Payson Town Council Regular Meeting – September 11, 2024
Payson Town Council Regular Meeting – September 11, 2024
The Payson Town Council held its regular meeting on September 11, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers. Mayor Chris Higgins presided with Vice Mayor Barbara Underwood, Council Members Brett Flaherty, Joel Mona, and Scott Nossek present; Council Members Jolynn Schinstock and Susan "Suzy" Tubbs were absent. The meeting covered a consent agenda, public comments, ceremonial proclamations, presentations on fire prevention and transportation audit, a public hearing and approval of a zoning ordinance, and acceptance of an airport grant. All votes were unanimous (5–0).
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes of the Town Council Special Meeting on August 8, 2024, and the Regular Meeting on August 14, 2024. (Motion carried 5–0)
Public Comments & Testimony
- Pat Lockwood, representing over 100 neighbors, expressed concerns about the Juniper Pines development off Highway 260. She questioned the developer's disregard for Town Code regarding grading, drainage, tree removal (approximately 1,000 native Ponderosa pines), lack of landscaping plans, removal of a concrete island without permission, and insufficient performance bonds. She requested transparency and enforcement of town ordinances.
- Tom Dunning, a 20-year resident, spoke in favor of attracting young families to Payson. He commended the Parks and Recreation Department and urged the Council to continue working toward the vision of affordable housing, support for schools, and public safety.
Discussion Items
- Fire Prevention Updates: Greg Raymond, Community Risk Reduction Specialist, presented an update on the code enforcement inspection program funded by a 2022 grant. Since its restart 14 months ago, the fire department has inspected/re-inspected over 1,200 businesses. Common violations included out-of-date fire extinguishers, non-working exit signs, and missing emergency pathway lighting. The program achieved 100% compliance through a non-punitive, educational approach. Crews are also developing relationships with business owners and gathering after-hours emergency contacts.
- Gila County Transportation Excise Tax Audit: Christine Smith, Deputy Town Manager, and Melanie Chesney, Deputy Auditor General, presented the results of the performance audit. Since 2014, Payson received $9,122,051 in excise tax funds and spent an estimated $7,361,419 (91%) on street improvements and 9% on administrative uses. Based on a sample of expenditures, no inappropriate uses were found. The town has policies in place to guide spending. The next audit will be in 2029.
- Zoning Ordinance No. 967 (Second Public Hearing): Nicole Adams, Zoning Administrator, presented a request to rezone approximately 9.99 acres at 1900 N. Beeline Highway from R-3 (multifamily residential) and C-2 to C-3 (general commercial) to allow indoor self-storage, outdoor covered canopy storage, and related retail sales. The property is currently undeveloped; the previous R-3 zoning was a restricted project that had not been built in nearly two decades. Staff conditions included stormwater detention buffer between residential and commercial areas. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval. No public comments were offered.
- Airport Grant Resolution No. 3412: Dennis Dueker, Airport Coordinator, presented a resolution to accept an ADOT grant for the Payson Airport. The grant covers 100% of design and 90% of construction costs for a 1-inch mill, asphalt concrete overlay, and pavement markings on Runway 6/24 (the entire runway). The estimated construction cost is $1,274,286; the town's share is 10%. The grant requires opt-in by September 30, 2024.
Key Outcomes
- Approved Ordinance No. 967 (Rezone 1900 N. Beeline Highway from R-3/C-2 to C-3) – motion carried 5–0.
- Approved Resolution No. 3412 (Accept ADOT Airport Runway Grant) – motion carried 5–0.
- The invocation was given by Pastor Elizabeth Cruze of Fusion Church, differing from the agenda which listed Lois Johnson of Fusion Church. Both the minutes and transcript confirm Pastor Cruze.
- Item H.1 (easement abandonment) was removed from the agenda before the meeting.
- The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:06 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to this afternoon's Peace in Town Council meeting. Like to call the meeting to order and ask Pastor Elizabeth Cruz of Fusion Church if you could please go to the podium for the invitation. Thank you. Everyone, please stand and move your hats. First of all, thank you for giving me the honor to make this prayer for everyone today. Sister Lewis asked me to come and represent her from Fusion Church. Why don't we do a moment of silence first, being 9-11 for the victims of the horrible situation they happen also for their family members? Let's do a moment of silence, please. Okay, thank you. So we all we will be praying today for the victims and the families of 9-11, but also for the peace of God in our town. Father God, we come before you today, asking your mercy, your love, your goodness, your guidance, praying for the unity among the council members of this town of Payson, of this great town of Payson. Lord, we pray that through these meetings they will keep doing the right decisions for the sake of the community that they serve. Father God, I pray that you will give them peace, guidance, and their hearts to know that you will always direct our step as we ask you for guidance. Mighty God, we thank you for the blessings of Paison. We thank you for the community of Basin, and we also thank you for all the servants of this city, this great city, all the police department, the sheriff department, the firefighters, the first responders, the hospital servers, Lord. We pray that you will bless them and protect this town and protect this state of Arizona, and we also pray for the peace in our country of the United States of America. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Amen. Thank you. She stop, could you please lead us in the place? And to the republic for which it stands under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice. Thank you, Chief. Michelle, can we please get a roll call? Yes, let the record show that all council members are present except for council members to council members and stop. All right. Thank you. Call to the public, have some speaker request forms. First, uh Jerry Harris. If you are here, Jerry Harris. All right, we'll move on, come back, just check. Again, Pat Lockwood. Can I hand these to the council? Um, yes. They're duplicates, so just one on each side. All right. I'll pass it down. Okay. Good afternoon. My name is Pat Lockwood. I'm a full-time resident of Payson. I'm here today to ask on behalf of over a hundred patient homeowners for transparency regarding the town code enforcement with the Juniper Pines development that is currently ongoing east of Tyler Parkway at Highway 260 and Chaperal Pines Drive. The developers propose a large self-storage facility in the middle of Tonto National Forest, along with 35 apartments and 30 single family home sites. We do not disagree with this development. We are here to ask about the town permit process. Why there is a lack of proper enforcement of town code ordinances for this developer. This project has ignored the initial town code ordinances for document submission. There has been mass grading beyond the at-risk permit given. There has been excessive tree removal of approximately 1,000 native Ponderosa pines that are 80 to 100 years old.
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