/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Winslow Mayor Tom McCauley celebrated his first year in office this month. His term runs through May of 2020 and he is ready to face the coming months.
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
“When I was elected mayor, I promised to tackle the tough challenges that we face in Winslow with a sense of urgency and respect for the issues voiced by my fellow taxpayers. I have worked to build our economy, plant trees, promote tourism and small business, address blight, celebrate our unique history and culture, and keep our neighborhoods safe and clean. I am just going to keep going in that direction.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
McCauley continued, “When I was first elected, we talked about development and housing. We are still talking about development and housing. Somewhere along the line, people thought that there were stipulations about what land they could and could not sell. At some point, the city told landowners that they needed to develop property before it could be sold, specifically the land along Mike’s Pike. I got all of the parties that be to one table and sat them down and we hashed through all of the misinformation and now all of that property is for sale. There are prospects for development on the land already. It is zoned commercial, so you can do residential or commercial and there is so much space available.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
McCauley’s next step in his plan for developing Winslow includes a city council work session on business development. He explained that other cities and towns along the I-40 corridor are offering incentives and concessions to attract business. “I’m not saying give away the farm, but I am talking about waiving some fees along the way just to show that we want their business. We formed the Economic Development Commission, made up of the best and brightest business people in our town, to figure out what we need to show developers and potential investors to get them to come here. A work session with the council will allow us to discuss and come to a decision about how we want to present ourselves.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
In a letter addressed to the citizens of Winslow, McCauley explained, “The City of Winslow and ECoNA (Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona) staff have provided responses to eight prospect information forms for major industrial facilities and also provided site, zoning and utility information to five small scale industrial prospects.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Winslow’s levee project, one that has been ongoing for the better part of two decades is also important to development, according to McCauley. “We need to get our congressmen and congresswomen to ask the feds for some grant money. It comes from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and we need to get on with repairing our flood control. It will lower insurance rates for our citizens but it will also help to attract business. Our infrastructure is on its way to being upgraded, we have beautified our city and are continuing to do so by planting trees and removing blight. One of the last steps is taking care of this levee. It is a big goal of mine to get that moving and continue with the momentum that we already have in that direction.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
McCauley is looking forward to the referendum of Proposition 421, the creation of a jail district, on the Aug. 27 ballot. “This passing would give us an opportunity to get some people some real help. Getting some of these people off the street and into the jail could give some of them the clarity they need to make life changes. If this passes, the jail district picks up the tab for housing these folks, including the medical needs. So, it’s not on our taxpayers. We can get people off the street. Not to mention the cost savings to our police department.
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
“This could really help us get the technology and the equipment that we need to support our police force. Chief Dan Brown has a goal to have the best force in Northern Arizona and he is well on his way to that. We have been cleaning up our streets like nobody’s business and putting people in jail who need to be in jail. This proposition would only help to continue that.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
The focus, according to McCauley, “Has to be on our citizens and making this a better place to raise our kids. We are about to spend quite a bit of money from our capital improvements fund to plant more trees and make Winslow the gorgeous place it used to be. Right now, I am working on figuring out how we are going to lower our water rates so everyone can afford to water their trees and their roses. I’m not so much about the lawn, I would rather grow food, but it is expensive to grow food with Winslow water. We need to take a look at our rates and figure out where we are going to make up that funding to run the water, if we are able to lower rates for citizens.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
There seems to be no end to the ideas that McCauley expresses. His goals for the next year in office are vast and varied and include livable housing, irrigation from Clear Creek to water the local parks and finding ways to make positive changes for the city.
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
“You know, I said when I ran for mayor that I didn’t want to be mayor just to be reelected. I ran so that I could make a difference. I just want to focus on where we are going as a city and developing our city for the people that live and pay taxes here.”
/wp:paragraph
