Flagstaff City Council is considering reopening city facilities and agrees on a capacity calculator for special events policy

This photo shows the members of the Flagstaff City Council.

BRADY WHEELER, Sun Staff reporter

BRADY WHEELER Sun Staff Reporter

Flagstaff City Council closed a more than two-hour discussion Tuesday evening on COVID-19 with a consensus on how to proceed with reopening city facilities and expanding capacity for special events.

The council unanimously decided to use a capacity calculator for future special event permits, with a majority of council members in favor of reopening the city facilities on May 17th. This decision sets a firm date for the partial reopening of Flagstaff City Hall with other city complexes, such as the library that follows shortly thereafter.

While the capacity for events in the city was previously limited to 50 people, the number of people admitted by a capacity calculator is determined by the type of event, the structure, the organization and the participants, according to the city’s employees.

Mayor Paul Deasy said he supported the calculator, which allows one person per 150 square feet of outdoor space – a number that had been discussed at previous council meetings.

However, the meeting left the Council split on other mitigation issues such as: B. Setting a fixed date to raise the capacity calculator and allow outdoor events to resume at full capacity.

The discussion of fully reopening outdoor events was not on the meeting’s agenda, but the matter was considered after it was raised by several council members.

After the back-and-forth, council members finally agreed to have discussions on a full reopening date for outdoor events until a special meeting of the city council can be voted on in two weeks’ time. The decision followed public comments from local event coordinators, who stressed the need for clarity about the city’s reopening plans.