City Council Meeting: Coconino County Grant and Contour Airlines Updates
- T. Bowlby
- Jan 25, 2019
- 4 min read
Last night’s city council meeting may have been long, but it was very informative.
Hear from Citizens
During the hear from the citizens portion of the meeting, Mr. Joe Wright spoke up about his concerns regarding vehicles speeding along South Navajo Drive and throughout the city. He suggested the City look into making the area between Lake Powell Blvd. to Aspen, where the schools are located a 15MPH zone and to place kid alert visual warning signs throughout the area to help slow down traffic.
Mrs. Parker spoke and agreed with Mr. Wright’s sentiment about speed within residential areas. She also brought up concerns regarding the 4-way stop at the Elm and 6th Ave. intersection, specifically stating how heavy the traffic is and how people run the stop signs.
Mr. Butts, the General Manager at the Courtyard by Marriott also spoke about the housing issues throughout Page, and because of it, he has been experiencing a staffing shortage. He suggested the City look into expanding a shuttle service that goes into LeChee and Kaibeto and stated that those services would be highly beneficial to the business community within Page.
Grandview Knoll
You may start seeing some things change with the project at Grandview Knoll. Last night, Coconino County Supervisor Lena Fowler, along with Coconino County Manager James
Jayne, Parks and Recreation Director Cynthia Nemeth, and Steve Mongrain presented the City of Page with a $50,000 check from Coconino County for assistance with the Grandview Knoll project. The money is a grant from Coconino County and will be used for the construction of sidewalks, shade structures, and more.
Immediately after the presentation of the check, the City Council voted unanimously to approve a job order contract for construction services with Lake Powell Construction for the Grandview Knoll project. In this instance, the City is acting as a pass through for the grant funds provided by Coconino County for this project. The remaining monies and construction services will be provided by the Canyon Club and Friends of Lake Powell, who have decided to utilize Lake Powell Construction for general contracting services for the project.
We would like to clarify a misconception that was addressed last night regarding the City’s involvement in this project. The City of Page is providing in-kind services through the Public Works Department to this project. Some of the in-kind contributions the City is providing include equipment, demolition, and man hours.
The Grandview Knoll Stakeholders Committee is looking for other donations from Page community members, including those who are skilled in construction and other areas of design and willing to donate their time and abilities.
Contour Airlines
Matt Chaifetz, CEO of Contour Airlines also addressed the City Council last night with an update on services. Mr. Chaifetz stated that the number of passengers Contour Airlines has per flight is over the last service provider, however, the trend of passenger capacity still mirrors the previous provider: more in the summer months, and a drop in the winter months.
Mr. Chaifetz did suggest opening more flights to Las Vegas during the summer months. The Council agreed, so keep an eye out for those extra flights to Vegas in the coming months.
Page Little League
Last night the City Council approved an agreement with the Page Little League Association for the Association to administer both the softball and baseball programs. This agreement was first approved for the 2018 season and by combining the two programs in this manner 310 participants were utilizing the Sports Complex, whereas in 2017 only 21 participants were using the Sports Complex during the same time frame. This increase is credited to the agreement which allowed games and most practices of both softball and baseball to be held at the Sports Complex, which better served families who had children registered for each league.
Purchasing Procedures
Several amendments to the city’s purchasing procedures ordinance were proposed. All were approved unanimously with the exception of increasing the City Manager’s spending authority. The City Council voted unanimously against this proposal. Councilors Dugan and Kocjan stated they were not yet comfortable with increasing the City Manager’s spending authority. Councilor Kocjan alluded to the fact that the City Manager position has not been stable with one person for several years. Mayor Tappan agreed that if council members are not yet comfortable with increasing the spending limit, the city should not move forward with it.
Councilor Bowlby proposed language be added that would not allow circumvention of the spending limit such as multiple purchase orders.
The proposal went back to staff for removing the change for increasing the City Manager's spending limit, and to add language that prevents circumvention of the spending limit.
Vermillion Cliffs Rodeo Grounds
Michelle Monroe spoke last night and presented a proposal for the Young family to purchase the Vermillion Cliffs Rodeo grounds, located on Haul Road. The proposal includes moving the grounds to a location along highway 98, building stalls, two arenas, and more.
After executive session and further discussion, the City Council came back and stated they would like to move forward with the proposed sale.
Horseshoe Bend
The City Council met in Executive Session to discuss Horseshoe Bend. When they re-entered council chambers, the council moved to approve an agreement with CHD Destinations for shuttle service for Horseshoe Bend.
Page Utility Enterprises Board
The City Council approved an appointment to the Page Utility Enterprises Board. There were four applications, and the Board submitted their recommendation. Mayor Tappan stated that the four applicants were great candidates. The City Council unanimously voted to appoint the PUE Board’s recommended candidate Alan Nelson. Mr. Nelson’s term on the PUE Board will end June 30, 2021.
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