As I have been reporting to you through this monthly column, the potential for a comprehensive countywide road repair plan being generated at the county level continues to head down a dead-end street to nowhere – pardon the metaphor.
At the May 15th board of supervisors meeting, the board’s majority with a 3-2 vote passed a “road repair ordinance.” Pima County Staff, who were charged by the board of supervisors to try to gather and glean some sort of cohesive road repair “board direction” being expressed by the individual supervisors during the past several Board meetings, developed this ordinance.
From my standpoint, the ordinance contained some good elements, particularly the pieces that stated that all revenues generated by the countywide half-cent sales tax would go 100% to fixing our roads and that the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) – and not Pima County – would have controlling oversight and administration of any county road repair plan.
However, the insertion of a piece that called for an annual $3 Million draw from the county’s general fund (its “household account,” if you will) with the funds earmarked for various social services killed my support of the ordinance and consequently caused me to vote against it. The initial $3 Million amount would then go on to increase every year by an additional $500,000, so that over the road repair ordinance’s ten-year lifespan, this piece would cost taxpayers between $50 to 55 Million, with none of it going towards fixing our roads. Further, the ordinance calls for the formation of a “Commission for Economic Diversity and Prosperity” that would decide how to divvy-up the annual millions among various social service agencies.
I have been a member of the board of supervisors for almost a year and a half, and over the course of some 40 board meetings, I have witnessed millions of our tax dollars allocated, budgeted, granted or otherwise directed to a myriad of social service agencies already. Further, if this amount of money directed by ordinance, totaling millions of tax dollars annually, can be found in the county’s general fund for social services, why can’t we ever find that kind of money to go toward fixing our roads?
Coming up for a vote at the June 19th board of supervisors meeting will be the “resolution” that pays for the ordinance passed on May 15th. This resolution, which must be tied to the ordinance and vice versa, calls for the enactment of the countywide half-cent sales tax. This resolution must be passed unanimously, 5-0, by the board. That is not going to happen.
So now, what’s up next for fixing our roads? The short answer, unfortunately, must be “not much.” We just missed a great opportunity to fix our local roads at the legislature during this past session. A bill was generated that called for, among other things, a local road repair plan that would be placed before you, the voters, on this November’s ballot. Letting the voters decide about a local road repair plan – what a novel idea!
This bill would have placed Pima County’s road repair issue right where I have always said it belongs – with the voters and under the RTA. Sadly, the bill and the efforts to pass it evaporated during the session’s last moments. Our only and best hope is that the bill will be revived and passed during the next legislative session.
On a more positive note, at the May 15th Board meeting, the supervisors unanimously passed, 5-0, the Valencia Road extension project that will connect Valencia Road from Houghton Road east to Old Spanish Trail, with a bridge over the Pantano Wash. This has been a long-awaited and much anticipated development that will bring jobs, homes, safety, and convenience to our ever-growing Southeast Region of District 4.
The board further unanimously authorized the county to implement the use of certificates of participation (COPs) to accelerate and “front” the Valencia Road construction monies to the developers of Rocking K, who are financially on the hook to repay the COPs with interest as well as personally guaranteeing the full repayment of any county incurred costs or expenses. The opening of Rocking K’s developments signals a new and exciting future for our District 4 and Pima County.
Another new and exciting announcement, and by now I’m sure you all have heard the news, is that Amazon is building a huge distribution center next to the Port of Tucson, near South Kolb Road. This project is expected to create up to 1,750 new jobs and generate a $145 Million annual payroll. Along with Rocking K and the Valencia Road extension, the new Amazon Distribution Center reinforces that the Southeast Region of District 4 is the place to live, attend school, work, recreate, and grow in Pima County.
