SAFFORD — The first State of Economic Development panel by the Graham Economic Partnership bought significant good news to the Gila Valley.
Pima Town Manager Vernon Batty, Thatcher Town Manager Heath Brown and Safford City Manager John Cassella all reported on a number of new projects and businesses that will soon be making their debut.
“We’ve received plans for Burger King. They’re going to demo(lish) their existing building and rebuild a new restaurant there,” Brown said.
He added that a new U-Haul Center that will have indoor storage as well as vehicle rentals is going in near the Comfort Inn. And work on the infrastructure for the Thatcher Commercial Plaza will be starting soon, allowing the first tenant — American Southwest Credit Union — to begin construction.
Cassella said the city is working with a developer on a new microbrewery and pub in the Safford Downtown area, as well as the Safford Downtown Association’s signage project to bring traffic off U.S. Highway 70 to the Downtown area.
And he said the city is pursuing a number of grants that will allow the city to attract a commercial carrier and construct a new terminal building at the airport, and grants to expand the city’s ballfields and recreational opportunities.
– David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central
Corina Pino-Reyes, president of the Graham County Chamber of Commerce Board, said the Chamber has contracted with the City of Safford to market the airport, as well as the Mt. Graham Municipal Golf Course.
Graham County Supervisor John Howard said that local sales tax revenue is up about 5 percent, but state shared sales tax revenue is flat and the state is facing a more than $1 billion deficit over the next two years.
Eric Bejarano with the Small Business Development Center at EAC, and Sean Wenham with Freeport-McMoRan both talked about each entity’s commitment to the area’s growth, and U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., gave a State of the District address.
He talked about the $3.3 million that came to Graham County — for the Linear Park and new Pima Fire Station — in the current budget, and what he’s advocating for in the coming budget.
“The first one is $1.2 million for Graham County for parks reclaimed and drinking water, and the other one is almost $2.4, $2.389 million, to the Town of Pima for the High School Road Construction Project,” Ciscomani said.
Danny Smith, chair of the Graham Economic Partnership, said the hope is to have a quarterly breakfast with area stakeholders for updates on economic development efforts.
