Bits and Pieces

Jesse James Ivey laid to rest

We are deeply saddened to share that Council Member Joyce Jones-Ivey laid her beloved husband, Jesse, to rest on Wednesday. During this time of profound loss, we extend our heartfelt condolences, prayers, and unwavering support to Council Member Jones-Ivey and her family. May they find comfort in cherished memories, strength in the love that surrounds them, and peace in the days ahead.

Historical society seeking board member
The Oro Valley Historical Society is seeking a new member to serve on its Board following the announcement that Sue Chambasian is stepping down. President Bob Kellar is inviting volunteers who want to help shape the Society’s future to consider taking part in the decision-making process. The Board meets once a month at the Oro Valley Public Library, typically for two to two and a half hours, with several additional hours of preparation. The Society hopes to identify a candidate by its annual Board meeting on March 26, 2026. Those interested are encouraged to contact the president directly to learn more. (Source: Oro Valley Historical Society email)

Upcoming features on council hopefuls

Six individuals are currently gathering at least 525 signatures to qualify for one of the three Town Council seats on the ballot this fall. In the coming days, we will publish daily features on each potential candidate. These profiles will provide a clear look at their backgrounds, reasons for running, and priorities for Oro Valley, giving readers an opportunity to learn more about the people seeking to represent them.

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One Word Sums Up Last Week's Town Council Capital Budget Study Session: "Laughable"

Laughable

Last week, we reported on the latest staff recommendations on the Town of Oro Valley Ten Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The town council held a study session on the program last Wednesday. In our minds, the study session was laughable. The session left more questions than it answered.  Here are our takeaways:

Study session occurred too late at night
There’s really no way to have a productive study session late into the evening, especially after the Council has already discussed pressing matters. In addition, just before this study session, the Council had already sat through a study session on the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve Master Plan.

The CIP study session was so late in the evening that, by the time Council Member Joyce Jones-Ivey was asked if she had any questions, she was literally giddy. After all, she had been in that room for almost six hours.  Jones-Ivey started laughing and couldn’t stop. We don’t blame her because having a session on something as important as capital spending so late at night is ridiculous. That topic requires a "clear, fresh mind."  In addition, Joyce pointed out that the tiny font used on the schedules that staff provided was way too small to be read by a human being! She is right!

A $3.2 million magistrate court project...
Next year, the Town will start remodeling the Magistrate Court.  The estimated cost for that is $1.5 million each of the next two years. We have no idea why staff proposes this project or why it is proposed for next year because...

...With no detail provided on that or on any proposed project

We cannot tell you more about the Magistrate Court Project, or any other project really, because the packet provided to the Council does not include a detailed description of the project, a description of exactly what is to be done, the reason or justification for doing that project, the return or benefit from doing the project and the basis for the estimated cost of the project. All of of this is best practice in capital budgeting. All of this is missing from the council packet. It is no wonder that Jones-Ivey was laughing because what the Council received last week was laughable.

Thus requiring Council to get "down in the weeds"
Town staff is budgeting replacing "circuit three" street lights in Sun City. Barrett wants that circuit replaced sooner rather than later. Winfield asked why the town should continue to provide street lights in Sun City. After all, Sun City is the only place in town that has street lights. He was informed by staff that the street lights are there for historical reasons. Owning and maintaining those lights was part of the agreement when the town annexed Sun City 45+ years ago. Winfield suggested that is is time to re-examine that situation.

Finding discrepancies accounting among funds
It is necessary for the Council to "get down in the weeds."  Some members of this Council, Tim Bohen in particular, are good at doing that. His tracking of fund transfers, for example, reveals confusing accounting between the Community Center Fund (CCF) and the CIP.

According to Town Finance Director Gephart: “The one that I will highlight is the elevator and the ADA improvements to the Community Center.” These are included in the CIP Fund at the moment. According to Vice Mayor Barrett, these costs are supposed to be in the Community Center Fund. Barrett noted that “The motion for the elevator said that the additional funding would come from the Community Center Fund, so what would happen if we end up paying for all that from the Capital Fund? Would there be a transfer from the Community Center Fund?”. Gephart responded: “Yes. There would be a transfer as long as funds are available.”

Then, there are capital costs related to the creation of the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve. These are included in the CCF capital budget. They belong in the CIP budget.

No basis provided by staff to Council for prioritizing projects
The staff did not provide nor does the Council have a method for prioritizing projects. Having such is best practice of a capital budgeting process. Council Member Solomon noted that the Town Council needs to separate projects as to whether they are essential, “a must or need”, or something it would be nice to have, “A want”. Then, the Council should agree upon and then apply a "screen" for prioritizing projects within those categories.

Our conclusion

Staff had been requested by Council to hold this session. They conducted the session as if they had been requested to do something that they did not want to do. They were "going through the motion."

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Council Appropriates $3.2 million More For Naranja Park Buildout

Council appropriated $3.2 million reserves for Naranja Park Buildout
On November 16, the Oro Valley town Council appropriated $3.2 million to “complete” the build out of Naranja park amenities. The approval is exactly what Town staff wanted and includes all of the value engineering changes town staff recommended.  In addition, the council earmarked $509,000 of development impact fees to cover the overrun.

Bond project items that will not be funded at the moment are detailed in our posting of November 16. These will be subject to “pay as you go” spending. 

Nicolson: Sports Tourism is "front and center"

One of the key areas considered by the Council was sports tourism. This concept was introduced to council by former Mayor Hiremath. Councilmembers Nicolson and Jones-Ivey want a world-class pump track that can be used for competition. They think that it will bring people from out of town who will stay in the hotels that have yet to be built. During the one hour discussion, Nicolson, focused only on the pump track. He spoke of nothing else. Clearly, Nicolson wants his pump track.

Musette Drive Connection from Tangerine

Barrett: Borrowing was a good deal when we did it

Vice mayor Barrett commented several times during the meeting to justify why borrowing money to finance the park was good idea. The town received a favorable interest rate on the $25 million in borrowing. The amount of funding to build out the amenities was estimated to be $33 million. Yes. The amount ballooned to well over $50 million, Barrett noted. 

Mayor Winfield claimed that there was no way to predict the overrun

According to Winfield, the original estimate was provided by an engineering firm. This is not the case. It was provided by a Parks Consultant. In addition, the council was advised on several occasion by Public Works Director Keesler that there were materials shortages and that costs were rapidly inflating. 

Solomon: Council ignored statistically valid survey regarding parks priorities

Councilmember Steve Solomon said the same thing that he has said every time this subject is on the agenda. His assertion is that the amenities that are being built don’t follow what people want because they don’t in any way sync with the statistically valid survey that the town did 18 months ago. No one asked for a skate park. Or a splash pad. Residents want trails. Solomon is correct. But that ship has sailed!

Bohen: Last election validates doing this

Councilmember Bohen pointed out that we had a recent election of four people. These are the same four people who proposed the bond. They were reelected. Obviously, the community felt they were doing the right thing.

Greene voted "no" but gave no reason

Councilmember Mo Greene did not vote for the measure. He did not state the reason why he voted “no” since he did not speak. Our guess is that he was caught off guard when Solomon voted in favor. Generally, Greene votes the way Solomon votes.

Winfield's "sleight-of-hand" succeeds

Mayor Winfield is giddy over the fact that Naranja Park is going to be completed. He achieved what former Mayors Paul Loomis and Satish Hiremath were not able to get done. Both Loomis and Hiremath proposed that the town issue bonds that would be paid via a secondary property tax.  Residents voted “no” on that. 

Winfield, on the other hand, circumvented the entire “property tax thing” by issuing a bond that will be serviced from the existing sales tax. A rather clever sleight-of-hand. Oh yes… Winfield and his council also abandoned the “pay as you go” funding for parks improvements. This is a policy that his council at one time affirmed and that all council’s have followed.  The reason that policy prevailed is that is unwise to borrow to fund “wants.”

The "thing in the punch bowl:" Town has no idea what it will cost to maintain Naranja Park

What is lost in all of this is what it is going to cost to maintain the new Naranja Park. Ongoing maintenance cost of the facility has never been considered by this Council  This despite the fact that town ordinances require estimating maintenance cost before committing to build any facility. That is simply smart fiscal management. It is important to know what it is going to cost to maintain a new facility because that cost is borne in future budgets.

Town Manager Jacobs Resigns After Proposing "Laundering" ARPA Funds

Jacobs resigns

Town Manager Mary Jacobs resigned Friday. We do not know the reasons behind this. We do know that she proposed a money laundering scheme regarding $5.38million in ARPA funds. This happened at the Town Council meeting last Wednesday. You can read about this scheme in this article.

We do know that council conducted her annual review as scheduled after she had proposed this scheme. 

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Jacobs proposed laundering ARPA funds 
Jacobs and her staff tried to “pull a fast one”. She put an item, Consent Agenda, item 2, on last week’s council meeting, which was an item that clearly needed discussion. Consent Agenda items are not discussed at the meeting unless a council member requests that the item be pulled for discussion. Otherwise, Consent Agenda items are voted on as a block.

The item called for the council to approve a loan of  $5.38 million from the General Fund to the Water Utility Fund.  These funds were received from the federal government as part of the ARPA award. ARPA required that the funds be used for water infrastructure projects. Under Jacobs’ scheme, the utility would pay back this money with interest over time. 

Rather than simply gifting the money from the town to the Water Utility to build infrastructure, Jacobs wanted to lend the money to the Water Utility so that the town can get it back and use it for another purpose, one not related to the federal allowable use of these funds.

As council member Steve Solomon pointed out at the council meeting, the scheme sounds like the town is trying to get around federal regulations for the use of the money because the town will get the money back and then use it for some other, non ARPA allowable purpose.

Solomon was exactly right.  

The Water Utility was the conduit for the sham transaction

Speaking in defense of the loan arrangement, Town Manager Mary Jacobs said that the money that the utility will be getting would be the ARPA funds which carry the restriction that be used for water infrastructure.  According to Jacobs, the money the town will get back in loan repayment and interest would be unrestricted. It will not get back ARPA funds. The funds would be from the general revenues of the Water Utility.

Attention all.

This is called “money laundering”.

Gephart: It's OK to do this because the Water Utility is an enterprise fund

Town Finance Director David Gephart justified the scheme because he felt that the town should not simply transfer the money to the utility.  Gephart said that the reason that a loan has been proposed is because the Water Utility is supposed to be a self sustaining (“An Enterprise Fund”) entity. Thus, anything that has to do with the Water Utility, including administrative services that are provided by the town must be paid by the utility.

The loan approach, according to Gephart, provides the appearance that the Water Utility is self-supporting. Gephart also explained that the town had no alternative but to use this money for the Water Utility system. That’s because any other allowable uses were just not feasible for the town.

So, why not just gift the money to the Water Utility Fund and be done with it? After all, these ARPA monies were gifted to the town by the federal government  The funds are intended to be used for water infrastructure projects.  In this case, the town’s general fund is merely a conduit to get the money to the town-owned Water Utility Fund because the Water Utility did not get the funds get directly from the federal government.

Jacobs tried to do this "in the dark of night" by putting the item on the “Consent Agenda” segment of the town council meeting

Jacobs claimed at the meeting that she wrote about this loan transaction in April. Council Member Bohen agreed that he found it buried in a document council received back then. The members never discussed it then because they were never really aware of it.

It would not have been discussed last week had it not been for the sharp eyes of Bohen, Jones-Ivey and Solomon. The former two asked for the item to be pulled from the Consent Agenda for discussion. Solomon identified the transaction for the “sham” that it is.

Former Town Manager Jacobs tried to put "one past them." 

Fortunately, she failed.

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Four More Years? Yes or No? It’s Up To You

Oro Valley votes for mayor and council tomorrow  
Tomorrow, Oro Valley votes on who will be their Mayor and town council. 

It is a “winner take all scenario for Mayor

The mayor will either be former Police Chief Danny Sharp or Current Mayor Joe Winfield. Four years ago, Winfield won a landslide victory over then Mayor Satish Hiremath. Winfield received more than 58% of the 15,817 votes cast. Four years earlier, Hiremath won a landslide victory over his opponent, receiving more than 62% of the 11,027 votes cast. This earned him a second term as Mayor. 

We’ve covered the mayoral candidates and their views during the past four weeks. Still, we think it important to hear a bit from their supporters on why they support their candidate.

Sharp supporters say Danny is the best candidate

Mary Murphy is a six year resident of Oro Valley. She is also a member or the town’s Board of Adjustment. One of the reasons she chose to live in Oro Valley was the town’s outstanding public safety record. Here’s why Mary believes that Danny Sharp would be an excellent Mayor:

• With a forty-year career in law enforcement, he has a documented record of community and service orientation, and as the spouse of a retired first responder, I fully understand the commitments they make on a daily basis.
• While serving as police chief, he was asked to step in as Acting Town Manager for over a year. He took on this additional challenge without hesitation. That the Town looked for him to take on this task, and his willingness to do it indicate both a high level of competence and a commitment to our community. While filling this role, Danny gained valuable knowledge and insight into all aspects of town operations and funding. This experience is something few mayors have and is critically important here in Oro Valley, considering the current financial climate both locally and nationally.
• Danny was one of the founders of Project Graduation in Oro Valley, a program designed to keep our young people safe on graduation night, and he continues to volunteer his time to this important program. As a mom, this commitment really resonates with me. 
• Danny and his family demonstrate their love of Oro Valley by participating in the “Adopt a Road” program. For years the Sharp family has been clearing trash and debris from a large section of Naranja Drive, helping to keep Oro Valley beautiful. 
• Additionally, Danny is also a member of the Oro Valley Hospital Board, and as someone with a background in the medical field, I find this to be quite admirable. Viewed with his other activities, this shows Danny’s commitment to the town as a whole, one that serves all its residents.

Winfield supporters say that Joe is the best candidate

Jack Stinnett is a long-time resident and former Chairman of the town’s Parks and Recreation Commission. He is passionate about our community and passionate in his support of Joe Winfield. Here are his thoughts:

• The Winfield council has moved Oro Valley forward in every area, and Oro Valley today is the best place to live in Arizona. 
• They have invested in our police officer’s pay and pensions to retain the men and women who keep Oro Valley the safest town in the state. 
• They have improved the town’s financial rating to AA+, and paid off police pension debt that will avoid millions in future pension liabilities. They have used golf savings to improve and expand recreation amenities without any new taxes. Topping it off is our new 202 acre Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve that Joe refused to rezone for high density development. 
• Mayor Winfield’s vision is to grow Oro Valley responsibly. He has self funded his campaign and will decide what is best for residents, NOT Tucson apartment developers, and real estate PACs who have funded his challenger. 
• Finally, Mayor Winfield is the most honest man I know, and we need leaders who tell us the truth even when it is not what we want to hear.

Don’t forget to vote for three open council seats

The Mayor does not make decisions alone. It is the town council of which he is a member, that has the final say. There are six candidates vying for the three open council seats. Here’s who they are:

• Melanie Barrett is the town’s Vice Mayor. One of her focus areas is representing the needs of families with school age children
• Joe Erceg is a business development candidate. Joe wants to bring more sports activities into the community 
• Charlie Hurt has lived in Oro Valley for 16 years. He is a former member and chair of the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission and a former member and chair of the town’s Water Utility Commission 
• Joyce Jones-Ivey is a current council member. She takes pride in being an independent thinker. Joyce does not “go along to just get along.” 
• Josh Nicolson brings a financial perspective to the council. His insight into finance was one of the driving forces in the town fully funding the public safety pension plan 
• Bill Rodman served as council member from 2016 to 2020. Rodman is a proponent of growing the town to support business and to support the town’s finances. He voted for all approved general plan and zoning amendments during his prior tour on council. 

These six have affiliated themselves with one of the two mayoral candidates. But you don’t have to vote for one or all of them simply because they have done that. You can “mix and match.” 

We will be back Wednesday to report preliminary results

These results will likely include about 98% of the total votes cast. However, there will still be “provisional” and possibly late mail in ballots not yet counted. It could take a few more days for those.

So, Oro Valley, it’s election time.

Do your job!

Excerpts from June 28, 2022 Town Council Candidate Forum: Statements of Nicolson and Joyce-Ivey

Today, LOVE is presenting excerpts from the Opening and Closing Statements by Councilmembers Josh Nicolson and Joyce Jones-Ivey during the Town Council Candidate Forum held on June 28th. LOVE added the subheadings.

You can watch the entire Candidate Forum HERE on the Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce website.
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Josh Nicolson Opening Statement

Background
I was born and raised in Arizona. I went to school to be an airline pilot and air traffic controller. I moved to Arizona 10 years ago with my beautiful wife and 2 young daughters. Since I joined the Council 4 years ago, I’ve been the Chamber of Commerce liaison, I was on the Budget and Finance Commission when we were doing the Police Pension Bond, and also on Visit Tucson.

Police/Public Safety
Very early on, I pushed to fix our police pension that was growing like a credit card at 7% a year. It ended up being $27 million underfunded. With the recommendation of Stifel Consulting, our newly elected Budget and Finance Commission, and our Town CFO, we ended up using $10 million of our savings to secure a bond at historically low 2.4% interest. This is going to save our taxpayers $30 million over 20 years. This $30 million in savings affords us to give our police officers a raise. They are now the highest paid officers in Southern Arizona. As many police departments throughout the nation are struggling to recruit new officers, our officers have a fully funded pension and the highest pay in Southern Arizona. This will help in recruiting and retaining the best police force.

Town Golf
As many know, I live on the Conquistador Golf Course and that was one of the things we had to tackle the very first year we were in office. We changed operators from Troon to Indigo and we opened up all the holes to public play. This is saving us millions of dollars. We used this extra cash flow to finance the golf course irrigation, build in Naranja park, tennis courts, and many more without any new taxes.

I appreciate your time tonight and I do appreciate everyone getting involved in coming to this Chamber event because it’s important for our citizens to be involved in our local government.

Josh Nicolson Closing Statement
Note: Nicolson set aside his prepared closing statement and opted instead to use his remaining time to address accusations made by candidate Bill Rodman regarding a lack of transparency on the current council.

I want to address one thing -- the transparency.
When Bill [Rodman] is talking about transparency, he’s talking about Executive Session. Executive Sessions are when we have to deal with contracts, hiring, firing, those types of things. Yes, we did have a lot of Executive Sessions because we inherited a whole lot of issues from the prior council.

But what were the results from those Executive Sessions?
We did several Executive Sessions on golf. There was a huge contract. We saved $2 million on golf. We hired our wonderful police chief, Chief Riley. We preserved Vistoso from being developed. We hired Judge Hazel. We annexed Westward Look gaining $800,000 in tax revenue for Oro Valley residents. So I want you to look at transparency. We are transparent, but when you do Executive Sessions, it’s regarding contracts, it’s for legal advice. It’s not talking behind closed doors against the citizens.

Joyce Jones-Ivey Opening Statement

Background
I am a retired 42-year ob-gyn nurse practitioner. I’m married to Jesse Ivey who was a 29-year servant of the LAPD and is also retired. I have lived in Oro Valley for six years now. For the past four years that I’ve been on council, I’ve had the privilege to not only serve, but also be liaison to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board as well as our Amphi school district.

Parks and Recreation
Our community has, since I’ve been on council, has expressed a desire for diversity in outdoor activities for both our seniors and our growing young families. This is a passion for me, that safe parks and a safe community is the best way we can continue to improve the quality of life for all our town residents.

Why I’m running for re-election
I’m running for re-election so we can finish the accomplishments of our first term and strategically and responsibly continue our town’s growth and economic needs. Thank you.

Joyce Jones-Ivey Closing Statement

Oro Valley is a better place today because we have listened to residents and made decisions that benefit all in our community – saving town golf, supporting Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve, expanding Naranja Park, all while improving town finances and continuing to ensure we remain one of the safest towns in Arizona.

I am asking for your vote to continue working to make and keep Oro Valley the best place to live in Arizona.

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Winfield and Council Incumbents Seek Reelection

This morning, Mayor Winfield announced that he and council members Barrett, Joyce-Ivey and Nicolson are running for reelection. The following is his statement.

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Dear Friends, 

It's my honor to serve our community as Mayor for the Town of Oro Valley. Today, I am announcing that I will run for re-election this year and would appreciate your vote. Four years ago, I announced my candidacy to become your mayor because I felt the Oro Valley residents needed to be heard and deep pocket contributors had the appearance of unduly influencing Town Council decisions. I believed that Oro Valley needed "a new direction" where everyone has an equal voice on matters related to its future.

Joining me were Councilmembers Melanie Barrett, Joyce Jones-Ivey, and Josh Nicolson. We ran and were elected as a team and have been honored to serve the citizens of Oro Valley for four years. We will run as a team again in 2022. We will run a self and resident funded campaign to ensure that council decisions are made in the best interest of the Town. We invite you to join us and welcome donations from residents who want an independent Town Council representing them. We want to build upon and and expand the many successes the Town has experienced under our leadership and make Oro Valley the best place to live, work, and play in Arizona.

Your Council has been extremely supportive of Public Safety. In 2019, we approved funding for four new police officers. After conducting a nationwide search for a new police chief we appointed the best candidate for the job, Chief Kara Riley. Her selection was strongly endorsed by residents and Community leaders, and she has since been voted the Best Public Official in Northwest Tucson. Under her leadership the Oro Valley Police Department has thrived and has started an officer wellness program, added a mental health specialist, and texting to reach 911. In 2021 are police officers saved 11 lives. While public safety was under attacked elsewhere, we increased funding for our Police Department.

Our commitment to fiscal responsibility and our police officers led us to solve the problem of our underfunded police pension liability, which will save the Town up to $30 million dollars. When we came into office, the Town had $27 million in unfunded police pension obligations. We recently paid $10 million of our excess reserves, gained through prudent budgeting, towards the debt, and financed $17.6 million at a record-low interest rate of 2.4% to save the Town millions of dollars and guarantee that the police who protect us every day have fully funded retirements.

We have supported responsible growth in the community. In 2020 to 2021, there has been a 12% increase in new business, and 30 new businesses added. We negotiated the annexation of the Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort & Spa, bringing new revenues to the Town. We are bringing in new employers like Leonardo Electronics US who will invest $100 million in a new Oro Valley plant and add 170 high-quality jobs to Oro Valley.

We promised to bring common sense solutions to the challenge of the Town's significant golf course losses. We chose to retain the courses, and operate them as municipal courses. Through changing operators, running more efficiently, and increasing play we have been able to save over $1 million every year in golf losses. 

The Parks and Recreation department oversaw the installation of the popular and widely used Naranja Park playground which opened in 2020. The Town also conducted an extensive Parks and Recreation master planning process, including resident surveys, public input, public meetings, staff contributions, professional design, and more. This led the Council to change the "golf and community center" sales tax to be more equitably used for any parks and recreation amenity in our community. Using the money saved by fixing the golf operations and the growth in the recreation tax revenues, the Council approved a $25 million bond at 2.3% interest to fund the highest priority recreation needs. The Park's bond funds will nearly build-out Naranja Park with new fields and amenities, rebuild the Community Center tennis courts and parking lot, rebuild golf course irrigation and add to our expanding multi-use path network to provide pedestrian and bike connectivity to Naranja Park and the Community Center.

The best news is that these substantial recreation investments that benefit the entire community will be mostly funded from savings in Town golf subsidies! There will be no new sales or property taxes required for these expanded amenities. As exciting as these developments are, most are just underway and will take several years to be completed.

I am running with my fellow Councilmembers for re-election because after starting Oro Valley in a new, collaborative direction, we want to finish the job. I want to keep working for you as your Mayor, to make Oro Valley the best place in Arizona for our current and future residents to live, work, and play.

I invite you to join and support our team in running this resident focused and funded campaign for re-election to serve you. Your vote matters, please vote to re-elect Joe Winfield, Melanie Barrett, Joyce Jones-Ivey, and Josh Nicolson!

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Source

Bits and Pieces

Council Member Greene identifies potential major corporate member for Oro Valley Municipal Golf 

Oro Valley Municipal Golf has four corporate members. It needs more. During last week’s council study session on the budget, Council Member Mo Greene told town park’s director Kristy Dias Trahan that the owner of Westward Look told him that he was looking for a place for the resort’s guest to play golf. After along pause (she was dumbfounded) she said that she would follow up. Here’s a “shoutout” to Council Member Greene. 

Oro Valley experiencing exceptional drought conditions…Tucson area is 10% drier

The 20 year drought continues. “The Southwest US has experienced some of the greatest changes with the decadal shift more than 10% drier” according to the national weather service. During this same time period its hotter by about 1/2 degree annually during the past thirty years. We’ve included a panel with map showing the changes in both precipitation and temperature. 

Oro Vista apartment architecture approved 

The expansion of the Oro Vista apartment complex was an administrative approval and not a zoning approval. The property was zoned long ago for apartment use, according to Town Planning and Zoning head Bayer Vella. That is why the item was on the consent agenda. 

Council Member Jones-Ivey made sure that council publicly discussed the item at last weeks’ council meeting. As it turns out, this is item is on the agenda for the approval of the architecture of the property. Council discussed the Planning and Zoning Commission’s request that the stone front of the building as it faces Lambert Lane be increased. The council rejected this. 

Mayor Winfield noted: “I think it is incredibly unfortunate that the view of the Catalinas [from Noble Hops] will be lost” once the facility is built, but the town can not do anything about that since the project was approved by a previous council. Also, the property manager, Beztak, said they would continue to investigate what may be a lack of adequate parking for the commercial property that houses Noble Hops and other establishments once the apartments are built. 

 Council approved the measures 6-0 (Council Member Solomon Absent)

Mayor Winfield Proclaims Oro Valley "A Golf Community"...Enthusiastic About Reopening Pusch View Golf Course

Winfield: “We are a golf community.”

Mayor Winfield declared that Oro Valley is a golf community at last week’s council meeting (4h21m 2/17/21 Oro Valley Town Council Meeting) This, he says, is supported by last year’s statistically valid resident survey done as part of the now in-progress Parks and Recreation ten year master plan project. 

This survey was one of several reasons he gave for championing the reopening and three year commitment to operating the Pusch Ridge Course. Other reasons he gave are an uptick in golf usage because of the Pandemic; and his assertion that the town owned golf courses are meeting their subsidy metrics. According to Winfield, the only problem with Pusch View nine hole golf course is that it has been under-promoted.

Winfield "Kicks the Can" down the road

When Winfield and fellow council members Steve Solomon and Mo Greene have their way, the course will operate starting November 1. It will close each year in May.  Three years will be the  horizon for determining what will happen next to the course. By that time, the Mayor will have completed his term. It will be someone else's challenge.

Open space option summarily rejected

The idea of allowing the property to revert to its natural state or turning it into a walking preserve was summarily rejected by Winfield and council at the February 17 council meeting.  They decided that that solution was too expensive. They based that on numbers provided by town staff. No council member challenged these numbers or the basis for them. As LOVE has previously noted, the natural space option is least costly over a five year planning horizon.

Council never considered the Pusch View Course's history of failure

The council did not discuss the operating history of this course during the meeting, a history that includes:

• The Town purchased three financially failed golf courses in 2014 from HSL Properties. HSL's purchase of the El Conquistador resort was financially feasible only if the Town took over these courses. That is what the Town did. The Town council raised the sales tax a half cent to subsidize the losses. The subside continues to this day.
• Once it owned the Pusch View Course, the Town observed that the course was underused and worked to market it. There was no success. 
• In 2016, the Town then tried to turn the course into a family entertainment center, adding things like larger holes on the green and Frisbee Golf. That didn't work to stimulate use either. You can read about the Town's enthusiasm for that here.
• In 2020, Town Council voted to discontinue the course so that the Town could lease the course back to HSL.

Winfield, Solomon and Greene must believe that the pandemic driven resurgence in course use in Oro Valley is going to continue after the Pandemic passes. They may be right. On the other hand, the fundamental reasons the sport of golf is in decline has not changed. Read about those things here.

Tim Bohen was the only council member to speak against reopening the course

Council Member Tim Bohen stated that the Town has excess golf inventory even in today's hot market.  “I just wanted to let the people know at Pusch Ridge Course: I’ve walked their course a couple of times. I’ve talked them. I have sympathy for their plight." He continued: "I really do believe as a responsible entity, we have inventory that we already have that we don’t consume and that is why I can’t support this.”

Winfield did not want a council resolution.  Jacobs insisted they that there be one.

Mayor Winfield stated at several different points during the February 17 council discussion that Town Manager Jacobs had enough information from listening to the discussion to formulate what town staff was to do next. He did not want a formal vote (“resolution”). Town Manager Jacobs insisted that there be one: "You tell me what. I will give you the how." 

RFP to lease Pusch View Golf included in resolution

Two of the three other council members, Vice Mayor Barrett and Council Member Josh Nicolson, successfully fought to insure that the resolution include directing the Town Manager to formulate  a request for proposal ("RFP") for someone to lease the facility.  That RFP will be issued and analyzed over the next seven months if approved by council.

The Resolution to reopen Pusch View Golf Course

Council passed the following resolution by a 6-1 vote: 

Resolved: “Town council directs staff to return with a plan for operation of the Pusch Ridge Golf course to be evaluated within three years as to its continued feasibility, capital improvement requirements while also looking at alternatives to look at water usage and potential new configurations and a third party lease.” 

Town Manager Jacobs will present the plan at the March 17 Town Council Meeting.

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Kai General Plan Amendment Not Approved By Council... Barrett, Nicolson and Bohen Hold Fast

Barrett, Bohen and Nicolson hold fast to reject changing the general plan 

The Kai-Capri general plan amendment did not receive the required five Oro Valley Town Council for approval at last night’s town council meeting. 

This despite a herculean effort on the part of town staff and the applicant to get approval. This included a "sleight of hand" move in which the staff and applicant changed the request such  that the property would be used for only rental casitas. 

Three council members held fast to their initial vote on January 6 rejecting this measure. They were Vice Mayor Barrett and Council Members Bohen and Nicolson. Barrett repeated what she had said at the January 6 meeting. Essentially, six months ago the town had approved significant economic development moves to improve commerce in the area and that time needed to pass for these to take effect.

Winfield enthusiastically supported changing the plan 

Mayor Winfield and Council Member’s Solomon and Greene voted to approve as they had done in January. In fact, Mayor Winfield “doubled-down” on his support. He noted that he and his family had “recreated” on this property and that “the highest and best use of this property was residential.”

Jones-Ivey approves... 

In January,  Council Member Jones-Ivey voted to reject the amendment. This time she voted to approve the measure. She liked the idea of putting rental casitas on the property.  

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Kai Amendment Request Gets New Life

Jones-Ivey tips the scale

The Oro Valley Town Council voted 4-3 last night to reconsider the Kai-Capri General Plan Amendment. Council Member Joyce Jones-Ivey joined the three who had voted to approve the amendment in approving the motion. She have voted against the amendment at the January 6 meeting. The amendment will be heard on February 3.

Jones-Ivey: Kai Family feels there were misunderstandings

Jones-Ivey had requested that the item be reconsidered after being approached by the applicant. She said that the person who approached her " was very concerned about the fact that there was he felt misinformation or misunderstood. He wanted an opportunity to come back and have his concerns addressed."

Jones-Ivey blames possible "misunderstandings" on Zoom meeting format

She continued: "I really would like to see this happen for them. The Kai Family has been in the community for years and they have also been developing here for quite a few years and because we are using Zoom to communicate sometimes I believe there is a lot of lost communication that goes on that could have possibly contributed to the misunderstanding that they would like to have clarified. So, for that reason, I would like to have this reconsideration considered and passed by council. We can have them back and listen to their concerns.”

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Source: Oro Valley Town Council Meeting, January 20. 2021, Time 1:58:40

Jones-Ivey Asks Council to Reconsider Kai-Capri General Plan Amendment... After Rejecting It

Jones-Ivey asks town to reconsider   

Council Members Joyce Jones-Ivey and Mo Greene have asked the town council to reconsider its rejection of the Kai-Capri amendment. The reconsideration will be discussed tonight.

Sponsoring reconsideration does not mean that Jones-Ivey supports that this general plan amendment.  Rather, it may mean that she is offering support to a fellow council member who wants the motioned reheard.  A reconsideration requires one council member who voted against the plan to sponsor reconsideration.

The following are the two reasons Jones-Ivey voted against the amendment at the January 6 meeting.

Voted "No"for two reasons

Council Member Joyce Jones-Ivey voted “no” on the Kai-Capri general plan amendment at the January 6 council meeting. She joined Council Members Barrett, Bohan, and Nicolson in rejecting the amendment. You can read their remarks here. Jones-Ivey did not say why she voted "no" at that time. So we asked her. There were two reasons.

First, the existing land use provides a key alternative commercial site and should remain such

Jones-Ivey has been looking at the property for a long time. She considered its present land use when the council made changes to encourage economic development.  “I was looking a commercial properties and cataloguing in my mind what could be possible.” The Kai-Capri property “...was right on the top of my brain, mainly because of where it was located.” She concluded that is was properly zoned for neighborhood commercial given its easy access to Oracle, via First Avenue; and access on the newly widened Tangerine Road.

“If we are going to attract employers we are going to need some different locations for them to be able to look at.” In addition, Jones-Ivey noted, the property as zoned will be less disturbing to the habitat. “Leaving it as is just made sense.”

Second, the argument that the town needs more rooftops to support retail has not worked out over time

Jones-Ivey never thought that the amendment request, which changed over time, would come back to request housing on the property.

This presented a new challenge. 

“My other issue” became the high density of the land use.” The residential options the amendment sought ranged from single family housing to apartments. (Panel above). “That just seemed to be a repeat of the previous council’s position of ‘rooftops...rooftops...rooftops'. It just didn’t seem to address the issue of bringing in additional revenues.”

During her deliberations, Jones-Ivey spoke with Oro Valley Planning Director Bayer Vella. Vella emphasized that apartments bring in additional revenues. She wondered though: What kind? Reflecting on the result of the “rooftops strategy” she concluded that significant new primary employer jobs did not happen from more rooftops. Rather, Oro Valley got more eateries. “More eateries is nothing substantial in my mind. How many eateries can we have?"

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Town Staff Victorious in Council Passage Of EEZ Pre-Grading Approval

Unanimous blading approval

The Oro Valley Town Council unanimously approved "pre-grading" land located in the town's Economic Expansion Zones ("EEZ"). The resolution, proposed and sponsored by town staff, gives staff sole responsibility for approving the blading of property in EEZ. Now property can be graded in the hope that someone will want to build on a "shovel ready" site in Innovation Park and other EEZ areas.  

According to town Economic Development Director, JJ Johnston, a "shovel ready" site is a pre-requisite before site selectors will even consider an Oro Valley site.  The primary landowner of Innovation Park, Venture West, did not appear to discuss this resolution at any of the three council meetings at which it was discussed.

Credit Council Member Jones-Ivey

LOVE has expensively written about the path of this resolution to approval. The resolution was discussed by council three times. The resolution, as initially proposed, was almost dead in (July 27) when the council voted on it.

However, Council Member Jones-Ivey, the swing vote, decided to abstain from voting.  She said at that time that she was confused. Her confusion resulted in a deadlocked council vote. This kept the measure alive for further consideration. 

It also put Jones-Ivey in a lead position as it delayed further discussion until late August.

During this month, town staff worked Mayor Winfield and Jones-Ivey to craft the final resolution. We detailed these changes earlier this month. At last week's meeting, council approved two additional conditions: First, the property must be revegetated in five years if it remains unused. Second, the developer must demonstrate to staff that the site is a viable "shovel ready" location.

Council involvement eliminated... Resident input reduced

Council will have no involvement in the blading decision. Residents will be involved if town staff deems it necessary. Essentially, then, the staff is in charge.  This, we suspect, makes Oro Valley look much like many other communities making Oro Valley neither unique nor special.

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Vice-Mayor Barrett and Councilmember Jones-Ivey Reveal Their Personal Experiences With Councilmember Solomon’s Uncivil Behavior

Statement from Councilmember Joyce Jones-Ivey
"The short video of Councilmember Solomon [verbally] attacking me has been circulating on social media and supporters have asked me to provide some background. First, this verbal assault was not a unique incident; rather it is representative of how Mr. Solomon speaks down to females he disagrees with or who dare to challenge his positions.

In my first meeting with Mr. Solomon at the 2018 Chamber of Commerce candidate debate, he verbally assaulted me and then candidate Melanie Barrett in front of several bystanders. It seems Mr. Solomon did not agree with our debate positions.

Council Member Jones-Ivey

In the video taken from a 2019 council meeting, we were discussing the OVPD Chief selection process when Member Solomon launched his attack to silence me. There have been numerous other situations when residents were talked down to and disrespected by Member Solomon who, in 2016, ran on civility and collaboration.

I agree that civility and collaboration is exactly what Oro Valley needs and the path to get there is to replace incumbents Rodman and Solomon with Bill Garner and Tim Bohen who will place residents first."

Statement from Vice-Mayor Melanie Barrett

Vice Mayor Barrett

"My fellow councilmember, Joyce Jones-Ivey, has shared her feelings on the video of Steve Solomon yelling at her. This is especially sad because it follows [his] theme of constantly falsely accusing other councilmembers and citizens that we don’t care about public safety.

Joyce is a long-time nurse and the wife of a long-time police officer. She and her family have spent their lives in public service, and she is a wonderful, kind, fair person whom I admire. It is inappropriate to yell at her and insinuate that others do not care about our community and their safety.

The first time I met Councilmember Solomon was at a debate, and as Councilmember Jones-Ivey mentions, he began yelling at both of us, and only stopped when a friend stepped in and offered to call security. Since then, he has regularly gone after me in council meetings and has violated the rules of order by which the council operates."

LOVE’s comment
That’s right, Steve Solomon’s behavior was so violent, that a bystander had to intervene and threaten to call security during the 2018 incident and Mayor Winfield had to threaten to have him removed from council chambers during the 2019 incident. Solomon is unfit for public office and needs to be voted out in the August 4th election.

Council Member Solomon "Blows His Top" In Council Meeting

Historically unruly behavior gets worse
In the video below, you will see a completely out of control council member. That council person is Steve Solomon.

LOVE has reported his unprofessional behavior before. Solomon tries to take over council meetings by dominating discussions and talking over people. He has no composure. No patience with opposing views.

This time Solomon tries to take over the December Oro Valley Town Council meeting, yelling at council member Joyce Jones-Ivey. Then, yelling over Mayor Winfield.

"Stop it. Or you will be removed"

Solomon's behavior is so condescending that he calls Jones-Ivey "Ivey-Jones" when he tries to apologize to her for his behavior. He does this while talking over both her and the Mayor.

Solomon is anything but the civil, professional, positive force on council that he said he would be while campaigning in 2016.

The fact is, Solomon can not control himself.

In the video, Solomon is so out of control that Mayor Winfield warns him that he will be removed from the meeting if he has one more outburst.

Watch this video, courtesy of TakeBackOV.com.

It is an eye opener.

Council Member Jones-Ivey Focusses on Recreation For All

Leading the way in supporting youth activities
In January, council member Joyce Jones-Ivey will be the council liaison to the town’s Parks and Recreation Commission. Jones-Ivey is recovering from knee surgery. As usual, however, we found her in her office in town hall, busy doing the work of the people. 

As liaison to this commission, Jones-Ivey will have the opportunity to view the creation of a master Parks and Recreation Plan, a plan that town council has directed be prepared. She is ideally suited for the job.

Passion to get recreational facilities for all
Jones-Ivey is passionate about providing the right recreational facilities for all Oro Valley residents. “Part of my fiscal responsibility is to make sure that we have funds going to recreational activities that more of our citizens use. I don’t want the people who live around the golf course to be hurt but we also have to look at the rest of our citizens to provide for their needs.”

Jones-Ivey has a feel for what the parents want... reaches out to learn more
Regarding the youth needs for example: “Those voices are still out there. I see a lot of those parents. I go

to activities where they are at. If it’s going to be activities at Kreigh Park, ‘I’m there’. ... I’m there because I want to hear from them. I want to know what they want.”

Jones-Ivey understands why most of the community is silent regarding their needs. “They are not the ones who are in the council meetings. Not the ones I’m getting emails from. I’ve asked them, several times, reach out to me. But they don’t. I can empathize with them.”

Jones-Ivey pointed out that it wasn’t that long ago when she was in their shoes.

 “They’re busy. They have families. They’re working jobs. By the time you’ve gone through that day... activities... kids with homework, you never feel you can do a ‘flashvote‘ [the town’s information online polling tool]. I can remember those days in my life. You don’t have the time.. So, I’ll just keep reaching out to them and getting them to reach out to me. Simple email will do!”

Working to get town use of Amphi School District recreational facilities
Before taking on her new assignment, Jones-Ivey continues her role as liaison to the Amphi School Disctrict. Her primary goal is on getting town access for use of Amphi school fields.

“I would like to get an intergovernmental agreement for youth sports activities. I want our youth sports activities to be able to use their fields. That’s one of my biggest goals. To date, I know that we have girls gym class going right now.”

Your help is needed
One challenge in moving this forward is getting superintendent Todd Yaegar’s attention.

 “We spoke to him about IGA’s (Intergovernmental Agreement) and he brushed it off.” She would like our help. She asks that we all turn up the heat on that. Email the Amphi Superintendant (tjaeger@amphi.com)TODD Jaeger. Tell him: We want our youth activities to use your fields after hours. A groundswell of support will most certainly help in Joyce Jones-Ivey’s quest.
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New Liaison Assignments Delayed To January 1, 2020

Implementation delayed
Last night, the Oro Valley Town Council voted 4-3 to make the new liaison council assignments effective January 1, 2020.  Mayor Winfield had proposed that these assignments be effective immediately.  Council Member Jones-Ivey voted with Council Members Pina, Rodman and Solomon to delay the assignments.

Jones-Ivey confused
Jones-Ivey was confused throughout the 45 minute discussion of this motion. At one point, Council reconsidered the vote so that she could make sure she understood for what she was voting.

Not the first time
This is the second time Joyce-Ivey cast a critical vote in agreement with the minority members of council. The other was her insistence that bonding for golf course improvements be considered among the financial alternatives for financing course and community center improvements.

New Mayor and Council Sworn In

There were many smiling faces in the crowd during the Welcome Reception held in the Town Hall courtyard just prior to the new mayor and council taking office last evening. Familiar faces in the crowd included former Mayor Paul Loomis, former councilmembers Mike Zinkin, Bill Garner, and Dick Johnson. LOVE’s publisher and numerous LOVE contributors were also in attendance.

Afterwards, the crowd moved into Council Chambers for the swearing in ceremony. Immediately after being sworn in, Mayor Winfield gave a very touching and often humorous speech as he introduced himself to the audience. He took a few moments to thank the outgoing mayor and council for their service and included a thoughtful anecdotal story about each one.

One of the more humorous moments came when Winfield mentioned that a resident had warned him that, “Governing is a lot different than campaigning. To which Winfield replied, “I certainly hope so.”

The video of his speech will be published on LOVE next week.

Later in the evening Melanie Barrett was appointed as Vice-Mayor with a unanimous 7-0 vote.

Below are some pictures from the reception and the council meeting.

Meet Our New Council: Joyce Jones-Ivey

The Jones-Ivey ground game
"The ground game was all important. I knew that I needed to get out to the community and find out what it was they wanted." Thus, began our conversation at Kneaders over tea with one of Oro Valley's three new council members, Joyce Jones-Ivey.

 Joyce began canvassing the community last February, right after she picked up her council candidate packet. She never stopped. "I started at the library at the opening ...and sometimes I stayed until closing," she noted. She walked Sun City, door-to-door. "We started at 10 o'clock in the morning and finished up around 4 or 5 in the evening. I wanted people to know that I had a heart for the concerns of the community."

Have a conversation with Joyce Jones-Ivey. You see that she is enthusiastic about her new job, excited to serve people of Oro Valley, respectful of you as an individual, and a lady full of hope for our community.

Overdevelopment completely changes the character of the community
"This is my third small community that I've lived in. The common thread among all of them was the over-development that was going on." One community grew to the point where she knew no-one. "I missed that small town feeling. The bureaucracy was just cumbersome to get your voice heard."

"They are going to blow this community up? Are you kidding me?"
So, Joyce, her husband Jesse (29 years with LAPD) and son Adam, sought a place to live. She looked at Marana but, in 2016, picked Oro Valley. "I came into Oro Valley. It was beautiful-just breathtaking....Then I started noticing the yellow signs. There were a lot of them. I started going to neighboorheed meetings." She couldn't believe what she heard. She thought: "They are going to blow this community up? Are you kidding me?"

They are not hearing us
Joyce observed that at council meetings residents got our 3 minutes [to speak] but we couldn't get anybody to listen to us. It was a waste of time. The developer got an hour." She continued "My, the way we were treated. If you disagreed, you were summarily dismissed. These are our elected officials. We voted them in office. And they are treating us like this?"

So, she decided to run for Council to change the attitude of leadership from developer to resident centric.

A "full-full" person
Joyce is a family person. She is one of 9 in her primary family. She has a twin sister who lives in Marana. She assured us that we can tell the difference so there will be no "substituting" at council meetings. "She wears an afro." Joyce is proudest of being "Adam's Mom!"

Joyce has met every challenge she's faced. And the Oro Valley council job will be her next one. But, from what we learned in our conversation with Joyce, it won't be her last one. "I love learning. I'm not very sure where I'm going to stop in this world."
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Another Opportunity to Meet the Town Council Challengers

Candidates Host Voter Registration Drives at Oro Valley Parks on July 4th

PRESS RELEASE:  In celebration of our country’s independence and right to elect a representative government, the candidates for Oro Valley Mayor and Town Council will be hosting voter registration drives at parks around Oro Valley.

Candidate Joe Winfield explained their reasons for doing this, stating that “Registering to vote, being informed about community issues, and voting for the best qualified candidates are the responsibility of good citizenship.” Joyce Jones-Ivey elaborated further: “We want to listen to and respond to the citizens of Oro Valley, not special interests. We want to represent the people, including new residents that have not yet registered to vote.”

Winfield and Town Council candidates Melanie Barrett, Josh Nicolson, and Joyce Jones-Ivey will spend the morning of the 4th of July at Riverfront park talking to community members and encouraging voter registration. Later in the evening, they will host a booth with registration materials during the 4th of July event at Naranja Park.

The slate of candidates will also hold an informational meeting on July 9th at 6:30 pm at the Community Center.

More information can be found at JoeWinfieldmayor.com; MelanieBarrett.org; JJonesIvey4OV.org, JoshforOroValley.com

LOVE is on vacation for the remainder of the week.