/Pablo Robles/ AFN Staff Photographer
By Paul Maryniak | Ahwatukee Foothills News
Ahwatukee has benefitted from more than $5.5 million in parks investment in the last two years and will see a greater police presence, Mayor Kate Gallego said Monday night.
Addressing about 100 people at a town hall sponsored by the public policy committee of the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce, Gallego also touted a number of initiatives aimed at creating more jobs in Phoenix.
Although the Chamber billed her address as one that would focus on Ahwatukee issues, Gallego devoted most of her 40-minute speech to a broader discussion of citywide issues.
Gallego made her first official appearance as mayor in Ahwatukee at last April’s Easter Parade, but the Chamber event marked her first public address to the community since her election in March.
She touted $5.5 million in investments in Ahwatukee parks, primarily the new pickleball complex that opened a year ago at Pecos Park and the improvements at the Desert Foothills Trailhead – both of which Councilman Sal DiCiccio had been instrumental in securing before Gallego ran for mayor.
