One on one with Councilman Joe Estes

inmaricopa.com will present one-on-one interviews with people in leadership positions and/or doing interesting things that affect Maricopa. If you have a suggestion for a person for this feature, please send it to [email protected].

On the inmaricopa.com Forum, someone posted an entry saying there was a recall in the works targeting Council members. Do you know what that’s about?
Estes said the number of signatures needed on a recall petition is very low, noting they are based off the number of votes cast. “Someone could start something like that, but you will cost the city a lot of money for something that boils down to personal animosity.”

Five of the seven members of the Council have conflicts of interest involving land and development that got in the way of the city acquiring land for a city hall, a story in inmaricopa.com reported (see story) leading to perceptions among some that the Council is simply a “good old boys” network, particularly involving land ownership. How do you deal with that perception?

“I get around by full disclosure. I don’t think there is anything wrong with people doing business in the city of Maricopa if you’re a councilman, but you have to have full disclosure as to the projects you’re working on and any conflicts of interest. Those disclosures have to come out at the beginning and not when someone questions you about it. I think for the most part we (council members) try and do a good job of communicating information to the public, but we can always do a better job of it. I’m always available to address any decision or vote that I’ve made as a councilman.”

What else are you taking heat for in your Council role?
Estes said he was contacted by a local publication citing allegations that he was using his position to win favor on projects that the company for which he is general counsel, A.N.D. Northroup, is developing. They include Legacy Traditional School, a charter school, and the Edison condo project behind Acacia Crossings. Estes denied using his position to push the projects and in fact separated the two so requirements to speed the charter school application was not linked to the larger project.

“My response on the charter school project was that state statute requires the city to process submittals for a charter school on an expedited manner. It requires administrative reviews be done within 30 days. It also requires reviews on anything that has to go to Council or a legislative body be done within 90 days. We could have submitted the entire 20-acre project as a subdivision with the charter school, but I didn’t want to do that and have it look like we were trying to push a project through on an expedited basis because it had a charter school component. The logical thing to me to do was do a minor land division and divide off the 5 1/2 acres for the charter school because it didn’t require rezoning. Then divide that off and submit it through a site plan where it is a stand-alone project, the charter school itself. The next step would be to come back with a subdivision for the rest of it that gets processed in the ordinary course and is not expedited.”

On the Edison condo project, Estes said there was a broad allegation of abuse of authority.

“I talked to one person on that project, and that is because it was a legal question. Our consultant called me and thought the city was requiring us to dedicate a 50-foot right of way and was in excess of what the property owner to the north side would have dedicated. I asked why we were being required to dedicate more property than the adjoining landowner. It turns out that wasn’t the case.”

Estes said the Edison condo project is still under review and has been that way for almost two years. “I have my frustrations with that one, but I haven’t voiced them.”

Anything else out there along that line that you’re dealing with?
“I was also asked questions about the International Council of Shopping Centers Convention that myself, Councilman (Stephen) Baker, a member of the P&Z (Planning and Zoning Commission) and three or four staffers went to in May in Las Vegas. Someone had told (a reporter) that I had interrupted a meeting with a company out of California and was pushing a project that my company was putting together here in Maricopa. I told her I did not interrupt any meeting. I did have flip sheets for a project that my company was doing and for all the projects that were ongoing in Maricopa. This company was just asking us what types of projects were going on in Maricopa, and we were handing out flip sheets to them. I never talked to the people before or after. These people had never done business in Arizona and wouldn’t even be the type of company that would do business with the projects that we have going on anyway.”

Is it Councilman Joe Estes specifically or the Council in general under greater than normal scrutiny these days?
“Clearly I think I stand out because I’m general counsel for a company that is doing development in Maricopa. That is one of the reasons we had our Council have a refresher course recently on conflicts of interests. His (William Sims, the attorney presenting the course) position was conflicts are not bad. You can’t expect people to live in a city and not do business in the city. The problem is when you don’t disclose the conflict. I’ve always disclosed even the slightest bit of conflict that anything I might have an interest in. I tell staff over and over again that when I come in on a project that is my business and I’m doing work for, they’re not even to refer to me as Councilman Estes. That’s how strict I am. I’m not there as a councilman; I’m there as a customer and as a member of the community doing business in the city.”

If this is all on the up and up, why would you be in the cross-hairs? Does someone have it in for you?
“I think that is a potential. I’ve been vocal about having employee evaluations and holding people accountable. I’ve also been very vocal that the planning department and the development department have regular meetings. We need that kind of interaction and we have got to have better customer service. The city needs to improve its relations with customers, the media . . . everybody.”

Do you think the city has been lax at getting out the word to citizens about important events or incidents?
“It doesn’t take more than 30 seconds to say we’re aware of it and we’re investigating it.”
One example of the city possibly asleep at the switch was a fight involving off-duty firefighters at Ramsey’s American Grill last month (see related story). It took four days for a response from the city. While it happened late on a Friday night and City Hall was closed over the weekend, the city did not issue a response press release until Tuesday afternoon.

“My concern with this city or any governmental entity is the public perception because that is who we work for.”

Why did you want to become a member of the Maricopa City Council?
Not for any opportunity to make money.

“I’ve lost more money than I care to calculate on billable hours and time that I’ve spent down at City Hall during a work day when I’ve taken time off from my job. I want to be here for the people in Maricopa to make sure it moves in the right path and direction.”

Estes noted that he negotiated a deal with his company, A.N.D. Northroup, to respond to the city’s interest in property for courts, which resulted in an offer to lease the city five acres for $1 a year for three years with an option to renew for another year.

“I did this because as a councilman and a citizen of the community, I have vested interest in seeing the city succeed, and so does A.N.D. Northroup. It has always been my position that I want Maricopa to be a city that is self-supporting and where the citizenry doesn’t have to commute to Phoenix to find gainful employment. I’ve supported that position by putting my money where my mouth is and opening the city’s first local law office. I am general counsel for a company that is dedicated to seeing that high-paying professional jobs are brought to Maricopa. This is also why I jumped at the chance to help bring a charter school to Maricopa, as education is one of my top priorities, and it will help alleviate the overcrowding in the current schools. I feel that competition breeds improvement.”

Estes said he is always accessible and wants to hear residents’ thoughts, even if they disagree with his votes.

“Whether it has been at meetings or on the inmaricopa.com Forum, I’ve given out my cell number. I’m always available because I feel that it is a responsibility of the job to be available to the people you work for and that is the community as a whole.”

Looking back, would you have done anything differently or voted differently on anything?Estes said he has pushed the planning and development departments to meet and work together.

“I pushed really hard to get the planning department to work with and to meet with the development department, and there was a lot of resistance from the city manager’s office at that time on having those meetings. There was an attitude in the city that those meetings didn’t work in the past and there was no reason to have them again.”

So, once again, do you think someone has it in for you?
Estes said allegations that he used his Council post to further jobs for his company very likely amount to a personal issue.

“Unless someone serving is completely inept or did something really out of the ordinary, I think it is personal animosity.”

Photo by Aaron Thacker