Holbrook City Manager Randy Sullivan reported problems with the airport lighting at the Aug. 8 meeting of the city council.
“The taxiway lights work, however the runway lights don’t work,” he said. He noted that he has contacted the proper authorities and that work crews have been troubleshooting the problem, but with no results.
“We may have to look into a grant for new lighting. We’re not scheduled for airport grants for another two years, but this might be an emergency type of thing,” said Sullivan, adding that he thinks the problems may have originated with a lightning strike, as some other systems went down at the same time.
While discussing the airport, Sullivan noted that crews are moving the fuel farm at the airport closer to the entrance gate, which is a more convenient location.
He reported that the street sweeper is down and that is why the streets are still dirty after the last hard rain. “We’ve been trying to clean up as much as we can by using the loader and scraping it, but when that street sweeper gets working, Doyce (Stuart) will be working hard to get those cleaned up,” he said.
The city completed a project with the Arizona Department of Transportation in which drainage was installed on the east side of the intersection of Navajo Blvd. and Hopi Drive. “Hopefully, it works for us, but of course it hasn’t rained since we put it in,” commented Sullivan.
He also noted that the disc golf tournament held Aug. 5 at Hidden Cove Golf Course brought out 26 golfers from throughout the state and one from San Diego, Calif. “We heard nothing but good comments on the course, as well as several golfers out there saying that they appreciated that we were utilizing the course,” said Sullivan.
The council gave its recommendation for approval of a liquor license application for Hatch’s Corner Gas. Tyson and Misty Hatch presented themselves to the council as the new owners of the business. The couple recently purchased the market and gas station on the corner of Navajo Blvd. and Buffalo Street from Doug and Wanda Hensley. The Hatches are third generation owners of the business, with Tyson’s grandfather first opening Hensley’s Service Station in 1981. The market was built in 1993 when Doug took over the business and renamed it Hensley’s Mini Mart.
Brandon Cook of United Heating and Cooling went before the council to tell the public about his business and to offer his services in the community. His company specializes in repair work, but is also available for some installations.
The council also approved claims and payments totaling $404,520.
Mayor Bobby Tyler informed the council that he had made trips to attend a mayors’ summit in Prescott regarding the high costs of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System and an event at Twin Arrows Casino regarding broadband. “The presentation was by AT&T and within the next five years they are working with the other providers on the Navajo Reservation to improve the broadband,” said the mayor.
Vice Mayor Wade Carlisle reported on meeting as part of the Rural Transportation Advisory Committee. “Governor Ducey and the legislature have no interest in restoring the HURF (Highway User Revenue Funds) funds to their former funding. They’ve swept funds to pay for other items. That’s been our battle for a number of years since the recession hit. Revenues are only up slightly, so we’re not seeing a big change in that as well,” he said, adding that another letter had been sent to the legislature letting state officials know of the concerns of rural Arizona.
The public was reminded that school is now in session and that drivers need to observe the speed limit near the schools and be watchful of children. Tyler noted that there is no place in Holbrook that cannot be reached in five minutes. “We did a lot of studies on the fire department from doing 10 mph over the speed limit to respond to a call. There was no noticeable difference,” he said.
Councilman Richard Peterson reported that at a meeting of the Navajo County Historical Society, Nicole Young was hired as part-time assistant director. He also said that for three months in a row donations received in the donation box totaled over $1,000, a first for the organization. “This is the direct result of the front desk people and how they treat people when they come in,” he said.
Councilwoman Francie Payne reported that a resident had reported to her a concern regarding possible criminal damage at the cemetery where a grave marker was knocked over by what the citizen thought was an ATV. Payne learned after the meeting that it was an accidental incident by workers, and that the matter was resolved and the marker restored.
Regarding upcoming events, Sullivan noted that the city would be hosting the annual Mud Run on Saturday, Aug. 19, and the 86th annual Navajo County Fair will be held Sept. 13-17.
