After departing the Show Low-Pinetop area on Tuesday, the Capitol Christmas Tree delivery caravan made stops in Fountain Hills, Prescott Valley, and finally in downtown Prescott at 5:30 pm. The tree was wrapped in sheeting for protection, and the large crowd on Gurley St. were encouraged to sign it.

The City's special events manager, Becky Garvin arranged for the tree to come through Prescott. "As a former state capitol and the place where many great Arizona politicians have addressed their constituents, it felt right to have the tree come through our town."

Follow the tree on it's way to Washington D.C. by visiting the Capitol Christmas Tree website

Fann Environment is contracted with the City to change out the remaining balance of standard meters.

"The schedule over the next six months will include meter upgrades in the downtown area between Willis and Leroux and Granite to Alarcon," added Brown. "Other areas receiving the new meters include Haisley, Timberidge, Hassayampa, Cathedral Pines, and Mountain Club."

Fann Environmental will notify residential customers prior to changing the meter. The work will require service to be turned off for approximately 10 minutes.

"Converting all water utility accounts to radio read meters will provide a savings to the city by reducing the amount of time it takes to read the meters each month," explained Brown. "The new system will also improve accuracy because the remote collection device eliminates any chance of human error."

The project is scheduled for completion in 2011.

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AnnDee Johnson, Director of Research and Strategic Planning for AOT, will conduct the presentation.

The study, started in October 2008 and completed in September 2009, included survey sites at the Prescott Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center, Sharlot Hall Museum, SpringHill Suites, the Prescott Resort, Residence Inn, the Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary, the Prescott National Forest and the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce.

More than 1,200 surveys were conducted over the 12-month period, the results of which, according to the study's executive summary, will assist the Prescott area tourism community with targeted marketing, product development, and advocacy for an industry that is critical to the health of the local and regional economies.

PACT utilizes tourism research data to implement its marketing, advertising and public relations program to attract visitors to the Prescott area. PACT is funded through state grants and a percentage of Prescott's bed tax revenue.

News Briefs are posted twice monthly.

Dress for Success - The United States Veterans Initiative invited the City of Prescot's HR Department to make a presentation to the US Vets at their weekly Dress for Success meeting, located at the VA. Marketable skills, valuable certifications, city job descriptions, job search resources and contacts were discussed with a group of approximately 15 individuals who are seeking gainful employment. These former Servicemen and women are required to do community service or volunteer work during periods of unemployment in order to qualify for onsite housing. They are also encouraged to look into volunteer opportunities at the City in hopes that contacts could be made and skills for future employment acquired.

Prescott going solar? - Economic development staff attended the Solar Power International trade show recently and brought back several leads that are considering Prescott as a manufacturing location. The State of AZ passed an incentive bill that targets manufacturers of solar energy components. A team of 20+ economic developers from around the state invited key CEOs to a breakfast that was a sell-out to hear about the new incentive. Representatives from Prescott, Prescott Valley, and Chino Valley were in attendance.

"Supernanny" coming to Prescott? Supernanny, now in its 6th season on ABC, has Prescott on its radar. They are seeking a small town family, and accepting email auditions from potential candidates. See Wendy Bridges for more info.

Containment - Filming for the movie "Containment" has been postponed to May 2010. Location scouts have secured locations, including a Groom Creek cabin and lodge, and we are working with the State to assist in getting permits for filming on several state highways that run through Prescott. They may shoot some b-roll around the City as well. The crew for this project will be housed in the Groom Creek lodge, but talent will be put up in a Prescott hotel near shopping and restaurants.

MTV's "16 and Pregnant" - documentary show is already following a Prescott Valley 16-year old who is pregnant. She and her 18 year old boyfriend will be married on Tuesday afternoon. The show is following the couple through their wedding, reception, doctor visits, and ultimately birth of their child. The production team has secured releases from area businesses and expects to shoot about 20 days in Prescott over the next 3-4 months. They have a crew of 6-10 members, all staying at a Prescott hotel. This project is expected to produce about 120 room nights over the course of the project, as well as catering and entertainment.

Saving your home from foreclosure -- Presentation of a Webcast regarding "Saving Your Home From Foreclosure" will be given in Council Chambers on November 18 from 5-8 p.m. being brought to Prescott by the Attorney General and Arizona Department of Housing.

Airport Minimum Operating Standards - City staff has decided to delay the presentation of the draft Airport Minimum Operating Standards (MOS) to the City Council. The delay will allow the Airport Working Group on the MOS to evaluate and address all of the recommended changes and suggestions that have been made regarding the document since its publication at the beginning of the month. No new date has been scheduled for the presentation to the City Council but it is anticipated to occur after December when the new Council members are seated. We will strive to keep you informed of the progress of this document.

What's that new tower on Janine - The construction and installation for the operation of an FAA ADS-B site is nearing its end. This facility is being installed, operated, and maintained by an FAA contractor at no cost to the Airport at 6524 Janine Drive behind the old quonset hut. The ADS-B system is a crucial component of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). ADS-B is designed to improve the safety, capacity and efficiency of the National Airspace System while providing a flexible expandable platform to accommodate future air traffic growth.

Theatre gets upgrades - The structural steel that now supports the balcony is in place, as well as the protective firewall between the attorney's offices and the theatre. This firewall has 8 structural steel supports to prevent the roof from collapsing in the event of a fire on the attorney's side of the building. Additional supports have been put in place to assure the safety of the theatre. The fire sprinkler system has been installed and tested, and the spray-foam application which will add R-50 insulation to the ceiling will be applied this week. Other insulation and window and door replacement will be added later in the restoration. The marquee demolition has begun and as anticipated, the structure appears to be in very good condition. Unanticipated are the words "Theatre" on each side of the marquee. A slight alteration to the final drawings of the marquee restoration will take advantage of this discovered wording.

Motor Officer Grahlmann Retiring - Traffic Motor Officer Garry Grahlmann will be retiring from the Prescott Police Department at the end of November. Garry is an excellent officer and one that will be very difficult to replace.

Police Department Installs MDCs - The Prescott Police Department has acquired new Mobile Data Computers (MDCs) for patrol vehicles. These in-car cameras will allow officers to receive dispatched calls via the MDC units, as well as run checks on individuals for warrants, drivers licenses and other officer safety issues. Officers are currently undergoing training on these new units.

Officers Clemens and Medina Receive Award - Prescott Police Department Officers Paul Clemens and Matt Medina received a City Exceptional Customer Service Award for an incident that stemmed from a shoplifting arrest. The officers arrested a woman for shoplifting and then discovered that she had not eaten for quite some time. The officers left the area and returned with food for the woman they had just arrested. These officers showed that Police Department and City employees care about our community and their service is much more than just a job.

Demerse Avenue Reconstruction - Paving is scheduled for Demerse Avenue from Rosser Street to Montello Lane on Tuesday, November 10, 2009. Underground construction is 99.9% complete. Curb & gutter, grading and paving preparation will continue between Whetstine and Rosser Streets.

Zone 39 Phase I - Water main installment for the 12 inch main on White Spar Road and the 16 inch main on S. Hassayampa and the 20 inch main on Aubrey Street are 99% complete. A. Miner Contracting continues service tie-ins on White Spar Road and Aubrey Street. The Pump Station Manifold is installed, the floor is poured and work continues on construction of the pump station building. The project is currently on schedule and within budget.

Zone 39 Phase II - Utility installations along Country Club Drive from Park Avenue to Shalimar Drive will continue in coming weeks. Gas main relocation work on Country Club Drive is complete. The project is currently on schedule and within budget.

Toddler trick-or-treating -- On Wednesday, October 27, the library hosted the annual Toddler Trick-or-Treating event for children up to age three. Dozens of fairies, superheroes, and wild animals trick-or-treated through the library with their parents, who appreciated the fact that the goodies were small toys and stickers rather than candy.

Teen Halloween -- Members of the library's Teen Advisory Group (TAG) worked long and hard to plan a fun Halloween event and their work paid off on October 28 when more than 50 kids and teens attended the party. Decorations and ghoulish snacks were provided courtesy of the Friends of the Library. There was music, dancing plus games including bobbing for worms.

Specifically, the League is concerned that the bill violates the prohibition on multiple subjects in a single bill and that elements of the bill exceed the scope of the call by the Governor.

Provisions that affect cities and towns include a two-year freeze on development impact fees as well as other changes to the impact fee process, and new requirements on public employees regarding verification of the legal status of people receiving certain public benefits.

"We do not take this action lightly," said Boyd W. Dunn, Mayor of Chandler and President of the League, "but it is essential that all branches of government pass laws that are in compliance with the state Constitution, and that their provisions have an opportunity to be discussed openly and voted on as separate subjects."

In the first ruling last week, after nearly a year and eight different hearings, Administrative Law Judge Thomas Shedden said Prescott's application to pump 8,600 acre-feet of groundwater from the Big Chino sub-basin meets all of the requirements of an assured water supply under the state's groundwater management act and related regulations.

In the second ruling this week, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Oberbillig also ruled in favor of the City of Prescott ruling SRP's surface water rights in the Verde River did not entitle it to participate in an administrative process concerning Prescott's groundwater rights in the big Chino sub-basin. Additionally, Judge Oberbillig disagreed with SRP's claims that the statute limiting objectors to assured water supply applications to residents within an Active Management Area was unconstitutional. Since the challenged statute was part of the original groundwater management act passed in 1980, which included a non-severability clause, had Judge Oberbillig found one of the original acts unconstitutional the entire act could have been struck down.

"In essence, SRP's lawsuit threatened the very framework for how the state manages its groundwater supplies merely because it could not participate in an administrative process that has no legal bearing on its surface water rights," Mr. Andy Tobin, House Majority Whip said.

SRP has challenged Prescott and Prescott Valley from importing this water and have lost at every point along the way.

"The court, ruling from the bench, made it most clear that there is no under ground water rights reserved to an owner based solely on the fact that the owner has rights to surface water. Clearly the courts are finding it hard to agree that SRP even has standing on the issue of Prescott's right to import water from the Big Chino," Mr. Andy Tobin, House Majority Whip said.

This week's ruling upholds the city of Prescott's position that we have legal rights to this imported water supply and there is no harm to SRP's interests. The court has yet to recognize a harm to SRP. This is a groundwater proceeding, whereas SRP is arguing for both surface and groundwater. If they were successful it would have jeopardized anybody who has a well within that 20 mile zone and would've set a bad precedent," Mr. Andy Tobin, House Majority Whip said.

The City of Prescott eventually plans on constructing a pipeline from the basin into the management area. ADWR issued an initial draft decision stating the supply met the assured water supply nearly a year ago. ADWR now has until on or before November 28 to make a final decision based upon Judge Shedden's recommendation.

"I am heartened at this point as it appears the state agency and two different court judicial processes have affirmed Prescott's right to import that water supply," Mr. Andy Tobin, House Majority Whip said.

All fees will be waived at Lynx Lake, Granite Basin, Thumb Butte, Mingus Lake, Hayfield Draw and Alto Pit day use areas. The waiver does not apply to overnight campgrounds, group use fees or fees charged by concession-operated facilities.

For more information on recreation opportunities on the Prescott National Forest visit our web site http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/prescott/ or call our Bradshaw Ranger District at (928) 443-8000.

The issue is likely to come before Council for a vote on November 10.

Fire officials treated approximately 2200 acres on Tuesday, and 2500 acres on Wednesday.