1ON1 with Paradise Valley Councilman Paul Dembow
By Terrance Thornton | Digital Free Press
Paradise Valley Councilman Paul Dembow is a tenured elected leader, staunch advocate for resort property owners and while he lost his re-election bid this past August he remains working steadfast toward common Town Council goals.
The Arizona Digital Free Press reached out to Mr. Dembow to understand what was atop his mind just a few days before the Sept. 8 Town Council meeting.
“After years of hard work —with Mayor Jerry Bien-Willner leading the charge at the state level — SB 1168 passed and was signed into law,” he said. “This now gives us the ability to license short-term rentals. A priority for the town is getting the strongest possible control on short-term rental party houses through passing a new ordinance that allows the town to ensure we don’t have out-of-control party houses.”
Councilman Dembow says a recent accomplishment a long time in coming? Dramatic improvements to the municipal campus at 6401 E. Lincoln Drive.
“Town Hall has been updated. Now all our departments, with the exception of our police department, are located in the same building,” he said of the completion of the municipal project. “We have increased our customer service levels under the professional management team we have, and they reviewed the experience our residents have when they need to interact with our team and made the physical layout much better. No more walking between two buildings to find the department you need. Another great example of constant improvement.”
1ON1 with Paradise Valley
Councilman Paul Dembow
•What are you most proud of working on this past calendar year?
There are many things that we’ve done a great job with this year. However getting legislation passed at the state level to allow regulating short-term rentals and a budget that fully funds the town’s priorities are two that I’m exceptionally proud to have been a part of getting passed. We will have a safe city patrolled by an accredited police force, beautiful roads and great staffing to give quality customer service to our residents.
•What are challenges that lie ahead in terms of local control around STRs from your perspective?
With the recent passing of SB 1168, hopefully the problems with short-term rentals are in the rear-view mirror after we get our ordinance in place to register and license them. Unfortunately, there are a handful of bad actors who are repeat offenders and it may take a few months after our systems are in place to get them shut down.
•Are there any capitol measures coming to pass this fall session you think residents out to be aware?
We have had a project on the books for almost five years that will be started this year. The Mockingbird Land improvements include Lincoln Drive to McDonald Drive, which is CIP Project No. 2018-03 available on the town’s website. Every resident should be experiencing the new and/or updated roads in town. We have the best streets, measurable by index, in the state of Arizona on average. We have a program of maintaining them that should make most residents proud and happy!
