Public commenters urge protection for Bonita Street community garden and press housing, literacy funding requests

Several members of the public used Monday's open call to press the council on locally focused issues: protection of a community garden, housing commission representation and funding for community literacy and events.

Dennis Givens, speaking for the Bonita Street Community Garden, said the garden has been cultivated for a decade and urged the city not to use the site as a staging area for Rio De Flag construction equipment. "We do not want this to happen," Givens said, describing perennial herbs and fruit trees including a tree where he buried a friend's ashes and warning that using the site for staging would "break my heart."

Nadine Hart, a voucher holder who said she serves on the Flagstaff Housing Authority Commission, urged the council to ensure that commission membership represents people with lived experience of homelessness and housing instability and criticized having a commission member who lives outside Flagstaff. Hart said she had experienced homelessness with three children and asked to be considered for a commission seat so voucher‑holder perspectives are represented.

Later in the meeting, Jamie Paul and Cassandra Cisneros requested approximately $1,200 from the council's discretionary funds to buy about 100 books for The Big Read community literacy program, describing prior collaboration with local organizations and donor commitments. Council Member Matthews separately asked for consideration of a $1,000 discretionary donation to support a Martin Luther King Jr. gala organized by NAU.

City manager staff later told the council that the northern reach of the Rio De Flag project is currently unfunded and likely several years away; sustainability and capital projects staff said they will coordinate outreach and information about project timing to affected community members and groups.