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Updated: March 7, 2022 @ 12:42 pm
The Avondale City Council voted unanimously to approve a new QuikTrip and training protocol for police officers, and offered an update on the aquatic center during its Feb. 22 meeting.
A small oversight on my part that we should clear up. Writing last week about Arizona’s new laws governing sex education — and one school district’s kerfuffle over chicken breasts — I may have inadvertently given the impression that our state Legislature had descended to new levels of absurd…
Arizona Outlaws Volleyball Club is an upstart program created by coaches Steven Ortiz and Kris Smith aimed at creating an affordable and great experience for young women in the West Valley.
The Avondale City Council voted unanimously to approve a new QuikTrip and training protocol for police officers, and offered an update on the aquatic center during its Feb. 22 meeting.
For the QT, 7.37 gross acres of land at the southwest corner of McDowell Road and 107th Avenue needed to be rezoned from agricultural to freeway commercial.
The freeway commercial zone accommodates a range of commercial uses, including office, medical, hospitality, retail and restaurants in a regional trade area along freeway corridors.
The 4,993-square-foot QT will have eight fuel pumps. A gas station with a convenience store use requires approval of a conditional use permit, which was also approved by the city.
Both requests passed with a vote of 7-0.
Additionally, parks and recreation staff updated the council on the Avondale Aquatic Center, including its design and budget status.
In July 2021, the city council approved funding for the aquatic center on the Civic Center Campus. The contracting team presented design concepts to the council in October 2021. Since then, the project progressed through to a 30% schematic design and CORE developed an initial cost estimate.
According to the city council report, $6 million is budgeted for the current fiscal year, with an additional $10 million tentatively planned for the next fiscal year. The aquatic center is estimated to cost $25 million, with an additional $5 million for design, pre-construction, IT and security infrastructure, and permit fees.
City reports indicate a cost increase because of the escalation of building materials, qualified subcontractor availability, lack of competitive bids from pool specialty contractors, and the COVID-19 impact on supply and labor.
The facility will feature a pool with 10 competition lanes, two diving boards and shallow lanes for programming. The recreation pool will feature a zero-depth entry pool, play structure, basketball hoops, volleyball area, lazy river, floatable obstacle course and three water slides.
Also on Feb. 22, the council unanimously voted to authorize an intergovernmental agreement with the town of Gilbert to utilize its sworn basic training academy for recruits.
Previously, the Avondale Police Department sent newly hired police recruits to the Phoenix Regional Police Academy (PRPA) and to Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. However, this year, that academy stopped offering basic training to outside agencies.
According to the city council report, the agreement allows Avondale police to fill vacancies quickly.
The Avondale Police Department will pay the town of Gilbert a $2,400 registration fee for each police recruit. This cost would be paid from the department’s training budget, and no new funding is required.
Mayor Kenn Weise said this new way of training officers will be an “opportunity to not only build our academy but we can train our own recruits, have more control on what type of training we give our recruits, and have more say on training classes. In September we will have our own West Valley academy. We are working in conjunction with Goodyear, Glendale and Surprise.”
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