A Message from Steve K...03/27/2023

Summer is getting close. I put our Parks and Recreation notices in the newsletter from time to time. There are activities in sports leagues of all sorts throughout Tucson and Pima County. I encourage you to give that some consideration. 

Thanks to Matt and his staff for the invitation, and to all those who took time last weekend to encourage the kids as they opened their season. 

Thank you to all who came in support of Sister Jose women’s shelter. Our first benefit event at Feast saw a full house. In fact, the response was so significant that we are going to do a repeat event on Monday, April 3rd – at Feast once again. The link for attending is here: http://evite.me/vDW9K4JSHd 

Both the ward 6 team and all of the staff and volunteers at Sister Jose are grateful to Doug Levy and his staff for helping facilitate these events. Feast has been supportive of non-profits throughout COVID, despite struggling to stay open themselves. Sister Jose has been one of the many groups they’ve helped with food donations. If you’re looking for a place to enjoy some fine dining, think of Feast. And if you’re looking for a job, either front or back of house work, stop in and fill out an application. Feast is hiring. 

The event will sell out again so if you are thinking about coming you should get the invite filled out soon. 

In the past week, I’ve had these contacts; a woman asking me to help reunify an Afghan family – wife and child are in Tucson, husband and child are in Canada. Another – Afghan in Tucson still trying to get authorization to fly ‘home’ to tend to his injured son. Another – Afghan in Tucson asking for help getting his wife and children out of Kabul. Another – U.S. citizen married to a Pakistani woman cannot even get an interview with our embassy to unify the family here in Tucson. That’s just in the past week. I’m also in touch with a local immigration attorney who shares my – let's call it displeasure – with how unresponsive and unaccountable our state department is. We’re discussing how to make these cases more public since nobody at the congressional level appears engaged. 

And then there are the people who continue arriving at Alitas daily. Where are they all coming from? Cuba, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti, Venezuela, some from Eastern Europe – all over. 

The folks running the Alitas Welcome Center come by weekly to gather up the donations you bring into the ward 6 office. The weekly trips are necessary because they continue to get 300-500 new arrivals daily at Alitas. We can’t get families who helped in our own war effort united, and we leave it up to donors to help with people coming across our border escaping trauma in their home countries. At the ward 6 office we continue to be grateful to all of you who see the needs and support the people we’re serving. 

Please continue to bring in your donations, they are still in need of personal hygiene products, under clothing in sizes small and medium.

We’ve got the date, time and location set for the sex trafficking forum. As is the case with the Feast / Sister Jose event, this will fill up so please register if you want to attend. To do that contact Dominique directly at dominique.roe@asu.edu, or get ahold of Ann here at the ward 6 office at ann.charles@tucsonaz.gov.  

The event will be held on Monday, April 17th. It will run from 8am until 5pm. We’ve booked the sanctuary at the Benedictine Monastery – 800 N. Country Club. Parking is free in either of the two lots shown in green – they're right across the street from the Benedictine on both 2nd street and around the corner on Anderson – across from the ward 6 office. 

In last week's newsletter I shared some of the data Dominique and her team have compiled related to sex trafficking. The very short message is that it is taking place every week in Tucson, local law enforcement is not arresting and local/county judicial is not prosecuting. The purpose of this forum is to build awareness of how trafficking is taking place, who is vulnerable, what behaviors and activities can increase vulnerability and what the legal definitions of trafficking are, so you know it when you see it. 

The forum will be a combination of presentation and active engagement by those in attendance. You won’t just be sitting for the day absorbing information. But you will leave better informed about how traffickers are operating in Tucson, and how to better protect yourself and others. We’re grateful to Dominique for investing time and work here in Tucson. She is also responsible for doing all the work getting the state funding that’s backing this presentation.  

In addition to highlighting the plastics program the festival will include gardening education, tips on raising chickens, sustainability resources and the usual food trucks and entertainment. This will be a 100% family friendly free event. The weather is finally finding the middle ground between cold and hot so put on some sunscreen and pop over to this festival on the 15th. You can be sure I’m pitching to them using ByBlocks for their raised planter beds. 

Last week was our first week in which we (you) topped 3 ½ tons. With the 3.54 tons you brought to the ward 6 office last week we’re at 65.38 tons collected since last August. It’s great  -  and it’s another reason we need to get the legal terms of the service agreement done so all of the processing of the material can go full steam ahead.  

Reminder – the ward 6 office is no longer the only drop off location. Here are your options: 

ByFusion is bringing on their first local hire in a few weeks. Two weeks ago when we transitioned the holiday tree into the planter, Heather Bowers came by and took part. Her picture was in the newsletter. She’s working on some film-related projects, finishing up some commitments. In a few weeks, she’ll be joining the ByFusion team – and by extension the ward 6 team – as their first Sales and Support Rep in Tucson. We at the ward 6 office will be happy for the additional assistance pushing out the great message of this program. More on Heather and her role to come.  

I had some exchanges with the legal people on the service agreement late last week. I had first presented a draft literally before the first of the year hoping to have the blocker in fabrication and here by July. We’re finally close. ByFusion is showing their commitment to coming to Tucson. I’ve let our side know we can’t try to fit all the normal deal points into such a unique project. We’re all learning – and we’re leading. I want to get this done so I can start working on a food waste initiative that will follow directly on the heels of the plastic zero waste circularity program. 

Sometimes you win some by playing the bad cop. This is an example. 

Last year I asked for a study session to discuss the city’s options with respect to allowing Becton Dickinson to open a facility near the DM runway. The facility was to sanitize medical supplies and equipment. That’s a totally laudable operation except for the fact that they were going to use a toxic chemical called Ethylene Oxide (EO). The city does not have the legal authority to prohibit them from opening. They met all the zoning requirements and the county was compelled by law to issue them an air quality permit. The outcome of the study session was my motion stating that until they identified a safe transport route for the EO through the city, they were not welcome here. And we petitioned the federal DOT to authorize us to identify ‘safe routes’ for transit through the community. 

Last week we were notified that BD has asked Pima County to rescind the air quality permit that had been issued. Here’s the form indicating a ‘Notice of Intent to Terminate.’ Note the ‘Reason For Termination’ that I’ve highlighted. “No longer intending to construct the facility as proposed at its Tucson location.” 

Since the study session I requested on the BD facility, there have been at least 3 train derailments involving hazardous chemicals, and Tucson had our own truck rollover that released Nitric Acid. There is no safe way to transport highly toxic chemicals through the city. At this time, I don’t know what BD is planning for the site they’re building out by DM, but knowing it’s not going to be EO is a win for the community. 

While on the environmental theme, the Environmental Services folks have scheduled another tour of the Los Reales campus and recycle facility (MRF.) The last one filled up quickly so if you’ve got an interest in this please sign up soon.  

The tour will take place on Tuesday, April 11th. You’ll get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at what happens to both the green bin contents, and what you put into the blue bins once they arrive out at the landfill and MRF. The tour will be done by bus, as a group. It’ll leave at 8:45am from the Thomas Price Service Center – 4004 S. Park. You’ll be returned to that location when the tour is over.  

During the trip you’ll need to wear long pants and closed-toe shoes. And of course, don’t forget your hat and sunscreen. This is first-come/first-served so please use this link and get registered. We’re grateful to the E.S. team for continuing these very popular tours. 

Register for the tour 

Arizona Inn Audubon Bar and Patio 

Eric Buss is a homegrown Tucsonan. He left town to pursue a career in comedy, magic and general family entertainment. He’s coming home for a one-night gig out at the Berger Auditorium. Berger is a nearly 500 seat auditorium that’s located out on the campus of the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind – 1200 West Speedway. I’ve done events there – you'll really enjoy the atmosphere. 

Eric has done shows all over the world. He entertained our troops at the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan (where the judge we were able to get reunited with his wife and daughter worked), on cruise lines, in London and of course at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. This isn’t a back-yard magician that you’ll be able to figure out from your seat. 

You should consider advance purchase of the tickets. Here’s a link: 

www.ShenanigansShow.EventBrite.com.

Also appearing will be other magic, juggling – all family entertainment. The show is on April 1st beginning at 7pm.  

Something that’s not magic is fixing our streets. Thanks to the overwhelming support of the voters, we’re in the process of rolling out residential road repair through Proposition 411 – the ½ cent sales tax that’ll touch every residential street in Tucson over the next 10 years. 

We get calls pretty regularly asking when a particular area will be done. Our transportation department has done a ‘worst-first’ kind of analysis and is ranking streets throughout the city. In addition, they’re building in a ward-equity split of the funds, so everybody knows the money is being spread evenly throughout the region. One caveat – since the funds are just beginning to build up you might see some streets that were fully reconstructed in the past few years getting a top-coat treatment. That is a relatively inexpensive treatment that will extend the life of the street. It’s the pavement management step that was lacking in the city program in the past.  

There is now a project website you can access to check on timing of your area. This site is constantly being updated. It’s a pretty intuitive site so click the link shown below and it’ll give you the snapshot of where the planning is at a given time. 

Here is the link: https://tucsondelivers.tucsonaz.gov/pages/better-streets-safe-streets 

Last week Kevin Dahl and I met with city planners and talked about kicking off the overlay process for Grant Road. Our goal is to time this process with the work being done on the roadway expansion.  

An overlay is an optional zoning designation. Every piece of property in the city has some zoning classification. Examples – residential, commercial, industrial, parking. If somebody wants to develop a piece of land and does so following the rules for its existing zoning class, there is no public process required. I can build a house on a residential lot and as long as I don’t violate things such as height and set back restrictions, I don’t have to engage with surrounding property owners. 

The rules for height, parking and that sort of thing limit what can be done, even within the existing zoning classification. I can’t build a 40’ tall structure if the zoning only allows 25’. So even existing zoning is limiting.

The purpose of the overlay is to look at existing zoning along Grant Road, identify what it already allows, match that with things the community might want that isn’t allowed by the current zoning, and then drop an optional zoning classification on that site to help facilitate the preferred uses. There’s some give and take throughout the process of establishing that new zoning option. Say existing zoning requires a certain amount of parking. In order to incentivize a different use the overlay could lower the amount of parking required. Or the overlay could allow more height in order to attract a more desirable use. Coming to those points of agreement is what the overlay planning process is all about. 

The Grant Road widening is about to begin in the east portion of the project – from Swan to about Palo Verde. That segment will be the first part we work on for the overlay. It coincides with phases 3 and 4 of the widening project. Phases 5 and 6, the area between around Campbell and Palo Verde will come later in the construction so we’ll tackle that overlay planning later on so it times better with the RTA work. 

There will be several neighborhoods and businesses involved in the outreach. With apologies to the Garden District neighbors (I really do know the name of your Association) this map shows where the outreach will take place. The only map I could find still calls Garden District by its former Midtown. 

City staff is not going to be able to manage all of the outreach process. They’re working on bringing a 3rd party contractor into the fold to help with that part of the work. None of it will happen without the involvement of the ward 3 and ward 6 offices. And of course, all of it will happen with coordination with the businesses and neighborhoods along the corridor. So, there’s an extensive amount of work ahead and it’ll involve lots of public outreach – which will cause the overall effort to take some necessary and important time. 

The way we left it with staff last week was that they’ll continue working on getting the 3rd party contractor lined up. Once that’s done, we’ll be holding a sort of kick-off meeting in which all interested groups will be invited to hear the overall plan. Following that smaller groups that more closely align with particular segments of the corridor will be gathered to talk about their vision for those particular areas. There will not be an immediate consensus. We did the Broadway overlay over the course of a couple of years, and even at the end of the process there was not unanimity in the outcome. But just as the Broadway Sunshine Mile overlay will catalyze development that is more in tune with what businesses and neighbors are after, we’re hoping and expecting to achieve a similar result on Grant Road. 

Also as is true of the Broadway Sunshine Mile overlay, the character of the Campbell to Swan segments on Grant Road are very dissimilar. On Broadway we ended up with several ‘subdistricts’ where what is allowed matches the character of the surrounding area. That’ll also be the way the Grant Road overlay develops. It will not be an attempt at trying to fit development that might make sense for one part of the corridor into areas that are different in character. 

Stay tuned – I’ll be sharing the information on the kickoff meeting as soon as staff has their support team lined up. 

All of that is expected to take until around October. Also, much of the framing work will be done by then. The main question people have is when it’ll all be done – they're still hoping to have their first move-in around late July of next year. So, a bit over a year before residents start showing up. 

There are a couple of closures you should know about – Stephens Avenue (other than during street fair weekends) is closed for the duration of the project. And they’ll also have the O’Malley’s parking lot closed until they’re finished. 

Take Back The Night 

The Pima campus at Stone and Speedway is serving as the host. There will be speakers, food, some entertainment as well as a resource fair where neighbors and businesses can get information on services available to them. Neighborhoods can also sign up to host a table of their own at this event. 

The organizers are looking for people who’ll help with logistics for the event, performers, people to provide art projects to spruce up the event, and people willing to help do what I’m doing – get the word out about it. If you can help with any of that, or if your neighborhood would like to table at the event, please reach out to TBNT Tucson at https://linktr.ee/tbtn_tucson.  

Emanuel Church is located on Alvernon, just north of Pima. They’re hosting a come one/come all family festival on Saturday, April 1st over the weekend before Easter. We work with a lot of refugee families who live in the area. This event is free and open to everybody, regardless of the message you find in the Easter holiday. 

The event runs from 10am until 2pm. There will be kiddy activities, food, and entertainment. I’ve spoken with the event organizers from the church – they want this invitation to be a sincere outreach to all. Just as I wrote in regard to Take Back The Night, this is a community-building event, and we certainly can’t have too much of that, can we. 

Jefferson Park Plant Sale 

And one more community-builder. This one’s also a fundraiser for the folks over in Jefferson Park. And it’s an opportunity for you to grab some plants and planting supplies. 

Running over the May 5th, 6th and 7th weekend, from 8am until 1pm each day, Jefferson Park will host their annual plant sale. It’s plants, plus information on how your landscape efforts can thrive in our climate, plus materials you’ll need to be successful. The event is hosted at 1641 E. Waverly – that's ½ way between Elm and Grant. Access it from Campbell. Easy to find, and lots of good information and supplies available at the event.

Garden District Neighborhood Wide Yard Sale 

Coming on Saturday, April 1st this is their annual all-day event where if you’re one of those people who loves going to yard sales, this will be your mecca. Starting between 7am and 8am the sales will begin. They’ll close at varying times depending on how much stuff they’ve got. The Garden District is located between Speedway and Grant, and between Alvernon and Swan – directly in midtown which explains why that used to be their name.  

The sales will be scattered throughout the neighborhood. There will be a live link of the sale map posted on the Garden District website starting at 6am on the first. Go to www.thegardendistrict.org and you can use the map to save randomly driving through the neighborhood looking for the sales. Happy hunting.