Winslow City Manager John Barkley is hopeful about the upcoming calendar year. He explained that it is a process of reflection as well as forward progression.
“First, we are looking in the mirror at the end of the year as well as looking forward. We have a lot of blessings here in the city but we also have to look at our weaknesses.”
To begin, he spoke about the long running Winslow Levee Project. “The Winslow Levee is just getting to the point where we are seeing some things happening in Washington. We are looking forward to some funding opportunities when the federal government does finalize their budget in February or so. The first hurdle through congress was to get the project authorized which it has been. It is vetted financially and because of federal funding, we have an earmark of $500,000. However, in the context of the whole project, that is not a lot. But it is amongst the congressional and senate committees so, we are in the pipeline so to speak.”
The project has been decades in the making and is imperative to further development in the area. As part of a government mandate, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must determine the levee has met the design, data, and documentation requirements in order to remap the Winslow flood zone, which will lower insurance rates and incentivize business development.
There is no timeline for the completion of the Winslow Levee. However, Barkley said, “I think we are going to get more money. We have been driving hard at the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Our congressional and senate delegations are going to bat for us in Senator (Mark) Kelly, Senator (Kyrsten) Sinema and Congressman (Tom) O’Halleran have really picked up the pace on this and we are actually optimistic that something is going to happen. Now, I think we have some traction, which is good news.”
In other development news, Barkley reported, “We do have a subdivision going up on Mike’s Pike Blvd. There is a four-story hotel going up on North Park Drive, as well as an RV park in the same area in the works. There are a lot of moving pieces right now, it has been sort of a long process, but we are seeing dirt moving in that area.
“Being on the I-40 is going to continue to be part of our future here. Not just the trucking industry but travel in general. The service station, Good to Go on the west end has proposed an expansion into a Maverik style truck stop. The old 3B Truck Stop has been purchased by a company that just renovated a truck stop in Holbrook. They want to do a full-service station here for trucks and cars, bring the truck wash back and renovate the restaurant on the property as well. So, we will have plenty of services available to those coming through and visiting Winslow.”
Continued improvement at the Winslow Lindbergh Regional Airport is also a priority. “We are going to keep working on the airport. We have to make sure that number one, the taxi ways are in good condition for the tanker base. Number two, to promote more tourism, we would like to promote and expand commercial offerings of some kind, but that’s not going to happen next year. That is a long process.”
Barkley also noted that the airport is busy with a great deal of traffic from military aircraft for fuel and helicopters and air tankers. “This is a big stopping point from that aspect. There are also a lot of private aviators that like to stop here. There is a great future to our airport, it is an iconic place. We are optimistic that that will expand and not contract.”
Other interests include the sale of city owned land near the airport. Barkley continued, “We have gotten some interest in purchasing the airport area industrial land for various interests and developments. We hope to move that along in the next year. Housing out there would be great. We need housing for our police officers and our teachers and everyone in between.”
Barkley said the city is working on making the permitting process more expedient for that reason. “We are going to try to be as user friendly as we can.”
Part of being more user friendly is continuing to provide online city services while maintaining a sense of community. “Online services have improved largely due to the catalyst that COVID was. Those services which include permitting and utility payments will remain on the city website. However, we are a folksy town, and it is good to be able to see and speak to people in person when they come down to city hall. We know that having no contact options is important too. This whole thing gave us a shot in the arm to use technology in a better way that is user friendly and seamless for the customer. Internally, we are Zooming our meetings and our council meetings will be virtual for the time being as well. We do need community spaces though so we can get in front of each other from time to time. Small towns are about people.”
He continued, “We have to manage the message on COVID. We need to make sure the community knows we will do everything we can to keep the level of service that we offer, even though we are probably heading back into a more restrictive environment like we were last year.”
Next, Barkley addressed a well discussed weakness in Winslow, blight. “We need to put the blight and the other things that keep the city from moving forward into context. We have to figure out how to deal with it and what resources we need to put toward it. It is one of our biggest issues, but we have some momentum.”
Specifically, he said, “We want to focus on the former Elks building (located at 104 E. First St.). I was overly optimistic in thinking we could just buy that and fix it up. But that didn’t work, it is owned by a private company. We have to go through the abatement order process and then we have to make an assessment of the structure then take it to the historic preservation commission to get their blessing on either the demolition or reuse of the structure because it’s in the historic district and is on the historic registry. That’s a little bit of a hitch as opposed to just knocking it down. There have been discussions about preserving the façade and demolishing the rest of it. The owners have talked about a restaurant, but I really don’t know if they understand the condition of this building.”
He also mentioned reusing another historic building in town. “There is some American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money, about $3 million that the city has received. We are trying to do a priority project list for that. There is a wide range of things we could do with that including water, wastewater, and infrastructure. Old Main (the site of the former Winslow High School, located at 800 N. Apache Ave.) has come to the top of that list at the staff level. We have been discussing maybe relocating the library to that space, setting up a city hall, a business incubator, or any number of things. That is all still in discussion, but we feel that building fits the bill. I think the community would rally around that. We will be bringing that to the city council to get their response there.”
Barkley plans to continue a partnership with Northland Pioneer College (NPC) in their workforce development and trade programs. He said, “We are working with Graceland Portable Buildings who has taken up residence in the old Coke plant. They will be creating about 200 jobs. We have a high school full of kids that aren’t exactly sure what they will be doing after graduation. This creates a great opportunity for our high schoolers and NPC.
“They will come up with curriculums that support training that we may need for some of these things. We are going to see a windfarm sprout up to our south at Chevlon Butte as well that will bring a lot of jobs to the area. They will be using rail and trucking through Winslow to get equipment and supplies to the site. Over 100 new jobs will be created, and they will be specialized. Workforce development and training will be needed, so perhaps NPC can help us with that.”
Downtown Winslow has recently experienced a boon and Barkley sees that continuing. “Our sales tax numbers remain good. We did take a hit last year, but we are back, we are already at 50% of our projected revenue. There is never a day that goes by when there aren’t people on the Corner. Even through the winter,” he said, referring to the Standing on the Corner Park. We just need to leverage that and keep them here. The Corner is often just a visit and a photo before people are on their way. We are looking to build the downtown energy. We have to allow more flexibility within the guidelines of the Route 66 Overlay, and we have to promote it. We have to get out of the way of business, we are going to do everything we can to make sure we don’t get in the way.” The Route 66 Overlay is a restricted business zone within the area of Second and Third streets that consists of renovated homes that currently may be only utilized as businesses. The city is considering whether to include home-based businesses in that zone.
He said his major goals for the coming calendar year are more development, quality housing, expansion of the northern commercial area to accommodate travelers and tourists and quality downtown expansion. “Another goal is to continue to rally around small business. We can try to attract the heavy hitter, the big one, all day. And maybe it will happen. We want to encourage new business, but we also need to listen to our current businesses to find out what they need from us as a city.”
Barkley is hoping to hold more town halls and have more discussions on development, even if they are virtual. “We want to get out of the way for small business and bring in the talent. Then we will be able to create a database and have some actual information to look at as far as what trends look like and how many people are visiting our downtown in any given time period. We have to set our sights on realistic things that we can do. A sense of reality doesn’t hurt when you’re planning development and growth.”
In conclusion, Barkley reiterated his optimism on progress. He said, “I think this is a new day. In general, over the next year, I think there is going to be some tangible evidence that we are putting our money where our mouth is and making these projects happen. Sometimes it takes a while.”
