Cottonwood is offered $330,143 from the Northern Arizona Council of Governments to be used on one major public project. When the Cottonwood City Council met Jan. 15 to discuss what to spend this year’s Community Development Block Grant on, a huge cross-section of the Cottonwood community showed up to lobby for their chosen cause.
The small city council chambers in Old Town were standing-room only as dozens lined up one by one to argue about why one project or another was worthy. Whereas in some previous years the council was enabled to split up the funds among multiple projects, NACOG rules now require it all to go to one specific project. But with Cottonwood meeting the requirement of having a majority of its residents moderate or low-income, any public project in the town was considered eligible. Competition was fierce. Two dozen people spoke over the course of two hours before the council deliberated.
The council considered five proposals: Hezekiah Allen of the Cottonwood Parks and Recreation Department presented in favor of developing a new master plan for renovations and the development of parks and open space throughout the city of Cottonwood, including irrigation for Riverfront Park; Elaine Bremner of the Verde Valley Senior Center argued in favor of renovating the center’s historic building; Tania Simms of Verde Valley Habitat for Humanity requested that funding go toward fixing up and improving the organization’s resale store location; Raena Avalon of the Verde Valley Homeless Coalition proposed funding transitional housing units, which homeless individuals would be able to rent at low cost in order to move into stable employment and eventually permanent housing; Denise Kelly and Brenda Clouston of the Old Town Association suggested using the funds to improve the Old Town Activity Park and make it into a beautiful and functional open space in the midst of Cottonwood’s downtown.
Though all five proposals came with their proponents, conversation at the public forum quickly zeroed in on two top picks that received the most widespread and enthusiastic support. The debate shifted between the need for transitional housing to address the homeless problem and embarking on an extensive project to improve the city’s parks.
“Without housing first, individuals don’t have a place to sleep, they don’t have a place to shower or clean clothes to wear, which would give better opportunities to seek employment,” Mindy Brigham of Goodwill Industries of Central & Northern Arizona said, speaking in favor of the VVHC proposal. “As a community, in my opinion, we’re one team, one fight, one success.”
The VVHC received support from an array of community service organizations, including Goodwill, Spectrum Healthcare, local churches and the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, which highlighted how helpful housing could be in preventing recidivism for those released from the county jail. Real estate agent Rick Rosenzweig explained that the VVHC could take advantage of a good deal on real estate with a buyer interested in lowering the price as a community service. Bill Mevers of the Why Not? Foundation pledged that the foundation would match up to $50,000 in additional donations.
“If we want individuals to have a fighting chance to beat poverty and overcome obstacles that the homeless are experiencing right now, then they deserve all the resources available,” Brigham said. “With transitional housing individuals will have hope and feel empowered to make necessary changes in order to change their lives permanently.”
On the side of the park plan, numerous individuals discussed the difficulty that some have felt raising kids in a town that is not easily walkable and does not provide as many options for recreation as others.
“Ever since I’ve lived here I thought it would be so great to manicure the creek or the river and just have a beautiful place to walk by and picnic,” local resident Jessica Johnson said. “Facing everything else that is up tonight, it feels like a splurge to invest in parks and rec, but in my opinion, it’s as a long-term gain. I think that when you foster a sense of community, all these other needs can get met. People see those needs and people are more willing. There’s a spirit of community, a spirit of kindness, a spirit of charity that grow when you have a place that people can meet.”
Tim Allen, father of a 2-year-old and 5-year-old, compared Cottonwood to his previous home of Golden, Colo., and argued that the town is missing more extensive access to trails along the river, like he had experienced in Golden. He suggested adding a BMX track to the skate park in Riverfront Park. Others pointed to how Cottonwood does not have nearly the recreational activities of Sedona, resulting in many parents in the area traveling to spend time with their children outside.
“If we want to grow this little town and get people of all ages, if we want families with young kids to live in Cottonwood, then this is the kind of thing we have to do,” resident Terri Clements said.
Eventually, the argument in favor of growth swayed many on the council. The seven members voted 5-2 in favor of the parks department. Mayor Tim Elinski and Councilman Ruben Jauregui were the two dissenters, with Elinski arguing that the recent sales tax increase could hopefully pay for park improvements through funds set aside for infrastructure improvements, while Jauregui referred to housing as a “basic need” and spoke of his own experience with homeless individuals living near his home and facing medical issues.
The council members that voted in favor of the parks proposal expressed praise for the other proposals, but argued that improving Cottonwood’s park system had the potential to improve the whole Cottonwood community in ways that might lead to important improvements building on themselves.
“My focus is which of these projects will do the most good for the greatest number for the longest term,” Councilwoman Tosca Henry said. “From my review of the packet and the information, I do have to agree with the Parks and Rec proposal. I think that it addresses more than one segment. It addresses most of the segments in our community and outside of our community.”
“My goal would be to figure out which one of the five [proposals] would be the most prosperous for not only the organization itself but also to benefit the city by bringing in more income,” Councilman Doug Hulse said before voting in favor of the parks. “By bringing in more income, then the city is in a better position to provide services to the unfortunate four that aren’t going to be selected tonight.”
Though the Homeless Coalition lost out, the support, both financial and moral, given by the community to the proposal led to members of the council expressing hope that an alternative method to finance transitional housing without the CDBG grant could be found.
“We still plan to go forward,” Raena Avalon of the VVHC wrote in an email after the meeting. “We may lose the building though if the owner wants to sell it for cash. We have a $50,000 grant toward the transitional housing program and I will be writing other grants. There is a definite need and I feel it’s the next step on our path.”
Cottonwood Parks and Recreation Director Hezekiah Allen expressed enthusiasm about restructuring the city’s parks with the new funding, though he noted that the plans remain up in the air. The first stage taking up a small batch of the grant’s funding will be the development of a master plan for the city’s parks including input from the public.
Mayor Elinski has expressed a desire for more trails and City Manager Ron Corbin said he hopes that the plans for the park could include more access to the riverfront itself.
“It’s really going to give the vision of the community for the next 10 to 15 years and allow a lot of community engagement as well,” Allen said. “The whole intent is to hear from the community to help pave the way for the future.”
While the overall master plan remains uncertain, Allen said he expects that the first step will be a new irrigation plan for Riverfront Park that implements the goals of the future master plan. With CDBG funds released by NACOG in November, pending approval, he said the hopes that construction will be started in early 2020.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
