BULLHEAD CITY – The Executive Board of Bullhead City’s newly-established Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) will conduct its very first meeting on Friday, May 3. Surpassing the threshold population of 50,000 residents prompted the Jan. designation of the Bullhead City MPO by the Federal Highway Administration, supported by Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs.
“MPO’s are independent planning bodies that cross city boundaries to ensure urbanized areas are adequately planned for,” according to a news release issued by the city early this year. “MPO’s are empowered to seek grant funding that would otherwise be unavailable to the city, as they are funded by federal gas tax revenues through the state and a 5.7% in-kind match from member organizations within the MPO boundaries.”
Pruitt said the initial 7-member Executive Board will include Bullhead City Mayor Steve D’Amico, Vice Mayor Rodney Head and council member Tami Ring. Mohave County Supervisors Hildy Angius and Ron Gould are also on the initial board as their districts cover parts of Bullhead City.
Pruitt said the other two local MPO board seats will be filled by the local representative to the Arizona State Transportation Board and a representative of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, which owns a significant amount of land in the southern part of the planning area.
“Tribal President Tim Williams and the rest of the Council have been good partners with the City,” Pruitt said. “We look forward to continuing to work with them to develop a highly effective and successful MPO.”
Adoption of bylaws and authorization to recruit to fill a paid Director position are the first items of business for the MPO. Pruitt said his goal is to have a director on board by July 1 to begin operating the MPO while searching for an assistant and support staff member.
Pruitt said flexibility is built into MPO design, to allow the planning bodies to address transportation and transit issues unique to their designated boundary, though some functions are similar from one MPO to another.
“The MPO has specific work products it must deliver. It must deliver a long range plan for roads in the area,” he said. Pruitt said the body will place much focus on SR 95, which is expected to be transferred from ADOT to the authority of the municipality in the near future.
“The other major product is looking at our buses and our transit system and doing the same thing there, putting a professional work plan of what that looks like in the next 5, 10, 15 and 20 years,” Pruitt said.
Pruitt said it is envisioned that the MPO board will generally meet monthly. The May 3 meeting at Bullhead City Hall starts at 11 a.m.
Dave Hawkins
