Grentz takes on role of distributing Maricopa information

City of Maricopa Public Affairs Manager Jennifer Grentz would like to see more citizens get involved in their community. If she has her way, town meetings will become packed in the weeks and months to come.

Grentz, who took over as public affairs manager last month, sat down with inmaricopa.com to discuss her new role, the issues she hears on the community’s mind and more. Grentz comes to Maricopa from the Kyrene School District, and has worked for the City of Mesa, Arizona State University and the Phoenix Art Museum.

Grentz, who has 10 years of marketing experience, said she was attracted to the position because of Maricopa’s growth.

“It is exciting to be part of something that is growing,” Grentz said. “Here you can build something from the ground up.”

In her new role Grentz will educate the community about things happening in the city and make sure there is a consistent message going out.

“My role is also to make sure you (the media) get the right story and not a lot of
hearsay,” Grentz said. “That is a part of being involved with the community. They (the community) have their perceptions about how things are, and they’re not always wrong. Sometimes they don’t have all the facts. It’s my job to make sure they get that information.”

Grentz encourages citizens to get out and attend meetings so they get all the information they need and have their voices heard.

“It is important that you go to council meetings, task force meetings and all the others,” Grentz said. “There is something so everybody can be involved. You can speak at the meetings so there is a way to be heard. If you want to make a difference in something, you have to be involved in it.”.

When it comes to issues impacting Maricopa and what she hears from the community, Grentz says transportation is the top item on people’s minds.

“Transportation is the number one thing, and there is a lot of confusion about who covers certain streets,” Grentz commented. “Once you get pass Rancho El Dorado, the city is not in charge of that particular piece of street.” Grentz said it is understandable if people in the city are confused about who is responsible for this road or that road when you have two counties involved, the state, Indian land, etc.

Grentz said that as citizens start to realize the police force is here and the fire department is coming on July 1, that public safety information will be very important. “At least from the city’s standpoint, it will be really important that people know they have a police force and not just the sheriff, and that the fire department is part of the city,” Grentz said. Grentz added she has been meeting with homeowner association presidents to see how the city can get word to people through what they (HOAs) do with their communications.

“In some developments it is really difficult because they have a lot of houses, but not a lot of residents, or there are a lot of houses, but they’re empty and people have moved,” Grentz said. She added that a monthly city newsletter will be coming in July that will go out to all residents. “As our Web site (www.cityofmaricopa.net) gets a little bit of refreshing, that will be another avenue for people to find timely information.”

When asked her thoughts on where Maricopa is going, Grentz sees more growth on the way, and, hopefully, more good paying jobs coming to town.

“I see the city growing, and it is important that Maricopa gets that economic base so that people don’t have to commute if they don’t want to,” Grentz said.

It’s likely that as the city grows, Grentz will grow with it in her new role.

“Since this is a newly created position, it is a work in progress,” Grentz added. “Everyone is pretty excited that there is someone in this role. It gives the community somebody to call who can maybe answer their question.”

To contact Grentz, call (520) 568-9098, Ext. 275 or e-mail her at
[email protected].

Photo by Aaron Thacker