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Hello. How are you? Life has changed a lot since we last talked. The pandemic changed us in ways we never realized possible. For me, I did a complete nose dive into caring for my family and focusing on the things within my reach. WHY COME BACK NOW?2022 offers the people an opportunity to take back what's been lost. It's an opportunity to rebuild. I'm not talking at the federal level. I'm talking about where it really matters. In our own communities. As I revamp West Valley Families, my focus will start with the City of Goodyear and the local school districts. Eventually, I'll expand. But this is where I start. BIGGEST IMPACTLocal government has the biggest impact on our daily lives. The unconscionable, discriminatory and divisive actions of law makers and school officials have prompted residents across the state to get more active and involved. Locally, Goodyear will hold an election in August. The mayor's seat and 3 council seats are up for grabs. Even closer to home are school board elections. School boards control what our children are enduring day-after-day. What our kids learn in the classroom and whether they compete on the court is up to a handful of people who sit behind the dias. Many times, school board decisions are made by people who don't even have children in school. When lockdowns kicked in 2 years ago, I quickly discovered that a majority of the representatives on the governing board at Buckeye Union High School District did not have children in the district. How could they possibly know what it was like to see our teens lie in bed all day, behind screens, and think they'd come out of this year ok? The problem is that parents are not running for these seats. In the Liberty Elementary School District, a board member who recently moved here from another state was simply seated on the board as they were running unopposed. My hope is to motivate parents to run for these open seats and get them filled by people who understand what's happening to the students and teachers. (Find out which school board seats are open here.) SHARE THE WEALTHMy gift is being able to share my knowledge. When I started up West Valley Families in 2014, I spent a lot of my time aggregating local events and fun information for families to find in one convenient place. Since then, several social media pages and apps have popped up providing that same information. So there's no need for me to go back to that. My purpose is bigger in 2022. What's up next for mandates and restrictions? Will schools will be overcrowded in August? Does my kid really need to take the SAT? (That answer is NO!) I'll show you how to file a Freedom of Information Act form with your school district. And together we'll take a look a the questions every parent should be asking. What pressure will businesses have to face? How can the city improve safety services? Where can families in need find help? And how can we help them? This is what's important in 2022. A NEW GENERATIONA new generation of moms have pulled together an army of motivated parents who are willing to fight for their kids. I consider myself one of them. I look forward to being part of a process making 2022 much better than the last 2 years. Please join me. It's going to be a worthwhile ride...  Driving down Estrella Parkway, it seems our little town is really growing up. From new industry and small businesses to housing developments and homelessness... Goodyear has a lot on its plate.
Have you seen the construction next to the Goodyear Ballpark? That vacant land will be home to "Gates at Goodyear" - condos with mixed-use for the west Valley. Reportedly, "It will feature 80 residential units, with office, dining and retail space below. Noting Arizona’s heat and long-lasting sunlight as motivations, Fair also plans for the structure to be energy independent and efficient, with the goal of residents having net-zero energy consumption. One feature is that residents’ units will have what Fair describes as transition glass, which darkens when exposed to sunlight." The CEO is Andra Fair who got the idea from his land partner, David Byrd, who owns several Goodyear hotels. "The development also involves Sonnen home energy storage systems, so each unit will have two solar-powered batteries, allowing residents to go on or off the grid, he explained." We're chomping at the bit for Saddle Mountain's patio to open. Maybe October? Hopefully? We can't wait! MC85 at Lower Buckeye Road is going to take on new shape in Goodyear. Microsoft is moving in south of the Goodyear Airport. Check out more here. A new school! Litchfield Elementary School District is building a new school. "School 16" will be located at 18601 W. Campbell Avenue in Goodyear... just north of Indian School Road and east of Perryville Road. Pickleball courts at the Goodyear Community Park unveil September 22nd. Goodyear says, "The event will kick off with a tour of the court and remarks by city officials. Later, there will be on-court demonstrations by local pickleball players as well as mini-clinics covering the basics – from selecting the right paddle to understanding the rules of play. The celebration concludes with the courts open for general public play. The project, which was funded and approved in response to residents’ request, converted basketball courts to accommodate pickleball and maintain two high school-sized basketball courts." The cost to build these was $168,000. The project plan reports, "Repurpose the existing basketball court to include four lighted Pickleball Courts and two lighted high school level basketball courts. The courts will receive new court surfacing and striping." Dunkin' Donuts is reportedly opening this week on Estrella Parkway just south of Van Buren. Don't forget, there's a fabulous Sunrise Donuts just south of there at 725 S. Estrella Parkway, Goodyear, Az. They're a mom and pop shop with lots to offer! Rumor has it that a Culver's is opening in Goodyear. We checked with the company and they said they do NOT have plan for a Goodyear location. (Hope I'm proven wrong. Although, they are located in Avondale and around the west Valley.) They also sent the franchise link to me if anyone is wanting to open a Culver's. Anyone? NOW OPEN Dream Swirls, owned and operated by Estrella residents, moved to a new location. We stopped by during the grand opening and it was PACKED! I love mom and pop shops. Be sure to check them out. 15557 W. Roosevelt Street, Suite 102, Goodyear, Az. Near Robeks on Estrella Parkway. A quick jaunt into Litchfield Park for a moment... Teacup has opened. Its menu looks awesome and I hope to get there soon. HIREDThe City of Goodyear made two new hires in big positions. Lori Gary is the new economic development director. Goodyear states, "Prior to accepting the post in Goodyear, Lori was a senior project manager for the city of Mesa’s Office of Economic Development. Specifically, she promoted new investment, redevelopment and reuse, and job creation within Mesa’s Fiesta District, Falcon District, and West Mesa." Tammy Vo starts in October as the city's new communications director. "Tammy has spent the last six years working as the marketing and communications manager for the city of Phoenix. Before then, she spent 13 years in television news." Both positions seem to have high turnover in Goodyear. Let's wish them the best of luck in our growing city. Soon-to-be hired are interns for the Goodyear Spring Baseball Season. Check out opportunities here. CHALLENGES AHEAD At Goodyear City Council tonight, Police Chief Jerry Geier and Sgt. Justin Hughes of the Professional Standards Unit will discuss a difficult issue... Homeless Outreach. The agenda reads, "City Management requested that staff prepare information on the issue of homeless outreach and nuisance behaviors such as panhandling in order to ascertain the Council’s level of interest in pursuing an ordinance, policy revision, or other action. This issue has not come before Council in the past." When I assisted Goodyear with its All-America City application in 2008, Goodyear reportedly knew of just 11 homeless people. Now that the city has grown immensely, and so quickly, it's sadly obvious that number is growing. "Staff has compiled information on the issue of homeless outreach, including definitions, existing conditions, and information from other valley cities. Possible alternatives will be presented and direction will be based on Council feedback," Goodyear Staff Analysis. Homeless Youth Connection sent out an email today inviting the community to attend its Empowering Youth Breakfast. It's October 25th. You must RSVP. More here. UPCOMING ELECTIONIf any of the above issues interest you, I encourage you to run for office. In 2021, several termed-out seats will be open and we'll have, potentially, an all new council. Now is the time to brush up and get involved. We were beyond thrilled this week to see Councilmember Laura Kaino announce she's running for the position she was appointed to when Joanne Osborne vacated the seat. We worked with Kaino on the Goodyear Water Conservation Committee and hope she brings that knowledge and ideas to the table. Please follow her on Facebook. She's been very active in the community! Open Seats in the Goodyear Spring Election of 2019 are:
COMMUNITY NOTES
Finally, if you're looking to watch some great high school volleyball this weekend, please check out the Wolves Classic Invitational at Estrella Foothills High School. It's Friday/Saturday. The school's high school Homecoming Parade and Carnival follows at 5pm Saturday night. Best wishes to all the students and athletes this weekend! We'll continue to follow what's happening in Goodyear and the west Valley. Our mission to keep informed ramped up again this spring when a Goodyear City Councilmember falsely made accusations against us. She got us wondering about what's really happening. We know it's important to the community and taxpayers to stay informed. If there's something you'd like for us to check out, please contact us.
SCROLL DOWN TO VOTE: SHOULD GOODYEAR CHANGE ITS ELECTION CYCLE? YES OR NO?  Opinion Piece by Jen Barber Today we were tagged in a Facebook post by Gilligan for Goodyear. As you may recall, we mentioned former Goodyear City Council candidate Sara Gilligan went to Council on June 5th speaking in favor of moving City elections to the same election cycle as the State of Arizona. Moving Goodyear's election is estimated to cut cost to tax payers and increase voter participation. Arizona's elections are held in the fall of even-numbered years. Goodyear's are held in the spring of odd-numbered years. Concerns regarding the waste of tax payer dollars to keep this All-America City's election off the State's election schedule has been discussed at length over the years. And voter turnout and participation is dismal. In 2011, the Goodyear Votes grassroots group pushed for Goodyear to move its election cycle to no avail.  Goodyear's City Charter ARTICLE IX. SECTION 5. states "Primary elections shall be held on the second Tuesday in March of odd-number years preceding the General election on the third Tuesday in May of odd-number years."  IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY This debate is not new. In 2012, Gov. Jan Brewer signed House Bill 2826 requiring municipalities, counties, and school districts hold primary elections in August and general/runoff elections in November of even-numbered years. Find out more here. As reported in the Kingman DailyMiner here:
The League of Arizona Cities and Towns suggested 76 of 91 towns and cities in Arizona would have had to move their election dates. Check out this presentation posted online and attributed to Maricopa County Elections Department. "Consolidated Elections" explains the challenged and amended A.R.S. State Statute 16-204. Essentially, Charter Cities like Goodyear can still choose when to hold elections.  HOW TO CHANGE A GOODYEAR CITY ORDINANCE The Goodyear City Charter states Council can act by "motion, resolution or ordinance." A majority vote of council members is required for a motion, resolution or ordinance to pass. You can read more under ARTICLE VII. But, if Council is unwilling to do so.... Residents can take advantage of an initiative option to influence public policy. It's shown in Goodyear's City Charter ARTICLE X. Check out this handy guide on Initiatives an Referenda from Secretary of State Michele Reagan. In Arizona:
We contacted League of Arizona Cities and Towns to find out the process for starting this initiative in Goodyear. Here's what we were told.
Oddly enough, we just came across this article regarding Arizona's Governor Doug Ducey "approved a bill that makes it easier to keep citizen initiatives off the ballot by tightening the legal standard proponents must meet. He said in a statement that voter-approved laws allow substantial and permanent changes to state law." Challenges to the new law abound. NOW WHAT? This is the law. If the voters of Goodyear truly want to change the election cycle, someone will need to step up to get the process started. It's going to take time and money. And I'm quite sure it won't be as easy as it sounds in description above. (Just getting enough signatures to be placed on the ballot as a candidate is a lot of work.) The State's guide to Initiatives and Referenda show statewide petitions require formation of a committee, an established bank account, statement of organization, chairmen, etc. I'm not sure what the requirement is for Goodyear as we have not heard back from Goodyear or Maricopa at the time of publication. Goodyear Votes, a grassroots group, had a lot of momentum and media coverage in 2011. (Its Facebook page appears to have been edited since we visited it last week.) Their effort failed - or really never took off. So, if changing Goodyear's election is going to be a successful venture... it needs to be well organized from the get go. VOTE NOW - DO YOU SUPPORT GOODYEAR'S ELECTION CYCLE BEING MOVED TO THE STATE ELECTION CYCLE TO SAVE TAX PAYER MONEY AND INCREASE VOTER TURNOUT?
REVISED AGREEMENT Take a look here at the First Amendment to the Estrella Development and Fire Services Agreement. In June 2016, we were tipped that the City's agreement with local developers had lapsed. Our sources told us the agreement was "allowed to expire" and that funding for a second fire station was not in place. At the June 27, 2016 meeting, City Manager Brian Dalke publicly stated he spoke with a Newland representative just that week. His specific words were... And talking to Bill Olsen this week, there has been an understanding that the bones of an agreement are in place. It can be argued some of those elements may or may not apply. The fact of the matter is one of the partners - if you will - back to the earlier agreement is no longer there. So CantaMia for example - is AV Homes - will be part of any discussions.” ~GOODYEAR CITY MANAGER BRIAN DALKE, JUNE 27, 2016 Let's emphasize "WILL BE PART OF ANY DISCUSSIONS." Future tense. Whether talks had been in the works for years prior or not... It appears from public commentary that the real push to update the agreement was prompted last summer. The amended resolution dated January 24, 2017 now shown in a snapshot states: 
 PRIORITIES SHIFTED In March 2016, Goodyear City Council participated in a work session to discuss the FY17-26 Capital Improvement Program. About half way through the meeting, the presentation turned to "General Funded Programs - Projects Requests." City staff initially recommends fire stations be listed on deferral for future impact fees. We added fire stations to your list simply because of your recent conversations just to put it up here and let you know it’s on our radar… but that we know the study is pending and we’ll wait for that project. ~Lauri Wingenroth, Budget and Research Manager
This document - Goodyear's Capital Improvement Plan for FY16-25 - shows funding for a Fire Station at Harrison and Citrus for FY22 and a Fire Station in Estrella in FY22. An additional Fire apparatus wasn't in the plans till FY23. FY16 and FY17 funding totaling $66,366,257 was slated for:
We have NEVER stated the City had "no priorities for" nor "didn't care" for fire service as we've been accused throughout various social media threads. I'm personally aware that our City Council and Mayor support public safety as shown by their previous actions over the years. This has been a process in the works since December 2015, (and most likely sooner than that), and these things do take time to work out. The fact is, the priorities for the Estrella station were moved up after 2016 Council meetings and the fire station study this past year. I'm not sure why this is being made out to be a bad thing by social media followers as it's really good news for Estrella and Goodyear residents. Many of us - and myself included - are thrilled about Council's decision to listen to the people to make this happen. Their ability to collaborate with other leaders and the developer to move up the construction timeline is a win for everyone. 2017 AND BEYOND It should be noted again that Goodyear has several fire station needs and projects in the near future. In December 2016, we also read over the entire tax payer funded, 210 page fire station study to see all needs for fire service in Goodyear. It also recommended "building a new fire station in west Goodyear and having it operational by the year 2022. The optimal location is at Citrus and Yuma. An additional engine company would be expected to operate from there. This station would have a workload similarly modeled to other stations in the city." Operational by 2022 means funding for this station needs to be moved up, as well. Tomorrow night, as it turns out, Goodyear City Council will hold a Special Meeting with the City Attorney and City Manager "to provide instruction/direction to City Attorney and City Manager regarding City's position in connection with contractual negotiations associated with West Goodyear development agreements." This meeting is private and we can't be 100% sure this is related to fire service. But, we're hoping to find out more regarding a west Goodyear fire station this spring. We'll keep you posted. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2017 5:30PM Special Meeting 6PM Regular Meeting Location: 14455 W. Van Buren Street, Suite B-101, Goodyear, Arizona 85338 Meeting agendas and to Watch Online Here
Jen's Note: This is a blog opinion piece about my take from the Goodyear City Council worksession and in no way a representation of all residents in Estrella.
This worksession, February meeting, was very well run and I think our leaders are closer to making some headway on the topic. Unfortunately, the amount of time and tax dollars about to be spent is controversial. Goodyear Fire Chief Paul Luizzi was given the opportunity to make a full presentation regarding fire service in our All-America City. He thoroughly explained the triggers and thresholds for building new fire stations. He also discussed where the need currently is for improved fire service. The two main locations currently under review for building new fire stations are West Goodyear and Estrella... as discussed in this blog a month ago. TRIGGERS AND THRESHOLD REQUIREMENTS What are triggers and thresholds? They are the requirements which must be met before building new fire stations within various areas around our dispersed city. In 2008, triggers and thresholds for building new fire stations were set at:
ESTRELLA FIRE SERVICE HISTORY As it stands now, we have one fire station in Estrella. Fire station 182 is located on Estrella Parkway and Spring Drive near the Estrella Mountain Church. Fire station 182 had a call volume of 756 calls in 2015 and an average response time of 6 minutes and 42 seconds. If you recall from our last report, the main concern under review is service to south Estrella where Montecito and CantaMia are located. This area is referred to as the area south of the "Ray Road Alignment." In 2015, 58% of the calls to this area were reportedly MORE than 8 minutes from Fire Station 182. Calls increased 34% from 2014 to 2015 with a total number of calls to these southern villages being 147 annually. More than half of those calls were for EMS, not fire. This is the second of three triggers. Additionally, Buckeye Valley Fire District responded to 24 of these calls with a response time of 9 minutes and 58 seconds.  The only "trigger" being met for building a new fire station would be response times over 8 minutes because the number of calls to this area is just 147 annually... not the 500 which need to be met. The distance from Fire Station 182 to the area south of the Ray Road Alignment is 4 to 5.1 miles - under the 6 mile "trigger." ANOTHER AREA OF CONCERN IN ADDITION TO ESTRELLA West Goodyear is creeping up on meeting triggers and thresholds of its own. While no "triggers" are currently being met, the growth trends are showing it won't be long before they are.  SHOW ME THE MONEY The cost to build a fire station and staff it looks like this...  Goodyear's Director of Finance, Larry Lange, reports the city has $17 million dollars in GO bonding in which the voters already approved. So, instead of raising property taxes, the city can use these dollars to build the stations and use impact fees to pay for debt service. Since bonding is already approved, the city really needs to figure out a way to pay for the ongoing operating costs. Additionally, census funds can be used. AND the city reportedly holds $660,000 from Newland Communities and builders already collected to be used for constructing a fire station. A STUDY The Goodyear fire chief and staff essentially came to the worksession to discuss the option of conducting another study to see if the need is "now" for building these two fire stations. And boy... that questions rang some alarms. Here's a snapshot of the discussion. I guess the reason why I have a hard time getting my hands around it cause to me what should drive it, at least in my mind, is response times and what triggers happen to be. We’re not sure… We’re going to do a study today and 2 years from now, the whole growth pattern may change.” ~Councilmember Pizzillo Councilmember Joe Pizzillo says triggers should outweigh a study. Vice Mayor Sheri Lauritano, who lives in Estrella, has concerns about the redundancy in mutual aid and thinks a study would be good... and wants the study to include police service as the last study was conducted in 2008, a time when Goodyear was seeing exploding growth. We are getting a lot of medical calls.. and they say, ‘This might be a way to go’… I don’t know what the calls specifically are. But, I think the more information we get if we’re going to study it - let’s study it once - and get a plan because I know fire stations don’t magically appear in six months. We need some sort of plan in place as we grow.” ~Vice Mayor Sheri Lauritano Councilmember Joanne Osborne, who was not present for the January worksession, had some fantastic comments on this. She highlighted the concern of having response times over 9 minutes to Montecito and CantaMia in Estrella. She agrees with Councilmember Joe Pizzillo that staff should pin down triggers. She also points out that by the time the study is conducted, the next trigger of calls for service could be met. That’s critical to live saving. And that’s critical to brain damage, you know, any chance, you know, of having something be fixable. You’ve hit that for that threshold. And so, you know, it really does concern me when I see this eight minutes.” ~Councilmember Joanne Osborne Councilmember Osborne also asked if it would be feasible to partner with Maricopa County or the City of Buckeye to build the Estrella fire station south of Ray Road. Councilmember Sharolyn Hohman says studies are typically money flushed down the toilet. However, in this case, there's been so much growth and change since the last study in 2008 that it might make sense to conduct a fire service study. It would make sense that those plans may not be valid today, either, when we’re looking at fire and police for that matter.” ~Councilmember Sharolyn Hohman Last month, Councilmember Bill Stipp gave great insight into reasonable triggers and thresholds. While he was not at this worksession, he was able to provide input by phone. 1st, Councilmember Stipp asks Fire Chief Paul Luizzi what the real purpose is of conducting a study. To establish the proper location for stations. To establish the proper response and trigger threshold for construction of new stations. And really what we should be using now as our current response time, goals, benchmarks, and baselines, as we start to move forward and kinda see the city in a light of the way it’s being constructed now.” ~Goodyear Fire Chief Paul Luizzi So, if we’ve already identified twice now what the locations are based on the projected growth… I’m having a difficult time seeing what a third study is going to tell us that we don’t already know regarding the location of the stations.” Councilmember Bill Stipp Chief Luizzi defends the reason for the study. Is it valuable looking at the current station locations and are they in the right spots? And our future plan’s growth - are we currently going in the right areas?” ~Goodyear Fire Chief Paul Luizzi Then Councilmember Stipp points out the obvious. We know our police chief and our fire chief could want to say, ‘We need more,’ because we have allowed growth to occur in the pattern that we have and try to serve the community. So my concern is this report that we’re now going to PAY for - and I’m gonna tell you right now is going to be $50,000 and will police will be $65,000 to pay to have this report done - and it comes back and tells us that we’re ‘very short’ - what are we going to do then? Not that we don’t want to ask the question because we’re afraid of what the answer is, but we have to be prepared that intuitively we all know that we’re short and we all see the financial picture particularly as it’s laid out in the CIP that we’re not even talking about having, um, the development money till the early ’20’s… those could be five years too late.” ~Councilmember Bill Stipp Councilmember Stipp is in favor of putting the $65,000 needed for this study toward other needs. We gotta figure out a way to get ahead of this because… we’re maybe - what? - a year, year-and-a-half away, from just on the calls the western part just meeting on the number of calls. And it’s going to be more and more challenging up the hill [Estrella] when we get to south of Ray Road as a result of the redundancy with one outfit - or one station - not gonna be in. So nothing down there. And if you got a critical nature and it takes 10 minutes to get there, we’re gonna know what the result of that’s going to be. So, again, I think it’s real important to figure out a plan from a finance standpoint of how all this comes together.” ~Councilmember Joe Pizzillo Councilmember Joanne Osborne laid out the potential timeline for any real action to take place.
Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord pointed out the council and city staff need find a "balance" in the budget. What a shame we didn’t partner with Buckeye on a fire station.” ~Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord Mayor Lord is right on the money. The City of Goodyear is known for - and has been recognized for - its ability to partner with other cities and agencies to make great things happen here. While she knows there will be public criticism, she believes the majority of council is asking for finite stats. This is a very difficult, difficult situation to make decisions on.” ~Mayor Georgia Lord JEN'S TAKE This is a horrible decision to have to make. My concern is that the city continues to approve building permits resulting in more growth while these communities get closer and closer to tripping these triggers. Mayor Georgia Lord caps the discussion with this.... We did do this. When we have new communities, we notify the buyer, via their contract, on an addendum, what the response time was. And that we have a trigger of so many homes being built that that’s when it had to take place. So you have to be careful that you’re not gonna kill development. Cause if you kill the development, there goes your entertainment, there goes your retail, there goes all the things that you’ve all asked for and want. So it’s a really delicate balance here on how we end up with this.” ~Mayor Georgia Lord THANK YOU GOODYEAR for setting the tone for the meeting so the fire chief could be heard and not rushed. I also encourage the city to bring the next fire station "discussion" to Estrella so more residents will attend and be involved. We have one Estrella resident on the Goodyear City Council and decisions like this deserve more resident input. I appreciate your concern on this matter and taking the time to continue the discussion. Thank you. MEETING GALLERY LINKS GOODYEAR CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION FEBRUARY 29, 2016 HERE ESTRELLA MOUNTAIN RESIDENTS BLOG FROM JANUARY MEETING HERE
Note: I am a resident of Estrella. I am not an expert in fire protection. In 2010, Goodyear fire fighters responded to an arson fire at my home in Estrella. This is what I was able to pull together from last night's Goodyear City Council work session. Yes, my opinion is interjected in this article. ~Jen
The chief is in a difficult position. He's got a union behind him saying, 'We need more people.' He's got a city manager who says, 'Holy smokes, we can't spend all of our money on fire protection.' We have a community that says, 'We want parks, we want this... we can't put all of our money in fire stations.' And, oh by the way, we got a police chief who's gonna sit there and say, 'Hey, what about us?' ... It's all a balance, but we need to have the information to make the right decision. And right now, saying this is a 'requirement' and this is how it lays out, we need to understand the foundation for the information. And right now, for me, it's a wobbly ground. ~Councilmember Bill Stipp Estrella is made up of three villages. Mountain Ranch, which opened in 1988, is the northern most area of Estrella. Mountain Ranch is 74% built out and has nearly 4,700 lots being developed. The next two villages are south of the Ray Road alignment. The first is Montecito. Opened in 2007, it began construction south of the Ray Road alignment. The next is CantaMia which began construction in 2009. As of November 2015, 647 homes had been built south of the Ray Road alignment. It's anticipated the land south of the Ray Road alignment will have 4,000 rooftops.  The Ray Road alignment - marked in a dashed blue line - marks the growth area headed south and the subject of the work session considering fire service delivery demands in our community. The Ray Road alignment is where Calistoga Road is today. Over the past nine years, the City has issued an average of 9 new single-family home permits a month south of the Ray Rd. alignment; in the last three years the City has issued an average of 14 new single-family home permits a month. ~Goodyear Staff Report CURRENT FIRE SERVICE DELIVERY TO MONTECITO & CANTAMIA Estrella's Fire Station 182 - the station just near Estrella Mountain Church - started out as a temporary awning in the mid-1990s and was formally constructed and completed in 2003. This work session was put on the agenda to again discuss the construction of a second fire station in Estrella... Fire Station 186, previously called 804. The 2006 DA originally contemplated that the fire station would be completed by 2008 and fully manned in 2009. However, due to the downturn in the economy, the construction of the station was put on hold in 2008. ~Goodyear Staff Report This map shows miles and minutes for Estrella's current fire station - Fire Station 182 - to currently service the area south of the Ray Road alignment.  THE COST TO MOVE FORWARD Council members discussed conservative ways to improve services to homes south of the Ray Road alignment. But, it appears going conservative may not be the answer. What would be the cost to add... a truck... or add additional personnel to the station we have? ~Vice Mayor Sheri Lauritano & Estrella Resident This is what we were able to compile during what was a very choppy back-and-forth discussion:
When I did come to you in 2014, you specifically said from the council that, "Don't think that you have to have all three triggers hit in order for you to come back to us.' ~Goodyear Fire Chief Paul Luizzi In the effort to find cost cutting measures, Council member Campbell also asked what it would cost to add just a two man "medical" crew at the current Estrella fire station. The responses are worth taking note. We could do something smaller or different, could we not? ~Wally Campbell, City Councilmember From a station standpoint, I don't know that you want to build a small one because eventually you're going to have to add on as the population starts to grow, the call volume starts to grow, and that you're adding on additional costs in later years to a station. My standpoint is prudent to build one station once and build it as we currently build our fire stations with three bays. ~Fire Chief Paul Luizzi This proposed fire station is designated as being a battalion station. At some point we'll have a battalion chief in Estrella. Why? Most of Goodyear's growth will happen SOUTH of the Gila River. THE REAL COST? LIVES. Adding just a two-man crew to the current station would be a "clock stopper" move. They'd be first to arrive. Because they'd be medical... they wouldn't be able to help on a structure fire at all. "So you're still waiting the time for additional support to come," states Fire Chief Luizzi. Even if you just put in a two-man crew, you still have a time and distance issue south of Ray Road. ~Fire Chief Luizzi Council member Bill Stipp has a great deal of knowledge on this topic and provided some thoughtful input that seemingly put this discussion on track. We know based on years and years of study that a two-person EMS companies are not nearly as effective as four-person EMS companies. So when we're talking about delivering service, what we're really talking about is just getting somebody there. That's it... Let's ask ourselves, 'What level of service do we want to provide?' If we want to provide just band-aids and a rub on the shoulder or rub your back, then two people is the way to go. If we want to provide advance life support, we need to be all in. ~Councilmember Bill Stipp
Fire Chief Luizzi maintains the council told him to come back with information as the demand for a station began apparent. While the next station... don't hit all of them, [triggers], there are some of them... The response time is greater than 8 minutes. ~Fire Chief Luizzi Also note, some of the development south of Ray Road is creeping towards 6 miles away. "The area is certainly starting to develop and grow," Fire Chief Luizzi tells council. NATIONAL STANDARDS VS. ESTRELLA STANDARDS Council member Stipp reminded participants that the city previously had a discussion on triggers for a new station and how did the city come up with its own standards. His statements and input should be noted by residents: A response time greater than 8 minutes for 30% of the time exceeds all of the national standards. National standards are 4-6 minutes. So we're doubling the national standard by saying we're okay with 8 minutes. ~Councilmember Bill Stipp Council member Stipp goes on to say, "The Insurance Services Organization which rates insurance companies that sets our insurance rates says, 'The stations should have a geographic response area of a one-and-a-half circle.' The industry says, 'If you were to take a two-and-a-half mile polygon... and lay it in the same place, you're going to have to cover about the same area, but it's about two-and-a-half miles." So even if we were to apply both of those standards, 6 miles is still well outside of that." ~Councilmember Stipp BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME. BUT, IS GOODYEAR READY? City council approves a lot of things. They've approved rooftops. But, what about approving the safety mechanisms for those lives? An ah-ha moment was had... My fellow council members, we are pretty darn close. [Meaning close to hitting all the triggers for a new fire station.]~Councilmember Stipp So, we're dealing with sprawl. ~Mayor Georgia Lord We are doing this to ourselves.... That's another sprawl scenario that we keep approving households in. ~Councilmember Stipp This triggers and thresholds was provided to us in the staff report as ‘requiring’ this [construction of a new station in Estrella]. This is a self imposed restriction. And ‘we’ as a collective council don’t have the ability to overcome that. The staff report says, ‘This is what’s required.’ Well it’s not required. It’s recommended. And we need to have a discussion about 8 minutes, 6 minutes, 4 minutes, a hundred fire stations or five fire stations. What level of service do we want? ~Councilmember Bill Stipp DEVELOPER DEALS & WHAT'S IN PLACE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN According to a 2006 city council action form, "... representatives of Newland Communities and City Staff have been negotiating a Development and Fire Services Agreement to satisfy the zoning stipulation requiring a second fire station in Estrella Mountain Ranch with the 501st building permit south of Ray Road." Again, from what we've been able to piece together in a choppy discussion, this is what we believe to be the facts:
Because of a lack of organization and time... this conversation was put on hold. Here's my opinion. And it's just that. I feel the fire chief is trying to tell council it's time to build a station. I feel Councilmember Stipp is questioning why the city isn't gunning for top notch fire protection. And I feel other council members are advocating for conservative measures despite the current need. Let's hope this topic gets put back on the agenda and is discussed all the way through without a time limit. We need our city leaders to come to a conclusion on this. And the people need an answer. Jen's Opinion: Work sessions have been historically hard to follow. The presenters come into these meetings with a thoughtfully laid-out presentation. However, council members interrupt with questions and take the conversation off the beaten path. Questions that could be answered in a thoughtfully presented manner could be answered... and lead to better discussions. I beg of council to let the presenters give their presentations then open up for discussion. This topic needs more discussion and has now delayed the important issue at hand... "When will Estrella get a new fire station?" Our fire chief was forced to hurry up his presentation and the topic was cut short due to the regular council meeting about to begin. This is not a good way to represent residents when lives are potentially at stake. When questioning the staff report, various members of the council said they did not have the information. We were easily able to find the information on the city's website in the agenda for this meeting. In fact, we've pulled some quotes directly from those reports. We're posting the agenda here for anyone who would like to review the documents. When sending out agendas to council, I recommend staff follow up with each council member to make sure they have all they need BEFORE a council meeting... even if it means pointing out where to find all the documents.
Additionally, the correct pronunciation of Estrella is Es-Tray-Uh. Double ll's in Spanish are silent. This community is growing. And it's a disservice to the history of this land to keep pronouncing it improperly. Finally, thank goodness for Bill Stipp. He provided the most eye-opening material and we are fortunate to have his expertise on this. Having a diverse council with various backgrounds is incredibly important... and this meeting is a great example of why voters should be paying attention to who they're voting for. Saving money is important. Saving lives is more important. You never need a fire truck... until you need a fire truck. What are YOUR thoughts? Discuss on the Estrella Mountain Residents Facebook page here.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Barber is a Goodyear resident resident of almost 20 years and a retired broadcast news journalist. Involved in various nonprofit and city organizations since 2008, Barber has a unique view of what's happening in the West Valley of Arizona. 
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