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Commission approves ‘wind phone’ at White Cliffs South Trailhead after Kingman Main Street presentation
Summary
Kingman Main Street presented a proposal to install a donated pay phone art installation — a so-called "wind phone" — at the White Cliffs South Trailhead. The commission voted to install the wind phone and accepted Main Street's offer to maintain it.
The Parks Aquatics Recreation and Trails Commission voted Aug. 20 to install a "wind phone" — a disconnected phone structure intended as a contemplative memorial — at a City trailhead after a presentation from Kingman Main Street. Annalee Loux, representing Kingman Main Street, described the project and said Main Street had sourced a donated pay phone and would handle ongoing maintenance, graffiti removal and artist fees for desert-themed painting. "We do have a pay phone that's already available," Loux said, adding that Main Street would also list the wind phone on the national wind-phone project website and create an online guestbook.
Loux proposed locating the installation at the White Cliffs South Trailhead so it would be accessible to people of differing physical abilities and to take advantage of existing parking and views. She told commissioners that Main Street was prepared to clean and repair the phone and to arrange for a local artist to paint it in a desert theme, including UV-protective coatings and anti-graffiti top coats. Loux also said Main Street would check the site regularly and step up maintenance if vandalism occurred.
After discussion about siting and maintenance, a commissioner moved to install the wind phone "at the specified site in Kingman." The motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. The record shows the motion passed; no roll-call vote with member-by-member votes was recorded in the meeting minutes.
Why it matters: The installation will add a new memorial and tourism feature to a publicly accessible trailhead. Kingman Main Street's offer to maintain the structure reduces the city's immediate maintenance burden, but commissioners flagged potential vandalism and requested that the maintenance agreement specify inspection frequency.
Next steps: The commission approved the installation and staff will work with Kingman Main Street to finalize a siting and maintenance agreement and to coordinate signage and listing on the national wind-phone registry.
