During its Sept. 3 meeting, the Cottonwood City Council bowed to unanimous public opposition and tabled a staff proposal to convert the Cottonwood Community Clubhouse in Old Town into a museum and welcome center to await the incoming City Council in November.
At the start of the meeting, Vice Mayor Debbie Wilden noted that when council had previously addressed the proposal in July, it had been deferred to a work session scheduled for the second week of September and made a motion to defer discussion of the topic until that work session. The motion failed 5-2, with only Wilden and Mayor Tim Elinski supporting it.
Acting City Manager and Utilities Director Tom Whitmer presented city staff’s plan for the clubhouse renovation, which would involve the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce moving into part of the space to operate a welcome center, as well as the installation of historical displays.
The clubhouse stage would be converted to storage, and the cost of the renovation would be approximately $75,000. As a result, the clubhouse would no longer be available to host community events.
Describing the clubhouse as an “underutilized space,” Whitmer said it had hosted an average of 67 events per year for the last three years, split roughly three ways with groups like the chamber and private events.
Event rentals generated $25,133.75 in revenue for the city in fiscal year 2022 and $25,111.37 in FY23, against $36,775.23 and $10,060.27 in expenses, respectively.
“This is great for Cottonwood,” outgoing Councilman Michael Mathews said, calling the concept the best suggestion city staff had ever made. He added that if the incoming mayor and council were to reject conversion of the clubhouse, they would “alienate” city staff, the Clemenceau Museum and the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce.
“I think that facility is vastly underused and it’s been that way since 1990,” outgoing Councilman Derek Palosaari said. “If I own a building and it’s being used 66 days a year, I’ve got to change things up from a business standpoint.”
“After we hear from people, you’re going to understand — this is going to be overturned, and I’d hate to see staff put any more time in this,” Wilden said.
Public Comment Wilden’s prediction was borne out by the comments from the public.
“We really advocate for keeping it as it is right now. It’s the only space in the Verde Valley large enough to hold our shows,” said Larry Gallagher of El Valle Artists Association. He pointed out that their last event at the clubhouse had attracted between 720 and 750 attendees. “We even were thinking about coming to the city to create a whole new event focused around the arts during the springtime … [but] with the repurposing of the clubhouse, we can’t do this. There just isn’t a space big enough, and we’ll be forced to look beyond Cottonwood … defeating our purpose of having our artists show their work in our local communities.”
“I think the building should continue to principally serve the community’s residents,” Councilwoman-elect Felicia Coates said. “By and large, the facility is paying for itself.”
She noted that establishing a new museum would pose the challenge of obtaining exhibits and might interfere with visitorship to the Clemenceau Heritage Museum, located half a mile to the south.
“We could retain the current use and supplement with some of the ideas that have been talked about here tonight.”
“As a performer, I can assure you the Rec Center meeting hall is a great meeting room; it is not a performance space,” Cathy Ransom said, referring to the Cottonwood Recreation Center on Sixth Street. “A city is not supposed to be a for-profit entity … the point of this building is to serve our community in any way our community sees as valuable.”
She said that the building had been built specifically as an event space for the community with $15,000 raised during the Great Depression by the women of Cottonwood.
“No lame-duck council should predict our future,” Sharon King said, adding that her reactions to the proposal were “dismay and concern.” “Efforts to change our clubhouse use to something other than it is now should not be done without input from the general Cottonwood population,” Jeanie Gold said.
“The clubhouse is one of the few things in Old Town that caters to regular community members.” She described a change to the use without consulting the public as “negligent.”
“The statement that this decision will disenfranchise staff, I believe, is disingenuous,” said Chris Dowell, the former interim Cottonwood police chief. “Staff takes direction and works on the direction that council and the city manager give them.”
“One of the council members tonight made the point that we should celebrate each month in there [at the museum] … Would we allow June — Pride Month — in there? Because if we’re going to be fair, that would be fair,” Dowell added.
Dowell is running in the November recall election against Councilwoman Lisa DuVernay, who last year attempted to block rental of the clubhouse for a drag show by the Arizona Pride Tour.
“The clubhouse has been an important part of my life in Cottonwood,” Nell Faust said. “We hosted cookouts, church events, weddings, wedding receptions … we’ve had so many wonderful memories in the Cottonwood Community Clubhouse … A lot of people I’ve talked to in recent weeks have no idea this vote is even at issue.”
“My last remarks are the irony that a City Council member can sit here while in office and sue the city of Cottonwood — and talk about what costs money,” Faust added. “Asinine behavior, not leadership.”
Palosaari, who described the clubhouse as underused, filed a $2 million notice of claim against the city in May following a human resources investigation that found he had sexually harassed at least six female city staffers.
“Every single community member who got up to comment on this today does not want you to proceed,” Julie Fermat said.
“Your job is to represent this community, and this community has spoken and told you what they want … It brings to Old Town weddings, quinceañeras, graduation parties, sports banquets, nonprofit events, candidate forums — and of course the dreaded drag show, which is really what this is about.”
“The legacy of this council is not good,” Fermat finished. “Please do not make it worse by continuing with something you’ve been told by the entire community we are against.”
Mayor-elect Ann Shaw sent a letter to the council opposing the repurposing, as did Local First AZ nonprofit founder and CEO Kimber Lanning, who described the proposal as “a serious mistake with economic consequences.”
“The council should not punish the community and effectively shoot itself in the proverbial economic foot in order to prevent the mere possibility that a space may be used for any reason that may be unsavory to some,” Lanning wrote. “This type of overreaching policy is shortsighted and based on emotion.”
“Is it the best use for that building? I’d have to say no,” Chamber of Commerce president Christian Oliva del Rio told the council. “Out of those 67 times, I’m at least 20 of them … Everybody’s saying the chamber’s going to run it seven days a week. Am I paying for that? Is that going to come out of my budget? I don’t think so.”
“I’ve got events planned through the end of the year and where am I going to host them?” Oliva del Rio asked. “Clarkdale? Camp Verde? These are Cottonwood events.”
Oliva del Rio also said that when city staff had approached him to feel out his interest in a welcome center, they had not specified at first in which building it would be located.
Mathews then apologized to city staff “because people aren’t paying attention” to their “phenomenal job” of marketing the clubhouse.
“I think it should remain the Cottonwood Community Clubhouse, open to our community,” Elinski said. “I certainly don’t think this council should be making the decision to change it when the incoming council, I believe, is committed to overturning that decision.” Wilden moved to table the proposal for the new council to consider in November.
Councilman Stephen DeWillis, Palosaari, Wilden and Elinski voted in favor of tabling. Outgoing Councilwoman Helaine Kurot and Mathews voted against the motion. DuVernay abstained.
