During last week’s meeting of the Winslow City Council, Economic Development Director Jack Fitchett reported that Atlas Global has reached terms with a behind-the-meter energy developer and is about nine months into a 14-month Arizona State Land Department process needed to bring state land to auction for an industrial park. A phase two brownfield assessment at the old lumber mill site is nearly complete and the report will go to BNSF for rail site certification by the end of the year, he said. “If I was a betting man, I would say that our new industrial park will begin there along that rail site,” Fitchett said.
On the I-40 trade port, Fitchett said the final hub agreement with GLD should come to the council within two months and the $16 million BUILD grant has been authorized, with site plan review possible in early 2027. The city now has funds to begin engineering a truck bypass route to State Route 87 that would keep industrial traffic out of neighborhoods.
Fitchett said the Paseo del Norte development near Maverik on North Drive is starting with 40 RV spaces north of the planned Hampton Inn, followed by 140 to 180 housing units. “I’ve been on about eight [of these calls] over the last eight weeks, different housing developer every single time,” he said, adding that most are discussing 200 to 300 units each. “I think if we get two of those eight, we’ll be in great shape.”
He also reported that the FAA increased the city’s airport master plan grant from a requested $620,000 to $700,000, an EDA incubator grant of about $400,000 is expected in October or spring and a $30,000 business retention incentive opens Oct. 1. Winslow is up for an Arizona Association for Economic Development award this week and Fitchett was elected secretary-treasurer of the state organization.
City Attorney Trish Stuhan presented about an ordinance which would add e-bike and e-scooter regulations to the city code. “They don’t neatly fit to the rules of the road,” she said. The ordinance sets minimum ages of 16 for Class 3 e-bikes, 14 for Class 1 and 2 e-bikes and 12 for electric standup scooters, with rules on speed, sidewalks and riding under the influence and civil fines of $50 to $250. “Really the purpose of the ordinance is to lay out the basic expectations for safe use of these devices,” Stuhan said.
Cano raised concerns about the age limits, noting many devices were gifts or purchases by children. “I just feel like we maybe haven’t put it out to the public enough to put age requirements as of yet,” she said. McKee said children ride scooters to school and run stop without looking and called for school outreach. Vice Mayor Jim MacLean said, “I’ve seen three kids go by on a scooter at 25 miles an hour and it’s dangerous.”
Crisp asked how businesses would handle abandoned scooters and Stuhan said she would return with information. The council took no vote and directed staff to develop a public outreach plan, with the mayor suggesting about six months for feedback.
Little Colorado Medical Center CEO Travis Udall told the council the hospital’s MRI will see its first patients Sept. 28, with an open house Oct. 6. “This is something that’s been on the strategic plan for 25 years,” he said. “We already have 100 patient orders before you can open it.” A new pharmacy is awaiting state inspection and the hospital has added providers and contracts for endocrinology, cardiology and orthopedics. “Right now, we’re running out of space,” Udall said.
Udall said the hospital projects a positive budget despite pressures. “This coming year is going to be difficult and challenged with Medicaid cuts,” he said, adding that about 4,500 local residents could be affected by Medicaid work requirements. The hospital has applied for a grant to fund a mobile clinic serving Holbrook and other outlying areas and is preparing for the sales tax election.
Sherry Fitch, project services manager and Deputy Director Ciera Hensley of Navajo County Public Health presented the county’s Community Health Assessment, which is completed every three years in partnership with local hospitals. This cycle the county partnered with Summit Healthcare in Show Low and Little Colorado Medical Center in Winslow. “It’s not just a report, we like to look at it as a guide,” Fitch said. The assessment combined a countywide survey that drew 1,750 responses with three community focus groups and county, state and national health data, she said.
Fitch said Winslow led all communities in survey participation. “Winslow came out on top,” she said. “So congratulations.” Councilmember Darcey McKee noted it was Winslow’s second time winning the participation competition. “I like being number one of accomplishing the survey, but I don’t like being number one in the county for certain things,” Mayor Roberta Cano said.
Hensley said access to care was identified as the top health priority. Sixty-nine percent of respondents reported barriers to specialists, 68% said they travel more than 40 miles for health care services and 27% said a lack of providers accepting patients kept them from getting care. All four provider ratios the county tracked, including dentists, primary care and pediatric providers, worsened from 2022 to 2025, she said.
Mental health was also identified as a priority, with 73% of respondents saying anxiety or depression affects their daily life or the life of someone they know. Hensley said opioid prescriptions have trended down since 2019 but overdose deaths are increasing and she credited a substance use work group and Narcan distribution partnerships. One focus group participant was quoted in the report saying, “You have to have a place to live in order to stay sober.”
Navajo County has the highest rate of sexually transmitted infections in Arizona, Hensley said, though congenital syphilis cases fell from a 2022 peak of 1,040 per 100,000 live births to about 500. She said senior health is a new priority, as falls were the leading cause of accidental death for residents 65 and older, with 19 deaths in 2024 and 54% of respondents who needed Alzheimer’s care did not receive it. Life expectancy in the county fell from 72 to 68.1 years, compared with 77.2 statewide and the living wage for one adult rose 41% in three years, Hensley said, while kindergarten immunization rates improved.
“Even though Navajo County is 100% rural, each community faces different challenges, so how can we bring all those places together to make a real impact,” Hensley said. She invited residents to join the Community Health Improvement Plan process that will follow the assessment.
In other business, the council recognized employees David Padilla, Nicole Gonzalez, Norman Horn, Carolina Dodson, Joshua Friesen and Larrilynn Shumway with service awards. On a motion by McKee seconded by Cano, the council also voted to cancel the Oct. 13 meeting so members could attend the screening of “Route 66: The Main Street of America,” with MacLean voting no and items planned for that meeting will move to Oct. 27.
In other business the council:
* Approved past meeting minutes and the check register.
* Approved easement access for Arizona Public Service for cemetery expansion.
* Approved a resolution allowing the city clerk to review and respond to routine liquor license agent changes and ownership transfers on the city’s behalf, rather than bringing each one to a council vote.
