Camp Verde mayoral and council candidates debate

On June 28, the League of Women Voters and Yavapai Broadcasting hosted two live-streamed candidate forums for the town of Camp Verde; The first was for town council, the second was for the mayoral seat.

The forums were moderated by Kevin Cook, a member of the LWV, who said the organization is a non-partisan political organization that does not support, nor oppose candidates.

“[The League] envisions a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge and the confidence to participate,” he said.

Council Forum

The candidates running for council include current Councilwomen Robin Whatley and Marie Moore, as well as challengers Robert Foreman and Wendy Escoffier, who have both previously held positions within the town’s government.

Currently, there are three open seats on the council.

Whatley is up for reelection and Vice Mayor Joe Butner plans to step down. Moore was appointed to council earlier this year to replace Councilman Bill LeBeau, who resigned in protest of the Camp Verde sports complex.

Once elected, council members serve a four-year term. In December, once new members have been sworn in, the council will select one of its members to become Butner’s replacement.

Economic Development

Cook asked a variety of questions, mainly centered around Camp Verde’s No. 1 hot topic: Development.

Foreman, who previously served as chairman of the planning and zoning commission and board of appeals, said “we’ve been talking about economic development along I-17 and State Route 260 for 30 years now; and now that growth is going to come.”

Escoffier agreed, and stated that Camp Verde has, “seen that growth in the form of large RV parks, new housing developments and several marijuana growth facilities,” that have been established in the area over the past few years.

“There’s a possibility for even more growth as developers realize our financial potential for the area, and our town has been behind in making sure policies and procedures are in place to handle this growth,” she added. “As an elected official, I will not give in to developers who seek to circumvent our town’s general plan, code and ordinances.”

Prior to running for town council, Escoffier stated she has more than 26 years of public service experience, including working for Coconino County as a clerk for the board of supervisors and for Camp Verde as a community planner.

Whatley, a retired educator and former chairwoman of the parks and recreation department, agreed with Foreman and Escoffier that growth is coming to Camp Verde, and stated that developers should “follow the rules.”

“When [Camp Verde] acquired the large stretch of [SR] 260 going to Cottonwood, the town began to put in place infrastructure so that those big box stores could go on to [SR] 260,” she added.

In 2014, the town updated its general plan to include character areas, which essentially designated State Route 260 as an “economic development corridor” and insulated established areas such as the historic downtown and residential neighborhoods from incoming developers.

Moore, who owns a business on Main Street, said she has a personal interest in making sure Camp Verde’s downtown is viable in addition to the State Route 260 corridor.

“I look at Main Street and I see a lot is lacking there,” she said, and added that the town needs to do more to bring people in to the downtown area. “You have to find that balance on how we can make everything work to build the town up, but also retain our small-town values.”

Main Street

All candidates agreed that Camp Verde’s downtown is in need of a revival, and each offered suggestions about how to achieve a more vibrant and thriving Main Street.

Whatley stated that she would like to be see more festivals downtown, while also being in support of protecting smaller neighborhoods as well as Fort Verde State Park.

Moore agreed, and added that the town should work on advertising what Camp Verde has to offer.

“People want to get out of the [Phoenix] Valley; they want to come to a smaller town and have a good time and then go home, and that’s what we want,” she said.

Foreman added that the town should focus on making the downtown more visually appealing and pedestrian friendly.

Verde River and Water

Other topics discussed included protecting and preserving the Verde River.

Cook provided an anecdote about wasteful water habits in the community, then asked the candidates to elaborate on water issues in the Verde Valley.

Moore talked about growing up in a ranching family and “being raised by a very water-conscious father.”

“In just my lifetime, I’ve seen the Verde River shrink,” she said. “We need to address foliage, things like that. There’s things that can be done to help preserve the Verde River more than what’s already being done.”

Foreman stated that his main concern is to keep the Verde River safe and flowing.

“The Verde River is our greatest asset; it is our most precious resource and we have to protect it no matter what happens,” he said. “If I was on council, I would keep a hawk-eye on the Verde River and the developers coming in and [on] our water supply; because without water, we’re done.”

Whatley and Escoffier discussed the town’s recent acquisition of Camp Verde Water Co.

“I think one of the No. 1 things that the town did was to acquire the water company,” Whatley said. “It took decades for us to come to this agreement [that gives the town the ability] to control some of the water from the Verde. It also gives us the ability to acquire water rights, so we want to pursue those.”

Escoffier added, “I know that the town has been working very hard to secure water. Purchasing the water company is the first step in that. I also know that the town is very closely watching the Gila River adjudication and that impacts private wells. Camp Verde is a little different than other areas; you have private wells and you have some [areas] that are on water companies. Verde Lakes has their own water company, then you have the Camp Verde Water Company that serves the downtown area. It’s really the private wells that should be concerning to people.”

The candidates also discussed fiduciary issues, the recently-signed land agreement between the town and the Yavapai-Apache Nation, traffic issues and affordable housing.

At the end of the discussion, a couple of the candidates remarked on how “pleasurable” the forum was, and stated that any one of them would do well on the council.

“[We] don’t have to worry about stolen signs,” Foreman joked.

Cook added that personally, Camp Verde is “lucky” to have “such a qualified group of people who really care about you and have some tough decisions in front of you.”

Mayoral Forum

Following the council forum, Cook continued as moderator for the mayoral forum, which included Camp Verde’s current mayor, Denise “Dee” Jenkins and Reason Shipley, a former U.S. Army Military Police officer, maintenance engineering department manager and current operations manager for Adventures Hotels.

Budgeting Time

Both candidates hold regular day jobs, and Cook asked how much time they would have to devote to being mayor.

Jenkins, who has worked in various capacities for Quintus Inc., as financial analyst, general manager, treasurer and chairwoman of the board, said she can “probably speak from experience on that” subject.

“It’s about 10 or 15 hours a week, which I manage quite well, she said, while adding that sometimes it can be up to 20 to 25 hours, if it’s a “really busy week.”

“I actually look forward to it,” she said. “I balance that with working part-time still at Quintas; it keeps me up to date with the economy and the world at large.”

Shipley stated that if he were elected, he would plan on spending as much time as needed.

“I am going to hold a full-time job, but I will be available to the constituents of Camp Verde at any time,” he said. “I do plan on spending four hours a week with different [town] departments; checking in on them and seeing how they’re doing and spending time with our law enforcement and our marshal and always have a 24-hour open line to the marshal for any emergencies.”

Shipley’s campaign slogan states he is “pro-law enforcement, pro-veteran and pro-small growth.”

Jenkins’ campaign slogan focuses on “honesty, integrity and fiscal responsibility.”

Economics

In the vein of fiscal responsibility, Cook asked the candidates how they would manage the town’s budget in an economic downturn situation.

Jenkins replied that the town is “working on the budget right now” and referenced built-in budget restrictions and “sticking to the budget, and “not going over [the] budget.”

“If throughout the year, we do have a downturn in revenue, we may have to make adjustments to our expenses,” she said. “Camp Verde has done that quite well in previous downturns, like 2008. It may be layoffs, it may be lesser hours, spending less money; but we always have to work within our budget, what’s available to us and as council, with management’s recommendations, make the decisions we need to stay within budget.”

Shipley agreed, stating “we have to absolutely stay within the budget.”

“We’re going to have to look at our departments and where we can cut spending,” he said. “Budgets [are] something I’m used to, running hotels and building million-dollar hotels, and where budgets are important. I’m not afraid of budgets and I’m also not afraid to cut where we need to.”

Cook, asked about the candidates’ vision for growth, as well as what they may be prepared to “do or not do” as growth increases.

Jenkins also stated that the town has “struggled with affordable housing” and that is still a problem yet to be solved.

Shipley stated that he is “all about small growth.”

“I’m about keeping Camp Verde the western little town with the home and hospitality-loving feeling,” he said. “However, we do need to grow a little; we need more options for shopping.”

“We need to prioritize what we need; when we do that, we have to look at the whole picture and make sure that we’re ready for that growth,” he added.

Priorities

One of Cook’s last questions for the candidates was “What are your top three priority issues for the city?”

Jenkins responded that one of her goals came out of a recent work session between the council and city department heads: “That was shortly after we knew we were going to purchase the water company; the department heads gave their presentations on their [infrastructure and fixed asset] needs, [as well as] the people’s needs, and council sat back and looked at how the town is organized. I posed the questions “Is the town setup organized to keep up with the growth that we’re facing? What does the town need?” And, what we are doing now is we are reorganizing [and] developing new departments, bringing on new positions. We’re going to add 10 people to staff — this is really unheard of. We have the largest budget we’ve ever had and this is all to make sure that we meet the citizens’ needs as well as maintain the growth that we’re seeing.”

Shipley stated that one of the issues he would want to look at would be the Marshal’s Office.

“I want to make sure they have the amount of staff they need, the education and training and how we can help them,” he said.

Shipley added, “We have, in my opinion, one of the best marshals in the state,” and referenced “working with him and his department” and “with all [of] the [city] departments.”

“As far as issues, I just want to make sure we don’t have any outstanding issues [like] maintenance and waterways or anything that we’re doing that needs to be taken care of and finishing loose ends moving forward,” he said. “I’ll say that maintenance in Camp Verde has been doing a wonderful job. I’ve hung out with some of the departments already and got to spend some time with them. As I said before, if elected mayor, I’m going to spend four hours a week with a different department each week.”

Once elected, the mayor will serve a two-year term.

To watch the forums in their entirety, visit Verde Valley TV’s YouTube channel.

Voting Information

The primary election will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 2.

The registration deadline for voting in the primary election was July 5.

The general election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

The registration deadline for the general election is Tuesday, Oct. 11.

For information about early voting, vote-by-mail and in-person voting locations, visit Yavapai County Elections and Voter registration at yavapaivotes.gov or call (928) 771-3248.