East Valley Business - 06.26.2022

east valley

Volume 4 Issue 50 Mesa, AZ

June 26, 2022

Hans Van Dan Elzen isn’t just a master yo-yo player. He also owns the YoYo Factory in Chandler – the nation’s largest seller of a toy invented in the mid-19th century. (Ken Sain/Tribune Staff)

EV �irm plays big role in Mesa yo-yo contest

BY KEN SAIN Tribune Staff Writer

A

IN THE BIZ

sk the owner of the nation’s largest yo-yo factory how’s business and he’ll likely give you a pun.

“You know, it’s a business that has its ups Public Notices ............... page 3 © Copyright, 2022 East Valley Tribune

and downs,” Hans Van Dan Elzen said. He owns the Chandler-based YoYo Factory, at 155 E. Chilton Drive, Suite 101 in Chandler, which sells the most yo-yos in the U.S. While the pun may induce groans, it’s accurate. Van Dan Elzen said his business tends to go in cycles where it becomes (USPS 004-616) is published weekly

Mailing Address: 1620 W. Fountainhead Pkwy., Suite 219, Tempe, AZ 85282

(480) 898-6500 Steven Strickbine, publisher Paul Maryniak, executive editor

really popular, but then people set them aside for something else for a few years.

Right now, yo-yos are thriving.

The National Yo-Yo Championships are returning for the first time since 2019 and are winding up today, June 26, in Mesa.

There was no championship event in 2020 Subscriptions are $26 for 2 years, $14 for one year.

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or 2021 because of the pandemic.

Arizona was the scheduled stop in 2020 before the event was canceled. One of the reasons this area was chosen is because of the YoYo Factory and its success.

Van Dan Elzen says he has visitors stop by his factory all the time, and in fact had to add a little retail area so they could buy some products. He welcomes the visitors, and he or one of his demonstrators will happily teach anyone some tricks if they have a little time.

“If you do come for a visit plan to spend like a half hour and learn some tricks,” he said. “If you bring 30 people, we can’t handle it, but if you bring five, yeah, definitely.”

Van Dan Elzen says his yo-yos cost between $5 and $450. He said he refused to sell any for less than $5 because the quality would be so poor it would be unlikely that a person would enjoy using it.

The $450 yo-yo is made of titanium and will spark when you do the “walk the dog” trip.

Visitors in May, if they come at the right time, might even get to see a demonstration from the current world champion, Gentry Stein of Germany. He’s been hanging out at the YoYo Factory.

Van Dan Elzen said he got into yo-yos when he was 15 when he was living in Detroit. He liked the toy, but it fell apart

pretty quickly. That led him to pursue better made yo-yos. He found a company in Tucson that made high-quality yo-yos. He kept buying them, and then reselling them to his friends.

Soon, he was being called into the office at his school.

“I created a craze,” Van Dan Elzen said.

“My vice principal said he wasn’t upset with me, but he said Hans, look, you got to stop what you’re doing because this is causing a major disruption. The janitor is not sweeping the floors. The gym teacher is not teaching gym. He’s just playing with yo-yos. It’s got to stop.”

The vice-principal did arrange for a demonstrator to help Hans learn how to teach others, something he’s been doing ever since. He moved to Arizona and attended Arizona State University, and would teach others how to yo-yo on the weekends.

“They paid me in string,” he said. “That didn’t put gas in the car, but, you know.”

He was working with the Tucson company and it sold 18 million yo-yos from 1996 through 2001. That had the company second in the U.S. But, the ups and downs of the yo-yo business hit after 2001 with a severe downturn. The Tucson business closed.

Van Dan Elzen invented a new yo-yo in

2003, the Fast 201. He teamed up with Hasbro and sold millions. That’s when he started his own business. His company has been at its current location since 2012.

Van Dan Elzen said the precision required for modern yo-yos is extreme.

“Twelve-year-olds are very demanding in the precision when they spent $100,” Van Dan Elzen said.

He sought out engineers in top tech companies trying to solve the problem, which would allow someone to spin a yo-yo on their skin without vibrating.

“I had to interact with the aerospace industry. Finally, one shop in Tucson, they took on the challenge. At first, they said it can’t be done. I said, ‘What do you mean, it can’t be done?’ They said it’s too expensive. And I said, what’s expensive? What if I just said I’ll pay it, you know. And so we had a big breakthrough, just by demanding precision. And now we set the standard. Yo-yos are precise now.”

The National Yo-Yo Championships was expected to draw between 100 and 200 competitors. They are all top-level players and will compete in five categories

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Public Notice CITY OF MESA PUBLIC NOTICE The Mesa City Council will hold a public hearing concerning the following ordinance at the July 5, 2022, City Council meeting beginning at 5:45 p.m. in the Mesa City Council Chambers, 57 East First Street.

1. Amending Title 2, Chapter 3 of the Mesa City Code pertaining to the Judicial Advisory Board to include an additional process for appointing City Magistrates.

Dated at Mesa, Arizona, this 26th day of June 2022.

Holly Moseley, City Clerk Published in the East Valley Tribune June 26, 2022 / 47462

Public Notice

CITY OF MESA MESA, ARIZONA WASTEWATER MANHOLE REHABILITATION PHASE 13 PROJECT NO. CP0600RE20 ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that sealed bids will be received until Thursday, July 14, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. All sealed bids will be received electronically at EngineeringBids@ mesaaz.gov Bids must be submitted as an unencrypted PDF attachment with a maximum size limit of 20MB. Any bid received after the time specified will be returned without any •consideration.

480-699-2754 info@monsoonroofinginc.com This contract shall be for furnishing all labor, materials, 10% Discount for Ahwatukee Residents transportation and services for the construction and/or installation of 100% NO Leak Guarantee the fol-lowing work: The & Roofing ContractorRepairs shall be Re-Roof responsible for rehabilitation of 125 wastewater manholes. The scope of Tile, & Flat preparation, Roof workShingles includes surface installation of corrosion resistant coating on 108 manholes, structural inserts at 9 manholes, spot repairs of –corrosion on 7 Licensed Bonded –resistant Insured –coating ROC187561 manholes, Predl thermoplastic line system on 1 manhole and other work as necessary for completion of the project. All work shall be installed in accordance with the project Contract Documents including Table 1, Project Specific Provisions and Technical Specifications.

The use of flow through tubes (or bypass pumping) will be required at all manholes for completion of the work within this project.

The Engineer’s Estimate range is $1.65M - $1.85M. For all technical, contract, bidrelated, or other questions, please contact Stephanie Gishey at stephanie.gishey@mesaaz.gov.

Contact with City Employees.

All firms interested in this project (including the firm’s employees, representatives, agents, lobbyists, attorneys, and subconsultants) will refrain, under penalty of disqualification, from direct or indirect contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the selection process. This policy is intended to create a level playing field for all potential firms, to assure

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call 480-644-2251 prior to arriving to ensure that the documents are available for viewing.

In order for the City to consider alternate products in the bidding process, please follow Arizona Revised Statutes §34.104c.

If a pre-bid review of the site has been scheduled, details can be referenced in Project Specific Provision Section #3, titled “Pre-Bid Review of Site.”

Work shall be completed within 486 consecutive calendar days, beginning with the day following the starting date specified in the Notice to Proceed.

Bids must be submitted on the Proposal Form provided and be accompanied by the Bid Bond for not less than ten percent (10%) of the total bid, payable to the City of Mesa, Arizona, or a certified or cashier's check. PERSONAL OR INDIVIDUAL SURETY BONDS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. The successful bidder will be required to execute the standard form of contract for construction within ten (10) days after formal award of contract. In addition, the successful bidder must be registered in the City of Mesa Vendor Self-Service (VSS) System

that contract decisions are made in public, and to protect the integrity of the selection process. All contact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized representative identified above.

Contractors desiring to submit proposals may purchase sets of the Bid Documents from ARC Document Solutions, LLC, at https://order.e-arc.com/arcEOC/ PWELL_Main.asp?mem=29. Click on “Go” for the Public Planroom to access plans. NOTE: In order to be placed on the Plan Holders List and to receive notifications and updates regarding this bid (such as addenda) during the bidding period, an order must be placed. The cost of each Bid Set will be no more than $14.00, which is non-refundable.

Partial bid packages are not sold.

You can view documents on-line (at no cost), order Bid Sets, and access the Plan Holders List on the website at the address listed above. Please verify print lead time prior to arriving for pick-up. For a list of locations nearest you, go to www.e-arc.com.

One set of the Contract Documents is also available for viewing at the City of Mesa’s Engineering Department at 20 East Main Street, Mesa, AZ. Please

( h tt p : / / m e s a a z . g ov / bu s i n e s s / purchasing/vendor-self-service).

The successful bidder, simultaneously with the execution of the Contract, will be required to furnish a Payment Bond in the amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price, a Performance Bond in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price, and the most recent ACORD® Certificate of Liability Insurance form with additional insured endorsements.

The right is hereby reserved to accept or reject any or all bids or parts thereto, to waive any informalities in any proposal and reject the bids of any persons who have been delinquent or unfaithful to any contract with the City of Mesa.

BETH HUNING City Engineer ATTEST: Holly Moseley City Clerk Published: East Valley Tribune, Jun 19, 26, 2022 / 47373

Public Notices

Truth in Taxation Hearing Notice of Tax Increase In compliance with §15-905.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, Mesa Unified School District is notifying its property taxpayers of Mesa Unified School District’s intention to raise its primary property taxes over the current level to pay for increased expenditures in those areas where the Governing Board has the authority to increase property taxes for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022. The Mesa Unified School District is proposing an increase in its primary property tax levy of $2,900,000.

The amount proposed above will cause Mesa Unified School District’s primary property taxes on a $100,000 home to be $32.22. Without the tax increase, the total taxes that would be owed would have been $24.56.

These amounts proposed are above the qualifying tax levies as prescribed by state law, if applicable. The increase is also exclusive of any changes that may occur from property tax levies for voter approved bonded indebtedness or budget and tax overrides.

FIND YOUR PASSION

All interested citizens are invited to attend the public hearing on the proposed tax increase scheduled to be held July 12, 2022 at 5pm at the Curriculum Services Center at 549 N. Stapley Dr. Building #2 Mesa, AZ 85203

EAST VALLEY BUSINESS

Published: East Valley Tribune, June 26, 2022/ 47393

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FIND YOUR JUNE 26, 2022

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