Parker Council Votes to Dissolve Library and Community Center Advisory Boards

The Town of Parker Common Council approved recommendations to dissolve two volunteer advisory bodies at its regular meeting Feb. 17, 2026: the Parker Community Center Advisory Board and the Parker Public Library Advisory Board. The action is recorded on the town web page dated Feb. 18, 2026 under the header "The Library Advisory Board and the Community Center Advisory Board Have Been Dissolved Based on Recommendations of the Boards."

The town web post states, "At its February 17, 2026 meeting, the Town of Parker Common Council approved recommendations to dissolve both the Parker Community Center Advisory Board and the Parker Public Library Advisory Board." The same page adds, "These actions were taken following formal recommendations made by the respective advisory board members themselves and were approved by Council as part of its regular meeting agenda." The page also includes an embedded, URL-encoded graphic string: "App'%3e%3cpath%20d='M10.436%206.67302C10.145%206.98102%209.97302%207.45902%209.97302%208.07802V30.194C9.97302%2030.814%2010.145%2031.291%2010.436%2031.599L10.51%2031.671L22.899%2019.282V19.136V18.99L10.51%206.60002L10.436%206.67302Z'%20fill='url(%23paint0_linear)'/%3e%3cpath%20d='M27.028%2023.413L22.899%2019.282V19.136V18.99L27.029%2014.86L27.122%2014.913L32.015%2017.693C33.412%2018.487%2033.412%2019.786%2032.015%2020.581L27.122%2023.361L27.028%2023.413Z'%20fill='url(%23paint1_linear)'/%3e..."

Library matters were on Council agendas earlier this year and in 2023. The council packet excerpts show Fenix Markel listed as Interim Library Manager and state that Markel "respectfully requests the Mayor and Council to approve the payback of the following grants; AZ On Track Grant for $86,633.25, LSTA Rural Information Outreach for Homebound and Hard-To-Reach Residents Grant for $5,507.99, and the Community Memory Express Grant for $4, 000.00," a combined total of $96,141.24. The packet also notes "In April of 2023, the Library experienced a shift in management" during which related issues were identified; the excerpt is truncated and does not provide further detail.

Council membership and committee assignments appearing in the Core-docs materials name Mayor Hartless, Vice Mayor Lucas, and council members DeLeon, Hooper, Shontz, Daniels, and Wooddell. The same materials list Library Board liaisons as "CM Shontz + CM Wooddell." Other explicit Council actions in the packet include a streets contract with Sunland Asphalt for $1,219,141.19 to repair Joshua and Kofa from 16th Street to 18th Street, a project estimated to take 3-6 weeks and noted as funded in the adopted FY 23-24 Capital Budget. The street item records the motion "BY: CM Hooper SECOND: CM DeLeon APPROVE: With all others in favor, the motion passed 4." During that discussion CM Hooper asked, "Will the project on 16th be from Joshua to California?" and "Steve replied, 'Yes, including 17th, as well.'"

Archived announcements in the Core-docs packet show prior Community Center and library activity, including "Sunday September 10, 2023 Parker Community Center Grandparents Day Pancake Breakfast 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM" and "Monday September 11, 2023 Friends of the Library Book Sale 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM @ Parker Public Library," along with scheduled advisory board meetings in September 2023.

The Town of Parker contact block on the web page lists the municipal office at 1314 11th Street, Parker, AZ 85344 and the phone number (928) 669-9265. The town post does not include motion language, mover or seconder, vote tallies for the advisory board dissolutions, the names of the individual advisory board members who recommended dissolution, an effective date for the dissolutions, or any statement about how the advisory boards' functions will be handled going forward. The Feb. 18, 2026 web post and the Feb. 17, 2026 meeting reference are the only explicit records of the Council action in the provided materials.