The Cottonwood City Council unanimously approved seven service agreements to provide dispatch services to regional municipalities and emergency service providers during its meeting on Tuesday, June 4.
Cottonwood has provided centralized emergency dispatch facilities for Verde Valley police and fire agencies out of the Cottonwood Police Department’s communications center since 2013, and the agreements for the use of the center are renewed annually.
Participating bodies and their financial contributions are:
- Sedona Fire District: $385,629
- Copper Canyon Fire and Medical District: $311,165
- Verde Valley Fire District: $231,333
- Verde Valley Ambulance Co.: $181,507
- Clarkdale Police Department: $99,145
- Jerome Police Department: $46,024
- Jerome Fire Department: $7,784
The seven subscribing agencies will contribute a total of $1,262,587 this fiscal year toward Cottonwood’s dispatch services.
SFD had its own dispatch center at Station 4 in Uptown until 2015, when it consolidated with the city of Cottonwood for regional services. Several SFD dispatchers transitioned to Cottonwood during the transfer.
Other Council Actions
Council also unanimously approved a resolution adopting the city’s 2024 general plan, a resolution calling the general election, a contract with S.J. Anderson Company for drainage improvements in the amount of $82,548.58, a water conservation grant agreement with the state’s Water Infrastructure Authority and a waiver of the city’s procurement policy for the pre-construction phase of the Mingus Blower and Aeration Improvement Project.
In response to a request from Cottonwood resident John Mitchell to explain the purpose of the waiver for the blower project, acting city manager and Utilities Director Tom Whitmer explained that the waiver will allow the city to contract with a long-term vendor, Alliance Environmental Group, with whom they have worked for over 15 years, to begin making immediate improvements to the city’s wastewater infrastructure at a cost not to exceed $50,600.
Whitmer said the expenditure will “enable the plant to actually start functioning correctly” and later described its condition as being at the “duct tape and baling wire” stage.
