County says it's ready for Minutemen By Michael Sullivan
Tuesday, March 29, 2005 12:59 PM MST
Herald/Review
BISBEE - The Minutemen are coming, and Cochise County officials say they're ready for them.
County officials gathered around a table in the Board of Supervisors' conference room Monday afternoon to fine-tune strategies for the upcoming Minuteman Project and to set aside $100,000 to cover possible expenses connected with keeping a lid on the volunteer border-control effort.
As many as 1,000 volunteers from across the U.S. may show up in answer to a call to help prevent further illegal border crossings into Cochise County from Mexico.
Concerned about the implications of volunteers spending up to a month along the border and the possibility of trouble during two planned demonstrations, the Board of Supervisors called the meeting last Thursday to take the pulse of county planning.
Representatives of the Sheriffs, Planning and Zoning, Health, Highways and Floodplain, and Facilities departments answered questions and discussed preparations.
"We hope people will behave and it will go off smoothly," County Manager Jody Klein said.
Klein told the supervisors he had met with all affected departments to coordinate activities.
The Sheriff's Department will be the lead agency for the county and has been coordinating its planning with federal, state and local agencies. An information center will be set up at the Sheriff's Office, which will also be the point of coordination for all other agencies and the Governor's Office. Extra phones and computers are being set up at the center. Members of the public will be able to call in issues and concerns to the center by phoning 432-9500 or, in emergencies, 911. A separate number may also be available.
A single contact point will also be set up with the Board of Supervisors. Senior members of all affected departments will be available to immediately deal with whatever may come up, Klein said.
The phone number to call for those departments, such as Planning and Zoning, Environmental Health and Highways, is 432-9200. The evening number is 559-3601.
Permit requests have been received for two demonstrations at the U.S. Border Patrol station on Naco Highway on April 2 and 3 and one farther down the highway, at the railroad tracks. Those demonstrations will be held from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Demonstrations are also planned from 1 to 2 p.m. the same days at the Border Patrol's Douglas station.
The gatherings may be held again on April 16.
No permits have yet been issued for demonstrations in Douglas, however.
Extra trash receptacles will be in place at the demonstration sites, County Facilities Director L.H. Hamilton said. He estimated the cost at up to $3,000, because the county will have to contract with private operators for the service.
"We'll pass on the sanitation costs to the organizers," Hamilton said.
"Enhanced" zoning inspections are planned to ensure compliance with county regulations, particularly in the corridor between Bisbee and Coronado Monument.
No large-scale camping or gatherings will be allowed on private property or any activity that creates a "substantial nuisance," such as traffic, garbage, raw sewage or gunfire.
"We're going to enforce all laws, rules and regulations," Klein promised.
"If a violation of 'an event of public interest' or other zoning violation occurs on private property, such as a gathering, we will notify the owner or occupant of the property and ask them to cease such activity," Klein wrote in a briefing statement. "If they fail to do so, or if we are dealing with a property owner to whom we have already advised of proper zoning requirements, we will cite them into the hearing office."
Speedy action on zoning violations was promised by Planning Director Jim Vlahovich, who noted that the process would normally take more than 30 days.
"If any activity reaches the level of creating a health hazard, the environmental health director, in consultation with the sheriff and county administrator, shall seek an injunction to abate the hazard and cease the activity," Klein wrote.
Deputy County Attorney Britt Hanson told the supervisors that the injunctive process could also be expedited, even on weekends. He said he would ensure that adequate staff will be in place to handle such actions.
Sheriff's Department Commander Rod Rothrock said that if trespassers or property owners do not cooperate, "Call the Sheriff's Department and we will come ... We'll make sure the people will leave the property." Violators will be cited and released but extra jail facilities are lined up in case of resistance.
Because overtime pay may be incurred, Klein recommended that the board approve the expenditure of up to $100,000 from the general fund contingency, to be disbursed at Klein's discretion. "We anticipate that ... there is a strong likelihood of state or federal reimbursement," Klein said.
If additional funding is necessary, the board will convene an emergency meeting to authorize additional amounts.
The funding issue concerned District 2 Supervisor Paul Newman, who said he wasn't sure state and federal agencies would reimburse the county.
Newman sought a vehicle for recovering expenses from organizers of the Minuteman Project, but was told the only way to do that was through the levying of fines for illegal activities.
Newman suggested that an ordinance be drafted to cover similar events in the future.
"It appears this event slipped through the cracks because there's no ordinance in place," Newman said.
Newman was also concerned about racist fliers that recently appeared in the county. Prepared by the National Alliance, in Phoenix, the fliers warn of a "non-white invasion."
He was concerned about the possibility of hate crimes. Rothrock assured Newman that the Sheriff's Department was prepared to enforce all applicable laws.
