JANUARY 2017
GILA COUNTY SWEARING IN CEREMONY
Wednesday January 4, 2017 9:00 AM
Gila County Courthouse
Eight elected officials took their oaths of office yesterday
morning in Globe at the Board of Supervisors Meeting
Room at the County Courthouse. Sworn in were
Bryan Chambers, Superior Court Judge
Deborah Hughes, Assessor
Bradley Beauchamp, County Attorney
Sadie Jo Bingham, Recorder
Adam Shepherd, Sheriff
Debora Savage, Treasurer;
Tommie Cline Martin, District 1 Supervisor
Tim R. Humphrey, District 2 Supervisor
Woody Cline, District 3 Supervisor
Also sworn in from the Payson office was Regional
Constable Tony McDaniel.
Anita Escobedo, County Court Clerk led the pledge of
allegiance, and Deputy County Manager Michael Scannell
presided over the well-attended ceremony. Superior Court
Judge Timothy White officiated.
Sworn in L-R: Chambers, Humphrey, Hughes,
Bingham, Cline, Beauchamp, Shepherd
For more pictures, click here.
GILA COUNTY'S RETURNING MANAGER
JOHN NELSON
John Nelson returned to his job as Gila County Manager this
week. His appointment was made official at the first
Regular Meeting of the Gila County Board of Supervisors
this year. Chair Tommie Martin, and newly elected
Supervisors Tim Humphrey and Woody Cline
unanimously chose Nelson to fill the vacancy created by the
unexpected retirement of Don McDaniel last month.
Nelson, with a background of 30 years in Arizona county
government, retired from 18 years of work for Gila County
in 2013, where he served as Finance Director, Deputy
County Manager and County Manager.
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY
OF GLOBE MAYOR AND COUNCIL
Tuesday January 10, 2017 6:00 PM
City Council Chambers Pine Street
90% of Globe streets are in need of repair and money is
insufficient to fix all of them, it was announced by City
Engineer Jerry Barnes at Tuesday's Regular Meeting of The
City of Globe Mayor and Council.
Barnes presented his prioritization plan for addressing the
problems. There are 138 roads with issues, 25% of which
are in bad shape and 20% needing only minor maintenance.
Barnes has divided the streets into three categories:
arterials; feeders; and residential, which are the bulk of the
streets. He is going to present a list of roads in each of the
city's districts to the Councilmember from each district,
allowing Councilmembers to eliminate streets not in
immediate need of repair. Repairs for Fiscal year 2017-18
are funded through HURF. Ultimately, Barnes said, the city
needs grant money to keep up with street repairs going
forward.
If your property is not up to code, expect to hear from Code
Enforcement Officer Michelle Yerkovich, if you haven't
already. In Michelle's first 75 days in office, she has written
158 code violations and issued 40 peddler's notices to
businesses in need of licenses.
Councilmember Mike Stapleton thanked Public Works for
taking down Christmas lights and again congratulated all
those involved in making the Light Parade spectacular.
Councilmember Charlene Giles announced that a security
system has been selected for the Old Dominion Mine Park.
She thanked Gila's Kiss- KQSS for the dog park sign which
we donated. It was recently installed by Public Works.
Councilmember Roberta Lee Johnson reminded the public
that January 20th is the Pinal Mountain Foundation for
Higher Education's auction to raise money for scholarships,
which is being held in conjunction with the Chamber of
Commerce's Citizen of the Year dinner.
Mayor Al Gameros announced a blood drive at the first
Christian Church on January 24th from 1 to 6 pm. He also
said work is underway to create a taxing district for the new
aquatic center. He predicts that though it will be a tough
sell, ultimately it will pass. Gameros also mentioned the
unfortunate news that two businesses have closed
downtown. Gone are The Copper Country Rendezvous and
John's Furniture.
There will now be two calls to the public during council
meetings. One as usual at the beginning, another at the end,
giving the public the chance to comment on issues discussed
during the meeting. At Tuesday's meeting there were no
takers. Nor did anyone speak during the public hearing for
the Sanitation Fee adjustment. Effective March 1st, a second
garbage can put out for collection will now cost $10, up
from $6.00.
A public hearing was also held, mostly as a formality,
transferring the liquor license at Connie's Store from the
recently deceased Mitch Yuksanovich to his son, Louis.
Globe police officer Mike Boyd has retired. He was
recognized for his 26 years of service to the city.
Police Chief Mark Nipp and retiring officer Mike Boyd
City Clerk Shelly Salazar is now a certified municipal clerk.
Former Mayor Terry Wheeler conferred the state
recognition.
Former Mayor Terry Wheeler & City Clerk Shelly Salazar
New to city employment are Jeffrey Badilla, Andrew
Briones, Jaime Mills, Steve Roberts and new police
officers Katelyn Angel, Lucas De Los Monteros, Dakota
McCall, Colleen Scionti, Irasema Teran and Melissa
Ramos.
The Lions Club is celebrating their Centennial this year, and
a proclamation was presented to Bobbie Ravenkamp
commemorating it. The Lions also received a special event
liquor licenses for the Rotary Club's annual Dominion
Royale Casino Night. The Lions will provide alcohol for the
event, which will be held Saturday February 25th from 6 to
10 pm at the Cobre Valley Center for the Arts. Rotarians
Cami Lucero and Mickey Nye and Lion Barbara Nancaro
were on hand to promote the event.
Karalea Cox from the Southern Gila County Economic
Development Corporation gave a pitch for a survey about
local food sources she is hoping the public will complete.
Local Food to Local Retail will be holding two meetings at
Bullion Plaza next week on January 18th-- 2 pm for
consumers, 5:30 pm for producers.
The use of $264,742.88 of WIFA funds was approved for
various projects, as we as $40,000 from a separate water
fund. There was an administrative problem with the new
WIFA loan application, so another resolution was read and
passed addressing it. Acting Finance Director Jeannie
Sgroi will formulate an action plan for tracing WIFA
expenditures, which have been problematic in the past.
Police Chief Mark Nipp presented a resolution, which was
unanimously passed, to adopt Lexipol as the official policy
manual for the police department. It was recommended by
the department audit and will cost the city $5,000 a year in
subscription fees. The current manual is 90 pages and
contains no state laws or updates from its adoption a decade
ago. Lexipol, which is 650 pages long, will be continually
updated with the many changes inherent in relevant laws.
The annual subscription fee will cover technical, but not
legal advice. Nipp said that training based on the manual
will begin soon during the hours of 4 to 8 am, selected
because as Nipp said, it's the only time of the day when
nothing is happening. Nipp will lead the training himself.
Concurrent with the Lexipol resolution was the passage of
an amendment enabling Nipp to review and approve the
many updates without the need of City Council approval.
The contract of City Attorney Bill Sims was renewed for
another year.
And an Executive Session was held for legal advice and
direction on the F1 agreement with Inspiration Copper, and
on an unemployment claim, which KQSS assumes is about
Joe Jarvis, the recently terminated finance director.
Nothing was disclosed in open session.
REGULAR MEETING OF THE TOWN
OF MIAMI MAYOR AND COUNCIL
Monday January 23, 2017 6:30 PM
Town Council Chambers - Sullivan Street
32 criminal damage reports of broken windows came in over
the weekend in Miami, and at last night's Regular Meeting of
the Town of Miami Mayor and Council, attendees breathed a
collective sigh of relief when Lt. Spence Preston gave the
police report informing the crowd that Officer Alonzo
arrested the perpetrators. There were six, between the ages
16 and 17. The three pellet guns they used were also
collected as evidence.
Code Enforcement Officer Josh Derhammer reported 21
open cases. He has written three citations, taken three animal
control calls, and has issued three permits, lately.
Derhammer laid out the new fire code for outdoor burning,
and after some discussion it was passed. All fires that come
within 10 feet of any property are now banned.
Councilmember Mike Black wanted that extended to 30
feet, but Mayor Dalley explained that with the small lot
sizes in Miami that would not be viable. Black was also
concerned that the ordinance didn't cover smoke problems.
But a vote was taken, and it passed three to two.
Derhammer also discussed the permitting process for utility
companies cutting into public roadways. Councilmember
Susan Hanson suggested that fees be added to the
application, and Councilmember Black added that any fines
related to the process should be posted on the permit. No
action was taken as this was a discussion item on the agenda.
Utilities Coordinator Tashiana Jerrols gave a report on the
status of collections for overdue sewer bills. Miami has
1436 sewer accounts. Only 612 are current. 295 have an
unpaid balance. And 467 are final bills for closed accounts
that have not been paid. The total owed to Miami but not
collected for sewer services is over $400,000. 62 accounts
have a negative balance, meaning that the account is closed
but Miami owes the accountholder a refund.
Jerrols outlined some of the collection steps she is putting in
place. She'll be linking town billing with business licenses,
meaning that in order to get a business license, the utility
bills must first be paid. And for businesses operating
without a license, the fine is $2,500 a day. Revisions to the
town ordinances so that an outside collection agency can be
utilized have been made, and Valley Collections has been
hired. They will address accounts overdue by more than
$20.00.
On a positive note, Jerrols reported that seven of the 14
business customers with overdue bils have come in and
settled their accounts.
Town Manager Joe Heatherly announced that maintenance
has been done on the SCATA systems for the wastewater
plant, and some level indicators were fixed. The town is
currently locating manholes associated with phases three
through five of the project.
The financial audit for the last fiscal year is in progress, and
the report for the forensic audit of the missing town funds is
due at the end of this week. Heatherly also said that Gila
County has announced they are discontinuing magistrate
services for Miami effective July 1st. What Miami might
do for those services, or for that matter, what is happening
with the police department that no longer has a chief, was
not discussed.
An IGA with Tri-City Fire and the City of Globe to provide
Miami with fire protection services was tabled due to some
discrepancies the town attorney wishes to review with Globe
Fire Chief Gary Robinson.
Mayor Dalley attended the Copper Corridor Mayors
Conference and said there's talk of replacing the Pinto Valley
Bridge in Fiscal Year 2018, and the Queen Creek Bridge the
following fiscal year.
Utility Service Partners has been selected by the Town to
provide insurance for water, sewer and in-home plumbing
for property owners that desire it. There are 19 cities and
towns in Arizona, including the City of Globe that are
covered through the NLC Service Line Warranty program.
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
GILA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Tuesday January 24, 2017 10:00 AM
Gila County Courthouse
All the agenda items were passed at Tuesday morning's
Regular Meeting of the Gila County Board of Supervisors,
including the go-ahead for several grant applications. One
grant has already been received. The Board approved the
award of $61,790 for the Court Appointed Special Advocate
Program of Gila County.
Tim Humphrey resigned his position on the IDA Board,
now that he is serving as a Supervisor. Lisa Brazil was
appointed to fulfill his unexpired term through the end of
2019.
Approval was given to five precinct committeemen for the
Gila County Republican Party. Chairman is Leslie Roger
Sawdy from Tonto Basin, Doug Ardt represents Payson's
1st precinct, Payson's 4th precinct is represented by Jan
Volz, Dannie James Curtis for Star Valley, and Carolyn K.
James serves for Pine/Strawberry.
An executive session was held concerning a lawsuit from a
Payson apartment complex over a long-standing tax dispute
with the county, after which a work session was held. IT
head Kelly Riggs demonstrated various computer programs
and electronic devices used in day to day operations for the
county.
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY
OF GLOBE MAYOR AND COUNCIL
Tuesday January 24, 2017 6:00 PM
City Hall - Pine Street
The City of Globe has $4 million in a checking account, and
the bank levies several service fees against it each month.
That news, which City Manager Paul Jepson disclosed at
Tuesday night's Regular Meeting of the City of Globe Mayor
and Council, speaks volumes to the banking choices here-or
lack of them. According to Jepson, no bank in the area
offers a business account with no service fees-even if you've
got $4 million in it.
Jepson assured the Council and public that he is looking for
alternatives for some, if not all, of that money. He said that
this was the most pressing issue of several administrative
actions he expects to take in response to the financial
department process review.
The next Council meeting, scheduled for Valentine's Day has
been moved to Wednesday February 15th. The 2015-16
Fiscal Year financial audit will be presented then. There will
also be a WIFA update at that meeting, and Jepson said
Globe may qualify for the new loan. WIFA officials are
visiting Globe this Friday.
Other meeting dates have also been changed to
accommodate holiday schedules. November meetings will
be held on the 7th and 21st, and December meetings will be
held on the 5th and the 19th.
An ordinance to give the Mayor full voting rights was
discussed. It will be up for vote on a future agenda. The
move would put Globe in line with most municipal
governments. Currently the mayor only votes when a tie
exists.
An ordinance that was passed provides for the Council's
approval on any change order that brings a project total to
over $25,000 and establishes a penalty for anyone that tries
to structure procurements so the total will fall below that
amount.
The annual review process of vendors was tabled until a new
finance director is appointed. Former Finance Director Joe
Jarvis was fired by the City of Globe, but he's now working
for the Town of Florence, with his former coworker Brent
Billingsley.
Appointments of Councilmembers to various committees
were made, with three newly created appointments for Parks
and Rec, Public Safety, and Globe Student Council.
Also created at the meeting was the Mayor's Task Force to
represent the City of Globe in discussions of the Cobre
Valley Regional Aquatic Center Committee. Charlene
Giles and Lerry Aldermen, with Mayor Al Gameros as an
alternate, were appointed to review Aquatic Committee
actions on behalf of the City. Sherry Dorathy,
Superintendent of Miami schools is acting as
Secretary/Treasurer for the CVRACC. Meetings are held at
7:30 in the morning.
One issue handled at the meeting was the Aquatic Center's
immediate need for a 501c3 non-profit corporation to accept
approximately $20,000 offered by Resolution Copper to help
defray the costs of consultants for the pool project. The
CVRACC is in the process of establishing a 501c3, but as it
is not yet running, the City of Globe will accept the money
on their behalf.
A Public Hearing was held to reappoint officers to the Globe
Municipal Property Corporation. No changes were made.
Mike Stapleton remains president; Roberta Lee Johnson,
VP; Lerry Alderman, Secretary/Treasurer; and City
Attorney William J. Sims III remains the statutory agent.
In the Call to the Public, Resolution Copper's Bryan
Seppala provided a reminder on behalf of the Globe Rotary
Club of the upcoming Casino Night and Auction at the
Cobre Valley Center for the Arts on February 25th.
Councilmember Johnson acknowledged Ian Lamont as
Citizen of the Year and Molly Cornwell as the recipient of
the Kip Culver Award at the recent Chamber of Commerce
dinner. She also offered thanks on behalf of the Pinal
Mountain Foundation for Higher Education, for the great
auction results.
Councilmember Giles reported problems of loose large dogs
bothering smaller dogs at the dog park. She said that fencing
off an area for smaller dogs is under consideration.
Mayor Gameros met with the Copper Corridor EDC in
Superior and said they're way ahead of Globe on marketing.
Gameros said he'd like to get the City more involved with
marketing the area.
A Proclamation was issued for Feb 3rd as Four Chaplains'
Sunday, marking the 74th Anniversary of the sinking of
troop ship USAT Dorchester. It was presented to the
American Legion.
WORK SESSON OF THE GILA COUNTY
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Tuesday January 31, 2017 10:00 AM
Gila County Courthouse
Yesterday's Work Session of the Gila County Board of
Supervisors concerned one item- the status of the pool. In
2014, Terry Wheeler formed a Mayor's Task force to
investigate the possibility of an aquatic center after the
permanent closure of Globe's pool. A year later, in 2015, the
task force became the Cobre Valley Regional Aquatic Center
Committee, which got to work on a plan and location for a
new facility. Last year, the CVRACC selected a site behind
Vonnie's Pizza, off Highway 60 and Russell Road, and
drafted a financial plan.
The plan included a fee structure, the funding of
maintenance and operations, and possible private vendor
partnerships. It did not address funds necessary to build the
facility which will be handled separately. It was decided that
the ongoing fees to support an aquatic center would best be
found in a property tax levy through the creation of a
Revitalization District that would include Globe, Miami and
the unincorporated areas of Southern Gila County. A map of
the area is above (on the KQSS.net news page).
But there are specific state laws governing Revitalization
Districts, including the requirement that voters approve the
creation of them. The biggest obstacle currently, though, is
that state statutes prohibit a county from joining incorporated
municipalities in a taxing district. That was the crux of the
discussion at yesterday's meeting. State Senator Frank Pratt
has introduced a bill to modify those requirements to allow
for Gila County's involvement, but opinions differ on how
long it might take.
Globe City Manager and CVRACC committeeman Paul
Jepson sees it more as a technicality, but Board of
Supervisors Chairman Tommie Martin thinks passage will
take quite a while. She foresees a pushback from other
counties that face problems with property owners upset over
undue tax burdens already. And all counties must agree to
the change.
Martin does foresee the eventual passage of Pratt's bill, but
doesn't believe the matter will even be addressed until the
Fall. So realistically it is at least a year away.
The Supervisors also expressed their need to know all the
costs involved with the project. Supervisor Woody Cline
was told that annual maintenance costs would be $418,000 a
year for a 9-month outdoor facility, but when he asked about
a year-round indoor facility, Jepson said a study has not yet
been done. The committee has projected building costs, but
the amount they are considering was not disclosed at the
meeting.
Supervisor Tim Humphrey wondered about the mines. When
he looked at a map of the proposed taxing district, he noticed
how much land was owned by mining companies and
wondered if they will be voting. Jepson said the mines are
usually in favor of such projects, but whether or how they
would vote has yet to be determined.
As previously announced at the last City of Globe meeting,
Resolution Copper is providing about $20,000 for research
and studies necessary before committing to pool specifics.
The Committee will undertake those studies now, concurrent
with the steps state lawmakers and counties must take to
make the forming of a taxing district here a reality.
