By L. Parsons The Winslow City Council met last week and was presented a report by City Librarian Brandee Leary. In her report, Leary informed the council of the many activities and successes the library has experienced since reopening this summer. She began, “We are averaging over 100 visitors per day at our library, which keeps us busy. This year so far, we have had 82 events with over 2,000 people in attendance and still have a few planned for this winter.” Upcoming events include country line dancing instruction at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 5, at the Winslow Elks Lodge, located at 315 W. Third St. Also beginning this month, an arts class will be offered at 2:30 p.m. every second Tuesday of the month at the Girl Scout House, located at 500 E. Cherry St. “We have been awarded a grant called, ‘NASA at my library,’ from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) that comes with $1,000 and three events. They are launching a new telescope soon so we will have some events tied together with that alongside Homolovi and their star parties. We also received a grant from Scholastic called, ‘Building a Home Library,’ in which they are sending us 500 books to give away to people in our community that need or want them,” noted Leary. Library staff has also been at work digitizing past telephone directories for the Winslow area as well as an entire collection of Winslow High School yearbooks from 1915 to the present, both are available on the website by visiting www.winslowaz.gov. Previously, the Friends of the Library had been exploring options to expand the existing library located at 420 W. Gilmore St. However, it was discovered that the library exists within the flood plain. Leary said, “We are not able to do an addition to our current site, due to floodplain restrictions, it is just not feasible. They are working with the City and Barton Architecture to come up with some creative ways to expand our space.” Northland Pioneer College also gave a quarterly report from Friends and Family Executive Director Betsy Ann Wilson. She said, “NPC was really fortunate this year to benefit from a large anonymous donation for helping Native American students. They have provided us with a generous endowment and this spring semester we will be offering seven $1,000 scholarships to Native students and we are reserving one $3,000 scholarship for a Native student who is moving on from NPC to an accredited university. This is an endowment so these scholarships will continue to be provided for probably the next 40 years.” Also on the agenda was the sale of real property, located in the Airport Industrial Park which includes the area formerly known as the “rodeo grounds,” to GWR, LLC for $7,500. Purchaser Sharon Gose said, “We plan to bring back the rodeo as well as host events all year long. We are thinking of all kinds of events that will bring business into our town.” In other business, and in the absence of Councilmembers Peter Cake, Rickey Jackson and Melissa Nelson, the council: * Heard from Winslow resident Judy Howell during the call to the public. Howell encouraged the council and audience to consider volunteering at or adopting an animal from the Winslow Animal Care Facility. * Heard announcements from council members concerning upcoming events in Winslow. At 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 1, Economic Development Director Una Wirkebau will host an in-person SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) analysis and discussion. A second session will take place at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2, both in the Hubbell Building, located at 524 W. Second St. At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17, a free screening of a documentary about local farm Coffee Pot Farms will be shown at the Winslow Theater, located at 115 N. Kinsley Ave. The first 100 people will be shown the film. * Proclaimed October as Domestic Violence Awareness month. * Proclaimed November as Native American Heritage Month. * Heard a quarterly report from Winslow Chamber of Commerce CEO Bob Hall. In his report, Hall informed the council that Winslow had been named by Trip Advisor as one of the top 10% of tourist attractions worldwide, an honor bestowed on the town by Trip Advisor user reviews. * Heard a status report from City Manager John Barkley. In the report, Barkley mentioned the intention to, “Take a fresh look at the overall condition of Brigham City, including the communal dining hall.” Brigham City is a historical place in Winslow. Barkley said, “The ultimate goal of this project would be to fully restore the Brigham City site in order to open it to the public.” * Appointed Linda Mansfield, Richard Larson, Rod Westwood and Berry Larson to the agriculture commission until Dec. 31, 2023, and Michael Hester and Gary Wood to the commission until Dec. 31, 2022. * Approved One Arizona’s distribution of opioid settlement funds relating to opioid litigation. In 2019, Winslow joined Navajo County as a plaintiff in litigation against certain opioid manufacturers. The amount of the settlement is as of yet undetermined. * Waived vendor fees and approved requested police and fire assistance for the Christmas parade to be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20. The next meeting of the Winslow City Council will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 9, in the Hubbell Building, located at 524 W. Second St.
