by 
Bruce Armitage
Effort to streamline zoning ordinance and buying new Fire Department ambulance are top concerns
The 2017-18 Superior Town Council took its final shape as the three Council members elected last August were sworn into office at the beginning of the November 30 Council meeting.
The oath of office was administered by Town Manager Todd Pryor to Olga Lopez (who begins her fourth term on the Council) along with Bruce Armitage and Vanessa Navarrette (who were elected to their first terms) before they officially took their seats on the Council. The ceremony was completed as Mayor Mila Besich-Lira placed their identification plaques before their seat at the Council podium.
Vanessa Navarette and Family
On taking her seat, Navarrette’s comments were the shortest, saying only, “I wish to thank the community for their support. And now I’m eager to get to work.”
Armitage’s comments were longer, as he described how his friends urged him to run, how he made his decision to seek office, thanking those who helped his campaign, before concluding, “This is a great team on the Council and I’m glad to be working with them as we proceed to do great things for Superior.”
Lopez was in the middle with comment length, noting how she initially hesitated to run for another term after serving 13 years, congratulated the two new members, and concluded, “We have a lot of work to do to make the necessary improvements for Superior.”
Making up the rest of the Town Council are Mayor Besich-Lira, who was sworn into office last September after winning the recall election against former mayor Jayme Valenzuela; and Council members Gilbert Aguilar, Michael Alonzo and Stephen Estatico.
Alonzo was then designated Vice Mayor by Mayor Besich-Lira, as is her prerogative under town statutes. In her statement, Besich-Lira thanked long-time vice mayor Olga Lopez for her service, adding, “You will always be vice mayor to me. Alonzo has some very big shoes to fill.”
The Council then unanimously approved Alonzo for the Council’s No. 2 job.
The reconstituted Town Council then got down to business.
Council members voted to authorize the services of Willdan Engineering to assist in the updating of Superior’s zoning ordinance. The work will include revising and streamline the ordinance’s text, procedures, fee schedules and related forms. On the latter, several council members expressed the need to simplify the required forms for requesting zoning changes so that an ordinary citizen can fill them out without the aid of an attorney. This would enable zoning decisions to be made in less time than currently.
Approval was given to purchase an ambulance for the Superior Fire Department through the state contract pricing program. Town Manager Pryor noted that the ambulance will cost $268,000 but that no payment is required until delivery in early September 2017.
The issuance of a notice of intention to adopt new rates, fees and charges for wastewater utility services was tabled by the Council as they agreed that more work was needed on the proposal before it could be taken to the public hearing stage. Those hearings would have been scheduled for January 30, 2017. The issue will be reconsidered at the January Council meeting.
The Council also tabled consideration of the creation of Standard Operating Procedures for the Superior Police Department as they agreed the document needed revisions. The Procedures would have defined the Department’s law enforcement authority, the duties of police executives and officers, an oath of office, a policy manual, and a code of conduct.
In other business, the Council received and accepted an audit of town finances for fiscal year 2014-15 from the accounting firm of Hinton & Burdick. The audit found Superior’s financial condition gradually improving with revenues steadily increasing since 2012 and expenses continually declining since 2011. The town’s debt to HURF (Highway User Revenue Fund) decreased by about $200,000 from the previous year to $2,646,211 and will continue to shrink as long as Superior spends more on highway and road projects than it received annually from the state, accountant McKay Hall told the Council.
Hall added that since fiscal 2014-15 was the last audit period before Superior put in place policies to better document spending, and make revenue deposits and reports in a timelier manner that will show even better financial improvement when the fiscal 2015-16 report is issued in March 2017.
In her Mayor’s Report, Besich-Lira reported meeting with executives of Resolution Copper about bringing the Magma Railroad back to life to serve the revived copper mining efforts in the area.
A request to the Arizona Department of Transportation that street lights along the widened U.S. 60 be LEDs was rejected as too costly, Besich-Lira noted. However, with the efforts of city employees, the town’s Christmas lights (already in place along Main Street) were converted to LED, which he said would save money.
In another ceremony, the 11 board members of the Superior Little League each received a “Key to the City” from Mayor Besich-Lira. In her town proclamation, she praised board members their efforts to revive what in 2006 was a faltering program to a strong baseball effort producing contending teams and much pride for Superior. The organization had recently also been named the 2016 Spirit of Optimism Community Champion by the Superior Optimist Club.
Speaking on behalf of the League for the award, President Virginia Alonzo said that much of the praise should be directed at Vice President Martin Navarrette, who in turn praised the other board members, league volunteers, and the players.
Superior Town Council from left to right: Gilbert Agular, Michael Alonzo, Steve Estatico, Mila Besich-Lira, Olga Lopez, Vanessa Navarrette, Bruce Armitage.
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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