Guest View: Jim Tripp ~ The Rest of the Iceberg. Part 1: Fear Mongering by Solomon and Rodman

One June 17th, LOVE published a Guest View by Jim Tripp entitled, “The Tip of the Iceberg.” It included a wealth of previously unknown information on the proposed annexation of State Land at Tangerine and Thornydale including the blatant conflict of interest of two people involved in the project. If you missed it, you can read it HERE

We now present “The Rest of the Iceberg”


---
What’s the rest of the iceberg?

Fear Mongering
Take a look at this video of Rodman and this video of Solomon warning the Oro Valley Town Council to rezone the Trust Land at Tangerine and Thornydale to the State’s satisfaction, or suffer the consequences at the hands of the town of Marana.

Rodman video at 31 seconds in:

“We should consider the fact that if we don’t do it, Marana will.  I mean, we’ve heard those words directly.”

Note his stress on the word directly.

Solomon video at 5 seconds in:

“This land will be developed, and the odds are if it’s developed outside of Oro Valley, it’s gonna be at a higher intensity, with less restrictions than what Oro Valley would have, and all that development is going to have an impact on Oro Valley...”

What facts does Solomon have to back up this opinion?

No Need to Fear: Marana Can’t Deliver Water
In a nutshell, I had two lengthy phone conversations with Marana Town Mayor Ed Honea to fact-check Marana’s interest in the Tangerine and Thornydale annexation. Honea said that Marana has no interest whatsoever in the land because Marana cannot deliver an adequate water supply. In contrast, Oro Valley can easily deliver water via two, 12” potable water mains. Honea told Satish Hiremath long ago that Oro Valley was welcome to annex the State Land.

Please visit this facebook post of mine to learn more.

Marana Town Finance Director, Yiannis Kalaitzidis, approached me as I was leaving a Marana Town meeting. He asked what had prompted me to ask a question related to K-12 population projections for Marana. I said that it was in connection with the proposed annexation at Tangerine & Thornydale. During the course of the conversation, he reiterated what Ed Honea had said: only Oro Valley can deliver water to the annex, and if Oro Valley doesn’t annex, it will be decades before Marana can get enough water there to make development economically possible.

So who are the powerful people in Marana who have said directly that Marana will snap up the land and intensely develop it, if Oro Valley doesn’t?

Please visit this facebook post as well.

No Need to Fear: Mayor Honea Respects the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan
During the May 14, 2019 study session on the Marana 2040 General Plan, Mayor Honea fought hard for “low density 2-RAC” (no more than 2 residences per acre) in environmentally sensitive areas like Tangerine from I-10 to Twin Peaks. In defense of continuing the extensive use of “2-RAC” from the 2010 General Plan, rather than pitching it in the 2040 Plan, Honea said:

“When we developed the low density 2-RAC, we had buy-in from the Sonoran Desert Conservation Group, Carolyn Campbell, [and others]; they helped approve that. And you know why, when we developed everything along Twin Peaks, and we did 2-RAC, and we didn’t have the environmental community down our necks, is because they were involved in the process, for the 2-RAC...when you take that away, I can assure you, they will be back.”

You can watch it HERE (Time mark 51:23 on the video)

The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan was a landmark achievement for Northwest Tucson. When was the last time you heard an Oro Valley Mayor or Council Person worry about the consequences of not honoring that plan? Does anyone in Oro Valley remember that plan? It was never mentioned in any of the meetings I’ve been to in Oro Valley. Ed Honea remembers, and he got the message the first time: don’t antagonize Dove Mountain area citizens with high intensity development.

Dove Mountain Marana citizens are environmentally conscious. In Sky Ranch and at The Preserve, we are fiercely protective of the low-density nature preserves on which we live. We love watching the bobcats, javelinas, coyotes, hawks, and owls that patrol the open spaces beyond our backyards, and we will fight to protect them.

Supply and Demand: Marana Has Plenty of Annex Opportunities Other Than This One
Figure 4, page 2-7 (below) of the current Marana 2040 General Plan shows an ocean of grey shaded land, especially adjacent to I-10 in the North. That’s all vacant and undeveloped land. Marana will have no need, for many decades to come, to force high intensity development at Tangerine and Thornydale.

You can view the Marana 2040 General Plan HERE

Oro Valley has the only game in town when it comes to annexation of the State Trust Land at Tangerine and Thornydale. There is no reason to fear competition from Marana.

Part 2 will be published next Monday.
---
Jim Tripp has a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Oregon State University. Prior to retirement, he was employed as a Federal Regulations Analyst for Wisconsin Power and Light and as a Research Scientist at UC Santa Cruz and Berkeley National Labs. He has over 30 scientific publications to his credit.

Guest View: Mike Zinkin – Finance the “Needs” instead of the “Wants”

I hope you have been reading recent LOVE postings regarding the spending of the $25 million parks bond. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Why weren’t the Naranja Park plans value-engineered prior to bonding for them?
A motion was passed during the October 5, 2022 Council meeting to have staff “bring back a plan with value engineering ideas that are reflected in the comments that have been made this evening and update Council through regular Council reports of those ideas.”

This sounds like a great idea but why wasn’t this done prior to the demand for the bond? Why borrow money before you value engineer your plan? Why have the staff report via “Council Reports” which are not public (unless one does a records request) rather than delivering the staff report in a public meeting?

The town council needs to amend their park plans
The four council members who were just re-elected campaigned on items that were not yet vetted or value-engineered by the Town staff – and the Town cannot afford those promises. Is this why they rushed it through without any design or cost estimates and had a ribbon cutting ceremony in May to celebrate the expansion of Naranja Park? If these council members are responsible, they will amend their “wants” and work within the Town’s pocketbook.

Originally, the $25 million was to be split between the Community Center and Naranja Park. However, due to unexpected cost increases, there is now not enough money and the Community Center is still not ADA compliant.

Where is the requested staff report on ADA compliance at the Community Center?
As I’ve previously reported, a motion passed 7-0 on April 6th for staff to advise the most effective way to make the Community Center ADA compliant and to make it a priority. It is now more than six months later. Where is the report? Now we are $25 million in debt, with no real plan except to ensure that the pet projects of the splash pad and the pump track are funded.

Community Center is forecast to lose $4 million this fiscal year
Looking at the financials for August 2022, the Community Center Fund (CCF) is forecasted to end FY 2022/23 with a loss of $4,663,936. The Council that has bonded for $25 million with no real engineered plan, decided to ignore community input (the Parks and Rec survey), and instead establish their pet projects and live with a CCF forecast of over a $4.6 million deficit.

The council needs to follow the original plan
The council needs to follow the original plan and split the $25 million between the Community Center and Naranja Park. This town needs a new police station, an ADA compliant Community Center, and re-piping reclaimed water to eliminate the use of potable/drinking water on Town properties (parks and golf courses). But the majority on council want a pump track and a splash pad. I consider this to be an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars.

---
Mike Zinkin and his wife have lived in Oro Valley since 1998. He served on the Oro Valley Development Review Board from 2005-2009, the Board of Adjustment from 2011-2012, and the Town Council from 2012-2016. He was named a Fellow for the National League of Cities. He was a member of the NLC Steering Committee for Community and Economic Development and a member of the Arizona League of Cities Budget and Economic Development Committee. He was an Air Traffic Controller for 30 years. Mike has a Bachelor’s degree in history and government from the University of Arizona and a Master’s degree in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education from California State University, Northridge.

Guest View: Jim Tripp ~ The tip of the iceberg: Annexation of 885 acres of State Trust Land at Tangerine and Thornydale is a pilot project for 9.3 million acres of trust land

Since last August, I have been researching the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) proposal to put approximately 3100 houses (with their associated cars and people) on the proposed annexation of 885 acres of State Trust Land at Tangerine and Thornydale.

I read the plan and wondered: "Why isn't the CAP Water Board trying to block this development, which will require 860,000 gallons of water day? The Colorado River is already over-allocated, which has led to us being under a Drought Contingency Plan."

Two conflicts of interest uncovered
Oh. Lisa Atkins is the Board President of CAP (Central Arizona Project) as well as Commissioner for ASLD. That would explain it. Although her position at CAP is not a paid position, she does have a conflict of interest as Commissioner of ASLD and CAP Board President. Ironically, Atkins said at "sunset" meetings for the ASLD that any attempt to merge ASLD with another related State department would inevitably lead to conflict of interest because control over different but related natural resources inevitably leads to conflict of interest!

So who is her Deputy Commissioner, I wondered? It’s Wesley Mehl of Tucson. According to the Tucson Sentinel in an article from July 2015, "Mehl is the son of developer, David Mehl, who along with brother George built the La Paloma resort in the Catalina Foothills, and the Dove Mountain development in Marana." That would explain why we are continuing the residential housing boom during deepening drought.

Sacrificing water and ignoring conflicts of interest
But maybe it's all worth it if it improves funding for K-12 education. That's what they said at the public meetings. In fact, they justified the whole project on the basis of a constitutional mandate to sell Trust Land for the benefit of K-12 education.

So I checked that out. Arizona ranks 48th out of 50 in public education funding, and K-12 education is by far the biggest single expenditure in the State budget. The Trust Fund has billions in it, but it costs billions every single year to fund public education. Maybe we need to sacrifice water and look the other way at conflicts of interest if it will help K-12 education.

The math doesn’t add up
So I estimated that the Trust land might sell for something like $100 million, which would perhaps yield 3-4% ($3-4 million dollars per year) on the $100 million. But the plan adds 1,767 K-12 students, at a cost of about $15 million per year (to stay in 48th place), for a net loss of $11-12 million per year.

Why is the Marana School District (where the Oro Valley annexation is taking place) allowing this? Because they will get their $8500 per year per student from the General Fund, even if those students drain the General Fund at $11-12 million per year. State taxes will have to be raised or other services curtailed, to make up this deficit. What an irony, given that the whole point of Trust Land sales was to provide enough money so that K-12 education would never cost taxpayers a dime as Arizona moved from Territory to State!

Marana School District CFO never reviewed the site plan
I contacted Don Contorno, Chief Financial Officer of Marana Unified School District, who wrote a letter of approval to Oro Valley for taking on the students. He wanted to know where I got the outlandish number of 1,767 K-12 students, and I told him that it was from the published Site Specific Plan. He sheepishly confessed that he never read the plan and assumed the area would be developed like Sky Ranch.

A “Model” for future development
ASLD and Oro Valley have not publicized that this is a pilot project to be rolled out for the entire 9.3 million acres of trust land, with a stated goal of speeding development by transferring zoning rights from citizens to developers via "zoning banks."

LOVE readers and residents of Sky Ranch, Tangerine Crossing, and Dove Mountain need to present a united front now and in the future.

You can view a detailed slide presentation HERE

Please visit my Facebook page (MyLand.YourLand.AZ)   HERE
---
Jim Tripp has a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Oregon State University. Prior to retirement, he was employed as a Federal Regulations Analyst for Wisconsin Power and Light and as a Research Scientist at UC Santa Cruz and Berkeley National Labs. He has over 30 scientific publications to his credit.

The Solomon Chronicles. Part 5. A pattern of incivility and disrespect

With the Town Council election on the horizon, LOVE will be presenting a series of articles entitled, “The Solomon Chronicles,” highlighting the abysmal record of Councilmember Steve Solomon who is running for re-election. This weekly series will highlight his 4-year record of incivility and his interdependent relationship with local developers. This series was written by a LOVE contributor and contains a synopsis of previous LOVE articles plus new information.
- - -

Solomon is rude to residents during council meetings
This is just one example, but there are many more. During the December 6, 2017 Town Council meeting, the room was packed due to multiple General Plan amendments on the agenda that night which would lead to more destruction of our beautiful desert surroundings. Two dozen residents spoke at the podium in opposition to those amendments.

You can read some of those residents’ comments below, followed by Councilmember Solomon’s disrespectful response to those residents.

Excerpt of Residents’ comments:
“…a 300-acre critical wildlife corridor where bobcats, javelina, hawks, owls, and other wildlife live, reproduce, hunt, and travel up and down, to and from the Tortolita Mountains. This land is pristine Sonoran Desert and has over 100 giant saguaros including a very rare double crested saguaro. It has 7 large washes running through it. There are 8 archeological sites on this land that preserve our history and our heritage, and many Ironwood trees that are 300-400 years old…I read all the letters on the Oro Valley website and 119 were opposed to this development. Only one was in support.”

“…You have been letting the developers strip the land…every piece of the land has been stripped. Saguaro cactus and large cactus have been destroyed and those developers have been working at night 24-hours a day and your staffers tell me that they don’t have enough staff people to monitor their operations.”

“…When we moved to Oro Valley with our two youngest children, this was a beautiful community with a lot of green space and our daughters thrived here and eventually graduated from UA. But when they come home now, they say, ‘What’s happened to Oro Valley? It’s going from green to brown’ …all the old growth is gone…The more that we blade Oro Valley, the less healthy it is for our children. You have to leave green space. Every new development I see in Oro Valley right now, there is less and less green space.”

Excerpt of Council Member Solomon’s condescending response:

There’s a lot of misconceptions going around, and tonight sounded like a “We hate Oro Valley Fest.” You folks have some misinformation unfortunately…and it’s not fair for you to come in here and make up stories about Oro Valley blading down saguaros in the middle of the night. That’s an outright lie. That doesn’t happen. It’s never happened. If it did happen people would be behind bars… So since you all had your hour of bashing Oro Valley, I took my 5 minutes to tell you that it’s not true, and you know what? If you don’t want to live in Oro Valley because you don’t like it, don’t live in Oro Valley.

According to Solomon, Oro Valley residents are liars, they’re misinformed, and if they don’t like living here, they should leave. For the record, it was actually Solomon who was misinformed. Builder Fairfield Homes bulldozed multiple mature saguaros in 2015. He did not go to jail. He received a measly fine of $27,000 for violating the town code and grading the site without permission.

A resident knocks Solomon off his high horse
After Solomon’s condescending speech, another resident took to the podium to respond to him.

“…just because some of us stand up and say that there are things going on that we don’t like, does not mean that we don’t love the town. To suggest that anyone who doesn’t love everything that’s happening in this town should leave is an insult and I take great offense at that. It is our democratic responsibility to pay attention, to notice what is going in a direction that we don’t care for and to speak up.”

Unfortunately, Solomon's behavior gets worse
This disrespectful behavior towards Oro Valley residents is only the tip of the Solomon iceberg. Next Wednesday, in the second half of this article, you will read about Solomon’s lawsuit threats against Oro Valley residents who have dared to question his actions plus his violent outburst against a female council member which led to the mayor threatening to have him removed from council chambers.
- - -

The second half of “A pattern of incivility and disrespect” will be published next Wednesday.

Naranja Park Bond: A Heavy Load For Oro Valley Taxpayers

This from one of our bloggers: Re The Naranja Town Site Bond Proposal:

"My problem is this. The last council approved this $48.6 million bond issue [for the Naranja Town Site] that will be paid off by a secondary property tax. On top of that, we will be financing and paying off another $32 million for the new Oro Valley Operations Center. Also, let's not forget the recently approved Steam Pump Ranch that will be subsidized in part by Oro Valley taxpayers.

We still have the Utility Tax the last council stuck us with.

I don't need to tell you anything about the cost of necessities, especially for those of us on fixed income. Without getting mellow dramatic, there are some seniors that must choose between medication and food. Gas is almost $4.00/gal. Utility costs, including water & electric have increased dramatically.

My point is this. This park is a lot more than we need. Here's what is included:

12 Tennis Courts
9 Basketball Courts
5 Sand Volleyball Courts
4 Baseball Fields
4 Softball Fields
3 Soccer Fields
Multi-Purpose Field
Horseshoe Pits
Nature Center
Hiking/Jogging Trails
Playgrounds
Festival Area
Bicycle (BMX) Track
Skate Park
Dog Park
Picnic Ramadas

Had the previous council been a little more circumspect, I and many others would not be against it. By "circumspect," I mean less fields/courts and less costly.

To me, paying for food, gas, utilities, insurance, medicine and other items are necessities. This park is a luxury."

The costs our blogger refers to are just the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds of dollars will be added to the average property owners tax bill. Tens of thousands of dollars will be added to Oro Valley town spending. And there are hidden costs like the costs of added insurance and law suits from injuries. And all this for at least the next twenty years!

Its a heavy load for Oro Valley taxpayers to shoulder, especially in what is and will continue to be very tough economic times

Oro Valley Police Unions Think They Run The Town

There is a lot going on behind the scenes in Oro Valley as it concerns the police force.

There are those that believe any tactics they use are acceptable.

We hope all our readers will read the Explorer article that is only "the tip of the iceberg."

We, as a community are very fortunate to have a person with the knowledge, demeanor and character that our Town Manager David Andrews displays. David is invaluable to us. The same can't be said about the excessively large police department.

For the cops to try and use any and all tactics in their feeble attempt to remove David is unconscionable.

Too bad, The Explorer couldn't report some of the other details that may come to light in the near future.

Read the article here.
http://www.explorernews.com/articles/2009/09/09/news/doc4aa6ee88eabcb543622432.txt