Meeting

9/05/2025
NSD Business Office
1326 W. Highway 92 #12
Bisbee, Arizona 85603

Minutes

The regular meeting of the Naco Sanitary District was called to order at 9:37 AM. Present were Charles Behney, Jesus Guerrero, and Luis Silva. Andrew Foster (sick leave), Steven Day were absent.

First order of business was the discussion and approval of the Special Meeting Minutes for June 13, 2025. Charles Behney discussed corrections for the June 13, 2025, public budget and special hearing minutes. Jesus Guerrero found a redundant paragraph and a typo that were removed. The motion to approve the corrected minutes was unanimously passed.

Minutes for the August 1, 2025, work session (which included a plant tour) were also discussed and unanimously approved as written. Charles Behney included a sentence regarding Mr. Francisco Morales’ (NADBank) suggestion for an executive summary of the Naco Community Wetlands Mitigation Plan.

New Business

Charles Behney announced the resignation of Chris Willhoite as the Site Manager for NSD. Mr. Behney suggested leaving the position vacant to save money due to tight district finances, as most funds would not be received until November. The current site workers, while capable, do not currently possess the necessary experience or equipment for the site manager role but are performing well in their current capacities.

Legal counsel was discussed next. Mr. Behney informed the board that a letter was sent to Adriane Hofmeyr, an environmental attorney specializing in environmental justice, to inquire about her interest in providing legal services to NSD to facilitate progress on contracts and other district business.

Naco Community Wetlands Mitigation Plan Executive Summary 2018-2020 was discussed. Mr. Behney explained the five-page executive summary for the plan was created at Mr. Morales’ request for NADBank and other agencies. The summary, though initially intended to be two pages, expanded to five pages due to the plan’s complexity. It outlines the resolution approved in 2023 and has been shared with stakeholders including EPA, IBWC, NADBank, and others. The plan provides a regional solution to water insecurity and pollution by modernizing NSD lagoons, fostering bi-national cooperation, ensuring the long-term adequacy of the aquifer, and creating environmental and recreational improvements for the three communities. Mr. Behney outlined the significant regional challenges, including aquifer degradation, water trespasses, flood hazards, sewage overflows, and bi-national aquifer problems, which have led to water rationing and population decline in Bisbee and Naco. The proposed solutions involve connecting the three communities, treating Bisbee’s effluent in NSD lagoons, remediating the sulfate plume, and creating a wildlife observatory and recreational park for the local residents. Institutional barriers, such as Bisbee’s pipeline plan and the arbitrary removal of the Colonia designation by Cochise County, along with funding inequities, need to be overcome.

Next on the agenda was the Preliminary Engineering Review quote from Kimley Horn to NSD. Mr. Behney reviewed the proposal from Kimley Horn for the preliminary engineering review. Kimley Horn has extensive experience in water and wastewater projects and an experienced bi-national team. They provided a quote of $60,000 for comprehensive services, which is an excellent deal compared to the anticipated $120,000. $30,000 is already pending from USDA, and the remaining $30,000 is being sought from either USDA or WIFA, with potential for loan forgiveness due to the project’s focus on colonias and the low-income status of Naco. This engineering work is crucial for moving forward with NADBank, which has precedence for funding due to the project’s environmental remediation and transboundary border benefits.

The scope of work with Kimley Horn includes initial assessment and data collection, evaluation and analysis, recommendations development, cost estimation, and final reporting.This encompasses site visits, review of existing documentation, infrastructure assessment, technical analysis, and the development of phasing strategies and timelines.
NSD’s crew will assist with inspections of buried pipelines and the operation of electrical panels and valves, as these are excluded from Kimley Horn’s scope.

The meeting adjourned at 10:34 AM.

__________________________
Charles Behney, NSD Chair

Regular Meeting 5/2/2025
2:00 PM
NSD Business Office
1326 W. Highway 92 #12
Bisbee, Arizona 85603

Minutes

The regular meeting of the Naco Sanitary District was called to order at 2:00 PM. Jesus Guerrero, Luis Silva, and Charles Behney were present. Stephen Dey was present by telephone. Andrew Foster was absent.

The minutes of March 7, 2025 were discussed. Mr. Dey had a draft version which contained typos that were corrected for the meeting. Mr. Dey made a motion to approve the corrected minutes, which was seconded by Mr. Behney. The motion to approve the minutes then passed unanimously.

Mr. Behney then reported on the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Notice of Violation (NOV) issued on December 24, 2024. The Field Inspector, Xan McMacken closed the NOV, effective on April 1, 2025. Mr. McMacken could revisit this if other deficiencies came to his attention. Mr. Dey was concerned with the cattails in the lagoons. Mr. Behney stated that Mr. McMacken was concerned with the cattails and vegetation growing on the embankments and was less interested in the cattails growing in the lagoons. If the embankments are kept clear of vegetation, then NSD is in compliance.

Next the Greater Arizona Development Agency (GADA) application was discussed. Mr. Behney said that the GADA application would not be pursued, as GADA required repayment within a year. Other funding involving the USDA and WIFA were instead the focus for NSD funding for the Preliminary Engineering Review (PER). The USDA SEARCH grant would be upgraded to a Preliminary Planning Grant (PPG), which would increase the USDA grant from $30,000 to $60,000. The WIFA loan would be approximately $60,000 for a total of $120,000 for the PER. With set asides and forgiveness, the NSD may only need to repay $15,000 to $20,000 of the funding. NSD qualifies for Border Environmental Infrastructure Funds from the North American Development Bank (NADB) for between $8,000,000 and $16,000,000 for NSD systems. Mr. Dey stated that he was being ‘left out’, and was a signatory for USDA grants. Mr. Behney will ask USDA if Mr. Dey needs to sign any documents as RCAC advisors are completing the applications for NSD. Mr. Dey said that he would like Kimley-Horn to be informed about this. Mr. Behney stated that transparency is necessary for these bids.

Ms. Welz asked about the system and the needs for the grants. Mr. Behney stated that “We’re at the end of life of our system. It was built in 1980 and so we need to either replace, renovate or repair certain components and currently our wastewater treatment plant is grandfathered in (with ADEQ).

Mr. Dey said that there are concerns regarding the NSD collection system, as there are differences between the blueprints and the existing collection system. There may be septic tanks within the district that are not documented. Mr. Behney said the PER will assess the NSD system and its current conditions. Mr. Behney reported that all three monitor wells had been repaired and were now fully functional, “Silvic Electric replaced the control panel on monitor well number two. Tanner Well Services came out and renovated our monitor well number three, and then replaced the electric pump in monitor well number one. And we got new pressure tanks put into monitor well number one.”

NSD paid Tanner Well Service three payments: $3,342.32, $2214.00, and $4,1716. Heavy Equipment contractor Brent Weller has been paid $4990 and $3000 for roads, berms, embankments and debris piles. Mr. Weller still have work to complete on debris piles which will be disposed in an onsite landfill outside of the lagoons. Red flag days have delayed this work. NSD workers continue to cut mesquite and vegetation along the lagoons.

Mr. Dey had questions about the monitor wells that he would ask Mr. Tanner about. Mr. Dey wanted to know about chlorination of Monitor Well #1. Mr. Behney stated that our certified water tester had approved the chlorination procedure.

The flow-meter exceedence was traced by Mr. Willhoite and crew. They traced the most overflow to a manhole west of the Rogers property near the railroad tracks. Mr. Dey suggested that Hearthstone Water Company may be the source of the leaks. Mr. Behney had met with Hearthstone employees as the NSD crew had lifted and inspected over a dozen manholes to trace the leak.

For New Business, the tentative budget was reviewed and discussed. Mr. Behney reported that the tentative budget had increases of approximately 10%, due to inflation. Mr. Dey had concerns about discrepancies between projected income and expenditures. He suggested adjustments to revenue projections and cautioned about potential shortfalls. Mr. Dey stated that he would provide an alternate budget.

Mr. Behney said that the tentative budget would be published in the Bisbee Observer, and the finalized budget would be voted on after 30 days from the publication date. Mr. Dey made a motion to approve the tentative budget, which was seconded by Mr. Guerrero. The motion passed unanimously.

Next on the agenda, the Resolution 522025 for Debt Authorization was discussed. Mr. Behney presented Resolution 522025, authorizing debt for a water infrastructure project under the Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA). This will fund a preliminary engineering review, with repayment through property taxes. Mr. Dey made a motion to approve the resolution, which Mr. Behney seconded. The resolution was unanimously approved, with corrections noted.

Public Comments and Meeting Adjournment. Kimberly Welz asked about property tax revenue and the budget’s availability. Stephen Dey clarified that the property tax rate is flat, and offered to answer questions by email to avoid open meeting issues. Charles Behney apologized for not addressing Kimberly’s written questions immediately. Stephen Dey welcomed the new board member, Luis Silva. The meeting was then adjourned.

_______________________

Charles Behney, NSD Chair