During the Nov. 8 Holbrook City Council meeting, the council held the first reading of an ordinance that would add fees to water users’ bills.
The ordinance sets a $1 monthly adjudication fee for users inside and outside the city limits of 1 to 99 units of water. All users of 100 units or more would be charged $2 per month. One unit is equal to 1,000 gallons of water. Since only large establishments such as hotels use more than 100 units of water, most users would have a $1 increase.
“It’s not much, but it will cover what we pay to Brown & Brown, which is $22,000 to $25,000 a year,” said Interim City Manager Randy Sullivan, referring to the law firm handling the city’s water rights case.
Also proposed is a $5 monthly capital improvement fee for all city water users. The proceeds would be placed in a separate funding account for water and wastewater capital improvement projects.
If the ordinance is approved, users will see a monthly increase of $6 on their city bill.
Councilwoman Francie Payne told Sullivan that she would like to advertise that seniors are eligible for a $5 monthly discount on their trash service, which would help offset the increases to other portions of the bills.
Sullivan said the discount would be advertised on city bills.
The council asked City Clerk Reyes to make several minor changes in wording to make the ordinance more specific, but left the overall content the same.
Sullivan also informed the council that the city is “having some problems with cash flow,” due to the recent annual payment of $400,000 for the wastewater treatment plant. City sales tax and state tax previously helped return cash flow, but this year both are down by about five percent and funds are not bouncing back as fast as they have in the past. In addition, the state has frozen all reimbursements until possibly April.
“We will start cutting back and going into maintenance mode until we get that cash flow back,” said Sullivan.
The council also held first readings of ordinances authorizing the transfer of real property to Calvary Chapel in Holbrook, Inc., and adding fees for recreational activities and recreational facilities rental.
Councilman Richard Peterson stated that the fee schedule for recreational activities was pretty broad.
“Be more specific where this fee should be applied,” he asked. Reyes said she will work on the wording of the ordinance.
Reyes noted that packets for city council positions would be available Nov. 14 for pick up at city hall, located at 465 First Ave. The seats now held by Vice Mayor Wade Carlisle, and Councilmen Earl Kester and Richard Peterson will be up for election in the spring. Kester was appointed to the council last year to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Myron Maxwell. The completed packets must be returned to city hall by Dec. 14. For more information, call the city office at 524-6225.
In other business, the city
has formed a recreational department and youth program committee, which met for the first time last week.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality did an audit at the transfer site. “They found no major deficiencies,” said Sullivan.
He also mentioned that Cobble Stone Inn is planning to build a hotel on Navajo Blvd.
The Community Development Block Grant public hearing will be held at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29, at city hall. The city has received a $40,000 grant for 2017. The council encourages members of the public to attend and offer input on how the grant should be used.
In other action Nov. 8, the council:
* Approved a special event liquor license for the Holbrook Elks Lodge on Dec. 3.
* Approved the transfer of 400’x400’ parcel on the wastewater treatment plant property and at the old Northland Pioneer College campus off of Hermosa Drive from Petracom to Vertical Bridge Towers for its communication towers.
* Approved payment of invoices totaling $468,387.61.
* Approved payments to Walt’s Hardware of $1,065.51 and The Tribune-News of $46.88.
