By Callan Smith | Rose Law Group Reporter
Four newly elected Pinal County mayors gathered this morning in Florence at a Pinal Partnership panel, discussing 2017 and tenure goals.
For each seeing their cities prosper was key. Mayor Jeff Serdy of Apache Junction said his first goal was to get the state to release land that would bring developers to Lost Dutchman Heights. “If it gets started everyone in the area benefits because the population is currently capped,” Serdy said.
Economic development, widening the I-10 between Casa Grande and Phoenix, and education and workforce development were Casa Grande Mayor Craig McFarland’s goals. With Lucid and PhoenixMart coming into Casa Grande, the city needs to be ready with a labor pool, McFarland said.
Florence is also working on development said Mayor Tara Walter, with a strategic planning session, bringing together a team of citizens, business owners, and staff to “guide the city and bring business that can be successful in Florence.” Walter said providing actives for citizens was also a goal along with continued public safety.
Mayor Mila Besich-Lira of Superior said she is looking forward to using the city’s pavement study to improve infrastructure and roads. They will also get started on the general plan update, the airport master plan and utilize the Superior Chamber of Commerce data on business attraction and retention, she said.
A question was then asked to each by panel moderator Jordan Rose, Founder and President of Rose Law Group, what was their biggest worry—what kept them up at night?
McFarland loses sleep over the six thousand new jobs that are potentially coming quickly to Casa Grande, saying he worries over housing, roads, infrastructure and the transportation choke point at the I-10 between Casa Grande and Phoenix. Technical training for the workforce is a concern for McFarland, who said they need to ensure people are ready.
For Besich-Lira in Superior, she worries over managing challenges and budgeting costs, likening Superior to an old house where every project costs more, as it’s an old town. Her other concern was the Resolution Copper mine that is soon to reopen, “making sure that the schools and the community have everything that they need to accommodate the workforce,” Besich-Lira said.
“The mine is an opportunity for rebirth and regrowth,” said Besich-Lira
Of Florence, Mayor Walter said the opposition of the Florence Copper mine is a continuing concern. It is her hope that legislators will listen and take precautionary measures, she said. She indicated that if the mine does go through it has negative implications. A question was asked about the reason for the city’s opposition to the mine. Walter said the location of the mine within the Master Planned Merrill Ranch Community provides opportunity for significant potential contamination of the aquifer to occur, as the mining process will use sulfuric acid to leach the copper.
The challenge for Serdy is creating the Superstition Region with Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, and the Superstition Foothills. Serdy said the Phoenix Metro area is a model saying each will still be cities, but joining together into a region will give them a whole new bargaining chip in bringing in new opportunities to the area.
