BISBEE — Several public rights of way on vacant land in Pearce were abandoned with a unanimous vote during Tuesday’s meeting of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors.

Interim County Highway Director Patricia Morris said there were several rights of way and alleyways in the townsite that were originally set up as possible roads when the townsite was established in 1910. The county probate judge had the task of selling off the 3,000-square-foot lots as trustee of the land. Many lots were never sold, and the county is now looking to sell the accumulated property that totals about four acres. In order to sell the land as one piece, the county had to abandon the rights of way.

“Several inquiries have been received regarding the potential sale of the land, and a public auction is being considered,” Morris said.

Most of the lots are only 137.25 by 22.75 feet. Some of the lots are zoned TR-36, which has a minimum lot size of 36,000 square feet, and others are RU-4, which has a minimum 4 acres per residence.

There has been some encroachment to the rights of ways including Ghost Town Trail and NY Ranch Road, Morris said. There also are a driveway, a gravesite, rock mounds and a septic system that invade the rights of way.

The gravesites and the mounds have been turned over to the Arizona State Museum for analysis. These sites will be cordoned off and must be described in any land transaction, said Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard Searle.

Area residents who have inadvertently encroached on the county property will be offered the land at the appraised value.

The supervisors also approved adopting a one-mile portion of Desert Road as a county-maintained road, according to the public-private partnership program. The residents of the road have paid the county their share of $23,467. The county will pay $166,000 as its share. The road will be upgraded from dirt to chip-seal for that portion. The upgrade is scheduled for 2011.

County Administrator Mike Ortega was given the authority to approve salaries for any county employee up to the top level of salary caps. He also will be able to hire department heads up to midpoint of the salary range. The supervisors will maintain authority to hire department heads at mid-level and higher salary ranges.

Funding for the juvenile detention school was approved with an intergovernmental agreement between Cochise County Juvenile Detention School, the Arizona Supreme Court, the Cochise County School Superintendent’s Office and Cochise County Juvenile Court Services. The funding of $65,187 through Title 1 and other funding sources pays for salaries, computers and consultants to provide teaching services.

Detainees of the juvenile court system will also be given the opportunity for some hands-on training in mechanics that will be funded through grants. The supervisors approved seeking the grant from the Juvenile Crime Reduction Fund in the amount of $14,151.

Another grant to fund certifying the detention center as a GED test site also was approved by the supervisors. It provides funds to set up the test site and the cost of the GED program.

In other business on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors:

• Approved the final plat of Kayenta Estates on South Lonesome Road near St. David. The 27-lot subdivision is located on 80.85 acres on both sides of South Lonesome Road.

• Authorized the hiring of a payroll specialist, Carol Schneider, at a salary of $35,000.

• Approved three purchase orders totaling $392,000 for the present grant year as specified in an intergovernmental agreement between Arizona Department of Health Services and the Cochise County Health Department. The funds are made available through the Arizona Department of Health Services using federal funds through the Centers for Disease Control.

• Approved the intergovernmental agreement between the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Cochise County Health Department for the Farmer’s Market Nutritional Program, which provides funds for the purchase of locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables by at-risk clients.

• Approved the renewal of an agreement between the county health department and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality for the next three years.

• Approved the acquisition of a 50-foot public right of way on Moson Road to construct a left-hand and right-hand turn lane at Thuma Drive at the school to allow easier access.

• Adopted a resolution approving a special-use permit with the Arizona State Land Department to allow the county to continue using the property known as the Hereford Pit where aggregate is obtained for road purposes.

• Approved applying for a grant from the Federal National Geodetic Survey to complete the processing of county geographic information.

• Approved treasurer’s certificates of clearance to remove tax liens.