The Sedona City Council opened its Wednesday, June 11, work session by celebrating the Les Springs Homeowners Association for not only completing its first year in the Sustainable Neighborhoods Program but also far exceeding the 100 credits required for certification.

Sustainability coordinator Zach Schwarz said that after a neighborhood enrolls in the program, it forms a working group to plan and carry out sustainability-related activities to earn a minimum of 100 credits for certification.

“Those activities can include educational workshops, clubs, special events, small and large projects as well,” Schwarz said. “It brings a diverse group of people together to solve real problems. So as a city, we offer support, resources and advice to make sure that this neighborhood is as successful as possible … as they continue on through the year, and plan events.”

The HOA earned 235 credits through programs that included hosting recycling and native landscaping seminars by Jim White, a solar co-op presentation by Mary Ann and John Freeman, a food collection drive by Alan Schafer and a tool roundup for Sedona Tools Empowering People led by Deanna Rodovsky. Other residents independently participated in programs such as composting and recycling.

“The biggest surprise was how eager people were to get involved,” said Jo Martin, co-chairwoman of the Les Springs Sustainability Committee. “The whole idea was to activate the community … I didn’t expect such an enthusiastic response … I didn’t think they’d be so interested in having services like the free utility check for weather stripping, but they were. They were asking, ‘Who do we call for that?’”

Located southeast of the intersection of Airport Road and State Route 89A, the Les Springs HOA is the first and so far only participant in the city’s Sustainability Department’s Sustainable Neighborhoods Program after enrolling in the spring of 2024.

Russell Colbath, who leads the community’s water management team and serves on the board of the HOA since moving in April 2024, said that joining the city program had led to cost and water savings. He was able to draw on 25 years of work as a water manager in Monroe, N.C.

“We wanted to make wise use of water. I mean, everybody does. People are conscious of that,” Colbath said.

“But if it was going to cost us a ton of money, we just couldn’t justify it. Because everybody’s scraping for money … and to show that not only will we save money, but we’ll catch leaks in days, not weeks, or even months.”

Colbath led a project to install 97 new electronic water meters throughout the subdivision, which report readings wirelessly to homeowners every 30 minutes to improve leak detection. The association estimated the meters saved 218,000 gallons of water usage in May 2025 compared to the same month the previous two years as a result of the meters, new irrigation schedules and new repair standards.

The meters cost $55,000, $50,000 of which was paid for from the association’s capital reserves, with the remainder covered by a grant from Friends of the Verde River.

Colbath said he expected to recoup the cost within six years, with the meters saving around $1,200 a month, and that since the meters had a 15-year service life, “we’ll have a net savings somewhere around $80,000.”

Colbath said that the association uses drip irrigation for efficiency and waters properties for 20 minutes three days a week, with the schedule allowing simplified leak detection.

“The watering schedule lets us separate out usage if it’s irrigation [or] it’s something in the home, which also helps you diagnose and troubleshoot when you go to a property. So all that information becomes very valuable,” Colbath said.

Colbath said that the Thunder Mountain Estates subdivision had also contacted him about the new meters.

Les Springs is also in the process of converting a vacant tennis court near its entrance into a community garden.

“We already purchased our beds, we may do a run in the fall, but the official kickoff would be spring of 2026,” Martin said. “There’s also a push to make gardening more accessible to those who don’t or can’t garden. While residents pay a fee to support the garden’s upkeep, plans include opening beds to the wider community and creating a shared space with herbs and other items anyone can purchase without maintaining a plot.”

During his update to council Schwarz also touted how eight Les Springs homes have signed up for solar installation after hosting Solar 101 workshops with Northern-Arizona Solar Co-op at Les Springs and at Community Library Sedona.