Snowflake Mayor Lynn Johnson asked for council discussion Dec. 13 of the traffic congestion at Snowflake Junior High School.

Johnson noted that a citizen brought to his attention the difficulty in entering Highway 77 after dropping off and picking up students at SJHS.

The mayor then visited with Town Manager Brian Richards and Snowflake-Taylor Police Chief Larry Scarber regarding the issue.

“It has been addressed before,” said Richards, adding that it is a school issue that would need to be addressed by Snowflake Unified School District officials.

Chief Scarber reported that he had observed the situation to see if there was an alternative. He said that the town has no authority to act on private property, but the district could apply to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) for a road safety assessment, which would be required in order to install a traffic light.

“It’s complicated,” said Scarber explaining that placement of a traffic light is determined by the number of crashes, and accompanying fatalities or injuries. “We’ve been fortunate,” because there have been none.

Scarber also talked to school district officials. A short term fix could be ban left turns from the school onto the highway. “It is a simple fix,” said the chief.

He suggested the district initiate the no left turn policy and get reactions from parents.

Mayor Johnson asked if an officer could direct traffic for a half-hour in the morning and a half-hour in the evening.

Scarber responded that those times are high volume ones for officers, but they could try for a few days.

The mayor said that the woman who complained about the situation suggested that Rodeo Drive be paved to Centennial Blvd. so people would be more likely to make the right turn and use Centennial Blvd. to get back into town.

“The number one perception of the town is we don’t follow up,” said the mayor, noting that he wanted to make sure that citizens know he wants to follow up on their issues.

Mayor Johnson said that the only action on this item would be to have a discussion with School Superintendent Hollis Merrell regarding implementing a no left turn policy.

In other business, the town has changed officers, and former mayor Tom Poscharsky and former town manager Paul Watson need to be removed as signers on the bank accounts at Wells Fargo and National Bank of Arizona.

Richards recommended Lynn Johnson, Kerry Ballard, Don Camacho and Terry Cooper be approved as signatories for the town bank accounts.

The council unanimously approved his suggestion.