Lawsuit lingers over Tusayan
Questions remain over recent incorporation election
TUSAYAN, Ariz. - While the new Tusayan Interim Town Council moves forward with their plans for the small South Rim community at the doorstep to the Grand Canyon National Park, questions still remain about the election itself, questions that have resulted in a new lawsuit filed by area resident Bess Foster.
The lawsuit, filed in early April, seeks to overturn the recent incorportation vote. Foster, general manager for the Red Feather Lodge, is behind the current lawsuit. She said she doesn't belive the small community qualifies for incorporation.
"We hope to win and that the court will order the County to rescind the order of incorporation," Foster said in an April 19 e-mail.
The new lawsuit names officials with the Coconino County Board of Supervisors, as well as the newly-placed interim Tusayan Town Council members. Foster's sister, Clarinda Vail, is also named in the suit. Vail was one of five interim council members chosen by a special advisory committee to the Coconino County Board of Supervisors. Council members were handed a subpoena to appear in court after they signed Oaths of Office April 6. The town council held their first official meeting April 7 at the Grand Canyon Best Western Squire Inn.
Foster, the mother of two, said she has lived in the Tusayan community her entire life. She has served as general manager for the Red Feather Lodge for over 10 years. She said she has never supported incoporation for Tusayan.
"We are too small of a community at this point," Foster said. "The reasons I filed the suit are because it is unconstitutional and I am also worried about conflicts of interest and taxes and resources. I'm concerned about unbridled growth happening in this area, too."
Members of the new Tusayan council, including interim Mayor Pete Shearer, declined to comment due to the sensitive nature of the lawsuit. An initial hearing was held April 14 in Flagstaff. A second hearing is scheduled for Friday.
The recent lawsuit is not the first for the community in recent months. A previous lawsuit successfully halted an earlier election that had been set for November of last year. The prior lawsuit, filed by Vail, Linda Knutson, Chris Thurston and Eric Gueissav of Tusayan, argued a number of points against incorporating the small community.
On March 9, voters went to the polls in the area, voting yes for incorporation with a vote of 116 for and 71 against. The recent election marked the third attempt at incorporaton for the community of roughly 500 residents.
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