Cottonwood City Council, during its meeting on Dec. 16, decided Cottonwood Mayor Ann Shaw would represent the city at the inaugural meeting of the Yavapai County Water Resources and Open Space Committee.
The meeting, slated for January, does not have an exact date as of Tuesday, Dec. 23. The deadline for appointing a representative was Dec. 19. The exact nature of the committee is yet to be decided as well.
Once the committee structure is decided and the municipalities’ representatives have a better understanding of what’s being asked for, the representatives will bring it back to City Council and decide on a more permanent representative.
“I offered my services because, even though I don’t have a major working knowledge of water, I just thought it would take the onus off of everybody else,” Shaw said after the council meeting.
The letter Yavapai County Board of Supervisors sent out in July requested elected officials with deep working knowledge of water.
“The majority of [City Council members] wanted to see our utilities director, Tom Whitmer, be that representative,” Shaw said. “But I was asserting that’s not what was being asked for.”
During the council meeting, the committee’s nomination form stated the county was forming the committee after receiving a two-year, $25,000 grant in July for efforts similar to this one.
“This committee would be a countywide effort focused on water resources and open space planning to further enhance multi-jurisdictional collaboration and implement specific elements of the 2032 Yavapai County Comprehensive Plan,” the form reads.
Clarkdale Mayor Robyn Prud’homme-Bauer said she’ll be Clarkdale’s representative until “someone else might be more appropriate” is chosen.
In the Nov. 5 letter the supervisors sent to the cities, it listed what discussions to expect early on in the committee’s formation:
- Identifying areas of agreement and collaboration to strengthen our voice on regional water issues and open space.
- Discussing how to better utilize the tools already in our toolbox to positively impact our regional water supply.
- Identifying opportunities to integrate the Committee with existing regional efforts.
- Understanding the relevant issues, goals, and alignment among municipalities, unincorporated communities, and stakeholders across Yavapai County.
Creating foundational documents for the Committee. - Defining opportunities for shorter-term success (simpler issues ripe for collaboration) and longer-term objectives with processes for addressing them.
During its Dec. 3 meeting, the Board of Supervisors nominated two members of its own board to be on the committee, the JOURNAL reported in the story on Page 3A of the Wednesday, Dec. 31, edition.
Supervisor Nikki Check [D-District 3] volunteered and Chris Kuknyo [R-District 4] was nominated.
The previous Yavapai County Water Advisory Committee was first approved on Jan. 25, 1999, but it was disbanded in 2014. Check made regional water issues a key campaign issue going into her 2024 election run.
The county’s website states the committee will “develop strategies and goals to positively impact water resources and open space by July 1, 2026. … By July 1, 2027, the community will experience the completion of a plan for open space.”
