Prescott Valley Town Manager Presents Informational Overview of Three November 2026 Ballot Propositions: Industrial Relocation, Major Residential Annexation, and Recreation-Center Sales Tax

We'll be taking care [music] of P every day. Taking care of P every [music] care of PB and investing in our town [music] [music] So, welcome to PV In Focus. My name is Gilbert Davidson. I'm the Town Manager for Prescott Valley. And in this episode of uh PV In Focus, we're going to be doing a deeper dive into three propositions that are going to be on this November's ballot. Uh so, we're going to be talking about uh Proposition 404, which is a sand and gravel uh operation item.

Uh we're going to be talking about 492, which is commonly referred to as Lakeshore 650, a development project. And then we're going to talk about 493, which is an aquatics and recreation center uh slash sales tax measure that's on on the ballot. Uh I want to make sure that those that are watching uh this uh particular episode, watching or listening, uh that the Town uh you know, is not able to advocate for or against ballot measures.

Anything that's on a, you know, town ballot or uh, you know, statewide ballot, we're not able to advocate for or against those items. We can't use Town resources to be able to influence an election. So, but we are able to share information and provide just, you know, answer people's questions about what something is or is not.

So that is what today's episode is about is to learn a little bit more what these items are uh and make sure people you know some of the questions that we've received from residents uh that were able to answer some of those questions. So with me today to share some information on these two propositions or three propositions is Chris Norlock who is uh one of our Planners in the Development Services center. Thank you Chris for for being here today.

And uh Chris is going to provide uh some of the background information on propositions 404 again that's the sand and gravel one and then 492 the Lakeshore 650. And also with us is Bobby Kieran who is our Director for Parks and Recreation. And Bobby's going to be talking uh about our 493 which is our aquatics and recreation center uh initiative that's that's on the ballot. So, thank you both for uh being here today to share a little bit information.

So, Chris, I want to start uh with you on, you know, if you could tell us what is Proposition 404, the sand and gravel operation. Uh what what is it about and just a little bit of background on how this came to be? So, the um the applicant uh came to us with the site that they already have entitled um that's actually in the county um to do their operations and expand it. Um but the Town had actually requested that they go out and find a new site.

Um so searching on the property that they have, they found a site uh south of Town called Government Tank. Um it was about 40 acres and so they're looking to rezone that to IG, Industrial General um in order for this operation to continue there instead of in town. So the current location that they're at that's kind of centered around the our existing Fain Park. Correct. Correct. Yes. And where they were looking to expand would be kind of west of Fain Park, the 80 acres there.

West of Fain Park and, and on both sides of the roadway, right? Both sides of Stone Ridge Drive. That's correct. Um and so if 404 is approved by the voters, what does that mean to our community? What if, so if they don't build there and they move it to the other location, if it were approved, what does that look like? With that being approved in the, in the DA that was approved as well. Um we would be getting those 80 acres to the Town. Um and we would be expanding Fain Park with that.

Um and that way they would move their operations away from residents currently now out to south where it's about a mile away from our current residents. So, and I'm going to come back to you on, you know, if it if the voters decide not to approve it, what that looks like. But I want to dig a little bit deeper into, so, again, if the voters did approve this, meaning that the sand and gravel where it's currently could be located is moved.

Um, what what are the town's plans, Bobby, for that property, that 80 acres? What would happen with with that property? Absolutely. With with that voter approval, we would be able to complete projects that we've been holding off on like re-implementation of the bridge out there. Uh additional trails can be implemented on that 80 acres, a trail head over there along StoneRidge Drive that'll really, you know, connect with the Lasso Loop that we have planned as well.

So adding additional recreational experiences at a gem that we have in Prescott Valley, Fain Park. Okay. So it really would be set aside as public recreation, open space type type areas. Public open space with nothing but thoughtfully designed trails and adding additional experience right there within the the center of Town. Okay.

So Chris, so you know, we just talked about, you know, if it if it was approved, what it what that would entail, but if it's not approved, so voters do not want to approve a new location for the sand and gravel, what what then what does that look like? So the Government Tank site would go back to the residential zoning originally that it had.

Um and then they would be able to go on that property we discussed over there on Stone Ridge Drive and kind of blast and things that it's currently under um not our jurisdiction. It's actually under the county's jurisdiction. So we would have less restrictions on that. That is an interesting thing.

I think a lot of people assume that whole area because you're driving, you know, through the town and then you're on highway on StoneRidge Drive, you're going to StoneRidge, which is in the Town, but that particular area is carved out from the Town. It's actually a county island. It is where the right outside of where our lake is, the Fain Lake is a county island. Yes, correct. Um, good. Thank you. So, I think that really kind of encapsulates what 404 is about. Let's jump to uh 492.

And so, what is 492? A lot of people have been talking about Lakeshore 650. That's what it's it's commonly referred to as. What is that one about? So that's about uh about 652 acres um over on Lakeshore and a little bit mainly north a little bit to the south of Lakeshore and West of Fain Road. Um and so that would be annexing that into the Town limits there. Okay. And so what would so it it is an annexation really what 40 uh 492 is about is annexation.

So it's whether or not it gets annexed into the Town or not. But if it does get annexed into the Town, what does the development project entail? So, it's got about 3,500 residential units. Um, it's got 100 acres minimum of commercial. Um, there's I think about 40 acres of park space in there. Um, it has a kind of a wildlife connectivity kind of river corridor in there as well. Um, so it's got those types of things in there.

So, if the voters decide not to annex or allow the annexation to go forward, um what what could potentially happen with that property? What, what, what happens? You know, does it just it stays in the county? What can the county do? So, it stays in the county and um if they develop it as the zoning is now, they can do 70,000 foot lots. Um so, about 2 acre lots um per the county regulations. So, you can put one home per two acres roughly. With the way it, the current county zoning is? Correct.

Okay. Yes. And then you know I think if so if you could talk a little bit about if 492 is approved by the voters what would the next steps look like? So if it, if it is annexed into the Town you know I think you know there's always the concern of a lot of development coming into the Town all at once. What does that look like? Are there more steps that a developer would have to go through with the Town uh in terms of approvals and and whatnot?

Yeah, so they they still have uh some studies they have to do kind of traffic impact things like that, engineering studies. Um they do have to do final development plans out there. Um and something like this could take 30 40 years. Um take Granville for example in the '90's and we're finally seeing the last unit of that now in 2026 finishing up. So, it it would be a long-term type of project if it were uh, if the vote again, if the voters approved to bring it into the Town.

Uh this is something that's not going to be built overnight. It's going to take many many years to to see that. In the Planning Department, Development Services, you get lots of questions, I'm sure, about, you know, um you know, managing our development projects, having good planning and thinking about infrastructure investment. But we also get a lot of questions about water. What is kind of the difference?

So, if the Town, if the voters approve the annexation, what is who's going to manage the water uh that's going to be used by the project versus if it's not annexed into the Town? You know, what does that look like? So, if it's annexed into the town, the Town of Prescott Valley Utilities Department um will have control over the water infrastructure as well as the sewer infrastructure. Um if it's not, um potentially you have every uh two acre lot with its own well and septic system.

Um so that has its own challenges and things like that with the county. So if it's not annexed in PV, whoever buys those two acre lots if that's the way they went with that project would be a they put in wells, different wells, multiple different wells to be able to to supply water resources to whoever is living in that area? That's correct. Okay. All drawn from the same aquifer. Okay. Thank thank you.

That, I think we do get a lot of questions about just concern about water, and you know the Town's got, a you know a number of conservation measures and those, so those types of policies of us wanting to make sure that we've got low flow low usage within each home, landscaping requirements. We also, the Town has adopted um low impact development standards that you know really are designed to encourage you know better use of our storm water.

Um all of those things would be included in that project? Yes, absolutely. Okay. Thank you Chris. Thank you very much. I'm going to jump to to uh Bobby and we're going to talk a little bit about uh why is this sales tax measure on our ballot? What, what, you know, what kind of prompted this whole initiative to ask the voters to potentially increase the Town sales tax? What is it for? Sure. Absolutely.

So, uh proposition 493 uh for the increase to our sales tax to allow the Town to build an aquatic and recreational facility. Um the facility has been something the community has been, every single survey letting us know and every time that we try to get that feedback from our residents what, what they want. They want that additional recreational space. If that is approved then we already have the aquatic facility component. It will be built.

So, with the approval of 493, that will be an increase to our sales tax to fund a recreational piece of things, which is a gymnasium, weight space, an indoor elevated walking track, 2-hour child watch, and then some flex rooms to ensure that we have additional recreational opportunities for Prescott Valley. Can you, you know, um, a project like this isn't just thought up overnight, right?

So, can you give a little context for anyone that's listening or watching that uh you know, you mentioned the surveys. There's been a extensive number of different community surveys where people have said "we really want to have a community recreation center." Yeah. Um and also the the there was a whole citizen committee that was put together who analyzed this question and then made recommendations to the Town Council. Yeah, absolutely. So, you're 100% right.

Uh, I think all the way back in 2001 is when we started getting that feedback of really wanting additional recreational opportunities and specifically a rec center that's a community hub. Like that's, that's something that's amazing for any community and I obviously Town of Prescott Valley, we want the best for our residents as well. But through every survey from 2001 moving forward, that has been a resounding common thematical piece of what our residents have been asking for.

So, as you were talking about, Gilbert, uh, the CRFAC or Citizen Recreation Facility Advisory Committee, they, I know it's a mouthful, but it's government and our acronyms. Yes, it is with our acronyms. Um, but that steering committee, I can't thank those residents enough. Those uh 13 uh residents, uh it was all the way up to 15 people.

They were able to really study in to the different surveys and the different uhformational pieces that the town had taken in from the residents and they were the driving factor that then went to Council to recommend what our residents wanted in this facility. And with it, it's the gymnasium.

Uh obviously the indoor aquatics facility number one, gymnasium, elevated walking track, 2-hour child watch, uh uh exercise and fitness space, those flex rooms, and having that indoor recreational amenity for this community. And then the other piece of the recommendation was to fund it through an increase in the sales tax. So that is why 493 is on the ballot and what we are asking the residents to vote on. So let's, you know, so 493 is about sales tax. It's not necessarily approving a project.

It's approving increasing the Town sales tax. Tell us a little bit more on that. What you know, how much is being proposed uh of an increase? Sure. And then I want to talk about, you know, um, you know, are we making sure, how are we going to make sure that if the voters do approve this, that that money is going to be only spent on this thing and it's not going to be used by the government, the Town government and anything else? Yeah.

So, what, what is the impact to our residents if the sales tax is increased? First and foremost, I want to say that it will not be taxing groceries. So if this sales tax is uh approved through our voters, it will not go towards any groceries. But if it is approved, then it is a half cent sales tax increase for up to 25 years to go only towards paying off the construction of this facility.

Um if we're able to pay it off earlier, which we hope to do, then that half-cent sales tax will be reduced to a tenth of a cent. Um, and then that will uh continue on in perpetuity to fund operations and maintenance of this facility. But for this sales tax, 493's approval, that half cent increase will go only to this facility to pay off construction. Okay. And it does have a sunset measure as you just mentioned.

So either you know 25 years or sooner and then that tax drops down to the tenth of a percent just for maintenance or ongoing operations. That's correct. Yes, sir. Okay. Um, can you, you know, sometimes uh, you know, it's hard to think about, well, you know, what is a half-cent sales tax measure increase? What does that mean? So, if I go to Home Depot or I go to Walmart and I spend, you know, $100, what does that mean to me with if, if the voters did approve the half cent sales tax?

So, if you spend $100, it will only add 50 cents to your bill. And then once that sunset does happen, either paying off construction or hitting the 25 years, then going down to a tenth of a cent, it will only be 10 cents per hundred that you spend anywhere. So other than groceries, I just wanted to make sure that that was abundantly clear. So groceries is not included in this at all.

So, if I go to Fry's or I go to Safeway and I spend money on food related, grocery related uh items, that is not going to be taxed uh with this new sales tax measure. But if I go to a just a regular retail like a fast food place, I go to a again Walmart, Home Depot, and I'm buying other types of items, the sales tax would apply. That is correct, sir. Okay. Um, you know, so we talked about, you know, the committee that was and the studies that have been done.

Can let's, you know, I want to spend a little bit of time on this is a unique project, a unique situation that we're in. So, we have an existing pool, Mountain Valley Splash. It's been part of our community since the '90's. Yes, sir. 1995 to be exact. 1995. So, tell us what is going on there and and what we're going to do. So, if the, if the, if our voters decide that they don't want to increase the sales tax, what are we going to do with the existing pool?

Uh, that is, it's a, it's an aged pool. So, what are we going to do? So, with it, you're 100% correct. Mountain Valley Splash has been a great asset for our community for over 30 years now. There are life cycle replacement pieces that have to be done and this facility is just end of life. So, our current planning, we will be demolishing the pool no matter which way 493 goes. Uh, but we will be constructing a new yearround indoor aquatic facility on that same site.

Everybody loves Mountain Valley Park and that is a central hub to our community with connecting pathways and ball fields and beauty all around it. So, we will be constructing a new indoor aquatic facility um in that same location. It may be turned slightly. It may be taking up just a little more space, but that is where the pool will go. So, just so we're real clear about what we would do. So, the pool, the current pool, open air pool, yes, sir.

Would be demolished because it it just it's, you know, end of life. A lot of the systems need to be replaced. And it really is not designed for all of the other things the community, I think, is looking for. So more water aerobic areas, uh, swim lanes, true swim lanes where you could have competitions and those types of things. So if, if we don't do the full recreation piece, we're just going to do this the smaller aquatics piece and it would be an indoor type of a facility? Correct.

But if the sales tax measure is, uh approved then the whole project expands and we include other recreational pieces. You mentioned the gym, the indoor track, the you know weight room. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And you're 100% correct right there. So pool facility will go in no matter what. Uh aged facility. It's end of life. So we're going to get the residents what they've been asking for on that, that is a year round facility.

And if 493 is approved, then we'll be able to provide the residents with that additional uh recreational amenity, which would be the gymnasium, the weight room, the flex rooms, elevated walking track, 2-hour child watch, and the other pieces that the CRFAC recommended to our Council. So, Bobby, there's been a lot of talk, uh and we've worked on actually with the YMCA uh for quite some time.

Uh, you know, again, back to community surveys and every time we're out talking to people in the community, people really would like to have a full recreation center and a indoor swimming pool so they can have, you know, have that year-round access. So, tell us a little bit about what is going on with that. We, you know, people sometimes get are confused with what is the Town doing? Is it a Y? Is it not a Y?

Uh so what is you know what led to the Town making a decision to proceed with this project, the pool piece and if the voters approve the recreation piece uh and then where does the YMCA stand? Where are they at in this? Sure. Sure. Uh so yeah we we have been working with the Y for a number of years and, and with that uh a YMCA definitely needs a number of different components. That's a part of their business model.

Um, the CRFAC, our Citizen Recreation Facility Advisory Committee, they are the group that really recommended this facility go to a Town operated facility and with our plan to uh demolish the current pool facility and put a brand new indoor aquatic facility in its place and then possibly have also the full recreation center coming off of it.

That was a way that we were able to get the residents what they were asking for and then if the YMCA were to build on the property that they have here in Prescott Valley, our community be all the better for it. So it's, this isn't replacing a Y the Y just could be a separate project? Yes, sir. But this is dealing with, you know, we have an existing pool that we have to deal with as a Town.

And you know, if the voters want to expand that facility for a full recreation facility, that's what's on the ballot. Basically, that is what is on the ballot in a nutshell, sir. Yes. Great. Well, um I want to thank the two of you for coming in and sharing a little bit about uh these three measures that are going to be on the ballot for, uh November. And thank you to everyone that has tuned in on this uh episode of PV In Focus.

Uh we appreciate you uh wanting to be a part of the Town to learn more about what we're doing and have a great rest of your day. [music] [music]