[{"_1":2,"_98":-5,"_99":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,74,86],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},"mediaId",6578890,"mediaKeyId","3129076-a4f7279bec7edd2aad811e280660a458","parentId",3129076,"title","Flagstaff officials say a new wastewater plant may be needed; price tag could reach hundreds of millions","audioSeconds",526,"startMs",7889000,"endMs",8415000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3129076-a4f7279bec7edd2aad811e280660a458&start=7889&end=8415","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3129076-a4f7279bec7edd2aad811e280660a458/thumbnail_7889000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6578890/Flagstaff-City/Coconino-County/Arizona/Flagstaff-officials-say-a-new-wastewater-plant-may-be-needed-price-tag-could-reach-hundreds-of-millions","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6578890-b5c7304fd679181d9d72ff827f618ee1/orig.mp4?Expires=1770410502&Signature=Jf~9x2kJOvTOlEW7F-AKBWWTFDu6nfzsHPuwV6eGa7ZwlLB1EIdokc-rcopSe6lGnVb7cDfAwwD1lPJ1ud~6opBJMf4QK5UZaryH0dz~y2dtDGisy0TEt7hbqjivb03s0q5~LIgyyBKE5-iq4sFiW0TMIXFb8NE6tyzBI8cCYFaHbntRNtEhfye99zlQeAUwJm7QHNUazDwC3CzL~I6m~uXwRY1BIrsikIZRLz2EDV6Zx2k7JfCUpSHZV2jLfdit6cvlDptacdPGCgTEd0j~ZIj-YXdnYkDhyc8BK9~KZAaxwgZOEz9~2-r922CX-vSJ7JTBByz3Ju9aMCNOT6jJPg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-04-26T05:50:24.087Z","article","Flagstaff\u0000s water-services director and staff told council Friday that the city\u0000s aging Wildcat Hill wastewater treatment plant and existing Rio De Flag facility are approaching operational limits and that long-term growth will require a new treatment strategy.

Lee Williams, director of Water Services, said the two existing plants have a combined nominal liquid capacity of about 10 million gallons per day (MGD) but are constrained by solids-processing capacity because per-capita water use has declined. \"Because the toilets are using less water...there's still the same amount of waste in that stream,\" Williams said. \"We are not near the liquid capacity, but we are at the solids capacity. That is what's driving the need for a new plant.\"

Wildcat Hill, built in 1979, has a design liquid capacity of about 6 MGD and is currently treating roughly 4.5 MGD; the Rio De Flag plant (1996) serves the east side of town and is underutilized because of collection-system flows. Williams presented cost estimates for a replacement or new advanced-technology plant: current construction-price assumptions range from about $25 to $30 per gallon of capacity. That yields a rough sticker price of $225–$300 million for a 10 MGD plant and $350–$420 million to reach an estimated 14 MGD needed at full buildout.

Williams described two basic construction approaches: 1) build a single new plant at Wildcat Hill and then decommission the old facilities once the new plant is operational; or 2) use a phased approach of smaller modular membranes or cells (for example, 2.5 MGD increments) that can be added over time. He noted membrane-biological-reactor (MBR) technology provides very high effluent quality and is frequently used when municipalities plan for advanced water treatment or indirect potable reuse. Williams described MBR membrane pore sizes (0.02–0.4 microns) as much smaller than a human hair (~50 microns), which is why MBR produces high-quality effluent suitable for additional treatment steps.

Design for a new plant is already programmed in the city\u0000s 10-year capital-improvement plan at roughly $25 million (about 10 percent of construction cost), and the city is on an approved project list for a Water Resources Development Act appropriation (WERDA) that could yield $5 million for design if funded. Williams and staff emphasized that the WERDA appropriation has not been funded and that construction dollars are not in place.

Council members asked about options to prolong the life of existing facilities. Williams said staff is designing solids-removal improvements at the Rio plant (for example, dryers) that could reduce solids routed to Wildcat Hill and gain operational time. The city is also pursuing a biochar pilot and has sought appropriations for equipment that would convert dried biosolids into char for carbon sequestration and potential reuse.

Councilors asked about timing. Williams said design is in the CIP and that a realistic design timeline would be about two years; construction would follow and could be staged to match growth, but exact schedules depend on funding and permitting timelines.

Ending: Staff asked council for direction to continue planning and to pursue funding opportunities. Council members generally agreed the city should explore funding options for a major wastewater-project program, recognizing the scale of projected costs and the need to combine grants, low-interest loans, bonds and potentially other mechanisms with rate and fee strategies.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Flagstaff City Council Budget Retreat - Day 2 - April 25, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","City water services leaders briefed council on wastewater-treatment capacity limits driven by solids handling and lower per-capita water use, and presented technology and phased-construction options; staff said a full new plant could cost $225–420 million depending on size and timing.","taxTitle","Flagstaff City, Coconino County, Arizona","taxId",4650,"location","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":75,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":76,"_41":77,"_43":78,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},6578898,"Flagstaff chiefs ask council to explore new revenue for staffing, facilities and technology",647,5910000,6557000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3129076-a4f7279bec7edd2aad811e280660a458&start=5910&end=6557","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3129076-a4f7279bec7edd2aad811e280660a458/thumbnail_5910000.jpg","/articles/6578898/Flagstaff-City/Coconino-County/Arizona/Flagstaff-chiefs-ask-council-to-explore-new-revenue-for-staffing-facilities-and-technology","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6578898-3890f3d15a82277e2efd39031a7c123c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770410502&Signature=dFMvAfwT00cIOcVBQ4D4tz8JbUibjmRGkDPkDQQI6hekoCPnYb~MjWG5girvmQ5D2o-P6hgINJuznHp1V9nsOywbqINFn0kNaYMxdUN0MlkkKa9YAfvRw8JvQ8GNXnkn0M5TSvdRpOCs8ms0cSSS6ATAT7s6908sM4gR-rNb-zyPgb8cmjQqeLqZql1zB9KYlmf6bBRdWrxQ6khQTxa~3oNrCaWY~2P8fP~E0pa7rn4dDNOImR~vKqKeqKHpag8oRDay50Y7RmEetRjHYBxmREd3UQbWdOAqcsbJ82fZyJQbot0PR7Zs6ylaR~rLl2doosxqa0GNHF3NbJHm1PsGzQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Fire and police leadership urged the Flagstaff City Council on Friday to authorize staff to study new funding options to cover growing public-safety needs, citing rising call volumes, aging facilities and technological demands.

Fire Chief Mark Gaillard told council the department is managing increased emergency medical and wildland response demands and that the city\u0000s existing general-fund resources and typical revenue sources will not be enough to staff, equip and build the facilities the department needs. \"The traditional revenues that you all are wrestling with... are insufficient to address what these future needs are,\" Gaillard said.

Gaillard organized the public-safety needs into three broad buckets: staffing, equipment and technology, and capital facilities. Staffing needs include additional daily firefighters and support staff; Gaillard noted that expansions in benefits (for example, parental leave) would increase pressure on 24-hour staffing operations. Equipment and technology needs include body-worn cameras, data aggregation and regional operations capabilities, updated station alerting systems and replacement apparatus. Capital projects discussed included a new Fire Station 7 location, a Wildfire Management station and replacements or upgrades to training facilities.

Police Chief Sean Conley said the department already has funding in the budget for a workload-assessment study that will evaluate duties, staffing models and opportunities to reassign administrative burdens so sworn officers can spend more time on community policing. \"When we look at records management, evidence management, processing crime scenes\u0000these are all things that we need to move forward on,\" Conley said. He described the workload assessment as an external, data-based analysis intended to identify the additional staff and functions necessary to deliver contemporary policing services.

Both chiefs said that modern policing and fire operations require investments in integrated technology. Conley sketched an idea for a Northern Arizona Integrated Regional Operations Center (NAIROC) to aggregate disparate data streams, improve disorder-prevention capabilities and support coordinated responses; he noted that such capabilities require a facility, hardware, software and staffing.

Council members voiced support for further study. Several said they expect the issue to require creative funding sources beyond typical rate or fee adjustments. Council Member Aslan urged the team to craft a package that voters could support if the council chooses to go to the ballot. \"If we\u0000re going to move forward, we need to make it good. We need to make it work,\" Aslan said.

City staff suggested the council could consider a mix of tools used elsewhere, including sales-tax measures, bonds for capital needs, fee restructuring or reassignment of specialized enterprise fees (for example, possible adjustments to the Water Resource Infrastructure Protection fee). Gaillard said many other jurisdictions have pursued similar revenue measures to address public-safety shortfalls.

Ending: Council gave general direction to staff to evaluate funding options, perform additional analysis and return with recommendations. Chiefs and staff emphasized that the workload assessment for the police department is funded and will proceed as a first step.

","Fire and police chiefs told council the city\u0000s traditional revenue sources cannot fully cover rising staffing, equipment and facility costs; chiefs requested direction to evaluate funding strategies that could include taxes, fees or reallocation of existing funds.",{"_33":87,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":88,"_41":89,"_43":90,"_45":91,"_47":92,"_49":93,"_51":94,"_53":95,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":96,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":97,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},6578903,"Flagstaff council hears plan to raise parking fees to fund downtown cleaning, trash and maintenance",471,2079000,2550000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3129076-a4f7279bec7edd2aad811e280660a458&start=2079&end=2550","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3129076-a4f7279bec7edd2aad811e280660a458/thumbnail_2079000.jpg","/articles/6578903/Flagstaff-City/Coconino-County/Arizona/Flagstaff-council-hears-plan-to-raise-parking-fees-to-fund-downtown-cleaning-trash-and-maintenance","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6578903-cdac0ba5eee2bd0077302ba1a5d4fb82/orig.mp4?Expires=1770410502&Signature=FlVaj~0ZFNDmUYH7xxeDVT4Jj9GuvGQBteZsgAUbiOHxyKhqKFLuOEBjESaMTzfxoCCWY8vFDPJG2NFQhj9eEhl8rQ14jlA~g4WkUDULkga-nDgqYttJGLRwp4q9zr5AWQfSRA6Mc-MkRsNVBC~Cms-70iDZ3ncgq9hJov-a7APonpBawbL7CND7vWZ4BhLrllS~vdMm0WuTkAD2dwSjlSseBTkDNUpSntG2sq8~W4hNHoj5Rl6SG0KwoDZ7tb5qhBB3XXXJJgOEVRxf3iKDnkwj2fdeKrYQltdqthSBsIHvsMB0JxR1v0SgHlFDfwluE0PUhQI1kNeut~n0rRdBig__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City of Flagstaff staff and downtown business leaders on Friday outlined a plan to increase on-street parking fees and redirect a portion of revenue to fund enhanced downtown maintenance and visitor services.

The proposal would amend the city\u0000s current parking revenue rules and create an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Flagstaff Downtown Business Improvement and Revitalization District (FDBIRD) and the Flagstaff Downtown Business Association (DBA) to hire a third-party provider to deliver services such as enhanced restroom maintenance, graffiti removal, alley snow clearing, pressure washing, consistent trash collection and other beautification work.

The DBA has requested roughly $500,000 annually to secure a contractor that could provide the level of service downtown business owners say they want. David McIntyre, community investment director, said staff identified a combination of funding sources that could get the program started and that ParkFlag one-time funds of about $300,000 could be used to seed an initial contract while a park rate change is noticed and adopted.

Heidi Hansen, economic vitality director, said tourism revenue (BBB) is currently down in the first quarter and staff is not yet relying on that revenue as a stable source for the program. \"We are down in occupancy by 3.6 percent, our average daily rate is down 2.3 percent, and revenue per available room is down 5.8 percent,\" Hansen said.

The staff analysis presented a range of parking-rate options and estimated what revenues would be available to the DBA for contract work. Under the staff assumptions using 2024 parking activity, a $0.50-per-hour increase would generate about $294,000 for the DBA; a $0.75-per-hour increase would generate about $440,000; and a variable schedule (50 cents Monday–Thursday, 75 cents Friday–Sunday) would produce about $380,000. The staff proposal suggested dedicating 75 percent of the net fee increase to the downtown enhancements contract and 25 percent to ParkFlag operations and rising operating costs.

Staff also noted technical and operational issues to resolve: current cash kiosks do not accept coins (so some smaller increment changes would require equipment adjustments), and credit-card transaction fees consume a large share of current parking receipts because most transactions are small. Dave McIntyre said average transactions were about $2.08 per hour and credit-card fees have been in the 8–11 percent range, which \"chews up\" revenue for low-dollar transactions.

Hunter Abare, director of the DBA, and John VanLandingham, chair of FDBIRD, told council they support the concept and believe the market can bear higher rates: \"If the private market is charging $4 an hour three blocks away, why are we charging a quarter of that rate on Aspen Avenue?\" VanLandingham said.

Several council members said they were supportive of bringing a more detailed rate analysis and an implementation plan back to the council. Councilor Garcia urged the city to consider a higher increase so the fee change would be more durable between adjustments, while other council members emphasized the importance of showing enhanced services in place before increasing fees to build public and business support.

McIntyre said the next steps would be: 1) a detailed rate analysis by finance, 2) a 60-day public-notice period required for a fee increase, and 3) negotiation of the IGA and contract terms with FDBIRD/DBA, including payment and reporting requirements and contingency language addressing downturns in parking revenue or economic recessions.

Councilors and staff repeatedly emphasized that the business community\u0000s backing will be critical if a rate increase is pursued. \"We cannot do this without business support,\" Mayor and council speakers said during the discussion.

Ending: Staff will return with a detailed rate analysis and an IGA draft. Council members asked staff to pursue further outreach and public messaging to build community understanding of how the fee change would create visible downtown improvements before a final vote.

","City staff and the Flagstaff Downtown Business Association proposed raising ParkFlag rates and using a mix of existing funds to fund a $500,000 downtown enhancements contract managed by the DBA; councilors generally signaled support to explore the plan, subject to business community buy-in and further analysis.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Flagstaff officials say a new wastewater plant may be needed; price tag could reach hundreds of millions

Flagstaff chiefs ask council to explore new revenue for staffing, facilities and technology

Flagstaff council hears plan to raise parking fees to fund downtown cleaning, trash and maintenance