Bits and Pieces

Council considers censure

Next Wednesday, the Oro Valley Town Council will discuss censuring Council Member Tim Bohen for a rather innocuous remark. The remark can be heard at the beginning this three minute council discussion from the March 3 town council meeting. Bohen was questioning why town staff can produce a work product in two weeks that they said at a previous meeting could not be produced for a month; while, at the same time, saying that they could not quickly produce a request for proposal because they were too busy. The discussion centers's around the opening of the Pusch Ridge Course. The matter, we believe, is entirely politically motivated. 

Maybe Bohen is on to something...read or next "bits".

Oro Valley Tennis Out For Bids

Speaking of requests for proposal, the town is not too busy to produce a request for proposal for Tennis operations.  El Conquistador Tennis has been ably run by Jennifer Fuchs through her company, El Conquistador LLC, since 2018. That's when she leased the facilities from the town.  The lease includes operating the courts at Pusch Ridge and the ones at the Community Center.  You can read about that auspicious start here.  

The lease expires October 1. Per requirements, the town is going to initiate a request for proposal from interested bidders on March 15.  Fuchs wrote to her members: "we are prepared to submit our proposal. Wish us luck!"

Seems to us that that lease is a model for what should happen with the Pusch Ridge Golf course.

For the record

We're posting The Conservation Fund's statement regarding their not participating in the town's purchase of the former Vistoso Golf course property.  As reported this past Monday, those who have worked tirelessly for the past three years to get this land designated as town owned and run conservation land are "up in arms". 

They identified and worked for a solution that would cost the town nothing more than the annual maintenance of a walking preserve. This is unlike those who live around the the town owned golf courses. Instead, they came to the town, hat in hand, begging for the town to keep their golf courses open.  They won.

HIVE in effect

The town has recently increased its Oracle Road traffic surveillance. The target is between Ina and Magee. The town announces their high intensity vehicle enforcement ("HIVE") activities on their Twitter and Facebook pages. The most recent was from 3pm to 6pm yesterday. The focus was on the Oracle-Magee intersection. This is the town's highest traffic accident area.

The 2020 Election: A Tale Of Two Towns

The Oro Valley 2020 council election is official. Tim Bohen and Mo Greene are the new members of council. Steve Solomon is returning for his second full term. It is his third time on council. He was appointed to council in 2011.

The election result is an amalgamation of the total vote count
A peek behind the numbers reveals a town divided.

Greater Oro Valley 
Greater Oro Valley includes the entire town except for three precincts that are located around the community center. Greater Oro Valley has nine precincts that have 24,600 registered voters. Greater Oro Valley includes Sun City, the original incorporated section of Oro Valley, the Oracle Road Corridor, and most of the town west if La Cholla.  Greater Oro Valley is highlighted in yellow in the panel that follows.

Greater Oro Valley elected Bohen, Garner and Solomon. Solomon was a far last choice, barely gaining more votes than Rodman and Greene.

The Town of Oro Valley Municipal Golf
The other part of the town is comprised of those who live around the Oro Valley Golf and Community Center. There are 8,200 registered voters in these three precincts. They voted in overwhelming numbers for Greene, Bill Rodman and Steve Solomon. Bill Garner and Tom Bohen received few votes from these people.

Town of Oro Valley Golf supported special interest money
You would think that the municipal golf folks would have thought more broadly about who should be on council. You would think that they would consider the documented fact that the three they elected are heavily financially supported by the developer community.

These are the same developers who supported Hiremath and his majority for 8 years.

These are the same developers that the people tossed out in 2018

The rest of Oro Valley rejected this money in 2020.

But not the municipal golfers.

Apparently they want over development, more cluster homes, and more homes built in Big Wash so they can keep their "special status"
The municipal golfers got their way in 2019, by overwhelming every town council meeting. They intimidated a council that jumped through hoops to accommodate 36 holes of a golf when the obvious correct answer was 18 holes.

Not satisfied with that win, the municipal golfers tried, with Solomon's help, and failed, also with his help, to recall Mayor Winfield and Vice Mayor Barrett.

Now they went out their way to try to "pack council" with people who will pay for their lifestyle.

Perhaps we need a non binding referendum on the part of the community to settle, once and for all, what all of Oro Valley wants when it comes to municipal golf. None? 18 holes? 36 holes? We need to opine.