GILA COUNTY DISTRICT I SUPERVISOR NEWS RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: JO JOHNSON (928) 474-2029 (O) (928) 978-4217 (C)

SUPERVISOR TOMMIE MARTIN ANNOUNCES PASSAGE OF BILL THAT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER GILA COUNTY'S AND ARIZONA’S COST FOR FEDERAL HIGHWAY PROJECTS

Gila County wants to thank Senator Jon Kyl and Representative Harry Mitchell for their efforts in securing legislation approved by Congress, allowing Gila County to save millions of dollars on its non-federal share of the proposed Tonto Creek Bridge.  That legislation -- making technical corrections to the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) -- will allow the County to utilize a sliding scale, based on the amount of public lands in Arizona, to lower its non-federal share for the Tonto project from 20 percent to 5.7 percent.  Because of that change, Gila will save $561,000 in the short term, and millions of dollars more as it moves forward with construction of this needed bridge.  The County also wants to thank Representative Rick Renzi for his support of this change and for securing the initial federal funds for this project. Gila also coordinated with the office of Senator John McCain. The legislation now moves to the White House and President George Bush.

“Similar savings will be realized by communities and projects throughout Arizona along with other western states and counties with federal lands” said Supervisor Martin. “I am very pleased that common sense has prevailed and that all of us affected by the non-productive burden of public lands will benefit from this legislation.  Gila County and our taxpayers will benefit because the new formula will reduce the County’s share of federal projects significantly.”

Gila County (through Supervisor Martin) has worked closely with Jefferson Government Relations (JGR) over the past 2 years on this critical issue. In looking for a way for Gila County to negotiate their 20% share of the Tonto Bridge Project, JGR discovered that Arizona….. which ranks 3^rd in the nation in public lands…..was left out of this key piece of legislation along with 7 other western states. JGR relayed the information to Supervisor Martin and she carried the message in person to Senator Kyl and our Congressional Representatives. 

We cannot thank Senator Kyl enough for carrying the ball on this issue and for Representative Mitchell stepping up to the plate as the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee considered a new technical corrections bill (110^th Congress, H.R. 1195.) This will save millions of dollars for Gila County, the State of Arizona and the other public lands states.