Supervisors deny permit for monopole tower site

Also attending the meeting were county residents, 16 who spoke in opposition on the matter, citing health concerns, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, visual impact and the devaluation of properties in the area.

Kevin Dunn stated he has been a realtor in the area for 23 years, “I’ve done dozens of BPOS, broker price opinions, for banks that want to know my opinion or judgment or assessment.” He continued by stating his professional assessment was property values would decrease 30-40%. Another realtor, JoAnne Guderian, also spoke and supported Gunn’s statements.

Snowflake resident Melinda Wilson explained how it would affect her and others in the White Antelope Community, which is a community for those suffering from environmental illness located east of the town. “I personally have lived here in this special White Antelope community for 12 years in low-income rental housing financed by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and by the Arizona Department of Housing,” explain Wilson, “For people like me, this is government funded rental housing specially designed to shield against electromagnetic fields and radio frequencies of the type broadcasted by cell towers.” She also mentioned the negative impact it would have on future residents who planned to move to the area due to suffering from the same afflictions.

After some discussion between the board, Supervisor Daryl Seymour made a motion to deny the request “based upon the testimony that we’ve heard and the materials that have been supplied to us, and direct staff to prepare a written statement concerning our findings of fact that we have found,” which was seconded and approved by the board. Later adding to the motion to delegate Chair Jason Whiting to review and sign the written statement prior to the required deadline of Nov 28. County Attorney Brad Carlyon made a note stating “Just to be clear, we’re not denying it because of health concerns which the FCC says you shouldn’t. You’re doing it based on the Americans with Disability Act, with one or more people falling within a disability protected by the ADA, and that this is a reasonable and necessary accommodation under the ADA for them.”

In another matter, the board then approved the adoption of resolution 46-224, which is a Special Use Permit to allow for the construction and operation of a 1,000-megawatt solar power generation facility, as well as a 1,000 megawatt, four-hour, battery energy storage system (BESS), and associated facilities on approximately 9,213 acres of land located 3.5 miles northwest of Snowflake.

Linda Quog stated her opposition for the permit. “Giant solar farms and giant wind farms are outdated technologies for energy and leave environmental scars will never be repaired in our children’s lifetime and will destroy our open spaces forever.” Linda added that the board’s children along with their children’s children would despise them for approving the permit. She also questioned the honesty of the board, specifically Chair Whiting. “Jason Whiting, you sit on the Board of RealAZ, which actively works to bring these international corporations to Navajo County to do business, to destroy county’s open lands and beautiful business, and yet you serve on the Board of Supervisors to approve or deny the use permits of these entities overriding our already existing building codes,” Quog said. “That is a conflict of interest, and the people want some answers and demand 100% transparency. So, Supervisor Whiting, how much money have you personally received from RealAZ and any entity doing business with RealAZ in any fashion?” Galen Flake of Snowflake also stated his opposition for the permit. Revone Bauwens from Show Low spoke in favor for the approval of the special use permit.

In response to the statements, Chair Whiting clarified that the county cannot make decisions on what land utilities decide to purchase if its privately owned. “We have a private landowner that’s here with us today that wants to use his land the way that the Constitution allows him to use the land.” Whiting explained that the board cannot be part of those dealings but rather determines if it meets the county’s ordinance.

Whiting also responded to the allegations of misconduct with RealAZ, explaining “I’ve never been paid a dime for anything that I do with RealAZ. It’s something that I’ve served on because it’s an economic development hub that is in this area that works to help support the businesses that are considering coming in.” He further stated that RealAZ acts as a resource and help facilitate conversations.

The board also approved the adoption of resolution 45-2024, a final plat to allow for 20-lot single-family residential subdivision in the Lakeside area. No one spoke during the public hearing.

During the call to the public, three people spoke. Celia Laughlin requested a review of the electronic voting machines and stated her disapproval for the wind farms. Donna Shurwin spoke to the board regarding polling stations being equally staffed by both parties, stating the Whiteriver polling station had 17 Democrats working and only two Republicans.

Jerry Hubbard also mentioned his problems with the county election operations, adding that he believed Navajo County to be a laughingstock due to its inability to count its ballots in a timely manner.

Supervisor Seymour responded to Hubbard, stating that the county’s races were so close that nothing was declared, but did not think it was slower than any other locations. In response to the voting machines, Seymour stated “I’m going to again ask staff to look into some of the irregularities in our voting and to have an assessment, follow up with the committees, and to possibly make adjustments where we can going forward, so we can continue to improve.

The board and county staff honored Donna Hurstrom on her retirement. She worked at Navajo County for over 17 years in various positions. Jalyn Gerlich, who retired from her position as Superintendent of Navajo County after nine years of service, was also honored.

In other business the board:

* Approved amendment number four to Wilson & Company professional services contract for the Joseph City Pedestrian Improvements Project. On May 23, 2023, the board approved the original contract to prepare construction documents for the Joseph City Pedestrian Improvement Project. This project will provide recommended improvements to enhance pedestrian traffic and improve pedestrian crossings at specified locations. Amendment number four will add additional professional services required to evaluate the drainage impacts based on the requested design change to the previously proposed sidewalk design.

* Accepted the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY 25) Arizona Attorney General’s Office’s Victims’ Rights program grant agreement in the amount of $26,800 to support the direct costs of implementing victims’ rights laws. Funds from this grant provided over 14,000 mandated notifications to victims in FY 2024. Specifically, funds pay the partial salary of two office support specialists that are part of the notification process. There is no match requirement with this grant.

* Approved to process FY 2025 fund transfers. Fiscal year-end fund transfers that were included in the FY budget for the fund reconciliations.

* Approved the Certificate of Removal and Abatement Purging Record of Tax, Penalty and Interest on Personal Property Taxes, pursuant to A.R.S. §42-19118 and §42-18353.

* Approved the 2025 Board of Supervisors meeting schedule. Meetings will continue to be held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month at 9 a.m., with exceptions for one meeting in July for the holiday schedule, one in November for Veteran’s Day and one in December due to the holidays.

* Approved County Manager Bryan Layton’s contract.

* Approved a letter of support for ZenniHome Manufacturing Development & Expansion for the allocation of New Market Tax Credits and another letter of support to Arizona Public Service (APS) for support for the AZ Grid Resilience Grant Program.

Convening as the Navajo County Jail District, the board:

* Approved awarding Inmate Commissary & Resident Banking Services contract to Summit Food Service, LLC effective Jan. 13, 2025. This is a three-year contract to provide inmate commissary and resident banking services for the Navajo County Jail. The contractor will provide the contracted services to Navajo County at no cost and will provide a commission to the County on revenue generated.

Convening as the Navajo County Public Health Services District, the board:

* Approved an annual Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the Arizona Department of Health Services and Navajo County Public Health Services District to provide the community with education and naloxone to combat the opioid epidemic.

Convening as the Navajo County Flood Control District, the board:

* Approved the adoption of the Amended Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance Number FCD 01-16. Because the county has chosen to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) program, it must have a Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance in place. NFIP allows its citizens to purchase flood insurance underwritten by the NFIP. This ordinance needs to be updated periodically to comply with current Federal and State requirements. A public hearing was held prior to its approval, during which no one spoke.

The board convened into the Board of Equalization to hear multiple petitions pertaining to the assessment of personal property valuation. These included a vacant 30.89-acre parcel outside the city limits of Winslow. The petitioner stated that the land is used agriculturally, which is different from the assessor’s valuation. The assessor states that an application to remove it from its current valuation has not been received from the property owner. The request was denied by the board, with the stipulation that if the owners file the application by June 1, the owners will receive a reduction in value for its use.

Another property for consideration was the lot on McNeill Street in Lakeside. According to the petitioner, the property tax on that lot had doubled from the previous year. The assessor explained that the owner applied for a senior valuation protection in 2019, which freezes the limited valued. That valuation protection needs to be refiled every three years and the property owner failed to do so, bringing the valuation cost up. The board approved in favor of the assessor’s valuation.

The third property is located within Pine Crest RV Resort in Overgaard regarding a Park Model with improvements of a covered porch, electrical, water and sewage hookups, and a storage shed, which increased the cash value of the property by nearly double. The owner, who was not present at the meeting, disputed the increase after providing the cost of the improvements. The board voted to accept the assessor’s valuation.

The board also heard from Assessor Cammy Darris regarding stipulations between the assessor and the petitioners regarding petitions for review that were agreed upon by both parties.

Following the regular meeting, the board held a work session in which they discussed winter weather condition preparedness, Planning & Development update and board policies and procedures. No action was taken.

On Friday, Nov. 15, the board held a special meeting and approved the official canvass of the results of the Nov. 5, General Election.