3500 W. River
Road
Thursday, June 21,
2007
8:00 a.m.
The following is a summary of the June 21, 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 Assistant to the County Administrator |
1. Meeting began at 8:06 a.m. with a
quorum.
2. Ms.
Hutts made a motion to approve, with corrections, the minutes of the last
meeting held on June 14, 2007, seconded by Mr. Six. The motion was accepted.
3. Attached is a
spreadsheet showing the preliminary prioritization for projects discussed.
4. Public comments about projects:
Ms. Julie Parizek
on behalf of City of Tucson, Parks and Recreation wanted to address the issue
of the Parks Revitalization projects (#PR 256) and informed them that many of
these projects are not routine maintenance issues, but would provide new
ramadas, new walking paths, picnic amenities and would thus trigger ADA compliance
which would be incorporated in the projects.
Ms. Parizek also spoke of Mr. Gray’s letter to the sub-committee which
summarized the City’s bond project submissions after the initial recommendations
and information that provided a snapshot of where the district stood in
comparison with parks and recreational amenities, to other jurisdictions around
the country.
Mr. Richard
deBernardis spoke in favor of the velodrome project and informed the
sub-committee that they have the Zuckerman Foundation’s assurance that will
commit $200,000 annually for ten years. Pima County has committed to training
costs of ranging between $50,000 to $75,000 and Premier Bicycle Association has
committed to manage the velodrome without any expenses to the county and city. He
pointed out that the velodrome will bring increased revenue, tourism, national
and international recognition from the bicycling community which strongly
supports this project and the only missing pieces are the City of Tucson land
donation and Pima County’s funding.
Mr. Don Melhado representing
USA Cycling and the US Olympic Cycling
team also spoke in support of the velodrome project and the commitment he has
received from USA cycling to have the US Olympic team winter in Tucson. Also,
his counterpart in Mexico is very keen on organizing an international event
that would be held here. He mentioned that Arizona is #10 in licensed races, #4
as far as licensed riders per population and #2 in domestic pro residents in
the state.
Mr. Larry Audsley
spoke about the shooting range improvements.
He feels that he is not seeing done what was promised in earlier bonds.
Ms Fyffe explained that the 2004 bond issue is on schedule as it is a 12 year
process, and Mr. Howard felt that there should be more accountability and
credibility.
Mr. Mike Carter,
Tucson Zoological Society provided an update on the funds being raised for the
Zoo projects and appreciates the consideration being given to these projects.
Mr. Roy
Schoonover on behalf of the bicycling community wanted to thank the
sub-committee for their consideration of several river park and trails
projects.
Mr. Merritt
Howard of the Bicycle Advisory Committee and Santa Cruz Valley in the Green
Valley-Sahuarita area speaking on behalf of trails, bicycle paths and parks and
thanking the sub-committee for their attention to those projects
Ms. Elizabeth
Webb, Vail Cienega Corridor, on behalf of Project PR 239 (Corona Foothills Middle School & Sycamore Elementary School
Sports Fields Improvements) & PR 13 (Esmond Station Regional Park).
.
5. Other
Business, Future Agenda Items and Meeting Dates
Thursday, July 12,
2007 – Prioritization of Tier 1, 2, 3 & 4 projects
6. Meeting
Adjourned at 11:35 a.m.