Holbrook expands access to motel to apartment conversions

The council’s remaining unease was with the conversions themselves. Mayor Kathleen Smith worried about losing the city’s lodging stock if converting proved easier or more profitable than renting rooms and pressed Auster on the legal difficulty of approving one applicant and denying an identical one.

“How do you OK one and then say no to another one if they want the exact same thing and they meet the same criteria?” Councilmember Robert Black asked. Auster conceded the point. A proposed percentage cap was set aside after Councilmember Karina Pack argued a fixed share cannot hold steady against a fluctuating population. Instead, the body narrowed eligibility during the discussion, at Auster’s suggestion, limiting conversions to properties that are dilapidated, abandoned, or currently operating illegally as apartments, meaning a functioning motel could not simply be bought and converted. Illegal operators would still have to meet every standard in subsection K, including minimum room sizes, before becoming legal. The ordinance passed 6-0.

Among those voting for the ordinance was Pack, who owns the former motel property at 1029 W. Hopi Drive. Conversion of that building to apartments was not permitted under the city code before Wednesday’s vote. Pack did not disclose an interest in the matter or step away from the vote and no member raised the question during the meeting.

Arizona’s conflict of interest statute, A.R.S. § 38-503, requires a public officer with a substantial interest in a decision to disclose that interest in the official records and to refrain from participating in the matter in any way.

Black also weighed the effect on lodgers’ tax, counting roughly five properties converting or in process, including the Sahara, Motel 6 and the Globetrotter Inn, plus the Economy Inn, which sits in C1 and was covered by a similar ordinance in May.

Stays past about five days are exempt anyway, so the solar project workers currently filling Motel 6 generate nothing and long-term Airbnb rentals fall outside the tax as well. Staff reported collections have actually risen and that the real shortfall is too few properties collecting, while vacant, deteriorating buildings generate no revenue at all.

The council’s second major action was accepting $100,000 from the Greater Arizona Development Authority for planning, engineering and feasibility work on a proposed aquatic and civic center. Of that, $25,000 is an outright grant and $75,000 a low-cost loan due within a year that could later be folded into permanent financing. City Manager Randy Sullivan Jr. said Holbrook is taking the lead over Holbrook Unified School District because the city has more financing options available to it, with memorandums of understanding among the city, the school district, Navajo County and the college expected in draft form by early October.

Sullivan said the city intends to build a pool regardless and that no figure exists yet, because no site has been chosen and firms do not estimate work like this for free. Soil conditions alone could swing the cost, he said, since building in clay would require far deeper excavation than building in sand. The city earns roughly 4% to 4.5% on its certificates of deposit while GADA loans run closer to 3.5%. That measure passed 6-0.

The council also approved a one-year intergovernmental agreement with Navajo County for building plan review and inspection services. Sullivan said the city recently lost its building inspector and remaining staff are stretched thin. Plan review costs 35% of the applicable building permit fee, inspections run $75 per visit and Friday inspections are billed at $75 an hour with a $150 minimum. Either party may cancel on 15 days’ written notice and costs come out of permit revenue.

The agreement will be for services as needed and will absorb code enforcement duties, a change members welcomed after concluding the previous part-time arrangement had not worked.

The vote was 6-0.

Ordinance 26-07 received a first reading with no vote. It would transfer a city-owned parcel, acquired through an emergency abatement after a building burned down, to adjacent owner Tabitha Richards, returning it to the tax rolls and ending the city’s maintenance obligations. A vote is expected in October. The council also approved the minutes of its August meeting.

The council also gave recognition to Carolyn and Tommy Castillo for repainting the mural across from the Butterfield Stage Company. Councilmember Teri Tafoya said she mentioned the deteriorating wall offhand and Carolyn volunteered on the spot. The couple worked in short stretches through the summer heat and were reimbursed only for paint. “It’s nice that we live in a community and we have people that do care and want to make a difference,” Tafoya said, presenting a gift and paintbrushes for the next mural.

During the call to the public, new resident Eric Redinger asked the council to reconsider the city’s three-square-foot sign limit; Smith directed staff to follow up.

During the council comment period, Black raised constituent concerns that the recently completed drainage project near the schools reroutes flow onto Eighth Avenue, raising flood risk for homes at Buffalo Street and Eighth Avenue and asked whether a drainage study had been done; the question was referred to Sullivan but not answered before adjournment. Vice Mayor Mike Nilsson announced meals resume at the Holbrook Senior Citizens Center this week on Thursday.

Sullivan reported the Route 66 rock has been relocated in front of Circle K and repainted, with pads poured for two 1950s-era gas pumps and that the city hopes to move the Hashknife Posse statue. On a proposed American flag display, staff found Heber’s flag cost $165,000 to install and about $5,000 a year to replace, while an 80-foot pole with a smaller flag would run $25,000 to $30,000 installed.

The council also approved past meeting minutes during the meeting.