January 17 – February 6, 2015 www.SanTanSun.com
Council, mayor optimistic about Chandler’s future BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
With two new city councilmen and a vice mayor, as well as a re-elected mayor, the City of Chandler is poised to tackle challenges and celebrate its victories for the next four years. “It’s a really exciting time starting a new term,” says Mayor Jay Tibshraeny. “We have a lot of stuff on our plate. We have a new council that was just sworn in. We have a lot of work ahead of us.” Newly elected councilmen Rene Lopez and Terry Roe join seated councilmembers Nora Ellen, Rick Heumann and Jack Sellers. Councilman Kevin Hartke was re-elected to a four-year term and named vice mayor. Leaving the council are Trinity Donovan, and Jeff Weninger, both of whom were termed out after serving eight years. Weninger was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in District 17. To represent the city properly, Tibshraeny visits with the councilmembers and then the first week of February, they schedule a retreat where they discuss ideas and collaborate. “We set some goals and work so that we see that we’re on the same page to make Chandler a better community,” Tibshraeny says. Although he’s looking forward to his time as vice mayor, Hartke is excited about being re-elected by Chandler citizens. It will be a challenging term nonetheless.
NEW COUNCIL: The new City Council is, back row from left, Councilwoman Nora Ellen, Vice Mayor Kevin Hartke, Councilman Terry Roe and Councilman Rene Lopez. Seated from left are Councilman Jack Sellers, Mayor Jay Tibshraeny and Councilman Rick Heumann. Submitted photo
“The biggest challenge this next year is going to see how we can continue to work with the legislature concerning budget issues,” he adds. “The state is dealing with their issues. It’ll be (interesting) to see what this means to the cities.” He sees the budget as an “ongoing
issue” but is thrilled about the downtown development. “I’m very excited to see what that looks like,” Hartke says. “With our new developer in place, and things that are happening on the Price Corridor that will unfold this year, it should be a very promising year for Chandler.”
Tibshraeny agrees that a big challenge is the legislature, which recently started its new session. “That’s one of the bigger challenges facing us in the first six months of the year,” he says. “Over the last few years, they’ve continued to nick away at us and take away things that we do and we do very well. I’m very concerned about what direction they’ll head this year.” Tibshraeny is optimistic about downtown development, but the focal point of his efforts is getting into the neighborhoods and working with citizens to strengthen the neighborhoods. “That’s been a key part of what I’ve been doing the last few years,” he explains. For Lopez, the swearing-in ceremony was the formal beginning of a new chapter for him. He was enthusiastic after winning the election and witnessing the support he received from Chandler voters. He says he feels that the “good people” of Chandler and the City staff are on the same page. “The council and the mayor and City staff—the leadership—is a reflection of the character of Chandler’s voters,” he says. “They’re a great group of people. There are a lot of great constituents out there and they expect a lot from their leadership. This leadership has SEE CITY
COUNCIL PAGE 4
New economic development Ocotillo Plaza re-emerges with director seeks to continue City’s fresh look and new owner momentum BY CURT BLAKENEY
BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
Micah Miranda has only been on the job as Chandler’s economic development director since Dec. 29, but the expectations are high. Filling the role left vacant by Christine Mackay’s departure to the City of Phoenix, Miranda has seen the future of downtown Chandler start to take shape with the unveiling of plans for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and the debut of a New Year’s Eve event. “I need to continue the momentum,” Miranda admits. “Chandler has had a tremendous amount of success over the
past 10 years, and we want to keep that moving forward as quickly and steadily as possible. I want to continue marketing Chandler, continue the momentum around the Price Corridor, and draw additional development out by the airport. Those are our major priorities, as well as downtown development.” The former City of Maricopa economic development director, Miranda says that Mackay’s departure left a true opportunity. Mayor Jay Tibshraeny agrees. “We’re optimistic that he’s going to SEE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PAGE 5
WHAT IS YOUR HOME WORTH TODAY? SEE PAGE 18
One of the most prominent shopping centers in the Ocotillo area is undergoing a facelift and in the process its management company is hoping for a complete revitalization. Ocotillo Plaza, located at the northwest corner of Alma School and Queen Creek roads, is vital to the area’s economic well-being and its residents’ quality of life. The mostly vacant shopping center, originally built in 1986, is largely controlled by Phoenix-based De Rito Opportunity Investors, which purchased the property in July 2013 for $13.6 million from a California firm. At the time of sale, Ocotillo Plaza
was only 29 percent leased. De Rito executives then began rolling up their sleeves to formulate a plan for success. They hired Phoenix-based RKAA Architects to design exterior modifications, a refreshing of the façade to incorporate a Santa Barbarastyle look with antique white and black metal detailing. That cosmetic makeover is underway now and is expected to be completed within weeks. De Rito also submitted plans for the addition of two drive-thrus, which is awaiting City approval. They are expecting to begin construction in late April or early May.
F E AT U R E STO R I E S Keep Your Resolutions with Chandler Parks and Rec . . . . . . .COMMUNITY . . . . . . . . . . Page 8 Carol Royse Team offers 30-plus years of success . . . . . . . . . .BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 17 Phoenix Boys Choir expands to East Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .YOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 25 Mimita’s Cuban Café a nice intro to Cuban food . . . . . . . . . . .NEIGHBORS . . . . . . . . . . . Page 41 Tap into inner Rembrandt at art fundraiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 53
CLIP-IT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Center Section
SEE OCOTILLO PLAZA PAGE 11
More Community . . . . . . 1-16 Business . . . . . . . .17-24 Youth. . . . . . . . . . .25-34 Opinion. . . . . . . . 39-40 Neighbors. . . . . . . 41-52 Arts . . . . . . . . . . . 53-60 Spirituality . . . . . .61-63 Directory . . . . . . 64-65 Classifieds. . . . . . 66-67 Where to eat . . . 68-70