As the temperatures begin to drop, we’re excited to kick off our event season! Save the date for Surprise Fiesta Grande on Saturday, October 5. Enjoy the unique culture and community that are a foundation for the City’s past, present and future. More exciting events throughout the season are to come. See you there!
CURRENT EVENTS
City Council Meetings
The next City Council Meeting on September 17 at 6 p.m. The public is welcome to attend in person, or you can tune in on surpriseaz.gov/SurpriseTV, the Surprise City Gov Facebook page at facebook.com/CityOfSurprise or on Cox channel 11.
Upcoming Blood Drive
The City of Surprise is partnering with Vitalant Blood Donation to host several blood drives in September.
Community members wanting to participate are encouraged to make an appointment through the Vitalant website using Blood Drive Code p1T62. Although walk-ins are welcomed, those with an appointment will be given priority.
September 23 | 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.| Surprise City Hall (Community Room)
As a thank you for your willingness to help others through blood donation, Vitalant is providing a Halloween costume t-shirt through their Donor Rewards program while supplies last.
As a local non-profit, donations through Vitalant stay in the community to help our neighbors. Every day, an average of 5,500 blood donations are needed to meet patient needs. This is an excellent opportunity to transform your life and the lives of so many others!
Perfect Game Event Series
The City of Surprise will play host to Perfect Game’s Southwest Labor Day Classic and Fall National Championships protected by G-Form this September at the Surprise Stadium Complex. These events are expected to bring in over 125 teams and 2,500 players from across the country.
Here are the upcoming Perfect Game events in Surprise:
Daily gate admission is $10 per person, or a tournament pass is available for $35 per person, per tournament. Ages 14 and younger are free.All games will take place at the Surprise Stadium Complex, located at 15930 N. Bullard Ave.
For additional information about the Surprise Stadium Complex, contact the City of Surprise Sports & Tourism Department at 623.222.2222 or visit ExploreSurprise.com.
AUGUST HIGHLIGHTS
Café Zupas Ribbon Cutting
Councilmember Patrick Duffy, Economic Development Director Jeanine Jerkovic and I joined Cafe Zupas Operating Partner, Anthony Ramirez and District Manager Josh Burt, on Thursday, August 8 to celebrate the grand opening and ribbon cutting for their new restaurant in Surprise! Café Zupas is located at 13260 N. Prasada Pkwy. We are excited to welcome this fresh and delicious new business to our community!
Cold Beer & Cheeseburgers Ribbon Cutting
We celebrated the opening of the new Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers restaurant in Surprise! Special thank you to Square One Concepts President & CEO, S. Barrett Rinzler and Chief Operations Officer Tracy Frazier, for all their hard work in bringing this fantastic restaurant to our community! Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers is located at 13400 N. Prasada Pkwy. We are so excited to welcome them and this delicious business to Surprise!
First Watch Ribbon Cutting
Councilmember Aly Cline, Councilmember Patrick Duffy, Economic Development Director Jeanine Jerkovic and I joined Surprise General Manager Karen Ankarber and District Manager Mandy Brouillette to celebrate the grand opening and ribbon cutting of First Watch on Monday, August 19! Egg-cited to welcome this amazing new business to our City! First Watch is located at 16430 W. Waddell Rd., Suite 104.
NEWS & UPDATES
City Seeking Applications for Voluntary Commissions
The City of Surprise is currently accepting applications for the following commissions:
Arts & Cultural Advisory Commission
Two positions (one term expiration 6/30/2027 & one term expiration 6/30/2029)
Audit Committee
One position (term expiration 6/30/2025)
Library Advisory Commission
One position (term expiration 6/30/2027)
Personnel Appeals Board
One position (term expiration 6/30/2029)
All Board/Commission positions are voluntary. To serve on a board/commission, you must reside within the City of Surprise. Download the Application: surpriseaz.gov/boards. Submit your completed application by email to clerk@surpriseaz.gov, mail or hand-deliver Monday -Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. to Surprise City Hall.
Applications will be kept on file for future vacancies.
To contact the City Clerk’s office, please email clerk@surpriseaz.gov or call 623.222.1200.
Public Art Coming Soon
Public art is coming to the West Valley in a whole new way! Municipal public art programs across six cities – Buckeye, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Peoria, Surprise and Tolleson – are joining forces with WESTMARC, the Western Maricopa Coalition, to launch a vibrant new initiative called "iHola! West Valley." This exciting partnership will bring a series of temporary, site-specific art installations created by local artists to various locations throughout the West Valley.
iHola! stands for, “Highlighting Our Local Arts,” and aims to connect West Valley cities and residents to arts and culture resources, spotlight the abundance of arts and culture activities and opportunities in this thriving region, and provide mentorship for local artists to enter the field of public art. Once art is installed, the goal is to create a map of locations, paving the way for future bus tours. This allows residents to discover new art experiences and explore different aspects of the West Valley's artistic landscape.
A Call to Artists
iHola! West Valley is now accepting applications from Arizona-based artists across various disciplines to create temporary, site-specific art projects in a variety of West Valley locations. This initiative aims to foster a deeper connection between our cities and residents. Interested artists can submit proposals by visiting westmarc.org/HOLA by the deadline of October 1, 2024.
Neighborhood Grant Program Application
The Neighborhood Grant Program provides eligible neighborhoods with small grants to fund neighborhood events, functions or community improvements. An opportunity to encourage community engagement and further build strong relationships with Surprise's communities.
To be considered, projects must meet the following program criteria:
Provide a public benefit
Result in a product, which benefits a neighborhood or the larger Surprise community
Be feasible for completion by June 2025
Involve the benefiting neighborhood in project identification, planning and execution
Emphasize neighborhood self-help; be educational or community-building
Nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations are ineligible
Additionally, a minimum of five neighbors within the residential area must sign the application and support the idea; neighborhoods governed by a homeowner association (HOA) must have HOA approval, if required.
Interested communities should deliver the complete Neighborhood Grant Program application to City Hall, attention Jodi Tas, by 5 p.m. on Friday, October 11.
Surprise is rolling out a new Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Program. Instead of offering collection events three times a year, a pilot program will allow residents to schedule collections monthly. The pilot program will run from September through November 2024.
During this pilot program, HHW collection will be split into two types and scheduled separately. One pick-up will occur for just electronic HHW, including TVs, computers and cell phones. Another pick-up will occur for all other HHW, including pool chemicals, pesticides and solvents. Crews will schedule up to 50 collections for just electronic HHW materials per month on the first day of the collection week (Mondays) for residents north and south of Bell Road.
All other HHW materials will be collected Monday through Thursday, for one week per month, with two days reserved for residents south of Bell Road and two days reserved for residents north of Bell Road. Crews will be able to complete about 40 scheduled HHW collections per day.
Starting Monday, August 26, residents can start requesting an appointment for collections during this three-month pilot period. To schedule a collection, residents can use the My Surprise app or call Customer Service at 623.222.1920. All scheduling is based on availability and is first come, first served.
On the date of your scheduled collection, all acceptable items must be placed outside on the driveway and up against the garage by 6 a.m. on the scheduled collection date. Properly packaged, sealed and labeled items will be picked up between 6 a.m. - 4 p.m. DO NOT place any hazardous waste on sidewalks or curbside.
Keep in mind this is not a bulk trash appointment. Residents can schedule bulk trash and appliance pickup services anytime throughout the year. See a full list of acceptable bulk trash items online at surpriseaz.gov/BulkTrash.
Upgrades Coming to Luke Air Force Base
In collaboration with Arizona's federal delegation, West Valley elected leaders have successfully secured significant Congressional funding to support crucial infrastructure upgrades at Luke Air Force Base (AFB) and the Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field. The West Valley Partners, comprising 13 cities and towns around Luke AFB and Maricopa County, have been instrumental in advocating for this support to sustain Luke AFB's mission. As a result, $3 million has been allocated to repair aging facilities at the Munitions Storage Area at Luke AFB. Additionally, efforts led to a 25-year land withdrawal for the Barry M. Goldwater Range and $12.5 million for a lighting project at Gila Bend. Further, $2.5 million was secured for the design and review of a new Airport Operations Complex at Gila Bend, essential for advancing Luke AFB's long-term goals, including F-35 pilot training.
SAVE THE DATE
Surprise Fiesta Grande
Join us on Saturday, October 5, from 5 - 9 p.m. for Surprise Fiesta Grande at Mark Coronado Park, 15960 N. Bullard Ave. This all-ages event celebrates the vibrant culture and traditions that have shaped our City with an evening of live music, food, entertainment and more! Families will experience authentic Mexican food, mariachi music, folklórico dancing, a car show, Lucha Libre wrestling, a petting zoo and pony rides, inflatables and other great attractions! For more details, check out surpriseaz.gov/FiestaGrande.
Thank you to all residents who have signed up to receive my monthly newsletter. Your engagement is essential, and I'm happy to keep you informed about community updates, events and items that may be of interest to you. Please do not hesitate to contact me at skip.hall@surpriseaz.gov, 623.222.1313. Also, feel free to visit my webpage at surpriseaz.gov/Mayor. Follow me on Facebook facebook.com/SurpriseMayor and X @SkipHall2.