Supervisor Day In The News

"We have to take action now," Supervisor Day says of poor roads County asks for pothole funding options

Courtesy of The Arizona Daily Star…

Becky Pallack Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Wednesday, March 21, 2012 12:00 am

County leaders could soon take action on the growing pothole problem.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 Tuesday to direct the county administrator to have a list options for funding street repairs ready for their consideration by April 10.

Supervisor Ann Day said the supervisors should consider all options because the county has been dealing with state cutbacks for several years and the county can't keep avoiding other funding options, such as spending reserves.

"Our streets are crumbling. … We have to take action now," she said, noting the past two days of rain worsened the condition of already bad roads.

In the past three years, the state has swept $12 million in state Highway User Revenue Fund money, mostly gas taxes, that could have been used to repair 273 miles of roads.

Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said the county's staff will send a report to the supervisors at the end of the month that will outline local funding options, some more appealing than others, in plenty of time for the board to vote on which it wants to pursue by the April 10 meeting.

Pressure to do something is coming from frustrated residents.

The Pima County Save Our Streets Neighborhood Coalition, a group of north- and northwest-side neighborhood associations, delivered petitions with more than 300 signatures to the board. The petitions ask the board to make street maintenance a priority.

"We'll take one street at a time. Throw us a bone," said Jay DeAngeli, secretary and treasurer of the Oracle Foothills Neighborhood Association. He said roads in his area are nearly unusable.

Steve Hildebrand, president of the La Cañada/Magee Neighborhood Association, said the county should address safety and liability issues with streets. He injured his knee and ruined a bike tire due to potholes, he said.

Joe Dinich of the Kolb/Craycroft Road Improvement Committee, a coalition of neighborhoods in the Ventana corridor, read from a letter he sent to the county last year.

"While we know funding is an issue, we feel it is irresponsible not to address the safety- and noise-related issues where improvements are long overdue," he said.

"We respectfully ask that you give priority consideration to making these long overdue improvements to this deteriorating roadway," he continued.

Dinich said he has received no response after one year, and he sent a reminder letter last week.

Board Chairman Ramón Valadez thanked the neighborhood associations and asked them to also pressure their state representatives.

"This board has heard you. The county is preparing to do something about this," he said. "What are they (state legislators) going to do?"

To report potholes

• Within city limits, call 791-3154
• In the county, call 740-2639

Did you know?

It takes a two-person crew an average of 15 minutes to fill each pothole.

Contact reporter Becky Pallack at bpallack@azstarnet.com or 573-4346

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Day to leave board when term's up

Rhonda Bodfield - Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Friday, July 29, 2011 12:00 am

Pima County Supervisor Ann Day, who still calls herself a "cowgirl from the Lazy B" ranch, is hanging up her spurs after 22 years in political office.

The Republican announced Thursday that she won't be running again when her term comes up in 2012.

The announcement, which is sure to launch a scramble for the open seat, caps a career that included 10 years in the state Senate and 12 years representing District 1, which runs north of the Rillito River and includes Oro Valley, parts of Marana and the Catalina Foothills.

"It's the right time," said Day, who will be 73 next month. "Democracy needs fresh recruits."

Around her office are mementos and relics, from cowboy poetry to pictures of three grandchildren and a photo of her father branding a calf. She points to a photo of H.C. Day, her grandfather, who started the Lazy B in 1880 and served as the chairman of the Board of Supervisors in Graham County. His mantra was to deserve the trust of the voters - something she said has resonated with her. "The voters have given me their trust, and I have tried to return that trust each and every day," Day said.

Day's upbringing on the rural eastern Arizona ranch - with her sister, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and brother, Alan - gave her an independent streak that shaped her politics. If a cow was sick, vets weren't nearby. If a ranch hand broke a bone, someone there had to set it.

That streak served her in a legislative caucus that often ran counter to her moderate breed of politics. It helped fuel her reputation as a consumer advocate, spearheading reforms in the HMO industry and helping establish cancer patients' rights to clinical-trial treatments.

She continues to be outspoken, whether it's criticizing county spending or expressing frustration about her GOP colleagues now serving in the Legislature.

"The political climate has changed," she said, recalling that the Southern Arizona delegation in her day worked together to strengthen the region as a whole, regardless of party. "It's really unprecedented that we have a Southern Arizona delegation that's fixated on tearing the region apart.

"Things are out of whack. If I was frustrated then, as a moderate in a conservative Legislature, it's far worse now."

A longtime advocate for parks, Day said she is proud of the county's Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, a nationally recognized blueprint for planning and conservation that attempts to strike a balance between open space and growth. Day said she's also proud of the service she was able to provide residents, whether it was getting rid of graffiti or helping with rezoning issues or filling potholes.

Donna Heidinger, the liaison for the La Cañada/Magee Neighborhood Association, said she's going to miss Day, who went to the bat for the neighborhood to prevent high-density projects. Heidinger said neighbors report getting phone calls back from Day's office within four hours of sending an inquiry.

"She's been no pushover. She's been very honest. If she didn't think something was doable or if she wasn't on board, she'd just come right out and say so."

Day and her Democratic colleague, Richard Elías, have had some rather testy spats on the dais during supervisors' meetings. "There's still a partisan atmosphere at times," she said. "And on some Tuesdays, my patience has been tested when civility goes out the window. But at the end of the day, we all have the best interests of the county at heart."

Her Republican colleague on the board, Ray Carroll, cited Day's honesty and independence. "I don't think she's ever told a lie," he said. "She's not driven by ideology or dogma. She has an open mind and she'll talk to you, but she's good at sticking to her guns, too."

Board Chairman Ramón Valadez worked with Day both in the Legislature and on the board. He called her a "tireless advocate" on behalf of patients and credited her work in shepherding through the public-private partnership that created Brandi Fenton Memorial Park in the Foothills.

Even though they come from different political philosophies, Valadez said, "her brand of politics is the brand of politics we need to get back to - it's about identifying problems and finding solutions. And in the end, that's what all our voters want from us."

An avid golfer and bridge player, Day said she intends to do more work with nonprofits, such as Interfaith Community Services, and with Imagine Greater Tucson, an effort to steer the community's economic growth while preserving the quality of life.

Republican Matt Caldwell has already announced for the seat. Other names rumored to be in the mix: state Rep. Vic Williams, talk show host Joe Higgins and Charles Bowles, vice president of marketing for Diamond Ventures.

Contact reporter Rhonda Bodfield at rbodfield@azstarnet.com or 573-4243.

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_65714a75-95f9-5663-aec3-445841dd5f26.html

Ignoring ban on fireworks can mean jail

Courtesy of The Arizona Daily Star…

Rhonda Bodfield Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 12:01 am

Pima County residents who set off fireworks could find themselves behind bars over the Independence Day holiday weekend after the Pima County Board of Supervisors passed an emergency ban because of the high risk of wildfires.

Supervisors also agreed to withhold permits from any of the big shows staged annually by the large resorts and others in the unincorporated area, and revoked any permits they had granted in previous meetings for private fireworks displays.

Those found violating the ban, which is a Class 3 misdemeanor, will be taken to jail, said Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who consulted the County Attorney's Office on the enforcement plan. "I don't know how much stronger a statement we can make," he said.

Dupnik said he plans to put a task force together in the days leading up to the Fourth of July.

In the case of youngsters setting off fireworks, he said he'll take action against their parents if they're anywhere around the activity.

Dupnik said it is unfortunate the Legislature put the county in this position.

After years of rejecting proposals to allow Arizonans to buy and shoot off fireworks, the Legislature made them legal in late 2010. This year would otherwise be the first Fourth of July when residents could legally set off fireworks in the county.

Shows in Tucson, Marana and Oro Valley are not affected, and representatives of those communities said scheduled fireworks displays are currently going forward as planned.

Democratic Pima County Supervisor Richard Elías said he hopes people understand the temporary thrill of fireworks isn't worth the risk to homes and natural resources.

"This is not something we should fool around with this year," he said.

In other action, the board voted 3-2, with Republicans opposed, to adopt a $1.3 billion budget for next year.

The budget relies on raising the county tax rate for a second year in a row, at about 17 cents more than last year. Meanwhile, county officials say the average homeowner should see a tax decrease, since property values are lower by 7 percent overall.

The board majority made the point that the tax rate had to be increased to offset more than $8 million in cost shifts or cuts imposed by the state Legislature.

Supervisor Ramón Valadez noted the county has cut 1,000 full-time-equivalent positions over the past three years to save money, and noted the general fund is down 14 percent over last year.

"I think we've done the best we can with what we've got," he said.

But Republican Ann Day said county leaders knew the economic downturn wasn't going to right itself immediately, frittering away the opportunity to have a serious discussion about realigning spending priorities.

Contact reporter Rhonda Bodfield at rbodfield@azstarnet.com or 573-4243.

New law to allow hostile takeover of county plant

Courtesy of The Arizona Daily Star…

Rhonda Bodfield Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Thursday, April 21, 2011 12:00 am

Imagine, if you will, that you bought a house.

You then put up a picket fence, daubed on fresh coats of paint and reworked the landscaping for better curb appeal.

And it worked so well, someone decided they wanted it - and all they had to do was pay what was left on your mortgage, not for all those improvements or any appreciation since you bought it.

That's how Pima County officials characterize the state Legislature's recently approved bill to allow cities or towns in Pima County to take over county wastewater facilities in their areas.

The bill, sponsored by the Southern Arizona GOP delegation and signed by the governor Monday, essentially allows Marana to lay claim to a treatment plant by simply assuming the outstanding debt.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said the county likely will end up having to hash it all out in court, where Marana's previous takeover efforts were denied.

While there's about $15 million in debt still to pay off, Huckelberry said that won't make county taxpayers whole if that's all Marana ponies up. He estimates the county paid $23 million in construction costs, not to mention $2 million in soft costs, like engineering and planning. There are also financing charges, and improvements in pumping facilities elsewhere in the system.

The county argued unsuccessfully that the law sets a bad precedent.

"Rightly or wrongly, what has been created here is an absolutely new and unique method of acquiring infrastructure," said Michael Racy, Pima County's lobbyist. He said it could presumably set a precedent for parks or even water utilities.

For example, Marana has been unhappy for years about Tucson Water serving parts of Marana, but the two communities have been unable to agree on terms for Marana to buy them out.

Marana Mayor Ed Honea said the town wants the city water facilities because it fears Tucson could, some day, cut off service.

County denial of sewer service to some proposed developments was a motivation for Marana's move on the sewage plant.

But Honea insisted Marana has no intention of going back to the Legislature to seek another change in state law to allow a similar adverse takeover of city water facilities.

Marana and the county each blame the other for not negotiating in good faith to avert a showdown in court and at the Capitol, but Marana argues it just wants the right to control its own destiny.

Jonathan Paton, a former state senator who served as a consultant for Marana on the effort, asserted the win was a "game changer," giving the town control of sewer hookups and the reusable effluent they produce.

"This means Marana is going to be able to do a much better job of planning. It's not going to be dependent on another jurisdiction."

Honea said the county has prevented more than a dozen projects - including a hotel and restaurant complex, as well as a housing development with sustainable features such as solar panels and energy-efficient windows- by refusing to guarantee sewer hookups.

No developer, he noted, is going to invest millions in infrastructure without a guaranteed hookup.

"The town is bending over backwards to work with individuals on good projects, and meanwhile, the county is costing us real jobs. We just can't stand for that."

But county officials say the legislation could potentially result in as many as eight different wastewater systems in the region - from the city of Tucson, to South Tucson, Oro Valley, Sahuarita and the two Native American communities - although they acknowledge that, for now, no one else seems to be agitating for the additional responsibility.

Still, they say, any fragmentation means a duplication of costs, including management and overhead costs, meaning ratepayers are going to end up paying more.

Plus, they note, the move creates a disincentive for the county to build wastewater infrastructure and capacity if a municipality can seize it with a 30-day notice.

Honea said with Marana's 35,000 residents making up some 3 percent of the county's nearly 1 million population, he doesn't understand what all the fuss is about.

"I think it's a control thing. Chuck Huckelberry is able to control everything that happens in Pima County and that's how he likes it."

Honea acknowledges the county offered to give Marana effluent but said discussions hit a snag over how much the town would get once water was taken out for a settlement with Indian tribes and other items. He also said the county has inflated the cost of the facility.

"We don't want to be a bad neighbor. We don't not want to be regional. But if your interpretation is 'Give me all your assets and I'm in charge of everything,' then I can't agree with you."

He said he doesn't see the bill as setting dramatically new precedent, either. First of all, he said, Marana residents and developers have been paying into the system. Secondly, he said, when cities or towns annex roads, they merely assume the debt - they don't reimburse the entire cost of the road.

Marana is hoping to get permission to run a wastewater department by May - which could ultimately mean another two treatment plants, since the county's only has capacity for about 2,000 residents.

Then, Honea said, with the bill becoming law within 90 days, the town will prepare a demand letter to take over the facility.

"It's almost like a condemnation," he explained, saying he plans to take operation of the plant and then negotiate the money part later.

County Supervisor Ann Day, who represents the area, said she's dismayed at the inability to come to a more satisfying agreement, blaming it in part on a "personality dispute" between Honea and Huckelberry.

"It should never have gotten this far. Every time we end up in court, everybody loses," she said.

Her GOP colleague, Ray Carroll, said the move won't be good for Marana, saying it will burden Marana's taxpayers with the increased costs of running the utility.

Still, he lumped much of the blame on Pima County, saying the county mismanaged its system for years and is now embarking on an expensive facilities upgrade to meet environmental standards.

"Pima County's failings gave bill supporters the evidence they needed to go to the Legislature and say: We can do it better."

On StarNet: Rhonda Bodfield will keep you aware of all of the political news with the Pueblo Politics blog atgo.azstarnet.com/pueblopolitics

SEWER DEAL DETAILS

$15 million

estimated amount of debt owed on the county's Marana wastewater facility

$25 million

estimated cost of construction, engineering and planning of the facility

SOURCE: County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry

Contact reporter Rhonda Bodfield at rbodfield@azstarnet.com or 573-4243.

Pima looks at cuts in an array of builder fees

Courtesy of The Arizona Daily Star…

Andrea Kelly Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Monday, March 14, 2011 12:00 am

Less than a year after the Pima County Board of Supervisors approved fee increases for certain types of development plans, there's a move afoot to reduce them.

Some of the fees were raised more than 15 percent last May, and the proposed reductions attempt to accommodate the development industry's request to keep increases to 15 percent or less, said Carmine DeBonis, Pima County's Development Services director.

"When the board approved the fee increases in May 2010, one of the issues raised by the stakeholders was that some of the fees were increased by greater than 15 percent," DeBonis said. The supervisors asked the department to meet with development industry representatives, and those meetings prompted this new proposal, he said.

It's an example of how the process should be handled, said Supervisor Ann Day, who voted against last year's increase.

"We said anything more than a 15 percent increase we need to look at again in stakeholder meetings, and we found we could reduce these and keep most fees below 15 percent," she said. "It's important to both sides that we get this industry started again and on the county side. ... The only way we can change depressed property values is when we get the construction community back on its feet again."

Some of the proposed changes:

• Reducing the cap to $25,000 from $60,000 for requesting a change from one kind of residential zoning to a different residential zoning on a 10-plus-acre parcel of land.

• Reducing the cost of the third stage of a development-plan review from 25 percent of the initial submittal fee to 15 percent. About a third of all projects require three reviews.

• Suspending the 2 percent increases scheduled to take effect July 1.

Several groups of builders also asked for a rollback of building fees to 2010 rates. The request is in a letter from the Arizona Builders Alliance, the Metropolitan Pima Alliance and the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association.

Supervisor Ramón Valadez voted for the increased fees last year. While he hadn't looked at the new proposal in detail late last week, he said the county must strike a balance between funding the department and working with the development industry.

"We don't want the fees to stall out any economic-engine recoveries that may be going on," he said.

If the Board of Supervisors agrees to consider the increases, a public hearing will be scheduled at a Pima County Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, followed by another public hearing by the Board of Supervisors.

If the fees are cut, that would likely reduce Development Services' revenues by $246,000 next year. That difference could be made up with a bigger subsidy to the department from the general fund, DeBonis said.

The county administrator has recommended a general fund subsidy of $1 million for Development Services to make up for its expected operating loss next year.

Contact reporter Andrea Kelly at akelly@azstarnet.com or 807-7790.

Dad: 'Christina's Park' will unite community

Courtesy of The Arizona Daily Star…

Stephanie Innes Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Tuesday, March 1, 2011 12:00 am

In a ceremony with pink and purple balloons, iced cookies and a children's choir, a park where Christina-Taylor Green used to play was renamed Monday in honor of her short life.

Christina-Taylor's older brother, 11-year-old Dallas, cut a large, yellow ribbon to officially dedicate the Cañada del Oro Christina-Taylor Green Memorial River Park as balloons floated above a crowd of about 250 people, many of them Christina-Taylor's family and friends.

The final phase of the $7.1 million Pima County park was recently completed and now includes 3.1 miles of paved walking path along the Cañada del Oro wash on the northwest side.

Nine-year-old Christina-Taylor, the youngest of six people shot to death in the Jan. 8 Tucson shooting massacre, grew up playing in the first phase of the park near her home, her father said.

"This is something that will bring the community together. There are a lot of different parts of it I think she'd enjoy," John Green said before Monday's dedication. "It is a tough time for our family, but this is an important thing for Christina-Taylor's legacy."

The park was renamed at the request of the Tucson National Estates Improvement Association.

"Our neighborhood will know it as Christina's Park," association treasurer Ben Tuchi said.

Joyful Noise, the children's choir from St. Odilia's Catholic Church, sang "God Bless America," "America the Beautiful" and "This Land is Your Land," in honor of Christina-Taylor, their friend.

Christina-Taylor belonged to Joyful Noise and also received her first Holy Communion at St. Odilia's last year.

Attendees walked under an archway of red, white and blue balloons - an acknowledgement of Christina-Taylor's love for her country.

The third-grader at Mesa Verde Elementary School was born Sept. 11, 2001, and was always aware that her birthday gave her a special affinity with a huge U.S. tragedy.

She took that affinity seriously and liked to not only show her patriotism but learn about government, which is what she was doing the morning she died.

"She's here. She's happy and smiling with the rest of us," said Suzi Hileman, the neighbor who took Christina-Taylor to Safeway Jan. 8 to see U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Hileman, using a walker because she's still recovering from being shot three times, attended the event with her husband.

County officials said they will put up a plaque in the park to commemorate the young girl's life.

"She was joyful, yet assertive, caring yet tenacious, intelligent yet thoughtful. Her legacy remains to inspire all of us," the program to the dedication read.

Pima County Supervisor Ann Day said Christina-Taylor was a unique child whose life story continues to touch hearts. She called the park in the girl's name, "an integral pattern in the tapestry of our community."

Green said his daughter showed the community how to come together and care for each other.

"I can see her big smile in heaven now as she shares with us the opening of this park," he told the crowd. "Thank you for naming the park after our daughter. We hope you enjoy it as much as she did."

Green and his wife, Roxanna, sat in the front row of the ceremony beside their son, Dallas, and all three held hands as speakers talked about Christina-Taylor's life, her talent for baseball and her desire to help others.

John Green, a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, said in an interview that it was emotional for him to drive by the park Monday morning before the dedication.

"We know she's not going to be forgotten," he said. "We just want people to remember a little girl with a big smile and lots of hopes and dreams."

More inside

The official fund for victims of the Jan. 8 mass shooting has raised about $325,000 so far. A4

Friends who've visited Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' Houston hospital room say she's improving. A13

On StarNet: View an interactive timeline of Gabrielle Giffords' recovery at azstarnet.com/multimedia

Contact reporter Stephanie Innes at 520-573-4134 or sinnes@azstarnet.com

Our view: Project is hopefully a start in a long-range cooperative effort UA-Downtown teamwork shows forward thinking

Courtesy of The Arizona Daily Star…

Posted: Sunday, December 12, 2010 12:00 am

Given enormous cuts to public education made by Arizona's unenlightened Legislature over the past few years, we're pleased that Tucson and its university continue to cultivate cooperative efforts that benefit both.

The University of Arizona and Pima County unveiled short-range plans for a new UA-Downtown last week.

The UA will spend $400,000 in interior improvements and teaching technology installations at the Roy Place Building, 44 N. Stone Ave. It's leasing the building from Pima County for $1 a year, the Star's Becky Pallack reported.

The supervisors approved the deal last week. Supervisor Ray Carroll objected to the $1 a year rate, because the property hadn't been offered to rent to other businesses or tenant. Carroll was the lone dissenter.

We tend to agree with Supervisor Ann Day, who defended the $1-a-year deal since the contract calls for the University of Arizona to spend $400,000 on improvements in the first five years, the Star's Andrea Kelly reported. After the first five years, Day said, market rent should be charged. We agree that should be the county's goal.

The newly renovated property will include a bookstore and will serve as a downtown center for urban design, planning and policy classes for graduate students, Jan Cervelli, UA architecture dean, told Pallack. The university plans to begin classes there in the fall semester.

The site, also known as the old Walgreens building, is just a block from the planned route for a modern streetcar that will run from University Medical Center, through the campus, down Fourth Avenue, through downtown and to a west side terminus.

The architecture school project "is a beginning exploration of the potential" for projects downtown, said the Downtown Tucson Partnership's Michael Keith. He noted that more university-related programs and housing for students are planned.

Sometime in the next two months, the university is expected to select among proposals from private partners who want to develop student housing projects downtown. There are seven finalists waiting for this decision, and other such projects on the planning boards as well.

Only a mile separates the main UA campus from downtown, and - especially assuming the streetcar becomes reality - the new classroom and housing projects could transform the two areas into "one contiguous district," Keith said.

More than 1,000 students could be living downtown in the next two years, Keith said.

Eventually the state's fiscal crisis will end, as they always must, given the cyclical nature of sales-tax dependent revenues.

We hope the leadership entrusted with our university system will be able to preserve the best of what we have until then, and even to build upon it.

Meanwhile, forward-thinking projects like expansion of downtown facilities are a boon to both the land-locked university and to Tucson's economic development efforts.

Arizona Daily Star

Supes' OK advances bid for private prison here

Courtesy of The Arizona Daily Star…

Andrea Kelly Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Wednesday, November 10, 2010 12:00 am |

Pima County approved a development agreement Tuesday for a private prison on South Wilmot Road that could be used to house Arizona inmates or prisoners from other states.

It's the latest step in Corrections Corporation of America's plans to compete for a state contract to put a prison for 3,000 to 5,000 inmates on South Wilmot, near other state and federal corrections centers there. It's likely the last say the Pima County Board of Supervisors will have in the project.

Even if CCA does not win an Arizona contract, the company has said it would likely still put a prison there to house inmates from other states or federal facilities.

The plan must go through further review in the county Department of Development Services, but it doesn't need additional approval from the supervisors, Development Services Director Carmine DeBonis Jr. said.

The supervisors approved the agreement on a 3-1 vote Tuesday. Supervisor Sharon Bronson was absent. Supervisor Richard Elías voted against the development agreement, saying the company's representatives provided too little information. Elías was concerned about the potential need to add a drainage culvert and redirect a natural wash on the property.

There is no specific site plan, so it's unclear yet to what extent, if at all, the wash would be disturbed, said Jay Hollis, the project manager for Corrections Corporation.

Elías also asked whether there is an assured water supply for the facility, and how much sewage a new corrections facility with 3,000 to 5,000 inmates would produce. Hollis wasn't able to address many of Elías' concerns.

Supervisor Ann Day responded to Elías, saying there was a process to answer those questions after Tuesday's approval.

"I know how you feel about the issue, but all we're doing now is delaying the design, and there is no development plan and there is no construction plan. I appreciate his concerns and questions, but they're for a later time," Day said.

CCA must now create a development plan and a construction improvement plan meeting county standards, DeBonis said. The development plan shows where buildings will sit on the site and where sewer lines are; identifies the driveway access and transportation improvements; and shows where the flood control infrastructure is located, he said.

Supervisors approved the zoning for the site in June.

DID YOU KNOW

Corrections Corporation of America is Southern Arizona's 17th-largest employer, with 2,512 full-time-equivalent workers at the start of 2010, the Star 200 survey shows.

Contact reporter Andrea Kelly at akelly@azstarnet.com or 807-7790.

Over 5 years, Ventana to invest $180M, add 500 jobs

Courtesy of The Explorer…

J.D. Fitzgerald / Special to The Explorer, Gov. Jan Brewer, left, and Ventana Medical President Hany Massarany, second from right, answer questions from the media Wednesday, when Brewer and Massaranay announced Ventana's plans to invest $180 million and add 500 jobs over a five-year period in Oro Valley's Innovation Park.

By Dave Perry, The Explorer

Rosemont radio ads: Call the supes

Courtesy of The Arizona Daily Star…

Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 12:00 am

Rosemont Copper has been running radio ads telling listeners to urge the Pima County Board of Supervisors not to delay county action on a proposed air-quality permit for the copper mine planned for the Santa Rita Mountains southeast of Tucson.

In response to ads in the past week on nine stations, close to 200 people have called county officials, and dozens have sent supervisors e-mails, with nearly 90 percent urging them to let the permit go through soon to bring jobs to a depressed local economy. The air-quality permit is one of many that the controversial mine needs to open.

Supervisors said they have no intention of trying to delay the permit, in part because Rosemont Copper's attorney told them a week ago that they have no authority to act on it. Only Ursula Kramer, the director of the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality, has such authority.

The ad stems from County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry's statement last month that the county might not decide that the mine's permit application is complete until after the U.S. Forest Service approves a Final Environmental Impact Statement, giving a firm location for the copper mine. The county must determine completeness before reviewing the permit application's substance, which takes up to 18 months.

The ad is consistent with Rosemont's view that deliberately lengthening the permit-review process by adding another 18 months is wrong, said Jamie Sturgess, a vice president for Rosemont's parent, Augusta Resource Corp.

Huckelberry wrote in a memo that the ad "appears to contradict the admonishment of the board and the county administrator by their own attorney."

Sean Martinez of Tucson wrote to Supervisor Ray Carroll in support of Rosemont: "Please do not delay the air quality permitting process for the proposed Rosemont mine. I have long been a supporter of mining in Arizona as a basis of our national security and economic future. Pima County needs industry for young professionals like myself to enter into. I will be graduating in May from the University of Arizona with a M.S. in systems engineering, and job prospects in my hometown of Tucson are not strong."

Supervisor Richard Elías called the ad "kind of absurd" given its timing.

"All of us know this is Ursula's decision," Elías said of the county's environmental-quality director.

"Rosemont can't have it both ways. They can't come down to the Board of Supervisors hearing and remind us what the law is and remind us that the director of our PDEQ be the sole arbiter of this permit and then put out a campaign that is demanding that the supervisors put pressure on the director to grant that permit," Supervisor Ann Day said.

The Forest Service hasn't scheduled a date to decide on the environmental statement. The draft environmental statement is due in the last three months of this year.

"The only thing that first drew settlers to this area was mining, and mining is still one of our five C's: copper, cattle, cotton, citrus and climate," resident Zachary Mauler wrote to Carroll. "Arizona cannot, in my opinion, survive without mining."

The environmental-quality director's deadline to decide whether the permit application is complete is Monday.

"The threats by Mr. Huckelberry to deliberately delay the process should be rejected by the board, and I believe the county administrator still works for the board," said Sturgess, vice president of sustainability for Rosemont's Canadian-based owner. "We are certainly pleased to hear and read that the county supervisors confirm that they have not asked or supported Mr. Huckelberry in his threats to intentionally delay the administrative processing of the Rosemont air quality permit."

Contact reporter Tony Davis at tdavis@azstarnet.com or 806-7746.

Fees Going Up at Sahuarita Dump

Courtesy of The Arizona Daily Star…

Andrea Kelly Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2010 12:00 am  

The Sahuarita landfill will be the most expensive county-run place to take a load of trash starting next month.

Dropping off a residential haul of junk there will cost at least $15, compared with $10 at the other county-operated landfills.

The increase is one of a few measures meant to temper the Solid Waste Division's years-running operating deficit.

The plan to keep the landfill open, even if it costs more for people to use, was sparked by one announced earlier this year to temporarily close that dumping site to save money.

Residents of Sahuarita and Green Valley worried that the closure would cause an increase in illegal dumping, an environmental and cost concern.

The landfill's fate was partially in the hands of voters weighing the statewide sales-tax increase. The Pima County Board of Supervisors agreed in April to bail out the landfill with $100,000 as long as voters approved the sales tax. Otherwise, the money would have been needed to pay for increased costs the state would have shifted to counties.

Pima County also asked Sahuarita to waive the fee it charges the county to run the landfill inside the town. The town hasn't yet agreed to waive the fee, said Ursula Kramer, county director of environmental quality. It is set at 10 percent of the income at the landfill, or about $100,000 a year, she said.

Town officials have asked whether the county will accept some town waste, and the issue hasn't been settled, Kramer said.

"This would allow the county to continue operating the landfill, provided the town of Sahuarita waives the host fee. The town has not done that, but in order to have the increased entry fee ready to go, this needed to go to the board now," Kramer said.

Supervisor Richard Elías asked Kramer how long it would take the landfill to reach capacity. At the current rate the county is receiving waste, the landfill has about three years left before it will be full, though it's hard to estimate, Kramer said.

"It could last longer, and over the last one to two years we've seen a tremendous downfall in waste," she said.

Supervisor Ann Day said she wants the county to avoid different dumping fees at different locations.

"We need a solid-waste policy that is sustainable," she said.

The supervisors unanimously approved the increased fee Tuesday, and the landfill will keep its hours of operation. Non-Pima County residents will still pay $30 for each load of less than 1 ton.

Contact reporter Andrea Kelly at akelly@azstarnet.com or 807-7790.

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