Council hears updates on community pool and bridge projects at January 11 meeting

Members of the Globe City Council: Mayor Al Gameros, Vice Mayor Mike Stapleton (District 4), and Councilmembers 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 Vice Mayor Stapleton.

Community pool rehab work underway

Council heard a progress update on the Community Pool Rehabilitation Project, where groundbreaking took place on January 10. Public Works Director John Angulo said fencing has been put up and work has started on rerouting a water line that runs across the worksite.

Some sawcutting has also been done, and workers have started to pull out the original concrete deck. Some of the structures have been taken down and the old steel has been brought to the public works yard for possible future use.

The structural engineers have set up an office at the community center complex, and the project superintendent, Bobby Merle, has moved to Globe for the duration of the project.

Tuesday, February 1, at 10 a.m., the City will be presenting a project update to the Gila County Board of Supervisors.

Council tabled a discussion about a Memorandum of Understanding between the City and Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center to collaborate on project management of the pool rehab.

City Manager Paul Jepson explained that the hospital had graciously agreed to partner with the City to add additional features to the community pool complex. There are two contracts involved, one for the City and one for the hospital. The City and the hospital have been negotiating an MOU to facilitate the project going forward. Jepson said for the moment the MOU is still being hammered out and asked Council to table that discussion for now.

Bridge project updates

Council heard an update on the projects to rebuild the Upper Pinal Creek Bridge (Connie’s Bridge) and the Pinal Creek Bridge (Cottonwood Bridge).

Eric Powers and Matt Truitt said they are currently preparing to assemble the bid package for Connie’s Bridge. APS is taking point on the bid advertisement and will be helping to select the contractor. The bid will open on March 22, and Council is expected to approve the award on April 12. 

Construction activities will begin in June and the bridge will be completed in the spring of 2023.

Thanks to additional funds made available by the legislature, the project will likely be extended to include paving and drainage improvements along Hill Street, as well as the potential removal of the existing Connie’s Bridge. There may also be cleanup and restriping on South Broad Street, depending on the funds available.

The Cottonwood Bridge (Pinal Creek Bridge) project is on a longer timeline than the Connie’s Bridge project, with bids being advertised in June and the construction taking place sometime in 2023. This project is being funded through an ADOT off-system bridge replacement grant. ADOT is handling the project, and the City provided matching funding.

Rezoning off Holder Drive & Vuksanovich Drive

Council approved a corrective rezoning for two properties located at 2000 S. Vuksanovich Dr. and 1898 Holder Dr. to R1-9 Single Family Residential. The properties consist of about 17.3 acres and are currently zoned open space (OS).

The parcels are located off Highway 60 north of the old Apache drive-in and already have a residence located on each parcel. R1-9 allows single-family residences with 9,000 square-foot lots minimum.

According to Dana Burkhardt, the City’s Zoning Administrator, this is a corrective rezoning, and the need was discovered after the owner of one of the properties became aware of the problem with the zoning while in the process of trying to sell their property.

Burkhardt said a required neighborhood meeting had been held and attendees expressed support for the rezoning. A citizen’s review meeting was also held. No opposition has been received, Burkhardt said.

A public hearing was opened during today’s Council meeting, during which Council heard from Diane Holder. Holder is the listing agent of 1898 Holder Dr. and spoke on behalf of the owner, Clarence Rice, as well as on her own behalf as a neighbor. She said it’s possible that the error in zoning occurred when land north of the properties was sold to BHP and rezoned open space, and the properties in question might have been accidentally included. There were no other comments from the public.

Library grant accepted for outdoor space renovation

Council approved acceptance of a grant to the Globe Library to renovate outdoor space as part of Covid response. The grant comes from the Arizona State Library State Grants-in-Aid Construction fund and has a value not to exceed $21,400.

According to Rayel Starling, the library’s director, the grant will help fund the construction of a fenced-in outdoor area next to the library. The total project cost will be around $50,000, and the library will be using ARPA funds as well as the library grant.

Water booster rehab continues

Council approved a $75,000 contract with PumpMap Arizona for on-call well maintenance and repair services. Vincent Mariscal, Water Facilities Manager, said these services are related to finishing the rehab of a booster and establishing PumpMan as an on-call emergency services provider.

Mariscal explained how Globe’s water system works: wells pull water out of the ground and put them in storage tanks. The boosters then pull the water from the storage tanks, push the water to the Crestline tanks, and then the Crestline boosters push the water into town. The new Bonita boosters will move water out to the area near AutoZone. Overall, he said, the boosters help increase and stabilize water pressure.

Police Department to purchase equipment for 800 MHz radio system

Council approved the purchase of 800 MHz portable and mobile radios for the Police and Fire Departments. Chief Dale Walters said the intention is to provide better radio equipment for both the Police Department and first responders, as well as to support interoperability throughout the region.

Chief Robinson said the system will improve coverage and reduce dead spots, and Chief Walters said it will also improve redundancy of communications, which has been a problem during disasters in the past.

The radios will be purchased with funds from an $80,968 Arizona Department of Homeland Security grant. The PD went through a private radio vendor to make it possible to go to a 800 MHz system, which would otherwise have been prohibitively expensive.

The Fire Department, Miami, and Tri-City will also be pursuing grant money to purchase radios on the same system.

Motions approved

Council also approved motions for the following:

• Accounts payable in the amount of $1,045,871.91 plus $556,030.31
• A contract with CDX Contracting in the amount of $4,792.25 for drywall repairs at the firehouse
• A contract with Superior Tank Solutions in the amount of $15,000 to clean the Cutter water storage tanks
• A contract with Wilson & Co. Engineers & Architects in an amount not to exceed $25,000 to provide on-call water resources engineering services for the City
• An agreement in the amount $1,975 per year for three years with Target Solutions Learning LLC and Vector Solutions to provide vector scheduling for web and mobile for the police department
• A contract with Interactive Entertainment Group in the amount of $8,000 for First Friday entertainment rentals
• Appointment of Justin Azevedo, Tracy Quick, and Mary Lowery to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
• Acceptance of a Police Department submission for an Arizona Attorney General’s Office Child and Family Advocacy Center’s Grant
• Acceptance of a Walmart Community Grant in the amount of $4,000. These funds will be utilized to assist community projects.
• Approval of the Emergency Procurement Declaration as a result of multiple incidents in the City of Globe Public Safety Building Complex
• A change order for a contract with CDX Contracting in the amount of $30,886.19 for the 7th and Maple Intersection Improvements project. This work has already been completed. The change order relates to improvements for safety and maintenance of the intersection, mainly using colorized concrete and breakaway signs, according to Jerry Barnes, the City’s engineering director.

To view this meeting online, visit youtube HERE.

To view documents related to this meeting, click here. 

Full minutes can be found by going to the City Hall website and clicking on Agendas/Minutes in the bottom left-hand corner.

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 the City of Globe Arizona). Or click on the “Live Stream on YouTube” link at the top of www.globeaz.gov.

To speak to agenda items before or during the meeting, you can call or text (928) 200-0154 or send an email to council@globeaz.gov. If you desire to speak to the Council during an agenda item.