On behalf of the residents, taxpayers and extended community of Sedona, Larson Newspapers extends a warm welcome to Anette Spickard as Sedona’s new city manager.
Sedona is a vibrant city, nestled amid red rocks and renowned for its artists and cultural heritage. We have a wide range of diverse residents, some of whom are old-timers who can trace their family linage back to the days of T.C. and Sedona Schnebly and refer to Capital Butte as “Greyback,” those who moved here after the Golden Age of Western films when land was still cheap, coming for new subdivisions and economic opportunities, others who arrived for metaphysical reasons to commune in the red rocks during and after the “Harmonic Convergence” in the 1980s, some who came for Sedona’s budding art scene before the Great Recession forced much of that scene to evaporate, except the most dedicated who remain, and newcomers who fled major cities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic response.
We have working families in the service industry, retirees who built or bought their final dream home, an underserved but vibrant Spanish-speaking community and hundreds of local merchants who serve the 3 million tourists we receive annually.
Many of us have competing visions for this city, and are vocal about it on social media, at council meetings, at community events and in local stores, parks, restaurants and bars, but we also have so much in common.
We’re irked by traffic congestion, overcrowding and threats to our surrounding environment from tourists who don’t take local conservation as seriously as we do.
As you step into your role, it’s essential to acknowledge the challenges that confront our city that require strategy, vision, innovative solutions and, most importantly, the trust and engagement of our residents. You’ll find in the pages of our newspaper the pulse of the local electorate who provide a plethora of letters to the editor, but also celebrate their victories and lament their tragedies in stories and press release announcements on the front page and inside.
Sedona attracts visitors from around the world, but this influx strains our infrastructure and tests our patience. Daily complaints about traffic, crowded trailheads, limited parking and lines lead many to irrationally conclude that tourists need to just go away, forgetting that the services your city staff provide are paid for in part by the tax revenues supplied by these visitors. Thousands of workers who live in Sedona and beyond make their livelihoods on the money visitors spend and without them, we would not have the amenities we enjoy. As our city manager, work with transportation experts, local businesses and residents to better manage traffic flow, promote alternative transportation and hopefully building new roads and connectors so residents can avoid the congestion on our two major state highways.
Many residents, especially “essential” workers and young families, struggle to find affordable housing. We urge you to collaborate with housing advocates, developers, government agencies, neighbors and nonprofits to explore housing option, such as new apartments, accessory dwelling units, affordable rental programs and incentives for inclusive housing projects. Red tape is a major hindrance; delays, fees and bureaucracy adds costs and time so that final products are no longer affordable, the effort is abandoned and workers are left to fight for what’s already here. Anything you can do to streamline the process benefits everyone.
Trust in city government is lackluster. Over the years, there has been a growing disillusionment among taxpayers regarding decision-making, city management, council accountability and connection to residents at large.
As you can see in the 2022 community survey, 76% of residents rate quality of life as good or excellent, but only 34% rate confidence in city government the same.
As our new city manager, we encourage you to prioritize open communication, ethical governance, meaningful public engagement and to prioritize projects that benefit the majority. Too often, good ideas turn into bogged-down projects that lose their focus, but the sunk-cost fallacy leads to them limping toward a finish line at which the project will be “done,” but no one is happy and it doesn’t perform as advertised. There’s no shame in ending failures and focusing your staff’s time on better projects. Your staff will thank you.
By fostering transparency and inclusivity, you can rebuild trust, enhance civic participation and ensure that most residents feel heard and valued. “Haters gonna hate,” NIMBYs gonna NIMBY no matter what you or anyone does — trust me, I get their emails — and squeaky wheels are the ones who show up most often at council meetings, but as long as you have the support of the majority, good programs will be rewarded.
If you have questions about past projects, parcels, people or problems, reach out. Here since 1963, we have a long institutional memory and loads of archived stories we can search and share.
You’re starting fresh with no burdens, so use that to your advantage and set the tone; you have the goodwill of a passionate and resilient community. There’s an old saying that Sedona won’t let you leave if you’re meant to be here and will kick you out when it’s time to go. We hope you stay for a long time to build a sustainable, equitable and vibrant Sedona. Once again, welcome to Sedona, and thank you for taking on this important role. We look forward to a long, healthy relationship.
