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By James J. Hodl Issues ranging from the possible acquisition of military-grade vehicles for use by the Superior Police and Fire Departments to deciding the fate of the U.S. Highway 60 Rest Stop were tackled by the Town Council during a busing meeting on March 10.
Council members unanimously approved an Intergovernmental Agreement negotiated with Apache Junction that would enable Superior to acquire free of charge used police vehicles from that town.
Police Chief David Neuss spoke in favor of the agreement, noting that he had his eye on an armored Bearcat vehicle and a Humvee. The Bearcat, he said, would have numerous uses by the Superior Police Department in downed officer situations and riot control, as well as transporting evidence for robbery and drug cases. The Humvee, Neuss added, would help Superior fulfill its agreement with Resolution Copper to provide first responder services to the firm’s mining locations outside Superior as the vehicle can maneuver in mountainous terrain better than other equipment used by the town’s police and fire departments.
Councilman Michael Alonzo was initially skeptical, wondering if the maintenance costs of such vehicles might outweigh whatever value they may have in the few instances when they might be required. To avoid financial pitfalls he suggested that the Town Council approve each vehicle before acquisition.
Chief Neuss countered that the vehicles are free and that if they are not used or cost too much to use, Superior could sell them for cash through firms like Sierra Auction. Fire Chief Todd Pryor added that the Humvee would fire use with the Superior Fire Department until the town can afford to acquire a more custom vehicle for fighting fires in nearby mountains.
Alonzo subsequently voted for approval of the agreement. Council members, however, voted to table an Action on whether to continue for five additional years an agreement with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to maintain the U.S. Highway 60 Rest Stop now that the original 20-year agreement is rolling to a close this summer. The Rest Stop was funded by ADOT grants but has proven to be a magnet for vandals.
“When vandals aren’t plugging toilets with paper causing them to overflow, they are smashing the porcelain fixtures,” Councilman Alonzo complained. “Once when they smashed the toilet and sink, water ran all weekend causing $1,900 in damages.” But Council Member Mila Besich-Lira warned of being too hasty to close the rest stop down.
“Superior is becoming a tourist destination, and we’ll need some public rest rooms to accommodate them,” Besich-Lira said. “Maybe we should look at ways to counter the vandals like shortening the hours the rest stop is open.” The Highway 60 Rest Stop is currently open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Among other ideas to vandal-proof the rest stop was to switch to all-metal fixtures or requiring a token given out by local businesses to gain entry. The latter idea was nixed as other places where the token was required suffered ripped-off doors. Councilman John Tameron added that replacing the rest stop with portable toilets wouldn’t work either because vandals would tip them over.
Todd Pryor, in his capacity of acting town manager, noted that ADOT would not object to Superior cancelling the agreement rather than extending it by five years and would absorb all the repercussions. However since the Council has until July, members voted to table the proposal in order to conduct a study on how to retain the rest stop without the problems before deciding on the extension.
In other Council business, Members voted to apply for a 2016 Homeland Security Grant to replace the generator at Superior’s waste water treatment plant. The 1977 vintage generator had had maintenance issues in recent years and had failed to activate during the last four power outages.
The Council also approved changing the eligible signers for the town’s Bank of the West account. Two signers are now required to do transactions on the account since the January meeting, and Mayor Jayme Valenzuela said that because his work hours with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office have been changed he can no longer be available days to co-sign the account. Two assure that two approved signers are available when needed, Valenzuela was replaced by Councilman Stephen Estatico.
A request from ASARCO Mining for a letter of support for the firm’s proposed new tailings facility along the Ripsey Wash in northeastern Pinal County was tabled by Council Members for additional study. According to Duane Yantorno, environmental manager at ASARCO, the new facility would be located west of Kearny between Riverside and Kelvin on Ripsey Wash near the Florence-Kelvin Highway. It is needed because the current tailings facility is nearly as capacity with mining debris. The new facility will handle additional debris through the next 50 years, he said.
The Council opted to table the request until April 14 to determine what effect the tailings facility will have on the local environment before drafting any support letter.
Preliminary results of an audit of Superior government finances by Hinton Burdrick PLLC was presented in a power-point presentation by Tom Bingham of the Colby & Powell accounting firm.
According to the report, Superior government’s methods for managing its financials ranged from materially weak to deficient in 2010. By 2012 it was more than $3 million in debt from borrowing from HURF (Highway User Revenue Fund) intended for road repairs and improvements. The report also found that in 2013, an increase in revenues from the Utility Fund slightly decreased what was owed to HURF.
Although statistics for subsequent years were not yet available, Mayor Valenzuela credited the apparent improvement in 2013 to the “hard work” of former Town Manager Margaret Gaston and former Acting Financial Director David Romano. Both resigned In January after the discovery that town financial accounting was so lax that personal withdrawals by Valenzuela from the town debit card went undetected until November 2015. Those withdrawals are now being investigated to determine if criminal charges are warranted.
Having the Oak Flats campground in the Tonto National Forest declared a historic district by the Federal Keeper of the Record on March 4 will not halt the development of the area for copper mining, said Diego Ortega, general manager of community social performance with Resolution Copper. During his special presentation to the Council, he said the declaration will only add an additional step Resolution must take to get approval to start mining copper on the property.
The company may have to alter placement of facilities to not disturb sensitive sites as a result, but Resolution can still mine there unless the land swap approved by Congress in December 2014 is overturned, Ortega said.
The purpose of Ortega’s presentation was to announce that Resolution Copper would soon begin seeking a federal permit to launch mining operations at Oak Flats as required under the National Environmental Policy Act. The company must submit a mining operational plan showing how such operations would affect federal lands in an Environmental Impact Statement. Along the process, public comments will be sought, and Ortega invited Superior residents to submit their suggestions and concerns when the time comes.
James J. Hodl is a career journalist who has worked for newspapers, magazines and trade journals. A graduate of Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism, Hodl began his career as a reporter with the Palatine (IL) Herald and the Morton Grove (IL) Review before becoming editor of the trade publication Appliance Service News. In recent years, Hodl has had articles published in Consumers Digest, Good Housekeeping, Home Remodeling, Kitchens & Baths and Salute; and has contributed to trade publications serving the home furnishings, restaurant and casino markets. A native of Chicago, Hodl relocated to San Tan Valley in 2013.
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