Town slammed for error
Ball players’ Higley paradise
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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
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This Week
NEWS................................ 8 2nd injury alleged on concrete slide.
Sunday, April 17, 2022
Gilbert’s legal costs soar amid complaints BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
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he Town Attorney’s budget for outside legal help is increasing by about 61% largely due to fending off a legal challenge to last year’s bond election and investigating multiple claims against the mayor. Council voted 4-0 April 12 to transfer $175,000 from the General Fund to the legal services budget to ensure there’s money for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends June 30. The budget now goes to $460,000 from $285,000. “This is an item where we are asking for contingency funds to be used in legal mat-
ters with the town,” Councilman Scott Anderson said. “My concern is while I’m one of the strongest proponents of the right of citizens to bring grievances to their elected officials as guaranteed by the Constitution, I think there is also responsibility when you do that to try and work out those grievances without costing either side a lot of money,” Anderson continued. “And it doesn’t seem to be the case here, where we are asking for a budget to be expanded by $285,000 up to almost a half million to cover legal expenses.” Anderson said each year the Town surveys residents for their priorities and for a number of years, the top items include pub-
Massive industrial project riles Gilbert homeowners
lic safety and improvements to the transportation infrastructure. “In this case, where we are being asked to now add to our legal budget by $175,000,” he said, “I just wanted our citizens to understand that it equates to something similar to three police cruiser that we could have bought, one or two positions in the police and fire departments that we could have funded, several intersection improvements that could have been made. “We also have several turn lanes and safety congestion improvements at different intersections that could have been done with this $175,000.”
Gilbert sizzler
see LEGAL page 8
BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
BUSINESS..................15 New Gilbert eatery also is a market.
COMMUNITY........................................12 BUSINESS..............................................15 SPORTS..................................................28 PUZZLE..................................................29 CLASSIFIEDS........................................31
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alley developer Creation RE and its partner J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives want to build six industrial buildings totaling over 1.4 million square feet on 94 acres at the northeast corner of Lindsay and Germann roads – and neighbors claim that would clog the roadways with semitrucks. In order to build Lindsay 202, Gilbert officials would need to approve a major General Plan amendment and a rezone application to convert the land to light industrial from business park. “Our backyards look into the site,” said Tarah Gramza, a nurse who lives in the Copperleaf neighborhood across Germann Road from the project site. “There’re 350 homes locat-
see LINDSAY page 6
Starting pitcher Zach Davies is giving Gilbert baseball fans an extra reason to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks:Though born in Washington State, he was raised in Gilbert and went from Mesquite High into the MLB in 2011. Read about his journey on page 12. (Courtesy Arizona Diamondbacks)