Since the beginning of the pandemic, Blazin’ M Ranch, on the outskirts of Cottonwood by Dead Horse Ranch State Park, has faced difficulty because the venue frequently hosts the kinds of large gatherings that social distancing requirements restrict.
In March, which is normally the peak season for the tourism-oriented ranch, Blazin’ M had to close its doors and lay off 30 members of its staff, in what managing partner Lori Mabery described as a “perfect storm” for the business.
Mabery and other owners of the business have begun discussions with the city of Cottonwood about potentially selling the property to the city, which would then work on a partnership with Arizona State Parks and Trails to operate the facilities.
“Blazin’ M first approached the parks about acquiring the property,” Cottonwood Deputy City Manager Rudy Rodriguez said. “They approached us to see if we could have some sort of joint venture between us and the parks to acquire the property, similar to what it currently is there in their venues.”
At a special meeting on Aug. 11, the Cottonwood City Council met in an executive session to discuss the potential purchase, though no official decisions were made.
According to Rodriguez, the discussions are still very much at the preliminary level, trying to figure out what a partnership between the state parks and the city would look like, and few details are set in stone at this point.
“We have direction to start looking at it,” Rodriguez said. “We have not made any commitment one way or another.”
“At this point it’s really too early to discuss anything, as there are too many ‘ifs’ in the situation,” Michelle Thompson, chief of communications for Arizona State Parks and Trails, wrote in an email. “We have only thrown out ideas with the city of Cottonwood, so at this point anything further would only be conjecture.”
“We would be the landowner and they would run the property,” Rodriguez said. “We haven’t delved into it [further] at this point in time. We’re trying to see if it’s a feasible structure or if the Maberys would be interested.”
Rodriguez said that he hopes to have more concrete proposals for the city council sometime in the next two months. If the purchase did go ahead as is being discussed, it would likely happen in early 2021.
According to Rodriguez, the purchase of the property would likely involve seeking grants to offset some of the costs, though it would also require the city paying much of the costs as well. Rodriguez said that a number of options, including seeking new municipal bonding, using cash out of the city’s reserves and other possibilities are on the table.
Though it could lead to the city taking on some additional debt, Rodriguez nevertheless argued for the purchase as something that could potentially be beneficial.
“We would be able to keep a tourist venue in town,” Rodriguez said. “We would be able to expand our partner- ship with state parks in the area we currently have.”
