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County: Navajo
Printed In: White Mountain Independent (Show Low)
Printed On: 2026/10/07

Public Notice:

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
NAVAJO COUNTY, ARIZONA
SEPTEMBER 8, 2026
Supervisors' Chambers, Holbrook, Arizona - Time: 8:30 a.m.
PRESENT: Pete Shumway, Chairman (Mr. Shumway excused himself at 9:30 a.m as he had to catch a flight to Washington DC to meet with Congressional representatives); J.R. DeSpain, Vice-Chairman; Percy Deal, Member (Mr. Deal arrived at 9:00 a.m.); Jesse Thompson, Member; Jerry Brownlow, Member; Mel Bowers, Jr., County Attorney; Jimmy Jayne, County Manager; and Judy Jones, Clerk of the Board.
Mr. Shumway led the Pledge of Allegiance and offered the Invocation.
CALL TO THE PUBLIC: Hugo Lusten presented several concerns: 1)Why does it take three months to get a building permit? 2) Every time the county comes to grade his road, they cut the phone lines; 3) Nothing has been done about the junk on his neighbor's property. He is tired of having to pick up the junk when it blows onto his property. Mr. Lusten said he appreciates what the county has done already to address other concerns he has had, but he would like these concerns addressed also. Mr. Shumway requested that these concerns be put in writing and addressed to the Board, as well as Public Works and Development Services.
CONSENT AGENDA: Mr. DeSpain made a motion to authorize the Chairman to sign the items in the Consent Folder; motion seconded by Mr. Brownlow; vote unanimously carried. The following items were included in the Consent Agenda: 1)Voucher List for Payment; 2) Letter of Support for White Mountain Apache Tribe Wildlife Grant Application for Eagle Aviary, Raptor and Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center; 4)Approval signature to continue Fill the Gap State Funds to provide Interpreter Services; 5) Special Events Liquor License: ACF Chapter/Big Brothers Big Sisters of Arizona fundraising event at Pinetop Country Club on September 22. (Mr. Deal absent for the vote)
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS/ARIZONA STATE LAND DEPARTMENT: Steve Campbell, Navajo County Extension Director: Approval of State Fire Hazard Abatement Program Agreement (FHA 17) through the Arizona State Land Department for Fuel Break Development and Fuel Reduction: Mr. Campbell explained that this grant will provide $340,000 for this project, which will have a total cost of $685,000. The additional funding will come from property owners, volunteers, local governments and fire districts in the form of donated equipment, labor, time, training and dollars. The project area is bounded by the White Mountain Apache Reservation on the south and the general vicinity of Show Low on the north. The treatment areas will extend across the populated area from the US Forest lands on the east to the White Mountain Apache Forest lands on the west. Because of the extensive treatments done by the White Mountain Apache tribe on their forests, the hazards within the proposed treatment areas are almost entirely within the community forest. Homes are located throughout these areas of dense forest, and the current status is to keep the fire out, or lose most of the community if a fire gets away. The plan is to make use of areas where the vegetation is less dense, and create fuel breaks across the communities in a general east to west direction. Six of these fuel breaks will result in lowering the risk of catastrophic loss in the community from 85% to 15-20%. It will also create a 'safe zone' at the Blue Ridge School site, allowing the students to remain in place in the event of a fast moving fire in the late spring. It will tie into adjacent projects across Highway 260 and collectively provide a barrier for properties on over 500 acres located north and east of the school. Further to the north, another break across town will anchor on Show Low Lake, extend across Highway 260 and join with the reservation fuels work. According to the Navajo County Assessor, the value of the property within this fuel break is estimated to be in excess of $62,000,000. Partners in this project include ADOT, Navajo County (material support with equipment, etc), Pinetop-Lakeside, Blue Ridge School District and many neighborhood associations and individual property owners. The materials will be cut and either removed or chipped in site. Removed materials will be salvaged through several local small diameter utilizers, and chips will be left on site for the owners to use as they see fit. The time line for this project is two years; work will begin in September and proceed as quickly as weather, the fire season and resources will allow. Mr. Campbell noted that the cost to treat one million acres of forest is $1 billion. We have 3.2 million acres of national forests. The government cannot afford to treat the entire amount, so they have to choose the locations where they can do the most good. Mr. Shumway made a motion to approve the State Fire Hazard Abatement Program Agreement (FHA 17) for Southern Navajo County Fuel Break Development and Fuel Reduction as presented; motion seconded by Mr. DeSpain; vote unanimously carried.
HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISORY TASK FORCE: Paul Jaster, Emergency Services Director and Ben Owens, Show Low Fire Department: Approval to set aside funds from Homeland Security funding to purchase Hazmat Response vehicle: Mr. Jaster advised that the task force met last week and approved a recommendation to allocate $202,000 for the purchase of a Hazmat Response Vehicle/Command Post. He noted that on the open market, a vehicle such as this would cost in excess of $500,000. It will be custom built for us on a 48' tractor trailer, and will be the shell only. It will be maintained by the Show Low Fire Department, which has been designated as the County Wide Hazmat Team. This vehicle will provide the county with the necessary equipment (most of which we already own) to respond to any Hazmat incident in the county.
(At this point, Mr. Deal expressed grave concerns regarding the lack of communication/coordination between Navajo, Apache and Coconino Counties, and the Navajo Nation. For example, Navajo County will be using Homeland Security funding to replace radios for all law enforcement, etc agencies. But if Apache and Coconino Counties do not do the same, only a small part of the Navajo Nation will have the replacement radios. Mr. Deal strongly encouraged our task force to meet as soon as possible with the task forces from Apache and Coconino Counties so that we can have a coordinated effort. He also requested that an appropriate amount of funding is set aside for thorough training for the First Responders in the Kayenta area.)
Dr. Nejeres advised that he has begun taking minutes at the meetings, and he will start sending copies of the minutes, and any other information, to the Board for their review. Mr. Thompson made a motion to approve setting aside funds in the amount of $202,000 from Homeland Security funding to purchase Hazmat Response vehicle, and to have the task force address the concerns presented today; motion seconded by Mr. Deal; vote unanimously carried. (Mr. Shumway absent for the vote)
BIOTERRORISM DEFENSE MANAGEMENT: Dr. Raymond Nejeres, Director: Approval of Agreement with the Navajo County Sheriff's Department for Rental of Storage Facility for Bio-Defense Rapid Response Team Equipment and Strategic National Stockpile supplies: Dr. Nejeres said he has arranged to rent an 8' x 32' metal storage box from the Sheriff's office to store equipment and Strategic National Stockpile supplies. The cost would be $6000 for a period of one year, from September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2004. The contract may be renewed annually. Dr. Nejeres noted that the contract must also be approved by the Arizona Department of Health Services. Mr. Brownlow made a motion to approve Agreement with the Sheriff's Department for Rental of Storage Facility for Bio-Defense Rapid Response Team Equipment and Strategic National Stockpile supplies; motion seconded by Mr. Thompson; vote unanimously carried. (Mr. Deal and Mr. DeSpain were absent for the vote)
RECORDER/ELECTIONS: Mary Kelley, Elections Coordinator: Memorandum of Understanding for Project Adios Chad, Punch Card buyout by the State of Arizona: Ms. Kelley explained that she will be attending a meeting with the other counties who are converting to optical scan, and there will be a better understanding of the MOU then. She advised that the MOU will require the counties to purchase the equipment and then be reimbursed by the State. The ballot containers are much larger than our current ballot boxes, and will require about 4 times the space to store them in. We will have to purchase 71 of these new containers, which cost approximately $3000 each. The ballots themselves must be stored in a climate-controlled environment. We will also be looking into renting U-Hauls trucks to transport the equipment to the precincts. Mr. DeSpain made a motion to approve MOU for Project Adios Chad, Punch Card buyout by the State of Arizona, as presented; motion seconded by Mr. Brownlow; vote unanimously carried. (Mr. Deal absent for the vote)
SPECIAL DISTRICTS/FINANCE: Bob Howell, Accountant: Public Hearing: 1) Resolution and Order Establishing and Organizing Roan Circle Improvement District in the Pinetop area: Mr. Howell advised that notice of this hearing was given pursuant to statute, and no written comments, either in favor of or opposed to, have been received. Mr. DeSpain noted that there were no public comments offered today. Mr. Brownlow made a motion to approve Resolution #60-03 for Order Establishing and Organizing Roan Circle Improvement District; motion seconded by Mr. Thompson; vote unanimously carried. (Mr. Shumway absent for the vote) 2) Resolution and Order Establishing and Organizing Sutter Drive Improvement District in the Pinetop area: Mr. Howell advised that notice was given pursuant to statute, and on letter was received in opposition to the district. He noted that approximately 70% of the property owners signed the petition for formation of the district. Mary Jo Bartlett and Harold Bartlett spoke in opposition to the district. They live on Crimson Oak Drive, which has been included in the proposed district boundaries. They expressed their concern that no one spoke to them about this district, the costs, etc. They believe that people who did sign the petition were misinformed about the costs; some were told that there would be no increase in taxes. Public Works Director Bill Cox said that historically, costs for this type of project average about $3000-$4000 per lot. The property owners can pay the whole amount, or can pay over time. He said that they try to keep the costs down by basically taking the existing grade and turning the dirt road into an asphalt road. The Bartletts asked if they can request that Crimson Oak be left out of the district. Mr. Bowers explained that the district boundaries can be redefined, but the problem is that the Bartletts are the only ones who have objected, or appeared here today. It would be difficult to exclude the entire road without further input from the other property owners. It was noted that this resolution today, if adopted, would only start the process. There will be another requested resolution down the road to incur the costs. Mr. Brownlow said he appreciated the fact that the Bartletts came all the way down here to express their concerns, but he has to look at the 70% of the property owners who did sign the petition. Mr. Brownlow made a motion to approve Resolution #61-03 for Order Establishing and Organizing Sutter Drive Improvement District; motion seconded by Mr. Deal; vote unanimously carried. (Mr. Shumway absent for the vote)
PAYROLL ACTIONS: Karen Bray, Payroll Supervisor, presented a list of payroll actions. Mr. Thompson made a motion to approve the payroll actions as submitted; motion seconded by Mr. Deal; vote unanimous approving the motion. (Mr. Shumway absent for the vote)
BOARD BUSINESS: Mr. Thompson said he wants to see the volunteer fire departments in unincorporated areas be able to participate in the Navajo County Fire District Assistance Fund, which is a state assessed fund. This matter has been to the legislature before and has not passed. He would like to see this legislation pursued.
There being no further business to come before the Board of Supervisors, the meeting was adjourned until Monday, September 15, 2003, upon a motion made by Mr. Brownlow; motion seconded by Mr. DeSpain; vote unanimously carried. (Mr. Shumway absent for the vote) The meeting adjourned at 11:25 a.m.
APPROVED:
DATE:
J.R. DeSpain, Vice-Chairman
ATTEST:
Judy Jones, Clerk of the Board
The following Navajo County demands were audited, approved and ordered paid by the Board: E&ESrvc$1381.32;Kodak$1720;EmpireMchry$28780.15;ForensicScncCntr$2045;FrntrComm$7261.62;JSexauer$1471.13;JLymanDMD$2075;NCRF$2069.10;Comm1stBnk$1031.34;AutoSftyHs$1413.90;Avaya$1655.97;APS$8133.69;BinghamEqpt$1313.14;BrimhallSnd&Rck$15033.99;CarrierCorp$2110.46;CtyHlbrk$2116.27;Compucom$2475.68;CocoCntyMedExmnr$5734.50;CopperStateBsnsFrms$5410.84;PSHumway$3365.96;SPrint$3692.76;PrintPlace$5656.65;Transource$6989.22;USPS$12000;Unisource$7229.73;VikingOfcPrd$3212.31;NCRF$2907

Published in the White Mountain Independent October 7, 2026 e mail
(WMI 5214, T, 1x, 10/7/2026)

Public Notice ID: 2146976.HTM