SignalsAZ.com Prescott News Podcast - Weekly Update with Prescott Mayor | September 22

Episode Date: September 22, 2025

Send us a text and chime in!Hello, I’m Mayor Phil Goode with your weekly update.Prescott Housing Needs AssessmentPrescott Airfest 2025Pavement Preservation Project UpdatesCity Council MeetingsThe Planning and Zoning Commission MeetingRead the full article: https://www.signalsaz.com/articles/weekly-update-with-prescott-mayor-september-22/Check out the CAST11.com Website at: https://CAST11.com Follow the CAST11 Podcast Network on Facebook at: https://Facebook.com/CAST11AZFollow Cast11 Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/cast11_podcast_network

Hello, I'm Mayor Phil Good with your weekly update. In the fall of 2024, we received a $200,000 grant from the Arizona Department of Housing to assist local jurisdictions in solving the workforce housing crisis. With that grant money, the city hired Elliott Pollock and company to conduct that local housing needs assessment. It's important that we understand the full complexity of the issues before we can develop strategies to address. the problems. Here in the city of Prescott, the state of housing is something we recognize as a serious concern. On September 9th during our council voting meeting, we heard a presentation from Rick Merritt, the president of Elliott Pollock and Company. While we frequently hear the term workforce housing,

it's also called missing middle housing. This describes housing for households that are between 60 and 120% of the local median income. These households earn too much to receive state or federal assistance, but they're unable to afford housing obtained at the market rate. Some of the critical personnel that need housing are teachers, police, firefighters, construction workers, retail workers, and those that provide services to our community. With the median age of 60.3 years in the city of Prescott, we have a low labor force participation rate of just 42.4%. That's compared to 48.3% in Yavapai County and 60.1% in Arizona as a whole. A low labor force participation rate means that housing is definitely an economic development issue for the city, because there are not enough people to provide

services for the general population, which then leads to long-distance commuting. The median household income in Prescott is under $70,000. Unfortunately, the price of housing has increased dramatically since 2019. Single-family housing prices have increased by 63%, which translates to an average increase of $270,000 per home, vastly outpacing inflation. This study is not yet complete, and Council will receive further updates from Elliot Pollock in the months ahead. But the information provided is valuable and will help the city as it makes its way forward seeking solutions to this problem. Be sure to mark your calendars for Prescott Air Fest 2025, taking place on Saturday, October 4th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Prescott Regional Airport,

Ernest A. Love Field. This free family-friendly event invites the community to celebrate aviation and explore one of Northern Arizona's most dynamic air transportation hubs. The city of Prescott and their contractor Sunland Asphalt and Construction are currently working on a pavement preservation and maintenance project along Prescott Lakes Parkway between SR89 and SR-69 and also along SR-89 between Yop, Pay Connector and the Willow Lake Road Roundabout. To expedite completion of the project and minimize the impact to the traveling public, residents, and businesses, a portion of the work along SR 89 will be completed at night. There are schedule and traffic impacts expected on Prescott Lakes Parkway from SR 89 to SR 69, and I'm happy to report that the asphalt milling, preparation work, and pavement repairs are

now completed. From September 24th to September 29th, a two-step pavement preservation application will be taking place. This work will take place during the day. Pavement preservation will also occur within the Prescott Lakes Parkway Roundabout. This work will be done during night hours and requires a full closure of Prescott Lakes Parkway between Walmart and SR 89 for the night. On SR 89 from Yoppe Connector to the Willow Lake Road Roundabout, the pavement repairs on SR 89 from Yoppae connector to the Willow Lake Roundabout have been completed. From September 23rd to September 26th, drivers can expect night work as pavement preservation takes place along the right lanes of SR 89 in both directions. This work requires a full closure of driveway entrances along SR 89. the SR-89 Yoppa connector, and the SR-89 in Prescott Lakes Parkway intersections for each night.

Detour routes will be available, so please follow the marked signage. On September 30th and October 1st, please plan for night work during pavement preservation within the Willow Lake Road roundabout. This work requires a partial closure of certain turning movements within the roundabout each night. During this work, you can expect cruise working. from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. with some night work performed as needed, flagging operations and temporary traffic controls, temporary street closures, lane restrictions, reduced speeds, construction noise, and travel delays. Cruise will work to maintain business access as best as possible. We do not have an executive session tomorrow, but our 1 p.m. City Council study session promises

to be jam-packed. First of all, we'll have a presentation and discussion regarding a proposal to convert Ken Linley Field to synthetic turf. In August of 2025, the city of Prescott received a proposal from a local non-profit youth soccer organization to convert the existing natural grass field at Ken Linley Park to a high-quality synthetic turf field. This proposal has many details, and I look forward to hearing the information and to a robust discussion. During this study session, we'll also be discussing a possible shift of the primary runway at Prescott Regional Airport. The relocation of runway 3 right by 780 feet to the northeast would be a benefit to commercial service multi-engine aircraft. It's expected that the shift will increase the cost of extension and the strengthening project,

but will save in land acquisition costs and mitigate existing noise issues associated with nearby homes and major transmission lines during the three p m voting meeting the council will consider approving six grants from the a arizona department of transportation and council will also consider a contract for a rodeo fairground master plan the purpose of this project is to create a master plan for the prescott rodeo fairgrounds that accommodates the many differing needs of the user groups and minimize and mitigate the impact on the adjoining neighborhoods, providing the updated amenities needed to enable efficient and effective use of the grounds for years to come. There is one meeting scheduled this week. The Planning and Zoning Commission will be meeting on Thursday, September 25th at 9 a.m. in the council chambers. I'm Mayor Phil Good, and I'll update you again next week, so thanks for watching.