Community Services Patrol Office Team, left to right: Newest member Liz Yount, Colleen Frohne, and Lisa Canady (photo by Priscilla Wardlow)
Susan Knox Wilson
“As our community continues to grow, so does demand for our services,” observed John Singleton, PebbleCreek’s Director of Community Services. “We now have more than 5,500 homes and some 9,500 residents, and our phones seem to ring nonstop with requests for the homeowner services we provide such as vacation watch, dead battery assistance, golf cart towing, lost pets, lost and found items, dead animal pickup, welfare checks, rule violations, and much, much more. It has gotten so busy that we’ve recently added an additional staff member to answer phones and help dispatch our patrol trucks.”
Joining the Patrol Office team is homeowner Elizabeth “Liz” Yount. Liz, a former Southwest Airlines flight attendant, said that when she retired, she was hoping to travel with her husband, Scott Stewart, but he decided to join Community Services as a patrol officer and lots of travel was suddenly not happening. “When Scott told me they were hiring for a new position in the patrol office,” laughed Liz, “I decided if I can’t beat him, I’ll join him!” Even though Liz has lived in PebbleCreek since 2007, she says she had no idea that patrol offered so many services. “Before I took this job, I just thought Scott was driving around in a truck—I didn’t realize all the different services and assistance patrol officers provide the community, and I had no idea how much work is involved.”
Team member Lisa Canady has worked for the patrol office for over 4 years and says she loves helping people who need help. “I also just love the people I work with,” Lisa shared. “They are absolutely the greatest bunch of guys and gals, and we’re all homeowners who want to help make this community as perfect as it can be.” Asked about the challenges of working in the patrol office, Lisa confided that “a lot of homeowners don’t understand what type of services we can provide. I have had calls where someone’s spouse has fallen and wants help getting them up. That’s not something we can do, because the fallen spouse needs to be evaluated before they are moved, so I have to tell them to hang up and call 911. We’ll still send a patrol officer to the address to ensure an emergency vehicle shows up to help the homeowner.”
Colleen Frohne started working with the Community Services Patrol Department in 2012 as a driver on the 6 p.m. to midnight shift. She transferred to the office in 2014. Colleen says that 90% of the time it’s a very fun job, and she looks forward to going to work every day. “Helping people is what makes the job so gratifying. What makes it most challenging is trying to not take it personally when a homeowner gets upset. There are some things we just can’t do, like getting involved with homeowners who have a conflict or a dispute with a vendor. Fortunately, we don’t get those kinds of requests very often.” One of the funniest requests Colleen recalls happened during the pandemic. “A homeowner called and asked if patrol could buy her an onion—she needed one for a recipe she was making. She had broken her foot and couldn’t get to the store herself. Well, going to the grocery store isn’t something patrol could really do, but one of the drivers got an onion from his home and took it to her so she could finish her meal! That’s the kind people we have on our team—they are truly the greatest!”
PebbleCreek’s Community Services Patrol Department enforces community rules, as well as providing homeowner services. The Community Services Patrol’s presence is intended to discourage crime and to provide assistance within PebbleCreek. Community Services Patrol officers do not have the power or authority of police officers—City of Goodyear police and other law-enforcement agencies handle criminal-law violations within PebbleCreek.
The Patrol Clerk’s Office is in Room 108, Eagle’s Nest Activities Center, and is open Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The office is closed on Sunday. Patrol officers and greeters are on duty 24/7. The telephone number is 623-935-0387.
If you ever call patrol during the day, you’ll hear Colleen, Lisa or Liz answer “PebbleCreek Front Gates,” because during the day and early evening, the greeters at the gates are much too busy to answer the phones. When the patrol office closes, calls are transferred to the front gates.