City of Somerton, Cocopah Tribe may offer mutual public services
SOMERTON — This city and the Cocopah Tribe are looking at ways they can share public services.
Animal control, recycling, road work, public safety and recreation athletic programs are among the services that the city and the tribe are looking at providing mutually to Somerton residents and to the tribe.
The topic of mutual services was discussed at a recent meeting that brought together Somerton Mayor Jose Yepez, Somerton council members Gerardo Anaya, Martha Garcia, Miguel Villalpando and Carlos Garcia, and Cocopah President Sherry Cordova, Vice President Deal Begay Jr., and tribal council members Rosa Long and Edmund Domingues.
“Good relations and cooperation has always been there (between the city and tribe), but we feel that they haven’t been carried to the next level,” said Yepez, adding he had met informally with Cordova to discuss the issue of providing shared services.
The three Cocopah reservations all border Somerton, and city residents and tribal members already receive mutual fire protection and emergency aid services from the Somerton Cocopah Fire Department.
Cordova believes animal control is another area where the tribe and the city can work together to provide mutual services. The tribe has limited ability to catch stray dogs on the reservations, she said, because that task falls to tribal police officers who have other responsibilities as well.
She added that animal control represents a large expense, given that the tribe must transport the strays to the Humane Society of Yuma’s kennel, then
pay boarding costs for the animals until they are reclaimed by their owners, adopted or euthanized.
Somerton set up a temporary shelter as part of its own animal control program it started several years ago, and the tribe may board strays there on a one- to three-month tribal basis to see if it can cut its costs.
The two councils agreed to work together to offer mutual athletic and recreational programs for children and teens, making use of some of the facilities owned by the tribe. They also agreed to explore the possibility of pooling resources and efforts to provide recycling, public safety and road work in both the city and on tribal land.
“The two entities have worked together for our community, as part of a good (relationship) that has continued for years and years,” said Domingues, who also serves as the tribe’s public works director.
The councils plan to continue meeting together to coordinate the efforts of the tribe and city, Yepez said.
“This is just a beginning and to open doors,” he said. “There are many things we can do together.”