Council approves changes to City commissions

The City Council approved a series of changes to City commissions resulting from an evaluation of how to reinvigorate and update the commissions, which was the focus of three prior discussions by the council in 2022 and 2023.

The changes approved Thursday transition most commissions from being non-regulatory departmental advisory commissions to being council advisory commissions. This places appointment of commission members back under the City Council’s purview, instead of having members appointed by the City manager. In addition, some commissions were combined into broader areas of focus as it has been difficult to field enough members to meet quorum requirements needed to host meetings.

Under the new structure, the Arts & Humanities, Cultural Diversity, and Library Commissions have been combined into a single Arts, Humanities, & Cultural Diversity Commission. The West End Commission was replaced by a Neighborhoods Commission, the Airport Commission was replaced by a Transportation Commission, and the Environmental Affairs Commission was replaced by an Environmental Stewardship Commission.

The scopes and names of the Parks & Recreation Commission, Youth Commission, Commission on Disability Issues, and Tourism Commission remain unchanged.

Based on input from its members, the newly formed Economic Development Commission will remain a departmental commission with members appointed by the City Manager. This is the only commission that remains a departmental advisory commission.

Council considers CDBG proposals

The City Council heard proposals for how to use the City’s next allocation of Community Development Block Grant funds, anticipated to be about $250,075.

Under federal regulations, 15% of the funds can be used for public services (about $37,500), 20% for administration (about $50,000), and the remainder (about $162,575) for eligible projects. CDBG-funded activities must benefit low to moderate income persons, aid in the prevention of slums and blight, or meet other urgent community needs such as disaster relief.

Staff proposed dedicating $162,575 to install fire hydrants in the Montebello subdivision that was annexed into the City in 2010. The subdivision does not meet requirements for fire hydrants in a residential area, which poses problems with emergency response and increases the possibility of increased loss due to a fire.

Three area nonprofit organizations presented proposals seeking to use the CDBG funding dedicated for public services. The United Way of Sierra Vista and Cochise County and the Cochise County Family Advocacy Center each requested $37,500, while Southern Arizona Legal Aid requested $5,734.

The council expressed interest in dividing the available funds to support all three service organizations.

Based on input received on Thursday, staff will prepare the City’s draft annual action plan, which will come before the City Council at a public hearing during its first meeting in April. This will initiate a 30-day public comment period and then the plan will return to council for final consideration at its first meeting in May.

In other business, the City Council authorized staff to submit an application for a WaterSMART Environmental Water Resources Project Grant through the Department of Interior Bureau of Reclamation to support construction of the Riverstone Recharge Project.

More information from Thursday’s City Council meeting is available in the supporting documents for the Thursday, March 9, City Council meeting. They can be accessed via the City’s website at www.sierravistaaz.gov/government/city-council/council-documents.

City Council meetings can be streamed live and past meetings can be viewed on YouTube. The meetings are also aired on Cox Channel 12. Learn more at  www.sierravistaaz.gov/government/city-council/council-meetings or in the “Council HQ” page at engage.sierravistaaz.gov.

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