By Joey Chenoweth | Pinal Central
Maricopa is a city of dreams and ambitions. That’s how it started, of course, with a group of developers staring at miles and miles of farmland and dreaming of a time when they would all be filled with homes and businesses. And those dreams have turned into reality, with a city bursting at the seams with new residents and the promise for more to come.
Few dreams come true without their challenges, and Maricopa’s growth has been far from linear. That was true when the Great Recession crippled the local real estate market, and it was true as cultural events had to be shut down due to COVID-19. But while residents were stuck at home and plans were put on hold, Mayor Christian Price says the city’s staff had their eyes firmly focused on the future and how to make sure Maricopa comes out of the pandemic stronger than ever.
“We’ve all had our challenges. We’ve had areas that declined due to the pandemic, like Highway User Revenue Funds. With people not traveling as much, the HURF money went down,” Price said. “But like most challenges in life, if you get creative you can find ways to make things truly wonderful and profitable. So without minimizing the heartache people went through with losing their jobs, the fact of the matter is you had many other industries who made out like bandits.”
