OCTOBER 2015
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
GILA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Tuesday October 20, 2015 10:00 AM Gila County Courthouse
Miami will be $40,000 richer and the Mackie Camp Bridge
project will be a reality thanks to the vote at Tuesday's
Regular Meeting of the Gila County Board of Supervisors.
In order for the FEMA project to move forward, Miami
needs to contribute 10% of the $400,000 cost. But the town
doesn't have $40,000. The county is providing the money
outright. Miami will not have to pay it back, and there will
be no agency reimbursement to Gila County.
The Bose Public Affairs Group annual lobbying contract on
the county's behalf was approved, with a ceiling of $75,000
up from $50,000 last year. Empire got the nod to repair the
public works' CAT compactor. It'll cost $195,000, but a new
one would run $450,000. And once again, a tax property
sale for some land in Miami brought no bidders, so the
parcel will be taken off the market.
Kevin Kinney of the Pinal Mountain Elks Club gave a
presentation on the Southern Gila County Dictionary Project.
With him were Marianne Marino of the Globe Rotary Club
and Debbie Fogle of Copper Cities Rotary. Kinney
explained that together the groups are providing 520
dictionaries to school kids and home schoolers from the
local area including Superior, Winkelman, Young, Miami
and Globe.
Kevin Kinney, Marianne Marino, Debbie Fogle
County Manager Don McDaniel and assistant Manager
Michael Scannell will be going on a Resolution Copper tour,
November 2nd. McDaniel, along with Supervisors Pastor
and Marcanti, recently returned from the CSA legislative
conference, Arizona's County Supervisors Association,
where they got what they wanted, approval for fixing
problems with the Truth in Taxation advertising
requirements that have led to much public confusion, and the
county's right to choose and hire their own auditor. Now the
state legislature must pass the changes.
Gila County is writing a letter to the US Forest Service
asking that problems with Fossil Creek and the Scenic River
Corridor be addressed. The issue is that people get stuck. It
took all day to rescue one 400-pound 14 year old girl in flip
flops. The County is requesting better management so that
hikers won't be as likely to be stranded.
RESOLUTION COPPER PROJECT UPDATE
SUPERIOR OPEN HOUSE,
PUBLIC MEETING & DINNER
Thursday October 1, 2015 6:00 PM
It was all good news at Thursday night's Resolution Copper
Project Update, Open House, Public Meeting and Dinner.
Project Director Andrew Taplin reviewed what has taken
place since the last public meeting in Miami and provided
insight into what's coming.
Perhaps best news of all, the permitting process is on track.
The requirements are numerous and passing each one is
necessary before the mine can operate, so being able to
announce that permitting is moving forward is key to the
project's viability. The Mine Plan Operations, which was
submitted to the U.S. Forest Service in 2013 is deemed
complete. And a milestone has been reached. The Tonto
National Forest has selected an independent contractor who
will write the EIS (an Environmental Impact Study, required
by NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act).
Phoenix-based SWCA Environmental Consultants has been
chosen. Resolution Copper will fund the study and Tonto
National Forest management will oversee it. Ongoing
baseline studies continue, but the next major process is
Public Scoping, where the public is afforded extensive
opportunities for information gathering and input on the
project. The completion of the NEPA process is expected
around February 2016 with the issuance of a final FONSI, a
Finding Of No Significant Impact.
Questions Thursday evening, moderated by Vicky Peacey,
Senior Manager of Environment, Permitting and
Communities, primarily centered around the direct
environmental impact of various parts of the project on
nearby residential areas. Several senior managers were on
hand to answer. Dr. Casey McKeon, Resolution Copper's
Environmental Manager, provided specifics and an offer to
meet with anyone to discuss and tour the project. “You know
where I live,” she quipped to one questioner. Members of
the San Carlos Apache Tribe were in attendance but none
chose to speak.
Safety, an integral component of any mining project, is a
standout for Resolution Copper. The major drilling division
celebrated 1,000 injury free days in June. Later in the
month, a team member had a minor first aid case, but
quickly returned to the job. There have been no serious
injuries in the Core Processing facility. There was a first aid
case last month, of a worker with a sprained knee. There
have been no injuries underground and none at the water
treatment plant.
Taplin tackled the issue of layoffs head on. He apologized
for any miscommunication that led to the belief that once the
land exchange was approved the workforce would increase,
not decrease. He explained that Resolution Copper will
ultimately support 3,000 workers during construction and
over 3,700 jobs both direct and indirect, once the mine is
operating, but that during the development phase, Resolution
Copper will from time to time need to shift the number and
type of contract employees needed to ensure the safe and
successful development of the project.
As an example he used Shaft #10, saying that upon
completion, the workforce was reduced by 36 contract
employees, all in cementation. 10 of the affected workers
were transferred to other cementation jobs, and 4 to Swick
Drilling, another contractor on the project. 22 cementation
employees were retained. Taplin says that Resolution
Copper works hard to minimize impact on people, by trying
to keep contract employees with the right skills who reside
in the Copper Circle on the project.
Taplin reported drilling is ongoing and the design of the
mine continues to be effected by and based on the ore body.
Drilling on Shaft #9, now at 4,000 feet will continue to the
same depth as Shaft #10, which, at approximately 7,000 feet,
is one of the deepest shafts in the world.
The Resolution Copper investment committee has approved
over $100 million for the project to be spent over the next 16
months.
A focus of the project is reclamation. In 2014 Resolution
Copper worked on removal of historic tailings from an area
known as Lower Smelter Pond. Currently contaminated soil
is being removed in preparation for reseeding. Oddonetto
Construction from Globe and Albo Trucking from Superior
have been hired for the reclamation of 11.5 acres. Over $3
million dollars has been approved to complete the
excavation through 2016. There is a tour of the results so far
that will be held on Saturday October 10th in both the
morning and afternoon. Information is on KQSS.net and at
ResolutionCopper.com. $30 million has been spent so far on
reclaiming historic tailings at the West Plant site and $30
million more will be spent until completion, estimated to be
in 2020. There will also be a Core Processing Facility Tour
on Wednesday October 21st at 6:00 p.m.
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
GILA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Tuesday October 6, 2015 10:00 AM County Courthouse
Something's going to be done about weeds on Highway 60.
That news came out of Tuesday's Regular Meeting of the
Gila County Board of Supervisors when Chairman Mike
Pastor announced a meeting this Thursday morning from 9
to noon at Globe City Hall with CAG, the Central Arizona
Governments and ADOT, the Arizona Department of
Transportation. On the agenda is the lack of weed
maintenance. The corner of 60 and Hwy 188 is particularly
menacing.
October was proclaimed Domestic Awareness Month in Gila
County. And $600,000 will be spent to teach us how to eat.
A very generous grant for nutrition education of $200,000
per year for three years from the Arizona Nutrition Network
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program of the Arizona
Department of Health Services has been given to the Gila
County Health & Emergency Management Division to be
spent on education, not food. The focus will be on food
systems, active living, school health and early childhood
education. Paula Horn, deputy director of the county's
health and emergency division presented information about
the grant and the supervisors voted to accept it.
Three tax sales were on the agenda. One parcel in Hayden
with a vacant house on it was sold for $50.00. Another,
primarily hillside land in Miami, drew no bids, which was
somewhat of a surprise as a potential bidder requested the
County put it up for sale. A third was sold to the Town of
Winkelman for $1.00.
$1.2 million dollars was approved to fix the dozens of
trailers housing county offices behind the courthouse,
dubbed “legoland” by county workers. The Copper
Administration Building project ran into trouble after all the
trailers were assembled and infrastructure problems were
discovered. The money will come from the Capital Projects
Reserves fund, not the county operating budget, with the
promise that the fund will be replenished as quickly as
possible. County Manager Don McDaniel predicted a July
2016 completion date.
Eric Mariscal, Director of Elections discussed establishing
five voting centers within Gila County while maintaining the
11 existing precincts. The board authorized him to submit a
request for pricing from various vendors for the associated
equipment.
The discussion of the acquisition of a regional DUI vehicle
through a memorandum of understanding between the
Governor's Office of Highway Safety and the Gila County
Sheriff's office was continued until the next meeting.
And proof that courthouse security is not in God's hands was
in evidence when the meeting's invocation pastor was held
up for over 10 minutes by security. All in attendance were
thankful for the display that it's working.
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
TOWN OF MIAMI MAYOR AND COUNCIL
Columbus Day Monday October 12, 2015 6:30 PM
Town Council Chambers - Sullivan Street
The wastewater project is back on. At Monday night's
Regular Meeting of the Town of Miami Mayor and Council,
attorney Michael Cafiso, the bond counsel for the project
proclaimed the town good to go for Phase 2. The council
breathed a collective sigh of relief. Closing costs for Phase
2 are $4,535,429 and the USDA is expected to sign off this
Thursday.
Ty Borum from Kinkaid, the firm handling Phase 2
construction, was in attendance. He said surveying work will
start next week with construction expected to begin around
November 2nd. Over 20 workers will be needed and he
pledged to hire locally whenever qualified candidates were
available.
A contract with Rick Engineering for work on the Merritt
Ramp project was approved. Improvements to the 400 foot
long thoroughfare will cost $38,000.
Cherie Wright from financial consultant Pat Walker's office
reviewed the results of the newly completed Fiscal Year
2014-2015 audit. General ledger deposits and bank deposits
rarely matched and the bottom line is that about $15,000 is
unaccounted. A forensic audit was suggested by Heatherly,
but the Town attorney said the cost would make it
impractical.
The Council agreed that Heatherly has done a great job
trying to manage Town finances and applauded his efforts.
Miami Genesis presented a financial management report for
the Fiesta event. The town lost $212, but overall it was a
good deal from every aspect.
Town Engineer Paul Curzon announced a new business
would be coming to Miami, an Asian American restaurant.
He said that the permitting for it is going smoothly. Curzon
also reported that the street sign replacement project is going
well, and he confirmed that the name discrepancies arose
from changes because of 911 address requirements, as was
suspected. Serious problems with the air conditioning in
City Hall continue. The building was constructed in 1982
and the cost of addressing the cooling system might require
some grant funding.
In September, the library had 858 walk ins, 371 computer
users and 11 new patrons. The winter book sale will be in
December but Library Director Delvan Hayward said that
books are always on sale when the library is open.
Police Chief Scott Gillen gave the report for the week of
October 5th. There were 110 calls for service, four citations,
seven arrests, five 911 medical calls, eight domestic
disturbances and one DUI.
Heatherly reported that the purple lights on the bridge for
Domestic Awareness Month are in place, but the bowls
surrounding them make them hard to see. He also
announced that the senior center has just gone through an
evaluation and the results were all positive.
The first TAC meeting was held, and Heatherly said it was
poorly attended by the Transit Authority Committee
members. Only three showed up, including Globe
councilwoman Roberta Lee Johnson and KQSS' Jon Cornell.
The Miami High homecoming parade is this Friday, the 16th
at 1.
There's a Job Fair coming up at Freeport Moran next week.
It's October 22nd from 10 AM to 2 PM.
Councilmember Angel Medina mentioned that there will be
a children's costume handout by the Miami police
department on October 27th.
Mayor Darryl Dalley announced there will be a Veterans
Day celebration next month and donations are welcome.
Gila County Chief Probation Officer Kendall Rhyne and
Deputy County Attorney Patricia Pfeiffer who prosecutes
juvenile offenders made a short presentation on the problems
of mentoring troubled youths to become positive and
productive adults.
Vice Mayor Don Reiman said he really didn't understand the
materials presented which included several charts and
figures. His bottom line is that the bad apples should just be
thrown in jail. KQSS' Jon Cornell defended the presentation
saying it was the first step in a long process which to be
successful should include community leaders. He suggested
the Boys and Girls Club, the Boy Scouts and area churches
should all be involved in trying to strengthen the moral fiber
of the community.
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY OF GLOBE MAYOR AND COUNCIL
Tuesday October 13, 2015 6:00 PM
City Council - Chambers Pine Street
The elephant in the room at last night's Regular Meeting of
the City of Globe Mayor and Council has a $10 million price
tag. That's the amount of unfunded liability Globe has for
retirement programs. The issue made its presence known
during the last financial audit when it was still easy to
ignore. The state administers retirement programs for
municipal employees, and municipalities are supposed to
supply funding. But few municipalities have been able to do
that. And since it was an unfunded liability-meaning money
was owed, but it wasn't actually part a current budget, years
went by in many cases without payments being made, which
is how Globe wound up $10 million in debt to the state. But
now Arizona has changed the rules and all retirement
liabilities must be a part of the budget, meaning that they're
on the balance sheet and have to be considered. So next
year, Globe's budget will have an additional $10 million
dollars worth of debt.
No matter how it's handled, one thing is certain. Globe
cannot write a check for $10 million to anyone. Finance
director Joe Jarvis said one of the ideas so far is to work out
a payment plan. But the $100,000 a year he suggested
would mean Globe would take 100 years to pay it back, even
assuming no interest. And that amount would greatly impact
the operating budget. And it doesn't address ongoing
amounts required annually. For now there's no solution. But
what is clear is that however it's resolved, Globe will need to
raise more money and spend less.
The City of Chandler donated two 2005 Chevy Tahoe's to be
used by the fire department. One is an excellent K-9 vehicle.
The City of Globe gave an award to employees Brandon
Gillum and Paul Zamora for their above and beyond efforts
to get the vehicles into great shape.
The Globe Fire Department will be getting a new fire
engine. It's going to take a couple more months to fulfill all
the terms of the grant that will pay for it, which brought
CAG's Alan Urban to the meeting allowing for public
comment, as required.
Deputy Fire Chief Gary Robinson gave a presentation of the
new electronic records program for the department. Now
everything is stored electronically with no more paper
records. Robinson shared a statistic. 82% of 911 calls are
EMS related and 26% are overlapping, meaning that while
employees are on the scene of one emergency, a call comes
in for another.
City Manager Brent Billingsley shared a resident's letter
thanking the fire department for getting the family's puppies
out from underneath their shed. Their kids are happy about
it.
Mark Nipp starts today as Globe's Chief of Police. He and
his wife, Terrie, were also in attendance.
Chief Nipp & Terrie
The Council approved a contract with Superior Tank
Solutions for the design and fabrication of a new one million
gallon water tank at $672,000, which will come from WIFA
funds. The money comes with a stipulation though-the tank
must be completed before year's end. Superior says they can
do that.
The Call To The Public was somewhat unusual in that
several citizens chose to speak. Phil Smith who owns
Copper Country Rendezvous complained that he was never
approached by anyone from the City to let him know that
Route 60 traffic was going to be diverted, and motorists
wouldn't be able to drive downtown as easily. Because of
this, Smith said, his business has decreased by at least 50%,
which he believes is also true for other Broad Street
businesses. He said he tried to call numerous people who
work for the city and no one would talk with him about it.
Vice Mayor Eric Mariscal, chairing the meeting in Mayor
Terry Wheeler's absence, promised that he'd have someone
look into the problem and get back to him.
Lee Ann Powers promoted the Historic Main Street program
and reminded the Council of Globe's obligation to provide
$35,000 for the salary of a director.
Brenda Holly reported a severe trash problem on her street
caused by residents up the hill throwing garbage out in bags,
which dogs and pigs tear apart. When it rains, everything
winds up in her yard, and no one has been willing to help.
She said the police have told her they don't deal with hit, and
the town employees she's contacted say they don't either, so
she was speaking out to get help.
Speaking of refuse, the Council unanimously praised Globe
Clean and Beautiful for their Saturday cleanup along Route
60.
IDA LOANS AVAILABLE TO
YOUR BUSINESS IN GILA COUNTY!
Does your business need a boost? Could it benefit form the
purchase of new equipment or merchandise? Does your
building need plumbing or maintenance repairs? Are you
looking to expand? Or would having cash on-hand to get
through lean months make a crucial difference?
The Industrial Development Authority of Gila County can
help! They've got small business loans that can be used for:
Working capital covering your start up and operating costs.
Funds to purchase equipment, machinery, furniture, fixtures,
supplies and materials. Money for the construction of a new
building or renovation of an existing one. Liquidity for
business retention or expansion. And much more.
The IDA understands that small business owners are the
backbone of our economy and that newly created businesses
are the primary source of new jobs in the US, and they're
dedicated solely to helping businesses in Gila County.
Contact them to find out more about the revolving loan
program available to you right now. Call 928-473-1129 or
email GilaCounty_IDA@yahoo.com
DAISY FLORES ON LIST OF ARIZONA
SUPREME COURT NOMINEES
Nine Arizona lawyers are on the nomination list for the state
Supreme Court opening created by the retirement of Rebecca
White Berch. Six of them are Court of Appeals, Division I
judges: Michael J. Brown, Kent E. Cattani, Andrew W.
Gould, Maurice Portley, Samuel A. Thumma, and Lawrence
F. Winthrop.
Also on the list are Maricopa County Superior Court Judge
Timothy J. Thomason, Goldwater Institute Vice President for
Litigation Clint D. Bolick, and Daisy J. Flores of Globe firm
Flores & Clark, LLC.
To be considered, a lawyer must first apply. 12 did so. The
judicial commission narrowed the list to the above nine.
Interviews will take place on Friday November 20th at 8 am.
Public Comments will also be heard at that time. But
members of the public are welcome to make their thoughts
made earlier by mail or email. All comments must be
received by November 18th. Anonymous comments will not
be considered.
Written comments should be addressed to: Arizona Judicial
Commission, 1501 W Washington St., Suite 221, Phoenix,
AZ 85007. Email can be sent to jnc@courts.az.gov.
After the interviews, at least three nominees will be
recommended to Governor Doug Ducey who will make an
appointment.
The new justice will serve for two years and then stand for a
retention election. If successful, they will serve a six year
term, and successive six year terms if elected, until their
mandatory retirement age of 70.
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY OF GLOBE MAYOR AND COUNCIL
Tuesday October 27, 2015 6:00 PM City Hall
The Arizona Water Company dispute with the City of Globe
is not settled. KQSS' Ted Lake was under the impression
that a deal had been struck, but at Tuesday's Regular
Meeting of the City of Globe Mayor and Council, Jon
Cornell spoke with City Manager Brent Billingsley, who
said that no agreement has been reached. When asked how
close both sides are to a consensus, Billingsley said, “We're
still talking”.
It's raining pianos in Globe. Councilmember Mike Stapleton
gave thanks for the donation of a piano to the Cobre Valley
Center For the Arts. Billingsley mentioned that another
piano was donated to the senior center before being
reminded again that it's not a senior center, it's an Active
Adult Center. Either way, they've now got a piano.
Councilmember Lerry Alderman reported attending the
groundbreaking for the new Habitat For Humanity house.
Councilmember Eric Mariscal was also there. Public Works
Director Jerry Barnes serves as local director for the project.
There's a new planning and zoning commissioner for the city
of Globe: Bill Leister, who is a familiar name to many in the
area having worked for CAG, among others. There's a new
appointee to the Library Committee. She's Pamela
Yurkovich. And newly minted Police Chief Mark Nipp was
at the meeting, looking spiffy in his new uniform. The
casino 12D grant came through. Globe is $6,000 richer. The
funds are to be used for emergency lighting.
Good news on the local route 60 water main project for
downtown businesses. Next week construction will be
moving and motorists will again be able to turn on Broad
Street from 60 to go downtown. To some, the project and its
delays have been frustrating. To others, it's illuminating. In
addition to encountering old broken water and sewer lines,
workers discovered sewer lines they didn't know existed,
parts of automobiles and even locomotive cars, and the
foundations of previous buildings long buried underground.
The Council approved $47,680 for the programming
document for the Regional Aquatic Center. The city will be
on the hook or about a third of it, with the remaining two
thirds paid by other participating parties.
The topic generating the most attention and some heated
conversation was funding the Historic Downtown Main
Street Program. Mayor Terry Wheeler read an eloquent
letter he wrote to the community in assurance that the
program would be funded and all would be worked out.
What's at issue is the $35,000 salary for a director, which
will almost certainly be CVCA director Paul Tunis. The city
has the money. It's in the general fund and available to be
used as the director's salary, but the issue is that the
Downtown Globe Association, a non profit corporation that
runs the program has asked that the money be given to them
so that they can directly make the hire, rather than have the
director be a city employee as Kip Culver was. Why this is
an issue was not mentioned, but the Council explained that
legally and procedurally they cannot just turn the money
over to them. Even so several people spoke asking the
Council to do just that.
Tunis, who reported working on the program without salary
support, expressed frustration over not being able to get
access to the City Manager. Billingsley explained that until
things are straightened out, he's been asked to not to speak
with anyone about the matter.
Molly Cornwell who works with both the CVCA and the
Historic Main Street Program was audibly upset by the delay
in funding Tunis' salary. She said she's willing to fight the
city for the money. Lee Ann Powers also appeared to speak
about the money, imploring the Council to keep the Historic
Main Street program as a separate entity from the CVCA.
November 6th and 7th were proclaimed VFW Buddy Poppy
Days, and Roberta Lee Johnson reminded residents that this
weekend's Halloween events include pumpkin bowling to
benefit the Dylan J. Earven foundation.