During last week’s regular meeting the Holbrook City Council heard pointed criticism from local business owners before unanimously rejecting a proposed business license ordinance.
During the call to the public on agenda items, longtime Holbrook business owner Vincent Farr, who owns Farr’s Downtown Service, told council members he was strongly opposed to adding another layer of regulation on local businesses. “I’ve been in business for 50 years,” Farr said. “I have the state, the federal, the county governments already regulating me. I don’t need as business any more regulations. I don’t need more fees; I don’t need more restrictions.” Farr recalled a similar attempt in the 1970s that failed after strong backlash from the business community and urged the council to discard the idea entirely. “Every business in town rejected it,” he said. “Hopefully, you’ll consider that as an option today… throw it in the trash.” He encouraged the city to focus on incentives rather than penalties, suggesting welcoming new businesses with assistance instead of fees and suggested offering incentives to new businesses, “Why not offer something, free water for a month or free sewer for a couple of months… to incentivize business to come to Holbrook, not to penalize them for being here.”
Business owner Esmeralda Aguilera, who owns Esmeralda’s Bella Vida Salon & Spa, also spoke against the proposal, raising concerns about how the ordinance was introduced and how it would affect small businesses already carrying multiple licenses. “How was this proposed and how were we contacted?” Aguilera asked, saying she did not receive notice and only heard about it from others. She listed several licenses she already maintains, including cosmetology, salon, state board and Arizona privilege tax license, and questioned how additional permits would apply to booth renters or mobile businesses.
When the council took up the ordinance to enact the business licenses, Mayor Kathleen Smith said the intent was to address concerns about businesses operating without proper permits. She said the city had identified compliance issues and unpermitted operations as an ongoing challenge.
“We knew that what they say 75% to 80% of our businesses down on Hopi Drive were out of compliance,” she said. However, after further review, she said, “The more we delve into it, the more I realize this is not the right license,” she said. She added that while the city still needs a way to track businesses, “it’s my intention tonight to not vote for this” and that she was “fully in support of just letting this ordinance go away.”
Council members echoed those concerns. Councilman Robert Black said he opposed the ordinance from the start. “Anything to do with raising taxes or having us try to regulate something out there that really doesn’t need to be regulated… I just think it’s a waste of time,” he said. Vice Mayor Mike Nilsson suggested gathering business information through existing utility sign-up processes instead of licensing.
The council voted unanimously to not approve the ordinance and later reached consensus to direct staff to explore modifying existing utility forms to help track businesses without creating a license requirement.
Council members also heard a presentation from Brooke Fulton of the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence on a proposed community garden in Holbrook funded through a Center for Disease Control Delta grant. Fulton said the project is intended to address food insecurity and its connection to intimate partner violence.
“A garden would provide reliable access to food and not immediate harm reduction,” she said, explaining that survivors could access food “without having to justify the need, disclose abuse, or rely on their abusers’ resources.” Fulton cited poverty rates in Holbrook of between 21% and 22%. The state average for poverty usually rests around 12-13% according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The proposed site is near the library and a park area where a previous garden project had begun but not been completed. No vote was taken, as the item was presented for discussion only.
Council approved funding toward a Route 66 drive-through sign to be installed at West End Park as part of preparations for the highway’s upcoming centennial. Community member Kenny Larson told the council he had seen similar projects significantly boost tourism in other cities.
“I’ve watched their tourism just like triple,” Larson said of Kingman after installation of its Route 66 sign. The city approved $40,000 from lodging tax funds toward the project, with volunteers raising additional funds and assisting with installation.
Councilmember Karina Pack said that she agreed was an appropriate use of lodgers funds and that the artwork outdoes similar instillations in Kingman and Grants. The motion passed unanimously.
The council also approved changes to zoning in the Railroad District, expanding permitted principal uses to encourage development while removing proposed design standards that would have required an “Old West” aesthetic. The mayor said she was concerned about adding design requirements without clear definitions. “We don’t have a design standard in front of us,” she said, warning that vague requirements could discourage investment. The ordinance passed unanimously with all design standards struck from the final version.
Before adjourning, the council adopted “What We All Do Matters” as Holbrook’s city theme for 2026. Councilwoman Teri Tafoya said the theme reflects shared responsibility across the community. “What everybody does, whether it’s big, small doesn’t matter,” she said. “Everybody makes a difference in our community.” The theme will run through 2026 and was approved unanimously.
In other business, the council:
* Approved an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Arizona Department of Transportation to exchange data with the Holbrook Police Department related to car crashes.
* Approved professional services agreement with Ardurra Group for engineering and consulting services for an on-call contract costs of which will be incurred on a case-by-case basis.
* Approved a memorandum of understanding with the Navajo County Historical Society for use of the historic courthouse and the city will provide a monthly budget of $4,500, to cover the cost of staffing the courthouse museum from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., six days a week.
* Approved an extension of an IGA with the county for court collections and justice services, including but not limited to fee collection and use of county public defenders at the city justice court. Cost to the city is $56,217 annually.
* Approved the purchase of a CAT double roller, used to evenly compact asphalt or soil at a cost of $15,153.
Next meeting of the Holbrook City Council will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 14, in the council room located at 465 1st Ave.
