Rayes Ridge development moves forward at March 8 City Council 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 Mayor Gameros.

Council approves Rayes Ridge preliminary plat

Council approved a preliminary plat for Rayes Ridge, a subdivision in the early stages of development on 28.5 acres off Icehouse Road. The property is located southwest of the Community Center, west of the railroad tracks, and is zoned for single-family dwellings (R1-6). It was annexed into the City about two years ago.

A total of 84 lots are proposed. The primary access will be off Icehouse Canyon Road, and secondary (emergency) access will be to the north, through the area around the Community Center. 

Members of the public have voiced some concerns about traffic impacts on Icehouse Road. The applicant is preparing a traffic impact analysis to inform the design of the intersection on Icehouse Canyon Road. However, that intersection will be located on County land, so the County will have the ultimate decision about its design.

According to Zoning Administrator Dana Burkhardt, the preliminary plat approved today includes the initial design, lot layout, and initial infrastructure plan for the development. One concern about the plat is that the land will require significant grading and potentially high retaining walls, especially on the west side.

The project still needs to go through steps for the approval of the improvement plan, final plat approval and recording of the plat with the County, and issuance of a construction permit.

At a previous public hearing with the Planning and Zoning Commission, three members of the public commented, expressing concerns about traffic, but none of them opposed the development. The P&Z Commission recommended approval.

“I’m very pleased that may move forward and enhance some of the things that we’re trying to address in our strategic plan, which deals with across the board housing that we need to make an attempt to help insert into this community.” Councilman Mariano Gonzalez

Adrea France, the applicant whose family owns the property, spoke briefly during the meeting, as did Linda Oddonetto, Globe’s Director of Economic and Community Development, who spoke in support of the development.

A neighbor of the property said she supports the project because the community needs it, but the traffic in that area is already “crazy,” with rampant speeding, and when the community pool opens it will only get more congested and unsafe.

Debbie Cox, a local real estate agent, commented by email in support of the development. Cox said she was glad to hear the development may have tiered pricing. She feels the development will help the community’s ability to welcome people to the community and help local employers attract employees.

Globe hires new Construction/Utilities Inspector

Engineering Director Jerry Barnes introduced William Medford, Globe’s new construction/utilities director. Medford has broad experience in construction and working for Capstone. He has also owned a towing company, worked as a mechanic in a body shop, and worked as a fisherman on the Bering Sea.

Council hears about uncollectable water debt

Council heard a request from the City to write off $17,022.69 in uncollectable water bills. According to Jodi Martin, the City’s Utilities Manager, this is about 0.1% of the City’s total water billings and sewer fees. There were 42 uncollectable accounts.

The City writes off uncollectable water bills every year, so this is a normal occurrence, although the amount is larger than normal this year because the City stopped doing shutoffs for nine months during the pandemic.

Martin said the City does its best to collect the debts, but in some cases, the City doesn’t have a current address for people who have moved. Also, in some cases people had Arizona water and only had sewer and garbage with the City, so the City couldn’t shut off the water in an attempt to prod people into paying their bill.

City Manager Paul Jepson said the City does have ARPA money related to the pandemic that offsets this loss to some extent. He also said many, many people had the opportunity to walk away from their bills but chose instead to work with the City and repay their debts. Martin said the Water Department does allow people to make payments to pay off their bills.

The request to write off the amount will come back to the council at the next meeting for approval.

Council workgroups to report during future meetings

Council approved some changes regarding Council workgroups and future agenda items. From now on, the policy will be for Council to hear reports from the workgroups as part of future Council meetings. Council established these workgroups a few months ago in order to keep the regular meetings from going on so long.

There are four workgroups: Finance, Public Safety, Infrastructure, and Quality of Life. The workgroups exist to gather information but not to make decisions, according to Jepson. Having the workgroups report on their activity during Council meetings will allow Council members and the public to know what the workgroups have been doing. It will also help Council follow up on items that have been sent to the workgroups.

In an additional procedural change, in the future, to put an item on the future agenda list will only require a motion and a second, not a vote of the council. This will be consistent with the existing rule that it only requires two members of the Council to put an item on the agenda.

Motions approved

Council also approved motions for the following:

• Accounts payable in the amount of $557,945.37
• The following painted murals:

  • One at 465 North Broad Street, at Western Reprographics, facing Earth Mover Tire. The graphic is to be submitted to City staff for approval.
  • One at 198 Oak Street, at the Diamond M Dental building
  • One at 138 South Broad Street, at the Dominion parking lot facing the train depot
  • One at 476 North Broad Street, facing the Hanging Tree exhibit, reproducing the cactus bloom mural that has been there before
  • One at 491 North Broad Street, on the front and north sides of the Silver King building, featuring local students’ murals

• Distribution of bed tax funds for the second quarter of FY 2021-2022 in the amount of $13,799.08 to the Globe-Miami Regional Chamber of Commerce
• Renewal of an annual purchasing agreement with Ferguson LLC in an amount not to exceed $100,000 for supplies for Public Works. John Angulo, Globe’s Public Works Director, explained that after the fire at Mid-State Pipe several years ago – which disrupted the City’s ability to obtain supplies for Public Works – the City changed the way it purchases supplies in order to ensure being able to get needed items. The agreement also allows the City to get supplies without having to go through the lengthy procurement process every time, as well as to lock in prices.
• Extension of the term of a contract with HUB Planning and Urban Design for an additional year and increasing the original contract amount by $48,000 to a total of $60,000. HUB Planning and Urban Design is the consultancy through which Dana Burkhardt, Globe’s Zoning Administrator, works for the City. Linda Oddonetto explained that Burkhardt has been instrumental to Globe’s development efforts, keeping projects moving quickly, and his workload has increased with Globe’s increasing development activity. Jepson pointed out that Burkhardt’s rate hasn’t increased, it’s that the amount of work he is taking on has grown.
• A contract with Mohave Educational Services Cooperative Inc. and Kimley-Horn to complete a preliminary engineering report for sewer expansion in the northeast corridor in the amount of $43,219, plus an owner’s contingency of $8,644. Jerry Barnes explained that this report is necessary in order to obtain funding for the northeast sewer. The City was able to get a lower than expected bid from Kimley-Horn because they’ve worked with the City before on a sewer assessment and already have a lot of the information that will be needed. The City had expected to have to pay around $125,000. Councilman Gonzales pointed out that this project is part of the City’s strategic plan, and members of the public are encouraged to download it from the City’s website to learn about the City’s plans.

To view this meeting online, visit https://youtu.be/DdKgojv4SAM.

To view documents related to this meeting, click here. 

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