A majority of Village of Oak Creek residents must be happy — 54 percent of them at least.
On April 10, the Special Improvement District Steering Committee received word from the Yavapai County Assessor’s Office verifying that they had received a majority of signed petitions.
Of the approximately 4,100 Village property owners, at least 51 percent were needed to sign a petition in favor of maintaining enhancements along Hwy. 179. So far, 54 percent have signed.
Alison Ecklund
Larson Newspapers
A majority of Village of Oak Creek residents must be happy — 54 percent of them at least.
On April 10, the Special Improvement District Steering Committee received word from the Yavapai County Assessor’s Office verifying that they had received a majority of signed petitions.
Of the approximately 4,100 Village property owners, at least 51 percent were needed to sign a petition in favor of maintaining enhancements along Hwy. 179. So far, 54 percent have signed.
If the Red Rock Road Enhancement Maintenance District passes, the roadside enhancements will be installed by federal and state grants totalling $956,336.
Considering that the Arizona Department of Transportation needs to release its bid request for work covered by the nearly $1 million grant by Monday, June 30, the majority came in the nick of time for the steering committee.
The county supervisors accepted the petitions at their meeting April 21, and the next step will be a public hearing Thursday, May 29.
Although RRREMD received the majority, it won’t pass until the three Yavapai County supervisors vote on it.
“The expectation would be that they [county supervisors] would decide by the end of the hearing,” said Dave Benore, a member of SID Steering Committee.
Petitions are still being gathered up until Wednesday, May 28, Benore said, in hopes that a larger number of petitions would help encourage the supervisors to pass it.
Benore wasn’t surprised that they reached the majority, he said.
“By far and away, the people we talked to said it should pass because it’s a ‘no brainer,’” he said. “Almost everyone feels that way.”
One obstacle they did run into however was absentee Village residents.
Almost 44 percent of homeowners in the Village don’t live there, Benore said, so they could only be contacted if the committee had a correct address or phone number.
“Getting a hold of those 44 percent was quite a chore,” he said.
Another obstacle was a circulation of rumors and falsities that ran rampant in the Village.
In December, a letter was taped to area mailboxes, purporting that what people were told about the SID was incorrect, but the letter was full of errors, Benore said, and whoever wrote it never stepped forward.
Naysayers have rejected the petition for a number of reasons.
One of the loudest complaints has been against the estimated $25 tax per year that residents would pay to maintain the enhancements.
Some Village residents fear that since there is no cap on the tax, if the assessed value of their home went up, the tax would go up, too.
That may be the case for the fire district, Benore said, but it’s not true for the SID tax.
According to Benore, the special improvement district can only use the money for maintenance, nothing else, so if the value of a home goes up, the tax rate would be reduced.
“By law, the way the petition is written, SID is limited on what it can spend money for. It can’t be used for anything else,” Benore said.
The tax money will pay for things like the electric bill of the roadside lighting, the water bill for irrigation and liability insurance, Benore said.
Liability has been another issue for some residents who fear that the district would be responsible for any injuries or deaths on the sidewalks.
That’s not true either, according to Benore. The sidewalks will be put in by ADOT, on ADOT property, so the SID wouldn’t be liable, he said.
On March 26, Yavapai County and ADOT held an informational public meeting about the SID, but, despite all the rumors, only about 12 people showed up, Benore said.
The supervisors will hold a public hearing on RRREMD on Thursday, May 29, at 10 a.m. at the Cottonwood Board of Supervisors Meeting Room, 10 S. Sixth St., Cottonwood.
Alison Ecklund can be reached at 282-7795, Ext. 125 or by e-mail to aecklund@larsonnewspapers.com
