OCTOBER 2016
RESOLUTION COPPER PROJECT UPDATE
Thursday September 29, 2016 6:00 PM
Bullion Plaza
The news on the Resolution Copper Project for 2016 was all
good at last week's update held at Bullion Plaza. Jim
Schenck, Manager of Communities and Social Performance
hosted the meeting. He welcomed the small but interested
group attending.
Jake Rukavina, Manager of Health Safety and Environment,
proudly announced Resolution Copper's winning of the
Sentinel of Safety Award from the National Mining
Association.
Vicky Peacey Senior Manager of Permitting and Approvals
provided a NEPA update. The scoping process included over
25,000 submissions, and the US Forest Service reviewing
them now. There will be another scoping process beginning
soon for the Apache Leap area, a 110 acre set aside including
700 additional acres to be designated as a Special
Management Area, which is part of 5,000 acres
privately-owned by Resolution Copper.
Environmental Engineer Kacie Fisher talked about the
reclamation of the 250 acres of contaminated smelter soil
near the smelter stack, left over from a former owner of the
land. Half of the reclamation is done, with the rest to be
completed before this winter.
There are no plans on what to do with the stack. Fisher
talked about historical preservation, but the structure is
unstable and bricks are falling off it. Resolution Copper has
no plans for smelting here. The site will produce more
copper than the three smelters in the US can handle, so some
of it will have to be exported off shore.
Diego Ortega, General Manger of Communities and Social
Performance, said it's a long process to get to where
Resolution Copper can be productive. He estimates a 2020
to 2021 start, and foresees revenue of around $61 billion
dollars over the 40-year mine life. Dismissing local rumors
that another copper find will produce revenue of $200
million, he said, 'I wish I knew where it was.'
Resolution Copper parent company Rio Tinto appointed a
new CEO. He comes from the Diamond Mine Copper
group, which oversees Resolution Copper, so his
appointment is seen as beneficial to the mine project here.
GILA COUNTY CANDIDATE FORUM
Thursday October 6, 2016 6:30 PM Dream Manor Inn
Adam Shepherd
Darrell Stubbs
Mike Pastor
Tim Humphrey
John Marcanti
Woody Cline
Incumbent Sheriff Candidate, Republican Adam Shepherd,
debated independent Darrell Stubbs. Gila County Board of
Supervisors District II incumbent, Democrat Mike Pastor
faced Republican businessman, Tim Humphrey. And
District III incumbent, Democrat John Marcanti ,squared
off with Republican cattleman, Woody Cline in a candidate
forum moderated by Mark Marin of the Arizona Silver
Belt, presented by the Globe-Miami Chamber of Commerce.
The event, hosted by Carl & Rebecca Williams at the
Dream Manor Inn, drew an older crowd of about sixty
residents including local politicians, party supporters and
community leaders.
The candidates fielded several questions, with the
incumbents standing on their records, and the challengers
attempting to impress the audience with their history of
community involvement and business acumen. KQSS
recorded the entire event and has uploaded it for you to hear.
Regular Meeting of the City
of Globe Mayor and Council
Tuesday October 11, 2016 6:00 PM
City Council Chambers - Pine Street
Forget about sympathy for your furry friends- feeding feral
or stray animals is now against the law in the City of Globe.
That ordinance was passed at Tuesday night's Regular
Meeting of the City of Globe Mayor and Council.
Globe has a new code enforcement officer. She's Michelle
Yerkovich.
The Council green lighted finance Director Joe Jarvis' plan
to review all current city fees to get rid of redundancy. The
last time the fees were reviewed was five years ago, in 2011.
A presentation on the state of the police department was
provided by Chief Mark Nipp who discussed the
department audit review, which was delivered to the city the
day he started on the job about a year ago. The
recommendations in it addressed 103 issues within 24
categories. Each issue was assigned a priority of critical,
moderate or low.
Chief Nipp said 72% of the recommendations have been
implemented, 22% are in the process of implementation and
6% have not been addressed as yet. Included in the 6% is
building a new police station.
Of the critical priorities, 100% are complete. The moderates
are 66% complete and even low priority items are more than
half complete, at 58%.
Over the past year, the police department has formed
strategic partnerships with numerous local entities including
the Sheriff's Office, the Gila County Attorney's Office, the
Boys & Girls Club, Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center,
White Mountain Masonic Lodge, Lions Club, SEABAS,
Junior ROTC and Special Olympics.
Chief Nipp has six concrete goals: implement the rest of the
final audit recommendations, complete a new police policy
manual, work towards a new headquarters building, continue
with fleet replacement, re-start the police explorer program
for kids, and build up the police volunteer program.
Chief Nipp shared his philosophy and the need to move the
department away from arresting people. He feels that
problem oriented policing should concentrate on removing
the root cause of crime in an effort to reduce the problem,
rather than the traditional arrest 'em first model, which he
says generally only leads to recidivism.
Councilmember Lerry Alderman queried the chief about
getting officers involved in the community. Nipp answered
that the younger officers are attending local community
events and getting involved that way. It's a start, he said.
Alderman reported meeting with the folks who are interested
in continuing “Globe Clean and Beautiful.” The program
has languished since the resignation of leader Mike
Stapleton. Mayor Terry Wheeler thinks it's a great idea,
but added that all of us as citizens are responsible for
keeping our city beautiful.
Councilmember Stapleton reminded residents that Globe
Ghost Stories is coming up again, on the Friday and
Saturday evenings before Halloween. And, as what will be
good news to downtown merchants, Stapleton added that the
Halloween parade will be extended through all of downtown
Globe.
New signage was donated by KQSS' Jon Cornell, which
honors steam engine 1744, located at Veterans Memorial
Park by City Hall. The steam engine has been there since
November 4, 1956. Cornell explained that a network
television crew came to shoot in Globe last month and while
he was showing them the local sites of interest, he noticed
the sign by the 1744 engine was no longer legible. He
decided to create and donate a new one. The Council
heartily approved it.
Click on the picture to see a larger more readable version.
Cornell also informed the Council that this was one of more
than 60 signs and posters that he designed and donated to
promote local tourism and all of them have been sitting in an
office at the Chamber of Commerce for over a year. He also
said that the kiosks made to contain the signs have been
sitting in the backyard of the train depot since January 2015.
Mayor Wheeler reported the zip line at Old Dominion Park
is fixed-an expensive repair due to vandalism. City Manager
Paul Jepson added that the Special Needs Swing has also
been replaced.
Councilmember Roberta Lee Johnson said that Oktoberfest
went well. She gave great thanks to the volunteers from the
fire department who helped her cook up a ton of brats for the
PMFHE Scholarship Fund.
Aimee Staten gave a presentation on activities at the Boys
and Girls Club. The Mayor's Members of the Month for the
past three months were Malia Antonio, Dimitria Barajas,
Joseph Miller, Gia Garcia, Esteban Garcia and Trevor
Moul. Staten reported that the 8th Annual Golf Tournament
raised $18,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs.
REGULAR MEETING OF THE TOWN OF
MIAMI MAYOR AND COUNCIL
Monday October 24, 2016 6:30 PM
Town Council Chambers Sullivan Street
We're down to two locations for the new aquatic center,
according to a report at Monday night's Regular Meeting of
the Town of Miami Mayor and Council presented by Evelyn
Vargas of the Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center and
Bryan Seppala of Resolution Copper in the Call to the
Public segment. One possibility is a location near the
hospital on land offered by BHP Billiton. The other is on
Highway 60 across from Hilltop Motors on property
belonging to Udon McSpadden. Both sites have pluses and
minuses according to Seppala and Vargas, who are part of
the regional aquatic center volunteer committee, an
outgrowth of the Globe pool task force. They expect to make
a full presentation in an upcoming Town Meeting agenda,
but wanted to provide a brief update now. To date, there have
been 200 comments about where to locate. The consensus
was that whatever location is chosen be the only location,
rather than splitting activities such as the pool and the
playground among two sites.
Miami's got a new park. More specifically an old park with a
new name. The Highway 60 park across from the post office
is now Miami Vandal Memorial Park. Alexis Followil and
Bailey Sexten from the Miami High Student Council gave a
presentation asking for a change in name to Vandal
Memorial Park. KQSS' Jon Cornell suggested Miami Vandal
Memorial Park and it was unanimously adopted. Followill
and Sexten reported that applying for grants to purchase
equipment and improve the park is part of a school project.
Sharon Licano announced there will be a Small Town
Christmas in downtown Miami on December 17th at 10:00
AM. Councilmember Mike Black did not attend the
meeting. The issue of negotiating with economists.com was
tabled.
Soon to retire Police Chief Scott Gillen was absent. Lt.
Spence Preston gave the report. For September, there were
551 calls, 35 citations, 19 adult and three juvenile arrests, 25
calls to 911, 16 medical 911 calls, 13 burglaries, 13 civil
disputes, seven alarm calls, three assaults, nine domestic
violence cases, eight accidents, eight warrant arrests and 11
juvenile incidents. The department received the grant for the
new police vehicles. The radar trailer is now up and
running. The video system at the police station is now
working. And the police vehicle on Highway 60 has been
effective at catching speeders.
Ashley Shiwarski from Utility Service Partners gave a
presentation about insurance available from Service Line
Warranties. The program, supported by the National League
of Cities, offers inexpensive insurance to cover sewer, water
and plumbing. Councilmembers Rosemary Castaneda and
Susan Hanson, who both incurred costly repairs recently,
said they wished they knew of the program beforehand. The
Council agreed that the program is a good idea, but they
wanted to investigate it further, especially to find out what
the Town's legal responsibility would be, if they endorsed it.
Are they going to call us or the insurance agency when a
problem arises, the Council wondered.
Town Manager Joe Heatherly reported that Public Works
has been doing a good job at getting rid of rocks and weeds
and cleaning streets. A report on the forensic investigation
into missing Town funds is due next week. The audit for the
last fiscal year has been scheduled and should be complete
by the end of February. Joe said he would be working on
more Phase 2 mitigation of sewer project costs next week,
and he reminded the Council that they do not have authority
to tell Miami employees what to do. Apparently this has
been an issue.
Councilmembers Sammy Gonzales and Angel Medina
praised the homecoming parade last Friday saying it was one
of the best attended in Miami in many years.
ICE HOUSE CANYON SUICIDE
On October 31, 2016, at approximately 10:37 a.m., the Gila
County Sheriff's Office received a 9-1-1 call in regards to a
domestic violence incident. Individuals involved in the
domestic left in a vehicle prior to the Deputies arriving.
Deputies responded to the area and conducted a traffic stop
at the intersection of Ice House Canyon and Six Shooter
Canyon Road. The male suspect barricaded himself in the
vehicle with a firearm and would not cooperate.
The Department of Public Safety Special Operations Unit
was dispatched to assist with negotiations. The Globe Police
Department and the Tonto National Forest Service Law
Enforcement Officer assisted with road closures and scene
security. During negotiations the suspect discharged the
weapon and succumbed to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The identity of the individual has been confirmed as Logan
Jay Stadnick, age 36, of North Dakota.
Pictures on the scene are here.
REGULAR MEETING OF THE TOWN
OF MIAMI MAYOR AND COUNCIL
Monday October 10, 2016 6:30 PM
Town Council Chambers - Sullivan Street
The big news from Monday night's Regular Meeting of the
Town of Miami Mayor and Council is the resignation of
Police Chief Scott Gillen. Gillen, who will be working
through the end of October, announced his retirement from
police work.
For September, the police report included 561 calls for
service, 35 citations, 19 adult arrests, 13 burglaries, nine
domestic violence, one death, 11 juvenile incidents and
seven unwanted guests. Many of the cases have been closed,
but 17 still remain open.
The Council did not discuss possible replacements, nor was
the issue of closing the department entirely and having the
sheriff's office handle Miami police matters mentioned.
Town Manager Joe Heatherly announced the new director
for the Senior Center was already on the job. She's Kristy
Regaletto, though no one was sure of the spelling of her
name.
Heatherly noted there were a lot of employees out sick in the
public works department but he assured everyone that trash
pickup duties have been delegated, so there will be no
interruption in collection. He also reported having a
conference call with a forensic investigator on over $1,000
in missing town money. He disclosed to KQSS that the
thinking is one or more employees may be involved. He
expects to have a report in a few weeks.
The proposed amendment against open fires was tabled, as
Councilmember Mike Black who requested the item be
placed on the agenda was not in attendance. Neither was
Mayor Darryl Dalley. The general disposition from the
Council was that amending the town code made no sense
since they felt the open fire issue was nothing more than a
grudge match between Black and a neighbor. It will be
discussed again when Black is present.
Also tabled was a proposal to rename the Highway 60 park
across from the post office. Resolution 1186 was passed
approving the Cobre Valley Community Transit Title VI
implementation plan. Also approved was a change in time
for the Miami Homecoming Parade on Friday October 21st.
It has been moved to a 12:30 PM start, due to an earlier
wedding at the church along the route.
Kenneth Hall, executive director of CAG, the Central
Arizona Governments, gave a presentation on the
association. CAG is one of six regional councils of
government in Arizona. It includes 23 entities: Gila County
and six municipalities within it, Pinal County and 11
municipalities within it, and four Native American
communities.
CAG addresses ADOT transportation planning; CDBG,
Community Development Block Grants; ADEQ
environmental planning; Economic Development;
Information Services; Community Planning; and Workforce
Innovation, but it's greatest focus is on aiding members in
obtaining grants.
Phase Two of the Sewer Project was discussed in depth by
Heatherly. The main line to the plant is now connected,
paving associated with the project is mostly complete, Sykes
Alley remains a problem, and the completion date for the
project has come and gone.
It will be another couple of weeks before Phase 2 is
completed, Heatherly said. The penalty to Kincaid, the
contractor, is $1,000 for each day beyond the scheduled
completion date. Councilmember Sammy Gonzales
expressed concern that Kincaid might rush to finish, with
quality affected. Heatherly allayed his fears, noting that all
the work comes with a one-year guarantee.
The Sewer Project budget has been overspent and Heatherly
says he'll be going over cost comparisons soon between
projected expenses and reality. He's in negotiations with
Kincaid for an equitable adjustment, and he told KQSS that
regardless of the outcome, the USDA will pay the balance.
Miamians Fred Goulden, Ray Figueroa, Amy Gay and
Marianne Collins voiced their concerns with the Sewer
Project during the Call to the Public. They collectively and
individually complained about problems on their street. Gay
said the problems were the result of Kincaid's actions for
which they have not taken responsibility. She mentioned a
similar problem in front of the church, but when the church
complained, Gay said Kincaid responded, 'it's your problem'.
Gay was upset that the church had to pay $1200 for what
she felt was Kincaid's doing.
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
GILA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Tuesday October 18, 2016 10:00 AM
Gila County Courthouse
Water issues were on the mind of County Manager Don
McDaniel at Tuesday morning's Regular Meeting of the Gila
County Board of Supervisors. There's new state legislation
pending, which may consolidate ground water bills,
predominantly affecting agriculture use for alfalfa and cotton
farms. McDaniel will be discussing it with other county
managers at the upcoming CSA meeting in Flagstaff on
October 27th. The impetus behind the new legislation is
Arizona's diminishing underground water base.
Another issue raised by McDaniel is that large developers
throughout the state want to create autonomous entities
called Community Facility Districts in new developments
located on unincorporated county land. They'd operate like
uber-HOAs, with homeowners ruled by the developer as
opposed to county ordinances. McDaniel said there's a
statewide effort between Arizona counties to take a
combined stand against this. In practice, it would
predominantly affect unincorporated land within
metropolitan areas.
Autumn Giles led the pledge of allegiance, and Rev. Robert
Howard gave the invocation at the meeting, which
Supervisor Tommie Martin attended by phone.
On the Consent Agenda was the adoption of an order to
cancel the November 8th Governing Board elections for the
fire, water and wastewater improvement, sanitary,
vocational-technology, school and provisional college
boards. The problem is that no one running for these boards
is opposed by another candidate, and several seats have no
candidates at all. The Supervisors unanimously voted to
cancel the elections and move to an appointment basis.
Information on all the vacancies is on the Gila County
website.
A public hearing was held, but no one spoke. The topic was
whether to renew the franchise of the Arizona Power
Cooperative. It covers the power lines that run from Pinal
County across Route 77 to Winkleman. The previous
25-year agreement from 1991 expired in June. The
Supervisors unanimously approved it for another 25 years.
On the Regular Agenda, a three-year contract for $242,000
to provide health support services was unanimously awarded
to the only bidder-Pinnacle Prevention. Supervisor John
Marcanti enquired whether it was a for-profit company.
Director of Health and Emergency Management, Michael
O'Driscoll confirmed it was and added it was the best
company in the state providing these services.
The receipt of Governor Doug Ducey's Proclamation for the
November 8th General Election was acknowledged. By law
it must be publicly posted. It will be published in the
newspaper.
Supervisor Marcanti went to the rededication of the hundred
year old bridge in Winkleman last Saturday. He said there
was a woman in attendance who was born on the same day.
He reported she was in pretty good shape for a hundred year
old lady. The bridge is in good shape too.