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Rain Jackets & #2 Pencils
What a summer it’s been! Thank you to everyone who came out and joined us for our Back to School Bash drive-thru at the Ward 4 Office last month. There’s a special thank you to our staff and sponsors later in the newsletter.
We’re all grateful for this summer’s monsoons, but unfortunately, with heavy rain comes toppled trees and potholes. If you notice trees down in city streets, please report them by calling (520) 791-3154 Monday-Friday 8am to 5pm or after normal working hours and on weekends at (520) 791-4144. If you lost a tree on your private property and would like to replace it, Tucson Clean and Beautiful wants to help by offering you a substantially discounted tree. Call (520) 791-3109 for more information. Report potholes by emailing the location to tdotconcerns@tucsonaz.gov.
Read on for more information about upcoming events, FYIs, and city services. Reach out to my office at any time at ward4@tucsonaz.gov. Have a great week!
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Important Dates:
- Date: City Council Meeting. Click here and go to "Mayor & Council Meeting Live" to watch! (To watch past meetings, visit the City of Tucson YouTube page. This is also where future meetings will be live streamed).
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Wednesday, August 25: 6:30pm Join the Dietz Neighborhood association virtually to discuss potential Green Storm Water Projects with Tucson Clean and Beautiful. Join here.
- Thursday, August 26: 5:30pm Ward 4 Virtual Town Hall with South Harrison and Stella Mann Neighborhood Associations Register here.
- Tuesday, September 9: City Council Meeting. Click here and go to "Mayor & Council Meeting Live" to watch! (To watch past meetings, visit the City of Tucson YouTube page. This is also where future meetings will be live streamed)
- Saturday, September 11 6:30am Join Vice Mayor Nikki Lee at the 20th Anniversary Tucson 9/11 Tower Challenge, Climbing 2071 steps representing the 110 floors of the Twin Towers. Register to climb here.
- Saturday, September 11: 8:00am Join Ward 4 and Tucson Clean and Beautiful in planting trees and plants in Lincoln Park by the Ward 4 Office 8123 E Poinciana Drive Masks Required.
- Tuesday, September 21: 9:00am International Day of Peace, Peace Pole Dedication Ceremony to be held outside the Ward 4 Office at 8123 E Poinciana Drive.
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August 10, 2021 Mayor & Council Session Recap
- Gave direction to develop a comprehensive affordable housing strategic plan including revenues sources, short, medium and long-term goals and to return with a draft of the plan in ninety (90) days with an emphasis on developing specifics for those short term goals so that the Mayor and Council, as the governing body, can take immediate action and to incorporate any American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars identified or any other funding sources for affordable housing into the plan.
- Discussed the ARPA funding strategy and next steps. Gave direction to staff to continue to develop the specifics for investments beginning with Affordable Housing and Community Investment and Violence Interruption and developing short, medium, and long-term goals for each area, with transformative outcomes as the long-term goals.
- Gave direction to initiate the City of Tucson’s Historic Landmark Designation for the Campus Agricultural Center with a focus on historical significance and integrity when assessing whether all or portions of the landscape will be recommended for inclusion under the Historic Landmark Designation and, if possible, to seek alignment with the state’s Historic Preservation Office recommendations, and ask that staff ensure that the UA can participate effectively in this and the additional processes to follow.
- Adopted an ordinance to allow the Alvernon Valencia Annexation District, original city zoning and a planned area development, bringing in State Land into the City of Tucson for future development.
- Authorized the request to rezone Casas Del Cerrito – Portia Avenue in Ward 4 with additional stipulations to address density, traffic impacts, and land elevation differences.
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Back to School Bash Wrap Up
Last month, we were thrilled to bring back our Back to School Bash for its 20th year. Thanks to the help of City staff and volunteers, we provided 750 backpacks full of school supplies to students in our community. Thank you to everyone who came out and participated and to all our sponsors who helped make the event a success. Here’s a list of those who helped make the 20th Back to School Bash possible: Desert Toyota, Diamond Ventures, Dias Management Inc. DBA McDonald’s, Eegees, Joe and Virginia Yee, Law Offices of Lazarus and Silvyn, PC, Reid Park Zoo, Southern Arizona Home Builder’s Association:, Southwest Gas, Swaim and Associates, Tucson Electric Power, Tucson Environmental Services, Tucson Firefighter’s Association, Tucson Police Officer’s Association, and Tucson Water Department. You can watch the Bash highlights by clicking here.
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Black Woman's Equal Pay Day
August 3rd was Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. This day represents the approximate amount of time it takes for black women to work into 2021 for their 2020 pay to equal what white non-hispanic men made in 2020. In other words, black women currently make, on average, $0.63 (cents) for every one dollar white non-hispanic men make.
The wage gap diminishes our propensity for innovation, growth, and success by prioritizing uniform backgrounds over diverse perspectives and ideas. When we pay women less, and especially women of color, we all lose. Here’s to our continued work fighting for #equalpay in all workplaces and industries. #BlackWomensEqualPayDay2021
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Peace Pole Dedication Ceremony
In celebration of International Day of Peace, the Ward 4 office will be installing a peace pole dedicated to the people of Tucson. Since designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981, every 21st of September the world celebrates International Day of Peace. This year’s theme is “recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world,” focusing on healing from the COVID-19 pandemic.
On September 11 from 8:00-9:00am please join the Ward 4 staff and Tucson Clean and Beautiful as we plant trees and flowers around the Peace Pole site in preparation for the International Day of Peace.
COVID-19 Update
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) moved Pima County’s COVID-19 Community Transmission status to “high.” This is the highest and most alarming level of community spread. Infections, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19 and the Delta variant, are on the rise. Please do your part to keep yourself, your family and the community safe. Vaccines are free at all locations in Arizona. Go to pima.gov/covid19vaccine to find a list of all the major vaccination sites in Pima County. And remember to #maskuptucson.
At a special meeting held on August 13th the Mayor and Council voted 6-1 to make vaccines mandatory for all City of Tucson government employees. Employees must show they have received their first dose of the vaccine by August 24, or they face a five-day suspension without pay. I opposed the mandate with concerns of delivering core services, specifically public safety which is already understaffed, and adding more work and mandatory overtime to our vaccinated workforce.
Parks and Recreation Update
REGISTRATION OPEN FOR TUCSON PARKS AND RECREATION INDOOR FALL CLASSES Tucson Parks and Recreation is offering a full array of indoor leisure classes this fall. Masks required. Classes begin the last week of August. View and register for classes at EZEEreg.com.
READY, SET, REC! MOBILE RECREATION PROGRAM BACK FOR FALL Ready, Set, Rec!, the Tucson Parks and Recreation's mobile recreation program, will be back in action this fall! Join in on the fun at the fall kickoff event for free fun, games, and raffle prizes. Follow the vans on Facebook and Instagram @ReadySetRec and find the schedule online at tucsonaz.gov/parks/readysetrec
REGISTER FOR TUCSON PARKS AND RECREATION KIDCO AFTERSHCOOL Tucson Parks and Recreation's KIDCO Afterschool program is back for the 2021-22 school year. Programming will be available from the time of school dismissal until 6 p.m. on all in-person learning days (excluding City holidays). Register online at EZEEreg or call Registration Services at (520) 791-4877.
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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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