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InMaricopa
John and Mary Lou Smith. Photo by Michelle Chance
People are moving to Maricopa every day. But do the newcomers â or the old timers, for that matter â give any thought to the names on our street signs, with the possible exception of John Wayne, of course.
InMaricopa delved into local history to tell you how some of our local roads received their names.
PORTER ROAD
Elton K. Porter farmed in Maricopa in the early 1950s. He and other community volunteers dug a large ditch at Porter Road and Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway and filled it with water, creating a popular swimming hole for teens in the early 1950s. In 1954, he died of a heart attack while fighting the fire that destroyed Maricopa Elementary School, the townâs 1914 red-brick school. The name of the school was changed to Elton K. Porter Elementary School for the former school board member, but over time returned to its original name.
InMaricopa I feel my primary job
is to create an environment where everyone can succeed, whether that’s a single parent or a church or small business or a big business or a developer, says Maricopa City Manager Rick Horst. I don’t want to create the city of Maricopa’s wealth, I want to create the
community’s wealth.”
If there is such a thing as a practical visionary who can survive in government, Rick Horst may be that “unicorn.”
On his arrival as city manager in 2018, he set about to build a city without creating debt.
That economic development philosophy was honed over a 30-year career in public administration. And it led him to this city in the desert with plenty of open land to
InMaricopa
The Santa Cruz Wash is seen across Murphy Road, south of the City Center site. Photo by Bob McGovern
The North Santa Cruz Wash floodplain is a significant impediment to economic development on the east side of Maricopa.
But a mitigation project to remove about 11 square miles of land surrounding the city complex on White and Parker Road from the floodplain is underway. Completing the project, with channels, levees, a 110-acre retention pond and other infrastructure, will cost about $60 million, according to city manager Rick Horst.
The remediation project would serve to replace the mile-wide-or-wider wash with a 300-foot-wide, deep channel, city officials have said.
City dreams about the future: multi-use stadium, light rail and a âring roadâ
Light rail on State Route 347 connecting Maricopa to Phoenix? It could happen some day. Photo illustration by InMaricopa. Train photo by Loco Steve via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
For Maricopans who share a grand vision for their growing city, Thursdayâs city planning session was like Christmas, a birthday and Mardi Gras rolled into one.
City Manager Rick Horst laid out an ambitious vision for the city, with numerous projects floated to increase livability for residents and propel efforts to become a destination city. Projects range from near-term to long-term â some would likely be decades down the road â and are as varied as additional street lamps and cleanup of blighted sections to a multi-use stadium at Copper Sky and the potential for a light rail line connecting Maricopa with the Valley.