The Sedona City Council unanimously approved a 1,505-square-foot, 10-foot-wide public utility easement from Posse Ground Road to the Sedona Posse Grounds Hub building for installation of a fiber-optic line to support a new Wi-Fi network for groups that rent the facility.
“Currently, our city computers will work there for Wi-Fi, but anything else will not,” Parks and Recreation Department manager Josh Frewin said prior to the council meeting Tuesday, Feb. 24. “Different renters have just wanted to be able to have Wi-Fi in the Hub and haven’t had that. It’s just providing a hidden Wi-Fi network that will be in the Hub for renters of the facility and anyone that’s not city staff to be able to go in and still have Wi-Fi access.”
It will be a hidden network that will only be available to the renters of the Hub, and users will be given a password when they lease the space. The cost to the city for the new network is “about $291,” a month from internet service provider Optimum, according to Information Technology Director Chuck Hardy.
“Under the proposed arrangement, Optimum will install the necessary fiber optic infrastructure in exchange for the city entering into a three-year service agreement,” according to the council packet. “[The] installation costs would otherwise be nearly $30,000 without the service agreement.”
Frewin said he anticipates the new network being operational before June,
Parks and Rec doesn’t have any similar IT projects in the works, Frewin said. “The only thing that really goes through IT for Parks and Rec is the security cameras” at the Sedona Community Pool, behind the Posse Grounds Pavilion and behind the Hub by the Jack Malmgren Memorial Skate Park.
The largest capitol improvements for his department, Frewin said, have been focused on the buildout of Ranger Station Park but several projects are slated for Posse Grounds: Design work for a upgrade to the bathrooms and concession stand, both in this year’s budget.
“Next fiscal year’s budget will be the actual project of redoing those,” Frewin said. “We’re essentially keeping the same frame of the building, updating the appearance a little bit and making those restrooms a lot nicer than they are — they’re a little scary at the moment. And then a storage area in the back where the concession stand currently is, so we’ll be able to park the golf cart for cruising around the park for different event setups, and just a storage area for all the event equipment; Christmas decorations.”
Remode l ing thr e e ramadas is scheduled for Fiscal Year 2026-27, Frewin said, including repouring new concrete. The ramadas are among the first projects, followed by street and crosswalk improvements and finally trail improvements
“We’ll also be doing some improvements at Carruth Drive and Soldier Pass intersection, installing an entryway sign with the park sign and a park map there, making a crosswalk at the dog park entrance and another at the transit lot on the Carruth portion,” Frewin said.
Improved wayfinding and drainage for Sunrise Trail that runs parallel to Soldier Pass Road out to the Soldier Pass Trailhead is slated, Frewin said.
Frewin said he anticipates spending $150,000 over the next three years to renovate the area for small dogs at the Sedona Dog Park with a flat sand or artificial turf section.
