PROCEEDINGS OF THE COCHISE
FORMAL BOARD MEETING HELD ON
A regular
meeting of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors was held
on
ANY ITEM ON THIS AGENDA IS OPEN FOR DISCUSSION AND
POSSIBLE ACTION
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
THE ORDER OR DELETION OF ANY ITEM ON THIS AGENDA IS
SUBJECT TO MODIFICATION AT THE MEETING
ROLL CALL
CALL TO THE PUBLIC (MATTERS RELATED TO
Chairman Call
opened the meeting to the public and invited anyone who wished to speak
on County business not listed on the day’s agenda to come to the podium.
The following people spoke out against the
resolution passed by the Board last week that will no longer permit pre-1976
mobile homes in the County: Helen
Hoffman of Double Adobe, Donald Pepper of Palominas, John Fleshman
of Portal, Jean Eisenhower of Pearce, Sandra Davis of Palominas, Jonathan Wick
of Bisbee, Joanne Weiner of Cochise Stronghold, Linda Rothman – County
Resident, Jill Braten of Sunizona,
Claudia Whetton of Elfrida, Eric Martin of Double
Adobe Road, Arthur Jerome of McNeal, and Wendy Judd Scott of Dragoon. They
asked the Board to reconsider their decision, citing affordable housing,
freedom of lifestyle, environmental issues, and respect for the people of
Asanti Riverwind of Pearce and a Director of Chiricahua-Dragoon
Conservation Alliance, urged the Board to investigate
toxic tailing piles in the County, suggesting the possibility of court action
if there was no cooperation.
Wendy
Glenn of
The
Call to the Public was closed. .
REPORT BY MR. JODY KLEIN,
Mr. Klein reported that
the County Managers/Administrators Association has identified nine
financial issues that the
Consent
Attorney
Action
on the Proposed Settlement of Tax Appeal TX2003-000680, Oro Capital Group
Board
of Supervisors
APPROVAL
OF THE MINUTES OF
Facilities/Solid
Waste
Approval
of Permanent Easement to Southwest Gas Corporation to supply natural gas to the
Highway Department Striper Building on the Melody Lane complex, described as
Parcel #120-30-119, Sec32N T23S R 24E, a 20' wide easement extending 10' on each
side of the center line of all exising and future Southwest Gas facilities
located within the above described parcels of property.
Finance
DEMANDS
Warrant No. 8725 through 9072
were issued from the following fund lines in the
amount of $1,253,761.32. No voided
warrants.
|
|
Fund 100 |
General Fund |
$372,828.24 |
|
|
Fund 102 |
Aid to Indigent Defense |
$31.25 |
|
|
Fund 104 |
Pub Defender Fill the Gap |
$72.58 |
|
|
Fund 105 |
Bisbee/Douglas Airport |
$3,267.07 |
|
|
Fund 109 |
Fleet Mgmt |
$2,607.19 |
|
|
Fund 115 |
BOS Grants |
$78,419.88 |
|
|
Fund 122 |
|
$7.50 |
|
|
Fund 124 |
Attorney Anti-Racketeering |
$147.18 |
|
|
Fund 125 |
Attorney Victim Assistance |
$4,921.00 |
|
|
Fund 143 |
Detention Education
(Juvenile) |
$850.00 |
|
|
Fund 147 |
Adult Prob. Svcs. Fee |
$2,351.12 |
|
|
Fund 149 |
Adult Probation Community
Punishment |
$1,598.00 |
|
|
Fund 151 |
Law Library |
$1,785.33 |
|
|
Fund 155 |
Diversion Intake |
$60.00 |
|
|
Fund 159 |
Juvenile Prob. Surveillance
Grant |
$60.00 |
|
|
Fund 164 |
Judicial Collections |
$130.00 |
|
|
Fund 171 |
|
$90.58 |
|
|
Fund 173 |
State Library Grant 02 |
$808.00 |
|
|
Fund 203 |
Jail Enhancement |
$6,189.38 |
|
|
Fund 205 |
Sheriff Law Enforcement |
$508.44 |
|
|
Fund 222 |
Office of Bio Terrorism |
$276.37 |
|
|
Fund 228 |
W.I.C. Grant |
$2.46 |
|
|
Fund 229 |
Steps Along the Brdr Init |
$310.53 |
|
|
Fund 230 |
Preventive Health |
$1.95 |
|
|
Fund 233 |
Aids Grant |
$288.85 |
|
|
Fund 234 |
TB Control |
$364.73 |
|
|
Fund 243 |
Immunization Program |
$27.46 |
|
|
Fund 249 |
Tobacco Educ.
Grant |
$2,368.53 |
|
|
Fund 251 |
Public Works |
$5,551.60 |
|
|
Fund 278 |
Small Schools |
$4,310.43 |
|
|
Fund 287 |
Reading First Program |
$9.54 |
|
|
Fund 400 |
|
$27,159.60 |
|
|
Fund 450 |
M.I.S. Capital Reserve |
$9,692.11 |
|
|
Fund 501 |
County Group Health |
$1,820.89 |
|
|
Fund 505 |
Solid Waste |
$10,197.13 |
|
|
Fund 508 |
Cochise Health Systems |
$668,794.51 |
|
|
Fund 540 |
Drug Treatment Education |
$3,758.00 |
|
|
Fund 550 |
Project Restore |
$234.32 |
|
|
Fund 552 |
|
$352.58 |
|
|
Fund 557 |
Domestic Violence TF |
$426.43 |
|
|
Fund 561 |
PSI Grant |
$750.00 |
|
|
Fund 573 |
Gov. Ofc.
of Highway Safety |
$419.25 |
|
|
Fund 576 |
AZ Veh
Theft Task Force |
$67.93 |
|
|
Fund 600 |
Heavy Fleet Management |
$36,843.06 |
|
|
Fund 601 |
Computer Replacement
Program |
$3,000.32 |
|
|
|
TOTAL |
$1,253,761.32 |
Health
APPROVAL
OF PER CAPITA GRANT APPLICATION FY 2004-2005 BETWEEN ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH SERVICES AND COCHISE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
Highways
and Floodplain
ACCEPTANCE
OF A ROAD PETITION TO ESTABLISH A PORTION OF RANCH ROAD AS A DECLARED COUNTY
HIGHWAY AND SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING FOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2005 AT 9:30 A.M.
Adoption of Resolution No. 04-115 to install Stop and Yield Signs in the
Bisbee, Naco and Palominas areas.
Human
Resources
Approval of Recommended change to Merit Rule 10.1.E to allow for
extensions of probationary periods for good cause with the approval of Human
Resources.
Extensions would be limited to 90 days.
Approval of the request for reappointment of Ms. Ginger Ryan to the
Treasurer
APPROVAL
OF A 2005 INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE TO
PROVIDE DATA PROCESSING SERVICES TO THE
Supervisor Newman made a
motion, seconded by Supervisor Thompson, to approve the Consent Agenda, Item
one through Item 10.
Public
Hearings
Chairman Call announced that Item 13, an item
tabled from the previous week’s meeting, would be moved to the top of the
Public Hearings.
Item 13(Tabled
Item)
Docket
Z-04-13 (Royer) A request to rezone approximately 3 acres from TR-36 to TR-18
in McNeal.
The item was presented by Ms. Angela Byrd,
Planner. The request is to rezone two
parcels that total approximately three acres from TR-36 (Transitional
Residential, one residence per 36,000 square feet) to TR-18 (Transitional
Residential, one residence per 18,000 square feet.) The submitted concept plat shows six parcels
which could constitute a subdivision under current regulations and require
review as a subdivision. The Health
Department has expressed concerns about establishing septic systems on lots of
less than 36,000 square feet, especially with the shallow trench septic systems
required today. Ms. Byrd explained the
factors for and against approval.
FACTORS FOR APPROVAL:
·
The
parcel is large enough to be reasonably developed with typical area uses
·
Site improvement standards are met
·
Site is served by County maintained roads
·
If approved, the zoning will not result in the
reduction of the surrounding zoning districts to a shape or size incapable of
development,
FACTORS AGAINST APPROVAL:
·
increases density of residences without serving
as a transition between more intense zoning
·
Set precedent for “piecemeal” zoning in the
area
·
Greater density not in character with the
generally 1-acre area development
·
Room addition dated in 1979 on parcel 037 and
second home on 016 were not permitted
·
The Cochise County Health Department does not
support the rezoning due to septic constraints
·
One public comment opposes the rezoning.
Chairman Call recognized Mr. James Royer of
Elfrida, who represented his brother Mikel Royer, the
applicant. Mr. Royer expressed his
frustration with the Health Department and Arnold Nanez, Director of
Environmental Health. He offered
drawings from a septic system professional from the Health Department’s
recommended list, Mr. Maddingly, showing that the
shallow trench type system fit on the ½ acre properties with room for
expansion. At the P&Z Commission
meeting, Mr. Royer was advised to re-approach Mr. Nanez with the new drawings. Mr. Royer stated that Mr. Nanez seemed to
have a mindset against the idea and wasn’t going to allow it. Mr. Nanez was not in attendance for this
meeting.
Chairman Call indicated that this was a Public
Hearing and invited interested parties to speak. There was no response and the Public Hearing
was closed.
Ms. Byrd answered some questions about seemingly
similar parcels in the area. She
explained that the shallow trench septic systems are part of the subdivision
rules adopted in January 2004 and expressed her belief that Mr. Royer’s
conflicting information was a result of comparison of properties that were
permitted preexisting to the January 2004 changes. She also apologized for Mr. Nanez who had a
previous appointment and was not able to attend the meeting.
Supervisor Thompson made a motion, seconded by Supervisor Newman, to deny the
rezoning request, docket number Z-04-13, based on the factors against as
findings in fact. The motion carried
unanimously.
Highways
and Floodplain
DISCUSSION
AND POSSIBLE ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 04-116, AUTHORIZING A CHANGE TO THE
Mr. Allon Owen, Director of
the Highway & Floodplain Department, presented some background for this
item. He cited the Cave Creek Decision
to illustrate the legal issues involved.
In this decision, there was a public road, used and maintained by the
public that was, in fact, owned by a private citizen because the right-of-way
had never been properly conveyed to the public.
The owner gated the road and the City took him to court to reopen the
road. This case went all the way to the
Supreme Court and the property owner prevailed and the road remained
gated. There is a similar situation with
The Board has complete
authority to open the road by declaring it a
Mr. Owen speculated that the
road may have become part of the maintained system because school buses used
the road to pick up the children of the four original families on that road but
there are no written records. There was
discussion about other access to the
Mr. Don Kimble spoke on
behalf of the Kimble and Snure families explaining
the dangers and difficulties that led to the closing of the road. He said that both families would consider
giving limited access across their land if they could find a way to do it without
incurring liability. Mr. Kimble stated
that neither his family nor the Snure family is
interested in giving an easement or a right-of-way. He confirmed that Fish and Game had talked to
the Snures about buying the right-of-way but
reiterated that neither family is interested in selling,
only granting limited access across their deeded land for a fee that as yet has
not been determined.
Chairman Call opened the
hearing to the public and called Ms. Wendy Glenn of
Mr. Frank Adams,
Ms. Susan Krentz,
As no one else expressed a
desire to speak to this item, the Public Hearing was closed.
Supervisor Thompson indicated
that he had some questions for Mr. Owen.
He asked about alternate access to the forest, and about the plan to
pave Geronimo Trail. He also asked how
many miles of road the County maintains for which it does not have right-of
way. Mr. Owen recalled the plan to pave
Geronimo Trail and recounted the circumstances.
About four years ago, when Geronimo Trail was scheduled to be paved, the
State made a major mistake in the allocation of Highway User Revenue Funds
(HURF). Even though the County was not
responsible for the mistake, several million dollars had to be paid back to the
State in a short amount of time, impacting the county’s plan for paving several
roads, one of which was Geronimo Trail.
HURF has stabilized but the cost of paving keeps going up. The County has completed paving all of the county
roads with 300 or more vehicles a day and most roads with 200 or more vehicles
per day. Geronimo Trail has about 150
vehicles per day as far as Slaughter Ranch and considerably fewer after
Slaughter Ranch. Still, the paving of
Geronimo Trail, at least as far as Slaughter Ranch is an important
concern. In the rain, the road becomes
very slick and muddy. Mr. Owen also
concurred that there is access into the
Chairman Call reminded the
Board that the Resolution before them was simply to take the road off of the
County Maintained Road System. He urged
the other Supervisors to make the motion and get a second and if there was more
discussion, it could be heard after the second.
Supervisor Thompson made a motion, seconded by Chairman Call, to adopt
Resolution 04-116, authorizing the deletion of
Chairman Call then recognized
Matthew Walton from Arizona Fish and Game.
Mr. Walton discussed a letter sent by Fish and Game stating the economic
impact to the County should this road stay closed. Arizona Fish and Game had a conversation with
Mr. Snure about purchasing permanent legal access but
Mr. Snure was not interested in selling an easement
or a right-of-way, only the possibility of allowing some type of limited
access. Mr. Walton also stated that the
access in
Result of the Vote: Chairman Call – YES
Supervisor Newman –
YES
Supervisor Thompson -
YES
Chairman Call called for a
five minute recess before the next item.
Planning
& Zoning
Docket
R-04-03: Resolution 04-117, adopting the 2003 Editions of the International
Building Codes and other related codes; adopting a schedule for phasing the
application of these codes throughtout the County under a three-year
implementaion plan; and adopting an amendment to the Building Code Fee Schedule.
Supervisor Thompson made a motion, seconded by Supervisor Newman for the purpose of
discussion, to adopt Resolution 04-117 and authorize the Chairman to sign.
This item was presented by Mr.
Jim Vlahovich, Director of Planning & Zoning and Mr. Ron Durgin, Building Official.
Mr. Vlahovich opened by
stating his Department’s view that the passage of this Resolution would do much
to further the accomplishment of the Planning & Zoning mission, more so
than any other land use measures. Mr.
Vlahovich went on to explain that the purpose of building codes is to establish
the minimum acceptable requirements necessary for protecting the public health,
safety and welfare in the built environment and the types of structures and
materials covered by building codes.
Currently,
Mr. Vlahovich next introduced
the proposed implementation plan.
Beginning on
Mr. Vlahovich turned the
podium over the Ron Durgin, Building Official, who outlined
the three components of services that would be offered by the building
inspection division – General Assistance Services, Construction Plan Review
Services, and Inspection Services.
General Assistance Services would be offered in
Mr. Vlahovich explained that
in adopting these new codes, we would be encouraging, rather than discouraging,
alternative construction methods like straw bale construction and rammed earth
construction. We would also be adopting
the 2003 Existing Building Code, a brand new code that allows the inspector
more discretion in applying the code to basic health and safety issues without
bringing the entire structure into compliance.
To collect public input, the department had meetings with local
realtors, developers, contractors, fire officials, and representatives from the
Southern Arizona Contractors Association (SACA) and the Registrar of
Contractor’s Office. Five public
education meetings were held in Bisbee,
Chairman Call opened the
hearing to the public.
Five people spoke in favor of
Item 12. Albert Hopper, a Bisbee
architect, spoke in favor of the building codes. He believes that most people want to do the
right thing and that it is important that the County establish a proactive
relationship with its citizens for the future.
He noted that interaction between the government and the people is essential
to the learning process. Michael Hudson
of Willcox, the City of Willcox P&Z Administrator and Building Official,
also spoke in favor of this item.
Willcox will switch to the 2003 IBC as soon as the County does so that
we have all of our builders working off of the same book. He emphasized that the intent of codes is not
the “iron fist” and that we must work together to bring buildings into
compliance. He admitted that no one
wants another level of bureaucracy but that these are good codes and they do
save lives. The City of
Mr. David Eisenberg, Director
of the
Fourteen people spoke against
Item 12. They were Ben Sussman of Bisbee, Joanne Weiner of Pearce, Claudia Whetton of Elfrida, Jonathan Wick of Bisbee, Jim Burke of
Bisbee, Randy Redhawk of Pearce, Jean Eisenhower of
Pearce, Asanti Riverwind of
Pearce, Vicki Marvick of Pearce, John Fleishman of
Cochise, Sharon Gibson of Pearce, L. Vernon Caldwell of Douglas, Dale Clerk of
Tombstone, and Roger Holloday of McNeal. Their opposition to Item 12 is summarized
below:
·
Against “big
government” and adding another level of bureaucracy
·
Creates an
economic hardship for rural people. Let
rural individuals who want a Certificate of Occupancy get one. There should be voluntary compliance rather
than mandatory compliance for people living in the rural areas of the County.
·
Do not believe
that there is a safety threat
·
Fosters a
fear-based culture
·
Environmentally
damaging agents used in new building materials.
People with environmental sensitivities would be poisoned by using materials
required by the code.
·
Enforce building
codes for professional builders and for public and commercial buildings but
exempt the owner-builder in rural areas.
·
Examine other
ways to promote safety without creating more bureaucracy.
·
This is a top
down measure. Let the people vote on
whether building codes are necessary.
·
Loss of freedom
of lifestyle. Loss of the right to live
creatively without government intervention.
The government needs to protect people’s rights as well as their needs.
·
People need to be
responsible for their own mistakes.
·
Builders being
forced to pay higher permit fees now when there won’t be help available for
three years.
·
This will promote
the manufactured home industry and lead to boring and ugly cities. The code will stifle creativity of design.
·
Do not believe
that the County will work with people on alternative housing
·
Realtors and contractors
are not the authority you should be listening to regarding safe housing. You should listen to the people.
·
The County should
be cleaning up the real, documented health and safety hazards like mine
tailings and vehicular traffic.
·
There is an
exemption for ranchers and farmers, but not for people who live off of their
own land.
·
The fee increases
are much too large.
·
There needs to be room for compromise and
flexibility.
Chairman Call closed the
hearing to the public and asked Mr. Vlahovich to come back to the podium to
answer some questions raised during the public portion of the hearing. Regarding the exemption to agricultural
properties, Mr. Vlahovich explained that the State law has been in place for
many years and has recently been upheld even in the case of dwellings on
ranches and farms. If one has five
contiguous commercial acres used for agriculture (farming or ranching), one
qualifies for this exemption. Regarding
paying higher fees and not getting services, Mr. Vlahovich stated that the fees
would not be charged until the services are available. He also added that only additions to existing
structures would be required to conform to the new codes. Chairman Call also asked him to comment on
public statements that the codes would stifle creativity of design in
general. Mr. Vlahovich repeated his
belief that the new codes give the Building Official much more flexibility than
the older, more rigid codes. In some
cases the Building Official may ask for an engineering report if he believes
the design to be unsound. In response to
a question regarding where safety problems have occurred because of the lack of
a code, Mr. Vlahovich declared that the Registrar of Contractors sees potential
problems all the time and is working to be proactive in such matters. He was not able to recount actual deaths due
to lack of codes but believes that proactive measures are necessary. Mr.
Michael Hudson, Building Official and P & Z Administrator from Willcox,
returned to the podium to answer questions regarding deaths that resulted from
improperly installed heating. He stated
that in many cases, people are moving into the County and renting substandard
housing and he recounted two situations in Willcox that resulted in death for
entire families.
Mr. Eisenberg, Director of
the
Supervisor Newman proposed an
amendment to the motion on the table to proceed only as far as Phase 1, as described
in the Resolution, and to initiate a six-month public input review of the
process, to be held at the first Board of Supervisor’s meeting in October
2005. The motion to amend failed for
lack of a second.
Supervisor Newman made a
motion to form a work group immediately after the new Board is seated in
January, to study Phases 2 and 3 for a recommendation on how to proceed. The work group would include the Supervisors,
Planning & Zoning staff,
Chairman Call agreed with the
merit of a review to study Phase 1 before the implementation of Phases 2 and 3
but did not feel that the Resolution needed to be amended. He made a motion to keep the motion on the
table in place but add a six-month review and evaluation process before the
implementation of Phases 2 and 3.
Supervisor Newman seconded the motion.
During discussion Mr. Vlahovich stated that although he hoped six months
would be sufficient time for his department to collect data for review, he
would be more comfortable with nine months before the review and
evaluation. Chairman Call then changed
the time frame to nine months.
Result of the Motion: Chairman
Call – YES
Supervisor Newman –
NO
Supervisor Thompson -
YES
The motion carried with two
votes.
Result of the Original
Motion: Chairman Call – YES
Supervisor
Newman – NO
Supervisor
Thompson – YES
The motion carried with two
votes.
Because of lateness and
another meeting that would begin in five minutes, Chairman Call suspended Item
14, Summary of Current Events by the Board Members, and Item 15, Public Information Officer Report and Board Broadcast Direction and adjourned the meeting.
APPROVED:
ATTEST:
Patrick Call, Chairman
Gussie
Motter, Deputy Clerk of the Board
(SUPPORTING
DOCUMENTATION IS AVAILABLE AT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ OFFICE)