A Note from Ward 6 Council Office...

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. |

Date: 05/31/2024

June 4 Mayor and Council Meeting Highlights

During our Study Session Tuesday we will be discussing TEP’s application with the Arizona Corporation Commission for their Midtown Reliability Project/Routing (Executive Session). We’ll also review the Rio Nuevo/Roadrunners hockey proposal/plan (Executive Session). We’ll be reviewing the Budget and Compensation recommendations in preparation for the adoption of the final budget (spending cap) during Regular Session. That will include an update from Parks and Recreation and the City Manager on the work to expand the Summer Pools schedule in response to Mayor and Council and community concerns expressed earlier this month. And we’ll review and discuss the Comprehensive Operational Analysis of our transit system and Tucson’s “Heat Action Roadmap”.

During Regular Session we will move forward with final budget and compensation plan adoption. In addition we’ll review a proposed expansion of the Walmart located on East Wetmore Road between Stone and 1^st Avenues (Ward 3) and several significant annexations proposed in Ward 4.

You can view the agendas and associated materials for our meetings at this link:

https://tucsonaz.hylandcloud.com/221agendaonline

Watch the Mayor and Council meeting live on YouTube: 

https://www.youtube.com/@CityofTucson/streams

Plastics Recycling Update

Please join us June 11 at 5:30 for the Town Hall on the Hard to Recycle Plastics  Program so that representatives from ByFusion, HeftyReNew, our leadership from Environmental Services and I can address questions and offer more information on the status of scaling the effort citywide.

I’m sure everyone recognized that growing the effort from a single orange dumpster in Ward 6 to serve everyone across the city would pose challenges. Let me share with you where we stand at this point:

• The volume of material being dropped at the current 5 dumpsters across Tucson is 2 to 2.5 times the volume ByFusion agreed to haul away on a monthly basis (20-25 tons versus 10 tons per month)
• Unfortunately some industrial and commercial plastics are getting dropped in the dumpsters which we now know can make the load “contaminated” vs usable for reprocessing through ByFusion and the alternative Hefty Renew program

Continuing the recycling program under these circumstances simply would not be responsible or sustainable. The good news is that construction of the city/ByFusion processing plant to be located at the Los Reales Sustainability Campus is on track for completion in one year. That plant will have the capacity to process up to 200 tons of plastics each month.

Over the coming year, then, what’s our plan?

Here’s what we believe is the proper course of action:

• Beginning July 1, 2024, we will protect the integrity of the plastics being dropped off by curtailing it to Hefty Renew’s “orange bags” program. It (nor any reprocessing stream we can identify) cannot process all plastics; like the Ward 6 pilot, it’s targeting the recycling of household plastics that are not accepted in our existing “blue barrels” recycling program.
• Beginning July 1, 2024 any plastics deposited into the dumpsters that are not in the orange bags will have to be diverted to the landfill and will be considered as contaminant(s); we have to have this control in place to reinforce the household program parameters and volume of material, and to prevent industrial/commercial streams that contaminate entire loads.
• Our long term goal (at least one year from now) is to be able to to allow orange bags to be deposited into our “blue barrels” for curbside pickup and materials sorting into the appropriate processing stream.

Like the removal of waste and other plastics from our homes, there’s a cost associated with the Hefty Renew orange bags ($8 for every 20 bags). I truly wish there was some magic to divert the non-recyclable plastics consumed by all 550,000 Tucson residents for free. In fact, bringing the program to this stage has been made possible by the devotion and hard work of countless volunteers and partner groups: Rotary Clubs, neighborhoods, and many more. A year from now our plan is to cut the ribbon on the processing plant. It will be able to accommodate the goals of our community and the scaling of the pilot program in-keeping with the lessons we continue to learn along the way. It will be a model for other cities in Arizona and across the country as envisioned. Our success will depend on full transparency, necessary adjustments, and ongoing collaboration.

Tucson Police Department Annual Report

I thought I’d share a note from Councilmember Paul Cunningham’s recent newsletter which I found very informative:

I had my quarterly meeting with our police chief Chad Kasmar this week. He had some good news.

We haven’t had the number of police officers that a lot of our citizens and leaders would like, and that’s been true for a long time. The number had been steadily falling for years.

This year, for the first time, the number of officers has increased. We are up to 775, which is over the number for the same time last year of 744.

We are still lower than the number we had five years ago, but it indicates that we are going in the right direction.

The chief attributed this increase to recruitment efforts as well as new compensation programs that keep officers working for TPD rather than transferring to other departments. The retention program and compensation improvements were part of a package that I worked on with the previous chief.

We also currently have 133 Community Service Officers, a number that is up significantly from previous years. CSOs can handle a lot of the work that we don’t necessarily need an officer to handle, like accident reports. In all, when you add our recruits, CSOs and sworn officers, it brings our total responders to 950.

Coupled with that are the professional staff investigators, a program that has existed less than two years. PSIs work with our detectives. While CSOs and PSIs don’t take the place of sworn officers, their work can free up officers to handle other critical calls for service. We still need to increase our number of sworn officers, but we are able to do more with fewer sworn officers.

He also shared with me some crime statistics, and despite what you read in the local media, we are doing better. I’m not going to say well, but better. Part 1 crimes, which is how the FBI classifies serious violent and property crimes, are down. Part 1 property crimes are down over 14% from the five year average, which is amazing.

The one area that is concerning is the number of arrests for drug possession, which continues to increase. With the passage of marijuana decriminalization, people are no longer being arrested for one of the most commonly used substances. Still, this number is up. This is almost entirely because of the availability of fentanyl. Full credit to our police for staying on this issue, but it’s not something we can arrest our way out of. We need more resources and regional cooperation on a range of issues from homelessness to emergency mental health care to get a hold of this issue.

I look forward to meeting with Chief Kasmar next week, and applaud him and the TPD team for their work and successes. Here’s a message from Chief Kasmar and a link to the TPD 2023 Annual Report:

It's been some time since the department created an annual report to share with the community some of the amazing work our members do every day. I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of your key achievements over the past year. Reading through this report for 2023, I was impressed yet again with how professional, on every level, this department is. TPD's reputation as a national leader is well deserved. Here are some highlights:

• All the effort poured into PNI and POPP paid off in a reduction in violent gun crime - no small victory.
• New approaches to investigating these crimes resulted in an even more impressive homicide clearance rate than last year, as well as apprehending suspects before they have an opportunity to lash out again.
• We were designated a CGIC and our increased capacity to analyze ballistic evidence is yielding dividends.
• The transition to CSARC is underway.
• Staffing remains a challenge, but we succeeded in cutting attrition in half.
• We continue to invest in, and commit to, employee wellness. I believe this has contributed to the reduction in attrition.
• Across the department, there are stories of complex, multi-jurisdictional investigations TPD has played a major role in.
• With considerable effort, we adjusted to the new jurisdictional requirements of having Pascua Yaqui land within City limits. Many thanks to our Pascua Yaqui tribal partners for their help and guidance with this.
• The Crime Scene Unit became the first CSU to be accredited in Southern Arizona.
• Facilities and equipment projects were completed, including the gym upgrades to ASU, headquarters, and ODE. Many thanks to the Hite Foundation and community partners for the donations that made this possible.

I hope you'll take time to look through this and share it with others. 

https://www.tucsonaz.gov/Departments/Police/About-TPD/TPD-Annual-Reports

Casa Alitas Donations

We are still actively collecting donations for Casa Alitas. Currently, we are in need of the following items:

Community Events and Resources 

Call to Artists for the 5th/6th Pedestrian Safety & Walkability Public Art Project 

Are you an artist interested in creating a free-standing sculpture in a bustling Tucson intersection? In collaboration with the City of Tucson Transportation and Mobility Department, the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona invites artists to submit qualifications for the opportunity to create innovative public artwork for the 5th and 6th Street Pedestrian Safety and Walkability Public Art Project.  

Due date: June 25, 2024 11:59 pm

Budget/Award: $47,885

Eligibility: All professional artists and artist teams worldwide.

Read more about the opportunity here. Interested in engaging in projects as a public art panelist? Apply here.

Miguel Molina Art Exhibition 

This evening, we are delighted to present the artwork of local artist Miguel Molina in  Ward 6 Community Room. His current collection, "Folklore de Americas," beautifully captures musicians from his homeland playing traditional instruments. We invite you to join him between 6 PM and 9 PM to view his stunning pieces and enjoy the live music that will be playing. This event is free and open to all. Below is a preview of his pieces:  

Tucson Home Sharing – June Event Calendar 

Big Brothers, Big Sisters is looking for a mentor

Friends of Pima Animal Care Center and PACC will offer free spay/neuter surgeries for large dogs across Pima County June 4-8.

The event, dubbed “Big Fix,” is part of Friends of PACC’s new Spay/Neuter Support project, which is designed to help reduce future shelter overcrowding. June’s event will feature seven spay/neuter clinics in targeted areas with a demonstrated need based on PACC data. Surgeries will be performed by PACC’s vets in the mobile medical unit, Karen’s Karing Van, and by Asavet Charities.

The clinics will take place:

• Tuesday, June 4
  • Primavera Foundation. (Registration full.)
• Wednesday, June 5
  • El Güero Canelo, 2480 N. Oracle Road, Tucson. First-come, first-served starting at 8 a.m. 40 spots available.
  • Youth on Their Own (old location), 1642 N. Alvernon Way, Tucson. First-come, first-served starting at 8 a.m. 35 spots available. 
• Thursday, June 6
  • San Miguel High School, 6601 San Fernando Ave. First-come, first-served starting at 8 a.m. 35 spots available.
  • El Güero Canelo. (Registration full.)
• Saturday, June 8
  • Santa Cruz Veterinary Clinic, 5408 S. 12th Ave., Tucson. First-come, first-served starting at 8 a.m. 35 spots available.
  • San Miguel High School. (Registration full.)

The June clinics are only for large breed dogs (dogs who currently weigh 40+ pounds or puppies who will reach an adult weight of 40+ pounds), as they are the most likely to come into PACC and other shelters, wait the longest to find homes, and face overcrowding.

Registration for the first-come, first-served clinics begins at 8 a.m. at each location. Pet families should plan to arrive early. Complimentary services include standard spay/neuter surgery, vaccines, microchip, and a cone.

For more information about Friends of PACC and the Big Fix, visit friendsofpacc.org. For more information about PACC, visit pima.gov/animalcare.

Ready, Set, Rec Ward 6 Van

Sincerely, 

Karin Uhlich
Council Member, Ward 6
ward6@tucsonaz.gov

City of Tucson Resources

• Report non-emergency problems.... : https://www.tucsonaz.gov/Residents/311-Service-Request-Portal
• View completed, in progress/scheduled, planned Prop 411 projects.... : https://tucsondelivers.tucsonaz.gov