Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center – Photo Courtesy City of Chandler

Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center 

It’s as if a part of one of the bigger water parks resides within the Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center. Included in the center is a lazy river, water vortex, two water slides, family pool with zero-depth entry, toddler slides, and a 752-gallon “big blue bucket.”

http://www.chandleraz.gov/default.aspx?pageid=733 

Gilbert Aquatics 

Gilbert Aquatics encompasses four public pools: Greenfield pool, Mesquite Aquatic Center, Perry Pool and Williams Field Pool. Visitors of anyone of these locations will be kept busy with the many amenities offered. Between the four pools are water slides, a kiddie slide, a zero depth area, splash pads, tumble buckets, a water sprinkler, geysers, diving boards and shade ramadas. Events like a Family Pirate Party and Dive-in-Movies help to further enhance visitors’ experience.

http://www.gilbertaz.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/aquatics

Rhodes Aquatic Center

The Rhodes Aquatics Center is a place for those who miss the California tides. Aside from its beach-like entry, a splash pad, tumble buckets, and eight lap lanes, the Rhodes Aquatics Complex is also home to the famous FlowRider. The FlowRider crosses snowboarding, skateboarding and wakeboarding into an exciting ride as it simulates real waves that guests of the center can surf. The best part is that anyone can take on the FlowRider. Someone with no experience can jump on a boogie board and almost instantly start doing tricks.

http://www.mesaaz.gov/parksrec/Aquatics/pools/Rhodes.aspx

Kiwanis Wave Pool 

Kiwanis Wave Pool has brought the ocean to Arizona. With its pool that generates three-foot waves, guests can escape to Arizona’s indoor water haven. Kiwanis wave pool also offers a lap pool with six lanes, a 15 ft. tall double spiral water slide along with raft and tube rentals so guests can fully experience those waves.

http://www.tempe.gov/kiwanis 

Photo Courtesy Town of Paradise Valley

What would a trip around Arizona be without a visit to the spa? The Valley of the Sun boasts an array of spas and resorts, drawing visitors from all over the country to relax and bask in the beauty of the desert.

Paradise Valley is home to several of these resorts and spas and the trip to relaxation is just minutes away from most Valley cities. Historic boutique hotels like the Camelback Inn and Hermosa Inn reside in the vast desert landscape of Paradise Valley and other luxurious resorts like Sanctuary Camelback Mountain and Montelucia Resort and Spa, among others, call the town home.

Another benefit of being a resident of Arizona – lower rates at hotels and resorts during the summer! Be sure to check your local resort for summer rates that will have you relaxing in the spa while your family hits the pool.

http://www.ci.paradise-valley.az.us/352/Resort-Spas 

Photo Courtesy City of Tempe

Right in the heat of the Valley sun lies a desert oasis that serves as a recreational hub and gathering place. Tempe Town Lake, which was initially opened in 1999, offers 25 acres of recreation space and is the only place in the Valley where one can bike, run, picnic, boat and paddleboard just within minutes of downtown areas.

The venue is a top Arizona tourist attraction; some saying it only rivals the Grand Canyon in number of visitors annually. Each year, the lake sees thousands of participants enjoying local charity runs and competitive races, and many triathlons, including the Ironman Arizona call it home.

                      City of Tempe Glow Paddles –                         Photo Courtesy City of Tempe

Early morning or evening visitors can enjoy a stroll along the water’s edge, taking a 2-mile trek from the Mill Avenue to Rural Road bridge or strolling across the new pedestrian bridge, located just adjacent to the Tempe Center for the Arts. Daytime water adventurers can cool off on the lake’s surface, enjoying kayaking, rowing and stand-up paddleboarding activities, among others. Tempe Beach Park is also home to a 1-acre splash playground, where children can cool off and parents can enjoy some respite.

Come on down – the water’s great!

Photo Courtesy AZ Central

Hayden Flour Mill is a relic of our agricultural past, when Tempe was a small town surrounded by miles of farmland and anchored, economically, by the processing and marketing of grain, cotton, fruit, vegetable, and dairy products.

The Hayden Flour Mill is the oldest cast-in-place reinforced concrete building in Tempe. The mill that currently exists is the third building erected on that site; the two previous mills burned. The original mill started operations in 1874.

The ground of the Hayden Flour Mill, is now open for picnics and casual recreation. A small grove of trees allows for shady picnics. The north lawn is also open as a special event venue.  The new Flour Mill site includes the opportunity for people to look through the ground floor windows of the Mill and see some of the equipment that was used to grind flour.

Photo Courtesy of City of Scottsdale

The McDowell Mountain Ranch has everything a person in search of a pseudo beach adventure could want. Amenities at the center include a large tube water slide, 600-foot lazy river, zero-depth entry into a large play pool, water play features, interactive spray pad, grassy sections with multiple shaded areas, 8-lanes lap pool, diving boards, and a party island. The best part about the center is its midnight swims. The pool is open for night-time swimming the first Saturday of the month from June to August.

With four amazing facilities, the City of Scottsdale Aquatic Centers has a lot to offer this summer for aquatic fun! This summer, Scottsdale has themed its aquatic centers with the “Amazing Swim 2014: Swim the SEVEN WONDERS!” where you can visit any Scottsdale aquatic center and track your miles to swim your way to great prizes, better health, and fun destinations. There is no registration fee; just participate each time you use the facility throughout 2014.  The idea is to swim (the distance around or through,) the seven natural wonders of the world including Mount Everest, Victoria Falls, and the Grand Canyon! Compete against yourself, or compare your progress against other swimmers in Scottsdale.

For more information, call 480-312-POOL or visit http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/sports/aquatics.

Photo Courtesy of San Tan Mountain Regional Park

‘Help us protect the land, history and wildlife’ is the motto for the more than 10,000-acre southeast Valley park of the lower Sonoran Desert. The park ranges in elevation from about 1,400 feet to over 2,500 feet. Goldmine Mountain is located in the northern area, with a spectacular San Tan Mountain escarpment in the southern portion of the park. Near the town of Queen Creek, the San Tan Mountain area is an ideal location to enjoy a part of the Sonoran Desert and truly appreciate the desert habitat and its wildlife, where vegetation changes from creosote flats to dense saguaro forest. Various types of wildlife may be observed, including reptiles, birds, and mammals. Amenities are slated for future development.

Don’t forget to stop by the Visitor’s Center to pick up educational tidbits, purchase souvenir items, visit with park staff, and see the wildlife exhibits or tortoise habitat. Restroom facilities are available and additional amenities are slated for future development.

San Tan Mountain Regional Park

6533 W. Phillips Road

Queen Creek, AZ 85142

480-655-5554

E-mail: santanpark@mail.maricopa.gov

Park Hours

Sunday-Thursday: 6 a.m.-8 p.m.

Friday-Saturday: 6 a.m.-10 p.m.

365 days a year!

Photo Courtesy of the Arizona Republic

The city of Chandler is a growing community, home to a large population, a bustling downtown and the state’s biggest technology businesses.

Peeking through the busy-ness of the city is an 113-acre oasis that boasts lush wetland and desert wildlife. The Veterans Oasis Park is known as the city’s “non-traditional” facility, which features habitat suitable for diverse plants and wildlife and offers plentiful recreation opportunities at the site. The park includes park land, lake, wetlands and recharge basins, which infiltrate high-quality reclaimed water to the subsurface as part of the city’s comprehensive reclaimed water management plan.

Visitors to the park can experience recreational opportunities galore. There are more than four miles of trails and wildlife viewing areas. Families can also enjoy a daytime picnic in the ramadas and picnic areas and introduce children to wildlife in the butterfly and hummingbird habitat. Children can also roam around and enjoy the outdoor ampitheatre and a unique learning-oriented playground. There is also a 5-acre community fishing lake, equestrian trails and a Solar System Walk.

Take a day trek away from the hustle and bustle of the burgeoning east valley communities and enjoy all the amenities this park has to offer.

http://www.chandleraz.gov/default.aspx?pageid=682

Report identifies key performance metrics; promotes transparency and opportunities for increased efficiency

The town of Gilbert is pleased to present its first benchmark report, which is available online at http://www.gilbertaz.gov/home/showdocument?id=2862. Created as a component of the town’s performance management strategy, the report includes 83 measures across 17 departments, utilizing a total of 33 benchmarks in 15 states. Ten Arizona communities are listed as benchmarks.

Navigating the Report
Page 11 provides a map of the benchmark communities in each state; pages 12-15 include a matrix of the benchmarks and departments, as well as some high-level comparative data, such as median home value and per capita income. Department benchmarks begin on page 17.

Benchmark Uses and Benefit to Citizens
Benchmarks provide greater context to municipal operations and are a valuable tool in gauging performance. They allow a city or town to look outside its four walls to examine how it compares to other municipalities of similar size and function. Similarly, benchmarks offer citizens perspective on the various services their city or town provides. For example: How many acres of developed parks are in each community? What are average response times for fire and emergency services? How do local sales tax rates compare? What would an average monthly water bill cost?

These measures and many more are included in the report.

For the town of Gilbert, benchmarks were also designed to identify not only where the town is excelling, but also where the organization might look to incorporate demonstrated successes and process improvements that other organizations have explored.

As other cities and towns explore similar efforts, each will be able to share data and compare operations – all with the ultimate goal of determining the services and offerings that are best fit for each community. To that end, the town of Gilbert is a member of the Valley Benchmarking Cities group through the Alliance for Innovation and ASU, a group comprised of several Phoenix metropolitan area cities that meet monthly to share and discuss performance metric data. The member cities have been a tremendous help in sharing data and providing feedback on the Gilbert report. The town looks forward to continuing its work with this group.

Through these and other efforts, the town of Gilbert’s performance management strategy drives the organization to continually seek new opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of services.

Questions? Comments? Visit http://www.gilbertaz.gov/departments/management-budget.

In Apache Junction, George Hoffman serves as the City Manager. Serving his community since 1987, Hoffman is an excellent leader, implementing long-lasting improvements and holding high ethical standards. He has prepared the community for growth, positively positioned the community with a low level of bonded indebtedness and demonstrated that Apache Junction is a community on the forefront with the first LEED Certified municipal building in Arizona.

George has not only benefited the citizens of Apache Junction; he strives to ensure positive and proactive partnerships with the business community, as well as other government entities in the region. Hoffman said that as city employees, they are “blessed to have responsibility for an organization and for a community.” He said that they “do not ‘own’ the organization, but we have the opportunity to serve others and to leave an organization and a community better than when we started.”

For his leadership and dedication, George recently received the 2013 Dwight W. Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award from the East Valley Partnership.

City managers like George are some of the many people who make Arizona cities and towns work!