By Naomi Hatch “The biggest thing in Snowflake was the change in personnel,” said Mayor Tom Poscharsky of the year just passed. Snowflake-Taylor Police Chief Jerry VanWinkle and Snowflake Municipal Golf Course pro Steve Schneider both retired, and Snowflake Fire Chief Pat Hancock resigned. “The golf course has been a concern of some of the council members,” said the mayor. Town Manager Brian Richards noted that when the paper mill closed, revenue at the course went down 20 to 30 percent, so they decided to see if it could be run without a golf pro. The town saved some money and revenues increased slightly over the summer. “We’re holding our own,” said Richards. Former town manager Paul Watson resigned in April, and the town council appointed Richards, who had been with the town for many years as finance director, as the new manager. Stuart Hensley was re-elected to the council, and new council members Byron Lewis, Cory Johnson and Terril Kay were seated in January. Jason Whiting was elected as mayor, but he was appointed to the District III seat on the Navajo County Board of Supervisors before he could assume that office, replacing Sylvia Allen, who was selected to take the late Chester Crandall’s place in the Arizona Senate. Poscharsky who has been very involved in economic development in the community and continues to work to bring new business to the town, was appointed by the council to serve as mayor. The Snowflake and Taylor councils joined to approve an intergovernmental agreement to combine the fire and ambulance departments. The Administrative Committee worked well together to choose Clint Burden as fire chief, according to the mayor. Burden recommended hiring an assistant fire chief, and the committee once again worked very well together, hiring Willie Nelson, who members felt was most qualified for the job. The committee also joined forces to hire a new police chief. “We had several good, qualified candidates who were interviewed at the end of July,” said Poscharsky, and hired Larry Scarber, who they felt was the most outstanding candidate. He began in his new post Aug. 31. Richards and Poscharsky agreed that both the police chief and assistant fire chief are assets, and bring a lot of experience to the communities. “Chief Scarber was very willing to get into the middle of the dispatch issue,” said the mayor. A joint council meeting was held Dec. 8, and the councils voted to keep dispatch services in Snowflake rather than go regional. “The Administrative Committee needs to meet to look at purchasing new consoles and furniture for dispatchers,” said the mayor. Richards agreed, noting, “We’re going to be upgrading our equipment (at a cost of $70,000 to $80,000). Will Wilson built the current consoles, and we have used them for 17 years. That’s how we do things here; we just do the best we can to make things work. “And they still work,” he added, noting that the biggest problem is that dispatchers can’t use headsets and foot pedals to change channels with those consoles. Amity Crunk was a dispatcher and recently completed her training at the police academy. She will be hired as a Snowflake-Taylor police officer. A new dispatcher was hired to replace her, and was to start work Jan. 3. “The Southern Solution is ongoing,” said Richards. “We got a lot of it done when we did some improvements at the golf course,” using dirt from the levee on the golf course for the detention basin. The ditch has been dug along the north side of State Route 277, and a concrete lining has been installed. The project should be completed by May. “There will be a crossing at the industrial park and one by the old Lyon Chemical building, where there are three culverts already, but it will be necessary to widen that crossing,” said Richards. “We think we’ll get some money for the Northern Solution,” though they have not received official word on that to date. “That will help us take the industrial park out of the floodplain.” “In August the management team from NatureSweet came from Texas and attended the Real AZ meeting to talk about their future,” said Mayor Poscharsky, noting that everything seemed to be going well. “The facility was closed the end of September. We’ve had some inquiries from people for potential uses, but nothing beyond investigation.” During the summer, Navajo County approved location of a medical marijuana greenhouse by Kompo Care north of Snowflake. It is located in the county at the old Caldwell Pig Farm. The foundation has been poured behind the existing buildings to start the greenhouse. “The biggest thing last year was, out of the blue on May 20, the Hackman Group tried to assert control over the railroad, which resulted in the foundation filing for bankruptcy on May 22,” said Poscharsky, noting that the only uncompromised creditor was the Town of Snowflake. Richards and Poscharsky agreed that their greatest concern was to preserve the Apache Railway for economic development in the community. The town hired attorney Jeff Murray of Murray & Sims, a municipal condemnation lawyer with some bankruptcy experience, mainly “because the ultimate goal of the town was to make sure the railroad wasn’t scrapped, which was the same goal we had back in 2012,” explained Poscharsky. Steve Brophy of Aztec Land and Cattle Company spent a lot of time trying to secure a loan to purchase Apache Railway. First he went through the Rail Road Improvement Funding Act, but that loan was turned down in late 2014. Navajo County officials spent a lot of time working with Brophy to find alternative interim financing, an effort which broke down in April 2015. In the meantime, Poscharsky encouraged Brophy to apply for a USDA Community Loan, which he did, but in mid-June that fell through. They had until Nov. 30, to get a loan, but the town was prepared to condemn the railroad on Dec. 1, “mainly because we didn’t want the employees of the railroad to have to go through the holiday season not knowing if they were going to have a job,” said Poscharsky. It was announced on Nov. 30, that the Apache Railroad sale to Aztec Land and Cattle Company had closed so they could repay the former lender by Nov. 30, as required by a bankruptcy court order. “We saved a few jobs this year, but we lost a few,” said Richards, explaining that they will gain 55 fulltime positions with the greenhouse, and they gained 21 with Apache Railway and five with dispatch services remaining in Snowflake. Poscharsky also noted that they were approved for Route 66 grant funding. Richards has sent requests for proposals for the pool and the old Hatch building on the corner of Main Street and First Street South. The grant proceeds will be used to look for problem areas, such as mold and asbestos, and conducting an environmental assessment. Richards said they hope to get a grant for the pool. Poscharsky and Taylor Mayor Fay Hatch have talked about working on getting a splash pad installed, and both are in support of the recreation project. “We are looking to see what economic development we can do now that the railroad is secure,” said Mayor Poscharsky, noting that one thing they are looking into is the possibility of getting a turkey or chicken co-op in the area for meat. He explained that this would allow independent producers and farmers to have a business on their property. “We have a good climate for it, we’re not in a migratory bird flyway where the poultry would get disease and our climate is good,” said the mayor. “We’re looking for other agricultural interests that can add value to the existing agricultural lands.” Richards pointed to the pork production in the area and said they are looking at other agricultural possibilities that can utilize grain brought in by the railroad. “The council is very pleased with Brian (Richards),” said Poscharsky noting, “It’s working out very well.” He also said they are very pleased with the new police chief and the new assistant fire chief. “I think it’s been positive moves all the way around this year,” he continued. “We’re still looking for economic development, trying to bring in jobs and industry.”