2024 September InMaricopa Magazine

2024 September InMaricopa Magazine - View more at InMaricopa.com

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September 2024

Nobel Fleece Prize Save the drama for your llama — this easy-breezy exotic pet is a different member of the crew from Peru

GOVERNMENT • BUSINESS • COMMUNITY • SPORTS • HOME • MORE

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CONTENTS

LEADING OFF Editor’s letter 4 Contributors 4 HISTORY Maricopa’s Old Town Road 6

This month in history 6 GOVERNMENT City announced return of Wild West Music Fest. Then, nothing happened 10 Permits 18 One type of crime exploded in Maricopa. But why? 20 COMMUNITY A darling touch of South America in our city 22 He lost his leg. But he didn’t lose his spirit 24 Discover the magic behind this beauty must-have 26 From staycations to foreign nations, locals enjoy summer holidays of fun 28 Hypnotherapy bewitches some, but not all are under its spell 30 Mental health isn’t on-size-fits-all. So, here’s a sizing chart 34 SPORTS She tried, failed and almost gave up. Then, she won a gold medal 36 Is this the hottest sport in America? In Maricopa, it just might be 42 BUSINESS Briefs 46 Business owners beware of this new law 48 Oh, sheet! It’s the city’s first mattress store 50 Restaurant inspections 51

LITTLE TO NO WAIT TIMES • 24/7 HOSPITAL & EMERGENCY SERV ICES SPACIOUS PRIVATE INPATIENT ROOMS • PERSONALIZED CARE PLANS ON-SITE CLINICAL PHARMACY, LABORATORY & RADIOLOGY SUITE HIGHLY SKILLED STAFF & PROVIDERS • RAPID ACCESS TO YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS Your Community. Your Hospital. Maricopa's state-of-the-art Hospital and 24/7 ER is ready to serve you. uality Care Close to Home Q Accepting all commercial insurance plans, Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare. We honor in-network benefits for emergency services even if we are out-of-network with your plan.

HOME How to make your garden more a-peel-ing 52 In metro Phoenix, Maricopa still the low-price housing king 54 There’s fun-sized living in your future thanks to new law 56 Investing in rental? Now’s the time 59 Extreme home sales 60

EVENTS Calendar 62 TRENDING A look at what’s hot on InMaricopa.com 71 PARTING SHOT On the corner of Mane Street 72

ON THE COVER Are you sure dogs are man’s best friend? Bryan Mordt captures Oscar Garcia and his mejor amigo, Jesse the alpaca, at Homestead Lake Aug. 17. These Peruvian cousins of the camel look like a cross between a sheep and a giraffe, and many like Garcia say they’re better pets than pooches. They’re technically livestock, but even your HOA won’t care.

WWW.EHC24.COM/MARICOPA 10960 N. John Wayne Parkway | Maricopa, AZ 85139 | 520.534.0700

InMaricopa.com | September 2024

September 2024 | InMaricopa.com

FROM THE EDITOR

S SO, YOU NOTICED THE ALPACA ON OUR COVER. Cute little fellow, eh? That’s Jesse, and he lives somewhere near you. Like the rest of us, with few and far-between exceptions, he’s no Maricopa native. Our cover model is as Peruvian as a plate of ceviche. But that’s where the similarities between us end. Alpacas are highly social critters that have best friends and sworn enemies. Some are extraverted, others introverted. They’re known to be clumsy and messy, and they play pranks on each other, always getting into trouble. They have no concept of personal space. They hold grudges. They spit when they’re mad and they drink gin when they’re happy (for real, look it up). They’ve adapted over time to endure intense sun rays. Maricopans, on the other hand... oh, wait. OK, so we’re a lot like alpacas, after all. British author Fiona Cameron Lister wrote last year that there are five life lessons we can learn from alpacas. Firstly, the challenge is to be open to learning from it. Like the city did with its Wild West Music Fest last year. If you’ve been reading InMaricopa for any significant length of time, you’ll know the wild-ish, not-at-all-western festival went off with a hitch. After announcing the music would return this year, we’ve heard only crickets. Justin Griffin, in this edition, discovers how the city is learning from its mistakes in its efforts to bring the festival back a second time.

Life lessons from an alpaca

Publisher SCOTT BARTLE

The second of Lister’s axioms is to feel the fear and do it anyway. Alpacas don’t like change, and Maricopans are resistant to it, too. But Tom Schuman tells us how one local woman’s leap of blind faith made her a world champion in sport.

Managing Editor ELIAS WEISS

Advertising Director VINCENT MANFREDI

The third lesson we can learn from alpacas is to fully relax at the drop of a hat. I enjoyed seeing where my neighbors took their summer holidays this year, and here in the first month of fall (according to the calendar, not the weather), I’m also excited to share these memories with all of you. Fourth on the list: It’s more fun with friends. Being social creatures, alpacas are keen to hop on all the latest camelid trends.

Advertising TAWNI PROCTOR MICHELLE SORENSEN

Writers JEFF CHEW KRISTINA DONNAY

WENDE GEHRT JUSTIN GRIFFIN DAYV MORGAN BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR. BRIANNA REINHOLD TOM SCHUMAN CHRIS J. SCOGGIN MONICA D. SPENCER SHERMAN AND EUPHEMIA WEEKES

Similarly, high school student-athletes in Maricopa are joining one of the nation’s newest and fastest-growing sports in larger numbers than ever before. Meanwhile, thanks to a new law, adults are getting excited to build casitas and hang out in larger numbers at home. Jeff Chew will tell you more. Finally, alpacas teach us to practice stoicism. As prey animals, they work hard to hide their weaknesses from the world. We do, too. But in this issue, Monica D. Spencer will show you how vulnerability and confronting your weakness can be a powerful thing. I hope you’ll enjoy these stories and more. As always, thank you for reading InMaricopa .

Photographers JEFF CHEW BRYAN MORDT VICTOR MORENO

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 9 InMaricopa 44400 W. Honeycutt Road, Suite 101 Maricopa, AZ 85138

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

CHRIS J. SCOGGIN Accountant Chris answers all your questions about a new law that, if ignored or misinterpreted, could spell serious trouble for your small business. If only lawyers offered free advice, too!

WENDE GEHRT Daquiri, anyone? Master

BRIANNA REINHOLD Therapy isn’t one-size- fits-all and options can be overwhelming, even for

Gardener Wende has a bunch of tips for growing bananas here in the desert. It’s like a permanent vacation to a tropical island, but without the beach.

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.

psychologist Brianna. That’s why she’s breaking down your possible treatment approaches.

InMaricopa.com | September 2024

HISTORY

Memories flooding back Maricopa historian Patricia Brock’s 1946 photo (below) of the unpaved Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway looks west toward the city. The Richfield Service Station, which would become the Texaco Service Station a decade later, is the white building in the center, while the DeHart homestead is on the left. The DeHart family were early pioneers in the area, and their home was once used as a U.S. post office building. Rhoton’s Store is on the right, at the end of the street where Napa Auto Parts would later set up shop. During winter storms, spring rains and summer monsoons, the unpaved highway would wash out. High school kids, pictured here (above), were bussed to Casa Grande until the mid-1950s.

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

5 years ago

10 years ago

15 years ago

20 years ago

The first hotel inside city limits broke ground. Franchise owner Andy Bhakta turned earth with his family, partners and city officials at La Quinta Inn, right next to Copper Sky Regional Park. “We have this beautiful park and it’s one of the nicest in the state, and yet we don’t have the ability for folks to come and have tournaments here and stay here,” then-Mayor Christian Price said five Septembers ago. “It’s a really big deal.”

A 56-year-old substitute bus driver trainee for Maricopa Unified School District was arrested and charged with two counts each of indecent exposure and disruption of an educational institution after flashing his genitals to high school students on a bus one Friday afternoon. Paul Dickerson was seated behind the driver when he reportedly flashed two girls under 18 and a male over 18. He was terminated. In 2016, he would plead guilty to one felony count of interfering with an educational institution in a plea bargain.

Maricopa City Council decided the fate of the “old library” on Maricopa- Casa Grande Highway, dedicating it as a center for veterans and seniors. Today, it’s the Maricopa Museum and Visitor Center.

A Pinal County sheriff’s deputy busted a speeder on State Route 347 with $1.5 million worth of marijuana. The deputy caught him on radar going 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit near Peters and Nall Road. The driver fled on foot as police found 3,000 pounds of bundled weed in the back of his van. A few days later, Pinal County Sheriff’s Office and Ak-Chin police recovered 6,000 more pounds of weed, two stolen pickup trucks, military clothing and a loaded gun while executing a search warrant at a home on Ralston Road. No arrests were reported in either case.

InMaricopa.com | September 2024

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GOVERNMENT

Maricoachella They said Wild West Music Fest was coming back. Where is it? BY JUSTIN GRIFFIN

Hold your horses, partner The city and SLE are examining the festival’s viability as part of ongoing negotiations for its return. “We were certainly hopeful that [negotiations] this year would be speedier, but I don’t want to speak for them,” Konold said of the promoter. “You need to ask them, but I think they’re taking a look at the totality of, ‘How much is this worth to us?’” SLE CEO Steve Levine told InMaricopa Aug. 16 he was “very excited to return to the city of Maricopa to bring back another year of Wild West Music Festival.” “Last year’s event was a great kick-off, and we’re eager to build on that momentum for year two,” Levine said, being careful not to answer whether year two was this year or some other year.

understatement, about their readiness to see the festival become a yearly staple like Country Thunder in Florence. It’s been touted at Maricopa City Council meetings and was a topic at InMaricopa ’s City Council Debate on July 11, where Councilmember Bob Marsh spoke glowingly. “I liked it. I really enjoyed it,” Marsh said. “I think that an event like that will put Maricopa on the map as it grows. I think the Wild West Music Fest is a worthwhile event and I hope next year we can find a way to make it profitable.” With all that support, what’s the holdup? In an Aug. 6 wide-ranging interview with InMaricopa , Quinn Konold, Maricopa’s director of community enrichment, said just about every aspect of the Wild West Music Fest is being re-examined, from its timing to the duration — or even whether to have it at all.

The city pitched in $370,000 toward last year’s million- dollar festival, but after the final accounting, the event was a $250,000 loss. “They absorbed the loss,” Konold said of SLE. “Usually, a promoter just wants a flat fee and a percentage [of the proceeds]. When we put out our request for proposals, SLE was the only group who was willing to put their own skin in the game like this.” This year, the city’s buy-in is nearly 30% smaller than last year at $265,000. After a paltry turnout for the third day of last year’s event that led to the city handing out tickets for free, there’s been talk of limiting the scope of the next festival to two days. Another wrinkle is $240,000 of the funding will come from a bed tax, collected from people who stay at Maricopa’s

WHEN MAYOR NANCY SMITH ANNOUNCED THE RETURN of the Wild West Music Fest during her State of the City address in January, the event was positioned as a done deal. It’s in the city’s budget. New funding mechanisms for it are in place, requiring very little taxpayer money compared to last year. All systems go, right? Not exactly. The momentum behind the Wild West Music Fest has stalled. By late August, there was no announcement about when this year’s event would take place, and a contract had not been signed with promoter Steve Levine Entertainment. Last year’s event was held Oct. 13-15. From the outset, elected officials have been nearly unanimous in backing it and are vocal, and that’s an

I think the Wild West

Music Fest is a worthwhile event and I hope next year we can find a way to make it

profitable.” COUNCILMEMBER BOB MARSH

InMaricopa.com | September 2024

September 2024 | InMaricopa.com

GOVERNMENT

“Our goal with SLE is to continue to deliver a high level of musical talent,” Konold said. “If they come up with something else that we’re interested in, we can talk.” Taking another look Last year, the Wild West Music Fest lived up to the ‘wild’ part of its name. The ‘west’ part, not so much, with hip- hop headliners that made people say, “Oh, that guy is still around?” like Young MC, Flo Rida and Nelly, who after his Maricopa cameo went to jail on drugs and other charges.

only hotel, the La Quinta Inn at Copper Sky. This year, the bed tax collections are expected to surpass $250,000. Konold said the new arrangement will take the load off the city’s taxpayers. “I’m glad the bed tax has been identified and I think it takes some of the sting out,” Konold said. Last year, all $370,000 came from property and sales taxes. This year, those taxes would contribute only $25,000. The city’s 2024-25 budget, ratified in June, earmarks

We have a budget for each one of those and we have a budget have a budget for dog parks and we have a budget for our recreation fields. We have a budget for everything. So, should we call for public safety. We out one thing and the loss of money and not the rest of it?” MAYOR NANCY SMITH

$265,000 for the Wild West Music Fest. While last year’s festival was held the second weekend of October, it’s not a given future events will adhere to that pattern. The city also announced its Concerts in the Park Series last month, including two events on different weekends in October and November, which means the Wild West Music Fest isn’t likely happening then. “We’re discussing a range of dates,” Konold said, acknowledging future festivals aren’t tied to the anniversary of the city’s incorporation as was the case last fall. “For so many reasons, last year’s event

Konold cited the city’s lack of experience in struggling to attract quality talent, as well as the constraints of trying to do everything last-minute. After a contract negotiation that went on until July 10 last year, marketing wasn’t underway until July 26 for an event slated to start Oct. 13, leaving a mere 78 days to get the word out for a three-day music festival that didn’t previously exist.

Johnny Carboy, the marketing manager for TSE Entertainment, an event promotion company based in Austin, Texas, said timing is key, especially when you’re trying to market a multi-day festival in its first year. “Personally, I would prefer six to nine months for a multi- day festival,” Carboy said. He said rushing things sets event organizers up for failure. Boston, Mass.-based Gupta Media oversaw the marketing efforts for the 2022 Governor’s Ball, a music festival held in Queens, N.Y., which drew more than 150,000 guests. Recently, it published a white paper where it pointed out the average life of a ticket sales cycle for its festivals is 163 days. Konold admitted last year’s event was a scramble to the finish line but said the city couldn’t afford to do things the industry way. “Extra time means you might have to spend more money marketing,” he said. “That can eat into the budget of the overall event.” Konold also cited burnout, pointing to SLE’s flagship event, The Chandler Ostrich Festival. “People know it’s coming but they won’t announce the acts until a month-and-a-half ahead of the event to avoid fatigue,” he said. “They don’t want people to have fatigue of seeing the acts

Johnny Carboy

had to be held during that period in October,” Konold said. “It was a birthday party, and you hold those events as close as you can to the actual birthday.” As negotiations continue, Konold said the city’s biggest concern has been the quality of acts.

NOT ALL EVENTS CREATED EQUAL

SIGNATURE EVENTS highlight marquee occasions, namely Merry Copa, Great American Fourth and Copa Cultural. COMMUNITY EVENTS feature local favorites like dive-in movies at Copper Sky Aquatics Center, Concerts in the Park and the Pacana Pumpkin Walk. EVENT TOURISM hosts large-scale events designed to attract visitors from outside the community.

The Community Enrichment Department at Maricopa City Hall is charged with putting on the community events many residents attend each year. There are three levels — Signature, Community and Event Tourism. Here’s a breakdown of each category:

InMaricopa.com | September 2024

GOVERNMENT

SMILE WITH CONFIDENCE

and seeing everything all the time. “They want them excited about an event that’s coming around the corner.” Does profitability matter? In the world of music festivals, there’s no such thing as an easy buck. One of the highest profit margins for a festival is Coachella at 38%, which lasts for a week and has the most recognizable musical talent you’re going to find anywhere. For most smaller festivals, the profit margin is 5 to 10%, according to a published report, Music Festival Economics by Robert M. Brecht, a managing partner at TSE Entertainment in Austin. “It normally takes years for a festival to grow to where it can be successful,” Konold said. “SLE promotes Ostrich Fest and they’ve been doing that for 30 years. They told us that it’s only been profitable for the last seven to 10 years. It took years for people to recognize it.” Which begs the question: Is profitability the way to measure success? Mayor Smith at an April city council meeting said the job of the city government is to provide services, profit be damned. “We have community events, tourism events and signature events,” Smith said. “We have a budget for each one of those and we have a budget for public safety. We have a budget for dog parks and we have a budget for our recreation fields. We have a budget for everything. So, should we call out one thing and the loss of money and not the rest of it?” City Manager Ben Bitter agreed. “I think as we look at our budget, everything that we do is provide a service, whether that service is through the

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED WITH SALSA FEST Perhaps the biggest complaint about last year’s Wild West Music Fest was that it happened at the same time Salsa Fest, an annual tradition in Maricopa since 2004 celebrating the titular Latin American spicy tomato sauce, is normally held. “It would be about the same time as Salsa Fest and we literally just didn’t have time to do both the Salsa Fest and Wild West,” said Quinn Konold, Maricopa’s director of community enrichment. In a recent interview, Konold broke

the bad news — unlike the city, Salsa Fest will never celebrate its 20th birthday. At first, Konold explained, the plan was to hold Salsa Fest at a later date, but as he started to look further into it, he heard the interest was waning. “It wasn’t the same as it used to be,” Konold said. The community

started scrutinizing the festival. “At the last Salsa Fest, the health department told us we can’t keep doing this with amateur chefs preparing food,” Konold said. “They have specific stipulations for handwashing that would require every single station to have a physical sink.” Such a requirement would have easily doubled the cost of putting on the festival. Konold explained that to cover the extra expenses, The city was going to have to either make a sizable investment to keep this one event afloat or pass the costs along to the participants. In the end, it chose neither.

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Network stars had lost its picante edge. The city instead piloted a new event, Copa Cultural, to roll all the cultural celebrations into one festival. The final nail in the coffin, however, came when the Pinal County Health Department

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GOVERNMENT

FAITH H FAMILY H FREEDOM

provision of roads or through the service of providing an opportunity for events,” he said. “All of those things are types of services. But with a roadway as well as an event, we’re also providing an opportunity for economic growth because we view ourselves as a conduit to the growth of our own community and the quality of life within the community.” Konold said it all comes down to managing expectations. “The first year, everyone knows we’re not likely to see a profit,” Konold said. “Everyone has to take acceptance of that fact.” Building a brand In the Wild West Music Fest’s first year, there were many unknowns to be considered, like attendance, security and sanitation. Such items might seem boilerplate, but if you attend an event that lacks these, you’re unlikely to ever go back. Konold compared the first Wild West Music Fest to the opening of a new restaurant. He pointed out the experience attendees had at this first festival was going to affect its brand in the long term. “You have to make sure to get it right the first time,” Konold said. “It’s like if you try a restaurant for the first time, are you going to go back if everything’s a mess? No, you’re going to remember how gross it was and never go back.” With those thoughts in mind, Konold said the focus was the experience. “We put the pressure on SLE big time and told them it has to be safe and traffic has to be on point,” Konold said. “It has to be clean. We didn’t want to see neighborhoods filled with trash.” “They spent more money than they needed to,” Konold conceded. Room for improvement City leaders now have an idea of what to expect. Whether successful or problematic, everything was a learning experience, Konold said. “We now have a starting point,” Konold said. “We know we can scale down parking a little bit. We have a better understanding of what we’re going to need. We can reduce security and still be well within the margins of a safe event.” Each coming year is going to give the city a new set of data points. “And that’s what we want,” Konold said. “Every year, we’re going to take time and evaluate what we could have done better from a financial and operational standpoint. We want to see a pattern of progression.” Despite the stances of the mayor and city manager, Konold said: “We want to see our revenues meet our expenditures. We’ll look at that every year. And if there’s a point where we realize this is not penciling, we won’t do it. We’ll try other things.” He said the goal is to improve each year. The question is, starting when?

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surpass $250,000. Of the 5.5% the city collects, 5% will go to the Wild West Music Fest with the remaining half-percent funding arts initiatives. The bed tax is a new revenue stream for the city, which saw its first hotel open only five years ago. It goes by many names — occupancy tax, travel tax and lodging tax. Arizona’s travel board refers to it as a transiency tax. The tax is aimed at visitors

rather than residents. These funds are earmarked for tourism events to attract visitors to Maricopa. State law stipulates they cannot be used for any other purpose. In Arizona, bed tax rates vary. In Maricopa, it’s set at 12.4% with 5.5% going directly to the city. The rest goes to the county and state. The lowest bed tax in Arizona is Huachuca City at 8%. The highest rate is in Colorado City at 20%.

Under a new plan this year, funding for the Wild West Music Fest would change in both amount and source. The funding commitment will top out at $265,000. The money for the festival will come from two sources: $240,000 in bed tax revenues and $25,000 from the general fund. Maricopa’s bed tax collections this year are expected to

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IS MARICOPA MUSICALLY INCLINED? Maricopa is a young city — not even old enough to buy a beer. There are no real venues for live music. An unscientific InMaricopa poll in August posed a question to our readers as to whether they would attend the city’s new Concerts in the Park series, which starts next month.

More than one-third of the 600 respondents said there was “not a chance” they would go. One-fifth said they probably wouldn’t go.

WILL YOU ATTEND THE CITY’S NEW CONCERTS IN THE PARK SERIES?

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13% Definitely

14% Probably

18% Undecided

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InMaricopa.com | September 2024

COMMUNITY

GOVERNMENT

Growing Smarter At the turn of the millennium, Arizona began to pass laws collectively known as "Growing Smarter Legislation." This set of laws aims to ensure that communities grow in a way that allows future generations to benet from the foresight of today's residents. In the same approach, Maricopa is taking steps to ensure our growth unfolds in a smart and durable way. 1 General Plan Update Updated every 10 years, the Plan serves as a blueprint for the community's 2010 Porter & Maricopa-Casa Grande Hwy

and 7 in Desert Passage. Lennar to construct 3 homes in Anderson Farms. Meritage Homes to construct 13 homes in Rancho Mirage and 8 in Province. Richmond American Homes to construct 14 homes in The Lakes at Rancho El Dorado.

Lowe’s Home Improvement 3 permits valued at $21.7 million. Queen Creek Fiesta tenant improvement permit at 44460 W. Edison Road, Suite 100. The contractor is Laurshan Construction. Villas at West Maricopa Village swimming pool and spa permit at Innovation Villas. The contractor is Rondo Pools and Spas. Wal-Mart Stores tenant improvement permit for Wetzels Pretzels valued at $200,000. ZG Holdings 7 tenant improvement permit for Action Behavior Center at 41800 W. Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. RESIDENTIAL Century Communities to construct 6 homes in The Lakes at Rancho El Dorado and 4 in Tortosa. D.R. Horton to construct 11 homes in Sorrento and 3 in The Lakes at Rancho El Dorado. Gehan Homes to construct 4 homes in The Lakes at Rancho El Dorado. K. Hovnanian Homes to construct 1 home in Rancho Mirage and 13 in Santa Rosa Springs. KB Home to construct 1 home in Tortosa

BRIEF

Permits July 8 – Aug. 9

1 RESIDENTIAL SOLAR 20 RESIDENTIAL SWIMMING POOLS 88 SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES 3 TEMPORARY SIGNS Permits Issued

COMMERCIAL Apex Landco revision permit for a race garage. The contractor is American Technologies. Honeycutt Luxury Rentals 5 permits for garages and maintenance buildings at Honeycutt Run. Ironwood Ranch permit for 600-square- foot patio. Ironwood Ranch 5 permits for a maintenance building and clubhouse. The contractor is Colorado Structures. Karen Benedek tenant improvement permit for K’Bella Spa at 45004 W. Garvey Ave. valued at $16,000. Legacy Traditional School permit for 1,500-square-foot shade structure valued at $14,000.

collective goals and desires. The public will soon be invited to participate in the development of this updated document, to help plan for the future we want to see for Maricopa. Ultimately, the voters will decide if the growth plan matches their vision for Maricopa's future. Roads, Bridges, and Infrastructure 2 Until recently, the City of Maricopa planned projects ve years in advance. Now, as part of the annual budget process, the City Council approves a 10-year plan for growth in roads, trafc signals, re engines, and other vital infrastructure. This better prepares us for growth by taking a more extended view of future needs. To that end, new recreational amenities are on the horizon, with design recently starting on Civic Center Park and architectural design work advancing on the Field House at Copper Sky. 3 Local Jobs One of the best ways to keep people off State Route 347 is to keep them here throughout the day. Maricopa has set aside land for large-scale employment, with development slated to start later this year. These high-paying jobs are anticipated to transform Maricopa from a ‘bedroom community’ into a city pursuing its fullest potential.

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4 More retail variety Maricopa’s population has grown to a level that makes it attractive to large national retailers. Home Depot and Lowe’s are only the beginning of what we will see in the coming months. Retailers need population density to sustain their businesses. As new developments come online in the western and southern portions of Maricopa, these areas will also see associated retail uses. These projects have been in the works for years and are nally coming to fruition. 2024 Porter & Maricopa-Casa Grande Hwy

Maricopa’s mission is to be a thriving and durable community. By managing our nancial resources in a responsible way, we are able to fund the improvements and infrastructure necessary to sustain our community for many years. We aren’t just growing. We are growing smarter.

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InMaricopa.com | September 2024

September 2024 | InMaricopa.com

GOVERNMENT

CRIME IN MARICOPA

Want ?

Source: Arizona Department of Public Safety All 2024 data as of Aug. 11.

Assaults on cops up 5,150% in 2 years

SEX IN AGGRAVATED ASSAULT (PERP)

SEX IN VIOLENT CRIME (VICTIM)

ASSAULT ON POLICE

40% MALE 

50% MALE FEMALE   50%

60% 

9.333

CCORDING TO THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT of Public Safety, the incidence of assaults on police officers in Maricopa increased by an eye- popping 5,150% in just two years, from two

FEMALE

4.667

One-officer vehicle

Two-officer vehicle

assaults in 2021 to 105 last year. In response to this data, Maricopa Police Department Chief Mark Goodman released this statement to InMaricopa Aug. 16: “Unfortunately, an increase in attacks and assaults against law enforcement is a national trend. The FBI recently reported in May of 2024 that assaults on law enforcement hit a 10-year high in 2023. Over the past few years, societal changes have contributed to changing attitudes toward law enforcement which has contributed to the assault trend. Enhanced incident reporting through the implementation and use of NIBRS has also driven the numbers higher. Ways law enforcement agencies can prevent and mitigate assaults on officers is enhanced training in the areas of tactics, communication, de-escalation, critical incident response and decision making. Agencies can also decrease and prevent assaults on officers through building and maintaining trust with community members. Training is an integral part of our operations at MPD. Our officers regularly receive training that is critical in keeping them safe in the field. Our new police facility has great training facilities that provide a great environment for advanced training, and our in-house VIRTRA training simulator allows our people to regularly work on their tactics, de-escalation and decision-making skills. Also of great importance is our relationship with the community. MPD enjoys a high level of trust with those we serve, but we must always work diligently to continue to build and maintain that trust. MPD exists to serve the community, and it is our goal to be helpful and empathetic when addressing community issues. These are critical components in building trust. Modern policing regularly presents complicated equations, and many things we do are inter-related to one another. It is our hope that by finding the right combination of training, relationship building and service to the community we accomplish our public safety mission while simultaneously preventing violence.”

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Other dangerous weapon

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MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT BY THE HOUR

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2020 2021

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CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY

MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT LOCATIONS

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Category A

Drug/Narcotic

12 a.m. to 2:59 a.m. 3 a.m. to 5:59 a.m. 6 a.m. to 8:59 a.m. 9 a.m. to 11:59 a.m. 12 p.m. to 2:59 p.m. 3 p.m. to 5:59 p.m. 6 p.m. to 8:59 p.m. 9 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.

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COMMUNITY

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good for three days,” Garcia said, adding Jesse will still have food and water left when they re- turn home. Unlike dogs, alpacas don’t leave their busi- ness all over the yard. Domesticated alpacas poo and pee in the same place in a corner of the yard like a cat. Alpacas eat alfalfa and grass so they’re easy to clean up after. “I guess it’s just natural behavior for them to go in the same place,” Garcia said. Jesse eats on the cheap, too. A bale of hay for $20 and he’s good for a month, said Garcia, who manages an exotic luxury car dealership in North Scottsdale, Lapin Motor Co. Alpacas look like llamas but are far small- er. They top out at 130 pounds in a full coat of fleece. Once sheared they weigh much less. A full-grown alpaca may weigh less than a Saint Bernard or Mastiff. By contrast, a llama can reach six feet tall and weigh up to 500 pounds. Alpacas and llamas are both native to South America’s Andes Mountain region in Peru, Bo- livia and Chile. They are both members of the camel family. Jesse is trained on a leash and Garcia said he’s easy to take on walks. “The Maricopa Fire Department showed up at the park and posed with him for a photo,” Garcia remembered fondly. For fun, Garcia has been known to walk Jesse around the neighborhood on Halloween, dressing him up as a quadrupedal Batman. Jesse in March had an encounter with the Maricopa Police Department when someone left Garcia’s backyard gate open and the friend- ly alpaca hoofed it out, ending up in his favorite neighborhood park, munching on grass. He was quietly leashed up and escorted home with the help of a local cop without chase nor incident. Facebook was abuzz with Homestead North residents talking about a wayward alpaca they spotted near the lake and HOA representatives only laughed when a reporter asked about the itinerant animal. Garcia is now sure to lock his gates to keep Jesse from going on the llama, ahem, lam. The Garcias have since adopted a Maltipoo into the family, meaning Jesse has a new little puppy pal. For fun, Garcia said Jesse loves to play with his toys, especially a soccer ball, which he knocks about the yard with his head. “There’s nothing funnier than watching an alpaca play with a soccer ball,” Garcia said.

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legal to own in all 50 states, 15 without restric- tions, including Arizona where Jesse is one of 4,037 members of his species. It’s even legal to eat one, but don’t tell Jesse. “I really needed a companion, but I real- ly didn’t want a dog,” Garcia said of the fleecy friend he bought as a bachelor who now lives a low-profile lifestyle in his backyard. While on a walk around the neighborhood, he said he saw a sign advertising exotic animals for sale. That led him to a farm in Surprise where he was first introduced to an alpaca. Then, he ventured to another farm and found his best friend forever. That was five years ago, and Garcia said

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This pet is so quiet and low-key, you’ll hear no complaints from the neighbors nor HOA. If this sounds like a good fit, you might be in the market for an alpaca out back-a. Homestead North resident Oscar Garcia can tell you all about his love for the 130-pound pet alpaca, Jesse, that he endearingly calls Fausto. It’s “a nice, traditional Mexican name,” he said, and it means lucky or fortunate. Jesse, who turned 6 last month, was Garcia’s life partner before he got married. Alpacas are

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when he and his wife, Veronica, alpaca their bags for weekend trip, it’s no problem with Jesse. “The nice thing about him is as long as he has good water and good food, he is pretty much

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COMMUNITY

tourniquet and offered words of comfort. “She was an angel, dude. That’s an angel right there,” Bochat said. Marilyn Barillas found out from Facebook. Her boyfriend was already in an ambulance somewhere when she arrived at the scene, petrified. “I was scared, worried, I didn’t know how badly he was hurt,” Barillas said. Two days later, doctors amputated Bochat’s right leg. Blood vessels and ligaments were ripped into pieces — they could not save it. His left leg was in a cast and stitches sutured the gash in his head. Bochat today is in a wheelchair but keeps his spirits up. “He has really good upper body strength, so he is able to maneuver himself around, off the chair and into the bed,” Barillas said. Her boyfriend’s troubles aren’t in the rear- view mirror, though. ‘The driver of the Volkswagen failed to avoid colliding with the stopped vehicle,’ police say. Two weeks later and not so much as a phone call from Maricopa Police Department, Bochat said. He doesn’t know if he’s the victim yet, although

he feels like one, it could well have been his fault. MPD spokesperson Quinn Konold said Aug. 19 that “charges against both drivers are still pending.” “Evidence on the scene and contact with Bochat indicate possible alcohol impairment,” Konold said. DUI and accident investigation follow-up is currently underway. Regardless of legal and insurance outcomes, Bochat and Barillas want safer roads in Maricopa. “These are people’s lives, every day, we’re all going somewhere,” Barillas said. “Because of somebody else’s negligence, he’s now lost a limb.” It’s too early for Bochat to decide if he will try a prosthetic, hand controls or his left leg — no, that’s not illegal — but he is sure of one thing. He’s got more gas in his tank. To hell with his driving leg. “I love driving,” he said. “It can’t stop me.” “I might be an a**hole, but they were just frozen, dude.” JAKE BOCHAT

There’s no shoulder, so he pulled over as far as he could in the right lane, headed south just past Bowlin. He was coasting — he couldn’t go anywhere else. There wasn’t a car in sight that afternoon, just before 6:30 p.m. with sunlight still falling from a dusky sky, when he got out to pop the hood. Then came the impact. A 30-year-old man in a Volkswagen ID.4 SUV careened into his rear driver’s side, sending him flying into the nearby ditch. “I don’t know how I flew there, really, but I did,” Bochat said. “I tried to stand up real fast, but I fell to the ground. I immediately started panicking because I lifted up my legs and blood was gushing out of the right one.” People gawked as he stripped his shirt and tied it around his mangled leg to stop the bleeding. More blood poured from his head. “I was just cussing at those people, I was so mad,” Bochat said. “They’re not helping me because half of my leg’s lying next to me and they don’t want to touch me, but I was losing a lot of blood. “I might be an a**hole, but they were just frozen, dude.” Finally, one woman, petite and eight months pregnant, helped tighten his makeshift

What didn’t kill him made him stronger He lost his leg. But he didn’t lose his spirit

with, leaving behind a gruesome fountain of blood. “I just turned my life around out of a pretty bad slump,” Bochat told InMaricopa . “I guess that [tragedy] is what has to happen to you when you’re doing good.” Cars gave Bochat life. One nearly took it away. But, after that crash on Aug. 6, he said losing his leg was the “best way it could have happened.” Funny, that. You wouldn’t expect the longtime Heritage District resident to feel gratitude as he lay bleeding helplessly on a bed of rocks hot enough to char skin, lying in a ditch off John Wayne Parkway. But he did. For once, he was truly happy to be alive. He drove past that spot a thousand times before. Bochat, a 38-year-old mechanic in Maricopa, had been fixing up his friend’s 1979 Ford Mustang and took it for a spin. It was his day off. He was leaving Circle K, 18141 N. John Wayne Parkway, when the Mustang started acting up. Driving through the stoplight at Bowlin Road and John Wayne Parkway, the car “lost all power” and “went dead in the water,” Bochat said.

BY ELIAS WEISS AND BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR.

AKE BOCHAT’S LIFE ALWAYS revolved around cars. Ever since he was just 6 years old, tinkering away on that old Chevy Nova.

The future was bright. Until it turned dark. It’s 2004 in Maricopa; the city isn’t even a month old. A boring, one-stoplight, nothing town for the 18-year-old Bochat. This is the first time he steals a car. Not the last. Life didn’t get easier in the years that followed. He struggled to find his footing as a young adult; shoplifting, drugs, always skipping court. He wasn’t really hurting anyone except himself. He might even be culpable for his new fate. But cars — cars were his constant. They were cathartic for him. All the way up until the day one tore his leg off, the one he drives

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Jake Bochat is put on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance Aug. 6 (above). Jake recovers from leg amputation surgery in the hospital (farther up).

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September 2024 | InMaricopa.com

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