Payson Roundup

Did you hear the one about the guy who killed his parents — then threw himself on the mercy of the court on the grounds that he was an orphan?

No? Oh. How about the one about the community college board that agreed to pay a lobbyist $36,000 so he could lobby against them?

No? Well, just check out today’s front-page story for the latest trip to the bizarro land where the Gila Community College board lives.

To wit — the board approved $36,000 for a contract with the lobbyist that represents Eastern Arizona College, which administers GCC under the terms of a sweetheart contract.

Mind you, this same board recently approved the highest tuition in the state for full-time students (seniors and part-timers still get a discount.) Moreover, when the board tried to cushion the blow by earmarking $10,000 for scholarships, EAC simply ignored the request.

But despite all these financial woes, the board this week renewed a contract with EAC’s lobbyist — Triadvocates.

Now, we have nothing against Triadvocates. They say they’ll work to increase funding, get GCC bonding authority and look out for more screwball ideas from the legislature. Presumably he’ll be doing all that for EAC anyhow.

But the lobbyist also warned the GCC board that in any conflict between GCC and EAC, he’ll work on behalf of the Safford college and against GCC.

So if GCC wants to free itself from the shackles of its “provisional” status, its own lobbyist will be on the other side. Does GCC want a cut of workforce development money? Can’t help — because EAC doesn’t want GCC to compete for the funds and the lobbyist works for Safford.

Nonetheless, the GCC board majority approved the contract over the objections of the two Rim County representatives — Tom Loeffler and Larry Stephenson.

In truth, it seems increasingly clear that only by ending the indentured servitude of its provisional status can GCC ever gain control over its own destiny and get the state funding to which it’s entitled.

And when that topic comes up — the GCC board can count on its own lobbyist to grin sheepishly and work against them.

Then maybe they can throw themselves on the mercy of the legislature on account of being lobbyist orphans.

That ought to at least get a laugh.

Embracing change

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Mahatma Gandhi

You don’t see elected officials change their minds too often. So, it’s worth pausing a moment to marvel at the news coming out of the Star Valley council this week.

Seems that Star Valley and Payson have embraced change — and one another.

Specifically, Payson has agreed to make a dramatic gesture to end two years of bitter but pointless conflict — and the Star Valley council had the courage and the wisdom to seize the offered hand and shake it vigorously.

Of course, so far the two towns have merely announced an agreement to come to an agreement — with many messy details ahead.

But the deal looks promising — and sensible. Star Valley would buy from Payson one or two deep wells — rough equivalents of the polarizing Tower Well. No one has set a price — so that could derail the deal in the end. But Payson has sweetened the agreement by offering to work out something so Star Valley can use both a million-gallon storage tank and an eight-inch water main.

This could provide an emergency backup water supply for Star Valley — and perhaps the spine of a water system to serve commercial development along the highway — on which that town’s financial future depends.

Moreover, the agreement would seem to clear the way for Star Valley to become a “water purveyor,” so it can negotiate for its cut of the Blue Ridge water.

Of course, Star Valley has a lot of key decisions yet to make. For instance, most of the people in town have their own backyard wells. How could they benefit from the Blue Ridge water? Perhaps by selling the water to upslope golf courses and letting it seep down into the water table from which thousands of residents get their water.

But for the moment, the good new lies in the Star Valley council’s willingness to set aside old rhetoric and give peace a chance. That bodes well for the future — as does Payson’s willingness to make the game-changing offer.

“Change is inevitable — except from vending machines.”

Robert Gallagher

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