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San Luis, Arizona

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For other similarly named towns and cities, see San Luis.
City of San Luis, Arizona
City
Official seal of City of San Luis, Arizona
Seal
Location of San Luis, Arizona
Location of San Luis, Arizona
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountyYuma
Founded1930
Incorporated1979
Government
 • TypeCouncil-Manager
 • MayorJuan Carlos Escamilla
 • Vice-MayorMarco Anonio (Tony) Jr. Reyes
 • Acting City AdministratorJeff Philpot
 • City ClerkSonia Cuello
 • City MagistrateRosendo Morales Jr. (Manuel "Manny" Figueroa, Acting)
Area
 • Total26.5 sq mi (68.5 km2)
 • Land26.4 sq mi (68.4 km2)
 • Water0.01 sq mi (0.1 km2)  0.11%
Elevation
130 ft (40 m)
Population
 (2007)[1]
 • Total23,810
 • Density186.8/sq mi (316.0/km2)
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST (no DST))
ZIP code
85349
Area code928
FIPS code04-63470
Websitehttp://www.cityofsanluis.org

San Luis (the Spanish language name of Saint Louis) is a city in Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The population was 15,322 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Yuma Metropolitan Statistical Area. San Luis was the second fastest-growing place among all cities and towns in Arizona of any size from 1990 and 2000. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 22,634.[2]

History

The City of San Luis is located in the southwestern end of the state of Arizona, comprises part of an important industrial, agricultural and commercial area together along with San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, a zone considered to offer great advantages for the commercial trade between the United States and Mexico[citation needed].

The city was established in 1930 with the opening of a border-crossing station. In the last twenty years it has registered an accelerated population increase, going from 1,946 inhabitants in 1980, to approximately 20,000 in the year 2000. The growth is due to a constant migration from Mexico and California, productive activities in the border area and opportunities San Luis has to offer.[citation needed] The City has annexed over 16,000 acres (65 km2) of land within the past six years, thereby increasing the availability of land for residential, commercial and industrial growth in the eastern part of town where the new commercial port of entry will be constructed.

Geography

San Luis is located at 32°29′46″N 114°46′6″W / 32.49611°N 114.76833°W / 32.49611; -114.76833Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (32.496116, -114.768327).Template:GR It stands on the U.S.-Mexico border, opposite San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora. The lowest point in the state of Arizona is located on the Colorado River in San Luis, where it flows out of Arizona and into Sonora in Mexico.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.5 square miles (68.63 km2), of which 26.4 square miles (68.38 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (0.11%) is water.

The city of San Luis, located in the southwestern end of the state of Arizona, comprises part of an important industrial, agricultural and commercial area together along with San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, a zone, although riddled with drug and human traffickers is considered to offer great advantages for the commercial trade between the United States and Mexico.[citation needed]

Principal economic activities

Retail trade, agriculture and manufacturing form a large portion of the local economy. Another significant segment is the light industry located on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border. San Luis is an excellent site for labor intensive manufacturing and assembly plants. A new 40 acre privately owned industrial park and 40 acre commercial area are currently under construction in north San Luis along Highway 95. Parcels and pads are available for purchase and development.

Scenic attractions

Visitor attractions within a 30 minute drive of San Luis include the old Territorial Prison, Fort Yuma and the 16th century Fort Thomas Mission. Laguna, Imperial and Morelos Dams and the California sand dunes are also nearby. Fishing, water skiing and swimming at lakes along the Colorado River attract residents of the area and tourists alike. Located across the border is San Luis, Sonora, Mexico, reputed to be Mexico’s fastest-growing city with a population of approximately 200,000. This area has curio shops, night clubs and various other attractions for tourists.

Gulf of Santa Clara

The Gulf of Santa Clara is located 70 miles (110 km) south of San Luis and sits on the northernmost point of the Sea of Cortez, at its confluence with the Colorado River. Large holiday crowds converge here to ride all-terrain vehicles on 30 miles (50 km) of undeveloped beach. In the small village of El Golfo de Santa Clara there are restaurants, an ice house, market and dry goods store and RV spaces with showers. Beach camping is recommended for the experienced camper. The main attraction is riding up and down a sand hill called "El Machorro"

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 15,322 people, 3,018 households and 2,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 579.5 people per square mile (223.7/km²). There were 3,325 housing units at an average density of 125.8/sq mi (48.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 4.02% White, 2.95% Black or African American, 1.46% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander,and 2.26% from two or more races. 89.13% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,018 households out of which 71.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.1% were married couples living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present and 4.7% were non-families. 3.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.31 and the average family size was 4.38.

In the city the population was spread out with 35.6% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 13.4% from 45 to 64, and 4.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 126.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 144.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,966 and the median income for a family was $22,368. Males had a median income of $20,770 versus $14,149 for females. The per capita income for the city was $5,377. About 36.3% of families and 35.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.5% of those under age 18 and 44.3% of those age 65 or over.

Prison

The Arizona State Prison Complex - Yuma is located on the corner of Avenue B and Juan Sanchez Boulevard, in San Luis. ASPC-Yuma provides housing to an average population of 2,279 convicted male felons. ASPC-Yuma is also a major employer in Yuma County, employing 755 full-time employees. Moreover, it is a provider of inmate work crews utilized by members of our local, state and community organizations. Among other duties, ASPC-Yuma has a Wildland Fire Crew that consists of one sergeant, two correctional officers and twenty inmates that assists in fighting fires throughout Arizona.

San Luis Detention Facility was opened in 2007. The facility is owned by the San Luis Detention Facility Development Corporation, a subsidiary of the city, and is currently operated by CEC/Civigenics. The facility is located on the eastern edge of the city near the Arizona State Prison Complex. It has 464 beds to hold detainees, primarily for violations of immigration laws, from local federal authorities. Approximately 80 full-time employees are employed by the facility.

Climate

Climate data for Muldoon, Texas USA
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Source: weather.com[3]

Education

The city of San Luis is served by Gadsden Elementary School District #32, Yuma Union High School District #70, and Harvest Preparatory Academy. The elementary schools are: Gadsden Elementary, Rio Colorado Elementary, Arizona Desert Elementary, Ed Pastor Elementary, Cesar Chavez Elementary, and Desert View Elementary. Harvest Preparatory Academy is a new addition to San Luis, which opened its doors in August 2009.

Government

The City of San Luis runs by a Council-Manager form, where the seven-member council appoints a city manager, city attorney, city engineer, city magistrate, chief of police and fire chief. Since 1996, the city has been plagued by a wave of recalls. It has had six different mayors in a 10-year-period.

Name Period
Josefina C. Rodriguez (1979–1982)
Elias Bermudez (1982–1984)
Marco Antonio "Tony" Reyes (1984–1994)
Mike Lopez (1994–1996)
Pedro Julian (1996–1997)
A. Joe Harper (1997–2003)
Guillermina Fuentes (2003–2004)
Nieves G. Riedel (2004–2006)
Guillermina Fuentes (2006)
Juan Carlos Escamilla (2006–present)

The city has also gone through almost two dozen council members in that same 10-year-period.

Current City Council (January 2007)

Office Name Period
Mayor: Juan Carlos Escamilla (2006–2010)
Vice-Mayor: Tony Reyes Jr. (2006–2010)
Council Member: Archibaldo Gurrola (2006–2010)
Council Member: Rafael Torres (2006–2010)
Council Member: Jose Suarez (2008–2012)
Council Member: Mario Buchanan Jr. (2008–2012)
Council Member: Gerardo Sanchez (2008–2012)
Acting City Manager: Jeff Philpot
City Clerk: Sonia Cuello
City Attorney: Glenn Gimbut
City Magistrate: Rosendo Morales Jr.
City Engineer:
Chief of Police: Ricardo Flores
Fire Chief: Hank Green

Media

Newspapers

Bajo el Sol is a major weekly newspaper in the town, published every Friday. The parent company of the Bajo el Sol, Freedom Publishers, Inc., also publishes The Yuma Sun, The Super Shopper and New Homes. The Yuma Sun is also a daily publication available in San Luis, as well as La Prensa from San Luis Rio Colorado.

Television

San Luis is served by these American TV Stations:

Additionally by these Mexican TV Stations:

Sports

Not nationally known for its sports, San Luis has become the new home of an Arizona Winter League independent professional baseball franchise, the San Luis Atleticos, which began play in January 2009. The team represents not only their home city, but Mexico as well.

Transportation

San Luis is served by Yuma County Area Transit's Yuma-San Luis line, which is operated by the Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization ympo.org/. (YMPO). The regular fare to Yuma is $3.50. Local fare is $1.50. The bus, or Y CAT has a total of eight stops in San Luis and then it continues to Yuma, going through Gadsden and Somerton along the way.

Also several taxi companies operate within the city boundaries. Local fare is from $4.00 to $5.00 and the fare to Yuma is $7.00. Taxis are operated by individuals under company concession and under authority of the police department.

References

  1. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places in Arizona". United States Census Bureau. 2008-07-10. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  2. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Arizona" (CSV). 2006 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division.
  3. ^ "Monthly Averages for Muldoon, TX". Retrieved 2009-09-10.
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