By Linda Kor–
As the City of Winslow moves into the new year, administration is looking to continue with growth despite continued funding cuts handed down by the state. The funding for this growth will come through grants and the use of the one percent sales tax that is slotted specifically for economic development within the city.
The projects include improvements to water, wastewater, landscaping and sidewalks in the communities. Just recently the city council approved a Water Infrastructure Financial Authority (WIFA) loan arrangement that will allow for the construction of a new water well that City Manager Jim Ferguson hopes will be completed this year. “We have an older well that is not providing much by the way of quantity and now the quality is dropping,” he said, adding that this is something that the city has been planning for the past four to five years.
Work will also be done to improve the water lines and the wastewater treatment plant. The plant’s design is outdated and inefficient, making repairs and acquiring replacement parts difficult. The new modifications will make the plant more cost effective.
Already included in the city’s wastewater plan is the development of enclosed retaining ponds that would alleviate any bottleneck of excessive wastewater flow during high use periods. This project has been in the master plan for several years, and Ferguson hopes it will be completed this year.
The Renaissance Program will continue in the city with additional improvements to landscaping and sidewalks in the vicinity of Second and Third streets. This year the work will continue from the Hubble Trading Post in the 500 block of West Second Street to La Posada in the 300 block of East Second Street. The next phase of the project will include improvements taking place two blocks to the west of that area, from Williamson Avenue to Berry Street.
The city recently created new sidewalks in Southside and Coopertown, an endeavor that Ferguson believes has brought a big change to those neighborhoods. “Those neighborhoods have never had sidewalks, and this has really redefined the way these neighborhoods look. It has made a big difference,” he said.
Another neighborhood, Taylor Town, located at the east end of the city, will also be receiving new sidewalks. All of these projects will be paid for with Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and the one percent sales tax.
City officials are considering creating a roundabout at the east end of the city where Transcon Lane intersects with Second and Third streets to alleviate congestion caused by semi trucks coming off the interstate onto Transcon Lane.
This project would involve grants to leverage some of the costs that the project may incur outside of available funding.
“It would be a pretty large roundabout to accommodate the trucks, fifth wheelers and RVs that use that intersection,” stated Ferguson. The roundabout would allow trucks to stack up along Route 66 to the southeast of Flying J Travel Plaza instead of along Transcon Lane and, in some cases, along the freeway exits.
In addition, the city is looking at ways to accommodate future traffic flow at the Williamson Avenue underpass. According to Ferguson, the cost to expand the underpass to accommodate heavy traffic would be tremendous, and plans are being considered to create a bypass from the Hipkoe exit off of Interstate 40 that would carry drivers to the south of the city between Coopertown and the airport, then connect to Williamson Avenue and Highway 87 as it leads out south of the city.
“We certainly cannot have heavy traffic going through a residential area. But if we’re going to have more traffic, whether through the addition of a private prison or through a manufacturing operation, this will have to be addressed,” stated Ferguson. Once determined, the city will seek to have the project funded through a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Aside from the addition of new sidewalks and landscaping, the city is also working with citizens to clean up and remove old and dilapidated buildings in the community. “We try to assist families who have dilapidated homes and really have no money, but choose to have them taken down,” said Ferguson.
Assistance from the city includes the use of a large roll-off dumpster and referrals to local contractors who may be willing to assist the homeowner at a reasonable cost.
In addition, Ferguson explained that neighbors have stepped up to help these homeowners make arrangements with the contractors if they feel uncertain of the process. “I call these people angels in our neighborhoods. They are a real blessing to these people, and we certainly appreciate the efforts they make to help out,” he said.
One subject that has brought a lot of attention to the city in recent months is the handling of the city’s animal control facility.
“This has hurt us a little, but I feel we have it under control at this time. We may go back to one full-time position where we used to have four and just keep the part-time employees. These are outdoor kennels and we would like to see about making it an indoor facility. Right now we’re looking at prefabricated metal building bids. The problem is the lack of control over heating and cooling, and we get swamped pretty badly with a lot of animals. Right now we bring in heaters and coverings on the kennels that still allow for air flow,” explained Ferguson. “We’re concerned about the health of these animals and have ongoing placement for them. We have people who look for homes for these animals continuously, so we will continue to improve that facility.”
The city will also be replacing the roof of the old armory by the airport that is currently being used as a charter school, and with the use of grant funding will be finishing the overlay on the airport taxiways. In addition, the city hopes to reconstruct Runway 442 at the airport should a Federal Aviation Administration grant be awarded in the next federal fiscal year. The middle 100-feet of the 155-foot runway will be replaced, with a lesser treatment planned for the remaining area.
When it comes to the tourism industry and recreation offerings of the area, city officials hope to complete the memorial park to be located between Second and Third streets at the east end of Winslow, a project being conducted in conjunction with the Winslow Rotary Club.
“We want to create a park for the traveling public to stop, rest and do some sightseeing,” stated Ferguson, adding that the existing 911 memorial will be relocated to the park and that other memorials will be added as well.
They also hope to make Clear Creek a greater attraction to the public with improvements to accessibility for larger boats and other recreational vehicles. “This is a great recreation area, but it hasn’t met its potential. It’s a great place for rock climbing and canoeing, but we need to finish dredging the entryways that load up with silt. We finished the basins to house the silt last month. If the entire project isn’t finished this season, it’ll be done by the next,” said the city manager.
Other projects will include improvements to the city’s indoor and outdoor pools to bring them up to a higher standard with improved utilities, better insulation and better restroom facilities. In addition, cosmetic work will be done to the various baseball diamonds, multi-purpose fields and softball fields.
While Ferguson is disappointed about the delay regarding the allotment of funding for private prison contracts, he is looking forward to the likelihood of industry growth to the region. Though there has been no announcement yet regarding the U.S. Forest Service’s award for the forest restoration project, two of the top contenders for the award, Forest Restoration Services and Pioneer Forest Products, are planning to make Winslow the site for their production facility should either one be awarded the contract. In addition, the upcoming potash mining operation east of Holbrook should also bring new families and ancillary industry to the area over the next three to five years.
“These are big boosters to this area, but the most immediate concern we have is the construction population that will be coming to the area as a result of growth,” explained Ferguson.
He indicated that he has spoken with several land developers who are putting together preliminary plans to create temporary housing that can be converted to permanent housing once the construction is complete and more permanent housing is needed.
