December 2016 | Business View Magazine

88 89 PrEsCOtt VALLEY AriZOnA PRESCOTT VALLEY, ARIZONA Prescott Valley, Arizona is a high desert mountain town located about 60 miles south of Sedona and ten minutes from the City of Prescott, in the central part of the state. At 5,100 feet above sea level, the Town of Prescott Valley sits between the Bradshaw and Mingus Mountains. In the early 1900s, the area was homestead- ed by the Fain family, whose descendants still live in the area. The town was found- ed in 1966 and incorporated in 1978 with a population of 1,520. Over the last twenty years, the city has experienced enormous growth – from about 11,000 persons to its current population of over 45,000. “That was made possible because of decisions that were made by leadership,” explains Rich- ard Parker, Prescott Valley’s Community Development Director.“First, to undertake the acquisition of a private water compa- ny, and then to facilitate the approval of a series of master development plans which have attracted the population necessary to create the third leg of the stool, so to speak, which is commercial development - which ultimately provides reoccurring revenue in the form of sales tax revenue. The town of Prescott Valley does not have a property tax, so we live or die by sales tax revenue.” While the town of Prescott Valley may “live or die” by its sales tax revenue, the people of Prescott Valley must rely on a sufficient amount of water for their con- tinued survival. And according to Parker, “the town has really done a good job in making available future water supplies for additional development. The State of Arizona has the most stringent water law in the U.S.,” he adds. “There is a require- ment for a subdivider to demonstrate that it has a one-hundred-year assured supply of water. That means that they have the progreSSive, attraCtive, and open for BuSineSS