CAG, Sun Corridor MPO brief Casa Grande council on water planning, transit and safety grants

Representatives of the regional Council of Governments and the Sun Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization on Wednesday gave council members a briefing on regional planning functions, funding programs and recent transportation and water‑quality projects that affect Casa Grande.

Andrea Robles, who manages CAG, said CAG was incorporated in 1975 and represents 23 member entities across Gila and Pinal counties. "The regional council is comprised of our elected officials," she said, describing CAG’s role coordinating planning among counties, cities and tribal communities. CAG staff also manage EPA section 208 water‑quality planning and conduct septic‑system studies and other regional technical assistance.

Steve Abraham, CAG’s transportation and water quality planning director, described the 208 area‑wide water quality management plan under the Clean Water Act and said those plans are commonly a condition of development approvals. He said CAG has used ADEQ funding for septic studies and that the agency provides technical assistance on grant programs including WIFA, USDA and EPA funding.

Irene Higgs, executive director of the Sun Corridor MPO (SCMPO), described the MPO’s transportation role. The SCMPO covers Casa Grande, Coolidge, Eloy and a portion of Pinal County and serves a planning boundary of roughly 1,155 square miles, Higgs said. The MPO receives federal planning funds passed through ADOT and has roughly $730,000 a year available for design and construction projects; Higgs said the MPO has helped bring in more than $86.2 million for the region and about $23.1 million for Casa Grande through competitive grants, loans and state allocations.

Higgs highlighted recent and ongoing projects the MPO supported: the CG Link micro‑transit service launched in October 2023 after a transit study and CARES Act funding; several safety projects funded by the Highway Safety Improvement Program; a pending Courtson interchange design concept report and repeated competitive grant applications for construction; and a multi‑jurisdictional Pinal County strategic transportation safety plan that is in public comment. Higgs said the region has secured $28.9 million in HSIP funding to date and that a recent submission could bring that total higher.

On safety, Higgs said the strategic plan documented roughly 360 deaths and more than 10,400 reported injuries in Pinal County over a five‑year period; the plan is intended to prioritize projects and strategies under the federal Safe Streets for All and HSIP programs. She also described a regional effort that turned $569,000 in carbon reduction funding into a roughly $2.9 million program with ADOT to install dynamic message signs along State Route 387 and other corridors.

CAG staff described procurement and Davis‑Bacon monitoring support for WIFA projects, and said there is no charge to member entities for that technical support; CAG noted several WIFA and USDA projects in Eloy and Sierra Vista and said more procurement work is active locally. Robles and Higgs also urged council members to participate in regional meetings and legislative outreach; Robles thanked Mayor Fitzgibbon for attending a recent legislative day and said CAG offers a new‑member "101" briefing for elected officials.

Council members thanked the presenters and discussed local coordination; several council members and staff praised the agencies’ grant work and technical support. No formal actions were taken during the study session; the briefings were informational.

— End —