Our Work Session ran longer than usual because of the excellent presentation given by Tony Boone on Economic Development. During which our City Manager, Chuck Potucek, brought to our attention that Sierra Vista is on a "shortlist" to lose our status as a metropolitan area, along with several other AZ cities. This change that the Office of Management and Budget is considering would double the population minimum needed for an area to qualify as a metropolitan area. 50,000 people is the current threshold that's been in place for the past 70 years and the proposed change would raise that number to 100,000. The Mayor made some good points that while there are pros and cons for Sierra Vista having this status, the pros now outweigh the cons since we've put in all the work and investment needed. A change in our status could drastically impact our funding for transit, community development, economic development, etc... Needless to say, this has us all concerned, and City staff is coordinating a response between the four affected cities in the state to our Congressional delegation and will submit comments on our behalf. Public comments are also being accepted by the Office of Management and Budget online here from now until March 20th.
Work Session for Tuesday, March 9th
Agenda with video timestamps:
Presentation and Discussion:
March 11, 2021 Council Meeting Agenda Items: Call to Order Roll Call Invocation Pledge of Allegiance Item 1 Acceptance of the Agenda Awards and Presentations Presentation by J.D. Rottweiler on the success of the City of Sierra Vista and Cochise College Partnerships City Manager’s Report: Upcoming Meetings, Bid Openings, and Bid Awards Item 2 Consent Agenda Item 2.1 Approval of the Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of February 25, 2021 Item 2.2 Resolution 2021-016, Approval of the Holiday at PDS, Phase 5B final plat, Lots 30-59, Acceptance of Subdivider’s Agreement, and Improvement Security Public Hearings Item 3 Consideration of Funding Applications for Program Year 2021 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Annual Action Plan New Business Item 4 Resolution 2021-017, Approval of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Grant Funding (GOHS) Contract #2021-405c-010 to purchase equipment to implement Arizona TraCS (Traffic and Criminal Software) Call to the Public Comments and Requests of the Council Adjournment
Report on Recent Trips, Meetings, and Future Meetings
Future Discussion Items and Council Requests
Adjourn