Coconino County District 3 Supervisor Matt Ryan shares a few stories about first meeting the future Supervisor Liz Archuleta.
FLAGSTAFF — Under often Monsoon storming skies, more than 100 community members gathered at the now former Sawmill Multicultural Art and Nature County Park to rename the park for former District Supervisor Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Archuleta.
Sheltered under the large canopy, well-wishers gathered to hear speeches from members of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors, local officials, friends, and most movingly family members of Archuleta on Aug. 13.
The event also included live music by Mariachi Nuevo Mexico, park tours, children’s activities, a book signing of “Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match,” and recognition of the new amenities at the park by Willow Bend, including a new mural design introduced by District 2 Supervisor Jeronimo Vasquez.
The first Latina to be elected to the Board, Archuleta served in her position for more than 24 years, according to a media release by the Coconino County. In that time, she also served as President of the County Supervisors Association and as Chairwoman of the National Association of Counties Public Lands Steering Committee, where she worked to bolster rural schools and forest health. Archuleta also served as Vice President of the National Association of Latino Elected & Appointed Officials and served on the Governor’s Arizona Statewide Water Advisory Council.
The county also reported:
Archuleta currently serves in the Biden Administration as the Director of the Office of External & Intergovernmental Affairs at the United States Department of Agriculture. In this capacity, she serves as the department’s liaison to state, county, local, tribal officials and other stakeholders.
She championed the park because of its location, service to community, and historical importance. The Sawmill Multicultural Art and Nature County Park was built on a brownfield where one of Flagstaff’s first sawmills operated from 1908 to 1993. The logging and lumber industry shaped the structure of Flagstaff by attracting families of Mexican, African American, Swedish, Polish, and Italian descent to work at the mills.
Coconino County Parks & Recreation and partners have added new improvements to the park. Parks & Recreation and The Literacy Center worked together to create a storybook path, featuring the book Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match by local author Monica Brown. Visitors may read the pages on pedestal displays along the path and the story is available on audio, in English, Spanish, and Navajo, through a QR code. Willow Bend Environmental Education Center received a Heritage Fund Grant to build an ADA accessible, watchable wildlife platform with Parks & Recreation. This platform makes the park a focus for watchable wildlife viewing in the community and continues the education the center has provided since 1975.
Another Willow Bend Environmental Education Center partnership is the outdoor education classroom, where children and their families can create, play, and explore using natural materials and activities stored in easily accessible baskets in the garden.
Parks & Recreation also received a Heritage Fund grant for the restoration of the park pond. The restoration improves access to the pond for educational and wildlife viewing purposes, as well as improving the pond’s structural integrity and water recirculation system.