Highlights from the Florence Town Council
Meetings held on January 17, 2023

- To begin the meeting, Mayor Tara Walter presented the town’s $3,000 contribution to the Florence High School Champion Cheer Team, which will help support their attendance for the National High School Cheerleading Championships (NHSCC) in Orlando, Florida. In the 18 years that Florence has had a competitive cheer team, this is the first time the team has received a bid to NHSCC to compete in both Game Day and Show Cheer. Good luck in the competition!

- Mayor Walter presented Enemuel “Manny” Murillo with an Outstanding Employee Recognition Award for his outstanding contributions to the Town of Florence. The outstanding employee award program is based on employee nominations and each employee recognized receives a $75.00 gift certificate to a local business of their choosing. Reading from Manny’s nomination letter, Mayor Walter added “Manny has been a dedicated Town of Florence employee for over 10 years. His knowledge and ability to complete tasks is exceptional. He is a very hard-working employee and is always willing to lend a hand to anyone in need.” Great job Manny!

- Richard Rosales, Arizona Public Service (APS) Public Affairs Manager, shared a promo of the Arizona Highway television show featuring Florence and many of our amazing local businesses! Special thanks to Richard and APS for helping to sponsor this programming and highlight our local businesses community! If you’d like to watch Arizona Highway’s full feature on Florence, visit the town’s YouTube page!

- Police Chief Bruce Walls recommended an Intergovernmental Agreement with Pinal County for a new Mass Notification and Mutual Aid system for approval. Currently, the Town and County utilize the Everbridge system to distribute local emergency alerts regarding road closures, utility outages, and public safety matters. However, the County, which administers Everbridge, has chosen to move to a more efficient and user-friendly system administered by Genasys Inc. The town will be sure to distribute additional information on this system as the County moves forward with this project.

- Mayor Walter led a discussion regarding the purchase of tables to attend the 9th Annual Paladin Winter Gala event. Paladin Sports Outreach is an Arizona nonprofit established to bring sports and recreation services to underserved communities in the Southeast Valley. Each year, Paladin helps raise over $200,000 to support grassroots and faith-based sports programs for families in San Tan Valley, Queen Creek, and approximately 1,500 athletes in the Florence Unified School District. Council unanimously agreed to purchase two tables at a cost of $2,000 for the 9th Annual Paladin Winter Gala which will be held on February 4, 2023.

- Mayor Walter presented a proposal to contribute $5,000 to Florence High School (FHS) for their Graduation Lock-In event. The Florence Town Council has helped support this event since its inception in 2017 and no FHS student has been involved in a drug or alcohol-related incident following graduation since initiating this program. The Council unanimously agreed to contribute $5,000 to support the 2023 lock-in.

- Finally, a majority of the Florence Town Council voted to select Russ Martin as the town’s new Manager, effective March 6, 2023. Speaking to the selection of Russ Martin, Mayor Tara Walter added, “We are very excited for Mr. Martin to be joining the team here in Florence. With a background in Community and Business Development and over 18 years of experience in town management, we look forward to the insights and perspectives he will add to our organization. Combining Mr. Martin’s expertise in economic development, water resources, fiscal management, and strategic planning with Council’s vision for Florence will be exciting for the future development of our Town.” Mr. Martin is the former Town Manager of Camp Verde, Arizona, a position he held from 2010-2022. He also served as the Town Manager of Hayden, Colorado from 2004-2010. With Mr. Martin’s appointment, Lisa Garcia, the town’s interim Town Manager, will resume her role as Deputy Town Manager and Town Clerk on March 6, 2023.