Signals AZ

August 29th Update with Prescott Mayor Phil Goode



Article audio is made possible by CAST11 Prescott Podcast Network. A Talking Glass Media production.

Mayor Phil Goode, City of Prescott, Prescott Mayor Goode

Prescott Mayor Phil Goode discussed several topics in his updates on Facebook providing important information for the residents of Prescott, Arizona.

YouTube player

Here is the update for August 29, 2022:

  • Prescott City Council Vacancy
  • Public Safety Employment Concerns
  • Airport Vicinity Overlay District
  • Labor Day Closures

Prescott City Council Vacancy

Last week, we held a special workshop to interview the finalists for the open vacancy on Council. After hearing from the three finalists, Connie Cantelme, Tom Reilly, and Steven Schmidt, the Council voted 5-1 to appoint Connie Cantalme to the seat. Connie will be sworn in on September 13, 2022, at 9:45 in Council Chambers.

Connie will serve on Council through November 2023. After that, the remaining two years will be filled by election.

Connie’s experience and expertise will be a great addition to the Council, and I look forward to working with her!

Once again, I want to thank all the applicants that were willing to serve. Here at the City, we have 27 Boards and Commissions, and I would hope that you will consider serving in the areas where your interests and talents will help to keep Prescott a great place to live!

Watch the Prescott Council Vacancy Interview Meeting

Public Safety Employment Concerns

Last week, we heard from our Public Safety departments of Fire, Police, and Dispatch about the challenges in recruiting, hiring, and retaining staff. The City of Prescott is competing for candidates for “hard to fill” jobs. Those jobs currently include police officer, firefighter, and public safety dispatcher. While for years these professions have enjoyed a steady stream of candidates who were interested in these fulfilling and rewarding careers, especially in Prescott, in recent years we have seen a drastic decrease in the number of candidates who apply for these positions. This is coupled with historically high rates of attrition nationwide in these important positions.

As we seek to strengthen our Public Safety departments, it will be important to find qualified candidates. I appreciate the efforts being made by Chiefs Durre and Bonney and our Human Resources Director Branden Nunez to ensure we are well poised for ongoing and future success. We have included links below so that you can understand this issue more fully.

I am sure we will be hearing more about their efforts in this area.

Watch the City Council Study Session regarding this topic.

Airport Vicinity Overlay District

A Public Hearing was held before the Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday to discuss a new Airport Vicinity Overlay District criteria and create a district boundary.

This was developed by the Prescott Airport Advisory Committee, Community Development Department, and the Mayor’s Ad Hoc Committee for the Airport Vicinity Overlay (AVO) District Planning and Zoning Commission.

There are many benefits to the proposed AVO:

– This will provide mapped boundaries for aircraft noise and current impact crash zones
– Includes allowable uses or limits within impact zones/ noise contours
– Provides a clear explanation of the various impact zones/ noise contours
– Provides explanation and boundaries for necessary avigation easement requirements
– Provides fair notice disclosure requirements to all current and future residents
– Promotes community health, safety, and welfare
– Complies with Federal grant assurances – preventing obstructions and compatible land use decisions
– Supports future airport development including the primary runway extension to the northeast

These protected areas and assessments are layered to cover Airport Impact Zones for safety, overflight, and compatibility, as well as noise contours, which are average daily day and night sound levels.

These noise contours are important because if homes are built within certain areas, it may become untenable for people who are sensitive to noise to live within these areas. Even if the City requires noise level disclosures which protect the City legally, people may become so frustrated that they oppose any future development or growth of the airport, creating obstacles to receiving federal grant funding for necessary facilities and uses.

You may ask, are we creating this AVO only because of noise? No. It is to address overflights and the possibility of crash risk as well as noise issues. We are trying to proactively protect the airport from future encroachment and the issues that can arise.

Although we are within the FAA’s minimum standards and guidelines right now, we anticipate that the FAA will tighten those guidelines in the foreseeable future.

Airport Director Robin Sobata explained, “I am concerned that our future projects and developments could be jeopardized by the very encroachment that could happen if not properly controlled.”

There are many, many perspectives on this issue, which I am sure we will hear about as future hearings are conducted to accommodate all of our stake holder’s and residents’ concerns.

Watch the Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting.

Labor Day Closures

The Prescot Public Library will be closed in observance of Labor Day on Monday, September 5th. But, don’t forget, you can still utilize many library services such as eBooks, online resources, streaming video, and more. Online services are available 24/7 at www.prescottlibrary.info.

The City of Prescott Transfer Station will be closed on Monday, September 5th, and will reopen on Tuesday, from 8 AM – 4 PM. As always, please remember to cover and contain all loads when transporting them to the Transfer Station.

However, the Solid Waste Division will collect residential and commercial trash and recyclables on Labor Day per their regular schedule. Please be sure your containers are curbside by 6 AM.

Review more information on the City of Prescott, Town of Prescott Valley, and Town of Chino Valley Labor Day closures.

Catch up with more State News Stories on Signals A Z.com.


Prescott Valley Outdoor Summit

If you like this story, consider subscribing to Signals Updates, Entertainment Events & News!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.