During a recent meeting, the Winslow City Council, City Manager David Coolidge provided an update on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. He explained that each state was allocated funds to ensure high-speed broadband access across America. An important feature of this program is the “challenge process,” which allows communities to identify homes lacking access that the federal government might have missed. The federal government created their own list of homes that without access to high speed internet but this process allows for local municipalities to fill in the gaps. Through this process, the city discovered 550 homes that were not accounted for, ensuring they will now be included in the broadband deployment plan. This adjustment means more people in rural areas like Navajo and Apache counties will benefit, ensuring a broader impact of the BEAD initiative.
Coolidge also gave a legislative update to the council and informed them the city submitted four Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) requests to Arizona senators. Between the two senators all four of Winslow’s requests made it through the initial selection. Arizona’s senators will then have the opportunity to submit these CDS requests to the senates’ appropriation committee.
Coolidge spoke about the impact of fulfilling these requests, “That would equate roughly to about $6 million to repair sewer mains, storm water diversion from downtown to the Ruby Wash, new police vehicles and a new fire station on the south side of the tracks that would also assist with water rescue and wildland firefighting.” Coolidge also remarked that there is still a long road to go and there are no guarantees that any of this will actually make the final budget but any appropriations would be extremely helpful and the city will continue to lobby to keep it in the budget.
In other business, the board heard an encouraging quarterly report from Northland Pioneer College Development Director Betsyann Wilson. Wilson shared that the college would offer free tuition this summer and for the next two summers. In a move to support further education, the college also awarded $63,000 in scholarships for the fall semester, aimed at assisting students from local reservations.
Wilson outlined a broad strategic plan for the next five years, informed by community surveys focused on how the college can better meet local needs. She emphasized the importance of this strategic planning for the college’s direction.
Wilson also announced that Dr. Mike Solomonson, currently Vice President for Learning and Student Services, will serve as interim president since the departure of Chazo Hazelbaker. A search committee, including education professionals and community members, is in place to find a permanent president by year-end, though Wilson noted this timeline might be optimistic. She is hoping that by this time next year there is a permanent person in that position.
About seven months ago the college applied for American Rescue Plan money, better known as ARPA funding, to address community impacts from the recent coal mine closures. This grant was awarded for the community of Kayenta and will support the construction of a new state-of-the-art center in Kayenta, replacing outdated modular buildings. The college will also be able to increase the number of programs offered there, which Wilson hopes will help better prepare the community in the wake of the closure of this major industry.
The college is also expanding its academic offerings in general, with new programs set to start in the fall. These include a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) program in Snowflake and two new bachelor’s programs. The first is in Applied Science in Elementary Education, designed to certify local teachers up to sixth grade. The second bachelor’s degree will be in Applied Management, targeting students from technical backgrounds such as welding, construction, and cosmetology, focusing on the business aspects of these fields. Last year NPC became one of the first community colleges in the state to begin offering bachelor’s degree after a 2021 policy change allowed these colleges to offer a limited number of degrees.
In other business, the council:
* Approved one year extension of contract for the Broker Real Estate Commission agreement.
* Authorized staff to negotiate terms of contract with Waste Management Inc. for solid waste collection and disposal.
* Amended agreement with the Rural Arizona Group Health Trust to get rid of a principal office to manage the trust and instead manage it by the current trust administrator.
* Approved the following fee changes: a new and increased fee for electronic and paper public records requests with an hourly rate of $25 for staff time exceeding two hours, a $30 charge for a 64 GB flash drive; increased fines for building without a permit, rising to three times the permit fee for a second offense and five times for subsequent offenses; a new $80 permit fee for residential re-roofing and block fence permits; increased fees for recreational services, including swim team participation fees from $30 to $40 per month during the September-May season and from $40 to $50 per month during the June-August season, youth basketball league fees from $55 to $65 per participant, family rates from $155 to $165, and rental rates for municipal swimming pool parties from $60 to $80 per hour, with the Girl Scout House rental now having a flat rate of $100; new fees for sidewalk repairs at $11 per square foot and curb and gutter repairs at $50 per linear foot associated with new water connections; a new licensing fee of 5% of gross annual revenues for businesses involved in solid waste, recycling collection, or transportation; increased charges for digital fax services at the local library from $0.15 to $1, with penalties for lost or damaged items reflecting actual replacement costs; a new fee structure for Police Department records requests requiring more than two hours of staff time and charges of $360 for managing funeral processions with an additional $60 for each hour beyond two hours; new fees for home occupation reviews and permits, and a $25 fee for microchipping dogs at the animal care facility.
* Approved a $5,000 donation to the 2024 fireworks show.
The next meeting of the Winslow City Council will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25, in the meeting room located at 523 West Second St.
