At the Town Council meetings in October, the following was discussed and/or decided:
Availability Fees: Amendment to Patagonia’s “availability fees” [fees for water, sewer and garbage services] is being considered by the council. Although these fees are important sources of income for the town, a number of town residents have questioned their justification. If you own an empty lot that is hooked up to town services, or an empty trailer lot, you are subject to these fees–even though there is no one occupying the property. The town is now considering whether to levy these fees on vacant lots where there is no hook-up to town services. The council has asked the Town Manager to develop data to assist them in making a determination about this issue when they take it up in the future.
Use Permit Hearings: On October 23 the Planning and Zoning Committee and the Town Council held joint hearings on three use permit applications which resulted in the following decisions:
– The Michael Shoemaker request to expand his existing RV park at 566 Harshaw Road to provide more four Park Model RV’s spaces was granted along with permission to provide dry camping.
– The Craig Canady/Paul Hathway request for a permit for Health and Wellness services at 376 Naugle Avenue was not approved as no applicant showed up to discuss the application and material was missing.
– The David and Karina Budd/Liliane Papin request for use of space #2 at 309 Duquesne Avenue as an Oriental Medicine Clinic was granted subject to the filing of a satisfactory parking plan, compliance with ADA requirements for parking and accessibility and obtaining a building permit.
Win RV Club: The request of the Win RV Club to Camp free in the town park from March 3-10 was denied. The group of singles received permission to park and camp here in 2011, but Patagonia RV park owner Michael Shoemaker said that such a policy was detrimental to local RV businesses. Based on such considerations, council members decided deny the permit.
Permission to Repaint Community Center Interior: At the council meeting on October 23, Cornelia O’Connor presented a proposal by the Senior Citizens of Patagonia (SCP) to redecorate the interior of the Community Center. The proposal included a color scheme to repaint the walls and to add stylized Mexican designs around the windows and doors, which were to have been completed by Linda Chase. The plan would also paint over the existing mural. The proposed flower designs elicited major opposition as did the possibility of doing away with the present mural. Mayor Ike Isakson expressed disgust with the idea, saying “I don’t want to look at flowers.” The Community Center was asked to come up with a revised painting plan.
The Water System Repairs: The Town Manager stated that all the approvals had been received and that the bids for much needed repairs to the Patagonia town water should be ready for opening in December.