Road and curb repair options discussed by Holbrook Council

Councilman Tim Dixon, who was present via Skype from Thailand, questioned Sullivan’s claim that Quality Ready Mix was able to keep up with the schedule set by the city.

Dixon then asked the difference in price between concrete and asphalt.

Sullivan explained that the price of the materials is comparable, but the city does not have the equipment necessary to lay down asphalt and that equipment is cost prohibitive. “That makes it very costly compared to concrete, which we can lay down in-house,” said the city manager.

Dixon said that he knew that in the past the city had coat-tailed with the county on its pavement projects. “Isn’t it true then that we really don’t need to buy the equipment, we could just use the equipment that the county has?” he asked.

Sullivan explained that the county doesn’t have the equipment to lay asphalt, the equipment it has is for chip sealing, and the city has worked with the county when that type of project is in order.

Dixon then asked who did the asphalt work on the over one-mile stretch on McLaws Road and was told it was a contractor through the county and the project was paid for in part with a grant, with $250,000 in matching funds from the city.

Vice Mayor Wade Carlisle said that he is often asked what the cost is to lay down a mile of pavement.

“The last estimate I got it was $1 million per mile, and that’s if there’s no grade work and no shoulder work that has to be done,” stated Sullivan, adding that he thought they could have done McLaws Road for a quarter of that cost in concrete.

Carlisle then asked if the bid received by the city was for the same amount as the one the county gets, noting that the city and the county share an intergovernmental agreement.

Sullivan stated that he didn’t know, but that he would look into it.

Dixon said he wanted to know the feasibility of city workers doing all the prep work and paying for someone to just lay the asphalt.

“I think that would be too costly for us to do,” said Sullivan.

Dixon then asked the number of manhours involved in one block of concrete work, but was cut short by Carlisle, who said that they were getting way off course from the agenda item.

The motion to approve the bid for Quality Ready Mix was approved by Councilwoman Francie Payne, Councilman Richard Peterson and Vice Mayor Carlisle, with Councilman Dixon voting against it. Mayor Bobby Tyler and councilmen CJ Wischmann and Earl Kester were not present at the meeting.

In other business, the council voted to approve the annual renewal of the memorandum of understanding with the Navajo County Historical Society.

While on the topic, Councilman Peterson asked who was responsible for major repairs of the historic courthouse.

Sullivan explained that the city has a contract with Navajo County to share certain responsibilities pertaining to the courthouse. “The building is actually not the city’s. In an agreement between the city and the county we’ve taken over some of the stuff inside and some of the stuff outside, but the major repairs are reliant on the county,” he said. Sullivan went on to explain that the major repairs are quite costly and that the county has tried several times to obtain grant funding, but that he’s not sure where that stands.

In his report to the council, Sullivan noted that the gate to the wastewater treatment plant was damaged when it was hit by a car. “I think we caught the guy and that gate will be fixed pretty soon,” he said.

The basketball courts were resurfaced at Lewis Park, but in order to get the trucks in, the fence had to be removed. “Before we get any complaints from the public, we will be replacing that fence because it is a safety concern,” said Sullivan.

He noted that the dog park at the north end of town is all but complete. The city is looking at adding some shade, but that will need to be permitted through the Arizona Department of Transportation due to height restrictions.

Workers put in 18-holes for disc golf at Hidden Cover Golf Course, and the first disc golf tournament is scheduled on Saturday, Aug 5.

Sullivan also reported that the golf cart bays at the golf course have all been rented out to private individuals who own their own golf carts. “I’m going to start looking at adding a new one. And we’re still working on getting a waiver for (the people that use) them.”

Payne asked if Sullivan had ensured that the golf cart bays at the course are being used strictly for golf carts and not for any other storage.

Sullivan replied that the course employees have confirmed that only carts are being stored.

He stated that the project to develop a fishing pond at the end of West Buffalo Street is moving forward. The project is under review by engineers whose services are being provided at no charge to the city and that a site visit is planned soon.

An item that was postponed on the last agenda due to what was believed to be a lack of quorum for a roll call vote was once again brought up for approval. Although there was the same number of councilmembers as the previous meeting, City Clerk Cher Reyes stated that after researching the matter it was revealed that a quorum of four was sufficient and that only an emergency ordinance required six of the councilmembers for approval.

The item was an amendment to the city personnel policy that would allow part time personnel to accrue sick leave at the rate of four hours per month. The change is to be in alignment with a state law that was passed by the voters in November. A part time employee can accrue no more than 120 hours, which will go off the books if not used prior to the last day of employment, with no cash payout. The amendment was approved by a unanimous roll call vote by those present.

Jme Baloo addressed the council, thanking the city for its assistance as the Navajo County Fairgrounds hosted a week-long livestock camp and jackpot show the week before. “We had participants come from all over Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico,” she said.

Baloo reported that 278 kids participated in the camp, and brought with them 76 steers, 54 sheep, 104 swine and 44 goats. “This was about twice the size that our camp was last year,” she said.

In the jackpot show there were 205 exhibitors and between those exhibitors, 370 animals brought in on one day. The heavy rains brought potential flooding that was averted with the use of the city’s backhoe to re-direct the waters.

Councilwoman Payne expressed her gratitude to Kathleen Smith and those volunteers who assisted with Wild West Day.

Councilman Peterson noted that an account of the expenses for the event, including the Bucket of Blood Races, showed that the entire cost for the event was $96.44. “That is an amazing thing to be able to do,” he said.

City Manager Sullivan noted that in the races there were runners from seven states and one from the Netherlands.

The council approved the consent agenda, including claims and payments in the amount of $159,795, a special event liquor license for the Navajo County Fair for Sept 13-17 and the minutes of the regular meeting held on July 11.

One item, a liquor license application made by Tyson Hatch for Hatch’s Corner Gas, located at 404 Navajo Blvd., was removed at the request of Vice Mayor Carlisle, who stated only that it was “premature.” The council agreed to have that moved to the next meeting’s agenda.

In addition, the council:

* Approved a renewal of agreement with Callie Jensen for personal training at the Holbrook Fitness Center and a new agreement with Meghan Carbonnau for High Fitness at the recreation center, with each to pay a fee of $25 per month for use of the facilities.

* Approved the purchase of five turnouts from FDC Rescue Products in the amount of $11,956.98 for the Holbrook Volunteer Fire Department.

* Approved a payment of $1,215.24 to The Tribune-News with a quorum vote achieved with Councilman Earl Kester voting by phone since Councilwoman Payne had to recuse herself from the vote as an employee of the newspaper.

Vice Mayor Carlisle addressed an item on the agenda requested by Mayor Tyler to receive a list of priorities for maintaining city owned property and the levy, and the reasons for any delays in providing scheduled maintenance. There was no action to be taken by the council on the item.