Graham County supervisors approve grants, right-of-way and fairgrounds plan; table subcontract for overdose review team

Graham County Board of Supervisors on April 21 approved several administrative actions including a grant-match resolution for a family counseling program, acceptance of a quitclaim deed to complete right-of-way on Powerline Road, a five-year renewal of medical examiner services with Pima County and a $99,500 contract for a fairgrounds master plan. The board also accepted a settlement offer from NatureSuite LLC and voted to cancel an existing work plan with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services after the agency’s local inspector left and the federal hiring freeze left the post vacant. Separately, the board approved a state opioid response (SOR) program agreement with the Arizona Department of Health Services but tabled a proposed subcontract to the Greenlee-Graham Substance Abuse Coalition for further review.

The most consequential votes were procedural approvals that officials said preserve services and enable local projects. County manager Dustin Welker summarized the Pima County medical examiner arrangement, saying the contract “has worked out really well” and noting the county’s annual cost rose from $90,000 to $100,000 under the current terms. Welker recommended another five-year…