The Holbrook City Council gave their approval of a contract for Interim City Manager Cher Reyes at their Aug. 28 council meeting. Mayor Bobby Tyler and Councilman CJ Wischmann were excused from the meeting.
Reyes was hired for the temporary position the week before in a special meeting of the council and prepared the contract for approval for this meeting. In the contract, Reyes will receive a prorated salary of $90,000 and will acquire vacation time at a rate of six weeks annually instead of her current four weeks. It is anticipated that Reyes will remain in that position for at least the next several months as the council goes through the process of selecting a permanent city manager. Once the position is filled, Reyes will return to her regular duties as city clerk.
Reyes informed the council that the job opening for animal control officer has been posted on the city website, city offices, library, police department and online at the Arizona Job Connection. Officer Merrill Young, who will be retiring at the end of the year, currently holds the position. The salary range provided on the job began at less than minimum wage so the council requested that staff modify that to reflect the current minimum wage.
In other updates, Reyes noted that a bid has gone out for a used Fairway lawnmower for the golf course, as the current mower is no longer operational. “The kitchen in the recreation center has been remodeled. It’s a real kitchen now so people who rent the building will have an actual kitchen that they can use if they want to have an event there where they need to cook,” stated Reyes.
“We’re still researching the street sweeper and it looks like I will be coming back to you at (the next) meeting to request more funds. We’re not having any luck finding it with the price range we were given,” she said.
Reyes also noted that the city received permission to remove the old Marlene’s Cut and Curl building on Navajo Blvd. and the trailer house that burned on East Florida Street last year.
A request for quotes for an architect to design the doorway specifications for ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) doorways have gone out. The city received a grant for the doorways and the city crew can install the hardware but a professional architect will be necessary to ensure the proper specifications for the entryways.
The council approved a mutual aid agreement between the Holbrook Volunteer Fire Department and other agencies participating in the I-40 Response Agencies Group. The group consists of law enforcement agencies, fire departments and emergency medical services within the region. The agreement allows the agencies to work together in the event of a major incident in order to share skills and resources to address an emergency.
Sgt. Eric Zimmerman updated the council on events at the police department and introduced patrol officer Joshua Minnick who recently graduated from the police academy. He stated that there are two recruits in their fifth week of the academy and there is also a lateral applicant that passed the polygraph and the department is awaiting the results of the medical check. He reported that Holbrook Police Department completed 54 reports, which does not include the total number of calls officers responded to. “There were 21 adult arrests and two juvenile arrests since the last council meeting,” he reported.
Regarding major incidents, he reported there was a reported stolen vehicle that was unable to be apprehended when spotted but was later recovered with the assistance of the Arizona Department of Public Safety four miles outside of town. Charges are pending on the suspects with the Navajo County Attorney’s Office.
Holbrook Fire Chief Phillip Rose reported that two of his crew, Cary Simpson and Byron Shelendewa were invited to the Cardinals vs. Redskins game on Sept. 9 in the Valley and will be on the field assisting with the unfurling of the flag for their assistance at Draft Days for the Arizona Cardinals that was held in Winslow earlier this year.
Colleen Marsh reported on behalf of the chamber of commerce. She stated that the chamber is planning their three upcoming events including Old West Day on Oct. 20, the food truck social and Festival of Trees, and the Christmas parade. “We are planning so we invite everybody; if you love participating, if you would like to see changes, now’s the time for you to start getting involved,” she said, noting that the next meeting will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 11, at Somberitos Restaurant.
The council approved an agreement with Navajo County for chip seal work. With the agreement, the county will purchase the supplies and provide the labor and the city will pay an amount not to exceed $56,000. The streets selected for the chip seal project are those most heavily traveled and include school bus routes. The project is scheduled to begin next week.
The council approved the renewal of the annual agreement with the Navajo County Historical Society that is unchanged from the previous year. The agreement states that the city shall provide a budget for the Historical Society in the amount of $3,333 to be paid at the first of each month for the operation of the visitors center and museum to be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, with the exception of legal holidays.
The agreement also states that the city will continue to provide liability insurance for the Historic Navajo County Courthouse, which houses the museum, visitors center and offices for the Historical Society and the Holbrook Chamber of Commerce. The city will also continue to provide grounds maintenance and general janitorial services, with the exception of the annex building.
The council also approved a proclamation Sept. 12-15 Navajo County Fair Days and approved claims and payments totaling $175,071.
