DOUGLAS, Ariz. (KGUN) – On Wednesday, the Douglas City Council and mayor will vote on the city’s budget for the next 12 months.

At a meeting leading up to the final vote, city councilor José Grijalva, who represents District 6, expressed concern about delaying the completion of the renovation project, which can be fixed now, until next year.

“If you run it like a home, we’ll fix it right away. If you have the money, we’ll fix any repairs,” Grijalva said. We have the money, but they’ll wait until next year. “

Safety concerns include uneven sidewalks, road cracks, and drainage issues.

“When we hold food trucks on Fridays, there are elderly people who don’t want to cross the road because the road is bumpy,” Grijalva said.

Alan Mankero, who owns two stores on G Avenue, said he saw people fall outside his store as the sidewalk was raised, but said he could not get the city to fix the problem.

In a statement to KGUN 9, he said, “There needs to be a huge investment in accessibility across G Avenue, and indeed throughout the city,” he said, adding, “I have seen many of our customers fall trying to jump to the current sidewalk height.”

“Our customers need proper ramps and accessible parking to get to our office safely.”

Mr. Mankero and other managers and administrators working along G Avenue, including Gadsden manager Tanya Duarte, have expressed concern over a budgeted streetscape project to “beautify” three blocks of G Avenue to fix safety issues.

“We don’t need to narrow the roads or change the sidewalks,” Duarte said. “When we walked out[from the meeting with the city]the three of us felt that the city was just trying to do whatever they wanted.”

Douglas City Manager Ana Urquijo said there are two projects the city is working on for the downtown area: 1) a street beautification project and 2) a downtown revitalization project. Rui Pedroza, city deputy mayor and city treasurer, said the streetscape project is not yet fully funded as it is waiting for $2.9 million from the federal government.

“If you receive the award, you’re at least putting it into the budget that you can use,” he said.

If the city receives the funding by the end of the year, Urquijo said, the project could begin at the end of the year.

“We are not just sitting there waiting for funding. Of course, we hope it works,” she said.

Downtown revitalization projects include infrastructure upgrades to historic buildings, a drainage system under G Avenue, and other renovations to current streets.

“For us, the downtown gem is a historic building. If it’s not structurally sound and we need to reinforce the beams or replace part of the roof, that’s a big problem for us because it helps with preservation,” Urquijo said.

City administrators said the city is working with the county and other partners to seek grants that could help G Avenue business owners with the funds they need to preserve historic buildings.

Pedrosa added that road improvement projects will be implemented in various parts of the city from this year to next year.

A special hearing will be held Wednesday before the Congressional meeting for the public to speak about the budget and improvement projects.