As Flagstaff residents prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, the City has announced a schedule of closures affecting various city facilities and services, aiming to give citizens a heads up for any last-minute adjustments they need to make before the holiday hits. City administrative offices will be taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 27 and 28 and will not open their doors again until Dec. 1.
For those looking to squeeze in some early holiday swimming or fitness, the Aquaplex will shut down early at 4 p.m. on Nov. 26, remaining closed on Thanksgiving Day and resuming its regular hustle from 10 a.m. on Nov. 28; meanwhile, the citizens of Flagstaff will need to halt their trash disposal plans, as the Cinder Lake Landfill and the Hazardous Products Center won't be accessible on both Thursday and Friday.
Registering similar pauses in operation, all branches of local libraries, including the Downtown Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library and East Flagstaff Community Library, will close their doors early on Wednesday at 4 p.m. and take a two-day hiatus, just as the Citizens Cemetery intends to remain sealed to the public for Thursday and Friday, resting its own history in silence during the holiday.
Recreation will also be on a brief hold, as spaces like the Hal Jensen Recreation Center and the Joe C Montoya Community & Senior Center are set to close at 4 p.m. on Wednesday and then span the entirety of Thanksgiving's festivity in darkness until the following Monday as is the case for all previously mentioned sites save for the Jay Lively Activity Center, which will resume with scheduled programming on Friday, Nov. 28, a welcome respite for those looking to skate off the feasting pounds.
Residents should note adjustments to waste collection schedules; trash pickups will not occur on Thanksgiving Day but will roll out on Friday, Nov. 28 instead, and similarly, recycle collections slated for the holiday will hasten to Wednesday, Nov. 26, with the straightforward directive from the city to have all containers out by 6 a.m. to guarantee their emptying, according to an official update from the City of Flagstaff's website.
Commercial customers aren't left behind in this adjustment wave, as there will be no commercial trash or recycling services on Thanksgiving Day either; however, recovery for these services will be scattered throughout the week to accommodate for the missed holiday collections, a move signaling the City's attempts to ensure minimal disruption to both residential and commercial waste management amid the season of gratitude and giving.
