Pima County Bond Advisory Committee

Parks & Recreation Sub-Committee

Meeting

 

Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation

3500 W. River Road

Thursday, June 14, 2007

8:00 a.m.

 

 

 

SUMMARY OF MEETING

 

The following is a summary of the June 14, 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 (via phone)

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 Assistant to the County Administrator

 

 

1.         Meeting began at 8:07 a.m. with a quorum.

 

2.         Mr. Howard made a motion to approve, with corrections, the minutes of the last meeting held on June 7, 2007, which was seconded by Ms. Hutts. The motion was accepted. Ms. Fyffe presented Mr. Neis with a token of recognition.

 

3.         Mr. Davidson reread the criteria to refresh the sub-committee’s memory before prioritization of projects. Then, the Subcommittee identified their preliminary Tier 1 project recommendations as follows:

 

As the representative of District 1, Mr. Davidson recommended the following projects in Tier 1:

PR 103 – Rillito Racetrack Conversion - $11,650,000 – approved by the advisory committee for Rillito Regional Park, regional significance, high community support, supports economic development, reclaimed water, lights, centrally located

PR 219 – Hardy Road/Overton Road  Property Acquisition

PR 110 - Mehl Park Expansion- $4,000,000 – only park serving the central foothills area, reclaimed water is available, efficient expansion of an existing property, broad community support

PR 106 – New Girls Chorus Building - $500,000 – to accommodated the expansion of Mehl Park, land is available

PR 185 - Coronado Middle School Field Upgrades - $2,850,000 – This is a high use facility with broad community support

Mr. Davidson hoped two other projects, PR 122 – Rillito River Park Corridor Acquisitions and PR 219 Hardy Road/Overton Road property acquisition which is Oro Valley’s #2 priority, could be addressed in Tier 2.

 

Mr. Tom Warne, representative for District 2, recommended the following projects:

PR 79 - Southgate Shopping Center land acquisition and park development - $12,300,000 – high crime area, under served, would provide 8 soccer fields, near the I-10 thus providing easy access

PR 138 – Benson Highway land acquisition and park development - $5,326,000 - services low income, very dense areas with young families and no parks, would encourage healthy behavior

PR 140 – Ajo Detention Basin - $2,200,000 – underserved high stress area

PR 93 – Yaqui Community Center - $2,000,000 – serves the Yaqui community, other funding available

PR 256 – Pueblo Gardens (part of COT’s Park Revitalization & Safety enhancements) - $225,000 – high stress underserved area as well

PR 42 – Quincie Douglas Expansion - $1,000,000, high stress underserved area

PR226 – Ochoa Gym - $1,000,000 – City of South Tucson project, high stress area

Mr. Warne was also made aware of the fact that there were news reports regarding the possible sale and development of the Southgate Shopping complex in the near future, which would have an impact on this project. Mr. Warne will look into this matter expeditiously. Mr. Six noted that he had given equal emphasis to projects in Tier 2 which were more regional compared to more local projects in Tier 1.

PR 95 – Flowing Wells & Kino Swimming Pool renovations - $750,000 – total cost of $1,500,000 being shared with District 3 – the pools would probably be shut if renovations were not carried out, the area is underserved.

Mr. Warne was also asked if he could address some of the projects with regional significance in light of the fact that the Southgate Park project could have to be dropped. He will also be meeting with Mr. Howard to discuss these inner city projects further.

 

Before Ms. Hutts, representing District 3 listed her priorities, Mr. Neis presented the Town of Oro Valley’s prioritized list of projects, the main one being the Naranja Town Site project.

The projects recommended by District 3 are as follows:
PR 95 – Flowing Wells & Kino Swimming Pool renovations - $750,000

PR 109 – Curtis Park - $3,500,000 – funding most of the project, except the community center

PR 234 – Arivaca Junction Land Acquisition - $175,000

PR 141 – Robles Community Park - $1,400,000

PR 157 – Sweetwater Preserve Trailhead - $200,000

PR 262 – Altar Valley Watershed Restoration - $3,500,000

PR 116 & PR 86 – Lawrence Community Center, Pool and Park Improvements - $7,000,000

PR 115 – Ted Walker Sporting Dog Training site - $2,500,000

PR 188 - PR Flowing Wells High School - $870,000

PR 97 Avra Valley Watchable Site - $600,000

PR 5 – Jacobs Park Recreation Center - $300,000

PR 228 – Lawrence Hiaki Pathway - $500,000

PR 147 – Rillito River Park: La Cholla to Oracle - $850,000

Mr. Six explained he included a lot of the major projects  in Tier 2 and emphasized projects that were strictly local. The projects recommended for District 4 are:

PR 29 – Purple Heart Plaza expansion - $1,500,000 has high local support and fits almost all criteria

PR 80 – Canoa Ranch Historic Center - $4,900,000 has regional significance and could be a major tourist attraction

PR 137 – BAJA Senior Sports Complex - $5,000,000 provides the first park for Green Valley, has strong local support, the land has been donated and other funding has been identified

PR 246 – Old Vail Middle School Sports Fields – is #1 priority for Vail and fits almost all criteria

PR 181 – Sahuarita Pool & Recreation Center – underserved area and meets almost all criteria

 

Mr. Davidson asked Mr. DiPilato to think about constituencies that may have been omitted.

 

Mr. Prezelski presented the projects recommended by District 5:

PR 264 – Hohokam Community Sports Fields and Hohokam Park - $3,900,000

PR 268 -  Sonora Desert Park - $12,000,000

PR 130 – Santa Cruz River Park land acquisition - $600,000

PR 18 – El Pueblo Center improvements - $2,000,000

PR 267 – ‘A’ Mountain park improvements - $2,500,000

PR 103 – Rillito Racetrack conversion contribution (includes demolition) - $350,000

PR 46 – Kennedy Park Improvements - $800,000

 

After hearing the recommendations of all district representatives, it was agreed to list the preliminary recommendations in Tier 2 to give a clearer picture of projects being funded on a local and regional scale.

 

The preliminary recommendations by Mr. Six are as follows:

FC 07 - Canoa Ranch Ecosystem Restoration

PR 34 – Trails & Urban pathways

PR 38 – Partnership projects

PR 80 – Canoa Ranch (balance funding)$11,100,000

PR 122 – Rillito River Park acquisition - $900,000

PR 124 - Tanque Verde River Park acquisition - $1,000,00

PR 128 – Pantano River Park acquisitions- $4,300,000

PR 130 – Santa Cruz River Corridor acquisitions- $600,000

PR 81 – Rillito Park Swimming Pool - $6,000,000

PR 114 – Brandi Fenton Phase II - $3,000,000

PR 119 – CDO River Park acquisitions - $2,600,000

PR 6 – Reid Park Zoo Africa Expansion – $3,750,000

PR 220 – Adaptive Recreation Center expansion - $12,000,000

PR 225 – El Casino Park - $850,000

PR 109 – Curtis Park (remainder) $3,500,000

PR 147 – Rillito River park – La Cholla to Oracle (remainder) - $1,150,000

PR 189 - Flowing Wells Junior High - $1,750,000

PR 210 – Bureau of Reclamation Sports Park - $17,500,000

PR 263 – Picture Rocks Park - $2,000,000

PR 4 – Udall Park Expansion $4,000,000

PR 13 – Esmond Station Park - $2,350,000

PR 239 – Corona Foothills Middle school - $1,850,000

PR 151 – Robles Pass Trails Park

PR 165 – Tucson Mountain Park – King Canyon trail - $300,000

 

Mr. Prezelski’s preliminary recommendations for Tier 2 are:

PR 268 – Sonoran Desert Park (remainder) - $5,000,000

PR 77 – Shooting sports program site improvements (33%) - $3,300,000

PR 90 – Tucson Mountain Park Visitor Enhancements(50%) - $1,750,000

PR 151 – Robles Pass Trails & Staging area - $750,000

PR 269 – Anza Trail between Starr Pass & Congress - $3,000,000

PR 272 – Wildlife & Pedestrian/bicycle corridor - $5,000,000

PR 201 – Oury Pool Renovation – $620,000

PR 22 – Ormsby Park Expansion - $1,800,000

PR 44 – Oury Recreation Center expansion - $900,000

PR 165 – Tucson Mountain Park – King Canyon Trailhead - $300,000

PR 196 – Hohokam Middle School Sports Fields - $1,750,000

 

Mr. Davidson’s preliminary recommendations for Tier 2 are:

PR 6 – Reid Park Zoo expansion

PR 229 – Adaptive Recreation Center

PR 74 – Roger Road Complex –

PR 19 – Freedom Center Expansion

PR 77 – Shooting Sports Program Site Improvements

PR 144 – Rillito River Park I-10 to La Cholla

PR 130 – Santa Cruz River Park Corridor Acquisitions

PR 128 – Pantano River Park Corridor Acquisitions

PR 122 – Rillito River Park Corridor Acquisitions

PR 143 – Julian Wash Linear Park improvements

PR 142 – Rillito River Park safety improvements

PR 4 – Udall Park Expansion

PR 210 – Bureau of Reclamation Marana – baseball component

PR 83 – Lights and security

PR 34 – Trails

PR 178 – Rillito Indoor Sports complex

 

Ms. Hutts’ preliminary recommendations for Tier 2 are:

PR 38 – COT Partnership projects

PR 71 – Urban Fringe land acquisition – $10,000,000

PR 150 – Saginaw Hill trailhead - $350,000

PR 51 – McCormick Park improvements - $450,000

PR 52 – La Madera Park improvements - $450,000

PR 37 – Amphi Middle School Community Park development - $870,000

PR 189 – Flowing Wells Junior High - $1,500,000

PR 237 – Flowing Wells Park expansion - $1,200,000

PR 183 – Amphi Middle School Sports Field improvements - $1,400,000

PR 99 – County Ranch improvements $750,000

PR 77 – Shooting Sports program - $1,500,000

PR 197 – Laurence Intermediate School - $870,000

PR 130 – Santa Cruz River Park Corridor Acquisitions

 

 

 

 

 

City of Tucson was asked to make a list of projects which were not recommended during this preliminary prioritization of projects.

                                               

4.         Public comments about PC BOS District 5 projects:

Mr. Chuck Catino on behalf of BAJA Sports Complex

Ms. Elizabeth Webb said that the shooting sports program did not rank as a priority at any of the town meetings held in Vail.

Ms. Ainsley Reader, Parks & Recreation Director, Town of Oro Valley, want to point out that one Oro Valley project – the Hardy Road/Overton Road acquisition was included in the Tier 1 list, but there were none in Tier 2.

Mr. Bill Adamson on behalf of the Pima Bicyclists Association said that most of their projects met the criteria and wished to thank the sub-committee.

Mr. Roy Schoonover spoke in favor of the velodrome project and also mentioned that PCDOT and the Pedestrian Bicyclist Association trained 780 people in the last two years. Projects 122 & 144 are their top priorities.

Mr. Richard deBernardis spoke in favor of the velodrome project and informed the sub-committee that they are working with an organization that will hopefully commit $200,000 per year for ten years. Pima County has committed to training costs and Pima Bicycle Association has committed to managerial responsibility.

Mr. Howard in support of all the linear parks programs – projects 142, 130, 128 & 127.

Mr. Tom Ellis, Parks & Recreation Director, Town of Marana spoke in favor of the Rillito Sports Complex, the Roger Road Complex and the BOR Marana Sports site, that if completed could make this an important site for tournaments not only in southern Arizona, but regionally as well.

Mr. Fred Gray, Parks & Recreation Director, City of Tucson, noted that in Tier 1 only 4 of the city’s 31 projects were listed, but also thanked the sub-committee for addressing Tier 2 which gives a more comprehensive picture.

Mr. George Kuck, Operations & Maintenance Manager, Pima County, spoke of addressing the problems of some of the existing long time parks as the general funds are not sufficient for major renovations and enhancements like the ADA project and the environmental compliance project. (Projects 84, 87, 88 and 256)

           

5.         Other Business, Future Agenda Items and Meeting Dates

 

 

6.         Meeting Adjourned at 11:35 a.m.