New Officers Welcomed By Council

The newest Winslow police officers were introduced to the City Council during their regular meeting Tuesday, March 11 by Lt. Jim Sepi. Vice Mayor Harold Soehner presided over the meeting due to Mayor Jim Boles attending a National League of Cities conference in Washington, D.C.

First to be introduced was Officer Kristi Parsons, a native of Winslow. She is a mother of three and previously employed by the City of Winslow as a lifeguard and an on-call firefighter. She also worked for Action Medical Services as an Emergency Medical Technician.

Parsons entered the Central Arizona Regional Law Officer’s Training Academy (CARLOTA) August 12, 2001. She completed the academy with a 4.0 grade point average and was also named to the dean’s list. She plans to work with the youth in the community.

“I came to work here because I’ve seen the great changes brought on by Chief Garnett,” she said.

Officer Soren Johnson was next to be introduced. Johnson is the father of two and was previously employed by the Arizona Department of Corrections. He was a member of the DOC Tactical Support Unit and entered CARLOTA in September 2001. He graduated December 19th and was awarded the Russell Duncan Award, which is the highest award for best overall in academics, attitude, motivation, physical training, quality of assignment and relationships with staff and cadets.

Last to be introduced was Sam Short. Short is returning to the Winslow Police Department after resigning in February 2000. Short went to the Holbrook Police Department to be near his family and began working with the Major Crimes Apprehension Team as a narcotics officer. With MCAT, he continued to work in Winslow and throughout Navajo County investigating drug offenses. Short re-applied with WPD and was rehired March 9th.

Parks and Recreation Superintendent Scott Lancaster gave a presentation about the decorative garden that will placed at the southeast corner of First Street and the police department complex. He explained the gardening technique that will be used to conserve water, called Xeriscape, by using plants that require less water than a regular yard.

“You don’t have to have just rocks and cactus, there are hundreds of water efficient plants,” Lancaster explained.

He also gave details about an automatic drip system that will “harvest” the small amount of rain this area does receive. Gutters will catch the rain from a roof and will then be brought to the garden through an underground pipe system. When pressure builds up in the pipe, sprinkler heads will pop up and disperse the water evenly throughout the entire garden.

He welcomed any gardening groups or people who enjoy gardening to help in the process of planting and maintaining the garden.

The council recognized a resolution from the Historic Preservation Commission honoring Jim Steagall and Katherine Whitty of the Seattle Grind Coffee Shop and Art Gallery for their “revitalization and rehabilitation of Winslow’s historic buildings and their effective use in the life of the community.”

The council declared March 16 at Mule Deer Awareness Day. The proclamation, which was greeted with chuckles from the audience and council, was aimed at heightening public awareness of the species and the fact that this is the only big game species in North American whose population continues to decline.

The U.S. Forest Service has had an agreement with city for use of the Winslow-Lindberg Regional Airport since 1961. The new 20-year agreement will continue to provide a base of operations for fighting fires and other projects.

The council approved Ordinance No. 880 that allows the sale of two lots in the Mahoney Addition to Sidney and Paula Moore. The contract of the sale included a reversionary clause that says the property will be returned to the city if no development takes place within two years.

The council spent several minutes discussing Ordinance No. 881, which would establish a buffer zone for the Santa Fe Subdivision. Councilman Robert Beamish was concerned with the section of the ordinance that calls for the city to water the green belt three times per week. He requested the section be changed to read “as needed as determined by the city.”

Councilman Tom McCauley requested the ordinance be modified by calling the buffer zone a “green belt” instead of using the terminology “fairway” and “greens”. The ordinance used the terms to define the locations to be turned into the buffer zone due to it being part of the old golf course. McCauley said the terms suggested that the city was responsible for maintaining the buffer zone to the quality of a golf course putting green.

The ordinance was modified as requested and the item was tabled until the Santa Fe Estate developers can approve the changes. Once approved by the developers, the ordinance will return to the council for final approval.

A request from the Winslow Little League for additional financial support was tabled until the entire council was present for the meeting. The item will be placed on the agenda for March 26.

On the consent calendar, the council took the following action:

• Approved the purchase of a concrete asphalt saw for the street division.

• Authorized an amendment to the contract with SCS Engineers for the closure of the landfill. The original contract stated that the city would pay the greater of the total fees or $50,000. The costs estimated for a 10-week construction schedule was $71,613. The schedule has been extended to 16 weeks, increasing the cost to $76,613. This amendment was added to cover the extra costs.

• Approved payment for legal services for revisions made to the personnel code.

• Approved the action taken by the Planning and Zoning Commission on the subject of manufactured home parks. Several manufactured home parks in town are located in industrial and residential zones and have been in operation for several years. The current Municipal Codes do not permit manufactured home parks in these zones.

One question asked about the subject was if existing manufactured home parks in residential zones continue to operate as they have been since their inception. The commission concluded that existing parks in residential zones should be allowed to continue operations. This would mean allowing replacement of manufactured homes that have vacated the park as long as the replacement homes meets the necessary requirements.

The question of existing parks in industrial areas being allowed to continue was also addressed. The commission decided that a new park in an industrial zone would be considered for a conditional use permit, but existing ones can remain.

The commission also decided that new parks could be located in commercial zones with a conditional use permit.

Donate to nhonews.com Report a Typo Contact
Most Read