How a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) could put Holbrook in the running to become an inland port city was the key to the presentation given to the Holbrook City Council by Jeffrey Miles, president of Selimaj, LLC, at the meeting on March 27. It was a presentation that caused the council members to lay aside their differences and unanimously take the steps necessary to begin planning a new future for Holbrook.
Miles introduced himself as having more than 40 years in the business of civil engineering with eight of those years spent as a project manager with Arizona Department of Transportation, working on local governments and statewide projects before starting his own company. For nearly an hour, Miles walked the council through what a CIP was and why it is so important to future development of the city. “If you don’t have a CIP,” said Miles, “then your chances of getting federal funding for the city is slim to none.”
Miles further explained that the purpose of a CIP “is for you, the council, to sit down with the city manager, and come up with the required five year plan.” Within that plan, the council will detail out the want list, the need list and the emergency project list.
While the need and emergency project lists are often looked at as critical, Miles said, “The most important part of the plan is the want list because you are looking 20 to 30 years out. You have to establish which direction the city is going to go. Once we get to the end of the five years, we have to be in sync. The first five years should dovetail into the larger plan.
“In order for the five-year plan to have serious consideration, you have to do a 10 year general plan,” stated Miles, who noted that the last plan done for Holbrook was in 1998. “This plan is your legacy as a city council,” Miles said. “It will show how you will get jobs into the city, how will you handle growth, business and residential development as well as entertainment.”
Miles explained that once the CIP is in place, a world of opportunities, through federal funding and grants, can open up for Holbrook. Within that is the potential of creating an inland port distribution center.
“The purpose behind an inland port is to create jobs and right now, the federal government is leaning heavily toward the movement of freight. From Google to Amazon, freight movement is taking over business with a need to create more distribution centers,” Miles said.
The main three components for an inland port certification is a railroad, an interstate highway and an airport, making Holbrook a major qualifier.
As an example of what can happen, Miles shared the story of El Mirage, a city on the west side of Phoenix that had the railroad using the city as a storage unit, much like what is happening in Holbrook. In 2007, El Mirage hired Dr. Spencer Isom, a former Snowflake town manager, and they began working on their CIP. When that was complete, they went to the railroad and requested that a distribution center become a part of El Mirage. The railroad said yes and even helped to fund the plan. Miles said, “El Mirage had to develop their general fund and a five year plan. Now they are in the game. They are getting funding and created jobs for their community.”
At the end of the presentation, the council unanimously agreed to have Miles return for a planning session on Tuesday, April 17. Councilman Richard Peterson said that it was imperative that the council pay Miles for his time to conduct that session, requesting that Miles submit a bill to the city, which will come up for approval at the Tuesday, April 10 meeting.
The council also unanimously agreed that after the planning meeting, they would make a decision at the April 24 meeting as to whether they would continue with Selimaj, LLC, or find another way to continue forward.
