Project Blue Community Meeting Thoughts & Question Tracker Link
A sincere thank you to the hundreds of community members, union leaders and members, Mayor Romero, Council Member Perez, Supervisor Allen, the City of Tucson team, Pima County staff, the Project Blue team, Tucson Electric Power, media partners, and everyone who took time out of their very busy lives to attend our first community meeting last night.
Someone used the phrase civil discourse during public comment, and I think that perfectly captured the intention of community meeting. This was the first opportunity for the community to hear directly from the Project Blue team, and more importantly, to ask questions and be heard.
Our community has a strong culture of water stewardship. It's something we’re proud of. It’s who we are. When our community feels like our water might be at risk, they show up.
I also want to acknowledge that these conversations are not always easy. There are a wide range of perspectives, concerns, and emotions involved. There is also potential. It is essential that we weigh all of these pieces together. This kind of honest engagement is what makes our democracy work. Transparency and accountability are critical.
If you were unable to attend in-person or watch live on YouTube, the recording is available to watch here.
What’s Next?
There is still a long road ahead. More conversations. More questions to answer.
Every question submitted on a card at the meeting will be addressed in a public Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document that will be posted on the City’s Project Blue webpage. Anyone who provided contact info on their card will also receive a direct response.
Last month, I shared a list of over 20 questions related to Project Blue. Those have been answered.
Last week, we received the draft Development Agreement, an Executive Summary from the City Manager, and a Project Blue Fact Sheet. After going through everything carefully, I found myself with a new round of questions. I’ve compiled those into a tracker so you can see exactly what I’ve submitted to City staff and the Project Blue team.
This tracker is a due diligence tool for me. I want to make sure I’m fully informed so I can make the best decisions possible. I’m sharing it so you can follow along and have access to the same information I do.
I’ve included my original questions in this tracker, along with a link to the FAQ where those have been addressed. Some of the answers led to more follow-up questions and prompted a deeper dive in this next round.
I am grateful that many similar questions were asked last night and we can get answers to things many of us are thinking about.
Spoiler alert: there are a lot of questions. I dug into everything from air quality and diesel generators to water monitoring and enforcement, noise and light pollution, long-term revenue, waste heat recovery, and more. I tried to be as thorough as possible, so yes, it’s a lot. It will take a little while for folks to pull all these answers together for us, but they are actively working on it.
📊 View my Question Tracker Spreadsheet
Mayor Romero has requested a second community meeting in Midtown. Details on time and location are coming soon. Due to the overwhelming turnout last night, I’m very grateful for her leadership on that.
Be sure to bookmark the City’s official Project Blue webpage. It’s your go-to hub for updates, documents, and background info, including details on the next community meeting and other key dates to pay attention to: https://www.tucsonaz.gov/ProjectBlue
I know folks are really trying to understand where each of us stands and are counting votes based on everything we say. I get it. Every word is being looked at through that lens. What I want to say clearly is that I’m still doing my homework. I feel like this is our job. We need to gather all the relevant information, connect with the community, and then decide how to move forward. Right now we are still in that process. I’m asking questions, listening, and doing everything I can to make the most informed decision for our community, both now and for the decades ahead.
I’ll be sending another communication sometime between now and our August 6 Mayor and Council meeting to cover some of the other topics coming up that month.
And yes... believe it or not, there are other things happening. It’s not just Project Blue! 😅
In August, we’ll also be digging into transit funding, revenue planning, regional transportation, and other big-picture issues that matter for the long-term health of our city. I’ll be sending out another update before the August 6th meeting to give you a peek at those conversations.
Thank you for reading and staying engaged. Community participation is what makes local government work. These conversations, questions, and moments of showing up together are what keep our democracy healthy and responsive.
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