Last week, the Winslow City Council, in the absence of Councilwoman Judy Howell, approved an option agreement with Arizona Forest Power, LLC for the purchase of real property currently owned by the city.
The agreement will require the limited liability company to pay the city $5,000 for the option of purchasing approximately 858 acres located on Highway 87 on the south side of Winslow. The option remains available to Arizona Forest Power for 12 months.
City Manager John Barkley said, “This is an option agreement for the purchase of property for the purpose of providing a manufacturing and power operation associated with the 4FRI project. It is directly correlated to the award of the project going to Arizona Forest Power.”
The 4FRI (Four Forest Restoration Initiative) project referred to by Barkley has been brought forth by the U.S. Forest Service in an effort to restore fire-adapted Ponderosa Pine forests in and around the area. Awards for contracts related to the initiative are scheduled to be announced in May.
City Attorney Trish Struhan added, “They would pay $5,000 to have the right to an exclusive option to purchase the acreage. However, if they do not obtain the U.S. Forest Service contract, the option is automatically terminated.”
The city council also approved an ordinance requiring all video service providers be subject to a provider fee. The fee would be assessed at five percent of the provider’s annual gross revenue derived from video services provided within the Winslow city limits.
For clarification at the request of Councilwoman Samantha Crisp, Barkley explained, “In August, the Federal Communications Commission issued a new rule that essentially preempts local authority for franchising and collecting associated fees for video service providers which are essentially cable television companies. It is incumbent upon the city to pass our own ordinance in response to this because under the new FCC rule and the associated state law, a video service provider can opt out of their local franchise agreements and be held under the authority of the new state law. In such case where Sparklight, our provider now opts out of the agreement, we can no longer charge a fee.”
The fee paid by video service providers is to mitigate administrative costs related to their use of the city’s infrastructure. Public Works Director Tim Westover said, “They use our right-of-ways and our roads to conduct their business.”
The passing of the ordinance does not raise the cost of cable or video services to the customer and as Barkley said, “It is not a new tax or fee to our taxpayers, it is a fee paid by Sparklight to use our roads.”
In the city manager’s status report, Barkley mentioned the intention of city staff to introduce a bond issue to the council at the first council meeting in March. “In that issue, we hope to have a new fire station and library on the ballot for this November if it is approved by council.”
He also mentioned the importance of taking part in the 2020 Census and the meeting he will have with County Manager Glenn Kephart next week. “We will be working on getting people involved so that we make sure that everyone is counted.”
During the call to the public portion of the meeting, Winslow resident Eric Brown addressed the council to continue his complaint against the Winslow Police Department. Brown was detained last month by WPD and has since filed a formal complaint with the city for what he calls a wrongful arrest and sentencing. Because of the call to the public format, the council could not comment on Brown’s statements.
The council adjourned to an executive session to interview five candidates for the vacancy left by Vice Mayor Bob Schlesinger’s retirement. The appointed candidate will be announced March 1 and will fulfill Schlesinger’s term limit through May of this year.
In other business, the council:
* Heard the quarterly financial report for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2019. Finance Director Elias Jouen said, “Citywide revenues totaled $8,573,939 and expenditures were $8,199,212.
* Heard the quarterly court report for the quarter ending in December 2019 from Justice B.J. Little.
* Heard a quarterly report from Recreation Department Director Sandra Knight. In the report, she credited the lower fees due to increased participation in the men’s basketball league, which begins this week.
* Approved an application for a special events liquor license for the Standin’ On The Corner Foundation for their annual Cinco De Mayo Celebration to be held on May 2.
* Approved the renewal of the city’s membership in the Rural Arizona Group Health Trust commencing July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021.
The next meeting of the Winslow City Council will be at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10, at the Hubbell Building, located at 524 W. Second St.
