Airway council pushes mayoral decision

AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Choosing a council chair and Mayor for Airway Heights was moved to the top of the agenda on January 10, and two individuals were nominated to fill the position for the next two years.

Deputy Mayor Veronica Messing nominated current Mayor Sonny Weathers to continue his role as council chair, and council member Larry Bowman nominated himself to fill the spot.

However, council was deadlocked in the vote, as both candidates received three votes. Council member Jennifer Morton had been excused for this meeting and wasn’t present to vote, so neither candidate could reach the necessary four votes to be voted in.

Mayor Weathers said council could take another vote during the meeting, and council member Art Bubb asked if the candidates could present a two year “goal or vision” for Airway Heights to possibly give council a clearer picture.

Someone then mentioned council waiting until Councilwoman Morton could be present, and council agreed to push the council chair decision to the next meeting on January 18.

Several other topics were discussed, but only one item was pushed through for action. A proposal to install streetlights in the area of 6th Avenue and Aspen St. and finding the street reserve fund could cover the costs and that the placement could be worked into the conceptual plans for the area it was unanimously approved.

The issue was initially brought into light when a bus driver mentioned the lack of lighting along the bus route to the Principal of Sunset Elementary who then expressed concern to Councilman Art Bubb.

When he discussed the issue with City Manager Albert Tripp, Tripp figured the numbers out and found the street reserve had enough to cover the $65,000 price tag and presented all of it to council where it was passed.

A lot of discussion revolved around updating or implementing new facilities for city services, and several members support having a centralized location for the services.

The biggest hurdle the city faces regarding this is funding, and Councilman Dave Malet said it will take consistent funding in the form of taxes or something similar. He also said, “it’s never really a good time to ask for taxes,” but also added this concept is long overdue for the city.

Councilman Bowman asked if there are any available grants for projects, and City Manager Tripp responded that most funding options come in the form of bonds, but some smaller and generally “unappealing” opportunities may be available.

Bowman said regardless of the size of the grant, he wants to offset any and all costs from the people.

Councilman Davin Perry, who was sitting in his first meeting as a council member, said he is worried the community won’t confidently support another large facility funding because he doesn’t feel the recreation center is operating at full expectations.

Other council members said the struggles at the rec. center are based around COVID and mandates, and that once that hurdle is crossed, they expect to see a spike in memberships.

Councilman Bubb said the city should move quickly because when the construction of schools starts, those facilities will also be funded by taxes or bonds and people won’t support paying for too much at once.

Eventually, the idea of revisiting an older plan from 2013 and removing the recreation center from those plans was announced, and it gained traction quickly. No action was taken, and further information will be presented to council during the next meeting.

Council also discussed the future for meeting platforms, and a hybrid model was the most popular option among council members. Bowman was the first to announce his support for a hybrid model, and Councilman Perry added that he supports a permanent hybrid model even after the pandemic.

Perry also added he worked with a couple people to get a start on buying suitable equipment for the hybrid model process.

Deputy Mayor Messing asked what guidelines and protocols would be followed, and a general mask protocol for council members would be the only requirement.

City Manager Tripp had also presented a discussion about potentially rebuilding the city’s website, and said the cost of updating the old site is about the same as the cost of simply building a new website.

Councilman Bowman said he would like to see the city completely “rebrand” itself at that point, and develop a new logo and even suggested developing an app as well.

Airway Heights Police Chief Brad Richmond announced a proposal to ask council to consider a surplus of some older model .45 caliber firearms that could be sold and replaced with newer 9mm Glock models.

Richmond said the newer models are more cost effective, and it would allow a more streamlined handgun training process for some officers.

Parks and Rec. Director J. C. Kennedy asked council to consider adding some cameras and security features to the recreation center because they are getting reports of negative activity after hours.

He said vandalism to both the building and vehicles has occurred, and he wants to be able to monitor the traffic more closely.

Kennedy said he wants to install license plate readers and additional cameras in the parking lot along with cameras around the playing fields behind the building.

Kennedy said the initial bid he got for the work was $65,000 and it was through the same company that did the initial work. Kennedy said the Parks and Rec. department does not have the finances available in the budget to cover the costs.

Deputy Mayor Messing asked about the possibility of a security patrol, and the police chief said that technology-based security will work better for a few reasons. Chief Richmond said the department just doesn’t have the manpower to consistently patrol the rec. center on top of the calls they already receive.

Several council members said that more estimates are needed, and the issue could be revisited when more bids have been taken.

Matthew can be reached at [email protected]