During the most recent Winslow Council meeting, Navajo County Supervisor Fern Benally told Winslow councilmembers via in a Zoom presentation that crews are now pulling fiber through newly installed conduit across northern Arizona, marking a major step in the county’s broadband expansion. The work is part of a long-planned “middle-mile” project that will carry high-capacity internet through the region, with Winslow expected to connect through new interconnection points near Holbrook and Joseph City. The middle-mile network forms the backbone for future “last-mile” extensions that private providers can later build to reach homes and businesses.
When the funding for the middle mile project was first presented in 2023 it was planned that the county would install fiber from Show Low north through Snowflake and Taylor to Holbrook and the reservation along State Route 77. The reason the county’s plan did not include Winslow, the county’s second largest city, was because the Arizona Department of Transportation had two fiber projects in the works, one that connected Flagstaff to California along I-40 and a similar path along the interstate to New Mexico. The state completed the westward plan but when a budget shortfall hit the Arizona Legislature that year, the state scrapped the eastward plan that would’ve connected Winslow into the fiber network.
Benally said all the mainline conduit has been installed and contractors are proceeding to pull in the fiber before beginning system testing. She added that the county is coordinating closely with Arizona Public Service (APS) to share rights of way and connect APS’s planned fiber network with the county’s system. APS has finished engineering designs for two major routes, one from Flagstaff to Joseph City and another from Phoenix through Payson to Joseph City—and construction will begin after environmental clearances are complete. Those routes, once active, will give Winslow access to a redundant connection along the Interstate 40 corridor.
She also noted that SpaceX and Wecom have been selected to expand broadband under the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program (BEAD). SpaceX will serve the Winslow area with a hybrid of satellite and fiber connections, while Wecom will focus on ground-based fiber in rural stretches of Navajo County. The selections must still be approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Benally said the government shutdown could delay that process.
Her update also included progress on the Winslow Levee project, which remains in coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Survey and topographic data have been submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers and utility coordination is underway with Kinder Morgan and El Paso Gas. A new project manager will soon be appointed to replace one who recently left and updated cost and schedule estimates are expected later this year.
Benally said that once construction is complete, FEMA certification will still be required before the levee can be officially recognized for flood protection and residents be relieved of the burden of costly flood insurance.
City Manager David Coolidge followed with a report on how the federal shutdown and current funding limits are affecting Winslow. He said most city grants remain on track, including the Land and Water Conservation Fund projects for Henderson, Triangle and Coopertown parks, the three-year ADOT transit grant and the 2-million-gallon water tank financed through a federal earmark. The city’s $15 million RAISE infrastructure grant is also fully funded and an administrative agreement is expected to appear before the council in late November. Reviews for an EDA business incubator grant and a USDA farmers market grant are on hold until federal offices reopen.
Coolidge said the shutdown could temporarily delay Section 8 housing payments in December but that November funding is secured and tenants remain protected by their leases. Landlords have been notified not to raise rent or evict tenants due to late federal payments and back payments will be made once the government resumes operations.
He also outlined Winslow’s challenges under the state’s expenditure limitation, which caps the city’s constitutional spending at roughly $21 million despite an overall budget closer to $28 million. The difference stems from a 1978 population-based formula that no longer reflects Winslow’s current costs. The city has come close to exceeding the cap in recent years and staff are studying options to ask voters to approve either a four-year home rule authority or a permanent base adjustment.
Later in the meeting, the council passed an ordinance updating the city’s cemetery regulations. The changes modernize definitions and standardize terminology while clarifying what types of monuments are allowed. Existing sections of the cemetery will continue to permit both flat and upright headstones, but new areas developed in the future will require flat markers with a single flower holder per grave. City officials said the update will make long-term maintenance easier while preserving the traditional look of older sections.
In other business, the council:
* Proclaimed November Native American Heritage Month and Nov. 1 as Extra Mile Day.
* Approved the check register and past meeting minutes.
* Approved in-kind assistance and a waiving of vendor fees for the Chamber of Commerce for the annual Christmas parade.
