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Residents press Douglas council for transparency on NDAs, data centers and tourism promotion
Summary
Public commenters at the May 13 Douglas council meeting urged clearer executive-session disclosures, raised concerns about past data-center outreach and surveillance cameras, and criticized the city's tourism promotion; staff responded that Stonegarden grant funds were for overtime and not Flock cameras.
Several residents used the May 13 public-comment period to press the Mayor and Council on transparency and tourism promotion, and to raise concerns about traffic signals, downtown revitalization and surveillance.
Diana LaMar of Douglas Indivisible asked the Council to limit nondisclosure agreements to narrowly defined proprietary situations and to improve executive-session descriptions so the public could discern the general subject matter. She asked the city to explain apparent past discussions about locating a data center near the airport and urged a moratorium on new data-center projects until those concerns (water use, power demand, job promises and land impacts) were addressed. Mayor Jose Grijalva said he had not signed NDAs and directed City Attorney Denis Fitzgibbons to respond to Ms. LaMar’s questions by email or at the next meeting.
Diana LaMar also asked whether equipment purchases connected with the Operation Stonegarden grant included surveillance cameras. City Manager Ana Urquijo said Stonegarden funds were used for officer overtime; Sergeant Gamez clarified on the record that the equipment component in this grant allocation was about $1,500 for vehicle restriping and that the Flock camera system was not purchased with Stonegarden funds.
Eric Braverman, representing the Last Supper Museum, sharply criticized the city’s tourism outreach, saying Douglas was absent from state tourism materials and that local promotion had not kept pace with interest from outside the region. Braverman accused the city of providing tens of thousands of dollars annually to a county tourism board without visible benefit to Douglas and asked where funds for a “Day in Douglas” promotion would come from. He called for a dedicated marketing effort stretching “from El Paso to Tucson and into Mexico.”
Other public commenters included Michael Arevalo, who suggested converting low-traffic signals to flashing configurations to ease unnecessary delays, and Harrod Blank, who announced an umbrella art walk and asked the city to support downtown beautification and grant-writing assistance.
What happens next: Mayor Grijalva directed staff to have the City Attorney respond to Ms. LaMar’s records-related questions and directed staff to assist with advertising Mr. Blank’s Douglas Days events. Staff also clarified Stonegarden equipment usage on the record.
