15 October 2026
We received a very high estimate from one company and I have accepted a proposal from another company for a survey. The survey began earlier this week and will result in 1) a comprehensive plan for making lasting improvements on the worst parts of our road over time and 2) an estimate for implementing the first step of the plan on the section of Kino just off of Ramsey, between the black-top and the first water crossing.

September 11, 2026
Carol Welsh had faithfully managed the road grading and maintenance work for decades. That ended this month when she sold her house. Carol had encouraged me numerous times to take on the coordination effort and after deliberation and “inspiration” from my wife (something about her desire to decrease road rage that develops while driving or riding down the road), I have enthusiastically taken on the job!

One of my first tasks was to contact the county to see if anything changed since the November 2025 meeting. I spoke with the Director of Public Works and he said the results of the meeting (and subsequent working groups) were that they were unable to add any new roads. Therefore, we are still responsible for our own road maintenance.

The director mentioned another method provided by state statute for improving a roadway that does not qualify for public funds which is to form a Road Improvement District. I believe we had looked into the Public/Private Partnership option some time ago but I don’t remember anything on the Road Improvement District, so I’ll be looking into this for us as well.

November 6, 2025
The Board of Supervisors held a townhall meeting to discuss County Road Maintenance and they had a much larger response than expected. The board invited residents living on currently non-county-maintained roads to come and comment.

The meeting opened with an explanation of how the county receives funding for roads, which includes the following points:
– Funds for county roads do not come from property taxes.
– The State collects Highway User Revenue Funds (HURF) from gasoline and diesel fuel tax (along with the vehicle license tax) and distributes the funds in priority order: Arizona Department of Transportation, Arizona cities, the two metropolitan counties (Maricopa and Pima) and the thirteen rural counties.
– The funds only cover 700 miles of county road maintenance.

There are more details in the county’s Public Works Highway Frequently Asked Questions.