County Asks Corps For Help In Rehabilitating Winslow Levee

By Linda Kor
   Homero Vela, Navajo County’s deputy director of flood control, went before the Board of Supervisors July 1 to ask that the chairman sign a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requesting the corps’ participation in rehabilitating the Winslow levee. The supervisors obliged, moving the process one more step forward.
   The 7.2-mile flood control levee, located along the Little Colorado River near Winslow, will be decertified with the modernization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maps. This decertification will result in 2,700 parcels being reintroduced into the flood plain. Included in that area are several hundred homes, businesses and the City of Winslow’s wastewater treatment plant.
   When the levee was originally completed in 1989 it met all FEMA requirements for a 100-year flood. This levee was damaged by floodwaters in 1993, resulting in flood damages to 140 structures. On Dec. 31, 2004, floodwaters in the Little Colorado River found a piping pathway through the levee and eroded a large hole in it. Emergency repairs were made to the levee, which averted flooding to even more structures.
   Navajo County is requesting that the corps’ Los Angeles District undertake a feasibility study with the objective of rehabilitating the levee. The county is offering to enter into a feasibility cost-sharing agreement with the corps, subject to negotiation of the project management plan. Once the project management plan is complete, the feasibility agreement will be presented to the board for approval.
   Vela believes the letter will carry some weight. “This letter will show the corps that we’re committed to the project,” he stated.
   In a rare request, Arizona Senator Jon Kyl has asked that separate federal funds in the amount of $500,000 be set aside for this project. “If the $500,000 fails to come through, the feasibility study will stop. The corps needs a 50 percent federal cost share in order to accept the project,” explained Vela.
   The plan is a 50/50 share plan, with half of the funds coming from the federal government and half from non-federal sources. Half of the non-federal source funds can be in the form of in-kind services.
   Once federal funding is received, the feasibility study will take approximately two years to complete. After that the engineering design plan and construction will complete the project in the next eight to 10 years.
   In a related matter, the board members approved setting a public hearing at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 5, in their chambers to consider the adoption of a revised Navajo County Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance.
   The revised ordinance would require three feet of elevation against adjacent grade for new construction behind the Winslow levee and two feet of elevation against adjacent grade for residential construction in Zone A floodplains. It would also add standards for garages and storage sheds, and provide details on what constitutes a special flood hazard area.
   In other action July 1, the board:
   * Approved a special event liquor license for an event to be held July 5 and 6 at 2068 Lumber Valley Road in Overgaard, as requested by the Sons of the American Legion Squadron No. 86.
   * Approved tax exemptions filed as requests for redemption of waiver for 23 properties. This waiver pertains to owners who have been widowed or are disabled.
   * Approved the ratification of contracts signed by the county manager as per board resolution, including the amendment to provider network management agreement contracted with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona, Inc., a stop loss proposal with HM Life Insurance Company, and an agreement for office sharing between Navajo County and the Teesto Chapter.
   * Approved an amendment to the contract with the Arizona Department of Corrections (DOC) for and on behalf of the Arizona State Prison Complex in Winslow extending it to June 30, 2013. This contract allows Navajo County to use DOC inmates to perform labor at a rate of 50 cents per hour.
   * Approved the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission Crime Victim Assistance Grant Agreement with the Navajo County Attorney’s Office for a one-year, $32,000 grant.
   * Approved the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant totaling $282,080 to fund personnel operating the Major Crimes Apprehension Team for fiscal year 2008-2009.
   * Approved an intergovernmental agreement between the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and Navajo County Public Health Services District to be the lead agency for a local Child Fatality Review Team. A $10,000 yearly grant accompanies will be used to pay expenses incurred.
   * Approved the revision of the scope of the work page of a contract with ADHS for a folic acid services program.
   * Approved cancellation of elections for precinct committeemen in precincts where the number of candidates who have filed nominating papers is equal to or less than the number of positions to be filled, with candidates to be appointed and deemed elected.
   * Approved an intergovernmental agreement between the Arizona Department of Economic Security and the Navajo County Board of Supervisors for the Navajo and Apache Counties Workforce Partnership. The agreement is a three-year contract effective April 1, 2008, to June 30, 2011, and will fund the youth, adult, dislocated worker and rapid response programs. The maximum contract reimbursement by the state shall be $426,262.
   * Approved the designation of Eugene “Dusty” Parsons as the signor of all Workforce Investment Act documents necessary for the effective performance of the program until a new director is hired in that capacity.
   * Approved the extension of a contract with Perkins Cinders Inc. for an additional year, ending June 18, 2009, for the Victory Heights Road Maintenance District in Clay Springs at an estimated cost of $296,942.62 for culverts, road materials and maintenance service.
   * Awarded contracts to Brimhall Sand and Rock, Cholla Ready Mix Inc. and Perkins Cinders to supply various roadway materials.
   * Awarded a $962,500 contract to Brimhall Sand and Rock for the supply and delivery of roadway materials to the Navajo Nation. The materials will be used to reconstruct two six-mile stretches of roadway on the Navajo Nation.
   * Approved an agreement with Citizens Telecommunications Company of the White Mountains Inc., doing business as Frontier Communications, for the fiber optic line relocation along Porter Mountain Road in Lakeside in the amount of $62,974.89.
   * Approved the final plat and financial assurances for Summer Place North Unit 3B on Stone Bridge Trail in the Heber area.