Steve Christensen

This area is west of Strawberry and is a very beautiful part of our county.  It attracts many visitors in our summer months creating a number of issues. Access to various locations along the creek is achieved only by a several mile hike with a steep and dangerous decent to the creek.  No motorized vehicles are allowed on these trails by the public.  Yet the trails are also impassable for emergency vehicles.  Over the last 7 years there has been over 700 rescues and 8 deaths in the Fossil Creek Recreational area.  All rescues must be conducted on foot by local fire departments and Tonto Rim Search and Rescue.  This creates a dangerous situation for both the injured and the rescuers.  The solution is to improve the trails so that a rescue can be accomplished with the use of an off road vehicle.  This will save lives and reduce time from 6 hours to approximately 1 hour.  I have been making great headway with all parties involved, three separate Forest Service jurisdictions, Yavapai Apache Tribal leaders, local  law enforcement and fire departments, Tonto Rim Search and Rescue as well as utilities that are involved. Many meetings over the past 18 months have produced more progress than has been made in the last 10 years.  I hope to close this project up soon.

Several years ago over 40 pillow-shaped bladders were purchased from military salvage.  These bladders are scattered all over the Rim Country to provide water in the event of a Wildfire.  Having them located throughout the forest creates a faster response time that will hopefully bring a fire under control quickly.  These bladders are aging and need to be replaced.  A request made to our US Senators has produced a nearly $700,000.00 grant to make the needed improvements. This is a HUGE benefit to the Rim Country.

As a supervisor, my approach and attitude is one of serving and communicating.  I have conducted three separate Town Hall style meetings.  One is Whispering Pines, one in Pine, and one in Payson.  Each was well attended and has been a great way for me to connect with the citizens of District One.  It is important for me to listen to the concerns and thoughts of my constituents.  No other District 1 Supervisor has ever held a Town Hall meeting.  In addition, I have met with dozens of constituents in person as well as phone conversations and e-mails.  I have made myself accessible because of my open door policy. 

One of the problems the County has had for many years is the pay scale. Trying to hire and retain personnel to fill our vacant positions is very difficult due to the pay rate that we offer.  For over a year I have been in discussions with county management personnel to find a solution.  The 2022-2023 budget year is giving employees a pay raise that will benefit the lowest paid by nearly 18% whereas the top paid employees will be receiving a little less than 2%.  My fervent work on this will allow our employees to  have a competitive wage for their positions.                                                                                              

Another pay scale adjustment was made earlier this year by instituting a STEP program for our Sheriff Deputies.  This has made the Sheriff’s Department more competitive in pay.  This will enable the department to hire and retain deputies.  The program actually saves money by retaining deputies that we have trained at great expense.

The HOA at Beaver Valley asked me if the County could partner with them to create a new emergency exit located in the northern section of the community.  I was able to work closely with the Forest Service to have access granted.  County personnel surveyed the area to be cleared for the road .  Through my Constituency Fund we were able to purchase the locking gate and culvert for the emergency access.  The County will install the culvert and create a passage across the bar ditch onto Houston Mesa Road.  The HOA will complete the rest.  This will provide the community of Beaver Valley an added safety option in the event of an evacuation.

Every 10 years a census is conducted to determine if any changes in population has occurred within the three districts of Gila County.                                                                                                                                

District 1, our district, grew the most in the last 10 years.  This created an imbalance of nearly 10% between the three districts.  After a twelve member committee of local citizens from all three districts, several solutions maps were presented to the Board of Supervisors.  The Board chose the one map that balanced the districts to the closest balance of population possible which was 1.24% .  I was in favor of this map because it fits the intent of balancing the representation of all the citizens in Gila County.  This will take effect in January 2023.