The Taylor Town Council met on March 1 and approved the construction of a new student drop-off/pick-up area for the Snowflake Junior High School. Parents who make that morning drop-off or afternoon pick-up have had to face some real challenges in the process. “As a parent dropping kids off there, you are playing Russian Roulette,” said Councilman Kyle Peck.
Even those without children at the school are challenged to try to gain access into the National Bank of Arizona parking lot in the afternoons. With traffic going all directions and students crossing driveways it can be a harrowing experience.
The Town of Snowflake and the Snowflake Unified School District have asked the Town of Taylor to cover half of the estimated $22,000 in materials to create a road behind the school next to the existing bus lane to ease the congestion, improve safety and help with traffic flow.
The Town of Snowflake will also be improving Rodeo Lane from Main Street to Centennial Blvd. to help funnel traffic out of the school from that new drop-off lane. Contractor services and equipment for that project are being donated.
It is an election year and the council authorized Navajo County to administer the upcoming elections. There will be four council seats up for election this year in Taylor. The primary election will be Aug. 28 and the general election will be on Nov. 6.
The council also re-addressed the liquor license application for Pizza Hut. This was initially on the agenda at the last meeting, but the council had concerns and no one was available on behalf of Pizza Hut at that meeting. Theresa Morse was in attendance on behalf of Hot Pizzas LLC, owners of the Taylor Pizza Hut. One concern that the council had was making sure alcohol would not make its way into the adjacent Taco Bell. Morse indicated, that although not required, they would have signage stating no liquor beyond this point at the exit. The board approved the license.
There was discussion regarding the Fourth of July Anvil Parade. Last year the annual event had to have last minute changes due to a lack of permit. This resulted in a smaller event and no vehicles were allowed to follow the procession.
This year it seems it will be back to the original route but there will be changes. The town is trying to make this event safer, while still keeping with tradition. It will have a parade route format and will require registration to follow the event from stop to stop. All vehicles must be operated by a licensed driver and reckless driving will not be tolerated. The exact details are being hammered out by the Anvil Parade Committee and will be released soon.
The next regularly scheduled town council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 5, at the Town Hall, located at 425 Paper Mill Road in Taylor.
