The Coolidge examiner., 1946-07-05
Coolidge Man
Heads Highway
Plan Committee

tend.
Raymond Sroaf. secretary of the
Coolidge Chamber of Commerce
anu temporary chairman of the
Pinal County Highway Planning
Committee. was elected perma-
nent chairman at the organization
meeting of the Committee in the
| Chamber of Commerce rooms
Monday night.
Sroaf defeated the only other
nominee, C. II. Robertson. Of Flor
ence. by to vote. Robertson
president. as was ]. c. Jayne.
was unanimouly elected vice
Coolidge. secretary.
The meeting got under way in
spirit of unanimity unusual In
such gatherings where each dele
gate is fighting for his own sec
ton.
Robertson set the key note or
the meeting when he discussed
long-distance program wherein
communities which could not be
the first under the wire for new
roads. would step aside in favor
of areas where new roads were
clAically needed.
He declared that he was salts
fled that some communities, par
ticularly some OF the farming
communities needed hard-surfaced
roads more critically than did
Florence and that he would make
no demands from the highway
funds during the first year of the
program.
Thirteen delegates and alter
mates from seven communities an
swered the roll call when the
meeting opened.
They wer: Sroaf of Coolidge;
j. C.. Jayne and George Dell of
the Coolidge No. area (west of
the city,; Robertson OF Florence;
o. w. Rugg and Cyril Pate (al-
ternate) OF Casa Grande; Henry
Helm and Jack Prefer, Jr., (al-
ternate) of Eloy; George Lobb. of
Superior and Rex Anderson. and
N. S. Cooper (alternate) of the
Stanfield-Maricopa area.
fred Jones, Sroafs alternate
and AL Gressinger. alternate from
Florence were not present.
Nouis Fiscel. county engineer
explained the financial condition
of the country as regards high
way funds. He said that the
county had approximately $45, 900
In postwar funds for road con-
Vtruction which he expected
would be increased to 100000 for
the present year.
OF this amount he expected to
spend about $4,000 for equip
ment which included new shovel,
a caterpillar tractor and a motor
blade. He explained that with
the equipment he had and with
what he expected to be able to
purchase in these times of short
ages, he would be unable to use
much more than the funds already
allotted this year.
Fiscel further explained that the
Board of Supervisors expected the
newly formed group to work for
individual area wants.
He told members that they
must present the board OF super
visors an overall county plan on
or before July 10. the last meet
ing before the tentative budget
is set up for publishing.
He explained that in determin-
Ing what the program should be
they must consider that grading
a road costs approximately SIS to
$500 mile while hard surface
would bring the cost to an esti-
mated maximum cost of $4,000 a
mile. Members were advised to
take into consideration the cost
of the road construction they
might propose in view of the
county's present available funds.
After lengthy discussion of
methods of getting to their vari-
GUS goals Richardson daclared
that he thought every delegate
should return to his constituency,
talk over what was needed and
then come back to a future meet
ing decided whether the COM
mittee should ask for a special
levy.
Fiscel had explained that un-
der special levy, II 1t were
the county could expect to raise
approximately $4,000 because
granted by the tax commission,
the levy is set by law to be 25
cents on eac 800 valuation, and
the county is valued at $37 100000.
Fiscel also said that he had
looked forward to receiving $780,
900 from the return of gasoline
tax monies to the county but that
he feared this might be cut to $780,
900 il the cities were granted
the 30 per cent they are seeking.
m wv hn