Others present: City Manager Greg Clifton; City Attorney Sterling Solomon

J.S. Kelley addressed Council about sexual assault and the challenges she faced when reporting to the police. Sharon Bodine addressed Council and expressed outrage for the harm corporations caused on the nation.

Jill Stephenson addressed Council about sustainability and climate change efforts.

Sustainability Climate Analyst Denae Presler addressed Council and provided an update on the Northern Arizona Solar Co-Op and their partnership with the city to provide solar access across Northern Arizona. She stated that information could be found online at www.solarunitedneighbors.org/northernaz.

Malene Combs addressed Council and expressed concern about the treatment of unsheltered neighbors. She stated that homeless people were made to feel expendable. She stated her opposition of the anti-camping ordinance. She asked for a coalition of unhoused people be established to support the unsheltered community.

Joan Dewey submitted a written comment requesting the establishment of an intergroup team to identify ways to support unsheltered community members.

Mayor Daggett read and presented the proclamation to Coordinator for Indigenous Initiatives and Indigenous Commission staff liaison Rose Toehe.

Councilmember House reported that the Housing Commission met and discussed the proposed bond program and expenditure of some of the homeless services funding. She also reported that the Commission on Diversity Awareness met and discussed future proclamations which included Black History Month and Native American Heritage Month.

Councilmember McCarthy reported that the MetroPlan Board met and worked on the development of value and purpose statements.

Mayor Daggett reported that the ECoNA Strategy Retreat would be held in Sedona later that week.

Moved by Mayor Becky Daggett, seconded by Councilmember Khara House to appoint Caitie Quick to a term expiring November 2026.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Mayor Daggett opened the public hearing.

Lieutenant Kevin Sapp introduced the application and noted no concerns.

There being no public comment, Mayor Daggett closed the public hearing.

Moved by Councilmember Jim McCarthy, seconded by Vice Mayor Austin Aslan to forward the application to the State with a recommendation for approval.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Councilmember House requested that Item 8D be pulled for discussion.

Moved by Councilmember Lori Matthews, seconded by Councilmember Miranda Sweet to approve Consent Items A, B, E, and F as posted.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Councilmember House stated that she pulled the item due to its importance to the community. She requested a brief overview of the process and changes that were made.

Management Analyst Chris Rhode addressed Council and stated that the process began in early summer with a Council retreat in late June. During the retreat, Council provided initial thoughts on the areas they wanted to see changed within the seven priorities and objectives. Two open houses were held, and feedback was collected at various community events, including concerts, activity centers, and the mall. The events resulted in hundreds of comments and about 75 full survey submissions. The suggested changes ranged from language adjustments to substantive alterations reflecting community culture and needs. Recommendations were presented to the Council at the retreat in June where additional edits were made before finalizing the process.

Councilmember House thanked Mr. Rhode for the recap and for the work that was done to ensure that the community had the opportunity to provide input.

Moved by Councilmember Khara House, seconded by Councilmember Miranda Sweet to adopt the revised PBB Objectives.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Moved by Councilmember Lori Matthews, seconded by Councilmember Miranda Sweet to read Ordinance No. 2023-23 by title only for the final time.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Moved by Councilmember Lori Matthews, seconded by Councilmember Miranda Sweet to adopt Ordinance No. 2023-23.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Councilmember McCarthy stated that he would support the ordinance but did not believe that it was adequate given the noise that was expended from some of the parks.

Moved by Councilmember Khara House, seconded by Councilmember Lori Matthews to read Ordinance No. 2023-24 by title only for the final time.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Moved by Councilmember Lori Matthews, seconded by Councilmember Khara House to adopt Ordinance No. 2023-24.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Real Estate Manager Bryce Doty addressed Council and stated that the resolution would authorize condemnation of the property. He indicated that the property owner was amenable to the sale, however, due to back taxes on the property, they would have to go through condemnation.

Moved by Councilmember Miranda Sweet, seconded by Councilmember Khara House to read Resolution No. 2023-55 by title only.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Moved by Councilmember Miranda Sweet, seconded by Councilmember Khara House to adopt Resolution No. 2023-55.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Real Estate Specialist Carmen Pryor addressed Council and stated that the ordinance would formally accept the granting and reservation of real property interests that had been acquired over the prior year.

Moved by Councilmember Lori Matthews, seconded by Councilmember Miranda Sweet to read Ordinance No. 2023-25 by title only for the first time.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Deputy Fire Chief Jerry Bills addressed Council and stated that the resolution would approve an agreement to provide fire training for the city's regional partners. The money was 90% federal and 10% district with a proportional share assigned to each district.

Moved by Councilmember Miranda Sweet, seconded by Councilmember Khara House to read Resolution No. 2023-52 by title only.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Moved by Councilmember Miranda Sweet, seconded by Councilmember Khara House to adopt Resolution No. 2023-52.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Grants, Contracts, and Emergency Management Director Stacey Brechler-Knaggs addressed Council and stated that the city was responsible for the design and construction of the new drainage system at Highway 180 and Schultz Creek to alleviate post wildfire flooding. The state would review the design plans and provide an inspector at no additional cost to the city. The advertising, design, permitting, and construction was secured and funded through the fiscal year 2024 state appropriation and the city had already started to receive some of the funding.

Moved by Councilmember Miranda Sweet, seconded by Councilmember Khara House to read Resolution No. 2023-53 by title only.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Moved by Councilmember Miranda Sweet, seconded by Councilmember Khara House to adopt Resolution No. 2023-53.

Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously

Housing Planning Manager Jennifer Mikelson addressed Council and noted that the item had been discussed at the October 24, 2023 Work Session and that she was available for any questions.

Moved by Councilmember Jim McCarthy, seconded by Councilmember Khara House to read Resolution 2023-51 by title only, but with one minor change. The intent of the minor change was to tailor the program to be consistent with the Information Pamphlet that the voters were given to inform them of what the program would be. The change proposed was an addition to the Rental Incentive Bond Program Submittal Requirements, Minimum Threshold Criteria. Specifically, add the criterion that "The Project includes a minimum of 10% market-rate rental units."

Vice Mayor Aslan asked if a housing development had been identified at 90% affordable and 10% market-rate. Councilmember McCarthy indicated that he was not aware of one and the reason he made the motion was because he felt that the action was consistent with what was included in the publicity pamphlet from the bond election.

Vice Mayor Aslan stated that he did not believe that the amendment would be practical and that it was unlikely that a 90% affordable development would come forward. He did not want to exclude applications that were 100% affordable developments.

Councilmember Matthews agreed with Councilmember McCarthy and indicated that the intent was to incentivize market-rate developments to include affordable housing. She asked about the process for the remaining $15 million from the bond. Housing Director Sarah Darr stated that there were three identified activities remaining within the bond. One was expanding the down payment and closing cost program and Council approved changes to those programs a few weeks ago. The other two activities included redevelopment of city properties which would not require a working group, and adaptive reuse to target the adaptation of existing vacant structures from one use into rental housing. The adaptive reuse would take more time because there was not a model to work from, they would have to develop the program in its entirety.

Councilmember House stated that while the intention was to incentivize market-rate developers, she felt that the overall objective was to increase access to and the supply of affordable housing. She had seconded the motion to allow the Council to engage in a discussion and while she agreed with the sentiments of the amendment, she believed that it would limit the potential benefit to the community.

Mayor Daggett stated that the goal was to get affordable housing constructed and she felt that the resolution did that and adequately addressed what was on the ballot and within the voter pamphlet.

Vote: 2 - 4

AYE:

Councilmember Jim McCarthy
Councilmember Lori Matthews

Moved by Councilmember Miranda Sweet, seconded by Councilmember Lori Matthews to read Resolution No. 2023-51 by title only.

Vote: 5 - 1

NAY:

Councilmember Jim McCarthy

Moved by Councilmember Miranda Sweet, seconded by Councilmember Lori Matthews adopt Resolution No. 2023-51.

Vote: 5 - 1

NAY:

Councilmember Jim McCarthy

Project Manager Jeremy DeGeyter introduced Nick Hall Project Manager with Burgess and Niple, who provided a PowerPoint presentation that covered the following:
BUTLER-FOURTH IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT DESIGN ALTERNATIVES DISCUSSION
CONTENTS
PROJECT TEAM
PROJECT LIMITS
PROJECT BACKGROUND
DEVELOPMENTS
PROJECT GOALS
CORRIDOR TYPICAL SECTION
BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN TREATMENTS
EXISTING BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN NETWORK
PROPOSED BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN NETWORK
PEDESTRIAN AND TRANSIT FACILITIES
MEDIAN TREATMENTS

Councilmember Matthews asked how much of Butler would contain the off street bike lanes. Mr. DeGeyter stated that they planned to carry the improvement as far to the west as possible.

HEROLD RANCH ROUNDABOUT
BUTLER-FOURTH INTERSECTION ALTERNATIVES SELECTION
ALTERNATIVE EVALUATION TIMELINE A
DDITIONAL EVALUATED ALTERNATIVES
5X5 SIGNALIZED
2X2 ROUNDABOUT
CANDIDATE ALTERNATIVES
ALTERNATIVE A -- 7X7 INTERSECTION
ALTERNATIVE B -- 6X6 INTERSECTION
ALTERNATIVE B -- INTERSECTION CROSSINGS
ALTERNATIVE C -- 2X2 ROUNDABOUT
ALTERNATIVE C -- INTERSECTION CROSSINGS
PROJECT TEAM REVIEW OF OVERALL MATRIX
COMMISSION AND COMMITTEE RANKING
COMMISSION AND COMMITTEE SCORING
PUBLIC INPUT
PUBLIC INPUT -- SURVEY RESULTS
ALTERNATIVE D -- 2X1.5 ROUNDABOUT
PROJECT TEAM REVIEW OF MATRIX
COUNCIL DIRECTION
NEXT STEPS

Councilmember Matthews stated that there would be a lot of new houses along Butler, she expressed concern about the speed limit along Butler and urged staff to consider the bike and pedestrian populations when they made those decisions. She also stated that she supported the tabletop crosswalks that were added and she liked Option D. She indicated support for flashing beacons and separated bike and pedestrian lanes.

Councilmember McCarthy stated that he did not support the 7x7 or 6x6 intersections. He stated that the widths of the refuge areas should be increased and that there needed to be signage that alerted crossers that there were multiple lanes of traffic to watch. He supported Option C or Option D with offset crossings.

Councilmember Sweet asked how the 35 mile per hour speed limit was determined and what that would mean for entrance into the roundabout. Mr. DeGeyter stated that the speed limit was determined by the engineering standards. Mr. Hall added that they also had speed-reducing curves that led up to the roundabout to naturally slow speeds as cars approached the roundabout.

Councilmember Sweet stated that she would support anything that would shorten the time it took for a pedestrian to get from point A to point B.

The following individuals addressed Council regarding the Butler-Fourth Improvements Program:

• Adam Shimoni, on behalf of Flagstaff Biking Organization
• Dapper Dre
• Star Kelley-Raemer
• Wilma Ennenger

The following comments were received:

• The project needed to be built for all types of transportation, especially cyclists and pedestrians.
• None of the options put pedestrians first.
• Alternative D was a decent option, but not preferred.
• Support raised crosswalks, 15-foot medians, and beacon lights for pedestrian crossings.
• Consider reducing the speed on Butler.
• Much of the focus of the design was on vehicles rather than pedestrians or cyclists.
• A specific pedestrian and cyclist thoroughfare should be considered.
• There is a concern about large trucks traversing through the neighborhoods to get to the highway.
• It was unfortunate that FUSD was not involved as a design partner.
• Residents of Sinagua Heights had not been consulted about the design.
• Traffic backs up during school drop-off and pick up and that should be considered.
• There should be a crosswalk for people to get across Butler without going to the roundabout.
• A signalized intersection was preferred.
• There are concerns about the impact of the design on nearby businesses.
• The design would eliminate twelve spaces from Black Barts.
• The residents of Harold Ranch have not been consulted about the roundabout.

Star Kelley-Raymer submitted a written comment that requested a crosswalk rather than traffic circle at Mount Pleasant and Butler.

Sasha Heinen submitted a written comment with concerns about the designs lack of support for pedestrians and cyclists. She requested separated paths along Butler for pedestrians and cyclists.

Mayor Daggett asked about the business access and the truck traffic that would come from Little America. Mr. DeGeyter stated that staff had been coordinating with Black Barks and Little America on the access points. The current design maintained left turns into the businesses. They are not far into the design so it was unknown what the full impacts would be.

Mayor Daggett asked about the comment made regarding the loss of spots at Black Barts. Mr. DeGeyter stated that because they were not deep into design it was unknown if that would be necessary. They have heard the concerns and would work to minimize those impacts.

Mayor Daggett asked about the roundabout at Harold Ranch Road. Mr. DeGeyter explained that the roundabout was for truck turn movement to provide an opportunity to turn around and gain access to I-40.

Councilmember Matthews expressed concern about the schools on Butler and asked if a light could be incorporated into the design to allow kids to cross. She expressed concern about the possibility of Black Barts losing spaces and encouraged staff to work to avoid that. She also noted her support for no left turns onto Butler.

Vice Mayor Aslan stated that he supported Option D and Option C. He also indicated that he was interested in more information about an underground pedestrian tunnel and asked if it would be feasible to consider a crossways tunnel for all four corners. He stated that it was great to see more bike and pedestrian features incorporated into the project.

Councilmember Sweet voiced support for raised crosswalks, 12-foot medians, the turn movements to slow traffic as they enter the roundabout, sharrow markings, and beacons that only had to be pushed once. She would like to consider crossing improvements near Sinagua Middle School, and she encouraged continued communication with nearby businesses.

Mayor Daggett requested that as staff moved further into design that they continue to consider pedestrians and cyclists first and how the design would impact them. Designing streets that supported a mix of transportation modes ensures that travel was enjoyable and safe for all. She also expressed a desire to consider a lower speed limit along the entirety of Butler. She also requested that FUSD be included in the conversations about design to consider the impact on students at the schools in the area.

Mr. DeGeyter thanked Council for the direction provided. He stated that more details would come in the future and he would continue to communicate with Council on the progress.

There was requisite Council support to advance the item to a future agenda for discussion.

Councilmember Sweet stated that she would be absent from the next meeting.

Councilmember House noted that she would not be in person at the next meeting but planned on attending virtually.

Vice Mayor Aslan shared that he travelled to Santa Monica to attend a film festival with staff from Discover Flagstaff; they had a great time promoting Flagstaff as a film destination. He also reported that he had been invited to participate on the Board of the Flagstaff Community Band. He had been enjoying that new role and looked forward to future engagement in the community.

Councilmember Matthews offered a shout-out to Water Conservation Specialist Emily Melhorne for her work in the conservation program. She met with Ms. Melhorne at Anew Living for an analysis of water conservation efforts, and she supplied water-saving shower heads, aerators for faucets, and testers for toilet leaks. She would also look into a device that goes on the water meter to send alerts if there was an unusual spike in water usage. She thanked Ms. Melhorne for her time and encouraged others to reach out for a similar audit. She also requested a FAIR Item to consider officially designating the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples' Day and an official city holiday.

Mayor Daggett reported that she attended the Flinn Brown convention where she was able to present the Arizona Champion of Northern Award to the Mayor of Cottonwood.