Dec. 17, 2016 - Jan. 6, 2017 www.SanTanSun.com
Celebrating Chandler in 2016: Year in review the annual Multi-Cultural Festival at a new location, the Chandler Fashion Center. Hundreds of residents and shoppers attended, exposing the cultural event to new people.
BY THE CHANDLER COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
This year was a banner one for Chandler. Let’s look back at the highlights that defined 2016.
January The year kicked off with an invitation to the community to participate in an important series of public meetings to discuss Chandler’s draft general plan. The general plan is one of the most important documents for a city as it outlines future growth and development. The Chandler City Council unanimously voted during its Jan. 14 meeting to elect Councilman Jack Sellers as the City’s new vice mayor for about one year. Ryan Peters was selected as the City’s new intergovernmental affairs coordinator. Peters has more than 10 years of municipal public policy and state legislative experience. He came to Chandler from the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, for which he had served as a legislative associate to represent all 91 cities and towns in Arizona. The City Council adopted an Adaptive Reuse Overlay District to facilitate the reuse of existing underperforming/underutilized retail buildings and properties.
During the Chandler Science Spectacular, Orbital ATK encouraged kids to complete a passport to becoming a rocket scientist. It’s a fun way to educate kids about science.
The City Council also approved the expansion of Chandler Fire, Health & Medical Department’s Fire Training Center Burn Building, located at the Fire
Training Center on South Dobson Road. A construction contract was awarded to Danson Construction LLC. The City’s Diversity Office hosted
February During his annual State of City Address, Mayor Jay Tibshraeny detailed Chandler’s many successes and important topics from the past year, including economic development, quality of life, public safety and transparency in government. Tibshraeny said, “Chandler continues to add programs, services and events that open up government to our residents and stakeholders.” The mayor also highlighted the City’s financial standing, budget process and community relationships. Chandler was proud to announce that State Forty Eight LLC, a maker of Arizona-themed and -inspired apparel, has found its first permanent home in North Chandler. Another great event that took place in February was a free live stream of TED2016 conference sessions at the Chandler Public Library. The Downtown see
CELEBRATING page 4
Orbital ATK expands launch-vehicle Republican legislative leaders division operations in Chandler oppose state income tax elimination BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
The Chandler City Council agreed to reimburse Orbital ATK for hiring and relocation expenses for 500 new employees, and electrical-system enhancements not to exceed $1.08 million so the company can establish an engineering operations center in the city. The governing body’s decision was made during its Dec. 8 meeting. This solidifies the expansion announcement made by Gov. Doug Ducey, Mayor Jay Tibshraeny and the aerospace and defense technology firm Orbital ATK. The Chandler location will house the launch vehicles division operations. Orbital ATK will move to the Allred Park Place along Chandler’s Price Corridor, known for being home to leading edge companies focused on advanced business services, aerospace, life sciences,
sustainable and high technology research and manufacturing. “Orbital ATK has a 30-year history of designing and building rockets in Chandler, Arizona,” said Rich Straka, Orbital ATK’s vice president and general manager of launch vehicles division. “Our launch vehicles deliver commercial and government payloads into orbit, including critical supplies to the crew aboard the International Space Station. We also build missile defense interceptor and target vehicles that are critical to the nation’s security. This cooperative agreement with the state of Arizona and City of Chandler helps ensure we have the room to support those vital programs for our country.” The building will add 46,000 square feet of office space to Orbital see
ORBITAL ATK page 7
Chandler’s Real Estate Team
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See WHY on page 18
BY HOWARD FISCHER CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
Don’t look for the Republican-controlled Legislature to vote this coming year—or in the near future—to eliminate the state income tax. Eliminating the state levy was the centerpiece of Tempe Republican Frank Schmuck’s unsuccessful campaign for the senate seat in Legislative District 18, which includes part of Chandler. Schmuck lost that race to Ahwatukee Democrat Sean Bowie, who said after the election he didn’t think Schmuck’s platform resonated with voters. It’s not resonating with Schmuck’s party in the legislature. Incoming House Speaker J.D. Mesnard of Chandler said he wants to focus on creating a single-rate income tax, collapsing the current system of five tax brackets into one. But it would not technically be a “flat
tax” because Mesnard proposes to have sufficient tax credits to ensure that those at the bottom of the income scale do not end up paying more. Chandler Sen. Steve Yarbrough, the new Senate President, has a different agenda. In fact, he likes the idea that Arizona has an income tax. The reason is that Yarbrough has been a champion of providing dollar-for-dollar state income tax credits to people who contribute to charities as well as to “school choice” programs. That includes one where the donated funds are given to parents for scholarships to send their children to private and parochial schools. Yarbrough runs the Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization, the largest of the groups that benefits from and gives out those credits. No income tax means no tax
F E AT U R E STO R I E S SRP board approves $40M price decrease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . community . . . . . . Page 12 Washington Federal celebrates 15 years in Chandler . . . . . . . . business . . . . . . . . . . Page 21 Giovanni Zoppé rejuvenates his circus with new ringmaster . youth . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 29 Vintage 95 Wine Lounge celebrates five-year anniversary . . . neighbors . . . . . . . . Page 41 Trans-Siberian Orchestra celebrates 20 years of performances . arts . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 57
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TAXES page 8
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