County Hits The Jackpot

By Tammy Gray-Searles
   With the State of Arizona still facing a massive budget shortfall, the Navajo County Board of Supervisors was pleased to learn recently that the county would still be receiving Local Area Transportation Funds (LTAF), which are supported by the state lottery and vehicle license tax fees. According to the Arizona Lottery, over the last nine years Navajo County has received $2,953,826 in funding for various projects as part of revenue derived directly from the lottery.
   Those funds have paid for transportation projects as well as historic preservation, educational projects and recreation. According to the lottery commission, more lottery funding has been spent on streets and sidewalks in Navajo County since 2000 than any other type of lottery-funded project. A total of $1,038,812 has been spent on street and sidewalk improvements, and another $617,189 on other transportation projects, such as airport improvements and public transportation.
   Spending on outdoor recreation comes in a distant second to transportation, with total spending since 2000 coming in at $625,283. Recreation is followed by historic preservation at $352,737, educational projects at $299,910 and a “combined” transportation project at $19,895.
   Among all Arizona counties, Navajo County ranked 10th in amount of lottery funds received since 2000, with Maricopa, Pima and Yavapai counties receiving the most lottery dollars respectively.
   Not all lottery funds go directly to projects. They are also added to the state’s general fund, and are used for health and economic development programs. Last fiscal year, the state received more than $129 million in lottery revenues.
   As for Navajo County’s share, since 2000, a total of 27 street and sidewalk improvement projects were funded. They included street improvements and installation of a traffic signal near Paper Mill Road in Taylor, maintenance of existing roads in Winslow and Holbrook, and a total of 14 street projects in Show Low, Lakeside and Pinetop.
   An equal amount of other transportation projects were also completed, with Winslow receiving funding for 19 of the 27 projects completed in Navajo County since 2000. Most of Winslow’s projects were related to the airport, and included widening the taxiway, remodeling the terminal and making repairs to other existing airport structures. Holbrook accounted for three of the 27 projects, including two projects involving the senior center transportation van, and one for the purchase of a rubber-crack seal machine and an air compressor.
   Only three educational projects have been funded in Navajo County since 2000, including one in Whiteriver, one in Pinetop-Lakeside and one in Heber. The project in Heber included establishing indigenous plants in a schoolyard to encourage birds and insects.
   Navajo County also received funding for three recreational projects. The projects included development of a park in Show Low, construction of a boat ramp at a lake near Whiteriver and construction of a skate park in Snowflake.
   There were also five historic preservation projects in Navajo County over the last nine years. They included a national heritage area feasibility study in Winslow, as well as preservation of three historic sites in Snowflake and stabilization of the Lorenzo Hubbell Trading Post in Winslow.
   According to the Arizona Lottery, since 1982 the lottery has generated more than $2.3 billion for the state, including $625 million in transportation funds.