Celebrate improvements at two parks this month made possible by voter-approved Pima County bond funds and Pima County’s partnership with the City of Tucson.

Please join:

• Pima County Supervisor Richard Elías, District 5, and City of Tucson Vice Mayor and Ward 1 Council Member Regina Romero on Saturday, May 11, at 10 a.m. to celebrate the Menlo Park Neighborhood Revitalization Project at 301 N. Grande Ave.
• Pima County Supervisors Chairman Ramón Valadez, District 2; Vice Mayor Romero; and Ward 5 Council Member Richard Fimbres on Wednesday, May 15, at 9 a.m. to celebrate the opening of a skate park at St. John’s School Park, 602 W. Ajo Way.

Pima County invested 1997 Pima County bond funds of $850,000 to improve soccer field facilities at Menlo Park. An additional $498,975 from 2004 Pima County bond funds administered by the Pima County Neighborhood Reinvestment Program was invested into pedestrian safety and mobility improvements at the park.

Some of the administrative costs were covered by the City of Tucson Departments of Transportation and Parks and Recreation, and Ward 1 Back to Basics, which provided $30,000. The City of Tucson provided $318,000 in 2000 City of Tucson bond funds to construct a new restroom building and the plaza in the center of the park, and a Community Development Block Grant of $180,000 helped pay for the remaining sidewalks, lighting, chain link fencing, and a group picnic ramada.

The project’s traffic calming and park improvements were constructed by the City of Tucson’s Transportation and Parks and Recreation Departments. Improvements included traffic circles, speed tables, ADA curb access ramps, xeriscaping and water harvesting chicanes; and fabric shade sails over the pool deck and playgrounds, concrete decks, plazas and walls, landscape planting and support irrigation.

The project included Menlo Park Neighborhood Association members, especially, Mac Hudson, Bob Rodriguez, Lorraine Bartlett, Gene Einfrank and Lillian Lopez- Grant.

The Pima County Neighborhood Reinvestment Program also contributed $500,000 in bond funds to construct the skate park at St. John’s School Park. The skate park is lighted, and other improvements include a paved jogging track and ramada with picnic facilities. The site is shared by St. John’s School and the City of Tucson Parks and Recreation Department. Vice Mayor Romero contributed $4,000 in Back-to-Basics funds to the project.

Fitch Ratings on Thursday affirmed Pima County’s general obligation bond program, with a ratings outlook that is stable.

Fitch Ratings cited a number of positive drivers that led to the AA rating, which denotes a very high credit quality with expectations that there is strong capacity to fund financial commitments. It allows the County to pay a lower interest rate on its voter-approved bond projects.

The report indicates Pima County “maintains a sound financial profile with healthy operating revenues.”

Among the findings:

• County management has responded aggressively to the economic downturn and accompanying revenue declines over the recent past, making necessary spending adjustments to maintain fiscal balance and a satisfactory financial cushion.
• The County’s debt burden is manageable and debt repayment is rapid.
• Conservative fiscal management has supported historically strong financial performance, with ongoing spending reductions to absorb revenue declines, while avoiding large-scale layoffs, furloughs, pay reductions and service cutbacks.
• Although secondary assessed valuation has declined roughly 18 percent since the market downturn, the County’s expectation of two additional years of decline appears reasonable. Meanwhile, the County’s unemployment rate is improved from the prior year, with the most recent rate comparing favorably with the state and U.S. averages.

“We are pleased that Fitch has affirmed the County’s continued stability and future outlook,” said Chief Deputy County Administrator Martin Willett. “We take our responsibility to taxpayers seriously and are gratified that the ratings show Pima County continues to demonstrate strong fiscal stewardship.”

For more information, please visit www.fitchratings.com

Pima County’s first park in Green Valley – Canoa Preserve Park – will be dedicated on Tuesday, March 26.

Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll, District 4, will speak at the dedication, which begins at 9 a.m. at the park at 3500 S. Camino de la Canoa, south of White House Canyon Road.

The Born Again Jocks Association (BAJA), a Green Valley community sports and service club, and Special Olympics athletes will play a softball game on one of the park’s two finished fields after the dedication.

The need for the park developed more than a decade ago when BAJA attracted so many softball players that enough fields were hard to find. Chuck Catino, a 16-year resident of Green Valley, charter member of the BAJA club and a member of the Pima County Parks and Recreation Commission, has led the effort to secure land, solicit services, and raise funds.

Canoa Preserve Development Partners LLC donated about 53 acres of a former sand and gravel site and a well on South Camino de la Canoa northwest of its planned Canoa Preserve subdivision and east of the Farmers Investment Co. (FICO) pecan groves.  Local businesses such as Caterpillar, Sierra Mining and Crushing, and FICO contributed in-kind services to prepare the site for the park improvements.

In August, the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted to allocate $250,000 to the park to match funds raised by the Sahuarita Unified School District and private donors.

Plans for the park include two additional softball fields, covered bleachers, a dog park, ramadas and picnic areas, a playground, trails, restrooms, and parking. The total cost is estimated at $6.5 million.

The Pima County Bond Advisory Committee has tentatively approved $4 million for the park for inclusion in a Pima County bond proposal to be submitted to voters on an as yet undetermined date. If approved, revenue generated from the sale of general obligation bonds would help fund park construction.

Tax-deductible donations to continue construction of the park are being accepted by the Pima County Parklands Foundation, c/o Gregoria Tucker, Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department, 3500 W. River Road, Tucson, AZ 85741.  Checks should indicate that the donation is “restricted for BAJA Project #137.”

The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to oppose the construction of a new international natural gas pipeline west of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, saying the project will create a “de facto highway” that will jeopardize public safety by increasing border and law enforcement security problems.

Additionally, supervisors opposed the Sierrita Gas Pipeline because the 59-mile route would cut through remote and pristine areas west of the refuge, increasing erosion and damaging native vegetation.

A resolution passed by the supervisors states that a pipeline shouldn’t be constructed through theAltarValleyat all, but that if it must be built, it would make more sense to place it along an existing highway corridor that already runs through the refuge.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined the pipeline can’t run through the refuge, even though Arizona Highway 286 already crosses it and even though the decision runs counter to findings of the Arizona Ecological Services Office and the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

The County will argue to federal regulators that a new road to accommodate the pipeline will force Pima County to shoulder increased costs to maintain appropriate levels of law enforcement.

The proposed placement of the pipeline also could devalue the County’s investment in theAltarValleyarea, given that the County has invested more than $44 million in voter-approved public funds to acquire thousands of acres and manage 62,000 acres of grazing leases.

Supervisors indicated they will intervene in the proceeding to approve the pipeline and directed County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry to file a statement of opposition with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. They also called upon Southern Arizona’s congressional delegation and the Department of the Interior to consider the public safety and environmental implications of the project.

To read the resolution in its entirety, please visit http://www.pima.gov/cob/e-agenda/03122013/ADD1_LateMaterialReso.pdf.

Share your eco-friendly message for Earth Day at the  Tucson Earth Day Festival and Parade in combination with the Water Festival on Sunday, April 21, 2013. The event is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Reid Park, off Country Club Road, north of 22nd Street. The Parade starts at 10 a.m. The registration deadline for exhibitors and parade entries is March 29, 2013.

In its 19th year, the Tucson Earth Day Festival and Parade with the theme Green Planet, Green Future is partnering with the 4th Annual Water Festival, presented by Tucson Arts Brigade.

Who’s invited? Non-profit organizations, private businesses, government agencies, clubs, families, artists, schools, youth groups and community groups who have an eco-friendly message to share.

Sponsors have the opportunity to receive advertising benefits and recognition for their stewardship at each or both festivals. Businesses are encouraged to apply early to maximize their advertising benefits.
Exhibits should provide information on environmental products or issues such as water conservation, water quality, air quality, household hazardous waste, habitat conservation, sustainability or other “eco” topics. Exhibitors should provide engaging, hands-on activities with take-away information about how to preserve earth’s resources for our children of the future. In addition, the Earth Day Festival features a Farmer’s Market and The Water Festival features water-inspired entertainment and workshops.

Parade entrants should share eco-friendly messages and can reflect the parade theme “Green Planet, Green Future.” Environmentally themed floats must be human-powered or use alternate fuel.

Alternate-Fuel Vehicle Exhibitors featured at the Earth Day Festival can show how their auto, bike or motorcycle runs on clean fuels such as biodiesel, compressed natural gas, electricity, ethanol, propane and even waste vegetable oil.

The Model Solar Race Car/Solar House Competition is open to middle school students who will show off their design and construction skills. Kits for this competition are available from the Society of Women Engineers at www.swetucson.org/solar.

Art Show, “The Vibe” Live Art Happenings, and the Design for Water Solutions Contest, featured at The Water Festival, invites artists to display or activate their water-inspired visual, performing and literary arts, plus compete for a winning creative proposal for a water solution, voted on by a panel of judges and festival attendees.

The 3-mile Walk for Water, also featured at The Water Festival and presented by Aveda Institute, invites people to walk to raise funds for water in impoverished nations, where three miles is the distance that women need to walk to provide water for their families.

For more info and registration for The Tucson Earth Day Festival and Parade, go to www.tucsonearthday.org, call (520) 206-8814 or e-mail tucsonearthday@yahoo.com. Find the festival on Facebook at Tucson Earth Day Festival.

To register at The Water Festival, go to www.WaterFestivalTucson.org, call (520) 623-2119 or e-mail info@WaterFestivalTucson.org. Find the festival on Facebook at The Water Project.

In its first year of operation, the new Crisis Response Center helped stabilize nearly 13,000 people in need in Pima County and diverted as many as 10,000 calls that otherwise would have gone to 911 operators, according to the facility’s first annual report since opening in August 2011.

The Crisis Response Center was an integral part of the 2006 Pima County bond package totaling $54 million for new behavioral health facilities. Prior to the Center’s opening, people in crisis were routinely taken to jail or hospital emergency departments, which added to overcrowding and often wasn’t an effective way to respond to immediate behavioral health needs.

“When more than 60 percent of voters supported the bond question for improved behavioral health opportunities, it confirmed that this community wholly understands the importance of reforming our approach to addressing mental illness and substance abuse,” said County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry. “It’s important that people find appropriate, compassionate and evidence-based care so that they feel supported during their treatment and journey to recovery.”

Among key findings over the reporting period, August 2011 through September 2012:

• The Center served 12,840 adults and children, an average of 917 individuals a month.
• Of the roughly 11,000 adults seen during the reporting period, only a small percentage needed additional services more intensive than a 23-hour crisis stabilization period, demonstrating that most crisis situations were resolved in the least restrictive environment possible.
• The crisis line housed at the Center took more than 135,000 calls during the first year, with 95 percent of those individuals stabilized in the community instead of requiring treatment from more intense and costly resources such as a psychiatric facility.
• Law enforcement transported nearly 5,000 people to the Center, who otherwise would have been brought to hospitals or the jail.
• While law enforcement officers previously spent hours in emergency departments waiting for patients to be cleared, custody transfers to the Center have consistently been completed within 15 minutes or less.

The Center, southwest of Ajo Way and Country Club Boulevard, is adjacent to the University of Arizona Medical Center – South Campus and the Pima County Health Department.

While it is difficult to put a dollar amount on economic benefits resulting from the development of the Crisis Response Center, the Center has likely saved an estimated $43 million to $75 million in criminal justice costs alone, using a formula by Rutgers University’s Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, which determined that every $1 invested in behavioral health care saves between $4 and $7.

“While communities across the country are grappling with how to care for vulnerable residents, the vision of a ‘no wrong door’ comprehensive crisis care system is benefitting thousands of individuals and their families,” said Neal Cash, the President and CEO of Community Partnership of Southern Arizona, which oversees services at the Center. “We are committed to providing coordinated, cost-effective behavioral health crisis services while working to improve the overall health of this community.”

To learn more about the Crisis Response Center, please visit http://www.cpsaarizona.org/AboutUs/Pages/Crisis-Response-Center.aspx.

To read the full report, please visit http://www.pima.gov/behavioralhealth/pdf/CRC_annual_report.pdf.

Pima County offers a website – www.pima.gov/behavioralhealth – that can serve as a resource for those seeking information on where to turn for help.

In the event of a behavioral health crisis, call (520) 622-6000 or 1-800-796-6762. For all emergencies, call 9-1-1.

A revamped federal mapping tool shows that when it comes to producing local jobs, aerospace and defense is far and away the most robust industry cluster in the Tucson area.

The aerospace cluster is responsible for more direct jobs locally than any other cluster, according to an analysis by the U.S. Cluster Mapping website, which relies on U.S. Census data and is supported by the U.S. Economic Development Administration and Harvard Business School. In Pima County, business services weighed in as the second healthiest driver of employment, with tourism in third, according to the tool designed to help local policymakers gauge industry strength by showing concentrations of related firms, suppliers and support services associated with various fields.

Here’s why it matters: It’s typically more effective to build upon existing concentrations of industry than trying to create new ones. It helps target investment where it makes the most sense. And it’s easier to focus on common needs to be addressed and synergies to be nurtured – such as in areas of workforce training or research development – if companies share some interdependence across a network.

Pima County’s Economic Development Plan has several key pieces to build jobs across the spectrum of industries, but a few important ones include measures to protect and expand existing aerospace jobs, while also laying the foundation for a new aerospace/defense research and business park. The plan also envisions taking advantage of our location on major trade routes with Mexico, and proximity to highway, rail and air transportation that would enable expansion of the transportation and logistics industry cluster.

The traded clusters referenced in the report bring in money from outside the region, which are considered the best industries to support, compared to local clusters, which primarily or exclusively serve local residents.

“We are heartened by the stimulation we’re seeing in other sectors as well, including technology and biosciences, but this website is one more independent resource confirming that the aerospace cluster provides high-paying jobs that are absolutely vital to this region’s long-term prosperity,” said Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.

To check out the new U.S. Cluster Mapping website, please visit: http://mvp.clustermapping.us/

To learn more about PimaCounty’s economic development plan, please visit: http://www.pima.gov/administration/documents/pdfs/PC_ED_Action_Plan_2012-10-17.pdf

The Pima County Bond Advisory Committee, meanwhile, is working to give shape to the next bond election, anticipated in 2014. To watch for upcoming public meetings, please visit http://www.bonds.pima.gov/committeeBAC/

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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.

Pima County voters can have confidence that the bond projects they approved are being managed appropriately and efficiently, according to a presentation Friday by the State Auditor General’s Office.

The extensive review of the 1997, 2004 and 2006 bond programs found that without exception, bond proceeds were spent the way voters intended, said Financial Audit Director Jay Zsorey.

In combing through reams of documents, auditors also determined that of 513 completed projects, 93 percent were finished early or on time, Zsorey said.

He added that any changes in terms of cost or timing of projects were appropriately documented and approved,

But it is Pima County’s collaborative approach to bond projects that really sets it apart from other areas, the audit found. Other governments tend to issue bonds for projects that benefit just their own jurisdiction, Zsorey said.

Pima County, however, relies heavily on a 25-member appointed Bond Advisory Committee to prioritize projects based on public benefit, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries. As a result, the County bond programs have funded hundreds of projects, with many benefiting specific incorporated areas.

Zsorey said not only is the approach unique in the state, but he has been unable to find any similar program in the entire nation.

Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry thanked the auditors for doing a thorough job. Although it was a lengthy and painstaking process, he said it was also worthwhile because it demonstrated through an independent review that the County’s project has been well and fairly managed. The County may now move forward with planning to meet future needs, he said.

Pima County Supervisor Richard Elías agreed, saying he is proud of the results. “We are about doing business correctly and putting our best foot forward,” he said.

Larry Hecker, the Chairman of the Bond Advisory Committee, said the audit should assure County residents that checks and balances exist, including stringent citizen oversight. “We do have a system in place that the voters can be confident in,” he said.

To read the full report, please visit http://www.pima.gov/bonds/pdf/bd-auditor.general.bond.audit.report.pdf

The State Auditor General’s Office will present the findings of its recent audit of the Pima County bond program at a public meeting in Tucson on Friday, Feb. 1.

Arizona Auditor General Debra K. Davenport will make a formal presentation, along with the office’s Financial Audit Director. The presentation will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 130 W. Congress, first floor.

The presentation will be open to the public. It is possible a quorum of the Pima County Board of Supervisors or the Pima County Bond Advisory Committee may be present, but the presentation is for informational purposes only and no official action will be taken.

The audit, released Tuesday, determined bond proceeds have been used for authorized purposes and have been administered without bias for the benefit of citizens throughout the County. The audit found Pima County’s approach unique in the state for its collaboration with an appointed Bond Advisory Committee that includes representatives of other governmental jurisdictions.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry will also present a performance audit plan for completed bond projects, which will summarize the public benefits of the projects, as well as their utilization in the community and conformance with any intergovernmental agreement terms.

To see the report in its entirety, please visit http://www.pima.gov/bonds/pdf/bd-auditor.general.bond.audit.report.pdf.