Council approves marijuana dispensary on Broad Street

Council approved a request for a conditional use permit to allow a new marijuana dispensary at 290 N. Broad St. This establishment will be Globe's second dispensary. There is also a grow facility in the old bowling alley on the east side of town. The owner of the new dispensary also owns the existing grow facility.

Zoning Administrator Dana Burkhardt said a public outreach process occurred, and only one comment was received. This was a letter of support that, however, voiced concerns about parking in the Historic District. City Manager Paul Jepson pointed out that the City has identified parking as a priority in its Strategic Action Plan and is looking at short-term, middle-term, and long-term options to improve the situation.

"We're looking to fill every building on Broad Street, and get activity, and so we are also looking to plan ahead for the parking." City Manager Paul Jepson

Police Chief Walters praised the applicant for being compliant with all requirements, and Fire Chief Robinson agreed, saying the dispensary would bring business to the community. There were no comments during the public hearing.

Countywide floodplain mapping update underway

Michael Bishop, representing FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program, discussed a project to update floodplain maps for Globe. Since April 2021, the agency has been determining where maps need to be updated, as part of a larger program studying floodplains across Gila County. The National Flood Insurance Program helps maintain flood hazard information that supports flood insurance rate maps.

Krystle Pemberton, a project manager with FEMA, presented an overview of the project. The first phase includes gathering LiDAR data, studying the hydrology and hydraulics, creating draft floodplain mapping, and holding a risk review meeting. The second phase includes hearing public comments, opening a 90-day appeal period, resolving appeals, finalizing the maps, and implementing a six-month adoption period. The entire process will take about four years.

"People here, having just been through a major fire and flood, are very interested in the redevelopment of this map." Councilman Mariano Gonzalez

Pemberton explained hydrology refers to the volume of water in terms of stormwater or runoff, and hydraulics refers to whether particular streams will be able to convey all the stormwater or runoff they receive. Floodplain mapping then determines which community areas will be inundated based on the results of the hydraulics analysis.

As part of an expansion goal, 815 miles across the county not currently mapped by FEMA will be analyzed. Existing studies for 82 miles will be analyzed in detail for updating. Within and near Globe, 16 miles will be analyzed.

The field survey will take place in February through August of this year, the mapping will occur between August 2023 and February 2025, and the updates are slated to be submitted in February 2025.

The data will be available to the City for other uses, such as zoning, planning, creating building criteria around floodplains, and so forth, according to FEMA's Sarada Kalikivaya.

City of Globe gets new tourism branding

Council approved new tourism branding for the City of Globe. The branding project was spearheaded by Globe's Economic Development department and took place as part of the Rural Marketing co-op with the Arizona Office of Tourism. The branding was developed by Local First Arizona, the federally designated rural development council for the state.

Melissa Steele, Globe’s Economic Development Manager, explained that the previous Arizona To The Core branding was good but didn't feel authentic to Globe, so the City reached out to the Arizona Office of Tourism for support in developing new branding.  

Jenna Rowell of Local First Arizona said instead of cities having to go out to an ad agency and spend $20,000-plus for branding, Local First can connect cities with local, independent designers who are much more affordable. Local First Arizona focuses on economic and community development, including "how tourism can be a vibrant and viable part of local rural economies."

"This is perfect timing as we are entering our spring tourism season." Linda Oddonetto, Community and Economic Development Department

Victoria Ochoa of Local First explained that the new brand is intended to reflect comments from the public in a community meeting, including the sense of home and Globe's historic charm.

The brand includes a circle-shaped logo with the words “Globe, Arizona,” in a historic-looking font in a coppery color, with a drawing of mountains above it and EST. 1875 below. The tagline is "Arizona's Original Home Town."

The new branding is intended for promotional and marketing purposes and for City programs, initiatives, partnerships, and sponsorships.

City receives $1.2M in federal funding for wastewater infrastructure projects

Jepson announced that federal funding for three wastewater infrastructure projects that the City applied for over a year ago has been granted. The three projects funded include:

• Construction of a water line from ADOT to the Fairgrounds ($600,000)
• A city-wide sewer study ($750,000)
• Tank repairs and various other repairs ($750,000)

The grand total amounts to $2.1 million. Congressman Stanton's office was instrumental in helping Globe obtain this funding, Jepson said.

Motions approved

Council also approved motions for the following:

• Accounts payable in the amount of $311,123.02
• Distribution of bed tax for the 2nd quarter of FY 2022-2023 to the Globe Miami Regional Chamber of Commerce for $12,878.51. Angel Ruiz explained how the Chamber utilizes the bed tax monies it receives and gave a brief overview of what is happening at the Chamber. The Chamber runs a visitors center and promotes tourism through events. Funds are spent to produce fliers and brochures. Events include Apache Jii and the home tour, among others. The Chamber recently held a workshop to help business owners put their information on Google, and will be holding a golf tournament on March 25.
• Distribution of bed tax for the 2nd quarter of FY 2022-2023 to the Cobre Valley Center for the Arts for $11,447.56. Tanner Hunsaker gave a brief update on the CVCA's activities. The center holds monthly art showings, held a Festival of the Trees in December, and handed out candy for Halloween. The galleries and the quilters room were recently repainted and refreshed and the CVCA is looking toward refreshing the Oak Room to hold more art instruction. Hunsaker pointed out that the CVCA is the only center in the Historic District that opens its doors seven days a week. The CVCA has a central position on First Fridays, and received over 2,300 visitors in the second quarter of FY2022-23. Hunsacker said the CVCA's current drive is to "find and discover new ways to bring in more." 
• An administrative services contract with Central Arizona Governments (CAG) to administer Globe’s 2021 Community Block Grant (CDBG) in the amount of $23,188.00 for the City of Globe Veterans Park Grading, Drainage, and Sidewalk Project for fiscal year 2021. Andrea Robles of CAG explained that CAG will be completing the environmental review and submitting it on behalf of the City, and will complete the application to allow the City to receive its funding. CAG will also help with procurement, invoices and receipts, and other aspects of financial management to help the City comply with CDBG requirements.
• A contract with HUB Planning and Urban Design, LLC and the designation of Dana Burkhardt as the Zoning Administrator for the City of Globe, on an as-needed basis, in a contract amount not to exceed $75,000 for a one-year term, with an additional two-year renewal option. Jepson explained that Burkhardt has been instrumental in working with the City for the past three years to help facilitate the City's growth and professionalism. Jepson said that the contract amount is being increased from $65 per hour to $75, which is reasonable and justifiable.
• Updating a contract with Pat Walker Consulting LLC with an attachment approving an engagement letter/scope of work to provide two financial professionals with all services necessary to present the FY23-24 Budget for Council Approval, and funding approval in an amount not to exceed $135,275. Jepson explained that the City has been working with Pat Walker since 2017, and now Walker will be providing two highly qualified financial professionals to assist with the City's financial management, including preparing the budget for the upcoming financial year. The two professionals - Elias (Eli) Jouen, former Finance Director for the City of Winslow, and Tina Allen, former Budget Administrator for Maricopa County - are expected to work part-time for the City for 18 weeks. The City has been hit by a series of staffing changes in the Finance Department in recent months.

Members of the Globe City Council: Mayor Al Gameros, Vice Mayor Mike Stapleton (District 4), and Council members Freddy Rios (District 1), Mike Pastor (District 2), Jesse Leetham (District 3), Mariano Gonzalez (District 5), and Fernando Shipley (District 6). All members were in attendance at this meeting.

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Full minutes can be found by going to the City Hall website.

The Globe City Council meets every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. The meetings are currently open to the public at 50% capacity. Members of the public are requested to wear a mask except when seated. Seating is limited to allow for social distancing.

Members of the public can also participate in the City of Globe public meetings by viewing the meeting live on YouTube. 

To speak to agenda items before or during the meeting, call or text (928) 200-0154 or email council@globeaz.gov if you desire to speak to the Council during an agenda item.