During the Winslow City Council meeting last week City Manager David Coolidge updated the council on the Winslow levee project, saying he had a valuable engineering session with the Army Corps of Engineers the previous week and produced several ideas that could potentially reduce the cost of the project that was originally estimated at $100 million but could now be as high as $140 million.
Inflation has raised the cost of the project past federal appropriations, meaning the city and the county must reduce the costs or return to Congress for additional appropriations. Coolidge said one of the more promising concepts involved keeping the existing levee in place and building upon it to make it FEMA accredited, rather than removing and replacing the structure. He said that approach could be cheaper and could also reduce risk because removing sections of the levee during construction could leave the community more vulnerable during a flood event.
Coolidge said the Army Corps of Engineers discussed possible alternatives such as soil cement and stabilizers, which could reduce the need for large amounts of riprap that must be hauled in from long distances. He said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers appeared interested in some of the ideas, but no cost estimates were available yet. The project had been expected to reach 35% design by mid- to late July, though Coolidge said incorporating any of the new options could push that timeline back. He said the larger goal is to bring the project cost below the threshold that would require a post-authorization change, which could allow it to move toward construction.
Coolidge also used his status report to explain the city’s sales tax structure and address confusion over a 1% tax that is set to sunset July 15. He said Winslow’s total sales tax rate is 9.43%, with 3% going to the city, 5.6% to the state and 0.83% to Navajo County. Of the city’s 3%, 1.75% goes to the general fund, 1% goes to capital projects and 0.25% goes to Little Colorado Medical Center. Coolidge said the expiring 1% is made up of 0.75% for the general fund and 0.25% for the hospital.
Coolidge said the city has seen some misunderstanding because state statute requires the ballot language to refer to the proposal as an additional tax.
“This is not a new tax,” he said. “This is a tax that will go away in July and we’re asking for it to be reinstated on the ballot in November.” If approved by voters, the tax would not resume until February, leaving the city without seven months of revenue from that portion. Coolidge said that if the tax is not reinstated, projected general fund revenue would fall below the cost of current operations, meaning the city would have to reduce services and staff. He said the city was not advocating for or against the measure during the presentation but laying out the fiscal reality.
The council also issued several proclamations during the meeting. May was proclaimed Building Safety Month; May 1-7, Youth Week; May 10-16, National Police Week; May 15, Peace Officers Memorial Day; May 17-23, Emergency Medical Services Week; and the same week was also proclaimed National Public Works Week. The council recognized the work of public safety employees, EMS providers, youth, building safety professionals and public works staff, including a public thank-you to Tim Westover, the city’s Public Works Director who has worked for the city for 14 years and whose last day was last week.
