Hello, It is a new year, yea! It's not as if problems cease to exist and the slate is wiped clean, but it is an optimum time for personal freshening; cleaning out the mental and physical spaces as it were, and perhaps, if you are so inclined, an introspective look at how you view the world and express yourself.
Perhaps a new vow to look with compassion on the nattering neighbors of negativism and understand that thankfully, you are not like that. Perhaps a Facebook Fast is in order. Hmmmm two birds with one stone. See, right there, I need some navel gazing.... Or then again, just fuckit and continue the slog...
Check out the hwy 92 roadwork delays below. And for a few laughs the inimitable Dave Barry looks at the past year. I'm waiting on one more report before I do a monthly economic report, hopefully by the end of the week. And I'm trying to figure out if tourism is in ascending, declining, or in stasis, in Bisbee. This began because I was looking at some figures for our Inn and realized although we were exactly the same for the months of Jan-May 2018, we are down about 8% in June-Dec the past couple of years.
Is is something that I am doing or not doing? Effect of air b&b/VRBO? Less visitation to town? I dunno. To try and ascertain what is happening I'm assembling data about how the months of June-December affected businesses. If you have a business I would appreciate it if you would send me the following; percentage up/down compared from six months of 2017, revenue percentage up/down. All info is confidential and no business names will be used.
fred
............................ COUNCIL AGENDA
WORK SESSION for WEDNESDAY HAS BEEN CANCELLED REGULAR SESSIONWednesday January 2 5:301415 Melody Lane Building G background here:http://bisbeeaz.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_01022019-284 Of interest... Item 3 is basically a housekeeping item to conform zoning codes to actual property use.Item 4 is to see if FEMA funds are available for clearing a firebreak around some areas of OBItem 5 petition objecting to outsourcing of wastewater treatment plant will likely go to executive session for discussion. The petition signers object to the outsourcing of the plant. Item 6 evaluation of CM will likely go into executive session for discussion ..............
INVOCATION: A Moment of Silence
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
MAYOR’S PROCLAMATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CALL TO THE PUBLIC
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 Resignation of Renee Harper from the Evergreen Cemetery Committee.
B. Approval of the Special Event Liquor License Application submitted by Community Synergy Solutions Corp. for an event to be held on Subway Street and at Club Kilimanjahro on Saturday, March 9, 2019 from 4:00PM to 2:00AM; Serena Casey, Applicant.
NEW BUSINESS 3. Public Hearing and Discussion and Possible Approval of the Notice of Intent to Adopt Ordinance O-19-01; Amending Article 5.2.4, CM Zone, Division 2 adding Cocktail Lounges and Taverns to permitted uses. Paul Esparza, Planning Manager
4. Discussion and Possible Approval of Resolution R-19-01; Approving Application for and possible Administration of the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA) Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grant, which is part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG), to support cutting a Fire Break in areas around Old Bisbee that have the highest wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Risk.
Britt Hanson, City Attorney
5. Discussion and Possible Direction regarding a Petition filed by Donna Pulling regarding residents of Bisbee Objecting to the outsourcing of the Operation and Maintenance of the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
David M. Smith, Mayor
Per ARS § 38-431.03(a)(3) and (a)(4), the City Council may vote to go into executive session for discussion or consultation for legal advice with the City Attorney or Attorneys of the Public Body and to consult with the attorneys of the public body in order consider its position and instruct its attorneys regarding the public body's position regarding contracts that are the subject of negotiations, in pending or contemplated litigation or in settlement discussions conducted in order to avoid or resolve litigation.
6. Discussion and Possible Approval of a Motion to go into Executive Session to discuss the Employment Evaluation of City Manager, Robert E. Smith, per ARS § 38-431.03(a)(1), discussion or consideration of employment, assignment, appointment, promotion, demotion, dismissal, salaries, disciplining or resignation of a public officer, appointee or employee of any public body. Anna Cline, Councilmember Ward III Gabe Lindstrom, Councilmember Ward III
Per ARS § 38-431.03(a)(1), the City Council may vote to go into executive session for discussion or consideration of employment, assignment, appointment, promotion, demotion, dismissal, salaries, disciplining or resignation of a public officer, appointee or employee of any public body.
7. City Manager's Report:
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FROM COUNCILWOMAN JOHNS
Ms. Johns sent this to me for inclusion in the Wire. I will be including her comments as she sends them and as space permits.
Over the past couple of weeks, some of the things I've done relating to council include: touring the wastewater treatment plant on December 17, attending the December 18 council meeting, and having many conversations with constituents.
I do see why the city feels the need to bring in a larger company to manage the WWTP, after looking at the facility, studying how it is supposed to operate, and speaking with Dwayne Wallace at length. I still don't like the specifics of the contract, but it was voted on before I was sworn in, despite the public's best efforts to have the decision tabled.
I ultimately decided not to support putting the appeal to the protest against the contract with Jacobs on the agenda for next week because I am not a lawyer, and I received too much conflicting information about the possible consequences of the council supporting the protest. My limited research on contract law indicated that a signed contract will be quite difficult for us to get out of, and this protest could possibly lead to a huge financial burden on the city. As much as I would like this contract to be different, I'm not willing to jeopardize the city's finances in that way.
In the December 27 edition of The Observer, there is a letter to the editor where I laid out my reasons for voting how I did to not renew the intergovernmental agreement with Cochise County for city legal services. Let me make clear that Mayor Smith's comment about not tabling the motion for three months and Councilmember Higgins' motion to renew were several minutes apart, and the mayor did ask repeatedly what the council wanted to do. If I'd been certain I could make a motion to table right then, I would have. In the future, I will be more bold with making motions. I encourage everyone to watch the video of that meeting to get the best idea of what actually happened.
I have been hearing a lot about the upcoming City Manager job performance evaluation. Please be aware that the time period he is being evaluated for is October of 2017 - October of 2018. As always, I am available to answer questions or hear input on agenda items before Tuesday's meeting. Ljohns@bisbeeaz.gov
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ TRAFFIC ALERT STATE ROUTE 92
Work on a pavement preservation project on State Route 92 between Sierra Vista and Bisbee has temporarily paused until after the holidays. Intermittent lane closures and delays are set to start again Wednesday, Jan. 2.
The work will be completed in two phases between Baumkirchner Road south of Sierra Vista and the Bisbee roundabout.
Crews plan to continue filling cracks on the highway in January. A chip seal is scheduled for late spring or early summer of 2019.
Motorists should expect intermittent lane closures in 3-mile segments. Flaggers and pilot cars will provide traffic control in the work zone.
Speed limits will be reduced through the work zone, and motorists will likely encounter occasional delays on weekdays during daylight hours
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ COCHISE CLASSES FOR LIFELONG LEARNING
Pottery, cooking, birding, languages, stained glass, and lots of other classes to get your slothful, torpid, indolent, self out of a rut. (ahhh the wonders of a thesaurus)
https://www.cochise.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Spring-2019-Schedule.pdf
@@@@@@@@@@@ DAVE BARRY'S YEAR IN REVIEW
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