Here's what's happening in Surprise.
Excavators, apple cannons and a roller rink: a guide to the Desert Fall Festival
The festival on city land in City Center runs through Nov. 1. Admission gets you in the gate; several of the big attractions cost extra. The city has agreed to pay back up to $30,000 a year if the crowds come.
Community · By Staff Report
A coyote, a family hike and a shooting star: the art coming to 163rd Avenue
Eight traffic signal cabinets along one of the city's fastest-growing roads are getting designs by local artists, two of them students. The designs went before the city's arts commission Oct. 7.
Community · By Staff Report
Whitmann group tells Surprise council it has started 120-day clock toward incorporation
Jeffrey August of Keep Us Rural LLC said the city clerk turned away his filing on September 30 and that the group will petition Maricopa County when 120 days are up. The state law he cited starts that period when residents present the city with a petition for annexation, and The Surprise Standard has not seen what he filed.
City Hall · By Staff Report
Surprise will front $4 million for a road to its next shopping center. The developer has to pay it back.
The Alexandria Way agreement is a loan in all but name: up to $4 million out, repaid at 8% over 115 months. The agreement sets deadlines for the streets, not for the stores.
Business · By Staff Report
Dysart asks again: a smaller bond, a split board and no bond approved since 2006
Proposition 421 would borrow $71.4 million for a new elementary school, high school land and repairs. Voters have turned down Dysart's last three bond requests.
Schools · By Staff Report
Surprise's consultant says police need 115 more positions and fire 74. This year's budget adds 13.
Citygate Associates told the council in June that both departments are strained now and that about 35,000 more residents are coming. The stations are funded. Most of the positions are not, and the staffing plan has not come back to the council.
City Hall · By Staff Report