Supervisors may decide on new sheriff’s substation

LAKE HAVASU CITY – The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office has been seeking a replacement for Lake Havasu City’s Sheriff’s Substation for decades, and might finally get it after discussion by the Mohave County Board of Supervisors next week.

Earlier this month the supervisors took no action on plans to consolidate Mohave Valley and Havasu Sheriff’s substations into a single facility at the Franconia traffic interchange, near the junction of State Route 95 and Interstate 40. The issue is scheduled for discussion at the board’s April 15 meeting.

The proposed 19,000-square-foot facility would provide a hub for county services including sheriff’s substations, a new medical examiner’s office and a shelter to be used by Mohave County Animal Control officers. It would bear an estimated cost of $9.78 million, according to statements by Mohave County Public Works Director Steven Latoski.

Funding the facility would require a potential one-year extension of a quarter-cent sales tax enacted by county officials almost 20 years ago – an issue that prompted debate among county supervisors before tabling the issue at their April 1 meeting. According to Elaine Smith, of the Arizona Department of Revenue, such an extension will have to be announced to the revenue department by Nov. 1, with the tax-extension beginning Jan. 1.

Extending the quarter-cent sales tax, however, will require a unanimous decision by Mohave County supervisors. While such an extension might not fully fund the planned facility’s construction, it would cover the estimated cost of the area’s proposed new sheriff’s substation and medical examiner’s office, with an estimated cost of about $6 million, according to statements by Supervisor Buster Johnson last week.

The Arizona Department of Revenue has requested additional information from county officials about when such a tax extension will be authorized. That extension will be discussed, and possibly enacted at Monday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.