I am pleased to announce that City Council recently approved the funding for the Surprise Neighborhood Grant Program. This program provides funding to eligible neighborhoods for neighborhood functions, community improvements and events. This program also allows City Council to foster partnership with our local neighborhoods.
All applications are due on Monday, September 27 at 5 p.m. For more information on how to apply please, visit surpriseaz.gov/NGP.
Surprise Mayor’s Exhibit: A Tribute To Our Heroes
West Valley Arts Council, in partnership with The Vista Center for the Arts and Ground Floor Artists, is working on an inaugural Surprise Mayor’s Exhibit. The theme, “A Tribute To Our Heroes,” marks the 20th anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11 and aims to reflect on how the heroes of this day have shaped, and continue to shape, our nation into one of support, togetherness, and collective endurance. Individual artists are invited to submit works thematically tied to the events of September 11, 2001 and/or works remembering and celebrating those who gave their lives through heroic acts. I have the honor of jurying the exhibit, along with a panel of partners and community members.
The exhibit opens September 3, 2021 at The Vista Center for the Arts, 15660 N. Parkview Place in Surprise, and will coincide with performances to be held at this location through November 11, 2021. For more information on how to submit an entry, please visit westvalleyartscouncil.submittable.com/submit.
General Obligation Bond Update
City of Surprise voters approved the General Obligation (G.O.) Bond in November 2017. All 10 of the voter-approved projects are expected to be complete by the end of 2021. The city has already completed Fire Station 304, the Public Works Operations Facility, improvements to Waddell and Litchfield roads, and the majority of the pavement preservation.
The new Public Safety Evidence & Readiness Center will be able to support additional space for police evidence and property storage and accommodate overall public safety tactical storage in one logistics center. The facility will be 29,000 square feet and is designed to accommodate 30 years of growth. Construction began in November 2020 and is expected to be complete in fall 2021.
We are modifying an existing city building on the same site as the Public Safety Evidence and Readiness Center to create a Police Training Facility. The building will accommodate a defensive tactics room, firearms simulation room, classroom, locker rooms and other support spaces. This project is expected to be complete in fall 2021.
To meet the growing service call demand, a new Fire Station 308 is being built on city-owned land located on the southeast corner of Litchfield Rd. and Cactus Rd. Construction began in December 2020 and is expected to be completed in late 2021.
Greenway Road improvements, from Cotton Ln. to Sarival Ln., are expected to be completed by the end of August 2021, weather permitting. Work is underway to add two more travel lanes, turn lanes, bicycle lanes, and sidewalks. A traffic light is now operational at Greenway Rd. and Northwest Ranch Pkwy.
City staff is in the process of exploring potential options for a local park in the southwest region of the city, as well as acquiring 16 acres of land for a shared Police Substation and Fire Station. For more information on the G.O. Bond, please visit surpriseaz.gov/DecideSurprise.
SK Lounge Ribbon Cutting
On July 9, I attended the ribbon cutting for SK Lounge, along with other councilmembers and Dennis Tran, owner of SK Lounge and Saigon Kitchen. SK Lounge is located at 14071 W Bell Rd.
Safe Digging Day
National Safe Digging Day is August 11th, and it’s a great time to brush up on tips for safe digging. Natural gas, electricity, sewer and water utility lines can be buried anywhere underground, so it’s important to know before you dig. Striking one of these lines poses a safety risk and can also cause an interruption of service to customers.
The City of Surprise encourages you to call 811 or visit arizona811.com two full working days prior to digging to request a utility line locate.
Drop-off recycling is available at the Public Works North Yard, located at 17274 N Litchfield Road. Hours of operation are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Accepted materials are:
Plastic bottles #1 and #2 (including milk gallons, soda bottles, condiment bottles, water bottles, shampoo bottles, and detergent containers). Please be sure to screw all lids on the bottles or remove them completely
Cardboard
Aluminum and tin cans
A city staff member will be present to assist in sorting recyclable materials and help ensure the recyclables are not contaminated. Please ensure your recyclables are clean and dry. Residents are encouraged to arrive to the recycling center with their recyclable materials pre-sorted to help expedite the process. For more information, please visit surpriseaz.gov/dropoffrecycling.
Council Conversations Show
Please take a moment to view my new Council Conversations show, where I interview new City of Surprise Police Chief, Benny Pina, and former Police Chief and current Assistant City Manager, Terry Young. We had a great discussion about the policies and practices that keep our Surprise Police Department operating at a standard of excellence. To watch, please visit https://bit.ly/2TtEb1z
City Council Meetings
The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting will be August 17 at 6 p.m. Please join us in-person or tune in on surpriseaz.gov/surprisetv, the Surprise City Gov Facebook page at facebook.com/cityofsurprise, or Cox channel 11.
