Camp Verde’s new town council members won their seats back in the August primary. Dee Jenkins narrowly defeated incumbent Mayor Charlie German in the mayoral race, while councilwoman Jessie Murdock won re- election and Chris McPhail and Jackie Baker won seats on the council, all three unopposed.
Though the elections were certified soon after, the new office-holders could not take their seats until after the general election. At the Camp Verde Town Council meeting on Nov. 4, all four elected members took their seats, while the town also awarded certificates of appreciation to German and retiring council member Buck Buchanan, as well as to McPhail and Baker for their previous service on the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The council elected Councilman Joe Butner as its new Vice Mayor for the coming two-year term by a margin of 4-3. Murdock, who had previously served as vice mayor from 2016 to 2018, was the other nominee.
After dealing with the housekeeping at the beginning of the meeting, the council then moved to the main business of the meeting, approving the annexation of land at the edge town’s borders, past Champion Way off of State Route 260, in order to include the full land of the wastewater treatment plant within town limits.
“There are four parcels for the wastewater treatment plant,” Community Development Director Melinda Lee explained. “Two of them are currently within the town limits and two of them are not. This is really just kind of a house- keeping item. We need to make sure that the entire property is incorporated within the town limits.”
The town had been seeking to do this for a while, but was unable to do so without having any taxpayer in the relevant county land to approve the measure. That changed with the construction of part of the Camp Verde Equestrian Center on the relevant land, which approved the change.
In order to fully implement this change, the council also unanimously approved a resolution “designating the Copper Canyon Fire and Medical District as the fire service agency for the Town of Camp Verde, directing that any annexed property of the Town of Camp Verde also be included within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Copper Canyon Fire and Medical District.”
In addition to annexing its land into the town, the Camp Verde Arena Association also paid the town back for money it had helped the association with in the construction of its facility at Wednesday’s meeting. The funding had been in advance of a loan from the USDA that the CVAA hoped to receive, but would not get in time for opening the facility, which happened in October.
“As you all recall, back in July we came to y’all asking for an upfront of the $60,000 to get our bleachers, which I’m glad we did because we
were able to put on the Fort Verde Days rodeo, which was a major success,” CVAA President Mary Phelps said at the meeting. “We wanted to present you back your $60,000”
Also at the meeting, the council approved a $373,854.05 bid by McDonald Brothers Inc. for a project improving the side- walk on Hollamon Street between Sixth Street and Cliffs Parkway, which will include curb, gutter, side- walk, two street lights, and guardrails and hand rails for safety. The funding came partially out of a Community Development Block Grant that the town had previously received from the Arizona Department of Housing.
“You’ll be able to walk on sidewalk to Bashas’, to Maverick, Walgreens, and then the post office,” Camp Verde Public Works Director Ron Long said.
