Roadblock to landfill expansion discussed at Board of Supervisors meeting

“The landfill people … are working on a shoestring to keep our landfill open, and here we are stubbing our toe on a building again.””

Supervisor Tim Humphrey

Christine Smith pointed out that the landfill is in a critical condition, and Russell Gulch is projected to be full by March or April. Constructing Cell 3B will take about three to four months.”

At their Nov. 18 meeting, the Gila County Board of Supervisors discussed how to remove a building that stands in the way of expanding the Russell Gulch landfill. They also approved a slate of motions, including progress on the Pinal Creek Waterway Cesspool Project.

Old metal building at Russell Gulch blocking landfill expansion

The dilemma of what to do with an old metal storage building at the Russell Gulch landfill has complicated much-needed plans to expand the landfill. 

Discussion of the building continued this evening as the supervisors weighed two options for demolishing it.

Olivia Todd, the county’s deputy finance director, explained that back in September, the board asked staff to explore whether the building had resale or reuse value. An engineer was hired to assess the structure and concluded the building had reached the end of its useful life and should not be resold.

Discussion at this meeting centered on two procurement options to move forward with demolition — either to issue a new RFP or to use an existing job-order contract with SJ Anderson, a state contractor from outside the area. Issuing a new RFP would allow a precise job scope but would cause delays at least until January. Going with SJ Anderson would be faster, with work potentially starting in December, but it would be less tightly scoped, which could lead to change orders that increase the cost.

“The landfill people … are working on a shoestring to keep our landfill open, and here we are stubbing our toe on a building again.” Supervisor Humphrey

Supervisor Humphrey argued for having SJ Anderson do the work to avoid delays in the landfill expansion schedule. Public Works Director Christine Smith pointed out that the landfill is in a critical condition, and Russell Gulch is projected to be full by March or April. Constructing Cell 3B will take about three to four months. 

Delays on opening Cell 3B would be very costly, as the county would be forced to haul solid waste to another facility.

Supervisor Cline disagreed with demoing the building at all, because he disagrees with the engineering evaluation and believes it has no serious structural problems. He pointed out the building is made of red-iron steel and has significant reuse value. 

Cline argued for dismantling the building in a way that would allow it to be reused, either by auctioning it or repurposing it by another county entity.

“This building... whether it’s disassembled and moved, or somehow packaged, or if it has to be demolished, which would be unfortunate, it has to be moved. And the sooner we do it, the better.” Christine Smith

However, Supervisor Humphrey noted that dismantling the building would take additional time. County Attorney Joe Albo said it would also go beyond the terms of the contract with SJ Anderson, requiring a new contract, further delays, and possibly increased costs. 

Supervisor Cline strongly opposed using a state contractor, which he believed would drive up costs and benefit an out-of-area firm rather than local contractors.

As a solution, Todd suggested including the demo work in the upcoming solicitation for bids for the Cell 3B expansion itself, which is slated to come before the board on Dec. 2. This option would be more efficient and could streamline the overall schedule. Supervisor Christensen directed Todd to fold the building removal into the upcoming Cell 3B expansion solicitation and return to the board with that broader scope.

Fairground improvements are under early discussion

During a brief work session, the supervisors heard a presentation from Joseph Dickison, the county’s facilities manager, about long-term improvement concepts for the fairgrounds based on recommendations from the supervisors and others. These include reconfiguring the rodeo events area, relocating the mobile arena, adding covered stalls and adding shade structures. 

Supervisor Humphrey asked Dickison to meet with the organizers of large events, such as the junior high school rodeo, to get their recommendations. Supervisor Cline questioned the cost of the improvements, and Dickison said conversations about priorities would come later, but his department is looking at grants and other funding sources.

Motions approved

Major policies and countywide matters

• Authorizing the advertisement of a Request for Proposals for the Gila County Emergency Operations Plan. Emergency Manager Carl Melford explained that he is seeking a qualified consultant to overhaul the County’s Emergency Operations Plan, which needs major updates to meet 2026 standards and best practices.
• Accepting a $10,000 grant award from the Arizona Companion Animal Spay/Neuter Committee to expand the county’s discounted spay/neuter services for one year. Josh Beck explained that the county seeks this funding annually. The supervisors briefly discussed supplementing these funds through an economic development agreement to expand the program further.

• Approving the use of $85,253.41 in Help America Vote Act grant funding from the AZ Secretary of State’s office and $58,713.59 in Elections Department funding to purchase electronic poll tablets and ballot-on-demand printers from Election Systems & Software, for a total amount $143,949. Eric Mariscal, the county’s elections director, detailed the plan to replace aging pollbooks and printers with new equipment. He highlighted a new requirement for additional verification steps for early ballot drop-offs, which increased the cost of the equipment upgrade. Mariscal said the only substantial change that is happening is that a printer now is being secured for each tablet, instead of having multiple tablets connected to a single printer, and this reduces the amount of communication that’s needed between the tablets and printers, thus enhancing security.

• Authorizing the execution of a two intergovernmental agreements with ADOT for Pinal Creek Bridge #1 at Abiquiu Trail and Pinal Creek Bridge #2 at Hicks Road. County Engineer Thomas Goodman explained that the agreement allows ADOT to complete the evaluation and scoping for the bridges under an off-system bridge grant. The evaluations were not triggered by the flooding and are taking place because the bridges are old. Total project cost is approximately $150,000, with the county responsible for about 5.7 percent.
• Approving a funding agreement with the Arizona Department of Housing to receive $10,000 in Continuum of Care Planning Funds and $54,000 from the Housing Trust Fund. Joshua Beck, director of the county’s Environmental Health Services Division, explained that the funding will support staffing for homelessness coordination work. According to the agreement, the department will act as the lead Gila County Continuum of Care (COC) and build capacity for activities, discussions and meetings directed at ending homelessness.

• Approving an intergovernmental agreement with the Arizona Department of Health Services for SNAP-Ed Projects funding in the amount of $236,524 for Dec. 1, 2025 through Sept. 30, 2026. Beck explained that the agreement provides rollover state-level SNAP-Ed funds that will support Safe Routes to School projects. The money will be distributed to the schools to purchase items like traffic cones and bicycle safety equipment.
• Approving an amendment to extend a contract with Chandler-based Advantage Home Performance for weatherization materials and services through Oct. 30, 2025, increasing the amount to $350,000. Beck explained that residents have been happy with the company’s customer service, and no local contractors have completed required training to compete for bids.

• Approving the award of contracts to all qualified firms for design, site, and soil investigation, and installation services in response to a request for qualification for the Pinal Creek Waterway Cesspool Project, in a total amount not to exceed $423,728, for the term of Nov. 18, 2025 through Sept. 30, 2026. The firms include Premier Environmental Products LLC, MacConnell and Associates PC, EarthQuest LLC dba EarthQuest Plumbing, Black Mountain Excavating, and Wilbanks Excavating LLC. Beck explained that the county’s goal is to complete the project as quickly as possible.

• Determining the price for Gila County to purchase parcel 205-29-004S from the state for the price of $316.30. Charlotte Asrarynezami explained that the small parcel had been deeded to the state for nonpayment of taxes, but the Public Works department determined that the property will have use to the county for transportation purposes, so the county can purchase it. The parcel underlies Kachina Trail, an existing county-maintained road. Owning the parcel will give the county ownership of all of Kachina Trail out to the fairgrounds.

Financial and contractual matters

• Approving a quote with Motorola Solutions Inc. to purchase the Motorola FLEX Reliable Administration Solutions Software (SaaS) for the Sheriff’s Office for a three-year term, for an amount not to exceed $79,975.88. Deputy Cole Labonte explained that Reliable Administration Solutions provides specialized support for the Sheriff’s Office CAD and RMS servers.

• Approving a contract for the purchase of two Dodge Ram 1500 trucks from Courtesy Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram for an amount not to exceed $114,604.70. David LaForge from Public Works explained that the trucks will replace two SUVs currently in use by the probation department that are due for replacement. The trucks will be used to travel to rural and remote locations for field supervision in terrain unsuitable for sedans and small SUVs. The trucks will also be equipped to tow cargo trailers for firearms training and community work.

• Approving a contract in an amount not to exceed $64,469.90 with Agile Fleet Inc. for licensing of FleetCommander software from Nov. 1, 2025, through Oct. 31, 2026. LaForge explained that FleetCommander is essential for vehicle scheduling, maintenance tracking, fuel monitoring, and motor pool management.

Appointments, governance and administrative matters

• Appointing Sylvia Hernandez to the Gila County Personnel Commission for a term ending Dec. 31, 2027.
• Appointing Kristy Miller as Republican Precinct Committeeman for Payson #2.
• Receiving and accepting the Board of Equalization hearing officer’s recommendations for two petitions for Review of Change for tax year 2026. The petitions are property valuation appeals for parcel 305-119-013 and parcel 303-150-01Q. The hearing officer upheld the valuation for parcel 305-119-013 and adjusted the value on parcel 303-150-01Q.

Economic development

• Approving an Extension of Premises/Patio Permit to permanently extend the premises where liquor is permitted to be served at Kohl’s Ranch in Payson.

To view this meeting online, visit the Gila County Government YouTube page.