Province will soon become a truly gated community with the addition of a fence on its east side.
That’s the word from Kraig Carmickle, community manager for the age-restricted neighborhood, where security guards are tasked with keeping tabs on those who enter through its main gates.
It’s east perimenter along Porter Road, however, had recently been identified as a weak area security-wise because of the lack of a barrier between it and a large, vacant lot.
“This week we will put up a chain-link fence,” Carmickle said on Thursday .
The announcement came at the end of a two-hour Town Hall presented by Maricopa Police Sgt. Stephen Judd on how to avoid becoming the next victim in a string of burglaries reported in recent months in the community.
Carmickle clarified that first the community’s general receivership will need to select a contractor to do the work but, at most, it should take no more than a couple of weeks before a fence is in place.
Roy White, a Province resident who moved to Arizona from New Jersey, said the presentation from Judd and the announcement regarding the fence were both welcome and encouraging.
White was among those who filled the Province Ballroom to attend a press conference MPD presented early this month to alert residents that they had arrested two suspects in connection with the recent break-ins. The resident said during that meeting that he appreciated the effort of the department to notify them of the problem.
Since then, White said, he and his neighbors have taken the matter to heart and have become more vigilant in becoming more aware of their surroundings.
“I think we’re on the right track and it feels good,” he said. “Not just in Province, but in the community.”
Additional stories from this Town Hall are in the works and will be published in the near future.
Photo by RuthAnn Hogue
