Hospital plan withdrawn, school plan delayed

The Executive Board of the Big Park Council is pleased to announce that two pending applicants before Yavapai County officials have withdrawn or put on hold action requests that raised concerns in this community. 

This abrupt turnabout was the result – at least in part – from concerns expressed by our council as well as District 3 Supervisor Donna Michaels’ active representations on behalf of her constituency, including the Village of Oak Creek.

First, as you may be aware, Northern Arizona Healthcare withdrew its request for the issuance of a $10.5 million bond for expansion of its healthcare system and is looking for alternative ways to finance its improvements. Local residents had expressed concerns that the bonds may have benefitted other localities where NAH has operations rather than in our area.

Second, a public hearing in Prescott regarding a special use permit by Verde Valley School (VVS) has been delayed after David Gill, chair of the Council’s Planning & Zoning Committee, requested more information from the County and an opportunity for the local residents to participate in the public process, as is customary.  The Council also requested that the hearing be removed from Prescott to a more convenient county facility in Cottonwood.

Jeremey Dye, director of Yavapai County Development Services, on Oct. 19 responded to our request by stating VVS “has opted to do additional public outreach” and has agreed to a continuance of the hearing before the Yavapai County Planning Commission that was previously scheduled for Oct. 20. 

This is a nice win for the council – we thank VVS for agreeing to be more inclusive in addressing any community concerns, and for Yavapai County and Supervisor Michaels’ constructive response to the above issues.

-- BPC Executive Board

Camille Cox, President

Duane Thompson, Vice President

Mary Pope, Secretary

Patty Reski, Treasurer