Town Manager Recommends $56.1 million In Capital Spending in 2023

"A conservative projection"

Oro Valley Town Manager Mary Jacobs is recommending capital spending in 2023 of $56.1 million. Jacobs says that this is a conservative projection of spending. Two programs dominate this spending: Almost half is for Parks and Recreation facilities; while one quarter is for water facilities.(See panel below, right)

Parks and Recreation: $26.1 Million
Spending for Oro Valley Parks and Recreation facilities is the centerpiece of this year’s capital budget portion of the Town Manager's Recommended Budget ("TMRB").

$10 million is budgeted for spending on the buildout of Naranja Park. 

We’ve noted in a previous article that the specifics of exactly what amenities are going to be built at the park have yet to be defined. The town is moving forward with grading the remaining undeveloped portions of the land and installing needed infrastructure.

Spending on municipal golf is almost $7.8 million. 

That includes spending of $7 million on golf course irrigation for the town’s two 18-hole golf courses. There is also money planned for golf path repaving, for turf replacement, and for equipment replacement.  $142,000 is set planned for reconfiguring the Pusch Ridge facility parking and pedestrian approach to meet ADA code requirements, resurfacing of roof and replacing roof drains.

From what we can tell, no money is targeted for improving the Pusch Ridge golf course. As we noted recently, the group Friends of Pusch Ridge believe that more needs to be done at their course.

The TMRB calls for spending approximately $1.9 million on the Community Center

Almost 80% of this relates to mobility access. That has two components. One is spending $750,000 on “Various accessibility modifications and improvements to the Community Center.” The other is a "placeholder" for an elevator that also costs $750,000. We call it a "placeholder" because it has been included in the past three town capital budgets. 

Water Department: $15.1 Million
There are two components to the Water Department capital funding amount. Approximately one third is planned to be spent to maintain the existing water system. This includes a host of projects. The remainder is a continuation of a project to bring water directly from one of the Avra Valley reservoirs that hold CAP water to Oro Valley. (Currently, Oro Valley gets CAP water through connection to the City of Tucson water system.) The project is called NWRRDS. It is a project in which the town is partnering with the Town of Marana and Metro Water.  We think that some of the cost included in the budget are partially reimbursed from those entities. NWRRDS spending is planned at $10.4 million this year.

Public Works: $8.0 Million
The town's Public Works Department takes care of the roads on which we travel, the facilities the town uses, the vehicles it uses, and the town’s public transportation interface. There are seventeen public works projects planned. The largest proposed projects include pavement preservation ($1.9m), two road repaving projects, ($1.2m) and vehicle replacement ($.5m).

General Administration: $5.8 Million

Approximately 60% of TMRB general administrative capital spending is a project that will establish a fiber optic network for expanded broadband services. This will provide a faster internet network. The town believes that having such is"... critical to Oro Valley's ability to attract, grow and retain primary employers and expand job opportunities. (TMRB, p 114). Most of this project is funded by a grant.

Police: $1.2Million

We identified two capital projects that relate to the police department. One is to replace police vehicles ($1.1m). The other is for a traffic camera video recording system. 

Whats' Missing?

The TMRB's schedule of capital projects includes spending for all projects anticipated over the next ten years. Two items which LOVE has been following are not included in this schedule. One is funding for a new police facility. According to our discussion with Chief Riley, one will be needed within five or six years.  The other is funding for bringing reclaimed water to the southern section of the town. Such would save millions of gallons of drinking water by converting the Pusch Ridge Golf Course, Kreigh Park, and CDO High School to its use.

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About The TMRB: "Capital spending conservatively projected"
"Costs for capital projects have been projected conservatively and are higher than predicted just a year ago. The Town’s experience, as well as that of our regional and state counterparts, is that availability of contractors and subcontractors is unpredictable and continues to significantly impact the cost of capital investments. The Recommended Budget includes additional project contingency funds budgeted in the Capital Fund, Water Utility Fund, and Community Center Fund to ensure capital projects can still move forward if the Town’s updated estimates do not align with future market conditions." (Source: TMRB 2023, P.iii).

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About the numbers

The numbers we have presented by program are based on the detail information by department presented in the TMRB.  This detail does not tie to the summary presented by the town manager. The summary for capital spending per the town manager is $59.5 million. The detail provided by program is $56.1 million. We have not identified why there is this difference. However, regardless of the reason, the data we have presented in accurate at the program level.

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Prop 454: It's All About Sports Tourism

The term "sports tourism" has been bandied about in Oro Valley.  It is used when people refer to the Aquatic Center; the tennis courts at the El Conquistador Country Club; and now Naranja Park-Prop 454.

By now you should have read enough on LOVE's pages to know exactly what Prop 454 is. Our shorthand version: It is a property tax to pay for a bond whose proceeds will be used to accelerate the development of Naranja Park.

The effort to convince residents to vote "Yes" is funded entirely by the development community. This funding includes the "usual suspects" who funded the campaigns of current council members. The driver behind the effort, as unveiled on LOVE, is Mayor Hiremath. From personal experience, we know that he does not always tell you everything you need to know in order to make an informed decision.

So, what if this accelerated development isn't really about us, the residents having an opportunity to use these parks. What if it's really about making Oro Valley a sports tourism destination. In other words, it may not be about the "kids" at all. It may be about "...takin' care of business."

In October of 2014, the late Bill Adler opined his thoughts on sports tourism in Oro Valley at a council meeting. We thought you would want to hear his words.  Bill was a 'patriot' for Oro Valley. He believed that town government should be about serving residents above all else.

In speaking of the plans the town had constructed for Naranja Park, Bill pondered:

"Is the objective [of Naranja Park] to serve people who live here or is the objective to create an economic development incentive to create revenue. I think these are two different things."

We know what sports tourism means to Oro Valley. We have an aquatic center. It is used by a handful of residents at a fairly high cost per season. It is also used for swim meets. And, of course, there the annual Oro Valley Triathalon is staged there. For the ordinary Oro Valley citizen, however, the aquatic center has no direct value.

So what of these improvements at Naranja Park?

Will they too be used by only a handful or residents and sports teams?

We don't know. We can, however, look to other communities. The town of Westfield, Indiana spent millions on sports fields so that they could become a "sports tourism" destination. Residents are disillusioned because they can't use the fields unless they are part of an organized effort. In addition, the facility has fallen far short of revenue projections such that the town has had to support it to the tune of $6 million out of pocket in one year!  Read about their dilemma. Losses like this when added to the losses of the Oro Valley Community Center money pit would be disastrous!

So, vote as you wish; but just be aware the "things are not always what they appear to be.

Tomorrow: Sports Tourism In Mayor Hiremath's own words
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LOVE Contributor ~ It's not about the kids

The Vote YES on Prop 454 group is marketing their Naranja Park "fundraiser" by using adorable kids to pull at your heartstrings. Use your heads. It's not about the kids.

If you gave your friend or family member $100 and they mismanaged it, would you give them another $100 or would you let them learn a difficult lesson about how to manage money? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

I'm a single mom that has managed my money carefully. I'm not against taxes. I'm against the Town Council mismanaging taxpayer funds and I'm against deceptive marketing practices. The budget already has enough money to build baseball diamonds.  Increased property taxes will also make it harder to sell your home in Oro Valley.

Vote NO on Prop 454.