In last week’s virtual meeting of the Navajo County Board of Supervisors, the board approved an agreement between the Navajo County Flood District and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad for engineering-related services with respect to its railroad facilities located near the project site of the Little Colorado River at the Winslow Flood Risk Management Project.
In January 2022, Winslow Mayor Birdie Cano went to Washington D.C. seeking federal support for her flood management project, and the federal government allocated almost $66 million to the US Army Corps of Engineers for the design and construction of the project. This project will feature over four miles of new and reconstructed segments of the levee, providing better protection for nearby residents from flood damage.
After the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2008 decertified Winslow’s levee in 2008, a large portion of Winslow residents are forced to pay high flood insurance fees because of the calculated potential risk of a flood in a city without ample drainage. A population that almost two-thirds of which are below the federal poverty line. This project is expected to reduce the cost of or the necessity to have flood insurance for many residents.
Mayor Cano and other members of the Winslow City Council will be visiting the state capital to get the last piece of approval they need to make the project a success. They believe when the levee is recertified it will have much stronger effects on the area than just flood protection, it will also boost property values and reduce the impact on small businesses that are forced to pay the insurance.
In other business, the board:
* Approved the sale of one back tax land parcel $2,743.
* Approved removal and abatement purging record of tax, penalty and interest on personal property taxes for the following reasons; mobile homes had been abandoned, unlivable due to dilapidated conditions, or were dismantled.
* Approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the Navajo County Attorney’s Office and Alice’s Place, a domestic violence shelter.
* Approved of the Local Workforce Development Board Chairman-Elect David Miller and Vice President James Bruzzi for a two-year term.
* Approved an intergovernmental agreement, between the Navajo County Public Health Services District (NCPHSD) and Arizona’s Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention Program for the continuation of valuable preventative services to Navajo County residents in an effort of reducing drug overdose deaths.
* Approved a contract extension for the HIV Prevention Program until Dec. 31, 2023.
* Approved a decrease in late fees associated with environmental health ordinance fees. Reducing them from $100 for a 60-day late fee and $200 for a 90-day late fee, to $50 for each.
*Approved Smoke-Free Arizona contract between Arizona Department of Health Services and NCPHSD.
* Approved the contract for medical examiner services at NCPHSD with Dr. Wade Kartchner, MD, MPH, Public Health Partners, LLC.
* Approved contract for nurse practitioner services to Jaskiranjit Hanson, MSN, FNP-BC.
The next meeting of the Navajo County Board of Supervisors will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 24, in the board meeting room, located at 100 E. Code Talkers Drive.
