Tusayan Mayor Clarinda Vail and Tusayan Vice Mayor and Fire District Chief Greg Brush feel Valle needs to address its own emergency service needs as opposed to relying on Tusayan’s resources.

About a third of the Tusayan Fire District’s fire and emergency medical calls are for Valle. And that doesn’t include vehicle accident calls on Highway 64. Most properties in Valle are not served by a fire district which is why Tusayan’s Fire District has to step up. Tusayan Fire District is providing voluntarily out of district coverage to the area with little or no compensation from Valle or Coconino County.

 A similar situation exists related to the Coconino County Sheriff’ s Office. The Town of Tusayan pays the County for CCSO local services and a designated deputy. Valle does not. Tusayan property owners and the Town fund the Tusayan Fire District. Valle does not.

Vail and Brush say the situation creates a strain on emergency services intended for Tusayan as well as a financial burden.

As Coconino County is updating its Comprehensive Plan, Vail and Brush put those concerns in a letter to the County which states in part:

“Just as Tusayan land owners had to come together to form TFD many years ago, to not only be reliant on local partners for emergency services, we feel it is time that Valle must face those decisions and especially before any more large projects are approved by CC (Coconino County). In essence, this growth is putting pressure on Tusayan as a neighboring community, and we ask CCs engagement to ensure adequate emergency preparedness and response for all its county residents and visitors.”

Click here to read the entire letter.

Vail and Brush also note that legislation to better fund High Country Fire doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.

Coconino’s response acknowledges the concerns but really doesn’t address the problem. The County’s response states in part:

“The County recognizes the need for emergency services and infrastructure in Valle as addressed in your letter. Valle property owners will need to work together and create districts for these services if desired. The County approval process for zone changes, subdivisions and conditional use permits requires emergency services and infrastructure meeting County standards. High County Fire in Red Lake has been contracted for many of these developments.”

Click here to read the County response.

Permitted growth in the Valle area, where most properties are not formally served by any emergency services, is creating challenging situations for Tusayan. Complicating matters is rampant unpermitted growth in Valle. Tusayan hopes the Coconino County Comprehensive Plan will not just acknowledge these concerns but solve them.