By Linda Kor City Manager Ted Soltis addressed the Holbrook City Council last week stating that longtime employee Stacy Hatch has retired and her last day will be on Jan. 8. “We will miss her and wish her the best in her retirement years but we will not be filling her position,” stated Soltis. “Her duties will be redistributed between the current staff. This also means that city hall will no longer be open on Friday,” he stated, adding that Hatch was the only employee that would work on Fridays at city hall. Soltis explained that the marijuana grow facility in town, Curealeaf, has plans to expand their grow operation outside on the property surrounding the building off of East Hermosa Drive. “Staff will ensure that the applicable state regulations will be followed,” said Soltis. He also noted that a marijuana dispensary will soon be operating out of the Pow Wow building on Navajo Blvd. There was one previously located at the site. Soltis stated that the former Star Inn on Hopi Drive, which has been a source of blight in the community has a new owner who acquired the property through back taxes. “We are working closely with him to make sure that property gets cleaned up.” He also explained that the city needs to repair its trash compactor. “Presently we do not have sufficient funds in our sanitation fund and new compactors cost around $36,000. We did some upgrades for the electrical and now we’re in the process of getting the ramps built for the inside. For about $2,000 that will be done locally.” Regarding utilities, Soltis stated that the water/wastewater rates will be increasing as of Jan. 1 due to an increase in the Consumer Price Index. “This year the CPI for that period of time is 2.1 percent. That works out to about a 14 cent increase for residential water and about a 26 cent increase for wastewater. The per unit residential rate will increase by about four cents.” The city is adhering to the CPI in order to implement gradual changes yearly, rather than large increases over a big period of time as has been done in the past.
