The Town of Camp Verde is looking for a way to bring in more people who have ideas about projects they would like to see in town.
Camp Verde Mayor Charlie German said he was interested in similar projects that had been brought forward by other groups in places like Sedona to get certain things accomplished.
“They bring forward an idea and then the committee disbands,” German said. “That’s the way the old guys operated.”
The town used to have several individual commissions that focused on specialized areas.
The town disbanded several of those commissions during the economic downturn, including parks and recreation, trails and a group focused on housing.
Town Manager Russ Martin brought up the group of local men who built the cook shack next to the town-owned ramada.
The effort was the work of the “Old Guys” as they call themselves, a group of local residents who have often put in work on behalf of the community.
The idea came about as a way to give the group that does Dutch oven cooking at various events at Fort Verde a more permanent place to set up shop.
The group also did work on the town’s old jail, built in the 1930s from river rock.
That building had been used for several purposes, including a library and a meeting spot for the Lions Club.
Now it’s restored to how it would have looked when it was constructed through work programs during the Great Depression.
“We need citizen volunteers to come forward,” said Councilwoman Jackie Baker.
Martin said he’d look at how Sedona had worked with local commissions that worked on special projects.
While the people behind things like the cook shack and the jail had the enthusiasm to get their projects done, German would like to see other people be able to approach the town with ideas.
“Citizens can bring forward a project,” German said.
Martin said he had been working with proposals from groups trying to get things accomplished.
He said that now was a good time of year to approach the town.
“Make sure you come in time for financial resources to be available,” Martin said.
While the Old Guys have been active, Martin said he felt the town’s leadership wanted to get more people possibly involved.
“How do we get other groups engaged in that, that’s the question,” Martin said.
