The Town of Clarkdale was among 10 local governments who have been recognized for their outstanding programmatic contributions to local government by ICMA, the International City/County Management Association. ICMA’s 2016 Annual Awards Program recipients will be officially honored at a Celebration of Service to the Profession, as part of the organization’s 102nd Annual Conference on September 28, 2016.   The Town of Clarkdale’s award will be officially presented to the Clarkdale Town Council during their meeting on Tuesday, October11, 2016 at 6:00 p.m.

The Town of Clarkdale received a Program Excellence Award in the Community Sustainability category for the demonstration of water sustainability in their Centennial Plaza project.  The award recognizes innovative local government programs or processes that creatively balance a community’s social, economic, environmental, and cultural needs.

According to Town Manager Gayle Mabery, “The Town of Clarkdale is very honored to receive this prestigious award from the International City/County Management Association.  This an award our whole community should celebrate!  Our Town Council set a vision for a sustainable community, our citizen’s endorsed that vision through the adoption of the Town’s 2012 General Plan, and our staff worked hard at every stage of this project: planning, construction, implementation and maintenance … to achieve not only an award-worthy result for Clarkdale, but a project that is a true demonstration of sustainability for our community.”

The ICMA Local Government Excellence Awards Program highlights creative contributions to professional local government management while demonstrating the difference that this kind of management makes to the quality of life in our communities. ICMA’s Program Excellence Awards are presented to local governments, their chief administrators, and others within the 10,000+ member organization in recognition of their innovative and successful programs.  This year, an independent, 21-member evaluation panel reviewed the eligible nominations.

“We congratulate the recipients of our 2016 Program Excellence Awards and the administrators and managers who lead them,” says ICMA Executive Director Bob O’Neill. “The communities and men and women recognized this year set the standard for innovation, effectiveness, and creativity. We thank them for their commitment to improving the lives of the constituents they serve every day.”

The City of Apache Junction has recently received the United States Green Building Council’s “Heavy Medal” LEED certification award. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for energy conservation and sustainability.

According to City Manager George Hoffman, “LEED is a voluntary, market driven program. It is all about creating healthy spaces for employees and the public.”

The award ceremony was hosted by Paul Horton from Channel 5 News in Phoenix, and city of Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton who was the keynote speaker at the event.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods that make economic sense.

Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and spearheaded by Robert K. Watson, Founding Chairman LEED Steering Committee from 1995 until 2006, LEED is intended to provide building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

By Cathy Rymer, Chandler Water Conservation Coordinator

In 2012, 199 Chandler water audit participants saved over 10 million gallons of water after following advice from the city’s water conservation staff. That’s a lot of water and it also means hundreds of dollars saved by residents.

A water audit is simply a free on-site evaluation of water-using fixtures, hardware, equipment, landscaping, and management practices to determine the efficiency of your home’s water use. Once an audit is requested a Chandler Water Conservation Specialist will tour the property to show how you can locate leaks and learn practical ways to repair them.  You’ll even receive money-saving rebate and incentive information. Best of all, your appointment can be conveniently scheduled M-F between 6:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

This citywide program is offered free-of-charge to Chandler water customers. A separate program for HOA’s and commercial properties also is available and includes preparation of a water budget to help determine landscape water efficiency. The results of eight water budgets tracked in 2012 resulted in estimated savings of 7,963,000 gallons.  Conservation programs such as water audits recently garnered Chandler recognition from NerdWallet, a consumer advocacy website out of San Francisco (http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/2013/cities-with-innovative-green-initiatives).

Other water-saving programs include high water use notification post cards sent to residents who used more than twice as much water as the month before. This proactive approach helps catch leaks as soon as possible.  In 2012 more than 1.5 million gallons were saved due to this program.  The landscape conversion rebate program provided rebates for the removal of unused grass areas replaced with desert adapted plants.  Residents saw a 25 percent reduction in their landscape water use due to conversions in 2012 or a total of 1.3 million gallons. Non-residential conversions had an estimated savings of 472,700 gallons in 2012.

The use of smart irrigation controllers also produces significant water savings.  Besides receiving a rebate of up to $250, non-residential customers saved an average of 717,872 gallons per year. Residents also saw reductions in their water use with average annual savings of 31,681 gallons.