In last week’s meeting of the Winslow City Council the council authorized the purchase of the former Lee Medical Center, located at 102 E. Third St., to be used as the new city hall. The authorization was listed on the consent calendar where items are approved by the council in a single vote without discussion.
Councilmember Jim MacLean took the time to separate it from the rest in the items because he felt that the public should be more informed about a topic as big as moving city hall. The medical center has sat empty for many years and this acquisition will give the city an opportunity to breathe new life in a forgotten building in Winslow. This will also put city hall in the view of visitors on a main street rather than being tucked away near the railroad tracks where city hall currently sits. The city is acquiring the building for $460,000 but this is something the city has budgeted for and has room enough to afford.
Councilmember Melissa Nelson, who has recently visited the new building, assured the public and the rest of the council that there was ample room to house everything the city needed. However, according to City Manager David Coolidge minor construction will have to happen to make the current space into usable offices because the rooms that were once examination rooms for the medical center are too small to realistically be used as offices.
MacLean added that the new building is also much nicer than the current one. The new building is a red brick building where, as MacLean pointed out, the current building is partly a trailer they built onto the building to accommodate all of city hall and a new, more beautiful, building might help the city attract new businesses, residents and opportunities especially during a time when Winslow is being looked at as a hub for major investment.
The council also heard a presentation from the Historic Preservation Commission. First to speak was Chairperson Tess Kenna who informed the council she will soon be stepping down as chairperson because she wants to give the opportunity for someone else to chair the commission. Kenna, along with fellow commission member Kenn Evans both spoke about the different initiatives that the commission has tackled over the years including Old Trails Museum, moving the Birthplace Cabin to downtown Winslow, and partnering with the Arts Council for a series of murals. Evans also spoke to the history surrounding the projects and why they are important to the history of the city and the region.
Chief of Police Ken Arend also gave his quarterly reports on the status of crime and the department, which also included the 2022 annual report. “I have come to you guys the last couple quarters with large figures like 30% or 40% decreases in crime I knew that would begin to level off a bit, crime is still decreasing quarter-to-quarter but like I said it’s beginning to level off a bit,” said Arend.
According to the 2022 report, the Winslow Police Department responded to approximately 17,000 calls of the nearly 37,000 calls to dispatch in 2022. The WPD also laid out their five goals for 2023 which are to maintain a crime rate lower than the previous year, having a citizen police academy, starting a volunteer program, focusing heavily on recruiting, and finally their goal is accreditation to keep officers up-to-date on new requirements and best practices.
In other business, the board:
* Approved $500 donation to Because We Care Committee.
* Approved liquor license application for the Turquoise Room at La Posada Hotel.
* Accepted $16,066.70 grant from Governor’s Office of Highway Safety for implementation of Traffic and Criminal Software (TraCS).
* Awarded a bid for a new 24-inch sewer main replacement project to McCauley Construction in the amount of $889,186.
* Approved a change to city code to allow for rodeo/roping arenas.
* Approved $1,500 donation to Clear Creek Cowboys, as well as honor the group through proclamation of the board.
* Proclaimed February to be Black History Month.
The next meeting of the Winslow City Council will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28, in the meeting room, located at 523 West Second St.
