Dear Tucsonans,
At our meeting Tuesday the Mayor and Council unanimously approved the Planned Area Development proposed for Prince and I-10. The Ward 3 staff and I, as well as former Councilmember Durham, believe the project will greatly enhance the economic vitality of the area, offering an improved northern gateway destination as well for our entire City.
We also reviewed our fiscal condition, which is solid despite the many challenges posed by the pandemic. We also continue our work on the funding that will be coming through the American Rescue Plan (ARP), allowing for key and intensive investments in health and safety, economic recovery and aid, and other core priorities.
We gave direction to the City Manager and City Attorney to proceed with all measures possible to ensure that the city workforce is vaccinated against COVID to best protect our employees and the public. I am pleased with the trends we are seeing, as more and more of our personnel choose to join that effort through vaccination.
The upcoming meeting next week will offer follow-up on the vaccine policy, ARP funding, and other items you can review at these links for the 2 pm Study Session and 5:30 pm Regular Meeting.
We also update the action taken by Mayor and Council on the 1st Avenue improvements. And remember, Ward 3 and the Pima County Attorney’s Office are sponsoring a resource fair at Mansfield Park tomorrow, Oct. 2, from 10 am to 2 pm. More information in this newsletter as well as the Oct. 6 resource fair near Grant and Alvernon.
Thanks everyone, and have a great weekend.
Karin
COVID-19
There continues to be a lot of moving parts regarding masks, COVID and vaccinations. It is my intent to provide Ward 3 residents with the most up-to-date information from the Pima County Health Department and other reliable sources.
The City Manager and City Attorney are studying the legal implications for City employees, residents and businesses with the actions taken by President Biden regarding mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for employees and businesses with federal contracts. At this point the City is waiting for more detailed standards from the federal government. It is expected that when the standards are announced, businesses with 100 employees or more will be affected.
As for the City’s new vaccine policy for employees, nearly 83 percent or 3,273 employees are fully or partially vaccinated. Since August 13, 740 employees stepped up and received their vaccinations.
Here’s a reminder that a Phoenix judge ruled against two laws enacted by the governor and legislature that prohibited the City from requiring vaccines or enacting COVID mitigation measures that might affect businesses. The judge ruled that the legislation was unconstitutional, and ordered various parts of the bills void and unenforceable. That decision has been appealed.
COVID cases continue in Tucson and throughout Arizona. The Delta variant poses challenges, in great part because a significant number of people remain unvaccinated. As of Thursday, the Arizona Department of Health Services reported 2,744 new cases and 25 deaths.
The County Health Department continues to offer free testing and vaccinations. Go to this site here for more information. If you or someone you know is homebound or can't travel due to medical reasons, call 520-222-0119, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Boosters will be available this month.
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