Regardless of which map Yavapai County chooses to follow to redistrict, some residents in the Verde Valley will be disappointed.
County staff held its first Verde Valley open house June 1 where four proposed maps for redistricting were unveiled. The open house in Camp Verde will be held at the Camp Verde Ranger District, 300 SR 260, from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 6.
Staff gathered public input earlier in the year to pair with other considerations, including existing voting precincts, population and demographics.
The county warned Verde Valley residents it was highly likely a portion of the area would have to be split from the current district, District 3, and paired with communities now in District 1 and District 2.
Holding true to predictions, population increases mandate Sedona and the Verde Valley grew too much to remain a single district, but not enough to be split in two Verde Valley-exclusive districts.
Each of the four maps will leave at least one community up in arms.
Map A will likely sit well with the incorporated towns and cities because it keeps them all intact.
Cornville residents, however, won’t be happy. The plan splits part of the incorporated area into two separate districts using Cornville Road as the divider.
Map A puts Cottonwood, Clarkdale, the Verde Villages, Jerome, Sedona, the Village of Oak Creek and Cornville north of Cornville Road in new District 5. Camp Verde, McGuireville, Lake Montezuma and Cornville south of Cornville Road would be paired with communities along Interstate 17, Dewey-Humboldt, Mayer and parts of Prescott Valley in new District 4.
Map B still splits Cornville along Cornville Road, but goes on to divide Verde Villages. One proposed district boundary runs along State Route 260 from where the Verde Villages start nearly to the State Route 89A intersection. Property south of State Route 260 in that section would be grouped with Camp Verde and Cornville south of Cornville Road, with regard to the Verde Valley, and communities from the other side of the mountain.
McGuireville and Lake Montezuma would then join Clarkdale, Jerome, Cottonwood, a portion of Verde Villages, Sedona, the Village of Oak Creek and Cornville north of Cornville Road to form a strictly Verde Valley district.
Map C, however, will be favored by Cornville residents because it keeps them all together and instead pairs Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek with Camp Verde, Lake Montezuma, McGuireville, Cherry and portions of Prescott Valley. Sedona and Village residents, on the other hand, aren’t likely to be happy with being split from the solely Verde Valley district.
Map D is the most outrageous, splitting the city of Cottonwood into two separate districts in various locations.
Parts of Cottonwood would join Clarkdale and Jerome in a new district with Chino Valley, Paulden and Ashfork. The rest of the Verde Valley would remain in its own district.
County staff and the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors no doubt have their work cut out for them. While they try to please Verde Valley residents, they have even more people in current District 1 and District 2 to work with.
Visit the county’s website to find open house locations, dates and times.
