MAYOR MONTHLY REPORT - APRIL 2025
WASHINGTON DC TRIP: On May 25th through 27th, myself, along with Vice Mayor Mike Stapleton, Councilman Freddy Rios, Assistant City Manager, Linda Oddonnetto, and City Manager Paul Jepson, made a trip to Washington DC to meet with our Delegates. The meetings included the Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Railroad Administration, Senator Mark Kelly, Senator Ruben Gallego, Congressman Eli Crane, Congressman Greg Stanton, and Congressman Andy Biggs. All the meetings were discussions for funding for various projects. These projects include McCormick Wash, Railroad Hub, new Fire Station, new Ladder Truck, new Police Vehicles, and Forest Health and Mining. All of the meetings were coordinated by our Washington Lobbyist, Bob Holmes.
FIREWISE PROGRAM: Council heard a presentation from, Fire Chief Robinson, on the implementation of a Firewise program in our community. With almost our entire state in extreme drought conditions, it is important that we look at ways to decrease our wildfire risk in all our Globe-Miami community. Neighborhoods within our community can become a Firewise area by initiating the program by organizing a committee of volunteers in their neighborhood, along with partnerships with the Fire Department and the Department of Forestry. The steps to become a Firewise site is to organize, create a plan, implement it, and report back. For more information on the program, contact Chief Gary Robinson, Globe Fire Department at 928-200-5156.
SPRING CLEAN EVENT: The City of Globe sponsored a Spring Clean Event on April 11thand 12th. This event included sprucing up downtown Broad Street by planting flowers, painting curbs and handrails, cleaning the Pascoe Stairs, and sweeping sidewalks. The event also included free dumpster day with a total collection of 68.62 tons of trash collected along with 217 tires. We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers that participated in the two-day event. The total number of volunteers recorded for the two days was 87.
APS FIRE MITIGATION PSPS PLAN: Council heard a presentation by the Director of Forestry and Fire Mitigation, Scott Bordenkircher, from Arizona Public Service (APS) on their Wildfire Mitigation Program. This program is called PSPS which stands for Public Safety Power Shutoff. APS is the largest electric utility company in Arizona with 6,000 transmission miles and 32,000 distribution miles. 19% of their system is considered to be high fire risk areas that includes our Globe-Miami community. APS has initiated several practices within their systems to help with fire mitigation that include; vegetation management, grid hardening investments, assessment inspections of their lines, a team of meteorologists on staff, and camera weather stations.
The PSPS is another tool that can be implemented when the risk of wildfires is extremely high. These conditions include, high winds, dry conditions, extreme heat, and the risk of fire spread. If the conditions all lined up, and the PSPS program were initiated in our community, it could mean that power would be shut off in certain areas for up to 24 hours or until the extreme conditions are decreased. APS has assured that prior to any PSPS event, that the public would be given a 4-day notice. This communication will take place via text messages, email, phone calls, or cell phone. APS will be holding a Townhall meeting to be announced for public questions in early May.
All residents are encouraged to create an account online by visiting aps.com/login, or if you already have an account, sign in to be sure your account information is up to date with your email address and cell phone number. You can also update your contact information by calling the APS Customer Experience Center at 800-253-9405. For regular updates and outage maps, go to aps.com/outages.
Our staff is actively working on an emergency plan in cooperation with the county Emergency Services and all other stakeholders and organizations in the community. This plan includes identifying target areas such as patients on oxygen, the disabled, the elderly, and other high-risk areas.
COFFEE WITH THE MAYOR: This month’s Coffee With The Mayor is scheduled for May 21stat 1 pm, at Copper Cities Coffee, 1100 N. Broad Street, Suite F. This is an opportunity for residents to attend and ask questions and get the most recent accurate information about any city projects past, present, or pending. This event will continue every third Wednesday of the month at 1 pm. Thank you again to Copper Cities Coffee for hosting this event.