General Plan task force to meet

SCOTTSDALE — A task force for Scottsdale’s General Plan 2014 will hold its first meeting Monday at the city’s Community Design Studio, 7506 E. Indian School Road.

The City Council formed the task force to create and recommend a draft General Plan to the Planning Commission and council. The task force is expected to meet twice a month through June 2014.

State law requires updates of adopted General Plans every decade.

Voters last year rejected a 2011 plan, which would have guided the city’s growth and character in 10 to 20 years.

The task force will look to the 2001 plan as a starting point to create a new guiding document. August 2014 is the earliest that the new General Plan could go on the ballot for voter consideration.

Become a blood donor in June

SCOTTSDALE — United Blood Services is hosting several northeast Valley blood drives in June, when donations typically decline.

Among the locations hosting the drives:

» Blood Systems, 6220 E. Oak St., Scottsdale, 8 a.m. to noon Thursday. .

» Scottsdale/City Hall parking lot, 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd., Scottsdale, 8 a.m. to noon Thursday.

» Northridge Community Church, 6363 E. Dynamite Blvd., Cave Creek, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. June 15.

» Kiwanis, 13001 N. La Montana, Fountain Hills, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. June 21.

More details: UnitedBloodServices AZ.org. » » » » »

Queen Creek may add dog park

QUEEN CREEK — The town may add a public dog park and splash pad next year to its list of amenities for residents.

The Town Council will make the final decision in June on those plans, contained in a preliminary budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Adam Robinson, town recreation superintendent, said among all the requests the town gets from residents for a new facility, a dog park is at the top of the list.

The budget committee recommended, as part of the town’s budget, construction of a dog park at a cost of about $120,000, with ongoing costs of about $18,000 a year, according to the preliminary budget.

For the dog park, town staff want to convert the property near the Town Hall complex that once belonged to a church.

The park would be about 1 acre and would contain a smaller area for timid dogs and a larger one for more active dogs, according to the town’s proposal. A 6-foot chain-link fence would surround it.

Both areas would have trees, benches, raised trash cans and a doggie cleanup stand.

Also, the budget contains a request for a 1,500-square-foot splash pad for the southwestern corner of Founders’ Park, 22407 S. Ellsworth Road, for about $120,000, with upkeep of about $16,000 a year.