Dyer: State of the City reveals water, sewer, trash top of mind for ‘19

The most moving section of Apache Junction’s State of the City was when the Apache Junction High School Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps Color Guard approached the stage and Iceyss Schmitz, a winner at the 2019 AJ Kids Idol contest, sang the national anthem. Richard Dyer Don’t take my word for it. Check out my short video at apachejunctionindependent.com/galleries. The State of the City, hosted by Apache Junction Mayor Jeff Serdy on Feb. 13, was held at the Apache Junction Performing Arts Center, at the high school, 2525 S. Ironwood Drive. A good portion of the 51-minute event were two videos, one profiling the mayor and each of the six council members, showing where they work or live and why they got into local politics. The other showed some of the news of 2018. There was applause from the audience over many sections of the videos. And there was laughter. Al Bravo, Apache Junction’s public information officer, in a video showed the largest roadwork activity --- the construction of the roundabout at Superstition Boulevard and State Route 88. “And let’s not forget the roundabout,” he said in the video. There was dramatic music, then he said “It was controversial,” showing a slide stating “I can’t get my boat through there. Wait, I don’t own a boat.” He continued, “The debate online was fierce,” the video then showing a slide of “It will be a snowbird massacre.” Mr. Bravo ended with, “But in the end, the Arizona Department of Transportation and the city turned a dangerous intersection into a safe, attractive throughway to the lakes to the northeast and the neighborhoods to the east.” The top takeaways from Mayor Serdy at the State of the City were what he envisions occurring in 2019, which can be summed up as water, sewer and trash: “... (T)he city is beginning discussions ... to bringing our strong, reliable utilities --- water and sewer systems --- into the city,” Mayor Serdy said. “Right now they’re separate entities. If it was all under one umbrella, we could adapt to major growth so much better. We’re researching the feasibility for a one-source contract for trash pickup also; now we have three.” *** Have you or a family member been given an award for good works? E-mail the newspaper at ajeditor@newszap.com to be included online at apachejunctionindependent.com and possibly in print. *** If you have a news tip, e-mail me at rdyer@newszap.com. Richard Dyer Editor Apache Junction/Gold Canyon Independent