QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 16, 2022

Inflation hits CUSD spending / P.9

FREE SUBSCRIPTION

FREE | QueenCreekTribune.com

An edition of the East Valley Tribune

INSIDE

NEWS ........................ 3 Queen Creek Police get help to find impaired and dangerous motorists.

BUSINESS ..............18 EV business supports dozens of other businesses.

Apartments a miniscule part of QC housing, report says BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

A

Ryan Meza hopes to leave legacy at ALA QC

COMMUNITY.........................16 BUSINESS...............................18 OPINION..................................20 SPORTS....................................22 GET OUT..................................23 CLASSIFIEDS.........................25

A town-generated report shows that multifamily units have comprised a tiny percentage of Queen Creek’s housing inventory compare to its neighbors. (Town

new report to the Town Council shows that apartment rental prices are up dramatically in Queen Creek compared to neighboring suburbs at the same time that available multifamily housing is at a premium. The memo says rental costs have risen 76% in the last two years to a current average of $2,311 for a 2-bedroom apartment in Queen Creek, compared to $1,673 in Mesa, $1,914 in Gilbert and $1,916 in Chandler. “Because nearly all of the inventory is new, average rental rates in Queen Creek rank

of Queen Creek)

see APARTMENTSpage 7

QC Fire trying to keep up with town’s growth BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

SPORTS ................... 22

Sunday, October 16, 2022

A

s Queen Creek’s growing population increases the demand for more town services, the Fire and Medical Department is adding medically trained firefighters to its ranks. The additions will bring to 76 the total number of operational staff – which Fire Chief Vance Gray explained are “the firefighters in the fire stations, the battalion chiefs, they’re all part of fire operations.” Gray, who has been with department since 2014 and chief since 2018, said the staff is

spread across Queen Creek’s five fire stations, the latest of which opened in December 2020. But that fire station is not likely to be the last, based on population growth and the number of calls the department has been receiving year over year. Queen Creek firefighters responded to 5,439 incidents last year, which was a 16% increase over 2020. So far this year, the QCFMD is projected to respond to 6,050 incidents, an 11.23% increase over 2021. “I wouldn’t say that we are racing to keep up any longer,” Gray said. “We’re providing a good quality of service in the developed areas that Queen Creek has.”

The service areas are predicted to grow as those developed areas proliferate seemingly overnight, according to Vance. That’s especially true as growth continues in the northeast, southwest and south parts of town. Gray said the department determines when the need for a new station based on certain measurable criteria. “Right now, our goal would be to match growth,” Gray said. “We know what it takes to service a particular area with a fire station and so once we get to a certain point where we identify that a certain geographic area needs a

see FIRE page 10