How engaged are Sedona residents with their local government?

One way to measure their involvement is the rate at which they watch the meetings of the Sedona City Council and other public bodies of the municipality.

Between May 1, 2023, and May 7, 2024, the city’s IT department logged 5,907 visits to archived videos of City Council and other meetings by 4,266 unique visitors. 5,388 of those visits and 3,853 of those visitors, or 91% and 90% respectively, went to videos of meetings that took place during this time period, while the remainder were reviews of meetings that took place prior to May 2023.

Council meetings were the most popular sessions for residents to watch, being viewed 4,856 times by 3,513 users.

Planning and Zoning Commission meetings came second with 684 views and 454 users, followed by the Tourism Advisory Board at 146 views and 107 users.

The Historic Preservation Commission accounted for 89 views and 82 viewers, while the remaining viewership was divided among bodies including the Board of Adjustment, the Small Grants Committee and community facilities districts.

Average engagement time per visitor was 61.3 seconds for council meetings and 107.9 seconds for P&Z meetings. For the top 10 most-watched meetings, the average visit lasted 148 seconds.

The top 10 most-viewed meetings of Sedona public bodies during the past year were:

• Aug. 8, 2023: City Council discussion of Sunset Lofts and the Sedona Airport. 606 views; 465 viewers.
• March 12, 2024: City Council discussion of rezoning part of the Sedona Cultural Park to allow its use as a car camp for local workers. 503 views, 235 viewers.
• Jan. 9, 2024: City Council discussion of the proposed car camp program. 281 views, 182 viewers.
• Feb. 6, 2024: Planning and Zoning Commission discussion of the proposed car camp program at the Sedona Cultural Park and the Village at Saddlerock Crossing project. 230 views, 112 viewers.
• April 9, 2024: City Council discussion of Mayor Scott Jablow’s proposed ban of off-highway vehicles on city streets. 187 views, 141 viewers.
• March 27, 2024: City Council discussion of its summer destination marketing campaign. 175 views, 154 viewers.
• April 23, 2024: City Council discussion of the Bowers subdivision along the Forest Road Extension, a Sister Cities agreement with the town of Canmore in Alberta, Canada, and an update on state legislation. 165 views, 133 viewers.
• Sept. 26, 2023: City Council discussion on creating a city tourism bureau. 161 views, 114 viewers.
• Dec. 14, 2023: City Council priority retreat. 159 views, 104 viewers.
• Sept. 12, 2023: City Council discussion of the proposed OHV ban. 149 views, 103 viewers.

These 10 meetings accounted for 2,616 views and 1,743 users, or 44% and 41%, respectively, of all viewership of Sedona public meetings during this time period.

Coming in at 12th place in number of viewers and 11th place in number of views was the audio-only recording of the aftermath of the council’s executive session on April 23, at which council voted to place further work on its Sedona Cultural Park car camp proposal on hold until the referendum on the program on Nov. 5.

Average viewership for a City Council meeting during this time period was 24.6 views and 18 viewers, or 0.21% of the city’s adult population of 8,417 residents, per the 2020 U.S. Census, and average viewership for a P&Z meeting was 13.2 views and nine viewers.

While the Cultural Park car camp idea is likely the most heavily-debated proposal to have come out of the city in the last year, only 235 of Sedona’s 9,684 residents, or 2.4%, tuned in to watch the meeting at which the city approved the program in the two months since that meeting took place, averaging nine views and four viewers per day.

On the other hand, although the council’s Aug. 8 discussion of Sunset Lofts and the Sedona Airport drew more total viewers over time, that video averaged just over two views per day and fewer than two visitors per day from Aug. 8, 2023, through May 7.