City Of Tucson A Message from Steve K Newsletter - October 3, 2022

Topics in This Issue:

Migrant Needs
TPD Toys for Tots Giveaway
Atrocities in Kabul, Afghanistan
Plastic Blocks
Water Security
Straw Purchases
Temporary Housing for Pets
Reid Park Baseball
Ready, Set, Rec Van
Downtown Small Business Grant Opportunity
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Juneteenth City Holiday
Infill Incentive District
Cox Service Outages
Welcome Midway Village Neighborhood
Transit Fare Survey
PCOA Health and Aging Survey
COVID

Migrant Needs

The city is now back in the hotel business – for migrants who have been processed through CBP and the Casa Alitas shelter. We’re handling overflow and the reality is that the recent surges in people arriving at the border means we may be doing this for a while. Right now, it’s largely people from Venezuela, Cuba, and Guatemala. But there are of course lots of other people who are in flight from life-threatening conditions and are here looking for asylum. That process will play itself out in its own time. Our task is to get them connected with next of kin or sponsors. That means they’re here for a very brief period of time. The staff at Alitas and the city hotel gets the families supplied with clothes, food, and travel needs. Here’s what we are collecting at the Ward 6 office:

New and unopened underwear (men’s and women’s and children’s,) new socks, personal hygiene products. That’s shampoo, sunscreen, lotion, toothpaste, feminine products, soap – that sort of thing. New children’s toys.

NO CLOTHING PLEASE. Just the items listed. We’re located at 3202 E. 1^st Street – across Speedway from the Loft. Our office is open until 1pm every weekday. We appreciate the responsiveness of the community each time I try to turn on the donation spigot again.

TPD Toys for Tots Giveaway
On the topic of taking care of those in need, TPD is partnering with Toys for Tots and will be hosting a toy giveaway on Saturday, October 22nd. The event will run from 9am until 2pm out at the Geico parking area – 3050 S. Martin Luther King Jr Way. There will be over 15,000 toys being distributed. Most are appropriate for kids who range in age up to about 14 years old, but everyone is welcome to show up and get some of the goodies. You do not need to register in advance.

We at the Ward 6 office are grateful to TPD and our partners with Toys for Tots and Geico for working together and bringing this event to the community.

Atrocities in Kabul, Afghanistan
Last Thursday the news had a 30-second snippet on an explosion that took place in an educational facility near Kabul. The report ended with the disclaimer that ‘nobody has claimed responsibility.’ It’s obvious who’s responsible. The Taliban are in control, they’ve openly threatened girls’ schools, and they’ve blown them up before – they don’t need to send an official mea culpa in order to be immediately implicated.

A contact of mine who ran educational institutions in Afghanistan and encouraged women’s education reached out to me on Friday morning our time. Here’s a picture of the inside of the school before the blast. You can see it’s jam-packed with students, nearly all of whom are women.

In the aftermath of the bombing...

My friend tells me at least 30 young women were killed in the suicide bombing. This is the same guy I was working with in an effort to try to get women educators from this school out of the country and to safety here. Our system for bringing people from Afghanistan is non-functional. Our message is for them to escape to a 3rd country by way of human smugglers, and then start a lengthy and expensive process through our embassy. It’s not a reasonable message. You can see the result.

Plastic Blocks
We have another new partner in the plastic program. The folks over at the Assistance League do some amazing work in support of families in need throughout the community. Check out their store that’s located at 1307 N. Alvernon. The place is run completely by volunteers – the merchandise you see in the thrift store is all donated and all of the proceeds go to support their programs.

This is their board chair Monica and board member Monique – and me. We’re bubble wrapped together to symbolize the Ward 6 office’s support for their work, and for the League’s support of our plastic program. As I said to them during a recent visit – everything they do is about creating a zero-waste stream. The plastic tie-in is a natural.

The programs they run include donating books, school supplies, toys, toiletries for Tucson students, and ‘survivor kits’ for victims of sexual, emotional, and physical assault. They’re donating school supplies to students in 20 different schools throughout the region. People moving into transitional housing receive a welcome basket (laundry basket) full of brand-new linens and other household goods. Truly if you want to help those in need, and if you’ve got household things, clothing, books, or pretty much anything you might have around that needs a new home, you can donate them to the Assistance League. Their website is worth checking at www.ALTucson.org.

We’re proud to have them as a new plastic partner. Give us a call if you’ve got a business or non-profit that would like to join in our zero-waste work.

Over the weekend KXCI took part in the Pride Parade downtown. Nate Kappler from Kappcon loaned them some ByBlock to help them with their float. Here’s a photo showing that these blocks have many and varied uses. You’ll start seeing them pop up all over town.

Here are some examples of how the blocks are being used in other cities. There are both indoor and outdoor applications.

We’re over 10 tons of plastic having been collected in the Ward 6 roll-off. Last week out at Tank’s they began ‘baling’ what you’ve been bringing over. Here’s what a bale looks like. This one weighs just over 1,300 lbs. We are well on our way to filling a truck and sending it over to ByFusion to get some blocks produced.

We’ll be filling up a semi and sending this over to ByFusion in California. They’ll go through what we send and do an analysis of how much contamination is being put into the bin with the plastic. I cannot stress too much that the level of contamination is a key factor in how this program moves forward. Please self-police and keep non-plastics out of the roll-off. It not only reduces the amount of material we can use in making the blocks, but it costs money to manually separate out the contaminants.

We all recognize the environmental benefits of doing this project. But I mentioned the financial costs. We’re talking with ByFusion, Tank’s, and other business partners about how this program is going to evolve. The city is of course not in this to make money – but the others included in this large partnership are not non-profits. This will have to make both environmental (box checked) and business sense when we move it forward. You are a part of helping with that by ensuring what goes into the bin is only what belongs there. I’ve mentioned before that we’re the first in Arizona doing this. In fact, I’ve learned that there are mayors and councils in Lynchburg, Virginia, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Chicago, and around Southern California who are watching what we do – sort of seeing how we can make this work so they can learn from our efforts. That’s lots of eyes watching how we form this model partnership. So, when I make the point about contaminants, that’s a significant piece of how this either works, or it doesn’t. If it works here, our example will be replicated elsewhere – and that will only amplify the environmental benefits.

Here’s our current progress report. We began this on August 1st. On October 1st we have passed the 10-ton mark. That’s well ahead of what I had anticipated, and it shows how you’ve bought into the program. I know having a single drop-off point in the region is not the most convenient so please know that all of us who are taking part in this pilot phase appreciate the extra effort you invest in showing how much the program is valued.

The people who have signed up for the program are giving us their zip codes. This map shows that every zip code in the region is represented as being a participant in the program. On Sunday I was hauling into the Ward 6 building bags that people dropped by our back door because the roll-off was packed full. A guy from the Tucson Mountain Association came by, dropped his own plastic off and gave me a hand pulling the material into the building. It’s a total community team effort. Again, thank you.

Here’s the link to sign up for updates on the program. It will also help us keep the zip code information growing and up to date.  
https://www.byfusion.com/pilot-program/
Keep your non-recyclable plastic coming. The driveway area by the roll off turns into a steady stream of cars. We appreciate you taking the time to come by and do the drops. We’re still giving away clear bags – come grab some if you’d like. We’re open until 1pm every weekday.

Water Security
The military continues to include a specification in the firefighting foam they buy that includes PFAS. They’re of course the largest user and so that spec drives what the market makes available. For the past couple of years, I’ve been advocating that Tucson Fire look at what’s being used all over Europe – foams that do not have PFAS added. One challenge is that domestic firefighting operations can’t just buy and use products that haven’t been approved for use in the U.S. by the EPA. Until last week, that was our challenge. I’m pleased to share though that TFD has now begun the process of changing out all of their Class B firefighting foam to a product that is UL-listed and Green Screen certified as being completely free from PFAS.

Getting to this point involved TFD conducting multiple tests to assure the product performs in a way that protects our personnel and the public. They tested several products and have landed on a product known as MuniGreen. It’s the same firefighting foam that’s now being used by NYFD.

Right now, TFD is making the changes on all of the onboard tanks on the pumper trucks. There’s of course a rinsing process – yes, that water is being captured and not simply dumped down the drain like the DOD has been doing out on base. The disposal of the old foam is going to cost roughly $60K. We at the Ward 6 office join TFD leadership in thanking the city manager and our budget folks for accommodating that ‘surprise’ to the budget. The goal of being PFAS-free in our operations is certainly worth that upcharge.

The litigation against 3M and other product manufacturers continues. Our work with the DOD on getting them to fund the clean-up efforts is also ongoing. And federal legislation seems to finally be loosening up some cash to help us defray the costs for testing, containment, treatment, and replacing our lost capacity. I don’t believe there’s a single more important issue for this region than assuring our water supply is clean. The change by TFD is an important step in that direction.

Straw Purchases
A ‘straw purchase’ of a weapon is when one person buys a gun for another person, and that other person is a prohibited possessor. It’s a federal offense, but if the most recent settlement/sentencing of a major straw purchaser is any indication, violators aren’t particularly intimidated by the threat of conviction.

Jorge Zuniga-Aguilera is a 23-year-old Arizona guy. He was arrested for illegally buying at least 82 firearms from more than a dozen stores in the state and then illegally reselling the weapons. One has been linked to a murder that was committed in Mexico. Mr. Aguilera was just sentenced to 27 months in prison. His original indictment was for 38 counts of false statements. Prosecutors agreed to settle for a single count as a part of the plea agreement.

This isn’t an old case that I’m dredging up to make a point. Mr. Aguilera made the straw purchases from 15-gun stores in Arizona – some in Tucson – between September, 2020 and June, 2021. We see the effects of gun violence in the news pretty much every day.  In a recent city council study session, I said that we need a law, the police, and a court system all working together to get our arms around criminal activity like this. In far too many examples like this, we’re still lacking a court system that takes gun death as seriously as it should.

A guy I’ve known for several years who works on the Pima County Public Health commission has asked me to meet with him and the owner of a local gun store to talk about straw purchases. I’ve of course agreed and am hopeful that this meeting will be the start of a process by which the pro-gun and gun-control sides can begin to work together on crafting laws addressing straw sales more effectively. We’ll still need a court that does its part. More to come on this item.

Temporary Housing for Pets
I write a lot about the housing crisis. It’s real and it’s affecting thousands of people right here in our own community. Many of the families and individuals who are housing insecure also have a pet. Those of you who have owned a dog or a cat know they’re family. In situations where someone is losing their home, the pet is often lost in the conversation of options. The Pima Alliance for Animal Welfare (PAAW) is trying to address the need.

PAAW is hosting a community event on Wednesday, October 26th to talk about how we can help with temporary housing for pets while their owners are securing their own permanent residences. The meeting will be held at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona offices – 5049 E. Broadway. They’ll begin at 5:30pm. You can see the details in the flyer shown below.

In order for them to plan on how many materials to have on hand for the meeting, they’re asking you to register in advance. Please use this link to do that:

RSVP: https://cfsaz.org/paaw-community-meeting/ 

Those of you who follow this newsletter know that I’m a big critter fan. If you have the ability to help with this sort of foster option, please take part in the PAAW planning meeting.

Reid Park Baseball
This is an aerial of the Reid Park baseball complex. The 4 baseball fields you see grouped together are called ‘the quad.’ They’re used by adult leagues, some high school tournaments, the Korean League comes annually and rents the quad, and other groups from time to time throughout the year do the same.

The quad is unique in that it’s the only facility in the city where multiple teams can share a common site, rotate from game to game without traveling across town, and conduct tournament-style events on full-sized fields. There are hotels in the area, restaurants, and of course all the other amenities that Reid Park has to offer.

Our parks staff has been conducting a Reid Park reimagining survey for quite some time now. I’ve had the survey in a couple of newsletters, and there has been community outreach through several other means. The two meetings held to talk about the quad have been poorly attended. It’s important for the baseball community to take part if indeed preserving the quad has value.

Parks staff is hosting one more quad-related public meeting. It’ll be both in-person and virtual. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 4^th at 5:30pm at 900 S. Randolph Way – the parks administration building. The link to join virtually is here:

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 279 358 257 337 Passcode: tMLrZG

The meeting room is rather small so please don’t bring your whole roster to the meeting. It’d be helpful for them to know what to expect so please RSVP to [email protected] to confirm your in-person attendance.

I do continue to encourage you to take the online survey by clicking on the following link: https://stories.opengov.com/tucsonaz/published/QMU_Csil6.   You are welcome to forward the survey link to everyone in your organization.

Ready, Set, Rec Van
A final parks-related item is this month’s RSR van schedule for Ward 6. We appreciate Sierra Boyer for staying on top of this from month to month. Many of you have shared with us how much you enjoy the activities associated with the van. If you haven’t had the chance, stop by one of these locations and see what they have to offer. It has activities appropriate for all ages.

Click here for More Information