Queen Creek’s 2022 State of the Town was presented Feb. 10 in partnership with the Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce. Through the theme, I (Heart) QC, the Town Council and Chris Clark, chamber president/CEO, shared a series of the community’s accomplishments that align with the Town’s Corporate Strategic Plan.
The State of the Town, along with a complete list of the town’s 2021 accomplishments, are available online at QueenCreekAZ.gov/
Highlights of the milestones achieved over the past year include:
Quality lifestyle
- Broke ground on the Sonoqui Wash Trail extension and started the design for the Queen Creek Wash Trail extension.
- Approved funding for new park facilities including East Park and the remainder of Mansel Carter Oasis Park, and a multi-generational recreation center and an aquatics center, both at East Park.
- Downtown Development Manager Jennifer Lindley was recognized by the Arizona Association of Economic Development as the Economic Developer of the Year for a medium organization.
Secure future
- The town became the first municipality in the state to have a fully funded pension reserve, saving taxpayers nearly $2 million dollars annually.
- Started construction on two additional water storage tanks and acquired 55 acres of a former sand and gravel pit for future use as reclamation lakes for water treatment
- Fitch, a leader in bond ratings, affirmed the town’s "AA" rating for excise tax revenue bonds.
Superior infrastructure
Queen Creek continues to be committed to better roads ahead with progress on a number of major roadway improvements:
- The Rittenhouse Road improvements were completed, making Rittenhouse Road two lanes in each direction all the way through Queen Creek.
- In partnership with Pinal County, two new portions of the Meridian Road corridor broke ground – Queen Creek to Germann roads, and Germann Road to the State Route 24 extension.
- In partnership with Maricopa County, the widening of Ocotillo Road, from Signal Butte to Ironwood, broke ground.
- The Chandler Heights improvement project, from Sossaman to Power, and the Power Road improvement project, from brooks Farm to Chandler Heights, broke ground.
- The town issued nearly 1,950 single family home permits and $1 billion in construction value – ensuring quality and safe development that provides housing, residential and non-residential options for the community.
Safe community
- Substantial progress was made towards the launch of the Queen Creek Police Department (which took place on Jan. 11). Milestones include hiring more than 70 officers, recruits and support staff; outfitting more than 50 police vehicles; developing the department’s mission, vision and values; and continuing to build relationships with the community.
- The Queen Creek Fire and Medical Department broke ground on two permanent fire stations.
- In partnership with Vitalant, monthly blood drives resulted in a 65 percent in donations from 2020.
Effective government
- Volunteers contributed nearly 80,000 hours saving taxpayers approximately $2.2 million (based on IndependentSector.org’s 2021 average volunteer hour).
- Several town programs and efforts received local and national awards including HayQC, Camp Live, Play, Learn, the employee wellness program, the QC recycling event, and the law enforcement outreach.
- Continued community engagement with the launch of SeeClickFix and an increase in social media followers (Facebook surpassed 25,000 and Instagram surpassed 12,000).
To stay updated on news and events follow the town on Facebook.com/QueenCreek and Twitter.com/TownofQC. To report non-emergency issues and concerns, visit QueenCreekAZ.gov/SeeClickFix.
