Barry Gillaspie Gets Some Support

Dr. Carl Boswell sent me the following e-mail. I called Carl to advise him I would post his email, although he and I disagree on many of the issues he addresses as it concerns Council Member Barry Gillaspie. Rather than comment further, here is Carl Boswell's e-mail. He & I look forward to your comments.
Art
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Hi Art,
I hope you will accept the following statement for publication in the LOVE
Blog.

First, to let you know where I'm coming from, I'm a knee-jerk liberal, a
cactus hugger, a slow growth supporter, a charter member of the Oro Valley
Neighborhood Coalition, and I served on both General Plan efforts. My
introduction to fighting city hall was the failed effort to save Honey Bee
Canyon. Given that, I'd like to address the unwarranted criticism being
heaped on Barry Gillaspie.

Adding additional capacity to the new Hilton may seem like the proper
response to changing the zoning, but it misses the point. There are a lot
of righteous battles that deserve attention, but this one does not. Even at
60 ft tall, the hotel will still be substantially lower than the Hospital
across the street. The views of the mountains have already been obliterated
by the hospital and Splendido, not to mention the additional developments on
the ridge above El Conquistador. It is not clear to me which views
currently available will be destroyed by this structure? More
significantly, the amount of cold hard cash that moves through Ventana
Medical, the Northwest Medical Center and now Sanofi Aventis is staggering,
and these businesses all need access to high end accommodations and meeting
venues. The addition of the hotel is essentially a gold mine, providing an
income for the Town completely from outside the Town. At the same time it
presents an enticement for more high-tech industry to settle in Oro Valley.
If there was one thing the Town could have done to advance the stated goal
of attracting high-tech industry to Oro Valley, the new Hilton is it.

Concerning the incentive awarded to Sanofi to move into the larger
facility, I agree that it is a pittance when compared with their gross
income. But again, the point of the agreement is missed by such a narrow
negative view. The tax-break was essentially a show of support, which will
not go unnoticed when other clean, high-paying biotech firms consider Oro
Valley in which to set up shop. It would be foolish to not realize that a
LACK of support would also not go unnoticed.

This agreement should in no way be compared to what Vestar got for
bringing in Wal-Mart. That made me so mad I can still hardly talk about it.
If there was anything that made Oro Valley representatives look like
bumpkins, it was that deal. Remember that there are still some council
members that will be coming up for election in the next cycle who supported
this and their names are not Barry Gillaspie.

As for the crematorium, there have been a lot of histrionics about this
commercial operation, and it is baffling that it is being held up as
evidence that council members are inept. There is no legal method for
refusing to allow this business, which will be discreet and certifiably
non-polluting. A lot of folks are uncomfortable with the physical aspects
of human death, but they need to get over it and use some rationale.

If you want to scream about injustices, answer this question: Who
allowed the fire district to charge by the assessed value of a property,
rather than its size?" The answer is the State. Can't you just picture the
lobbying by fire districts to convince legislators that an illogical but
more profitable scheme was the best approach?

Finally, regarding much of the negativity toward Barry, it is worth
considering that diatribes sheltered by anonymity should immediately raise
suspicions of motive. Many of the particularly vitriolic statements seem to
come from just plain grouchy people. The adamant nature of the arguments
bring to mind the phrase "That's my story and I'm sticking to it", implying
an unwillingness to consider alternative ideas. Moreover, there is a clear
lack of understanding (or selective reading) of the General Plan. The
issues are complex, and legal constraints significant. If I could make one
suggestion it would be to take a relaxing deep breath, then actually talk to
Barry about the issues that bother you. You will be impressed with his
knowledge and grasp of the issues, and with his sympathy for those of us who
what Oro Valley to be some place special.

Carl A. Boswell

"LOVE" Responds To A Resident's Complaint

We received an email, a second one, from this blogger with similar content. We thought we'd share it and our response with you. Tell us what you think:

Here’s the email we received:

“Your constant harping on the $23 million giveaway is alienating people. Did you read the letter in the Oro Valley Explorer??? It's over and was done by other people. Why not focus on current issues that have some meaning to the broad majority. Out of curiosity, I'm curious as to whether or not you think a 75 foot hotel in the Tangerine/Oracle area will block anyones views???”

Our Response---

“If you are referring to the letter from "Roberta in Saddlebrooke," yes I read it. Rather than responding, why don't you read the comment from "Vicorian Cowgirl," to the letter which was posted on the blog. Her response is as good as anything I might say.

As far as alienating people, I expect those are the same people who bought into the "story" that Vestar was bringing in a "unique, upscale" mall. Don't you realize that Vestar will pocket almost half of Oro Valley tax revenue that will be cannibalized from our existing retailers? I'm not even talking about the big retailers. What about the small independent shop owners like the bike store, the card shop, the small boutiques. These people, many of whom are Oro Valley residents may lose their businesses as a result of this Wal-Mart competition. And, don't tell me about free enterprise. If Vestar didn't get that giveaway, nobody could argue with their arrival here. But, that is not the case.

And, by the way, in case you missed it, The Goldwater Institute has filed a lawsuit, which, hopefully, if successful, will negate these giveaways. Are they also "harping?"
Enough on that. As to a 75' hotel at Innovation Park, there is only one issue. Not whether it will impede any views-----the developer acknowledged it would!--- but it violates the code. Do you understand that we have a code that limits the hotel to 36'? Why would the council violate a code at the whim of a developer?

Also, in case you don't know----the previous council violated the code by allowing a 75' hotel in front of Pusch Ridge, on the east side of Oracle road. The issue there was not about impeding people's views, but of impeding the beautiful views of the mountain.
You obviously have a different point of view on the direction Oro Valley should take.

As for your comment, "Why not focus on current issues that have some meaning to the broad majority,'' what issues are you alluding to? Could it be, the Utility Tax, The Golder Ranch Fire Dept annexation, the 4 story Splendido, the potential new row of 21 power lines on Tangerine, the $160 million Loomis wants to spend on his park, the water shortage issue, the crematorium, the town budget, etc.?

Are you reading our blog? I guess not. If you were, you wouldn't make the comment as to "focusing on current issues." That's all we've been doing since our inception! Why not tell me, what issues concern you and "the broad majority" we seem to be "alienating?"

Perhaps, we could address "those" issues."

Some Questions for Oro Valley's eService Citizen Portal

Now that the Town of Oro Valley has a means of being more responsive to the citizens of the community with their new "eServices Portal" we thought there may be a few questions one may want to ask.

Questions:

1) How much sales tax revenue has been generated from the Oracle Crossing Development, to date?

2) How much in bed tax rebates have been given to the El Conquistador Resort since it was determined that giving them a rebate was only fair, inasmuch as the town was giving one to the Ritz-Carlton? (As we know, the Ritz opted to build in Marana, not Oro Valley--- But the El Conquistador keeps raking in OUR revenue.)

3) How did the Town Council allow Golder Ranch to raise their rates, in some cases, in excess of 100%, in Oro Valley communities that were never even annexed into the Golder Ranch Fire District ?

4) How did Vestar get a $23.2 million giveaway, with Oro Valley having zero input as to retailers, no way of imposing a "big-box" ordinance on their development, and allowing them to avoid any increase in impact fees?

5) How did it come to pass that Splendido was allowed to build a four story structure with total disregard of the neighbor's views? "Ditto" for the upcoming ACE hardware store on 1st and Tangerine?

6) How did the Rancho Vistoso Crematorium get approved when the council agenda item read, "approval for a "funeral chapel?"

7) Why did the town council hire more police at a higher ratio than Tucson (which has a much higher crime rate,) and then, impose a Utility Tax on the citizens to subsidize the expenditure?

We're sure our readers have other questions. We can only hope, those who take advantage of asking them utilizing this new service, don't get a response that says; "Don't blame us, our hands were tied."

Oro Valley Leaders Failed To Protect The Community

The following is a "sad but true" commentary on the failure of Oro Valley leaders to protect and serve the people who elected them. It is a letter from Bill Berlat that appeared in the May 23 issue of The Explorer.

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"Although I am presently in Pinetop, I do have a home in Oro Valley, a once delightful community. My heart goes out to those unfortunate enough to have no avenue of escape from the decadence spawned by a Mayor and Council who have succumbed to greed and growth. Splendido is a perfect example of what should not be allowed in desert setting — a horrible Chicago-like tenement. And if that was not enough, the council approved four stories for it! The devil with the folks who live across the street, their home values and their views. Then there’s the crematorium — a blight in any neighborhood. And now, a Wal-Mart.

What’s needed, and I fear it is too late, are ethics, aesthetic and morality classes for prospective mayors and council members. This would teach them that their first obligation is not taxation, growth or getting on their knees when a developer waves his evil wand. It is the protection of the community, ensuring that a community as beautiful and tranquil as Oro Valley was, stays that way and does not become another noisy, traffic-ridden, desert-despoiling nightmare. That is exactly what a Mayor and Council in a community like ours is supposed to protect us from — degradation. Their charge should not be more money for a bigger government and another herd of motorcycle police. Their first responsibility should have been to preserve and protect the aesthetics and beauty of a small community like ours. And they have utterly failed in that. Mayor Paul Loomis and the Council Members we have had should hang their heads in shame for what they have allowed and encouraged."

Oro Valley Spokesman "Moves On"

We're not sure how many of our readers are familiar with the name Bob Kovitz. Up until last week, Mr. Kovitz spent the last six years as Oro Valley's spokesman.

We don't know all of Kovitz's job responsibilities, other than saying nice things about Oro Valley, and writing our mayor's speeches, but, the thing we find, somewhat incredulous, is his replacement. You see, "his replacement," is not an individual, but a company. Not any company, but a company who calls some of the following, their clients.

Tucson-based The Caliber Group Inc. is now handling the town's public relations.

Some of Caliber's current clients:

Bourne Partners,
Clear Channel Outdoor Company,
Commerce Bank of Arizona
Diamond Ventures, Inc.
Tucson Association of REALTORS®
Splendido/Mather LifeWays

You might recognize a couple of names from this "elite" list.

Bourne Partners, for example-----the recipient of one of Oro Valley's "giveaways," who brought us the strip mall at Oracle & Magee.

Splendido----the wonderful assisted living facility on Rancho Vistoso Blvd----whose 4 story structure blocks the mountain views for any number of their neighbors.

Diamond Ventures---One of the early recipients of Oro Valley "generosity," as they are the Steampump Village people bringing us the long awaited Steinway Gallery.

Should be interesting when The Caliber Group does PR for the next recipient of Oro Valley giveaways, who happen to be their client.
You have to wonder what kind of spin we'll see then.

Gee, Bob, guess you never knew how valuable you were to Oro Valley the last six years. After all, it's taking a who public relations firm to replace you.

We're sure, however, it's well within our budget!

(Not so) Splendido

This gigantic senior living facility is located in Rancho Vistoso, amidst single-family homes, casitas and condos.
It appears Oro Valley failed to take into consideration that the tallest buildings stand on a hill, thus ruining the views for others.

The facility obscures the mountain view for homes on the other side of the complex. This building facade is not very interesting - kind of all one flat line.

The largest, tallest building is huge and looms over everything else. It resembles a “project” or low-income building that you would expect to find in the downtown area of a large city: not in Oro Valley!
We have no problem with having senior living facilities in Oro Valley. We have a problem with giant scale buildings that violate the sensibilities of their neighbors.