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The Winslow City Council voted last week to authorize staff to negotiate a development agreement with Habitat for Humanity for an attainable housing project that could put between 12 and 24 owner-occupied starter homes on two acres of city land. The vote came after a presentation from Eric Wolverton, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Northern Arizona, who told the council the organization would build the units as one-bedroom-and-loft homes rather than the studio-style units it has built in Flagstaff, citing Winslow’s smaller young-adult population and larger senior population. The motion to authorize negotiations passed on a voice vote with no audible opposition and no final agreement has been signed.
Economic Development Director Jack Fitchett told the council the two acres had been offered for development once before and that the earlier developer withdrew for health reasons, prompting the city to issue a new request for proposals that stayed open about 30 days.
“Out of all of the applicants that we received, there was one full application that met all of the desires and requirements that we had stated,” Fitchett said. Wolverton said the number of homes depends on geotechnical work, environmental studies and flood analysis that have not been done, noting a drainage currently runs through part of one parcel. He said Habitat sold its first 10 starter homes in Flagstaff in March, that those families had accumulated $5,000 in equity in six months, and that applications for the next 10 opened the day of the meeting and drew 19 applicants before the council convened. “We already know it’s going to be a wonderful but overwhelming family selection process for us,” he said. He described the aim in Winslow as housing that “doesn’t just allow them to survive, but more importantly, allows them to thrive through home ownership rather than through a rental program.”
Councilwoman Samantha Crisp asked what it would take to bring a Habitat ReStore to Winslow, saying a large share of the city’s population lives below the poverty line and cannot get to the Flagstaff store. Wolverton said Habitat is already in talks with a commercial landlord in Holbrook about a second northern Arizona location but that the obstacle in rural communities is supply rather than demand. “You need to have at least a pretty decently strong part of your community that is affluent, that is going to provide us with those donated items,” he said, adding that Winslow and Holbrook have buyers but not donors. “How do we get the product in their hands?” he asked. He said Habitat is weighing grant funding for a dedicated semi-truck and trailer to haul goods up from the Phoenix area and is considering a used hotel furniture market, since Valley hotels replace room furnishings every five to six years and the product holds up well in reservation border towns.
The council also authorized the city manager, building inspector and city attorney to take all necessary steps against what the agenda described as a public nuisance and dangerous building at 320 W. First St., including filing litigation to obtain a demolition order, using public funds for abatement and placing a lien on the property to recover the cost. That item was part of a consent calendar approved in a single vote with no discussion and no items pulled.
The same calendar included the check register, the minutes of the Aug. 11 meeting, the purchase of an enclosed utility tractor for the roadside department, the purchase of an influent pump for the wastewater treatment plant, a cooperative agreement with Navajo County for animal control services and two professional services agreements with Global Logistics Development Partners, one for advocacy strategy services and one, listed as sole source, for administration of Regional Infrastructure Accelerator Program funding.
Two speakers used the call to the public to accuse city government of criminal conduct. A man who gave his first name as Andrew and declined to give his last name said he had investigated corrupt governments for the U.S. Department of Justice and had found “corruption that I have only seen in larger cities” in Winslow, alleging that the city does not enforce its 2006 business license ordinance, that the family business of former mayor Tom McCauley operates without a license or state contractor registration, and that staff wrongly told him public records requests must be submitted in writing. A second speaker who gave his name as Ryan said only, “I’m just here to ask you all to stop. Please stop committing crimes.” Council rules bar members from responding to comments on matters not on the agenda, and no response was made from the dais.
Two other residents spoke. Raymond Lucero asked whether the city has been briefed on Arizona Public Service’s plans surrounding its gas transition and whether floor plans for the Global Logistics Development facility will be released, including how much water the building will require.
A resident who gave her name as Gail said she has received mailers for several weeks claiming a mosque is being built in Winslow and that thousands of people are relocating here and asked for information.
Northland Pioneer College used its quarterly report to press for expanded nursing capacity and student housing in Winslow. Rich Chanick, the college’s associate vice president of external relations, said the relationship between the college and the city is changing. “NPC and Winslow have always been friends, but under the leadership of the mayor and the cooperation of Jack Fitchett, we’re evolving past that, we’re becoming partners now,” he said. He said the college recently met with hospital leadership and a representative from Sen. Mark Kelly’s office and will meet with Winslow Indian Health Center CEO Virgil Davis, and that housing is needed because the district covers 22,000 square miles and students commute long distances for clinical rotations.
“We can’t ask somebody to drive three hours when the snow is falling this way, and we’ve all seen the snow falling this way on Interstate 40,” he said. He also described online career-ready certificates in business, computing and administration of justice, and an expanding commercial driver’s license program based in Holbrook that the college hopes to bring to Winslow, Kayenta and Whiteriver using a simulator and trailer.
Asked by Crisp whether the certificate programs include job placement help, Chanick said they do not yet. He said he had recently visited five or six peer colleges and found them roughly split between those that consider placement outside their role and those that see connecting students to employers as the job, and that NPC is moving toward the second view. “We’re not where we want to be as far as that is concerned, but that’s where we want to head,” he said. Pressed further, he said the college has one staff member in career services, “and that’s insufficient to train students to get out and talk to employers and that sort of thing.” Cano told him the connections are close at hand, pointing to the police department and county sheriff’s office for criminal justice students and to the recent hospital meeting, where “we were talking about how dire it was that nurses need to stay in Winslow and work at LCMC and WIHCC.” She added that dispatcher and police officer vacancies are among the city’s persistent openings.
Planning and Zoning Hearing Officer Jason Sanks reported on six conditional use permits reviewed between April and August, all inspected by city staff. Three overnight RV spaces approved at the Love’s Travel Center on Transcon Lane are installed and in use, and four cargo containers approved for storage at the former cannabis processing facility at 2015 W. Third St. remain on site and painted to match the buildings, though the business itself appears to have closed. Decorative arbors at 600 W. Third St. and a storage container at 2600 Scenic View Drive were both found compliant, and a chicken coop permitted at 107 E. Gilmore St. is still standing, though Sanks noted a state law passed in roughly 2023 now allows chickens in cities under certain conditions and has effectively superseded the city’s permit requirement. The last permit, for a home child care business at 2124 Desert View Drive, carries conditions limiting hours to 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., barring more than one employee at a time and restricting the business to 20% of the home, but enforcement is difficult because no signage is permitted. “These are inspected, but it’s hard to tell when they’re operating, which is kind of the point,” Sanks said.
The council adopted two proclamations, one recognizing September as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and one marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and designating it Patriot Day 2026.
During the meeting, the council also:
* Approved past meeting minutes and check register.
* Approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Navajo County to share resources regarding animal impound services.
* Approved the purchase of a pump for the wastewater plant at a cost of $56,776.
* Approved the purchase of a utility tractor at a cost of $62,881.
* Approved filling litigation to obtain a demolition order for 320 W. First St.
