Scottsdale Mayor Wants A Piece Of Papago Park

By Steve Goldstein
Published: Friday, March 28, 2014 - 2:01pm
Updated: Monday, March 31, 2014 - 4:32pm
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Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez/KJZZ
A view of Papago Park picnic area.
Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez/KJZZ
Hunt's Tomb in Papago Park in Phoenix.

If you have visited the Desert Botanical Gardens, Hunt’s Tomb or Sandra Day O’Connor’s House, then you have been in Papago Park in Phoenix and Tempe. But not Scottsdale, even though the park’s northern edge is very close to the city.

Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane is interested in annexing 100 acres of the park from Phoenix. He tried once before, not long after being elected in 2009, but the effort went nowhere. Lane said he would still like Scottsdale to have a footprint in Papago.

Some things have changed since Lane devised this idea five years ago. There is a new Phoenix mayor, new members on the city council, new city manager...but one thing appears to be the same, Phoenix’s lack of interest in this arrangement. Lisa Takata is the city’s deputy city manager.

Updated 3/28/2014 at 4:11 p.m.

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