Verde Springs crowned with flowering watercress
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Yavapai Group, Grand Canyon Chapter, Sierra Club
Newsletter May '09
Taxpayer Protection Initiative
By Gary Beverly
Earth Day revealed a new twist in the disputed Big Chino Pipeline debate.
A group of local concerned citizens has prepared an initiative petition to present the Taxpayer Protection Initiative on the November ballot for Prescott City elections. The initiative will require a vote of the public for most city projects with a value of $40 million or more, including the Big Chino Pipeline Project. Although the Big Chino Pipeline Project is undoubtedly the spark for this citizen initiative, the measure covers all municipal projects.
While circulating the petition, I found nearly all Prescott citizens are leaping for the pen to sign! Nearly everyone signs. Apparently the Prescott City government has not earned the confidence of the citizenry.
To get the Initiative on the November ballot, we need to collect 3000 signatures of registered Prescott voters within the next two months. After qualifying for the ballot, the real work begins: gathering support to get a winning vote count.
You can help! We need circulators, and it's so easy that it's fun! For info on the petition, email info@taxpayerprotectioncommittee.com, or call Brad at 499-7726.
The Sierra Club, Yavapai Group strongly endorses and supports this petition, so we urge our Prescott members to sign the petition, to vote in the November municipal election YES on the Taxpayer Protection Initiative.
Pipeline Update: News Items
Candace McNulty has a great article "Verde Versus: The River & Prescott's Pipeline" in the May 2009 issue of "The Noise", the arts and news magazine covering Northern Arizona. You can find the magazine for free in coffee shops and happening places around Prescott. Look for it! The article summarizes the key issues in the hearings.
Hearings Resume:
The Office of Administrative Hearing will resume the judicial proceeding hearing our appeal to the Big Chino Pipeline on June 15-16.
We Need Help!
Your local Sierra Club group needs help! We need more folks to get involved with our efforts to improve our quality of life. We have an impressive list of important projects:
Monitoring Verde River water quality and flow
Preventing water pollution from sewage sludge and effluent recharge
Preserving open space
Cleaning up litter in the Prescott National Forest
Maintaining trails in PNF
Watching over the Travel Management Plan in PNF to assure a fair allocation of uses
Monitoring illegal OHV access into sensitive riparian areas
Assisting PNF with native fish survey
Preserving the base flow of the Upper Verde River
Winning designation of the Upper Verde Wild & Scenic River
Assuring that new road construction is environmentally sound
Guiding citizens on educational hikes in PNF and along the Verde River
Supporting local political candidates that are environmentally aware
Promoting energy and water conservation
Supporting the Taxpayer Protection Initiative
Supporting the SaveTheVerde alliance
You can choose any project you favor! We'll help you get going. Call or email any Executive Committee member listed below to get started. THANKS!
This page was last updated on May 26, 2009