going to have to
help Main Street'
Ed Blair has Minnesota roots, but took wings to Arizona after retirement so he could golf 12 months a year.
He was born just north of Main Street in Sauk Centre, Minn. from which Sinclair Lewis got the title for his famous book. He graduated from high school and junior college in Worthington, and completed college at St. Peter in a college started by Swedish Lutherans.
Minneapolis was the site of his seminary, not far from his first church pastorate north of Minneapolis at Anoka. His second was in the small town of Buffalo, Minn., the church at which he was a pastor from 1970 to 2001.
Blair and his wife raised two children in Buffalo, and now son Nathan lives in Denver, Colo. where he is an energy analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. His daughter Carmen serves as the deputy director of the San Mateo County history museum in Redwood City, Calif.
Blairs’s wife Karyl accompanied him to Payson where they became very active at Mount Cross Lutheran church, across Arizona Hwy. 260 from Tiny’s restaurant. Blair has enjoyed helping people in churches and now has found his retirement “niche” by helping Paysonites find assistance at town hall.
He was elected during the concern over the Tower Well in Star Valley that brings water to Payson. He feels that that decision has been made and now the two towns are on the way to cooperation.
He recently sat down to an interview with the Mogollon Connection:
Star Valley and Payson are about to enter into a historic agreement regarding water rights, could you comment on that?
We really want to work together. I have high hopes for the governmental agreement that is being negotiated between the two towns. Payson and Star Valley are united in many ways. Star Valley kids go to our schools, we shop at each other’s stores and travel to each other’s churches. Many of the people in both towns are actually related to each other. There are also mutual aid pacts for fire and police.
What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing Payson today?
Balancing the budget has been difficult. I’ve been told that we cannot furlough people indefinitely. The big problem is going to be with the state. We (the town of Payson) cannot totally control our budget; we rely to some degree on state funds. We have already cut everything that can be considered fat. The part-time personnel have been laid off. The various town departments have come up with cuts amounting to $1 million. I don’t know how they managed it, but I’m so proud of the department heads. The furloughs and cutting of overtime have saved the town nearly $450 thousand as well.
The council recently cut pay for town workers by 12.5 percent and raised their medical insurance contributions from 18 percent to 25 percent. Are those changes permanent?
We don’t believe the furloughs will be permanent. When the economy returns to normal we will go back to normal staffing. My concern is that medical insurance costs will never return to 18.5 percent for the employee, and could possibly be increased beyond the 25 percent they are currently at. The negotiations are ongoing as we speak.
What do you think the best answer to the question of how to provide “work force housing” is?
Affordable housing is extremely difficult because of the high price of land in Payson. We are not just a regular town. We are limited by the amount of space we have because we are surrounded by the Tonto National Forest. The cost of building here is very high because we are a premiere community. When we have an established water source from Blue Ridge things will be easier.
What is your view on growth in Payson as far as business, industry, housing and population?
Hardly anyone in this town supports seven-story buildings. The intent of the council’s decision was to raise the level above the 35-foot limit that we now have. I am very cautious about writing a blanket rule into the code that allows for higher buildings all over town. In my opinion it will not work in many areas. There could be higher buildings in certain areas where they will fit in based on the surrounding terrain.
How do you best think we can promote and encourage Main Street development?
It’s really very difficult because there are so many empty spaces on Main Street. You can’t get out of your car on one end of the 13-block street and conveniently walk to the other. Main Street is going to have to help Main Street. We have helped to some extent in the past, and we will do all we can do with zoning and so on in the future, but there is only so much we can do when there are so many empty spaces between the businesses. The merchants are trying to make it a go , and I try to support them and attend events there as often as I can, but there is only so much the town can do. There are three other major shopping areas in Payson with empty spaces that are struggling as well.
Do you have any ideas on how to get small business and industry to come to Payson or how to keep businesses in town?
I am for sensible growth in this town. I have had the reputation of being against growth, but that was before the town had secured the water necessary for building out responsibly. I fully support responsible development, and with Blue Ridge water on its way, I believe we can grow responsibly. I do however, prefer that developers from the Valley area, California and other outside places do not look upon Payson as a goldmine, looking to make a big a profit as soon as possible and then go home. That leaves Payson with a lot of infrastructure to provide and a lot of other things that are not always covered by impact fees. The added sales tax will offset some of that, but it won’t cover all of the town’s cost when a new subdivision goes in. It is not a win-win deal.
Why in this tough environment of budget cuts do you want to be a councilperson; what is the biggest asset you can bring to the council?
It will not be a pleasant time because of the necessity of budget cutting. But I feel I can be a voice for the citizens of this town. I can be their connection to town government. I hope I can answer their questions and can clarify their view to the council about possible cuts made to town services, cuts that may be inevitable in this economic climate. I think of myself as the voice for the citizens, the citizens who are not wealthy and well connected and don’t belong to the circles of people who normally influence things. I find it uplifting to be able to make connections with the citizens and the council. I enjoy working with people and investigating their concerns.
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