A Message from Steve K...02/27/2023

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Date: 02/27/2023

Topics in This Issue:

• Sex Trafficking Forum

• Refugee Donations

• Plastic Program

• Becton Dickinson

• Water Conservation

• Housing Affordability

• Himmel Park Vandals 

• Ready, Set, Rec (RSR)

• Citizens Commission on Public Service and Compensation

• COVID

Sex Trafficking Forum

A couple of weeks ago I shared in the newsletter that we’ll be hosting a series of sex trafficking informational meetings soon. We’re doing this in partnership with the ASU Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research, Pima County Juvenile Probation and Our Family Services.

The instructional piece of the first couple of meetings will be given by the ASU team, led by Dominique Roe-Sepowitz. She’s the Director of the ASU program. These first two forums will be held virtually. They’re a lead into in-person training and educational meetings we’ll partner in hosting with vulnerable youth in the community, and with adult leaders who are in contact with that group.

Please use this link to get the registration links. The training is free – the information is invaluable. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sex-trafficking-101-identifying-youth-in-our-community-tickets-558113601807

These events are open to anyone with an interest in learning the red flags and protective measures you can take with regard to sex trafficking. Each session will cover the same material, so you don’t need to register for both. They’ll review some of the Pima County 2022 data and explore the kinds of events we host in Pima County that can be a magnet for being trafficked. I’ve written this before; if you have young people in your home who have access to the internet and social media, then you’ve got vulnerable youth in your home.

Refugee Donations

We’re a bit over a week away from the rally in support of the Afghan and Iranian women who are living under the thumb of extremist rule. My office is tied in with this movement through our advocacy on behalf of refugees and human rights for all. Since I started sharing this in the newsletter I’ve been asked if the rally was intended for Muslim women only. Absolutely not. We hope to have the area full of like-minded people, all sharing the expectation that peoples’ right to live free from persecution and to chase their dreams to the fullest will be respected. We hope to see you there.

The event will include speakers who will share their own personal stories. These are people now living in Tucson and who are in contact with friends and relatives stuck on the ground living in oppressive conditions. Many of the people you’ll rub shoulders with during the rally are the same people you’ve been supporting with your donations at the ward 6 office. I continue working on reunification but given our broken immigration system that’s a tough lift. Supporting those who did make it out is a significant statement.

The event on March 8^th will begin at 5:30pm at 401 W. Congress. If you take part, please stay out of the street, and follow all traffic control devices when crossing. You can get more information by emailing iwd.tuc2023@gmail.com or by going to the Tucson Afghan Community Facebook site at Facebook.com/tucsonafghancommunity.

We continue to be grateful to all of you who donate to our local refugee community. The needs continue to be clean/new underclothes, hygiene products, warm clothing (jackets and coats- smaller sizes) and kids’ toys/adult reading material or puzzles. You can bring the things to the ward office before 1pm, M-F or by mail to 3202 E. 1^st Street, 85716. The folks from Casa Alitas come by regularly collecting what you donate so I know they’re extremely thankful for your generosity.

Plastic Program

We get requests on a regular basis for someone to come and tell a group about the plastics program. While we don’t have the ability to make all these events, we can do it virtually with this YouTube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihSLVnDfacI&t=3s

The video is just over 6 minutes long. You’re free to use it for informational purposes with your community group. If there are questions about how to engage in the program more fully, please reach out to us at ward6@tucsonaz.gov and we’ll be happy to answer.

One group that is actively supporting the program is the JCC and Congregation M’kor Hayim. Last week I included a note about their upcoming plastic collection event. We’ve since realized that if the entire community comes to take part our capacity for transporting the material could quickly be overwhelmed. With that in mind, please leave that event for congregants of those groups and if that’s not you, please continue dropping your material at the ward 6 office instead. It’s a testament to the popularity of the program that we have to split the sites.

In the past week I was also approached by a group that’s putting together an international model plane competition. There will be hundreds of visitors taking part in the show. Their organizers are familiar with what we’re doing and will be using that event to highlight the program, and importantly to use it as a collection site for their participants. The informational material the plane advocates leave with will expand awareness of the Tucson effort literally all over the world. Community participants who have gotten us to this point should take a bow.

With the international flavor of this issue in mind, I’ve shared in recent newsletters the fact that much of southeast Asia and the developing world have become the world’s dumping ground for plastic waste. A recent article published in the green section of Visual Capitalist had this graph.

Note the highest ‘polluters’ are largely Asian and Southeast Asian countries. Most are developing. I’ve written before that one of the factors contributing to ocean pollution is overwhelming the ability of developing nations’ ability to effectively manage the waste, we send to them. This graphic is a good example of that reality. Clearly the Philippines is not producing nearly 3x the amount of plastic waste as the rest of the world combined and dumping it in the ocean. The worlds over-reliance on plastic and our own failure to effectively manage its disposal is the source of the data shown in the graph. We produce it, dump it on the Philippines and they have no way to properly dispose of it. That’s the dynamic this graph is demonstrating.

One way we can play a role in addressing this is to reduce our own reliance on plastic. Take for example the carry out bags you get at grocery stores. Many people take their own carry out bags to the store and in that simple action cut down on the number of plastic bags in the waste stream.

Think of how often you go out to eat and end up taking home leftovers in a plastic carry out container. Consider taking some of the plastic re-sealable containers you use to store your leftovers at home to your next trip out on the town. You don’t need to leave with their plastic take-out container.

Single use water bottles are all over the place and at pretty much every outdoor event around. Take your own reusable water bottle to events. Many of you already do this when coming to activities at the ward office. We love seeing it. These are small impacts, but every bit helps us reduce the level of plastic we use in our lives.

These suggestions might seem counter to the program we’re involved with collecting plastic for productive reuse. The sad reality is that we are simply not going to run out of plastic. Think about the plastic you see every minute of every waking hour of your day. The stuff isn’t going away. If we can reduce our use of it, it helps the overall goal of reducing waste.

Would you like evidence that we’re nowhere close to running low on plastic? The community has now provided 53.21 tons of plastic since last August. I’m not at all worried that asking you to join in finding ways to reduce reliance on plastic is going to tank this program. In the alternative, it’s environmentally consistent with what this program and what ByFusion stand for.

Becton Dickinson

In April 2021 Becton Dickinson (BD) announced a $65M investment into a facility in Tucson. The plant was proposed to be built adjacent to the DM runway. It would use the toxic and highly flammable chemical Ethylene Oxide (EO) in its process of cleansing medical equipment. Sun Corridor – the regional economic development arm – said the economic impact could exceed $122M in the next decade. Lots of people jumped on the economic development bandwagon.

In January 2022 I offered a motion to oppose the facility, both in its proposed location and because of the toxic chemicals they were going to use in their operation. BD had plans to transport over 450,000 pounds of EO through our city annually. They have already been sued over the impacts caused by the release of EO. Here’s the cover page of one such lawsuit:

That lawsuit was filed in Georgia. A total of 6 personal injury lawsuits were filed against BD and another company in Georgia that used EO in their process. All of this was happening while Sun Corridor and others were welcoming the BD facility into our community.

The motion I offered was ultimately passed unanimously. The motion was:

It's important to note that I was not the lone loud voice opposing the BD facility in the fashion it was being proposed. The DOD had told Sun Corridor that they did not want the operation located under their aircraft. The chance for a catastrophic incident was obvious. The suggestion of placing the facility by the DM runway was irresponsible from the start. In addition, Supervisor Matt Heinz was vocal in opposition to the facility at the County Board of Supervisors.

In the past week two important things have developed. One is that the city has received word that we will be given the authority to impose our own local regulations on the transportation of EO through our community. Without that approval we’d have no voice in how the chemicals arrived at the BD plant. Our TFD folks will be taking their time identifying such a route.

They can now afford to take their time because the other important development is that BD has advised our own economic development team that they no longer plan on using EO at the Tucson facility. They still want to be here – and under the right conditions I welcome them into our community as an important economic driver – but they’ve evidently heard us loudly and clearly and will not be operating a medical facility here that uses the toxic chemicals.

All of that is excellent news, with the caveat that we still don’t know exactly what they propose to replace the EO operation with. I look forward to being briefed by BD representatives on their new plans.

Meanwhile the investigation into the nitric acid semi-truck incident off from the interstate continues. So does the train derailment contamination incident that took place two weeks ago in Ohio. Major releases of toxic chemicals are not idle concerns. They’re in the news regularly. We might have just dodged a high caliber bullet by staring down the proposed use of 450,000 pounds of Ethylene Oxide at the Tucson facility. More on this as I get more details about the new plans from BD.

I’ll add this – in the last campaign I was speaking about how we had to fight the telecom industry over the placement of 5G poles, we were in a battle with TEP about undergrounding utility lines, we were fighting for clean water against 3M and the DOD, and the RTA tussle was ongoing. One of the young people running against me said part of the problem was that I was ‘always fighting.’ The message is that major corporations do not change direction like we’ve seen in the telecom, TEP and now BD case without somebody willing to stand up for what’s right, and if necessary to do it aggressively.

Water Conservation

Last week we had a healthy discussion at the M&C about water conservation. The Bureau of Reclamation has declared a Tier 2 drought on the Colorado River. The city has certain steps we’ve adopted that are to kick in when that formal declaration is made. We’ve done some, and last week we gave direction to move forward with others.

A Tier 2 drought happens when Lake Mead reaches 1,045’ in elevation. It has been a bit above and a bit below that level pretty much all year. Under Tier 1 the city conducted water audits of all our buildings. Only 41 of the 102 audit recommendations have been implemented. On Wednesday last week we were given assurance that the rest are in the works. So far what has been done is estimated to save nearly 13 million gallons of water per year.

As a side note, residents and businesses with excessive water use can request guidance on a water audit. With the Tier 2 declaration Tucson Water is developing self-audit tools so you can do your own home/business assessment. Everybody has ways they can save gallons, and every gallon counts.

Some of the other protocols that kick in with the Tier 2 include a ‘water surcharge’, suspending new requests for water service outside of the city limits, and assessing whether changes need to be made to our water service area policy. The surcharge isn’t well defined in our policy so I’ve asked staff to bring us back examples of what other jurisdictions are doing, what staff recommends, who would be subject to the surcharge and at what amounts.

Tucson Water has suspended applications for water service under our Pre-Annexation Development Agreement (PADA) program. In that program people who live outside city limits but who are in our water service area may apply for water service under the condition that they will agree to be annexed when/if the city boundary ever reaches their home. We’ve awarded several PADA’s. Under the Tier 2 protocol no more will be awarded until the water situation improves, or until we’ve finished re-evaluating our water service policy and resume them under whatever new regulations we adopt. So the short message is that if you’re outside the city limits outside of our obligated-to-serve area and are not hooked up to city water yet, that won’t be happening without our reassessing our service policy. While that may sound harsh it is a reflection of our water reality, and I’d love to see other jurisdictions join us in taking this situation just as seriously as we are. We’ve got large developments being planned for areas of Cochise County that are already seeing subsidence and lowering water tables. That’s irresponsible.

Our water service area policy was a long time in the making. It involved heavy outreach to the development community as well as getting important input from environmental groups and hydrology experts. The M&C won’t be single handedly arriving at a rewrite of the policy, but with Tier 2 having been declared we will be taking a fresh look at where and under what conditions we can afford to extend water service.

This is our current water service map. The dark blue are the areas we’re already obligated to serve. If a new development goes in, we provide the water service. The same is true of the light blue. It’s the pink and pink hatched areas, and the yellow (unincorporated Pima County) that require a PADA before we’ll serve. The upcoming conversation will reopen the issue of where we obligate ourselves by policy to extend water service. Under our current reality, while the pipes might be close by, the water supply could be a limiting factor.

During our study session last week, I rhetorically asked who can give assurance of a 100-year water supply when we have no idea what the Colorado River will look like in 10 years. And yet it’s the ability to ‘show’ a new development can provide water to their site for 100 years that allows the development to move forward.

Another decision we made last week was to begin the process for banning non-functional turf in new development. And to phase out the non-functional turf that already exists by June 30^th, 2026. So, what’s ‘non-functional’ turf? There are 5 criteria we’ve agreed on:

• Grass areas with any single dimension of 8’ or less
• Grass areas exceeding a 4:1 (25%) slope
• Grass areas that are not accessible by paved pathways and/or are restricted by physical barriers that prohibit accessibility
• Grass areas installed closer than ten feet to a street and/or in front entryways to residential neighborhoods or subdivisions where other recreational amenities do not exist
• Grass areas that are not utilized for active recreational purposes

Areas we are specifically not including in the definition of non-functional turf include areas of schools, parks, sports fields, dog parks, golf courses or other areas used for recreation. Here’s an example that I run past nearly every morning. This isn’t meant to pick on Campbell Plaza – we shop in their stores regularly – but what I’ve highlighted is non-functional turf that I see being watered every morning at 5:30am whether or not it’s raining outside. Recently they’ve started the process of putting in desert landscaping. That’s what we’re after with the new turf ban.

When a Tier 3 drought is declared it could involve water use restrictions for customers whose use exceeds some as-yet unspecified levels. What we don’t know is what the Bureau of Reclamation will do with our CAP allotments. The lower those go, the more we’ll be relying on our stored groundwater. This stuff is no longer hypothetical. I credit Tucson residents for being excellent stewards of water, for understanding and taking part in water conservation efforts, and for being leaders that other jurisdictions can look at and learn from. We’re using about the same amount of water we did 20 years ago, despite the growth in population. Our decisions last week simply point to the need to do more.

One final water note – a few weeks ago I shared that 3M’s attorneys have advised that they should phase out their use of PFAS. Their goal is to do that by 2026. It’s not due to environmental sensitivity that they’re making the change. All the litigation settlements they’re having to pay out is hitting their shareholders in the pocketbook. Last week REI made a similar announcement. Their goal is to ban the use of PFAS from its cookware and clothing by the fall of 2024. REI makes things such as pots and pans, shoes, and backpacks. Consumer-grade products will have the ‘24 phase out. For professional-grade products such as some of their heavy-duty raincoats, the goal is 2026. This step is being taken in response to a national campaign led by Toxic Free Future that began in 2021 urging them to set a deadline for elimination of PFAS. If you’d like to see more about that campaign, you can at this link: https://toxicfreefuture.org/mind-the-store/rei-ban-pfas/

About 5 years ago when I introduced our water and legal officials to the litigation team that now leads our own litigation against 3M, I’ve been loudly ringing the PFAS contamination bell. We will need our groundwater cleaned as soon as the CAP supply dries up. The work we’re doing related to conservation under the Tier 2 declaration are steps intended to delay that date as far as possible. Unfortunately, we’re not the only ones with a straw stuck into the Colorado. We need everyone who’s draining the river to follow our lead.

Housing Affordability

Another important item we had on the agenda last week was a conversation about recommendations coming to us from the Commission on Equitable Housing and Development (CEHD.) It’s a citizen group made up of diverse representatives that is studying ways we might enhance our affordable housing stock. I appreciate the dedication they’ve shown to this issue.

Last week CEHD brought us some ideas we voted unanimously to study further. The 4 most directly related to facilitating more affordable housing stock are these:

The first and third items are related. I think we should absolutely more fully fund our Housing Trust Fund in order to be a player in securing more projects funded through Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC.) Those credits are federal dollars administered through state allocations. Historically Tucson gets just 1 or 2 projects funded annually. Based on our population we should be getting 5 or 6. What’s missing is the ability for developers of LIHTC projects to check a box showing the city is helping financially support the project. The Housing Trust Fund can play that role.

I’m not so sure however that trying to fund the Fund through a bond or other tax measure at the ballot box is the way to go. We will be bringing some form of tax measure to you when decisions are finalized about the RTA vs a local Move Tucson funding mechanism. I would be concerned with overwhelming voters with too many tax ‘asks’ and seeing them all fail. So, we’ve asked staff to bring back some recommendations.

The second proposal will require more public input. In a recent newsletter (which was misrepresented in a Daily Star op/ed - and I’ve shared my thoughts with the author of that piece) I stated that I am opposed to making zoning changes without a full public process in the decision. People have made investment decisions in their homes, in part based on some assurance of the types of development that’s allowed nearby. If we’re changing that, they deserve a voice. And the changes to density, height and related development issues were exactly the point of our lengthy public conversations related to the Broadway overlay. We’re about to start a similar public outreach for a Grant Road overlay. Public process is difficult, time consuming and essential if we’re going to arrive at public policy that’s fair to residents. One example of where that did not occur is the razing of barrios in the downtown area in order to build the TCC. The wounds from that continue to exist. If we’re making wholesale changes to zoning and development, the people affected need a voice.

The final CEHD recommendation is to push affordable housing projects up to the front of the line for plan review with our planning department. As written the recommendation is too broad. At the study session I suggested that jumping the queue is fine for any project relying on LIHTC funds. Those funds have a hard deadline for starting construction. If the developer misses it, they lose the funds. Given that there are only a handful of those each year, I support letting them be reviewed as soon as their development package is received. But time is money for every project so we can’t say any project that has any level of affordable housing (1 unit?) can go to the head of the line.

Also, in last Sunday’s Star Tim Steller had a good piece about using space in empty big boxes or using the nearly-always empty parking area on the east end of El Con for affordable housing. It’s something I’ve long advocated for. Getting the property owners to the table has been the chore. Don Bourn Company is doing this up in Marana. We’ve got several local candidates. I’ve let some of the real estate brokers who are involved in those projects know that I’m a phone call away if they’ve got clients interested in that conversation.

Himmel Park Vandals

While the vast majority of us appreciate the hard work it takes to maintain our parks, there are always the small few who think it’s cool to tear things up so others are prevented for enjoying them. Late last week that happened to the soccer fields and some of the soccer equipment at Himmel Park.

You’ve likely seen some of the video of people doing ‘donuts’ in their cars in some of our intersections. It’s dangerous and people have been seriously injured. Somebody felt doing that on a grass surface would be fun. They ruined the field, and we’ll now have to invest considerable resources in the rehab work.

To make it worse these ruts were etched into the field the day after it had rained. This is not an example of non-functional turf that we’re doing away with. Until further notice though, these soccer fields are out of commission.

Apologies to the lady who wrote and was upset the last time I used this phrase, but ’you can’t fix stupid.’ If you have information on who is responsible, please let us know.

Ready, Set, Rec (RSR)

Citizens Commission on Public Service and Compensation

You’ve got two more opportunities to offer your thoughts to the citizen committee that will be recommending M&C salaries for the upcoming November election. The mayor and city council do not have a voice in what the commission recommends for the ballot – what they arrive at is what will appear on the ballot. Your input is important.

The commission will forward their final recommendation to us by March 15^th. They will host two more meetings between now and then during which you can offer your thoughts. Those will be held in council chambers at 5:30pm on Thursday, March 2^nd and Thursday, March 9^th. You can get information about the commission online ahead of time through this link:  https://www.tucsonaz.gov/clerks/boards?board=76

COVID

Unless there’s a significant change, I’ll be ending the COVID section with this update. We’re now nearly into March 2023. That’s 3 years since the pandemic began. That’s crazy to think about. How all our lives have changed in those past 3 years, and how COVID has been the cause. It used to be if you saw someone walking into a Circle K with a mask on, you’d think they were getting robbed. No longer.

There are now effective vaccines to mitigate the severity of the disease if you contract it. There is the known effectiveness of wearing a good N95 or similar mask if you’re in crowds or around vulnerable people. That’s also true for other diseases transmitted through airborne particulates. So, we know how to protect ourselves and others. The numbers are uncomfortably high, but they’ve hit a plateau and are hopefully trending down. Here’s the updated chart I’ve been keeping.

Statewide there were 39 COVID fatalities last week and 6 in Pima County.

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. 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% effective, masks do help in reducing spread.

In March 2020 I ran this statewide map showing the new COVID case counts we had experienced at that time.

Here’s the current map showing what COVID has done in Arizona in the past 3 years.  

It’s not ‘behind us’ but it is a disease we know how to control. It’s sad it became such a politicized disease, dividing friends, co-workers and in some cases families. Please stay aware of your own symptoms and take care to avoid either contracting this deadly disease or spreading it if you test positive. I’ll watch the data and if there are important updates, I’ll be sure to include them in an upcoming newsletter.

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