Ground Party Papers - First Sunday of June 2024

In this issue…

<sub>1. Lifestyle - Wildfire Readiness in the Desert
2. Profile - Penni Parrish, Portal’s Property Patroness
3. Public Surplus Auctions - Minisplit, Surplus Office Skulls(?), and More Shipping Containers
4. Water News - Meet the Douglas AMA Groundwater Users Advisory Council; Tug Of Water
5. Fight Me About It - You Can Opt Out of Permits, But Not Local Politics
6. Local Updates - McNeal Solar Farm, Lavender Festival, Bisbee Backs Off Ban
7. Builder Inspo - Surreal Hotel in Oaxaca Somehow Not AI-Generated
8. Classifieds - Still Not Real Classifieds
9. Double Click</sub>

Wildfire Readiness In The Desert

Living in Arizona means wildfires are not a matter of if but when. Last week, 131 acres caught fire east of Benson. The Homeowner’s Firewise Guide for Arizona is your ticket to not getting roasted alive in this high-stakes game of nature's roulette. Picture this: your backyard, not a charred wasteland, but a desert moat of fire-resistant plants and fireproof roofing.

Wildfires thrive on three things—fuel, weather, and topography. You can't change the weather, and you're not about to move mountains, but you can take charge of the vegetation. Protect your property with a well-maintained perimeter, keeping flammable vegetation trimmed back like a Marine's haircut. Stay safe, stay smart, and may your garden always be greener on this side of the flames.

There are two paths forward for the Ground Party Papers:

• This project grows into a powerful platform for the growing community of alternative builders and sustainable homesteaders to build a better way of life for ourselves and the future generations

• This project evaporates because I can’t afford groceries and gas.

I need about 350 paid subscribers to keep this thing going. It’s still early days but I only have 100 subscribers so far and none of them are paid. Please — smash that Upgrade button and spread the word about the Ground Party Papers. Groceries aren’t cheap!

Penni Parrish, Portal’s Property Patroness

Penni Parrish — a catchy name. Born and raised in that sun-baked urban sprawl of the Sonoran Desert known as Tucson. Apartment manager, lease-slinger, she has the go-get-em energy that works so well for city dwellers. But fate, with its ruthless serendipity, had a different plan. It nudged Penni toward the sleepy, mystical town of Portal, a speck on the map of Cochise County that draws dreamers and doers like moths to a hidden flame.

It was 2010, the year Penni first set foot in Portal. A weekend trip, a brief escape from Tucson’s relentless hustle. But something about Portal, with its rugged beauty and whispering winds, nested in her soul. A seed was planted—a dream to retire in this enchanting enclave. Whenever life's frustrations reared their ugly heads, Penni would close her eyes and envision her future in Portal, a beacon of hope amid the chaos.

Covid hit like a sledgehammer, amplifying stress and shaking the foundations of daily life. Penni, ever the resourceful spirit, saw an opportunity amidst the turmoil. She reached out to friends running a business in Portal and declared her willingness to take a pay cut to join them. By 2020, she was part of their team, feeling cozy in the tranquil yet vibrant community.

2021 brought restlessness for Parrish. Like a mare locked up in a pen, she needed more professional room to explore and exercise her many talents. She dipped her toes into the real estate waters, and by 2023, she had cast off her office job and plunged full-time into the world of property.

Portal’s residents, with an average age of 73, were in need of a helping patron to transition out of their beloved town when the call of better medical care grew too loud to ignore. Penni became that helper, ensuring her neighbors were taken care of, their transitions smooth and dignified.

In her real estate ventures, Penni discovered the burgeoning world of alternative building. Opt Out permits, sustainable homesteads, and the likes of online influencers like Tiny Shiny Home became her new vernacular. She wasn’t just selling properties; she was sowing dreams, helping visionaries find their sustainable sanctuaries.

Now Penni is on the hunt for her own plot of land, her future canvas for a sustainable home. This dream spurred her to host the first annual Southwest Alternative Builders Conference, a gathering of minds and hands ready to reshape the landscapes of Arizona and New Mexico (and an impressive success, if I may). With her partner Tim, she’s laying down roots, not yet in her own sky island home, but in the fertile soil of community. She also dreams of a future where Cochise County flourishes with qualified medical care providers and robust transportation for seniors, ensuring that those who want to stay can do so with dignity and support.

Interestingly, Penni’s journey into alternative building echoes her childhood. Her father, a visionary, had a collection of books on sustainable architecture. Penni remembers seeing drawings of his wild ideas for residential compounds comprised of disconnected accessory buildings, a strategy he devised for skirting county building codes.

For Penni Parrish, Portal was the portal — a place where past dreams and untold future possibilities commingle among majestic environs and inspiring neighbors. A testament, perhaps, to the magnetic pull of our sky island region.

Public Surplus Auctions

Designer’s Challenge:

Just what you’ve been looking for — three surplus Office Skulls. They were probably replaced with newer models.

Auction ends June 18, 3:00 PM. Current price: $15.00

Meet The Douglas AMA Groundwater Users Advisory Council; Tug of water

May 23rd was the inaugural meeting (see recording) of the Groundwater Users Advisory Council (typically shortened as “GUAC” and pronounced “GOO-ack”) for the Douglas AMA. This public committee of local residents will hold regular meetings and give their input to the ADWR on the upcoming AMA Management Plan and other AMA matters.

Jackie Watkins (Committee Chair), along with her husband Nathan Watkins, own and operate San Ysidro Farm in McNeal and agricultural land in the Upper San Pedro Basin. Watkins was raised on a ranch outside of Bisbee, then studied and worked in engineering, and is currently the Director of Natural Resources and Engineering for Cochise County.

Aaron Cardona grew up on his family farm in McNeal, Arevalos Farms, and moved back to the area in 2010 to bring the farm out of retirement. He was the first organic market farmer in the area and has since expanded the operation into the Sulphur Springs Valley Produce Cooperative. In 2023 he helped to establish the Farmers Organizing Creating Opportunities (F.O.C.O.) non-profit and serves as its chairman.

Joni Giacomino was born and raised in Bisbee, earned a Masters in Education and Science, and went to be a teacher in schools throughout Cochise County. As a public servant, she has served on Bisbee’s School Board and City Council. She is currently running for County Supervisor in District 2.

Elise Moore has been in the field of Public Works and Administration since 2001, having previously worked for Casa Grande, Pinal County, and Phoenix. She moved to Douglas with her husband in 2022 and now serves as the Director of Public Works and Engineering for the City of Douglas.

Ron Bemis is a third-generation rancher in McNeal. He worked for over twenty years at the USDA Forest Service, Soil Conservation Service, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and now serves on the Whitewater Draw NRCD Board of Supervisors.

Meanwhile…

In Arizona’s Great Tug-of-Water^(TM) , the desert’s lifeblood finds itself as a pawn in the hands of ambitious developers, overextended farmers, and those instruments of power and absurdity called legislators. The Arizona Republic lays it bare: Buckeye and Queen Creek, bastions of residential growth, are scrambling to secure renewable water supplies to earn their "Assured Water Supply" designations for new housing developments. Meanwhile, the state’s Department of Water Resources dangles a tantalizing proposal: allowing developers to rely on groundwater supplies so long as they promise to replenish it back into the aquifer… somehow. A kick-the-can-down-the-road maneuver while Arizona continues to scratch its head about where and how to cut back water demands.

Compounding the tragic comedy, new research from the University of New Mexico warns that uranium mining near the Grand Canyon threatens regional aquifers with contamination, putting tribal water sources at risk.

The Arizona Legislature is considering a bill to speed up the conversion of water-thirsty farms in to equally thirsty subdivisions. As the Arizona Daily Star reports, some are concerned that this could undo decades of groundwater conservation efforts.

Kathleen Ferris, who once helped craft the monumental 1980 Groundwater Management Act, laments the erosion of bipartisanship in water politics, as reported in the Arizona Capitol Times. The crux of the conflict lies in rural areas where Governor Katie Hobbs' administration has stepped into the fray, canceling state land leases with the Saudi subsidiary Fondomonte who has been enjoying free groundwater for growing and exporting forage back to their cows in Saudi Arabia; Senator Sine Kerr says that AMAs aren’t appropriate for rural areas because their Assured Water Supply requirements would “halt the growth” of rural towns and cities; Attorney General Kris Mayes has launched investigations into industrial agricultural operations like Riverview and Fondomonte (who still have privately owned farm land in the state), possibly getting ready to bring nuisance charges against such operations.

Fight Me About It: You Can Opt Out Of Permits, But Not Local Politics

Fellow mavericks and free spirits — I get it — you'd rather snuggle a rattlesnake than deal with politics. Permits? Bureaucracy? Hmm, no thanks.
We cherish our independence, whether we're building elaborate off-grid compounds or crafting cottage-core havens. But here's the rub: while we can sidestep permits, we can't escape the reach of local politics. Even in our wild and wonderful corner of the state, the decisions made at those dull County Supervisors meetings can ripple out to our homesteads and future plans.

Try this on: Civic engagement is like composting. It's a bit of a hassle, it stinks, but our gardens (and our communities) won't thrive without it. We need folks like the earthy pioneers of alternative building — smart, creative, independent — to help steer the ship. “But Mr. Sawyer, isn't that what writers and community advocates like you are for?” Sure, some of us are willing to do the heavy lifting. But just like a building a house or raising a barn, sometimes the village has to show up for a group effort and put their share of muscle into it.

Imagine if every one of us showed up, even just once a year. It could be a letter written to government official, a statement delivered at county meeting, or help with organizing a petition. These actions quickly add up into real change, especially in rural areas. Once you start operating at the level of rule-making, the whole game changes. If you want a future you can believe in, why wouldn’t you start making political moves? Plus, you'll get some great stories to tell — because trust me, politics can be as wild and eye-opening as a peyote trip.

So, while you’re thinking about all the inputs for building your alternative dream home, consider a civic engagement budget. The future generations will thank you for it and then carry that tradition forward.

Let's build our communities as thoughtfully as we build our homes.

If you disagree, we can fight about it, but you know I’m right — right?

McNeal Solar Farm, Lavender Festival, Bisbee Backs Off Ban

If you ever drive past the intersection of Prince and Central Highway you may see land being cleared soon as UK solar developer Horus Energy have secured leases for the land and are now hoping to obtain permits for a 75 MW solar farm. The project is called Dahlia Solar and it’s already ruffled some feathers of McNeal residents who are concerned about impacts to their well being and the rural character of the area. One local rancher pointed out that the site is nestled in FEMA-designated flood zones and worries that it could pose a major hazard. The Cochise County P&Z Committee will have a public hearing on this project on June 12th (more details here).

The 3rd Annual Lavender Festival will be held at Rhumb Line Vineyard outside of Willcox. The event will feature “lots of local artisans with cheeses, food, art, pastries… wine and beer tastings, BBQ, live music.” Buy tickets here.

Bisbee has decided to shelve the ordinance against “unmodified shipping containers” pending some legal research on what constitutes an “unmodified” designation. It was indicated that this would take months of work. At the May 21st Mayor and City Council meeting, Mayor Ken Budge opened his comments by stating, “I had had some reservations about this when it came before us before.” (See video clip).

Builder Inspo: Surreal Hotel in Oaxaca Somehow Not AI-Generated

Hotel Terrestre combines earthy patinas with a brutalist minimalism. From afar, the handsome brickwork compliments the natural landscape; from within, it elegantly frames the surrounding environment’s majesty.

Classifieds!

Double Click 

More images of Hotel Terrestre.

I’m sure you already know about the Natural Building Blog.

If you haven’t made it out to Chiricahua National Monument yet, this video will whet your appetite.

June 8th will be the 150th anniversary of Chief Cochise’s passing. In memorial, take a moment to read about his life.

The Ground Party Papers are issued every first and third Sunday of the month.
This edition is a day late because I spent all yesterday evening getting the subscription system set up.

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Thanks for reading !