Jonathan Dioniso addressed Council regarding discrimination against people who are blind or have sight problems. He stated that there is no braille at the police station, the hospital, or the library and encouraged Council to make changes to code to require braille in businesses and facilities. He also encouraged Council to hire a person to check for accessibility for people who are hard of sight. 
 
Andy Fernandez addressed Council regarding corruption and nepotism.

Councilmember Harris asked to pull item 10B, regarding the rental incentive bond program, and place it on a future Work Session. Council supported moving this item to a Work Session.

Mayor Daggett read the proclamation. Victim Witness Services Executive Director Jen Runge accepted the proclamation and shared a few words. She spoke about how important the support from the City is and that awareness of the resources is essential.

Business Retention and Expansion Manager John Saltonstall shared a few updates on contracts for the Economic Development department and led a discussion about area businesses that are part of the bio-medical research and development, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors. He introduced several different presenters. POBA Medical, Dr. Ann Newland the CEO from North Country Healthcare, Dylan Moore with Venn Center, and Dr. Aaron Tabor for Axolotl Biologix.
 
Chief Operating Officer Tyler Kasprzyk with Plain Old Balloon Angioplasty (POBA) shared a presentation which included the following slides:

• Mission Statement
• Business Goals
• Defining
• Location
• POBA Employee Tree
• Challenges: Doing Business in Flagstaff
• Successes: Doing Business in Flagstaff

Councilmember Matthews asked about the transportation issues and Economic Vitality Director Heidi Hansen spoke about the airport shuttle and stated that a bus route to the airport is not as interesting to the public as a shuttle. She added that the grant had run out and that Mountain Line had issues finding bus drivers.
 
Councilmember House asked about the housing challenges and what solutions have been looked at. Mr. Kasprzyk stated that they have looked at incentives for employees and stated that it is a missed opportunity.
 
Dr. Newland with North Country Healthcare presented:

• What is North Country HealthCare?
• Our History
• Our Locations
• Our Healthcare Services
• Colorado Plateau Center for Health Professions in Northern Arizona
• Health Career Pathway for Healthier Communities
• NCHC Awarded Federal Funding for Family Medicine Residency in 2019
• Complex GME Funding
• Class of 2023 Graduates
• Class of 2024
• Class of 2025
• Class of 2026
• Economic Impact
• Estimated Economic Impact of North Country Family Medicine
• What’s Next

Mayor Daggett asked if housing is an issue for North Country when hiring. Dr. Newland stated that it has been an issue and that they have prospective employees look at the cost of living before they extend an offer. Mayor Daggett added that she hears from residents that there is a lack of primary care doctors. She asked Dr. Newland if there is a deficit nationally or the state and Dr. Newland said that it is a nation-wide issue and especially in Arizona.
 
Councilmember House asked Dr. Newland to define community-based training. Dr. Newland spoke about how most residencies are set in university-based hospitals. She then addressed how the community-based residencies are different and train residents to serve a community rather than an academic-based hospital system.
 
Councilmember Harris asked about the selection of residents. Dr. Newland spoke about the Match program and that there were 600 applicants to the program last year with about 50 interviews granted. She added that every student will make a ranked list to see where they would like to be placed. There is then an algorithm that helps assign the residents.
 
Councilmember Harris asked if the staff of North Country matches the demographics of their clientele. Dr. Newland stated that some of the staff are in the same demographic, but once you get up to the higher levels, there is less diversity. She explained the demographics in the clientele at North Country. Councilmember Harris asked if North Country provides training on treating a diverse population. Dr. Newland spoke about their diversity training for their family-treatment residents.
 
Councilmember Harris asked how the residents afford to live in Flagstaff. Dr. Newland spoke about the efforts that the staff makes to ensure that the residents have creative ways to address their housing issues.
 
Dylan Moore with Arizona Liver Health (ALH) presented to Council. Slides included:

• ALH was started and is run by world renowned hepatology and infectious disease providers.
• Liver Disease Specialty Does not Exist in Northern Arizona
• Arizona Liver Health was selected by AZDHS to grow a Hepatitis C Elimination Program in AZ
• Improving HCV treatment Outcomes by Blending Healthcare Delivery Models
• Clinic Locations
• Community Testing Partnerships
• Outreach Coordinator Team Pictures

Councilmember Matthews stated that she is glad to see the service coming to Northern Arizona and asked about fatty liver disease versus Hepatitis C. Mr. Moore explained the causes of fatty liver and that Hepatitis C has a stigma of being caused by drug use, but that it is not the only cause. He added that part of their goal is to educate on the other causes.
Councilmember Matthews asked if liver transplants can be avoided if the disease is caught early. Mr. Moore spoke about how the infection is silent and by the time the disease has symptoms, the disease is well-advanced. He spoke about the anti-viral drugs available now that can cure the disease.
Councilmember Sweet asked about VEN’s experience with the move to Flagstaff.  Mr. Moore spoke about the cost of living being a determent and that they have had to adjust pay scales for the city over what they pay in Tucson or Phoenix. Dr. Tabor of Axoltl Biologix presented:

• Products and Process
• The Products: Axolotl Grant and Axolotl DualGraft
• Axolotl Ambient – currently under FDA investigation
• Axolotl DualGraft picture
• Regulatory Compliance
• Non-Healing Wound Following Surgeries Treated with Axolotl Ambient and Axolotl DualGraft
• The Future of Axolotl Biologix

Councilmember Matthews asked about when the placental tissue is gathered and if it is after birth or from abortions. Dr. Tabor spoke about the guidelines for tissue collection and about how they receive the tissues from other organizations who collect tissues only from c-section births.

Councilmember Matthews asked about the pictures of the wound-care and Dr. Tabor explained the picture and the scars.

Councilmember Matthews asked how long he has lived here and what was his experience with affordable housing. Dr. Tabor spoke about his experience and stated that he has been in Flagstaff permanently since 2009, so he has been lucky. He can think of two senior scientists who have turned down employment at Axolotl due to the cost of living.

Councilmember McCarthy stated that the technology is very impressive and asked why the company is based in Flagstaff. Dr. Tabor stated that he is indebted to the Flagstaff community, especially NAU. He added that Flagstaff is new, fresh, and ripe for biotech with a lot of untapped potential for medical bioscience here.

Councilmember Sweet asked Dr. Tabor to expand upon Axolotl’s experience with NACET and Moonshot. Dr. Tabor spoke about the facilities and how they were not up to FDA standards. Axolotl was able to take the FDA handbook and have NACET and Moonshot update the facilities right away. They were instrumental in Dr. Tabor’s opinion.

Mayor Daggett asked what sort of business growth Dr. Tabor foresees. Dr. Tabor spoke about the upcoming cosmetic line and the need for more positions for those areas. They are also looking at a dental and ocular line and those will also stay in Flagstaff for research and development.

Andy Fernandez commented on the presentation.

The Commission on Inclusion and Adaptive Living Chairperson Russ Randall and Vice Chair Rachael Simukonda gave a presentation on issues with the sidewalks that affect the differently abled people in Flagstaff. The presentation covered issues with bulk trash pickup, trash cans, broken sidewalks, parking on sidewalks, business supplies taking up the setback, ADA-disabled parking spots, ADA parking and hash-marked sections, sandbags, snow removal, and suggested actions.
 
Code Compliance Manager Reggie Eccleston thanked the commission for the presentation and that he appreciates the struggles that the commission shared. He shared that the department is in the process of revamping the outreach they give to the community and that another employee has been hired to help with the outreach and remedies. He also shared that they are getting more equipment to help and that he can meet with the commission members to work together to find solutions.
 
Public Works Director Scott Overton thanked the commission and stated that staff met on Friday to go through the identified issues. He asked for some time for staff to go through the presentation and for staff to be able to work with the commission to remedy the issues. He pointed out that education for residents would be very useful and that the commission could help develop some of the educational pieces.
 
Mayor Daggett asked what the process is to report a damaged sidewalk. Mr. Overton stated that Public Works takes that report and then staff addresses them. He added that staff could work with Public Affairs to improve outreach of the program.
 
Sustainability Supervisor Steven Thompson spoke about the Snow Heroes program and stated that he will be presenting to the commission in November.
 
Mayor Daggett asked if local groups will be able to sign up for the program and Mr. Thompson stated that he is hopeful to make those local connections.
 
Mayor Daggett thanked the Commission for their work on the presentation.
 
Keith Becker, a member of the commission, addressed Council. He stated that the commission is focused on the usability of the sidewalks for walking and wheel-chair use. He added that some of the improvements that the commission will be making are recommendations that cost money and perhaps funds could be found in Prop 419 taxes. He invited all city staff to brainstorm ideas to address obstructions. He also stated that he believes that education is essential to fix the issues. 
 
Councilmember Matthews stated her appreciation to the commission. She added that education of residents could be a good solution to mitigate issues. She added that communications within departments in the City could increase the impact as well.
 
Councilmember McCarthy spoke about being flexible with small businesses being required to have ADA parking. He added that he has seen the issues with sidewalks and that the first step is education. He suggested putting educational materials in the water bills. He added the second step would be more education in the form of warnings, such as stickers on the car, trash can, or front door. He stated that the third step would be enforcement, with perhaps the first warning not having a fine, but every infringement after that should be ticketed with a fine. He strongly suggested educational stickers to place on offending trash cans. He also spoke about snow removal and how equipment needs to be found that prevents snow berms being placed in people’s driveways.
 
Mr. Randall spoke about the trash cans and the stickers.
 
Ms. Simukonda talked about potentially having a work group create materials and Mayor Daggett referred the creation of materials to Public Affairs.
 
Councilmember Sweet shared her appreciation and stated that the conversation is a great first step. She added that some social media and videos on disability and trashcans/snow removal could be useful.
 
Mayor Daggett added that the snow last year challenged everyone and shared her appreciation for the commission.

Public Works Director Scott Overton, Solid Waste Director Evan Tyrrell, Sustainability Supervisor Summer White, Community Engagement Specialist Samantha Victor, and Public Affairs Director Sarah Langley gave a presentation to Council on the status of the City’s recycling program and operations. Slides included:

• Presentation Objectives
• Recycling Landscape -
• History of the Flagstaff MRF
• Recycling in Flagstaff
• MRF vs. Transfer Facility
• 2023 Actions and Impacts
• Recycling Costs
• Outreach Updates
• Direct Outreach
• Social Media Outreach
• Social Media Engagement
• Outreach Strategy – Next Steps
• Community Behaviors
• Next Steps & Projected Timeline
• Timeline
• RFP Goals and Objectives

Mayor Daggett thanked staff for the presentation and for figuring out how to keep the recycling program going.
 
Ward Davis addressed Council regarding the recycling data. He suggested pulling corrugated cardboard and how there may be money that could be made from a program. He also suggested making the MRF conference room into a recycling outreach center. He addressed some of the issues in the current building and doing outreach from the center. He suggested that the priority to have personal outreach for recycling should be moved up the priority list.
 
Mayor Daggett asked Mr. Davis about cardboard. Mr. Davis stated that the amount of cardboard that Norton collected was about 40% and only about 34% with Friedman. He further explained that when cardboard is compressed it loses value and that it cannot be sold.
 
Mayor Daggett asked Mr. Tyrell if staff has considered the cardboard recycling program and Mr. Tyrrell explained the efforts staff is making regarding the cardboard.
 
Councilmember McCarthy asked to review the plastic in recycling and if they must be a certain number to be able to be recycled. Mr. Tyrell stated that plastic recycling is very complicated. He added that numbers one and two are valuable, and that plastic bags and packing materials jam machines. He spoke about clam shells and how they are required to be separated, but there are emerging and growing markets that would allow for other plastic materials to be recycled. Mr. Tyrell also addressed the level seven plastics and that they are not currently recycled. Councilmember McCarthy reiterated that plastics one and two should be recycled and all others should be thrown away.
 
Councilmember Matthews thanked the team for their collaboration and teamwork.

None.

Councilmember Harris stated she was going to attend the Arizona Town Hall in October. She stated that next week she was meeting with Wiseman Aviation at the Airport. She requested a FAIR for Council to have a presentation on ethics and stated that NAU’s Ethics Program could be helpful.
 
Councilmember Matthews stated she is participating in the volunteer service day picking up trash with Discover Flagstaff at Swift Travel Center. She stated the Indigenous Commission met recently and there was a great presentation from Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Amy Hagin on progress on the Indigenous Cultural Center. She stated that her and Councilmember Harris with City Attorney Sterling Solomon and Deputy City Manager Joanne Keane had a tour of the Inner Basin with Jacobson’s Engineering and Hunter Contracting. She stated the work that has been done was impressive and remarkable.
 
Councilmember Sweet stated she attended the International Downtown Alliance Conference in Chicago.
 
Councilmember McCarthy stated he attended Indigenous Peoples’ Day and the recent Metroplan Executive Board Meeting.
 
Mayor Daggett stated the community could go to the Arizona Town Hall website to register for the Town Hall. She stated that she recently attended Indigenous Peoples’ Day and recognized Coordinator for Indigenous Affairs Rose Toehe and the Indigenous Commission. She stated the International Downtown Alliance Conference will be coming up and the Downtown Vision will be presented at the meeting. She reminded the community that is was World Mental Health Day.
 
City Manager Clifton stated the retreat for Council on 10/12/2023 will be at the Aquaplex. He stated he will be traveling the first two weeks of November.  

The Work Session of the Flagstaff City Council held October 10, 2023, adjourned at 6:25 p.m.