Pete Furman reflects on city service – Sedona Red Rock News

Sedona City Councilman Pete Furman opted not to run for reelection in 2026 and will be leaving office next month, making Tuesday, Oct. 27, his last regular meeting as an elected official.

“[Because of the] health challenges I’ve had over the last four years, and then the recent tragedy in my family, it’s the right decision for me to step down at this time and focus more time on health and family,” Furman said. “But I’ll miss lots of elements about serving.”

‘In Good Standing’

Furman cited among his successes revamping council rules and procedures on Nov. 25 to create the status of “council member in good standing,” which passed in response to the precedent-setting three formal censures of former Mayor Scott Jablow, prior to his resignation on Sept. 30, 2025.

“Good standing” is what all members of the council have unless they are censured by two-thirds of the body, after which, they lose privileges like presiding over meetings, having access to city computers and getting paid for travel on city business.

Salary for Service

After selecting members Feb. 24, the Council Compensation Work Group has met several times to determine if the current monthly salaries of $550 for City Council members and $800 for the mayor should be increased, partly as an effort to attract younger candidates to run for council without taking a financial hit for their public service.

“I think we’re going to meet one more time in our committee, but a final report will go to council,” Furman said, but a presentation date has not yet been set. “I’ll be off council, but I’ll participate in the presentation to council at that time.”

The committee has also discussed the “idea of offering health care to council members, but it would be at the same kind of rate that employees pay,” Furman said.

Sedona Cultural Park

Sedona voters’ 2024 rejection of the city’s proposed Safe Place to Park project, which sought to have part of the Sedona Cultural Park converted to a car camp for Sedona’s homeless workers, Furman cited as his biggest regret.

“We could have got some data,” he said. “We could have potentially really helped families with children or workforce in town, but we didn’t really get the business community involved in helping to explain to the community what that program is all about. And we shouldn’t have done that, we shouldn’t have brought something forward that helps the business community without the business community’s support.”

Similarly, voters again rejected the city’s plan for the Sedona Cultural Park on the July 2026 primary ballot with the overwhelming passage of Proposition 403, which prohibits residential development on the property.

“I think maybe that’s the second regret of mine, was thinking that the Cultural Park was the last big plot of land [with] a potential for housing, but the community housing plan helps me understand that that’s not necessarily true,” Furman said. “There are other ways to get there as well. I was too hopeful that the Cultural Park was going to be the solution for us.”

“The future of our city goes out generations, and we need to start getting younger viewpoints on the council to get us ready for that future,” Furman said on why residents should get involved in the city’s governance.

Sedona’s aging demographic trends show the Balanced Housing Strategy noting the median age in Sedona today is 64.1 years, compared to 50.5 in 2000.

“It’s not written in stone what our future is,” Furman said. “I think we can still impact it. That’s [what] the housing strategy is aiming at trying to influence, and I think that’s a worthwhile effort.”

“I’m very happy the direction the housing strategy has taken,” Furman said. “The Finance and Audit Subcommittee was something I also campaigned on.”

“The one thing I want to add is about our police pension system. I’m very proud to have helped create a full-funding policy goal and that we did achieve, eliminating our unfunded liabilities,” Furman wrote. “Very unusual in the state.”

Charlotte Hosseini

The meeting was also the last for Councilwoman Charlotte Hosseini, who was appointed last November to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Jablow. She also chose not to run for election for a full term and leaves office when the new council is seated next month.

She had served on the Planning and Zoning Commission since 2018 before was appointed to council.

“I’m kind of a policy wonk-type person, and I like to understand how things work,” she said. “It started out as, ‘how do things work here in Sedona’ when I moved to Sedona, and started with the Citizens Academy to kind of understand that, and one thing just led to the next. So the subject matter is interesting to me, and still is interesting to me. But I realize what an incredible time commitment it is. It really is.

“I’m leaving things unresolved on so many different projects, not being able to finish them all the way to a conclusion, and so not quite knowing what’s going to happen.

“The Cultural Park is going to be one. We got the request for information in, and they’ll come to council at some point. I won’t be there to give any input into it, so that’s a kind of a big one, because it’s a big one for the city, and what our next steps would be.”

New Council

The new Sedona City Council will be sworn in on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 3 p.m. in the Sedona Council Chambers.

Elected in the July 21 primary, Jean-Christophe Buillet and Tony Hauserman will be sworn in as new councilmen at the next regular meeting, following the canvass of the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election.

At that meeting, Councilwoman Melissa Dunn will be sworn in for her second term and current Vice Mayor Brian Fultz will be sworn in as mayor, with interim Mayor Holli Ploog returning to her regular council seat to finish the last two years of her second term. Council will then elect from among themselves a vice mayor.

Sedona City Council talks project audits – Sedona Red Rock News

Sedona City Council took no action regarding creating a performance auditing program, however, the Uptown Parking Garage emerged as a leading contender for an outside vendor to pilot a project review.

An auditing program is distinct from the city’s standard financial audit.

During public comment, four residents raised safety concerns regarding concrete testing reports at the garage, prompting interim Mayor Holli Ploog to direct interim City Manager Kevin Phelps to investigate the matter and report back to the council.

Later in the meeting, the council expressed an appetite for a potential performance audit of the garage’s construction process.

The audit initiative stems from a recommendation by outgoing Councilman Pete Furman during the council’s annual retreat in December. Furman noted he had been “a big fan of doing this for all four years of his term.” The council subsequently created an audit subcommittee made up of Furman, Vice Mayor and mayor-elect Brian Fultz and Councilwoman Melissa Dunn.

The committee has met five times since January and was officially renamed the Performance Audit Committee in August.

“I do not want to hire an audit function staff, I have a very hard time seeing a need for that,” Fultz said. “I could be interested in auditing a project on a one-off basis, but I feel like we are way too small of a city to be hiring an audit function, and I don’t think it starts or stops with just one person. And I’m yet convinced that that’s a direction that we should ultimately go.”

Ahead of the discussion, council heard a presentation from Kevin Saionzkowski, vice chairman of the Advocacy Committee for the Association of Local Government Auditors, aboutthe different options the audit can take, from outside contractors to being done internally by current staff.

Among the potential performance audit areas are capital projects such as the Uptown Parking Garage, Community Service Provider contracts, such as the funding agreement between the city and the Sedona Heritage Museum. Other potential audit projects cited include: Short-term rental permitting and tax collection, public transit operations, human resources, grants management and the city’s information technology.

Uptown Parking Garage

After months of delays, council approved a $3.95 million agreement with Arizona Water Co. for a two-part water main installation. Phase 1 will install a 16-inch water main to improve the water’s velocity to the garage, while Phase 2 replaces the main along Van Deren Road from Forest Road to Schnebly Road.

“We do not have a changed timeline for opening the garage at this point,” Deputy City Manager Andy Dickey wrote to the NEWS.

Council’s work session for setting priorities for 2027 is scheduled for Tuesday to Thursday, Dec. 15 to 17.

Magistrate Steve Henry

Council unanimously appointed Steve Henry as an associate magistrate for the Sedona Magistrate Court. It is an on-call position for a two-year term when the presiding judge is unavailable. Henry replaces Lynn Riordan, who is serving as the interim court administrator

Parking plan inches toward next steps – Sedona Red Rock News

Council approves parking rates for garage and surface parking

The city’s Uptown parking plan is circling the block.

The Sedona City Council voted 5-1 at its Tuesday, Aug. 25, meeting to move a residential permit parking program forward, with Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella opposed and Councilwoman Melissa Dunn absent.

Council also unanimously set maximum parking rates for the Uptown meters, the parking garage and the Sacajawea Plaza surface lot — the framework for a future in which all public parking in Uptown has a fee.

However, none of the changes from Aug. 25 will take effect soon because the Uptown parking garage is not anticipated to open until December or January. City staffers said they want to monitor Uptown for at least six months afterward.

Deputy City Manager Andy Dickey said “it’s our intention” to bring the residential parking program back to the council for final approval.

The permit program would let the city restrict on-street parking to registered residents and their guests, to be implemented later “if future conditions indicate that restrictions and/or enforcement are needed,” according to the Parking Work Group’s letter of support in the council packet.

Once implemented, all non-resident street parking in the affected areas of Uptown will be prohibited, requiring visitors and non-residents to use the Uptown parking garage or public or private parking lots instead.

The residential permit parking program would cover three blocks in Uptown, Van Deren, Price and Smith roads, bounded by Schnebly Road on the north and Forest Road on the south.

Six conditions would trigger the plan, any one of which could be enough: Emergency access or public safety being compromised, spillover parking from the garage onto residential streets, resident feedback, parking use and occupancy data, a recommendation from the Parking Work Group or direction from the council.

The city is still deciding if the permits will be physical placards or a digital database, and specifically how residents will enroll vehicles in the program, but either way Sedona Police Department staffers will enforce the program using mobile license plate readers.

“Sedona’s parking management system is not ‘Flock-like; and is not connected to any law-enforcement network,” the city posted to social media Wednesday, Aug. 26. “The City Council, in a public meeting, reviewed the use of license plate recognition technology on Jan. 27, 2026. They approved a specific data governance policy that limits the technology to parking purposes and prohibits law enforcement, investigative, or surveillance use and sharing with outside agencies.”

Employee Parking

The maximum parking rate for the garage and City Lot 5 will be $2.50 an hour, with peak season rates of $3.50 in the March-May and September-November peak. On-street meter parking on State Route 89A and Jordan Road will run $4 an hour with a three-hour limit, or $5 in peak season. The fees will be in place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and there will be no parking from midnight to 5 a.m.

“Any other examples we have [when] our fee schedule is set and we actually implement something lower?” Councilman Pete Furman asked, though City Manager Anette Spickard was unable to provide an example.

The employee parking proposal stalled when the council tabled it to hear the fee ordinances and later returned to the item without adopting it. The council also rejected a recommended $25 annual fee from the Parking Work Group to join a new parking advisory group and instructed Spickard to work with the Parking Work Group on a revised employee parking plan to reduce the financial burden on employees in Uptown and avoid a gift clause problem.

The proposed plan was seeking free parking for carpools of two or more employees who register with the city, $2 a day for an employee’s single-occupancy vehicle in Uptown and a $25 monthly pass for employees.

“The proposed program identifies approximately 205 potential employee parking spaces,” the council packet reads. “Of these, approximately 104 spaces are drawn from the city’s public parking inventory … and not already identified as employee parking only,” approximately 16.5% of the city’s current public parking inventory. “Existing employee parking spaces reserved for Sacajawea and Matterhorn [21 spaces] are not included in this total.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to belittle anybody, but $2 a day — when I heard that, ‘Oh my gosh, who could have a problem with $2 a day?’” Councilwoman Charlotte Hosseini said. “It seemed so minimal, and granted, everything goes up over time, and you can get nickeled-and-dimed over many things. But if it’s really a problem, and free is the answer, let’s work on trying to make it free.”

Hosseini also requested a future agenda item to discuss a potential policy to waive parking fees during special events such as the St. Patrick’s Parade.

Other Council News

Sedona City Council’s next meeting is on Tuesday, Sept. 8, where it is scheduled for another marathon session:

■ Yavapai County discussing its proposed sales tax hike to fund the Yavapai College Jail District that voters will decide on Tuesday, Nov. 3 ballot

■ A council vote on whether to approve an extension for the Village at Saddlerock Crossing

■ Possible adoption of the Sedona Balanced Housing Strategy

■ a possible building code update

■ winter tourism marketing

■ city spending on athletic field improvements and security enhancements at Sedona Red Rock High School.

The city of Sedona will hold a Community Conversation public meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 9, the Community Library Sedona, 3250 White Bear Road to talk about Fire Safe Sedona and emergency preparedness and from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and a brainstorming session for a possible recreation center from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Uptown garage opening delayed ’til winter – Sedona Red Rock News

City commits $3.7M to water main upgrades and Forest Road sidewalk improvements to State Route 89A

The money will continue to flow to support opening the delayed Uptown parking garage, which is now expected to open in December or January.

Sedona City Council voted 6-0 on Aug. 25 — with Councilwoman Melissa Dunn absent — to approve a Memorandum of Understanding with Arizona Water Co. and the Sedona Fire District, along with a related $3,741,285.50 contract with J. Banicki Construction Inc. to bring the long-delayed garage closer to its opening.

About $2.54 million of the contract covers previously planned Forest Road improvements, while roughly $1.2 million funds water-system upgrades that will be integrated into AWC’s infrastructure.

“Once we upgrade the size of the [water] line, it drops those velocities down and brings us into a safe condition,” Deputy City Manager Andy Dickey said.

Additionally, a voluntary $60,000 to $80,000 sprinkler system for the garage’s electric vehicle charging area is anticipated to be completed through a minor construction contract within City Manager Anette Spickard’s spending authority.

“The current garage project cost is approximately $28.25 million, including the approximately $1.2 million McCarthy settlement previously approved by Council,” on Aug. 11, Dickey stated after the meeting. “There was no additional garage construction cost approved at Tuesday’s meeting.”

Work to resolve structural issues with the garage’s external serpentine facade was scheduled to wrap up on Aug. 25, according to city staff during the meeting.

Phase 2 of the project was not authorized Tuesday. That potential future phase includes extending the water main upgrades up Van Deren Road and across Schnebly Road to Jordan Road, upsizing the city’s line from 6 to 8 inches.

Phase 2 is estimated to cost about $2.5 million, with construction potentially starting next summer at the earliest and finishing in December 2027.

The Forest Road improvements include a sidewalk on the north and south sides from the garage to the existing sidewalks connecting to State Route 89A.

‘Under Pressure’

Dickey told council that water moves through the 6-inch main feeding the garage’s sprinkler lines faster than plumbing codes allow, requiring new 10-inch pipe to be installed. AWC has elected to install a 16-inch main and cover the incremental cost.

“The higher the velocity, the more it can scour, or you might say it’s kind of like rubbing sandpaper on the inside of the pipe,” Dickey later said. “So, the higher that velocity, the more it has a tendency to scour that pipe.”

AWC identified its water velocity criterion for the garage during a Feb. 18 meeting with the city, a determination that required additional hydrant flow testing and the creation of a hydraulic model of AWC’s system.

“The initial modeling was completed in late June and then refined based on comments from AWC,” Dickey wrote. On July 13, AWC asked that the model be expanded to evaluate a much larger portion of the Uptown distribution system, which required additional system information.

“The expanded analysis was completed July 16. That analysis identified high velocities in multiple existing 4-inch and 6-inch water mains and also identified differences between the actual system configuration and the information previously available for the modeling. That was when the extent of the existing system issue and the need for broader water system improvements became clear.”

Five members of the public spoke on the garage’s water issues, and a question common to both them and the council was why the problem wasn’t known sooner.

“We didn’t have the ability to rely on that information being there ahead of time, and we did our due diligence through the design process,” Dickey told the NEWS. He noted the modeling gap came from not having AWC’s system details. “It’s just what we learned in going through all of that. We realized later that it changed the project cost and scope, and that just wasn’t foreseeable, just based on the conditions that we were under in the moment.”

According to Vice Mayor Brian Fultz, the silver lining is that potential new water projects will reduce future AWC rate hikes to Sedona customers.

“The way things work in the state of Arizona, even if we didn’t pay for these improvements, even if Arizona Water paid for them,” he said. “In fact, if Arizona Water paid for them, that cost would come back to the ratepayers ultimately because it would go to the [Arizona] Corporation Commission, who would rubber stamp the investments that the utility has made.”

Accountability

The council expressed frustration over the parking garage’s price tag and delayed opening, calling for a formal performance audit of the project once complete.

“Staff does a good job of financial audits, but the thing that we’ve seen lacking in the past is an actual performance audit function, and [the garage] opens itself up to be a great test ground of what we can actually see and learn,” said Councilman Pete Furman, who is also on the council’s audit subcommittee that was approved earlier this year.

“I don’t want to ever see a project like this again,” Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella said.

Addressing the ongoing delays and scrutiny, Dickey outlined steps the city is taking to improve its process on major capital projects moving forward.

“One would be going about the procurement process differently, and making sure that as we bring a contractor on board, some of these issues are built into their contract that require these issues are dealt with more proactively,” he said. “Of course, in hindsight, things are going to be more clear. Knowing what we know now about [AWC’s] system, it will be at the forefront of our minds to ensure that we check the details of their model moving forward at the front end of the project.

“Typically, when you submit for review to an entity, you would expect to get all the information up front. But like we explained to council on Tuesday, we don’t know the ins and outs of their private water system, but we know a lot more now.”

“Our confidence level is pretty high for [opening in January],” Dickey said.

Submitted to Red Rock News on 7/22/26. Printed as a Guest Perspective on 7/29/26.

Sedona voters renewed Home Rule – Proposition 400 – keeping budget decisions under local control for four more years.

The same voters passed Proposition 403, designating the Cultural Park for parks, recreation, and culture – taking housing off the table there.

Voters also elected Fultz as mayor, and Dunn, Buillet, and Hauserman to Council. Congratulations. I welcome the new voices and note their balance.

On the Cultural Park:

I voted No on Prop 403 and said so publicly. I believed the planning process should have finished before options narrowed. The voters disagreed, and that settles it. I will support implementing the Cultural Park designation in good faith.

I still believe Sedona has a housing problem that is hollowing out our community. Finding locations for housing just got harder. One thing I would do differently: begin the Cultural Park planning effort with less dense housing options. We now look to the Balanced Housing Strategy to help us plan elsewhere, and better.

On Home Rule:

Home Rule won, as it has every time since 1996. Some neighbors believed defeating Home Rule would send a message about spending. The margin, smaller every time since 2012, sends it anyway.

For years, our surveys have shown many residents lack confidence in where the city is headed. Some of that criticism is unfair. Some of it is earned. A council candidate skeptical of the direction won the most votes this election. All of this is data. Winning Home Rule while ignoring all the feedback continues the fight.

On the Permanent Base Adjustment (PBA):

Although it wasn’t on the ballot, supporters and opponents of Home Rule agreed on one thing during the campaign: Sedona should pursue a PBA – a voter-approved change of the state spending limit.

I called for a Permanent Base Adjustment; so did people who disagree with me on nearly everything else. When both sides of a hard fight point at the same next step, take it seriously.

The soonest a PBA can practically reach the ballot is July 2028, and Home Rule governs through FY2030, so there is time to do this thoughtfully. The hard part is setting the number. Set it high and it replaces Home Rule votes for 15 to 20 years. Set it low, below current spending, and the community must trim services and projects – a choice no Arizona city has ever made. A third option, also novel: keep Home Rule, set a low PBA – higher than the state limit – and hold it in reserve. It would make for a softer landing if Home Rule someday fails. Whichever way, voters should decide with clear eyes.

This debate will be difficult and emotional. Anyone who tells you it will be quick or painless is selling snake oil. What matters is a process the community can stand behind. Residents must be in the room from the start, especially those who voted No on Home Rule or Yes on 403.

On Coming Back Together:

After eight years of city service – four on Council – and having chosen not to run again, I will use the freedom of leaving to say a few things.

To everyone who ran: putting your name on a ballot is its own service. Thank you.

To residents who are angry with the city: your vote mattered. Stay engaged, and if you show up at every step your voice will be more powerful. The budget routine starts in December, work groups need members, and Council meetings have a podium with your name on it. The city can listen.

Much of this election played out online, where the sharpest voices often get rewarded. But those forums are not the whole town, nor are they built for constructive dialogue. The Council also hears from people who never post online – and other residents say nothing at all. It still must decide what’s in our community’s best interest.

To the city: trust is rebuilt through behavior. Implementing Prop 403 well is one crucial behavior. Running an open, patient PBA process is another.

To the winning candidates: you inherit all the messages from Tuesday, not just the friendly ones. Governing is where you prove your vision. The concerns that fueled this year’s campaigns now have a seat at the dais.

And to our entire community: the people on each side of these questions are your neighbors. Although I have disagreed, sometimes sharply, with people who campaigned against my views, I don’t doubt they love this town. That is what we have in common. And that ain’t nothing.

Sedona is a great place to be. Let’s get back to work.

The opinions expressed here are mine alone – I am not speaking for City Council or city staff.