Kevin's Ward 3 News and Updates

Friday, August 5, 2022

News and Updates
Ward 3 Neighborhood Association/Coalition Meetings
Ward 3 Events
City Wide Events
Did You Know?

Recycling Bins (Except Glass) Removed from Mansfield Park

Neighbors and park users have long complained about the recycling bins in the east side parking lot at Mansfield Park, the parking lot that serves the swimming pool and sports fields. The bins often overflowed, were filled with items that cannot be recycled, and supplied a steady stream of litter that blew across playing fields and into neighboring apartments. Daily – Monday through Friday – Tucson’s Environmental and General Services would take the bins to recycling and we would pay Beacon Services to clean the site. But it wasn’t enough to resolve the mess, and neighbors and park users were tired of the eye sore.

The recycling bins have been removed, except for the glass bin, which has been moved to the other side of Mansfield Park, near the Donna Liggins Community Center. Despite being a huge supporter of recycling, I supported and advocated for this change at the park.

The new glass recycling bin location as viewed from 6th Avenue.

The heart of Tucson’s recycling program are the blue bins that every single-family resident has, which by the way are paid for through a fee on our bills.

The Mansfield recycling center was a hold-over from days before curbside was available. It was kept going with the idea that it could support people living in apartments who don’t have blue bin recycling. In addition to the site being used as a dumping ground, the center was being used by residents and businesses that did not reside (and did not pay) in the City.

Businesses can obtain recycling services by contracting with the city or with Republic Services, as can apartment owners. I am particularly interested in working to find some ways to provide incentives for apartments to provide their tenants with a recycling option.

- Kevin

Survey on Electric Vehicles

On July 12, after a year’s worth of public engagement, the following Electric Vehicle (EV) readiness proposal came to Mayor and Council. I thought it was a very modest proposal considering Mayor and Council declared a Climate Emergency almost 2 years ago. I made two small additions to the proposal: reducing the parking space threshold from 100 to 50 and adding 5% more conduit to multi-family units, to give future residents more options to charge their cars at home. Some of my colleagues were reticent to vote on the proposal. This survey is the latest in a very robust public outreach process on what will be required for newly built commercial, multi-family and retail developments.

Please take a few minutes to fill it out:  https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/ec5ab30d5ab44492ab6adec2ecf82b33. Thanks. 

-Kevin

Tucson Curb Cycle by Katie Bolger

Last week I met with Ward 3 resident Clayton Clark. Clayton has a background in manufacturing and production and has lived quite a few places in his life, including Washington, California, Illinois, and Tijuana. He has called Tucson home since 2006, and we’re glad he decided to put down some Sonoran Desert roots along with his wife of 24 years and daughter. Early this year, after listening to an episode of Arizona Spotlight, which included a segment on the City’s decision to stop picking up glass from household recycling bins, Clayton was inspired to do something. He created a start-up business that will pick up your glass recyclables (for a small fee) from your residence and ensure that your glass makes its way into the recycling stream.

Ward 3 resident Clayton Clark of Tucson Curb Cycle

Last year, Tucson made the tough decision to stop collecting glass in the single stream recycling for a variety of reasons including lack of end markets, contamination, and transportation costs—partly because it weighs about 10 times as much as a similar volume of plastic or aluminum. It busts up easily, which makes it hard on equipment and increases maintenance costs. When the decision was made to stop residential pick up, numerous large bins were placed around town where residents could drop off their glass. The amount of glass collected through the centers was about 67% less than collected with curb-side pickup. Those numbers spurred Clayton into action. Clayton wants to do his part for the planet and the people. His background will come in handy as he ramps up his vision.

If you would Ike more information or want to participate in Tucson Curb Cycle please visit https://www.tucsoncurbcycle.com/

Richland Heights East by CJ Boyd

Richland Heights East is bounded by Prince Rd. to the north, Tucson Blvd. to the east, Fort Lowell Rd. to the south, and Campbell Ave. to the west. It lies between Richland Heights West, with its intentional dirt roads, and Winterhaven, with its manicured green lawns. Richland Heights East features many upscale homes; homes in the neighborhood are being sold for an average of $568k this year, while the city-wide average is only $329k.

The Richland Heights East Neighborhood Association was started in 1994 by five neighbors - Mike Murray,  Marilyn Dinwiddie, Jay Van Echo, John Wilson, and Jon Guenther. They originally incorporated the association as a non-profit "to promote the interests of the residents of the Richland Heights East, and to represent these interests before public, and private entities and to provide for welfare of said residents."

Just before the first official RHENA meeting, Marilyn realized that she didn't have time to participate on the Board, and recruited Sandy Miller, firmly believing "the board should include a woman's point of view." Since then, most of the founding members have passed away, but Sandy sits on the board to this day. Now the board is much more gender balanced, with more women attending meetings than men.

A sculpture in the front yard of a home at the corner of Olsen Ave and Klein Rd.

While there are no elementary, middle, or high schools in Richland Heights East, Le Petite Academy of Tucson, a day care for infants, preschoolers, and kids of school age, is located along Fort Lowell Rd. Along Campbell, there is the Tucson satellite campus of Grand Canyon University, which has its main campus in Phoenix. Grand Canyon University is a private Christian university, 82% of their students enroll online, and 17% attend online. 

The Tucson satellite campus of Grand Canyon University on Campbell Ave.

Richland Heights East is home to three churches—Silverbell Baptist Church on Campbell Ave., Iglesia Penial Tucson on Prince Rd., and Tucson Chinese Baptist Church on Fort Lowell Rd. There are additionally two more churches immediately across the street—Northminster Presbyterian Church on Fort Lowell Rd. and St. James United Methodist Church on Campbell Ave.

The neighborhood has no parks of its own, but is situated very near Rio Vista Natural Resource Park in RilliotoBend, and nearly as close to Connor Park in Campbell-Grant and La Madera Park in La Madera Neighborhood.  

Figures of desert animals on the poles of the traffic circle at Greenlee Rd and Jackson Ave, with an artsy fence in the background.

Every year the RHE hosts a party, with various neighbors opening their yards to everyone in the neighborhood. They have a very active neighborhood listserv with over 70% of neighbors participating. Parties of the past have featured a garden tour, an Easter egg hunt, an ice cream social, and a chili cook-off, and the neighborhood encourage kids to decorate the traffic circles during the winter holidays. They’ve had chickens, tortoises, goats, horses and llamas joining the party as pets, as well as some of the many wild animals that can be spotted in the neighborhood from time to time—hawks, owls, bats, raccoons, skunks, coyotes, javelinas, bunnies, bobcats.

Code Enforcement Information Session At Ward 3 by Marlene Avelino

This last Tuesday on August 2nd, our office hosted Code Enforcement for an information session in the Ward 3 Community Room to learn about the process of reporting a code violation against a neglectful landlord. We had three speakers: Laurie Pumphrey - Interim Supervisor of Code Enforcement, Robert Gonzalez - Inspector, and Shilpa Hunter-Patel from the City Attorney’s office and a city attorney. Laurie explained the process of submitting a complaint by phone, email, or regular mail, information which is also available on the City website here: https://www.tucsonaz.gov/code-enforcement.

Council Aide CJ Boyd with a few words of welcome, Inspector Robert Gonzalez, Interim Supervisor of Code Enforcement - Laurie Pumphrey, City Attorney Shilpa Hunter-Patel, Lety Bazurto recording, and an audience of Ward 3 residents.

Once a complaint has been submitted, an inspector will do a visit the site to verify the claim. The owner is then served a notice of violation with a date set for when the repair needs to be completed.

Thank you to Laurie, Robert, and Shilpa for your time and expertise. Also to Lety Bazurto from the City Manager’s office for recording the event for us. You can watch the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNEilGbexQc.

Ward 3 Neighborhood and Coalition Meetings
Alvernon-Grant Initiative
Tuesday
August 9
6:00-7:00 pm
Emanuel Church
1825 N. Alvernon Way

Sugar Hill Neighborhood Association
Wednesday
August 10
6:00-7:30 pm
Parkside Terrace Apartments
2150 N. 4th Ave.

Mountain First Neighborhood Association
Saturday
August 13
8:00-9:00 am
Mitchell Park  
1100 E. Mitchell 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
Introduction to Kingian Nonviolence and Conflict Reconciliation Workshop

A Critical Look at Waste Incineration

Tuesday, August 9, at 6:00 pm on Zoom. Link at www.sustainabletucson.org

Waste incineration (including pyrolysis, gasification, and plasma arc) is making a comeback across the country. Here in Tucson, the Environmental and General Services Department is evaluating the feasibility of hosting a waste incinerator at the Los Reales Sustainability Campus.

Join us at our August monthly meeting to learn about the life-cycle impacts of incineration technologies and how they affect people and our environment.

Our speaker will be Mike Ewall, founder and director of Energy Justice Network. EJN is a national support network for grassroots community groups fighting dirty energy and waste industry facilities, such as coal power plants, ethanol plants, natural gas facilities, landfills, and incinerators of every sort.

Mike has been actively involved in student and community environmental justice organizing since high school in 1990. He's taught hundreds of workshops at college campuses and activist conferences throughout the U.S. His grassroots support work has helped many communities achieve victories against power plants, landfills, incinerators, medical waste facilities and other polluting industries.

City Wide Events
Sign Up for the 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    

Woods Memorial Library Health Action Team: Applications Due August 22, 2022

2018 Park + Connections Bond Oversight Commission Meeting

Subject: Proposition 407: Tucson Delivers Parks and Connections, a $225 million bond package 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).

Date: Monday, August 15th
Time: 5:30pm – 7:00pm
Location: 900 S Randolph Way or Zoom

To Address the Commission (Zoom): Email Leticia Flores at [email protected], or call (520) 885-9009 by 10 a.m. on August 15 with your full name, mailing address, phone number, and the topic you wish to address.

Address the Commission (In-Person): Attend in-person and notify staff that you would like to speak to the Commission.
Agenda: City of Tucson Boards and Commissions

Reid Park Zoo Summer Safari Nights, Saturday evenings through August 13!

Enjoy the Zoo and cooler evening temperatures as you watch the sunset at this series of themed nights featuring different keeper chats, animal encounters, artifact stations, and special activities. Refresh with dinner and a cold drink at the Zoofari Market, listen to live music by some of Tucson’s best bands. Take a ride on the Cox Jungle Carousel, and play games with Tucson Parks and Recreation’s ‘Ready, Set, Rec! There will be a different theme each week, so every visit brings something new and plenty of photo opportunities to remember a great evening.

Admission is free for Zoo members! Click here to learn more and view dates and themes.

Did You Know?
Volunteers Needed

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]

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