At its Aug. 17 meeting, The Gila County Board of Supervisors announced a Sept. 29 work session in Young to discuss the Pleasant Valley Veterans Retreat, after a flood of emails and calls from county residents. The work session will also cover potential new regulations in Young.
The board also heard an update on NRCS flood recovery projects and extended a contract with the county’s federal lobbyist.
A Sept. 29 work session at the Tommie Cline Martin complex in Payson will give the supervisors and the public a chance to discuss the future of the Pleasant Valley Veterans Retreat, as well as zoning, building permit, and licensing questions in Young.
Supervisor Humphrey noted that an online post claimed he and another supervisor intended to close the retreat. Humphrey stated that he has supported the retreat throughout his 10 years as a supervisor, but wants its operation “to be legal and not fully on the backs of Gila County.”
Humphrey said he had received “many, many, many” phone calls and emails about the veterans retreat, and encouraged people to keep calling and emailing him if they want more information.
Discussion about the PVVR dominated the supervisors’ Aug. 4 meeting, where Supervisor Christensen assured people the board has no intention of closing the retreat.
With the deadline for completing NRCS-funded projects now less than 60 days out, Gila County’s emergency watershed-protection projects are on track to finish before the deadline and under budget, according to Deputy Public Works Director Matt Rencher. The 220-day completion deadline falls in the middle of October.
Russell Gulch is substantially complete, with only installation of a backflow gate on a culvert remaining. Six Shooter Canyon is at 88.5%, Ice House Canyon 92.5%, and the Copper Hills Road and hospital projects both at 75%.
The hospital project began later than the others but is progressing quickly and is expected to meet the deadline.
Federal lobbyist Robin Hiestand updated the board on the county’s unsuccessful attempt to obtain a federal disaster declaration for last year’s flooding. The county has exhausted the administrative appeal process, and for the county to receive a disaster declaration would now require action in Congress, she said.
Senators Ruben Gallego and Markwayne Mullin have requested a briefing on why Gila and Mohave counties’ disaster declarations were denied. That briefing is expected to happen by the end of August.
Hiestand is vice president of Bose Public Affairs Group, which has received a $88,000, one-year extension of its contract with the county.
The firm has worked with Gila County for more than 20 years, helping secure approximately $64 million in federal funding, including $22 million related to last fall’s flooding, according to Hiestand.
Bose has also been involved in funding for highways, the Tonto Creek Bridge, Forest Road 512, and federal payments to counties that have large amounts of federal land under the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program.
Supervisor Christensen said the PILT program is especially important because so much of Gila County consists of federal land and the PILT payments have not increased in 20 years.
Maryn Belling, the County’s Finance Director, presented on how the property taxes collected in the county are allocated to various entities and districts.
The allocations are different for each geographical area.
For residents of the City of Globe, the County receives 29.49 cents out of every property tax dollar, the schools get 26.72 cents, the fire district receives 26.4 cents, the City of Globe receives 8.19 cents, the college receives 6.43 cents, the library gets 1.71 cents, FDAT gets 0.7 cents, and CVIT receives 0.35 cents.
For Miami residents, the Town of Miami, the Miami schools, and the county each receive about 30 cents of each property tax dollar, the college receives about 6.5 cents, and the rest goes to the library district, FDAT, and CVIT.
For unincorporated areas of 85501, the county receives 29.26 cents of each property tax dollar, the Globe schools receive 23.8 cents, the fire district receives 23.51 cents, the sanitary district gets 10.72 cents, the street lighting improvement districts receive 7.53 cents, the college receives 5.73 cents, and the rest goes to the library district, FDAT, and CVIT.
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