In May, the Clarkdale Planning Commission held a public hearing on a proposed Arizona Public Safety 69,000-volt substation on State Route 89A.
Dozens of residents showed up to voice their feelings on the proposed electrical structure, which would be built next to the Number 1 Food Store at the traffic circle leading to Jerome. Most expressed firm opposition, saying that placing it in an area close to a residential neighborhood would ruin the location for residents, and that it would be visually detrimental to the spot’s rural beauty.
The Planning Commission tabled the discussion, choosing to pass the decision up to the Clarkdale Town Council to carefully weigh the pros and cons.
At a meeting on July 23, the Clarkdale Town Council discussed the new substation. The discussion was held as a work session, and lacked any sort of official decision coming out of it. No council member expressed any firm stance on whether the APS substation would be allowed to be built.
Nevertheless, the council did indicate some support for the construction even facing opposition from the public.
“What we heard from APS tonight is that putting it in almost any other place would actually cost them significantly more than putting it here,” Mayor Doug Von Gausig said in response to Lynda Steele, a Clarkdale resident who spoke up at the meeting, saying that the costs of the new substation would be passed on to consumers. “They’re making this choice to a great extent on the economics of putting it where it is, so that tends to keep electricity cheaper.”
The council saw a presentation from Kendra Lee of APS. Lee argued that a new substation is necessary in order to deal with future energy needs of a growing Clarkdale, and that the spot on State Route 89A remains the best choice for the construction.
At one point Vice Mayor Richard Dehnert asked whether there was another location that was more suitable, to which Lee replied that a different spot would require years of additional planning and the resulting costs of doing so.
“If that were the request of the town of Clarkdale, we would have to go back to the drawing board,” Lee said. “We’d probably be looking at a delay of our installation of the site of about, I would estimate, three years in terms of doing the analysis of procuring the site and determining the availability. And depending upon whether or not we have a landowner who is willing to sell.”
In her presentation, Lee also defended the proposed substation against the complaints that it would mar the aesthetics of the area, saying that the machinery would be obscured by walls designed to blend in with the surroundings.
Still, Clarkdale residents who showed up expressed a feeling that the town was railroading them on the decision.
“There are decisions being made for the residents under questionable circumstances,” Clarkdale resident Carol Engert said. “All deals and contracts should be open and honest. There should be no question as to the validity of the deal or contract that the town makes.”
The public hearing on the actual decision before the council will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 13.
