Hello,
Apparently Bisbeens n Rice, the vid company, is no more at 24 Main. Split from the premises, as it were. I've got an email to Ben to see what happened, but I don't hold out too much hope for a response. That space will be leased by the city, paid for by a grant, for the Bisbee Science Center.
KBRP elections are coming in November. Throw your hat in the ring by November 1, details below.
Lots happening in October...Pit Fire/5th; A Taste of Bisbee/6th; Plein Air/9th-14th; Bisbee after 5/14th; Bisbee 1000/20th; BRATS/27th.
Roka won three Best of Bisbee categories in the 4th annual Herald Review Best of contest. Readers voted us... Best place to Dine, Best place for Wine, and Best place for a Drink. Thank you, keep on coming. And Roka moves into Fall hours-slowly-adding Sundays in October. I'll be behind the bar on Fri/Sat and Yoni holds down the fort on Sunday with an array of craft cocktails. C'mon in and knock a greet.
Coming issues of the Wire... the general election-which scoundrels to vote out, and a general guide to Tucson. And I hope, with Bridget being willing, to have a website and a different layout of the newsletter by the end of the year.
fred
COUNCIL AGENDA
Work Session
Tuesday October 2, 2018 6:00 pm 1415 Melody Lane Bldg G
(fyi: A work session is an information session for the council to hear about, ask questions, and discuss a specific agenda item. There can be no discussion of anything other than a specified agenda item. There can be no action taken at a work session. Often an item will appear on the regular council agenda that has been formulated as a result of the work session.)
Background here:
http://www.bisbeeaz.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10022018-270
Of interest...this proposal for an audit needs significant scrutiny, It is complicated. Particularly the financing for the audit. The proposed audit is being done under ARS 34 which says that any proposed project must save enough in energy consumption costs to offset the cost of the project or the company doing the work is responsible.
Improving infrastructure is certainly good but other than the cost of the proposal possibly $58k or 'free'-only if work is performed under a tight timetable and the audit cost is then folded into the cost of the resultant work. Funding has to be sought to move forward. More curiosity than anything...but one small part of this study audit is to look at the City buying telephone poles as one part of controlling city infrastructure to reduce costs. Doesn't seem to be a good idea on the face of it. It seems to be an 'If this than that/if not this than not that' kind of proposition. Although there is a promise of helping with securing funding, there are no funds for any work to be performed as a result of this audit (study).
Item 1.
Discussion Regarding an Engagement Letter with SIEMENS for an ARS Title 34 Performance Contracting Project, Improving Infrastructures and Operational Efficiencies Robert E. Smith, City Manager
Regular Session Tuesday October 2, 2018 7:00 pm
1415 Melody Lane Bldg G
Background here:
Of interest: possibility of online bill pay, Yea! Permission for the City to seek legal representation for personnel grievances-hopefully the cost will be included, and likely won't be cheap. And will councilperson Lindstrom has schedule some remarks at the end of the session...will he toss a verbal bomb? Stay tuned.
INVOCATION: A Moment of Silence PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE MAYOR’S PROCLAMATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: · Rose Johnson Day Proclamation THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WILL BE DISCUSSED, CONSIDERED AND/OR DECIDED UPON AT THIS MEETING: GENERAL BUSINESS: 1. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE: Subject to availability of funds 2. Approval of the Consent Agenda A. Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Session of Mayor and Council held on September 18, 2018 at 7:00PM. B. Approval of the Minutes of the Special Session of Mayor and Council held on June 12, 2018 at 6:00PM. C. Approval of a Farm Winery Fair/Festival Liquor License application submitted by Golden Rule Vineyards for an event to be held at City Park on Saturday, October 6, 2018 form 5:00pm to 8:00pm. D. Approval of a Farm Winery Fair/Festival Liquor License application submitted by Asmundson Family Vineyard, LLC d/b/a Deep Sky Vineyard for an event to be held at City Park on Saturday, October 6, 2018 form 5:00pm to 8:00pm. E. Approval of a Special Event Liquor License application submitted by Community Synergy Solutions Corp for a event to be held at the Bisbee Royale on October 13, 2018 from 3:00PM to 12:00AM. NEW BUSINES 3. Discussion and Possible Approval of a Contract for Services with Xpress Bill Pay for online bill pay services. Keri Bagley, Finance Director 4. Discussion and Possible Approval of a Commercial Lease for 24 Main Street between the City of Bisbee and Letson Partners LLC for the Bisbee Science Center. David M. Smith, Mayor/ Etta Kralovec 5. Discussion and Possible Approval to enter into an agreement between Centurylink, the State of Arizona 911 and the City of Bisbee Police Department for installation of a new updated 911 System to include equipment, software, maintenance, support and training. Albert Echave, Chief of Police 6. Discussion and Possible Approval of an Engagement Letter for legal representation regarding employee grievance hearing for Suzanna Vetter. Daniel Duchon, Personnel Director 7. Discussion and Possible Approval of an Engagement Letter for legal representation regarding employee grievance hearing for Michael Teran. Daniel Duchon, Personnel Director 8. Discussion and Possible Approval of a Fire Inspector job classification. Daniel Duchon, Personnel Director 9. Discussion and Possible Approval of an Ambulance Driver job classification. Daniel Duchon, Personnel Director 10. City Manager's Report: · Other current events (No Discussion) · Councilmember Lindstrom would like to make a few announcements and updates
BISBEE ECONOMY (City data from Jen Luria/Viz Center, Joe Ward/building inspector, Housing Sales from Bob Klein) (Since I have been having problems including the stats in my emails, I no longer do so. I hope when my new website gets up and running I will be able to offer historical stats that you may peruse.) The info below is for houses that were MLS listed, there may be some houses sold by owner that do not appear on the listing.)
The housing market continues strong. Compared to 2017/2018 August there was 17/16 houses sold. For the 8 months of 2017/2018 there were 96/90 houses sold. The average sale august 2017/2018 was about $169k/$129k. The days on the market for August 2017/2018 was 190/152. It appears that houses are on the market a shorter time this year compared to last. And the selling price is less, which I believe indicates that houses are selling in Warren and San Jose (more house less money) and maybe 'lesser quality' offerings in OB. But no way to check that cause they are all sold under 85603. There has been three houses sold on Black Knob View (including one I sold) in the past couple of months.
There is a couple of reporting anomalies in the building permits that I'm checking on, but there it is clear there is continued significant activity in remodeling/upgrades. A big chunk of the commercial permits dough was Chiricahua clinic in Warren where they are remodeling the print and stitch building as well as building temporary clinic offices across the street. The other six commercial permits were for a variety of projects mostly upgrades to existing plants. There were 20 residential permits, a few for substantial outlays, indicating the continuing strength of the aftermarket as a result of house purchases.
Social media stats are a measure of the activity on various devices of a specific Bisbee presence. When added to print, radio, tv, and video it gives an idea of the reach of Bisbee marketing. Since the City's advertising budget is small (About $85k total–$50k from bed tax/mine tour monies plus about $35k AOT matching) it is important to track activities, both paid and free, to give a fairly good handle on what is working. The free media (mag articles, vids, social media mentions, newspaper articles, tv spots, blogs) is far more important than direct paid ads. However paid ads are often what generates the interest and production of 'free' media; they work in tandem. Social media use continues to grow slowly over past years; Instagram users have tripled over the past two years to 2210; Twitter users bump up about 100 a year to 1416; Facebook 'likes' have increased by about 1000.
The city's tourism website discoverbisbee.com, and websites in general, are often overlooked since the ascent of social media, but they anchor marketing efforts and are repositories of information that often show up in articles/mentions. If you haven't visited it in awhile, check it out. It could use a few more vids but there is a ton of current and historical info.
Google Analytics is used to measure website traffic. The number of users has remained relatively constant over the past three years as the website has changed and added more information. Average minutes (the amount of time a person stays on the website browsing) has remained about the same; about 2.45-3.30 minutes per visit. Surprisingly, the number of mobile devices users (phones and pads) have dropped significantly this year. The why of that is something that needs some research. The newsletter put out by the Visitor Center director continues to grow slowly and is at 4440 subscribers. Overall the marketing message of the City, under the direction of Visitor Center director Jen Luria, continues to evolve but is very impressive for such a small community and drives thousands of visitors to the City.
Year to date, the Mine Tour continues to lag a bit behind last year visitation, likely this is the continuing effect of limiting the age of tour goers. However there continues to be substantial visitor attraction to this attraction. This August 2274 people took the tour compared to 2153 last August.
KBRP ELECTIONS
If you are interested in serving on the Board of the Bisbee Radio Project, and I hope you are, elections will be held in November. All seven seats are open. Applications for the four two-year terms and the three one-year terms are due by November 1. You may self nominate or nominate another person. If interested in being on the ballot send an email to elections.KBRP@gmail.com. The interim board has done an good job of stabilizing the situation after Ryan was fired. (While Ryan was an excellent program direction and idea guy, he was a poor administrator and left inadequate records, missing passwords, and a huge paper mess to untangle). An interim board is just that, interim. I would hope prospective board members have some of the following experience; long range planning, business fundamentals, financial chops, and primarily, a vested interest in keeping a valuable community asset healthy.
I haven't been to the last few meetings so don't really know what is happening. Hopefully I'll get an overview at the next meeting. The new website is not yet up and there continues to be some problems with an older version website that is not owned by the Bisbee Radio Project but comes up in google searches.
The new volunteer coordinator is Kay Lee Cummins. Her email is kaylynncu@yahoo.com and she can be reached at 432-9008. The former prez of the Bisbee Bloomers is asking for volunteers for events at the Royale. Volunteers are needed for movie nights and special events. Movies require 4 people to be at the door, making popcorn, serving drinks and snacks, set up and clean up. Movies are every Wednesday night, doors open at 5:00 and the movie starts at 6:00. Special events will need similar helpers. Please email or call if you can help.
NEW BUSINESS
Bathtub Coffee, run by Diandra and Morgan will be opening at 31 Subway. on Oct 5 7 am-6 pm serving...ta da.. coffee as well as some breakie sammies and pastries. Also will be doing some lunch thingies too. Free wi-fi. (31 Beaux has moved to the Quarry).
Old Business, New Owner
Turquoise Valley Golf Course has been bought
Joseph Lewis and partners have bought the Turquoise Valley Golf Course and equipment. The RV park ownership will remain with Robert Weaver. Two experienced managers have been hired and there are plans to incrementally upgrade the course along with opening the restaurant and once again booking events and banquets.
Lewis also owns the Acacia building, the four suite St Joseph air b&b near Central School, the Bisbee brew house air b&b above the Bisbee Inn, and Casita Sonora air b&b next to the Jonquil.
Recently he was at the center of a controversy over the placing an overlarge chair in front of the Mining Museum without getting city permission. It has since been removed and now welcomes golfers.
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
Oldfield Bisbee Construction LLC
22 1/2 Old Douglas Road
Luke Oldfield
Josephina Mendoza
Healthy Bisbee Inc. Non-Profit
Goar Park Lunches
129 Ft. Huachuca Lane
Daniel Maldonado
Andrea Doubleday
Paul Jacob
Janet Lundy
Keith Dennis
Slyvia Morrell LLC
Retail Trade
38 Main St.
Sylvia Morrell
Hope GGI LLC
Professional, Scientific, Technical Services
509F Bailey Hill
Brian Hope
Bubco LLC
72 Main Street
Meredity Kretzler
Yonatan Evans
Annesley LLC
97 Center St.
John Annesley
TAKE THIS SURVEY: WALKING/BIKE PATH IN SAN JOSE?
Cochise County Departments of Health and Community Development are considering construction of a paved walking/cycling path in the San Jose area, near the County Complex on Melody Lane. The path will be free of motor vehicle traffic and accessible to walkers, bicyclists, wheelchairs, strollers, pets on leashes, and children of all ages. Outdoor exercise equipment stations will be available along part of this path, free for the public to use to get extra exercise as they walk.
The opinion of residents of the Bisbee/Naco communities is very important! Please take this VERY SHORT survey (5 questions) that will take about 30 seconds The survey will close on October 7th.
Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/bisbeenacopath
PLEIN AIR IN OCTOBER
The Bisbee Plein Air Festival returns October 9th through the 14th! Join other artists in painting Old Bisbee’s historic architecture, sprawling staircases, vintage streets, industrial mining remnants, and colorful homes set amidst the scenic Mule Mountains to compete for $700 in prizes. You also have the opportunity to sell your Festival pieces to the public at the Wet Paint Sale. Details @ https://www.bisbeeafter5.com/
ARTS COMMISSION;
NEW EMPHASIS/RURAL & ARTISTS OF COLOR/MORE DOUGH
Applications due November 9
The Artist Research and Development Grants provide up to $5,000 in funding support to Arizona artists. These grants are awarded through a competitive review process based on the strength of the artist’s vision and craft, the integrity and feasibility of their process, and the potential for impact on the artist’s own practice and on their community, as defined by the artist. Artists working in any discipline and at any stage in their career are eligible to apply.
“In examining artist grants data, we recognized that artists of color and artists living in rural communities were underrepresented in the applicant pool when compared to Arizona’s statewide demographics. With this in mind, we engaged in a major renovation of the Artist Research and Development Grant application and review process.”
Thanks to ACF’s investment, the Arts Commission will double the average number of grants awarded annually through this program from 15 to 30. ACF is matching dollar-for-dollar the state funding allocated to this program.
Go here to apply: azarts.gov/grant/artist-research-and-development/