Assigned to GOV & APPROP                                                                                      FOR COMMITTEE

 

 

 

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Phoenix, Arizona

 

FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2468

 

                appropriation; Mule Gulch floodway

 

Purpose

 

Appropriates $920,000 in FY 2001-2002 from the state general fund to the Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA), division of emergency services, for the cost of engineering, design and construction of the Mule Gulch Floodway Channel.

 

Background

 

The Mule Gulch Floodway Channel, originally constructed in 1909, is the City of Bisbee=s principal flood protection system. The channel currently runs under buildings on Commerce Street and provides structural support for several Main Street buildings. In 1989, an Army Corps of Engineers= report determined that current channel deterioration could result in structural failure and designated the channel a federal project eligible for matching funds up to 75 percent of the estimated $5 million repair cost. According to the City of Bisbee, the city is attempting to do temporary Apatchwork@ repairs because more long-term structural repairs are beyond the financial means of the city. The 1989 report estimated that the structural repairs would cost approximately $5 million; however, due to inflation and continued erosion, the repair cost is now greater than the original estimate.

 

Additionally, the City of Bisbee faces $14 million in repairs to a degenerating sewer system that has resulted in an increased property tax levy and a ballot proposition in May 1998 to increase the sales tax by one-half percent; as a result, the City of Bisbee maintains there are few additional funds to repair the channel.

 

This legislation makes a $920,000 appropriation from the state general fund to DEMA to address the deterioration of the Mule Gulch floodway channel.

 

Provisions

 

1.      Appropriates $920,000 in FY 2001-2002 from the state general fund to DEMA, division of emergency services, for the cost of engineering, design and construction of the Mule Gulch Floodway Channel.

 

2.      Requires the appropriation to be distributed between Cochise County and the City of Bisbee.

 

3.      Exempts the appropriation from lapsing.

 

4.      Provides for a general effective date.

 

House Action

 

MVAA            2/8/01              DP       9-0-0-1

PIRA               2/20/01            DP       9-0-0-1

APPROP         3/6/01              DP       11-1-0-4

3rd Read           3/13/01                        43-14-3-0

 

 

Prepared by Senate Staff

March 23, 2001