By Linda Kor Several organizations that are recipients of Holbrook Lodgers Tax funds presented annual reports and plans for the coming year to the Holbrook City Council during the June 24 meeting. This coming fiscal year, the city is allocating $44,000 to the Navajo County Fairgrounds, Holbrook Chamber of Commerce, the Navajo County Historical Society, with some funds to also be allocated to the Hashknife Posse for the annual Pony Express ride. Navajo County Fair Board President Mike Sample said it has been a very busy time for the fairgrounds. “We’ve had several different events from barrels races, to team ropings and high school rodeos, which is a major hit. They’ve already booked again for September, the weekend after the fair. It’s going to be the first rodeo of their season so it’s going to be even bigger and better,” stated Sample, adding that since it will be the weekend following the fair employees will be worn out but that they are glad to have it. “We’ve been working for years to get that up here, so we’re happy to have it.” On July 2, the fairgrounds will host the Turquoise Circuit Women’s Pro Rodeo Association barrel racing for the first time. Then starting July 5-8, the Arizona Livestock Show will be returning to teach kids how to show their livestock animals. Then the following Friday and Saturday will be the Route 66 Livestock Show. According to Sample, this event bring lots of people from throughout the state and the surrounding states to Holbrook. July and August will bring more barrel races, gymkhanas and team ropings, then on Sept. 11 the 4-H Horse Achievement Show will be held, kicking off the fair events. The 90th Navajo County Fair with the theme “90 Years of Making Memories at the Navajo County Fair” will be taking place from Sept. 15-18. This year fair will host two Latin bands at 7 p.m. following the opening ceremonies. “Other fairs have said it brings a lot of people to their fairs,” stated Sample. A full listing of events will be in The Tribune closer to the fair dates. Sample also noted that last week the fairgrounds was able to house pets and livestock for those who evacuated the Heber/Overgaard area due to the Wyrick Fire. Mayor Merrill Young and Councilman Kip Woolford were among the volunteers that came to the fairgrounds to help out. “Restaurants donated food for the workers, a lot of community members came in just to help us walk the dogs. The dogs were traumatized. They were put in a cage and their owners left so they were happy just to get out.” Holbrook Chamber of Commerce Director Cindy Tafoya also addressed the council regarding the chamber’s strategic plan. The last year was impacted due to COVID but the goals are continuing through the coming year. “We have created an Ambassador’s Program. This program will provide trainings to employees of participating businesses on topics such as customer service, area knowledge and other hot topics that the businesses identify.” The chamber has also been working with ARIZONA@WORK so that courses can be taken online at no cost. Board members are also doing Google research on local businesses online to ensure the information presented is accurate and complete. The effort is to create a support program to help businesses learn how to manage their online profile. The chamber is working with the Small Business Center at Northland Pioneer College to collaborate on projects. Tafoya noted that a grant received to benefit businesses impacted by COVID and in need of improvements has been awarded to a number of local businesses with some funding still available. As a result of discussions with the Petrified Forest National Park the chamber has formed a round table committee with each member assigned area similar to Holbrook and the Petrified Forest to do benchmarking. “We’re trying to compare ourselves to other gateway communities that have national parks and if they are successful, learn why they are successful. What do they have that we don’t have and what do we have that we can build upon,” stated Tafoya. She noted that 72 new banners are lining the main streets of Holbrook, each one featuring a different historic event, the diversity within the city and local amenities. The Summer Dances have begun featuring Native American dancers from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday and every other Friday at Gillespie Park at the corner of Navajo Blvd. and Hopi Drive. Tafoya noted that an outdoor movie “under the stars” is planned for the end of July and that this year’s Old West Fest will be an in-person event to be held in October, with a virtual backup plan should the situation change due to COVID. A document on the work of the Navajo County Historical Society was presented to the council. Director Jolynn Fox was unable to be present. It noted that in March 2020 visitor count to the Navajo County Museum had dropped and that visitors centers across the state had closed. The museum reopened in July of last year and the year’s income loss was estimated at over $12,000. She noted that the museum is slowly recovering from the closure and that more books are being ordered for the bookstore. During the closure, the society was able to have new carpeting installed in two exhibit areas, a small office and an extra room that has been designated as a space for a barber shop and laundry room exhibit. The Holbrook Volunteer Fire Department contributed $1,200 to the project and the society paid the remaining $2,400. Fox noted that enrollment is at 33 members, and that a total of 275,465 hours were dedicated by 50 volunteers over the past 10 years. In other business, the council gave their approval of the tentative budget in the amount of $11,980,862. The council also approved Finance Director Randy Sullivan as the corporate financial officer designated to submit the annual expenditure limitation report. Also approved was a zone change presented by Holbrook Planning & Zoning for the property at 115 E. Hampshire St. The property is owned by Spartan, Inc., the company that owns the Super Fuel located adjacent to that land. The change went from Residential/Commercial to Commercial 2 so that the Super Fuels facility may be expanded. The appointment of Lisa Hunt as the Holbrook City Clerk was upheld by the council. Hunt has served as the deputy city clerk and according to City Manager Ted Soltis, has completed her probationary period and has completed the required training for the position. Perkins Valley residents Andrew and Jenny Craigbaum introduced themselves and their children during call to the council as being new to the area and expressed their willingness to serve the community with hopes to someday open a small business. The council expressed their appreciation to the residents and businesses who donated their time, food, supplies and money to assist those in need during the evacuation due to the Wyrick Fire. Councilman Marsh noted, “Just a reminder to folks, that every acre of national forest land in northern Arizona from Kaibab, Sitgreaves to Coconino are fully closed. Keep that in mind when you are recreating; including state lands, which are also closed. Let’s just be aware of what you’re doing, where you’re doing it and let’s not cause any more work for the people who are already putting their lives on the line for us.” Soltis noted that the city’s small kiddie pool is being resurfaced as it has shown to have some cracks with sharp edges. The work will be completed in the next week or so. He also said that the heater for the pool is going to need to be replaced and he will bring that information to the council at a future meeting.
