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Solar panels generate power near the Water and Engery Sustainability Center, part of the Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department Lab.
Source: Communications OfficeSlide 2 of 2.
Solar developers take advantage of new Pima County policy in the Picture Rocks area of the county.

Pima County won half of the total American Public Works Association (APWA) 2013 awards at the local Southern Arizona Chapter level. Awards will be presented on March 26. Two of the local chapter winners additionally won at the State Chapter level. Statewide winners are automatically entered in the APWA National Competition.

APWA presented the 2013 Sustainability Practices of the Year award to Development Services, Planning Division, for the Renewable Energy Incentive District (REID). REID offers incentives to the solar industry to develop on selected sites within unincorporated Pima County. REID gives solar developers the opportunity to build more swiftly and less expensively.

“We are pleased that the County has been recognized for this effort, which was several years in the making,” says Planning Director Arlan Colton, FAICP. “The properties identified for utility-scale photovoltaic solar can proceed to development much quicker, having been pre-cleared for most development requirements.”

The Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department won two Public Works Projects of the Year awards for the Regional Optimization Master Plan (ROMP) Plant Interconnect and for the Santa Cruz Interceptor III.

ROMP is a $660 million program to upgrade and expand the Ina Road Wastewater Reclamation Facility (WRF) and to replace the Roger Road WRF with a new state-of-the-art facility. Projects, including those receiving APWA Awards, will improve the quality of the community’s reclaimed water for recharge and reuse. In addition to the treatment facility improvements, the ROMP also includes a state-of-the-art water quality laboratory and a five-mile-long sewer interceptor that allows flexibility of flow management between the Ina Road and Roger Road facilities. Effluent discharges will continue to provide a riparian habitat and birding opportunities.

In addition, Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation received Project of the Year award for Canoa Preserve Park in Green Valley, in the Small Cities and Rural Communities category. It is the first County park in this retirement community.

The ROMP Plant Interconnect and the Canoa Preserve Park won at the state level, to be presented on August 8, and will be entered in the national competition.

Organizers expect more than 500 people at the Beat Cancer Boot Camp Challenge on Saturday, March 16, at Brandi Fenton Park.  The race, a 5K obstacle course run that takes place along the Rillito River Park, and associated festivities will take place between 6 a.m. and noon.

Bicyclists, walkers, and other Loop users should be cautious in this area and yield to people participating in the Challenge event.

Athletes race as individuals or in  five-person teams. They will walk, run, climb or crawl through mud pits, climbing stations and other obstacles built by local members of the Army, Navy, ROTC, Fire Stations, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and SWAT. The military-style 5K obstacle course runs along the Rillito River dirt trail and the adjacent wash.

Pima County Natural Resources, Parks, and Recreation Department is a sponsor of this event. All proceeds from the event will support Beat Cancer Boot Camp, a local non-profit exercise and support group for cancer patients, cancer survivors and anyone whose life is affected by cancer.

The Loop shared use path encompasses both banks of four major river systems or waterways. Pima County residents and visitors can enjoy biking, walking, or horseback riding along the Rillito River, the Santa Cruz River, the Pantano Wash, the Julian Wash and the Harrison Greenway.  The Loop also has path extensions along tributary washes or extensions. This includes the Tanque Verde Wash and the Cañada del Oro Wash.

More than one third of the metropolitan population lives within a half mile of the Loop or Loop extended paths.

For more information about the Challenge, visit: http://beatcancerbootcamp.com/?page_id=259

For more information about The Loop, visit: www.pima.gov/TheLoop.

Show your support for cancer survivors at the 5^th Annual Beat Cancer Boot Camp Challenge, a 5K obstacle course event on Saturday, March 16, at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park, 3482 E. River Road.

The event raises funds for Beat Cancer Boot Camp, a local exercise and support group for cancer survivors and anyone affected by cancer.

The challenge, co-sponsored by the Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department, will get under way at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

All fitness levels are welcome. Race as an individual or form a five-person squad and walk, run, climb or crawl through mud pits, climbing stations and other obstacles built along the Rillito River by local members of the Army, Navy, ROTC, fire stations, and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

Prizes will be awarded to the top male, top female and top squad.

Register online at http://beatcancerbootcamp.com until midnight Wednesday, March 13. The entry fee is $40 for an individual and $180 for a squad of five.

It is highly recommended that registered participants pick up their race packets before Saturday. Team captains can only pick up for their squad if all waivers are signed and returned.

Packet pickup times at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park:

• Thursday, March 14, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Friday, March 15, 2 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Saturday, March 16, 5:30 a.m.-7:30 a.m.

Anita Kellman, the founder of Beat Cancer Boot Camp, has worked in the medical field for over 25 years and is a clinical liaison for patients undergoing biopsies and other procedures. She founded the boot camp to empower and inspire cancer survivors to take charge of their lives. Its programs also provide support, education and camaraderie for cancer survivors, their families and friends.

For more information about Beat Cancer Boot Camp and to register for the challenge, please go to http://beatcancerbootcamp.com.

Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing at Rillito Park Race Track has been canceled this weekend, March 9 and 10, because of expected inclement weather.

As a result, the racing season, which was to end Sunday, March 17, has been extended an additional weekend – to March 23-24.

Gates open at 11 a.m. at the track at 4502 N. First Ave. Post time is 1 p.m. Racing ends at 5:30.

Eight or nine races are held each Saturday and Sunday.

Children under 12 get in free to the grandstand and clubhouse. The clubhouse offers a full restaurant and bars. Snack and beverage bars are on both levels of the grandstand. And parking is free (valet parking is available).

General admission, including the grandstand                             $5

Clubhouse seating                                                                         $8

Window seating in the grandstand                                             $10

Tables for four along the windows in the grandstand   $20

Tables for four along the windows in the clubhouse                 $25

Call the track at 520-293-5011 or learn more about it and other family attractions in Southern Arizona online at www.tucsonattractions.com.

Pima County Board of Supervisors approved a new path standard for River Parks and Greenways on Tuesday, March 5. The new standard is 12 to16 feet wide for paved paths, and 8 to 10 feet wide for soft paths. The former standard was 12 feet for paved paths and 8 feet for soft paths.

The Board amended the Regional Trail System Master Plan to include the new standard.

“The Loop is a popular place for bicycling, dog-walking, running, and horseback riding,” said Steve Anderson, Planning Division Manager for Natural Resources, Parks, and Recreation. “Wider paths increase the enjoyment everyone on The Loop.  Wider paths make it easier to maneuver around other users when necessary.”

He emphasized that in some places, The Loop will remain narrow where the County does not have a wide easement. New sections of The Loop will be built to the new standard.

The Board also approved funds to acquire the final piece of property on the Paseo de las Iglesias section of The Loop. Archeologists recently completed study of this section, and planning is under way. The shared use path will follow the Santa Cruz River between Silverlake Road and Ajo Way.

The Loop path encompasses both banks of four major river systems or waterways. Pima County residents and visitors can enjoy biking, walking, or running along the Rillito River, the Santa Cruz River, the Pantano Wash, the Julian Wash and the Harrison Greenway.  The Loop also has path extensions along tributary washes or extensions. These include the Tanque Verde Wash, the Cañada del Oro Wash, and north and south of the Santa Cruz River.

More than one third of the metropolitan population lives within a half mile of the Loop or Loop extended paths.

Pima County’s partners in The Loop are: City of Tucson, Town of Marana, Town of Oro Valley, City of South Tucson, Regional Transportation Authority, and the Arizona Department of Transportation.

For more information about The Loop, visit: www.pima.gov/TheLoop.

Pima County’s Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation staff installed a new playground at Catalina Neighborhood Park.

Ally Miller, District 1 Board of Supervisors Member, will dedicate a new playground at Catalina Neighborhood Park on Monday, Feb. 25, at 11:30 a.m.  The playground is designed for 5- to 12-year-olds, and replaces playground equipment damaged by the fire last summer.

“I’m excited to dedicate the new playground,” said Supervisor Miller. “It’s so important for kids to have a safe place to play outdoors. The children of Catalina will have a fun place to climb, explore, and slide again.” The playground’s combination of engineered wood fiber and durable blue rubberized surface provides a soft landing for children.

Savannah Williams, a sixth-grader at Coronado K-8 School, selected the colors for the playground equipment. She will also be at the dedication. After seeing the smoke from the burning playground, Savannah gathered over 100 signatures on a petition asking the County to quickly rebuild the park.

The park is located at 16562 North Oracle Road, at the intersection of Pinto Lane, in the community of Catalina.  The ADA-accessible park has recreational resources for all ages including a Community Center, lighted basketball court, pool, shuffleboard court, restrooms, and a ramada with picnic tables.

On July 9, 2012, a fire destroyed the playground equipment. Golder Ranch firefighters responded quickly, and contained the fire so it did not spread to nearby structures or trees. The Golder Ranch Fire Marshall and its investigators did not positively identify an ignition source. The cause of the fire is classified as undetermined at this time.  The case has been turned over to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

Insurance covered $40,000 of the cost for the new playground, with the $9,000 deductible paid by Pima County’s Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department.

For more information about Catalina Neighborhood Park, visit: http://www.pima.gov/nrpr/parks/catalina/index.htm

On Tuesday, Feb. 19, the Board of Supervisors appointed Seton Claggett to the Pima County Sports and Tourism Authority (PCSTA). Seton and Debbie Claggett are national leaders in the triathlon industry, founding TriSports.com in Tucson in 2000.

The PCSTA develops and supports amateur and professional sports, businesses and organizations to develop Pima County into an international sports tourism destination.

TriSports.com grew from an online business operated out of their home to a 32,000 square foot facility hosting a state-of-the-art retail store, warehouse, and corporate headquarters. In 2012, they opened a Tempe retail store. The company now employs over 40 people. The Tucson location is a destination for the many amateur and professional triathletes who travel here for winter training.

“We are fortunate to have Seton Claggett working to increase sports tourism to Pima County,” said Board Chairman Ramón Valadez. “With his Ironman Triathlete background, successful event promotion experience, and business leadership, he is a perfect fit for the PCSTA.”

“We have been working hard for years within the triathlon market to bring athletes to Tucson for training vacations, so I see working with PCSTA as an extension of what we’ve already started in our niche, but with so much more support and with the opportunity to affect a much larger audience,” said Seton Claggett. “I’m excited at the prospect of increasing awareness of Tucson as a top sports tourism destination!”

The Claggetts are also leaders in sustainable business development; TriSports.com utilizes rainwater harvesting and solar power from a 128kW array that also shades the parking lot. The TriSports.com recycling bin is four times larger than the garbage dumpster, and the company reuses a vast majority of its in-bound packing material.

TriSports.com sponsors events like the Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival where much of the waste is recycled, from the usual plastic bottles and aluminum cans to unusual items like energy bar wrappers.

The company also offers incentives for commuting to work by walking, running, or bicycling, with over 60% of staff participating in the commuter program. In fact, the League of American Bicyclists gave TriSports.com Silver ranking as a Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) in 2010. They were the first BFB in Arizona.

For more information about PCSTA, visit: http://www.pima.gov/pcsta/

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Grijalva home and grain room
Source: Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation DepartmentSlide 2 of 7.
Historic photo
Source: Courtesy of Deezie Manning-CatronSlide 3 of 7.
Foreman home
Source: Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation DepartmentSlide 4 of 7.
Howell Manning Jr. home
Source: Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation DepartmentSlide 5 of 7.
Corral
Source: Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation DepartmentSlide 6 of 7.
Tradesman home, guest house and Howell Manning Sr. home
Source: Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation DepartmentSlide 7 of 7.
Wendy Burroughs of the Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department talks to volunteers at Canoa.
Source: Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department

Pima County will open to the public in March one of the most historically and culturally significant ranches in Southern Arizona that it has worked to preserve and restore.

The Historic Hacienda de la Canoa, south of Green Valley, will be showcased at a dedication ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 2.

U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who lived on the ranch as a young boy, will speak at the ceremony, which will include the dedication of a bronze plaque commemorating the ranch’s listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Docent-led tours will begin after the ceremony.

In 2001, Pima County purchased and began to restore the 4,800-acre ranch complex with voter-approved 1997 and 2004 bond funds. The Board of Supervisors voted to designate the property the Raúl M. Grijalva Canoa Ranch Conservation Park.

The park preserves a rich record of the prehistoric people, the Native Americans, Spaniards, Mexicans and Anglos who have occupied the area.

Evidence of prehistoric human habitation – near springs in the Santa Cruz River valley – dates back to 2500 B.C. The Hohokam were there from 600 to 1450 A.D., and the Tohono O’odham called it home beginning in the 1600s. Father Eusebio Francisco Kino and other Jesuit missionaries passed by the Canoa site at the turn of the 1700s on their way to what would become Mission San Xavier del Bac and the city of Tucson. When Juan Bautista de Anza, a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Spanish cavalry and commander of the Tubac Presidio, led a 240-person expedition to northern California in 1775, the group spent its first night at the paraje, or campsite, at La Canoa, which is Spanish for wooden drinking trough.

The ranch was first established in 1821 as the San Ignacio de la Canoa Land Grant deeded to Ignacio and Tomas Ortiz. But the full potential of the Hacienda de la Canoa was not realized until the Manning family’s ownership of the property from 1912 to the 1970s. Canoa became a showcase ranch and community worked by both Anglo and Mexican families. There were numerous breeds of cattle and horses, in addition to extensive farms and irrigation systems, many of which are still visible.

In the most recent phase of construction, Pima County restoration crews have reinforced the once-crumbling adobe buildings, using period-specific methods to create new adobe bricks and coat the walls with stucco and a gleaming layer of whitewash to protect them against the elements and time.

Grading to direct water away from the foundations of buildings and walls and raising the elevation of access roads will protect the site from rainwater and sheet flooding. Tons of debris have been removed and surrounding areas cleared for fire control. The water well has been rehabilitated with a new pump and water lines, increasing the availability of water on site. Historic landscapes have been reestablished, and gravel roads and walking paths have been repaired. Restoration work even includes an adaptive re-use of an existing garage to ADA restroom facilities.

Visitors to Historic Hacienda de la Canoa will be able to step back in time and catch a glimpse of what life was like on a traditional cattle ranch, a lifestyle that has evolved but continues to define the independent, diverse, distinctive culture of communities of the Southwest.

Free guided tours will be available to the public in March. Reservations are required. Call 877-6004 or email CanoaRanch@pima.gov.

Dedication of the Historic Hacienda de la Canoa

Date: Saturday, March 2

Time: 11 a.m. (tours start after the ceremony)

Place: 5375 S. I-19 Frontage Road, Green Valley

For more information about the ranch, including volunteer opportunities and free guided tours, please visit http://www.pima.gov/nrpr/parks/canoa/index.htm, call 877-6004 or email CanoaRanch@pima.gov.

The star on this map marks the start of the Paseo de las Iglesias Archeology Tours on Feb. 15.

Pima County Regional Flood Control District hosts free Archeology Tours this Friday on the site of the future Paseo de las Iglesias Phase 1 project.  The half-hour tour begins on Cottonwood Lane, just south of West Silverlake Road.  The tour features excavated pit houses from a village that was located on the western bank of the Santa Cruz River. An archeologist from Desert Archeology will conduct tours at 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, and 3:30 p.m.

To reserve a space on a tour, call Annabelle Valenzuela, 520-740-6410.

This area will be near a future extension of The Loop, a shared use path that encompasses both banks of four major river systems or waterways: the Rillito River, the Santa Cruz River, the Pantano Wash, the Julian Wash and the Harrison Greenway.  The Loop also has path extensions along tributary washes or extensions.  These include the Tanque Verde Wash, the Cañada del Oro Wash, and north and south of the Santa Cruz River.

More than one third of the metropolitan population lives within a half mile of The Loop or Loop extended paths.  For more information about The Loop, visit: www.pima.gov/TheLoop.

A runner goes along The Loop near Speedway Blvd along the Santa Cruz River.

Spring is a busy time for Loop construction. On the Santa Cruz portion of The Loop, workers are widening the path between Ina Road and the I-10 Frontage Road, with anticipated completion by the end of February. This section of The Loop is closed for construction on Monday through Thursday, but remains open for weekend use on Friday through Sunday. Portions of the path are dirt, so users should plan accordingly.

On the Rillito River Park, access to The Loop is closed on the northwest corner of La Cholla Boulevard and Curtis Road while the Curtis Park Indoor Basketball Court Facility is under construction.  Access from Curtis Park remains open to The Loop just west of La Cholla.

Workers will also be resurfacing and restriping the path along the Rillito River. This week, watch for improvements to handrails and gates on the south bank from the Union Pacific Railroad underpass ramp to La Cholla. The week of Feb. 11, repaving will begin on the south bank, and users should use the north bank of the Rillito River Park between Camino de la Tierra and La Cholla.

Also in February, a dirt and cement portion of the south bank between Dodge Boulevard and Alvernon Way Bridge underpass will be paved and striped. Workers will also resurface and repave the path along the north bank between Alvernon Way and Craycroft Road.

Work continues on the newest section of The Loop along the Julian Wash. This month, new construction begins from I-10 west to Alvernon Way and Augie Acuña Los Niños Park. The underpass at Kolb Road is scheduled to be completed in late spring.

Finally, on the Cañada del Oro section of The Loop, a portion of the path at Magee Road will remain closed through March 2013. This closure is necessary so that crews can perform the installation of underground drainage and bridge construction activities in the area without jeopardizing the safety of bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

The Loop path encompasses both banks of four major river systems or waterways. Pima County residents and visitors can enjoy biking, walking, or running along the Rillito River, the Santa Cruz River, the Pantano Wash, the Julian Wash and the Harrison Greenway. The Loop also has path extensions along tributary washes.  These include the Tanque Verde Wash and the Cañada del Oro Wash.

More than one third of the metropolitan population lives within a half mile of The Loop or Loop extended paths.

For more information about The Loop, visit: www.pima.gov/TheLoop.