Chief pitches pricey lab
Helping mothers beat drugs
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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
This Week
Town considering new shortterm trental regulations.
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Gilbert water, trash pickup rates going up BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
NEWS................................ 8
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE OF GILBERT) | GilbertSunNews.com
R
esidential and commercial customers in Gilbert are likely to pay more to dump their trash and use their water come April. For 90 percent of the town’s residents the monthly bill for water, sewer and trash is proposed to increase to $78 from $67. “It’s still very low,” said Eric Braun, assistant public works director at last week’s twoday Town Council retreat. The town currently ranks the lowest of 12 Valley cities such as Mesa, Chandler and
Scottsdale for what residents pay for water, sewer and trash pickup. With the proposed increase, Gilbert would be the second lowest. Braun said a hike in water rates was needed in order to pay off planned bond debt to fund the replacement of the North Water Treatment Plant and to cover the increasing construction costs for capital projects. The plant, which can pump up to 45 million gallons of drinking water daily, is currently in the design phase. Non-resident customers would see their current monthly bill of $125 to $1,117 increase to $146 to $1,502 – depending on factors such as how much water is used.
Vice Mayor Yung Koprowski asked if there was a risk of property owners and businesses letting their landscape die because of the proposed higher rates for that use. “What we have seen quite frequently with those large-landscape users is that there is a lot of room for them to conserve water and still maintain that landscape,” Braun said. “They have put a significant investment into those landscapes. “A $300-a-month increase for a very, very large half a million gallons, that’s a large landscape. Those trees on that property are val-
see RATES page 10
Gilbert celebrates past, future next weekend
BUSINESS................ 24 Local stylists try to stay a cut above.
SPORTS...................... 26 Williams Field duffers are kings of the green.
COMMUNITY....................................... 19 BUSINESS.............................................24 SPORTS..................................................26 GETOUT.................................................28 CLASSIFIED......................................... 30
BY SRIANTHI PERERA GSN Contributor
A
fter skipping a year because of the pandemic, Gilbert Days is back. The Town of Gilbert’s celebration of its western heritage – a time when horse ranches, dairy farms, agriculture and the rodeo lifestyle were mainstays – has different venues this year. The Gilbert Days Rodeo, organized by Gilbert Promotional Corporation, will be held Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 1821, at Queen Creek’s Horseshoe Park and Equestrian Centre. The Gilbert Days Parade, organized by the Town, will be held Saturday morning, Nov. 20, along Gilbert Road. The Gilbert Half Marathon and 10K events will follow the parade at Higley High School. And a family-friendly music festival takes place from Friday and Saturday, Nov. 19-20, at Gilbert Regional Park. Paige Nelson, vice president of GPC, said the main reason for moving the rodeo venue from Welcome Home Ranch in southeast Gilbert to Horseshoe Park is more room.
see GILBERT DAYS page 3
Cowgirls Historical Foundation members include Taryn Brady Hale, Kelsee Brady Bradshaw, Kennadee Riggs, Shanda Brady Riggs and Marjon Brady Brown, seen here with the late founder Julee Brady, who is standing on the ground. Julee Brady passed away last year and the foundation will be paying tribute to her during the Friday evening session of the Gilbert Days Rodeo. (Courtesy of Marjon Brady Brown)
