Corrie Cooperman is rejoining the Sedona Fire District Governing Board and will be sworn in to take over Gene McCarthy’s seat during the board’s Tuesday, Dec. 19 regular Meeting. McCarthy stepped down from the position for personal reasons at the board’s meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 17, and the board selected Cooperman as his replacement during meetings on Nov. 8 and 14.
“[Residents] can count on me to continue to contribute to maintaining the high quality and improving the quality of emergency response service, also with [a] focus on the training and retention of new employees,” she said.
Cooperman previously served on the board from 2012 through 2020 after being elected in a successful recall of three SFD board members. “I’m excited to be back on the board and be contributing to the fire district.”
“Mrs. Cooperman, with her previous experience on this board, was an exemplary candidate and her interview proved that to be the case,” SFD stated. “She spoke with passion about Sedona Fire and public service in general … The Sedona Fire District welcomes her back to the board and looks forward to her knowledge and guidance as a board member.”
Cooperman is a registered nurse with a focus in mental health. She and her husband Oliver have resided in Sedona for the last 14 years and in the last year have been joined by their son and three grandchildren.
“I was on the board for eight years,” Cooperman said. “My term ended and at that time our son and grandchildren had just arrived from living abroad, and our grandson was young. I wanted to have more time to be a grandmother to him. He’s now 9 years old, so I felt with this opportunity coming up with the opening, that I wanted to rejoin the board. Because I valued so much what the firefighters do in helping us [on] our worst day.”
Cooperman’s appointment will run through the end of 2026 and she said it’s too far to say if she’ll be seeking a full term on the ballot. “But I am committed to see out this term,” Cooperman added.
“When I became the chair, four years ago, she was the board clerk and I relied on her knowledge on how the system works at that level,” SFD Governing Board Chairman Dave Soto said. “I look forward to working with her again, although we do have an existing board clerk with Helen Briggs McNeal … Cooperman is going to hit the ground running because there is no learning curve other than the most current numbers.”
The biggest priorities that Cooperman said she sees for the board are modernizing SFD’s telecommunications system and addressing the need for a new Station 4 in Uptown.
“SFD executive management has worked with telecom manager Motz to develop a comprehensive plan to modernize our communications system,” board documents stated. “This system will improve our coverage area enhancing crew safety, meet the needs of a modern emergency service, keep up with the increasing demands on our broadband network, ensure our system is compliant and will sync with other agencies as improvements are made county-wide.”
In October the board approved and ordered replacement switches and routers to increase SFD’s bandwidth.
“We’ll be able to better accommodate our wireless infrastructure in the district,” SFD Chief Ed Mezulis said. “The switches [are] kind of the foundational piece to upgrading the radio system collectively throughout the district.”
SFD Station Number 4, located at 391 Forest Road in Uptown, has significant structural issues, including a large crack down the center of the engine bay. SFD leaders also feel that the station itself is too small. Voters in 2017 rejected a $17.9 million bond that would have replaced the station and one in Oak Creek Canyon.
