Rosanna Gabaldón

Council Member

Town of Sahuarita

My First 100 Days on Council

September 3, 2009 marks my first 100 days serving on the Sahuarita Town Council.  Since taking Office the time has been a wonderful and tremendous learning experience for me, and I am grateful to the citizens of Sahuarita for giving me the opportunity to serve our community.

I have been working diligently at communication and studying the issues that impact our Town and am readily available at Town Hall.  

The Town Manager, Town Attorney and Town Magistrate report directly to the Town Council.  I have met with each of these Managers and their department heads to obtain a better understanding of how they view their roles in the Town and the issues that concern them.  I am highly impressed with their degree of professionalism, promptness and courtesy.  I took the opportunity to impress upon them my goals for improving the Towns communication and service to our community.

Each Council Member has the honor of nominating citizens to serve on four different commissions of our Town.  The four Town Commissions are Economic Development, Planning and Zoning, Parks and Recreation and the Board of Adjustments.  I have met with my four commissioners as a group to convey that their input and guidance is important to me.  It was the consensus of the four commissioners that we focus on helping our local businesses to thrive, and we should look for ways to make a positive impact.

As a Council one of our first responsibilities was the approval of the Town budget.  Our challenge is to ensure that our budget is sustainable and results in a plan that will support our growing needs.  The budget opened up discussions on issues such as wastewater rates, policy on funding outside agencies and public safety.  The increase in wastewater rates was a necessary requirement.   I have studied the relevant documents and staff projections, and have had discussions with the Town staff and local stakeholders prior to making my decision.  Establishing a policy and criteria for approval of funds for service organizations is one of my top priorities.  Support for programs that provide relief and services to our citizens is a basic function of the Town, especially during difficult economic times when the needs are greater and the resources are less.  There was discussion regarding the pedestrian crossing at Sahuarita Road and it was the long-term public safety concerns that convinced me to vote in favor of an underpass.

I appreciate the phone calls and discussions I had with our citizens over these and other issues.  There were deep emotional feelings on all sides of the issues.  I do my best to vote in the way that represent my constituents and therefore each vote was made after much careful consideration, study and listening to the different points of view.

Working cooperatively with local developers, businesses and community leaders has yielded some good outcomes.  Fellow Council Members and I attended the opening of the North Santa Cruz Park and the groundbreaking of the fire station in Quail Creek; these projects were the result of the collaborative effort with local developers and stakeholders.  They represent an important step toward recreational opportunities and public safety. 

As I look toward the future I can see continued challenging economic times, and further in-depth discussions regarding sustainable growth and water issues.  Our best hope is to strengthen our communication between our elected officials, Town staff and our citizens.  This is a two way street which allows you the opportunity to come to Town meetings, open houses, and to participate in the discussions.  Help me help you by communicating with me so we can work together to keep Sahuarita the wonderful community that it is.

Rosanna Gabaldón, Town Council Member

You can meet with Rosanna at the “Conversations with Council” from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at Starbucks located in the Safeway on Duval Mine Road, Tuesday, September 15, 2009.

Oath of Office