3500 W. River
Road
Thursday, March 29,
2007
8:00 a.m.
The following is a summary of the March 31, 2007
meeting. Audiotapes of the meeting are
available upon request.
|
Committee Members Present |
Committee Members Absent |
|
Gary Davidson, Chair Byron Howard John Neis Terri Hutts Thomas Six Tom Warne |
Ted Prezelski Carolyn Campbell |
|
County Staff: Technical Experts Present |
County Administration |
|
Carlo DiPilato,
P&D Division Manager Lauren Harvey,
Program Manager, NRPR |
Nicole Fyffe,
Executive Administrator to the County Administrator |
1. Meeting began at 8:03 a.m. with a
quorum.
2. Mr.
Howard made a motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting held on March
1, 2007. The motion was unanimously accepted.
3. Mr. DiPilato reviewed all the projects in
District 1, including their scope. Some of the following points were raised. Mr.
Davidson told Mr. DiPilato that it would be preferable to use the word ‘will’
rather than ‘may’ with regard to the elements that would be included in the
projects. Mr. DiPilato clarified that it was used to give the department more
flexibility, for example the constructions costs could increase by the time the
project is being built thus not allowing the whole project to be
completed. Mr. Davidson suggested the
use of the word ‘intend’ instead. Mr.
DiPilato was also asked to provide the sub committee with a map that shows the
connectivity of trails before the committee makes its final decisions. In connection with discussion of the New
Girls Chorus Building project and Mehl Park it was suggested that projects
which were inter-dependent on each other be noted. In the case of the school field enhancements, Mr. DiPilato was
asked about the benefits to the community, and also the costs to lease or use
the school fields by groups like the Little League and joint use agreements
between the county and the school district. Mr. Kuck, Operations Superintendent
explained the agreements presently in place and Ms. Fyffe said that language
about joint and shared use between the schools and public could be written into
the bond ordinances in future. Mr. DiPilato was also asked about the lighting
of the school fields and whether there had been issues raised by the neighbors
regarding the lights. Mr. DiPilato
explained that the projects had been chosen by meeting with the superintendents
of all the schools and their operations managers who seemed to feel that the
need for lighting of the fields superseded the public outcry over ambient light
spillage. It was also mentioned that there should be research done whether
there had been any agreements previously between the schools and the
neighborhood residents regarding this issue. Regarding the safety/liability
issue in skate parks, it was explained that after discussion with Risk
Management it was found that most agencies operate these as unsupervised
because of legal liabilities.
4. Jurisdictional
comments about PC BOS District 1 projects:
Ms. Ainsley Reeder,
Parks & Recreation Director of the Town of Oro Valley spoke about the
projects proposed by Oro Valley. They
established their projects in order of priorities from A downwards, not
realizing that there could be several A priority projects. The Town’s priority A project is the Kelly
Ranch acquisition which is listed with Open Space. The next priority is the Naranja Town site Project which has been
in the master planning stage for a over a year and a half with plenty of public
input, 37 user groups and 20 public meetings held demonstrating that this is a
true community project. Ms. Reeder
explained the estimated costs of the project and how they were arrived at along
with a concept plan for the park. The Town Council is still determining how the
project will be financed and is looking into different options. The other
projects proposed by the Town are the Hardy Road/Overton Road Property
Acquisition, The Big Wash Linear Park and CDO Wash Linear Park, James Kreigh
Park upgrades, the Overton Arts Center Improvements, the Rancho Vistoso
Trailhead access acquisition and the West Lambert Lane Park improvements.
Mr. Fred Gray, City of
Tucson Parks & Recreation Director: The City of Tucson does not have any projects
specifically listed in District 1, but are interested the Rillito Projects and
the eventual outcome. The city is also
supportive of the trail connections.
The city also has suggestions regarding the skate parks as the city is
facing the same issues as the county.
5. Public comments about PC BOS District 1
projects
The following
spoke in favor of the proposed Rillito soccer complex projects due to the vital
need for this in Tucson and the increased benefits and revenue it could bring
to the area:
Stephanie Maben,
Executive Director of the Fort Lowell Shootout
Ebi Aldaghi,
Tucson Soccer Academy and Foothills Futbol Club
Christopher
Thomas, Member of the Board of Directors, Tucson Metro Soccer League and Adult
Recreational Soccer League
Detlef Lange,
Tucson Mountains Soccer Football Club and VP of the Pima County Junior Soccer
League
Lisa Balcer, President,
Arizona Rush Soccer Club
Alan Shimato,
Tucson Concrete Skate park Alliance speaking in support of the proposed skate
park projects
Bill Adamson,
Tucson Pima Bicycle Committee offered to work with the committee to provide
input on the bicycle lanes and trails in the county
Roy Schoonover speaking
in support of the Rillito River Parks, also Julian Wash Linear Park
Larry Lattomus in
support of the Edith Ball Adaptive Recreation Center (District 2) with the only therapeutic pool
in the area
6. Other
Business, Future Agenda Items and Meeting Dates
Mr. Howard would
like to see more emphasis on ‘other’ funding and O&M impacts on all the
projects. The Committee is still having
trouble coming to terms with all the different aspects of the projects –
community support, prioritization by different entities, etc. as to which
direction to take. Mr. Davidson will provide
them with all information as and when received. He also told the committee that he appreciated their attendance
at all the meetings as this will help keep them informed of all the needs of
all the districts which will be important when making final decisions.
Mr. Davidson
suggested that the Bicycle Advisory Committee and the Pima Trails Association
should be invited to speak to the subcommittee
7. Meeting
Adjourned
Meeting Adjourned at 10:20 am.