Legal backlog stalls review of public safety-sponsored ordinances

Maricopa’s Public Safety Advisory Committee has been working for the past several months to get ordinances for parking, motorized scooters and animal control passed to provide the new Maricopa Police Department and Brian Duncan, the code enforcement officer, with guidelines for enforcement.

Due to a backlog in the city’s legal department for attorneys Denis Fitzgibbons and Tina Stanley, these ordinances have yet to be reviewed. Committee chair Vice-Mayor Brent Murphree is hoping these ordinances receive legal approval soon.

“We don’t want to micro-manage the lives of our citizens,” said Murphree. “All ordinances are just tools. What we need is discretion and good communication.”

The Public Safety Advisory Committee was joined by Judge Scott Sulley (left) for a discussion regarding red light and speed photo enforcement.

Traffic Task Force, a subcommittee of the public safety group, is waiting for the legal green light for their community awareness slogan contest; judges, entry locations and a web account have all been set up and are ready to go.

Chris Labye of the task force announced that ADOT would be researching the widening of I-10 from the 202 to Riggs Road with construction scheduled to begin in 2010.

Maricopa’s Police Department is in the process of hiring staff. To date Dan Brown and Aki Stant have been hired as sergeants, joining Deputy Chief Kirk Fitch and Chief Patrick Melvin. Andy Garrett will be the IT person for the department with Teri Wardell doing accreditation, Kathy Colbert in property and evidence and Mary Turner-Allen doing background checks.

More officers will be hired in the next few months, but beginning July 1, the department hopes to have 11 traffic and patrol officers on the streets of Maricopa. The new MPD phone number is: (520) ADD-COPS–(520) 233-2677.

The Safe Routes to School committee will be doing drive around reviews to note issues with school crosswalks. Some school crosswalks need to be repainted, a suggestion was made to make the paint reflective for easier visibility.

The public safety committee originally requested that the police department research vendors for photo red light and radar enforcement in Maricopa. Judge Scott Sulley attended the committee meeting to ask questions about citations resulting from photo enforcement.

The next monthly meeting of the Public Safety Advisory Committee will be April 16.