The Tri-City Regional Sanitary District board was unable to gather a quorum to gavel its Aug. 6 meeting into session, but that may not be an issue come November, as there will be an election featuring four candidates running for three seats.

Since the board was unable to proceed, the meeting turned into a “work session,” with discussion amongst the handful of residents in attendance, including Globe Mayor and Central Arizona Governments (CAG) Chair Al Gameros, and local contractor Fred Barcón, who is also a board member of the Gila County Industrial Development Authority (IDA).

Gameros owns properties in the TRSD District Management Area (DMA) and Barcón’s contracting business on the north side of Highway 60 is also on the TRSD map. Both men will pay taxes to the district, but neither is able to run for the board, as they both reside in different areas.

In addition to a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) TRSD submitted to the USDA as a condition to receive the financing, the district must also get approval from the CAG via a 208 Water Quality Management Plan Amendment.

As Barcón’s business is in Phase III of the project, it is likely that even if he ever receives service, it could be more than a decade before the infrastructure reaches the site of his business.

Extending the system across the highway would require the coordination of several agencies, including the USDA, EPA and Arizona Department of Transportation. In a previous meeting, Zache said the district has not reached out to ADOT yet and is not sure how the final two phases are going to be financed, although TRSD will likely go to the USDA and the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) again to fund the remaining phases of the project.

At the Aug. 6 meeting, Barcón brought several copies of maps and other information gleaned from a draft of the 208, offering information to the handful of residents at the meeting.

The maps provided by Barcón showed that areas of the TRSD DMA fall within the service area of the city of Globe. Gameros questioned the boundaries of the district, that is part of Phase III and is still in the conceptual stages.

As for now, the businesses and residences in the TRSD DMA are paying taxes, which were raised by 41.6 percent last month for administrative costs to maintain the district.

When some residents expressed concern about paying taxes for services they have no hope of seeing voiced opposition, Zache compared the district’s taxes to other forms of infrastucture.

“If you’re in the district, you’re taxed,” he said. “It’s like a school district.”

Payments on debt accrued for Phase I will begin when a functioning treatment plant and the initial hookups are in place, providing income to the district. Funding for Phase I of the project is coming through USDA Urban Development funding in the amount of a $28 million grant/loan.

Ratepayers will have to pay back $12 million for an estimated 40 years. The cost for Phases II and III — as well as the source of funding — has yet to be determined, but if all goes the district’s way it could be 15 years before the project comes to fruition.

Members of the board and the district’s attorney Bill Clemmons are aware the costs will likely go up in the future, so they hope to get the project underway as soon as possible.

“The costs are trending up,” Clemmons said when the discussion turned to the ultimate cost, which has been estimated to be as high as $92 million for the entire project.

“We’re getting into unkowns,” Zache said. “”[But] we’ve talked to the USDA about inflation” regarding the still-conceptual second and third phases.

The TRSD $6.282 million budget for fiscal year 2018-2019, passed last month, includes $50,000 for personnel; $9,000 for travel; $40,000 for legal counsel and various engineering fees such as $50,000 for “special projects,” $631,000 for design information gathering and $1.962 million for project design.

To pay for that, there will be a $5.887 million bridge loan from WIFA and estimated $150,000 collected from the Ad Valorem tax.

Zache was unable to answer many questions once again, but the next meeting, taking place at the Tri-City Fire Department in Claypool on Tuesday, Sept. 4, has Mike Krebs, the lead engineer from Pacific Advanced Civil Engineering (PACE) scheduled to appear to respond to questions that have remained unanswered over the course of the past few meetings.

Election information

The board seats of Zache, John Chism and Robin Bradford (Horta) are all up for grabs in the upcoming election. Due to other obligations and personal reasons, Bradford has chosen to end her service on the board that began two years ago when she was appointed after the death of former board member Kevin Kenney.

Both Zache and Chism have filed to run in the general election and there are two newcomers, Bill Powers and Steven Palmer, both of Claypool, who have filed as well.

While residents are beginning to question the cost and amount of time it is taking to get the project underway, it has been in the works since 2011. It is generally accepted throughout the region that a solution to sewage treatment is imperative and long overdue.

A Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) concurrence, issued by the USDA Rural Development Agency on April 16 this year states the need for the project in stark terms:

“The condition of the existing onsite wastewater treatment systems [in the TRSD DMA] is documented in the PER, with nearly 90 percent being in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA), Arizona Administrative Code (AAC), and/or Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) regulations. Continuation of present methods of wastewater treatment in the Phase I area (without the proposed improvements) could have significant long-term adverse impacts.”

Additionally, “Gila County (which has primacy for enforcement of septic systems) does not actively enforce cesspool or septic system violations within Gila County, including within the District, until a public complaint is filed. Records show 75 parcels with reported violations of onsite sewage system within the District. This does not reflect the total number of the parcels with substandard systems within the District or that are in violation of current laws and regulations, since Gila County has discontinued the process of actively seeking out properties in violation….”

The next TRSD board meeting is scheduled to be held at the Tri-City Fire District, 4280 Broadway, Claypool, on Sept. 4 at 5:15 p.m.