Connie’s Bridge finances, Globe water quality top agenda

Members of the Globe City Council: Mayor Al Gameros, Vice Mayor Mike Stapleton (District 4), and Council members Freddy Rios (District 1), Mike Pastor (District 2), Jesse Leetham (District 3), Mariano Gonzalez (District 5), and Fernando Shipley (District 6). All members were in attendance at this meeting except Councilman Leetham and Councilman Shipley.

Connie’s Bridge nears completion, Council hears finance update

Tina Allen, Globe’s Finance Director, presented an update on the finances of the Pinal Creek Bridge (Connie’s Bridge) construction project.

Council last heard a financial update on the project a little over a year ago, in November 2022, City Manager Paul Jepson pointed out. Jepson said progress of the bridge was slowed for a time, but the City now is now looking at a completion date sometime between February and April. With payments coming due and expenses coming up in the coming months, Jepson feels the Council should have an update on sources of funds and the need for some budget transfers.

Allen noted that the funds for the project initially came from two grants: one was a direct state appropriation for $2,810,000, and the other was an intergovernmental agreement with ADOT for the Hill Street Corridor representing $1,169,400, for a total of $3,979,400.

At the outset of the project, in November 2022, it was projected that additional funding could come from the road excise tax ($1.3 million) and HERF funds (just under $600,000), for a total of $5,173,000. The original contract with Meridian, the general contractor, was for $5,488,000. Council added sufficient funds to cover the contract from water contingency funds.

Then, in July 2023, the City received an additional grant from the Arizona Rural Transportation Advocacy Council for $643,200. Altogether, the City approved total monies for the project amounting to just under $7 million.

Through FY2023, $2,613,000 was spent on the project, Allen said, in addition to some smaller amounts, such as for signage, inspections, and Arizona Eastern Railroad, for example.

Change orders that reduced the total cost of the project have resulted from value engineering, including a negative change order from Meridian worth $500,000 and an additional negative $39,000 currently being negotiated.

Currently, Allen is estimating the total final cost of the project at $6,581,249.

“That’s the first good news – the project has come down from what we thought it was at the beginning of this fiscal year.” – Tina Allen, Finance Director

Allen projects the City will need to spend $3,900,000 on the bridge project in FY2024. She says that money has all already been budgeted, and the water contingency money will not be needed. Allen said the City will use less HERF money than originally anticipated but more road excise tax funds.

Tonight, Council approved two budget transfers related to the bridge project:

• One in the amount of $165,893 to set aside for a possible match for a grant from the Arizona Department of Transportation Alternative Program related to street sidewalk replacement
• One in the amount of $250,000 in anticipation of administrative approval of a contract payment to Meridian for work completed to date of up to $900,000

Council also affirmed the budgeted value of road excise tax set aside for use on Connie’s Bridge, at $1,715,751.

City tests for PFAS in water supplies, takes Pine Street well offline

Council heard a presentation on the City’s participation in ADEQ’s Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Mitigation Direct Assistance Program. 

John Angulo, Public Works Director, explained that the City is taking a proactive approach to infrastructure, and recently water testing has been receiving media attention. As a result, the City has been testing City well sites.

Angulo said one well, the Pine Street well, came back with a PFAS level over the standard. This led to a conversation with ADEQ and the idea of Globe joining the assistance program. 

Angulo said the Pine Street well is a lower-demand well and is only used in peak season, usually the summertime. It was not in service at the time the tests were done, and the well will be kept offline until it is deemed safe.

The City has sent additional water samples from all wells for testing and is awaiting the results.

“Your Cutter wellfield is currently coming back clean from PFAS.” – Sarah Conrad, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality

Matthew Olson, ADEQ’s PFAS Project Manager, said ADEQ is testing hundreds of wells around the state to determine where PFAS problems exist. ADEQ also provides resources to support safe drinking water in communities with public water systems.

Sarah Conrad, also with ADEQ, said ADEQ has federal and state funds available to assist communities with PFAS. In Globe, ADEQ would take a three-phase approach: first, hiring a consultant to look at the data and suggest options; second, discussing alternatives with City staff and other involved parties; and third, hiring a design engineer and a construction engineer for the project.

ADEQ would cover the costs, and the City of Globe would only have to pay for ongoing operations and maintenance costs and ongoing sampling.

Conrad said the consultant’s work would specifically include looking at two mobile home parks that have private wells, August Hills and DeRose/Shady Properties, to determine whether there is potential to interconnect the mobile home parks and provide City water to them.

The motion passed at this evening’s meeting gives ADEQ permission to assign a design engineer to look at preliminary options, to be paid for by ADEQ.

Employee recognitions

Council recognized the following City of Globe employees on their anniversaries:

Pam Leonard, Human Resources Manager, for ten years of service. City Manager Paul Jepson praised Pam for her knowledge, detail orientation and willingness to help whenever needed.

Danny Trammell, IT Manager, for five years of service. Jepson praised Danny for the solid management of the IT department. Danny has been responsible for broadcasting the Council meetings on Facebook starting before the pandemic and later on YouTube.

Jeremy Cochran, Police Officer, for five years of service. Cochran received praise for his patience, kindness and service. He is originally from Ohio but attended NAU, and has a total of 17 years in law enforcement.

Motions approved

Council also approved motions for the following:

• Accounts payable in the amount of $310,878.86
• Approving a letter of support for the Tri-City Regional Sanitation District, which is seeking grant funding from the US Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration. Tri-City is seeking $5 million in additional funding for its new sewer system, which will bring service to people who currently have none.
• Submission of a grant application to the Attorney General for an amount not yet determined, to be utilized for the City of Globe Copper Hills Advocacy Center.
• Approving a Series 6 liquor license application for Silver Tap (formerly Farley’s Pub), located at 230 N. Broad Street. This item was discussed at Council’s previous regular meeting.
• Approving a request for a new exterior paint scheme and front elevation updates for the “Silver Tap” building (formerly Farley’s Pub), located at 230 N. Broad Street. Planning and Zoning Administrator Dana Burkhardt explained that one letter of opposition had been received from an individual who complained regarding the moving of glass block at the front of the building. The Historic Preservation Advisory Commission recommended approval. EDD director Linda Oddonetto also spoke in favor of the request and expressed support for the new establishment. No members of the public appeared this evening to speak to the item.
• A change order to a contract with EPS Group for the Upper Pinal Creek Bridge/Road design project, in the amount of $160,000. Public Works Director Luis Chavez explained that the change order results from inspections that were needed after the project experienced problems, which led to a delay in completion, as well as from post-design tasks that EPS performed. Chavez said the change order will most likely cost less than $160,000 but he is asking for this amount so he won’t need to come back before Council again in the event more work is needed.
• Accepting two Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Grants in the amount of $38,749 and $19,087, to be used for traffic safety. The PD has been applying for these grants every year and has received them every year for the past seven or eight years. One allows the PD to beef up its enforcement actions during significant periods such as the Fourth of July, Labor Day and Christmas, and the other helps pay for a records management system in police vehicles. These are no-match grants.
• A memorandum of understanding with the Southern Gila County Economic Development Corporation to support the acceptance by SGCEDC of a parcel of land being donated by Haven of Globe. The parcel is needed for SGCEDC to secure a potential senior housing project partnership. Jepson explained that representatives of Haven approached the City to find out if a certain building on its campus, that it owns but is not using, could be used to benefit senior citizens in Globe if Haven donated the building to Globe. City staff then explored alternatives for creating a senior housing development similar to the one Gorman is creating at Hill Street School. In the process, it was discovered that the City would not be able to offer Haven any tax benefits. It was decided that Haven would donate the building to SGCEDC so that Haven would be able to receive a tax benefit via the county. The City will then partner with Gila County to develop the property. Jepson emphasized that this will be a complex renovation project, and the City will be working with partners and investors during the process. 

To view this meeting online, visit here.

 

To view documents related to this meeting, click here. 

Full minutes can be found by going to the City Hall website.

The Globe City Council meets every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. The meetings are currently open to the public at 50% capacity. Members of the public are requested to wear a mask except when seated. Seating is limited to allow for social distancing.

Members of the public can also participate in City of Globe public meetings by viewing the meeting live on YouTube. To view the Council meeting live stream, go to the City of Globe’s YouTube channel (search for City of Globe Arizona). 

To speak to agenda items before or during the meeting, call or text (928) 200-0154 or email council@globeaz.gov.