Kevin's Ward 3 News and Updates

Friday, September 16, 2022

News and Updates
Next Mayor and Council Meeting
Ward 3 Neighborhood Association and Coalition Meetings
Ward 3 Events
City Wide Events
Did You Know?

Sonoran Restaurant Week

One of the things I love about Tucson is our diverse culinary scene.

The fourth annual Sonoran Restaurant Week is underway now and continues through Sunday, September 18th. This special week is a 10-day celebration of Southern Arizona dining and coincides with September's Hispanic Heritage Month.

Gather your loved ones and dine out at any of the participating restaurants listed at the links below. Ask for the Sonoran Restaurant Week menu for special prices, and savor the local flavor of Southern Arizona.
Sonoran Restaurant Week
Hispanic Heritage Month from Visit Tucson

- Kevin

Monsoon Movie Night by Katie Bolger

Watershed Management Group (WMG) is a local non-profit and great community partner. They support watershed education, restoration programs, and community based water solutions. They help build rain gardens, harvest storm water in neighborhoods, and work towards creating a more water resilient Tucson.

They also put on really fun events.

On Tuesday, September 27th, Watershed Management Group invites the community to celebrate the end of monsoon season at Monsoon Movie Night, an evening of short films about monsoons and rainwater harvesting solutions including: stunning time lapse footage of monsoons across Arizona, a story of how rainwater flows from the old Rosemont Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains to the Santa Cruz River, a short film with narration by children’s author Byrd Baylor, and their feature presentation of Water Harvester: An Invitation to Abundance about the work of water harvesting visionary Brad Lancaster.

This year’s fall fundraiser includes complimentary popcorn, drinks from Dragoon Brewing Company, and rainwater iced tea. The Curry Pot food truck will also be on site to provide delicious Sri Lankan fusion food for purchase. Ticket sales support Watershed Management Group’s work to double down on local, sustainable water solutions in Tucson in response to the Colorado River water shortage. Get your tickets at Watershedmg.org/MovieNight. Parking is limited for this event, so walking, biking, public transit, and carpooling are highly encouraged.

Rio Vista Natural Resource Park Master Plan by CJ Boyd

Last week, the Parks and Recreation Department hosted a community meeting at Rio Vista Natural Resource Park to share the current draft of the park’s Master Plan and receive feedback.

The entrance to Rio Vista Natural Resource Park

The Parks Department has been taking public input since April 2022 in order to make sure the priorities of residents shape the plans to improve and update the park.

At the in-person meeting on September 7th, Parks staff and consultants from Smith Group, the firm who carried out the Master Plan update, were available for residents to ask questions and give their final feedback. The Master Plan is available online here: https://www.tucsonaz.gov/files/parks/docs/capital/2022-0831_DRAFT_Rio_Vista_Natural_Resource_Park_reduced.pdf. While the public input period is now closed, you can see the results of the online surveys at the Parks Department website here: https://www.opentownhall.com/portals/310/Issue_11726/survey_responses?scope=all

Neighbors give feedback on the Master Plan Update

These updates are funded by Prop 407, which passed in November 2018, as part of a $225,000,000 bond package for capital improvements via General Obligation bonds. The bond funds are dedicated to improving City park amenities (playgrounds, sports fields, pools, splash pads, and recreation centers) as well as connections (pedestrian pathways, bicycle pathways, and pedestrian and bicycle safety features). Projects were organized around phases planned through 2028.

These bonds provide approximately $330,000 for the planning, design, and construction of various improvements at Rio Vista Park. Because it is a Natural Resource Park, as opposed to the other kinds of parks in Tucson, much of the improvements center around maintaining the nature trail network. When asked, “What do you usually do when you visit Rio Vista Natural Resource Park?”,  81.3% of the 309 people who took the online survey said that they walk, run, or bike the natural trail network. The trail area is being improved is by re-vegetating some of the wildcat trails, consolidating the trails that are most popular, improving signage, and creating barriers to keep people on the designated paths. Based on community input, other high priority improvements include enhancing the Riparian Area, storm water harvesting, preserving the bird nesting area, repairing perimeter fencing, and installing new benches.

Representatives from Smith Group explain proposed improvements to the park

Both the Parks Department and the Ward 3 office received many complaints about off-leash dogs in the park, even before the Master Plan process was initiated. This, combined with many comments in the first online survey requesting a dog park, led the Parks Department and consultants to include a dog park in the design, allowing constituents to choose between placing it in one of the natural areas or placing it in an area that is already planted with grass. With further input, it was determined that the majority of residents favored having it in an area that is already an open grass field, rather than encroach on the natural areas.

The equestrian area at Rio Vista Natural Resource Park

The discussion around the park plans often centered around some ambiguity as to the definition of a "Natural Resource Park." Some neighbors felt very strongly that no new updates should be made that were not “natural”, i.e. undisturbed land. Other neighbors pointed out that the entire lot where the park now sits used to be farmland, and all of it has been curated, therefore the idea of what is natural at the park is actually artificial. The Parks Department did their best to bridge the gap between disagreeing neighbors and offer solutions that will make as many people happy as possible. The Master Plan has two potential sites for the dog park, and the Parks Department is currently going through this last round of input to see which site is more widely supported.

Sugar Hill Neighborhood by Marlene Avelino

The Sugar Hill neighborhood is bordered by Grant Rd. to the north, 4th Ave. to the east, Seneca St. again to the north, First Ave. again to the east, Lee St. to the south, and Stone Ave. to the west. It’s a perfect square except for the corner that voted itself out and became the El Cortez neighborhood in the late 90s. Sugar Hill is anchored by two churches: Mt. Olive Church of God in Christ at the corner of Lee St. and 4th Ave., and Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, which was established in 1900 and is the oldest Black church in Arizona.

Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church at 210 E. Lester St.

In the middle of Sugar Hill sits Mansfield Park, with almost 21 acres of open space, sports fields, a public pool, a community garden and the Donna Liggins Recreation Center. The recreation center was renamed to honor Ms. Donna Liggins, the long-time supervisor of the center, after she retired from working for the City for 42 years. Just across the street from Mansfield Park is the 6th Ave. Dog Park with ramadas, a grassy area, benches, and a double entry gate on 1.3 acres.

The Donna Liggins Center at Mansfield Park

The neighborhood is mostly residential, made up of single-family homes, a few multi-family housing units, and some student housing. Most of the homes were built in the 40s and 50s made mostly of slump block with a handful of adobes from the 30s mixed in. The residential lots in Sugar Hill are larger than most residential lots and zoned R2. This eventually became attractive to developers of “mini-dorms,” which transformed large swaths of the neighborhood into student housing. Today, of the 504 single-family homes in Sugar Hill, 260 are owner occupied.

"Bronx Wash Mural" Beautify and Unify - 2009

Sugar Hill is a historically Black neighborhood, one of only a few areas in Tucson where Black people were allowed to purchase property because of "redlining." New developments in the 50s and 60s restricted the purchase of homes to whites-only via deed restrictions, pushing non-whites into specific areas without these restrictions. Those areas were then redlined - home loans were denied and city investments were withheld. For a quick read about redlining, check out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining. For a deep dive, I recommend the book “The Color of Law” by Richard Rothstein.

The Sugar Hill Neighborhood Association is active and meets on the second Wednesday of every month. To be added to the listserv please email: [email protected].

Community Garden on the southeast side of Mansfield Park, gate created by BICAS!

Sugar Hill is also home to some of the City’s most extensive and thoughtful passive rainwater harvesting features. A walking path on 5th Ave. leads to Mansfield park, shaded by mature native trees and lush with native grasses, shrubs, and wildflowers. Bronx Wash is paved in concrete and cuts through Sugar Hill from 1st Ave. to 6th Ave. on Linden Street. Residents have been working with the City to allow for the restoration of trees and vegetation along the wash, which would allow for water infiltration and help combat the heat island effect of the surrounding concrete and asphalt. There are also plans for a footbridge across the wash connecting the 5th Ave greenway to a walking path that leads to the park.

A roadrunner sits atop a rock in the greenway on the corner of 5th Ave and Lester.

Most businesses in Sugar Hill are on the west side of the neighborhood, between 6th Ave. and Stone Ave. The Tucson Symphony Orchestra is just north of the 6th Ave. Dog Park. Additionally, BICAS (Bicycle Inter-Community Art and Salvage) is located to the southwest of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra; BICAS is a mobility organization with an emphasis on affordable bicycle transportation, education, and creative recycling.

Next Mayor and Council Meeting

The next Mayor and Council Meeting is on September 27, 2022.
Once available, the agenda will be posted here: Mayor and Council Meeting Agendas

Ward 3 Neighborhood Association and Coalition Meetings

Doolen-Fruitvale Neighborhood Association
Saturday
September 17th
8:30- 9:30 am
Sparkman Butterfly Garden
2645 N. Sparkman Ave.

Flowing Wells Neighborhood Watch
Saturday
September 17th
4:00- 5:00 pm
Old Times Kafe
1485 W. Prince Rd.

Samos Neighborhood Association
Tuesday
September 20th
6:30- 7:30 pm
on Zoom

Bronx Park Neighborhood Association (Grant/Stone/Speedway/Main-Oracle)
Wednesday
September 21st
6:00- 7:00 pm
Inner courtyard at Pima Community College Downtown campus
(use Drachman entrance)
1255 N. Stone Ave.

Vista Del Monte Neighborhood Association
Wednesday
September 21st
6:30- 7:30 pm
Ward 6 Office
3202 E. 1st St.

The Ward 3 office is open. Staff will answer phone messages, emails and requests for meetings by the next business day. Leave your message at 520-791-4711 or email [email protected].

Ward 3 Events

Free Vaccines at the Humane Society

Pocket Park Clean Up! on Saturday, September 17th

Come join neighbors this Saturday, September 17th, from 7 am - 9 am as we weed and clean up the neighborhood pocket park at Treat and Alturas. Come when you can, leave when you need to, and if you have gloves or weeding tools bring those along.

Food4Life at New Life Community Church of the Nazarene on September 17th

Food distribution is Saturday, September 17th, at New Life Community Church of the Nazarene (3367 N. Geronimo). Sign-up begins at 8 a.m and continues as long as they have food. Food is usually distributed beginning around 10 am, and they finish by 11 or 11:30 am.There will be vegetables, fruit, packaged food, desserts, dairy, and some meat. You get to select your own food, and there are no income, residency, or other requirements.

Come Find Out What Mentoring is All About on September 17th

GOAT HEAD plant removal in Keeling Neighborhood  
EVERY THURSDAY MORNING in September from 7 am – 9 am

Joy Holdread is activating the GOAT HEAD plant removal program in the Keeling neighborhood. The goal is to remove every goat head plant growing between sidewalk area and street on the bike path Blacklidge to Fontana and Fontana heading south to Grant Rd.  Enjoy meeting your neighbors, taking out your frustrations on those miserable goat heads, and be a hero to every biker and dog who walks on our streets. Joy has made two great new friends met some lovely grateful puppies.

Please RSVP by email to [email protected]. If you’re unable to pull goat heads but would like to support the Goat Head Plant Removal Program in another way, please email [email protected].

Ward 3 Ready, Set, Rec! in Ward 3

Ward 3 is Hosting an Public Gathering about Home Sharing on Thursday, September 29th!

When: 1:00-2:30
Where: The Ward 3 Community Room 1510 E. Grant Rd.

RSVP to [email protected] or 520-791-4711 to learn more about this affordable choice for senior living and meet like-minded persons. You'll have an opportunity to ask questions, and we'll teach you how to work towards a successful home sharing arrangement.

Fresh Start Expo on Saturday, October 22nd

Services Include:
- Civil rights restoration
- Warrant resolution (misdemeanors)
- Juvenile record expungement
- Marijuana conviction expungement
- Apply for government assistance programs such as SNAP, TANF, AHCCCS, WIC
- Justice-friendly housing
- Justice-friendly employers
- Job fair hosted by Pima County One Stop
- Education opportunities
- Access to behavioral health and addiction services
- Access to basic medical services
- Clothing, haircuts, and more
- COVID vaccine clinic

City Wide Events

Unidos en Bici Challenge

Join the City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility (DTM) in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by participating in the Unidos en Bici Challenge. Use the free PeopleForBikes Ride Spot app and challenge yourself to ride a bike 30 miles between September 15th and October 15th. Those who complete the challenge will receive a "Unidos en Bici" patch through PeopleForBikes! Commute into the office with a coworker or cruise to cafecito by bike to get closer to completing the challenge while reducing air pollution, combating climate change, and utilizing Tucson's growing network of bicycle infrastructure that promotes vibrant communities and safer streets for all.

RAIVEN - Randomized Assessment of Influenza Vaccine Efficacy Network 

Southern AZ Climate Action Forum Webinar on  Thursday, September 22nd

These forum candidates are all passionate about halting climate change and anxious to address heat, water shortages, environmental injustice and a clean energy future for Arizona.  Register now to hear their plans for Arizona to meet these challenges!  

- 90 minute Webinar, Thursday, September 22nd at 7:00 pm -
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OTeQfwgSRVmXPJ_ya2zOvQ

Sign Up for Tucson's Climate Action Report!

You can use this link to subscribe to the Climate Action Report through the City Manager's Office:https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/AZTUCSON/subscriber/new  

UA Global Climate Strike on Friday, September 23rd

Allyship in Ownership Online Course  

As part of the Tucson Alliance for Housing Justice's (TAHJ) multi-pronged approach to addressing evictions and homelessness, Justice Movement is offering a four-week course online for property owners, landlords, and folks who want to better understand how to engage in rent collecting in ethical and equitable ways.

Join Justice Movement founders Nat and Danya as they guide you through a deep dive into allyship and accountability: Register Here

Did You Know?

Connect Arizona Affordable Connectivity Program

Heat Relief Centers

The City of Tucson has opened six cooling centers, one in each city council ward, open from noon-6 p.m. The centers are located at Donna Liggins Center, 2160 N. 6th Ave.; El Pueblo Center, 101 W. Irvington Road; El Rio Center, 1390 W. Speedway Blvd; Morris K. Udall Center, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road; Randolph Center, 200 S. Alvernon Way; and William M. Clements Center, 8155 E. Poinciana Drive. Additionally, the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness has compiled a list of additional cooling stations and locations for water and supplies. Follow the link below for more information and locations.

Cooling centers

Tucson Water Discounts

Call 520-791-5443 to make an appointment or visit this site for more information: https://www.tucsonaz.gov/water/low-income-assistance-program

COVID-19 Emergency Rental and Utility Assistance

Funding requests for unpaid rent and utilities are available for up to 12 months in arrears and three months in advance. Those without internet access can call (520) 447-4423 to apply, and bilingual case managers are available. Go to this site for more information.

We welcome your feedback !

Please feel free to email us at [email protected]

To subscribe to this newsletter please go to https://www.tucsonaz.gov/ward-3