By Mila Besich
The Town of Kearny recently had to move out of their current Town due to environmental and structural problems on the buildings. Those problems necessitated a temporary move into the Pinal County Courthouse, which the town leases from the County.
Several years ago, when the judicial court regions were redistricted, the county opted not to continue using the Kelly Haddad Pinal County Administration building in Kearny as a court, and moved the court operations to the Superior and Oracle courthouses, which left much of the building in Kearny vacant.
Currently the town is leasing some of the space in the building to small businesses, but moved the Town Hall location to the old bank building. The county has been providing janitorial and facility maintenance during the lease.
The Town of Kearny and Pinal County began looking for a more permanent solution and long term strategy that would help the Town of Kearny grow its economic development base. The current lease also had some limitations due to Arizona Revised Statues that prohibited sub leases and other rules pertaining to county rules and policies.
Pinal County Supervisor Jeff Serdy began working with Mayor Curtis Stacy and the Pinal County legal team to determine a path forward. Working together they determined that the building could be transferred to the Town of Kearny to improve economic development opportunities.
“The Town of Kearny has always considered the Kelly Haddad Building a town jewel. On Aug. 7, the Board of Supervisors will vote on transferring the building to the Town. This Town gem will finally be available to the residents to call their own. A big thank you goes to Mayor Curtis Stacy for his leadership and partnership in working with the county to make this a reality for the town,” said Supervisor Serdy.
The transfer will require a vote of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors at its Aug. 7 meeting. The board will consider the transfer of the building per ARS 11-254.04 to provide opportunities for small business start-ups and support for community based programs.
“The time is right for us as a Board to consider transferring the building to the Town of Kearny. The Town can do so much more with it than we as a county can; it can be a real asset to Kearny when, frankly, it is a financial burden for Pinal County. I would be so very pleased to help the Kearny community, and excited to see the opportunities this facility can create for the betterment of local residents,” said Serdy.
“I’m very grateful to Supervisor Serdy for his cooperation and for taking this to the Board of Supervisors for consideration next month,” said Curtis Stacy, Mayor of Kearny. “Kearny is experiencing much-needed growth, and the acquisition of the Kelly Haddad Administration Building will assist in the retention of current jobs and create new job opportunities, enhancing the economic welfare of Pinal County.”
Once the resolution to transfer the building is complete, the Town will begin evaluating any remodeling that may be needed and utilizing the space for small business start ups which will add additional commerce spaces in the downtown area of Kearny.