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 developmental risk — and asked the county not to provide what they called a “green light” for further campus growth until operational impacts are addressed.

What was said and asked: During public comment, Clarkdale Mayor Robin Prudhomme Bauer, Town Manager Susan Guthrie, Councilwoman Laura Jones and other Clarkdale residents detailed hundreds of complaints to town staff and to the FAA. Residents described frequent daytime and early‑morning patterns over neighborhoods, said operations at Cottonwood had grown from roughly 18,000 flights in 2020 to more than 56,000 in 2025 (a figure cited by public commenters), and said an estimated 85% of recent operations in that pattern are Embry‑Riddle training flights.

Mary Lou Rose of Clarkdale asked the board to reject the bond or at minimum to demand that Embry‑Riddle “build and use their own training strips” before expanding operations that affect residential areas. Thomas Catlaw urged tabling the resolution until the university “agrees to negotiate in good faith” with communities. Several speakers described difficulty selling homes because of the flight noise.

Embry‑Riddle and YCIDA presentation: Mary Shaquin, chair of the Yavapai County Industrial Development Authority, and Steven Polk, YCIDA counsel, described the TEFRA public‑comment process the IDA conducted and noted the federal TEFRA requirement for local public comment on certain tax‑exempt financings that originate outside Arizona. Embry‑Riddle Chancellor Ken Witcher and Rodney Cruz, the university’s chief operating officer, said the financing is a refinance of campus projects and said the university is actively pursuing auxiliary training fields intended to reduce pressure on public airports. Cruz said work toward auxiliary fields is ongoing and described the university’s board of trustees as having approved funding for that effort; Embry‑Riddle said the timeline for a dedicated auxiliary field is expected to be about 18–24 months.

Bond counsel and schedule: Ken Arden, bond counsel (appearing remotely), told supervisors that the university expects ratings letters around April 14 and was seeking to price bonds in April to avoid a possible congressional change that could affect the tax treatment of such financings; he said a May approval would likely miss the current pricing window.

Board discussion and outcome: Supervisors acknowledged support for Embry‑Riddle’s mission and economic contributions but said they were not comfortable approving the local TEFRA consent without more assurance that community impacts would be mitigated. Several supervisors pressed Embry‑Riddle on the auxiliary‑field timeline and on interim mitigation. A motion to table the item until the board’s April 16 meeting failed for lack of a second. Another motion to approve the resolution passed by roll call, 3–1, with Supervisor Chek recorded as no and Vice Chair Compton, Supervisor Kupneo, and Chair Mallory recorded as yes. Chair Mallory asked Embry‑Riddle to send follow‑up communications summarizing any steps being taken to address Clarkdale/Cottonwood concerns; Embry‑Riddle representatives agreed to provide updates.

Community requests and outstanding issues: Town officials and residents asked the university to adopt or commit to near‑term operating changes including (requests made during public comment): restoring the Cottonwood Airport crosswind turn to 700 feet, adopting a formal “fly friendly” practice that limits repetitive pattern training between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. weekdays (6 p.m.–9 a.m. on weekends), limiting the number of aircraft in pattern at one time (town officials asked for no more than four), distributing training flights more equitably among available auxiliary airports, and negotiating an enforceable commitment not to use Cottonwood as the primary training field once a university‑owned auxiliary field is available. These were requests raised during the hearing; the board did not adopt them as terms of the bond approval.

What the approval does — and does not — do: YCIDA counsel and Embry‑Riddle stressed that the TEFRA‑related local approval is a required procedural step for tax‑exempt financings originating through an out‑of‑state conduit (Volusia County Educational Facilities Authority) and that the bond issuance finances campus improvements already completed or under construction rather than directly authorizing flight operations. County staff and bond counsel also noted that operational mitigation at public airports is overseen by the FAA and by the airports’ operators; several Clarkdale speakers and town officials said they have also filed complaints to the FAA and hired consultants to advise on mitigation options.

Ending: Supervisors who voted for approval stressed they expect ongoing communications and concrete steps from Embry‑Riddle to reduce community impacts while the university pursues long‑term auxiliary‑field solutions. Those who opposed or voiced reservations said the board had an obligation to the affected Verde Valley residents and expected follow up; the board’s split vote left the bond approval intact while publicly documenting the community objections and the university’s commitments to pursue mitigation and auxiliary‑field work.

Votes at a glance: The meeting recorded several related approvals and unanimous votes on other agenda items alongside the Embry‑Riddle action: the board approved two proclamations (Fair Housing Month and Week of the Young Child), multiple consent items, a workforce development board matter, a community health apprenticeship grant and related 0.73 FTE grant item, Development Services’ updated environmental fee schedule, a final plat for Whispering Canyon Phase 11, and two water‑service franchise agreements (Big Park and Little Park Water Companies). Where recorded, votes were unanimous. The Embry‑Riddle TEFRA/local approval vote was 3–1 (Supervisor Chek opposed).