City asked to support port improvement funds

When the governor's office calls, you answer even if you're Mayor Larry Nelson and you're in the middle of a Yuma City Council session.

That's what happened to the mayor during Wednesday evening's council meeting.

City Administrator Mark Watson was in the midst of explaining to the council that the city has been asked by Gov. Janet Napolitano to support a resolution circulating around the state in support of federal funding to improve the existing San Luis port of entry.

The port has been slated for such improvements to expand and widen the facility because of long lines of pedestrian and personal vehicular traffic trying to cross the border, Watson said.

The resulting delays at San Luis as well as at the Nogales and Douglas ports are seen to be adversely impacting the economy in southern Arizona, according to the resolution. Therefore, the federal government had named improving border infrastructure a top priority for national security.

However, there apparently is no funding in the federal budget for fiscal year 2009 for the projects, Watson said.

So Yuma and other southern Arizona cities are being asked to approve a resolution supporting the state's effort to secure federal funding for the port projects, Watson said.

The governor is hoping to be able to take the resolutions to Washington, D.C., within the next couple of weeks. For the Yuma City Council to take action will require a special council meeting, likely to be held sometime next week, Watson said.

And the call to the mayor? That was the governor's office appealing for the city's support of the resolution.

In other business Wednesday, the council passed a number of measures with little discussion and no public comment. They included:

- Approved a liquor license application for Hooligan's Comedy Club at 3950 W. 24th St.

- Approved a liquor license application by Brice Zeller for the new Mine Shaft at 3905 S. 4th Ave.

- Approved the final plat for the Produce Industrial Park Subdivision No. 2 at the northeast corner of 48th Street and Avenue 3E, and approved an extension for the final plat for the project's first phase.

- Had first reading for an ordinance to annex a county island at the vicinity of Avenue B and 8th Street.

- Had first reading for an ordinance to change the definition of a small day care to five children or less and large day care to six or more children. It would apply only to new day-care centers.

- Approved rezoning of property at 2450 S. Madison Ave., where a now-vacant fire station is located, to transitional.

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Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853.