Rio Nuevo stalled? Let’s have a full accounting of what money is left and what has been spent. Reorganize and come up with an affordable project that can be accomplished with local employees. Use the full bid process with local preference after a background and experience check for all bidders. Giving somebody an exclusive with deadline extensions wastes time.
Nimbus? They should quit asking for special deals and act like a self sufficient business. Why expect taxpayers to subsidize that business? That is not free enterprise. The City Council should not be in a rush to ‘develop’ this land. Let it sit there a while and put it out to bid or hold on to it if the bids don’t meet expectations. Make it into a parking lot and make some $ without much investment.
Or how about this? Charter Schools downtown for employees children. Charter schools downtown with direct connections to the UofA. How about a transitioning from high school to UA Charter school with classes at the UA? Ride the goddamn trolley that goes over the tracks, has stops along the old warehouse row and then on to downtown and past all the charter schools close to government and UofA.
Leave the old 4th Avenue underpass alone. It’s an icon. Walk down to the lowest point and whistle and you will hear the echo. We used to sing as we bicycled or walked through. Don’t break it.
Route the trolley down 4th, around and over the track. Cheap! More stops and more business exposure. And no need to close roads and reroute traffic on a major scale.
Let's talk all of Tucson and Pima County. I am very surprised that so many intelligent people live here but fail to see what the politicians are doing to fleece them. The latest is the 1997 bonds and the RTP shell game.
ReplyDeleteThe Pima County Board of Supervisors amend (change for lack of a better word,) the original bond issue every year and have now stretched it out from the voted in 12 years to 16 years. $350,000,000, three-hundred and fifty million dollars worth! In 1998 the first scheduled bond sale was for $40,000,000 - less than the $60,000,000 projected. They didn't spend the money at the rate they should have. The IRS found the County expenditure rate caused the county to fall out of compliance with federal arbitrage rules. The County had to give interest money to the IRS. Now, they have incorporated not only the 8 projects, but the bond money as well into the RTP. Is that where they planned to supplement the underfunded RTP all along ? Talk about being "fleeced." If you are interested in pursuing information, a start would be: Pima County ordinance amendment number 2225-90, Dated 10/21/2005.
Keep up the good work of blogging! A.