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Environment

Goodyear to help fund position connected Rio Reimagined project

Posted 3/7/23

Goodyear city council held a planning session to discuss the city's role in funding a position that would facilitate the construction of a sprawling 58-mile revitalization of the Rio Salado …

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Environment

Goodyear to help fund position connected Rio Reimagined project

Posted

Goodyear City Council held a planning session to discuss the city's role in funding a staff position that would facilitate  construction of a sprawling 58-mile revitalization of the Salt River.

The proposed Rio Reimagined project would stretch across the western Valley and bring a revitalized lake or recreational waterfront to six West Valley cities and two native American Reservations. The plan is still in its infancy, and no lands or money have been earmarked for the project by Goodyear yet.

Cecilia Riviere, an assistant director from Arizona State University, said acquiring funds and managing lands at the federal and local levels would require a facilitator with specific expertise. ASU is currently the project's principal facilitator.

"Today is really focused on a new leader that would be dedicated to this urban waters federal partnership," she said. "This is a program that has 15 different federal agencies that partner was 28 national nonprofits, that are dedicated to communities with urban waterways. This would be a position that is full-time, that is looking to match our local needs to those resources."

The proposed leader of this project would be a subject matter expert in applying for grants but also manifesting the project's infrastructure. ASU and Rio Reimagined leaders are looking for West Valley cities, tribes and other local agencies to invest $15,000 a year for the next four years to fund this project manager position. After four years, ASU is hopeful the manager can transition their expertise into an established nonprofit responsible for the project.

According to Riviere, the position would need approval of all tribal and city councils, for a targeted hiring date of sometime in July.

Goodyear council members unanimously supported the effort, which according to Riviere may take decades to complete.

"So this will be like 100th Wonder of the world if it's done, but I'm really excited that you do want to get a professional," said Councilwoman Wally Campbell. "It's very hard to get grants number one and number two, you've got to have someone totally dedicated to writing, and they have to know where the grants are to go after them."

Mayor Joe Pizzillo was optimistic about the project, but expressed concerns over recent trends in water scarcity in the valley.

"Being in a desert, I would imagine the biggest challenge is where is the water coming from," he asked. "That's going to be the biggest challenge, to populate this with water. Where do we get it from?"

Riviere responded by dismissing the thought that vast amounts of water for large sprawling lakes are required to move forward.

"We do know partners are interested in (water) nodes," she said. "Nodes of recreation, connected trail systems, open spaces and essentially a large green infrastructure project."

Michael McDaniel can be reached at mmcdaniel@iniusa.org. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.