(SCOTTSDALE) — AARP Arizona has endorsed Questions 1, 2 and 3 on the November 5th ballot and will work with the For The Best Scottsdale campaign for their passage.
The Scottsdale infrastructure proposals invest $319 million in 58 projects in all parts of Scottsdale.
The Scottsdale investments before voters include expanding the Via Linda and Granite Reef Senior Centers. The Granite Reef center will get much needed adult day care services to help families in need of better care for a loved one.
The Scottsdale bond questions will also improve the Paiute Neighborhood Center in southern Scottsdale. The Paiute center houses important family and neighborhood services including referrals for medical care and home repairs. Residents can also get emergency food boxes and domestic violence assistance at the Paiute center.
The program, which the Scottsdale City Council unanimously put on the 2019 ballot, is also fiscally responsible and a smart deal for Scottsdale’s taxpayers.
“Questions 1, 2 and 3 will help Scottsdale’s seniors and the entire community. The investments in senior centers, parks, public safety and infrastructure repairs are important to our members and will benefit Scottsdale residents for years to come,” said Dana Marie Kennedy, Arizona State Director for AARP.
Kennedy further noted that one of the key reasons for the endorsement is information from the City Treasurer’s Office that shows the strong likelihood that passage of all 3 questions will not result in a secondary property tax increase.
There are more than 52,100 AARP members in Scottsdale in close to 32,400 households. AARP, the nation’s leading advocate for Americans age 50 and older, has 900,000 members statewide.
Scottsdale voters have not approved a major bond program in 19 years. The city has infrastructure that needs to be repaired and improved. Questions 1, 2 and 3 will fix crumbling infrastructure at the southern end of Indian Bend Wash at Vista del Camino Park as well as restore Civic Center Plaza after parts of it were closed because of emergency repairs that also closed Drinkwater Boulevard.
The Scottsdale bonds will also expand and modernize Cactus Pool, increase solar energy capacity at Appaloosa Library, add hiking trails, restrooms and parking at Pinnacle Peak Park, renovate the Stage 2 Theater at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and make improvements at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park.
“We are honored and thrilled to have the support of AARP Arizona for Questions 1, 2 and 3. AARP is a leading community voice. We are excited to engage AARP’s members in Scottsdale about the importance of the infrastructure investments to the city’s quality of life and future economic prosperity,” said Paula Sturgeon, co-chair of the For The Best Scottsdale Campaign: Vote Yes on Questions 1, 2 and 3. Sturgeon is a senior citizen.
AARP Arizona joins a broad-based and diverse coalition of community leaders and organizations supporting Questions 1, 2 and 3. The Scottsdale Fire Fighters Association, Police Officers of Scottsdale Association, Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce, Barrett-Jackson, the Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors, the Scottsdale Charros, The Thunderbirds, Coalition of Greater Scottsdale, Arabian Horse Association of Arizona, Arizona Quarter Horse Association and a unanimous Scottsdale City Council all back this year’s bonds.