The Winslow City Council met on Tuesday were informed by City Manager Steve Pauken that the National Parks Service has given final approval for a lien transfer from the old golf course land to the section of the city land that includes Brigham City, the city farm and a portion of the waste water treatment plant.
The endeavor has been at least 12 years in the making, with the city seeking to transfer the lien in order to offer the old golf course land for sale for economic development. The land, which is located just north of North Park Drive, consists of approximately 200 acres with utilities that could be extended from North Park Drive.
The reason for the lengthy time frame was because the NPS would only transfer the lien if the property value was equal so the property at Brigham City and the surrounding area had to be developed enough to meet that need. The land involved excludes the portions being leased for agricultural use by a private rancher. Additional delay was due to specific requirements by the federal government regarding appraisal submission other legal paperwork.
In other business, Public Works Director Allen Rosenbaum reported on activities at the animal control facility. He said that the facility had taken in eight dogs, had one returned from a foster home. Six had been adopted and one returned to its owner. Seven were transferred to other no kill shelters in northern Arizona and two were fostered out. The most on hand had been 32 and the lowest number had been 19. At the end of the month there were 20 dogs on hand. Three cats were taken in and one was adopted. There were 13 cats on hand at the end of the month.
The facility had to euthanize five dogs in the month. One was a severe bite case that had killed another dog. Two had mange that had done severe damage and two were showing signs of kennelitis and were acting aggressive toward the staff.
City Inspector Marshall Larsen spoke regarding what must be done to convert a church into a single-family residence. He said that the building must be brought up to code and explained smoke detectors were needed, windows needed replaced and the entire structure must be brought up to code. According to Larsen, the owner could not live in the structure until it was up to code and could be cited if he continued to do so.
Councilmember Thomas Chacon’s request to discuss a plan of action for Desert View Cemetery resulted in Chacon speaking at length on things he would like to see done at the cemetery and Pauken saying that the city did have a plan it was following. Several persons spoke about the cemetery during the call to the public and said that while it had seen better days it has been improving lately.
In other business, the council:
* Approved an intergovernmental agreement with Navajo County regarding the renewal of contract for the magistrate court clerk in the amount of $41,580.
* Adopted an ordinance authorizing the commercial ground lease at the Winslow Lindbergh Regional Airport for operation by Orbital ATK, Inc. of the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility for the benefit of NASA. The lease will be for $6,567.
* Entered into executive session for legal advice regarding recapture agreement with Winslow Development Company and about a request by a city employee to cash out the entirety of his accrued vacation time due to hardship. No action was taken on either item.
