Marana Council Approves $319,000 Payment to Main Street Developer, Raises Job Order Contract Ceiling

Marana Council Approves $319,000 Payment to Main Street Developer, Raises Job Order Contract Ceiling

MARANA — The Marana Town Council on Monday unanimously approved paying a developer $319,265.89 in long-owed reimbursements and shared water costs for the Marana Main Street development, and in a separate vote raised the maximum value of individual job order contracts to $3 million.

The Main Street payment combined two components: $300,000 from the Downtown Marana Reinvestment Fund that had been promised since the original 2020 development agreement, and $19,265.89 in water and irrigation bills the town acknowledged it owed the developer but had never paid. Staff said the roads — Main Street and Center Street through the development — were eventually completed July 12, 2024, roughly three years past a June 2021 deadline set in the first amendment to the agreement. The second amendment, Resolution No. 2026-059, formally recognizes that completion date and releases the reimbursement funds; it passed on a unanimous voice vote after a staff presentation and council questions. Staff said the unpaid irrigation share covered water bills through October 2024, when the town took over the water account, split on a 50-50 basis with the developer for landscaping in the public right of way.

Earlier in the meeting, the council approved its consent agenda, which included Ordinance No. 2026.014, raising the maximum dollar limit for individual job order contracts to $3 million, in line with state law under A.R.S. § 34-605(F)(1). Because the ordinance carried an emergency clause, the consent agenda also required a roll call vote, which passed 7-0. The consent agenda also included an intergovernmental agreement with Pima County for use of extra storage capacity at the Marana High Plains Effluent Recharge Project, and a $71,281 change order to the contract with Carollo Engineers for the Water Reclamation Facility expansion project design.

Town Manager Terry Rozema reported that U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, had visited Marana and committed to pursue $3 million in federal appropriations funding for an interchange improvement project where Marana Road meets Interstate 10, which Rozema said carries a total estimated cost of approximately $9 million. On residential construction, Rozema said the town had issued 28 single-family residential permits in August through the date of the meeting, compared with 39 for all of August 2025.

The council also voted to enter executive session under A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(4) to discuss settlement negotiations in Town of Marana v. Mandarina South, LLC, et al., Pima County Superior Court case number C20241394. No action was reported following the closed session.

Also discussed:

• The Parks and Recreation Department's 10-year master plan update is open for public comment over the coming months, with a final public input opportunity at the fall festival on October 17.
• New artwork has been installed at Rattlesnake Pass; the town is soliciting suggestions for a name.