In Franz Kafka’s 1925 novel The Trial, Josef K. spent years organizing the bureaucracy to find justice. “It’s very rare to see any progress in a lawsuit like this,” he said.
People at the foot of the Rio Verde can relate.
In a Kafka-esque scenario that has been repeated several times over the past six months, the joy of Rio Verde foothills residents at a potential water source has been bureaucratically stifled.
First, at the end of 2022, the “treatment and transportation” arrangement that kept them supplied with Scottsdale water mysteriously vanished.
Longtime Scottsdale water recipients of the Rioverde Foothills rejoiced in February when the Scottsdale City Council approved an “intergovernmental agreement” to use Maricopa County as a water broker to the RVF. But the cheers turned to groans when the Maricopa County Commission made a decision. The supervisors quickly and soundly rejected Scottsdale’s plan.
The issue has moved to the state level, with a bill passed by the Arizona House and Senate on May 16 to force Scottsdale to re-open water to the Rio Verde foothills. All that was needed was the signature of Governor Katie Hobbs, who instead invoked her veto.
This was music to the ears of Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega and City Council members, who wrote a letter to the governor asking them to veto HB 2441.
In a letter explaining the May 19 veto, which was not made public until May 22, Hobbes said the bill would take too long to come into force.
But as Joseph K. continued to find avenues to pursue, Hobbes gave hope to the inhabitants of the unincorporated area just outside Scottsdale.
In a letter to Congress, Hobbes said, “I call on you to take action and have HB 2561 mailed to my desk. This is a bipartisan solution passed by the House of Representatives with majority support. An emergency clause for immediate effect, and language that addresses the issue of “long-term problems with wildcat development.” “
HB 2561’s sponsor, Rep. Alexander Collodin (R-Scottsdale), told Progress that he is working behind the scenes to get approval from all parties.
“I’ve been working closely with Scottsdale,” Collodin said of HB 2561. “Scottsdale is supportive.”
It’s not as fast, but it beats Ortega.
The mayor said he had not heard from Mr. Corodin.
And Ortega doesn’t share the Arizona governor’s enthusiasm for Collodin’s bill.
“HB 2561 is flawed,” Ortega said.
Hobbes noted that the Collodin bill addresses “wildcat” developers building multiple homes on the same lot, but Ortega complained that HB 2561 wasn’t enough, stating “illegal wildcat sites There should be severe penalties for division violations, including fines of $50,000 per lot.” violation. “
HB 2561 does not require City of Scottsdale approval, but several city council members told Progress that they strongly support it.
“HB 2561 has my full support,” said City Councilman Solange Whitehead. “For the first time, RVF residents will have a standpipe district that secures their water, monitors water bills, and will be able to enter into a water treatment agreement with Scottsdale.”
City Councilman Barry Graham said he had studied the language of Corrodin’s bill and discussed it with city officials before coming up with a positive opinion.
“The city is able to withstand this situation, far better than any other legislative remedy that has been attempted so far,” Graham said.
City Councilman Tammy Capti voted in favor of Corodin’s bill after “praising” HB 2441’s veto.
She said the bill, especially the creation of the Standpipe District, was a “good compromise.”
“It’s not perfect, but it has bipartisan support in Congress that will give Scottsdale what it needs and bring water to Rio Verde residents soon,” Caputi added.
City Councilor Betty Janik also noted bipartisan support for the Corrodin bill.
Janik said he supports the requirements of the government-to-government agreement and capped services to 750 Rio Verde Foothills residents.
But she echoed Ortega’s concerns about “the future development of the Rio Verde region, which has limited water supplies.” This is what caused the problem in the first place. “
Fear of RVF
Mr. Corodin’s bill was not unanimously accepted by residents of the Rio Verde Foothills.
Community organizers Christy Jackman, Cody Lime, and several others said HB 2441 was far preferable to the idea of a standpipe district in Corodin, which was designated as a domestic water improvement district (DWID). I am concerned that it is very similar to
The county regulator last summer rejected the DWID proposal for the Rio Verde Foothills, saying it was too powerful for a majority of residents.
Corodin has repeatedly used the phrase “that’s not DWID” in discussions with residents of the Rio Verde Foothills. Some people don’t buy what he sells.
“This is what we’ve been fighting for two years, and now they’re trying to force it on us,” Jackman said.
Lawmakers are on vacation until June 12, so Corrodin’s bill won’t be considered this week.
Meanwhile, EPCOR is awaiting a ruling on the Arizona Business Commission’s request to provide water to the Rio Verde Foothills.
But even if it is approved, private power companies estimate it will take up to three years to build the necessary infrastructure.
Some unincorporated county residents asked how quickly they could get water on Mr. Corrodin’s bill.
If the Arizona Senate sends it to Mr. Hobbes and Mr. Hobbes signs it, “best-case scenario[RVF residents]will get water a month after the ink dries,” Corodin said. rice field.
As Mr. Hobbes said in a letter outlining his veto over HB 2441, the Arizona House of Representatives passed Collodin’s HB 2561 with a “supermajority” vote on May 10, giving it a state of emergency. .
The Arizona Senate vote on HB 2561 is out of Collodin’s hands. The Senate may choose to vote on Senator John Kavanagh (R, Foothills), who has worked closely with Corrodin, on the “Miller Bill.”
Whether his bill passed or Kavanagh’s passed, Corrodin was confident that Hobbes would not reject it.
“This bill will get her signature,” he vowed.
Ultimately, once HB 2561 becomes law, Scottsdale will have a very close version of “handling and shipping.” This means taking raw water provided by a third party, treating it to drinking water standards, and sending it to the RVF via the same standpipe in the Northeast. Scottsdale that I used before.
The difference is that there is an intermediary responsible for billing and payments, as Scottsdale called for.
In this case, it will be a standpipe district represented by five appointed directors.
His bill calls for an intergovernmental agreement, as Scottsdale requested, but also includes language that Scottsdale is “required” to participate in supplying water to the RVF.
“From Scottsdale, I felt that everyone involved in this matter was ready to end this issue,” Corrodin said.
EPCOR has made it clear that it has secured water supply to the Rio Verde foothills, but Collodin’s bill does not specify the involvement of private operators.
“With this law, it’s up to the parties,” Corodin said. “As far as I know, he is the only company EPCOR that has a serious interest.
One of the points Corrodin felt was important to emphasize was that “the bill does not require any use of Scottsdale water.”
“Hey, I live in Scottsdale. I can see why they’d want to whirl their wagons on the water.”
As before, Mr. Corodin criticized the city and county’s past actions, which he said led to the stagnation of waters in the Rio Verde foothills.
“Scottsdale, Maricopa County, private groups, anyone could have solved this problem, but nobody did,” he said. “We are the legislature, so ultimately we are responsible.”
Corodin’s original version of HB 2561 was very similar to Congressman Gail Griffin’s HB 2441 in that it forced Scottsdale to re-open water to the RVF, but had few other provisions.
After the first attempt was rejected two months ago, Corodin substantially amended HB 2561, adding language on standpipe districts and restrictions on “wildcat development.”
“We have worked with the City of Scottsdale on this. We want to be fair to all parties. We definitely want to respect that,” Corodin said.
One Rio Verde Foothills resident said her family “carries rainwater in buckets to flush the toilet once a day, showers and does laundry at friends’ houses in other cities. ,” he said, expressing support for Corrodin’s bill.
“It’s not beautiful,” said Lee Harris. “However, this will soon provide a vital source of interim water needed by more than 500 suffering families.”
