY, BUT TYPICALLY YOU CAN GO OUT AS FAR AS A PARKED CAR AND IT WOULD WORK.
BUT IN THIS CASE, IF WE DID THAT, WE'D BE BACK TO THE ONE LANE ROAD.
I MEAN, THAT'S A TRAFFIC CALMING TECHNIQUE TO NARROW TO A SINGLE LANE, SOMETHING WE COULD LOOK AT.
WE'LL HAVE TO WE WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH FIRE EQUIPMENT, TURNING PLOW [INAUDIBLE] AND JUST GO THROUGH ALL THOSE TYPICAL CHECKS TO SEE IF IT'S POSSIBLE.
BUT I MEAN, IT'S POSSIBLE BUT WE JUST HAVE TO LOOK THROUGH IT.
BUT YEAH, THAT'S A CONSIDERATION HERE.
JUST A THOUGHT THAT HAD COME TO MIND AS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS.
ANOTHER THOUGHT WAS LIKE A ROUNDABOUT LIKE WE HAVE IN A-- YOU'RE TALKING SHIMONI.
[LAUGHTER] I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF COUNCIL HAS ANY QUESTION FOR ME.
PLEASE, CITY ATTORNEY, IF I CAN CONTINUE.
ONE OF THE PERKS OF BEING ELECTED RIGHT? ANYWAYS A GOOD REMINDER TO KEEP IT SHORT AND BRIEF, THOUGH.
ROUNDABOUTS, I KNOW, CAN BE EXPENSIVE.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF WE HAVE THE WIDTH HERE TO EVEN POTENTIALLY CONSIDER ONE LIKE WE DO IN LA PLAZA VIEJA.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU'VE LOOKED INTO? SAME CONSIDERATIONS, WE DID LOOK AT SOME CIRCLES HERE, AND THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE REALLY, REALLY SMALL OR COMPLETELY MOUNTABLE TO GET THE VEHICLES THROUGH THESE INTERSECTIONS ARE PRETTY SMALL.
THESE ARE QUITE A BIT SMALLER THAN PLAZA VIEJA INTERSECTION.
SO WE DID LOOK AT IT, WE COULD DO THEM.
BUT I MEAN, THEY'D BE VERY SMALL, SO THEY WEREN'T RECOMMENDED FOR THAT REASON.
AND I KNOW THAT THIS INTERSECTION IN THESE ROADS ARE REALLY THIN AS IT IS.
I DO WONDER IF THERE STILL IS VALUE, EVEN IF IT'S A SMALL CIRCLE, ASSUMING PEOPLE DON'T CUT THROUGH BUT GO AROUND IT.
IT DOES FORCE THE DRIVER TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, REALLY KIND OF CIRCLE AROUND RATHER THAN DO LIKE A SHARP ANGLE TRYING TO CUT TIME.
BUT I DO TRUST YOU AND OUR COMMISSION'S LEADERSHIP AND RECOMMENDATION IN REGARDS TO WHAT'S BEST.
YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC SAFETY IS DEFINITELY A BIG CONCERN OF MINE
[03:15:04]
HERE, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ADDRESS IT.I DON'T KNOW IF THAT MEANS CLOSING THE CORRIDOR OR MAKING IT A ONE WAY, AT LEAST AS A FIRST STEP OF MITIGATION HERE.
I DO LIKE THE MITIGATIONS YOU'VE OUTLINED.
I DO WONDER IF THE SPEED BUMP OR THE CROSSING-- WHAT WAS THAT? I'M HAPPY TO EXPLORE IT.
BUT FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD, THOSE DON'T REALLY DO A WHOLE LOT OTHER THAN MAYBE RAISE AWARENESS OF THAT CROSSING.
BUT WE CAN TRY AND I DO REALLY LIKE THE SPEED BARS OR THE STOP BARS.
I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD IDEA AND THE BOULDERS.
SO IN REGARDS TO THE BOULDERS, I SEE WHERE THE RED CIRCLES ARE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THAT MAP, BUT I'M ASSUMING ON THAT BOTTOM CORRIDOR THAT'S CUTTING VERTICALLY GOING, YOU KNOW, LEFT AND GOING NORTH.
WOULD THE SAME BOULDERS BE UTILIZED LIKE A VALUE ON THE PROPERTY RIGHT THERE? YEAH.
SO THE BOLDER SUGGESTION CAME FROM THE RESIDENT THAT LIVES, I BELIEVE, LIVES IN THIS HOUSE, SO THAT WAS HOW OUR RECOMMENDATION CAME ABOUT FOR THOSE BOULDERS AND WE UNDERSTAND THERE HAD BEEN A VEHICLE THAT SLID ACROSS.
WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY REPORTS OF ANY OF THE OTHER DIRECTIONS BEING AN ISSUE.
IT'S SOMETHING WE COULD CONSIDER WE'D WANT TO COORDINATE.
OFTEN PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, THAT IS PUBLIC RIGHT AWAY, BUT OFTEN THE ADJACENT RESIDENT LIKES THE LANDSCAPE AND UTILIZE THAT AREA, SO THEY MAY BE OPPOSED TO THE CONCEPT.
BUT WE CERTAINLY COULD MAKE CONTACT AND SEE IF SOMEONE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THAT.
BUT WE HAVEN'T HEARD A CONCERN.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, DID NOT ADDRESS THAT.
I WAS JUST WONDERING, YOU KNOW, JUST THINKING OF TRAFFIC.
I FEEL LIKE THE ISSUE IS PROBABLY RELEVANT TO BOTH OF THOSE POINTS, BUT REGARDLESS, I'M FINE JUST WITH THE CURRENT PLAN AS WELL, IF THAT'S WHAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE, AT LEAST IN THE SHORT TERM.
TWO LAST QUESTIONS DO WE HAVE ANY CRASH DATA FROM THESE INTERSECTIONS? WE DO, AND I DON'T HAVE THOSE SLIDES IN THIS PRESENTATION.
WE HAD HEARD ABOUT I'M TRY TO REMEMBER THERE WERE VERY FEW.
I PROBABLY SHOULD JUST TRY TO FIND THE SLIDE WHILE YOU YOU'RE TALKING, BUT WE HAD HEARD ABOUT LOTS OF CRASHES.
THERE WERE A COUPLE WE HAD HEARD ABOUT THE STOP SIGN BEING KNOCKED DOWN A NUMBER OF TIMES AND WE DID GET WE TALKED TO STREETS AND THEY SAID YES, IT WAS KNOCKED DOWN ONCE LAST YEAR.
AND THAT'S THIS STOP SIGN ON HIGHLAND MESA AT AX HANDLES.
SO, THERE WASN'T A PATTERN OF ISSUES THEY WERE, THE CRASHES WERE, I THINK THERE IS ONE OR TWO, YOU KNOW, SLIDING ON ICE HITTING CURB THAT KIND OF THING.
THERE'S NO INJURIES OR ANYTHING CLOSE TO AN INJURY FROM MY RECOLLECTION, IF YOU LIKE, I CAN TRY TO FIND IT.
BUT YEAH, WE HAVE LOOKED THROUGH THE CRASHES WITH THE COMMISSION.
I JUST DIDN'T GIVE YOU THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL.
AND THAT'S-- I DON'T NEED TO FOLLOW UP.
THAT'S HELPFUL, JUST THOSE QUICK INSIGHTS.
AND THEN MY LAST COMMENT IS IN REGARDS TO SIGNAGE.
MAYBE JUST ENHANCED SIGNAGE WOULD BE HELPFUL.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FLASHING STOP SIGNS OR-- I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BETTER THAN WHAT I KNOW IN REGARDS TO WHAT'S POSSIBLE.
BUT I CAN IMAGINE MAYBE IMPROVE SIGNAGE COULD POTENTIALLY BE A LOW BARRIER OR LOW HANGING FRUIT SOLUTION IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AND I APPRECIATE WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER ASLAN SPOKE TO, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD STREET BEING USED AS A THOROUGHWAY AND COUNCIL IF WE DO GO DOWN THAT PATH.
I JUST ASKED THAT WE DO IT THROUGH A EQUITY LENS, A LENS OF EQUITY IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THERE'S A LOT OF NEIGHBORHOOD ROADS ARE BEING UTILIZED AS THROUGH WAYS.
AND YEAH, I DON'T WANT IT TO START, YOU KNOW, PICKING AND CHOOSING RANDOMLY, BUT REALLY LOOKING AT THAT MORE HOLISTICALLY.
SO, COUNCIL MEMBER ASLAN I SEE YOU'RE NODDING YOUR HEAD AND MAYBE THAT'S A FAIR ITEM OR SOMETHING THAT WE COULD TALK ABOUT LATER IS A CITY WIDE DISCUSSION AROUND, YOU KNOW, TRAFFIC ISSUES THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS.
BUT AGAIN, GRATITUDE TO STAFF AND THE COMMISSION AND THE COMMUNITY FOR WORKING ON THESE MITIGATION STRATEGIES.
I'M CURIOUS TO SEE HOW THEY WORK ONCE IMPLEMENTED AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY'S FEEDBACK WILL BE.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER SHIMONI.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY? THANK YOU, MAYOR.
A COUPLE OF POINTS ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO, I WAS IN THE AUDIENCE OUT THERE LONG BEFORE I WAS ON COUNCIL [COUGH], AND CITY COUNCIL HAD THIS EXACT DISCUSSION AND THE DECISION WAS THAT THEY WOULD, AS JEFF POINTED OUT BEFORE, THAT THEY WOULD OPEN UP WOODY WAY AFTER BASICALLY THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE WAS OVER WITHOUT GETTING INTO THE DETAILS.
SO WHAT'S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT?
[03:20:01]
WELL, IN EFFECT, COUNCIL PROMISED AT THAT POINT THAT THIS WOULD BE OPEN AND THE PEOPLE IN PRESIDIO BOUGHT HOUSES BASED ON THAT ASSUMPTION.SO I REALLY AM HESITANT TO REVERSE A DECISION THAT WAS MADE, AND I'M NOT SURE IT WAS A UNANIMOUS DECISION.
I THINK IT WAS, BUT IT WAS DEFINITELY A COUNCIL DECISION AND THAT WAS A PROMISE TO THE PEOPLE THAT BOUGHT HOMES IN PRESIDIO.
I'LL ALSO SAY THAT, THAT STREET WAS THERE, ALTHOUGH GATED WHEN I BOUGHT MY HOUSE, MY FIRST HOUSE IN BOULDER POINTE 20 YEARS AGO, SO IT WAS THERE.
I KNEW ABOUT IT WHEN I BOUGHT MY HOUSE AND I BUILT A BRAND NEW HOUSE THERE.
LET'S TALK ABOUT CUT THROUGH TRAFFIC.
LA PLAZA VIEJA HAS A BIG PROBLEM WITH CUT THROUGH TRAFFIC.
WE DIDN'T CLOSE ANY OF THEIR STREETS.
NOW, I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION THAT THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S COMPLETELY FINAL, BUT JEFF, YOU COULD PROBABLY TELL ME OR JULIE, THAT THEY'RE SUGGESTING OR WILL BE PUTTING A ROUNDABOUT IN ON UNIVERSITY AT TOMBAUGH, WHICH IS WHAT HALF A MILE OR SO EAST OF WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE? SO THAT ROUNDABOUT WILL BE GOING IN AND THAT WILL SLOW TRAFFIC DOWN, AND IT WILL DISCOURAGE PEOPLE FROM GOING THROUGH THERE BECAUSE IT'S ANOTHER WHAT I CALL AN ORIFICE OR A RESTRICTION.
SO WHEN YOU ADD RESTRICTIONS, IT HAS SOME IMPACT IN CUTTING DOWN FLOW.
THE OTHER THING I CAN SAY IS THAT JUST RECENTLY, THERE'S BEEN TWO SIGNS ADDED ON UNIVERSITY JUST EAST OF THIS LOCATION THAT MEASURE YOUR SPEED, AND IF YOU'RE GOING OVER TWENTY FIVE MILES AN HOUR, THEY FLASH AT YOU AND SAY, SLOW DOWN, SLOW DOWN, SLOW DOWN.
SO THOSE HAVE JUST GONE IN BOTH DIRECTIONS, ONE IN EACH DIRECTION.
AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, I'M THE COUNCIL LIAISON TO THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, AND I SAT THROUGH ALL THESE MEETINGS AND LISTENED TO ALL THE PUBLIC INPUT AND ALL THE CONSIDERED DEBATE AMONG THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSIONERS.
SUMMARY OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION AND BECAUSE I BELIEVE THEY CAME UP WITH A RATIONAL DECISION, I SUPPORT ALL OF THE POINTS THAT THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION CAME UP WITH.
AT FIRST I WAS SKEPTICAL ABOUT THE GET RID OF THE PARKING, BUT WE HAD A GOOD SPEAKER ON THAT SUBJECT TONIGHT.
I DO THINK THAT THE RAISED WALKWAYS ACROSS IN, THREE LOCATIONS WILL AGAIN, THOUGH, WILL SLOW PEOPLE DOWN A LITTLE BIT AND DISCOURAGE THEM FROM USING THIS ROUTE.
SO IN SUMMARY, I SUPPORT ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY.
FIRST, I WANT TO PROVIDE A SPACE AND TIME TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE TO EACH MEMBER OF THE TOURISM COMMISSION, SND COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY, FOR YOUR VIGOROUS WORK ON THIS MATTER, AND I HEARD THAT YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING INTO THIS MATTER FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.
AND I THANK YOU FOR DEDICATING YOUR TIME AND TALENT AS VOLUNTEERS TO THE COMMISSION AND LOOKING INTO ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE WITH VISION, AND WITH PRAGMATISM.
AND THAT GRATITUDE ALSO EXTENDS TO STAFF.
WITH THAT, I WOULD WANT TO UPHOLD ALL YOUR RECOMMENDATION AND LOOKING IN TO THE MITIGATION AS PROPOSED BY STAFF AND PERHAPS EXPLORING
[03:25:04]
OTHER MITIGATIONS THAT CAN BE EXPLORED INTO THE FUTURE.I DO WANT TO FOCUS ON ONE STATEMENT, ONE BULLET POINT IN THE PRESENTATION, THAT WOODY WAY IS DESIGNATED AS A PUBLIC ROADWAY, REGARDLESS OF DRIVERS ORIGIN AND DESTINATIONS.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER SALAS.
I DO WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO MR. MCCARTHY FOR YOUR HISTORY AND YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND ALSO TO STAFF THE COMMISSION AND THE PUBLIC FOR ALL OF THE INPUT.
I'M A YES TO FOLLOWING ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, I WOULD REQUEST WE RECEIVE REGULAR UPDATES ON THE CALMING MEASURES AND PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, RECEIVE UPDATES ON OTHER ISSUES THAT MAY ARISE IN THAT AREA AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER SWEET.
STAFF, DO WE HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF THE TRAFFIC COUNTS ON EACH OF THE TWO ROADS? IT LOOKED TO ME LIKE THE TRAFFIC COUNT WAS SIMPLY WHAT WAS ON WOODY WAY AND NOT HOW MUCH WAS ON EACH OF THE FIELD GOAL ROADS OFF OF WOODY WAY? AM I CORRECT? YES, THE PRESENTATION THAT I PROVIDED THIS EVENING JUST HAD WOODY WAY VOLUMES, BUT I'VE PULLED UP A SLIDE THAT WE'VE USED PREVIOUSLY, AGAIN MORE DETAIL FOR THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION.
I'M NOT SURE IF YOU CAN SEE THIS.
I CAN ZOOM IN SOME IF YOU'RE INTERESTED.
WE'VE COUNTED EVERYWHERE IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.
CAN I MAKE THIS PRESENT EVEN THOUGH IT'S HIDDEN? I CAN.
OK, SO HERE IS YOUR MATCHING LOCATION, WOODY WAY I'VE GOT MY CURSOR GOING AND THESE ARE SEPTEMBER OF TWENTY ONE, SO THIS IS THE MOST RECENT COUNT IS THE READ COUNT AND SEE YOU CAN SEE THE TOTAL.
REMEMBER WHAT I WAS REPORTING WAS KIND OF THE DAYTIME VOLUMES, WHICH IS MOST OF THE TRAFFIC.
BUT HERE'S THE TOTAL TRAFFIC FOR A TWENTY FOUR HOUR PERIOD IS NINE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY ONE.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE VOLUMES ON AX HANDLE, AND I THINK I CAN ZOOM IF I SEE YOU LEANING IN, SO I CAN CERTAINLY ZOOM AND MOVE AROUND.
I PUSH THE RIGHT BUTTONS EVEN.
SO HERE'S WE'LL JUST WALK OUR WAY AROUND.
SO HERE'S MISSION TIMBER, WHICH IS IN PRESIDIO TO THE NORTH OF WOODY WAY, SO YOU CAN SEE ABOUT THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THREE HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE VEHICLES PER DAY.
THIS ONE'S GOING TO BE HARDER THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY ONE SOUTH ON MISSION TIMBER.
AX HANDLE VERY, VERY LOW VOLUMES, BECAUSE THIS IS NOT THE DIRECT ROUTE TO GET IN OR OUT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
[INAUDIBLE] WHEN WE LOOKED AT MAKING THIS A ONE-WAY LOOP ONE WAY OR THE OTHER KIND OF SPLIT THE TRAFFIC BETWEEN HIGHLAND MESA, BUT WOULD PUT A LOT OF NEW TRAFFIC DOWN ON THIS LOOP WHERE THERE'S VIRTUALLY NONE TODAY, YOU CAN SEE AX HANDLE HERE.
WHERE'S OUR MOST RECENT OR MOST RECENT IS MAY OF TWENTY ONE, SO 818 RIGHT HERE.
HIGHLAND MESA, JUST OVER A THOUSAND THOUSAND TWENTY FIVE AT THIS LOCATION.
AS YOU GO FURTHER, IT'S GOING TO GET HIGHER.
SO HERE'S HIGHLAND MESA, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE ROAD A KIND OF ACROSS FROM THE TOWNHOME SECTION.
AND LET'S SEE WHAT OUR LAST COUNT WAS MAY, TWENTY ONE SUMMERS TEND TO BE A LITTLE BIT LOWER, BUT HERE'S THE COUNT.
WHAT IS THAT ABOUT SIX HUNDRED? A LITTLE MORE? AND THE MAY OF TWENTY ONE ELEVEN FIFTY DOWN HERE IN HIGHLAND MESA AND THE BUSIER STREET IS UNIVERSITY.
SO YOU'RE ASKING FOR SOME COMPARISONS.
THESE ARE THE TWO LOCATIONS THAT WE'VE CONSISTENTLY COUNTED, AS YOU CAN SEE.
EIGHTEEN, NINETEEN, TWENTY TWENTY ONE.
SO HERE IS BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD A BIT RIGHT ABOUT SIXTEEN HUNDRED VEHICLES A DAY.
AND AS YOU MOVE FURTHER OUT AGAIN, IT INCREASES TO 2400-2500 VEHICLES PER DAY ON UNIVERSITY AVENUE, AND THIS IS THE TOMBAUGH INTERSECTION THAT WAS REFERENCED FOR
[03:30:02]
TRAFFIC COMING.THAT'S WHERE THE TEMPORARY TRAFFIC CALMING IS TODAY PLUS A TEMPORARY TRAFFIC CALMING KIND OF ON ON THIS SECTION OF UNIVERSITY HERE.
SPEEDS WERE A QUESTION AND WE ACTUALLY DO HAVE SPEEDS COLLECTED.
THESE ARE SUCH SHORT SEGMENTS.
IT'S A LITTLE TRICKY, BUT YOU CAN SEE I MEAN, AVERAGE SPEEDS OF 14 AND 18 MILES PER HOUR VERY, VERY LOW SPEEDS, WOODY WAY IS SIMILAR 17 FOR A 50TH PERCENTILE AND 20 FOR THE 80TH PERCENTILE.
SO WE'VE BEEN FOCUSING ON AGAIN TRYING TO-- SOME BETTER BEHAVIOR HERE WITH THE INCREASED TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES THROUGH THIS SECTION.
DOES THAT HELP? IT DOES THANK YOU.
SO, SAY TODAY, BOULDER POINTE AND PRESIDIO CAME TO THE CITY AT THE SAME TIME.
WOULD WE ALLOW THIS DESIGN FOR TRAFFIC, FOR A POSSIBLE EXIT FROM PRESIDIO? WELL, IF WE HAD THIS TO DO OVER AGAIN AND OUR CODE DOESN'T NECESSARILY SUPPORT LOTS OF CONNECTIONS, BUT IT DOES-- IT'S FAIRLY GENERAL IN SUPPORTING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN NEIGHBORHOODS.
I THINK THINGS THAT WE HAVE LEARNED AND POTENTIAL UPDATES TO OUR CODE MOVING FORWARD.
AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS-- WOULD IT BE BETTER TO HAVE MULTIPLE CONNECTIONS EVERY QUARTER MILE, KIND OF SPREAD THE LOAD, MAYBE EVEN A CONNECTION UP HERE IF IT MADE SENSE? THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD WANT TODAY.
OUR CODE DOESN'T NECESSARILY SUPPORT THAT.
OUR CODE WOULD PROBABLY END UP WITH SOMETHING SIMILAR.
WE WOULD PUSH EACH DEVELOPER TO PROVIDE A CONNECTION.
AND TYPICALLY, THEY WOULD PROVIDE THE MINIMUM ALLOWABLE.
SO WE PROBABLY END UP WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS TODAY.
BUT TALKING WITH DIFFERENT GROUPS OF STAFF IN PREPARATION FOR THIS, WE'VE ALL WENT, WE NEED TO UPDATE-- THIS IS A BIT OF A BAD SPOT IN OUR CODE.
SO I DO-- I SO EMPATHIZE WITH ALL OF THESE RESIDENTS BECAUSE EACH OF US IN THIS COMMUNITY DESERVES TO LIVE ON A SAFE STREET AND DESERVES TO BE ABLE TO ENJOY THE PLACE THAT WE LIVE.
AND I SEE THOSE SIGNS ALL OVER.
I'VE GOT THEM IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, ALL OVER TOWN, WHERE PEOPLE ARE PUTTING UP THE SIGN SAYING, DRIVE LIKE YOUR KIDS LIVED HERE AND I KNOW WE CAN'T-- WE CAN'T NECESSARILY REGULATE BEHAVIOR, I MEAN, WE CAN HAVE POLICE, WE CAN WE CAN DESIGN OUR ROADS DIFFERENTLY.
AND I GUESS WHAT I WISH THAT WE COULD MAKE HAPPEN IS THAT WE WOULD ALL DRIVE THROUGH EACH OTHER'S NEIGHBORHOODS AS THOUGH WE LIVED THERE AND WE WOULD DRIVE SLOWLY, WE WOULD DRIVE CAUTIOUSLY, WE'D BE LOOKING OUT FOR KIDS AND PETS AND PEOPLE CROSSING STREETS.
AND SO I GET-- I JUST WANT TO EXPRESS THAT I DO FEEL SUCH EMPATHY FOR THESE RESIDENTS AND RESIDENTS LIKE THEM IN OTHER PARTS OF TOWN THAT HAVE A LOT OF TRAFFIC ON THEIR ROADS.
AND AT THIS POINT, I'M GOING TO SUPPORT WHAT THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION LAID OUT, AND I TOO WOULD LIKE TO HAVE AN UPDATE ONCE WE HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO SEE WHAT KIND OF IMPACT IT HAS HAD.
WELL, I'LL WEIGH IN HERE AS WELL, YOU KNOW, I REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFICULT THIS CAN BE, ESPECIALLY AS A PARENT HAVING THIS KIND OF TRAFFIC OUT YOUR DOOR.
I MEAN, WITH THREE SMALL CHILDREN, WE-- AT OUR LAST LOCATION, WE DID NOT LET OUR KIDS GO OUT INTO THE FRONT YARD AND I WAS WORRIED WHENEVER SHOVELING MY DRIVEWAY WHILE THE KIDS WERE PLAYING IN THE SNOW.
JUST ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT THAT NEXT CAR THAT WAS COMING DOWN MY STREET.
THE ISSUES HERE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, HONESTLY, A LOT OF WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER MCCARTHY HAS STATED REALLY SPELLED IT OUT CLEARLY.
THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN PONDEROSA PINES THAT ALSO BOUGHT THEIR PROPERTIES WITH THIS EXPECTATION OF THIS ROUTE.
THERE ARE-- I THINK THAT THROUGH TWO YEARS OF CONSIDERATIONS OF THE
[03:35:06]
TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, THE STAFF BEING DILIGENTLY LOOKING THROUGH THIS, THIS BEING IN FRONT OF COUNCIL MULTIPLE TIMES TO DISCUSS, THAT WE HAVE FOUND AT LEAST SOMETHING THAT CAN HELP MITIGATE THIS SITUATION.I THINK CLOSING OFF THAT ROUTE WOULD WE WILL BE BACK AGAIN AT THIS TOMORROW [INAUDIBLE] COUNCIL WITH THE HOA FROM PONDEROSA PINES, THE RESIDENTS THERE VERY UPSET OF US CLOSING THAT OFF.
WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS REALLY MITIGATE IT TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY.
THAT BEING SAID, I'M IN SUPPORT OF WHAT THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION HAS PUT FORTH.
I WOULD ALSO URGE, ESPECIALLY NOW, THAT TONIGHT IT'S ALREADY, MAY ALREADY BE SNOWING.
I'VE LOOKED OUTSIDE IN A WHILE, BUT THAT WE GET THOSE BOULDERS IN FRONT OF THAT PERSON'S HOME.
IF WE'RE GOING TO DO IT, LET'S JUST GET IT DONE.
I THINK THAT SEEMS LIKE AN EASY LIFT TO BEGIN WITH AND THEN CONTINUE TO WORK ON THE RAISED SIDEWALKS AND THE OTHER MEASURES.
SO THANK YOU, EVERYONE, I THINK WE HAVE CONSENSUS HERE FOR SUPPORT OF THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION'S PROPOSALS.
WE'RE NOW DOWN TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER NINE, OUR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, DO WE HAVE ANYONE? MAYOR, WE DO NOT.
[INAUDIBLE] AGENDA ITEM, 10 INFORMATIONAL ITEMS, TO/FROM MAYOR, COUNCIL AND
[10. Informational Items To/From Mayor, Council, and City Manager; future agenda item requests]
CITY MANAGER AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEM REQUESTS.I WILL START OVER TO MY LEFT WITH COUNCIL MEMBER SALAS.
COME ONE, COME ALL TO THE SUNNY SIDE HOLIDAY COOKIE FESTIVAL, SO EVERYONE IS INVITED TO JOIN CELEBRATING THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON AND COLLECTIVE POWER OF THE COMMUNITY AND SHOWCASING THE DIVERSITY OF OUR CULTURES AND COMMUNITIES AND COOKIES AND BARS.
I'M ACTUALLY CO-SPONSORING THE EVENT AS I WILL BE BAKING AND SHARING A GLUTEN FREE FOOD FOR THE GODS BARS.
HAPPY FESTIVUS! [INAUDIBLE] YOU COUNCIL MEMBER.
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY HOLIDAY, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU NOT NEXT WEEK, BUT THE FOLLOWING WEEK.
I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING TONIGHT.
JUST WANT TO SAY WE'RE ALMOST TO THE WINTER SOLSTICE AND THE DAYS WILL START GETTING LONGER AND SOON.
I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER TO REOPEN AGENDA ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, JUST REAL QUICK.
COUNCIL MEMBER ASLAN, I APOLOGIZE THAT DID NOT SEE YOUR FINAL THOUGHTS COMMENT BEFORE I HAD CLOSED THE DISCUSSION, SO I WOULD LIKE TO REOPEN THAT SO THAT YOU MAY SPEAK TO THE WOODY WAY.
YOU KNOW WHAT, I DON'T WANT TO BEAT A DEAD HORSE HERE, I THINK THE DIRECTION IS PRETTY CLEAR GOING FORWARD, AND I KNOW THAT A LOT OF THAT COMES VERY STRONGLY FROM THE UNANIMOUS RECOMMENDATION OF THE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION.
I APPRECIATE THEIR VOICE IN THIS PROCESS AND I KNOW HOW MUCH THAT WEIGHS ON EVERYBODY'S MIND.
SO I DON'T WANT THAT TO BE MISUNDERSTOOD OR MISCONSTRUED.
I WILL TAKE JUST A MOMENT TO AGAIN JUST VOICE THE GRIEVANCES OF THE BOULDER POINTE COMMUNITY IN THIS UNFORTUNATE SITUATION.
AND I DID HAVE SOMETHING A SUBSTANCE TO RAISE AS WELL.
I THINK IF WE'RE GOING TO TAKE PARKING OFF OF WOODY WAY.
WE SHOULD DO THAT VERY SELECTIVELY TOWARD [INAUDIBLE] IN THE INTERSECTIONS WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE THAT VISIBILITY THAT WAS BEING DISCUSSED BY THE ONE EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN.
[03:40:01]
OTHERWISE, I THINK WE SHOULD ALLOW PARKING IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT SPACE, AT THE VERY LEAST AS A FURTHER MITIGATION MEASURE OR OBSTACLE TOWARDS SPEEDING AND AS A DETERRENT FOR PEOPLE TO USE THIS AS A ROUTE TO GET TO AND FROM.ARE THERE COMMUTING NEEDS OVERBURDENING THE BOULDER POINTE NEIGHBORHOOD? AND I'LL JUST LEAVE IT AT THIS, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO LEAVE YOU WITH THE IMAGERY ONCE AGAIN OF THAT TINY ROAD THAT WE'RE NOW CONSIDERING REMOVING PARKING FROM BECAUSE IT'S TOO NARROW TO SAFELY PARK CARS THERE.
ONE CAR PER MINUTE, ALL DAY LONG, PASSING BACK AND FORTH ON THAT SPACE, IN A ZIGZAG, GOING UP THROUGH BLOWING UP THROUGH BOULDER POINTE.
I JUST THINK IT'S COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE AND NOW I DON'T HAVE TO USE MY OWN WORDS.
THE VICE MAYOR ASKED A VERY, VERY FABULOUS QUESTION ABOUT IF WE WERE GOING TO DO THIS TODAY, HOW WOULD WE DO IT? AND THAT'S PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, MR. BAUMAN.
BUT YOUR REPLY WAS AND I QUOTE.
IT'S A BAD SPOT IN OUR CODE AND WE CAN DO BETTER.
AND WE JUST CLOSED THIS DISCUSSION WITH MOVING FORWARD ON RECOMMENDATIONS TO BASICALLY DO NOTHING OF SUBSTANCE OUT HERE.
IT'S A VERY DISAPPOINTING RESULT FOR ME, I AM ONE OF SEVEN PEOPLE ON [INAUDIBLE] ONE VOICE AGAINST A NUMBER OF OUR ILLUSTRIOUS TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEMBERS WHO GIVE UP THEIR TIME AND BRING US THE EXPERTISE THAT THEY HAVE TO OFFER, AND I HIGHLY RESPECT THAT.
BUT AS A HOMEOWNER ON A STREET AND AS A PARENT WITH CHILDREN MYSELF, I FIND THE WHERE WE'RE WRAPPING UP ON THIS TO BE ENTIRELY INSUFFICIENT.
AND I ALSO BELIEVE THAT WE CAN DO BETTER, BUT I GUESS WE NEED TO LEAVE IT THERE, I JUST HOPE THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO CLOSE PARKING, WE DON'T DO IT ALL THE WAY.
WE JUST DO IT TOWARDS THE EDGES FOR VISIBILITY SAKE.
BUT WE ALLOW CARS THERE AS THE OBSTACLE THAT THEY OFFER AND THAT I'M ALSO NOT IN -- I'M NOT IN FAVOR OF ENHANCED SIGNAGE.
I DON'T THINK THAT DOES ANYTHING BUT BLIGHT THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
COMING BACK TO THIS TOPIC AND LETTING ME SPEAK, I REALLY DO DEEPLY APPRECIATE THE GESTURE.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER ASLAN, AND MY APOLOGIES FOR NOT SEEING THAT BEFORE CLOSING IT.
BUT WITH THAT, WE WILL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 10.
WE WILL CONTINUE ON AND I DO BELIEVE IT WAS MAYBE MY TURN.
WE HAD A GOOD DISCUSSION WITH THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS AND BNSF FOR RIO TO FLAG.
WE TYPICALLY HAVE, AS USUAL, TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK, AND I'M THANKFUL THAT WE'RE THIS TIME TAKING A STEP FORWARD.
SO IT WAS HAPPY TO HEAR ABOUT THAT.
AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION IN THE NEAR FUTURE ON HOW THAT'S PROGRESSING.
TOMORROW WE WILL BE-- THE SERVICE PROVIDERS IN OUR TOWN ARE ARE COMING TOGETHER AS A SUMMIT ON THURSDAY.
THURSDAY, TO HELP US GET A LARGER VIEW, SEE WHERE GAPS IN SERVICES MAY EXIST INTO OUR COMMUNITY, WHERE THE CITY FITS INTO THAT AND HOW WE CAN BEST PROVIDE SERVICES TO OUR GENERAL COMMUNITY.
AND I'M VERY LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT DAY LONG RETREAT AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO.
A SIDE FROM THAT THOSE ARE THE MAJOR UPDATES.
CHECKING WHAT ELSE I MIGHT HAVE.
ASIDE FROM THAT, I THINK THAT'S THE MAIN THINGS I WANTED TO MENTION HERE, SO I WILL PASS THE TORCH ON TO VICE MAYOR.
JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK THINGS.
JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK UPDATES.
BUT IN OUR PLOWING OPERATIONS, THE BIKE LANE ON BUTLER GOT HIT PRETTY HARD BY ONE OF OUR PLOWS.
AND I'M VERY PROUD TO SAY THAT OUR TEAM AT THE CITY, OUR STREETS DIRECTOR SAM BECKETT AND PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR SCOTT OVERTON ARE ON IT.
THEY'VE BEEN LOOKING AT IT, THEY'RE RESEARCHING IT, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS AND THEY'RE READY FOR WEDNESDAY'S SNOW, WHICH IS TOMORROW.
[03:45:02]
AND I ACTUALLY WILL BE LIKELY JOINING SAM BECKETT IN A PLOW FOR A RIDE ALONG TOMORROW TO WITNESS HOW THAT PLOW OPERATION WORKS OR DOESN'T WORK.BUT I'M HOPING DOES WORK AND TO OUR COMMUNITY, JUST STAY PATIENT WITH US.
WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE KINKS.
WE'RE GOING TO FIND WAYS TO MAKE THIS WORK AND I THINK WE'LL GET THERE, HOPEFULLY SOONER THAN LATER.
AND JUST GRATITUDE TO SAM AND HIS TEAM IN OUR PLOW DRIVERS AND OUR STREETS OPERATORS.
I HAD A GOOD MEETING WITH PRESIDENT CRUZ YESTERDAY AND WE DISCUSSED HOUSING ON CAMPUS.
WE DISCUSSED MINIMUM WAGE, WE DISCUSSED A WHOLE RANGE OF TOPICS AND I AM JUST BEYOND EXCITED ABOUT HIM IN HIS POSITION FOR NAU.
I'M EXCITED FOR NAU'S FUTURE AND THE COMMUNITY'S FUTURE, AND SPECIFICALLY OUR TOWN AND GOWN RELATIONSHIPS.
I ALSO BROUGHT UP WITH PRESIDENT CRUZ A DESIRE TO FIGURE OUT A PATH BETWEEN CAMPUS AND TOWN FOR PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS.
AND IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE SOMETHING LIKE TAKING A LANE FROM BEAVER, AND HE'S VERY INTERESTED IN PURSUING THAT WITH ME IN THIS NEXT YEAR OF MY TIME LEFT.
SO I KNOW THAT NAU'S PLAYED A HUGE ROLE IN OUR HISTORY OF BIKE PLANNING.
SO GLAD TO BE PARTNERING WITH NAU ON THAT AS WELL.
ALONG WITH THESE OTHER TOPICS, AS THE MAYOR MENTIONED, THERE'S A DISCUSSION ABOUT RESOURCES AND NEEDS IN OUR COMMUNITY ON THURSDAY, AND I'M JUST GRATEFUL FOR STAFF LEADERSHIP AND SOME OF US ON COUNCIL PARTICIPATION, ALONG WITH THE COMMUNITY WHO HELPED TO SET THAT UP.
AND I THINK THOSE WERE ALL MY POINTS, WISHING EVERYBODY A HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A SAFE ONE.
AND THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION TO THE CITY.
WITH THAT, THANK YOU, EVERYONE FOR TONIGHT, PLEASE STAY SAFE ON THE ROADS THIS EVENING AND TOMORROW MORNING AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU HERE IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.