Regina Romero's

Ward 1 Newsletter

Tucson, Arizona

June 2015

City of Tucson
FY 2016 Budget

On Tuesday, June 9th, Mayor & Council will approve and adopt a final FY 2016 budget.

Many of you have been sharing feedback with my office about what you think our city’s fiscal priorities should be, which I greatly appreciate. We have arranged for a public hearing on the June 9th Mayor & Council agenda so that we can take additional comments before moving forward.

The City of Tucson relies primarily on sales tax revenues, which fluctuate with the highs and lows of the economy. Despite the managed attrition of more than 1,250 employees over the past 8 years, pension and healthcare costs continue to increase. This puts pressure on the general fund. Revenues have been rising as we climb out of the economic slump, though not yet to pre-recession levels. This has left us with a structural funding gap that needs to be addressed.

El Dia de San Juan Annual Fiesta- June 24th

For the past 18 years, El Dia de San Juan Fiesta has been a cultural, historic and educational celebration to welcome the monsoons to our Tucson desert. The stories of the celebration of El Dia de San Juan date back to as early as 1915 when Tucsonans would gather around the Santa Cruz River to wish, hope and pray that the monsoon would come in abundance but without destruction or harm.

Every year this traditional celebration is hosted in Ward 1 on June 24th, the day of el Dia de San Juan el Bautista. This free, family event includes wonderful cultural music and traditions of Mariachi and folklorico performances. There are piñatas for the kids, with local vendors and food booths, informational booths, and games all until the closing of the event.

El Dia de San Juan Fiesta will take place:

When: Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Where: South East corner in the big lot by the Streetcar at the Mercado San Agustin.
Time: The event begins with a procession at 5:00 PM at the Cushing Street Bridge.

 For more information contact contact Sally Polanco at 520-861-4504 or Anakarina Rodriguez at 520-791-4040.

Watershed Management Group and WIFA Grant

No, that is not a new recreational lake in Tucson, it is the Hope Methodist Church after a heavy rain a couple of years ago.

Anyone who lives in the Ward 1 neighborhoods around South 12th Avenue and Valencia (Sunnyside, Elvira & Barrio Nopal) knows that when the rains come, the neighborhood gets some serious flooding. Flooding is natural in our desert, but building a city in the desert makes a bad problem worse.  When we cover our desert with impervious surfaces like asphalt, houses, and concrete more water stays on the surface and as a result we have exposed our neighborhoods and roads to additional hazards.

Congratulations to the 2015 Tucson Parks and Recreation Commissioner Awards Nominees

On behalf of Ward 1, I nominated Ms. Sherry Hoskinson and the Western Little League for the Tucson Parks and Recreation 2015 Commissioner Awards Program.

Sherry Hoskinson is part of the Western Little League family. WLL has utilized the fields at Joaquin Murrietta Park for many years, providing recreation and sports programming for Tucson children in Ward 1. Despite challenges presented by deferred maintenance and heavy use of the ball fields, over the years the Western Little League team has remained committed to Joaquin Murrietta park.

In 2013, I launched an initiative to create a masterplan for Joaquin Murrietta park. After many years of unplanned growth, JM was not ideally laid out to maximize space and support the existing ball fields, playgrounds, parking, and family facilities. During this process, Sherry Hoskinson and the families of Western Little League attended many contentious public meetings, advocating for improvements needed to make JM the best possible park for users and local families.

Following the creation of the Joaquin Murrietta Park masterplan, Western Little League families then coordinated with the Ward 1 office to attend every Pima County Bond Advisory Committee meeting to advocate for funding improvements spelled out in the plan. These improvements totaled $5 million, and Sherry and representatives of Western Little League were always there to fight for their park. Thanks in part to their advocacy, the Pima County Board of Supervisors recently referred the bond package – including $5 million for Joaquin Murrieta park – to voters in November.

On top of this consistent advocacy, Sherry and the Western Little League team raised private money to help make field improvements. The donations matched City of Tucson Parks and Recreation dollars to make much needed short-term investments in the existing ball fields.

Thanks to their hard work, Joaquin Murrietta Park is looking better than it has in years. And it’s future is bright. Sherry and the Western Little League plan to work with city staff to name one of the ball fields in honor of Sherry’s son, Harry.

Liberty Bike Boulevard Improvements

I have been advocating for improvements to the Liberty Bike Boulevard for a long time and last week we got the very welcome news that the City of Tucson received a $750,000 federal Transportation Enhancement grant and a $400,000 federal Safe Routes to School grant to improve the stretch of the Liberty Bike Boulevard from 43rd street to Los Reales! The City of Tucson and the Regional Transportation Authority will also contribute to the project. 

These improvements will include new traffic calming features like 4 new traffic circles, 4 new speed humps and 2 new signalized pedestrian crossings.  The grants will also fund improvements to 7 existing traffic circles and complete a stretch of sidewalk on Nebraska Street that will complete the connection between S. 12th Ave with Apollo Middle and Liberty Elementary Schools.  All told the project will improve bicycle connectivity from I-10 to the Tohono O’odham Nation and establish a corridor that is close to at least 13 public, private and charter schools, 7 parks and the Valencia Library.

Construction is not slated to begin for 1-2 years so TDOT will have lots of time to incorporate neighborhood input and to make this corridor a beautiful and useful amenity that Tucson can be proud of.  Stay tuned for more updates.

More Tucson pools are now open for the summer!

Feria de la Lectura/ Bilingual Literacy Fair- July 25th!

Save the date for the 7th Annual Feria de La Lectura/ Bilingual Literacy Fair! The Consulate of Mexico in Tucson and Ward 1 invite you to participate at this annual Bilingual Literacy Fair. All attendees will receive free Spanish language books, backpacks and children can enjoy educational activities.

Last year we gave out over 1,500 backpacks sponsored by Food City and gave away Spanish textbooks of different subjects such as reading, grammar and history, for grades Kinder-6th provided by the Mexican Consulate.

This year's theme is Comic Book Superheroes, so you don't want to miss out! The Tucson Comic-Con will be joining us to give away a free comic book to attendees. This event will be filled with great fun and surprises for all the family to enjoy.

When: Saturday, July 25, 2015
Where: El Pueblo Activity Center
101 W. Irvington Rd. (6th Ave. corner)
Time: 9:00 AM- 2:00 PM

For more information, please call the Ward 1 Office at 791-4040

Road Improvement Project on Nogales Highway

The City of Tucson Department of Transportation (TDOT) would like to inform you of an upcoming pavement improvement project to repave Nogales Highway from Los Reales Road to Irvington Road.

Cinema La Placita

More movies will be showing for the summer, as the long-standing Cinema la Placita series ramps up for its 15th year! Showing classic movies outdoors in downtown Tucson every Thursday evening at 7:30 PM, May through August. Consider heading out early and grabbing some good eats at one of the many locally owned eateries downtown.

When: Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.
Where: La Placita Retail Complex, 110 S. Church Ave.
Free admission, $3 donations gratefully accepted and will receive a bag of popcorn!

Visit http://www.cinemalaplacita.com for more information.

Tucson Youth Football & Spirit Program

Registration is now open for the Tucson Youth Football and Spirit Federation. TYSF is believes that academics are enhanced through athletics and advocates for the advancement of sportsmanship and competitive spirit by providing educational and developmental opportunities.

The program includes flag football, tackle football and spirit (cheerleading) programs for youth ages 5-15. The 2015 season is estimated to have 100 football teams and 100 spirit squads comprised of 4,000 participants.

Tucson Youth Football and Spirit Federation provide scholarship opportunities for all who participate. The deadline to register goes through July, and can be extended until August.

To register go to www.tyfsf.com or call 520- 327-9227 for more information.

Edible Neighborhood Tour

Join Sustainable Tucson for a discussion about food production in the city and a short BIKE tour of the existing Edible Urban Forest in the Jefferson Park neighborhood. As a community, we can prepare for an uncertain future and create abundance and beauty by harvesting what we waste, and by setting priorities for what we have.

Learn about:

• Food we currently waste
• Food we can sustainably grow
• Ways to transform Tucson into a Food Oasis in the Sonoran Desert

When: June 13, 2015
Where: Ward 3 office, 1510 E Grant Rd.
Time: 9:00 am to Noon
Discussion and tour sponsored by Sustainable Tucson.
Bring your bike, water and hat.

For more information, contract Tres English via email at tres@SustainableTucson.org

FULL SESSIONS:
June 8 - 12: morning sessions for 7-8 year olds and 11-13 year olds.
June 22 - 26: morning sessions for 5-6 year olds and 7-8 year olds.

Draw, paint, sculpt, collage, and more at TMA's Summer Arts Program! Children ages 5-13 will discover culture and art from around the world. Unique Museum experiences will inspire students to create original works of art in a variety of gallery and studio activities. Sessions available June 1 - July 31 (classes for ages 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-13).

Weekly morning (8:30-11:30 AM) and afternoon (12:00-3 PM) sessions, with aftercare available (3-5 PM).

Prices per session start at $100 for Museum members; $155 for non-members; $20/hr. aftercare.

For information about classes and registration Visit-TMA Website or email Education@TucsonMuseumofArt.org or call 520-624-2333.

Register online by clicking here.

Cox Movies in the Park!

FREE admission! Fun and games for the whole family including food vendors, music, jumping castles, balloon twisters, arts, crafts and more!

Where: Reid Park, Deemester Performing Arts Pavilion
900 S. Randolph Way
Tucson, AZ 85716
Time: Movies start at dusk
For more information call (520)797-3959 or click on the image below