Yavapai supervisors approve Embry‑Riddle bond despite vocal Clarkdale, Cottonwood objections over flight noise and leaded fuel

The Yavapai County Board of Supervisors voted 3–1 on April 2 to approve local TEFRA-related approval for tax‑exempt revenue and refunding bonds for Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University Series 2025, up to a principal amount of about $204 million, despite sustained public opposition from Clarkdale and Cottonwood residents and town officials who said Embry‑Riddle flight training has significantly increased noise and air impacts over the Verde Valley.

The decision followed a lengthy hearing that combined a presentation by the Yavapai County Industrial Development Authority (YCIDA) and Embry‑Riddle representatives, a recorded YCIDA TEFRA public hearing, detailed public comment from Clarkdale and Cottonwood elected officials and residents, and technical remarks from bond counsel about a tight financing timeline.

The bonds are intended to refinance projects at Embry‑Riddle’s Prescott campus that the university says are either completed or under construction — including a flight simulator building that is complete and student residence and student union projects under construction — and to reduce borrowing costs for the nonprofit university. Embry‑Riddle’s Prescott campus and its leadership told the board the financing is not itself a new authorization for expanded flight operations; bond counsel said rating letters are expected in mid‑April and that the university seeks April pricing to avoid a risk that Congress might eliminate or curtail tax treatment used for such financings.

Why it matters: Clarkdale and Cottonwood officials and dozens of residents urged the board to delay or reject local approval, saying repetitive training flights out of Cottonwood Airport now number in the tens of thousands annually and are harming residents’ quality of life and property values. Speakers cited public‑health and environmental concerns — including complaints about leaded aviation fuel and noise linked, they said, to cardiovascular and…