At Javadog Gallery, The Manheim Gallery, Little Lisa’s, Coombs Countertops, The Little Store and the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce. For information, call Little Lisa’s at 639-0676 or Old Town Jail at 634-9468

Come to Cottonwood!

Dead Horse Ranch State Park and the Verde River Greenway are among Cottonwood’s special treasures!

Events at Dead Horse Ranch State Park

Events at Verde River Greenway

Trail Map (pdf) download

Verde River Greenway Paddle Map

USFS Verde River Guide

Get A Dead Horse Park Pass

Dead Horse Park

Despite its distinctive name, Dead Horse Ranch is situated amidst an abundance of life along the Verde River. A six-mile reach of the river is known as the Verde River Greenway. Its unique ecosystem, the Cottonwood / Willow riparian gallery forest, is one of fewer than 20 such riparian zones in the world. Life along the river changes with the seasons, giving visitors a glimpse of the numerous species of raptors, neotropical migrants, resident songbirds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish.

(Information from Dead Horse Park Web site)

Did You Know?

The Cottonwood Ditch in its earliest days had a wooden water wheel to lift the water from the ditch to higher ground. The clanking of the iron buckets as it turned appeared louder at night when all was quiet and was described by old timer, Don Willard, as, “…a strange sort of music to go to sleep by.”

The first automobile in the area was owned by Dr. Lee Hawkins, a Jerome Dentist.

The first radio station in the valley went on the air June 12, 1930 –KCRJ– it ran 100 watts and was on from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The station operated well into the 1940s.

(Verde River Almanac)

HAPPY

THANKSGIVING!

Mayor Diane Joens Announces Launch of E-Newsletter

Cottonwood Mayor Diane Joens announces the launch of an e-newsletter beginning Nov. 22, Thanksgiving 2007. “I’ve wanted to write a mayor’s e-newsletter for our community since taking office in June,” Joens says. She plans to publish the newsletter at least monthly, as mayoral duties allow. Community members who would like to be on the e-mail list may contact her at mayor@dianejoens.com to sign up. “There is so much happening in the city that I could probably write a newsletter every day,” the mayor said. Don’t have e-mail? The mayor will print some copies of the newsletter and place them at City Hall. The newsletter will also be published to her Web site, www.dianejoens.com.

Happy Thanksgiving to Cottonwood Community Friends!

Happy Thanksgiving Day to community friends in Cottonwood from the mayor, council and city employees. The city of Cottonwood’s offices will be closed Thursday, Nov. 22 through Sunday, Nov. 25 in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday. In keeping with the holiday theme of giving thanks and being grateful for our blessings, the city and its residents have much for which to be thankful. Completed city projects in the past year have enhanced the livability and quality of life in Cottonwood:

Completed the design and construction of Aspen Street from 11th Street to Main Street, adding a sidewalk and bicycle lanes. The city made significant upgrades to the reclaimed water fill station which has significantly increased the sale of reclaimed water now available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Completed the Drought Management Plan. (article below) Acquired three acres of land along the southwest line of the airport for future airport development. Completed the security upgrade project that added an automatic gate and card key system to the main gate at the Municipal Airport. Completed wastewater and water fee impact study and implemented ordinance to collect fees for new development. Robert B. Hardy, Water Resources Director, was chosen for the Statewide Water Advisory Group (SWAG). [More completed projects will be included in the next mayor’s newsletter.]

Fire Department Earns Life Safety Achievement Award

The City of Cottonwood Fire Department was presented with a Life Safety Achievement Award for 2006 by the Residential Fire Safety Institute (RFSI). For 14 years, the Life Safety Achievement Award has recognized local fire prevention activities that contributed to the reduction of lives lost in residential fires. The department qualified for the award in 2006 because no structure fire deaths were recorded. The award was distributed in October 2007 by Director Roy L. Marshall, www.firesafehome.org. Contact Fire Chief Mike Casson, Ph: 634-2471

K-9 Officer Ron Ekholm Speaks at Dog Appreciation Event

City of Cottonwood’s K-9 Officer Ron Ekholm gives a talk at the Cottonwood Riverfront Dog Park Association’s Dog Appreciation Day Nov. 10. Vendo will be retired from service in December, after a long and faithful career spent in service to the citizens of Cottonwood. At a City Council meeting, Police Chief Doug Bartosh accepted a check in the amount of $12,500 from Margie Beach and Bryan Detwiler of the Yavapai Community Foundation for the purchase of a new K-9 for the Cottonwood Police Department. Contact Police Chief Doug Bartosh Ph: 634-4246.

City of Cottonwood Water Conservation Status

The city of Cottonwood fully understands that potable water is a limited and precious commodity in our arid environment and is taking action to promote water conservation. The city created and City Council adopted a Drought and Water Shortage Preparedness Plan. This plan enacts mandatory water conservation measures from May through September and outlines strategies should the city water system experience supply shortages anytime during the year. The plan went through numerous public hearings and the Council utilized input from the public to craft the final plan. A public information plan included a direct mailing of the plan’s strategies to all water customers on the city system and a series of public meetings to present the plan and answer questions from the public.

Utilities Director Dan Lueder states, “The public response to the drought plan was very good; our usage this summer was down from past years. Although we had a couple of mechanical failures on our wells during the heat of summer, it was not necessary to raise the resource status level from the mandatory stage one to a higher level. The compliance with the stage one restrictions was excellent with only one citation being issued for non-compliance.”

City of Cottonwood Partners with ADWR and Rinse Smart

The city has partnered with the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) to promote the Rinse Smart Arizona program. This program involves the retrofitting of pre-rinse spray valves in commercial kitchens with a newly designed more efficient valve. The standard pre-rinse valve uses 3 to 4 gallons per minute versus the 1.6 gallons per minute for the rinse smart valve. The new valve is also designed to have a more effective spray pattern so in addition to the reduced water flow, it also takes less time per dish to pre-rinse. Documented water savings are in the 35% to 40% range. This program and the rinse valve are free to the participants. A public presentation by ADWR was held in October and city staff members are personally contacting commercial kitchen operators to inform them about the program.

Water Conservation Citizens’ Committee Established

The city is establishing a water conservation committee to develop a conservation plan. The committee has formulated a draft mission statement:

In order to ensure a sustainable water supply for our community, the Water Conservation Committee of the City of Cottonwood has been organized to increase public awareness of the necessity for water conservation and to promote specific actions and incentives to achieve a goal in reducing average residential water consumption to 7000 gallons/per household/per month or the national average, whichever is lower, by July 1, 2012.

For comparison purposes, the average per household usage when the city purchased the water companies was in excess of 11,000 gallons per month; current usage is about 9,000 gallons per month. The current national average for a household is 6,900 gallons per month. Contact: Utilities Director Dan Lueder, Ph: 634-0186, ext. 16.

2007 Cottonwood Street Resurfacing Projects Completed

The city of Cottonwood's 2007 rubberized chip seal project was completed in September. The rubberized seal included liquid asphalt covered by a layer of small gravel that has been proven to extend the life of busy city streets. Streets sealed were Cottonwood, Cypress, Date, Elm, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, Five Star Blvd, Marauder, Camino Real and Rio Mesa. Contact Public Works Director Tim Costello Ph: 634-8033.

Cottonwood Library Receives $1,500 Grant

Accepting a check from SRP, from left: Jerry Winder, Mayor Diane Joens, Library Director John O’Neill, Bob Oliphant, Darold Smith, Jeanmarie Haney, and Council Member Linda Norman.

Cottonwood Public Library received a grant from Salt River Project through Cocopai Resource Conservation and Development for a $1,500 water library book collection. Library Director John O’Neill says, “All books will be located in the library’s Southwestern collection. Patrons can place holds online via home computers at http://yavapailibrary.org/ or at network library catalog terminals.” The Cottonwood Library is undergoing construction with a major addition to the building that will focus on youth services when completed. A list of the books available for check out is on the Web: http://www.dianejoens.com/activities/srp-library-grant.htm. Contact Library Director John O’Neill Ph: 634-7559.

Zoning Ordinance Amended to Encourage Front Porches

In September the City Council amended the Cottonwood Zoning Ordinance to allow covered porches. The General Plan supports the enhancement of small town qualities through policies that encourage a sense of place, a feeling of community safety and friendliness, opportunities for casual human interaction, human-scale development, pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods, and the general revitalization of neighborhoods. Encouraging front porches on homes is part of a community vision that provides better opportunities for neighborhood interaction, allows a presence on the street and contributes to desirable neighborhood qualities. The amendments to the Zoning Ordinance allow front porches and covered entries to encroach up to six feet into required front yard setback areas as a matter of right in various residential districts. Questions? Contact Community Development Director George Gehlert or Planner Charlie Scully at 634-5505.