HISTORY
M discover , invest & thrive in maricopa aricopa is doing things di erently – and it's paying o ! We're building a reputation for turning ambitious dreams into reality, and the best part is we're doing all this while lowering property taxes for the sixth year in a row! The Mayor and City Council are committed to making Maricopa an even more attractive place to live. Here's a glimpse into the exciting developments taking place in our city.
Betting the farm
Ed and Tootsie Farrell, along with their
children, Edna and Eddie Jay, moved to Maricopa in 1948 to farm cotton. News broke that Maricopa’s land was just right for this enterprise, and Ed Farrell took advantage of it. Ed Farrell eventually operated a cotton harvesting operation called Farrell & Farrell Cotton-Picking, and later a tillage business with Eddie Jay. He built a warehouse next to the railroad tracks where farmers could store their wheat and vegetables and ship them to the market. Crops weren’t all Farrell saw in Maricopa’s future. He saw potential economic growth. Farrell bought the Maricopa Cash Market, renamed Maricopa Mercantile and Mayfair Market, and other businesses including the Chevron Station, Shell Oil Station, an insurance company and Headquarters Bar. He later sold many of those businesses.
Ed Farrell surrounded by a field of cotton bolls ca. 1950.
thrive in mar i copa
Major Investments in Infrastructure
Despite lowering property taxes, we are investing more in infrastructure than ever before. Fueled by our smart growth, we have developed the nancial stability to spend more on our infrastructure in the last four years than we had since the City was founded. The City Council has reemphasized this focus with the recently-approved budget. These improvements are not just about better roads—they're about creating a seamless, vibrant community.
Expanding Recreational Opportunities We’re making substantial quality of life investments, including a destination recreational Field House, new parks and green spaces, and the exploration of a business incubator and preforming arts center. We’re also putting tax dollars collected from visitors to work by o ering thrilling events that attract attention from across the Valley.
Fields of cantaloupes grown in Maricopa in 1956. Ed Farrell checks the crop.
THIS MONTH IN HISTORY For these and other historical stories, visit InMaricopa.com.
Building Together
For our community to continue to ourish, we must seize new opportunities. When you spend your money locally, you help those dollars stay in Maricopa and generate more economic activity! Together, we're building a brighter future for Maricopa!
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A Booming Retail Landscape
Enhancing Public Safety The opening of Maricopa’s new Police Headquarters is imminent, renewing our commitment to keeping residents safe. This year, we are also adding four new police o cers, three new re ghters, and additional public safety employees to connect our community to the resources they need in a crisis.
Whoops! Maricopa cops accidentally left a bag of narcotics at Butterfield Elementary School after a training drill. An email from the school to parents three weeks after the training stated the school was in a teaching lockdown while police searched for their lost contraband. It turned out a teacher had already found it and threw it in the trash, unaware what it was. No students were exposed.
A rollerblader stabbed two elderly people at Jane Askew Memorial Park in Rancho El Dorado. Two friends were walking their dog when the man rolled up, kicked the dog, slashed the owner’s chest with a box cutter and stabbed the other person in the back. Maricopa Police Department released a sketch of the suspect, a tall, mustached white man in his 40s, but he was never found.
Police responded to reports of a sheep stuck in a drainage ditch in The Villages at Rancho El Dorado. A walker told dispatch she heard bleating from the roadside drain. Officers found no woolen livestock, but instead, a very vocal frog that was anything but sheepish.
Bashas’ opened its doors as the city’s first supermarket. The soft opening was not as soft as expected, as the parking lot and aisles were both filled to capacity. Eddie Basha Jr., the company’s CEO and son of its founder, was in attendance.
Investors are taking notice! With anticipation of 500,000 -700,000 square feet of new retail space in the coming year, Maricopa is set to become a focal point for commerce. Get ready for more shopping, dining, and entertainment options right in your backyard.
InMaricopa.com | July 2024
July 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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