Progress Edition 2015

PAYSON ROUNDUP

Progress Edition MAY 2015 | PAYSON, ARIZONA

“Blue skies, Smiling at me ...”

Assessing a year’s worth of hard-won progress

Water y m o n o Ec

Univers ity plan

Recreation

e r i f d l i W Schools

Payson Roundup Progress 2015

2

University backers finally buying land Expect to close sale, sign with a university this summer by

Pete Aleshire

roundup editor

This year.

Definitely this year.

The Rim Country Educational Alliance before July will own a 253-acre site on which it will then build a 6,000-student university — with classes starting as soon as 2017.

Most likely, Arizona State University will operate the campus — but will likely not actually sign a binding deal until the Alliance can guarantee when it will own the land.

All right: We know. We know.

We said more or less the same thing last year in the Progress Edition. And said something not so very different in the 2013 Progress Edition, come to think of it.

So like most folks in town, by now you’re pretty skeptical about any announced time line to build a university in Payson.

But honest: This time it’s different.

For starters, the Rim Country Educational Alliance not only has the long-awaited purchase agreement from the Tonto National Forest — it has a partner with the $4.1 million needed to buy the land and the $540,000 needed to complete archaeological work required by the Forest Service.

It also has a hard and fast deadline — the expiration of an independent appraisal that put the value of the land at $4.1 million, lower than proponents of the bold, frustrating, long-suffering, transformational plan had feared.

Once the Alliance has the land in hand, backers say they can quickly conclude a deal with Arizona State University or some other university partner to settle on a final design for the campus and fire up the architects and bulldozers.

ASU remains preferred partner

Arizona State University remains the preferred partner. Negotiators for the

Alliance, the Foundation and ASU have met repeatedly in recent months as the land purchase has dragged on long past the original expectations. ASU reportedly remains interested in operating the campus, despite the body blows delivered repeatedly in the past year by the Legislature and the governor. The unrelenting cuts in state support for higher education may have actually served to increase ASU’s interest, since it has few other sources of possible support to build a new campus or expand its facilities.

The budget crisis for the universities has another paradoxical benefit for the potential of the Payson campus. Since backers first started pushing for a campus here more than five years ago, state

support for the three universities has declined dramatically. Even this year as state revenues rose, lawmakers cut another $100 million in state support for the universities. As a result, ASU’s tuition has nearly doubled. Backers for the university plan want to ensure a steady supply of students by keeping tuition at half the rate of the other campuses.

When they started, ASU’s tuition was just over $5,000 annually. Now, it’s more than $10,000 annually. Ironically, that could make it easier to keep the cost of attending the Payson campus below the other three state universities, despite the much lower state, per-student contribution.

Other universities still interested

Still, ASU hasn’t signed a binding agreement to build a campus here, although the Alliance has settled on a site and entered into the final stages of the purchase — with money on hand to cover the purchase price.

In the meantime, other universities have reportedly remained in contact with backers of the project, although the Alliance continues to honor its agreement with ASU that precludes active negotiations with other potential university partners.

Several developments have stoked interest in a deal with the University of Arizona, if ASU in the next few months decides not to follow through on a deal

on the terms it has already extensively discussed.

One shift that has stirred much speculation is the Mogollon Health Alliance’s agreement to merge with Banner Health Systems, which also now operates the U of A’s network of hospitals, health clinics and other facilities. The U of A also operates the state’s medical school and has long focused on rural health care. In addition, the U of A has also focused on Native American studies. Backers of the Payson campus have suggested the campus could serve as the perfect place for students from the Navajo, Hopi, Apache and other reservations to get an educa-

• See University, page 6

Health care transformed in Rim Country Merger between Mogollon Health Alliance and Banner Health Systems will result in far-reaching changes by

Pete Aleshire

roundup editor

The medical landscape in Rim Country shifted dramatically this year.

The transformation came when the Mogollon Health Alliance announced plans to merge with Banner Health Systems — the largest health care provider in Arizona. The announcement came on the heels of Banner’s dramatic partnership arrangement with the University of Arizona’s prestigious medical system, with its own network of hospitals and clinics.

As of this writing, lawyers for MHA and Banner continue to work out the details of the merger. The total value of the merger may approach $85 million. That includes Banner’s commitment to invest an added $25 million in the medical center and other Banner facilities in the area, pay current operator Community Health Systems for its investment in the hospital and make a payment to MHA that will instantly convert it into a major charity — and a much larger force in the community.

The first benefit from the deal came in the form of MHA’s ability to provide front money for the university project, including an assurance of enough money to buy the land and cover the remaining acquisition costs. The complex merger transaction will see MHA spin off its philanthropic functions and non-hospital assets and programs into MHA Foundation, a new entity that will carry on MHA’s traditional community non-profit activities. The MHA Foundation can expand its work in the community. It will effectively own the Rim County Educational Foundation, which will focus on the university project. It can also leverage the resources it has secured over the past two decades, bolstered by additional millions obtained through the merger.

The breakthrough for Rim Country’s health systems had an unlikely beginning.

Some 17 years ago, Rim Country

faced a disaster.

The leading medical facility in Gila County quivered on the brink of bankruptcy.

A group of doctors had put up their own money to form a partnership and operate the Payson Regional Medical Center.

But in the bruising, rapidly changing medical world, the hospital soon got into trouble trying to provide advanced care in a rural community. The doctors found their expertise in medicine didn’t necessarily translate into operating a hospital profitably, especially in a rural community with all the attendant difficulties in attracting and retaining doctors from different specialties.

So the small, non-profit group struggling on its own to provide support for people in the region needing medical care came to the rescue.

The Mogollon Health Alliance agreed to take over the hospital, despite the substantial annual operating loss.

Moreover, the MHA agreed to assume more than $15 million in debt the doctors who started the hospital held.

The tiny MHA then turned to Community Health Services, a national hospital chain, to lease the hospital and take over operations. The for-profit CHS signed an 18-year lease and extinguished the debt MHA had taken on.

Crisis yields opportunity

Flash forward 18 years.

Community Health Systems engineered a remarkable turnaround in the management of the hospital.

The national hospital chain runs 200 hospitals in 29 states, with a total of 31,000 licensed beds. That includes four hospitals in Arizona: the 139-bed Western Arizona Regional Medical Center in Bullhead City, the 300-bed Northwest Medical Center in Tucson, the 144-bed Oro Valley Medical Center near Tucson and the 44-bed Payson Regional Medical Center.

The CHS management transformed

The Mogollon Health Alliance has struck a deal with deal with Banner Health Systems to take over operations of the Payson Regional Medical Center from Community Health systems. The deal will transform MHA into a major community charity and connect the medical center to both Banner and the University of Arizona medical system. the deficit-plagued Payson Regional Medical Center into a profitable operation, with up-to-date imaging and diagnostic services. The hospital made strenuous efforts to recruit a full range of specialists, although it struggled to keep slots filled in some areas like most regional hospitals.

CHS improves hospital

The Payson Regional Medical Center has repeatedly landed on lists of top rural hospitals in the country when it comes to quality of care and operations.

Under the CHS management, the Payson Regional Medical Center also remained a major player in the community, with consistent support for community events and charities. The hospital also ranked relatively high when it came to cost comparisons with other hospitals, which isn’t unusual for small, rural hospitals without much competition in the area for key services.

As the 18-year lease neared the end of its term, members of the MHA board considered whether to keep the hospital, sell it or entertain offers from other

hospitals hoping to take over the lease.

Members of the MHA board said their highest priority remained expanding medical services in the community and assuring high quality care. With a healthy bottom line in a growing community, the hospital had become much more valuable. The non-profit MHA board considered ways to leverage that increased value. After months of considering inquiries from a variety of other hospitals and hospital chains and medical groups, the MHA board settled on Banner Health Systems.

Banner’s advantages

Banner offered intriguing advantages as a partner for Payson Regional Medical Center. It’s actually a much smaller chain than CHS, with 28 hospitals in seven states. However, Arizona accounts for the bulk of those hospitals.

Banner is strongest in the Valley, where it dominates the healthcare marketplace.

The company also has a health plan with some 300,000 members, making it a major player in the Arizona health-

care market from the insurance side as well. It’s one of the largest non-profit healthcare chains in the country, with 45,000 employees. It is now the largest private employer in Arizona.

University of Arizona connection

The merger with the University of Arizona Health Systems gave the chain some of the most prestigious, research-oriented hospitals in the region — particularly the former University of Arizona Medical Center, with its world-renowned heart transplant center and the deep research ties with professors from the U of A medical school. The University of Arizona also has deep roots in rural medicine, with many initiatives to train doctors for rural areas and advanced training programs in cutting edge medicine — including the revolutionary advances in telemedicine that could play such a role in the future of medical care in small communities like Payson.

The Banner website notes that

• See Merger, page 3

Payson Roundup Progress 2015

3

Merger will transform health care systems in Rim Country an extension of its lease or a chance to buy the hospital outright. However, MHA board members decided it was in the community’s best interest to not approve the lease extension, despite the major improvements in the hospital’s capabilities and financial stability under CHS’s direction.

The hospital offers an array of services including cardiology, general surgery, internal medicine, plastic surgery, pulmonology, orthopedics, oncology and other specialties. The hospital also offers a full range of imaging and diagnostic tools, including MRIs, telemedicine, nuclear medicine, X-rays and others. However, even basic services like X-rays cost far more locally than in the Valley.

The deal will ultimately give Banner control of the major source of medical care in the region, without direct ownership of the hospital by MHA as per the terms of the current lease. On the other hand, the deal will also turn MHA into a major foundation, with an enormously increased ability to fund local health and education initiatives.

From page 2 Banner Telehealth has pioneered systems in which patients in one area can consult in real time with specialists far away. Those specialists can instantly look at test results and interact with the patient to do checkups and make a diagnosis with the help of a specially trained medical technician or nurse who can operate the diagnostic instruments and technical equipment that provides the real time connection.

Banner Health provides $153 million annually in charity care, $227 million in other unreimbursed care for various public programs, $23 million annually in medical education, $11 million in medical research and $520 million worth of discounted services to Medicare patients, according to the company’s website.

Why MHA board picked Banner

MHA board members said a variety of factors prompted them to finally select Banner. The healthcare company’s promise to invest $25 million in new facilities and services over the next few years, played a key role. But so did Banner’s reputation for quality care, nonprofit status and connection to cutting edge innovations and research.

Banner committed to provide key services in town rather than merely referring patients to facilities in the Valley. However, it also had the expertise and connections to make Payson a hub for a telemedicine approach. “This step provides an outline to deliver the advanced positive healthcare outcomes we want in Rim Country,” said Gary Cordell, MHA vice president. Payson Mayor Kenny Evans, the MHA president, expressed appreciation for the contributions of Community Health Systems over the past 18 years in improving health care and stabilizing the financial condition of the hospital. However, he said, “After evaluating our mission and vision for Payson, we believe this board decision represents a powerful and positive step forward for all of Rim Country.”

Banner has operated a clinic near the hospital in Payson for 20 years. Becky Kuhn, executive vice president for community delivery at Banner Health, said “We will look forward to an opportunity to grow our presence in Payson, and bring the benefits of our infrastructure of innovative clinical care and technology to this region.”

Banner officials said the company will extend job offers to all qualified staff now working at the hospital and work to avoid any interruption of services.

Banner has scored as a top performing health system based on data compiled by Truven Health Analytics (formerly Thomson Reuters). The analysis found higher survival rates and fewer complications systemwide than comparable hospitals.

The deal will turn MHA into a major charitable foundation, with a hefty endowment to support community causes — including the crusade to

MHA transformed into major charity

The Native Air medical ambulance service connects Rim Country to medical centers in the Valley.

A planned merger between Mogollon Health Alliance and Banner Health Systems will now connect the region to the leading healthcare provider in Arizona — which also operates the University of Arizona’s prestigious medical system. build a university campus in Payson. Reportedly, MHA and the emerging MHA Foundation is considering fronting the $4.64 million needed to buy a 253-acre Forest Service parcel and complete the environmental mitigation as a site for a university.

Banner will operate medical center

The arrangement will bring to an end MHA’s sole ownership of the largest medical facility in Gila County. Technically, MHA is setting up the new foundation and will merge its core Medical Center Assets with Banner Health Systems. But Banner will gain effective control over all aspects of the operations of the hospital, contingent on its various commitments to improve infrastructure and services specified in the merger agreement and the Payson Medical Cooperation Agreement.

The CHS contract gave it the first right of refusal should MHA decide to sell rather than lease the facility. However, the merger means MHA isn’t technically selling the hospital, although control of operations shifts to Banner.

The system could connect Rim Country patients to specialized care for things like heart surgery and complex diseases while minimizing the need to travel to specialists.

The alliance with Banner Health Systems also brings a connection to the University of Arizona, which recently struck a deal to let Banner take over its huge healthcare network in return for major investments and the assumption of debt.

The University of Arizona has focused on such care and on improving care in traditionally underserved rural areas. Gila County qualifies as a med-

PREMIER COLLISION CENTER

ically underserved area, with shortages of not only specialists but dangerous shortages of primary care doctors like pediatricians and obstetricians.

MHA has pushed aggressively for federal grants to offer telemedicine services in the region. The alliance with Banner Health Systems, with its deep connections to the University of Arizona, could boost that effort.

The press release announcing the agreement stressed that Banner had pledged to add services, including telehealth services. “It is Banner’s intent to keep Payson patients in this community for care whenever possible, using advanced technology to bring specialty care to us,” according to the release.

Banner takes over U of A health system

The University of Arizona healthcare system, which includes one of the leading heart transplant programs in the nation, was suffering a $66 million loss on revenues of $1.3 billion. That coupled with reduced and uncertain state funding for education, prompted the U of A to accept an offer from Banner to pay off $146 million in accumulated debt, provide $500 million for capital projects over the next five years and create a $300 million endowment to fund clinical research, according to a Feb. 26 article on the merger published in “Modern Healthcare.”

Banner commands 43 percent of the market in Phoenix. With the U of A merger, an estimated 82 percent of the state’s population will live within range of a Banner facility.

Community Health Systems reportedly bid for

MHA has played a leading role in many community efforts, including the drive to bring a dialysis unit to Payson, scholarships for local students, help in funding clinics and covering medical bills, providing technology support for Payson schools, boosting the Internet speeds in town, developing medical training programs, providing EKGs and medical training tools to the fire department and other agencies and corporations in the region.

MHA also initially allowed the Rim Country Educational Foundation to get up and running by using MHA’s status as a well-established and stable 401c3 charity. In January, MHA formalized the relationship by filing papers that made the Educational Foundation a subsidiary of MHA, with a board approved by MHA. The Foundation now has a deal with the Rim Country Educational Alliance to provide money to buy the land for a four-year university in Payson. The Foundation will end up with a half-interest in the land. The Foundation will likely ultimately transfer that ownership interest to a not-yet-established Special Interest Entity, which will first develop, then operate the campus and ancillary facilities. The current plan calls for the Alliance to ultimately return the front money to the Foundation, which would then use it to fund the Aspire Foundation, which will provide scholarships and other assistance to ensure students have a much lower cost to attend the Payson campus compared to other state-operated university campuses in Arizona.

The money realized from the merger with Banner will allow MHA to dramatically expand its efforts to support healthcare and education charities in the community. MHA has already applied for and received federal grants to improve high-speed wireless operations and place laptop computers in classrooms throughout the region, including on the various school sites.

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Payson Roundup Progress 2015

4

Pine, Strawberry residents seek greater control Water supply clears way to renewed growth by

Teresa McQuerrey

roundup staff reporter

Pine Strawberry residents are ready to take the reins and drive future development in their communities.

No one with authority in Gila County has given a formal go-ahead, but Chris Walsh, who is leading the effort, said he feels there has been enough positive feedback to move forward.

He said the first time advocates presented the idea to county officials, they suggested the group work on proving a design review committee was needed. More recently he has had the impression the planning authorities for the county accept that it has to be done.

P/S residents have already volunteered and created a draft design review document.

Walsh said many experienced, enthusiastic people want to help serve on a design review committee to provide advice to the county planning committee and supervisors.

“We have some great resources,” he said.

He said the group, informal as it is, has researched successful design review for small towns in California and New England and studied the Globe-Miami group as a model.

The California and New England communities have done a good job protecting small, mostly tourist areas.

Based on a survey circulated in 2014, residents would like to see developers build public parks, independently owned lodgings, bike/ horse rental businesses, public parking/rest stops, and outdoor/adventure retail stores. A majority of those responding were opposed to any big box store or chain franchise for fast food, restaurants, clothing, drug or convenience stores. Residents were also opposed to having a forest products plant or mill in the communities.

“We want to keep the community from growing out of bounds. If it does, it could complicate traffic, forcing the state to build a bypass. If growth is uncontrolled it could create issues with septic systems. If nothing is done, the repercussions are pretty bad,” Walsh said.

The survey and subsequent push to create a design review committee and development guidelines arose from the community’s uproar over a proposal to open a Dollar General store in Pine. The county community development

staff recommended the Planning and Zoning Commission approve a rezoning request for the proposal. In a matter of days, more than 500 residents from Pine and Strawberry signed petitions against the developer’s request to give the site commercial zoning. Before the commission could take action, the developer withdrew the request.

Pine and Strawberry, sitting along Highway 87 about 15 miles north of Payson, may not be off the beaten path, but they are still great places to get away from hustle and bustle.

Small, quiet and friendly in a wonderfully old-fashioned way, the area offers a variety of home options.

Second-home owners dominate the real estate market, which offers lots of homes in all price ranges nestled in the trees, many with sweeping views of the looming Mogollon Rim. Once beset by water shortages, the community formed a water improvement district and now has an ample supply — a rarity for a rural community anywhere in Arizona.

The topography and the varied building patterns in the course of the community’s long pioneer history has created a mix of homes for vacationers, retirees and year-rounders.

Strawberry has a greater share of ranching properties in the narrow, meadow-graced valley.

The community has many horse properties and also lies along the road that leads to the trailhead of the Highline Trail and Fossil Creek.

Summer festivals, rural ambiance, a mild climate and a state-of-the-art, full-service library add to the popularity of the tiny mountain hamlets.

The two unincorporated communities host numerous festivals that attract throngs of visitors as well as summer and full-time residents who savor the small-town camaraderie and cultural heritage.

Festivities kick off in May and continue through the end of the year with holiday celebrations. Anchoring the events are the decades-old Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day arts and crafts festivals that draw hundreds of visitors from around the state.

The Strawberry Patchers’ Quilt Festival is also a popular summer attraction.

While the Fire on the Rim Mountain Bike Race in September is relatively new, it is growing in popularity and has become an attractive stop

on the state’s cycling circuit. Held in September, the race includes 15-, 30- and 45-mile events on high country trails. A beer garden, food wagons, auctions, spaghetti dinner, kids race, bands and camping add to the overall ambiance.

Newcomers are also drawn to the two towns because of their location near the C.C. Cragin Reservoir (formerly Blue Ridge) northeast of Strawberry off State Route 87. It’s a popular spot for trout fishing, boating, camping and stargazing.

Also in the two mountain towns, the Historic Walking Tour, Pine-Strawberry Museum and the presence of the many original log and rock cabins, provide residents, both new and old, with a connection to the pioneers who settled the area in the mid-1800s.

Some of the old buildings have been transformed into antique stores, cafés and gift shops that are popular draws among visitors and part- and full-time residents. Among the pioneer homes that have been renovated is the popular Randall House that sits in the middle of Pine.

Years ago it was transformed into a restaurant that serves up unique breakfasts, quiches, juicy burgers and creative salads.

Pine and Strawberry are a retiree’s dream and a vacationer’s haven, partly due to the mild year-round climate in which the winter lows hover around 23 degrees and the summer highs reach 92 degrees.

The temperatures are cool enough in the summer to spend the entire day outside. While snow occasionally drapes the towns in the winter, it is usually short-lived.

The two towns, located just above 5,500 feet in elevation, are located underneath the Mogollon Rim in the largest stand of towering ponderosa pine trees in the world.

Today, Pine and Strawberry have a yearround population of about 4,000 people, but it can more than double in the spring and summer when heat-weary, desert dwellers eager to escape the Valley’s searing temperatures flock to the two towns.

The community is served by a K-8 school; the Senior Citizens Affairs Foundation, which offers dine-in and Meals on Wheels programs and operates a thrift store; the Isabelle Hunt Memorial Library; and numerous community groups.

Pine hosts an array of summer festivals and events. Now that the community has secured a plentiful water supply, it has rid itself of a long-standing growth moratorium for lack of water hookups.

Verde River communities parlay water into a lifestyle by

banks of the East Verde draws recreational crowds.

Teresa McQuerrey

roundup staff reporter

A collection of small communities dot the Tonto National Forest north of Payson. These include Mesa del Caballo and East Verde Estates, Beaver Valley, Flowing Springs and Whispering Pines.

East Verde and Whispering Pines grew up along the East Verde River, tucked out of the way amongst the junipers, sycamores and cottonwoods.

The subdivisions offer streamfront lots and a rural lifestyle at a surprisingly affordable price 10 minutes outside of Payson.

The subdivisions mingle a core of year-round residents, with retirement and vacation homeowners.

The year-round residents give each community an intimate, cohesive feel, but the population swells in the summer with grandchildren, second-home owners and renters.

The communities line both sides of the East Verde River, with its swimming holes and pools stocked with trout all summer long. The Salt River Project now augments the flow of the river with water from the C.C. Cragin (formerly Blue Ridge) Reservoir, doubling or tripling the natural, spring-fed flow.

East Verde Estates lies along the East Verde River and a canyon topped by beautiful limestone rock formations. About a

Houston Mesa communities

Pete Aleshire/Roundup

The East Verde River nourishes a string of communities, including East Verde Estates. third of the lots remain undeveloped, but unlike many other rural communities in the area, second-home owners account for only about 28 percent of the nearly 200 homes.

The little subdivision grew from one of the original homesteads in the area and once provided the setting for a ranch run by several Tonto Apache families.

The community includes vacation rentals, a popular bed and breakfast, great fishing and swimming holes — all seven miles from the region’s employment center in Payson.

Surprisingly moderate in price, the homes offer rare riverfront property in a desert state, lying only 100 miles from the fifth largest city in the country.

The nearby community of Flowing Springs offers similar advantages, but it’s much smaller, more expensive and more dominated by vacation homes.

The community lies down Flowing Springs Road, which also offers some of the best camping and fishing spots in Rim Country. The road ends at a gate, which protects Flowing Springs’ residents from traffic when the road hugging the

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Mesa del Caballo, while not in the town limits of Payson, is the closest of these communities to the north of the town.

Sitting on a mesa overlooking the East Verde between Beaver Valley and Payson, the unincorporated community offers some of the least expensive housing in the region in a rural setting.

Plagued by water shortages in recent years, the community has obtained access to water from the pending Blue Ridge pipeline from the C.C. Cragin Reservoir. The arrangement has already eliminated the water shortages and water hauling charges that once bedeviled the community. That should clear the way for build-out development of the unincorporated community and bolster property values.

Additionally, the Town of Payson Water Department is building a $7 million water treatment plant adjacent to the community to filter the reservoir water so that it does not have a negative impact on the town’s existing water lines and to divert a portion of the new water to irrigate the golf courses of Chaparral Pines and The Rim Club when it is not needed by residents.

The roughly 800 properties in Mesa del offer an array of condi-

Beaver Valley

A friendly, small-town intimate community, Beaver Valley has surprisingly affordable streamfront property and its own water company and fire department.

The East Verde River runs through the middle of the community, in a stretch of stream with reliable flow thanks to underground rock formations. The community dates back to one of the first homesteads in the region and once even had its own little, tourist-oriented small gauge railway. It’s about eight miles from Payson on Houston Mesa Road and sits almost on top of stocked fishing holes and popular camping, hiking and picnicking areas.

The subdivision has a grassy playground for children — often the grandchildren of longtime residents or the children of visitors enjoying an old-time vacation.

At the end of August each year the community celebrates Beaver Valley Day to raise funds for its small fire department. The event includes great food for both breakfast and lunch, lots of activ-

ities and entertainment.

Whispering Pines

It’s easy to miss this little community completely, since most of the homes are nestled in the trees facing the East Verde River. Strung out along Houston Mesa Road, Whispering Pines has only a handful of community gathering spots. Mostly, it consists of second homes and retirement hideouts oriented toward the trout-stocked creek.

The stream has been augmented in recent years by water released into the headwaters of the East Verde from the C.C. Cragin Reservoir atop the Rim. This often triples the natural, summer flow.

Dominated by vacation and second-home ownership patterns, the community lies about 15 miles from Payson on the well-maintained Houston Mesa Road. The unique homes are tucked in among the trees fronting the creek. The homes are both further away from shopping and other amenities than most of the other creekside communities.

The community has its own volunteer fire department and a cozy, intimate feeling. Many families have owned land and homes there for generations.

The area was the site of one of the original homesteads in the region and maintains a remote, western feel.

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Payson Roundup Progress 2015

5

Star Valley celebrates its first decade by

Andy McKinney

star valley town councilor

The 2,300 proud citizens of Star Valley mark the achievement-filled decade since the town founding in 2005 in an attempt to secure the safe and secure flow of vital water to the community.

An anniversary party is tentatively planned for the fall of 2015.

The citizens, their elected leaders and the tiny, hard-working staff of the Town of Star Valley have made great strides. Star Valley sits on the edge of securing safe, reliable water for the next century. And the Town of Star Valley, due to the wisdom of the citizenry and the diligence of the town government, has managed this admirable goal without incurring a single dollar of debt.

Proud citizens indeed.

The Town of Star Valley purchased an existing water system, which town officials judged could be made to better serve the citizens. The two existing wells have now grown to four, with more wells in the planning stage, some nearing the acquisition stage. The two original wells have been improved to increase water flow. With the increased flow from the improved wells and the two new wells, the total amount of water available to the citizens of the Town of Star Valley has already doubled. More new water storage tanks and new wells are on the way and will be in place later in 2015.

The Town of Star Valley intends to secure adequate water resources for the citizens for the next century.

Streets, roads and culverts do not have the same emotional appeal as water issues, but they do require the attention of the Town of Star Valley and they get it. Early on, town officials put

the paving of town-owned roads high on the priority list. That emphasis continues today. The town has paved nearly all town-owned roads and even provided street signs. The town’s goal of ‘no pot holes’ seems within grasp. A major project just off Moonlight will vastly improve access to one town neighborhood at a substantial cost. Road, ditch and culvert improvements and maintenance advance on a continual basis, much to the benefit of the citizens.

The Town of Star Valley finds particular pride in the 2014 opening of the B. Diane McDaniel Community Park. The town has already sponsored or facilitated a number of events there in the few months since the park’s grand opening. These events include a celebration of small business and a welcoming of the famous Hashknife Pony Express, which trots right through the Town of Star Valley. Improvements to the park site include picnic tables, grills for cooking, benches, several covered ramadas, a playground for small children, a horseshoe pit and a volleyball court. Further improvements are in the planning stages and include grassy areas and converting an old aviary on the property into a covered, large-group picnic area.

A quarter of the population of the Town of Star Valley is of retirement age, some well into that golden stage of life. The town takes great satisfaction in its ability to fund a Meals on Wheels program. Aligned with Meals on Wheels is the Senior Ridership Program, to which the town also contributes funds.

The Town of Star Valley has accomplished a good deal in its decade of life.

Star Valley in the past year has opened its first-ever park, continued to improve and expand its water system and still managed to protect a sizable reserve fund. The town incorporated a decades ago, in part out of concerns that neighboring Payson would siphon off its groundwater. But now Star Valley and Payson have struck a water agreement.

The town consistently resists the natural impulse of governments everywhere to sink into debt — quite the opposite the Town of Star Valley’s financial

resources include a substantial cash reserve as officials hold firmly to the old adage about saving for a rainy day. The people of Star Valley insist upon it.

The officials of Star Valley are discussing a 10th anniversary celebration at the B. Diane McDaniel Community Park sometime in the fall of 2015.

Tonto Basin school changes leadership, testing Tonto Basin Elementary School has gone through many changes and improvements in staffing and instructional strategies this year.

Under the guidance of Superintendent Keith Greer, the school leadership has transitioned from a principal to a lead teacher position held by veteran teacher Lanae Laurias who has taught in the school for more than 24 years. by

Lanae Laurias

special to the roundup

Last year, Tonto Basin was awarded a letter grade of “A,” and we are dedicated to doing what it takes to be one of the best small schools in the state.

Our entire instructional staff is working diligently to ready Tonto Basin’s students for the new AzMERIT assessments.

Tonto Basin is committed to providing RTI, or Response to Intervention, so that we ensure the early identification and sup-

port of students with learning and behavioral needs.

Instructional delivery is concentrated on the College and Career Readiness standards.

We have purchased and utilized Galileo, as well as a variety other instructional materials and strategies, in order to better prepare our students for the new testing format.

In November, the community of Tonto Basin voted to expand our governing board from three members to five. Our governing board is now comprised of Teri Cline, president; Dorothy France, vice president; Jarrett Cline, Laura Hartnell and Crystal Slaughter, members. We look forward to their support and guidance as we work toward the common goal of making Tonto Basin Elementary School the best it can be.

We have been working very closely with School Resource Officer Gary Eggert and Pine Strawberry Fire Marshal Mike Reichling in order to update

Pete Aleshire/Roundup

Tonto Basin School’s Halloween bash draws people from the whole community.

and fine-tune our Emergency Operations Plan.

Deputy Eggert has been in the

classrooms and assisting teachers with law-related education and has played a vital role in assessing the campus for potential improvements in order to ensure the safety and security of our students. On that same note, the school has installed some new security features, including a comprehensive lock and hardware change on all doors as well as the installation of a coded security door and camera surveillance to facilitate a single point of entry. We plan to implement more changes as we review our needs.

The school also received a facelift this year when our building was given a fresh coat of paint. With the help of the School Facility Board, a brand new water storage tank was installed on the property, and our roof was improved to provide better insulation and prevent any leaks.

Students from Tonto Basin Elementary School have done very well in some local academic

competitions.

Alayna Dinges came in second place at the Gila County Spelling Bee. Three other students, Autumn Cline, Arena Haught and Kinsey Speer, qualified to attend the Arizona State Science and Engineering Fair in April. We are delighted with their performances.

Many of our students have also been very involved in our athletic programs. We have offered students the chance to participate in cross-country, volleyball, and basketball. We are proud of the sportsmanship and efforts put forth by those involved. Our entire student body is now preparing for our annual school Field Day to be held the last Friday of April.

As we did last year, Tonto Basin used funds generated from our annual Halloween Carnival and the Lorraine Cline Memorial Fund to purchase new playground equipment. Our preschool now sports a very bright, colorful

and cheerful structure.

A crew of parents and community volunteers assembled the equipment on the Sunday after it arrived so that children could enjoy it on Monday morning.

We took our entire student body to the Renaissance Festival in March. Staff, students and parents enjoyed the various STEM activities provided during the Student Days.

Tonto Basin is committed to rise to the challenges of today, to do everything it takes to prepare our students for the future, yet we are devoted to keeping our longstanding traditions alive. We are a proud community who joins together in the face of adversity and champions our successes.

As this school year comes to a close, we will be sending six young men and women on to Payson High School for the next step in their educational career.

We wish them the best of luck in all of their future endeavors.

Progress slow but steady in alluring streamside communities by

Teresa McQuerrey

roundup staff reporter

Progress in the Rim communities of Tonto Village and Christopher Creek is slow, but when it happens the residents are appreciative.

Tonto Village residents are benefiting from a new bridge constructed in 2014.

Built on the Control Road at Tonto Village, the reconstruction consisted of erecting a single-span bridge, roadway realignment, raising the profile grade and graded ditches. The existing roadway was obliterated and the existing crossing removed. The channel that flows under the proposed bridge will be re-graded.

The Control Road project also allowed for an improved roadway tie into Johnson Boulevard, which is the main access road to the Tonto Village. A severe skew angle at this location was not safe due to the limited sight distance to oncoming traffic. The new alignment alleviated this problem and increased safety.

Residents of Tonto Village are still waiting for the Hellsgate Fire District to get its new fire station.

The project has been in the works for years. Site work was done early in 2014, but little more has happened.

The Hellsgate Fire Department was to use money for the urgently needed new station generated from sending local crews to fight wild land fires for the U.S. Forest Service.

The new, 5,000-square-foot building will replace a small,

Pete Aleshire/Roundup

Tonto Village, Christoper Creek and other unincorporated communities lying along soothing streams like Haigler Creek enjoyed improvements in roads and fire department facilities, but also continue to struggle to provide services and cope with the threat of wildfire. deteriorating station just a few blocks away, built in 1982 — mostly without permits.

It is anticipated the metal building will feature five bays, a staff office, fitness room, living quarters and a training/community room. The new location will also allow for quicker emergency access to the Control Road, the main artery to nearby subdivisions in the district.

The existing station, a small, bright red building at 151 N. Matthews Lane, will be used as a workshop.

A report on the project made in January 2014 said funding had been secured for the project, but residents have seen no further activity. To help with the effort, the department’s auxiliary, the Fireflies, have established a building fund and continue rais-

ing money to help Hellsgate staff with training costs and more.

About the communities

The secluded forest life and can-do attitude that drew so many early residents to Rim Country still reign supreme in Christopher Creek and Tonto Village and their neighboring subdivisions tucked throughout the Tonto National

Forest.

The two forested communities provide both a gateway to the towering, forested expanses atop the Mogollon Rim and easy access to Tonto Creek.

The little community of Christopher Creek lies tucked in among the ponderosa pines about 17 miles east of Payson, near the base of the 1,500-foot-tall ramparts of the Rim. The community includes both high-end mountain homes and modest cabins, many fronting on Christopher Creek. The community also attracts many vacationing families, eager to spend time in the forest with streams where kids can hunt crayfish and splash about all day long.

Upstream the creek harbors popular camping areas, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department stocks the little creek throughout the summer.

Most of the homes are owned by retirees and vacation homeowners. The average house price remains well above the average for the region.

Residents have a church, a little store, rental cabins and two popular restaurants — but mostly lots of peace and quiet.

Just down the road lies Tonto Village, with much lower home prices, a mix of housing and a larger percentage of year-round residents. Tonto Village has a bar and a store and lots of wildlife — including bears that sometimes make the rounds to see if they can find any untended trash bins. Residents report frequent

sightings of elk, deer, javelina and other wildlife. The community lies along the Control Road, a scenic dirt road that connects Tonto Village to Pine and Strawberry.

Both communities lie close to Tonto Creek — one of the most popular fishing areas in the state.

The spring that gushes from the base of the Rim flows through a state fish hatchery, which supplies most of the rainbow trout stocked into the region’s lakes and rivers all summer.

On Tonto Creek sits Kohl’s Ranch, a historic lodge and restaurant that offers summer rentals — and time shares. A road hugging the stream is lined with more expensive, custom homes with an access to the creek almost unique in the state. Camp Tontozona lies at the end of that road. In August, the site is home to the first week of practice for Arizona State University football team.

The cluster of settlements lies about 20 minutes from Payson and perhaps 15 minutes from where Highway 87 tops out on the Mogollon Rim. That provides easy access to a string of trout-stocked lakes atop the Rim, some of the best camping spots in the state and year-round recreation.

The elevation is about the same as Pine and Strawberry, which means these communities get a lot more winter than Payson or Star Valley. Pines line the streams rather than the cottonwoods and sycamores found along the East Verde River on the outskirts of lower-elevation Payson.

Payson Roundup Progress 2015

6

University advocates now poised to buy land, strike deal

Still, the university plan has suffered setbacks and confusion in the past year.

The U.S. Forest Service won approval for a direct sale of the property back in December of 2013, prompting many people to expect the land sale in the spring of 2014, signing of a university partner within months and the start of construction on the campus early in 2015.

Instead, it took many months for the Forest Service to complete an independent appraisal and then months more to win regional and national approvals of that appraisal. All told, getting the final approvals to actually sell the land to the Alliance took more than two years and almost $1 million from the point the Alliance started pushing for the sale. That included some $400,000 for an environmental assessment, which found no problems save several scatterings of 600-yearold pottery, suggesting a seasonal camp.

The Forest Service will require the Alliance to spend between $200,000 and $500,000 to excavate around several of those sites to conserve whatever they find and make sure there’s not a significant site beneath the surface.

But just when success seemed within grasp, an unexpected civil war broke out within the ranks of the backers of the university plan.

appraisal came in lower than expected.

But the search for an alternative site created divisions between the Alliance led

by Drury and both Payson Mayor Kenny Evans and the Rim Country Educational Foundation, which had raised money for all the work done so far.

The rift gaped open publicly when Drury expressed doubts about the Foundation’s declaration it would raise the money to buy the Forest Service site itself. By the time the smoke cleared, Drury and two other Alliance board members had resigned and the Payson council elected not to reappoint then-chairwoman Mary Kastner when her term expired in December.

The Payson and Star Valley councils then appointed new members to the Alliance board, who quickly mended fences with the Foundation, which by then had the money to buy the property. The money would presumably come from a combination of private donors and the Mogollon Health Alliance, which will have access to millions of dollars when it concludes its merger deal with Banner Health Systems. The current plan calls for the Foundation to advance the money for the land purchase and early development work, which the Alliance would return when it accesses a promised line of credit from National Standard, an investment group representing a national coalition of insurance companies. The Foundation would then use the money it got back to support the Aspire Foundation, dedicated to raising money for scholarships and other projects to reduce students’ cost of attending the Payson campus.

The Alliance board agreed to transfer half interest in the land to the Foundation to guarantee the future close relationship between the two groups. Set up to raise the money for the university, the Foundation will likely dissolve once the campus is built.

Dissension in the ranks

Complicated ownership plans

It started when then Alliance Chairman Steve Drury decided to explore alternate sites for the university last year. He commissioned an engineering study to compare various sites in case the Forest Service site proved too expensive or time consuming to acquire. That analysis focused mostly on a site that would have used most of the Payson Golf Course at the end of Main Street. However, Drury eventually returned the focus to the Forest Service site, especially when the

The ultimate ownership structure for the university and the spin-off facilities like a retail area, dorms, research park, conference hotel and other related businesses remains undecided. The plan calls for the establishment of a Master Special Purpose Entity (SPE), tailored to generate tax benefits for the investors.

The Master SPE might turn out to be the Alliance board. But it might also be some other group not yet established — perhaps even made up of the overall

From page 2 tion in a small community without the overwhelming cultural shock of moving from the reservation to a place like Tempe or Tucson.

Backers of the university plan still expect ASU will end up as the university partner once the Alliance buys the land. However, some now speculate that perhaps the Banner connection could result in the campus including programs operated by both ASU and the University of Arizona.

Setbacks and surprises

money advanced by the Foundation, a whole series of steps will have to take place quickly.

First, the Alliance will hire a contractor to excavate at least one site where the initial environmental assessment uncovered pottery shards. The site sits on a boulder-strewn ridge, which probably served as a seasonal camp centuries ago for people who occupied the area, before leaving in the face of a long drought in the 1200s or 1300s. People familiar with the preliminary findings say there’s no indication the site harbors a major ruins complex, like the already discovered and partially excavated Goat Camp Ruins just down the Tyler Parkway from the university site.

Consultants have estimated it will cost $220,000 or so to excavate the site if they don’t find anything unexpected. If something more substantial turns up, the cost could rise to $540,000. As a result, the Forest Service wants the Alliance to put up the full $540,000 upon entering escrow to buy the property. The Alliance can’t take title to the property until the field work is finished and at least a preliminary report written.

Archaeological mitigation eyed

developer and manager for the project.

The organizational plan then calls for a series of specialized SPEs — one to own and operate the dorms, one the university buildings, one for each of several other functions. So if a hotel chain built a conference hotel, one of the SPEs would effectively serve as the landlord and pass the revenues along to the Master SPE. The various subsidiary entities would generate revenue to keep costs as low as possible for students attending the university.

‘Moving forward quickly’

Alliance board chairman Jim Lyon commented, “Our focus is on moving forward quickly. We now have the means to do it. The structure may change, but we’ll figure that out as we go.”

Foundation president Richard

Johnson said the Foundation has the money to immediately put up $540,000 to start required archaeological work and will have the $4.1 million purchase price by the close of escrow — from the Mogollon Health Alliance and other sources.

Healing the rift between the Alliance and the Foundation got the project back on track and prompted the Forest Service to move forward with the sales agreement. The rift baffled many residents, who didn’t fully understand the distinction between the two groups — one set up to raise money for the university project, the other set up to buy the land and approve the plans and contracts.

All parties said they are now focused on moving the project forward as quickly as possible.

Once the Alliance enters escrow with

Tonto National Forest Supervisor Neil Bosworth has been approached about whether the Alliance could agree to leave the ridgetop site undisturbed and instead invest the $220,000 in excavating Goat Camp Ruins, a much more significant site already owned by the Town of Payson. That arrangement could cut weeks or months off the escrow process, while providing protection for a much more important ancient ruins complex.

Bosworth has said he will investigate that idea, but doesn’t know if the Forest Service has the legal ability to approve such a mitigation effort, given federal laws requiring it to take into account protection of historical sites whenever it sells land.

If the original plan for the archaeological field work holds, it could take as much as two months to do the field work — assuming the diggers don’t find a buried village. In that case, the whole process will find itself crowding the July expiration of the appraisal.

But if things finally go smoothly, the Alliance could hold title to the land by July, clearing the way to strike a deal with a university partner later this year.

So, like we said: This year. Definitely this year. After all, what could happen?

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PAYSON ROUNDUP

ECONOMY Rim Country’s economy takes flight

Progress 2015

7

Photographer DJ Craig captured this image of a bald eagle at Green Valley Park. Like the national bird, Rim Country’s economy is finally making a come-back. Pete Aleshire captured the image below of the Indian Rodeo Association event in Payson, one of several rodeos staged each year.

Photo courtesy of DJ Craig

The Mogollon Monster Mudder has brought a lot of attention to the area, according to Parks, Recreation and Tourism Director Cameron Davis.

Web presence, events boost Payson’s visibility by

Michele Nelson

roundup staff reporter

When Cameron Davis, Town of Payson’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism director, first came to Payson seven years ago, the area had no Web presence or a real plan for marketing.

To the town’s credit, it did have signature events such as the rodeo, the Fourth of July fireworks and the Electric Light Parade in December.

Davis and his team have turned that around.

“We’ve won the best website award from the Office of Tourism,” said Davis. “Last year we had 350,000 visitors and more than 5 million views.”

(To see the website, go to: PaysonRimCountry. com).

The added exposure has kick-started the media attention.

“The Town of Payson was featured in 450 newspaper, radio and media outlets,” said Davis.

Those include local media such as KMOG and the Roundup, but also Phoenix and state media such as the East Valley Tribune, KNIX radio, Phoenix Magazine, Fountain Hills Times, Channel 3, Fox 10, Experience Arizona, Arizona Tourist News, True West Magazine and the White Mountain Independent.

On May 14, Payson will appear on Fox 10’s “Zip Trip.” Davis said the group would arrive in town before the sun goes up at 4:30 a.m. and wrap up by 9:30 a.m.

Zip Trip films its entire morning show live on location. “They cover local restaurants and busi-

ness,” said Davis. “The rodeo is that day and our mud run. Junction 87 will be there to talk about the concert series. They will want a crowd.”

Another TV show that has already come through town is the “Fireball TV Series.”

The crews follow 80 cars as they race across the country on a scavenger hunt. Davis said Payson was one of their stops.

“They are all retired CEOs and celebrities,” said Davis. “One of them drove the actual Delorian from ‘Back to the Future.’ Another drove the ‘Batman’ car they used in a ‘Batman’ movie.”

The Monster Mudder has brought a lot of attention to the area said Davis.

“We’ve been on Arizona Central, WMI Central and the Mud Run Guide.com,” he said.

He said the Mudder garnered Payson international attention when they filmed the whole event last year and put it on the website — especially since the obstacles truly challenged the group’s best runner and the volunteers were the nicest of any race he had attended.

“He talked about, in his course review, that the parking lot was nice and big and how the volunteers were the best he has seen so energetic and welcoming,” said Davis. “The obstacles being very good and tough because very rarely does he get out of breath — and he was out of breath.”

And this year had an added bonus with the float in the Fiesta Bowl Parade and a prominent ad in a Super Bowl publication.

With all this exposure, Davis said he can barely keep the brochures on the shelves.

“We have had more people come from outside of Payson into our front door than we have ever,” said Davis. “I can’t keep stuff on the shelves — the chamber is saying the same thing.”

One of the biggest Rim Country year-round draws is the Tonto Natural Bridge.

“I just spoke with Steve Jacoboski at the Tonto Natural Bridge — they have had the most visitors this year,” said Davis.

Yet Davis has more planned.

Sporting events such as the End of the Summer Madness Softball Tournament, (in the past the town hosted 38 teams) and Camp Tontozona with the ASU football team.

“Last year we handed out 4,000 goodie bags and ran out,” he said.

One benefit to this year’s Tontozona Camp, it won’t fall on the same weekend as the rodeo.

“To spread them out will be very good,” said Davis.

Of course the ever-popular July 4th fireworks will happen and this year it falls on a Saturday, said Davis with a slight twinkle in his eye.

He said the Saturday night concerts at Green Valley Park have steadily increased in size.

But Davis attributes the success of getting Payson’s name out there to he and his staff’s ability to outwork the big guys, such as Sedona, Flagstaff and the White Mountains.

“We have had a great staff,” he said. “The staff that I have employed here — there’s only nine of us and we’re involved in 127 events … we’re involved in all of them big and small.”

Photographer Brooke Kubby captured this image of Payson’s July 4 celebration.

Payson Roundup ECONOMY Progress 2015

8

Region’s economy poised to breakout by

Alexis Bechman

roundup staff reporter

With a huge boost in new home construction and new businesses opening in Payson last year, officials say the area is definitely in the midst of a turnaround.

But like most cities across the country, Payson’s recovery from the recession has been slow, but steady.

On the horizon for 2015 and the next few years are several subdivisions, a four-year college and more businesses.

Economic development officials predict 2015 will bring more growth than any year since the onset of the recession back in 2007.

Bobby Davis, Payson’s economic director, said he is working to both shore up existing businesses and attract additional growth. Projects in the pipeline include not only the 6,000-student university, but small manufacturing firms and an industrial park with higher paying jobs. The new businesses should bolster Payson’s sales tax receipts and provide year-round activity to help smooth out the town’s otherwise tourist-dependent economy.

The area already holds two-dozen small manufacturers, including HPR Ammunition; Rim Country Manufacturing, which builds tripods and gun parts; Urban Survivalist food products and Trident Winery.

Davis is in talks with two other small manufacturers interested in expanding to Payson, including one out of California and another from North Dakota.

Thanks to a recent influx of new chain stores and restaurants, the town is starting to look busy again as empty storefronts fill up, with even a few new businesses planned.

Rim Country’s economy continues to register strong gains, with town revenues growing in almost every category.

Sales tax receipts increased twice as fast at the statewide average in 2014 — topping 8 percent. Building permits and plan review fees by would-be developers and builders jumped by some 60 percent over the previous year, according to town financial reports.

With C.C. Cragin Reservoir pipeline bringing the area a guaranteed water supply by 2017, Payson is an attractive place for manufacturers.

Davis said water is a huge selling point. While other towns in the state and country are already struggling to provide an adequate water supply, Payson for the last three decades has had a plan.

When complete, the pipeline will deliver enough water to see Payson’s population expand to 38,000 and still have a cushion to weather droughts and emergencies indefinitely.

New businesses residents could see in 2015 include a three-story hotel Pete Aleshire/Roundup behind Walgreens, a fast food restaurant on the corner of Bonita Street and Rim Country’s economy has perked up in the past year, with new road construction, new bridges, a rise in sales tax Highway 87, a Jimmy John’s sub shop revenue and morale-boosting events like another winning appearance in this year’s Fiesta Bowl Parade. in a new building south of Walmart and a Tractor Supply Company next to Tiny’s Restaurant, which plans to open in September.

In 2014, new businesses included Native Grill & Wings restaurant, Rue21 clothing store, Summit Swirls yogurt shop, Pirate’s Hideaway mini golf, Carl’s Jr., a Starbucks Coffee in Bashas’, Pet Club and the Pinon Cafe.

The town has stepped up efforts to make the planning and building process easier for business owners. Last year the town hired Davis and continues to hold weekly community development meetings where a member of every town department attends to work with new owners.

These meetings not only take away any surprises owners might encounter when they start building, they eliminate the guesswork, he said.

Davis also received grant funding to hold free educational workshops for business owners. Topics include navigating social media, building a marketing plan on a shoestring budget and maximizing profit.

The workshops are a joint venture between the town, Gila County and the Rim Country Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“This is an up and coming area,” Davis said. “And I think 2015 is going to be a very good year for us.”

Economic development director says revival finally here Have you ever felt the positive vibes from a group that can sense great things are about to happen? If not, then you need to get involved with those focused on future business growth in Payson and the Rim Country. If you are reading this, then you may be fortunate enough to live and work in the Rim Country. Do you think others would love living here too? Well, I can answer that question.

Yes, they would if given the chance to work for a successful company, own a home and raise a family.

Business owners and consumers know how difficult the last six years have been. Payson and the Rim Country has seen too many small and large businesses close because of the recession.

During the past year, however, we have begun to bounce back. There are a number of new construction projects including: Griffin’s Propane Inc., Dental Lab Office, Native Grill & Wings, The Sweet Shoppe, Payson Orthodontics, Center Point Dental, a Starbucks kiosk inside Bashas’, Rue21, Pirate’s Hideaway mini golf, Tractor Supply Company, Team CB Chevron, the Pour House, Susie’s Q Barbecue, 87 Cyclery, Trident Winery, Rim Country Cross Fit, Threads, Mt. Cross Lutheran Church and St. Paul’s

By Bobby Davis Payson’s Economic Development Specialist

Episcopal Church.

Around the state, many communities fear for their economic future due to anticipated water shortages, but not Payson. Payson’s leadership had the foresight to plan for the greater Payson area. With an anticipated completion

date in 2017, the C.C. Cragin project will supply the heart of Rim Country an additional 3,500 acre-feet of water annually. This provides the area with a reliable future water supply that will aid in the attraction of businesses and employers. The town is also working with Salt River Project, Bureau of Reclamation, Arizona Department of Water Resources, and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District to assist the Tonto Apache Tribe in securing additional water rights.

In addition to planning for future growth, the town is working with local community partners. The Economic Development office recently teamed up with the Gila County Industrial Development Authority to provide a series of free technical assistance workshops to small-business owners. This partnership grew to include the Rim Country Regional Chamber of Commerce and America’s Small Business Development Center based out of the Gila Community College.

In all, 135 local business owners from the greater Payson area attended the free educational workshops that focused on the growth and success of small businesses in today’s highly competitive

environment. Professional instructors for the workshop series, “Making Sense out of Small Business,” engaged attendees in four, two-hour sessions: Thriving in a Digital World – Navigating Social Media; Build Your Marketing Plan on a Shoestring Budget, The Business Plan; Roadmap to Success; and Real Cash, Real Profit – Analyzing Your Company for Success. Those who attended the workshops reported that the training provided useful information that will help them grow their businesses.

Besides cultivating partnerships, the Economic Development office is in the process of creating a website tailored to economic development. The site will provide business-related information and resources for existing and potential new businesses. A website alone isn’t enough. Sites must have an intelligent component. This defines the next generation of economic development websites, by providing detailed interaction connecting directly on our Web pages.

Now that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, we must begin to plan for the future of Payson and the Rim Country.

We have to decide as a community where we are heading in the next five

years.

When I was young, my father told me, “You can’t be lost if you don’t know where you are going.” Northern Gila County needs to know where it is going.

An updated economic development plan will assist us in identifying target industries and employers that are a good fit for our area. Creating an effective economic development plan needs partners, both citizens and business partners. The plan will provide identifiable goals, set milestones, and provide a means for benchmarking to allow us to adjust our focus as needed. The plan will be a living, breathing document that guides our economic development efforts.

We have some of the most educated people in the world who have chosen to retire in the Rim Country.

Any resident interested in collaborating on this economic development plan should call me at (928) 474-5242 ext. 396 or email econdev@paysonaz. gov. If you are interested in learning more about the progress on the water project, the Town of Payson’s informational video, “C.C. Cragin Project-Water Milestones.” is available on the Town’s website and cable channel 4.

Payson Roundup ECONOMY Progress 2015

Payson Regional Medical Center Payson Regional Medical Center (PRMC) is a 44-bed, acute care hospital committed to providing quality, patient-centered care to Rim Country residents. Comprehensive services include inpatient and outpatient care; diagnostic imaging, emergency medical and surgical care. The medical center also operates a number of clinics offering primary care, obstetric and gynecological care, orthopedic care as well as cardiology, general and vascular surgery.

In late June 2014, Lance Porter was named CEO of the hospital. Mr. Porter’s knowledge and commitment to the community have enhanced the hospital’s goal of increasing local availability of primary and specialty services in addition to helping accelerate the progress made with quality, safety and satisfaction.

For the third year, the Joint Commission named PRMC a top performer on key quality measures.

Approximately one-third of eligible U.S. hospitals received this award, recognizing the work of the medical staff and employees for best practices in patient care. The Joint Commission, the nation’s leading accreditor of health care organizations, collects and analyzes data from thousands of hospitals nationwide, allowing staff to determine and share best practices, as well as monitor hospitals’ progress in incorporating these practices. Hospitals attaining the highest threshold of achievement — at least 95 percent across three rigorous metrics — are honored each

year. PRMC was specifically recognized for excellence in pneumonia and surgical care.

PRMC also retained its Level I Arizona Perinatal Trust Certification.

This voluntary certification program is a quality improvement process that includes matching hospital capabilities and capacity to established guidelines through a self-assessment process and a site visit by a team of peer professionals.

In 2013, the hospital received a Level IV Trauma designation for the emergency department and they have continued to maintain this designation since then.

Recently the hospital purchased a new C-Arm X-ray machine that includes a vascular package with an MTS — Motion Tolerant System. This new machine not only compensates for motion during testing but it also features enhanced resolution for much better quality images. Doctors use this machine for venous reflux studies, vein ablation procedures, peripheral vascular testing and angiography which all have to do with getting blood through the body and back to the heart.

The hospital’s PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) is in the process of being upgraded and a new cardiology package is already operational which supports physicians working with the heart. PET scans are also available every other week.

PRMC invested in three new ultrasound machines over the past year and was able to extend the availability for this type of testing to include early morning, late afternoon and weekend hours to better accommodate patient work schedules. The hospital also invested in a new air purifying respirator for decontamination rooms and new hazardous material suits to help them

respond better in emergencies.

Lithotripsy has been brought back to the Rim Country in the last year.

This technology uses high energy shock waves to break up kidney stones in the kidney, bladder, or ureter (tube that carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder). Lithotripsy allows the stone fragments to more easily pass out of the body.

In the area of medical education, PRMC received full accreditation for the next four years for their continuing medical education program. The

Payson Care Center by

Christy VanderMolen

payson care center

Under the leadership of Jason Norman, executive director, Payson Care Center has increased its contributions to the local community over the last year-and-a-half.

In addition to national causes, which include the American Cancer Society, the Alzheimer’s Association and the United Ostomy Association, Payson Care Center has donated to the Payson Little League, Boy Scouts of America, Rim Country Middle School wrestling team, Payson High School athletics, Payson Food Bank, Payson Rotary, the Payson Rodeo and the Mogollon Health Alliance.

Payson Care Center also donates more than 220 gift bags each month to Meals on Wheels participants and people receiving services from the Pinal Gila County Services for the Aging and Lutheran Social Services. These gift bags include lotions, shampoos, toothpaste and other sundry items.

Additionally, Payson Care Center offers free memory screenings, balance testing and pre-operative ortho workshops to local seniors.

Lisa Schultz, director of rehab services, has presented programs on fall risk prevention to the American Legion, Soroptomist Club, Senior Center, Senior Circle, chamber of commerce, and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. Schultz has also been a guest speaker on the Saturday morning radio show on KMOG. Recently an education event co-sponsored with the Parkinson’s Disease Support Group was held at Payson Care Center. The well attended lecture focused on things to consider when facing a chronic or terminal illness to help maintain a quality of life and plan financially.

For the second year in a row, Payson Care Center in Payson, Arizona, helped sponsor a local Zumbathon.

The event took place at the local senior center on Feb. 7, 2015, in memory of community member Christy Walton.

Walton started the first Zumba classes in Payson, and when she passed away unexpectedly in 2012, Zumba enthusiasts set aside a time each year to get together and take part in the Latin-style workout while supporting different causes.

This year’s two-hour Zumbathon supported the Alzheimer’s Association, a charity that was close to Walton’s heart. Her father had Alzheimer’s disease at the time of her death.

Payson Care Center contributed by covering the cost of the participants’ T-shirts. Three associates also took part in the event: Kathy Vance, social worker; Erica Overton, licensed practical nurse; and Jasmina Brkovic, assistant director of nursing.

“Christy was a wonderful friend, and she inspired so many people,” said Vance. “She brought a great way to exercise to our little community, her classes were always packed and she was so much fun. I’m proud that Payson Care Center helps to sponsor this event.”

9

hospital staff routinely participates in countywide emergency response drills to keep staff skills sharp. Gila County recognized the hospital for their Ebola training program.

Payson Regional Medical Center is a progressive community hospital providing patient focused medical and health services while striving to be the hospital of choice for Rim Country residents.

Currently in the process of transitioning to electronic medical records, the hospital provides online access to medical records through a secure patient

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Payson Subway Payson’s Subway is celebrating its second year in its larger, renovated location. The franchise, in the Bashas’ shopping center, had outgrown its digs some time ago, with customers sometimes filing out the door in line.

Owner and operator Kathy James knew something needed to be done.

James, who has owned a Subway for 23 years, rented out the suite next door and had the walls torn down.

From there, she had the restaurant expanded, going from 900 square feet to 1,600 square feet.

With all the new space, James added more tables and customer restrooms.

In February, operation commenced. All the work paid off with the location named Subway of the Month. James said 89 percent of customer feedback is positive and she credits her staff of 11 for offering exceptional customer service.

Subway offers a variety of sandwiches, dessert, salads, monthly specials, breakfast, $6 combos and soup.

Subway is open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

For more information, call (928) 474-5757.

portal. The individual clinics also offer this convenience for patients.

As an organization, PRMC values, above all else, patient safety, respect for the patient bill of rights, customer service and satisfaction, honesty, integrity, trust, teamwork, fiscal responsibility and continuous quality improvement.

They also support the community of Payson in the way of sponsorships and support for the youth in the area.

Visit www.paysonhospital.com for more information or, to find a physician, visit www.paysondoctors.com.

The Payson Senior Center on Main Street recently changed its name to The Center to better capture its mission, which is to work with people of all ages.

The Center, which celebrates 30 years of servicing the community, is a great place to exercise, listen to music, dance and just have fun.

People of all ages come through The Center every day to say “hello,” ask questions, participate in activities, join support groups and get help.

But The Center is much more.

The Center is a place that facilitates food and transportation programs. Drivers check on homebound residents daily during homemade Meals on Wheels deliveries making sure they are OK. To our seniors who come to The Center there is always a smile and a hug waiting. Facility buses take seniors around town to medical appointments, shopping, beauty appointments and to visit friends, allowing those who do not drive to keep a normal life going.

As one young donor said, “I want to make sure The Center is there when I need it.”

Annually more than 2,000 people come through The Center and more than 40,000 meals are served.

Staff wants to make sure The Center is there for everyone. Staff wants residents to enjoy the facility, but most importantly they want to make sure they help people live independent, quality lives as the years pass. Whether assistance is needed after surgery, driving is no longer possible or it is difficult to complete day-to-day activities, the staff can help.

Trinkets & Treasures is located just next door to The Center. The store offers one-of-a-kind items, including books, art, pottery, music, jewelry, clothing, furniture, dishes and unique finds.

Residents interested in keeping The Center going can volunteer, shop and donate to Trinkets & Treasures, rent the facility, donate monthly, annually or through the legacy giving program. The Center is a private, non-profit 501(c)3 that relies on tax-deductible donations. Government funding is not guaranteed and is dependent on the fiscal and political climate each year.

If you want to make sure these programs stick around, call The Center at (928) 474-4876 to get more information.

Current programs include: Meals on Wheels, transportation, lunches at The Center, bingo, Zumba, yoga, Pilates, ballet, belly dancing, support group for Alzheimer’s caretakers, legal aid, Social Security & Medicare assistance, cards, woodworking, facility rental and catering, ballroom dancing and FUN, FUN, FUN!

Premier Collision Center Premier Collision Center is proud to call itself the premier auto body shops in northern Arizona. With three facilities, Premier Collision in Payson and Latham’s Collision and Campus Collision Centers in Flagstaff, our reputation for quality collision repair is well known throughout the region, said Dan Titterington.

Premier Collision’s goal is to restore every vehicle to pre-collision condition in a reasonable amount of time at a fair and competitive price.

To ensure they meet that goal their facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and body repair technicians and painters undergo training regularly to ensure up-to-date techniques are used to repair vehicles and protect the environment.

We have developed long-standing relationships with multiple insurance companies and continue to attract direct repair options with many more major insurance companies.

When you leave it to Latham’s you can rest easy knowing every detail will be handled in a courteous and professional manner.

At Premier Collision in Payson see Dan Titterington at (928) 468-8182, 201 N. Tonto St., www.lathamscollision.com.

Payson Roundup

10

Progress 2015

Payson schools take on “remodeling” project by

Greg Wyman

pusd superintendent

Looking back over the past year to determine the progress Payson Unified School District (PUSD) has made, it occurred to me that the district’s progress could be compared to a family renovating their home.

Like renovating a house, there are times during the renovation process when progress is not always evident; however, this does not mean progress is not being made. For PUSD, the renovation includes work that people notice along with work in the background not as easily noticed.

The end goal of these changes moves the district forward in order to make sure that our students receive the best possible education that prepares them for the future. Based on this analogy, this year’s progress by PUSD has The Payson Longhorn Marching Band went to the state finals this year, one of the many successes recorded by Payson students.

Pete Aleshire/Roundup been far reaching.

The first step in any renovation — blueprints. Blueprints doc- values. strong foundation. for Kids, or attending school Soccer. goal of one-to-one computing may ument the changes to the home PUSD used proceeds from take several years; however, the At the national level, FFA, The final step will be the devel- events. Parent University providand are developed through a col- opment of a five-year strategic ed two opportunities for parents DECA and Julia Randall the sale of Frontier Elementary district is moving toward this laborative process to ensure all plan. This strategic plan will con- and community members to learn Elementary’s 4th-grade students School to help upgrade the serv- goal as funding becomes availfamily members’ needs are met. tain three to five goals with an more about aspects of educat- successfully competed against ers, routers and switches to sup- able.

For PUSD, the blueprint is an action plan for each goal. ing students and how the district students from around the coun- port one-to-one computing. All Unlike a renovation project, organizational plan. The goal is try. of these devices are required to the district will never stop makOnce the board passes the works. for the governing board ing improvements to how we In renovation projects, certain Behind each of these activities increase bandwidth. organizational plan to approve the district The district projects an educate students. We continually this summer, schools projects allow the house to shine was a PUSD employee who took organizational plan in and departments within while construction continues. the time to nurture these students increase in bandwidth at Payson look to improve and change with June. the district will develop For Payson Schools, the shining and help them shine in an area of High School, Rim Country Middle the times.

Much has gone into For the past year, the district School and Payson Center for their own set of goals projects this year have been the importance. this year’s organizaPUSD also made significant Success to one gigabyte start- has made significant progress in accomplishments of our students based on district goals. tional plan. The process ing July 1. Payson Elementary ensuring that we continue to prostrides in technology.

As with any ren- and staff. included input from The focus for the district this School, Julia Randall Elementary vide the best possible education Our students and staff have ovation project, it is approximately 400 staff, important the commu- been able to shine at the local, year was to improve the infra- School and the District Office will for our students. As much as students, parents and structure. As with the renova- have their bandwidth increased has been accomplished, we are nity knows what is tak- state and national level. community members excited about the future and our At the local level, students vol- tion of a home, the cornerstone to 300 megabytes. ing place. This means Greg Wyman to develop a long-term Given budget constraints, the continued growth. informing the town of unteered throughout the commu- for future success is to ensure a vision for the district and specific your plans, getting proper per- nity. They helped at the Senior steps to reach this vision. mits and talking with your neigh- Center, raised money to supThe organizational plan took bors to ensure that they are port groups such as Habitat for shape earlier in the year with a aware of your plans.

Humanity and brought in food series of meetings that helped PUSD was transparent in for local food banks. They providdetermine what the communi- ensuring communication with ed entertainment on our sports ty believed were the necessary the stakeholders. The district fields, in our gyms and in percharacteristics for a student increased involvement by inviting forming arts venues. At the state graduating in 2015. Then partic- a variety of community members level, they competed in academipants looked at what the district to become involved in the process. ics, athletics and fine arts. students both on the college campus and at the would need to look like in order Examples of success at the by Pam Butterfield This involvement took place high school. to achieve these characteristics. through committee work, volun- state level include Academic gila community college campus dean Central programs held at GCC include Allied The second step was a review teering in schools, making finan- Decathlon, Girls’ Softball, FFA, Gila Community College (GCC) enjoyed a suc- Health Professionals, Cosmetology, Fire Science, of the district vision, mission and cial contributions through Credit Culinary Arts, DECA and Boys’ cessful year of providing courses and programs to and Nursing Assistant. residents of Gila County.

On the high school campus, students earn In May, approximately 50 individu- college credit for courses in Basic Animal als will earn associate degrees in the followSystems, Automotive Maintenance, Construction ing areas: Administration Information Services, Technology, Culinary Fundamentals, Information Administration of Justice, Business, Technology, Marketing Management and Business Administration, Business Theatre Production. Furthermore, high Education, Computer Information school students can take American Sign Systems, Cosmetology, Early Childhood Language or Spanish for college credit on Education, Education-Elementary, the high school campus during zero hour General Studies, General Technical before school.

Studies, Nursing, Psychology, Sociology, Friends of Rim Country Gila and Welding Technology.

Community College is a 501(c)3 organiIn addition, in Payson, approximately zation founded to provide scholarships to 100 students will earn certificates in Payson Campus GCC students. Contact the following workforce training fields: Pam Butterfield the Payson Campus front office to make Basic Emergency Medical Technician, a tax-deductible donation to the scholarBasic Wildland Firefighting, Fire Department ship fund.

Operations, Hazardous Material First Responder, The Small Business Development Center Medical Assistant, Nursing Assistant and Patient (SBDC) provides business services at no cost to Care Technician. the individual business. The SBDC can help with This year, GCC Payson brought two new probusiness planning, loan applications and more. grams to the community — Medical Coding and In FY 2014, the SBDC generated $1.2 million dolBilling and Cosmetology.

Medical Coding and Billing courses prepare lars to the local economy by helping businesses students for the American Health Information improve their productivity.

Gila Community College provides significant Management Association certification. return on investment to Gila County taxpayers.

The Cosmetology program trains students to Taxpayers benefit from the economic growth and become licensed cosmetologists. Community members may obtain a wide range of cosmetology ser- additional revenue produced by the higher earning vices from the students while they are in training. power of students educated at GCC. The return on The Associate of Applied Science in Nursing investment of state funds in the GCC operations is remains the most popular degree, with many $1.34, or a 34 percent annual return on investment students currently working on the pre-requisite to the state of Arizona. In Gila County, for every  taxpayer dollar invested in GCC, $1.68 is returned courses to gain admission into the program.  on investment annually.

GCC partners with Payson Regional Medical  Gila County benefits from a more educated popCenter, Rim Country Health and various medical  ulace through higher earnings and reduced social facilities in the greater metropolitan Phoenix area  cost such as reduced social assistance of $1.2 to provide clinical experiences for the nursing stu million.

In 2013-14, 429 students received federal dents. The college also partners with Rim Country   Health and Payson Care Center to provide clinical education assistance, bringing $1.7 million into the local economy. experiences for Nursing Assistant students.

For students at GCC, the benefit of increased  GCC remains committed to providing courses  income and employment opportunities is an outfor personal enrichment to Gila County residents.  standing return on investment. Twenty-nine perArt and Physical Education courses prove to  be the most popular. A sampling of art cours- cent of GCC students completing their programs es include drawing, ceramics, crafts, jewelry, enjoy employment within six months compared to 23 percent nationally. GCC students who earn Photoshop, digital photography and painting.

Popular physical education courses include degrees substantially increase their earning aerobics, bowling, Pilates, tai chi ch’uan, yoga and power.

The largest impact of GCC’s presence is the use of the college wellness center. These courses are popular with senior citizens, who, if age increased productivity of former students. New 55 and older and an Arizona resident, receive a skills and income earned generate additional consenior scholarship and have their tuition paid by sumer spending. The net contribution to the economy of Gila County is $2.7 million, which includes the college.

As a provisional college, GCC partners with income earned by college employees and goods Eastern Arizona College to provide fully accredit- and services purchased by GCC. GCC Payson could not have educated and ed post-secondary educational services.

The college also partners with Arizona State trained our students without the help and support University, Northern Arizona University and the of our three full-time and our 65 adjunct instrucUniversity of Arizona to provide a seamless trans- tors. Gila Community College also appreciates the fer experience with guaranteed admission. ASU, support of the Payson community.

Registration for summer and fall courses is NAU and Grand Canyon University all offer GCC now ongoing. GCC invites you to pick up a class students opportunities for reduced tuition.

Additionally, GCC continues its strong part- schedule in the front office or to look online at nership with Payson Unified School District www.gilaccc.org to see if there’s a course for you and Northern Arizona Vocational Institute in our course offerings. We look forward to providof Technology (NAVIT), providing Career and ing you with personal enrichment, workforce and Technical Education (CTE) courses for high school academic offerings.

Gila Community College expands degrees, courses

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Payson Roundup Progress 2015

PAYSON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Progress by

L EAPS & B OUNDS

Students Shine

Students from all schools have done Payson proud as they participate in an array of events inside and outside the classroom: • County Science Fair • Spelling Bee • Career Technical Education Leadership Conferences • Academic Decathlon • K-12 Concerts and Plays • Service Projects • Longhorn Band • JRE Millionaires (million-word readers)

Families Matter

Families, as always, are indispensable to the success of students and schools.

• Parent University • Parent Volunteers • Parent-Teacher Conferences • Standing-room-only attendance at school events

Stakeholders Connect

Community members, parents, staff and students collaborate to define who we are as Payson Unified School District and where we want to be in 2025.

• Organizational Plan • Tonto Community Concert Association Student Outreach Concerts • Credit for Kids - $200,000!

• Community Volunteers • Student Health Fair • Longhorn Road Sports Banners Project

YES

Override Passes

The Payson Community proved it supports public education by voting YES on the Payson Unified School District override!

This guarantees continued support for staff and students.

THANK YOU, PAYSON!

Standards and Assessments Advance Student Achievement • • • • • •

Kindergartners reading books 4th Graders solving Algebra problems Middle Schoolers plotting coordinates High Schoolers dissecting informational and literary text AzMERIT replacing AIMS as statewide assessment for English & Math Daily Math Skills giving students 20 minutes of concentrated practice every day, K-12

College and Career Start Here

• Family College Financial Planning Nights • Career Technical Educational Programs - 12 vibrant and in-demand programs available • ECAPS (Education and Career Action Plans) for all 7-12 students

Governing Board Assures PUSD’s Future

• Thank you to Rory Huff and Devin Wala for their years of service • Welcome Sheila DeSchaaf and Angie Prock with their fresh perspectives • 2015-16 Budget in good hands

Every Day is a GREAT Day to be a Longhorn!

11

Payson Roundup ECONOMY Progress 2015

12

Payson business licenses 2014-March 2015 Restaurant – Native Grill and Wings Gift shop – Serendipity on Main Pet supply store – Pet Club Payson Medical – Southwest Mobility Refrigeration – Keeney Services, Inc. Insurance – M. Crespi State Farm Insurance Accounting – Action Accounting, Inc. Mini golf – Pirate’s Hideaway Retail – Scrubs and More Jewelry – Manasseri Custom Jewelers Retail – Payson Granite and Design, Inc. Auto – Enhanced Diesel Repair Auto sales – Ray’s Auto Exchange, LLC Retail – Fresh N Wild Food – Susie’s Q Barbecue Retail – Rim Country Soap Smoke shop – Vape Happy, LLC Car wash – Circle H Furniture – Affordable Furniture Dental – Denture Specialists Retail – Goldlight Enterprises, LLC Gas station – Team CB Petroleum Properties, LLC Chevron Auto sales – Park and Sell Personal training – Paramount Training Center Salon – Haute Junkie Salon – Above and Beyond Aesthetics, LLC Assistant – Ordinary Lifestyles Retail – Rue21 Antiques – Granny’s In Payson, LLC Laundromat – P&P Laundry, LLC Pawn – Old Town Pawn Veterinary – Holistic Veterinary Quilting – Sharon Master Quilter Restaurant – Cardo’s Pizza Bank – Canyon State Credit Union Auto repair – Automotive Specialists of Payson Transportation – Absolute Limousine Escrow – Pioneer Title Agency, Inc. Dog grooming – Happy Tails West Assistant – The Tungland Corporation Broker – Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC Yogurt shop – Summit Swirls Frozen Yogurt Hospice – Hospice of Payson, LLC Retail – Wild Rose Trading Post Photography – A&M Photography Salon – Gloss by D, LLC Retail – Sears Home Town Store Caterer – About Time for High Tea Bank – Washington Federal

Pete Aleshire/Roundup

Climate and views like this from atop the Mogollon Rim remain anchors for Rim Country’s recovering economy.

Rim Country Chamber: Stepping up service by

Ana Gutowski

rim country regional chamber of commerce ceo

There were many changes for the Rim Country Regional Chamber of Commerce in 2014 and the first quarter of 2015.

It was evident that the chamber needed to step up its online presence and social media so in January, a new website was launched offering more features for members to promote their products and services. The site has a public calendar that all businesses and organizations can post community events or happenings and a help wanted section where members can post job openings.

PAYSON’S PREMIER REAL ESTATE AGENT

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On the social media front, staff put more energy into Facebook, adding more posts and photos and by mid-March, the chamber Facebook page had more than 600 likes, double what it had at the beginning of 2014.

Recently, the chamber, along with the Town of Payson, Economic Development Department and the Industrial Development Authority wrapped up a series of small business workshops for local businesses on social media, marketing, building a business plan and understanding finances. The chamber will continue to provide educational workshops, which abuts with the purpose of the Rim

Country Regional Chamber of Commerce, which is to promote and help improve businesses in the area. Currently, the chamber has more than 360 members and as of the first of the year, 17 new members.

Most business owners feel that a chamber of commerce is a must-have. However, the chamber isn’t a magical business solution. A member has to put in what they want to get out. Only when a member actively participates, volunteers and joins committees do they truly get the opportunities to form valuable business relationships.

One way to get involved is attend the chamber’s monthly luncheons. They provide the latest news and information on a variety of business topics and offer networking opportunities.

Call (928) 474-4515 for more information.

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PAYSON ROUNDUP

WATER The wet gush of region’s Progress 2015

FUTURE

C.C. Cragin pipeline underway just in time to protect Rim Country from projected water shortage by

Pete Aleshire

roundup editor

Rim Country has an edge.

Throughout the West, cities and towns hoping to return to the heady days of growth confront an intractable challenge: Where will they get the water?

But with construction starting this summer on the C.C. Cragin (formerly Blue Ridge) pipeline, Payson has a different problem: How can it put the doubling and redoubling of its water supply to the best use?

In the short term, Payson residents are facing the sticker shock of rising water rates necessary to secure the final $34 million in low-cost financing to build the 15-mile-long pipeline and the $9 million water treatment plant.

But in the long term, building the pipeline means that Payson’s one of the only towns in Arizona with more than enough water to sustain its longterm plans for growth.

Elsewhere in the state, 14 years of drought have already triggered the start of water rationing.

The crisis has grown most acute on the Colorado River, where water levels in the massive Lake Mead have fallen to 40 percent of capacity — the lowest level since the federal government filled the lake.

Deal buys time for the West

Water users in Nevada, Arizona, California and Colorado recently struck a deal to leave 740,000 acrefeet of water they would normally use in Lake Mead, as a stop-gap measure to prevent the water level from falling another 10 feet. At that level, the pumps supplying Las Vegas would go dry and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation would impose water rationing. Arizona’s Central Arizona Project stands first in line to lose water — with California enjoying the senior water right.

Nonetheless, the all four states have agreed to buy time by leaving water in the reservoir for now, with this winter’s snowfall far below normal in California and Colorado.

The Central Arizona Project will cut its use by 340,000 acre-feet, which will mostly affect farmers in the Valley and the Tucson area. California will cut its use of Colorado River water by 300,000 acre-feet, Nevada by 50,000 acre-feet and the Bureau of Reclamation by another 50,000 acre-feet.

That could buy another year, as water managers pray for at least a one-year break from the drought to provide the kind of wet winter that can replenish reservoirs.

Colorado and California faced a dry

The photo at the top shows Blue Ridge water gushing into the East Verde by Washington Park. The photo above shows the dam that creates the 16,000 acre-foot C.C. Cragin Reservoir. The map at top right shows the path the C.C. Cragin pipeline will take between Washington Park and a not-yet-built treatment plant on Houston Mesa Road. The Town of Payson timeline at right shows the phase of pipeline construction between now and the arrival of the water in 2018. winter, with snowpacks far below normal and the spring runoff season not doing much for the reservoirs on the Colorado River.

Arizona did a little better, but predictions of a wet, El Niño winter here proved optimistic. Roosevelt Lake dwindled to 41 percent and has now risen to 49 percent as the warm, early

• See Payson water, page 3

13

Payson Roundup WATER Progress 2015

14

Payson water rates will rise to secure C.C. Cragin loans From page 2 spring has hastened runoff. But even in late April when spring runoff levels should have been peaking, Tonto Creek was running at about 30 percent of normal and the Salt River at about 20 percent.

But the disappointing winter served to underscore Payson’s enormous advantage in having secured a permanent right to water from the C.C. Cragin Reservoir. The Salt River Project nearly drained the 15,000 acre-foot reservoir last fall. But even the modestly wet winter filled it to the brim this year.

The mounting evidence of the changing climate and use patterns suggests Payson’s water riches will become increasingly valuable in coming decades, especially when it comes to competing with other rural areas throughout the West for growth and jobs.

Southwest shortage worsens

Recent studies suggest that the Southwest continues to use about double the long-term water supply, given projections of climate shifts and a resulting increase in the length and intensity of droughts.

C.C. Cragin will add 3,000 acre-feet annually to Payson’s water supply, which normally amounts to about 1,800 feet annually from snow and rain. The town’s roughly 16,000 residents currently use about 1,800 acre-feet of water annually. Payson hopes to initially pump water from the C.C. Cragin Reservoir into the town’s underground water table, which has fallen more than 100 feet in recent decades. The town will likely continue to enjoy a sizeable surplus for the first 10 years or more the pipeline operates, which will allow it to restore the water table to historic levels. This will give the town years of water safely in underground storage to get through drought years — while other communities continue to draw down their water tables even at current population levels.

Only towns like Payson with a secure water supply will likely have a cushion for growth, if the forecasts of longer, deeper droughts and rising average temperatures prove accurate.

In fact, a mounting array of studies suggest that deepening drought will in coming decades drain the enormous reservoirs on the Colorado River that provide water for some 30 million people in the region.

Projected global warming trends will likely mean that in the long-term water users in seven western states can count on only 40 percent of the water in the Colorado River Basin. However, the region currently uses about 76 percent of the water in the system each year — roughly double the sustainable benchmark, according to a study by Arizona State University School of Life Sciences associate professor John Sabo, who also serves as director of research development for ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability.

The vast reservoirs along the Colorado River, including Lake Mead, Lake Powell and Lake Havasu, currently store a roughly five-year supply of water for users in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming. Most of the water goes to Colorado, but Phoenix and Tucson both depend on water diverted into the multi-billion-dollar Central Arizona Project.

Sabo said the Southwest must cut its water use by about 60 percent to bring water supplies into balance, given projections of longer, deeper droughts in the decades ahead as average global temperatures rise with the build-up of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide and methane.

The recent projections echo an earlier study by researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder, which said the Colorado River reservoirs have a 50 percent chance of essentially running dry in the next half century.

Shortage looms despite storage

The chain of reservoirs has such an enormous storage capacity that despite climate models showing more frequent drought conditions the odds of running out of water in the Colorado River system amount to no more than 10 percent through 2026. However, even a 10 percent decline in average rainfall would spell mounting trouble in coming decades.

The study concluded that given a projected 20 percent reduction in average rainfall included in many climate models, the odds the Colorado reservoirs will go dry by 2057 rise to about 50 percent — even without any increase in water use.

The C.C. Cragin Reservoir can store about 15,000 acre-feet. Payson has a legal entitlement to about 3,000 acrefeet and other Northern Gila County

communities to about 500 acre-feet.

However, few other communities in the region have contracted with the Salt River Project to get a share of that Cragin water.

The giant reservoirs on the Colorado River can hold about 60 million acrefeet, about four times the river’s average annual flow.

The region could cope with a big drop in its water supply by curtailing agriculture, which consumes about 77 percent of the water used.

For instance, farms in the Southwest grow about 75,000 acres of thirsty lettuce annually, most of it near Yuma, which has an annual rainfall tally of 3.6 inches in a good year. By contrast, Payson gets about 22 inches of rain annually.

The plumbing system originally designed to deliver irrigation water to Valley farms has largely sustained urban growth in the Valley in recent decades. Maricopa County’s population grew by 24 percent from 2000 to 2010, while Gila County’s population barely budged. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the Phoenix-Tucson metropolitan area’s population will increase by about 50 percent by 2030, to nearly 8 million.

The projected increase in Payson’s water use (top) will lag far beyond the increased supply from the C.C. Cragin Reservoir (above). This will allow the town to recharge the underground water table, which should raise the water table by 100 feet or more to historic levels. By the time the town reaches a population of 38,000, it should have both a sustainable, long-term water supply and years of water stored underground in case of drought or the temporary loss of the 3,000 acre-feet annual flow from C.C. Cragin.

Payson Roundup WATER Progress 2015

15

Pete Aleshire/Roundup

C.C. Cragin refills, other reservoirs still half-empty Payson’s future now linked to one of state’s most reliable watersheds, even in a drought by

Pete Aleshire

roundup editor

One question has haunted Payson, even after it secured rights to 3,000 acre-feet of water annually from the C.C. Cragin (formerly Blue Ridge) Reservoir.

What happens if the reservoir goes dry?

What happens if the drought continues?

What happens if we become dependent on a reservoir that can’t deliver?

Well, the winter of 2014 provided some reassuring answers to those questions.

Last fall, the Salt River Project drained the 15,000-acre-foot reservoir to about 15 percent of its capacity, partly to work on pumps and outlets. In one year, the reservoir had gone from about 15,000 acre-feet to about 2,000 acre-feet.

The dry winter worried water planners, with snowpacks well below normal

despite a couple of big storms. Roosevelt Lake remains less than half full, while the giant reservoirs along the Colorado River remain at near-record low levels.

Lake Mead stands at 40 percent. And while Roosevelt bottomed out this winter at 41 percent full, with the spring runoff well underway it recovered to only 49 percent.

All across the West, snowpacks came in at only 30 or 40 percent of normal. Arizona did a little better, but still recorded yet another dry winter in a string of drought years that now stretches back 14 years — one of the longest, most severe “mega droughts” on record.

And how did C.C. Cragin perform?

It filled up to the brim in April. The sharp contrast with the state’s other reservoirs underscores the enormous productivity of one of the most compact, but reliable watersheds in the state.

The flow of water from the reservoir

will boost Payson’s sustainable water supply to 5,000 acre-feet annually, enough to sustain a population of about 38,000. Only a handful of other towns in the whole state can make such a claim.

SRP spokesman Jeffrey Lane said, “Thanks to the most productive winter runoff season since 2010, Salt River Project expects C.C. Cragin Reservoir to be at 100 percent of capacity.”

Last year, because of a lower-than-normal snowpack and winter runoff, the reservoir peaked at 60 percent of capacity.

SRP continued to work this spring on the water system drawing water out of the reservoir and piping it to Washington Park. As a result, SRP didn’t start putting supplemental water into the East Verde until May. The Valley utility will then nearly empty the reservoir again before November, with most of the water flowing down into the Verde River and then into reservoirs that supply the Valley. Until Payson can build its pipeline — probably in 2018 — SRP will direct Payson’s 3,000 acre-foot entitlement to the Valley.

The Salt River Project acquired the reservoir and its 170-foot-tall dam from Phelps Dodge Corporation in February 2005, in return for rights to water for the

mining company’s operations in eastern Arizona. The 492-foot-long dam captures the runoff from a 71-square-mile watershed, which would otherwise flow north into the Little Colorado River near Winslow.

The reservoir is 100 feet deep and about 11 miles long. SRP can essentially empty it with pumps that produce 35 cubic feet per second, which flows into a 17-mile-long pipeline on top of the Rim. That pipe takes the water over the Rim to Washington Park, generating enough power from the 1,000-foot drop to run all the pumps.

The East Verde can generate huge flows during winter storms or summer monsoons, but normally putters along at about 6 cubic feet per second when left to its own devices. Once SRP adds the Cragin water, the East Verde’s flow increases six-fold — producing a troutstocked stream with lots of pools and access that remains a tourist lure for the region.

This year’s rapid recovery of the reservoir demonstrates what a vital resource it represents to the whole region. For instance, a modest winter that completely refilled C.C. Cragin left Roosevelt with only about half of the 1.4 million acre-feet it can hold.

The reservoirs on the Verde River are in a little better shape, holding 60 percent of capacity, about the same as a year ago, according to SRP’s daily water report. However, the two Verde River reservoirs only hold 250,000 acrefeet total — compared to Roosevelt’s 1.6 million acre-foot capacity.

Most of Arizona remains in moderate to severe drought, while California swelters in extreme to exceptional drought.

Long-term weather forecasters say that after an abnormally wet 20th century, rising global temperatures will likely result in longer, more severe droughts across the Southwest.

One recent study based on satellite images concluded that California in 2014 had a deficit of 34 million acre-feet of snow and rainfall. Farmers in the vast Central Valley of California have been running groundwater pumps full time, causing water tables to drop and the ground surface to subside at about one foot per year.

If the projections come true, many in the West may find themselves in epic water wars.

Except, perhaps, in Payson with a reservoir of its own that fills up quickly even in dry years.

Payson’s testing proves water table recharge works Town retrofits Payson Parkway Well to prove it can store water from C.C. Cragin underground by

Pete Aleshire

roundup editor

The arrival of the water from the C.C. Cragin Reservoir will trigger a whole series of changes in the town’s water system, including a carefully tested system to make sure the nearly pristine, mineral-free rainwater and snowmelt from atop the Rim doesn’t cause a disastrous chemical chain reaction in Payson’s aging network of underground water pipes.

The town took the trouble of setting up a test run several years ago to work out potential kinks in the plan to engineer a series of town groundwater wells so that for nine months a year they can inject water into the water table rather than pump it out.

The test proved that the system can efficiently inject water back into the town’s once-plunging underground water table, after enlarging the bore hole and putting new casings on a 700-foot-deep well alongside Payson Parkway. The reverse flow wells should eventually raise Payson’s water table by about 150 feet, by storing the excess Cragin water underground and not pumping out the natural recharge from rainwater and snowmelt for nine months of the year.

In addition, the town ran a series of tests of the proposed water filtration system for the Cragin water. The town will eventually build a roughly $9 million water treatment plant next door to the Mesa del Caballo subdivision on Houston Mesa Road. Water will flow in an 18-inch diameter pipe from Washington Park, down along the East Verde along Houston Mesa Road and then into the treatment plant.

the water table about 50 feet below the ground surface in most areas. By that time, the town will probably be using the roughly 5,000 acre-feet annually provided by the combination of rainfall and C.C. Cragin. That will provide the town with ample stored underground water to weather even long-term droughts. It will also cut the now substantial electrical bill incurred by pumping water from wells that hit the top of the water table at depths of 150 feet or more.

Here, it will flow into a much larger version of the small-scale system Payson tested several years ago.

The filtration system runs pressurized Cragin water through a straw-like bundle of tubes full of holes so small they can catch any silt, algae or bacteria in the water. The test demonstrated that the filtration system works efficiently on the sparkling clear, low-mineral content C.C. Cragin water.

Recharge efforts yield surprises

Moving forward on filtration plant

The test gave the town the confidence to move forward on its plans for the full-scale water filtration plant to treat the Cragin water at the end of the not-yet-built, 15-mile-long pipeline buried alongside Houston Mesa Road.

The retrofitting of the Payson Parkway Well validated the town’s long-range plan for making full use of the 3,000 acre-feet annually it will receive from the C.C. Cragin pipeline.

At the time the town conducted the testing, town engineers expected water to arrive this year. But they also expected the Rim Country Educational Alliance would have nearly finished the first phase of a 6,000-student university campus by now, triggering a restoration of the construction industry. Unexpected delays in the university project, the continued weakness of the housing market and a years-long slowdown in growth prompted the town to put off the pipeline timetable, to avoid borrowing lots of money and bringing the water into town before the town had any realistic way to use the gush of added water.

Like every other community in Rim Country, Payson has long depended almost entirely on groundwater pumped out of wells bored in the crushed layers

Roundup file photo.

Jack Lagana (left), of Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, and Forrest Switzer, of Tetra Tech, discuss how long the improvements for this well along Payson Parkway will continue before moving to Phase Three. of granite that underlies the region.

Rising demand for water caused well levels to drop by 100 to 200 feet, prompting the imposition of tough growth restrictions.

The combination of one of the state’s tightest water conservation ordinances and the collapse of new development stabilized most well levels at roughly 130 to 190 feet below the surface.

Town’s water use in balance

The town now uses roughly 1,800 acre-feet annually, about as much water as flows into the underground water table in an average year — not counting the output of the Tower Well in Star Valley, which the town relies on mostly for backup in droughts or emergencies. The Tower Well could add another 600 acre-feet or so to the town’s sustained yield, but pumping at that rate could cause the return of strains between Payson and neighboring Star

Valley, which has passed up on getting a share of the Cragin water because its water table remains ample and close to the surface.

Long-term supply tops 5,000 acre-feet

Should Payson grow to its projected build-out population of about 38,000, it will likely need the additional 3,000 acre-feet from C.C. Cragin, although if per-person water use remains as low as it does at present the combined 5,000 acre-feet would give the town an enviable cushion even in times of drought and even at a population of 38,000.

However, it will likely take years to reach that level of use after the Cragin water starts to arrive.

So in the meantime, the town hopes to stash the excess Cragin water underground.

Projections suggest the underground water table will eventually return to its “natural” level — with the top of

The efforts to push water back down into the existing wells revealed some surprises, with some wells absorbing water quickly and some wells resisting the new water.

Payson’s water table consists of layers of crushed granite saturated with water, like a bucket full of gravel.

However, great networks of fissures and cracks run through that overall zone of crushed granite. Those great cracks deep beneath the surface carry water from great distances, much of it likely thousands of years old. Some of the deep wells have tapped into such a slow-motion, underground river, often under great pressure as a result of the weight of the overlying rock.

That pressure causes the water to rise in the well hole when it intersects the fracture zone. In addition, the water that emerges has a different chemistry and mix of ions than the surrounding ground water that has trickled down from the surface.

The bottom of the Payson Parkway Well probably taps into such a fissure zone, although the town hasn’t tested the water’s composition to make certain.

Fortunately, the high-pressure water rising from the 700-foot-deep bottom of the well will keep Cragin water injected into the well from entering into the fissure zone, in which case it would eventually drain away instead of remaining safely stored for future use, say town officials.

Payson Roundup WATER Progress 2015

16

Thinning projects needed to protect C.C. Cragin watershed by

Pete Aleshire

roundup editor

Getting rights to 3,000 acre-feet of water annually from the C.C. Cragin Reservoir (formerly Blue Ridge) was one thing.

Now Payson has to protect it.

That could prove a big challenge, given the threat wildfires in an unhealthy and overgrown forest pose to the watershed that feeds the 15,000 acre-foot reservoir.

Fortunately, Payson recently managed to convene an array of state, federal and other partners to announce a sweeping agreement to protect the watershed of the C.C. Cragin Reservoir in a sweeping measure participants believe will serve as a national model.

The group signed a memorandum of understanding to thin some 40,000 acres of forest on slopes that drain into the reservoir at a historic signing ceremony orchestrated by Payson Mayor Kenny Evans.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior Mike Connor said, “We have here the National Forest Foundation, City of Payson, the entire Arizona congressional delegation, the Tonto Apache Tribe, the U.S. Forest Service and others. It doesn’t get much better than this. It is the way we should do business in a governmental world.”

U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Robert Bonnie said, “We’re really excited to be here. We know we have work to do. We need to move forward quickly and know that our federal agencies want to be partners so we can move forward together.”

The joint agreement involving local, regional and federal officials is aimed at thinning the thickly overgrown ponderosa pine forests on the 71 square miles of forest that drains into the C.C. Cragin

Protecting Rim Country’s

FUTURE Reservoir, to which Payson, Northern Gila County and the Salt River Project have water rights. Intense crown fires have demonstrated that erosion and mudflows following a high-intensity wildfire can quickly fill in even substantial reservoirs.

Mayor Evans said, “We’ve been at this separately for decades. But pulling separately won’t get this done. We don’t have all the time in the world, so we need to be getting on with getting on with this project.”

Deputy SRP General Manager John Sullivan said of Arizona, “What we lack in precipitation we make up for in participation. We’re all in this together. True success will be measured by how soon and how quickly we can reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires. For SRP, this can’t happen fast enough.”

Connor later confirmed that the Forest Service has already allocated money to undertake environmental studies of one of the most productive watersheds in the state for its size. The studies will lay out the plan for thinning the watershed, clearing the way for projects as money becomes available.

Ultimately, backers hope to both raise money and make the watershed a high priority project for the Four Forest

Restoration Initiative, which relies on developing a timber industry that can make use of small trees and brush. Good Earth, the private company awarded the contract to thin 300,000 acres, has gotten off to a slow start. The company says it will scale up operations once it builds a series of mills that can handle small trees and biomass.

The C.C. Cragin watershed isn’t on the list of projects ready to cut, but Forest Service officials have promised to make it a high priority in the next round of projects approved — which could mean several years of delay before any significant thinning starts here.

State Forester Scott Hunt said he grew up fishing in the Blue Ridge Reservoir.

“We need to realize our forests are truly infrastructure — as surely as roads and hospitals. Our clock is ticking. We need to accelerate our activities.”

Gila County Supervisor Tommie Martin acknowledged the contributions of Payson water director Buzz Walker, who spent 40 years laboring to build Payson’s water system and consummate the deal to bring C.C. Cragin water to Payson.

“For 40 years, he has herded and shepherded us to this state and it has cost him dearly. He used to have a full head of

Peter Aleshire/Roundup

The mud that sluiced into the East Verde from the Water Wheel Fire (above) demonstrates the danger to the C.C. Cragin watershed in case of a crown fire there. This has prompted Payson to enlist a host of agencies in a groundbreaking deal to sign an agreement to develop thinning projects that will reduce the threat of wildfire and protect the watershed (below).

hair,” she joked. “I know, because I used to cut it.”

The project springs from the fear a high-intensity crown fire will remove the trees and sear the soil so it can’t absorb water.

The Hayman Fire in Colorado and the Little Bear Fire in New Mexico both demonstrated the potential for disaster.

In both cases, mudslides after a crown fire dramatically reduced the storage capacity of nearby reservoirs.

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Payson Roundup FIRE Progress 2015

17

Not much progress preparing for next

WILDFIRE by

Pete Aleshire

roundup editor

The year brought a mix of painfully won progress and dismaying inaction when it comes to protecting Rim Country communities and watersheds from wildfire.

No Rim Country jurisdictions made any visible progress toward adopting a wildland-urban interface building code or fully supporting a brush clearing effort to create Firewise communities.

Payson, Star Valley and Gila County have failed to modify their building codes to reduce the threat a wildfire will spread through town, despite the terrible lessons of the Yarnell Fire — which killed 19 firefighters trying to protect a woefully unprepared community that had failed to adopt either a fire-oriented building code or to clear away a sea of surrounding brush that had not burned in 50 years.

On the other hand, a vital, but long-delayed effort to use a reinvented timber industry to thin millions of acres of dangerously overgrown forest did make progress, although it remains years behind schedule. The private contractor that landed a long-term Forest Service contract to thin 300,000 acres as part of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative started work on a small scale, promised to build new mills in Winslow and vowed to include make thinning projects on the endangered C.C. Cragin Reservoir watershed a priority.

However, local jurisdictions have done little or nothing to prepare for the kind of community-destroying crown fire that has become alarmingly common in Arizona in the past decade.

Prior to last year’s council election, Payson at least grappled with a fire department recommen-

Pete Aleshire/Roundup

Despite the lessons of the Water Wheel (pictured), Yarnell and Rodeo-Chediski Fire, neither Gila County nor Payson have wildfire adapted building codes.

dation to adopt a wildland-urban interface building code. However, the council has not taken up the topic since and the town has offered only sporadic support for volunteer efforts to promote brush thinning throughout the town. A promised overhaul of public safety codes to enable the town to force lot thinning and a promised overhaul of the building code have gone entirely silent — despite months of nearly empty town council agendas.

The town did set up a committee to try to convince residents to voluntarily clear thickets and brush from their properties. The committee held one event in 2014 and plans another in May of 2015, but has remained largely invisible.

Meanwhile, Gila County has done nothing to overhaul its own building codes — although the communities built in forested, unincorporated areas face a much greater danger of wildfire than Payson.

The Water Wheel Fire several years ago demonstrated that in the overgrown conditions that now exist, even a modest fire has the capacity to wipe out unincorporated communities like Whispering Pines and Beaver Valley. Such fierce fires can cast red-hot embers out a mile or more ahead of the fire line.

That means a rain of embers could destroy a community with flammable roofs and thickets of brush even if the fire line never entered the town limits.

The county hasn’t even managed to get the Forest Service to make it a priority to provide emergency escape routes for forested communities with a single entrance and exit to the community, although the Forest Service promised to consider providing such escape routes as part of its Travel Management Plan.

The Tonto National Forest Travel Management Plan remains years behind schedule, with apparently no

fresh provisions for those emergency escape routes.

The Yarnell Fire graphically demonstrated the consequence of a lack of local action to improve building codes to include things like fire-resistant roofing materials, a bar on porches open on the underside where fires can get a start, getting rid of overhanging, flammable eaves and tougher health and safety laws so the town can compel property owners to clear dangerous thickets.

The Yarnell Fire started on state-owned land, burned out of control and bore down on Yarnell. A Prescott Hotshot crew got caught in the overgrown brush trying to make their way to a cleared safe zone to protect Yarnell. The deaths of the Yarnell firefighters triggered national grief and investigations, but little concrete action from the state or local governments.

A study showed that only the homes in Yarnell cleared to a Firewise standard survived the rain of embers from the raging fire. The post-fire investigations faulted Yarnell for not having even spent grant money for thinning projects and the state for the confusing communications and failure to put the safety of the firefighters first in tackling the blaze.

In the wake of the fire, Payson initially tackled a plan to customize international building codes dealing with fire safety, especially wildfires, to Payson conditions. But that effort stalled in a ponderous attempt to overhaul virtually every section of the building code.

Firewise

Council members at a study session said they preferred a mostly voluntary approach to convincing homeowners to clear their lots to prevent a fire from

spreading rapidly through town. Several said they didn’t want town officials to tell them how to maintain their own property and so didn’t want to give building or fire officials that kind of power. Several expressed concerns about imposing restrictions that would prevent new businesses from coming to town.

The council has mostly left that issue to various homeowners associations for the past four years, with barely a mention at meetings. When the council did take up the issue at a study session, councilors generally voiced support for voluntary efforts, but skepticism about giving the town the power to force people to clear their lots.

WUI building code

Payson’s Building Advisory Board deadlocked in early 2013 on a recommendation by the Payson Fire Department to adopt a somewhat modified version of the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code. Half of the building board members wanted to adopt the code as recommended, the rest wanted to make modifications to make the code more suited to Payson and less expensive for builders.

The matter rested there for months until Payson Mayor Kenny Evans decided he would try to get the council to consider the WUI code as part of a total overhaul of the town’s building codes. Town staff prepared a massive book containing all the codes with thousands of proposed additions and deletions and gave them to the council. However, months later at least some of the council members didn’t realize they were supposed to review those changes. The issue finally went before the council in a study session.

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Payson Roundup Progress 2015

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