During last week’s meeting of the Holbrook City Council the council discussed the creation of a graffiti task force consisting of members from across city departments, the business community and residents. This would allow businesses and residents to give permission to the city to clean graffiti found.
Councilmember Teri Tafoya said, “I think it’s a good idea because there is a lot of graffiti around and I don’t think the police can do it all on their own, I don’t think the city workers can do it on their own.”
Mayor Kathleen Smith gave some examples of similar programs in Flagstaff and Phoenix that they could use to model this new program. The programs give graffiti removal supplies at no cost to volunteers who would like to participate, as well as training on how to best get the job done. These programs often have a more streamlined way of reporting graffiti to the city and outline how to get permission from property owners.
Councilmember Mike Nilsson also offered the idea of possibly offering a reward for individuals who provide information that could lead to the arrest of people creating graffiti.
Assistant City Manager Randy Sullivan said that he believes a lot of graffiti is caused by members of criminal gangs and that finding the people committing these crimes could lead to the arrests of people committing more serious crimes.
Mayor Smith said she would approach city administrators in Phoenix and Flagstaff to learn more about their programs. The discussion ended with support from the council and city administration was directed to continue working on this idea.
During summary of current events Councilmember Robert Black expressed concern regarding several positions listed as open at the city, stating that council had told administration to bring all positions before the council during the hiring freeze. “In my opinion, before we hire an events coordinator we need to hire a city attorney.”
Councilmember Black also said he wants to see when the city will finish updating its general plan and charter because it doesn’t seem to be progressing. Mayor Smith responded to this later by giving an update on the charter, saying that the attorneys are currently reviewing the information that will go on the ballots for voters, as charters are adopted by a vote of the public. Smith also said the city was awarded a grant to finalize the general plan revisions and she said should be finalized in the next two months.
Black also said that several members of the community have been asking him about when the city will be getting its own urgent care facility. Sullivan said that he has had three conference calls with entities regarding providing an urgent care in Holbrook. Sullivan said that with the motocross track and drag racing that is coming to Holbrook there is a real concern about not having healthcare nearby.
During Sullivan’s report he gave an update about the attorney fees, noting that the city is still well over budget regarding attorney’s fees but has dramatically reduced the amount they were spending month to month.
Back in February the council had a meeting in which they expressed their dissatisfaction in city administration in not curbing the amount they were spending on legal aid. At the time they were on track to spend over half a million dollars on lawyer fees, but Sullivan told council during his report that they have cut that back to between $3,000 and $5,000 the past two months. Sullivan said, “If the attorneys are leaning towards above $5,000 [in a month] they are directed to let us know why before that happens.”
The council also ended with an executive session regarding the purchase of certain real estate but did not take any action after returning into regular session.
The next meeting of the Holbrook City Council will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, in the council chambers located at 465 N. 1st Ave.
