Queen Creek’s mayor and town council released a video last week marking the State of the Town.
The video was created and released in partnership with the Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce.
The video offered highlights of the town’s 2021 accomplishments.
“It always amazes people to hear the town itself is just over 30 years old. When we incorporated back in 1989, it was a small farming community. With a population of more than 70,000 today, we make efforts to embrace our agricultural and equestrian heritage, which adds to our unique hometown atmosphere,” said Mayor Gail Barney in starting off the video.
The community’s accomplishments that align with the Town’s Corporate Strategic Plan. According to the plan, resources are focused on what is most important to achieving the council’s vision by designating five strategic priorities:
Effective government
Safe community
Secure future
Superior infrastructure
Quality lifestyle
Quality Lifestyle:
“We know our parks are popular – and that we need more. After hearing from our residents, we approved funding for new park facilities including East Park and the remainder of Mansel Carter Oasis Park, and a multigenerational recreation center and an aquatics center, both at East Park,” said Councilmember Dawn Oliphant in the video.
Other accomplishments include:
Improvements and the expansion of the Sonoqui Wash Trail from Hawes to Crismon broke ground, and design started for the extension of the Queen Creek Wash Trail from Crismon to Meridian. Along the Queen Creek Wash Trail, signs were installed highlighting the geography, plants, animals and cultural significance.
Award-winning Horseshoe Park & Equestrian Centre draws people from across the country to compete in a variety of events. New and expanded events and ongoing investments have resulted in increased revenues.
Downtown Development Manager Jennifer Lindley was recognized by the Arizona Association of Economic Development as the Economic Developer of the Year for a medium organization.
Secure Future
“There has been significant development interest of the 4,100 acre-State Land site. While still in the planning phases, several major projects have toured and evaluated the site,” said Councilmember Leah Martineau. “Once secured, the projects will result in substantial capital investments and local jobs. The timing is crucial as we just approved the updated Economic Development Strategic Plan, outlining target sectors and key initiatives.”
Last year’s accomplishments include:
The town became the first Arizona municipality to have a fully funded pension reserve, saving taxpayers nearly $2 million annually.
Started construction on two additional water storage tanks and acquired 55 acres of a former sand and gravel pit for future use as reclamation lakes for water treatment
Fitch, a leader in bond ratings, affirmed the Town’s ‘AA’ rating for excise tax revenue bonds.
Superior Infrastructure
“In 2021, the town issued nearly 1,950 single-family home permits and $1 billion in construction value — ensuring quality and safe development that provides housing, residential and nonresidential options for the community,” said Councilmember Emilena Turley. “We also processed more than 6,900 permits and applications in our Development Services Department, a 12% increase from the previous year. And we know, road improvements continue to be a top priority for our residents.
Major roadway accomplishments include:
The Rittenhouse Road improvements were completed, making Rittenhouse Road two lanes in each direction all the way through Queen Creek.
In partnership with Pinal County, two new portions of the Meridian Road corridor broke ground – Queen Creek to Germann and Germann to the State Route 24 extension.
In partnership with Maricopa County, the widening of Ocotillo Road from Signal Butte to Ironwood broke ground.
The Chandler Heights improvement project, from Sossaman to Power, and the Power Road improvement project, from brooks Farm to Chandler Heights, broke ground.
Safe Community
The biggest news of 2021 was the creation of the Queen Creek Police Department.
“We recruited, interviewed, and hired more than 70 officers, recruits and support staff members,” said Vice Mayor Jeff Brown. “They were selected from nearly 2,000 applications — people wanting to be part of building a new department and the QC culture. Part of building that culture was established through a robust training program to keep new hires engaged and ready to police the QC way. The training emphasized community-oriented policing with problem-solving and proactive policing at the core. The training also helped integrate the department's mission, vision, values and philosophy.”
The Queen Creek Fire & Medical Department also pulled its fair share.
“Four of our firefighters also became paramedics, further enhancing the emergency response capabilities when our fire trucks respond to emergencies,” said Councilmember Julia Wheatley. “Sixty percent of our fire department are now paramedics. Another effort to enhance safety included adding battalion safety officers, which will increase safety for emergency responses and assist with succession planning.”
A lot of work was done in 2021 to make a safer 2022 for Queen Creek residents:
Substantial progress was made toward the launch of the Queen Creek Police Department, which took place on Jan. 11. Milestones include outfitting more than 50 police vehicles.
In partnership with Vitalant, monthly blood drives resulted in a 65% increase in donations from 2020.
The Queen Creek Fire & Medical Department opened permanent Fire Station No. 2 on Sossaman Road in early February. Fire Station No. 5 is set to open on West Combs Road sometime in April.
Effective Government
“Thank you to our residents, businesses and visitors who have engaged with us in various capacities throughout 2021,” said Councilmember Robin Benning. “We saw a 4% increase on our Facebook page, surpassing 25,000 followers, and saw nearly 1,000 new followers on Instagram, surpassing 12,000. Social media is a great way to get involved in the ongoing community conversation.”
Other examples of effective government include:
Volunteers contributed nearly 80,000 hours saving taxpayers approximately $2.2 million (based on IndependentSector.org’s 2021 average volunteer hour).
Several town programs and efforts received local and national awards including HayQC, Camp Live, Play, Learn, the employee wellness program, the QC recycling event, and the law enforcement outreach.
Continued community engagement with the launch of SeeClickFix. There were nearly 1,200 reports in 2021, with a wide range of issues resolved across the community.
Keeping the town’s efforts on the five strategic priorities has made Queen Creek a welcoming community.
“We recently heard the results of the 2021 Citizen Survey and were excited to learn that 93% of participants rate QC a good or excellent place to live, and 94% rate the quality of life as excellent or good,” Barney said. “That kind of satisfaction in the community only comes when we work together to create a place we all want to live, play and learn.”
The state of the town video, along with a complete list of the Town’s 2021 accomplishments, are available online at QueenCreekAZ.gov/StateoftheTown.
Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley @AzNewsmedia
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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