In 2019 the Apache Junction/Gold Canyon Independent covered the City of Apache Junction and the unincorporated Pinal County community of Gold Canyon, offering reporting of local issues.
Issues …
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In 2019 the Apache Junction/Gold Canyon Independent covered the City of Apache Junction and the unincorporated Pinal County community of Gold Canyon, offering reporting of local issues.
Issues like the Woodbury Fire, often posting daily online updates of its spread or efforts to extinguish the flames; looking into how often the City Council meets in closed-door executive; using Excel to go through hundreds of pages of building permits to see what is going into Gold Canyon, Apache Junction and adjacent unincorporated Pinal County; not being deterred when city officials said no records were kept of out-of-court settlements --- a contracted business provided them; and printing the salaries of top city and school district employees.
This is how the biggest stories of 2019 unfolded.
1. Your opinions
What truly defined what the Apache Junction/Gold Canyon Independent offered in calendar year 2019?: A voice --- for you, the reader.
No matter the issue --- big or small --- if a resident had an opinion, critical or otherwise, the hometown newspaper for more than 250,000 monthly digital users and an additional 35,000 receiving the newspaper monthly by mail or online at yourvalley.net made sure those in power heard their perspectives.
Readers who years ago would have put pen to paper e-mailed their opinions to aznews@newszap.com or went to stories online and, while signed into Facebook, posted their comments.
Many of the online letters are also included in the monthly editions of the newspaper.
2. State Trust Land
The Arizona State Selection Board in July approved the annexation of 6,687 acres of State Trust land into the City of Apache Junction. The vacant property is south of Elliot Road, west of the Central Arizona Project canal and north of the future State Route 24 alignment.
Arizona’s state land commissioner, Lisa A. Atkins, requested approval of the annexation in T1S R8E Sections 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34, all in Pinal County, according to the minutes of the selection board’s July 17 meeting.
The Arizona State Land Department manages approximately 9.2 million acres of State Trust lands within Arizona. These lands were granted to the state under the provisions of the federal Enabling Act that provided for Arizona’s statehood in 1912. The lands are held in trust and managed for the sole purpose of generating revenues for the 13 State Trust land beneficiaries, the largest of which is Arizona’s K-12 education, according to land.az.gov.
The south City of Apache Junction area from Baseline Avenue to SR24 is to be a master-planned community with a maximum of 20 dwelling units per acre. It is envisioned with a range of residential densities, commercial spaces, open space and industrial uses, according to proposed 2020 General Plan documents.
3. Hello new neighbor
When the City of Apache Junction completes its annexation of the State Trust land, it will have a new adjacent neighbor --- the Town of Queen Creek. The town in 2019 annexed State Trust land and will abut the southern boundary of Apache Junction.
At its Aug. 7 meeting, the Queen Creek Town Council approved the annexation of nearly 4,150 acres of State Trust land from Germann Road north to the future alignment of SR24 and the CAP canal west to Meridian Road. The Arizona State Selection Board approved the town’s annexation of the property at a meeting June 11, 2018.
Neighborhood planning units on 2,201 acres with the property to be annexed are to include suburban, residential, medium- and high-density residential land uses; light, general and neighborhood commercial; office mixed-use; and mixed-use.
Urban planning units are on 1,935 acres generally within a half-mile of the planned SR24 corridor and include urban, medium- and high-density residential; light, general, regional and neighborhood commercial; mixed-use; and office/industrial park.
4. Woodbury Fire
The track of the Woodbury Fire, which started 5 miles northwest of Superior on June 8, was of keen interest to the east Valley, which could see its large plumes of smoke. But it was a huge concern for the residents of Gold Canyon who were close to the fire’s doorstep.
It burned 123,875 acres and was 100% contained on July 15. A map of the final fire perimeter shows it was stopped just east of the Peralta Trailhead in the Superstition Mountains, according to the Woodbury Fire website of the Arizona Emergency Information Network.
Meetings were held in Gold Canyon to explain the fire’s progression and efforts to contain it, such as use of helicopters and planes, and ground crews. Area residents put up signs with well-wishes for firefighters, including outside the incident command post in Gold Canyon, which was moved to Miami on June 24.
5. School district vote fails
Two items before voters in the Apache Junction Unified School District failed at the Nov. 5 election.
Voters considered authorizing the district to issue and sell $60 million in school-improvement bonds and exceed its budget by the lesser of $2 million a year for seven years or 10% of its revenue control limit. It was a mailed-ballot-only election with no polling places provided.
With 11,554 total votes cast, the bonds had 6,352 (54.98%) “no” votes and 5,202 (45.02%) “yes” votes; and, with 10,982 votes cast, the budget override had 6,356 (57.88%) “no” votes and 4,626 (42.12%) “yes” votes, according to results posted at 5:11 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Pinal County Elections Department website.
The district’s first override passed in 1999 and was renewed in 2003. Further votes failed in May 2007 and November 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2015.
At the 2015 election, voters denied the proposed increase of up to 15% to the district’s maintenance and operations budget. The override would have raised approximately $3.2 million each year and allowed the district to prevent large class sizes, improve school safety and offer competitive salaries to teachers, officials said at the time.
6. Trash service for all
Expectations for a one-source trash service in the City of Apache Junction began at The State of the City, hosted by Apache Junction Mayor Jeff Serdy on Feb. 13. There he said “We’re researching the feasibility for a one-source contract for trash pickup also; now we have three.”
Following City Council hearings and discussions, contract negotiations continued into the later months of 2019 on the proposal for solid waste, recycling and disposal services.
The City Council at a meeting in August agreed to enter into contract negotiations with Allied Waste Transportation, also known as Republic Services, to become the municipality’s waste- and recycling-hauling sole provider. Republic Services’ bid was for $10.71 for curbside solid waste pick-up two times a week, with no recycling; and $18.71 for curbside solid waste pick-up two times a week plus recycling once a week.
As approved in December, covered residences will be required to subscribe to a weekly solid-waste collection service provided through a contract with the City Council. Anyone not using curbside solid-waste collection could be subject to a fine of $350 on the first occurrence, $600 on the second and a criminal violation with a fine of up to $2,500 on the third.
7. Public records
The Apache Junction/Gold Canyon Independent stepped up its requests for public records in 2019 and also gleaned statistics from other reports, with stories including:
The number and types of building permits in Gold Canyon, Apache Junction and adjacent unincorporated Pinal County.
How much City of Apache Junction department heads and charter officers are paid annually.
An audit of out-of-court settlements by the City of Apache Junction.
How much Apache Junction Unified School District department heads and charter officers, including the superintendent, are paid annually.
Superstition Fire and Medical District response times.
The funding priorities for the City of Apache Junction’s 2019-20 budget.
Priority 1 call average response times for the Apache Junction Police Department.
What is being discussed in closed-door executive sessions of the City Council.
By year, the number and type of violent crimes reported in Apache Junction for 2016-18 and the first five months of 2019.
Crimes reported on the Central Arizona College campus in Apache Junction.
8. Selling a Gold Canyon school
Gold Canyon Community Church, which has been leasing the site of the former Gold Canyon Elementary School, has until Dec. 31, 2020, to purchase the property for $1.8 million.
The Apache Junction Unified School District Governing Board in August approved an amendment on the church’s lease and a purchase proposal for the former school at 5810 S. Alameda Road in Gold Canyon.
Dr. Krista Anderson, AJUSD superintendent, said sale proceeds --- including $100,000 in earnest money --- would be used for capital projects, such as addressing safety issues.
AJUSD was given permission to sell unused buildings at the Nov. 3, 2016, election. The remaining buildings that could be sold:
The old Four Peaks Elementary School, 1755 N. Idaho Road, now the Boys and Girls Clubs of the East Valley – Superstition Branch;
Superstition Mountain Elementary School, 550 S. Ironwood Drive, now with Centerstage Church and The Zao Theatre;
and Thunder Mountain Middle School, 3700 E. 16th Ave., now used as the training facility for Superstition Fire and Medical District.
9. History of the area
As volunteers plan for activities in two years to go with a new event honoring the naming of the City of Apache Junction, the Apache Junction/Gold Canyon newspaper has celebrated its 60th year.
A committee meets once a month to plan for the founder’s day event in 2022 marking the 100th anniversary of designating the area as Apache Junction. The Apache Junction Founders Day Committee meets 6-8 p.m. the first Thursday of every month at the Apache Junction Public Library, 1177 N. Idaho Road.
Apache Junction was founded by George Curtis and was settled in 1922. The centennial of that decision is approaching and volunteers have begun meeting to plan a year-long celebration. Go to facebook.com/AJFoundersCentennial.
The Apache Sentinel’s first issue in June 1959 was four pages, delivered free once a week to Apache Junction and east Mesa homes. Now it is known as the Apache Junction/Gold Canyon Independent, with news 24/7 at yourvalley.net and a print edition mailed once a month to residents and businesses in Apache Junction and Gold Canyon.
History buffs can learn more about the area as the Superstition Mountain Museum is again hosting a free weekly lecture series entitled “Legends and Lore of the Superstitions and More” in the museum’s amphitheater at 4087 N. Apache Trail. The lectures begin at 2 p.m. and run about one hour. Attendees should bring a lawn chair or cushion to sit on.
The lectures are:
Jan. 9: Hank Sheffer, “The History of Apacheland Movie Ranch.”
Jan. 16: Larry Hedrick, “Jacob Waltz: The Early Years.”
Jan. 23: John Jay Pelletier, “Close Calls with Death – Why Am I Still Alive?”
Jan. 30: Teton Ken, “The Lost Dutchman and His Mine.”
Feb. 6: Kurt Cavano, “Four Peaks Amethyst Mine (and Amethyst Trunk Sale).”
Feb. 13: Laura Tohe, “From ‘Chief’ to Code Talker: Four Profiles of the Navajo Code Talkers.”
Feb. 20: Greg McNamee, “Arizona for Newcomers.”
Feb. 2: Steve Renzi, “Arizona’s Great Escape.”
March 5: U.S. Forest Service, “Fires in the Superstitions.”
March 12: Porfirio and Juana Gutierrez. “Natural Dyes in Zapotec Weaving Traditions.”
March 19: Carrie Cannon, “For the Love of Turquoise.”
March 26: Jan Cleere, “Nevertheless, She Persisted! Women Who Made a Difference on the Arizona Frontier.”
April 2: Simone Netherlands, “The Preservation of the Salt River Horses.”
April 9: Steve Holmquist, “A Musical Celebration of Arizona.”
10. A new freeway extension
It was learned in 2019 that State Route 24 construction is to start in 2020, bringing the Gateway Freeway from where it ends east of the Loop 202 Santan Freeway at Ellsworth Road to Ironwood Drive.
Area residents who attended a meeting in November learned that the Arizona Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration, is designing a 5-mile interim phase II section, with construction anticipated to begin in Fall 2020.
The Gateway Freeway could extend east to near Gold Canyon, where it would meet a proposed North-South Corridor. The latter is a 50-mile highway in Pinal County that would stretch from U.S. Highway 60 in Apache Junction to Interstate 10 in Eloy.
Richard Dyer Managing Editor | East Valley @RHDyer
Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia, Inc.. USA, since 1987.
Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions.
He also is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows
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