Dear Editor,
For many years now the people of Kingman have heard and touted the benefits of a second bridge over Hwy I-40 in Kingman slated to be called the Rancho Santa Fe Interchange. A second bridge would be much more than an additional convenient and direct way to cross over and connect Kingman communities, it also offers hope and promise for attracting interstate commerce as well as bringing new stores and businesses to serve the local community. It is most unfortunate the pathway to building the bridge has had more problems and potholes than the sum total of all Kingman roads.
As fate would have it, just when once again we all thought we would see groundbreaking in the foreseeable future the city of Kingman was presented with a surprise bill from ADOT for $4.75 million dollars. Given the concerns of a greater budget deficit, the Kingman City Council is faced with a few options: 1) Suck it up and pay the money; 2) Challenge the added cost, lose the appeal, and have to pay the $4.75 million anyway; 3) Have the City Staff do the work to administer the project itself; 4) Pay ADOT an undisclosed fee to help Kingman “do it yourself”. Kingman now finds itself again between a rock and a hard spot.
At this off-ramp – the people of Kingman have far more questions than answers.
• When did the city receive the additional bill and would we have known sooner had it not been for the failure of our previous City Manager to follow up on the State Grant in a timely fashion?
• Does the city have the staff and expertise to administer the project without neglecting their regular duties?
• How much of the staff is required to administer the project?
• Can the city staff do it in the 6 weeks ADOT could do it?
• What are the undisclosed fees, if any, for ADOT to help the city “do it yourself”?
• What effect will these unexpected fees have on the recent 10-year Plan which cost the city big money hiring a consulting firm?
• Will the city have to borrow money and what would the cost be in interest and administrative fees?
• Does the city have Arizona Omission and Errors Insurance to cover the cost of ongoing mistakes?
• What is the status of the pending litigation between the city and the original private partners in the Rancho Santa Fe Project?
• How much money has the city invested thus far in the project?
• Will the big landowners and big builders help defray the city costs since they will make millions resulting from the finished project?
• Will the city raise taxes and fees in any way to fund the project?
• Does our new City Manager have a plan to resolve the outstanding issues and bring the project to fruition? (By the way, the city also paid top dollar to a consulting firm to help select the best candidate to fill the City Manager position, only to hire a local favorite).
These questions are just a few we must consider in this long agonizing conundrum which has repeatedly raised all of our hopes and anticipation only to drop us once again into this devastating abyss.
Last question: Should we rename the project Rancho Santa FEE or is Rancho Santa FIASCO a better fit?
Elliot Chalew
Candidate Kingman City Council
