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During the Holbrook City Council meeting last week, the newly hired City Manager Ted Soltis presented the council with his observations after three weeks on the job.
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Soltis explained that he visited the Hidden Cove Golf Course, noting that it was a beautiful course and that it was a real asset but that there were issues that needed to be addressed. “There is water at the maintenance shop that is going into the building, there’s dirt up against the building; we’re taking care of that. We had a leak in the roof and mold growing and we’re cleaning that up. Drainage is going down to the septic tank and the septic tank was filled with water. The whole septic tank was flooded. We drained that out and we’re going to be putting in a new drainage shield. We’ll also do some basic beautifying. The sign needs to be painted and there are other issues that we need to take care of out there.
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Soltis also noted that the city has a grant for a gate to the Petroglyph Park but there is currently only a barbed wire fence. “It’s kind of dangerous and kind of tacky looking to be honest with you. So we’re going to be looking at putting a new gate in there and some new signage up.”
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At the wastewater treatment plant Soltis noted that the road was flooded so there was a drainage issue that was addressed. “The levee needs maintenance. It hasn’t been maintained in awhile and it’s starting to erode. The sign out there needs to be repaired.” He also noted that the city is in the process of deciding what to do with the sludge. Regarding the regular levees Soltis noted that Tim Kelley is doing a great job on maintaining those and he was very impressed with the work he’s done.
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“We have sports utility vehicles that are going out there and they really shouldn’t be doing that. It really does do damage to those levees.”
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The fire department and police department is in need of equipment and Soltis said that they will be looking into more grants and will do a better job of incremental budgeting so that some items are purchased annually instead of all of them at once.
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“I was also out to Sun Valley. We need to do an evaluation of a tank that’s out there. We need to do some hydrological testing (because) there are some water issues out there. And I also need to review the agreement.” Soltis also stated that the costs associated with Sun Valley would be separated out in the budget to allow the council to understand specifically what costs are involved with Sun Valley separate from the Holbrook finances.
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“I also took a look at the old dump site. It is our responsibility to maintain that cap on the old dumpsite and we haven’t. There is erosion that has taken place. The erosion has actually exposed trash so we’ll take care of that. It’s just a matter of putting some new clay on that and getting out there with a grader and properly maintaining that.”
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He noted that there was a lot of old, unused equipment at the maintenance shop. That area is currently being cleaned up and Soltis stated that prior to his arrival equipment has been auctioned off to clear the area.
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At the airport, Soltis stated that the base radio has gone out. “A base radio is more expensive than a portable radio. We did some research and talked to Armstrong Engineers and it was actually to our advantage to go towards a portable radio. It’s less expensive than a base radio but there’s more uses for that.” Also regarding the airport, he is going to review the location and future grants and what the long-term future for the airport is with Armstrong as he has worked with that engineering firm on multiple projects through the years.
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Soltis noted that there were some issues on the audit that will be addressed. He noted that the city has accumulated $182,000 in uncollectable receivables, meaning funds that cannot be recouped. “We should have been analyzing them every year and those collectables that we can’t collect, we know we’re not going to collect, we should be writing those off. This shows on our books a potential asset of $182,000 and that’s just not accurate.”
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Soltis also said that rather than go through private collection agencies he would prefer they go through ADOR (Arizona Department of Revenue), which has a program that will collect bad debt for the city. He informed the council that it is much more efficient and that he would provide information on that in the future before moving forward.
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There were also deficiencies in internal controls and misstatements to the auditors noted in the audit. He has a number of options that will address those issues.
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Soltis said that he has received a lot of questions regarding the Magnusson Hotel on Hopi Drive that caught fire several years ago yet the remains of the building have not been removed. “The correspondence I have says that they will start to work on it by the end of April. We’re not going to wait until the end of April. We have some new contact information and we will make appropriate contacts and make sure that program of cleaning up the property keeps on going.”
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Soltis said the departments are doing a good job with limited resources and dated equipment. Adding that his goal was to ensure that all employees are properly trained, have equipment and resources and provide efficient, effective and sustainable services to the community. He noted that with good wages, good training and equipment people enjoy their job and take pride in their community creating better services and a better community overall.
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Soltis closed by stating he was very pleased with being in Holbrook and more pleased the longer he is here.
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