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City election: Remember to vote Tuesday
By CAROL BROEDER/Arizona Range News
More than 1,700 Willcox residents are eligible to vote in the city council primary election on Tuesday, March 9.
The polling place is the Willcox Community Center at 312 W. Stewart, which will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
There are three council seats up for grabs and 14 candidates.
Council members whose terms are up in May 2004 are Councilmen Tim Atwell, Dorman Brown, and Kelly Rowden.
Two of the incumbents - Atwell and Rowden - are running in the primary. Brown has declined to seek re-election.
The other candidates are Don Bardella, Dale Bittle, Chele Brewer, Donald Crossman, Elwood Johnson, Jack Light, Michelle Mullins, Jimmy Norris, John Oberreuter, Kathleen Post, Phillip Rodriguez, and Phil Stratton.
Any candidate receiving a majority of all votes cast in the primary election will be declared elected. The General Election is scheduled for Tuesday, May 18.
Council members hold four-year terms. The new members will begin their terms in June 2004.
Councilmen not required to run for re-election this year are Mayor Marlin "Mick" S. Easthouse, Vice Mayor Roy Ard, and Councilmen Frank Petersen and Joe Long.
The ballot will also include two bond issues totaling $2.5 million.
Voters will be asked to authorize the issue and sale of $1,000,000 in bonds to be paid solely from water revenues. The funds will be used for drilling a new well as a secondary water source for the city, as well as other system improvements.
The election will also include the issue and sale of general obligation bonds of $1,515,000 for a new Willcox Department of Public Safety building on Maley Street.
The Capital Improvement Technical Team, created by the council last October, was tasked with evaluating and formalizing a constructive plan for the future of the Willcox DPS, the magistrate/council chambers, and the library.
The committee was made up of five private citizens, assisted by five city staff members.
Its unanimous recommendation was to demolish the old police station and construct a new building at the current site.
The major concerns about the police station addressed by the committee were the building's age; staff size as opposed to available space; staff needs for efficiency, productivity, and morale; electrical, structural, and environmental code issues; liability issues regarding mold, interior structure hazards, and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and department need for storage, security, and detention areas.
The concerns for the magistrate court and council chambers were the size of staff as opposed to available space; privacy issues, especially for the judge (lack of chambers); prisoner transport and safety issues; and its appropriateness in conjunction with the library.
The committee also assessed the library facility in terms of staff and customer needs; the expansion timeline in the five-year strategic plan; and the security and safety concerns in conjunction with the court facility.
Common bathrooms used both by children visiting the library and people appearing in court were cited as a safety risk.
The committee looked at various buildings around the community, which were ruled out because of the need for major renovations or insufficient parking space.
The committee agreed that building new at the current site would send a positive message to the community and support downtown development. It also concluded that the current location is most convenient and close to other city buildings.
A major consideration was the cost of re-locating the telecommunications lines already at the site -- an estimated $151,000. Re-building at the same site would eliminate that cost.
The committee also discussed how to pay for the $1.8 million facility.
After evaluating several funding options, it concluded the most feasible to be a continuation of the secondary assessed property tax rate be to placed on the March 9 ballot for voter approval.
"Continuation of secondary property tax would not burden our residents beyond what they are paying already," said City Manager Gilbert Davidson.
There are currently 1,724 registered voters in the city, said officials with the county recorder's office.
The polling place is the Willcox Community Center at 312 W. Stewart, which will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
There are three council seats up for grabs and 14 candidates.
Council members whose terms are up in May 2004 are Councilmen Tim Atwell, Dorman Brown, and Kelly Rowden.
Two of the incumbents - Atwell and Rowden - are running in the primary. Brown has declined to seek re-election.
The other candidates are Don Bardella, Dale Bittle, Chele Brewer, Donald Crossman, Elwood Johnson, Jack Light, Michelle Mullins, Jimmy Norris, John Oberreuter, Kathleen Post, Phillip Rodriguez, and Phil Stratton.
Any candidate receiving a majority of all votes cast in the primary election will be declared elected. The General Election is scheduled for Tuesday, May 18.
Council members hold four-year terms. The new members will begin their terms in June 2004.
Councilmen not required to run for re-election this year are Mayor Marlin "Mick" S. Easthouse, Vice Mayor Roy Ard, and Councilmen Frank Petersen and Joe Long.
The ballot will also include two bond issues totaling $2.5 million.
Voters will be asked to authorize the issue and sale of $1,000,000 in bonds to be paid solely from water revenues. The funds will be used for drilling a new well as a secondary water source for the city, as well as other system improvements.
The election will also include the issue and sale of general obligation bonds of $1,515,000 for a new Willcox Department of Public Safety building on Maley Street.
The Capital Improvement Technical Team, created by the council last October, was tasked with evaluating and formalizing a constructive plan for the future of the Willcox DPS, the magistrate/council chambers, and the library.
The committee was made up of five private citizens, assisted by five city staff members.
Its unanimous recommendation was to demolish the old police station and construct a new building at the current site.
The major concerns about the police station addressed by the committee were the building's age; staff size as opposed to available space; staff needs for efficiency, productivity, and morale; electrical, structural, and environmental code issues; liability issues regarding mold, interior structure hazards, and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and department need for storage, security, and detention areas.
The concerns for the magistrate court and council chambers were the size of staff as opposed to available space; privacy issues, especially for the judge (lack of chambers); prisoner transport and safety issues; and its appropriateness in conjunction with the library.
The committee also assessed the library facility in terms of staff and customer needs; the expansion timeline in the five-year strategic plan; and the security and safety concerns in conjunction with the court facility.
Common bathrooms used both by children visiting the library and people appearing in court were cited as a safety risk.
The committee looked at various buildings around the community, which were ruled out because of the need for major renovations or insufficient parking space.
The committee agreed that building new at the current site would send a positive message to the community and support downtown development. It also concluded that the current location is most convenient and close to other city buildings.
A major consideration was the cost of re-locating the telecommunications lines already at the site -- an estimated $151,000. Re-building at the same site would eliminate that cost.
The committee also discussed how to pay for the $1.8 million facility.
After evaluating several funding options, it concluded the most feasible to be a continuation of the secondary assessed property tax rate be to placed on the March 9 ballot for voter approval.
"Continuation of secondary property tax would not burden our residents beyond what they are paying already," said City Manager Gilbert Davidson.
There are currently 1,724 registered voters in the city, said officials with the county recorder's office.
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