Residents encouraged to contact Congressman O’Halleran to resolve TCRSD flaws.

By: Fred Barcon

I receive a lot of calls and messages from concerned residents regarding the TCRSD project. A lot of people have picked up on the severity of the mistakes made by the TCRSD board, and USDA, and would like to elevate this matter to the attention of the State Attorney General’s office, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of the Inspector General, the Goldwater Institute, and the news media.  In my opinion, taking those steps should be a last resort.

The issue with elevating the project to a legal level would be the delay it would cause in implementing a solution to the wastewater issues in the Tri-City area. We don’t want to cause a lengthy delay while the current situation is investigated, we want to value engineer and move forward with a cost-effective solution to resolve the wastewater issues as quickly as possible.

Once again, we’re all in agreement that the wastewater issues in Tri-City need to be resolved, it’s the astronomically expensive and nonsensical project that the TCRSD and USDA are pushing forward that we oppose. There is a cost-effective alternative, that for whatever reason, TCRSD and USDA refuse to acknowledge. 

We do have Congressman O’Halleran’s attention. His staff has been on a fact-finding mission for several months, they are aware of the fatal flaws, and have had a meeting with USDA staff. I feel confident in Congressman O’Halleran’s desire to uncover the truth and move forward with the most cost-effective solution.

Congressman O’Halleran is aware that the Tri-City district has a large population of seniors on fixed income, and burdening them with a high-priced loan and high monthly sewer rates when there is a lower-cost alternative that has not been explored is violation of the fiduciary responsibility of the TCRSD board.

The TCRSD board has a fiduciary responsibility to act with care, loyalty, and obedience, to act reasonably, prudently and in the best interest of the residents they represent. In the event that the TCRSD board breaches their duties due to willful ignorance or intentional wrongdoing they will face very serious consequences. 

At this point, the best thing concerned residents can do is contact Congressman O’Halleran and USDA’s State Director, J.C. Sherman, to voice your concern and request their assistance regarding the TCRSD project. As concerned residents speak up, it will become increasingly obvious that the TCRSD board is not representing the collective voice of the district.

Congressman O’Halleran:

Flagstaff Office

405 N. Beaver Street, Suite 6

Flagstaff, AZ 86001

928-286-5338

https://ohalleran.house.gov/contact

USDA State Director, J.C. Sherman: 

230 N. First Avenue, Suite 206

Phoenix, AZ 85003-1706

800-292-8295

602-280-8701