Mayor Julia Wheatley, members of the Queen Creek Town Council and staff members put the spotlight on the town’s accomplishments in 2023 during the state of the town address.
The address took place on Tuesday at Schnepf Farms.
The state of the town address was presented through a video that opened with Wheatley presenting an overview of the town’s achievements, which included efforts to engage youth — an issue that has become increasingly important as youth violence rises in the southeast Valley.
“An area of engagement that is particularly important is with our youth.” Wheatley said. “In 2023, we were excited to recognize 17 Star Students, host our inaugural Constitution Week Contest with some outstanding submissions, have our police department partner with our local schools on the Power of Words campaign, and the council recently discussed moving forward with a Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council. We are looking forward to enhancing our youth connection in 2024 as we move forward with the council.”
Vice Mayor Leah Martineau took time to laud Wheatley and her work for the town.
“Mayor Wheatley is Queen Creek’s first new mayor in 12 years, and as a council I know we are proud to serve alongside of her,” Martineau said. “In addition to receiving a statewide award, she helped launch For Our Town, a community initiative spearheaded by the Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce that brings nonprofit and faith-based organizations, businesses and schools together to tackle Queen Creek’s most pressing issues.”
Council Member Jeff Brown highlighted the town’s financial state and the work they have done to ease the burden on taxpayers.
“Thanks to years of strategic decisions and fiscal responsibility, Queen Creek continues to be in a financially stable position,” Brown said. “One of the highlights of 2023 was lowering the town’s primary property tax rate for existing residents.”
In June, the council voted to cut the primary property tax rate from $1.83 to $1.72 per $100 of assessed valuation. This was the result of the council’s approval in 2022 to freeze the amount of taxes paid by reducing the property tax rate each year as property values increase.
Council Member Travis Padilla next described the accomplishments of the town’s police and fire departments in keeping residents safe in 2023.
“In addition to responding to nearly 30,000 calls for service, our police department has continued their commitment to building community connections,” Padilla said. “In 2023, QCPD conducted more than 9,000 community contacts, including activities where they read to children at the library, spoke with residents over a cup of coffee, met with our youth in the schools and participated in drug take-back events.”
He added that the Queen Creek Fire & Medical Department had trained 1,500 high school students in hands-only CPR and installed more than 100 car seats.
Last year, the QCFMD’s Emergency Transportation Services was launched with four ambulances at fire stations and 26 new staff members.
In 2023 Queen Creek continued to diversify the town’s water portfolio through the transfer of 2,033 acre-feet of Colorado River water. (Arizona Department of Water Resources)
Council Member Bryan McClure was up next to provide a look at how the town is securing its future as it enters its 35th year.
In 2023, the town issued more than 1,300 single-family home permits, reviewed more than 250 business licenses and permitted an estimated $1.1 billion in construction value.
“As our community expands, it is important that we continue to be environmentally conscious — last year, residents diverted more than 4.6 tons of hazardous materials from households and the landfill and nearly 69 tons of recyclable materials — both increases from the previous year,” McClure said.
Paul Gardner, the town’s water resources director, then shared how Queen Creek is diversifying its water supply through the transfer of 2,033 acre-feet of Colorado River water to the town and acquiring 5,000 acre-feet of Harquahala water to add 500,000 acre-feet to the town’s water portfolio over the next 100 years. The town is also participating in the Bartlett Dam Improvement feasibility project. The preliminary allocation will mark the first time Queen Creek will receive an allocation of Salt River Project water.
Frontier Family Park will house the town’s Recreation and Aquatic Center, set to open later this year. (Town of Queen Creek)
Council Member Robin Benning discussed the town’s infrastructure. Last year, the town completed or started 8.5 miles of waterlines with 22 miles in design. Nearly 5 miles of sewer lines were completed or started construction last year with 2 miles in design.
Meanwhile, design continues on the extension of the Queen Creek Wash Trail from Crismon to Meridian.
“Of course, a major focus of superior infrastructure is our roadways,” Benning said. “It is important to note the work that is taking place to maintain our existing roads — 98% of street maintenance work orders were completed within a 24-hour period. And our traffic engineering division implemented traffic system performance measures using real-time data to optimize traffic signals; the first section was the Ellsworth Loop corridor, and they are working to add the signal optimization to the Rittenhouse corridor.”
Council Member Dawn Oliphant wrapped up the state of the town address by highlighting the town’s milestones in maintaining residents’ quality of life.
“Our parks, trails and recreational opportunities are also key components of having a quality lifestyle,” she said. “We continue to see record numbers through our recreation programs and our youth sports partners. Baseball, softball, soccer, flag and tackle football keep our parks busy on the weekends. And we are so excited to see the progress continue at the expansion of Mansel Carter Oasis Park and the new Frontier Family Park.”
The 85-acre Frontier Family Park, which will house the town’s new Recreation & Aquatic Center, is located off Signal Butte Road north of Queen Creek Road. Both the park and the center are scheduled to open later this year.
We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org.
Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
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