A Message from Steve K...04/24/2023

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Date: 04/24/2023

Topics in This Issue:

• Budget Survey

• Refugee Donations

• Prop 412

• Plastic Program

• Wednesday’s at the Inn

• Capstone Student Housing

• Accessory Dwelling Unit Upgrades

• Some Good News on Water

• Trafficking Forum

• Armory Park Improvements

• Pima Community College I.T. Scholarship Program

• Take Back the Night Tucson

• Fair Housing Forum

Budget Survey

Thanks to all of you who have already replied to the budget survey we’re running. We’ve got over 1,300 responses so far, and there are still a couple of weeks to go.

The survey is a 1 question ask; if you had an imaginary $100 to spend on the city budget, how would you prioritize that money? You can use this link to access the survey: tinyurl.com/ward6survey.

At about the halfway mark here’s what we’re seeing for priorities:

1. Public safety
2. Other: roads
3. Water

The city manager will present his recommended budget this week. We’ll continue talking about tweaks and changes through May. We’re keeping this survey tool open until May 3^rd, so I have the benefit of your input ahead of our making final budget votes. And remember the random drawing we’ll be having at the end of the survey; two $100 Tucson Originals gift cards selected by my team. For that please provide your contact information along with your survey.

Refugee Donations

Other things will happen when parole status expires. They may lose their ability to work legally and they may lose their benefits under the Office of Refugee Resettlement. None of this should be news to our congressional people – they make these rules. And they have now had 2 years to address them. The meter’s running, and it’s running out of time.

I’ve included a part of what I just shared here in both Dari and in Pashto. If you know Afghan refugees who have trouble with English, please show this to them. They need to begin contacting an immigration attorney immediately if they are still here under parole status.

Your donations continue supporting families who are here trying to turn their lives around. With the heat coming we need sunscreens, lotions, other hygiene products, new/unused underclothes, and the usual kid’s toys. Thanks so much for how so many of you step up and help those who continue to live the trauma of their recent past while also trying to pull their lives together. At ward 6 we are grateful to you for your generosity. Keep those donations coming, they are greatly appreciated. 

Prop 412

You should have received your ballot and informational material in the mail for the TEP franchise agreement by now. I can’t use city resources to advocate for or against the Proposition, but there were two local news stories last week in which both sides were presented. Granted, this is too complex an issue to do it justice in a 2-minute TV clip, but it’s the time the stations had to invest. Here are stories from Bud Foster (KOLD) and Eric Fink (KVOA.) The deadline for registering has now passed. You can vote by mail now or drop off your ballot on May 16^th – election day.

https://www.kold.com/2023/04/22/tep-franchise-vote-has-found-disagreement-among-some-city-leaders/

City of Tucson holds Special Election in May 

Also, over the weekend the Star ran some pro and some con editorials. I’m going to post the one in favor that was written by one of the TEP senior administrators, followed by the one I wrote in opposition during the middle of last week. First this op ed from Erik Bakken of TEP.

Proposition 412 is just the latest positive step in Tucson Electric Power’s efforts to provide cleaner and more reliable energy to our community.

After recent expansions of our wind and solar power systems, more than 25% of our community’s power now comes from carbon-free renewable resources. And that’s just a start: we’re working to achieve 70% clean energy and an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035.

Prop 412 would only add to these achievements, providing new resources to support the City of Tucson’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan while facilitating the development of a critical new transmission line. It also would ensure that we can continue building and maintaining our local energy grid on the city’s public rights-of-way for another 25 years.

That’s why a broad coalition of community leaders supports Prop 412, including Mayor Regina Romero, four members of the Tucson City Council, our local police and firefighter associations, state legislators, neighborhood leaders and business groups, including the Tucson Metro Chamber, Southern Arizona Leadership Council and Sun Corridor.

They understand, as some do not, that franchise agreements cannot be used to regulate utility operations, or the energy mix we provide to our community. That said, the fact that we found a way to support climate action in an otherwise simple land-use agreement just shows how we’re making the fight for a cleaner future part of everything we do.

Prop 412 emerged from long conversations with city leaders about the best way to serve growing electric needs in the heart of the city. Most of the new funding raised during the first 10 years of the agreement would fund underground construction of a higher-voltage line that has faced resistance from area residents. When our mayor and council suggested that we use remaining funds to support climate action, we were more than happy to agree.

For an average impact of less than $1 per month, then, Prop 412 will allow us to modernize our grid while making funds available for projects that can expand clean energy, support greater use of electric vehicles and develop heat mitigation resources.

Those efforts would benefit from the momentum TEP has created through our own initiatives. We’re currently updating the integrated resource plan that will guide our future investments in a cleaner energy portfolio. That plan is being developed in consultation with our community, including local government representatives, business leaders, environmental advocates and energy experts.

We’re also evaluating responses to our most recent request for new energy resources, a process that will produce significant new investments in cleaner energy technology. We expect to invest nearly $1 billion over the next five years, and hundreds of millions more by the end of the decade, in wind, solar and energy storage systems to support our transition to cleaner energy resources.

We’re taking these steps because TEP is committed to providing reliable, affordable service with a cleaner, less carbon-intensive energy portfolio. Our progress will provide clear benefits for our customers, our investors and our planet, ensuring that our community is aligned with global efforts to combat climate change.

Prop 412 would complement these efforts with new investments in climate resiliency while supporting electric reliability by facilitating grid upgrades and prompt responses to any outages. Our facilities are built to last decades or more, which is why franchises typically extend for 25 years.

TEP has had franchise agreements in place with the City of Tucson for nearly a century. Proposition 412 would extend this productive relationship while allowing us to make new progress toward our shared goals. It’s an important step in our larger journey toward a cleaner energy future.

And here is the op ed I wrote opposing 412:

Proposition 412 is a 25-year extension to Tucson Electric Power’s existing franchise agreement with the city of Tucson. TEP is not coming out of pocket with a single penny to support renewables in Prop 412. You are, in the form of a 0.75% resiliency fee. Let’s be clear. They’re collecting those new dollars from customers, not dipping into their own revenues in support of investing more heavily in climate mitigation and decarbonizing efforts.

The fee you’ll be paying is estimated to yield roughly $4 million to $5 million per year. If TEP committed to even half of what you’re being charged the utility would be investing more than $50 million over the 25-year life of the franchise agreement. That would signal a serious partnership with the climate action initiatives the mayor and city council have identified.

For the first 10 years the new fee is being collected, 90% of it is earmarked for undergrounding utilities. The focus will be on assuring the city’s gateway corridor requirement for undergrounding new utilities is honored. That is an outcome I have advocated for since the new TEP transmission line project was introduced to the public more than three years ago. We must insist TEP honors the integrity of our local ordinances.

And yet our climate reality demands much more than the aesthetic of undergrounding new utility lines. A financial commitment from TEP to partner in that larger renewable energy conversation is what’s lacking in the extension of their franchise agreement.

Whether Prop 412 passes or fails, TEP will still have to go through what’s called a Special Exception process if they want to install new utility lines above ground on either our gateway or scenic corridors. Through the Special Exception process there are at a minimum three public hearings in which affected residents and businesses have a forum to make their voices heard. That requirement was adopted completely outside of the Prop 412 franchise agreement discussion. It stands if 412 passes, and it stands if 412 falls. Prop 412 is solely about TEP having their right to do work in public rights of way extended for another 25 years, with the new component of identifying a funding source for undergrounding utilities — and to a much less robust extent funding some of our climate initiatives.

TEP is legitimately concerned that their existing power supply system is old and is in need of upgrades. They have said if Prop 412 fails they will be forced to make $12 million in upgrades that they would otherwise not have to. But adopting 412 does nothing for the immediate need for upgrades. If TEP is concerned with their ability to provide uninterrupted service in the midtown area that issue isn’t solved by passing this proposition.

TEP says the Arizona Corporation Commission will not approve rate increases that are tied to undergrounding for aesthetic purposes. But the ACC will approve rate increases tied to increased investments into renewable energy sources. If TEP were to commit to half of what they’re asking of you to help with our resiliency goals, that roughly $2 million annually is a rounding error for the utility. But extended over the length of the agreement it would be an important piece of addressing the expansion of residential solar and the emergent need to get off from fossil fuels and onto renewable energy sources. That level of commitment does not exist in the current ballot language.

The existing TEP franchise agreement expires in 2026. If the extension fails in May it can be placed back on the ballot in either August or November of this year. Either date would give the city and the community time to meet and identify ways the utility can demonstrate a larger commitment to addressing extreme heat and how we safely provide electricity using renewable energy sources. That conversation will not affect the need to honor our gateway ordinance mandating undergrounding new utilities. And that conversation was truncated by rushing to the May election date.

TEP says if Prop 412 fails they “might not have this conversation again.” But all they’re doing through this ballot measure is agreeing to collect $4 million — $5 million from you annually and for the first 10 years spend 90% of it to comply with our existing city ordinances. That’s simply a cost of doing business, not a commitment to renewables.

The franchise agreement is a 25-year contract with the utility. The current proposal earmarks less than $500,000 annually for the first 10 years from the new fee for decarbonization and other climate actions. We can do better.

Normally extending a franchise agreement would be a ho-hum election. Given our climate realities this has turned out to be anything but ho-hum. You have until May 16^th to get included in the vote.

Plastic Program

In advance of Earth Day Diana and I took a couple of hours to install a bench and raised planter over at the Children’s Museum. Her husband joined in the work, and Anita from Bottle Rocket came by and installed some of her bench tops made from the crushed sand. It’ll be a nice educational area for the programs they run at the Children’s Museum.

You know Diana and I – that's Anita and her son in the grey with Children’s Museum director Hilary Van Alsburg in the red.

And total credit to Diana’s husband Marcos for doing the planting after we left. This is just another step towards getting the blocks out into circulation in the community. That will all scale up as soon as we finish the ByFusion service agreement and they are operating here in town.

The Tucson Verde Rotary has been interested in the plastics program since it was still in the pilot phase. In fact, the focus of this Rotary branch is environmental issues so the work we’re doing with plastics fits right in. I received this not from Barbara – one of the leadership team at the TV Rotary. We’re grateful for their ongoing support of the work.

And last week I reconnected with the folks who are running the ‘Bring your own Bag’ program nationwide. Closed Loop Partners has partnered with several retailers to push out this program. Some of those retailers include CVS, Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dollar General and Kroger. The aim is to train customers to take their own bag to the store when shopping as a way of reducing the use of the plastic bags we all have stuffed under the sink at home. You may begin to see some of these advertising reminders at bus shelters around town.

The goal is to engage retailers in driving cultural shifts. I am not at all concerned this sort of effort is going to put the ByFusion project at risk of losing the plastic we need for the blocks. The stuff is unavoidable. The BYOB project is simply one responsible way we can all help reduce the amount of plastic in circulation. Closed Loop estimates that we use about 100 Billion single use plastic bags annually in the U.S. We aren’t running out anytime soon.

For those who forget to bring their own reusable bag Closed Loop is trying a ‘Returnable Bag’ pilot in some New Jersey stores. The idea is you can ‘rent’ a reusable bag when you get to the store – return it on your next trip and get reimbursed. The reason they’re trying this in New Jersey is that they already have a ban on both single-use paper and plastic bags for some retailers. The pilot allows customers who forget their own to ‘rent’ one, instead of having to buy additional reusable bags at the store. Since the Arizona legislature has prohibited local jurisdictions from passing bans on single use bags, we won’t be a part of this pilot anytime soon.

If you’d like more information on what Closed Loop is doing you can find it at this link:

Bring Your Own Bag Pilot

The other two drop off locations are combining for just under a ton per week. I was told that the fire station out on the west side was telling people that they may not leave bags on the ground when the bin is full. That’s likely because they don’t want to go out and toss them in when the bin has been emptied. Not to worry – you’re free to leave it on the ground (bagged and tied please) at our office if the bin is either full or is out being emptied. My team and I are used to tossing bags – it's no big deal. And the bin is located behind the fire station, so you won’t immediately see it from the street.

The total collected is now 80.68 tons. Last week was our first 4+ ton week so the other 2 locations are starting to be additive. That’s 160,000 pounds of plastic you’ve donated to the cause since August. Here’s why all of this matters:

I did an hour radio show with students from UHS last Friday evening. They’re totally on board with the program. That’s the age group we need to catch this wave – and they are. Thank you for your continued support.

Wednesday’s at the Inn

Last week it was great to see city staffers, neighborhood residents, some local media, and Inn guests filling the Audubon Lounge from 5 until 8pm.  Drop on over this Wednesday for just a laid back off the clock time to relax. The music covers artists such as Elton John, Rod Stewart, Jim Croche, Sugarland and even some Lady Gaga. It’d be great to see you there supporting the Inn. If you’ve come and enjoyed your time, please let the Inn know. They’re being very kind in extending this program through May. Then snowbirds leave and they take advantage of slow summer weekdays to do some needed renovation work in the lounge.  It’s the first time the Inn has ever allowed amplified music so this has been a trial run for them too. I think they’re seeing the guests are engaged. I’ll be there from 5pm until 8pm in the lounge at the Inn. That’s on Elm between Tucson Blvd and Campbell.

Capstone Student Housing

Reminder that this week is the formal neighborhood meeting for the Capstone student housing project being proposed for the SE corner of Speedway and Euclid. It’s a rezoning of the Main Gate Overlay District in which they’re asking for relief in height restrictions. There’s also an historic preservation component involving moving some existing bungalows over to a new parcel in West University. Here are some images of what’s being proposed:

Proposed development.

Capstone held a public open house at the ward 6 office last month. That was not their formal, required neighborhood meeting. They did however have people fill out comment cards and at the time they said they’d share those comments with neighborhood leadership. That never happened. We’ll all be interested in seeing how those comments affect any changes in the planned development when they show updated plans at the meeting this week.

In the letter Capstone sent out announcing the meeting they indicated it’d take place on Thursday, April 27^th from 6pm until 7pm. They got the date right. And they’re free to leave anytime they’d like to, but my experience with these kinds of meetings is expecting to wrap things up in an hour is unrealistic.

If you’ve got any thoughts on the project based on what you may have already seen please share them with our planning department at pdsdinquiries@tucsonaz.gov. Following this week’s meeting Capstone can either host another neighborhood meeting as a follow up to what they hear on Thursday, or they can choose to go straight to the zoning examiner. That decision will be up to them based on input they get this week.

Accessory Dwelling Unit Upgrades

If you’ve got an ADU on your property that needs some TLC our housing department has a program you might want to consider. The program is focused on low-income homeowners who are living on their own property. If there’s a backyard casita already in place that needs some upgrades, the program can help with that. It can also be of value in transforming an existing backyard structure into an ADU.

There’s both technical and financial help available through the housing program. To qualify applicants must have a gross income at or below 80% of the Area Median Income. The property must be within Tucson city limits and all of the mortgage payments have to be current and up to date.

This program is not for new construction or for total remodels. It can help with repairs or replacements of gas lines, water lines, redoing kitchen or bathroom cabinets – those kinds of things. Please use this link to read more about the program, and to sign up if you’re interested:

Homeowner programs 

HCD

Some Good News on Water

Think back a month or so and visualize the news reports you saw of California under water from their rains, and a while before that when Nevada was being hit with big snowstorms. The impacts of those weather events have had a positive impact on downstream flows to the Colorado River basin.

The Bureau of Reclamation is the federal agency under the Department of Interior that’s leading the conversation about conservation requirements we’ll have to accept as the CAP allocations are reduced. They are the nation’s largest water wholesaler, and the second largest producer of hydroelectric power nationwide. They clearly have both a vested interest and their thumb on the pulse of the health of the River.

Prior to last week’s Bureau analysis, they had planned to release through Glen Canyon Dam about 7 million acre feet (MAF) of water. Those releases affect the water levels on Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Those are our bellweather storage pools that determine how much Tucson will get from the Colorado. We, along with every other jurisdiction that is a part of the Central Arizona Project has been planning on reductions. Based on the large spring rains and snow pack the Bureau is now projected to increase the Glen Canyon Dam release to 9.5maf. The study they released now projects the water level on Lake Mead to be 33’ higher than they had thought earlier. It’s all good news for the short term, but nobody studying the trends expects this to be a signal that the drought is behind us and the Colorado will soon thrive again.

Thank you for all of the serious conservation effort so many of you have been taking part in. We can consider this a temporary reprieve, not a sign that we can ignore conservation.

One way you can take part in water conservation is by taking advantage of rebates Tucson Water offers on high-efficiency clothes washers and rebates for installing low-flow toilets. The level of rebate varies depending on the type of washer or toilet you’re buying. The benefits can reach up to $200 per purchase. Use this link to learn more about the Tucson Water rebate programs, and the eligibility requirements.

Tucson Water rebates

Trafficking Forum

I’ll open this section by sharing with you Reyna Preciado’s KGUN9 story on the sex trafficking forum we hosted last week.

https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/sex-trafficking-in-pima-county

Reyna and KGUN have been taking the lead in reporting on this issue. At the ward 6 office we appreciate her attention to this important topic.

Last year it’s estimated between 35 and 40 youth were trafficked in Pima County. On a given day in Tucson there are over 300 online ads for buying sex. Anybody who has access to the internet is subject to being tricked into meeting with a predator and ending up a trafficking victim.

Who’s vulnerable? When comparing sex trafficked homeless young people with non-sex trafficked homeless youth, these data were reported:

• 4x of the trafficked youth were more likely to report 4 or more Adverse Childhood Experiences
• 2x more likely to report using heroin
• 7x more likely to report meth use
• 8x more likely to report an alcohol addiction
• 3x more likely to report having attempted suicide
• 3x more likely to have run away from home
• 6x more likely to report experiencing dating violence
• 3x more likely to report being sexually abused before age 18

In a recent newsletter I shared an email from a local law enforcement person who referred to these victims as having ‘self-exploited.’ That statement shows a gross indifference to who is really being victimized. In fact, during the forum we hosted I know that same law enforcement person was texting people who were in the room suggesting that we were ‘out to get’ them. Addressing unprofessional behavior is up to the leadership in the agency. Let’s not confuse who the actual victims are in this discussion.

Who are the traffickers? These are the data from victims:

The vast majority of the perpetrators are people the victim should have been in a position of trusting. If you’ve got a daughter or son who is surfing the internet or engaged in forms of social media, please have this conversation with her or him. During my comments to the group at the forum I shared the work my office did with trafficking victims and pointed to our friend Beth Jacobs. Google her and you’ll find some local news stories Beth did to help build awareness of the issue. Beth is the one who introduced me to the term a ‘Romeo.’ It’s the guy lavishing compliments and gifts on a vulnerable young person, all in the process of breaking down defenses, and ultimately taking the person into a trafficking situation. It’s a message our youth need to hear.

Beth died the week of our forum. She lived through it all, and most importantly she helped others who were victimized by traffickers. Note the Cronkite News mic being used to interview her. That’s the ASU journalism school. Beth also worked with our ASU college of public health partner in this, Dominique Roe Sepowitz. We’ll miss Beth but will always respect the work she did to help those who some feel are ‘self-exploiting.’

Armory Park Improvements

Our parks staff is going to host an in-person event at Armory Park, the goal of which will be to answer questions people may have about upgrades being considered for Armory Park. A survey is going out to surrounding residents in the next couple of weeks. Then on Saturday, May 20^th from 9am until 11am they’ll be in Armory Park to answer questions about the survey, and how the input we receive will be used to help guide plans for the park.

This is a sort of ‘stay tuned’ section. They’re working on updating the city website and getting the survey translated so it’s inclusive. You’ll also start seeing some signs go up at the park along with Facebook and Nextdoor postings. Pre-COVID there were some plans for the park – things may have changed. Learning peoples’ current priorities and thinking is what we’re after with the survey and meetings that’ll be coming.

Pima Community College I.T. Scholarship Program

Council member Lee deserves full credit for initiating and getting this important program off the ground. Through her work with Pima College and Chancellor Lee Lambert, scholarships are being offered for high schoolers who are interested in getting into the information technology field. Coming in June there will be a series of one-week introductory classes geared to high school youth who’d like to explore the I.T. and cybersecurity world. It’s a free summer program that could end up with a scholarship as a steppingstone into the field.

This flyer has the dates for the classes and the link you can go to in order to learn more about the application process. It’s perfect timing as summer break is fast approaching.

Use this link to learn more about the program. It takes a minute to load because it has lots of information to share:  

https://www.pima.edu/paying-for-college/scholarships/other-scholarships.html

And with Pima College and our community partnership with them in mind, here’s a reminder that they’re hosting this year’s TBTN Tucson event at the downtown campus – Speedway and Stone. The event will have local law enforcement sharing information on how to ‘harden the target’ and generally how to keep your home, business and yourself safe.

There’ll be activities, speakers, different kinds of take-home resources, and of course food – the works. It’ll run from 4pm until 7pm on Tuesday, April 25^th. It’d be great to see a big turnout once again.

Fair Housing Forum

In the quarter century leading up to 1950 many Tucson neighborhoods adopted Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CCR) for the sale of homes that were blatantly racist and were explicitly intended to exclude minorities from living in the neighborhood. I’ve got a study session item coming co-requested with Regina, the purpose of which is to explore what role, if any the city can play in excising racist covenants from neighborhood CCR’s.

CCR’s are legal terms for what happens within a certain geographic boundary. They can include things such as front-yard swimming pools, proscriptions of ADU’s, or in the case we’re concerned with they contain explicit language on who can live in the neighborhood. Those racist CCR’s are now in direct violation of federal law and they cannot be enforced. The challenge is what process must a neighborhood go through in order to have them removed from the legal documents that are presented to prospective buyers.

Assistant UA professor Jason Jurjevich has been studying racist CCR’s in Tucson neighborhoods. On Friday, April 28^th Jason will be joined by Realtor Liane Wong and city equity officer Laurice Walker presenting a virtual forum on his work. The forum will run about an hour, and it’ll begin at noon.

The takeaway from the forum will be the panel describing how those CCR’s have had an impact on communities of color and de facto housing segregation. It’s being presented in recognition of April being Fair Housing Month. To register for the forum please use this link: Registration for the forum is required by following the link below. Register

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