I am voting NO on Prop. 488.
Hello, my name is Stephen (Steve) Puhr. I am a registered Independent and I am running as a write-in candidate for Flagstaff City Council. Today, I will discuss my thoughts on Flagstaff housing, future water supply, Prop. 488 and the minimum wage.
On Dec. 1, 2020, the City of Flagstaff declared a housing emergency to create safe, decent and affordable housing.   
The most critical factor the City of Flagstaff can do today is build the John Wesley Powell extension! This was proposed more than 20 years ago! The time has come to open up 2,200 acres for residential housing development.
The residential housing in this area could range up to 5,000 units. The development will contribute jobs for years to come. Combined with current housing developments, the goal of meeting the housing plan goals could be easily surpassed.
In 2013, the City of Flagstaff received from the Arizona Department of Water Resources an adequate water supply designation for the next 100 years. Included in the recent Water Study was an approximately $6 million in prework for Red Gap Ranch. Red Gap Ranch is property Flagstaff purchased east of Flagstaff to access a new water source if needed.
The Flagstaff Water department has stated that Red Gap Ranch would be needed when Flagstaff’s population reaches 118,000 in the year 2051. The problem is that last November, Flagstaff City Council hired E. Pollack to do a development study and he noted Flagstaff’s population should peak in 2040 at 88,691 and then begin to shrink! Hence, we do not need to fund Red Gap Ranch prework today.
Flagstaff needs to rely on demographic experts as we go forward to plan for a sustainable water future. Flagstaff citizens have heard various forecasts of population growth rates in the past 18 months; annual growth rates were 2.7%, 1.4% and 0.7%.    The demographic analysis is very important when determining various major capital projects; such projects are valued north of $500 million.
This Nov. 5, Flagstaff voters will be asked to increase the existing transit tax 69% and extend the term of this tax an additional 10 years, Prop. 488. The plan is to use these funds to electrify the Mountain Line bus fleet, hire more drivers and expand the service. With ridership down 36% in 2024 compared to 2019, this data seems to indicate Mountain Line might consider shifting current bus schedules. Seldom have I seen a business with declining demand decide to grow its service offerings.
Once Flagstaff has investors build solar farms to sell electricity to American Power Services, Flagstaff will meet its Carbon Neutrality Goal in reducing its carbon footprint. Hence, Flagstaff will not need to buy electric buses as envisioned in Prop. 488 to further reduce its carbon footprint. I am voting NO on Prop. 488.
The 2016 Minimum Wage law increased the wage from $8.05 to $15.50 in 2022, approximately a 93% increase. One area that employs new workers in the job market is Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations. From 2015 to 2022, Flagstaff lost 932 jobs in this job sector (that was a 22% reduction in jobs), while the median wage only increased 7.4% for the sector. The median wages did not keep up with inflation during this period. The loss of entry-level jobs sets back future income gains by this group.
In the most unfortunate reality, the new worker into the work force, the 18-24 year olds, now have lower employment opportunities.
Email: Stephenppuhr@outlook.com
Website: www.Stephenppuhr4Flagstaff.com
By Steve Puhr
Paid for by Stephen P Puhr for Flagstaff