A big shout out to the residents of this great city we live in.
Not much really new, except for a few things this month. As you know, we are still shut down at City Hall for public access.
Beginning with our Dec. 1 work session and council meeting, no members of the public will be allowed in the Council Chambers. However, the meeting can be seen live on Channel 11 if you have Cox, or on your computer at surpriseaz.gov/surprisetv or the city’s Facebook page. This will hold true until further notice.
It looks like we may have a vaccine for this terrible virus by this month. We are all very happy to see this, I am sure. We all need to keep doing what we have been doing, and hang in there with the face masks, washing our hands often, and the social distancing, so we can all be here to get vaccinated.
As has been happening for the last nine months, I have been attending most of my meetings via Zoom and telephone, and like most of you, I am getting COVID-19 fatigue.
We had our meeting of the Board and Commission Nominations Committee, of which I am the chair, on Monday, Nov. 9. We do have some vacancies on the Arts Commission, Veterans, Disability, and Human Services Commission, and the Audit Committee to name a few, so if you have some extra time and would like to help the city, you can apply to volunteer for one of the commissions by calling the City Clerk’s Office at 623-222-1200 or visiting surpriseaz.gov/boards.
We changed the date of our first council meeting in November to the 2nd because of Election Day. In spite of these challenging times, we in the Surprise City government, are pushing forward with many permits for development, including commercial.
I am so proud of our Economic Development Department, headed up by Jeanine Jerkovic. Jeanine and her team do a great job getting all kinds of commercial construction in Surprise.
To all my friends in the northwest part of my District (District 1) I want you to keep an eye on the corner of 163rd and Grand Avenue. I can’t say too much about it because it is still under development review. I am doing all I can to get more commercial development in your neck of the woods.
A note to the folks in Northwest Ranch. We are finally getting to improving Greenway Road, so there will be construction in the area, and yes, some dust; but when the widening of Greenway Road is finished, you will have a fully functioning traffic light at Greenway Road and North West Ranch Parkway as well as straightening of Greenway Road near the 303. So, hang in there, and I ask for your patience during the construction.
The best news this month is that a grocery store is finally coming to my friends in the northwest part of my district. It’s official, the new Fry’s Asante Site Plan has been submitted for review at the Northwest corner of 163rd Avenue and Pat Tillman Boulevard. Plans for this new shopping center show a large Fry’s store with a pharmacy, gas station and some retail stores so our hard work and prayers paid off.
I want to take a minute here and thank all the citizens of Surprise for voting for the G.O. Bond in 2017. We are reaping the benefits with all of these beautiful new roads and repairs for some.
On Thursday, Nov. 19, I was in attendance at my monthly Valley Metro Meeting. I have been representing Surprise on the board for two years now. When the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) and Valley Metro decide to start moving toward Surprise with some transit, someone must be at the table.
On Monday, Nov. 30, the Council was at the Christmas tree in front of the stadium to light our tree as part of this year’s virtual Surprise Party. Our Communications Department is making a video to be shown, starting Dec. 4 at 7 p.m., and replayed throughout the holidays. You can view it at surpriseaz.gov/surprisetv and see all of the Surprise Party details at surpriseaz.gov/surpriseparty. Because of COVID-19, this Christmas season will be a little bit different.
Well, I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays, and remember, be good to yourself and be good to each other.
