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Pinal County Supervisor Pete Rios addresses residents in Oracle about possibly auctioning off county land near the town.
Pinal County has been considering auctioning several parcels of vacant land near Oracle and Supervisor Pete Rios wanted to know what the people of Oracle thought. He took the question directly to the residents last week at a meeting held Nov. 30 at Mountain Vista School.
The land parcels are located in the Oracle Village Estates area. These land tracts were originally dedicated by the developer of the Oracle Village Estates to be used for parks back in the early 1960s. Close to 100 Oracle residents showed up for the meeting.
Rios chaired the discussion and explained that the county was looking at auctioning the land and that he wanted feedback from the people in Oracle to take with him back to the Board of Supervisors and Pinal County officials. Rios wanted to know what the people wanted to do with the land parcels. Some brought up the issue that they had heard that the parcels would be used for low income housing. Supervisor Rios said that had never been brought up by the Board of Supervisors.
Some of the people wanted parks for the area or at least for Pinal County to maintain the land. The overall consensus of the Oracle residents was to leave the parcels as they are and not to auction off the property. Supervisor Rios said he would take what he had heard back to the Board of Supervisors.
On Friday, Dec. 1, Rios contacted the San Manuel Miner and said that he had taken the information that the people of Oracle gave him and passed it on to Pinal County Manager, Greg Stanley, the Public Works Director and the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. He also notified the Director of Open Spaces & Trails who manage county parks.
A decision has been made that the county “will leave well enough alone,” Rios said. “The three parcels will remain open space. They will not be auctioned, (because) that it is the will of the people.”
Supervisor Rios said that the Board of Supervisors had been wanting to auction off the parcels which had been dedicated to Pinal County in the original plans by Oracle Village Estates. The Board of Supervisors had been discussing the auction idea but he put a stop to the proceedings until the people in Oracle who lived in the neighborhood could voice their opinion. That is why the meeting in Oracle was set up.
“This is what more elected officials and public servants need to do,” Rios said. “They should talk to their constituents and get their input.”
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
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