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TRSD accepts protest results, board members settle in

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The Tri-City Regional Sanitary District (TRSD) moved another step closer to getting its sewer project off the ground last week, as the board voted to accept the “insufficiency” of last year’s protest.

The matter had been tabled, as personal issues sidelined long-serving board members Malissa Buzan and John Chism in two January meetings, leading to a tie vote with two new board members, Bill Tower and Stephen Palmer, standing in opposition to the project.

The hearing on the sufficiency of the protest was closed by the TRSD board action on Jan. 15, and tabled a tie vote. The item was again set for action at the TRSD board meeting held on Jan. 29.

Mary Anne Moreno, chairing the meeting in Buzan’s absence, stated that a motion to remove it from the table was needed so action could be taken. None of the board members offered a motion to remove, so it was tabled once again.

On Monday, Feb. 11, however, with Tower absent from the proceedings and both Buzan and Chism in attendance, the board voted 3-1 to accept the results in what felt like a foregone conclusion. Less than 5 percent of the residents of the TRSD protested the project in a process many in the district feel was a poorly executed vote.

Palmer took the opportunity to speak to the constituents that helped put him in office and assure them that he had the best interests of the district residents in mind, but he also said he would not stand in the way of progress, as the project is apparently poised to come to fruition.

He said that he has been doing “due diligence,” talking to elected officials, town managers and wastewater system operators in similar sized towns.

His research has taken him from Flagstaff to Hayden in search of answers and information on construction and maintenance of wastewater treatment systems.

In Flagstaff, for instance, Palmer found that residents rejected a sewer proposal for alternative systems. The homes were in the $200,000 to $5 million range, however, and homeowners were financially able to afford $20,000-$30,000 systems.

“Then there’s the other side of the coin, where, you have a place like Hayden —that’s actually where my mom’s family is from — they’ve had a lot of blight problem for a really long time,” Palmer said. “We’re in a similar situation in Claypool and Miami as they were: Their sewer system, from what I first understood it, was an issue.”

He found that the situation in Hayden was not as bad as had been represented by the public in previous TRSD meetings.

“I spoke with their town hall people who takes the bills on what kind of complaints they’re hearing and actually it’s all been pretty good news, it’s not been so bad for them,” Palmer said.

So now Palmer has vowed to do his best for everyone involved and do his best to facilitate progress.

“Moving forward from this point though, my position isn’t so much to oppose any kind of progress,” he said. “My position is to find what the issues are and to make sure we’re addressing those issues every step of the way in what we do. That takes a lot of work and that takes a lot of time. But I can tell you that the more I’ve learned, the more I can see this decision going either way, frankly. For me personally, I just want to do what’s best for the community and what’s best for the people I’m representing and everyone that’s in here.”

He encouraged everyone at the meeting to attend Globe and Miami council meetings in order to have their voices heard as those towns get involved in the second and third phases of the project.

“I will not be the kind of person that’s going to drag my heels and make life miserable for people who want this to happen,” Palmer concluded. “Because that does seem to be the majority…. This battle was lost and we’re going to move on.”

Chism seconded Palmer’s comments, adding that the board has always acted in the community’s best interest as far as he is concerned.

“I think the boards now, and previously, was doing the same thing and we were trying to do what is best for all of us combined,” he said. “This board will continue to do what we think is right. And it’s just not Stephen’s position, but it’s our position — I can speak for the other two board members sitting here — and we will all do what we can to make this a satisfactory decision for all of us involved.”

Bond Attorney Dustin Cammack reminded the board and the public that the vote to accept the results of the protest was not a vote to move forward with the project, but a procedural step in a long process.

“This is not a vote to go forward on the project, it’s a vote to find insufficiency of the protest, which is a procedural step in going forward with it,” he said. “I wanted to clarify that because at the last meeting there was some question on that, both from the board and from the public.”

The next step in the process is not clear, though, so Palmer asked the project’s lead engineer, Mike Krebs of PACE Engineering Solutions to report at the next meeting on where it goes next. That presentation should take place at the next board meeting, taking place at 5:15 p.m. on Monday, March 4, at the IBEW Local 518, located at 1383 N. Hwy. 188, in Globe.

In other TRSD news, District 2 Supervisor Tim Humphrey and County Manager James Menlove announced the regional wastewater study, conducted by Kimley-Horn and funded by Gila County, is underway and will be completed in late-June.

The district is also in the process of finding office space in order to consolidate its records — which are in at least three different locations at this point — an to offer a place for residents to go to see those records.

Additionally, TRSD counsel, attorney Bill Clemmens, is working with the county and residents of Vertical Heights to remove them from the tax district. Miami Gardens is likely to follow suit.

For past coverage, go here.