The most recent Holbrook City Council meeting brought out about 12 residents in support of Randy Sullivan for his efforts as interim city manager, with several offering praise of his efforts to make the city a better place for both the residents and those who travel through the city. The response came from concerns regarding an item on the agenda that indicated Mayor Bobby Tyler was seeking to hire an outside agency to provide someone to take over Sullivan’s position as interim manager until May of next year.
Under the direction of former city manager Ray Alley and now Interim City Manager Sullivan, Holbrook has seen many improvements. Streets have been rebuilt, the uses for the city’s parks have expanded, pocket parks were created, old facilities are being put to use and additional recreational activities have been provided.
Sullivan is continuing in those efforts, with the current project of adding a new dog park at the north end of the city adjacent to Navajo Blvd. The design actually calls for two dog parks, to be divided by a fence, and will also have parking and benches where visitors can relax. In addition, a kiosk will offer information about the businesses and attractions in town so that they can make the most of their visit.
When asked what his plans are for the next seven months that he will be in charge, Sullivan talks of the importance of creating an environment that brings the community outdoors and participating in activities together. He believes that by doing that, families and industry leaders looking at the city would see how much there is to do in a close-knit, supportive community.
A native of Holbrook, Sullivan has genuine excitement for the projects his workers are undertaking.
After graduating from Holbrook High School, Sullivan went on to earn double bachelor’s degrees, one in business management and one in accounting. He accomplished this feat while working nights at Home Depot so he could provide for his growing family. After graduating, Sullivan accepted a job working for the Finance Department at Navajo County. “I could have gone somewhere else and gotten a lot more pay, I suppose, but my parents, my grandparents were here, and I wanted to raise my family here,” he said.
After four years working for the county, he was hired by the City of Holbrook as finance manager. After a number of years Alley became city manager and because of him, Sullivan says he began to see his job as something more than just keeping track of the books. “On day one he told me ‘you can’t control revenues, you can only control expenses,’ so I told him I’d do whatever he needed me to do to be successful,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan calls the job he has the best of both worlds. “I go into my office and get the job done, and then I come out here,” he said, sweeping his arms around the construction site of the new dog park, “and I really enjoy working hard and seeing results.” He credits Alley for helping him see a bigger picture of what can be done in city management and how gratifying the results can be.
Sullivan’s love for his community comes out as he talks about recent projects, such as modifying the Lizitsky Park greens in order to accommodate youth activities. He explained that Holbrook Youth Football has become quite popular, but each season played has taken a toll on the grass fields at Lewis Park. Sullivan said two seasons from now the grass would be ready to rotate the sport between the two parks in order to let the grass recover a season.
He talked of how Hunt Park will also be seeing some changes, including a regulation-size soccer field extending from behind the pool to the softball field. A parking lot will also be added behind the pool area to accommodate visitors if tournaments are held there.
The city has already begun numerous classes through the new recreation program, and Sullivan would like to add still more youth sports and summer leagues. “The school recently had tryouts for volleyball and there were over a hundred kids trying out, but right away 30 were selected for the team. That left 70 or more kids who wanted to play left out. They may not be star players, but they should all be able to play. There are a lot of late bloomers in athletics, I was a late bloomer, but if you get cut on the first day, how are you ever going to know your potential?” he asked.
Sullivan’s plan involves creating leagues and each league would have a leader who was on a committee with the other league leaders. Together they would form a plan to maintain the events and expand the programs. “Separately, you can’t get things done, but together they can build,” he said.
But of all the projects, it’s obvious that one in particular is closest to his heart, but as a long-term plan, it may not be one that he can fulfill in his interim position.
The city recently acquired land from the Newman family located at the west end of Buffalo Street. Since the area already captures run off and has a water source, Sullivan hopes to eventually create a fishing pond surrounded by rock and grass where families can picnic, as well as an amphitheater as a small venue for outdoor performances.
He spoke with excitement about the potential. “I had this idea and thought how great it would be for a kid after school to be able to hop on his bike, grab his pole and tackle box, and go over to the pond to fish,” said Sullivan. He has already spoken with Arizona Game and Fish officials, who said they would be willing to stock the pond if it should come about.
Sullivan also wants to redo the city’s General Plan. “I’d like to have a committee consisting of a councilman, a city employee and three to five community members to develop a plan of ideas for growth that extends to five and then 10 years, taking into consideration the funds we have to work with, and come up with their top 10 ideas that we can work with,” he said.
Whether Sullivan will have the opportunity to implement all of his ideas is yet to be seen, but regardless, he is grateful for those who came to the council meeting to voice their support. “It was great to have all those individuals show up and speak. I had no idea they were planning that and I didn’t ask them to. I want to thank them for their support despite what was on the agenda. That’s a win for Holbrook and everyone who works for the city,” he concluded.
