Peoria Focus Online - 2008, Issue 2

Council Highlights

January 

• Authorized $98,759 for trail design and construction at West Wing Mountain.
• Adopted “character area plans” for county islands near Acoma Drive and Pinnacle Peak that offer guidelines for planning and zoning in the areas should their residents choose to join the city.
• Awarded a $1.7 million contract for design and preconstruction services related to the renovation of City Hall and replacement of critical building systems (such as cooling, heating and fire alarms) that have reached the end of their reliable lifespan.
• Awarded a $1.1 million contract for design and preconstruction services related to the two-level, 17,000-square-foot expansion of the Municipal Court building.

February 

• Accepted a $3,300 county grant for Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) equipment and a $17,000 grant from Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. for the restoration of the 1929 Chevrolet fire engine used nearly 80 years ago in the then-unincorporated community of Peoria. Once it is fully restored, the antique fire engine will be used at school and community events to promote fire prevention and safety education.
• Authorized “residential traffic-control areas” in the Westgreen Estates, Legacy Estates and Alta Loma neighborhoods. This is an important step in the city’s process for considering neighborhood traffic-control measures under the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program.
• Discussed Peoria’s priorities for the 2008 legislative and congressional sessions. Issues included the state budget, taxes, development rights and Luke Air Force Base.
• Approved $7.7 million for construction of a branch library in northern Peoria. The 22,000-square-foot facility, to be located near 98^th Avenue and Lake Pleasant Parkway, will replace the “shared use” branch library at Sunrise Mountain High School.
• Agreed to seek a state grant to pay for a Fire Department boat at Lake Pleasant so that firefighters would not have to borrow a privately owned craft to provide offshore fire protection or medical assistance.
• Awarded a $556,851 contract for relocation and renovation of the Peoria Women’s Club building from Osuna Park to the southeast corner of 84^th Avenue and Jefferson Street, where it will become part of Peoria’s future Historic Square.
• Awarded a $2.2 million contract for improvement of two sound walls along Lake Pleasant Parkway, adjacent to the Parkridge and Ironwood subdivisions.

March 

• Authorized an agreement with the Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department to cooperate on construction of a multimodal section of the Maricopa Regional Trail in Peoria. The proposed trail would enter the city from the west, parallel to but south of Happy Valley Road. Just west of Lake Pleasant Parkway, it would turn north and run to Carefree Highway (SR-74).
• Approved a $650,000 contract for renovation of Clarence B. Hayes Park at 75^th Avenue and Mountain View Road in southeastern Peoria.
• Authorized $89,450 for trail construction at Calderwood Butte Mountain northwest of 99^th Avenue and Jomax Road within the Tierra del Rio development.
• Approved a $683,363 contract the overlay of rubberized asphalt on Bell Road from the New River bridge, just west of Loop 101, to the city limits at approximately 95^th Avenue.

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