City council honors Yuma Catholic championship team

Wednesday's Yuma City Council meeting got off to a feel good start with recognition of the Yuma Catholic High School football team and head coach Rhett Stallworth.

Yuma Catholic became the first football team from Yuma to win an outright state championship when it beat Northwest Christian 21-19 over Thanksgiving weekend.

Offering his congratulations to Stallworth and Monsignor Richard O'Keeffe as well as the seniors on the team, City Administrator Greg Wilkinson observed that there is a correlation between academic success and participation in sports.

“And it took exceptional fortitude” for the team to bring home the trophy, Wilkinson added.

At the suggestion of Mayor Al Krieger, team members who were in attendance at the meeting were given a standing ovation.

On a more somber note, Krieger then issued a reminder that Wednesday was the 70th anniversary of the day when Japanese fighter planes attacked the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It was one of the deadliest attacks in American history and plunged the nation into World War II.

The attack claimed the lives of more than 2,500 people, many of them aboard the USS Arizona that still lies submerged in the harbor as a memorial.

Moving on to the meeting's agenda, Ken Rosevear, executive director of the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce, expressed concerns about the city's 2012 General Plan that is in the final stages of adoption by the council before going to voters on Aug. 28.

Rosevear said one thing that caught his eye was a map of the city's aesthetic overlay district that imposes additional design requirements on developments along the city's corridors to provide an attractive gateway to the community.

“I thought we had reached some consensus to greatly reduce or eliminate it,” Rosevear said.

“The cost of all these corridors covered by another level of design adds to the cost of a project,” he said, an additional cost that no business can afford in the current economy.

“We've been here before and were trying to avoid that,” he said.

A few months ago a presentation was made to the council about a proposal to greatly reduce the scope of the aesthetic overlay district. But that change apparently wasn't reflected in the General Plan as it is now written.

Councilman Paul Johnson also has brought up concerns about the hazardous materials designated routes and the desire for more council input when regarding intersections.

The council was holding a public hearing on the plan, then was scheduled to vote to adopt it. Because of the concerns raised, Krieger suggested that action be delayed to allow staff time to work on these issues.

To that end, the council approved a motion to continue the public hearing and action on the General Plan until the Dec. 21 meeting.

The General Plan, updated every 10 years after an extensive effort to gather public input, provides a guide on what citizens want for the future of the city and how to get there through such elements as development, parks, transportation and public services. It also serves as a guide for the city's capital improvement program.

Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853. Find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/jlobeck or on Twitter at @YSJoyceLobeck.