Camp Verde calls for aid and hopes senators will answer.
At a meeting of the Camp Verde Town Council on Wednesday, May 5, the council unanimously approved and each individually signed a letter to be sent to the offices of U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly [D-Ariz.] and Kyrsten Sinema [D-Ariz.], asking for help in getting federal funding for an infrastructure project the town believes would help in creating investment in the State Route 260 corridor north of town.
In December 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which in addition to making numerous changes to the American tax code, included a provision creating what became known as “Qualified Opportunity Zones,” specially designated low-income areas that are targets for development. For real estate investors, making an investment for at least five years in an opportunity zone allows for a capital gains tax deduction on the invested money, while an investment of 10 years or more allows for an investor to pay no capital gains tax at all on the profits from the investment.
In 2018, Camp Verde was approved by the federal and Arizona state governments to set up one of those opportunity zones — which must have at least 20% of its population below the Federal Poverty Line, and must have a median income lower than that of its state or nearest metro area — for the mostly empty potential commercial corridor of State Route 260 north of town. The town has long been seeking to develop that area, especially after the completion of renovations on the corridor by the Arizona Department of Transportation in 2019.
According to the Town of Camp Verde, over $100 million in investment has come to the area since the creation of the Qualified Opportunity Zone, but the town has hit a snag in its progress, as the northern half of the State Route 260 corridor — from Horseshoe Bend to Aultman Parkway — lacks wastewater infrastructure that would be needed for businesses to consider developing the area.
The Camp Verde Town Council identified building a wastewater extension for these 4.5 miles of State Route 260 as one of the top priorities for the town in the coming year.
In 2020, the town applied for a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration for a public works grant, intended to pay for some of the estimated $8 million required to build this sewer extension.
However, the EDA denied the application. According to Camp Verde Economic Development Director Steve Ayers, concerns about residential zoning on half of the land that would be serviced by this sewer extension axed the grant.
“The [EDA] representative informed us that, after reviewing the [grant application], the project would not qualify for EDA funding,” Ayers wrote in a letter to council describing the events leading up to this point. “According to the EDA representative, because there were potential residential connections to the sewer mainline, it was not a project she would endorse or a project that would be approved by EDA. I and [Economic Development Specialist Jessica Bryson] both got the impression that we [were] being accused of trying to ‘pull the wool over the eyes’ of EDA by attempting to get EDA to fund a residential sewer line.”
The town is not giving up on getting this grant money, and has therefore sought support from the state’s federal representatives.
If the Qualified Opportunity Zone, “one of Arizona’s most promising, is to reach its full potential, the State Route 260 Wastewater Expansion Project must be completed,” reads the council’s letter, addressed to Coral Evans, Northern Arizona director for Kelly, and Ben Stewart, Outreach Director for Sinema.
“We are reaching out to your office because we feel the needs of the Verde Valley require not only good paying jobs, but affordable housing for those who will work those jobs. The Camp Verde [Qualified Opportunity Zone] has the potential to fulfill both needs. Your support and involvement in acquiring the EDA funding necessary to complete the project would be appreciated.”
“This is an extremely important opportunity for the town, and I would argue not only for the town, but our region, our county, our state, etc.,” Camp Verde Town Manager Russ Martin said.
