During the Miami Town Council's first meeting of 2025, Mayor Gil Madrid and Councilmember Dan Moat listen to a presentation by Town Manager Alexis Rivera. Photo by D.Sowders
Home » Government » Miami Council Launches Bloody Tanks Wash Flood Project, Sets Public Meetings

Miami Council Launches Bloody Tanks Wash Flood Project, Sets Public Meetings

With the destructive post-Telegraph Fire flooding that struck the town of Miami in 2021 still fresh in
memory, the Town Council’s first meeting of the new year, January 13, included a presentation on the
Bloody Tanks Wash flood mitigation project and the announcement of upcoming meetings for the
public.

Rob Scrivo and Patrick Wolf, of the Phoenix civil engineering firm Wilson & Company gave an
overview of the project’s background, discussed funding sources, and presented a timeline of the flood
mitigation study.

The timeline includes three public meetings where residents can voice their perspectives on the
frequent flooding of Bloody Tanks Wash. The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 5
from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Miami Town Hall.


The second and third public meetings will be held in mid-July and early November, with the study's
final report projected for a December release. “In November, we’ll know what alternative to
recommend,” said Wolf.

Mitigation options mentioned by Scrivo and Wolf included flood walls, weirs, check dams, and basins
to store flow. The study, they said, was near the end of the data collection phase. The next phase, projected to run through this April, will be hydrology and hydraulics modeling. Another future
step will be hazard mapping, scheduled for September-December 2025.

Asked by Mayor Gil Madrid how quickly the project could be completed, Scrivo said that, with the
modeling and the grant application process, it would take “a few years.” The schedule includes
applying for funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency/Arizona Department of
Emergency and Military Affairs (FEMA/DEMA).
“It will be a competitive grant, so we need to present a very aggressive project,” said Town Manager
Alexis Rivera.

Improving Miami’s streets was also on the Council agenda. Rivera told the Council there were six
projects, with quotes from $1.7 to $1.9 million. Each quote included six to seven streets;
completing all the streets will take approximately three years, and the goal is to start work this year.
Rivera discussed applying for funding through Central Arizona Governments and noted again that the
grant process would be competitive. He said the streets that are in the worst condition would come first.

Councilmember Jose “Angel” Medina’s report brought up the problem of primitive roads like the
“Frederick Street and Miami Avenue washout areas,” which Medina said “can cause damage to vehicle
suspensions and eventually cause a catastrophic highway accident.” He proposed filling these roads
with caliche as a temporary solution.

Also on the agenda was a resolution to declare a housing emergency for the Town, prioritize affordable
housing and urge the Arizona Legislature to address the impact of short-term rentals on housing
supply.

Mayor Madrid said he had received this resolution from the mayor of Sedona, whom he believed had
also sent it to other communities. “We should stand with them,” he added.

Councilmember Don Reiman questioned the short-term rentals portion of the resolution, asking why
Miami should discourage people from converting older houses into bed and breakfasts. Town Attorney
Joe Estes, while noting that such rentals were not a significant issue in Miami, said the key issue was
returning local control to towns. Estes ultimately agreed to craft a revised, shorter resolution and bring
it back at the next Council meeting. Medina moved to table the item, and his motion passed
unanimously.

Rivera, in his report, noted the Town’s receipt of a $1.09 million WIFA grant for the wastewater
treatment plant and an $85,000 USDA grant for new LED lighting at Town Hall, the Miami Memorial
Library and Copper Mountain Transit. He estimated the lighting installation would take 30-45 days.
Rivera added that the installation of cameras downtown had started.
In his turn addressing the Council and the public, Madrid noted the closing of KIKO Radio after 67 years –
“That was a big loss to us” – and plans by a group named “We Love M Hill,” which included several
Miami High School students, to repair the iconic M and clean up overgrown brush on the hill. He also
noted that the contractor on the Schwartz Lumber Yard post-fire cleanup was not a qualified registered
HAZMAT contractor, a situation the Town was working to correct.

The meeting included a presentation on a flood mitigation study for Bloody Tanks Wash, pictured here a few miles west of Miami.Photo by D. Sowders

“In my opinion, it’s [potential hazardous materials at the site] an emergency,” Madrid said.

The Council also, at Madrid’s urging, discussed holding a work session to form a strategic plan for the
Town. “We have to have it [the plan],” he said. “Being proactive means you start with a plan.” Madrid
proposed an initial meeting for February 15, a Saturday.

“The first meeting gets us started. We have to do this in phases.” Medina suggested a weekday meeting. After some discussion, it was agreed that Town Clerk Karen Norris would reach out to council members to determine what dates they would be available. Estes added that each member should put together their key

issues in creating the strategic plan. “The goal is to have a very productive meeting,” he said.

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