Candidates reach 1st finish line
Son mourns virus victim
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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
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NEWS. .............................. 4 Gilbert nurses hits the front lines of virus war.
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE OF GILBERT) | GilbertSunNews.com
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Gilbert accuses firm of $250K bait-and-switch BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
G
ilbert is accusing a sign company of bait-and-switch on the aluminum panels it sold the town at a cost of nearly $250,000 for crowd-scene graphics on the outfield walls of Cactus Yards. Sierra Signs in Mesa says the material it used was just as good, if not better than, the Dibond aluminum composite paneling the town requested and claimed Gilbert was looking for a “windfall.” “They need to pay us the difference or pay us whole or get us the Dibond,” said Councilman Jared Taylor. “That is what we bought. We should get what we bought. I disagree with their assertion it’s the same
quality. It’s not the same quality and the taxpayers will have to cough up more money when the signs deteriorate.” Taylor’s concerns with Sierra Signs date back to December 2018. when he and thenCouncilman Victor Petersen voted against the $248,508 contract for the grandstand graphics. Having purchased two smaller signs made with Dibond months earlier for his own business, Taylor said he had a rough idea of the cost and knew “something was off” with Sierra Sign’s quote. He wanted staff to do more research and delay the Council vote but the town was under a time crunch to re-open Cactus Yards in February 2019 after a 19-month closure for extensive fixes.
Business rent relief mired in uncertainty
And, staff had assured him they were comfortable moving forward after having called around on the pricing, which also included design and installation. “Nobody could match that price when they called around,” Taylor said, noting the staff has no sign experts. He said the reason why no one could match Sierra Signs’ bid was because the company switched the top-of-the-line Dibond with a lesser-quality material. “We bought a Ferrari and got a Yugo,” Taylor said. The original graphics at Cactus Yards’ eight scaled-down pro-baseball fields were deteriorated, printed on vinyl tarps that
Victim remembered
see SIGNS page 6
BY PAUL MARYNIAK GSN Executive Editor And HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services
BUSINESS................. 16 Gilbert Realtor sees homeowner hope.
COMMUNITY....................................... 14 BUSINESS..............................................15
SPORTS...................................................21
PUZZLE.................................................. 22 DATRI.....................................................23
CLASSIFIED..........................................24
S
aying some landlords are weighing evictions, Gov. Doug Ducey last week ordered judges around the state to immediately suspend such legal actions against commercial tenants affected by the pandemic. But a major Valley strip mall owner and others fear that may not offer much of a lifeline to many struggling small businesses. Chandler Chamber CEO/President Terri Kimbel says that while Ducey’s order “is another tool in the toolbox” for businesses to use as they struggle to survive, it’s not a panacea. Noting that at least some landlords themselves also are up against the wall financially, she is urging Chandler businesses to open a dialogue now rather than later with their landlords.
see RENT page 7
Residents in the Liv Northgate community of Gilbert lit candles and mourned online for Kristie Bobbitt, an eighbor shot to death, allegedly by her ex-husband last week. Details: see page 8. (Facebook)