Unincorporated areas of the Verde Valley can’t create leverage such as Sedona has done when it faced losing the Sedona Center
One of the issues discussed at Wednesday’s meeting of the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee was what, if anything, can be done to get the College’s attention on the more rural, unincorporated areas of the Verde Valley. These areas include Rim Rock, Village of Oak Creek, and Beaver Creek.
District Governing Board member Al Filardo suggested that if the members followed the example set by Sedona they would be successful in gaining notice from the College. Chair Bill Regner replied to Mr. Filardo and suggested that Sedona has been successful in moving the College only because the Administration created a “public relations nightmare” when it announced the closing the Sedona Center and once it became known that the Sedona Taxing District paid somewhere around $6 million a year to support the College.
Representative Carolyn Fisher said that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for her area, much of which is in the Village of Oak Creek, to create the kind of atmosphere created in Sedona when Dr. Penelope Wills announced she was contemplating closing the Sedona Center. Ms. Fisher’s area of the Verde Valley is unincorporated.
Zachery Jerrigan covered the meeting for the Red Rock News and his article can be found in the Friday, July 15, 2016 (p. 3A) edition of the newspaper. The online version of the article can be read by clicking here.