A Message from Steve K...03/11/2024

• Mosaic Quarter 

• Friends of Big Bear Valley

• Other City Events

This will be my final newsletter as a city council member. I’ve enjoyed producing them for the past dozen+ years, and I appreciate all of the positive comments many of you have shared. But today’s a wrap – I'm going to work for Pima County. 

In previous newsletters I’ve shared pieces on the new Mosaic Quarter (MQ) sports complex that’s being developed out by the existing Kino Sports Complex. Under the management of Knott Development, and with Hensel Phelps as the general contractor, the multi-facility package will begin construction in about a month. The county has offered me the opportunity to be their point of contact in managing that project, along with assisting with annual updates and execution of their Integrated Infrastructure Plan. But once Mosaic gets started that’ll constitute a significant amount of attention. 

While employed in the UA athletics department I was doing this sort of thing. We expanded the football stadium, added the jumbotron, remodeled all of the McKale locker and concessions rooms, built the Kasser aquatics facility, the Roby gymnastics building, the Hillenbrand softball stadium, and the Jefferson gymnasium. The Knott MQ project will be all of that, and more. Here is Bud Foster’s piece on the project:  

https://www.kold.com/2024/03/05/pima-county-leaders-approve-lease-billion-dollar-sports-complex/ 

Since beginning in this position in 2009 my team and I in the ward 6 office have spearheaded numerous important initiatives. The first was to stop what would have been a financial train wreck as the city was headed towards backstopping bonds for a planned $200M downtown hotel. Other cities who went down that path have lived to regret it. In our case we pivoted from swinging for the fences to hitting singles and doubles. Downtown development is thriving. (Come to Corbett’s downtown – Saturday, April 13th at noon – guitar, food, drinks and fun.) We worked with community members in getting the Tucson Greyhound Park shut down. We worked to reunite an Afghan refugee family. Our work on behalf of sex trafficking victims has already resulted in busting perps and saving victims. We’ve championed local gun control/safety measures, advocated for Genna Ayup (killed by her live-in and sorely let down by the judicial system,) the plastics program and our glass reuse program came out of this office, the Sunshine Mile Overlay was a significant transit oriented development effort, the recent rezonings at Campbell/6th and Capstone at Speedway and Euclid were years long projects. Add to that our work with the Tucson Wildlife Center and support for the Reid Park Zoo and Tucson Zoological Society, immigrants and Casa Alitas, preservation of the Benedictine, Sister Jose women’s shelter, advocating for strong COVID responses at the UA (an issue that cost me my 32 year-long job at the school – but was taking a stand as a matter of principle, a quality that appears lacking in the current leadership team on campus today,) taking the lead in getting a focus on PFAS contamination and getting the city involved in litigation that will soon yield a settlement that’ll be north of $50M from 3M and other product manufacturers, and a whole lot more. My staff and I have kept busy with important initiatives. 

Most importantly though are the relationships we’ve built with the community. Whoever takes this position had better understand that constituent services is the number 1 responsibility of the job. We’re the first touch people have on civic issues. Being responsive and engaged is what you deserve, and what we’ve tried to provide. I know we’ve done it well. 

The M&C have some big issues on the immediate horizon. When I began this work in 2009 we faced a $40M budget deficit. The city faces another similarly high deficit in FY’26 if they don’t begin to address it now. The issue of the TEP transmission line project has no easy solution. The RTA Next plan may be headed to the ballot in ‘25. The immigrant street releases will impact city and county resources. Homelessness is not going to be sufficiently addressed by following a ‘Housing First’ model to the exclusion of other options I’ve tried to advocate for. The ongoing drought and how that relates to both our supply of Colorado River water and PFAS contamination remediation are existential overlapping issues. These and other issues will require more than group think to arrive at solutions. It’s serious stuff that will require everyone to be flexible.  

City Manager Ortega is leaving shortly after I do. City Attorney Rankin's contract is up in June, he may be next in line. Those two will be big losses to the city. I’m proud of the work that has come out of the ward 6 office since 2009. Someone new will be appointed and that person will bring a new set of skills and points of view. But we’ve set a high bar for that new staff to aim for. The job is much more than a title. Someone’s going to learn that pretty quickly with all of the big topics lined up. 

Thank you for all of the active engagement we’ve enjoyed with so many of you over the years. Please know that the experiences we’ve shared are building blocks for all of our next steps. And the relationships will continue – I look forward to seeing many of you out in the community in the days and months ahead. 

Join us at the Shanty (401 E 9th St, Tucson, AZ 85705) on Tuesday, March 26 from 5pm to 7pm for appetizers and farewell.

Coming on Sunday, March 17th the city will host the 36th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. Here’s information on how that will impact street closures, the parade route and other activities associated with the parade and holiday. It all begins in Armory Park: 

36th Annual Tucson St. Patrick's Day Parade & Festival   

The parade route will be closed to vehicles on March 17, 7:45AM - 11:30AM.  

The Desert Leprechaun 5K Run/Walk will begin on the parade route at 8:15AM.  

The Himmel Park library is getting renovated.  Pima County owns the libraries, but since it’s located in a city park there’s going to be lots of public outreach on how this project evolves. Use this link to give your input on the county survey:

https://engagepimacounty.civilspace.io/en/projects/himmel-park-library-renovation-and-expansion-survey/engagements/himmel-park-library-renovation-and-expansion-survey 

The Vista Del Monte neighborhood is holding their spring meeting in the ward 3 office. If you live in that neighborhood you should consider stopping in and getting involved. Here’s the pertinent information. Note that you can also participate by Zoom. 

Who: Vista del Monte Neighborhood Association 

What: Annual spring meeting and elections 

When: Thursday, March 28, 2024 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. 

Where: Ward 3 office and Zoom  

Why: Elect NA officers for this year. Get the latest neighborhood news including updates on McCormick Park design plans, solar structure repair, crime, homelessness and fentanyl, and neighborhood history. Plus, anything neighbors want to bring up! 

Zoom link: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87248687797 

And Palo Verde neighborhood is holding their 2nd annual Art in the Gardens Event on Saturday, April 6th. They’re using the event to raise funds for park beautification. There’ll be raffle prizes, food trucks, and lots of art produced by the Catalina High students.