Pete Furman

Councilmembers Interview – Podcast April 14, 2024 – Democratic Perspective (verdevalleyindependentdemocrats.org)

The Complexities And Challenges Of Managing A Small City. Steve Williamson welcomes three members of the Sedona City Council: Pete Furman, Melissa Dunn, and Brian Fultz to discuss some of the more controversial issues facing the city.

None of the three had ever been elected to office before. Furman was an engineer, Dunn is a sociologist, and Fultz is a small business entrepreneur. All chose to run for City Council for different reasons.

Homeless safe parking may go to voters; project put on hold | The Verde Independent | Cottonwood, AZ (verdenews.com)

SEDONA — Residents, who are frustrated with the Sedona City Council over the Safe Place to Park program for homeless city workers filed a referendum application with the city clerk on Thursday, March 14.

The referendum takes the issue to city voters, after the council voted 6-1 to pass an ordinance to begin the homeless vehicle camping program at its meeting on Tuesday, March 12.

Mayor Scott Jablow said the referendum application will put the project on hold because they don’t want to spend any of the grant money if the referendum is successful in stopping the project.

The petition or referendum seeks to refer the ordinance, as approved by the Sedona City Council on March 12, to the City’s voters for their rejection or approval, according to the petition filed by William Noonan.

It will require 597 City of Sedona voters to sign the referendum petition by April 11 and the signatures will have to be verified by the county. The mayor thought the soonest the vote could be in November if the referendum petition is successful.

The ordinance would let local homeless workers and families with children enrolled in local schools sleep in their vehicles at the former Cultural Park area site.

Before the council voted on Tuesday after a marathon public discussion session, Jablow explained that no one is proud of the Safe Place to Park program. However, this is a “last ditch effort” to house city workers until permanent housing can be built.

He said he was proud of the hard work that the city staff has accomplished on the project, but “this is just a stopgap,” he said.

“I find it upsetting that we have people here who took an interesting project like the Cultural Park, and they were going to champion that, and toss employee housing or the un-homed under the bus when the two have nothing to do with it at all.”

No one was offering any better alternatives for the homeless, the mayor said. “No one has an answer.”

Jablow said the community’s idea of the music venue at the Cultural Park sounds interesting, but there’s a public process that will be followed in the next couple years.

Jablow wanted to know why he’s never been presented with the Change.org petition that’s been circulating about the music venue. He said anyone in the nation can sign.

“So be it,” Jablow said if there is a referendum.” “That’s the democratic process, and I would honor that.”

Jablow said as soon as the council is done with the community plan, maybe later this month, the council will begin taking up the future of the Cultural Park and involve the community.

Vice Mayor Hollie Ploog, the only member of the board who voted against the ordinance, said, “If the program is voted on tonight and there is a referendum tomorrow, I would hope that this council would put a hold on this project until the voters speak.”

That comment was met with a round of applause from the audience.

Helping people who are experiencing vehicular homelessness is a worthy goal, said Councilor Pete Furman.

He wants to help the worker who’s been kicked out of his rental because of short-term rentals or that school kid who is sleeping in their car.

Long–term vehicular living is not a desire here, said Furman. It’s not a substitute for temporary housing and it’s not a substitute for affordable long-term housing.

“We’re working on more affording housing in this town and we’re going to need everyone’s help getting those projects passed.”

“There is no available housing in the Verde Valley,” explained Councilor Jessica Williamson. “It’s totally limited. Cottonwood, Rimrock, Camp Verde.” It’s not a question of commuting or businesses paying more, she said.

No one thinks its great people live in their cars, Williamson said. They already live in their cars and it’s stressful for people.

She said Sedona is having housing problems because nobody in Sedona wants density, multi-family houses built near single-family homes, and no one in Sedona accepts what needs to be done to provide housing for people who don’t have $1.5 million for a house.

The council then approved the zoning change to amend the existing Planned Development to the northwest corner of the former Cultural Park and the action will be in effect until June 30, 2026.

The council also approved contracts with the Arizona Department of Housing and the Verde Valley Homeless Coalition for the proposed Safe Place to Park program by a vote of 6-1. The Verde Valley Homeless Coalition in Cottonwood is partnering with the City of Sedona in supporting Safe Place to Park program.

The Safe Place to Park program is a temporary solution to a complex problem, Sedona/Cottonwood Housing Manager Shannon Boone explained to the council on Jan. 9.

People will be asked to go through a registration process. The designated parking area is for up to 40 vehicles, Boone said, for people who work locally and live in their vehicles.

There will be shower trailers, portable restrooms, waste containers; and no tents and fires will be allowed.

There will be no RV hookups, and RVs must contain all wastewater. There is a maximum of two adults per vehicle and families with children are welcome.

An experienced site manager of the Verde Valley Homeless Coalition will be on the site and individual service plans will be tailored to participant needs to try to locate permanent housing, jobs and other third-party services.

Vyto Starinskas at vstarinskas@verdenews.com