The Holbrook City Council convened July 23, and following an executive session, reconvened and approved Randy Sullivan’s contract as interim city manager, with a final contract to be in a form negotiated by the city attorney in furtherance of this decision. No details pertaining to the salary were addressed.
The council then directed Sullivan to have staff create a search plan for a new city manager to be presented at the next council meeting. The plan is to include three options with which to take the search, one being the League of Arizona Cities and Town and the others being two firms yet to be determined. The League offers free services, while firms that provide services for vetting out managerial candidates charge a fee. The motion included that the city will work along Interim City Manager Sullivan and the city’s attorney to develop a timeline.
The council approved an award of contracts to replace the heater and filtration system for the city swimming pool. Councilwoman Arcenia Pacheco wanted more information on the heating system and voting against that contract. The bid for both replacements was awarded to Commercial Pool Repair Waternuts Aquatic Enterprises, Inc. with the heater replacement costing $63,565 and the filtration system costing $42,445. Both had reached the end of their life expectancy and were budgeted for this fiscal year.
The council also approved free rates for the city’s fitness center for Holbrook Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff, Holbrook Volunteer Fire Department staff and city retirees along with retirees’ spouses in a small measure of appreciation for services and to provide an opportunity for improved health given the fields of work these individuals serve. There are currently only 10 customers that utilize the center, which amounts to $1,500 a year. Council members Tim Dixon and Pacheco voted against the motion, with Dixon stating that giving gifts was unethical and illegal on part of the council, and the free memberships should be considered as a gift.
Sullivan presented to the board regarding concerns over the corrugated metal fence belonging to National Med Grow located on the west end of Hopi Drive. Sullivan stated that the fence follows city and state codes and that he talked to the owner who stated that he intends to even out the top of the metal fence as well as paint it to make it more presentable.
According to the Holbrook City Code, all fences and walls in all zones shall be constructed of conventional fencing material and maintained and kept in good appearance. When the argument was made among council that “conventional” and “good appearance” are vague descriptors, Mayor Kathleen Smith stated it was worth noting and that updating city code to be more specific would be in order.
Also in the meeting, the council discussed adopting the public participation policy to give council and city staff guidance when engaging the public on the planning and decision-making processes of the general plan. Councilmember Dixon made a motion to table the adoption until the next meeting, stating he would like more time to research the topic. Vice Mayor Nilsson, councilmembers Dixon and Arcenia Pacheco voted in favor of tabling it, while Mayor Smith, and councilmembers Teri Tafoya and Robert Black voted against. Councilmember Karina Pack was at one point present telephonically, but the connection was lost and she was unable to break the tie. According to policy, a tie goes to the negative, which was to table any action on the item until the next meeting.
Due to the change of vice mayor from Francie Payne to Mike Nilsson, the council updated the authorized signers on the city’s two Bank of the West accounts to add Nilsson.
During summary of current events, Councilmember Black stated citizens came to him regarding concerns of heavy equipment being driven on McLaws Road and Porter Canyon Bridge and the subsequent damage it could cause. “It was not designed to carry that weight load that’s going across there continuously every single day.” Black added that since it’s a road that belongs to Navajo County, he’s been in discussion with them regarding the matter.
