2026-11-03 - City Council

Mhm.

>> Mhm.

>> Mhm.

>> All right, we're ready to get started. Today is Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026. I'm calling this meeting to order and giving notice to the public and to city council that we may vote to go into

executive session, which will not be open to the public for discussion and consultation with the city's attorneys for legal advice on any item listed on the following agenda. Can we have roll call?

>> Mayor Daggett.

>> Here.

>> Vice Mayor Sweet.

>> Here.

>> Council member Aslan.

>> Here.

>> Council member House.

>> Present.

>> member Matthews.

>> Here.

>> Council member Milazzo.

>> Here.

>> Council member Spence.

>> Here.

>> Council member Matthews, would you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance?

>> It'd be my honor. Please stand if you're able.

>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

>> Council member Aslan, could you read our mission statement?

>> The mission of the city of Flagstaff is to protect and enhance the quality of life for all.

>> Thank you. Council member House, would you read our land acknowledgement?

>> It'd be my honor. The Flagstaff City Council humbly acknowledges the ancestral homelands of this area's indigenous nations and original stewards. These lands, still inhabited by native descendants,

border mountains sacred to indigenous peoples. We honor them, their legacies, their traditions, and their continued contributions. We celebrate their past, present, and future generations who will

forever know this place as home.

>> Thank you. All right, we're moving down to item number four, approval of minutes from previous meetings. Any questions or comments about any of the minutes? I'm looking for a motion.

>> Mayor, I'll move to approve the minutes as posted.

>> I'll second.

>> Any discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed?

>> All right. Moving down to open call to the public. This part of the agenda enables the public to comment to council about anything that is not on tonight's prepared agenda. You fill out one of

these cards at the back of the room, and you have 3 minutes. There's a clock right down here. And I will call [name].

>> Good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council. Happy election day. My name is [name]. I'm the Chief People Officer at Northern Arizona Healthcare. And today I have an exciting update on patient flow

and emergency department access at Flagstaff Medical Center. Um I spoke here about a year ago about the uh renovations to our emergency department that we were doing. Um as you all know, the only

level one trauma center in the region, we don't have another place to send patients to um when we get full. So, uh while we are space-constrained um and we can't physically grow the footprint of the

emergency department, we renovated it and and changed flow um through the department um to become more efficient and and see and treat patients more quickly. We added a new nursing station, six low-

acuity treatment bays, and some different waiting areas to try to actually facilitate um physician and nurse interaction even when our um all the beds are full. Um when you're in the emergency

department as as as I've also talked about, if you need to be admitted, unfortunately, most of our inpatient adult medical surgical beds are full every day and we're at or beyond capacity. So,

patients who now have admission orders inside the emergency department wait days or even um hours or even days for a bed to become available upstairs. So, what we're excited to share is that we were

able to take another space kind of in the middle of the hospital um and renovate it to become an ED overflow area so that when patients are admitted to an upstairs med surge bed, but there is no bed,

so we're waiting for a bed, you're in the emergency department, we can move you into this overflow area where inpatient nurses will care for you in a group setting, so it's not ideal, we'd rather you

have a private room or even a semi-private room, um but they can care for you there outside of the emergency department and that, of course, opens up that space you previously were in in the emergency

department for the next patient to be seen. So, um we just opened it. It is now uh we are still hiring to staff it 24/7, so it is open whenever um we have enough staff uh to to accommodate it cuz

again we need those inpatient nurses to be staffing that area, not emergency, because you've already become an inpatient by the time you're in this area. You're just waiting for that physical bed

upstairs. Um but we hope that whenever it's open, it decreases the waiting time inside the emergency department. It's not going to decrease the waiting time for an adult inpatient bed upstairs, but it

at least gets you to a little bit of a quieter area outside the emergency department and helps us continue to move um those who need urgent or emergent care through the emergency department. Um thank

you as always for the opportunity to share updates, and again, happy election day.

>> Thank you. [name]. I'm not [name]. I'm just putting the screen down. Hello. Good afternoon, Madam Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of council. Um my name is [name], and I am the CEO of Housing Solutions

of Northern Arizona, and I just wanted to take a quick minute to share with you our 2026 um annual report. This covers the period of July 2025 through June 2026. So, about 4 months ago we ended this

time period. Um we're proud of and excited to share our impact in the last fiscal year. A lot of that had to do with our partnership with the City of Flagstaff and the work that we get to do um with

you all. So, specifically in the last fiscal year, we purchased two condos over in Ponderosa Parkway utilizing CDBG and private financing to be able to add to our permanent inventory of rental homes

that are affordable to low-income households. Those two condos were almost immediately leased up to households exiting homelessness through our transitional housing programs. So, we now have six

condos over in Ponderosa Parkway providing permanent affordable housing to low-income households. We also were able to purchase the Western Hills Motel property utilizing loan funds from y'all layered

with multiple layers of funding. Those funds from you came from the housing bond that was passed by the voters and provides workforce housing for households averaging 80% of the area median income. We

were able to get fully leased up within four or five months and so we're providing work workforce housing to folks who you would expect who are working in service industry, uh grocery stores, uh

nonprofits, um some folks in the construction industry. So, it's nice to be able to provide them with housing. And then as we talked to you about last week, our down payment assistance programs for

first-time homebuyers as well, also funded through the housing bond. Um I want to point out two additional things. We helped 300 households, 299 to be specific, um through our various programs last

year increasing our impact, which is lovely to see. And we have various rental programs that lease to households at rents sometimes far below market rate. So, we've started to quantify that benefit to

our communities and to the tenants that we serve. Last year, the difference between the rent that we charged and fair market rent was 1.2 million dollars. So, that's 1.2 million dollars of rent folks

did not have to pay in order to be safely and stably housed. So, we're happy to be able to provide that benefit year after year to households in Flagstaff and in northern Arizona and appreciate once

again our partnership with y'all to help make these programs possible. So, thank you for everything that you guys do.

>> Thank you, [name].

>> Yeah.

>> [name], would you like the extras so you can maybe put them in the back?

>> If that's fine, or I can go with any uh leadership staff might want to. So, yeah. And I've got one more if there's a

>> We're moving down to proclamations and recognitions. The first one is for Native American Heritage Month, and the second is United Way of Northern Arizona Campaign Month. And um it Those of you who

are here for Native American Heritage Month, if you would join us at the edge of the dais. Ready?

>> Yeah.

>> All right. Whereas the United States of America was founded on the cognizance that all of us are created equal and deserve equal treatment, equal dignity, and equal opportunity. However, the

promise of our nation has been denied to indigenous people who have lived on this land since time immemorial. Despite a painful history made clear by unjust federal policies of assimilation and

termination, indigenous peoples have persevered and claimed resilience. During this month, the city of Flagstaff celebrates the myriads of contributions of indigenous peoples, past and present. Honor

the influence they have had on the advancement of our community and nation, and recommit ourselves to upholding trust and responsibilities, strengthening our relationships, and advancing native self-

determination. Approximately 12% of the citizens in the city of Flagstaff are members of indigenous nations in addition to the 14 local nations who hold this land and bordering mountains as sacred.

Northern Arizona University and Coconino Community College serve students who are representative of over 145 indigenous nations. Flagstaff Unified School District has an indigenous student population

of 25%. We also include contributions of our non-human relatives, the animals, those who fly, swim, and the standing green nation of trees and plants. We must take this time to honor indigenous

veterans and service members who selflessly continue to serve in our military, including the brave indigenous code talkers in World War I and World War II. For over two centuries, indigenous peoples

have defended our country during every major conflict and continue to serve at a higher rate than any other ethnic group in the country because their roots are deeply entrenched in this land. The

Flagstaff City Council established the Indigenous Commission to advise the City Council on issues and methods in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusive planning with indigenous perspectives within

the city of Flagstaff. And the Indigenous Commission supports the designation of the month of November 2026 as Native American Heritage Month in unison with all local, indigenous, state, and national

observances. Now, therefore, I, Council Member House, on behalf of Mayor Becky Daggett, Mayor of the City of Flagstaff, Arizona, do hereby proclaim November 2026 as Native American Heritage Month and

encourage our community to learn about and appreciate the history, heritage, and contributions of Native Americans as indigenous peoples of this great land.

>> [applause] [laughter]

>> I I said I had two pages of things to say. So, um thank you.

>> [clears throat]

>> Uh good afternoon, yet uh mayor, council members, leadership, and to the relatives in the audience and online. Thank you for this time and providing the proclamation. Um You can sit down if you

want.

>> No.

>> No.

>> [laughter]

>> Okay. All right. This microphone's still too high. All right. Um I want to My name My clans um are Shae Tl'aazt'i' Niina da Ashlido. K'aalichiinii ba shish Aha'tsoi da Shinaaldo Ashi da shish chei.

Um that's who I am as a Native woman, indigenous woman, and um my name is [name]. I'm the Indigenous Affairs Administrator here at the City of Flagstaff. Um I want to share a little bit of history

that you that probably is not in history books. And since it is uh Veterans Day next week and also Native American Heritage Month this month, I want to share a little bit about our relative Ira Hayes.

Ira Hayes was a United States Marine during World War II. He was an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community. He is the Marine who took part in raising the American flag at Iwo Jima. Yes,

that very famous photograph. He was also affectionately known as the as Chief Falling Cloud. Um I didn't get that information as far as um what why they called him that, but I'm sure it's there

somewhere. Um Ira Hayes traveled um approximately 1,300 mi from Arizona to Texas to personally visit and inform the family of the fallen Marine, Harlon Block, that that Block was the man pictured at

the base of the flag in that Iwo Jima photograph. And his name was not mentioned at the at first. He was It was a mistake that he was not included. Well, it was not corrected for a while. What he did

for the Block family, he was correcting the record. For 7 years, the Marine Corps and public reports misidentified one of the flag raisers. Knowing the truth weighed heavily on Hayes, he the journey

he journeyed um he made a journey roughly around 1,300 mi hitchhiking and walking to the Block family home in Texas to ensure Harlon's parents knew their son was the hero in the photo. Honoring a

fallen comrade. Harlon Block had been killed in action on Iwo Jima shortly after the flag raising. Hayes wanted to wanted the family to have the accurate truth despite his his deep despite his deep

discomfort with the public attention and fame. So, just a little bit about Ira Hayes and how he served his people, our country, and his fallen comrade. As far as Native American Heritage Month, um the

Indigenous Commission is partnering with Coconino Indigenous Peoples Advisory Council, IPAC. A luncheon learn is scheduled for November 10th from 12:00 to 1:00. The our speaker's going to be um

[name], a member of the Navajo Nation. She is Edgewater Clan and born for the Tower Towering House Clan. [name] enlisted in the US Navy in December 20 20 December 2000 as an aviation Mec- I could

never say this word, but I tried to look it up and that now I'm still at loss for it. Um but anyway, um she enrolled uh in that position. Um the person she's the person who focused on the engineering

design and behavior of um the mechanical systems. She retired in December of 2022, so she had a 22-year career in the Navy. Currently, [name] serves as the outreach specialist for Diné Naazbaa

Partnership for the Navajo Nation. That translated um it's America's Warrior Partnership. She connects veterans with local and national resources throughout Navajo Nation and border town areas. We are

happy to We are also happy to schedule um the luncheon learn during Navy Week, which is next week, and I hope to hear more about what's going on. So, I thank you have everybody for being here and

listening to this small um thankfulness and gratitude for Native American Heritage Month and Veterans Day. Ah ya ha.

>> Thank you.

>> [applause]

>> Can I have our friends from the United Way come down here and join us? And do we have staff who wants to join Okay, that's

>> [laughter]

>> For almost 60 years, United Way of Northern Arizona has united people and resources to address our region's toughest challenges and help communities across Coconino, Navajo, and Apache counties

thrive. United Way of Northern Arizona focuses its efforts in four areas: youth opportunity, healthy communities, financial security, and community resiliency. Through initiatives such as Step Up for

Youth and Kindercamp, United Way of Northern Arizona supports early childhood development, youth mental well-being, and leadership opportunities. United Way of Northern Arizona builds healthy

communities and promotes financial security by connecting families with essential resources, including safe housing, reliable access to food, job training, and education. In times of emergency, United

Way of Northern Arizona strengthens community resiliency by mobilizing volunteers and distributing resources to help our communities respond, recover, and rebuild together. The 2026-2027 United Way of

Northern Arizona campaign, Give Where You Live, United at its peak, celebrates the power of local giving and collective action to strengthen Northern Arizona. Through the collective efforts of

community partners, donors, and volunteers, United Way of Northern Arizona strengthens the vitality and connectedness of communities across Northern Arizona. Now, therefore, I, Mayor Becky Daggett,

Mayor of the City of Flagstaff, Arizona, do hereby proclaim October 15th through November 15th, 2026, as United Way of Northern Arizona Campaign Month.

>> [applause]

>> Well, thank you very much, Madam Mayor, Vice Mayor, and members of the council. We appreciate very much the proclamation, um, and recognizing the United Way campaign for our community. Um, in a

minute I'll introduce, uh, one of the co-chairs of the campaign who will announce what it is that that trying to raise, but, um, the amount that is. But, I first want to thank the city and all of you

for your support. Um this morning we were actually in the lobby uh meeting with folks and talking about um the good that United Way does in the community. And as the mayor mentioned in the

proclamation, we do focus on four priority areas. Youth opportunity, whether that's everything from early childhood development all the way to building youth leadership amongst our teens. And we also

focus on healthy communities, so making sure that people have food to eat, that they have a roof over their head, that they're able to to access um services that improve um the health and well-being

of youth and families. And then the third area is financial stability. Making sure that people have access to education, to training, to workforce development so that they can provide um a financially

stable future for themselves and their families. And then lastly, crisis response. United Way of Northern Arizona volun- uh mobilizes volunteers to help when there's a fire or subsequent flooding. And

to help people um recover from that, to help them if they need sandbag placement, or if they need to have water shoveled um out of their homes, United Way helps with that. So, as you can see, we touch

a number of different areas of our community. We have over 40 partners that we do that with. Um we fund programs within our community that extend our mission in those four areas. And so, we're really

proud of the work that we do. Um we've been in existence in the community for decades, and it's without the community support we would not be able to do what we do. And so, we want to thank everyone.

to encourage everyone to participate in the campaign. You know, people often ask like, what if I have a dollar to give? Well, that's fantastic because $1 can buy a meal for somebody. Uh $25 can buy

books that are sent home to children and help with literacy improvement. And so, never discount what a little bit of money can do because when we pull it together, it makes a very large collective

impact. I'd like to turn it over to [name] who would like to say a few words and then we also have something we want to present to council as well. [name] is the chair of our board of directors.

[name].

>> Hi, thank you so much. Thank you so much for this. I just wanted to say a quick thank you to the city, to the team and especially to our campaign coordinators who help and the 30 days I think so

far we are into this campaign. Let [name], one of the campaign co-chairs tell you about how we're doing, but I wanted to just say thank you very much.

>> Thank you for having us. My name is [name]. I'm serving as the campaign co-chair along with my wife [name]. [name] gets an excused absence today cuz she's at one of the polling places working, so

that's excused. But again, at the last week I announced at the at the breakfast at at High Country that our campaign goal for this year was 1.2 billion dollars. I got the same kind of chuckle. I don't

understand it. But I was told that's a bit too high, so we are going to modify that, but I think the realistic amount and I think it's something amount of goal that we can all achieve is 1.2 million

dollars. And when we look at what is produced with that investment, it truly is a gift where you live proposition. We have programs that of course signature programs that United Way has provided for

many many years, Kinder Camp as well as the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, but we also have a variety of programs that have been funded through our partners that really create, if you will, a lot

of vitality and resilience within our community. I'm a really really strong believer in our non-profit sector, and the fact is that we would have a very different feeling community if we did not have

our non-profit sector. And so, all the work that our partners do, all the programs, all the partnerships that they've had throughout the decades with United Way truly make a difference. So, again, our

campaign goal this year is 1.2 billion, and we are very, very 1.2 million. I keep going to billion, but again, I'm very, very we're very, very optimistic that we can achieve it this year because in

the end, the community benefits from all the work that we do locally. Thank you.

>> Thanks.

>> [applause]

>> Thank you, [name]. We're also joined by two other of our board members today, [name], which you know him probably as the county assessor, and then also [name], who is a member of our board. Um and

then we have our United Way some members of our United Way team here. I'll just start here from uh your left. Uh [name] is here with us. She heads up our youth programs and educational initiatives. Um

we have [name] here, who is responsible for our Kinder Camp and Beyond um uh project. And then [name], who's our administrative coordinator. Um so, on behalf of all of us, we do have t-shirts for

every city council member, so I will leave those for you, and they do say um "United is the way." Um that is our theme, and so we hope that you'll wear those with a lot of pride. And [name] has hers

already on, which is fantastic. Thank you to Kenny Construction for sponsoring those. And then [name] mentioned um our Kinder Camp, and you'll see this really adorable little um superhero uh piece of

art. These are fingerprints from um one of the classes from the Kinder Camp kids. These are kids that are entering kindergarten who are um not prepared to enter kindergarten. And so, we have a

program, a 30-day program in the summer in the month of June that is very a very vigorous program. It prepares kids to enter kindergarten. When they finish that program, they receive a tuition waiver

from Coconino Community College and Northern Arizona University so they can aspire to higher education. And so after 12 years when they graduate from high school, they have that tuition waiver waiting

for them. And so this is what your dollar does. It's it's helping children. in the power and potential of youth. That's why that's our number one priority because we know when children and youth

thrive, families thrive and communities thrive. So we hope you'll hang this with pride too as a thank you to the city for their support of Kinder Camp as well. Here you go, Mayor.

>> [applause]

>> Thank you. And I'll give these to you to distribute. And we do have each of your sizes. Thank you. All right. Well, thank you. Oh, I left one. I'm sorry.

>> All right. Next up is council liaison reports. I will start with Council Member Matthews.

>> Nothing tonight. Thank you.

>> Council Member Milazzo.

>> I have nothing tonight. Thank you.

>> Council Member Aslan.

>> All right. I'll bite. Um my email's not coming up so I can't uh look through things here the way I wanted to. Um

>> I can come back to you.

>> Well, actually, please do that.

>> All right. Vice [clears throat] Mayor. Nothing tonight. Council Member House.

>> You bought like 10 seconds. Nothing tonight this evening.

>> Council Member Spence.

>> The the tour of Observatory Mesa uh was postponed because of the muddy roads, and it is to be rescheduled. Uh again, if any council members want to join that, uh contact [name] to reserve your

spot.

>> So, now we come back to Council Member Aslan.

>> Yeah, my email has connected, and I did want to go over this a little bit. So, I had three commission meetings uh to report on. Um I wasn't able to attend the Tourism Commission. Uh the CP the

Coconino Plateau Water Advisory Committee met on Friday morning. We had a good discussion. Uh update about the Rio de Flag from the group the Friends of the Rio. And the other big thing is the

Sustainability Commission. There's um some big stuff in the works there. Some stuff brewing. Um Council, you will be hearing about uh all of this from an official letter that's coming from the

commission. Uh just it's just sort of a an assessment going on of how the carbon neutrality plan by 2030 is is plugging along. And some strategic uh um uh repositioning on a a couple of things. Um as

you all know, the carbon neutrality plan is a living document. It's something that's meant to be adopted and adapted um according to the times and the the context that we have. And uh looking forward

to that update from the commission um to give Council some things to think about as we uh race towards 2030 uh in our carbon neutrality goals. That's all I'll say for now.

>> Thank you. All right. We are moving down to uh appointments to commissions. And we have a appointment to be done by Council Member Spence.

>> Th- Thank you, Mayor. The Beautification and Public Art Commission uh has one vacancy. And I want to thank uh all of the people who submitted their applications. Very uh talented and uh uh capable

uh selection that uh I was able to choose from. And I would like to, after reviewing and talking with all of the applicants, I would like to nominate [name] to be uh the newly appointed member of the

Beautification and Public Art Commission.

>> Is there a second?

>> I'll second.

>> Any discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? All right. Thank you, Council Member. Well, here is something that I've never seen and I'm pretty excited about it. We have a bingo license public hearing. So, I am opening the public

hearing and we shall hear about a bingo license application um from Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona.

>> Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. My name is [name], Acting Deputy City Clerk. Before you today is one bingo license application. The full packet material was included in the agenda packets for

review. Bingo licenses are processed in a similar manner as liquor licenses. They begin with the state and come to the City Council for recommendation. Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona, located

at East Cedar Ave, has applied for a Class B bingo license. [name], I'm sorry, [name] is the CEO for Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona. [name], [name], [name], [name], and [name] will conduct the

bingo operations. The Police Department and Planning and Development Services have conducted their respective investigations, and the reports are included in this agenda packet. There is also a

representative [name] who [name] is still present um to answer any questions you may have.

>> All right, thank you. Council, do you have questions? Do we have any public comment? I'm closing the public hearing. And um Council, we can talk about it or I can entertain a motion.

>> I have a motion.

>> Bingo.

>> Mayor, I'd like to move that we forward the application to the state with a recommendation for approval.

>> I'll second.

>> Any discussion? All those in favor? I.

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? All right, thank you very much. Moving down to 10, consent agenda. All matters under consent agenda are considered by the City Council to be routine unless a member of the City Council

or a member of the public expresses a desire at the meeting to uh to comment or ask a question on an item from the consent agenda. This agenda will be enacted by one motion approving the

recommendations listed on the agenda. Unless otherwise indicated, expenditures approved by Council are budgeted items. So, we have one item on the consent agenda, and that is the consideration and

approval of a cooperative contract. Do we have any Council members who would like to pull this for questions or discussion? All right, seeing uh

>> Here.

>> Yes, please.

>> Um I uh indicated my uh interest in pulling this for a further discussion. After I declared my intent, I learned a lot more about it, and I think it would still be a useful um discussion uh in in

the public to understand what an uninterruptible uh power supply is uh in the event that we have a power outage. So, uh with that uh context in mind, I would like to pull it.

>> All right, and as that is the only item on the consent agenda, we will go straight to asking questions of staff.

>> Yeah, good evening, Mayor and Council. I'm Scott Overton, Public Works Director. I'm actually covering for [name], our Facilities Director, this evening. Um we do have some IT staff with us as well

for technical questions, um but I am happy to answer any questions about this purchase. Um we are soliciting and um asking to purchase our uninterrupted power supply um for this building, City Hall.

Uh we have an existing system in place now. It has come at end of life, so this is a battery backup system that is utilized to keep our facility in that short duration from power failure to generator

um kick in. This is the power supply that keeps the building kind of moving, functioning, and operating IT equipment, our phone systems during that transition to generation power if we lose our line

voltage from APS. So, this is really a redundant piece, but it's also a piece that just sits in the middle um of that disrupted power service. Um it is an all battery type unit, so just imagine a real

giant car battery sitting in a room um with the ability to power a limited amount of city hall equipment for about 8 minutes and then that triggers our diesel generators which power more of the

building for longer term and duration. So, I hope that gives you a little bit of a brief overview and I'm happy to answer any questions um but this is a facilities capital project and the price

includes not only the power bank itself, but all the associated labor, parts, pieces, and equipment to install this as well as remove our former system.

>> Thank you, Mr. Overton, for that overview. Um the what is the expected life expectancy of [laughter] the battery system that we're purchasing?

>> Yeah, that's a good question. I'll bet we're 20-plus years on the existing system. Uh 20 years, ish. To battery, yeah. Go ahead, [name].

>> Yeah, the the system itself probably will last quite some time. Individual batteries often need to be replaced on on a slightly more regular basis as they go bad, but um the overall system and

architecture should last a quite some time.

>> Thanks, [name].

>> Thank you. I appreciate that explanation and I'm ready to move um to approve the consent agenda.

>> Go ahead.

>> I move that we approve um the purchase cooperative purchase contract with Titan Power for the replacement of two city hall uninterruptible power supply systems and associated equipment and

installation services utilizing the city of Phoenix contract number 4701 0110. It's a Phoenix contract number 4701010748 in the amount of 201,760 9 and 96 9 cents including applicable sales tax, and

authorize the city manager to execute the necessary documents.

>> Second.

>> Any further discussion? All those in favor? I. I. Any opposed? All right. Thank you, Scott.

>> Okay, we are moving down to routine items. Item number 11. A is consideration and adoption of a resolution and an ordinance. Hello.

>> Hi.

>> So, this is our second read of this um resolution and ordinance. Council, do you have any questions of [name]? All right. Seeing none, I would like to entertain a motion.

>> Mayor, move that we adopt resolution number 2026-52.

>> I'll second.

>> Any discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? All right. Uh City Clerk.

>> We won't be reading the resolution.

>> Sorry. Ordinance. And um can I have a motion to read the ordinance?

>> Mayor, I'll move that we read ordinance number 2026 -27 by title only for the final time.

>> I'll second.

>> Discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? Now, City Clerk, please.

>> An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Flagstaff amending the Flagstaff City Code title 10 Flagstaff Zoning Code by adopting by reference that certain document entitled PZ-26-00136 -

Zoning Map Amendment Process providing for repeal of conflicting ordinances, severability, authority for clerical corrections, and establishing an effective date.

>> And a motion to adopt?

>> Mayor, I move that we adopt ordinance number 2026-27.

>> I'll second. Discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? All right, thank you. Moving down to B. This is also our second read. Any questions for [name]? I am looking for a motion.

>> I move that we adopt resolution number 2026-51.

>> I'll second.

>> Discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? All right, and a motion to read.

>> I move that we read ordinance number 2026-26 by title only for the final time.

>> I'll second.

>> Discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? City clerk.

>> An ordinance of the city council of the city of Flagstaff amending the Flagstaff city code title 10 Flagstaff zoning code by adopting by reference that certain document entitled PZ-26-00070-outdoor

lighting update providing for repeal of conflicting ordinances severability authority for clerical corrections and establishing an effective date.

>> I move that we adopt ordinance number 2026-26.

>> I'll second.

>> Discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? All right, and C, which is our final read on this. Any questions for staff? Hello.

>> Good afternoon.

>> No questions? All right. Uh I'm looking for a motion.

>> Mayor, I will move that we read ordinance number 2026-28 by title only for the final time.

>> I'll second. Discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? City Clerk?

>> An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Flagstaff amending the Flagstaff zoning map to rezone approximately 13.01 acres of real property generally located at South Lake Mary Road. APNs

105-05-001A 10505-002B 105-05-002C and 105-05-002D from the rural residential RR zone with partial resource protection overlay RPO to single-family residential R1 zone with full RPO providing for

severability, authority for clerical corrections, and establishing an effective date.

>> Mayor, I move that we adopt ordinance number 2026-28.

>> I'll second. Discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? Thank you, [name]. All right, moving down to our regular agenda. Consideration and adoption of a resolution for a curt cooperative purchasing intergovernment intergovernmental

agreement. Hello.

>> Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. Nicole Antonopoulos, Sustainability Director. I am here to answer any questions if you have them. This is a simple amendment to an existing resolution to extend

the timeline. And I'm excited to announce it also includes the City of Phoenix in our statewide consortium um as we investigate opportunities for a virtual power purchase agreement. So, good news

overall.

>> Yeah, that's great news.

>> Can I make a motion?

>> Yes, you may. Unless anyone has questions or comments. Councilmember House? Oh, sorry. I see it in the chat.

>> That's okay. I just put it there. Thank you, uh Councilmember Aslan as well. Um I just wanted to give you an opportunity to uh maybe explain a little what this means um in terms of adding Phoenix

to uh that consortium and and why that's such a big deal.

>> Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for the opportunity. So, um some of the council may recall that as we first brought this opportunity forward and as a reminder, it's being led by Northern Arizona

University and under the guidance of Dr. [name]. And we have been working for a few years to bring a statewide consortium of energy users together. These communities, cities, and educational

institutions all have carbon or excuse me, climate goals um to reduce carbon. Um so, the purchase of carbon offsets or renewable energy credits are a way that all organizations are looking for um

achieving their goals. So, with the city of Phoenix joining us, our consumption, our need, if you will, um increases up to and I have to get my cheat sheet, 660,000 megawatt hours. And so, what this

means is that our collective work will make a much more promising um solicitation that's going to be issued by NAU this month and it will make it a much more appealing project for a developer to come

on board. So, with the city of Phoenix joining us, it really ups our economy of scale and can make the financial look a lot more promising for the group. So, I will continue to keep the city council

posted.

>> Thank you very much. Thank you, Mayor.

>> Thanks for asking that. Uh I'm looking for a motion. I'm looking over at you, Councilmember Aslan.

>> Madam Mayor, I will entertain you uh with a motion to read resolution number 2026 -53 by title only.

>> Second.

>> Discussion. All those in favor? I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? City Clerk.

>> A resolution of the Flagstaff City Council approving an amendment to the intergovernmental agreement between Arizona Board of Regents for and on behalf of Northern Arizona University and the City

of Flagstaff for cooperative purchasing intergovernmental agreement.

>> Motion to adopt.

>> Yeah, one small step for government, one giant leap on the I'm sorry, I'm not coming up with anything there. Can we move to adopt resolution number 2026-53?

>> I'll second.

>> Discussion. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Thank you so much, Nicole. All right, item B, consideration and approval of a settlement. Hello, [name].

>> Mayor and Council, before [name] gets started on this presentation, I just wanted to embarrass him. It's his birthday today.

>> Happy birthday to

>> you. Happy birthday to

>> you.

>> Happy birthday

>> dear [name].

>> Happy birthday to you.

>> Thank you. Thank you.

>> Let's see you top that.

>> I wouldn't normally be so red-faced up here right now. Good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of Council. I'm The item I have before you is a settlement agreement in the matter of [name] versus

the City of Flagstaff. This settlement agreement was discussed in executive session on October 20th and the terms of the settlement agreement are also included in the agenda. The request today is to

approve the settlement agreement and to authorize the city attorney to execute any documents necessary to effectuate the final settlement agreement. And with that, I will turn it back to you.

>> All right, Council. I'm looking for a motion.

>> Mayor, I move to approve the settlement of the matter of [name] versus City of Flagstaff pursuant to the terms discussed in executive session on October 20th, 2026 and in the attached settlement

agreement and authorize and direct the city attorney to execute all documents and take such other actions as are necessary to finalize the settlement.

>> I'll second.

>> Any discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? All right. Thank you, birthday boy. Moving down to C, consideration and adoption of resolution number 2026-54.

>> Oh. Um Let me get this up here. I put it in presentation mode. Here we go. How do you get it to go full screen? View. Oh, I just saw it. Sorry. Full screen. Sorry. All right. Good evening, Mayor

and Council. I'm [name], Housing Planning Manager with the Housing Investment section. Uh excuse me while I finish my cough drop. I don't know if you can hear it clinking around in there, but trying

to avoid coughing. Um all right, I'm here tonight uh to ask for council's consideration and approval of a resolution that would delegate authority to the city manager uh to enter into or approve uh

awards of funding for affordable projects. Um I have just four slides to walk us through, and then I'll take any questions. So, a little more detail about this resolution uh and what it would do. It

would allow the city manager to approve uh agreements for funding between $100,000 and up to $1 million for affordable projects. Um so, why start at the $100,000 mark? Um our city charter uh permits

staff to enter into a contract or to expend up to $100,000 without council approval. Um and so, this resolution would apply to contracts at that $100,000 mark and up to the million-dollar limit. Um

and the funding for these agreements would come from the housing division's existing incentive policy for affordable housing uh or IPA, we call it. Um and what this policy does is it reduces or covers

the cost of city permits and fees um for residential projects that meet our affordability requirements. Uh and this resolution would require housing staff to notify city manager and council of all

formal requests for funding under this policy. Uh and it also would require housing staff to notify city council of any agreements that are entered into and approved. Um additionally, and just to kind

of clarify and say it out loud, um if an agreement were to exceed the million-dollar limit established by this resolution, it would be brought to city council for approval at a public meeting. So, I

have some um important background about what the city's incentive policy for affordable housing um does and how it's funded. Um so this policy was initially adopted in 2009 and underwent a minor

revision in 2025. Uh the policy allows the housing division to cover the cost of eligible city permits and fees associated with new affordable development. Um these are things like um plan reviews,

building permits, uh police and fire development fees, water system fees, etc. Um and they apply to all residential projects as they're reviewed and permitted for construction within the city. Um the

IPA does not waive any fee. Um that's not That's not what the policy was intended. Um the cost of an eligible fee is paid from housing's IPA account on behalf of a developer. Um and I want to take a

minute to explain how the division or how the housing division would ever come to have a million dollars at our disposal. Um this money is not coming from our $20 million housing bond that was

approved 4 years ago. Um the IPA is older than our bond programs. Um and it's funded through annual budget allocations from the city's general fund. Um and just anecdotally, over the life of this

policy,

>> [clears throat]

>> uh over $2 million have been spent so far supporting affordable development in town. So, we're pretty uh proud of that. Um so yes, historically, the policy has had I'll say modest uh budget

allocations. Um and we were able to pretty readily assist our local nonprofits uh with their kind of smaller-scale rental and ownership projects um that we've all come to know and love and we continue

to support. Um but in recent years, we've seen larger-scale 100% affordable uh low-income housing tax credit or LIHTC projects. We They get mentioned fairly often at City Council, I believe. Um but

these These are projects that have been particularly impacted by rising construction and labor costs, um higher borrowing costs, lower investor pricing on tax credits as well. Um and so as a result,

these LIHTEC developers are um they're asking for greater financial support from the communities that they build in uh across the board. We're not unique here. Um and so the award of tax credits also

often hinges on projects that have secured greater local financial uh support. Um so every budget cycle, we take a look at the affordable developments in the pipeline. Um and we have been asking for

well, you know, larger dollar amounts in region in our recent budget cycles to try to meet this demand. Um over to our process. Uh once IPA funding is allocated each July 1st, uh we determine how much

funding can be secured for a particular project. The funding is first come, first served. So, whoever has been waiting for funds is prioritized. Um and housing staff officially reserves this funding

by drafting agreements with the help of uh legal for the city manager to sign. Um allowing staff to process these agreements administratively really furthers the intent of the original policy. Um and

it allows us to be pretty responsive to um the type time frames and some of those capital constraints that developers are often facing, especially LIHTEC developers are often facing between their

development approvals and their time of construction. Um so, I'll just end really quickly with the affordability criteria in IPA. To be eligible for uh for this funding, uh developers must commit to

providing affordable units that that meet these minimum requirements. Um so, the criteria for rental and ownership projects is a little different, but in either case, at least 10% of a development

must be um set aside and affordable to qualify for incentives in general, any of our incentives, frankly. Um and so the units must be affordable to incomes no more than 100% for rental and up to 150%

AMI for ownership. Um those are maximums, keep in mind. Um and must remain affordable for at least 30 years if it's a rental project and for 99 years if it's an ownership unit. And the ownership units

must be owner-occupied as well. Um so this is, you know, what the community receives in exchange for the city covering these costs. Um and this commitment is written into these contracts or agreements

that we are pursuing, so. Um that that's all I have. These are all the slides. I'm happy to take any questions.

>> Councilmember Milazzo.

>> Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, [name]. This is great presentation. I also wanted to thank you so much for taking the time um late last week to get me caught up to speed on on the specifics of this um

ordinance as it is and as it would be, and I really appreciated you and the rest of housing staff just giving me your time for me to learn and catch up. That was wonderful. Um one of the I have a

question that I forgot to ask you at that time. This period of affordability of 30 years for rental, we've run into surprises, if you will, in the last few years where a 30-year timeline or less was

running out and nobody in the um affordability um community was prepared for some of these rentals coming off of the market. Is there anything in the agreements that you will be putting in moving

forward that will give us some kind of a heads-up so that options might be explored before we only have 6 months before the the property goes out of the 30-year contract.

>> We can incorporate uh what is it called? The right of right of first refusal when that time is ex- is going to expire. It's just a matter of I mean I'm only going to need some help on this one, but

I think there are some concerns though about like the procurement process and like how much money would it cost to truly acquire an expiring LIHTC property. These are conversations we've like looked

into, but haven't gotten super far yet with that.

>> Do you have anything else?

>> And I apologize for the surprise question. It just came up as I was looking at your chart, so.

>> It's a great uh It's a great goal to try to look at some of these ways to secure

>> And I'm not necessarily asking that the city have right of first refusal. It's just the last couple the entire low-income affordable housing community was surprised by the fact that some of these

rental properties were going um off LIHTC. And so that's the part that concerns me more.

>> Right. Mayor Council Member Milazzo, um the LIHTC process is very different than our local process. And so tracking it locally gives us a very different um way to stay on top of those rather than

the LIHTC process which while it has to remain on a list for a year, if no one purchases it, then um it's still sometimes feels like like a surprise. Um that 30-year piece, um I'm glad you mentioned

you weren't necessarily interested in the city purchasing it because of the charter amendment limiting us to spending no more than $3 million adjusted to an index which finance knows and I'm blanking

on, um limits our ability to um we can't spend that without going to the voters. So it limits our ability to be able to move with any degree of swiftness towards purchasing um or yet purchasing that

to remain in the affordable inventory. So keeping track of it ourselves will be easier than the the state on the light tech process.

>> Thank you. Council member Matthews.

>> Thank you, Mayor. Um my first question, we've had this discussion before. Um I didn't even know for a long time that we had the 150% AMI for home ownership. The reason why is because our zoning

doesn't allow for it.

>> Right.

>> Um but we've talked about um updating the zoning only to also uncover different complications that might impede a builder or might not be the most effective for him as far as the incentive. Is Can

you provide an update? I saw [name] left, but um on where we're at with um matching that so developers can actually utilize that incentive?

>> Yes, we do intend to adjust the ownership AMI from the current limit of 100% AMI in the code right now uh to bump it up to the um the max 150 AMI in these coming code analysis project uh amendments

implementation schedule we have. It's It's going to be a really really big package of a lot of different topics and the incentive uh the affordable housing incentives will be grouped into that. Um so,

it's uh frankly, it was a really wonderful table proposed by the consultant in their final set of recommendations. Really clean. It was like a you know, a separate uh they separated out rental and

ownership projects and had the more appropriate AMIs corresponding to each of those. And if you are And the catch was if you're we still have the 10% minimum contribution in order to be qualified for

any incentives, you must contribute 10% um but if you choose those higher AMIs, so there's a little catch. If you choose the higher AMI, if you're a home builder and you want to do the 150% AMI um,

product, you would have to up that contribution. We can decide, it's not super set in in stone, but instead of the 10% minimum, we might want to see a little bit more um, if you're delivering a more

technically more expensive product, so to speak. Um, so yeah, it was a it was a really um, kind of like refreshing, clear approach that the uh, consultants laid out for us that I'm really excited to

incorporate into the into the changes.

>> Thank you, [name]. That's uh, encouraging to hear that it's still moving forward. I know that we are kind of waiting for all the

>> Yes.

>> uh, code analysis updates. Then my second question is, um, I in theory, I like this idea, um, especially kind of cutting out the speed of government issue, but my hang-up a little bit is just I I'm

still recovering from the [name] project.

>> Okay.

>> And so, what kind of process or transparency for council to still be um, notified and in the loop even with projects that initially maybe turned down that we have an oppor- I mean, that was a hard

fight to get that. We almost lost those 221 units, in my opinion. Um, and so, can you talk a little bit about how the process works? Will we still be informed and in the loop, or these things just go

by the wayside and we hear about it on the street 6 months later?

>> Sure. I think the intent with this resolution is to notify council

>> [clears throat]

>> anytime there's this formal request. That's usually happening is always happening either before a developer submits their their plans with the city for review, um, or as they've submitted and

they're working through the development review process with us at the city. So, the the request for the funding comes fairly early. Like, they're usually not requesting the money once they're ready to

build. Um so, we often know that there's a a need at that point in time as they're reviewing plans. Our opportunity is to take that request at the next coming budget cycle. It's kind of That's like

our option is to like, "Okay, this developer This is going to be a big project." We do a an estimation of the fees. We work internally and with the developer on their estimates, and we put a request

in through the budget process. So, with this resolution, what we can do is just notify We haven't talked super thoroughly about it, but what we can do is just find a way to um relay these official

requests once a project is kind of in the development review process, whether or not it's the budget time. Um so, that's kind of jumping ahead of the actual budget cycle and those real budget requests

that we're making in our process. Does that sound right?

>> And Councilmember Matthews, um I I will be providing Council updates when when these come in, and you know, I know you all meet with housing staff as well as do I. So, we will make sure that you're

given a heads-up. And I think what this resolution allows It allows us to to just move quicker. Um and I think that's our goal today is being able to to be nimble and respond to these requests

quicker.

>> Thank you, and I do appreciate that aspect of it. I just worry because you know, we all remember the [name] project, and we kind of heard about it when it was already kind of going south. So, I

don't I just don't want to live relive that. So, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

>> Any additional questions? Comments? All right, then I am looking for a motion.

>> Mayor, I move that we read resolution number 2026-54 by title only.

>> I'll second.

>> Discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? City Clerk.

>> A resolution of the Flagstaff City Council delegating authority to the City Manager to approve agreements for award of incentive policy for affordable housing funding for affordable housing

projects eligible for payment and or reimbursement of municipal fees providing for delegation of authority, repeal of conflicting authority, severability, and establishing an effective date.

>> Mayor, I move that we adopt resolution 2026-54.

>> I'll second.

>> Discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any opposed? All right. Thank you so much. All right, moving down to open call to the public. We have [name].

>> Can you hear me?

>> Yes.

>> Thank you. Today is the day. The United States of America today is deciding whether or not we're going to continue to have a democracy. This um criminal administration that is now in place is co-

opting our democracy. And today the American people are going to decide if that will continue or if that will be pushed to the side. My hope, of course, is that we continue to have a democracy. And

it's amazing to me that we're continue on with business as usual as if that's not what's taking a place. Um I spoke before about a dot being so big that it's hard to identify as a dot in which we can

line up the dots. And I think that's what's happening now in our country. And the fact that it it isn't it isn't kind of having a fact here is kind of amazing to me. Is that is are we not are we not

picking up to the What do I want to call it exactly? The the the the the magnitude of what is taking place today. That's all I have. Thank you.

>> Thank you. All right, no other call to the public. We are moving down to 14, announcements and updates to from council and city manager. Uh council member [name].

>> Nothing this evening. Thank you.

>> Council member House.

>> Nothing tonight. Thank you.

>> Vice Mayor.

>> Nothing tonight. Thank you.

>> Council member Aslan.

>> Yeah, just want to real quick thing other than happy election day everybody. Um United Way was here earlier. Uh want to make sure that their flag gets uh slated for the conversation for next year

um in terms of the the timeline January January February, right? Um it'll be our decision to to decide whether or not to put that one up given the context of all the other flags available, but I I'd

like to be able to have that conversation.

>> Um Council member Aslan um [name]'s already working on it and should get it be getting an email out I think in early December to all of you. So, may the 4th be with you. Coun- Council member

Milazzo.

>> I have a couple things. Thank you. Um I had the fantastic opportunity to go and visit uh water services on the east side this morning. Um brought them coffee and donuts. They are exhausted. They

have been doing fantastic work for this city um and I'm so proud to be a member of this city working alongside these people. They are doing fantastic work and I just want to publicly say thank you. Um

I want to say thank you to some of the zoning um team who I got to meet with last week and also some of housing who I got to meet with last week. Thank you.

>> Council member Matthews.

>> Thank you, Mayor. This Thursday, Council member Spence and I are going to be at the Arizona Energy Future Conference for a 2026. I'm looking forward to learning all about solar and alternative

energies. Um and um I did want to say a good luck to all the propositions and the candidates and everything. Um got a report this morning about how many calls, almost a thousand calls that our

dispatch um worked on in a basically a 24-hour time frame. That is just incredible with a very slim uh staff. So, I just wanted to uh give a a shout-out and a thank you to dispatch and all of our

first responders, our streets and water services and stuff. It's been a big big half a week already. Hopefully, we have some rest the rest of the week, but I just wanted to acknowledge their hard work

and their dedication. You don't do that just for a paycheck. You got to be um committed to go through all of that uh with a short staff and that many uh calls. So, I just wanted to give a big shout-

out. Thank you.

>> Thank you. I want to um express uh empathy and sorrow for our community members who have had damage, some very significant, to their homes and property from the recent really unprecedented rain. Um

and to um the family of the the visitor to Flagstaff who um apparently drowned. Um It We all had quite a weekend, and I appreciate all of city staff, fire, police. Uh I know you all were working on

way over time. And um thank you to the community for stepping up and helping your neighbors. It's something that sets us apart. Definitely. Uh we're always ready to step up and help. And I'd like to

thank elected leaders who reached out to me to ask what what they could do. And that includes Senator Kelly, Senator Gallego, um State Senator Wendy Rogers, and um State Representative Walt Blackman.

Um they all stand ready to help us in any way that they can. And I just appreciated that they were keeping Flagstaff in mind. Um and another reminder, polls close at 7:00 p.m. If you're in line at

7:00, stay there. You can vote. Uh you can drop your early ballot off at any polling location or stick it in one of the um ballot drop boxes. And appreciate Flagstaff voters for getting out there and

um making their voices heard. City Manager.

>> Um Mayor and Council, um this is a great transition. Um what we wanted to do during the the city manager um update to councils provide an update from our emergency manager, [name]. And then also

provide um some some images and also some drone footage that we have taken of the flood damage. Um I know I join all of you in saying thank you to um everybody that responded and is still responding.

We still have crews out in the field. Um I'll let [name] go into the details. Um I especially want to thank [name] who um has been working nonstop to kind of pull everybody together and hold

everything together um with a a team of one um and with that [name], I'll turn it over to you.

>> Thank you, city manager. Appreciate that. Uh mayor, vice mayor, council members, [name]. As uh city manager said it, I'm the emergency manager for the city of Flagstaff. Uh normally I don't read

off of notes, but uh please bear with me uh cuz I want to make sure I get all this information correct. So, uh you talked earlier uh about how wet it was. So, according to the National Weather

Service, Flagstaff has already recorded its wettest fall season on record, which dates back to 1898. And we still have all of November to continue to uh further progress that. November 1st was the

third wettest day ever recorded at the Flagstaff Airport. And some areas south of the city, Munds Park, received uh 5 to 6 in of rain. In the city, we we received a what is equivalent to a 25-year

event. Now, that doesn't mean it happens once every 25 years. It means there's 4% chance every single year of that happening. Munds Park, who's directly south of us as you guys well enough know, was

received a 100-year event. Um so, that's a 1% chance. So, it's that thin razor mind uh it that could have easily happened up here. Um so, given our impacts, even though they are very significant, we

have to consider ourselves very lucky at the same exact time. Um the combination of the exceptionally wet October, which um the mayor declared even though um emergency 9 days before this for previous

event for flooding, um multiple rounds of heavy rainfall already saturated the ground, which created conditions that led to widespread flooding throughout the community. The National Weather the

25-year Unfortunately, um as the mayor recognized, we did have some severe uh significant consequences. The fire department conducted multiple swift water um rescues, um which were successful.

However, we did have two confirmed fatalities that drowned unfortunately um due to this event. Uh the flooding impacted neighborhoods, roadways, parks, trails, drainage systems, waste water

infrastructure, and private property across the city has been majorly impacted. Major washes, all the washes were reached their capacity or over topped their banks, resulting in extensive

transportation disruptions and localized flooding with key routes have been open. I am happy to report today that the only route still soft closed is Blackbird Roost. Um Continental, and Country Club

are back open. The road is back open, not the golf course. Um the storm placed extreme and extraordinary demands on our first responders. Um during a one 12-hour shift, the police department handled

approximately 600 calls for service, which is roughly double their call normal call volume. All this while still having to assist stranded motorists, manage traffic control, support public safety

operations throughout the city, and even today they are supporting mutual aid to Winslow to help them in their efforts. Um from a public infrastructure standpoint, city crews have responded around the

clock. Public Works implemented a full staff recall. They are conducting debris removal operations as we speak. They maintained road closures during the event and supported emergency response

activities. Water services continues to address impacts to the waste water system, access storm water infrastructure damage, and restore normal operations at the Wildcat uh And I'll let Lee and [name]

talk more about that here in a little bit. Uh while there have been um multiple uh impacts to the water infrastructure, we want to emphasize that the city's potable water system remains operational

and is good. Um damage assessments, we are out there conducting damage assessments as we speak. We've uh started them as soon as the flood waters started to recede. Uh public works was out there um as

they're doing uh cleanup operations, they're also inspecting the roads. They're going to continue to inspect the roads. Uh water services is uh waiting for more of the flood waters to recede. Uh a lot

of that infrastructure that was compromised last uh storm is still compromised this storm. Uh so, they have a little bit more time until they can get in. Um they unfortunately need it to be more dry

and the water down lower. Uh we have our damage assessment teams out in the south side um performing uh assessments um all the way from uh the pretty much the entire south side. Uh we're we're talking

one to three blocks away from the Rio was impacted. Um they did 41 homes uh when I checked in with them at 2:00 and they still have around 100 left to uh inspect. Uh so, operations are continuing to

go. Uh emergency management, we are um collecting documentation uh for reimbursement. Um remind you it's it's 75/25 uh is the best we can get. We will not be made whole, but it is um something. Uh the

city launched a public damage reporting process on our website. Uh [name] and GIS did a fantastic job on that. Um so, if anybody in the city uh had impacts to their homes, they want to make sure the

city's aware of it, they can go onto the city website uh and then fill out the form and uh we will be notified and we can get a damage inspection team out to their property. Um moving forward, our

focus remains on public safety. Continued damage assessments, infrastructure recovery, and coordination with our Coconino County and our state partners regarding the recovery process. Firstly, I want

to thank our fire, police, public works, water services, and pros, external affairs, county partners, state partners, and everyone else who worked around the clock during this event. Their efforts

undoubtedly reduced impacts and helped our community during a historic storm. With that, I will hand it off to [name].

>> Hello mayor, vice mayor, city council. My name is [name]. I am the public relations manager and film office manager for Discover Flagstaff. But, I'm also a drone pilot and a photographer. And so, I

I was lucky to get the call to document some of this historic flooding, you know, the morning that everyone was kind of we weren't digging out, but but you know, watching all the all the water run by.

Um And I usually like to just let my visuals speak for themselves, but in this case, in the interest of time, I'll just I'll just I'm going to go ahead and play this and I'm going to talk a little bit

about what I found when I was out there. Um I uh

>> [clears throat]

>> I was struck So, this is some some footage from the west side. Um but I I did capture a lot of the kind of um of the flooding around town. And I was struck by the east side and Continental really.

Um when you look out there and you look through this footage, you realize that um it is a lake out there. It is a lake that surrounded FACE East. It inundated all of the little league fields up up

there. Um it uh swamped a couple of buildings and it also um got into a lot of the you know, the RV storage and parking areas. Um And uh one of the things I think capturing this with aerials is really

the only way to be able to see the severity and the scope of how much water is out there. Um, and you know, getting across town and being able to see the severity I of of of flooding, but also I think

kind of capturing and documenting for the future to understand sort of how do we compare this here? You know, I everyone who compares you know, how how Continental is hit to a flood a flood that

happened in the '90s and it's really kind of good to have these visual assets to know sort of you know, how [snorts] what happened to the water then. Um, the other thing too is I think documenting,

you know, and especially documenting with these type this type of overview and breath. Um, I think it can be really helpful also to document to in application for state and federal aid, you know, as

it comes to sort of disaster disaster help. Um, so I'm fairly sure this probably won't be our last super El Nino event, but hopefully it will be, but um, if we get more I I think it you know, it it it

it's a good idea to capture to document and to gather these types of assets so we can communicate well, show severity for comparison purposes, but also put it into our documentation as we kind of look

to see the severity of what's happened in the city. Um, thank you all. Thanks for your engagement on this and I appreciate you hearing me out and checking out these images. Yep.

>> And Mayor and Council, I just want to thank [name] and [name] and [name] for allowing [name] to go out there and do this work. Um, it's so impactful to see these visuals. We also have drone footage

from the other side of town that we're waiting to be uploaded that will be just as impactful as well, but this is and [name] is here to answer any questions on our Big Fill Lake. Um but we have the

team here able to answer any of your questions and we are able to do that in two from. So [name], did you have an update or um or we just ask you questions?

>> [laughter]

>> Did you want an update? So yeah, [name] is section director. Thank you for having me up here today on election night. I do not have anything formal here, but I'm happy to take questions, happy to

help. Kind of frame this if you will in terms of the history of flooding in Flagstaff.

>> Thank you. Um council, do you have quite you look like you have a question. Council member Milazzo.

>> Thank you, mayor. Thank you all. I have a comment first. Um just for scale, 5 inches of rain is roughly 4 to 5 feet of snow. So imagine if we got dumped on in a single night 4 to 5 feet of snow and

then it all melted instantaneously that evening. That's what we're facing with and so it's hard it's hard to imagine 2 or 3 inches or 4 inches being all that destructive, but when you can think about

our snow loads as 4 to 5 feet and suddenly melting in a single night, that's what we've ever faced with. So the fact that we weren't as badly impacted as we could have been is a testament to the city

doing a great fantastic job and I'm not part I was not part of that, right? I was just a citizen when all of those decisions were being made. So I just want to say thank you all.

>> Yeah, so so I know that's not a question, but if you want I can answer that even though it's not a question. So again to to frame this so this was 3.4 inches of rain in 24 hours at the Flagstaff

Airport. Obviously we have rain gauges throughout the city. We have one of the largest rain gauge networks as that a city has in the west. So, there there's some variation. It's a little bit higher, a

little bit lower. And as [name] mentioned, the weather service is saying that's a roughly a 25-year event. Now, if you look around, there's a lot of flooding. Definitely looks a lot larger than

25-year event. And that's due to the fact that the soil is completely saturated. It's what we call AMC-3. That's not the third movie theater AMC. That is a antecedent moisture condition and a type

three, which means that is completely saturated. Anything that rains runs off. Uh to your point, the '93 flood, which was larger than this, uh also flooded Country Club. Um it's really interesting

looking at the aerial photo from 1993, comparing it to the drone surveys that have been taken in the last couple days. Uh big flood, obviously, today and this week. Uh still smaller than '93. '93 was

a rain on snow event, and that was roughly a 50-year event. So, what we have mapped for that portion of town and also downtown southside is much worse than what we saw. Um so, yes, there is potential.

Obviously, there's always potential with nature to to be larger and worse, but um this is not actually a 100-year flood.

>> Councilmember Matthews, and then Councilmember Aslan, then Councilmember House.

>> Thank you, Mayor. This one, I think, is for Lee. Lee, um took a drive when it was safe, rain stopped. I wasn't in anybody's way, except I had to go around a little bit of a mudslide going out to

Lake Mary, but I went out there and took some pictures, and we have Lower Lake Mary again. Um don't know if there's fish in there, but uh Upper Lake Mary uh seems pretty full. Do you have a capacity

number to share?

>> I do. Thank you for the question, Councilmember Matthews. Lee Williams, Water Services Director. Um in [clears throat] September, Upper Lake Mary was at 16% capacity. Um this first round of storms

that came through in October 21st and 22nd brought it up 10%, so we were at 26% at that point. And over the weekend uh jumped up to 76%, so we've had a 60% increase in the lake and that is equivalent

to of about 3 billion gallons of water in the lake. And if you're into trivial facts, um the city uses about 2.3, 2.4 billion gallons of potable water a year, so it's more than a year's worth of water

in the lake in 24 to 30 hours. Yeah, and we've never As far as I know, we've never seen this in the fall before. We've seen it in the spring with the rain on snow months that [name] has mentioned, but

this is this is unique.

>> Thank you.

>> You're welcome.

>> Council Member Aslan.

>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. My questions are sort of related. Um so I know it's very early, preliminary, but do you have any numbers for how the recharge is looking? What are we capturing any of this

water? Is the municipality able to hold on to any of it or where is it all going? And then uh another question uh just a a quick uh assessment from your perspective, uh you and [name], um how are

other flood control projects did throughout this uh uh event? And um how prepared are we uh considering saturation levels and things um for this kind of weather to continue uh and what is the rest of

November and December and January looking like?

>> Okay, thank you, Council Member Aslan. Uh the only impoundment that the city has is Upper Lake Mary for potable uses. Um there are other stormwater impoundments, but they're more of a detention

basin where it slows that flood down, so it's not one big massive slug of water and [name] can probably speak to this in a more educated fashion than I can. Um and looking around the state, the only

lake that I've looked at so far is Lake Powell um and prior to this storm it had come up 15 ft with the October storms. I don't know where it's at currently. I've been focused kind of locally right

now. There's been a lot going on, so Um and then as far as infiltration, it it can't be bad for the groundwater. Um due to the real the the depth of our water table though, it's probably going to be a

while before we see it. It has to percolate 5 to 1,200 ft through the soil before we see it. Does that address all of your questions? Flood control projects, I'll let [name] talk about that one.

>> Yeah, great question. Um I'm happy to report they all worked great. So, yeah, the Scholls Basins were near capacity, uh which is kind of crazy since they were designed for flash flooding and not

long-duration floods. Um so, they almost completely filled. I don't know that we had many flood complaints in Coconino Estates, so it it did some really great work there. Uh the Parkway Basins on the

Spruce side, so Sunnyside area, those completely filled and overfilled. Um they did great. The Wedge was about a third full, which is also kind of surprising for not being a flash flood. Uh the Killip

Basins uh were also full. Um so, the all the recent uh flood mitigation projects within the city uh worked as intended and uh had noticeable and quantifiable benefits.

>> Do you have any uh real-time speculation on what things would have been like uh in Sunnyside, for example, if those projects hadn't been worked out?

>> Uh the the it would have been very bad. Uh I'm saying I'm sorry I say that glibly, but um especially Scholls Creek, Scholls Creek was running probably 2 to 300 cfs, which is a lot of water. Um for

a very long time. So, if we didn't have the the Scholls Basin and the Highway 180 culvert, uh we would have seen extended flow um on the Highway 180 um alignment. Same with Spruce. Spruce has been

flowing uh consistently for for a while now, and without those mitigation projects, we would have seen uh prolonged flooding in Sunnyside.

>> That's fantastic to hear, and I encourage everyone to sort of um promote those good stats as much as we are uh having everyone in our thoughts and prayers uh who are recovering from this disaster.

Um one last quick comment um in the spirit of Milazzo, uh I just wanted to say, you know, this might have been a 25-year event. We all know that part of the um consequences of our adapting climate and

the changes that are happening is that these events, while relatively rare, are going to be much more predictably um frequent uh as the future rolls out. So, uh great work getting all this done. Uh uh

ounce of prevention is worth pound of cure, as they say, and I'm looking forward to how you all are really diving into the the numbers on this and seeing what we can do for next time and uh just

getting those reports ready for our for FEMA and for disaster, and also for our continued argument that we need the Rio de Flag Flood Control Project ASAP.

>> Thank you, Mayor.

>> Councilmember House.

>> Thank you, Mayor. Um [name], I wanted to go back to something that you said, and you don't have to get up. Um I'm just going to talk to you um in this moment. Um you had shared that Blackbird Roost

is the the one area that's still flowing, and I can attest to that because I live on Blackbird Roost. Um but what I wanted to say to that in that regard is that even though the water is still flowing

there, the speed at which we saw the crews coming out and and looking at that and working to do mitigation was just so impressive to um to the community there. Um even though it's you know, it's

challenging, and um there's some of the frustration with the road being closed for that that small segment of it that's closed off. Um I I can't express to you how meaningful it is that uh even an

area like that that doesn't often get a whole lot of attention for for um other projects is still being focused on right now. Um and seeing that presence there really speaks volumes to um that

community and our neighborhood. Um and the same I I wanted to say to the rest of the team that's been responding to this um over the past uh several hours and and days. Um just seeing how this team

works at capacity, um whether we're talking public works, whether we're talking police and fire, uh our dispatchers, um you as you know, single-handedly in that emergency management team, um team, uh

the water team and and everyone that's kind of collectively come together on this. Uh the impact is huge and um the gratitude that I think um we're seeing from the community um can't be understated

for just how much it means that that this team can work at capacity and beyond really what any sort of typical capacity could be um to respond to this sort of situation. So, just to all of you um that

are presenting and to the folks in the back and and all of the the team that's been working on this, just ex- extreme gratitude um and thanks and hope that there is space for people to be exercising.

I I wrote you and other um team leads to this effect the other day, hoping that there's time and space for people to be exercising that care um for themselves and their teams in the midst of this

because we know how hard you're working. We know that you're working at and beyond capacity and um we need you. So, we need you to be able to to have that space to take care of yourselves as well as

you're taking care of the the of the community. So, thank you.

>> Council Member Milazzo.

>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. This is a follow-up to Council Member Aslan's question about saturated ground. We're at AMC 3 still and I'm curious how long, I don't know enough about the soil, how long

does it take for us to drop a level or two given no no additional rain, how many days in this current um season, etc. do you expect it to take for us to no no longer be at AMC 3?

>> I know some professors at NAU that love to have you as a PhD student on that. It really depends on the climate. So, it really depends on wind, heat, uh solar radiation. There's a whole lot of

different variables that go into it. Um so, I I don't really have an answer for you because it really depends on sort of what the climate does. Um but it's a great question.

>> So, that to me that says we don't really know if we're prepared for a big storm next not this coming Saturday but the Saturday after. Um obviously, we don't have a forecast out that far but um I am

concerned because as as Council Member Aslan said, um you know, we have a a lot of ENSO going on right now and we have a lot more to look forward to. So, I'm concerned about what we might have to do

in the near term to mitigate potential um because we're already saturated. How can we help you meet that need?

>> Yeah, I think we're all um share that concern and are definitely watching the weather.

>> Council Member House and you do not have to be fast.

>> I I promise I still will be. Uh but I I realized in the midst of those things I neglected to thank um [name] and the um public um affairs team and our communications team who who done so much to

make sure our community stayed informed. Um and I also wanted to just thank uh the city manager and the city manager's office, the entire team um for keeping us up-to-date as council um through this.

Um I just can't again express how meaningful it is to have that um access to information and access to that team um who is working around the clock and still taking that time to keep us informed.

That's also really worth noting and uh uh I apologize for um missing you all in that initial thanks. So, thank you all. Thank you, Mayor.

>> I have a couple of questions. Um so, apparently and not surprisingly, uh this is probably for [name], the restoration companies in town are very, very busy. And so, there are people with water in

their homes unable to get um someone to come in and do um an estimate or take a look at what's going on. Do you have any ideas or suggestions for these homeowners and renters?

>> Mayor, that's a fantastic question. Um it is a tough one uh because I don't want to recommend that they do it themselves, right? Uh it needs to be done properly and uh by the experts, but if they

are going to do it, uh we highly suggest that they look up the proper protective equipment, make sure they're wearing gloves, they're wearing boots, they're wearing masks if they're around dust, uh

they're taking care of themselves. We the [name] uh I think she put it up already on this website, kind of things that you need to have on, the PPE. Um you need to document, document, document,

document. Um the best part of uh you can try and do trying to get that that water, that muck out of there. Uh you don't need to wait for the services for that part. That way the the drying out part

needs to happen. Um it it it's a difficult process for that to happen because I've been through this process plenty of times before. How it works is um, the home insurance company will gauge the

damage based off of uh, the water level. Um, and then if it's up to the receptacles, then it'll change into a major category. Um, but if it's below that, usually what they'll do, they will um, cut the

drywall, uh, remove the bottom insulation, rip up the flooring, put down fans, open up windows, and get that air circulation in there cuz the mold is the biggest enemy at that point. Um, so there

there's a lot of steps. That's why I highly recommend professionals do it. Um, but all we can do is just continue to um, th- they can just continue to try, but also uh, we know the area's going to get

saturated with these companies who are coming up. Uh, I highly recommend um, that you are uh, the homeowners, renters, they're checking the credentials of those uh, personnel um, to prevent scamming.

Uh, that tends to happen in these unfortunate circumstances. Um, and yeah, communicate with their uh, homeowner insurance and uh, flood insurance.

>> Thank you. I have another uh, question. I've seen the messaging about um, why it's a really bad idea to play in the water. Um, could you talk a little bit about those hazards that I have to believe

people don't understand when they're out splashing around in it?

>> I cannot thank you enough for that, Mayor. Uh, I was sitting back here and I was kicking myself because I forgot to mention that during it and I was hoping I'd be able to jump up here. Yes, please.

And we are begging the public. Please do not play in the water. Do not uh, wade in the water. Do not go in the water. That water is very contaminated. Um, Fox Glen, it's documented we had a sewer

issue down there. It flows down into the Rio de Flag. It's not just there though, it's everything else that's being accumulated from the ground. Um diesel fuel spills, chemical spills that are on the

side of the road, those are all being kept up and then washed in. That water is highly highly contaminated and you can get very very sick and end up in the hospital. So we are begging people. Please

don't kayak in it. It's very dangerous. Don't wakeboard in it. Don't I know it's really cool for Instagram and stuff like that, but we are begging people not to do it and um or else it we're trying to

keep our public servants from having to go in there as well to rescue them. Not drive through it too. Sorry.

>> Thank you very very much. Um Hold on. Um Is there someone who could answer and you may not even know this yet, but um do we know how much burn scars contributed to this?

>> I don't have an exact number, but this this really is not a post wildfire flood. This this is really just a large scale rain event that occurred. So um again, we saw flow off of Spruce Wash, we saw

flow off of Schultz Creek, both which had fire scars on them. But the majority of the flow is coming from our larger watershed. So it was coming from the Rio de Flag, Clay Wash, Sinclair Wash. So it

it's not really related to to the fires as much. And this late in the year when we're in fall, we're not really having that take up from the plants anyway. So usually you have the plants taking up a

certain amount of the water. Now that we're kind of in late fall, it's all acting kind of the same, especially in this really saturated conditions. So, uh this is really one of the few cases where we

can't blame the fire. Uh that that really is more of the monsoon events. That's more of the July, August, September events.

>> Thank you. I um culverts, I know staff is out doing everything they can about clean up. Do we have a timetable for getting culverts and and other areas that need to convey water cleaned out and

ready for the next storm?

>> Unless Lee has a better answer, I'm going to say it's going to take a while. And the reason why is we have over 30 miles of underground pipe. Uh it's actually more than that. Plenty of culverts. A

lot of it still has water in it. Kind of to [name]'s point about don't play in the water. We also don't want crews out in areas that still have water in them because there's unforeseen obstacles. We

don't know if there's a boulder down there or conversely if there's a 5-ft drop that we can't see because the water came through and scoured scoured it out. So, there's areas we still can't get into.

Um it's going to be a long process.

>> Thank you. And as I understand it, we're getting a Rio de Flag uh update next week.

>> Um Mayor and Council, I did want to just provide just a quick update that I have and um we will be coming back with the final agreements. Um so, currently the project design for the Rio de Flag

project, it's under final review with the Army Corps um of Engineers and also BNSF Railway. The agency agreements are also under final review and there's an agency agreement for the City of Flagstaff

and then also for BNSF. Both of those are in legal counsel. Those are the agreements that will be coming to council um and we're planning in the next couple of weeks to to get those done. Um BNSF real

estate acquisition, you all approved that a couple of weeks ago and we're working on the execution um and finalization of those documents. And then the phase four, the lower reach um construction

advertisement, it's anticipated to be advertised prior to December 31st of this year with a construction start planned for summer season of 2027. Um so we are um moving forward and I I think as you

all know and the community knows, this has been a project that has been in the works for many many many years. Um you know, quite a few delays um you know, related to the just the complexity of this

project with the Army Corps of Engineers and BNSF, but we are in a good place and um I hope that you know, moving forward we'll be able to start construction next summer and um give some hope to the

community.

>> Thank you so much. And um I don't know if next week would be the appropriate time, but could we get and I know that we've we've had these presentations, but could we hear another presentation about

uh flood mitigation work associated with the Rio that has already happened um so that we can take a look at the uh I guess the broader picture and um as well as what this particular project is going

to do.

>> Um Mayor and Council, we can definitely try um to get that together. If not next week, then maybe a following week as an update. Yes.

>> That'd be great. Thank you. I I would just I would like the public to hear what has already been done and as well as what the Rio project is going to entail.

>> Right. Thank you.

>> Thank you.

>> Nice mayor. Thank

>> you. Um I just wanted to share in the gratitude and thanks from my colleagues, but as I was sitting up here, what came to me was as everything was unfolding this weekend, and as scary as that was,

I knew we had it because I can't imagine looking around in this room right now a better team to handle what we were given. So, I just want to thank you.

>> All right, city manager, do you have anything?

>> Um Mayor and Council, the only other thing I would add is that I know you've been getting quite a few phone calls from um um elected officials on the federal, the state level, all over the state. I

know I've been getting a lot of calls of support as well. Um just very appreciative, but we will be um doing some lobbying efforts coming up related to um continuing to press on the Rio and some

additional funding that we need. The Big Fill Lake grant, we have a grant application in in several locations, I understand, and really trying to push for that funding. Um so, just more to to come on

that as well. So, thank you to all for all of your support and your support for staff. We appreciate all of you very much. Thank you. Thanks.

>> All right. Well, appreciate all of the update and um appreciate that we can to those who aren't watching the council meeting right now, that we can let people know where they can go and hear this

um