During the annual State of the Town Address on April 26, Marana Mayor Ed Honea said Marana will continue to stay true to its core mission, which is devoted to strong public infrastructure, public safety and public services.

After a March election that demonstrated overwhelming support for a town-owned wastewater treatment facility, members of the Marana Citizen’s Forum are looking at the next logical step forward for this session’s topic – the development of North Marana.

The Town of Marana is fortunate to have residents and business owners who care about the community. We can always find people who want to volunteer to improve the quality of life we all enjoy here.

One of the rites of spring in Marana is our State of the Town luncheon. It’s an event I look forward to each year because it gives me an opportunity to share a positive message with the community about where our Town is headed.

Marana voters spoke loud and clear in the town’s March 12 Primary Election.

With the unofficial election results flowing in for the Town of Marana's all-mail election.

In 2012, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department collected a total of 1,553 pounds of unused or expired prescription drugs. Why is proper disposal of these substances so important? There are several factors that should be taken into account.

The Town of Marana’s election season has officially arrived. Beginning last Thursday, the Pima County Recorder’s Office began to mail out ballots to approximately 20,000 registered voters in town. 

The Town of Marana has hosted a pair of open houses — the most recent last week at Wheeler Taft Abbett Sr. Library on N. Schisler Drive, to help educate the public about the town’s pursuit of a wastewater system.

Water is and always will be our most precious natural resource. We live in a state where acquiring water is challenging, expensive and, sometimes, almost impossible.

The Town is hosting its second wastewater open house tonight at Wheeler Taft Abbett Library at 6 p.m. Staff will be on hand to answer questions about water resources from residents and business owners. The library is located at 7800 N. Schisler Drive. For more information on the Town’s efforts to own a wastewater system, please visit www.marana.com/waterfuture.

Viable activities being denied

Marana will hold its first all-ballot-by-mail election beginning with the March 12 primary. The Pima County Recorder’s Office will send ballots by first-class mail to all registered voters beginning Feb. 14. Signatures on all returned ballots are verified by the County Recorder’s staff, which has at least 10 years of experience with verification and is trained by a forensic document examiner every two years.

Pending voter approval in March, the Marana Wastewater Reclamation Facility could, after years of litigation, become the property of the Town of Marana. 

While the Town of Oro Valley will retain all current council members until at least June of next year, the Town of Marana will have a busy election season come March, when four incumbents and two challengers will compete to earn a seat on council. 

The Marana Town Council has authorized the town staff to negotiate with Pima County on one of two options the county recently offered to settle their dispute over the purchase of the Rillito Vista Wastewater Reclamation Facility.

After years of dispute over control of the Marana Wastewater Reclamation Facility, the Pima County Board of Supervisors is calling for an end to further litigation with the Town of Marana, recently extending two separate settlement offers.

The Arizona Supreme Court has declined to hear the Town of Marana’s case relating to a ballot measure that would have allowed the municipality to own and operate a wastewater facility without seeking voter approval in next year’s town elections. 

The Marana Police Department, in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Meth Free Alliance, Fraternal Order of Police, Optimist Club, Northwest Fire District and Pima County Wastewater, is hosting a Dispose-A-Med event Dec. 15. The events are at Target on the corner of Ina and Thornydale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

As the Town of Marana awaits word from the Arizona Supreme Court regarding its litigation case with Pima County over control of the Marana Wastewater Reclamation Facility, staff and council are taking necessary steps at the local level that could reduce the amount of time spent in court. 

While the fate of the Marana Wastewater Treatment Facility has yet to be legally determined, Pima County and the Town of Marana continue to disagree on issues outside of the courtroom.