A Message from Steve K...01/09/2023

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Date: 01/09/2023

Topics in This Issue:

• Sudden Cardiac Death

• Plastic Program 

• PFAS

• Beyond – Remembering Gun Violence Victims

• Gun Safety Class

• Trafficking Forum

• Sink Twice

• Environmental Services Fees

• Homeless Outreach

• Housing Affordability

• 2023 Gem and Mineral Show

• Refugee Donations

• Plan Tucson

• Butterfly Project

• COVID

Sudden Cardiac Death

Throughout the week the news has had stories on the recovery process Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin is going through. In the first quarter of a game played 2 weekends ago he was involved with a tackle that involved a blunt trauma to his chest. He collapsed and they had to resuscitate him more than once while he lay on the field. A week after the incident he’s still on the critical list, but he appears to be on the road to recovery. 

This is Steven Gootter and his two young kids.

The picture was taken in 2005. At that time Steven was a healthy 42-year-old guy. He headed out one morning for his morning jog and never came home. He suffered a sudden cardiac event during the morning run and wasn’t as fortunate as Damar Hamlin was – nobody was around with an AED or to conduct CPR. The Steven M. Gootter Foundation was formed by his family in the aftermath of the incident. Since his passing the Foundation has donated hundreds of AEDs to businesses, schools and to the city and county. If you’re involved with a business, school, non-profit – any organization that does not have an AED on site, please consider reaching out the the Gootter Foundation. They can work with you on getting units placed and training conducted. You can find them through this link: https://stevenmgootterfoundation.org/  As these two examples demonstrate, otherwise very healthy people can be an unaware ticking time bomb for sudden cardiac death. Preventing that is what the Gootter’s are all about.

Plastic Program 

The plastic reuse program continues to gather national interest. We know several other cities across the nation are watching how we scale up the program. In addition, ByFusion continues to gain national notice as an innovator. Fast Company is a business trade journal. Their focus is on world changing ideas and creativity in all sorts of business endeavors. In their self-description Fast Company says they ‘inspire readers to think expansively, lead with purpose, embrace change, and shape the future of business.

In last week’s edition, FC ranked 2022’s ‘best bricks of the year.’ It’s not just a list of bricks you see on walls around town. Remember, the journal is about creativity. The list included building materials that use roof tiles, toilet bowls, bits of steel, refuse from construction sites and even the waste agave left over from the fermentation process used in making tequila. They rated them all and chose one as the best for 2022.

ByFusion’s ByBlock was ranked the #1 ‘brick’ in the 2022 list of building materials rated by Fast Company. They noted a substantial lack of processing centers for plastic, a poor market price, and the reality that so many of us have recognized throughout this project that most plastic never gets recycled. So far ByFusion has turned over 100 tons of plastic into blocks. The city of Tucson residents have contributed roughly 20% of that total just since August. I’m in regular touch with them, working on the details of how we get the production capability up and running in Tucson. Here’s the intro to the ratings FC published last week:

If you’d like to read their full article, here’s the link.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90822326/the-best-bricks-of-the-year

Each week I include a piece that speaks to the difficulty the international community is having disposing of all the plastic waste being created. There’s a group of nearly 100 nations that formed just ahead of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. They call their group the High Ambition Coalition. They set several goals all aimed at the 1.5C temperature increase standard and a net zero global emissions direction by the second half of the century. Some major fossil fuel-producing nations have not joined the HAC group. We’re one of those who chose to opt out of being a part of the ambitious goal setting. Here are a few of the HAC concerns related to plastic:

The nearly 40 tons of plastic we’ve collected since August 1^st isn’t going to move any of those needles, but our participation on a regional level can certainly signal to others how a plastic-reduction approach can be made to work. That’s my hope for steps the M&C will take later this month.

Every bag of plastic you toss into the roll off is a step in the right direction. The total collected so far is 38.67 tons since the pilot program started. Let’s translate that into pounds.

As of last weekend we’ve gathered over 77,000 pounds of plastic since August. So, what would that look like if it was bananas? Del Monte put together a 77,000 pound ‘fruit display’ using 211,000 bananas. I can’t make this stuff up. Here’s the picture. It’s 118 feet long and 11 feet high. Our plastic pile is larger than that.

Here are some pictures of thousands of pounds of plastic – just to give you a visual of what your bags going into the roll off at the ward 6 office are preventing downstream if we were not collecting your stuff.

Southeast Asia is awash in plastic. This guy is trying to avoid getting buried under a plastic avalanche. What a way to go.

Nicole Ludden wrote a very nice piece about the status of the program. It appeared in the Sunday Star. 

PFAS 

PFAS contamination continues to be a critical environmental concern, not only in Tucson and Pima County, but internationally. On Sunday Tony Davis had a good article in the Star about our current efforts to control PFAS. 

And there was some interesting news last week on 3M and litigation they’re facing related to their involvement with production and marketing of products containing PFAS. That’s the pollutant we’re working hard to prevent from contaminating our central well field. So far, the only partner we’ve got who’s stepping up with cash to help in the effort has been the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ.) They’ve helped us fund testing centers and a pilot treatment plant that’s located north of the Randolph golf course.

Back when Jonathan Rothschild was mayor, I initiated a meeting that included him, our city attorney, city manager, water director and a group of attorneys who were already beginning litigation against 3M and other PFAS manufacturers. The outcome of that first meeting was Tucson joining into what is now a lawsuit that includes over 80 other jurisdictions. Investors have finally gotten the message that continuing to produce toxic PFAS is going to hurt their bottom line, and therefore the investments these high rollers have made. They’re pressuring 3M and others to stop producing the chemical.

In response to that pressure 3M has made a public decision to stop making the chemicals by the end of 2025. In fact, they should pull the plug now. We don’t need another 3 years of ‘forever chemicals’ being spread into the environment. Erik Olson is the senior strategic director with the National Resources Defense Council. When talking about the liability for PFAS contamination he noted the pollution is affecting ‘the entire planet’ and is expanding.

So, what is 3M’s potential financial exposure? Their 2021 annual report shows about $1.3B in PFAS sales. It also shows dozens of lawsuits it’s facing – ours being one of them. In fact, 3M was named in an average of 3+ PFAS-related lawsuits every day last year. The estimated legal liability could reach $30B.

They’ve already settled some PFAS litigation. In 2019 they agreed to pay the state of Minnesota over $850M for the pollution they caused. They settled for another $50M in Delaware in 2020. The lawsuits are not going away. Unfortunately, neither is the contamination they’ve already caused. PFAS does not simply go away over time or become diluted into a harmless substance. The current EPA health advisory for the stuff is below our ability to even test for it. 3M faces both the financial piece, but also new regulatory controls if the change in administration in D.C. is serious about environmental issues.

3M’s CEO, Mike Roman was interviewed by Bloomberg about their decision to stop producing the stuff. Speaking of the regulatory pressure and the litigation he said “when we look forward at some of those factors, we don’t see a viable business in the future. This is a portfolio decision that allows us to move into other, higher growth opportunities.”

For Roman and the investors, it’s all about the bottom line. Our part in the litigation against 3M is therefore an important piece of both funding our own remediation efforts, but also in compelling them to get out of the business of producing a toxic chemical that previously looked like a ‘growth opportunity’ helping their profit picture.

When I look back someday on having served on the city council, I’ll consider being the catalyst for the 3M litigation one of the high points.

Last weekend marked 12 years since the tragic January 8^th shooting that took place during Gabby Giffords’ Congress on the Corner event. There were spontaneous memorials that popped up throughout the region in the aftermath. There have been annual remembrances. And a year after the shooting, to honor their son Gabe Zimmerman who was killed in that Safeway parking lot, the parents and family members began Beyond – a series of events that encourage a healthy lifestyle. That’s exercise, a good diet and staying connected together. Beyond events include jogging, hiking, biking, and all sorts of other opportunities to share time with others outdoors and in community. One of those events is happening this weekend in the park named to remember Christina-Taylor Green. At 9 years of age Christina was the youngest person killed in the Safeway shooting. In partnership with Mom’s Demand Action Beyond will host the 2023 “Gather to Remember” walk/hike/jog.

The park is located at the NW corner of Magee and Shannon – out on the northwest side. The event is happening on Saturday, January 14th beginning at 10am. This is not a race – unless you just want to. You’re invited to bring your running shoes, baby stroller, wheelchair, roller skates, bike – mostly bring yourself and enjoy the multi-purpose trail at Christina-Taylor Green Park. This is a popular event so you will need to find extra parking; you can use the Pima Community College NW parking lot that’s directly across the street. This is of course a free event. They’d like you to register, so please use the link below to do that. It also contains directions to the park. https://act.everytown.org/event/moms-demand-action-event/50878/signup/?_gl=1*1i0gi86*_ga*MTk1NjMxMDAxNy4xNjczMjg3NzAz*_ga_LT0FWV3EK3*MTY3MzI4NzcwNC4xLjEuMTY3MzI4Nzc1OS4wLjAuMA.. And how about that New Orleans federal appellate court that said last week the Trump ban on bump stocks was illegal. Sure, every gun owner needs to have the ability to turn a gun into an automatic weapon. That’s how the Las Vegas mass killing was facilitated. That case is likely headed for the Trump Supreme Court.

Gun Safety Class

Last week I connected with Ben from Diamondback Shooting Sports to learn how the registration is going for the gun safety class he’ll be running here at the ward 6 office. Just from last week’s newsletter note about a dozen of you have signed up. That’s not including the number he’s getting from his own efforts at the store. The message is that if you want to sign up, or if you have family members you’d like to have sign up, you should do that quickly. Our space is limited, and it looks like this class will fill up.

You do not need to be familiar with handling a firearm to benefit from this course. It’s geared towards starting from the basics so when/if someone is using a firearm, they’ve got the training to do it safely. I appreciate Ben’s willingness to offer his expertise. My history with some of the local gun distributors has had its rocky moments. This is a chance to show that regardless of where we might stand on gun control legislation, we agree on the need for people who choose to own a weapon to have some exposure on how to use it safely.

Diamondback is located at 7030 E. Broadway. You can register there for the class or simply email them at Training@dbackshootingsports.com. The course will run from 9am until 4pm, here at the Ward 6 Office - 3202 E 1st St on January 21st. It will include an hour-long lunch break. And it’s free. Everybody is welcome to take part.

Trafficking Forum 

Sink Twice 

Thanks to Jill for sharing the LA Times article on this very cool way to save water – and maybe even encourage your kids to wash their hands after using the bathroom. It’s called Sink Twice; a word plays on ‘think twice’ - which we should all be doing when it comes to water conservation. 

The product mounts on top of your toilet bowl. According to the instructions you don’t need a plumber to install it, but that’s your call. The Sink Twice sells for under $100.

Without the Sink Twice you flush your toilet and its potable water that refills the tank. While that’s happening, you move over to the sink and wash your hands. With the Sink Twice installed the water refilling the tank enters from the top – the ‘sink’ - and you wash your hands as the water flows through the drain and into the toilet tank. So, you are not washing your hands in toilet water – you're washing your hands with the clean water that then flows into the toilet to refill it for the next flush.

Here’s a link that’ll take you right to the Amazon page where they have several models. You need to measure the top of your tank in order to get the right one. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sink+twice&crid=3I8SZ10NYM99F&sprefix=sink+twice%2Caps%2C178&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

I’ve shared the link with our Tucson Water folks to consider adding a rebate opportunity.

Being on the whole water conservation/security note, KOLD ran a good story last week about the Water 2100 survey the city is running. Here’s a link to Bud Foster’s piece:

https://www.kold.com/2023/01/05/heres-way-help-tucson-prepare-next-80-years-water-use/

Environmental Services Fees 

I’ve shared in previous newsletters about public hearings scheduled for the public to weigh in on proposed increases in both water rates and in fees associated with our environmental services department. Both of those issues are coming to us next Wednesday for a final public hearing and a vote by M&C.

I write a lot about water and the need for us to continue investing in the infrastructure to make sure it’s available and clean. The 5.5% rate increase being proposed allows the water department to continue making the investments they need to achieve that.

Here I want to focus more on the E.S. fees that are being considered. We have not adjusted their rates in 11 years. Think of that in your own life. If your income had not changed in 11 years what effects would that have on how you operate your home, the kinds of things you can offer to your family and friends, and any growth of new projects and hobbies you’d like to take part in. All of that would be limited.

For our E.S. folks they’ve been adjusting to the lost revenues while maintaining the level of service you get weekly from them. And we’ve added programs such as Brush & Bulky, the glass recycle program, Household Hazardous Waste collection, collecting glass for reuse, and soon I’m hopeful to add the plastics reuse program. There will likely be some ES component to that, although that detail is one of the pieces, we’ll be talking about more later this month.

What’s being proposed is a 2-step rate increase, the effect of which for step 1 will be less than a dollar per month for residential customers. And it will not fully balance the ES books. We’ve been reducing their reserve fund just to keep their operations running smoothly. That cannot be a long-term fiscal approach. The department is an enterprise – it is charged with balancing its own books each fiscal year.

Here’s an eye-opening chart. It shows what the city of Tucson charges for residential service vs what other southwestern cities charge. We’re next to the lowest, with only Las Cruces, New Mexico being lower. Even after the proposed two rate increase steps are implemented, we’ll still be pretty much in the middle of the pack in terms of rates being charged.

Everyone is watching pennies these days. I think seeing this rate comparison is an important bit of information for people to keep in mind as they hear and read about a rate increase. We ask a lot from our ES team. I’ll be supporting the increase as a necessary step in keeping them solvent.

Homeless Outreach 

Last week TPD and our homeless outreach staff hosted a meeting that largely included residents from Colonia Solana neighborhood – the one that’s immediately north of Reid Park. The purpose was to talk about homeless camps that had popped up in and along the Arroyo Chico. I, along with 3 of my staffers were in attendance online.

The following day Ann and Diana from my office joined some TPD officers at a business close to the ward office. The purpose was to talk about how homeless individuals were impacting their ability to invite customers into their seating area, as well as other impacts the issue was causing on the perimeter of the business.

I’m sharing this here because in advance of both of those meetings we had contacted city leadership several times advising of incidents that were legitimately causing alarm by residents and by the business operators. Examples include fires being started in and on the banks of the Arroyo Chico, impacts on riparian habitat, an increase in residential burglaries thought to be associated with the increase in campers, unhoused people entering the business and having altercations with customers, and damage to the business property exterior. While we at the ward 6 office appreciate the final response to both our calls and those of neighbors/business management, it took too long, and the success of the outcomes are yet to be determined.

Ahead of the Arroyo Chico meeting I was gratified to see a note from our fire chief in which he indicated a change in approach to ‘warming fires.’ Nobody with a heart wants to see people living outdoors while the temperatures are dipping into the 30’s. And yet we also cannot allow fires to be started that can cause brush fires near homes, in important riparian areas, and requiring a TFD response. The fire code only allows for outside fires on private property when they’re continuously attended, when they’re contained in approved fire pits or fireplaces, and distanced from other structures. If 911 dispatches TFD to a fire that is not compliant with the code, they will extinguish it, and will also advise the people setting it that if there is a reoccurrence, the camp will be removed from that location. This is the kind of situation that could be alleviated if we had more aggressively pursued the idea of controlled camps in locations away from residential or commercial areas. The city’s current ‘tier system’ of addressing camps is effectively the controlled camp idea I’ve advocated, except it lacks the part of the conversation about location.

With regard to the business contact we had last week; it was one of many we’ve been handling for the past several months. We had asked staff to put together a handout for businesses that advised them who to call, and under what set of circumstances to make the call. For example – if someone is just sleeping in a parking area behind a business, that’s one resource within the city homeless protocol. If someone is obviously high or suffering some behavioral issue, that’s another resource. And if someone is engaged in criminal activity that’s yet another kind of response. Last week we finally saw the product produced by staff. Simply put, it was not what we were looking for, so researched what other cities are doing for their business community. We used this one from Spokane Valley, Washington for our template – changing links so it’s ‘personalized’ for Tucson. We’re grateful to the Spokane Valley E.S. team for saving us the legwork. Here’s a link to the document we’re using with our businesses. Please feel free to share it widely.  Resources Businesses Homelessness 010723.pdf 

During the walk through at the business last week TPD was able to identify several conditions at the location that were serving as attractants to people just hanging out or sleeping on the property. Landscaping, lighting, video systems, outdoor seating, and other design-related items can serve ends maybe not intended by the business owner. I think our visit was positive and well received. It shouldn’t have taken so long to get it done though.

We have already reached out to others within TPD to talk about how we partner in door-knocks at businesses so they’ve got tools in hand to continue providing a safe and welcoming environment for customers. None of this suggests a lack of compassion for the homeless. We will also continue to work out of this office in support of added no-barrier shelters for homeless men, in support of the great work being done for homeless women at Sister Jose, and for an expansion of the behavioral and substance misuse services so many of our unhoused brothers and sisters can benefit from. And yet when lines are crossed – some of which I’ve listed above – then other approaches are called for. We appreciate the assistance from our homeless team and from TPD and TFD in addressing the issues last week.

Housing Affordability

Joined at the hip with the issue of homelessness is the need for producing more housing units that people can afford. To that end the City and County are working together on proposals for HUD home investment opportunities. This can be acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction of low-income homeownership units. This is a federal program so there will be some important qualifying criteria you’ll need to consider.

Learn more and apply at https://p-chip.tucsonaz.gov/pages/call-for-projects.

Applications will be due on or before midnight on January 31^st. There will be a pre-proposal conference held virtually from 10am until 11am on January 10^th. You should register using this link: Click here to register for the pre-proposal conference.

If you’ve got questions, you can email them to HCDgrants@tucsonaz.gov. They’ll post all the questions and answers on the project website each Monday.

https://p-chip.tucsonaz.gov/pages/call-for-projects

The need for housing that’s affordable is endemic across the nation. Tucson is no different. Please review the call for projects material and consider getting involved. Homeless doesn’t fix itself and this program can be an important part of the solution for people who are right now living unhoused.

2023 Gem and Mineral Show 

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show is going to run from January 28^th through February 12^th. The show(s) will be scattered throughout Tucson and Pima County. You can find the sites and the descriptions of each show at the Visit Tucson website: https://www.visittucson.org/tucson-gem-mineral-fossil-showcase/shows/

This year will see some of the former shows leaving, but many of the shows we’ve seen before are taking advantage of the opportunity to expand their own space. So, this will look and feel like a pre-COVID Gem and Mineral show, even though some of the details will have changed. This is a huge event for the city and for Pima County – lots of visitors renting hotel rooms, going out to our local restaurants, renting cars, and visiting some of our local entertainment options during their down time. And of course, the people attending these shows are seeing some of the world’s most valuable gem specimens.

While you’re looking over the shows, please keep in mind that some are geared to dealers, and some are more for the general public. That’s noted on the website. The signature show is put on by the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society. It’s our oldest and largest show and is certainly geared to the lay-enthusiast – young and not so young. It’ll be held at the TCC from February 9^th through the 12^th. You can find the times on the Visit Tucson site I’ve shown above.

Feel free to buy some huge and wildly expensive gems and slip them to me. I’ll take full credit when I pass them along to my bride. 

Refugee Donations 

At the other end of the have/have-not spectrum are the needs you are helping to meet with donations for our asylum seeking/refugee guests. Last week you likely heard the Biden administration is forcing people seeking asylum from Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua to stay south of the border and present their case through ‘channels.’ They’ll allow up to 30,000 per month from those countries if they’ve got sponsors and if they’ve filed the applications properly. To be clear, people who are desperate and who are in fear of losing their or their loved one’s lives are still coming. The Alitas Welcome Center continues to receive hundreds of guests daily. We still need the donations you’ve been bringing or mailing. If you’re using the mail route it’s 3202 E. 1^st Street – 85716.

Even with the evident change in policy the needs have not changed. Those needs include new underclothing, hygiene items and gently used coats (please wash). No sizes larger then large. It also includes kids’ toys and maybe some puzzle books adults can do during their bus or plane trip to their sponsors.

If you’re ordering under-clothing, please get small sizes (small or medium is best). If you’re bringing towels, please focus on travel sizes. The people who arrive at Alitas are not staying for extended periods of time so what you provide needs to pack and travel easily.

Thank you for your involvement in meeting these needs. Nobody would want to experience what these families have gone through. Their gratitude is clear when they arrive and for the first time in months are greeted openly and with warmth by the Alitas staff and community volunteers.

Plan Tucson

Plan Tucson is the city’s 20-year roadmap showing where you would like to see the city head. That’s development, preservation, climate, transportation – what makes Tucson what it is, and how would you like to see that evolve over the next years. Each city is required by statute to have a general plan – this is ours.

The public outreach is beginning. It’ll continue throughout the year, and into ‘24. The intent is to have the updated Plan Tucson on the ballot for voter consideration in November 2025. Our planning folks will be hosting a public open house to introduce where we are in the process and what to expect in terms of offering your input. The open house will be at the Tucson Convention Center west meeting rooms on Thursday, January 19^th from 4pm until 7pm. This will be the first of many. To see the full description of what’s ahead please visit https://www.tucsonaz.gov/pdsd/plan-tucson.

Butterfly Project

Related to keeping Tucson a great place to live, work and play is the Butterfly Project. I sat and for the first time in my life I watched each of the speeches by Hakim Jefferies (D) and Kevin McCarthy (R) after the 14 ballots were done in the selection of a House speaker. Listening to one right after the other made it clear just how we’re divided and bringing very different world views to the public policy table. The Butterfly Project is all about bridging that gap at an individual level.

The Project has as its rally cry “I will this world to be better.” But it’s about acting on that statement. You’re called to take a stand against prejudice and bigotry in all forms. There will be hand painted butterfly's at 7 different Tucson locations. You tour them all – or some portion of them – and at each stop reflect on the part of the larger message you find. Included in the stops are the Tucson Botanical Gardens, The Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center, The Tucson Children’s Museum, TMC, the JCC and others.

The tour will take place on Sunday, January 29^th from 1pm until 4pm. The flyer shown below has all the stops and a full description of what this project is all about. It’d be great to see each of the sites full of people committed to the message of making Tucson prejudice-free. You can also get more information by going to https://thebutterflyprojectnow.org/

COVID

Last week I said I wasn’t convinced the severe reduction in COVID cases in both the state and in Pima County were valid numbers. People failing to report cases over the holidays may have caused an undercount. This week’s totals validate that suspicion. Both the statewide and the county COVID new case counts increased over the previous week. Another factor – other than simply people not reporting – is we’re at the front end of seeing the effects of the family gatherings and partying that happened over the holidays. Whatever the causes, here are the current COVID case counts.

You know all about getting vaccinated, keeping your social distance, wearing a mask, and staying away from others if you’re sick. We’ve been hearing it for 3 years. You can check the Pima County health site if you want to see where to test or to get a vaccination: https://webcms.pima.gov/cms/One.aspx?pageId=527452

Please do not come to the office if you have any symptoms – COVID or otherwise. Call and reschedule. And if your group is using the ward office, we strongly encourage you to require participants in your meeting to wear a mask. My casual observation is that some groups are requiring it, others are rolling the dice. Respiratory diseases are spread in part through airborne transmission. While not 100%, masks do help in reducing spread.

Wear a mask when you’re in close quarters. And please reschedule any meetings you’ve got in the ward 6 office if you have any symptoms of any of those viruses.

Here’s the statewide COVID count map by county.

Sincerely,

Steve Kozachik
Council Member, Ward 6
ward6@tucsonaz.gov

City of Tucson Resources

• COVID-19 Updates: https://www.tucsonaz.gov/covid-19/covid-19-updates
• I Want To... : https://www.tucsonaz.gov/i-want-to