So, we'll work session of the Quink Creek Council to order.
Jennifer, would you please call the roll?
Here.
Brown.
Here.
Council member Terly.
Here.
Council member Wheatley.
Here.
My Mayor Olifon.
Here.
Mayor Barney.
Here.
As the amended agenda, we are going to move our executive session to after our state of the town
after our ceremonial business this evening.
So, we'll move on to the consent calendar.
Item is under the consent calendar considered to be routine and we enacted by one motion.
And one vote.
Does any member of staff or council wish to have any item removed from the consent calendar?
Seeing none, I would entertain a motion to approve.
Thank you.
We have a motion and a second.
I'll.
Yes.
Our machine is working.
So, if there is no comment, please vote.
Out of range.
Okay. Yes.
We have unanimous first acceptance.
Thank you very much.
Next on our agenda, our items for discussion.
This evening.
So, staff.
Mr.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Members of the council.
Members of the public for the record.
My name is Brett Burningham.
I'm the planning administrator for the town.
This is a discussion item.
And no action is needed.
But we wanted to let you know that we are working on a new annexation application.
It's located the north east corner of Saasman Road in Rittenhast Road.
And it's an opportunity to fill in one of our county islands and also facilitate the development of a commercial center.
First, just wanted to show you the northern portion of the town.
And you can see the town boundaries outlined in black.
And so, you can see that we have a few county islands.
And then I'm going to zoom in on the area at Saasman and Rittenhast.
So, the application that we are working on now is at the northeast corner of Rittenhast and Saasman.
It's about 18 acres.
And we have been approached by the corner store.
You may recall the corner store initially about a year and a half ago.
So, submitted applications to develop a site in the Cortina commercial parcel, which is located at Germaine in Rittenhast Road.
That application didn't work very well with the neighborhood.
And they then moved to the east and built a development at Occatio in Rittenhast.
And we were very appreciative that they stayed in the town and moved to the east and built that site.
They have come back.
They are working with the property owners.
They would like to facilitate the annexation of this 18 acres.
And so, the area is shown in red is the annexation area.
And then the area highlighted in pink is where the corner store development would be located.
So, just wanted to note that this area is commercial on the general plan.
This is a site plan of that overall 18 acres.
And so, you can see that the corner store is located just north of Rittenhast Road.
It is located east of that intersection.
And I know Bruce Gardner has noted that this corner store will not be located at the corner.
But they still want to locate in this location.
This essentially concludes the presentation of staff and staff is available to answer any questions that you might have.
As I mentioned, no action is needed.
We will continue to work with the property owners on an annexation application, also a rezoning application.
And as soon as that is prepared, we expect to be in front of you if all goes well within the next two to four months.
Any questions from council?
Yes.
Right.
You go back a couple of slides.
That one.
This is right there.
Is that a different landowner or.
Mr. Mayor.
Council member Barnes.
I believe that's a parcel owned by the town of Queen Creek.
So, that is in town.
I apologize, Mr. Mayor.
Council member Barnes.
We will have to provide additional information on that.
I don't know.
The status of that.
That parcel to the east.
Because I was just thinking if we could just, you know, rather than if that isn't.
Rather than have that just that little tip.
If we could either if it is town owned.
You know, then that's fine.
But if it isn't, maybe we can get them down except to just so there's not that little triangle out all by itself.
This can't be done any, nothing can be done on it.
Thank you.
That's all.
Thanks.
Any other comments?
Questions?
Concerns?
Okay.
Boy, we're moving right along.
I think everybody's anxious for the big event tonight.
Because we do have time.
I am going to move into committee reports.
So, Vice Mayor Olifond.
Mayor?
On February 18, Council members Benning Turley and I attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Queen Creek Middle School's new edition.
Funding for the Middle School renovation was approved by voters as part of the successful bond election that was held in November
of 2014.
At the ceremony, supervisor Barry noted that the Queen Creek unified school district is actually the fastest growing school district in the state right now.
On February 25, I met with Renee Messnick from the community at Queen Creek as part of my duties as the vice mayor.
And accordingly, the council's liaison to the education community here in Queen Creek.
The community sees a wonderful resource for residents and other folks in the region for post secondary education and continuing education opportunities.
And the town is a proud partner of the community and we look forward to continued opportunities for our residents.
Thank you, Mayor.
Council member Turley.
Thank you, Mayor.
As Vice Mayor Olifond said, I was there at the groundbreaking as well with Council member Benning.
Additionally, the district is adding an almost 17,000 square foot building to the middle school, which will accommodate growth in the district.
And the new building will have the capacity to house an additional 450 students.
And I think we're all excited to see that we continue to serve our community so well.
It's exciting time, stress.
Thank you, Mayor.
Council member Benning.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
I'm looking on that as well as that groundbreaking.
I also attended on February 24th along with the mayor, Council member Brown.
We attended the groundbreaking ceremony at the high school, which is 20 new classrooms, expanding the capacity from just under 2,000 to having room for 2,500 students.
The Queen Creek Unified District, as already was stated, is fastest growing school district in the state.
And it's so exciting to have the opportunity to participate with the kids.
We had the color guard and the marching band, including my own son.
They're performing as part of the groundbreaking.
They did a fantastic job.
Also, on February 25th, I attended the Central Arizona Government's Annual Legislative Day, which is an opportunity for, as I serve, 4 Queen Creek on that group representing our Penal County residents in Queen Creek.
It's an opportunity to meet with legislators from all over the state to talk about issues that are important to Penal and heal a county.
And we had three legislators who were able to attend.
It was a very busy day at the legislature.
As many know, that was the day that our congressmen decided not to run for another term.
And so there was some shuffling.
We laughingly said that perhaps they would be calling a signing day immediately following our meeting on that day because people wanted to get out and start.
It was a great opportunity to talk to our legislators that day about issues, especially transportation.
And we'll have our regular meeting coming up at the end of March.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Councillor Member Brown.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
On February 18th, I got the honor to represent our Tom Council at City of Chandler's State of the City address, very similar to what we'll be doing.
That was a great opportunity to celebrate their successes.
The City of Chandler, of course, is well ahead of us in terms of age and development having incorporated in 1920.
They too have experienced explosive growth and had an estimated 260K population are just about 90% of the way to their build out population.
We value their regional partnership on a good number of issues and they are a critical piece in the overall success of the East Valley.
To that end, I was happy to hear about all of their growth and economic development taking place.
And I certainly wish the best for them and excited to see what the future holds for the City of Chandler.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Councillor Member, quickly.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
I had a fun one. I got to go to this time.
It was February 18th, I attended the Barbecue Competition.
It was in conjunction with the Queen Creek Feast of All in Town Center.
There were 40 Barbecue rigs from all over the country competing for a $10,000 prize.
Many of the competitors have been seen on the shows.
Barbecue pit masters, top chef and chopped.
The event also included the feasible food trucks.
Live music, boutique vendors, and the opportunity for patrons to try their $2 samples of the Barbecue competitors.
The profits were donated to the usual suspects.
It's a nonprofit organization made up of retired law enforcement.
There are about 3,500 visitors at the Barbecue Competition over a Friday and Saturday.
So I'm looking forward to seeing more types of events like this in our Town Center.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
On February 18th, I met with Senator John McCain and a group of stakeholders regarding keeping the Promise Act.
The purpose of the meeting was to encourage him to support federal legislation in opposing the expansion of unauthorized casinos.
On February 20th, I met with some Cubs Couts about 65 of them to talk about how they can become good citizens in the community and what my job as mayor in our local government entails.
On February 20th, I attended the annual Employee Appreciation event for Phoenix Mason Gateway Airport.
On February 22nd, I participated in a special meeting of the Maricopa Association of Governments Regional Executive Committee.
On February 23rd, I attended the Gateway Airport Regional Visiting Project.
On February 24th, I attended the Mag Regional Council meeting.
On February 25th, I attended the 12th Annual Tourism Unity Dinner, which brings together leaders from business and governments in celebrating the 20.
$.9 billion tourism industry, which we are striving to help come into Queen Creek and we are having some success as Marny will tell you.
On February 26th and 27th, I attended a strategic planning session where we tried to outline our goals for the upcoming year.
On March 1, I attended the Mag Economic Development Committee meeting.
Thank you.
That concludes all of our pre-council meeting agenda items for this evening.
So we will adjourn this meeting till 7 o'clock when we will start with a pledge of allegiance.
It's our appointed hour to start our meeting, so if everyone would find their seats, I would appreciate it.
Can you hear me yet?
Testing one two.
It's our appointed hour.
And so if everyone would please find your seats, we will go ahead and commence.
Yep.
I don't see Jane from the airport.
Thank you.
And continuing our meeting this evening.
I would like to have acknowledged the presence of Scott Troop 777, who will post the colors.
So we will turn that over to that group of boys' guests to do our honor this evening.
Color guard attention.
Color guard advance.
Hello, guys, prepared a post to color.
Please join me in the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and
to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, and this is a whole flip between us as well.
Two.
Color guard, salute. Color guard dismissed. How do you please be seated?
Thank you, boys. It's always a pleasure and does my heart good to see young men show respect
that our flag and the symbol of our country deserves. Again, thank you.
Next on our agenda is a moment of silence, and I'd like to dedicate this moment of silence to our first responders who have
currently given their lives in the connection with their duties.
Thank you. Now on to ceremonial matters, and we just have one small item of ceremonial business this evening,
which will be the state of the town. Let me try to get comfortable here. This is not the most comfortable thing I do every year.
It is my honor as the mayor to introduce the 2016 state of the town this evening as a special.
That's what happens when I try to use electronics that wants to talk to me.
Okay, starting over. The town is fortunate to have many positive relationships with our neighbouring communities
and with various levels of government. I would like to recognize several important individuals who are joining us this evening.
Andy Biggs, Arizona State President, Legislative District 12, Danny Barney, Maricopa County Supervisor, John Lewis, Gilbert Mayer, Eddie Cook, Gilbert Town Council, Kevin Hartke and Renee Lopez,
Chandler City Council, Kevin Thompson, Mason City Council, Mark Lendor and Judah Navterro and Kevin Bagg, Bragg excuse me,
all members of the Quinkrick Unified School District governing board. Christina Reece, Kigley Unified District School governing board president, Patrick Banger, Gilbert Town Manager, John Luton, former Quinkrick Town Council member, Chuck Gray,
Representative Congressman Samman's office, Jane Morris, Executive Director of the Gilbert Maysigate Way Airport, Brian O'Neill Maysigate Way Airport, Mr. Terley from Maysigate Way Airport, can haul from Cag.
And other members of the town boards and commissions, members of our leadership institute participants and graduates, representatives from the communities and higher institutions of education and other value community partners.
I would like to give a special moment of thanks to our families of town council who without their loving support couldn't do the job we can do.
And I've been debating on how not to embarrass my wife but she's on the front row and I want to thank her for all that she does to let me do what I do to serve the community.
Not to get on with the good stuff. It is a privilege to serve as your mayor and to share these exciting accomplishments.
2015 was a wonderful year of strategic growth for the community. I feel fortunate to serve with this town council. We have faced many important issues over the years and I believe we have done our best to make the best decisions for Quinkrick.
The success of this community in my opinion has to do with the people. The town council and I appreciate the input we receive from residents. Your feedback truly does help shape the future.
I would also like to thank our staff. We are so fortunate to have dedicated passionate and professional staff working for the town. The employees are instrumental in carrying out day-to-day activities of the town and they do so much for the positive attitude and to the best of their abilities.
Retaining talented and packed employees is a challenging task. Especially for local governments. We simply cannot and would not compete with the incentives offered by the private sector.
Which is why we are especially proud of our recent designation by the Phoenix Business Journal as one of the 2015 best places to work.
More than 600 companies submitted for the honor and 115 were recognized with the town being the only government entity receiving the recognition.
Our organization's leadership is responsible for creating a positive working environment, which in turn attracts the most qualified professional employees to serve our residents.
I want to extend a special thanks to our town manager, John Cross.
It's through his leadership, philosophies and guidance that the town has received this important honor. Thank you, John.
The town received another important designation with regard to our mid-decade census efforts.
The town, along with six other valley cities, worked with the U.S. Census Bureau to update official population counts.
State-shared revenues are distributed based on official population counts.
And as Quincree continues to grow, it was imperative that we update our population number to receive our fair share of revenues to pay for the operations needed to accommodate these new residents.
Through the hard work of staff and an effective marketing and outreach campaign, Quincree chose the first community to successfully complete the mid-decade census.
Not only were we successful in completing the count, the town will receive an additional $1.8 million in shared state revenues annually as a result of the updated population count.
Having more residents in Quincree is an opportunity for us to increase our community, our connection with the community.
The town developed and launched a new mobile app called Experience Quincree for residents and visitors.
The free app is focused on lifestyle, including shopping, special events, outdoor adventures and more.
We also have expanded our use on social media by adding a town presence on Instagram, Pinterest, next door and periscope.
Also, some media sites provide an opportunity for the town to inform and engage with residents.
We are able to effectively communicate information related to participation in the local government meetings,
services, programs, traffic closures and special events, as well as providing emergency information.
We were excited that the community is embracing this type of ongoing conversation on social media, as we surpassed a milestone of 10,000 followers on the town's Facebook page.
The town council and I appreciate all of the questions and comments posted on these pages and are happy to see the interest in activities and events taking place in our community.
Expanded growth and program requires the town is fiscally responsible.
Another major milestone in 2015 was the bond rating upgrade that we received.
One of the three major providers of credit ratings, which completed a routine review of the town's credit rating and revised the town's outlook from stable to positive.
The change was attributed to the town's reserve levels and conservative spending patterns that led to further private sector investment in the community and jobs.
The council layer committed to conservative fiscal approach that will keep quick, quick, strong and sustainable for generations to come.
The updated corporate strategic plan was another accomplishment of 2015.
It is a five-year roadmap that includes broad-based focus areas with underlying goals and timelines.
The document provides direction to the town manager to priorities outlined by the town council.
Five strategic priorities were identified in the plan and will be used to shape this year's state of the town.
Vice Mayor Olifon and Council Member Quakeley will cover the first strategic goal affected government.
An effective government is aware of the needs and services of a community.
The following are examples of how the town incorporated innovative practices introduce new technology and other exciting partnerships.
Yes.
Thank you, Mayor Barney.
I'm excited to share examples of how the town is an effective government.
In 2015 there were many advancements to town technologies that made systems more productive and efficient for our residents and employees.
An application was developed to allow staff in the water department to access all of the water system data remotely through iPads and smartphones.
This new technology, the ESRI collector app, allows staff to be more efficient,
reduce long-term program costs by equipping them with the leading edge tools to do their jobs with direct access to information in the field.
An online irrigation program was also developed to allow residents to sign up electronically for irrigation services.
As technology continues to advance the expectation to have electronic options is also increasing,
and the town is committed to providing those electronic services whenever possible.
The program will be expanded so that residents can receive real-time notifications of the irrigation process.
In another effort to effectively use technology, an electronic mapping of the wastewater system was completed to allow a more accurate accounting of the quality
or the quantity of sewer lines in the system and water technology improvements that save water for our community.
The electronic mapping will also result in improved maintenance plans and remote access to the sewer system by town staff.
Through technology advancements, we were able to save and estimated 1.2 million gallons.
Yes, I said 1.2 million gallons of water.
Smart clock technology saves in landscape water.
The town's watering system uses real-time communication with weather stations and local rain gauges to measure rainfall and other environmental factors to maximize irrigation water efficiency.
A major investment in technology also includes the virtual desktop initiative.
This program saves taxpayer dollars by extending the life of the town's hardware infrastructure, increasing the efficiency and speed of software upgrades,
and making the town's computer systems more secure and sustainable.
Technology advancements are often in line with best practices, which is the case in the town's paperless initiative.
With a goal of being paperless by 2020, the town continues to move forward with reducing the number of copies and printed pages.
The town reduced paper usage by more than 21%, which is approximately about 200,000 pieces of paper, or more than 40 boxes of paper.
Through this program, town staff are working more efficiently and effectively with electronic resources.
For example, work orders and receipts are completed in the field, agendas and handouts for staff meetings are posted on the town's internal websites,
and packets for town council and town planning and zoning commission meetings are posted online rather than being printed out.
And I can tell you some of those packets get pretty large, so it's exciting to have those documents easily accessible online rather than printing all of those maps and all those photos.
In an effort to ensure best practices, we approved a comprehensive update to the zoning ordinance in our design standards.
Established to guide development within the town, the documents were modernized to include consistent language, clarity of regulation, graphic representation,
and were reformatted to improve the organization and the length of the overall document.
Increasing investment in the community is a key goal of the town council.
To this end, we recently approved a revised economic development strategic plan.
The robust document provides a framework to strategically guide investment and jobs by the private sector here in our community.
It includes key initiatives and a series of implementation steps along with performance measures.
The revised plan will strengthen the town's financial condition and increase the number of employment opportunity for our residents.
The town continues to partner with the Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce and supported the relocation to the municipal campus this past year.
The Chamber helps promote developing retain area businesses and their new location will enhance our ability to work together.
Another development for the Chamber is the new partner that shares their space,
Gangplank, Queen Creek, which is a collaborative workspace that was established to provide space for people to work, create and collaborate.
The town instituted two new best practices that resulted in significant cost savings by repairing town vehicles in house approximately.
This $53,500 was saved in parts in labor. Additionally, switching to bulk engine oils saved 57 cents per gallon, a 7.5% reduction in engine oil costs.
Using bulk engine oils is also more effective. It is easier way to disperse oil and allows for more accurate record keeping practices.
I'm proud to share that the town receives several awards related to best practices and innovation.
The Excellence in Finance and Reporting Award was received from the government finance officers association for our annual financial statement and budget.
Our 25th anniversary campaign received a copper and bill award from the Public Relations Society of America, the Phoenix Chapter.
Additionally, we received a number of awards from the city, county, communications and marketing association, which is also known as 3CMA.
The Shop QC Campaign, Pocket Park for Pups Signage, and Battle of the Badge Competition, all each received an award of Excellence.
The Slashpad Signage received a Silver Circle Award, and the town's historical documentary from written house to the QC received a Saviour Award, which was the highest distinction from 3CMA.
These awards are more than just pretty statues. They demonstrate that Queen Creek is setting new standards, performing above and beyond the average community.
And that Queen Creek residents are receiving the best possible programs and services.
So now, I'll turn it over to councilmember Wheatley, who will cover how our innovative practices, quality employees and partnerships are helping the town to be an effective government.
Thank you, Vice Mayor Olifant. Our professional staff continues to find innovative ways to save time and money.
For instance, our development services department has held their staffing levels to below 50% of the level it had before the recession.
Despite limited staffing, the team has increased work levels and improved processes and efficiencies.
This is especially crucial because the number of permits issued in 2015 were nine times the number that were issued in 2011, which marked the depths of the recession.
As a town council, we have proved modifications to the planning approval process by delegating some authority to the Planning Commission.
The change reduces the process time resulting in savings for both the town and the development community.
The improvements allow investment to happen more efficiently, increasing job and shopper shopping opportunities for residents.
While we feel the change has been beneficial to both the town and the community, the Planning Commission has also expressed their satisfaction with the new process.
We appreciate the planning commission taking on the adverse responsibility, which positively impacts our residents and the development community.
With the increased duties, the planning meetings are now recorded and streamed on the town's Eustream channel.
The town is always looking for opportunities to connect with the community and keep our residents informed.
An innovative program implemented in 2015 designed to keep residents up to date on important topics was the Facebook question and answer segment.
Three sessions were successfully held in 2015 with public works discussing the town's capital improvement program.
Economic development, discussing new businesses and developments coming to Queen Creek and the traffic engineering division discussing traffic signals, traffic coordination and bike lanes.
Who knew Mohammed would be our town Facebook star?
As Mayor Barney shared, qualified, passionate, and professional employees are at the core of the town's success.
As a council, we fill it as vital to provide opportunities for staff to continue to improve as professionals to better serve the residents of Queen Creek.
In June, two Queen Creek fire and medical firefighters advance their certification.
Calvin Millierd in brand and a fee are now certified emergency paramedics.
We now have 19 certified paramedics representing 70% of the entire department.
Additionally, five employees successfully completed Arizona State University's certified public manager program.
Special Projects Manager Amy Shackleford.
Senior Human Resource Analyst Michelle Brown.
Technology supervisor Mike Black.
Financial Service Analyst Tracey Polk.
And fire services specialist Angie White.
Enhanced their leadership skills through the program's education and activities.
In an effort to help more town employees further their education as it directly relates to their employment with the town.
A partnership was initiated with Rio Salado and the Queen Creek Community University.
Town employees have the opportunity to obtain a public administration certificate upon completion of six courses with over 35 employees attending the initial classes.
The courses cover important topics including public policy, finance administration, organizational behavior and human resources.
All related to the public sector.
We are excited to offer this opportunity to staff because having educated professional employees means better services for our residents.
The town also launched a successful mentorship program that will assist in the town's succession planning efforts.
The program aims to acclimate new employees to the town's culture.
Provide a clear roadmap of expectations.
Identify employees who possess the necessary skills to move up.
Develop high-performing employees.
Increase employee morale and ease knowledge transfer.
Mentors gain personal and professional fulfillment while the town benefits from improved work relationships.
Increase productivity and employee retention.
The first graduating class included nine mentor mentee pairs.
I'm so pleased that we're able to offer this program and look forward to future graduating classes.
The town is fortunate to have so many wonderful partnerships.
Both locally and regionally.
Successful partnerships have endless potential to enhance the services provided by the town.
Two notable collaborations from 2015 include Queen Creek Unified School District and our dedicated volunteers.
The town saved over $31,000 on 93,000 gallons of fuel through a partnership with the Queen Creek Unified School District.
The town and the school district work together to purchase fuel in bulk for public vehicles.
We also benefited from various volunteer efforts throughout the year.
Individuals and groups donated over 81,000 hours of service in 2015 with an estimated value of $1.8 million.
Volunteers assist with the town's youth sports programs, the senior program, special events and public works projects.
We truly appreciate the time passion and expertise of our volunteers.
Thank you to each and every one of you who contributed your time to make Queen Creek a wonderful community.
Being an effective government includes so many details.
There are many ways we work toward that goal every day.
Thank you, Mayor Barney, for allowing Vice Mayor Olifant and I to share some of the examples of how we strive to provide an effective government for our residents.
Thank you.
A government cannot be effective if it's not safe.
Queen Creek has historically had low crime rates and is this council's highest priority that we continue to be a safe community as we grow.
We have a highly qualified emergency service personnel working to make safety a priority in this community.
Council member Turley will share our accomplishments in related to a safe community.
Thank you Mayor Barney, I appreciate that.
We are truly blessed in many ways here in Queen Creek. We live in a great place.
And we also have the Queen Creek Fire and Medical Department serving our residents.
I know I feel safe and secure knowing that but not only do I feel that it's been validated.
They earned the premier provider designation award from the Arizona Department of Health Services last year.
So we're really proud of them.
Not only do they work hard in their service but they also work really hard to ensure that we have the very best equipment to serve our residents.
And one of the ways they do that is through innovative funding sources.
So thanks to their efforts and the generosity of the Healer River Indian Community.
The town received a $200,000 grant which covered the cost of a fully equipped community paramedicin vehicle, which I think is what we're looking at right now.
So as a counseling, we very much appreciate that.
The town was also awarded a grant from the Firehouse subs foundation to replace an aging thermal imager.
At thermal imager is a lifesaving device that facilitates the rapid recovery of someone who may be lost in a low visibility environment and also may be trapped.
They also purchased new cardiac monitors and these monitors are of the latest technology and they allow our paramedics to acquire and transmit vital information directly to the hospital physicians, which decreases the time between identifying the cardiac emergencies and defining the treatment that they need.
A new command vehicle was also placed into service to efficiently deploy on seeing resources during emergencies through improved communication capabilities.
The improved mechanical reliability and increased fuel economy will result in lower operating costs.
And we always like to hear lower costs.
So I'm really proud of all the times that we've heard that tonight and will continue to do so.
As safe community also requires prevention, we know that.
And our Queen Creek Fire and Medical Department offers a child passengers safety seat program and they teach parents and caregivers how to properly install safety seats for the children.
Forty six inspections were completed last year, meaning forty six of our children were insured safety in their car seats.
Residents also engage through the community emergency response team basic training course also known as certain from a lengthy name like that we understand why.
This basic training is hosted by our fire department and seven individuals completed this 20 hour training last year that in an emergency situation they will know how to respond.
The sirate educates citizens and giving critical support to our first responders providing immediate assistance to victims and organizing volunteers at the disaster site.
Forty three community members also completed a free weather spotter training last year.
And the Queen Creek Fire and Medical Department partnered with the National Weather Service to offer the training which is part of the SkyWorn program.
Additionally, the fire department hosted a rail car safety class which was provided by the department of Homeland Security and was attended by firefighters and police officers across the state of Arizona.
In the midst of all of these things programs advancements and technology ongoing education and training.
They also completed net dates for fire and medical master plan which was adopted by the town council.
Our Queen Creek deputies are busy keeping us safe as well.
Six district six of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department is located right here in the town of Queen Creek.
In this town center as a matter of fact and dedicated to our community.
In early 2015 MCSO district six moved on to the municipal grounds.
And with this move came more staffing a fifth patrol beat and additional sergeant, a detective, two community service deputies and a crime analyst.
And other additions to that included ATVs, bicycles, Tom cars and foot patrols.
In an effort to be more accessible to our residents, the MCSO Queen Creek deputies participated in more than 2000.
2000 community outreach activities events, field-based community relations activities.
The department also created 10 new neighborhood watch programs, so that's additional programs.
I know we are all concerned about traffic safety.
We talk about that a lot behind the dias and an effort to address the concern the MCSO Queen Creek created a comprehensive traffic management plan with components of enforcement education, engineering, technology and community outreach.
District six is also increasing safety with use of body-worn cameras.
And I know we're all very glad to know that as well.
So all of our sworn deputies and detectives assigned to her in Queen Creek will wear the cameras to help minimize risk.
Lower the use of force incidents and reduce complaints and increase transparency.
And we're so glad Isaac posed for that for us to show us how that looked.
Beyond our first responders, there's other ways we keep our communities safe.
The town has a partnership with the town of Gilbert for household hazardous waste.
Through the partnership, 258 vouchers were issued resulting in over 4.7 tons of hazardous material diverted from households and the landfill.
The town's cooking oil collection campaign diverted another 100 gallons of cooking oil from the landfill and the sewer system.
On top of that, the town maintained more than 700 acres of public street right of waste.
The maintenance included the abatement of trash debris weeds and this protects the safe use of those easements by the public.
And maintains rose roadway aesthetics.
To further ensure safe roadways approximately 1.7 million dollars was spent on pavement maintenance of over 5.5 million square feet of roadways.
And that maintenance increases the life of those roads, which again is another way that the town of Creek is wise and saving us money.
Mayor Barney, as you know, we don't always agree on everything, but there is one thing that this council agrees on, and we absolutely care about the safety of our community.
It's number one to us, and we will continue to work towards safe community, a safe community, and thank you so much for letting me share some of those accomplishments.
Thank you.
The next strategic priority is a secure future, which requires strengthening the town's financial condition, protecting the environment,
developing a prosperous local economy and preserving our water supply.
Council member Brown will share examples of how quink we can ensuring this is a wonderful community for many generations to come.
Thank you, Mayor Barney.
Water is a vital aspect of securing our future success, and we need help from our residents.
During 2015, five water saving workshops were provided at no cost for utility customers.
With topics like water-wise guarding and rainwater harvesting, the workshops were well attended and provided residents with valuable information that will help them save water and money.
Through a partnership with SRP, residents also have the opportunity to participate in a shade tree program, receiving free desert adapted shade trees along with planting recommendations.
This is an excellent program as shade trees help reduce home cooling costs and improve air quality without using a lot of water.
Residents were encouraged to learn more about using water-wisely last year during water awareness month,
and this year we will celebrate water awareness month in April, and I encourage residents to visit Queen Creek.org
forward slash water to learn more about how they can provide a safe and secure future through low water use,
save money on their bills, and enter to win exciting prizes.
Using water wisely isn't the only way we can provide a secure future for our children and our children's children.
Recycling and education are also crucial to these efforts.
More than 41 tons of material was diverted from the landfill through the town's environmental efforts like bench to bag, a plastic bag recycling program,
Earth Day and America Recycles Day events, a Christmas tree recycling program, a textile collection program, and E-Waste Collections.
And additional 167 tons of recyclable material was diverted from the landfill by our residents at the neighborhood drop,
neighborhood recycling drop-off center throughout the year.
We are working hard to educate our youth about how recycling works and the impact it has on the environment through an educational program we call preserve the QC.
Through a partnership with environmental education exchange, 51 presentations were provided to over 1500 Queen Creek area middle school students.
This innovative program received the Excellence in Recycling Award from the Arizona Recycling Coalition.
Long-term planning for land use will also be an important factor in providing a secure future.
We recently approved two significant long-term planning documents the North and South specific area plans.
These plans define the two primary areas of undeveloped land remaining in town.
They also provide an outline for future development, transportation, open space and economic sustainability.
The North specific area plan focuses on industrial land while the South specific area plan focuses on preserving and expanding the agritainment corridor,
which is anchored by SNAP farms and the Queen Creek Olive Mill.
The unique characteristics in small town feel that may Queen Creek a special community are preserved in both plants with residential development emphasizing high quality design.
Additionally, there are buffers from other uses and we've worked hard to ensure design compatibility across all development to make each area a signature characteristic for the town.
Having quality plans in place for future land use is vital as the community continues to grow.
The value of construction permits grew 16% from over $366 million in 2014 to $436 million in 2015.
Permits for single-family homes increase nearly 31% from just under 72014 to nearly 1,000 in 2015.
Growth not only serves as a strong economic base, it also indicates the town is a desirable community and as a council we have to plan strategically for continued growth.
In collaboration with Visit Mesa we are expanding our domestic and international presence in the tourism community.
We all know what wonderful opportunities we have here in Queen Creek and we have been making efforts to share these opportunities with over 100 major tour operators in England, Germany, China and Taiwan.
Not only does the increased exposure benefit our local businesses, tourism also serves as an economic driver for the community at large.
Another sign of economic growth in the community is when a business chooses to relocate or expand to Queen Creek.
We were extremely excited to see Harkin's open a 14-screen theater in the Queen Creek Marketplace last year.
And are equally excited to celebrate Thompson Thrift or were equally excited to celebrate Thompson Thrift breaking ground on phase one of the QC District in town center.
This significant commercial development is located at the southeast corner of Ritten House and Ellsworth Looproads and will provide additional shopping and retail options for the community.
The QC District will enhance Queen Creek's town center and pave the way for additional growth in the region.
How businesses choose to locate within the town can be a long and complicated process. Each business has criteria and requirements that are analyzed prior to deciding upon a location.
To help reach even more potential businesses, the town works closely with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council or GPEC to attract quality businesses to our area.
The town's economic development staff are recognized as GPEC certified ambassadors.
These ambassadors are an elite group that serve as an extension of GPEC staff in their outreach and engagement efforts benefiting Queen Creek through additional exposure and connections.
A secure future cannot be realized without being financially wise.
As your town council, we work hard to make fiscal responsible decisions with residents taxpayer dollars that balance the current and future needs of our community.
In 2015, we paid off part of the outstanding debt related to Ellsworth Looproad and as a result, the town will see a savings of $2.2 million.
We are also the first member of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System to adopt a pension funding policy.
This policy resulted in the town paying off $1.5 million in unfunded pension liability for firefighters, and that saves the town $140,000 annually.
Thank you Mayor Barney for the opportunity to share how we are working towards a secure future for our current and future residents here in Queen Creek.
Having quality streets, lights, utilities and parks are essential components of having superior infrastructure.
Our next strategic category, council member Benning will share the accomplishments that are helping us achieve these goals.
Thank you, Mayor.
Infrastructure is a core of successful community from delivering water to treating waste and developing parks to improving our roads.
This past year has been extremely busy time, making improvements in all of these areas.
In 2014, the town acquired the private owned H20 water company to help ensure that they will be ample water supply and uninterrupted water services within the town.
This purchase also serves to ensure that the town's drinking water continues to meet all state and federal quality standards.
In 2015, we enhanced that connectivity between former H20 and the town's own water systems by installing 1,200 feet of new waterline along Clomes Road.
We also completed the latest update of the town's water master plan to provide strategic direction and ensure that we are planning to provide superior water infrastructure for our current residents and for general care.
We also developed and implemented a water storage agreement and licensing agreement with the Roosevelt Water Conservation District,
so that the town will begin to be able to take back its proportionate share of reclaimed water and earn long-term storage credits.
Studies indicate that this will save our community approximately $20 million.
Just as water is an essential service for residents, having a seamless trash and recycling program is also an important public service.
And in 2015, the Curbside trash and recycling program added nearly 750 new household accounts, bringing our total of accounts to over 10,100.
Beyond essential services, superior infrastructure also includes improvements necessary for a healthy and happy community, Queen Creek has a rich heritage rooted in the farming and a question and lifestyle.
We've added 20 new RV parking stalls and worship park in the question center to increase our ability to serve our event clientele.
And we opened two new miles of the Queen Creek wash trail from Desire Mountain Park East to Christmas Road alignment.
This section of trail is designed to accommodate pedestrians, bikes and a questions with the appropriate separation.
We're excited about this added connectivity because the five mile trail now links many more amenities and our neighborhoods.
We're able to complete this project in extremely cost-effective manner as a joint partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, the Arizona Department of Transportation.
The $1.2 million project was funded primarily through grants with the town funding only $30,000 of that total.
One of the most exciting accomplishments in 2015 has that to be our continued commitment to improving our roads.
Building and improving roads is a tedious process requiring study, design, funding and finally construction.
This process can take from one to three years and involves gathering input from the experts as well as our residents.
Over the past 10 years the discount council on previous councils have invested $115 million in road improvements, traffic signals and other roadway.
This year we've completed several major road improvements such as the widening of the Bacotillo Road over the Union Pacific Railroad from two to four lanes and the widening of Ellsworth Road from Aacotillo Road north to Rittenaz Road.
We've also started construction on many new projects such as the nearing completion widening of Rittenaz Road from Queen Creek Marketplace northwest to Sausman Road.
This project includes street lights, sidewalks, bike lanes and the realignment of the Haas Road intersection.
And we're excited to announce that we'll be ribbon cutting that section of road on Friday and the road itself will be opened by next week.
We're also finishing up or as we're finishing up the widening of Rittenaz Road it's just in time to start Ellsworth Road widening project.
This project includes hash street improvements along the west side of Ellsworth Road from Ryan Road north to the Germaine intersection.
A third southbound lane is being installed along with a center turn lane sidewalks and landscaping.
We anticipate this project being completed in the fall.
We're improving the intersection of Sausman and Chandler Heights.
We're widening the intersection, adding left and right turn lanes, upgrading the traffic signals and making drainage improvements.
And we're beginning construction of a new two lane road extending Aacotillo Road west from Power Road to Rector Road.
Aacotillo will be the first road in Queen Creek that connects our east and west boundaries and we're pretty excited about that.
This new section is anticipated to be completed this summer.
As I mentioned improving a building road is not a quick process and it shouldn't be.
Roads are large investment, so we need to ensure they're done correctly and it's safely as possible.
We currently have several projects near completion of the design phase and we'll begin construction later this year.
Aacotillo Road, which we've already mentioned, will from Ellsworth Group to Heritage Loop be expanded from a two lane road to a five lane road with bike lanes, sidewalks, turning lane and access management controls in place.
Aacotillo Road will see half street improvements on the south side from Crispin Road east to 208th place, including sidewalk and bike lanes, which will significantly improve the flow traffic near our Queen Creek High School.
And the intersection of Ellsworth Loop Road and Queen Creek Road will be re-aligned to modify the compound curve and make the intersection safer.
At the same time we'll be making improvements to Old Ellsworth Loop.
Or all those were thrown from Barnes Parkway north to the Santan Historical Society to provide parking, a call to sack for turn around, and landscaping, so that no longer looks like it's a shortcut to the loop road.
We continue to work with Mayor Cuppac County Department of Transportation in partnership on other projects, which when constructed in the not too distant future,
will greatly benefit our residents, such as the widening of rigs road from power road east to Ellsworth Road, construction of a brand new section of rigs road from Ellsworth east all the way to Meridian Road, and demolition and reconstruction of the old written house road bridge over the Queen Creek Wash.
Finally, we recognize that road construction can be inconvenient and frustrating for our residents, so we've developed and implemented an informational campaign to educate and inform our residents about all of this road construction.
The better roads ahead campaign is designed to last several years and contains messaging that can be customized throughout the life of each improving project.
It also serves as a reminder to our residents that the dust will settle and that better roads really are ahead for Queen Creek.
As you can see, there are a lot of infrastructure improvements going on in our community. Queen Creek is getting new utilities, new parks, and new roads.
And we'll continue to improve and to look forward to serving our residents with superior infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
As you can see, there are many components necessary to have a quality town.
Quality is important to be an effective government, provide a safe community, ensure a secure future, and develop superior infrastructure.
It is also important for residents to enjoy a quality lifestyle.
Council Member Barnes will share various events, opportunities, and businesses that are helping Queen Creek provide a quality life for residents.
Thank you, Mayor Barney, for saving the best for last.
I'm excited to share what we've done in the past year to help enhance the quality of life we enjoy here in Queen Creek.
Being healthy is a gift start to enjoying a quality lifestyle.
The Queen Creek Fire and Medical Department partnered with Chandler Regional Medical Center to host a flu shot clinic where more than 160 people received their flu shots at no cost to the public or to the town.
Additionally, we are working hard to help educate the community about fire safety.
We reached residents of all ages during these events, and we're held throughout that we're held throughout the year, and offer training to students in their classrooms.
In 2015, nearly 1,600 adults and 4,100 children received fire safety information.
When we think of all the things that make living here so much fun, our minds immediately go to our parks, trails, delicious restaurants, and fantastic movie theater, and much more.
But in order to enjoy the fun, it certainly helps if we're saving some money on essentials.
In 2015, the town was able to cancel the sewer rain crease that was previously approved to take effect in 2015 and 2016.
The cancellation equates to a savings of approximately $15 annually per home, based on the average monthly sewer bill for a single family home.
Raising fees is always a very difficult decision for us, so being able to cancel previous approved increases without jeopardizing our financial situation was very gratifying.
As our community grows, residents may have many new and exciting restaurants and businesses to visit.
One of those businesses, oregano's pizza bistro, was especially exciting for our community.
The town owned a key piece of land in the town center, giving us more control over what would be built on it.
We were very happy to see oregano successfully complete the purchasing process, offering another quality dining option in town.
Having fun things to do is just as important as having good places to eat, and we were very excited to learn that our town was honored with a 2015 playful city USA designation.
You might have seen some of the signs around town.
Presented by Kabum, the National Recognition Program on her city's and towns across the country from making their community more playable.
This designation was very exciting for Queen Creek, and I encourage everyone to keep playing here in the Queen Creek.
We are committed to making play an integral component of the community, and the efforts are being noticed.
The organization, Arizona, talent, and event concepts even recognize a town with awards for battle of the badge, competition, and roots and boots last year.
The town is playful in many ways, including offering a number of special interest classes, and at the recreation annex.
There are programs and classes to meet a variety of needs. Individuals can get fit and resume the class, learn to play guitar, or become a fairy ballerina.
Little ones continue to prepare for their academic future in ABC-123, and kids are staying active in our many youth sports programs.
We also offer a free program for people aged 50 and over.
The senior program offers activities and leisure opportunities that enhance quality of life.
We also offer a free program, I'm sorry, our senior appreciation day was on August 19.
Rockpoint Church donated 90 food baskets to give the participants of our senior program.
Rockpoint volunteers also donated their time to set up, surf food, and take down.
That's making the program participants feel very appreciated.
Being playful is also about having quality events that the town residents can enjoy.
We celebrate the second annual founders day event in September with an estimated 2,500 participants.
Our Chunkertree event also grew again this past year with an estimated attendance of 9,500.
Wow, that's a lot of candy.
We truly appreciate the generous sponsors and partners who help make our events successful.
Cornerstone Fellowship Church enriched spring into QC and Chunkertree with more volunteers activities, entertainment, and an overall enhanced experience for our residents.
We were also happy to host an inaugural QC block party last February.
The exciting event was produced by our entertainment and celebrated the re-grandopening of Ellsworth Road.
The second annual QC block party will be this Saturday from noon to 6pm on Ellsworth Road in Town Center.
I hope to see many of you there.
We invite all of our residents, neighbors and their friends to celebrate at the circus themed event.
In addition to having beautiful parks and extensive multi-use trail system and great recreation programs,
the town opened the splash pad in 2014, which was one of the many reasons we received the playful city designation.
And the splash pad has been hit ever since.
In 2015 we had over 36,000 people enjoy this fun amenity to make it an even more enjoyable experience.
We added an anti-slip deck that doesn't get a shot, shame structures and a number of tables.
We also enhance the filtering and recirculation capabilities, resulting in an extremely effective water treatment system that has the capacity to handle the high demand of this popular amenity.
Another popular destination is Horsew Park in a Cwestern Center, hosting 330 event days in 2015.
236 of them were equestrian events, including Arabian horse show, graining cow horse, team roping, cutting, bull riding, cowboy-mounted shooting, and Jim Canna.
But Horsew Park isn't just for horse lovers.
94 of the event days were non-equestrian events, including flat track racing, vintage and vino, church services, and even magic car racing.
And after to improve the economic well-being of the community and increase the quality of life for residents,
the town initiated a new festival partnership program.
The program was instrumental in bringing several new and exciting events to Queen Creek, including lemonade days,
the fruit truck festival, vintage and vino, and bacon, brews and blues.
We have many wonderful opportunities for our residents in Queen Creek, and we look forward to all of the great new businesses, events and activities
that would be coming in the future, and it will further enhance the quality of life in our great community.
Thank you for allowing me to opportunity to share all these exciting accomplishments, Mayor Bonnie.
Back to you.
Thank you councilmember Barnes, and all my fellow council members for sharing the exciting accomplishments in 2015.
It is hard to imagine that 2016 could be any better, but I am confident that it will be another great year of growth and advancements for Queen Creek.
The accomplishments that we have shared this evening have been framed around the town's corporate strategic plan, which is a five year organizational plan.
The overall roadmap that guides development manages growth and concerns natural resources is the town's general plan.
It is important to update the general plan to reflect the needs of the community, and as we have plans to do that over the next 12 to 18 months,
the general plan is a vital document that outlines the vision growth and what we want to hear,
and we are going to want to hear your opinion as we go through the updating process.
Throughout the year we will be offering multiple opportunities for community input,
and then we will ask you to take part in a public election to adopt the updated document in 2018.
While the general plan provides broad direction for the town, that also is critical to have specific plans in place for items like transportation and parks.
In 2015 a draft transportation master plan was initiated that encompasses the current transportation network,
focuses on midterm and long-term needs to improve transportation and reduce congestion.
It will also take into account the town's growth that is expected to continue over the next several years.
Transportation will continue to be a focus on a number of projects that will improve traffic conditions around town.
For example, adding or improving bike lanes, intersection improvements, ensuring the timing of traffic signals to better manage traffic patterns.
We also, in the early stages of updating the parks, trails, and open space master plan,
the updated document will complement the master transportation plan and general plan.
Together the documents will bring together various elements and provide a clear path for managed growth in the community.
The plans will provide the emphasis on the quality of life for current and future residents.
We are also implementing a new permitting and plan review software, Accelerate Automation.
The software will offer enhanced services, including online permitting and submittal for electronic plan review.
Efforts like Accelerate Automation do not just streamline our process, they save our taxpayer's money.
Once this is fully rolled out, Queen Creek's Development Service Department will be the leader in the valley for efficiencies and customer convenience.
We can also look forward to an expanded trash and recycling marketing campaign called Shetcher lid.
The campaign is designed to help residents understand the impact of trash and recycling violations like plastic bags in the recycling cart,
overfilling the trash cart, and as the name implies, not shutting the lids.
The information the campaign will help us to work toward a secure future.
We will continue to see exciting events in our community during 2015, such as the weekly Food Truck Festival in Town Center,
our upcoming block party, Roots and Boots Rodeo, and plenty other opportunities to have fun with our families and neighbors.
I'm also excited. We have lots of opportunities to offer our...
To honor our farming and heritage, request to inheritage, and fund events taking place at horseshoe park,
SNF farms, the Queen Creek Olive Mill. We're fortunate to have such strong interest in offering fun, family-friendly,
especially events throughout the community. To better serve the future residents, we are expanding the municipal complex.
Yesterday we broke ground on a new Town Center fire station, number 411,
to replace the current fire station across the street, a new public safety building that will include a community chamber for meeting and training purposes.
2016 will also include exciting commercial growth. The QC district is expected to open this summer, anchored by Sprouts Farmers Market, and Home Goods.
Phase 1 will also include Starbucks, original chop shop, red robin, mod pizza, cafe reel, orange dairy,
pet planet, supercuts, AT&T, massage, green spa, and vision works. Beyond the QC district, we anticipate new opportunities throughout Town Center,
including mountainside fitness. We're also looking forward to a new shopping center on Ellsworth and Riggs,
which will include one of my favorite places, a tractor supply store.
Those of you who know me know that my family and I are farmers,
and so I'm sure you can appreciate how excited that I am about a tractor supply.
Members door, coming to our community. Those are just a few examples of things to come in 2016. We look forward to
continued success of this community. We appreciate the engagement of our residents and the support of our partners.
Thank you for joining us this evening to celebrate our success. Our hometown is a wonderful place to be,
and thanks to all of you. Thank you again for all your participation, communication,
and feedback throughout the year. Together we will keep Queen Creek and incredible
place to live, play and do business. Thank you very much.
For those of you who haven't noticed back in the back, there are some balloons on a table.
We have some cupcakes, some other little goodies and some punch.
And we're going to take about a half hour so to meet and greet and mingle.
We do have further business to finish as a council when we get through,
but you're welcome to stay and commiserate and do anything you want to do for a period of time.
So thank you.