The Camp Verde Town Council unanimously approved town staff’s prior applications for congressionally-directed spending funding for 10 town infrastructure projects involving water, wastewater, public safety and public works during its May 7 meeting. “Congressionally-directed spending comes around every year, but they were actually applications that were due last Friday[May 2],” Town Manager Miranda Fisher told the council. “So unfortunately I had to get the applications in before I could bring this to you. So this is a resolution confirming your support for the following projects that I submitted for capital improvement projects. We pulled all eligible capital improvement projects specifically with a goal of grabbing any capital improvement project that was going to be loan or grant funded so we could ideally free that financial structure up for some other capital improvement project. And so I think we submitted the most in the Verde Valley.”
The projects for which staff submitted applications were:
- Northbound Sewer Collection System expansion, also submitted last year
- Cellebrite digital evidence extraction and collection software procurement.
- Simulcast voted repeater and law enforcement vehicle replacement
- Verde River Estates well and storage tank work
- Northbound Highway 260 production well installation
- Black Bridge Loop sewer main extension
- Patrol rifles and ballistic armor replacement
- Wastewater Treatment Plant administration building construction
- Moonrise Drive iron pipe replacement
- 7th Street sidewalk project.
Mayor Marie Moore said the town had received a letter of support for at least one of the projects from a member of the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors, and Fisher said that Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes had submitted a letter of support for the law enforcement-related projects. Moore also told the council about having met with U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly [D-Ariz.] to discuss local needs for congressionally-directed spending, on which Moore said Kelly understood, but said there was no funding.
Fisher said she wasn’t aware of Kelly’s sentiments at the time she submitted the applications.“I do hear you and, and we’ll be mindful of that, that ranking as we go forward for future funding,” Fisher said.
“The reality is, we’ve submitted and they’re going to have all of our stuff, but there is very little chance that there’s going to be any money in the budget.”, Moore said, but added that she believed Camp Verde would be well-positioned with their letters of support if funding did become available, and given that other towns in the area had only applied for funding for two projects.
“Just one of the 10 is going to be helpful in one way or another to our town. So, fingers crossed,” Moore said.
Councilwoman Robin Godwin criticized the proposal for the Black Bridge Loop sewer main extension but ended upvoting for it anyway. “I’ve been paying in for the 40 years that I’ve lived there into the sanitary district and not getting any service,” Godwin said. “Having said that, as a council member, how can we put that above our patrol rifle and ballistic armor? Our rifles being used were purchased over 11years ago and are outdated. Then we go to something as simple as replacing the iron pipe at Moonrise Drive. It says it’s already been replaced multiple times because of multiple leaks.”
“I think if we’ve already sent, we’ve already, you know, went forward with this, I don’t think it would do us any good to go backward,” Godwin added before the council approved the retroactive applications 6-0.
