A Message from Steve K...10/23/2023

• Jean Paul Bierny

• Asylum/Homeless Donations 

• Plastics Program 

• Housing Affordability 

• Commercial Water Rates

• 6^th/Campbell Rezoning

• Parks Upgrade Presentations

• Reid Park Zoo

• Loma Verde Dog Park

• TEP Midtown Project 

• COVID and Medications 

• Porch Fests and more 

• K9 Unit Raffle 

• Safe Streets Mini-Grant Program 

It feels like every week I’m writing another memorial item. We’re losing far too many really good people in the community. This week I want to honor the life work of Ward 6 resident Jean Paul Bierny. He died earlier this month from complications related to back surgery. 

Jean Paul was President of Friends of Arizona Chamber Music. He and his wife Chris showed up at several of the events where I was sharing music – a treat for me since I knew his love for music. I will always remember his passion for addressing the proliferation of guns in our culture, and his deep involvement in civic affairs. He and Chris have been regulars at many of the community meetings we host at the ward 6 office. Jean Paul brought cheer to any room he was in – just as you’d expect from his photo. We’ll miss him rolling up on his bike to grab plastic bags or to spend some time talking about the issues of the day. 

Thursday night it was my pleasure to stand in for my brother Pete and accept the award inducting him into the Catalina High School Hall of Fame. Pete graduated from CHS in 1969.  Earlier that day friend of ward 6 Logan stopped by to pick up a copy of Pete’s book – Tales from the Pumpkin King’s Cameraman (Amazon) – she's giving it to her grandson who is excited about animation and getting into the film industry. I told Logan that the book was Pete’s gift to him as an encouragement to pursue his dream. 

This is a scene from Nightmare being shot. Pete is front/far left in the picture. The picture has blurred images because of the long exposure they used in taking it. They keep the sets dark, except for the focal point of the shot. It’s sad the industry will miss out on his contributions, but it’s great newcomers to the trade are following in his footsteps. 

Last week I shared the story of a friend’s daughter, along with his 5-and 3-year-old grand-daughters  who were stuck in Jerusalem. Happy ending – they made it out and through a rather circuitous route are finally back home in Tucson. As you see from the news, that’s not the case for thousands more. You may still provide support for those in need in Israel by giving through the Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona using this website - https://jfsa.givingfuel.com/israel-fund-2023  They are still matching the first $180K donated. 

With Israel and Gaza taking up the airtime one group that is still in great need is the Ukrainians. Every day they’re still fighting to keep their country from being overrun by Russia. The local group We Stand By Ukraine is hosting fund raising events at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church coming on Saturday, November 4th and Saturday, December 2nd. Both events will run from 10am until 3pm, and at each event there will be art and other Ukrainian items for sale – all proceeds going to support a Ukrainian farm that sends fresh dairy and produce to families and soldiers in Ukraine. The event will be held in the Activity Building you can access off Campbell and Mabel.  

NEW & USED 

Men's S, M and L t-shirts short sleeve and long sleeve. (No XL please) 

Men's pants waist size 26 to 32 and length 30 to 34. 

Men's Sweatpants or athletic pants S and M. 

Men's sweatshirts, hoodies, 

Jackets, coats S, M, L. 

Women's tops, S, long sleeve and short sleeve. 

Women's Leggings (Lycra) 

Children's tops and pants size 2T to 18. 

Children's sweatshirts, hoodies, jackets, coats 2T to 18. 

Backpacks 

Men's belts 

Winter Gloves and hats for all. 

Men's shoes size 8 to 13. 

Women's shoes 5 to 8. 

Kid's shoes all sizes. 

NEW ONLY 

Socks and underpants for men, women and children all sizes (No XL please).  

The program was new to Franco, and not so new to Tucson residents who are supporting the work. During the Catalina High School event they had a trash bin set aside specifically for the program, and one guy who lives out in the county wanted to hear all about it after the ceremony was done. Here’s a link to the Yahoo article. It’s great to see that the word about what Tucson is doing continues to attract attention. 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/startup-turns-trash-construction-grade-083000732.html  

And this is our Diana who was out at the Grace St. Paul’s Creation Care event last week. She’s waving the ByFusion flag. Also at the event were representatives from Rotary, Sustainable Tucson, Trap/Neuter/Return and Save the Scenic Santa Ritas. We’re proud to be in such good company. 

And speaking of Rotary, don’t forget to register for their November 7th event that’ll be held at Maria Bonita Restaurant (2708 E. Ft. Lowell.) The event starts at 5:30pm and will last until around 7. The plastics program will be honored with their Founder’s Award – the Paul Harris Award. I’ll be there accepting it on behalf of those of you who are working to keep the program moving. You can get information about the event either by emailing Diane at dvg@rotaryd5500.org or just show up at the restaurant on the 7th and you can join in the festivities that way. 

Donations dipped a bit last week to around 5 tons. But that’s still a significant amount of plastic diverted from the waste stream. I met with our project manager and ByFusion last week to talk about the progress of the construction – slow but steady. All of us look forward to welcoming ByFusion to Tucson and being the first in the nation to stand up this level of plastic reuse program. 

Last week M&C took another step on the water conservation path. It was nice to see when we left City Hall that evening that it had been raining – for the first time in what seems like forever – but we’re in a long term drought, our rainfall for the year is down again and even relatively small steps like this are additive to the conservation work we’ve already done. 

Residential water rates are tiered. That is, the more you use, the more you pay per Ccf (100 cubic feet.) Our commercial and industrial users are treated differently. Because there are so many different types of uses included under the ‘commercial’ umbrella, our rate structure is based on establishing an average ‘winter’ use, and adding a surcharge for water used during the summer that exceeds that amount. The rationale is that in the winter the majority of your water use is for necessary needs happening within the business. The excess summer use is likely to be mostly for non-essential purposes such as irrigation. This chart shows what was in place for commercial/industrial users before last Tuesday: 

You can see the ‘winter’ months have been being defined as November through April. The use during those months established the average winter use and the surcharge for consumption above that level applied during May through October.  

It’s nearly November. Last week we hit 100 degrees. This is not ‘winter.’ So, one of the changes we made was to more accurately define ‘winter months’ to be the period from December through February. Not only did we shorten the time in which the winter average is determined, but we shifted it to reflect what are the truly cold (in Tucson terms) months. That was one of the changes.  

In addition to redefining the winter months we implemented surcharges to use above the winter levels that send a stronger conservation message than our former rate structure did. It’s not the strength of message I’d have preferred, but it’s a step in the right direction so I was supportive. Here’s a chart showing the new commercial/industrial rates: 

Note that both the base charge and the amounts per Ccf are slightly reduced compared to the current rates. But the surcharged amounts are in effect for the longer new summer period, so to avoid those users will have to cut back sooner than otherwise. This isn’t a money making scheme for Tucson Water – overall the proposal is revenue neutral. 

We’re all hoping this new rate structure results in greater water savings from our commercial and industrial users. This new way of charging those users is closer to the tiered residential rate structure than our previous pricing was. 

Last week we finalized a rezoning for the SW corner of 6th and Campbell. It has been a negotiation that I’ve been involved with for going on 5 years. We finally crossed the finish line. 

Credit for the success has to include neighbors from Rincon Heights and Sam Hughes neighborhoods, and the property owner, Scott Cummings. We had rejected the rezoning request a year ago, and in the following 12 months the groups have met numerous times hammering out the deal we approved last week. I’m hopeful the process and the outcome will form a template for other major rezoning applications the M&C consider. 

In the case of the 6th/Campbell project, we began with some serious disagreements as to height, density, uses, traffic, low-income housing components – pretty much across the board we were in disagreement when the rezoning was rejected a year ago. The result we approved last week included agreement on heights, uses and hours of operation in the retail portion of the project, Mr. Cummings made a significant donation to the city Housing and Community Development department dedicated for affordable housing, he also made a sizable donation to the neighborhood for traffic mitigation, there will be reduced parking requirements, limitations on rooftop amenities, agreement on pedestrian amenities that will benefit the surrounding neighbors, design review representation for the neighborhoods, and importantly the groups will continue to meet to talk about how the project is impacting the area.  

Also included in the project will be a Community Benefits Agreement. That’s a ‘side agreement’ made between the neighbors and the developer – the city is not a party to it. It includes things that are important to address, but items that are not appropriate to include as conditions of a rezoning. That includes things such as agreements to continue working together, the donations for housing and traffic mitigation, and hours of operation tied to a liquor license. All of that required an atmosphere in which the property owner and neighbors were willing and able to sit together and find common ground – a spot where neither side ‘gets all of what it wants’ but one that allows for the project to move ahead in a way that benefits the community generally. 

Thanks are due to all who took part in this process – Rory Juneman from Lazarus & Silvyn, Tim Kinney from Kinney Law AZ, and of course Scott and the neighbors.  

Early this year M&C voted to continue exploring new design concepts for the Randolph Golf Complex, and Randolph Park generally. Specific to the golf elements it was to look into how we can preserve the 36-hole layout but add some green space that’s accessible to the public, and enhance the existing multi-use path that surrounds the park. On Saturday, November 4th staff will hold a public open house to give you a chance to see the concept as it evolves and to offer your input. 

Here’s a rendering of the concept: 

To orient you – Broadway is to the top of the picture, Alvernon is on the right hand side and 22nd Street is at the bottom of the picture. The city owns 5 golf courses. Two of them make money – the two located at Randolph Park. It would make no sense to carve up those courses unless M&C want to return to the days of having the general fund subsidize the golf operation. So, the current concept is to leave the 36 holes intact, and perhaps to invest several millions of dollars over time to upgrade one of the two to professional standards. Tucson used to host professional golf tournaments – they were a boon to the local economy. Trying to get back into that conversation is the reason for the discussion of upgrades. 

In the graphic you can see a grey pathway that bisects the two golf courses. That’s intended to be a pedestrian connector, allowing people to get to the middle of the park without having to go the extra ½ mile up to 22nd or down to Broadway. And the graphic shows how the existing multi-use path may weave in behind the existing police substation at 22nd/Alvernon, similar to how it already weaves away from the roadway at Broadway/Alvernon. 

Here’s the information on the public open house, along with a link to the project webpage so you can get more background ahead of the meeting. 

Date: Saturday, Nov. 4, 9-11 a.m.  

Location: Randolph Golf Complex, Copper Room, 600 S. Alvernon Way  

The Randolph Park and Golf Complex Opportunity Study can be viewed in full on the Randolph Park webpage here (tucsonparks.info/randolph). 

You’ll see games, food/candy, the pumpkin patch and lots of zoo staff and volunteers dressed for Halloween. It’s a family friendly party opportunity in a safe and welcoming environment. The zoo hosts several fundraising activities throughout the year, many of which are geared to funding some of their international animal conservation work. The Boo event will help fund the zoo operations, animal care at the zoo and the continuation of their educational programs. All of these proceeds will stay with the zoo to support their local work. 

This is a very popular event. In order to be sure people have a safe and enjoyable evening, they’re ticketing the event on a timed-entry basis. Go to this link - https://reidparkzoo.org/event/boo-at-the-zoo-2023/ - and get your advance purchase tickets. 

My staff and I have also been talking with staff and neighbors who live near the former Sears Park – now Loma Verde Park (5901 E. 14th St) about adding a dog park to the park. On Tuesday, November 7th staff will be at Loma Verde to share the current ideas for the dog park. As proposed, it’ll be roughly 1.5 acres and it’ll have two separate entrances – one for large dogs and one for small dogs. Each half will have a shaded ramada.  And each will be fully ADA compliant. 

There’s an existing disc golf course at Loma Verde. The design changes to the park are taking that course into consideration. Some minor adjustments will be necessary, but that re-design is being coordinated with our local disc golf groups. And all of the existing trees in the park will be undisturbed. 

The meeting on the 7th will take place from 5pm until 6pm at the far east side of the park. Please stop by and share your thoughts. If you can’t make it, you can still submit your thoughts using this link: 

Please submit your comments on the website. The deadline for submitting your comments is Sunday, Nov. 12. 

The TEP midtown power upgrade project team is continuing to make their rounds sharing where they are with plans. I know of several neighborhood associations they’ve briefed, and coming on November 16th there will be another public open house. This will be held at the Doubletree Hotel on Alvernon, across from Reid Park. It’ll run from 6pm until 8pm. 

By way of reminder, here’s the proposed project map. The cross hashed sections are where there are built in constraints – the roadways are either gateway or scenic corridors which require undergrounding of new utilities. TEP argues that the project is not ‘new’ and they should therefore be exempted from the requirement. But to the Corporation Commission they describe the new transmission lines as new. They’re certainly larger – necessary in order to deliver the new, expanded power.  

The oval cross hashed section is the UA. Despite the fact that it’s noted as one of the prime reasons for the new transmission lines, they’ve said none of the UA property can be used for the substation or lines. 

There will be a Board of Adjustment hearing at 12:30pm on October 25th during which TEP will argue for their undergrounding exemption. The hearing is open to the public and the public can offer their input. Just Google Board of Adjustment Tucson and you’ll see the link which contains the sign in for the hearing. 

One reason the increased case counts matter is because we’re on the front end of flu season. Mixing the two diseases, especially for immune compromised and other vulnerable people could result in real health challenges.  

Another reason the increase is worth noting is that Tucson and Pima County are highlighted in the national hot spot map – not dark red (severe) but we’re listed as an area worth watching. Here’s the map: 

Pfizer officials said they’re working with health insurance carriers to help decrease or eliminate the cost for low-income patients. People who are on Medicare or Medicaid, and those who are uninsured will still be able to get Paxlovid for free through ‘24. And there are talks about extending that. 

All major pharmacies have both the COVID and the flu vaccines. Check with your pharmacist about the costs associated with both the vaccines (most are free) and the treatment drugs if you’ve already contracted COVID. You’ll want to avoid swallowing fluorescent bulbs as a treatment like one thankfully former politician once suggested. 

A couple of weeks ago I had a piece on the upcoming grand opening for the 4th Avenue Co-Op. The contractor has more work to do so that event is being pushed back, likely into December. More on that to come. 

The Co-Op event was a ribbon cutting with an afternoon of music. There are still two music events coming next weekend – both on October 29th. The first will be in Catalina Vista neighborhood. This will be their 3rd annual porch fest. It starts at noon and about hourly moves from one porch in the neighborhood to another one, ending in Tahoe Park. Here’s a schedule that includes the addresses of the porches and the musicians who’ll be at each one. I’ll be starting things off at 2162 E. Edison. Bring some walking shoes or your bike and don’t forget your sunscreen. In total the route is less than a mile. 

They’ve also got a live music stage that has a variety of seating options around it, and that you can listen to while off playing their activities. They have live music 7 evenings per week. I’m booked from 6pm until 9pm on both November 9th and November 30th. Please stop by and support this new local business in the historic Corbett’s building. Here’s their website if you’d like to get more familiar with their layout. 

https://corbettstucson.com/  

And one more neighborhood item – this one is for the 4 different neighborhoods that make up the Alvernon Grant Initiative (AGI.) They’re conducting a raffle whose aim is to benefit the TPD K9 unit. The raffle will be held during the December 12th AGI meeting. They meet at Emmanuel Church on Alvernon, just north of Pima starting at 6pm. 

The raffle prizes will include a variety of gifts donated by local businesses. The cost is $5 per ticket, or 5 tickets for $20. You can buy them at the November 14th AGI meeting, or through December 8th by mailing a check to K9 Raffle, 3230 E. Seneca, Tucson – 85716.  

One component of the voter approved Prop 411 is a grant program aimed at making our neighborhood streets safer. The grants will fund things such as traffic circles, chicanes, speed humps and other traffic calming amenities. There’s an application process that you can begin at this link:

https://tucsondelivers.tucsonaz.gov/pages/safe-streets-mini-grant-program. 

The grants will be allocated with a focus towards neighborhoods who would not otherwise have the resources to fund their own traffic calming amenities. The goal is to get neighborhoods to be the champions of their own projects, improving the livability of their own areas. 

The first step in the process is identifying the traffic calming features you want to apply for. Consider looking at streets where you’re seeing cut-through traffic. Get with your neighbors and come to an agreement on what you’re applying for. Then go to the link I’ve shown above and apply. 

The application period is now open. This first round of projects will be awarded early next year so it’s important to get your application in soon, well before the holidays. We expect to award roughly $350K during the first year of the program. The maximum award per project will be $75,000. For perspective, a traffic circle can run up to $20K, depending on the conditions in the area.  

You come up with the location and the concept. If your project is selected city staff will work with your neighbors to design and install the project. If you’d like more information on the program, contact Gabriela Barillas-Longoria at gabriela.barillas@tucsonaz.gov.