Big Idea

• The Prescott City Council has adopted a new Water Management Policy
• The work on water management continues, with a Water Policy Review & Monitoring Commission
• The SAFE Project is a collaborative effort between the City of Prescott’s Regional Airport and ERAU
• They are developing a SAFE Complex which will allow multiple educational entities to have safe and efficient access to the airport environment
• Read more…

Monthly Talk of the Town Letter for June 1, 2022

I would like to share some important updates with you from the City of Prescott regarding the new Water policy, and the SAFE project at Prescott Regional Airport.  

Water Policy

Prescott City Council has adopted a new Water Management Policy.  This document was several months in the making, and encompassed a number of public meetings, and hundreds of public comments.  This new policy can be found on the City’s website at www.prescott-az.gov, click on 2022 Water Policy.

Now that a new Water policy has been approved by City Council, the work is continuing, to assure that the policy is implemented appropriately.  For that reason, I am establishing a Water Policy Review and Monitoring Commission, as an ad-hoc Mayor’s commission.

The purpose of the water policy review and monitoring commission shall be to track the effectiveness of the newly adopted 2022 Water Management Policy. The commission will make recommendations to the council regarding how additional stakeholders (County & Other municipalities) could adopt or expand the city policy into their jurisdictions, and make quarterly presentations to the council regarding their findings for potential revisions to the policy, conservation policy and rebates.  The commission will also determine how the water policy is impacting the larger Prescott Active Management Area (AMA).

The seven-member Commission will be chaired by former City Councilman Jim Lamerson.  Bob Rucker will serve as the vice chair.  The commission will meet on the third Tuesday of each month.  All meetings will be publicly posted. As an official commission of the City, they will be subject to the Open Meeting laws, and will be public meetings, publicly posted and open to the public for attendance.

Working in conjunction with the Water Advisory Subcommittee and City Council, this new commission will continue the work begun by Council when they passed the new water management policy.

SAFE Project 

In May I was part of a meeting with Senator Kirsten Sinema.  She spoke about infrastructure projects and programs.  We spoke about some of the new projects proposed for the airport including and exciting new collaboration with Embry Riddle Aeronautical Unviersity.

The Strategic Aviation Flight Education (SAFE) is a collaborative effort between the City of Prescott’s Regional Airport, Ernest A. Love Field (KPRC), and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). 

Through this partnership KPRC is dedicated to developing, through its master planning processes, the infrastructure and land allocation to encourage ERAU and other aviation related educational partners the opportunity to operate in a dedicated area.  The SAFE Complex allows multiple educational entities to have safe and efficient access to the airport environment. In addition, located on the North side of the main runway environment, it provides the opportunity to directly link educational activities with the Aerospace and Industrial businesses in the area for workforce development, research collaboration, and economic development.

ERAU is proposed to be the flagship educational provider in the SAFE Complex.  The first immediate move (Phase 1) is planned for 2024 with follow-on developments planned in line with their strategic vision. Phase 1 provides the capability to operate additional fixed-wing flight training from the SAFE.  This 500,000 sq feet Phase 1 provides parking ramp, hangars and educational space for ERAU’s top-ranked flight program’s planned growth through 2024.

 ERAU and KPRC recognize “Aviation Education” covers a broad spectrum (airplane, helicopters, unmanned systems, air traffic control, meteorology, repair and maintenance) that support the integrated “Aerospace” requirements for American society.  As society advances in AI, Machine Learning, automation saturation, and experiences increasing demands for all forms of Aerospace operations and sustainment, the SAFE Complex will keep Prescott’s educational providers at the forefront of these developments and sustain Prescott’s and ERAU’s leadership role.