This is my first What's Going On In Valle Vista post..
The Lake Mohave
Ranchos Fire District (LMRFD) consolidated with Meadview's Grapevine Mesa Fire
District some years back. Like Valle Vista the Grapevine Mesa Fire
District was riddled with islands (parcels not contiguous with the dist) that
are illegal according to Arizona law.
Because of the history
of local fire district consolidation and problems those consolidations created
I'm going to post about Valle Vista's progress as they work to solve problems
and seek better fire protection and EMS in their area.
What's Going On In Valle Vista
In July 2017, members
of the Northern Arizona Consolidated Fire District #1 (NACFD1), along
with their attorney brought up the 2007 merger of the former Hualapi Valley
Fire District and Valle Vista Fire District. The merger was characterized as
illegal during a public meeting, along with the subsequent consolidation
between the merged fire district and the Truxton and Chloride Fire Districts.
These comments, lead a group of Valle Vista residents to pursue taking back
their old fire district. After months of research and town hall meetings, these
residents have made initial contact with the NACFD1 Board of Directors to
pursue a boundary change, or removal from NACFD1 of the Valle Vista area.
After discussion with
the Mohave County Assessor's office, along with review of the applicable
Arizona Revised Statute sections which pertain to boundary changes, it
was determined that if Valle Vista wanted
to leave, they would need to take those portions of Hackberry and Truxton
currently protected by NACFD with them . The statutes prevent islands of
service from being formed and require continuity in boundaries. Several
town hall meetings were held leading up to the March 21, 2019 Board meeting
where resident Ray Ricciardi advised the NACFD1 board that a group was
interested in pulling out of NACFD1.
According to the
Revised Statutes, any adult person may request a boundary change, in this
instance a group of over one hundred Valle Vista property owners and residents
have signed a petition requesting the boundary change. There are several steps
to make the boundary change, all of which are currently in process, including
determining property owners and parcels, preparing a map and legal description,
and preparing an impact statement. A licensed Civil Engineer and Accountant
from Valle Vista have both agreed to assist in the preparation of the impact
statement.
Driving factors for
the boundary change include displeasure by district residents in a proposed
management agreement between NACFD1 and the City of Kingman. Several area
residents have spoken at Kingman City Council and NACFD1 meetings against the
apparent takeover by the city. Previous dispatch concerns with Kingman Fire
dispatch, who dispatches for NACFD1, have been noted where fire vehicles
were not dispatched to medical and other emergencies in Valle Vista. Proponents
of the boundary change also cite reduced service in Valle Vista and Truxton
with three of four area fire stations closed and no plan by NACFD1 to reopen
them. This group believes that local control is the key to improved service and
estimates an overall budget of approximate budget of $600,000 the first year.
This would allow for a mix of full time, part time and volunteer personnel to
staff the various fire stations. The move would also allow the new district to
pursue grant monies for the purchase of new fire equipment to replace an aging
fleet which has not been updated since 2007. Some vehicles are over 25 years
old and have passed their expected life cycle.
While there are
several hoops to jump through, the boundary change proponents believe they have
a viable plan to pull out of NACFD1 and form a new district which is more
concerned with the rural communities of Valle Vista, Hackberry and Truxton. The
boundary change committee believes there would be NO increase in property taxes
as the existing NACFD1 tax is close to the cap set by the State of Arizona. The
new district would be able to assess at current levels with no increase.
The proposed boundary
change has nothing to do with the Valle Vista Property Owners Association. No
additional fees will be levied against the VVPOA, nor will additional fees be
levied against properties owned by the association as a result of the boundary
change.
We will be monitoring
the progress of this boundary change and providing updates as they become
available. For additional information, one can email involved parties at savevvfd@gmail.com .
ARS Boundary Change
information - 48-262
ARS Fire District
information - 48-853
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