At the Jan. 7 Snowflake Town Council meeting, Chief of Police Bobby Martin introduced three new police officers, making this the first time in nine years that the Snowflake-Taylor Police Department has been fully staffed.
“Right here are our three newest police officers, graduated from the police academy on Nov. 13 of last year. They were three of 14 that graduated in the last academy class and all three of these guys were in the top seven of their class the entire time. Some of the highest academic and physical fitness scores came from our guys. They’re all great shots, very well educated and we look forward to having them on the team. We are back to fully staffed now,” said Martin.
Chief Martin also presented a proposal for an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the towns of Taylor, Snowflake and Show Low, and Northland Pioneer College (NPC). “The consideration of the IGA is basically an agreement that we would enter into with NPC, the City of Show Low, Town of Taylor all at once basically to utilize an existing tower that NPC has to increase our radio microwave link to increase our communications capabilities through radio with Show Low PD,” said Martin.
The IGA with NPC would be continuing an ongoing consolidation process with the City of Show Low to increase communication stability and merging with Show Low Police Department’s dispatch. As of Jan. 7, the town code for hands-free driving has been approved for both Snowflake and Taylor. Drivers will still be able to utilize Bluetooth in their vehicles but using a cell phone while driving could now result in a ticket.
Also speaking at the meeting, Cathie McDowell with the Snowflake-Taylor Public Library and Aaron Dunford with the Snowflake Parks and Recreation department both presented a brief review of 2019.
The library’s digital collection has been expanded through an agreement with other Arizona libraries. For 2020, the parks and recreation department will be looking forward to a few new programs including men’s volleyball, youth flag football, youth summer camp, teen night at the park and spikeball teams and tournaments.
Snowflake Town Manager Brian Richards reported on an audit that occurred on June 30 of last year which came back clean with no findings.
Snowflake-Taylor Police Department and Taylor-Snowflake Fire Department will be hosting their annual Groundhog Day Breakfast where breakfast will be served by Snowflake and Taylor town council members at 6:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1. The event is free and will be hosted at Snowflake High School cafeteria.
