The Holbrook City Council met May 10, and learned about projects that have been completed in the city and others that are in the works.
With the warm weather kicking in, the city was scheduled to open the splash park, the swimming pool has been filled and the heater is being tested, and the new racquetball court at Hunt Park is ready for use, but City Manager Ray Alley has more plans for the building. “I’m wanting to put a Wallyball court on the south side of the racquetball court and maybe a basketball rim inside the court out of the way so that it can be used if no one is playing racquetball and it’s raining,” said Alley. He also wants to add a small dog park to the south of the racquetball court and some tetherballs in that area of the park, as well.
Alley informed the council of the recreation program that has been organized by Community Events Director Kathleen Smith and City Clerk Cher Reyes. “They have created this rec program at zero cost. Kathleen and Cher are running it and it’s all volunteers,” stated Alley. The list of activities ranges from cupcake decorating to automotive and athletics. A detailed list of events, times and locations will be made available soon.
Alley also had a long list of projects that he was hoping to address. One is to relocate the Dirty Bird Mud Run that is held at the end of summer. The city intends to move to the south side of town down by the Little Colorado River bed. “We’re going to put the obstacles down there for the course and just leave them there as a permanent location so that the kids can enjoy them. We’ll be blading those roads and making it look nicer. The goal at the west end is to make maybe an amphitheater, and maybe a bike BMX track down by the river bottom,” he said.
Alley also talked about the new recreational facility that is being renovated in the old Arizona Public Service Co. building across from the city offices. He said there has been an outpouring of donations from the community, including pool, ping pong and foosball tables. The building will require some remodeling, but Alley believes it will be relatively easy to do in-house.
He also informed the council that a potential new development will be going on in Holbrook in the near future. He explained that he had met with a developer regarding a new 50-plus unit hotel with a conference room and indoor pool. “Construction will probably take a couple of months to start. It’ll be more of an upper end hotel like a Holiday Inn,” he said. Alley later explained that he was unable to reveal the developer or the location until the property cleared escrow.
The council also heard a presentation by District III Navajo County Supervisor Jason Whiting and the Navajo County Emergency Management Team regarding forest restoration and fire prevention.
Whiting explained that fire season is here, and with it comes the risk of loss of economic development, homes, animals and potentially human life. “We all drive into each other’s communities, so this affects us all,” he said.
He stated that one of the largest threats of fire is the effect on the watershed. He explained that this threat goes beyond the area that a fire has affected. “Even Scottsdale is beginning to provide funds for forest restoration because of the effect on the water table,” Whiting noted.
Catrina Jenkins of the emergency management staff encouraged everyone to sign up for the Navajo County Emergency Notification System in order to stay informed on fires in the county.
The board also heard from Sirena Tracas regarding the Native American dancers who perform each summer in Holbrook. She explained that the dancers have performed in Holbrook for more than 30 years and that the transition from the courthouse grounds to Gillespie Park has had a tremendous impact on the number of visitors due to the visibility from the roads. “Each night we have travelers from out of state and overseas. This benefits the community and also our dancers. Ninety-five percent of our dancers are children, and this experience allows them to learn about their heritage and culture,” she said.
Tracas explained that the money earned by the dancers pays for school clothes and supplies, as well as the costly regalia worn during the dances. “We have had world champion dancers that came from Holbrook. We have never had a negative response from our visitors, and the dances promote tourism in Holbrook, and encourage people to stay in our hotels and go to the restaurants,” she said.
She also noted that the dancers have started a Facebook page that can be found by searching Holbrook Summer Dance Groups, which is shared with the Mexican folklore dancers in the community.
Under items for consideration, the council gave approval for $21,789.25 to be paid to Balar to provide repairs to the city’s Vac-Con truck. Also approved were payments to various vendors totaling $244,631.23 and to Walt’s Hardware in the amount of $2,125.28.
