Northern Pinal County updates shared at Pinal Partnership’s March breakfast

By Melissa Johnson | Pinal Partnership

The panel at the March Pinal Partnership breakfast, left to right: Apache Junction Mayor Jeff Serdy, Chairman Todd House, Supervisor Mike Goodman, Jordan Rose

At Pinal Partnership’s March breakfast, our speakers dialed in on Northern Pinal County, and attendees heard the latest updates on the Apache Junction, Gold Canyon and San Tan Valley regions. The panel consisted of Chairman Todd House, Supervisor Mike Goodman and Apache Junction Mayor Jeff Serdy. The discussion was moderated by Jordan Rose, Chair of the Pinal Partnership Board of Directors.

Supervisor Goodman shared an update on San Tan Valley’s incorporation efforts. Goodman believes a portion of San Tan Valley should be incorporated, while he also empathizes with Queen Creek’s planning area, as he does serve as their Supervisor, using the analogy of being San Tan Valley’s Mayor while the Board of Supervisors serves as their city council. Currently, he is working to bring San Tan Valley a library through partnerships with Florence Unified School District and Poston Butte High School. When Jordan Rose asked where in his district we should all go to visit once the transportation corridors are complete, Goodman answered the Regional Park and San Tan Flats.

Mayor Serdy explained that rather than seeing Apache Junction, he sees the “Superstition Region,” which includes Apache Junction and Gold Canyon. He would like to see State Trust Land start selling off smaller pieces rather than holding onto large areas as they currently do. When the topic moved to transportation, he said he has a gentleman’s agreement with Queen Creek regarding the development of SR24, but it’s important to keep San Tan Valley engaged in the discussion as they are players in the region. Serdy boasted that Apache Junction only uses 50% of their water capacity with recent growth to their water utility, so there is room for the city to double.

Chairman Todd House shared updates from his recent trip to Washington D.C., saying that at its current

pace the White House will take 100 years to fill the administration. He then zoomed in on Pinal County sharing that only 13% of his district, District 5, is privately held and 8% is already built, while the rest belongs to State Trust Land or Bureau of Land Management. House went on to say there isn’t a director for BLM, so we’re stuck, but State Trust Land Director, Lisa Atkins is happy because new transportation corridors are coming to the county.

Note: Article was compiled using live tweets from the event. Thank you to attendees, including Tisha Castillo, Mayor Mila Besich-Lira and United Way of Pinal County.