December 17, 2025
Manager Ron Robinson reported on a recent festive kids’ Christmas event that the Town had arranged, with 112 stockings being given out with ten-dollar gift certificates and candy. Jose Hernandez played Santa, accompanied by a couple of elves. A Scotch pine tree has been planted in the Town’s park and will be used for future holiday tree lighting events.
Councilor Gary Retherford reported that new regulations for the land subdivision process were in process.
Jim Usevitch presented a summary of the audit of the Town for Fiscal Year 2025, praising the Town for good preparation and saying relatively few extra entries had to be made. He said the auditors found no signs of possible fraud. Usevitch also reported on the Town’s Annual Expenditure Limit Report, saying they’d stayed well under the established limits and had a “good buffer level.”
Heidi Rentz gave the schedule and preparations for the 2nd Annual Daydreamer Foot Race event, to be held the weekend of February 6-7. It’ll be hosted at Patagonia Lumber Company, with a start-finish line and “soft closure” of the block of McKeown Ave. between 3rd Ave. and Taylor, similar to the arrangements for the Spirit World bike race weekend. There will be choices of 50k, 30k and 10k distances, as well as a possible kids race, which will be discussed with the Council and Mayor.
The 50k and 30k will both start at 7am on Saturday. Proceeds from a Friday benefit dinner will go to Patagonia Recycling. Event information is online at runthedaydreamer.com/routes. Rentz said she was hoping for 150 registrants, after last year’s count of 120. In addition to the race participants, she expects 50 more family and friends to be visitors to Patagonia for the race weekend.
Council approved the Daydreamer race’s request to use the Town’s five-acre property on Harshaw Ave. for camping from Feb. 6-8.
Council adopted an ordinance to simplify the valuation of construction projects and reduce the overall fee.
Council approved a lease with Pano AI for equipment placement at the Town’s reservoir site. Under a five-year lease at $250/month, the company will operate a 24/7 rotating camera that will use AI to look for signs of fire and smoke and report if an “actionable incident” is found. This in turn could trigger a response by Patagonia Volunteer Fire & Rescue (PVFR). PVFR Chief Hartigan said he welcomed the addition.
The Town’s pro bono environmental litigation attorney, Joy Herr-Cardillo of the U of Arizona Law School, was approved to file an Amicus Brief on behalf of the Town to join a request by the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance and other plaintiffs that the District Court order the US Forest Service to conduct a more thorough environmental review process regarding risks of exploratory drilling for Barksdale Resources’s Sunnyside Project in the Patagonia Mountains, particularly regarding endangered species and water resources in the Town’s designated Municipal Watershed.
Council authorized an annual year-end lump-sum employee compensation payment during the first pay period of December.
The payment will take effect in FY 2026, subject to annual budget appropriation limits.
Mayor and Council approved payment of Accounts Payable, and noted that a few Future Agenda items from last month would be carried over to the first January meeting.
The Mayor and Council went into Executive Session to review the Town Manager’s performance, continued salary and benefit package.