Getting to Know Your Candidates: An Exclusive AP&G Interview with PV Town Council Candidate Daran Wastchak

Daran Wastchak is an entrepreneur, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He has lived in Paradise Valley for over 20 years and is now a candidate for the PV Town Council.

 

You’ve lived in Paradise Valley for 20 years. What first drew you here, and what has kept your family rooted in this community?

As a native of Arizona, I have always been fascinated by Paradise Valley’s rural feel, nestled amongst Camelback and Mummy mountains, with one-acre lots that leave lots of space between homes, and all in the middle of the natural desert, like you typically see only on the outskirts of the Valley. Whenever I drive home, whether from a surrounding city, returning from a trip out of state, or from another country, I’m always happy to be back home in Paradise Valley.  My daughters were one, three and five years old when we moved to PV, so this is the only home they’ve really known.  Being in the center of everything, close to the airport, world-class restaurants, and downtown Phoenix, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

 

You hold a Master’s and PhD in Public Administration and Policy. How has that academic background shaped the way you think about local government?

I’ve been drawn to public service for over thirty years, since I completed my bachelor’s degree at ASU. Graduate work in public administration greatly increased my knowledge of government management, budgeting, and policy setting, providing a practical background and appreciation for how government can operate efficiently and effectively.

While state and federal government operates remotely from most people’s daily lives, local government impacts us each and every day.  This makes it all the more important to maintain an open dialogue with Town residents, explaining complex issues, and being as responsive as possible to feedback, input and ideas that are shared with Town Council and staff.

 

You’ve been a small business owner for over 25 years. What’s the most important lesson from running a business that you’d bring to the Town Council?

People are the most important ingredient to any organization’s success, whether that’s public, private or nonprofit.  Take care of those on your team, be inclusive in decision making, provide opportunities for personal and professional growth, go out of your way to recognize and praise success, and treat every mistake as an opportunity to improve and do a better job.  The Town Council is one part of a large team that is integral to the success of the Town of Paradise Valley.  The positive example it sets for everyone to see, based on civility, respect, and positive working relationships, leads directly to a positive culture in the Town’s staff.

 

You served on Paradise Valley’s Planning Commission for six years, including two as Chairman. What were the most consequential decisions you were part of, and what did that experience teach you about how the town grows?

The most consequential decision I participated in on the Planning Commission was for the Five-Star Ritz Carlton Special Use Permit application. This development was controversial even before it was considered by the Commission, but we had a clear Statement of Direction from the Council that we worked very hard to comply with. Unlike most resort developments, the Five Star project was much more than a resort, with various for sale, higher density components.  While this may have made sense for Five Star, on such a large piece of property, we are not likely to see another project like it in the future in the Town of Paradise Valley.  Many new residents will be added by the time the development is fully completed, contributing to the Town’s growth in residents, and also revenue.  Future growth will be much more limited with so little vacant land left to build on, leaving the vast majority of projects as redevelopment of existing properties, both single-family and other resorts.

 

Paradise Valley’s resorts are central to the town’s identity and its tax base. How do you strike the right balance between being a good partner to resort developers and preserving what makes PV feel distinct?

The partnership balance between the Town and resort developers truly is a two-way street.  The Town provides $2.6 million each year, collected from sales tax, to Experience Scottsdale to help promote our resorts, and we also ensure the Town infrastructure (e.g. roads and landscaping) and services (e.g. police and fire protection) are of top quality to contribute to the resort’s success.  In turn, the resorts help maintain the high quality of life for residents by adhering to all Town ordinances for lighting at nighttime, sound levels from events on property, traffic and parking, and generally being good neighbors for those residents living on their borders.

 

You’ve flagged the Annual Expenditure Limitation as an unresolved fiscal challenge. Can you explain what that means in plain terms for residents, and how you’d approach it on the Council?

In February, the Town Council approved sending two expenditure limitation measures to the November ballot, one for a $20 million permanent base increase, and the other creating a Capital Projects Accumulation Fund that is exempted from the expenditure limit.  As a member of the Council, I would have voted in favor of the Accumulation Fund as a targeted tool for managing expenditures.  In the long term, funding capital projects from this new fund will remove CIP expenses from the base budget, and in turn reduce significant pressure from expenditure limitations on the base budget.  In the short term, as the accumulation fund takes time to build a balance, a permanent base adjustment is very helpful.  For this reason, and for a hedge against unforeseen base budget needs in the short term, I would have voted for a lower permanent base increase, perhaps $10 million.

 

Infrastructure and capital improvement projects are a priority in your platform. Where do streets and public spaces stand today, and what would you do differently in how the town funds and prioritizes that work?

The Town follows a rigorous process of identifying, scoring, and raking all capital improvement projects (CIP) so they are properly prioritized and funded within the Town’s budget.  Streets are evaluated every five years to score their condition using a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) rating.  In the most recent evaluation in 2023, the average PCI for the Town’s streets was 73, which is well above the national and state average.  The CIP process is working very well, and I see only a few minor adjustments to make it better.  If the Town Public Works could cost effectively bring the average PCI for streets up to 80 or higher, I would push for that.

 

Public safety is foundational to quality of life in any community. What’s your vision for the town’s relationship with its police and fire services going forward?

In 2007, the Town of Paradise switched from Rural Metro to a contract with the Phoenix Fire Department to provide emergency fire and medical services for the Town, a move that has provided higher quality, cost-effective services for residents.  Maintaining the highest quality fire station facilities, trucks and equipment for this contract is essential.  The Town’s Police Department has recently achieved full staffing, where most cities and towns in Arizona are understaffed, and the positive culture under Chief Freeman Carney is a key to recruitment and retention of officers and other support personnel. With the number one concern from residents being traffic and speeding in town, I want to work with Chief Carney to find cost effective solutions to tackle this problem.

 

Paradise Valley sits in the middle of a major metro area but manages to feel apart from it. What’s the biggest development or growth pressure facing the town right now, and how do you think the Council should respond?

While there is modest growth potential within the Town of Paradise Valley, primarily from increased activity at our resort properties, the greatest pressure from growth comes from the surrounding metro area, primarily from traffic passing through town on our major and minor arterial roadways.  Photo radar, red light cameras, and sufficient officers trained specifically on traffic control are essential tools for managing the increased traffic.  We can do little to stop increased traffic, but the Council must support the Police Department fully when they present cost-effective, creative solutions and recommendations that will help to mitigate the challenges caused by these increases in traffic.

 

You wrote an op-ed for the Paradise Valley Independent about civility in local politics. Why does that topic matter to you, and how do you model that approach when you’re in the room for a tough decision?

Civility is an essential ingredient to an efficient and effectively run organization, whether it’s public, private or nonprofit. It’s how I’ve always operated my businesses, how I’ve handled myself as a member of many nonprofit boards, and also when I served as Chairman of the Paradise Valley Planning Commission.  Civility is modeled by openness to and respect for contrary points of view, a positive and encouraging approach when working with others to solve problems, and support for a decision that represents the will of the majority, whether I support the decision or not.

 

What would a successful first term on the Town Council look like to you? What’s the one thing you most want to be able to point to?

The Town Council has endured some unfortunate inner conflict over the past several terms, and many town residents I’ve spoken to have expressed concern, and a wish that relationships would become more positive and collegial.  A successful first term would be one where I can play a helpful role in bringing increased collegiality to the Council that results in a more positive culture within the Council, which will naturally ripple out to Town staff, and ultimately to Town residents.

 

When you’re not focused on town business, what are your favorite things to do around Paradise Valley, and where do you find yourself spending time in the community?

Whenever I am away from the Town of Paradise Valley, be that in the surrounding metro area, elsewhere in the state or the United States, or traveling internationally, I always love returning to my hometown which feels like a calm oasis in the middle of hustle and bustle.  When the weather is cooler, and sometimes when it’s not, I truly enjoy going for a walk in the evenings, when the sun has gone down behind Camelback, and I can walk in the cool shade of the mountain.  At this time of day, I enjoy the openness and tranquility of the streets around Kiva Elementary School, and saying hello to my neighbors who are also out walking before dark.