Prescuit Council Set to Approve Rodeo Fairgrounds Master Plan and Paragrin Ridge Subdivision on October 13

[music] Hello, I'm Prescuit Mayor Kathy Rousing and it's time for another uh mayoral update. And today we'll be talking [music] about the October 13th agenda coming up next Tuesday. But before we dive into the agenda, I have a few other uh things I'd like [music] to talk about. Today, we are in the beautiful old historic downtown post office. [music] This is a beautiful building. It's an anchor for downtown.

And we are so lucky that [music] we had an investor, a local person who was actually a graduate of Prescuit [music] College who purchased the building and kept our downtown post office open because it was almost on the chopping [music] block. The government was going to close it down and we were just going to have one out in Miller Valley. But now it's a [music] beautiful uh office space. It's uh entertainment. We up on the third floor. It's the federal.

It's the old where [music] the old courthouse used to be. And it's been wonderfully restored. And right now I'm kind of [music] behind where all of the post office boxes are. As you can see that uh these are old historic. They [music] have some of the same names. And then over here we have historic pictures [music] of the uh postmasters from the 1800s and it's been turned [music] into a beautiful space. People actually come down here and have weddings.

So, uh, I just wanted [music] to, uh, kind of showcase our downtown, uh, post office and we shouldn't take these old buildings for granted because you go to other communities [music] and so many of them are dilapidated, vacant, and, uh, [music] unused. So, Prescat, I would like to keep our tradition of reusing our uh, old spaces [music] and uh, have them continue contributing to the community. It's October [music] and we have been in a super El Nino.

According to my city rain gauge in my yard [music] on the southwest part of town, I got 5 in of rain for [music] September. So, as you know, we're heading into winter and if [music] we have a cold winter, that rain will turn to snow. So, I'm advising everyone, please be prepared. [music] Have a couple of extra gallons of drinking water available. [music] Keep your car gassed up. Have the snow shovels handy. Stock up on the sand and [music] snow melt.

And be prepared to spend maybe a morning or maybe a day [music] in your home until you can get your street cleared. We got a lot of streets to clear during the winter. We start with [music] the main arterials and then we work our ways into the neighborhoods and the uh smaller uh streets. So just I'm [music] just telling you now uh we may have a wet winter and then there won't be so much uh snow to shovel and uh it'll be uh just water running off.

So I'm [music] just saying be prepared and we'll have a wonderful [music] winter. I'm really looking forward to the holidays. Uh moving on. Um yesterday I went to Yavapai County uh planning and [music] zoning meeting and it was very productive. Um the topic [music] was drafting an ordinance to prepare ourselves [music] for data centers and um it's very important that we have something in place that's legally defensible because as you know the data [music] centers require a lot of power.

They require a [music] huge amount of water and they're being done kind of on the federal level. So the local people [music] don't know that they're even being planned right in their backyard. [music] So it's important that the city also partners with Yavapai County and we come up with a similar ordinance to govern these data [music] centers. Um I'm mostly concerned about uh the water issue. I'd like to see the data centers [music] not be able to use potable water.

They have to use other means for cooling. I'm also concerned about [music] their power. They use enough power for 40,000 homes and that's just one data center. And they are planning on hooking up to our grid. So I think it's important that we require uh before we approve any data centers that [music] we check with our uh electrical supplier like APS or SRP whoever and get their [music] blessing that they will have enough power to power this data center.

I'm not saying they're here but they may be coming. They're [music] like mushrooms all over the uh rest of the state. And then also another thing I'd like to see in the ordinance is more [music] uh transparency and public input like maybe a 90-day uh public hearing uh session. [music] So anyway, we're working on that. And also moving on, as you know, we have an election. It's [music] a midterm and we've got ballots in the mail. I'm really excited about this election.

[music] Uh it's going to be a very long and complex um ballot and as you know [music] the city is going to have seven charter amendments on the ballot and it's very [music] important that you educate yourself. So right here is our voter brochure that's been put out by the city. [music] As you know the uh ballot being so long and complex we kind of got abbreviated on our ballot measures. [music] So please have this handy.

You can go online to the city website and find a copy of this brochure digitally [music] or if you want you can come down to city hall right there in the uh lobby will be [music] a stack of these things and also you can uh go to our public library at the main desk [music] and pick up uh one of these. But it's very important that you keep uh keep these handy when you're filling out your ballot. There's also one voter information bureau [music] uh brochure from the uh USD for their two measures.

[music] So, uh they've got one and then also the state has one for their resolutions. And then we have a ton of candidates too to research. So, uh it's a very important election and we need to have you be informed. [music] Thank you. And now I'm going to have a little fun. I subscribe to the Daily Courier. I get it delivered to my driveway [music] every day. And you can imagine my surprise a couple of weeks ago when I opened the career and on the front page it said [music] this.

Prescuit mayor faces pre-trial hearing over August [music] bar altercation. So at first I was shocked. I was like I I didn't know I was having a hearing. Did I miss [music] something? But I realized it was just a typo. They met Prescuit Valley Mayor. And [music] uh so I had a good laugh. I contacted uh Mr. Wita Randers, [music] the uh city editor down at the uh at the Courier, and he immediately ran a correction [music] on the the next Sunday edition on the front page.

And I'm just saying this is just uh [music] something that you can't believe everything you read. So it's important that you do your research. And then moving on, you may be [music] surprised to learn that Prescuit is actually a college town. I bet you didn't know that. [music] Uh we have three wonderful uh learning here. [music] We have Yavapai College and we have Prescuit College and then we have Emory Riddle and they are all very diverse.

[music] Uh Prescuit College is more in the environmental uh category, [music] outdoor learning. Emory Riddle is aeronautics and science and engineering. And then Yavapai College is an important uh pipeline [music] for our uh trades in our workforce. So uh Emery Riddle's been celebrating their 100th anniversary [music] all year and also now uh this week uh Prescuit College [music] is celebrating their 60th anniversary.

So, I just want to wish them all success and they've been wonderful employers [music] and economic drivers and uh I was surprised to learn how many of their graduates [music] stay here in town and contribute to the community. I run into them uh all [music] over the place. Yesterday, I um took a tour of the property and evidence facilities that uh from that are out in Prescat Valley, both of them.

One's uh operated by the [music] Yavapai County Sheriff's Office and it serves all of Yavapai County. And then the other one is in the town of Prescat Valley. [music] It's part of their uh police station. And those both those tour tours [music] were very educational and informative.

As you know, the city of Prescuit, [music] we desperately need a new property and evidence storage facility because it's important [music] that we keep this evidence so that if there's when there's a trial, it's important to have good evidence [music] so that you can get a conviction and also there's constant appeals and uh there's a lot of evidence that we have to keep for 99 [music] years and also there's uh biologicals that we have to keep frozen and [music] refrigerated. did.

So, I took the tour along with Lois Fur [music] and uh Mary Frederickson, also council members, and uh we got a lot of good information so that [music] when we build this facility, it will be uh state-of-the-art and it will be [music] quite an important asset to the uh community. So, I'd like to thank [music] um Prescuit uh Valley Chief uh Tyer and also Yavapai County uh Sheriff uh Roads [music] for their hospitality and allowing us to uh take this wonderful tour.

And I was very impressed [music] with their staff. So, to prepare you for our uh Tuesday, October 13th uh council meeting, we're going to start [music] off, of course, with an executive session. And the first thing we'll be discussing [music] the uh lease for the rodeo grounds.

And uh later on in the day uh on [music] the voting session, we will be taking a very important vote hopefully passing the rodeo uh grounds [music] master plan that has been in the works and we've had a lot of public input on that.

But uh in the meantime [music] once that gets passed then we have 90 days to work with press prescuit frontier days on our on a new [music] lease and I think it's going to be a wonderful lease and uh I think everyone's [music] going to be pretty pleased that this is just going to be starting to lay some of the groundwork for the negotiations.

[music] And then also we have another exciting uh thing that we'll be talking about on our executive session and it's going to [music] be a possible uh land uh donation for the purpose of [music] uh constructing another library annex.

As you know, we have a [music] fabulous library downtown, but we do have a growth corridor up north and the uh library [music] and the uh friends of the Prescuit Library would like to partner with us and uh build [music] an annex a library uh to serve the northern uh part of the community. So, this will [music] be a really uh interesting and exciting uh discussion.

And then for our study session, we only have uh one topic on the agenda and it is a [music] presentation and discussion regarding the parks and recreation master plan draft. It seems like we've been having a lot of master [music] plans. The general plan, the rodeo master plan, now the parks and recck master plan. But you know, these are master plans that you have to keep up. You know, the general plan, we have to do it every 10 [music] years. And this is for our parks and wreck.

This plan is uh been in place for 20 years. So, thanks to [music] uh our new parks and reccks director Christy and her staff. Um [music] they've hired a consultant who's come in and done a very extensive analysis. Uh the [music] uh draft is on our website if you care to peruse it.

And it's very visionary and forward-looking [music] cuz as you know our parks and trails and our recreation [music] services are very important to our community and also to our quality of life and our regional parks and trails [music] are also an economic driver and help with our uh tourism [music] which is a very important part of our economy. So if you feel like it please come down and attend [music] uh this session. It starts at 1:00. Of course, they're not it's just for information.

It's not there's not going to be a vote or anything, but we would definitely love to hear [music] from the u from the community about what we can uh plan on uh offering. [music] Uh one thing I'd like to see would we had someone reach out, a veteran reach out and say, "Uh, hey, how about if we u get a discount or [music] wave our uh our park fees?" So, I think I'd like to uh talk about that and helping out the veterans.

[music] And then also, you know, our splash pad at the Hilton Garden Inn has been such [music] a big uh success, maybe we should start thinking about having a second [music] splash pad somewhere located at a, you know, kind of have a second one to kind of keep up with all the popularity and growth of these splash pads. [music] So, anyway, I invite you to come on down at 1:00 and get some input about our uh wonderful parks and wreck uh master plan draft. Okay?

And then moving on to [music] our 3:00 uh voting session. Uh actually we um we have a really [music] kind of a very fun relaxed uh agenda here. We only have two items to uh vote on. So uh hopefully we'll get out before [music] 7:00, but um we're starting off with a proclamation, National Friends [music] of the Library Week.

And as you know, our library is very beloved here in the community and has a lot of support [music] and has couple hundred volunteers that come down and and help out [music] with our library. So, we'll be uh recognizing uh library week and then we'll have some department updates. This is something new that our city manager has started [music] where uh several directors during uh each council meeting [music] will come forward and give us updates as to what's happening in their departments.

So this [music] uh next week we're starting off with rec services and of course the library. So [music] if you want to know, come on down and hear what they have to say. And then we have our consent agenda. as you know, uh that's just [music] kind of mass uh voting and there's really nothing uh contro [music] controversial on that. It's just kind of our nuts and bolts. And then we have a new uh liquor license application.

[music] I don't know if you remember the point down on it's at 114 North Monizuma. It's [music] a very historic old bar kind of underneath the building. [music] Um, I remember back in the days it used to be called the boiler room because it had a massive boiler when you [music] first walked in uh the front door and it used to be called the point and [music] now I think it's going to be called uh Jake Ryan's. So, [music] uh, they're going to be applying for a liquor license.

And then on our regular agenda, we only have [music] two items. One of them is the final plant of Paragrin Ridge at Prescat [music] Lakes for a 48 lot subdivision. And um [music] the uh Prescat Lakes HOA has been working with the developer. This will be off of uh Prescat Lakes Parkway and Smoke Tree Lane. I think you've probably noticed [music] all the excavation that's been going on in that area. So uh that will be on the agenda for a vote.

And then finally, the final [music] rodeo fairgrounds master plan. This has been in the works for [music] many years, it seems like. But, you know, I just would like to thank [music] everyone for their dedication and their time and effort because the rodeo fairgrounds are [music] so important to the community and especially the rodeo. It is such an economic driver for us [music] and it's so important for our our history and our identity to have [music] the world's oldest rodeo here in Prescuit.

And it's it's important that we keep it at that location because it's so close to downtown where rodeo attendees can then go downtown. They can go to the parade, [music] go to the dance, visit all of our shops and restaurants down there, visit Whiskey Row, and just really enjoy what Prescuit [music] has to offer.

So, I'd like to thank our uh legal team, the city council, the city [music] staff, Prescuit Frontier Days Rodeo, uh Matt from the UVA 4 [music] uh extension worked hard, the Gail Gardener uh neighborhood [music] steering committee, uh the uh the fair people [music] the auto club, uh we had a lot going on, a lot of moving parts, [music] but uh I I'm really supportive of this plan and I hope it passes and then we'll [music] start working on our lease.

So, this will be a a great way to uh end the October 13th voting meeting. Thank you. And today I'm here with Kelly [music] Kalin. She's our new executive assistant. She started with us in June and [music] she works closely with the mayor and also with all of our council members. And we're really happy to have her [music] here. She's energetic, has lots of great ideas, and brings a lot of variable skills [music] to the table. So, you want to tell us a little bit about yourself, Kelly?

I'm so glad to be here at the city, and I really love my job. I love working with the mayor and the council [music] members. I've lived here for many years, and yeah, I'm really glad to be here with the city. Thank you. [music] And also, aren't you a graduate of Prescuit High? I am. 2008. 2008. I think you graduated with one of my kids. I think I did. [music] But don't tell me any stories about him, okay? Okay. [music] Well, thank you. I really appreciate all you do. Thank you so much.