Desert Messenger

May 18, 2022 www.DesertMessenger.com 9 QES FROM PAGE 3 BONDED NOTARY PUBLIC • PICK UP & DELIVERY SERVICE • Courier Service • Mobile Notary Service • Professional Correspondence • Proof Reading • Copies Year Round Quartzsite Resident 562-682-7283 Yes, I travel to you! Just another day at the office! Council recap from May 10th regular council meeting Presentation by Scott Graff of Col- by & Powell, PLC on the town of Quartzsite FY 2021 Council approved consent agenda items Ledger of Accounts paid in the total amount of $154,379.13 and minutes of the regular meeting of April 26, 2022 and Budget Work- shop meeting minutes of April 20, 27, and 28, 2022. Council voted to award a bid for Asphalt Milling and Overlay work to Paveco Inc. for repair work on sections of Riggles Avenue and Mockingbird Street. The contract amount is $385,809.75 to be paid from town Highway User Revenue Funds (FURF). Council voted to approve the re- vised Utilities Policy and Proce- dures on water leak(s) and water and sewer payment arrangements. Deputy Town Manager Kiki Tun- nell presented the recommended changes to the policy which will clear up disputes between residents and staff and facilitate positive so- lutions to utility billing questions. Council voted to accept the Fiscal year 2020-2021 Audited Financial Statement and Annual Expendi- ture Limitation Report presented by Colby & Powell, PLC. Council ac- knowledged that staff continues to do a good job. Council recommended approval of a Bingo License application for the Holiday Palms Resor, LLC to be conducted at 355 W. Main Street. This is a license renewal applica- tion. Council reviewed and discussed eligible projects for submittal to the FY 2022 Arizona Department of Housing CDBG (Community De- velopment Block Grant) program. Project consultant Cliff O'Neill, pre- sented the history of the CDBG pro- Quartzsite Town Council recap May 10 gram and how funds are distributed within the WACOG (Western Ari- zona Council of Governments) re- gion. Three activities received dur- ing the public hearing process were presented to the Council for review and consideration of the $266,513 in FY2022 CDBG funds. Activity 1 is Administration. Activity 2 is the Quartzsite Senior Center Improve- ments and Activity 3 is Quartzsite Food Bank Improvements. Council approved Resolution No. 22-08 authorizing submission of an application to the CDBG program and authorizing all actions neces- sary to implement and complete the three activities outlined in the ap- plication. Council voted to enter into an agreement with RICK Engineering for professional services to design and provide bidding services on the Quartzsite park Improvement Proj- ect. Council discussed the temporary suspension/postponement of utility base fees for the purpose of renova- tions and new construction RV/Mo- bile Home Parks. Council suggested the matter be handled by the Town Manager through the development agreement process. Council directed the Town Manag- er to prepare a resolution to increase the salary for future Council mem- bers and the Mayor. The amount of the increase for each Council member will be $100/month with the Mayor's salary also increased by $100/month. The Town Council meets the 2nd & 4th Tuesday of each month at Town Hall, 468 N. Plymouth Ave. DEADLINE : WED. JUNE 3 TH for JUNE 13 th edition Desert Messenger News Email: editor@DesertMessenger.com 928-916-4235 www.DesertMessenger.com The public is invited to a Meet and Greet the Candidates Forum Wednesday, June 29th, 2022. The forum is hosted by Quartzsite Area Chamber of Commerce & Tour- ism. The forum will be held at the Quartzsite Senior Center, 40 N. Moon Mountain Ave., Quartzsite. Candidates are encouraged to bring promotional materials to share with voters. Doors open to the Public at 6:00pm for greeting the candidates. Forum will start at 6:30pm Refreshments will be provided. • Each Candidate will be allowed a 2 minute Introduction • Prepared questions will be pre- sented. The number of questions is dependent on the number of Candi- dates in attendance. Decorum will be required from all attendees. For more information visit www. facebook.com/QuartzsiteTourism or call 928-927-5200. Meet the Candidates planned The Quartzsite Elementary School District has not paid anything out of pocket to date for this project. So far $367,095 grant funds have been spent on the project. Dr. Barajas said, "This is actually for the design and May 19th poten- tial bidders will be physically at the school to determine bids for actual construction. We are waiting for the next fiscal year to receive the funds. Bidding process has already begun. Desert Messenger asked her what were some of the project delays/ challenges? Dr. Barajas said,"The School Facilities Board has very strict guidelines that have to be fol- lowed and because they are paying 100% of this project, we must ensure we are abiding by those guidelines. Another challenge, the SFB has only one meeting per month and if we do not have paperwork ready about a week before the actual meeting, we are further delayed." DM asked: Do you know the total of the grant or expectation of how much this will end up costing? Dr. Barajas answered, "Not at this time, we have to still go out for bids. That will happen within the next couple of months." DM asked: Do you know when the school might reopen to students? Dr. Barajas replied, "Not at this time." DM asked: What would you like the Quartzsite community to most know about this project? Dr. Barajas replied, "We will continue to work with the School Facilities Board un- til this project is complete." Quartzsite School District Govern- ing Board meets the 2nd Thursday, of each month at 6:00 PM at the Ehrenberg Elementary School, Eh- renberg, Az. For more information contact QES at (928) 923-7907. "Knowledge will give you power, but character respect." ~Bruce Lee

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