Flagstaff council weighs ParkFlag rate hike to fund downtown maintenance, DBA contract

Flagstaff City Council members and staff spent an extended portion of a retreat discussing a plan to raise downtown parking rates to fund contracted “enhanced services” downtown and to seed an IGA with the Flagstaff Downtown Business Improvement and Revitalization District (FDBIRD), commonly called the DBA.

The proposal grew from a DBA request for roughly $500,000 a year to pay a third-party vendor to provide more frequent restroom maintenance, graffiti removal, sidewalk and alley snow clearing, pressure washing, coordinated trash service and other downtown beautification tasks. David McIntyre, community investment director, told the council the city could reach the $500,000 target through a combination of revenue shifts and a ParkFlag rate increase, and he outlined three price options that staff modeled.

Why it matters: downtown business and tourism leaders say visible maintenance and consistent service will protect visitor experience and local commerce; council members said they want visible…