By Madelaine Braggs | Rose Law Group Reporter
The Pinal County Board of Supervisors host a roundtable with the community every month, organized by Pinal Partnership. April’s panel was moderated by Rose Law Group Co-Founder Court Rich, who asked the supervisors to share what they’re most excited about.
Here are the top five Pinal County happenings you must know:
1. San Manuel Flower Farm
Supervisor Kevin Cavanaugh says District 1 is making a $140-million investment into what he called a “flower farm.” Though he thought he’d be impossible to change the commercial zoning, San Manuel will see a cannabis operation with indoor and outdoor facilities. Many details weren’t provided, but it’s projected to employ up to 100 people.
2. LG Plant in Queen Creek
District 2 has been very busy with economic development the past couple of years, says Supervisor Mike Goodman. One project in particular has created quite the buzz… The Korean electronics giant LG just announced a land purchase to construct a massive plant in Queen Creek. “A tremendous employment opportunity,” says Goodman, “but the work’s far from over.”
Goodman says there’s still plenty to do for that facility to get up and running, including a lot of environmental issues that need to be addressed. The project has faced criticism and Goodman says they are working on communicating better with constituents how fiscally beneficial the plant can be.
3. New Economic Development Director James Smith
Supervisor Goodman says bringing manufacturing jobs to Pinal County is one top priority, improving words and making commutes easier is another. “80% of the San Tan community commutes to work in Maricopa County, sometimes taking up to two hours,” he added.
“We recognize we got $1.3-billion being spent outside of our county. Consider that tax income that we’re losing… but we have a new economic director and looking into expanding Pinal retail, he’s got some great ideas.”
James Smith took over as Director of Economic and Workforce Development in November. He has decades of experience in similar roles for Fountain Hills and Chandler.
4. Clean Tech Manufacturing
District 3 Supervisor Stephen Miller knows renewable energy is worth the investment. He says he’s most excited for Nikola Corporation to open their facility in Coolidge. The plant will bring jobs, green batteries and serve the electric vehicle market, putting eco-friendly trucks on the road to handle logistics in a climate change conscious way.
The Pinal County Board of Supervisors also recently approved four solar energy farms outside of Florence, Eloy and Arizona City. The Box Canyon solar project covers 2,424 acres, the Sonak project covers 1,882 acres, the Arizona City project covers 1,667 acres, and Eloy Solar covers 1,252 acres.
With the future manufacturing making a home in Pinal County, Miller says they’re seeing the need for more housing. Supply chain and labor constraints aren’t making the housing situation any easier, but Miller says they’re thinking ahead to keep up with the district’s growth.
5. The Superstitions District
Board Vice Chair and District 5 Supervisor Jeff Serdy may have the most scenic district in Pinal County. He says he loves presiding over the communities near the Superstition Mountains, where he’s excited to boost tourism and recreation activities, but he says the highways are a mess. “Anything we do in general, needs to keep roads in mind.”
Luckily, relief may have arrived in the shape of a recent redistricting, which Serdy said is going to bring all the peaks and their neighboring towns together under one district’s roof. The ‘Superstitions District’ one may call it.
Serdy says going forward, they’re going to be embodying the attitudes of homebuilders. “Homebuilders have their system down. You just give them the acres and they get to building.” He says their area’s housing availability looks healthy, but growing local spending is where the creativity really comes in to play. “We have our rooftops built, but we need to build the rest… jobs, roads, retail.”
