2024 February InMaricopa Magazine

February 2024

www.InMaricopa.com

Sprouts of wrath How alfalfa farmers became enemies of the state

GOVERNMENT • COMMUNITY • BUSINESS • HOME • MORE

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CONTENTS

LEADING OFF Editor’s letter 4 Contributors 4 HISTORY Historic rest stop 6

This month in history 6 GOVERNMENT Why the city dumped its chamber of commerce 8 ADOT audit confirms local lawmaker’s fears 14 How alfalfa farmers became enemies of the state 20 Why businesses are cautious about coming to city 24 Permitting 25 BUSINESS Inside the Mexican food black market 28 Business briefs 30 Food inspections 32 COMMUNITY The child who triumphed over death 34 Hidden gems in Hidden Valley 38 Inside the Maricopa Wellness Center 42 EDUCATION Swedish student lives the American dream at MHS 44

HOME What to do before buying to rent 46 Extreme home sales 47 When it's time to buy a shed 48

EVENTS Calendar 54 Our Lady of Grace Festival 54 Art for the Heart 55 TRENDING A look at what’s hot on InMaricopa.com 63 PARTING SHOT Straight to the heavens 64

What to know when renting your home 49 Now's the time to start your veggie garden 50 SENIORS High school volleyball team accepts bus driver as honorary member 52

ON THE COVER Bryan Mordt captured Oliver Anderson examining the dry, dusty soil of his fallow fields off West Farrell Road. For the story, see page 20.

InMaricopa.com | February 2024

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FROM THE EDITOR

T The writing team here at InMaricopa nursed our holiday hangovers and put together a captivating issue chock full of thoughtful, well-researched articles. For a minute there, it felt like a miracle we were able to pull it off. This edition is full of little miracles. The new Maricopa Chamber of Commerce president, Isaac Jackson, tells me it’s “a miracle” the organization overcame years of extreme hardship despite its recent breakup with the city that might be a little messier than it seems. The February issue opens with my story about these recent developments. Later, you’ll read Justin Griffin’s tear- jerking story about a child’s miraculous recovery from a near-death experience that introduced her to angels and brought families together in a time of need. February might be the shortest month of the year, but that doesn't make our February magazine any shorter. We’ve packed a lot of punch in these pages. After all, sometimes shorter is better — like the line at a self-checkout or a fun-sized candy bar. And hey, it’s a leap year — that makes February 3.6% longer than usual. What will you do with all that extra time? Maybe check out the many hidden gems in the city’s rural outskirts. Brian Petersheim Jr. Will tell you about some of the most fascinating and whimsical places you can explore. February is the last cold month of winter here in Pinal County and that means tamales are still plentiful on Maricopa’s “black market” — Jeff Chew will tell you more about the people who make and sell them illegally. They’ve been fighting to overturn that law, but Gov. Katie Hobbs refuses to legalize selling the homemade

Miracle on 34(7) street

Publisher SCOTT BARTLE

Mexican treats. The governor has done plenty more to tick off Maricopans recently. After bragging about securing money to improve State Route 347, she cut that funding

Managing Editor ELIAS WEISS

Advertising Director VINCENT MANFREDI

and called it “wasteful spending.” Now, she’s trying to further restrict how much water our local alfalfa farmers can use on their already parched, fallow land. Monica D. Spencer’s centerpiece amplifies those farmers’ voices. Many in the city want a change in leadership, both in the governor’s office and on Capitol Hill. Arizona’s presidential primaries are next month, another reason

Advertising IRENE DITTRICH

VERONICA RODRIGUEZ MICHELLE SORENSEN MERCED VILLALOBOS

Writers AL BRANDENBURG JEFF CHEW KRISTINA DONNAY JUSTIN GRIFFIN RICK HORST

why February is so transitional. Early enough to buy tamales, late enough to get your vegetables in the ground so they’re salad-ready come warm season. Al Brandenburg will tell you how. This month brings the launch of our newly designed daily news website, so keep an eye out for a sleek, modern design as you continue to make InMaricopa. com a daily port-of-call for your local news. And next month, InMaricopa turns 20 years old. When I turned 20, I was a rookie reporter at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette writing about women’s sports. Which reminds me, in this edition, Tom Schuman tells us why a girls’ volleyball team inducted a local immigrant from Nigeria as an honorary member. It might be a short month, but miracles can happen anywhere, anytime, and in an instant. I hope this month you’ll look out for the little miracles life hands us.

TERRY LEAMON DAYV MORGAN BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR.

TAWNI PROCTOR TOM SCHUMAN RONALD SMITH MONICA D. SPENCER SHERMAN AND EUPHEMIA WEEKES

Photographers BRYAN MORDT

BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR. MONICA D. SPENCER

Designer CARL BEZUIDENHOUT

MISSION Inform readers/viewers. Enrich advertisers.

ELIAS WEISS MANAGING EDITOR

BELIEFS We believe in: • An informed citizenry. • Holding ourselves and others accountable. • The success of deserving businesses.

CONTRIBUTORS

VALUES

• Integrity • Accountability

• Open, honest, real-time communication • Prosperity for clients, community, company

Volume 19, Issue 2 InMaricopa 44400 W. Honeycutt Road, Suite 101 Maricopa, AZ 85138

520-568-0040 Tel 520-568-0050 Fax News@InMaricopa.com Advertising@InMaricopa.com

TOM SCHUMAN Tom returns in this issue with another feel-good high school sports story that proves opposites do, indeed, attract.

AL BRANDENBURG Al tells us why, despite the

TAWNI PROCTOR Tawni tells us why we'd all benefit from a backyard shed. It's like a Maricopa casita.

frosty nights of February, it’s the perfect time to start cultivating a new veggie garden.

Published advertisements are not an endorsement of products or advertising claims by InMaricopa . No part of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without the prior written permission of InMaricopa . Copyright 2024.

InMaricopa.com | February 2024

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HISTORY

Historic rest stop The Maricopa Hotel was owned and operated by Arthur Deal (pictured with his son) from 1917 to 1931. It sat on a plot of land adjacent to West Mercado Street and North John Wayne Parkway, just across from the Amtrak station sits today. It was called Edwards Hotel in the 1890s and McCarthy House in the 1900s. The hotel burned down in 1931. After the fire, the old hotel’s foundation was repurposed for several businesses — a small grocery store, blacksmith shop and NAPA Auto Parts. NAPA Auto Parts was demolished in 2020, the year after the John Wayne Parkway overpass opened.

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY For these and other historical stories, visit InMaricopa.com.

5 years ago 10 years ago

A home improvement store expected to open in 2024 put its plans on hold. Home Depot, which first got the city council’s approval in 2008, announced it was indefinitely suspending plans to open in Maricopa in February 2009. "We are still interested in opening this store and serving the Maricopa community, but the current state of the economy has delayed our plans," said Kathryn Gallagher, a Home Depot spokesperson at the time. Neither Home Depot representatives nor the president of Shea Properties would offer a possible starting date for the store's construction. Turns out, it would be a decade and a half later. 15 years ago

Heavy rain caused a scare at a municipal dam Feb. 22, 2019. A 30-foot-wide piece of the spillway dam at Province, adjacent to the Santa Rosa Wash near West Smith Enke Road, washed away after more than an inch of rain overflowed the community lake. “We had a larger storm than we would expect to see. The lake is designed to overflow the top in that location,” said Dan Frank, then-president of the Maricopa Flood Control District. Crews lowered the water level to make repairs. According to Frank, there was a concern about losing the entire spillway.

Tempe resident Mark Knight, owner of the hang-gliding tourism company Sonora Wings, crashed his aircraft at Ak-Chin Regional Airport Feb. 23, 2014. Paul Olson, an employee at that company, said Knight was about 300 feet above the ground flying a Sabrena Dragonfly aircraft and heading northwest over the airport when the plane’s “nose pointed up.” He lost control and spiraled to the ground. “He was just flying for fun,” Olson said. Knight survived.

InMaricopa.com | February 2024

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GOVERNMENT

Chamber pressure Breakup over contract violations means end to ‘social club’

BY ELIAS WEISS

rent a space in the Estrella Gin Business Park for just $200 per month. Market rate for the 500-square-foot space starts at $16,000 per year, about seven times the rate the chamber paid, according to realtors representing the office complex at West Edison Road and North Estrella Parkway. Every chamber board member and director at the time the contract was signed has since resigned. Now, less than halfway through the contract term, the city squashed the deal. The seven-page contract specifies a dozen services the chamber must provide the city in exchange for near-free rent. A cursory review of the facts suggests the chamber did not fulfill nine of the 12 conditions. Assistant City Manager Jennifer Brown told then-chamber President Antonia Présumé Dec. 12 “several conditions outlined in the agreement have not been met” in a letter obtained by InMaricopa through a Freedom of Information Act request. Présumé’s term expired days later. CONDITIONAL LOVE When asked directly, Brown did not answer which terms of the contract the chamber violated. City Councilmember Rich Vitiello said “there were a few things they didn’t follow,” but also declined to elaborate. Councilmember Eric Goettl spoke glowingly about the chamber but didn’t answer questions about the contract violations, as did the city’s spokesperson, Monica Williams. Mayor Nancy Smith and three other councilmembers declined to comment altogether. Only Councilmember Vincent Manfredi answered the question, saying there were “shortcomings of the chamber in fulfilling their agreed obligations” and that “several key requirements set by the city have not been met,” which he later detailed. Many are obvious. The chamber was contractually obligated to provide quarterly

In losing its lease with the city, however, the chamber might just find a new lease on success. The chamber’s debutant leadership team sees the breakup as an opportunity to reconcile years of shoddy reputation as a “social club” and usher in an era where business, not brunch, takes center stage. The city never told the chamber which terms of the contract it violated — in spite of the chamber’s pleadings to know why. But conversations with chamber leaders paint a different picture, one in which the chamber knowingly flouted the terms of its lease. Very few at City Hall are willing to acknowledge where things went wrong. Setting the chamber free, they say, is indeed an act of love. Just as the adage goes. LEASE OFFERING It was less than 18 months ago the city and chamber of commerce signed a three-year sublease contract allowing the chamber to

F YOU LOVE SOMETHING, SET IT FREE. That’s how the adage goes, and the city learned it well, abruptly terminating its contract with the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce in December. “It’s time for us to step back,” says one city councilmember. Says another: “We’re letting them take a great step forward and do this on their own.” By all accounts, it seems like an amicable breakup. The city is growing quickly; the government, rightly, is disentangling itself from private business affairs. With a goodbye kiss and a “bon voyage,” the city pushes the fledgling chamber from the nest to test its wings for the first time. But a closer look at the facts reveals the chamber was mired in accusations of breaching a contract that, ironically, it inked despite violating its own bylaws. Now, without the city’s hand to hold, the cash-poor chamber faces the specter of homelessness by year’s end.

InMaricopa.com | February 2024

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GOVERNMENT

Assistant City Manager Jennifer Brown (left) dumped the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce in December. With new leaders in President Isaac Jackson (center) and Executive Director Kelly Anderson (right), the chamber is ready to take off its training wheels for the first time.

useful, and to whom. The chamber was also required to facilitate ribbon-cutting ceremonies at “all new businesses” but wouldn’t acknowledge new businesses until they pledged membership. That led to some awkward timing, like when the chamber held a grand opening ceremony at Thai Chili 2go on John Wayne Parkway late last month, seven months after opening. “Their services for facilitating groundbreakings and ribbon- cutting ceremonies have been limited exclusively to their members, despite expectations that they would handle such events more inclusively of all new businesses.” COUNCILMEMBER VINCENT MANFREDI LET BYLAWS BE BYLAWS The chamber’s new executive director, Kelly Anderson, said the business registry requirement was “concerning” because it would “violate our bylaws.” Her predecessors signed the contract knowing the terms would be impossible to fulfill. Anderson doesn’t believe much of the contract was enforceable. “In my opinion, the items in the lease should have been presented and signed in a service agreement, not a lease agreement,” she said. “And it doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter.”

The chamber doesn’t want to operate anymore under the city’s “intense level of scrutiny,” Anderson said. Likewise, the city doesn’t want to monitor another organization’s performance standards and business processes. The city “did not close the door on a future rental permit,” Anderson noted. Of course not — anyone can rent that space, and the city made it clear the chamber gets no special treatment whatsoever after the contract ends later this year. “Be prepared to pay the full market rate for the space,” Brown warned in her December letter. She mentioned the city might also use the space for itself and take it off the market or lease it to someone else at a higher rate. Manfredi agreed the city “should transition to a market-rate lease,” he said. And Vitiello added, “The rent is going up. There’s no reason it shouldn’t.” That spells trouble for the chamber, which is cash poor and needs to recruit a large number of new members to afford a space to meet, Anderson said. Asked if the chamber was able to pay market rate, Anderson said, “No, we’re not.” The part- time real estate agent quipped about meeting at her office or home next year if necessary. OFFICE SPACE This isn’t the first time the chamber has faced potential homelessness. In 2018, the chamber couldn’t afford to renew a lease at its office on Honeycutt Road and then-President Chris Cahall suggested closing for good during a meeting that, it turned out, wasn’t allowed to be held under the chamber’s bylaws. Instead, it continued to operate “virtually” until it started meeting at Anderson’s office. It met there, at the office of its

business reports — city records clerk Andy Juarez confirmed no such report was ever tendered. It goes deeper. “The annual survey, which is crucial for business retention analysis and was a stipulated part of their agreement, has not been completed,” Manfredi said. “Furthermore, the business plan that we requested has not been presented, and there seems to be a lack of engagement with the city council as evidenced by the absence of joint meetings or participation in city planning sessions.” The contract required the chamber to appoint a city councilmember to its board of directors. It did not. “The chamber has failed to adequately maintain the business registry established and provided by the city,” Manfredi continued. “Additionally their services for facilitating groundbreakings and ribbon-cutting ceremonies have been limited exclusively to their members, despite expectations that they would handle such events more inclusively of all new businesses.” Under the contract, the chamber was required to maintain a registry “to include all businesses in Maricopa,” according to a September email exchange between the chamber and City Manager Rick Horst. A majority of businesses in the city do not appear on the registry, as it is limited only to dues-paying members — which pay $400 to $5,000 annually. Bashas’, Fry’s Marketplace, Sprouts, Walmart and most of the other brick-and-mortar businesses in town are not listed. It begs the question of how and when the registry could be

InMaricopa.com | February 2024

future executive director, until the city extended an olive branch in the form of the contract it just terminated. To recruit new members, the current chamber needs to erase its reputation as a “social club” that “doesn’t do anything,” said President Isaac Jackson, who stepped into the role last month. Jackson, who owns a carpet cleaning company, is a bona fide businessman with experience across many industries. He replaces Présumé, who sold crafts out of her house. Her business has no working website, no physical address, no business email address nor phone number. Anderson is a breath of fresh air for the chamber, too. She’s a prominent local realtor and co-owner of a real estate firm with deep ties The chamber’s first executive director, Terri Crain, resigned along with most of the board of directors after she violated chamber bylaws by hiring her boyfriend as an executive assistant. The next director, Jim McMichael, was forced to resign by the board after six months. He was followed by John Kennedy, who lasted two months until he was arrested on charges of stalking and burglary. Four more directors and three years later, the chamber hired 20-year-old recent high school graduate Sara Troyer, who had no business experience. Her hiring caused the chamber to become the defendant in an exhaustive lawsuit, which it eventually won. Then, the board rehired Crain. The chamber operated with no executive director for nearly one-fourth of its existence due to lapses in leadership. For Anderson, it’s, “New year, new chamber.” POISED FOR SUCCESS? Maricopa City Council and the freshly minted board of directors are convinced Anderson will break the cycle. to the community. JOB INSECURITY “I can tell you with confidence that they didn’t have anybody like her in that position [before],” Jackson said. “A lot of directors that came in, they just didn’t know the role that well. And for somebody to understand that role, and come in and actually build, their longevity is going to be because of her.” It’s an uphill battle, but Jackson said “it’s a miracle” the chamber has come as far as it has. He’s got the support of all around him. “We applaud the efforts of the chamber to support businesses in the city of Maricopa and

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GOVERNMENT

them to succeed without government telling them what they need to do and how to do it.” Even Manfredi, perhaps the most skeptical at City Hall, said, “Kelly Anderson is a promising new presence in the Chamber, and I believe she has the potential to excel as the director, provided she receives adequate support and autonomy from her board to implement necessary changes and improvements. “ For the chamber, there are no hard feelings. “No one in our boardroom is upset with the city,” Jackson stressed during his interview with InMaricopa . The chamber even confirmed it will continue giving the city a platinum membership — worth $5,000 a year — for free, asking nothing in return. That was a stipulation in the contract, but the chamber will continue to honor it in good faith. After all, if the city wasn’t a member, it would be a bad look. Best not to let it get that far.

are thankful to have played a part in setting the stage for their success,” the city’s Brown said in a statement to InMaricopa . “We look forward to seeing the chamber as a self-sustaining and thriving organization within our community.” For the first time in its 14-year history, the chamber wrote a mission statement, vision and core values under its new leadership. This year, it plans to create maps and a member directory, launch a youth mentorship program, clean up finance reporting, create a strategic plan and much more. In December, the chamber launched Taste of Copa, a discount food tour reminiscent of those in Scottsdale and Phoenix. That was open to all restaurants, not just members. It’s also promised to start allowing the press to cover chamber events, something Présumé didn’t allow without paying a fee. Last year, the chamber welcomed 55 new members, netting nearly $40,000 in revenue. Its annual gala made about $25,000. It revamped its website, joined the statewide Arizona Chamber Executives network and received a training scholarship, among other new accomplishments.

“The city has encouraged and supported the chamber for a number of years now. It is time for us to step back and allow them to succeed without government telling them what they need to do

and how to do it.” COUNCILMEMBER ERIC GOETTL

“In recent months, I have been delighted to see the vision, planning and direction Executive Director Kelly Anderson and their new board of directors have established and are beginning to implement,” Councilmember Goettl told InMaricopa . “The city has encouraged and supported the chamber for a number of years now. It is time for us to step back and allow

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InMaricopa.com | February 2024

A TALE OF TWO CHAMBERS

In 2022, when the city of Maricopa negotiated its embattled contract with the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce, a second chamber of commerce was born in the city. Kent O’Jon and Chrystal Allen-O’Jon surveyed Black-owned businesses about their view of the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce and got an overwhelmingly negative response. Black people are better represented in Maricopa than any other Arizona city, according to U.S. Census data. Feeling excluded from the so-called “white chamber,” the Black Maricopa Chamber of Commerce was born. At a Maricopa City Council meeting last month, BMCC members spoke publicly and encouraged businesses to join. Not just Black-owned businesses — all businesses. “We genuinely welcome everyone no matter their social status, religion, age, race or social clique,” said Allen-O'Jon, who is also running for Maricopa City Council. The Maricopa Chamber of Commerce’s new president, Isaac Jackson, is Black. Its outgoing president, Antonia Présumé, is Black. And BMCC has a white businessowner on its board of directors. While Allen-O’Jon said she doesn’t see the two chambers as being in competition, there are two big reasons why hers is needed and the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce isn’t enough for this community on its own. “We aren’t always asking for money.” That was her first reason. The second? It stems from the responses she got from Black businessowners on her 2022 survey. “The difference is, there are no glares when you come to events, no negative micro expressions, no one is asking if they can touch the texture of your hair,” Allen-O’Jon told InMaricopa . BMCC will soon offer a diversity and inclusion seminar. It hopes to one day be a liaison between underserved groups and the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce while extending its reach to other cities in Arizona.

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GOVERNMENT

Driving into the sunset Maricopa’s lawmaker was right about transportation department woes

BY JUSTIN GRIFFIN

The Arizona Transportation Committee held a hearing last month to review the audit’s findings. The term “sunset” connotes the legislature can do away with the department — or any other state agency that fails the review process horribly — altogether. However, it’s important to note no one discussed taking that extreme action against ADOT during last month’s hearing. Breach or thievery? To get a license, a driver must submit various forms of ID including a passport or social security card and birth certificate to the Motor Vehicle Department, a division of ADOT, and sit for a photo. It demands the exchange of a lot of sensitive information. What if a third party — not the driver nor ADOT — accessed this information? In November 2019, ADOT became aware of a fraudulent pattern being used for theft of public money through its MVD system. ADOT identified 177 accounts with $382,408 in losses of public funds that could

have been used by the department elsewhere. Through its search, Arizona’s auditor general found an additional 83 accounts following the same fraudulent patterns in August for an average of $1,000 each. About half a million dollars in public funds were stolen across 260 incidents. It remains unclear who is responsible. Through its own internal investigations, the department froze the accounts connected to fraudulent activities and, when possible, sent out notices demanding the return of those funds. It never, however, investigated if its system had been hacked nor ensured the personal records of Arizonans on its MVD website are safe. “At the time of the audit, the department had been able to recover $216,412 of the $382,408 it identified, but it had not recovered the remaining $165,996 of public monies,” the audit stated. “Further, the department had not recovered $32,362 related to the additional 83 customer accounts that appear to have a similar potentially fraudulent pattern. As such, the department had not recovered at least $198,358.”

EP. TERESA MARTINEZ, THE vice chair for the Arizona House Transportation Committee and one of Maricopa’s representatives

in the state house, posed the question of whether the Arizona Department of Transportation has run amok at a Maricopa town hall last summer. After an exhaustive look at the department’s Performance Audit and Sunset Review, completed in the fall of 2023, one must wonder if Martinez was on to something. The audit, which was last performed nearly a decade ago by the Arizona Auditor General, uncovered a multitude of issues — a lack of security protocols when it came to the safekeeping of Arizona’s drivers’ personal information on the department’s website, an episode where the agency lost nearly half a million dollars to fraud and a dearth of oversight on third-party vendors who perform exams for drivers looking to earn or renew CDL licenses. The Performance Audit and Sunset Review serves as a mechanism allowing the legislature to hold the department of transportation — and other state agencies — accountable.

State Rep. Teresa Martinez correctly predicted the ADOT audit would uncover lost public funds.

ADOT Director Jennifer Toth took office Jan. 30, 2023, during the middle of the sunset review.

InMaricopa.com | February 2024

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GOVERNMENT

State law requires such problems to be reported to the state’s attorney general, homeland security division and auditor general within one business day. The audit found despite having knowledge of a possible breach, ADOT did not report it for nearly three years. In 2022, while the audit was underway, ADOT finally reported the potential fraud to the appropriate authorities. Per the audit, the department still hadn’t fully acted to protect Arizonans’ sensitive information as late as August last year. “I’ve found Director Toth to be responsive when I’ve had a question about projects in my district. I think the department has a lot of improvements to make and it’ll get there with her leadership.” REP. KEITH SEAMAN

“In August 2023, the department acknowledged that some of these incidents may be security incidents. However, it had not conducted security incident investigations.” Neither the auditor general nor ADOT

Rep. Keith Seaman voted to give ADOT six years before its next Performance Audit and Sunset Review.

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InMaricopa.com | February 2024

knows whether the system was hacked. The auditor general’s report inferred ADOT’s inaction may have prevented any of those answers from coming to light. “Because the department did not promptly report all potential fraud/theft or investigate suspected security incidents to determine if there was a security system breach, authorities were unable to fulfill their responsibilities to address risks of potential fraud and theft and a suspected security system breach.” The Auditor General’s Office also found emails between department officials about an incident where identity thieves used ADOT’s MVD online system to obtain fraudulent duplicate driver licenses. InMaricopa reported a man in Maricopa used the MVD online system to defraud ADOT and obtain fraudulent license plates in December. Rep. Martinez said the situation is a dangerous one and that accountability is needed. “So, a person can come in with inadequate documentation, get an Arizona driver’s license or travel ID proving that they’re a resident and citizen,” Martinez said. “And they had no documentation to prove it … That’s a concern.” Martinez felt the idea ADOT was holding itself accountable through its self-audit rang hollow. “Great, you have a self-review, wonderful,” Martinez said. “Tell me about that process … and they couldn’t. It’s like when you’re going on a diet, you have goals you want to meet and a plan you want to follow. They had none of that.” Examining the examiners Drivers who earn a Commercial Driver’s License, often called a CDL, operate school buses, tractor-trailers and other large vehicles. Their mistakes often come with major repercussions. Monette Kiepke, a performance audit manager, spoke at last month’s hearing describing two disturbing incidents involving the process by which CDLs are granted in Arizona. The first was of an examiner working for a community college who coached the applicant through the exam, showing the applicant how to perform maneuvers, drive at night, make turns and even what gear to put the vehicle in — all of which were prohibited. “In this case, the applicant received a passing score, obtained their CDL and approximately three months later, was involved in a single- vehicle accident in the early morning while maneuvering a commercial vehicle containing hazardous materials,” Kiepke said.

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February 2024 | InMaricopa.com

GOVERNMENT

THE POLITICS OF HIGHWAY SPENDING

Last month, Gov. Katie Hobbs released her proposed state budget, where, to make up for a nearly $1 billion deficit, she suggested a laundry list of transportation cuts worth $420 million. That included cutting $25 million for the Riggs Road overpass on State Route 347 that was allocated in 2021. With a broad brush, Hobbs described all those transportation projects, including Riggs Road, as “wasteful taxpayer spending.” Ironically, Hobbs sent a personalized video message to the Maricopa Chamber of commerce just a month earlier, taking credit for securing the money that would improve traffic and safety on SR 347. Teresa Martinez (R-Casa Grande), one of Maricopa’s state representatives and the House vice chair of the Arizona House Transportation Committee, felt the statement is an example of how out of touch Hobbs is with average Arizonans. “I think she has clearly never been on SR 347 and has no intention of ever using that road,” Martinez said. “I believe that she’s chauffeured around and the roads that aren’t wasteful taxpayer spending are the ones she uses.” Tens of thousands of Maricopans commute daily on SR 347 to and from the Valley, making it one of the busiest and most congested highways in the state. Last summer, the Arizona Department of Transportation released its safety study of SR 347. Between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2022, there were 967 crashes, or one every other day.

Of those crashes, 21 resulted in serious injuries and 15 in death. According to the same ADOT study, the Riggs Road intersection had the fourth- highest number of collisions at a signalized intersection on a state highway in Arizona. Making the daily drive a little easier to stomach was the promise that one day there would be an overpass at Riggs Road instead of a stoplight, a major safety improvement — but now the project is in jeopardy. Martinez feels politics shouldn’t play a role in road safety. “It’s disgraceful,” Martinez said. “These roads are peoples’ lives. I lost my father on these roads. An 11-year-old girl died last year on 347. We’ve had people die on roads, not only in Pinal County but all over the state. I think it’s horrendous and it’s completely below human dignity.” The Riggs Road overpass project has served as the anchor project in a line of planned improvements for SR 347. Rep. Bret Roberts (R-Maricopa) secured $35

million in state funds for the overpass before he moved to South Carolina in 2021. Immediately after the signing of the bill, $10 million of that money went to ADOT for design and environmental impact studies. When Roberts left, Martinez was tapped as his replacement and won re- election the following year. Martinez asked ADOT Director Jennifer Toth for an update on the project’s

“They’re bureaucrats,” Martinez said. “They’ll tell you, ‘Oh you know, it takes six months for a survey.’ When month seven comes around, I follow up wanting to know the progress and they say, ‘You know, we haven’t gotten that yet. Someone should send an email.’ And then two weeks later, another email is sent and the next thing you know, it’s been a year.” Despite the fact a bill was signed into law and the money allocated, Martinez feared it would be a target. “It was just sitting there,” Martinez said. “That’s why I’m asking ADOT, ‘Why does it take two years to get a contractor? Why is that road not already being built? Roberts got the money for the Riggs Road overpass, but Martinez has taken on the job of guarding those funds and making sure they end up helping the tens of thousands of motorists who travel on SR 347 each day. “I would never take credit for the work that Bret Roberts did, but once he’s gone, no one cares?” Martinez said.

progress at a January hearing to review the

department’s Performance Audit and Sunset Review. Toth explained the Riggs Road overpass project is at the end of the design concept report and environmental assessment. The project is scheduled to advertise for construction in 2026 with construction beginning in late 2026 or early 2027, with it opening for traffic in 2028. Martinez feels ADOT’s deliberate nature has landed the Riggs Road overpass, and other projects concerning SR 347 in this precarious position.

InMaricopa.com | February 2024

Another example came when an examiner who worked at a university passed an applicant who couldn’t stay in a lane and tried to turn through a crosswalk while a pedestrian was present. The applicant would have made the turn had the examiner not intervened. The unqualified applicant’s passing grade was overturned by the inspector. Accountability Legislators in Arizona are term-limited to eight years. However, in the past, sunset reviews for state agencies only happened every eight to 10 years. Following last month’s hearing, Martinez questioned the wisdom of such a system. “How do we hold them accountable if their next audit happens after we’re out of office?” Martinez asked after the meeting. “Nope. Not going to happen. I want to be able to hold their feet to the fire.” At the end of the hearing, the committee agreed to suggest a term of four to six years before the next audit occurs. The final number will be determined in a bill written during this year’s legislative session. Most Democrats backed allowing six to eight years while Republicans wanted another audit in two to four years. The ADOT director position is one that’s nominated by the governor and approved by the Arizona Senate. Director Jennifer Toth took office Jan. 30, 2023, during the middle of the sunset review, taking over for outgoing Director John Halikowski. Toth did not discuss the audit during a speaking event in Maricopa last month. State House Rep. Keith Seaman, a Democrat who represents Maricopa along with Martinez, suggested six years before the next audit. “I’ve found Director Toth to be responsive when I’ve had a question about projects in my district,” Seaman said. “I think the department has a lot of improvements to make and it’ll get there with her leadership.” Martinez agreed with Seaman but recognizes the challenges of turning around a large bureaucracy like ADOT. “I’ve had really good interactions with the director,” Martinez said. “I’ve found her to be transparent and responsive. I acknowledge that she’s come into a difficult situation that’s not her fault. But there’s a lot that’s gone on in the last eight years at ADOT that needs our attention.” Martinez held steady, recommending four years before the next audit, but added: “I could be talked down to two or three years.”

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February 2024 | InMaricopa.com

GOVERNMENT

Sprouts of wrath Rural farmers feel the real effects of drought. The state says it’s their fault

BY MONICA D. SPENCER

Anderson knows it’s easy to blame rapid growth for the changing landscape, where beige subdivisions replaced flourishing crops in the delicate desert landscape. “You can’t stop it,” he said. “You just have to go with it and live with it.” But for decades, farmers have worked around wavering drought conditions, which have only worsened in the last two decades. State farm The formalities of the Arizona legislature’s opening session felt worlds away from the earthiness of Maricopa’s surviving farms — just 35 miles away. State representatives, senators, guests and media gathered inside the dimly lit, wood-paneled House floor one crisp, dry afternoon last month. Invocations, anthems and guest speeches all led up to the governor’s State of the State address. Gov. Katie Hobbs dedicated much of her nearly 50-minute speech to her commitment to protecting Arizona’s groundwater, saying updating these laws is a way to “empower rural Arizonans” in their water use. A bit condescending for a group that, arguably, is the only one to feel the real effects of the state’s water shortage day-to-day. Hobbs said Arizona’s water-use laws are exploited to grow endless acres of alfalfa and promised to strike an agreement with neighboring states to conserve enough water for 9 million homes. At the expense of farmers, largely in Pinal County. Cameras clicked and flashed, and state Democrats stood in near endless ovation, while farmers measured their water through metered wells. My enemy, alfalfa Pinal County farmers have relied on alfalfa as a staple crop for decades — and for good reason. “It’s just so productive here,” Hartman said. “It grows nine to 10 months out of the year, and we have some of the highest yields.” The hot days and cool nights allow plants to grow and recover for up to 10 cuttings per year, while the arid climate helps trimmings cure in as few as three days, according to Clint Jones, farm manager for University of Arizona’s Maricopa Agricultural Center.

EVEN DURING CHILLY JANUARY AFTERNOONS, tumbleweeds roll across the Sonoran Desert, landing just shy of the metal gate marking Oliver Anderson’s farm. Each morning, the 94-year-old wakes up and helps his wife at home before working his farm at Murphy and Farrell Roads. There, weathered buildings and small crops stand firm against encroaching development. Anderson stoops down to scoop up a handful of copper-tinged dirt in a fallow field — thanks to fluctuating crop prices, a lingering drought and more proposed water restrictions from the state. Just a couple of miles away, Bryan Hartman knows those struggles all too well. The fourth-generation Maricopa farmer and president of the Maricopa-Stanfield Irrigation and Drainage District cites water access as the primary reason for barren fields on his and other local farms. “Most farms in our district now, we’re only farming maybe 40 to 50%,” Hartman said. “There’s just not enough water to go around.” It’s not a silent struggle — state leaders duly acknowledge Arizona’s water crisis as the parched Colorado River continues to languish. They’re burdened with parrying drought and climate change. The only problem? In their eyes, farmers like Anderson and Hartman aren’t the victims in this story — they’re to blame. Signs of the times When Anderson moved to this dusty little community 70 years ago, houses were mere dots in the desert and heavily irrigated crops grew as far as the eye could see. Fields of alfalfa, cotton, small grains and pecan trees blanketed areas now turned into fields of single-family homes. “We were pretty rural, that’s all there is to it,” he told InMaricopa . “At the time, everything in this area was farmland. We had no paved roads, no phone service.”

“Most farms in our district now, we’re only farming maybe 40 to 50%. There’s just not enough water to go around.” BRYAN HARTMAN

Continued on page 22

InMaricopa.com | February 2024

Clint Jones (top) tends to a winter alfalfa crop at the University of Arizona’s Maricopa Agricultural Center Jan. 11. Around 2 to 3 acre- feet of groundwater is transported through canals (right) into center- pivot irrigation (bottom right), sprinkler heads and drip irrigation methods to water research crops.

GOVERMENT

By comparison, midwestern farmers may get three cuttings each year, each taking up to two weeks to cure. That explains why Pinal County is the third highest yielder of alfalfa crops in the country, producing 8.5 tons per acre annually, according to the Arizona Farm Bureau. Yet, despite that, it’s also received a bad reputation in the media in recent years. Last year, an uproar emerged around Saudi Arabian- owned Fondomonte growing and exporting alfalfa in Arizona, while also taking advantage of unfettered access to groundwater amid a historic megadrought. That’s because wealthy corporations can get permits to drill for groundwater, something working-class Maricopa farmers can’t afford. Yet they suffer the consequences. And while the issue brought a renewed interest to how groundwater is used and abused around the state, alfalfa farmers believe their livelihoods have come under fire. “Alfalfa is the ‘devil’ of the desert,” Jones laughed. It’s a thirsty crop, consuming 4 to 6 acre-feet of water each year, enough to cover a football field with nearly 4 feet of standing water. But this information is nothing new. Several generations of Maricopa farmers have grown alfalfa on their slowly shrinking farms over the years. With that came a better understanding of working with and respecting the land and its resources. “People like my grandfather and others pioneering in this area, they dug down hills and started irrigating without the technology we have today,” Hartman said. “So, they used a lot more water.” In the old days, he said, farmers irrigated fields by flooding them and leftover water would often overflow into washes. But farmers these days are more judicious in their water usage. Someone ought to tell the governor. ‘I just don’t have enough water’ Anderson, Hartman and Jones each acknowledged alfalfa, though a heavy water user, is rich in nutrients and calories, offering more sustenance per pound than just about any other leafy green. Changes in farming practices over the last two decades have also helped farmers conserve water in the desert climate. This has included laser leveling fields — a process that assists farmers in creating clean, level fields for irrigation and evenly spaced crops — as well as instituting more precise sprinkler heads, center-pivot irrigation and drip irrigation methods.

Why alfalfa?

Tricticale, a hybrid grain that blends the benefits of wheat and rye, is one alternative that consumes less water but often needs to be combined with other grains to reach the nutritional value of alfalfa. “It’s got a decent feed value, but it’s not the same,” Jones said. “That’s the thing with alfalfa — it takes a lot of water and it gets a bad rap, but it’s extremely nutritious. I don’t know what you would even substitute alfalfa with.”

Alfalfa, a leafy legume, is perhaps the best nutrient-rich feed for cattle, according to Clint Jones, farm manager for University of Arizona’s Maricopa Agricultural Center. It is high in protein, fiber and minerals livestock need for a healthy diet, which helps keep grocery store shelves well-stocked in dairy, beef and other meats. It’s also a combination few other grains can keep up with.

increased by about 132% during that period. That’s a hefty difference, especially considering the Arizona Department of Water Resources reported the agricultural industry used 72% of the state’s water supply in 2019. While some of that water came from groundwater sources, it also included surface water — obtained from sources such as lakes and rivers — and some reclaimed water. But farmers have become more judicious in their water usage, especially considering the restrictions already imposed by water districts. The Maricopa Agricultural Center’s Jones said farmers were allotted only 2.4 acre-feet of water last year.

“More regulations on top of the very strict regulations we have already would definitely hurt our county.” REP. TERESA MARTINEZ

“That means for every acre of farmable ground, you only get 2.4 acre-feet,” Jones said. “So, if you have a crop like alfalfa, which can take up to 6 acre-feet of water, there's no way you can

These alternatives to flood irrigation all result from one key problem: They are allotted a limited amount of water each year.

Bryan Hartman

grow your entire acreage. That becomes a challenge.” Hartman said 2 to 3 acre-feet of water is standard for most farms in the area, which can limit how much they produce each year. “I have a 1,000-acre farm and I can’t grow wall-to- wall alfalfa,” he said. “I just don’t have enough water.”

Arizona’s agricultural industry saw a 36% drop in how much water it withdrew for irrigation purposes from 1980 to 2015, according to the Arizona Farm Bureau. By comparison, the amount of water withdrawn for municipal and industrial purposes — such as mining —

InMaricopa.com | February 2024

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