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2021 Vice Mayor Confirmation & More Updates
Last week, my colleagues voted me into the role of Vice Mayor for the City of Tucson through the end of 2021. I’m proud to say that my time in this role marks the first time Tucson has both a female Mayor and Vice Mayor serving together. I’m honored to be part of this small slice of Tucson history.
As I continue to brainstorm how to best serve my constituents, I’d like to highlight one way my office has been working to serve you. In January, my office collected responses to the 2021 Ward 4 Constituent Survey. This survey asked Ward 4 residents their thoughts on how the City is doing delivering services and any comments or ideas they have to improve things. We collected good data that will help inform future efforts. For instance, we heard you about the poor condition of our roads. I recently voted to double our current funding for residential road repair in the next fiscal year. We are now working to determine the timeline, how we will choose the roads we repair, and other parts of the process. Thank you to those of you who participated in the survey; your time and thoughtful responses are so appreciated.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office at ward4@tucsonaz.gov with any questions or concerns. We are happy to help you in any way we can.
Please see below for news and updates. Previous newsletters can be found here.
Enjoy your week,
Nikki
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Important Dates:
- Thursday, February 18 from 6-7:30 PM: PFAS Informational Forum. The purpose of this meeting is to provide residents and stakeholders in the area of Tucson Water’s Central Wellfield information about PFAS contamination adjacent to DMAFB. Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89684322087?pwd=RUdmeG1NditXUkt1blZXeksyVERCdz09; Meeting ID: 896 8432 2087; Passcode: 583406
- Tuesday, February 23: City Council Meeting. Click here and go to "Mayor & Council Meeting Live" to watch!
- Thursday, February 25 at 1:00 PM: Official Ready, Set, Rec! Launch at Rodeo Park, 5000 S. Nogales Highway. Once the ribbon has been cut, the Ward 4 Mobile Rec Van will drive to Purple Heart Park and host physically-distanced recreational activities from 2-4 PM. Learn more here.
- Thursday, February 25 at 5:30 PM: Ward 4 Virtual Town Hall with Rita Ranch Neighborhood Association, Tucson Police, and Transportation! RSVP on Facebook here. Join this meeting online at http://bit.ly/3p2F8HN or by calling 1-213-293-2303; Conference ID 185 270 200#.
- Monday, March 1: Special Mayor & Council meeting to discuss the Ward 3 Council Member seat being vacated by Council Member Paul Durham. Click here and go to "Mayor & Council Meeting Live" to watch.
- Friday, March 5 at 3:00 PM: Tree planting demonstration with the Groves - Lincoln Neighborhood and Tucson Clean & Beautiful at Groves Park II. Masks and social distancing will be required. See the section below titled "Green Stormwater Infrastructure Mini-Grant Program" for more information.
- Monday, March 15: Tucson Water will begin shutting off water due to nonpayment on this day. The water shutoff moratorium is ending and assistance is available for those impacted financially by COVID-19. Please see the Mayor & Council meeting update below for more information.
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February 9 Mayor & Council Meeting Recap
At last week's Mayor & Council meeting, I was confirmed as the new Vice Mayor for the City of Tucson. Thank you to my colleagues for the nomination and support. In particular, thank you to Council Member Paul Cunningham, who has done great work in this role for over a year. I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Tucson in this new capacity.
Additionally, at last week's meeting, we voted to suspend transit fares through June 30, the end of the fiscal year, in order to help relieve financial burdens during the COVID-19 pandemic. The City received funds for public transit in the latest federal relief package that will help offset the cost. We will review fares again prior to the June 30th deadline.
Mayor & Council also decided that the City of Tucson will end the moratorium on water shutoffs on March 15. This means Tucson Water will resume shutting off water due to nonpayment beginning March 15. They are in the process of notifying customers of this deadline and ensuring people are aware of the utility bills assistance still available for those impacted financially by COVID-19.
Customers are encouraged to take the following actions:
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Check your utility services statement to ensure you are current on your bill.
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Check your mail for any notices from Tucson Water, which will be mailing notices to all delinquent customers.
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Click here for information on all COVID-19 assistance available in the region.
Lastly, we discussed the Community Engagement Process for the Central Business District (CBD). Information and a presentation were provided by Punam Mather, Facilitator for the Community Engagement Process and Francisca Villegas-Braker, Bridge-Builders. Ms. Mather’s role was to ensure that each virtual meeting provided opportunities for education and a diverse range of voices were heard. Ms. Villegas-Braker’s role was to help refine the process, advance objectives of education and engagement by contributing their knowledge and experience to each of the virtual meetings, play a key role in fostering open and informed dialogue, and continue to help the City determine the future of the CBD. Additional public meetings and discussions among stakeholders groups will continue as we look at the district maps and GPLET as a community.
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COVID-19 Update
A reminder that Pima County is currently in phase 1B.1 a-d.1 of vaccine distribution. Phase information can be found here. To register for your vaccine appointment, visit http://bit.ly/PimaShotLink or call (520) 222-0119. Thank you to the healthcare workers, City employees, volunteers, and all others involved with distributing COVID-19 vaccines as quickly and safely as possible to our community. If you're interested in volunteering at a vaccine distribution center, email EOCvolunteer@pima.gov.
Move Tucson Virtual Open House
The City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility (DTM) is offering a self-guided, on-demand informational virtual tour of Move Tucson Phase 2. This virtual tour shares what DTM has learned from the public about Tucson's mobility priorities and provides an overview of the current state of our transportation system. By participating, you will learn about Move Tucson, review the feedback from the community as part of the draft vision and guiding principles, and be able to provide feedback that will shape the outcome of the plan. Move Tucson is an important first step in creating a world-class transportation system that works for all Tucsonans now and into the future.
Below are the links that will take you to: the Open House in English; the Open House in Spanish; the City news release about the Open House; and the Department of Transportation and Mobility website where you can learn more about Move Tucson.
English Virtual Open House
Spanish Virtual Open House
Read the news release
Move Tucson website
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Submit a Proposal for your Neighborhood: Green Stormwater Infrastructure Mini-Grant Program
The Green Stormwater Infrastructure Mini-Grant (GSI Mini-Grant) program allows neighbors the chance to slow stormwater and spread it into green space along the city streets and public areas.
The overall objective of the program is to build climate-resilient communities through using neighborhood-based, participatory green infrastructure projects to increase public open space, improve public and environmental health and quality of life.
Neighborhoods benefit from harvesting stormwater when projects include trees and vegetation: communities are cooler; recreation is encouraged; property values increase; air quality improves; traffic slows down. Trees create a sense of place. Quality of life is enhanced and stormwater management improves during small rain events.
If you are interested in learning more about this project, join Tucson Clean and Beautiful and the neighbors of Groves – Lincoln Neighborhood at Groves Park II for a demonstration and tree planting with Tucson Clean and Beautiful on March 5th at 3 p.m. This opportunity will allow you to join with your neighbors and submit a proposal for your own neighborhood. Masks and social distancing will be required. For more information on the Green Stormwater Infrastructure Mini-Grant program, click here.
Launching Ready, Set, Rec!
Tucson’s Mayor and City Council and Tucson Parks and Recreation are excited to announce a new mobile recreation program, Ready, Set, Rec! This engaging program was made possible by a recommendation from Ward 5 Council Member Richard Fimbres to use federal CARES Act funds to acquire six vans, equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE), handwashing stations, and traffic cones or barricades to bring recreation to the community. This effort is backed by the Mayor and all city council members. The program, set to begin on Thursday, Feb. 25, will mobilize the six vans into the community at three different park locations per week, per vehicle. This program will ensure that the entire community is served and has an opportunity to participate in recreation activities near where they live.
Standard play equipment will come in each vehicle with the option to add different modules for play depending on the location and community demographics planned to be served on a given day. Some of those modules include arts and crafts, STEM, sports, yard games, large board games, container gardening, yoga, fishing, Loteria, etc.
Join us at the official launch of the Ready, Set, Rec! program at Rodeo Park where we will cut the ribbon and release the vans out into the community. Masks and physical distancing will be required. You can also watch the ceremony live on Facebook then head over to the location near you to join in on the fun.
Official Ready, Set, Rec! Launch
When: Thursday, Feb. 25, at 1 PM (recreation program from 1-3 p.m.)
Where: Rodeo Park, 5000 S. Nogales Highway (entrance off Irvington Road)
Once the ribbon has been cut, the other five vans will drive to the other locations to host recreation activities.
The Ward 4 Van will be at Purple Heart Park, 9800 E. Rita Road, from 2-4 PM!
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Happy Lunar New Year
This past weekend marked the start of the Lunar New Year! Happy New Year to all Tucsonans who are celebrating. This is the Year of the Ox. People born in the Year of the Ox are said to be strong, reliable, fair, conscientious, and inspire confidence in others. They are also calm, patient, methodical and can be trusted.
The Tucson Chinese Cultural Center celebrated virtually this year with online events including cooking classes and concerts. Their celebration was streamed across the country and in China.
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Delivering Valentines to Local Seniors
For Valentine's Day this year, my team organized the collection and distribution of valentines for elders in our community who are isolated at senior facilities due to COVID-19. We received an amazing response from volunteers and ended up collecting HUNDREDS of valentines!
Thank you to all the families and community members who participated. We are so grateful you helped us bring some joy to our local seniors during the pandemic.
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Arizona Statehood Day
Happy birthday, Arizona! This past weekend, our state turned 109 years old. Arizona was the 48th state to enter the continental U.S. after spending 49 years as a territory. I’m grateful for our big, beautiful, diverse state, and I’m proud to work on behalf of its people here in Tucson.
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Local Highlight: Freedom Recreation Center
Freedom Recreation Center has been supplying fresh, handmade, frozen meals through PCOA's senior lunch program to senior participants, 60 and over, since March 2019, when the center shut down due to COVID-19. Staff members at Freedom Center pick up the meals from the Caridad Kitchen on Monday and Wednesday, return to the center, bag them and hand them out between 11-12 PM on those days. Many participants are not able to come to the center for pick-up, so delivery is also available. The center has been supplying over 1600 meals a month! This is not just about providing a good, nutritious lunch. Staff also takes the time to talk, check in and see how everyone is doing during this difficult and isolating time.
This work is so critical, and we are so grateful for the Freedom Rec Center staff. Thank you for continuing this huge effort, and know that we are so proud to have you serving our community.
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Ward 4 Pupdate
The Ward 4 pups are getting bigger every day, so we're taking as many pictures as possible while they're small!
Kaiya and Koda are thrilled about how nice the weather has been, and they decided to celebrate with some good-natured sibling-wrestling in the leaves next to Clements Center. While they may not be physically distancing, these two are reminding us to stay active and get outside! Tucson Parks & Recreation has lots of ideas for staying active while staying safe on their website.
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How Can I Stay Updated?
There are multiple ways to stay updated with my office and the City's work:
- Looking for city updates? Follow the Ward 4 City of Tucson page to learn about core services, projects, events and helpful information about all things Tucson.
- Looking for me? Follow my Councilwoman Nikki Lee page to see what I'm up to around town, articles I write, official events I'm hosting, and more!
- Follow my Council Member twitter account, @CouncilwomanLee.
- Follow my Council Member instagram account: @nikkilee_az.
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