Tombstone mayor outlines food‑bank rebuild, wastewater project and pool rehabilitation plans
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Summary
Mayor Dusty Esquivel told KWCD the city used Community Development Block Grant funds to build a larger food bank, is pursuing state funding ("about 980 some thousand dollars") for wastewater upgrades, and cited grants or donations including a $98,000 tribal grant and $200,000 from the Walter Ferguson Foundation for pool work.
Dusty Esquivel, mayor of Tombstone, described a series of local infrastructure and community projects during a prerecorded segment on KWCD.
On food security, Esquivel said the city replaced a roughly 20‑year‑old food bank with a new facility funded in part by a Community Development Block Grant. "It's too small," he said of the old building; the new facility is intended to be about twice the size and include modern refrigeration.
Esquivel discussed a wastewater‑treatment upgrade he said was proposed in coordination with state representatives and outside funding. He told listeners that a bill for the project "came up to about 980 some thousand dollars" and had passed the House but required Senate action; he said some funds had been frozen at the federal level but were now available again. He described the work as a multi‑year project with roughly two years for engineering and about three years for construction and system upgrades to serve more households currently unconnected to the sewer.
On recreation infrastructure, the mayor said the city received a $98,000 grant from (transcript) Tehana Tehana O'odham Nation to make improvements around the municipal swimming pool and that the Walter Ferguson Foundation donated $200,000 toward pool rehabilitation for new piping, filtration and safety upgrades. Esquivel said the pool is among the state's oldest continuously used municipal pools.
He also described a private donation of $6,500 from Bob Love to convert an underused field into a soccer/softball venue and said an entity described as 'Nedbank' had committed $8,000,000 to Tombstone projects.
Esquivel provided a city contact for donations (City Hall, (520) 457-2202) and thanked city staff and partners. The mayor did not present formal council votes or detailed engineering contracts during the interview.
