[0:04] regular meeting. Good evening
[0:07] and welcome to your Board of
[0:10] Supervisors meeting today,
[0:12] AUGUST 25th. I thought I would
[0:14] start out with a quick quote
[0:19] from Dolly Parton, because how
[0:22] could I not? And it is, I think,
[0:24] relevant for our board. We
[0:25] cannot direct the wind, but we
[0:28] can adjust the sails. So we
[0:30] will be doing some sail
[0:31] adjusting as we move through
[0:33] our agenda today. So with that,
[0:35] I will pass it to the clerk for
[0:37] roll call. Supervisor Connell.
[0:40] Present supervisor Christy here.
[0:43] Supervisor Haynes. Supervisor
[0:45] Scott here. Chair Allen here.
[0:46] Let the record show. Supervisor
[0:48] Haynes is not present. All
[0:51] other board members are present.
[0:53] Next on our agenda is the
[0:54] Pledge of Allegiance. And I
[0:56] would like to invite Sonja
[0:57] Felix, administrative
[0:58] specialist one Fleet Services,
[1:03] to lead us in the pledge. I
[1:05] pledge allegiance to the flag
[1:08] of the United States of America
[1:10] and to the Republic for which
[1:14] it stands. One nation under GOD,
[1:16] indivisible, with liberty and
[1:21] justice for all. And, Sonja, is
[1:23] there anything going on in
[1:24] Fleet Services that you'd like
[1:27] to tell us about? Right now,
[1:29] our biggest project is
[1:31] transferring our fleet
[1:33] administration management to
[1:35] asset work. So everybody's busy
[1:37] with that, right? Yeah. All
[1:38] right. Well, good luck with
[1:41] that. Thank you. Thank you.
[1:43] Next, I would like to invite up
[1:46] Robert Ojeda, the ceo of the
[1:47] Pima Council on Aging, to lead
[1:53] us in the land. Acknowledgment.
[1:55] On behalf of Pima County
[1:57] residents. We honor the tribal
[1:59] nations who have served as
[2:01] caretakers of this land from
[2:03] time immemorial, and
[2:05] respectfully acknowledge the
[2:06] ancestral homelands of the
[2:08] Tohono o'odham Nation and the
[2:09] multi millennial presence of
[2:11] the Pascua Yaqui tribe within
[2:13] Pima County. Consistent with
[2:15] Pima County commitment to
[2:17] diversity and inclusion, we
[2:19] strive toward building equal
[2:21] partner relationships with
[2:23] Arizona's tribal nations. Thank
[2:25] you. We would love to hear
[2:27] about what's happening at Pima
[2:29] Council on Aging. Thank you,
[2:30] supervisor Allen and
[2:33] supervisors. So Pima Council on
[2:36] Aging is an organization that
[2:37] really strives to make sure
[2:39] that our older adults in Pima
[2:41] County stay at home as long as
[2:44] possible, living healthy lives,
[2:46] connecting with other human
[2:47] beings, and getting the
[2:49] resources they need.
[2:50] Unfortunately, in Pima County,
[2:52] we have at least 3000 older
[2:54] adults who are experiencing
[2:56] extreme poverty and have
[2:57] limited options to improve
[2:59] their lives. So we fight for
[3:02] the rights of folks who are
[3:04] incredible contributors to our
[3:08] community, who are incredible
[3:10] at having wisdom for how to
[3:13] live lives, and that live a
[3:15] life that is interconnected
[3:16] with other human beings in our
[3:19] community. And so but not only
[3:22] that, we also provide support
[3:23] for caregivers who are taking
[3:26] care of family members or the
[3:28] many, many caregivers, paid
[3:29] caregivers that are taking care
[3:32] of our older adults and also
[3:33] work towards making sure that
[3:35] we address the root causes of
[3:37] the issues. And so what are the
[3:39] systems that need to improve
[3:41] and change to make sure that we
[3:42] continue to have older adults
[3:44] that thrive in our communities,
[3:45] and we appreciate the
[3:46] partnership with the County?
[3:49] Thank you. I know a lot of
[3:50] District 3 communities value
[3:52] the Neighbors Helping Neighbors
[3:54] program of neighbors. Just
[3:56] looking at looking out for
[3:58] checking in on some of the
[3:59] elderly residents in their
[4:00] community and making sure that
[4:01] they're okay. So appreciate all
[4:03] of that. Thank you. We have as
[4:04] well, I think we have 22
[4:06] Neighbor Care Alliance groups
[4:08] now in 22 neighborhoods. So we
[4:10] continue to grow that. Thank
[4:14] you. Thank you. Item four on
[4:17] our agenda is current events
[4:20] and public acknowledgments.
[4:21] Chair Allen, supervisor. Scott.
[4:24] Then supervisor. Connell. I
[4:27] wanted to share with my
[4:28] colleagues and the members of
[4:30] the community who are here
[4:32] today. For those of you who
[4:35] don't know the news of the sad
[4:37] passing of Joel Ireland, a
[4:40] longtime leader within our
[4:42] community. He was a Rincon High
[4:44] School and University of
[4:46] Arizona graduate, and he was
[4:49] also one of the longest serving
[4:51] members of the Tucson Unified
[4:52] School District Governing Board,
[4:55] serving in that role for 20
[4:58] years. He was both a seminary
[5:01] and a law school grad, which I
[5:03] don't know how many people can
[5:05] say something like that. I love
[5:06] that the attorney down at the
[5:08] end is laughing. As soon as I
[5:11] said that at at one time, he
[5:14] served as the priest at Saint
[5:16] Michael's and All Angels Church.
[5:19] He was also an active
[5:21] preservationist, helping to
[5:23] save several historic homes
[5:24] around the University of
[5:26] Arizona. If you read the
[5:28] beautiful article about Joel in
[5:31] the Tucson Sentinel, I think
[5:34] his son did a great job of
[5:35] summing up one of his two sons,
[5:37] I should say, did a great job
[5:39] of summing up exactly the kind
[5:42] of person Joel was, his son,
[5:44] Samuel said he was community
[5:46] oriented and believed that we
[5:47] should all take care of each
[5:50] other, and that everyone should
[5:52] have a fair chance at success
[5:54] in life. So at this moment,
[5:56] Jared Allen, I'd ask that we
[5:59] have a moment of silence in
[6:08] honor of Joel Ireland. Thank
[6:11] you, Chair Ellen. Thank you,
[6:12] Supervisor Kino. Thank you,
[6:14] Chair Allen, and good evening,
[6:15] everyone. Welcome to your Board
[6:17] of Supervisors hearing room. I
[6:19] want to make two acknowledges.
[6:21] I did this last one last time.
[6:22] So you'll forgive me former
[6:23] state Senator Maria Garcia. And
[6:27] also want to acknowledge Doctor
[6:28] Octavia Trujillo, the first
[6:30] woman elected to serve as the
[6:31] Chair of the Pascua Yaqui tribe
[6:33] in 1994. Welcome to your Board
[6:36] of Supervisors hearing room.
[6:38] Two more quick announcements. I
[6:41] want to acknowledge the fact
[6:42] that the District 5 office has
[6:45] a new member of our team, Arnie
[6:47] Ramirez, who is Bermudez,
[6:50] excuse me, who is such already
[6:52] a dynamic force in our office.
[6:55] It's been so I feel so
[6:57] fortunate to be the recipient
[6:59] of his leadership, bringing
[7:00] more than 15 years of
[7:02] experience in communications,
[7:03] multimedia production, graphic
[7:06] design and community engagement.
[7:09] I am grateful to Council Member
[7:11] Kevin Dahl for preparing him
[7:12] wisely for being able to make
[7:14] his way over to Pima County,
[7:16] but really the wealth of
[7:17] experience that he brings. I'm
[7:18] excited, Arnie, to continue to
[7:21] work with you, to serve our
[7:23] constituents in a way that I
[7:24] know they will be proud of,
[7:26] because you are dedicated to
[7:28] this. So please welcome Arnie
[7:33] Bermudez to the team. And Chair
[7:34] Allen. Last but not least,
[7:37] we've had an exciting week both
[7:40] yesterday and today. We
[7:41] distributed about 100 books to
[7:43] first graders in district five.
[7:45] It's the first 100 of 500 that
[7:46] we are going to be distributing
[7:48] to first graders throughout our
[7:50] community. It's all part of
[7:51] District Five's signature love
[7:53] of lecture series, which
[7:54] translates to love of reading.
[7:57] This year's featured book is by
[8:00] a local author named Ronnie
[8:01] Rivera Ashford. You MAY have
[8:03] heard of some of her books, My
[8:05] Nana's Remedies, My Tata's
[8:06] Remedies Raulito. It's about
[8:08] our first Latino governor in
[8:09] Arizona. But the book that
[8:12] we're previewing this week and
[8:13] distributing was hip, Hip,
[8:14] hooray! It's Monsoon day, which
[8:15] is really perfect given that
[8:17] the rain is making its way
[8:18] right now here. And the first
[8:20] graders Chair Allen colleagues
[8:22] have loved this book, have
[8:24] loved the, you know, the back
[8:26] to school welcome and super
[8:27] exciting these last two days to
[8:29] have been able to do that with
[8:30] our first graders. So thank you
[8:32] for letting me welcome our
[8:34] guests, welcome a new member of
[8:36] the team, and celebrate the
[8:37] power of reading and literacy
[8:41] in our community. Supervisor
[8:44] Christy, I just want to let
[8:46] everybody know that district
[8:48] four had a great opportunity to
[8:50] take part in a a terrific
[8:51] celebration at the southernmost
[8:53] reaches of district four, right
[8:54] before it reaches the Santa
[8:56] Cruz County line. On Saturday,
[8:59] it was the 150th anniversary of
[9:03] the working and historic Empire
[9:06] Ranch, and it was a tremendous
[9:07] success. It's such a beautiful
[9:09] area down there. You come off
[9:12] of of ten and you get onto 86,
[9:14] and once you're on 86, heading
[9:15] south towards the ranch, it's
[9:17] like a different world that
[9:19] kind of reaches inside you and
[9:21] holds your soul. It's a
[9:24] beautiful area, a beautiful
[9:27] history of of Western culture
[9:30] and ranching and conservation.
[9:32] And they had a whole series of
[9:35] tours and programs on, on the
[9:37] various areas of the ranch. And
[9:39] at one point at some during
[9:40] some of the programs, they had
[9:42] as many as 300 people there. So
[9:44] it was a tremendous success.
[9:47] And all year long there will be
[9:48] celebrations at the Empire
[9:51] Ranch commemorating its 150th
[9:52] anniversary, and I encourage
[9:54] the community to take part in
[9:57] this great piece of south
[10:00] eastern Arizona and South and
[10:02] southern Pima County. It's a
[10:03] beautiful experience and a
[10:04] beautiful history. Thank you,
[10:08] MADAM Chair. And I will note
[10:09] for the record that we have
[10:11] been joined by Supervisor
[10:15] Heintz, fresh from the airport.
[10:17] I have a couple of
[10:18] announcements as well, so I
[10:20] will be presenting a
[10:22] proclamation tomorrow night to
[10:23] the Women's Commission
[10:25] celebrating Women's Equality
[10:27] Day and the 50th anniversary of
[10:29] the commission. So that's
[10:31] tomorrow, which is Wednesday,
[10:34] August 26th at the ywca. Both
[10:37] the city and County have passed
[10:38] proclamations and will be
[10:39] presenting them jointly. And
[10:41] that's from 530 to 8. And then
[10:43] we have office hours coming up
[10:47] in Marana on Thursday, AUGUST
[10:48] 27th at the Marana Food Bank
[10:50] from 9 to 12. And then our
[10:52] Sahuarita office hours are at
[10:55] the Sahuarita Food Bank on
[10:57] Tuesday, SEPTEMBER 1st from 10
[11:00] to 1. And then finally, just a
[11:02] plug for the Pima Area Labor
[11:03] Federation's picnic and
[11:04] celebration of Labor Day, which
[11:07] will be on Monday, SEPTEMBER
[11:10] 7th from 9 to 12 at Joaquin
[11:11] Murrieta Park. There will be,
[11:13] as always, speakers, music,
[11:15] food and games for the whole
[11:19] family. Hope to see you there.
[11:22] Anyone else? All right then we
[11:24] will move on to agenda
[11:26] adjustments with Clerk
[11:27] Manriquez. Okay, on the regular
[11:30] agenda page five, item 18 under
[11:31] Economic Development, this is
[11:33] unfinished business. From
[11:34] AUGUST 11th, Pima County
[11:35] Economic Development Strategic
[11:39] Plan 2026 2029 and item 19
[11:40] Unfinished Business from AUGUST
[11:42] 11th. This is a contract
[11:44] Southern Arizona Education
[11:45] Council and on the addendum,
[11:47] page three, item eight. It's a
[11:49] contract. Economic development,
[11:50] University of Arizona. These
[11:52] items will be heard after call
[11:57] to the public. Thank you. And
[12:02] then I'm going to do a move up
[12:04] from the addendum. I think it
[12:09] is addendum number addendum
[12:10] item number one. It's a
[12:12] presentation of a proclamation.
[12:15] This is to Kevin Hamilton,
[12:16] co-founder, PRESIDENT And
[12:18] artistic director, and Tanisha
[12:19] Hamilton, co-founder and chief
[12:21] operating officer of Southwest
[12:25] Soul Circuit. I, proclaiming
[12:27] Saturday, AUGUST 29th to be
[12:29] Southwest Soul Circuit 20th
[12:31] anniversary. I will move the
[12:33] item. Second. Seconded by
[12:35] Supervisor Haynes. Discussion.
[12:38] All those in favor? I opposed
[12:40] item passes five zero and
[12:42] Supervisor Kino is here to
[13:20] present. This is a new setup
[13:21] since the last time you were
[13:23] here. Yeah, we're all getting
[13:26] adjusted to it. Well, thank you
[13:28] so much for the opportunity to
[13:29] celebrate the incredible work
[13:32] that you have been doing for 20
[13:34] years. I'm going to read the
[13:37] proclamation and then offer the
[13:38] ability for you guys to say a
[13:40] few words right after if you
[13:43] desire. Whereas Southwest Soul
[13:45] Circuit was founded in Tucson,
[13:47] Arizona in 2006 by Kevin and
[13:48] Tanisha Hamilton with a
[13:50] commitment to connecting people
[13:51] through arts, culture,
[13:53] education and community
[13:55] engagement. And whereas, for 20
[13:56] years, Southwest Soul Circuit
[13:58] has contributed to the cultural
[13:59] life of Pima County and
[14:01] Southern Arizona by creating
[14:03] platforms for artists,
[14:05] educators, community leaders,
[14:06] entrepreneurs, and
[14:08] organizations to share their
[14:10] talents, stories, and
[14:11] contributions with the
[14:12] community. And Whereas
[14:13] Southwest Soul Circuit has
[14:15] produced concerts, cultural
[14:16] celebrations, community
[14:18] programs, educational
[14:19] initiatives, and collaborations
[14:20] that have brought people
[14:22] together across generations and
[14:24] communities. And whereas
[14:26] Southwest Soul Circuit has
[14:27] enjoyed a long standing
[14:29] relationship with Pima County,
[14:30] including recognition and
[14:32] encouragement from the late
[14:33] District 5 supervisor and board
[14:35] Chair Richard Elias, whose
[14:37] public service and support of
[14:39] community and cultural
[14:40] organizations remain part of
[14:42] Southwest Soul Circuits 20 year
[14:45] story. And Whereas, in 2026,
[14:46] Southwest Soul Circuit
[14:48] celebrates two decades of
[14:49] service while beginning its
[14:51] next chapter through the Vibe
[14:53] network, expanding the
[14:54] organization's ability to
[14:56] connect music, storytelling,
[14:58] and culture with audiences
[15:00] locally and beyond. And whereas,
[15:03] on AUGUST 29th, 2026, Southwest
[15:04] Soul Circuit will commemorate
[15:06] this milestone at Pima
[15:07] Community College West Campus
[15:10] with its 20th anniversary
[15:11] celebration, The Vibe Network,
[15:13] a live radio experience
[15:14] bringing together artists,
[15:16] community members, civic
[15:17] leaders, and friends who have
[15:19] contributed to and supported
[15:21] this 20 year journey. Now,
[15:22] therefore, be it resolved that
[15:24] the Pima County Board of
[15:26] Supervisors hereby proclaims
[15:28] Saturday, AUGUST 29th to be
[15:29] southwest Southwest Soul
[15:31] Circuit 20th Anniversary Day
[15:34] and honors its 20 years of
[15:35] artistic, cultural and
[15:36] community contributions to Pima
[15:38] County and Southern Arizona and
[15:40] extends its best wishes as
[15:42] Southwest Soul Circuit begins
[15:44] its next chapter. The next 20
[15:46] years of connecting people
[15:47] through music, culture,
[15:49] storytelling, storytelling and
[15:51] community pass and adopted this
[15:53] 25th day of AUGUST 2026.
[15:54] Congratulations! Let's hear it
[16:03] up for Southwest Circuit. I
[16:05] just want to express how
[16:08] grateful we are to Supervisor
[16:11] Canos and the board for
[16:13] recognizing us. We have a huge
[16:15] debt of gratitude to Pima
[16:18] County to also the late Richard
[16:21] Elias. He really saw something
[16:23] in us that we didn't fully see
[16:25] ourselves. And so we're
[16:26] grateful that those who serve
[16:28] our community can see the
[16:30] values that others MAY have to
[16:34] serve our community. And so we
[16:36] just we want to dedicate this
[16:38] time to him and to the many
[16:40] people who have helped us along
[16:44] the way. In 2006, my wife and I
[16:46] married, and we also started
[16:49] Southwest Soul Circuit. And our
[16:50] marriage and our business has
[16:53] worked alongside of each other.
[16:54] We've been through the ups and
[16:56] downs, but we've learned how to
[16:58] turn ourselves as the winds
[17:01] changed. And so and we found so
[17:03] many wonderful, amazing people
[17:05] throughout Pima County,
[17:07] throughout the southwest who've
[17:09] helped us to uplift, inspire,
[17:11] and entertain our communities
[17:13] by combining community service
[17:16] and world class music. And so
[17:18] we have a few of the people who
[17:21] help us here. Karen Stewart has
[17:23] been helping us with admin and
[17:26] operations, and Aretha Reed.
[17:30] I'm okay. I'm a little nervous
[17:31] here, so I don't got a name,
[17:33] but Aretha Reed has really been
[17:36] helping us also with our admin
[17:37] and operations, and it's
[17:39] allowed us to be able to do
[17:42] more, be a little more detailed
[17:43] and do more for the community.
[17:45] So I'm just just overwhelmed
[17:47] with gratitude. And I'd like to
[17:48] thank you all for acknowledging
[17:50] that. Congratulations. Thank
[18:30] you. Thank you. Our next item
[18:33] on the agenda is call to the
[18:35] public. So if you're here to
[18:37] call the public you and want to
[18:40] speak, you complete one of the
[18:41] green speaker cards. If,
[18:43] however, you're here for one of
[18:45] the hearings, you can complete
[18:47] a yellow speaker card and speak.
[18:49] When we get to that agenda
[18:53] specific agenda item. And if we
[18:56] have the. When there are less
[18:58] than 20 speakers, we. Each
[19:00] speaker gets three minutes.
[19:02] Once we cross over into 20
[19:04] speakers, it reduces to two
[19:08] minutes. We have 14. So
[19:10] everybody gets three minutes.
[19:14] And then I will read the rules.
[19:15] People attending the meeting
[19:17] shall observe rules of
[19:18] propriety, decorum and good
[19:20] conduct. Any person making
[19:21] personal, impertinent or
[19:22] slanderous remarks, or who
[19:23] become boisterous while
[19:25] addressing the board MAY be
[19:26] removed by the Sergeant at arms
[19:28] if directed by the Chair.
[19:29] Unauthorized remarks from the
[19:30] audience, stamping the feet,
[19:31] whistling yells and similar
[19:32] demonstrations shall not be
[19:33] permitted by the Chair, who MAY
[19:35] direct offenders from the
[19:38] hearing room. So we have. Our
[19:42] first speaker is MISS Trista Di
[19:45] Genova, who will be joining us.
[19:52] Telephonically. Hi there. Hi.
[19:53] Board members and Pima County
[19:56] voters. My name is Trista di
[19:58] Genova. I am a writer and
[19:59] independent candidate for Pima
[20:00] County Board of Supervisors,
[20:02] district five. When you elect
[20:03] me NOVEMBER 3rd, I promise to
[20:05] immediately introduce the
[20:06] resolution I already submitted
[20:08] to this board and which they
[20:10] have ignored to remove Sheriff
[20:12] Nanos. If you agree that the
[20:13] Guthrie family deserves an
[20:15] independent investigation, you
[20:17] need to write me in NOVEMBER
[20:19] 3rd, if you want to shut down
[20:20] Ice concentration camps and
[20:23] data centers in Pima County and
[20:24] charge Ice goons with kidnaping
[20:26] and domestic terrorism, then
[20:28] you also need to write me in
[20:29] NOVEMBER 3rd, if you agree that
[20:31] it is an abomination that Pima
[20:33] County Jail has four times more
[20:34] jail deaths than Rikers Island,
[20:36] then you need to write me in
[20:37] NOVEMBER 3rd so we can bring in
[20:40] the aclu, shut it down and
[20:42] reform it all. Trista. I'm an
[20:44] award winning teacher,
[20:45] investigative journalist,
[20:47] comedian, artist, published
[20:48] author and public health
[20:49] scholar with honors degrees
[20:52] from Oxford University, uc
[20:53] Berkeley and Taipei Medical
[20:55] University. This is the 22nd
[20:57] time I have come before this
[21:00] board to demand an independent
[21:01] investigation into my case and
[21:03] for and to demand the board do
[21:05] their job and intervene and
[21:07] provide oversight. I've already
[21:09] made several documentaries
[21:10] about what happened in my case,
[21:12] and post them all over social
[21:14] media every day until we all
[21:16] you Pima County voters, me and
[21:18] my animals get justice. Law
[21:20] enforcement in this town picked
[21:21] the wrong person to mess with
[21:23] because now that I survived the
[21:24] onslaught of their attack, I'm
[21:26] on a mission from GOD to speak
[21:28] up for all the other innocent
[21:29] people who have been terrorized
[21:31] and whose lives have been
[21:33] destroyed by these malignant
[21:35] narcissists. The proof of their
[21:36] egregious misconduct is posted
[21:38] all over the internet every day,
[21:40] including my documentary
[21:41] Watching the Detectives, and a
[21:44] 28 minute documentary about my
[21:45] beautiful, award winning flock
[21:46] of therapy animals and
[21:48] miniature pioneer breed of
[21:49] miniature service chickens.
[21:52] Footage taken days before a 16
[21:54] man military grade raid on my
[21:56] private residence in Pima
[21:57] County all paid for with your
[21:59] taxpayer dollars. As an update,
[22:00] I'm calling on the Pima County
[22:02] Attorney's Office to drop all
[22:04] charges, reverse the charges,
[22:06] and return my pay with
[22:09] restitution. I filed a $20
[22:10] million civil lawsuit against
[22:12] Pima Animal Care Center for the
[22:13] unlawful, unnecessary and cruel
[22:16] seizure of my flock. On
[22:17] SEPTEMBER 15th, there will be
[22:19] an order to show cause hearing,
[22:20] and I invite members of the
[22:21] public and media to come and
[22:23] show their support so that I
[22:25] can, at the very least, get my
[22:26] service dog back. Doctor Baker,
[22:28] the jewel in my crown. This
[22:29] caused me profound emotional
[22:30] distress to be deprived of my
[22:32] service dog for this long, and
[22:33] it was done intentionally as
[22:35] well as the theft of my
[22:36] livelihood and the ruination of
[22:38] my good reputation. So I cannot
[22:40] run for office, and it all fits
[22:43] the intentions of Sheriff Nanez
[22:44] well. Too bad for you. It's not
[22:46] going to work. I published the
[22:47] receipts every day of their
[22:48] gross and shocking misconduct
[22:50] using your taxpayer dollars,
[22:52] and I welcome the public to put
[22:53] pressure on these agencies to
[22:55] drop all charges. And thank you.
[22:58] That is time. So I'm going to
[22:59] call the next three speakers.
[23:01] And so the first person. But
[23:03] the but the other two, the
[23:04] seats are reserved in the front
[23:06] for the other speakers, just so
[23:08] we can kind of go through
[23:09] quickly. So if you could come
[23:11] forward and, and be ready, our
[23:13] first speaker is going to be
[23:15] Rabbi Samuel Cohen, followed by
[23:18] Kent Blumenthal, followed by
[23:21] Scott Hancock. So, Rabbi Cohen,
[23:26] please. It's a tough act to
[23:29] follow. I want to thank you for
[23:31] the opportunity to address this
[23:33] meeting. My last visit in this
[23:34] room was for my father, Rabbi
[23:37] Baruch Cohen's 100th birthday
[23:39] celebration in APRIL. We still
[23:40] appreciate the standing ovation.
[23:42] Thank you. I come for a less
[23:45] happy reason today as a
[23:46] congregational rabbi in Pima
[23:48] County for 27 years, a founder
[23:50] of the Multifaith Alliance, a
[23:51] member of the Northwest Tucson
[23:52] Multi-Faith Group, and a Chair
[23:54] of community nine over 11
[23:55] commemorations for a decade and
[23:58] a long time member of the
[23:58] Metropolitan Education
[23:59] Commission, it's been my
[24:00] privilege to serve Southern
[24:02] Arizona with the goal of
[24:04] reaching across all religious,
[24:06] cultural, ethnic, and racial
[24:08] lines and recognizing the spark
[24:10] of the divine presence in every
[24:12] single human being in the face
[24:14] of rising anti-Semitism and
[24:17] rampant unfounded conspiracy
[24:18] theorizing. It is the
[24:19] responsibility of all who seek
[24:21] to lead and educate our society
[24:24] to prevent demonizing anyone on
[24:26] the basis of religion or ethnic
[24:28] origin. Anti-Semitism is the
[24:30] oldest documented racism in
[24:32] human history, going back
[24:33] literally thousands of years.
[24:35] It's based on some of the worst
[24:37] lies ever circulated. It has
[24:38] resulted in massacres and other
[24:40] brutalities perpetrated against
[24:42] Jews for many centuries and
[24:44] many countries, including the
[24:45] Holocaust, of course, that
[24:46] murdered half the Jews of
[24:49] Europe in the 20th century.
[24:50] Anti-Semitism has no place in
[24:53] decent societies. Yet today,
[24:55] the revived lies and insane
[24:57] conspiracy theories that fuel
[24:58] it have led to repeated
[25:00] violence against Jews all over
[25:02] the world, including fatal
[25:04] attacks in America and
[25:05] anti-Semitic acts right here in
[25:08] Pima County. I visited the
[25:09] sacred places of every religion
[25:10] all over the world, in more
[25:12] than 20 countries on every
[25:14] continent, almost none require
[25:16] security except the Jewish holy
[25:18] places, where even the humblest
[25:19] synagogue in the United States
[25:21] has security personnel
[25:22] protecting congregants from
[25:24] anti-Semitic attacks. Every
[25:27] Sabbath service, as ours does.
[25:30] In my service at the
[25:30] Metropolitan Education
[25:31] Commission. Civility,
[25:32] acceptance of religious and
[25:33] racial difference and respect
[25:35] for the good intentions of
[25:37] everybody who participated in
[25:39] the work of education was
[25:40] universal. No one was ever
[25:42] denigrated or disrespected for
[25:44] their religion or background,
[25:46] ever in any way. It was
[25:48] unthinkable. I have read the
[25:49] disturbing words of the present
[25:50] head of the Southern Arizona
[25:52] Educational Council. What he
[25:53] said and posted during the
[25:56] recent campaign. Many times,
[25:57] MR. Perez advanced anti-Semitic
[25:59] tropes about dual allegiance,
[26:02] foreign meaning, Jewish money
[26:04] and corporations, as well as
[26:05] attacking aipac, a lobbying
[26:07] group for Israel that does not
[26:10] fund any local races at all. In
[26:11] his post and in the campaign,
[26:13] he used his opponent's Jewish
[26:15] identity and her support for
[26:16] Israel as though it were part
[26:18] of a conspiracy against Tucson
[26:20] residents, and said her support
[26:21] for a Holocaust center was
[26:23] driven by international
[26:24] interests, implying
[26:25] non-American Jews were
[26:28] interfering in local politics.
[26:29] My friends, these are. Rabbi,
[26:31] come on. I'm sorry. That's time.
[26:32] If you were unable to finish
[26:33] your comments or either. Either
[26:35] way, you're also welcome to
[26:36] submit the what's in writing
[26:38] and then they can be. I did so
[26:40] thank you. I just hope that you
[26:44] all hear what I say. Thank you.
[26:46] Our next speaker is Kent
[26:50] Blumenthal. Chair Allen,
[26:51] members of the board
[26:53] Administrator Lesher. My name
[26:55] is Kent Blumenthal. I reside in
[26:56] Green Valley and have served on
[26:58] the Pima County Small Business
[27:00] Commission since 2015. I speak
[27:05] to agenda item number 19, the
[27:07] $122,000 for Southern Arizona
[27:10] Education Council or csa. You
[27:13] know, and I know that Sciac has
[27:15] underperformed its
[27:17] underperformance does not
[27:18] justify funding the. At the
[27:20] same level, Pima County has
[27:23] contributed since 2022.
[27:26] Consider this. This year, six
[27:28] Hallmark Teen Town Hall program
[27:29] disappeared. About one half of
[27:32] csa board positions are vacant,
[27:34] demonstrating a severe lack of
[27:36] interest among supposedly
[27:38] interested parties. A
[27:40] partnership with AmeriCorps
[27:43] lapsed with a. No explanation.
[27:45] Csa failed to achieve broader
[27:47] regional representation
[27:48] contemplated with Santa Cruz
[27:50] County when its name changed
[27:53] from the Metropolitan Education
[27:55] Commission and worse, csa
[27:57] partner, City of Tucson,
[27:59] Lowballed its contribution for
[28:02] next year to under $20,000.
[28:05] Budgets reflect organizational
[28:08] priorities. Is csa a Tucson
[28:10] priority? I think not. The
[28:11] County has always paid more
[28:14] than its fair share to support
[28:18] csa. Let's compare k through 12
[28:20] public school enrollment data
[28:24] for 2024 to 2025. The city of
[28:27] Tucson has 81% of total area
[28:28] enrollment in seven public
[28:30] school districts serving the
[28:33] Tucson area. Pima County has
[28:35] 19% enrollment outside of the
[28:40] Tucson area. Yet for years 2022
[28:45] to 2026, Tucson ponied up only
[28:46] 23% to 46.5% of monies
[28:48] contributed by the two local
[28:49] governments. Is this fair to
[28:52] Pima County taxpayers? Is this
[28:54] fair to you? Many questions
[28:56] about csa remain unanswered.
[28:58] Why the underperformance? What
[29:00] programs does it actually
[29:01] produce and which does it
[29:03] simply promote? What are Pima
[29:05] County's expectations for
[29:06] deliverables? Why should the
[29:07] County contribute more money
[29:09] than the City of Tucson? Why
[29:11] are nearly one half of the
[29:13] board seats vacant? Why did
[29:15] Santa Cruz County not join? Why
[29:17] did the partnership with
[29:20] AmeriCorps lapse? Who's
[29:21] responsible for the oversight?
[29:24] As an outside agency of csa,
[29:25] your fiduciary responsibility
[29:28] is to. Pima County taxpayers.
[29:30] Every taxpayer dollar must earn
[29:32] its place in the budget. If csa
[29:34] can demonstrate a compelling,
[29:36] measurable return to your
[29:37] taxpayers, let the evidence
[29:40] make the case. Thus far, it has
[29:45] not. Thank you. Thank you. Our
[29:48] next speaker is Scott Hancock.
[29:50] And then MR. Hancock will be
[29:53] followed by Mariano Martinez,
[29:58] Maria Garcia and Linda Bixby.
[29:59] Thank you for your time today.
[30:01] My name is Scott Hancock and
[30:02] I'm a resident of Pima County.
[30:04] I'm representing myself, but I
[30:05] am a clean energy professional
[30:06] concerned about anti renewables
[30:08] chatter that I've been hearing.
[30:09] Don't get me wrong, when a
[30:10] community starts to organize
[30:12] early, that's how we can make
[30:13] sure that the right project
[30:15] ends up in our community. But
[30:16] I'd be ashamed of a small but
[30:18] loud anti clean energy group
[30:19] took over the conversation,
[30:20] leading to Pima County turning
[30:21] away the correct projects for
[30:22] our community. That's why I'm
[30:25] here today. In a previous role,
[30:26] I was tasked with creating a
[30:28] national toolkit for County
[30:29] staff who are not solar experts
[30:31] themselves, but who are all too
[30:32] often dealing with utility
[30:33] scale solar projects. Anyway,
[30:35] I've spent a lot of time
[30:36] thinking about how rural
[30:37] counties like ours can prepare
[30:38] themselves to get the most
[30:40] value out of these large energy
[30:42] projects. In the big energy
[30:43] landscape, extracted developers
[30:45] are especially heinous. In Pima
[30:47] County, we can learn about
[30:48] responsible development from an
[30:49] elite group known as Community
[30:50] Benefits Agreements. These are
[30:52] their stories. Spoke with a
[30:54] County supervisor from South
[30:55] Carolina who oversaw the
[30:57] application of a 145 megawatt
[30:59] project known as Project
[31:00] Charles. They saw heavy
[31:02] community opposition out the
[31:03] gates, but got them over the
[31:04] hump, was having real
[31:05] conversations about what the
[31:07] community needed. They had an
[31:08] issue where they were losing
[31:09] their young public safety
[31:10] officers to their neighbors,
[31:12] who could offer more
[31:14] competitive rates. When the
[31:15] developer heard this, they
[31:16] offered to make ongoing
[31:17] donations in addition to the
[31:19] other benefits to the County to
[31:21] make their public safety
[31:22] officer salaries more
[31:23] competitive and to retain the
[31:25] youth locally. Other
[31:26] municipalities have
[31:27] successfully negotiated for
[31:28] very specific things that won
[31:30] people over educational
[31:32] resources, technology for
[31:33] classrooms, teacher programs,
[31:35] solar education opportunities,
[31:37] infrastructure investments for
[31:38] libraries, community centers,
[31:40] public transit and fire
[31:41] departments, health care
[31:42] investments for rural hospitals
[31:44] and clinics, contributions to
[31:46] food pantries. So instead of,
[31:48] you know, blanket organizing
[31:49] against the next project, which
[31:51] is what I'm afraid is happening,
[31:52] why don't we figure out what we
[31:54] want out of these things? What
[31:56] are we going to ask for? How do
[31:57] we make it generational? How
[31:59] can we ensure that this project
[32:00] gives back to the landscape
[32:01] around it rather than
[32:02] diminishing it? That is all
[32:04] possible. Pollinator habitat
[32:06] that's maintained in the area
[32:07] can support the surrounding
[32:09] farms and wildlands. We can
[32:10] raise fences for wildlife
[32:11] access, we can raise panels for
[32:14] continued grazing. Excuse me.
[32:16] Solar doesn't need to grade the
[32:18] land anymore. We can save that
[32:19] topsoil, reduce erosion and
[32:20] disruption. The most resonant
[32:22] point for me personally is that
[32:24] clean energy is an anti war
[32:26] technology. The more we have,
[32:27] the less reliant we are on
[32:28] foreign oil, the more energy
[32:30] independence we achieve here.
[32:31] None of this happens by
[32:32] accident, though. It happens
[32:33] when a community pushes for
[32:36] what it wants. Thank you, thank
[32:38] you. Our next speaker is
[32:44] Mariana Martinez. Hello. Good
[32:46] afternoon, Board of Supervisors.
[32:48] I am here in support of the
[32:50] renewal of Pima County's
[32:51] partnership with the Southern
[32:53] Arizona Education Council and
[32:56] of Ricky Perez as ceo. As a
[32:58] student who has experienced the
[33:01] program as a beneficiary, it
[33:02] would be a loss to the
[33:04] community of Southern Arizona
[33:05] if this program were no longer
[33:08] here. During my time in the
[33:10] Southern Arizona Education
[33:12] Council slash Metropolitan
[33:13] Education Commission as a
[33:15] student peer coach, I was given
[33:16] the opportunity to network with
[33:18] many individuals from other
[33:20] high schools and community
[33:23] leadership. It has given me the
[33:24] opportunity to be involved in
[33:26] my community and create a
[33:27] college going environment. To
[33:29] my high school of Pueblo High
[33:32] School that most times is not
[33:34] perceived that way. The
[33:36] Southern Arizona Education
[33:37] Council is a program that gives
[33:39] local students the opportunity
[33:40] to be equipped with knowledge
[33:42] and be given the opportunity to
[33:45] share with their peers. As our
[33:47] goal is to eliminate poverty
[33:49] through education, I have seen
[33:52] that firsthand with many peers,
[33:53] including myself, who have
[33:55] received many generous
[33:57] scholarships to continue our
[33:59] studies beyond and attain
[34:00] occupations that take our
[34:02] community members out of the
[34:04] normal, which is not having the
[34:05] opportunity to a proper
[34:08] education based on a zip code.
[34:09] With the federal government
[34:12] terminating $400 million in
[34:13] AmeriCorps grants that have
[34:16] affected many other programs
[34:17] nationwide, we as a community
[34:19] should not allow other
[34:20] governments, including Pima
[34:21] County, to terminate that
[34:24] funding as well. As I enter my
[34:26] second year of college at the
[34:27] University of Arizona, W.A.
[34:29] Frankie Honors College, double
[34:30] majoring in speech, language
[34:32] and hearing Sciences and
[34:34] Spanish on a $100,000
[34:35] scholarship. I owe the Southern
[34:38] Arizona Education Council as
[34:40] part of my success and support
[34:42] throughout that journey,
[34:43] especially Rocky Perez as a
[34:45] mentor who is dedicated to
[34:48] serving the community and
[34:49] providing opportunity to equal
[34:51] access to education through the
[34:53] Southern Arizona Education
[34:56] Council and including Fafsa,
[34:58] applying to those kinds of
[35:00] applications and scholarship
[35:01] applications. This just
[35:03] increases that more community
[35:05] members are able to go into
[35:06] higher education, including
[35:08] myself. So thank you so much
[35:11] for your time. Thank you, thank
[35:13] you. Our next speaker is Maria
[35:22] Garcia. Chair and members of
[35:25] the Pima County Board of
[35:27] Supervisors. Sorry I'm nervous.
[35:29] My name is Maria Garcia, a
[35:31] former Pima Community College
[35:33] governing board member and a
[35:35] longtime supporter of education
[35:37] and programs that serve our
[35:39] community. Throughout my career,
[35:41] I have worked to help students
[35:43] families succeed, and I know
[35:45] firsthand the tremendous work
[35:46] our schools and community
[35:48] colleges already do to help
[35:51] students access higher
[35:53] education. I went back and
[35:54] reviewed what Pima Community
[35:57] College is currently providing,
[35:58] particularly through its Office
[36:00] of Financial Aid and
[36:03] Scholarships. Pcc already
[36:04] provides students with one on
[36:06] one assistance in completing
[36:08] the Fafsa, help with
[36:10] understanding financial aid,
[36:12] awards and scholarship
[36:14] opportunities and support. To
[36:16] remain eligible for assistance,
[36:17] students can schedule an
[36:19] appointment with financial aid
[36:21] staff or attend a Fafsa
[36:23] assistance event. This is not
[36:27] the theatrical. It is a service
[36:28] already available to our
[36:30] students and families. You can
[36:32] find them directly on the
[36:34] website or by simply calling
[36:37] the leadership. This is why I
[36:38] have serious concerns about
[36:43] Pima County providing. Saec
[36:46] 122,000. Southern Arizona
[36:47] Educational Council reported
[36:51] nearly 298,000 in revenues.
[36:54] Approximately 57,000 in net
[36:57] revenues and up to 100 000
[36:59] annually from our board from
[37:02] the Pima Peer Coach program.
[37:04] Yet the County is being asked
[37:06] to provide more than six times
[37:10] the city recurring 19,580
[37:14] allocation. The report, 99,007
[37:17] Executive director salary also
[37:19] deserves scrutiny. Taxpayer
[37:21] dollars should prioritize
[37:23] students and direct services,
[37:25] particularly when sac has not
[37:27] demonstrated its official
[37:28] outcome, are uniquely
[37:31] attributed to its work. Saec
[37:34] points to 750 000 Fafsa
[37:35] completions, 144 event
[37:37] coordinator connections, 61
[37:39] peer coaches and numerous forms
[37:40] events that are actively
[37:42] measured. Not proof that Pima
[37:44] County 122,000 was necessary,
[37:47] and that the outcomes would not
[37:49] have occurred through schools,
[37:51] pcc Arbor and other community
[37:53] partners. Many have reported
[37:56] similar numbers and awards. So
[37:57] I get the sense that there is a
[37:59] lot of duplication in reporting.
[38:02] I recognize that's e. C MAY
[38:05] provide supplemental services.
[38:07] I'm not arguing that it is.
[38:09] Work has no value, but
[38:11] supplemental does not
[38:12] automatically mean the County
[38:15] should fund its live at this
[38:17] level. I urge the board to
[38:20] match the city revenue 19,580
[38:21] investment, rather than
[38:24] providing 122,000. There needs
[38:26] to be a compelling reason why
[38:27] Pima County should provide six
[38:30] time. MISS Garcia, thank you. I
[38:32] appreciate that. Our next
[38:35] speaker is Doctor Linda Bixby,
[38:37] who will be followed by Rocky
[38:44] Perez. Czajkowski and Melinda
[38:49] Mattson. Chair Allen, Vice
[38:51] Chair DR. Heinz and members of
[38:53] the board. It is a pleasure to
[38:54] be here this evening to speak
[38:57] about the Memorandum of
[38:59] Understanding establishing the
[39:01] Arizona Taiwan Talent and
[39:03] Innovation Hub at the Roy Place
[39:06] Building. As mentioned, my name
[39:08] is Doctor Linda Bixby. I am the
[39:10] chief research partnerships
[39:11] officer at the University of
[39:13] Arizona. I'm in a company today
[39:15] here by our director of our
[39:17] center for Semiconductor
[39:19] Manufacturing, Doctor Krishna
[39:21] Darin, and also Julie Katzel,
[39:22] who is our executive Director
[39:25] for community Relations
[39:27] regarding the Talent and
[39:29] Innovation Hub. It will connect
[39:30] education, research and
[39:31] workforce development in
[39:33] southern Arizona with one of
[39:34] the world's leading
[39:37] semiconductor ecosystems in
[39:39] Taiwan. It is a partnership
[39:41] between the University of
[39:43] Arizona and the National
[39:44] Yang-ming Chiao Tung University,
[39:47] with strong support from Pima
[39:49] County. On behalf of the
[39:51] university, I'm here to thank
[39:52] you. Thank you for providing
[39:54] the building that will house
[39:57] this hub. A partnership of this
[39:59] scale needs a visible home and
[40:01] the County support gives
[40:04] students, researchers, workers
[40:06] and industry partners a place
[40:09] to learn, collaborate and solve
[40:11] problems. Together, we look
[40:13] forward to celebrating
[40:15] celebrating this commitment in
[40:17] our ribbon cutting in OCTOBER
[40:19] and welcoming our first
[40:22] students already in JANUARY of
[40:25] 2027, the economic benefits for
[40:27] Pima County will reach well
[40:30] beyond the hub itself. A strong
[40:32] local talent pipeline here now
[40:35] helps Arizona companies hire.
[40:38] Here in southern Arizona. It
[40:39] strengthens Pima County's
[40:42] ability to attract suppliers,
[40:44] startups and new investments,
[40:46] and it can move university
[40:48] research into new products and
[40:51] businesses. Here, it can move
[40:53] university research and also
[40:54] brings these students and
[40:55] visiting researchers and
[40:57] industry partners to our region,
[41:00] supporting local employers and
[41:02] expanding connections to the
[41:04] global semiconductor economy.
[41:06] So thank you. Thank you for
[41:08] investing in the talent and
[41:09] innovation hub, for helping
[41:12] turn this partnership into a
[41:14] lasting asset for our community.
[41:16] We are grateful for your
[41:18] leadership and for your. And it
[41:20] excites us that we can build
[41:22] something together. So thank
[41:27] you again. Thank you. Our next
[41:36] speaker is Ricky Perez. Hello.
[41:39] Thanks again for having me. I
[41:42] wish it was under lighter
[41:43] circumstances, and I never
[41:44] thought I'd be back in call to
[41:46] the audience. So it's a weird
[41:48] place to be. I'm here obviously,
[41:50] in support of our item with the
[41:51] Southern Arizona Education
[41:53] Council's contract. I think
[41:55] it's apparent to me that
[41:56] there's a commonality within
[41:57] the outside interests in this,
[41:59] and unfortunately, it's
[42:01] political and personal. I think
[42:02] that the questions and the
[42:03] concerns that have been
[42:04] presented by individual
[42:06] supervisors are valid, and we
[42:08] have given them to the best of
[42:09] our ability, honest and
[42:12] thorough answers. I think that
[42:14] still a lot of them are without
[42:16] context, and I think a lot of
[42:17] the comments that I've heard
[42:19] here today are also without
[42:20] context. In talking with my
[42:23] board Chair earlier this week,
[42:24] and I think she also submitted
[42:27] an item to you all. I think we
[42:30] were in strong agreement that
[42:32] when it comes to this contract
[42:33] and the measurables relative to
[42:36] our peer coach program,
[42:38] post-secondary access to civic
[42:39] empowerment, they're all in
[42:40] alignment with action that this
[42:42] board took simultaneous to the
[42:44] evolution of mec, to the
[42:47] Education Council. And I think
[42:50] that there's room for
[42:51] opportunity that I think we can
[42:54] regard as growing pains. I hope,
[42:57] in the long run. But I think
[43:00] that it's a disservice to not
[43:01] recognize the immense growth
[43:04] that this organization has
[43:06] experienced over the last year
[43:08] and doubling its revenues,
[43:09] enrolling its sleeves up.
[43:11] Because, like you, I recognize
[43:13] the inequities between the city
[43:15] of Tucson and Pima County. It's
[43:17] not just relative to this
[43:18] contract. I recognize the same
[43:20] as applicable to PEEPs. And
[43:21] when I was a city Council
[43:23] member, I was the one that did
[43:24] the groundwork to ensure that
[43:27] we fronted some cost because it
[43:29] felt an imperative. I felt an
[43:30] imperative that we invested in
[43:31] Sunnyside and Flowing well
[43:33] school districts, and I was
[43:34] privileged to have actualized
[43:36] that. But in the absence of a
[43:39] city contribution of equal
[43:41] measure this year, as we have
[43:43] last year, we've always rolled
[43:45] our sleeves up. Like you all,
[43:46] when it comes to PEEPs and
[43:49] looking for alternative methods
[43:50] to to front those costs. And I
[43:52] think we've done exactly that.
[43:54] And so we will continue, I
[43:55] think, to the best of our
[43:56] ability in working with our
[43:58] city and County partners. But I
[44:00] think it would be a disservice
[44:02] to really hit us when we're
[44:04] already on a strong upwards
[44:07] momentum with, I think, some
[44:09] much needed action that could
[44:10] be remedied easily with action
[44:12] by this board. And so I hope
[44:14] you all will consider that. I
[44:16] also will say with my last 20s,
[44:18] that today I had an opportunity
[44:21] to join 80 or so people from
[44:24] across Arizona in Phoenix in a
[44:25] meeting that we called the
[44:28] Arizona Fafsa summit. And I
[44:30] think it was exactly the fuel
[44:31] that I needed and affirming. I
[44:33] was one amongst 80 people from
[44:34] Tucson that were actually
[44:35] present. And I think that's
[44:36] emblematic of the necessary
[44:38] investments you all have to
[44:40] make. Thank you. Thank you. And
[44:42] our next speaker is Mike
[44:47] Czajkowski. Hello. Good
[44:48] afternoon, Chair Allen. Members
[44:50] of the Board of Supervisors.
[44:52] Administrator Lesher. Pleasure
[44:53] to be speaking in front of you
[44:55] today. My name is Mike
[44:56] Czajkowski, newly appointed
[44:58] chief economic development
[45:01] officer for the Office of
[45:02] Community and Economic Impact
[45:03] for the City of Tucson. Say
[45:05] that five times fast. I'm here
[45:07] to share my support for the
[45:09] Talent Innovation Hub as well.
[45:11] I echo all of Doctor Bixby's
[45:12] comments on that. So I'm not
[45:14] going to repeat those comments
[45:15] in the effort, but I am very
[45:16] excited to see the
[45:18] possibilities of this. And as I
[45:20] will refer to the former
[45:21] Walgreens building where my mom
[45:23] worked when I was a kid and
[45:24] used to drink ice cream sodas.
[45:25] So very excited about that
[45:28] opportunity. I would also like
[45:29] to share my support for the
[45:30] Pima County Economic
[45:32] Development Strategic Plan. I
[45:33] will say collaboration between
[45:34] the city and the County is as
[45:36] high as I can remember in my 20
[45:38] plus years of service for the
[45:39] city of Tucson. I very much
[45:41] appreciate the work of Heath
[45:42] Vescovi and Frank Dillon in
[45:43] these efforts. The
[45:45] thoughtfulness not only for the
[45:46] second largest city in the
[45:48] state of Arizona, which we need
[45:50] to remind people more often of,
[45:52] I believe, but also for Oro
[45:54] Valley, Marana, Sahuarita
[45:56] unincorporated areas, and
[45:57] notably South Tucson very much
[45:59] appreciate those efforts. We
[46:01] are continuing that
[46:02] collaboration with all of our
[46:04] partners here, including the u
[46:06] of a, as we leave for Taiwan
[46:08] tomorrow, furthering economic
[46:08] development opportunities here
[46:11] in southern Arizona, support of
[46:12] the Economic Development
[46:13] Strategic Plan would only
[46:15] strengthen these opportunities
[46:16] in collaboration. So thank you
[46:18] very much for your time.
[46:22] Appreciate it. Thank you. And
[46:24] our next speaker is Melinda
[46:27] Matson Spina. And then it will
[46:29] be Megan Fink, followed by
[46:32] Casey Carrillo and Douglas Levy
[46:37] and Jay Tokov. Hello, my name
[46:41] is Melinda Matson Spina on
[46:44] OCTOBER 5th, 2024. I sent this
[46:47] board a letter. Administrator
[46:49] Lesher had sent you a memo that
[46:52] there was confusing overlap
[46:54] between military proposals
[46:56] coming to Pima County. My
[47:00] letter expanded on that fact. I
[47:01] wrote that many of us were
[47:03] concerned not only about these
[47:06] proposals overlap, but their
[47:08] changing use of the word
[47:10] hazardous in relation to
[47:13] civilian life, their lack of
[47:15] transparency, and their glaring
[47:18] absence of any mention of
[47:21] drones or ai. I reminded you
[47:23] that military announcements
[47:25] were rapidly advancing ai
[47:27] enabled weapons. And to be
[47:29] clear, surveillance is a weapon
[47:31] that tracks targets and
[47:34] controls people. I wrote that
[47:35] we were in the earliest stages
[47:38] of navigating ethics, let alone
[47:40] policy around these issues, and
[47:44] I formally requested that you,
[47:47] the leaders, start talking to
[47:50] us, the people, about this.
[47:53] That was two years ago. Now
[47:56] it's everywhere. The future is
[47:58] being decided for humanity by a
[48:01] dozen or so billionaires, a
[48:04] future built on vast expansion
[48:07] of strip mining, radioactive
[48:11] reprocessing, hyperscale data,
[48:14] mass surveillance, ai directed
[48:18] kill chains, global conflict,
[48:21] and upon each individual's
[48:24] personal intellectual property
[48:28] without consent and without
[48:32] quantitative support. Frontline
[48:33] communities are getting hit
[48:35] first because the front line
[48:39] never changes. Supervisor Allen,
[48:41] you have my deep gratitude for
[48:43] doing your best to catch up to
[48:47] the people. Supervisors Christy
[48:50] Hines and Scott, you were also
[48:51] put in office by the people to
[48:54] serve the people. In regards to
[48:57] your work around Project Blue,
[48:59] I have an announcement for you
[49:02] and those like you, politicians
[49:03] who make deals or decisions
[49:06] around technology before real
[49:08] rules for that technology even
[49:10] exist are not serving the
[49:12] people. So some of us in our
[49:13] community, together with other
[49:15] communities across the
[49:16] southwest, are now working to
[49:18] produce a documentary film. So
[49:21] that movement, this movement,
[49:23] integrity and your negligence
[49:25] will both be better marked in
[49:30] history. Thank you. And our
[49:39] next speaker is Megan Fink.
[49:41] Good evening. Thanks for having
[49:43] me. Chairs and members of the
[49:44] board. I'm Megan Fink, director
[49:45] of programs and events at
[49:47] Startup Tucson and ten West
[49:49] here. On behalf of our ceo, Liz
[49:50] Pocock, I'm sure you all know
[49:52] well to express our support for
[49:55] the memorandum mou for
[49:57] workplace, for the economic
[49:59] Development people to move into
[50:00] our building. As the longest
[50:02] running occupant of that
[50:03] building, we are thrilled to
[50:04] see these partners come
[50:05] together to further activate
[50:07] the building and continue
[50:09] building on downtown Tucson's
[50:11] innovation story. We've had a
[50:13] long standing partnership with
[50:15] Pima County Economic
[50:16] Development and the University
[50:17] of Arizona, including our
[50:19] friends at uac, who follows me
[50:20] in a second, and we're excited
[50:22] to see those partnerships
[50:24] deepen as this initiative
[50:25] evolves. We look forward to
[50:26] continuing to play a role in
[50:29] making workplace a place where
[50:30] entrepreneurs, partners, and
[50:32] new ideas come together. Thank
[50:33] you for your leadership and
[50:34] continued investment in
[50:35] Southern Arizona's innovation
[50:39] community. Thanks. Thank you.
[50:41] Our next speaker is Casey
[50:46] Carrillo. Good evening, Chair
[50:47] Allen and members of the board.
[50:49] My name is Casey Carrillo, and
[50:50] I am the chief innovation
[50:51] officer at the University of
[50:53] Arizona Center for innovation.
[50:54] That's a mouthful. We go by uac
[50:57] for short. I would like to
[50:59] express uac support for Pima
[51:01] County's vision to activate the
[51:03] place building as a hub for
[51:05] innovation, entrepreneurship
[51:06] and economic opportunity in
[51:09] downtown Tucson. Pima County
[51:10] has been a long standing and
[51:12] valued partner in advancing
[51:13] economic development across
[51:14] southern Arizona, which makes
[51:16] this partnership especially
[51:18] impactful and its ability to
[51:19] support the full continuum of
[51:21] economic growth. From helping
[51:23] our entrepreneurs and small
[51:24] businesses to the full scale
[51:26] and large scale businesses that
[51:27] we can help attract here to
[51:29] Pima County in southern Arizona.
[51:32] Through these efforts, uac has
[51:34] served more than 300 startups
[51:35] and were long standing partners
[51:36] and working very closely with
[51:37] Pima County Economic
[51:38] Development on our Soft
[51:41] Landings program and our fdi
[51:42] efforts. So we were very
[51:43] excited for the reactivation of
[51:46] this hub. The right place
[51:47] building represents an exciting
[51:49] opportunity to build on this
[51:50] momentum by creating a place
[51:52] that supports entrepreneurs,
[51:54] fosters innovation, and
[51:56] continues the and helps support
[51:58] the continued growth and
[52:00] vitality of downtown Tucson.
[52:01] Thank you for your leadership
[52:03] and commitment to economic
[52:05] development. Uac is a proud
[52:06] partner with Pima County and
[52:08] creating opportunities that
[52:09] strengthen Southern Arizona
[52:10] today and generations to come.
[52:13] Thank you so much. And that was
[52:14] only about 30s. So thank you
[52:17] all. Thank you. Our next
[52:21] speaker is Douglas Levy. I'd
[52:23] like to take some of her time.
[52:25] Chair Allen and members of the
[52:26] board. My name is Doug Levy.
[52:28] I'm a proud Democrat in Pima
[52:29] County with my business in the
[52:31] heart of downtown Tucson. And I
[52:33] take seriously how this board
[52:36] spends our tax dollars. I have
[52:37] closely read MR. Perez's
[52:39] memorandum and the financial
[52:40] materials submitted to the
[52:42] board. I believe they raise
[52:44] more questions than they answer.
[52:46] As MR. Blumenthal pointed out.
[52:48] First, MR. Perez now
[52:52] acknowledges that 52,200 of the
[52:54] 122,000 Pima County allocation
[52:56] went toward personnel expenses.
[52:59] Nearly half of the county's
[53:00] contribution. That matters
[53:02] because this contract has been
[53:03] presented as primarily
[53:06] supporting programs. Taxpayers
[53:07] deserve to know exactly how
[53:10] much of our money is supporting
[53:12] administration and executive
[53:13] compensation, and what
[53:14] measurable County services we
[53:18] receive in return. Second, cec
[53:21] reports nearly $298,000 in
[53:22] operating revenue,
[53:25] approximately 57,700 in net
[53:28] revenue, and more than 240,000
[53:29] in expenditures. Yet Pima
[53:30] County is being asked for
[53:34] another $122,000, more than six
[53:37] times the city's recurring
[53:39] $19,600 allocation. And then
[53:42] there is performance cec points
[53:46] to 5750 Fafsa completions and
[53:48] tens of millions of dollars in
[53:50] potential financial aid. But
[53:52] Fafsa completion is a
[53:54] collaborative effort involving
[53:57] schools, counselors, colleges,
[53:58] families, the Arizona Board of
[54:00] Regents, and other
[54:01] organizations. The materials do
[54:03] not establish how many of those
[54:05] outcomes were uniquely
[54:06] attributable to c, e, c, or,
[54:09] more importantly, what Pima
[54:12] County's $122,000 specifically
[54:15] produced. There is also the
[54:17] teen town hall, which did not
[54:20] happen secs own expenditures.
[54:23] Expenditure records show a $207
[54:25] cancellation fee paid for the
[54:28] venue in NOVEMBER 2025. This is
[54:29] the organization's own
[54:31] paperwork, confirming that a
[54:34] program described as a 30 year
[54:36] initiative did not occur. I
[54:38] also want to address
[54:39] compensation. MR. Perez's
[54:41] materials use inflation to
[54:43] justify his salary, pointing
[54:46] back to approximately $70,000
[54:47] salaries for his predecessors.
[54:49] But inflation alone cannot be
[54:51] the standard for taxpayer
[54:52] funded compensation.
[54:54] Compensation should also
[54:56] reflect qualifications,
[54:58] responsibilities, performance
[55:00] and measurable deliverables.
[55:01] Delivery. I'm not asking the
[55:03] board to make this decision
[55:05] based on personalities or
[55:07] relationships. I am asking you
[55:09] to apply the same standard to
[55:10] this organization that
[55:12] taxpayers expect from every
[55:13] public expenditure. Show us
[55:15] what was promised, what was
[55:17] delivered, what it cost, and
[55:19] what results taxpayers received.
[55:21] If you approve funding, I
[55:23] strongly urge you to require
[55:25] itemized contractual
[55:26] deliverables, quarterly
[55:28] financial reporting. Thank you.
[55:29] And then our last speaker is
[55:37] Jay Tarkoff. Well, good evening,
[55:40] board members, staff, fellow
[55:44] citizens. I came here with a
[55:46] statement in mind and my
[55:47] thunder is pretty much been
[55:49] ripped away. So I'm just going
[55:50] to wing it. I'm going to start
[55:53] out with a statement, which is
[55:57] extremely scary to me. 48 years
[55:58] and ten days ago, I drove
[56:00] across country and established
[56:02] residency here in Pima County,
[56:05] which means that I'm really old.
[56:08] I am a retired person, and in
[56:12] my retirement, I've decided to
[56:14] spend time interacting with
[56:16] many, many different groups of
[56:19] people across the spectrum to
[56:21] try to bring a better Pima
[56:26] County to us all. I was utterly
[56:29] amazed at of people
[56:31] that have reached out to me in
[56:32] the past couple of weeks about
[56:37] the issue, and being a guy who
[56:38] has directly employed almost
[56:40] ten 000 people in this County
[56:44] in his life, I'm really aware
[56:46] of that old saying that
[56:47] sometimes it's tough to
[56:48] remember. Your objective was to
[56:49] drain the swamp swamp when
[56:52] you're up to your in alligators,
[56:55] and I don't want to make any
[56:56] assumptions about the
[56:58] leadership at sec because I
[57:00] don't have enough information.
[57:02] But I do know this, that
[57:03] there's a lot of people out
[57:05] there that are not happy with
[57:07] the results. They're talking
[57:08] about it. And the decision that
[57:10] you make today is going to
[57:11] resound with a lot of people
[57:13] that you might not be aware of.
[57:18] I will say that I am a bit
[57:21] concerned about how cec has
[57:24] been run. I, I reviewed almost
[57:26] 130 pages of documents in the
[57:30] last week that have been
[57:33] provided through your offices.
[57:34] And, you know, just on a
[57:37] surface, I see an organization
[57:39] that in one month paid three
[57:43] months of rent with penalties.
[57:45] That doesn't say a well-run
[57:48] organization. We've talked
[57:51] about the the event that didn't
[57:52] happen, but there was a
[57:53] substitute event that happened,
[57:55] which was supposedly a
[57:57] democracy forum that was really
[57:58] nothing more than a litany of
[58:01] Partizan people on stage. I
[58:03] don't think that is a
[58:05] reasonable expense for the
[58:06] taxpayers to fund, and I think
[58:08] more than anything else, it's
[58:09] amazing to me that this
[58:11] contract was basically up at
[58:13] the end of the fiscal year, and
[58:15] almost a month and a half later,
[58:17] that organization is coming
[58:18] before this board asking for
[58:21] more money. I would say the,
[58:22] you know, they don't have their
[58:24] eye on the ball the way it
[58:26] should be. And I think there's
[58:27] a lot of people out there that
[58:29] know that I wanted to make sure
[58:31] you were aware of it, and I
[58:32] thank you for your time. Thank
[58:34] you. And with that, if there
[58:36] are no more speakers, I am
[58:41] closing. Oh, would you could
[58:42] you please fill out a speaker
[58:47] card after up right there.
[58:52] Super easy. Yeah. So if you
[58:54] want to go ahead, you can fill
[58:56] that out afterwards. Oh, I have
[58:58] oh, you could, you can go ahead
[58:59] and speak and then fill it out
[59:01] afterwards. I don't want to
[59:02] waste any time. Hand it in and
[59:04] then we will start the three
[59:06] minute timer as soon as we get
[59:07] started. CHAIRWOMAN. Go right
[59:08] ahead. Okay. Thank you. Thank
[59:09] you. So, CHAIRWOMAN Allen,
[59:12] thank you very much. My name is
[59:13] Jacqueline. Adele Kim. I come
[59:14] here on behalf of the United
[59:16] States Air Force reservists
[59:18] here at Davis-Monthan. I'd like
[59:20] once again to please take a
[59:21] moment of silence for that
[59:23] honorable citizen that we lost
[59:39] earlier this evening. I'm here
[59:40] today to speak about an
[59:42] extremely important matter, and
[59:45] I am here on behalf of the
[59:50] Center to End Domestic Violence.
[59:54] Sorry to take a turn down a
[59:55] dark alley that we never wanted
[59:56] to fully address here in the
[59:59] state of Arizona. Let's talk
[1:00:01] domestic violence and guns.
[1:00:04] These are the facts. A woman in
[1:00:05] an abusive relationship is five
[1:00:07] times more likely to be
[1:00:09] murdered when her partner has
[1:00:11] access to a gun. I'm a peace
[1:00:15] officer. I do not carry. Learn
[1:00:17] what you can do to protect your
[1:00:19] safety. These are widely
[1:00:21] available, widely available. I
[1:00:23] don't I don't know who's not
[1:00:24] ever heard of the emergency
[1:00:26] centers and domestic violence
[1:00:27] here in the state of Arizona,
[1:00:29] Arizona in the County. I don't
[1:00:32] know. What's alarmed me greatly
[1:00:35] is that the more and more and
[1:00:37] more that we see the violence
[1:00:39] in the state of Arizona, the
[1:00:40] violence in the city of Tucson,
[1:00:42] the violence in the County of
[1:00:44] Pima increase, increase and
[1:00:47] increase. It seems like
[1:00:49] survivors of domestic violence.
[1:00:51] Advocates of domestic violence.
[1:00:52] DR. Heinz, who used to work at
[1:00:54] Tucson Medical Center. You were
[1:00:55] one of my training physicians.
[1:00:57] Oh my gosh, I've heard your
[1:01:00] background. I'm glad that you
[1:01:06] no longer work there. I'm very
[1:01:07] disappointed in the recent care
[1:01:08] that I've received at Tucson
[1:01:10] Medical Center. But again, the
[1:01:12] issue is about domestic
[1:01:14] violence and guns. Seven women,
[1:01:16] 70 women on average, are killed
[1:01:17] every month by an intimate
[1:01:21] partner with a gun. A 2015
[1:01:23] report found by found that
[1:01:24] Arizona's domestic violence gun
[1:01:27] homicide rate is 45% higher
[1:01:32] than the national average. The
[1:01:35] same report showed that 62% of
[1:01:36] women killed by an intimate
[1:01:37] partner in Arizona were shot to
[1:01:45] death. Shot to death. I don't
[1:01:46] think this is the way that we
[1:01:48] need to proceed in the state of
[1:01:51] Arizona. So here are some
[1:01:54] warning signs. To get a
[1:01:55] domestic violence protective
[1:01:57] order in the state of Arizona.
[1:02:00] County of Pima. City of Tucson.
[1:02:01] An order of protection is an
[1:02:03] issue is issued by any court in
[1:02:04] Arizona is designed to prevent
[1:02:07] abuse. What you can ask for in
[1:02:09] this pamphlet. I have one
[1:02:10] second. Thank you very much. My
[1:02:13] name is Jacqueline Kim. Wish
[1:02:15] you all very well this evening.
[1:02:20] Thank you. So with that, we're
[1:02:21] going to close call to the
[1:02:23] public. And would any board
[1:02:24] members like to do any of the
[1:02:25] following request staff to
[1:02:27] follow up on a matter from call.
[1:02:28] The public requested an item be
[1:02:30] placed on a future agenda or
[1:02:32] respond to a criticism.
[1:02:35] Supervisor Kino Chair Allen. I
[1:02:37] simply wanted to thank the
[1:02:38] bravery of our neighbor
[1:02:40] Jacqueline, who just came up to
[1:02:42] discuss a very pressing issue
[1:02:43] of rising domestic violence
[1:02:45] cases throughout Pima County.
[1:02:47] You can take a little bit of a
[1:02:49] deep breath to know that this
[1:02:54] board, just a few weeks ago,
[1:02:56] approved an additional $250,000
[1:02:58] investment in domestic violence
[1:02:59] prevention programs, including
[1:03:00] the Southern Arizona Center
[1:03:02] Against Sexual Assault, the
[1:03:05] Emerge Center Against Domestic
[1:03:07] Violence and Abuse, as well,
[1:03:08] particularly the County, is
[1:03:09] going to be ensuring that some
[1:03:13] of the forensic exams that are
[1:03:15] administered after an act of
[1:03:18] violence against a victim are
[1:03:19] processed in a way, and we are
[1:03:21] filling the gaps and really
[1:03:23] critical ways. I know all of us
[1:03:25] share that commitment. This
[1:03:28] board voted. And to advance
[1:03:31] that additional priority. And I
[1:03:32] you know, I just want you to
[1:03:34] know, Jacqueline, that we're
[1:03:35] paying very close attention to
[1:03:37] the attention to this. And with
[1:03:39] many people in my life who have
[1:03:40] been impacted by domestic
[1:03:43] violence, including losing a
[1:03:46] family member to a stabbing by
[1:03:48] her boyfriend. This is a very
[1:03:49] sensitive issue that we will
[1:03:51] always be paying attention to
[1:03:56] and District 5. Thank you.
[1:04:00] Thank you, Supervisor Cano. We
[1:04:03] are now going to move on to the
[1:04:07] regular agenda. We have moved
[1:04:13] up items 18, 19 and addendum
[1:04:17] item number seven. And so I
[1:04:18] think though, given that we
[1:04:21] have people here who are for
[1:04:23] that are here for item number
[1:04:25] 19, the Southern Arizona
[1:04:26] Education Council, that will
[1:04:28] pop that up and address that
[1:04:30] one first. So we'll take that
[1:04:32] one now and then come back to
[1:04:33] the Pima County Economic
[1:04:36] Development Strategic Plan. So
[1:04:40] for item 19, this is a contract.
[1:04:41] This was continued from the
[1:04:44] previous meeting to provide for
[1:04:46] advancing economic, academic
[1:04:48] success and civic engagement
[1:04:54] for 122,000. I am the
[1:04:57] representative of the board on
[1:04:58] representative of the Board of
[1:05:01] Supervisors on the board of
[1:05:03] saec. So I wanted to just share
[1:05:07] a few initial comments, you
[1:05:09] know, for for just context,
[1:05:12] right? Mec saec has been a
[1:05:14] standing body standing
[1:05:15] commission that is jointly of
[1:05:18] the city and the County for 36
[1:05:21] years. Since 1990, it has been
[1:05:23] the role of the Board of
[1:05:25] Supervisors to appoint a member
[1:05:27] from the board to the to the
[1:05:29] Commission. In recent years it
[1:05:32] has been both. Chair Scott. It
[1:05:34] was Supervisor Grijalva, and
[1:05:36] then as of JANUARY it has been
[1:05:41] me, I and I have participated
[1:05:43] in one board meeting held this
[1:05:48] year. The County gives out
[1:05:50] hundreds of contracts and
[1:05:54] grants every single year.
[1:05:55] Undoubtedly in many of them,
[1:05:58] the leadership of that
[1:06:00] organization or that business
[1:06:03] are highly paid, and they MAY
[1:06:05] be earning salaries that are
[1:06:08] many times that of their lowest
[1:06:10] paid employee. And I will say
[1:06:14] the board has not, and I would
[1:06:17] believe, should not attempt to
[1:06:21] manage salary levels. And I
[1:06:23] think that there was we we
[1:06:24] received comments, too, about
[1:06:26] comparing the salary to that of
[1:06:29] teachers and noticing that
[1:06:31] discrepancy, which I. Which is
[1:06:33] a tremendous. Which is just
[1:06:36] well, it's it is wrong,
[1:06:37] woefully wrong that our
[1:06:39] teachers are underpaid. But I
[1:06:41] don't think that that is an
[1:06:42] argument for lowering the bar
[1:06:45] that we should all be striving
[1:06:46] towards being paid at the lower
[1:06:48] level that teachers are.
[1:06:49] Instead, it should be about
[1:06:51] raising the bar for for
[1:06:56] educators in our state. And I
[1:06:58] and I also just want to flag
[1:06:59] that I don't believe that it is
[1:07:01] the role of the Board of
[1:07:04] Supervisors to be micromanaging
[1:07:06] decisions that are made by. In
[1:07:09] this particular case of sac of
[1:07:11] the executive Committee of the
[1:07:13] board. Those are decisions that
[1:07:14] are made by that entity's
[1:07:16] executive committee, and that
[1:07:18] is. I don't think that it is
[1:07:20] our role to dig in and splice
[1:07:21] and dice, that we don't do it
[1:07:23] for other entities, and I'm
[1:07:25] concerned about the call that
[1:07:29] we should do it here. After
[1:07:32] looking at the the detailed
[1:07:36] reports from sec, there's a few
[1:07:37] things that I just wanted to
[1:07:40] note. The organization is
[1:07:41] doubled the number of host
[1:07:44] schools for a total of 18,
[1:07:45] added a new school system and
[1:07:47] almost tripled the number of
[1:07:48] peer coaches. Those are
[1:07:50] significant achievements.
[1:07:52] Program evaluation showed that
[1:07:54] 90% of advisors and 96% of peer
[1:07:56] coaches had an overall positive
[1:07:58] experience. The partnership
[1:07:58] with the Arizona Board of
[1:08:01] Regents has been a smart move,
[1:08:02] allowing sort of a shared
[1:08:04] investment model for greater
[1:08:08] impact and reach smart use of
[1:08:09] technology, which can expand
[1:08:11] program reach and the
[1:08:12] effectiveness, such as using
[1:08:14] the Strive scan to track
[1:08:16] registration and engagement and
[1:08:18] parent square to increase
[1:08:20] communication with parents. And
[1:08:22] then in the contract that that
[1:08:25] we have before us today. I am
[1:08:27] comfortable with the four
[1:08:28] deliverables that were
[1:08:30] specifically outlined. So one
[1:08:32] is that at least 4000 students
[1:08:33] receive college and career
[1:08:34] readiness support, with a
[1:08:36] minimum of 2500 completing
[1:08:38] post-secondary applications,
[1:08:39] scholarships or Fafsa
[1:08:40] submissions with peer coaching
[1:08:42] staff assistance. Second,
[1:08:44] students participating in at
[1:08:45] least two community based
[1:08:46] opportunities for public
[1:08:47] service policy learning.
[1:08:50] Community advocacy. Third,
[1:08:51] increasing Fafsa submissions by
[1:08:54] 15% each year, and fourth,
[1:08:55] delivering a minimum of three
[1:08:57] signature events, reaching at
[1:09:00] least 3200 students, family
[1:09:01] members, educators, and civic
[1:09:05] leaders. Going forward. For me
[1:09:06] personally, I have appreciated
[1:09:08] that Marana and Vale School
[1:09:10] System school districts are now
[1:09:12] among the participating
[1:09:13] districts, and I would love to
[1:09:16] see Ajo, and Bobby Yu school
[1:09:18] districts included. The vision
[1:09:20] of Southern Arizona Education
[1:09:22] Council is the right direction.
[1:09:24] There needs to be a plan, I
[1:09:26] think, to make a regional
[1:09:28] impact more of a reality. I
[1:09:30] think it's important to set a
[1:09:31] schedule for board meetings and
[1:09:33] a plan for filling existing
[1:09:36] board slots. And then I think
[1:09:38] last, I would be interested too,
[1:09:39] in moving forward and thinking
[1:09:41] about how Pima County can
[1:09:43] assist with reaching families.
[1:09:45] We have 7000 employees and some
[1:09:47] have children in high school
[1:09:48] and would be interested in
[1:09:50] knowing how we can be a good
[1:09:51] partner in integrating the
[1:09:53] services and the programs in
[1:09:59] within the County. I would like
[1:10:04] to move this forward with two.
[1:10:08] With us having two votes, one
[1:10:13] being around the the
[1:10:14] recommendations from the County
[1:10:15] administrator and considering
[1:10:17] those recommendations, the
[1:10:23] other being for the contract. I
[1:10:25] would like to move to approve
[1:10:30] funding the contract for
[1:10:33] 122,000. Second, seconded by
[1:10:36] Supervisor Hines. Is there
[1:10:41] discussion. MR. Scott. Chair
[1:10:43] Allen, I appreciate all of your
[1:10:45] comments and I appreciate your
[1:10:47] service. As our liaison to the
[1:10:49] Southern Arizona Education
[1:10:53] Council Board. Along with
[1:10:56] adding participation by the two
[1:10:57] school districts that you
[1:11:01] mentioned. Ajo, and Baboquivari.
[1:11:02] I would also like to see moving
[1:11:05] forward participation by
[1:11:07] Catalina Foothills Flowing
[1:11:09] Wells and Tanque Verde, who
[1:11:12] were not yet included in the
[1:11:16] peer coaching program. I'm not
[1:11:19] able to support continuing
[1:11:22] support for the County at the
[1:11:24] level that we have provided for
[1:11:29] the last two years of $122,000,
[1:11:31] and I have several reasons for
[1:11:35] that. One of them is that I
[1:11:38] think that, just like I have
[1:11:39] said from this dais to people
[1:11:42] from job path, I think that the
[1:11:44] Southern Arizona Education
[1:11:46] Council needs to diversify
[1:11:49] their revenue base. The County
[1:11:52] is providing a significant part
[1:11:55] of of the revenue. And the
[1:11:58] County administrator proposed
[1:12:02] what I thought was a way of not
[1:12:04] only helping to diversify that
[1:12:07] funding base, but also to
[1:12:10] potentially bring in even more
[1:12:11] revenue than you're getting
[1:12:13] right now. If you look at the
[1:12:14] County administrator's
[1:12:17] memorandum from AUGUST 19th,
[1:12:19] the fourth option that she
[1:12:24] offered was funding at $19,580
[1:12:26] based on the city's allocation,
[1:12:27] with a commitment for Pima
[1:12:29] County to increase funding up
[1:12:33] to $122,000 as a 1 to 1 match
[1:12:35] for documented new funding
[1:12:39] secured by cec above fiscal
[1:12:43] year 2025 2026 amounts, meaning
[1:12:45] that if sec brought in
[1:12:47] additional funding from another
[1:12:49] entity, the County would match
[1:12:50] that as long as it was
[1:12:53] documented. MR. Perez made what
[1:12:55] I thought was a valid point
[1:12:58] when he said that the city's
[1:13:01] allocation should not just be
[1:13:04] 19,000, should not be just the
[1:13:06] $19,580 that's coming out of
[1:13:07] the city manager's budget. But
[1:13:09] we should also take into
[1:13:12] account the slightly more than
[1:13:18] $30,000 of. Slightly more than.
[1:13:20] $20,000. I think it was an
[1:13:23] in-kind contribution for the
[1:13:26] rent of a city facility. So
[1:13:28] what I would do, Chair Allen,
[1:13:31] is make a substitute motion
[1:13:36] that we would fund at $40,000
[1:13:38] based on the city's allocation,
[1:13:39] with a commitment for Pima
[1:13:41] County to increase funding up
[1:13:45] to $122,000 as a 1 to 1 match
[1:13:46] for documented new funding
[1:13:49] secured by cec above fiscal
[1:13:58] year 2025 2026 amounts. So I'm
[1:14:01] not hearing a second. We will
[1:14:03] continue on if there is further
[1:14:05] discussion on the existing
[1:14:06] motion. Supervisor Christy,
[1:14:08] just for clarification, MADAM
[1:14:10] Chair, when you made your
[1:14:12] motion, does that include
[1:14:15] retaining the current director?
[1:14:20] I yes, that that's not our the
[1:14:21] the agenda item is, is to
[1:14:23] continue the contract or
[1:14:24] whether the contract is what's
[1:14:26] on the table. And so my motion
[1:14:30] is to fund the contract for
[1:14:33] 122,000 and retain MR. Perez as
[1:14:35] the director. That's not our
[1:14:38] decision. So it's basically
[1:14:41] just to fund the fund, the
[1:14:43] money to the organization,
[1:14:46] regardless of personnel or
[1:14:48] executive leadership. Correct.
[1:14:50] Okay. Thank you, MADAM Chair.
[1:14:51] The contract is what's on the
[1:14:53] table. And then I did note just
[1:14:55] just to clarify, is there is
[1:14:57] going to be a second vote that
[1:14:59] looks at some recommendations
[1:15:00] that the County administrator
[1:15:02] had put on the table. So this
[1:15:04] is a vote for the contract
[1:15:06] amount and then separate. We
[1:15:09] can look at the recommendations.
[1:15:12] So Chair Allen, Supervisor
[1:15:16] Scott, I neglected to say this
[1:15:18] earlier. Another reason I
[1:15:21] cannot support that amount is
[1:15:24] it the city of Tucson is
[1:15:27] contributing one sixth of what
[1:15:31] the of what Pima County is
[1:15:32] providing. And even if we take
[1:15:35] into account the in-kind
[1:15:37] contribution of rent, this
[1:15:39] inequity in funding a joint
[1:15:41] city County Commission, which
[1:15:44] has been a historic concern for
[1:15:46] most of the 36 years that the
[1:15:48] Commission has been in place,
[1:15:49] is not something that I can
[1:15:51] continue to support. I can
[1:15:53] remember when I was a member of
[1:15:56] the Executive Board of the
[1:15:57] Metropolitan Education
[1:15:59] Commission, we had former
[1:16:02] former late supervisor Elias
[1:16:03] and then Ward one Council
[1:16:05] member, Regina Romero, come to
[1:16:07] an executive board meeting and
[1:16:08] assure us that equalizing
[1:16:09] funding between the city and
[1:16:11] County would be a priority.
[1:16:13] That's never happened. So
[1:16:14] that's another reason that I'm
[1:16:19] just not able to support that.
[1:16:21] I'm I want to continue to
[1:16:23] support the organization, but
[1:16:25] there needs to be a means of
[1:16:28] addressing this historic
[1:16:30] inequity between funding for
[1:16:32] what was has always been a
[1:16:35] joint endeavor of both
[1:16:40] jurisdictions. Supervisor Hines,
[1:16:43] thank you. Look, sometimes I
[1:16:44] think maybe there hasn't been
[1:16:45] the best communication, but I
[1:16:47] can point to the same thing
[1:16:48] with other entities that we
[1:16:50] fund at a very at a much larger
[1:16:52] amount. We give half $1 million
[1:16:55] to the Southern Arizona Chamber.
[1:16:58] And what's that? And I don't
[1:16:59] know. The city gives much, if
[1:17:01] at all. So. And also the city
[1:17:03] is in a bit of a pickle right
[1:17:04] now. I mean, later on in this
[1:17:06] agenda, we're going to approve
[1:17:08] $35 million for asphalt, by the
[1:17:10] way. So I just think it's
[1:17:12] important. Context is important.
[1:17:14] We've seen an increase in Fafsa
[1:17:14] applications, which I
[1:17:15] appreciate. That's what it's
[1:17:17] there for. This was originally
[1:17:20] a two city of Tucson County of
[1:17:22] Pima entity. And so I would
[1:17:23] like to see it supported at the
[1:17:25] same level. And again, I think
[1:17:26] it's important to differentiate.
[1:17:30] This board does not like hire a
[1:17:32] director or tell this other
[1:17:33] board how to do their job.
[1:17:35] That's this is this is to
[1:17:38] simply saying this type of
[1:17:39] service and this type of work
[1:17:41] is a priority for Pima County,
[1:17:43] as it should be. And we should
[1:17:46] work with sec to, to make these
[1:17:50] numbers bigger, frankly. Chair
[1:17:51] Supervisor Cano, first off, I
[1:17:53] want to say thank you to you,
[1:17:55] Chair Allen, for your service
[1:17:57] on this Southern Arizona
[1:17:59] Education Council. All of us on
[1:18:01] this board have an assignment
[1:18:03] to a regional entity. And I
[1:18:06] applaud your leadership as the
[1:18:08] only board member with a parent
[1:18:12] in our public schools right now
[1:18:14] whose peers benefit from
[1:18:16] college access and college
[1:18:18] attainment, the partnership
[1:18:19] that the County has had with
[1:18:21] the former Metropolitan
[1:18:22] Education Commission, now
[1:18:24] Southern Arizona Education
[1:18:26] Council is nearly three decades
[1:18:29] in the making. I was one of
[1:18:30] their participants with the
[1:18:32] Youth Advisory Council, Tucson
[1:18:34] Teen Congress, when I was 15
[1:18:36] years old. I went through the
[1:18:38] program, took my first trip to
[1:18:40] Washington, dc to advocate for
[1:18:42] Early Childhood Education fund,
[1:18:44] to be doing that now as a board
[1:18:47] of supervisor. And I was able
[1:18:49] to meet an entire network of
[1:18:51] folks like MISS Martinez at the
[1:18:54] young age of 15, 16, 17, 18,
[1:18:56] all throughout high school and
[1:18:58] college, to be able to
[1:19:00] encourage folks to give to
[1:19:02] their community by going to
[1:19:04] school. And just in the last
[1:19:06] two years, from a statewide
[1:19:09] perspective, when we have had a
[1:19:11] significant drop in Fafsa
[1:19:13] applications because of a
[1:19:14] botched rollout, for instance,
[1:19:16] with the Department of
[1:19:17] Education, where Pima Community
[1:19:19] College had to come in, where
[1:19:20] our University of Arizona had
[1:19:22] to come in to be able to say,
[1:19:25] we want our kids to go to
[1:19:26] college. The decision that I'm
[1:19:27] making today to support this
[1:19:29] motion is irrespective of who
[1:19:31] the executive director is, it
[1:19:36] is irrespective of the what I
[1:19:38] feel is, is ultimately trying
[1:19:41] to put this board into a binary
[1:19:43] choice between whether we
[1:19:45] support progress or not. I will
[1:19:47] always vote for our kids and
[1:19:49] for our youth and for our
[1:19:52] children. And I, I, I encourage
[1:19:56] those who are looking for an
[1:19:57] opportunity to make sure that
[1:19:59] their taxpayer dollars are well
[1:20:02] spent. Please know that this
[1:20:03] County, thanks to you. Thanks
[1:20:05] to the hard working taxpayers
[1:20:07] of this jurisdiction, support
[1:20:09] outside agencies in a
[1:20:12] meaningful way. $4 million
[1:20:14] annually going to regions,
[1:20:15] nonprofits from housing
[1:20:20] security, from access to legal
[1:20:22] to legal rights. When it comes
[1:20:24] to people's worst nightmares,
[1:20:28] having opportunity. There's
[1:20:30] over 130 organizations that get
[1:20:31] County dollars. And if I were
[1:20:33] to go line by line asking each
[1:20:35] and every single one of them
[1:20:37] about some of the concerns that
[1:20:39] have been brought for this
[1:20:41] contract, I just don't think
[1:20:43] it's a good precedent. And I, I
[1:20:46] implore us to figure out how we
[1:20:48] can ensure that some of the
[1:20:50] recommendations that the
[1:20:51] administrator has made can
[1:20:58] really be. Explored before we
[1:21:00] absolutely decimate a program
[1:21:03] that, in my opinion, is working
[1:21:04] the way that this contract is
[1:21:06] brought forth right now as a
[1:21:08] proposal through the economic
[1:21:09] development team is different
[1:21:11] than our outside agency team. I
[1:21:13] have questions about what that
[1:21:15] means moving forward, and how
[1:21:16] we are ensuring that there is
[1:21:18] some parity in that. Because
[1:21:21] the to my colleague from
[1:21:22] district two, his point there
[1:21:23] are other organizations who
[1:21:25] have not had to go through the
[1:21:28] three memorandums of inquiries
[1:21:31] that we've had. And let me
[1:21:34] remind the. Let me remind us
[1:21:35] the difference between the
[1:21:37] County and the city funding
[1:21:39] structure. Cities are dependent
[1:21:41] on sales tax and state shared
[1:21:43] revenue. That means that their
[1:21:46] budget goes like this every
[1:21:48] single year. And the flat tax
[1:21:50] passed by the state legislature
[1:21:52] just a few years ago has meant
[1:21:53] that cities and towns and their
[1:21:57] revenue is going like this. The
[1:21:59] County is funded through
[1:22:02] property taxes. Property taxes
[1:22:05] are stagnant. In most cases. We.
[1:22:06] Whether those economic storms
[1:22:09] and people's property is now
[1:22:11] worth more when the valuations
[1:22:12] come up. And so that's how
[1:22:13] we've been able to continue
[1:22:15] making investments across the
[1:22:16] board in our people and our
[1:22:18] nonprofits in our community. So
[1:22:20] to put the expectation that we
[1:22:22] would go to 40,000, or we would
[1:22:24] go to 2000 to match what the
[1:22:26] city is doing means that there
[1:22:29] would be fewer students served.
[1:22:31] I refuse to accept that reality,
[1:22:33] and I look forward to
[1:22:39] supporting the motion. I feel
[1:22:40] compelled to just throw in one
[1:22:42] last little morsel. Sorry. I
[1:22:46] know we try to keep moving, but
[1:22:47] so I am the. I'm the first
[1:22:50] person in my family and for a
[1:22:51] large swath of family to
[1:22:53] graduate with a four year
[1:22:54] degree. And one of the things
[1:22:56] that means is that my parents
[1:22:59] were not able to help me do the
[1:23:01] search for college and to fill
[1:23:02] out the applications and think
[1:23:04] about where do I want to go and
[1:23:06] all of that labyrinth. We were
[1:23:09] we were fortunate enough to. We
[1:23:11] had we had to hire somebody who
[1:23:13] could like, sit down and walk
[1:23:15] me through all of the paperwork
[1:23:16] that was necessary and think
[1:23:18] about where to go. Those, those
[1:23:20] roles. If I hadn't had that
[1:23:22] help, things would have been
[1:23:25] very different. So the support
[1:23:27] that is that needs to be there,
[1:23:29] I think often gets taken for
[1:23:31] granted without having if you
[1:23:33] don't come from parents who
[1:23:34] understand what that process
[1:23:37] looks like, it's really hard to
[1:23:40] navigate. So I appreciate the
[1:23:42] work then that is done. To hold
[1:23:44] kids by the hand. Especially
[1:23:46] had it been done by a peer
[1:23:50] would have been amazing. So the
[1:23:52] the work is important and I
[1:23:54] have lived the importance of
[1:23:57] that kind of work. So with that,
[1:24:00] all those in favor. Chair.
[1:24:02] Sorry to interrupt. Oh, on the
[1:24:05] on the you mentioned splitting
[1:24:06] this into two votes. It's
[1:24:08] agendized as a contract vote.
[1:24:11] If there is a desire to put
[1:24:13] conditions on a vote of
[1:24:14] approval, that MAY be
[1:24:15] appropriate, but a separate
[1:24:17] vote is not agendized for the
[1:24:20] rest of the recommendations.
[1:24:23] Good point. All right, all
[1:24:28] right. So I we're gonna have to
[1:24:36] bundle back into one vote. So.
[1:24:41] Can. Yeah, I'll withdraw my
[1:24:44] motion and then put forward a
[1:24:50] new motion that is to approve
[1:24:55] the contract for 122 k and
[1:24:57] include the recommendations
[1:24:59] that the County administrator
[1:25:03] had outlined in the AUGUST 9th
[1:25:05] memo, I believe. Chair. Alice.
[1:25:09] AUGUST 5th, AUGUST 5th memo
[1:25:10] that states one develop a
[1:25:11] matrix of monthly, quarterly
[1:25:13] annual reports and deliverables,
[1:25:14] including blah, blah, blah,
[1:25:16] blah blah. Two provide the
[1:25:17] board and supervisors with
[1:25:18] quarterly reports on the
[1:25:20] operations sac beginning
[1:25:21] OCTOBER 1st and three. Schedule
[1:25:23] the requested amendment to Pima
[1:25:26] County Board resolution for
[1:25:27] consideration. The SEPTEMBER
[1:25:28] 8th Board of Supervisors
[1:25:31] meeting. Those recommendations,
[1:25:33] I think, bolster the
[1:25:35] transparency, accountability,
[1:25:38] communication and start to get
[1:25:41] some of the the paperwork
[1:25:43] alignment right for the new
[1:25:46] resolution for the name. So
[1:25:49] that is my new motion. Second,
[1:25:54] second and administrator Lesher.
[1:26:02] MADAM. Can we. Is it. I'm. To
[1:26:05] the. I'm sorry. Can we. Well,
[1:26:07] we'll finish our. We had call
[1:26:10] to the public which was the
[1:26:14] time to speak about it. I I'm
[1:26:15] not I'm sorry. Not right now.
[1:26:17] We can't we can't do it during
[1:26:19] without being in call to the
[1:26:23] public. Thank you. Seconded.
[1:26:24] Discussion. Chair. Alan. Go
[1:26:28] ahead. Thank you, Chair Allen.
[1:26:29] Administrator Lesher, I want to
[1:26:31] commend you for being a strong
[1:26:33] champion of our partnership
[1:26:34] with the Southern Arizona
[1:26:35] Education Council and ensuring
[1:26:37] that these recommendations to
[1:26:39] ensure transparency and
[1:26:41] oversight are included in the
[1:26:43] recommendations. Is it not the
[1:26:46] case with this overarching
[1:26:48] contract of 122,000 that the
[1:26:50] County is also, if they are not
[1:26:52] compliant with some of these
[1:26:54] recommendations, this payment.
[1:26:55] Question number one is this
[1:26:58] payment is not a lump sum. And
[1:26:59] so is that is that accurate?
[1:27:02] And number two, if we see as a
[1:27:04] board that there are
[1:27:06] deficiencies in administering
[1:27:07] the recommendations that this
[1:27:09] board approves, how do you make
[1:27:11] that decision to not send the
[1:27:12] second, the third or the fourth
[1:27:14] check? Does that question make
[1:27:15] sense? It does. Thank you.
[1:27:17] Chair Allen and Supervisor Kino,
[1:27:18] as we note in the
[1:27:19] recommendation, we are looking
[1:27:21] for the inclusion in this
[1:27:23] contract, a very specific
[1:27:24] reporting requirements, what we
[1:27:26] have been discussing, and we
[1:27:28] can work with the organization
[1:27:30] examples we have of another
[1:27:32] organization where there are
[1:27:33] regular deliverables. We
[1:27:35] receive those deliverables a
[1:27:36] response, and we see what they
[1:27:38] have done each month and at the
[1:27:40] end of the month or the quarter,
[1:27:41] whatever we've determined, if
[1:27:43] everything has come in as it is
[1:27:44] required, then payment is sent.
[1:27:46] So I think that's one of the
[1:27:47] things that we can that our
[1:27:49] staff will be working with sac
[1:27:50] to make sure we understand
[1:27:51] those very specifics, that
[1:27:53] without the work being done and
[1:27:54] the report coming to the board,
[1:27:55] the next checks wouldn't be
[1:27:58] sent. Thank you for that
[1:28:00] clarification. Chair Allen.
[1:28:02] Supervisor Scott, I want to
[1:28:06] thank you for attempting to
[1:28:08] divide the question. That was
[1:28:10] at my request, as you know, and
[1:28:11] I'm sorry that I got you in
[1:28:13] trouble with MR. Brown. I am
[1:28:15] going to support your new
[1:28:18] motion because although I
[1:28:19] disagree with the amount, for
[1:28:23] the reasons that I stated, the
[1:28:26] measures that are recommended
[1:28:28] by the County administrator in
[1:28:30] her AUGUST 5th memo, I think
[1:28:32] are going to not only safeguard
[1:28:37] our investment, but also assist
[1:28:40] both our staff and sac staff in
[1:28:44] making sure that the priorities
[1:28:45] of the organization in terms of
[1:28:48] student service are exemplified.
[1:28:50] And, you know, it means a great
[1:28:52] deal to me to hear you and
[1:28:54] Supervisor Cano talk about the
[1:28:55] role that education has played
[1:28:58] in your lives, because as the
[1:29:01] only educator on this dais, I
[1:29:04] spent close to three decades
[1:29:05] working in middle and high
[1:29:07] schools with the kind of
[1:29:08] students who are served by the
[1:29:10] Southern Arizona Education
[1:29:12] Council. The one of the very
[1:29:15] first things that I did as a
[1:29:16] student council advisor when I
[1:29:18] was a seventh grade teacher,
[1:29:21] was take students to a
[1:29:22] Metropolitan Education
[1:29:23] Commission event. I was the
[1:29:25] principal of a school that
[1:29:27] hosted the teen town hall more
[1:29:29] than once. And as I said
[1:29:31] previously, I was on the
[1:29:33] Metropolitan Education
[1:29:35] Commission Executive Board
[1:29:37] during my last position as a as
[1:29:41] a principal. And it was because
[1:29:43] of that long history and
[1:29:44] appreciation for and
[1:29:47] understanding of the role the
[1:29:48] Commission now Council has
[1:29:50] played in our community for 36
[1:29:52] years, that I asked the
[1:29:55] questions that I did. And to be
[1:29:57] fair, I waited two months to
[1:30:00] get answers. Two months. And
[1:30:02] then when those answers came in,
[1:30:04] I did have some follow up
[1:30:06] questions and I got answers to
[1:30:08] those. I do feel good about
[1:30:11] what I'm hearing about the peer
[1:30:12] coaching program. I am glad
[1:30:17] that there is a date for a date
[1:30:20] certain for a teen town hall. I
[1:30:24] do think that there is. Still a
[1:30:26] lot of questions that I have
[1:30:27] about the partnership with
[1:30:28] Santa Cruz County, but I know
[1:30:31] that we're taking that up on
[1:30:33] SEPTEMBER 8th based on, on, on
[1:30:38] this, on on this motion, if
[1:30:39] it's approved. But I just want
[1:30:41] my colleagues to know I asked
[1:30:44] these questions not to start up
[1:30:48] some kind of intraparty dispute
[1:30:50] that was an essentially an
[1:30:51] extension of the legislative
[1:30:54] district 20 Democratic primary.
[1:30:59] Nor did I want to make this a
[1:31:01] discussion about the person who.
[1:31:04] As Chair Allen pointed out, the
[1:31:06] saac board has appointed as
[1:31:08] their chief employee. We have
[1:31:10] no role in that. What I wanted
[1:31:13] to bring up were questions that
[1:31:15] I had about what was happening
[1:31:17] and what was not happening
[1:31:20] during the last contract year
[1:31:21] before we approved a new
[1:31:23] contract. I did that not only
[1:31:26] because of my past as an
[1:31:27] educator, my interest in the
[1:31:29] work of the commission, but
[1:31:32] it's because I have a fiduciary
[1:31:33] responsibility, as all of us do
[1:31:35] when we're considering a
[1:31:36] contract, a six figure contract.
[1:31:38] And yes, it's small compared to
[1:31:40] some of the other things that
[1:31:41] come before us. But I felt
[1:31:42] those questions were important
[1:31:46] to ask, and I appreciate MR.
[1:31:48] Perez's responses, and I look
[1:31:51] forward to the work that the
[1:31:52] Commission does. I'm sorry I
[1:31:53] keep calling it the commission.
[1:31:55] The council does in in the year
[1:31:57] to come. And Chair Allen, thank
[1:31:59] you for your new motion, which
[1:32:03] I will be pleased to support.
[1:32:05] Supervisor Christy. I keep
[1:32:07] listening to the discussions,
[1:32:08] listening to the call to the
[1:32:11] public, listening to our my
[1:32:13] colleagues, reading letters to
[1:32:15] my office from numerous
[1:32:17] citizens about this whole issue.
[1:32:20] And I, I, I know there's
[1:32:21] something missing here, and I
[1:32:23] think I put my finger on it.
[1:32:25] It's called common sense. There
[1:32:27] are so many red flags being
[1:32:29] waved in this whole process
[1:32:32] from the leadership of this
[1:32:34] organization that it to me, it
[1:32:36] is astounding that we can sit
[1:32:39] here and not raise those issues
[1:32:44] every everything. That points
[1:32:47] to dysfunction points to the
[1:32:49] way that the structure is is
[1:32:51] created in this organization.
[1:32:54] And it starts at the top. The
[1:32:56] issue of, of sitting on the
[1:32:59] city Council and putting excess
[1:33:01] funds from his predecessor and
[1:33:02] directing it to the same
[1:33:03] commission, he's going to come
[1:33:06] back and sit as the executive
[1:33:07] director from going down to
[1:33:09] Santa Cruz County and bringing
[1:33:10] bringing them on board. And
[1:33:12] then they're not on board, but
[1:33:13] yet keeping a name that
[1:33:15] includes them, all of these
[1:33:18] issues, I think, show that
[1:33:20] there is something inherently
[1:33:22] wrong with the structure of
[1:33:24] this organization. And it
[1:33:27] starts at the top. We can't
[1:33:29] proceed. And with my colleagues
[1:33:32] saying that it's only $122,000,
[1:33:34] or we have a fiduciary
[1:33:36] relationship with the community
[1:33:38] to make sure that everything is
[1:33:41] is being spent properly,
[1:33:42] $122,000 is still taxpayer
[1:33:44] money, and we have to look at
[1:33:46] how it's being spent and who is
[1:33:48] spending it and what leadership
[1:33:51] is behind it. Until the
[1:33:52] leadership and the until the
[1:33:55] inherent structure of this
[1:33:58] organization is dismantled and
[1:34:00] started over, if even if indeed
[1:34:03] it even needs to be, then we
[1:34:05] must really look at what we're
[1:34:07] doing as far as our
[1:34:09] responsibility to the taxpayers.
[1:34:11] This whole thing stinks to high
[1:34:13] heaven. There's flags and
[1:34:15] signals that are saying so, and
[1:34:18] it. And I just can't understand
[1:34:20] why my colleagues aren't more
[1:34:21] concerned about how taxpayer
[1:34:24] money is being spent and where
[1:34:25] the money is going, and who's
[1:34:28] in charge of it. Thank you,
[1:34:32] MADAM Chair. All those in favor?
[1:34:36] Aye. Opposed? Opposed. Motion
[1:34:41] passes for one Chair. Yes. For
[1:34:42] clarification. For the record,
[1:34:44] based on that motion, there is
[1:34:46] a contract that was just
[1:34:48] approved, but there are three
[1:34:49] recommendations that should not
[1:34:51] be considered incorporated by
[1:34:53] reference into that contract.
[1:34:54] Our office will make those
[1:34:57] changes. But so the the version
[1:34:59] that's in the agenda was not
[1:35:00] the version that was just
[1:35:01] approved. It's the version
[1:35:02] version based on the motion
[1:35:04] that includes those three
[1:35:04] recommendations. And we'll
[1:35:06] submit those changes to the
[1:35:08] board office. Thank you, thank
[1:35:13] you. I'm going to hop. As I
[1:35:15] know I said we were going to go
[1:35:17] to one thing. I'm going to pop
[1:35:18] this to one other thing. Just
[1:35:20] because there's a number of
[1:35:21] people that are here for
[1:35:22] addendum item number seven.
[1:35:23] That's the University of
[1:35:24] Arizona with the mou
[1:35:25] establishing the Arizona,
[1:35:27] Arizona, Taiwan Talent and
[1:35:30] Innovation Hub at the Roy Place
[1:35:33] building. Oh. Addendum eight oh,
[1:35:41] sorry. So. Addendum eight. I
[1:35:43] will move the item. Okay.
[1:35:44] Seconded by Supervisor Hines.
[1:35:46] Any discussion, MADAM Chair
[1:35:48] Supervisor Christy, let me
[1:35:49] preface my remarks by saying I
[1:35:52] have the utmost respect for the
[1:35:54] for the program, for the
[1:35:55] University's involvement in it,
[1:35:57] and for the speakers who are
[1:35:59] here tonight speaking in favor
[1:36:03] of this motion. I have a
[1:36:05] problem with that. I, I that is
[1:36:07] causing me not to be able to
[1:36:09] support this, this particular
[1:36:11] item for one particular reason.
[1:36:15] I feel that the location is
[1:36:17] misguided and misplaced. The
[1:36:21] Roy Place building is not being
[1:36:25] utilized now. It is in a very
[1:36:28] highly attractive area for
[1:36:30] development. It should be put
[1:36:34] to use to derive income and in
[1:36:35] a lease basis, maybe even a
[1:36:38] purchase basis for the
[1:36:40] taxpayers. I have no problem
[1:36:43] with the with the connection
[1:36:46] between Taiwan and the
[1:36:47] educational elements and the
[1:36:49] innovative elements of it, I
[1:36:51] think is terrific, but I think
[1:36:52] that it needs a second look at
[1:36:56] to the location. It's downtown.
[1:36:59] It's a iconic building that has,
[1:37:01] I think, such capacity to
[1:37:04] generate revenue and, and be
[1:37:06] put on the tax rolls and create
[1:37:07] income for the County and for
[1:37:10] its citizens. And I would
[1:37:12] suggest that the the best place
[1:37:15] that this entity or this
[1:37:17] headquarters should be located
[1:37:20] is preferably at at one of our
[1:37:22] u of a tech parks. It makes
[1:37:24] sense to put something of this
[1:37:26] technical, innovative nature in
[1:37:28] one of our tech parks, rather
[1:37:30] than a building downtown that
[1:37:33] could be generating income and
[1:37:34] revenue for the taxpayers of
[1:37:38] Pima County. I would hope that
[1:37:40] I'm certain that this is going
[1:37:42] to pass as presented, but I
[1:37:44] would hope that perhaps the
[1:37:47] leaders behind this and at the
[1:37:48] university would consider
[1:37:50] putting it in a more opportune
[1:37:53] place to to grow and to enhance
[1:37:56] the whole ethos of what they're
[1:37:57] trying to do, rather than
[1:38:00] putting it downtown in a, in a
[1:38:02] location that could be put on
[1:38:04] the tax rolls and, and be
[1:38:07] generating revenue. So I'm, I
[1:38:09] respect the folks that talk
[1:38:10] tonight. They're friends of
[1:38:12] mine. I, I applaud the efforts
[1:38:14] that they're doing. I just feel
[1:38:16] that the location is wrong and
[1:38:18] that it would be better located
[1:38:20] at a tech park. And we have
[1:38:21] beautiful tech parks. As a
[1:38:22] matter of fact, there's one in
[1:38:27] district four. So I won't be
[1:38:30] able to support this based on
[1:38:31] where the location is. Not not
[1:38:34] the project, not the connection
[1:38:36] with the innovation, but the
[1:38:37] location. Thank you, MADAM
[1:38:40] Chair. Chair Allen. Supervisor,
[1:38:41] I have an inquiry and a
[1:38:45] question of the administrator
[1:38:46] or an inquiry. Then I'm going
[1:38:48] to make a statement.
[1:38:49] Administrator Lesher is it not
[1:38:52] the case already that your
[1:38:55] office is exploring the best
[1:38:58] way to limit our footprint
[1:39:01] downtown, and to look for
[1:39:02] avenues to bring in additional
[1:39:04] revenues with their existing
[1:39:06] properties? Chair Allen
[1:39:07] Supervisor Connor Yes, we have
[1:39:09] been spending a couple of years
[1:39:10] looking at how we can
[1:39:12] reallocate, how we use space
[1:39:13] differently, and how we can
[1:39:15] combine facilities so that we
[1:39:17] can get out of leases on some
[1:39:18] buildings or those we own. We
[1:39:20] could sell if necessary. So yes,
[1:39:23] sir. So for the folks watching,
[1:39:24] watching at home, the County is
[1:39:26] already looking for ways to
[1:39:27] reduce our footprint footprint
[1:39:30] in the downtown area that can
[1:39:31] encourage public private
[1:39:33] partnership, that can get
[1:39:34] properties that don't need to
[1:39:36] be on the on the county's tax
[1:39:37] roll into the private sector.
[1:39:39] That's a good thing because
[1:39:41] it'll mean efficiency. It'll
[1:39:43] mean us being a lot smarter
[1:39:45] about the space that we are
[1:39:48] using. Second, welcome to our
[1:39:50] partners in Taiwan to District
[1:39:51] 5, and the opportunity for us
[1:39:54] to continue to look for ways to
[1:39:55] grow our footprint downtown and
[1:39:58] to ensure that public private
[1:39:59] partnerships, especially with
[1:40:02] our academic institutions, be a
[1:40:04] core focus of our economic
[1:40:05] development as a County and as
[1:40:07] a region. I have seen
[1:40:09] partnerships like this work in
[1:40:11] other communities, particularly
[1:40:12] in Phoenix, attending Arizona
[1:40:14] State University and seeing
[1:40:16] that downtown campus when it
[1:40:17] was just starting, when it was
[1:40:19] completely brand new, when the
[1:40:20] dorms were being built, and now
[1:40:23] it is a state of the art
[1:40:25] extension of higher education,
[1:40:27] of economic development. And I
[1:40:29] believe very strongly in our
[1:40:30] partnership between our County
[1:40:32] economic development team, our
[1:40:34] academic institutions, but most
[1:40:35] importantly to the people of
[1:40:37] Taiwan who have invested,
[1:40:38] particularly in one County,
[1:40:40] very heavily, I am eager to get
[1:40:43] some of those resources down to
[1:40:45] our County, the second largest
[1:40:46] County, because it's good
[1:40:49] economic development, it's good
[1:40:50] international relations, and
[1:40:52] more than anything, it's an
[1:40:55] exciting opportunity for a
[1:40:56] return on investment to the
[1:40:59] taxpayers. Thank you,
[1:41:01] Supervisor Haynes. Thank you.
[1:41:03] And excellent comments from my
[1:41:04] colleague from district five as
[1:41:05] well. I would say, having been
[1:41:08] to Taiwan and I will be going
[1:41:11] back tomorrow, actually, I
[1:41:14] details matter where especially
[1:41:18] for this first this first
[1:41:21] building, this first this
[1:41:23] effort details matter very,
[1:41:25] very much. Heck, when they
[1:41:26] didn't have my title right on a
[1:41:28] couple of cards, people freaked
[1:41:31] out. Right? So it is important
[1:41:32] that we make a statement not
[1:41:35] just by saying, yes, we're
[1:41:36] going to partner with u of a
[1:41:37] and the County. And that's
[1:41:39] great, but doing it in a place
[1:41:40] where it's literally across the
[1:41:42] street from the seat of our
[1:41:43] County government and right
[1:41:44] next to City Hall and right
[1:41:47] next to the court and in a very
[1:41:48] prominent central location. And
[1:41:50] there will be so many more uses,
[1:41:52] amazing uses for the tech parks
[1:41:54] and district four. And in other
[1:41:55] districts. Do not worry,
[1:41:57] because not only will this be
[1:41:58] the start of a great
[1:42:01] relationship with an nyc u, but
[1:42:02] also we have an exchange. I
[1:42:04] think it's 20 students, right?
[1:42:05] Anyway, but we already have an
[1:42:09] exchange going on with n, s y,
[1:42:10] su2020 students coming here, I
[1:42:12] think right now and then going
[1:42:14] there from u of a and that's
[1:42:16] that university is actually in
[1:42:17] Zhoushan, which is our sister
[1:42:20] city now. So I think anywhere
[1:42:23] we can, the semiconductor
[1:42:25] adjacent ecosystem that is that
[1:42:26] is driven, of course, by the
[1:42:28] critical mass that is tsmc up
[1:42:30] in North Phoenix is going to
[1:42:32] bring, I believe, a tremendous
[1:42:35] amount of economic benefit and
[1:42:37] innovation and so many, so many
[1:42:39] benefits to the state and
[1:42:40] southern Arizona and the nation.
[1:42:42] So I'm happy that it's going to
[1:42:45] be that this this relationship,
[1:42:49] this initial entity is going to
[1:42:51] be right right here downtown,
[1:42:56] across the street from us. I
[1:42:59] have a sort of related
[1:43:01] unrelated request, I think, of
[1:43:05] the administrator. And, and it
[1:43:08] is, you know, we have been
[1:43:10] trips to Taiwan, we've signed a
[1:43:14] few MoUs looking at this mou
[1:43:15] for the use of the Roy place
[1:43:17] and the Talent and Innovation
[1:43:19] hub. And a lot of times around
[1:43:22] the sort of semiconductor
[1:43:25] adjacent ecosystem I would I
[1:43:27] would love a memo that breaks
[1:43:29] that down a bit more. I feel
[1:43:30] like there's a lot of terms
[1:43:34] that are used that I that are
[1:43:37] unclear. And I would, I would
[1:43:39] benefit from and I, and I think
[1:43:41] the public could benefit from
[1:43:42] understanding, you know, sort
[1:43:46] of what it is that we are what,
[1:43:47] what, what's what are the steps
[1:43:49] that we are taking? What are we
[1:43:51] moving into? And, and while we
[1:43:52] MAY not know and the
[1:43:54] relationship is evolving, I
[1:43:56] think we can have some
[1:43:58] anticipation of both the
[1:44:00] industry and, and kind of the
[1:44:02] path that we are building step
[1:44:03] by step. Because what I, what I
[1:44:06] don't want to happen is that we,
[1:44:08] we take one small step, a small
[1:44:10] step, a small step, and then we
[1:44:13] arrive somewhere without having,
[1:44:14] without seeing the big picture
[1:44:17] from the from the outset, I
[1:44:19] don't know if that's enough
[1:44:21] information, if I. Okay. Thank
[1:44:23] you. And Chair Allen,
[1:44:24] supervisor really quick with
[1:44:25] administrator Lesher because I
[1:44:27] think it's really important for
[1:44:29] this to be a unanimous vote to
[1:44:30] send a good economic
[1:44:31] development message to the
[1:44:32] people of Taiwan. There is no
[1:44:36] mention in this mou about costs
[1:44:38] associated. And is that
[1:44:40] accurate? And isn't it right
[1:44:42] that this has always been a
[1:44:45] revenue generating parcel?
[1:44:48] We've had. But right before we
[1:44:50] became vacant, it was being
[1:44:51] leased and we and the County
[1:44:54] taxpayers were getting
[1:44:57] resources, were they not? Chair
[1:44:59] Allen Supervisor. Kino yes, the
[1:45:03] lease amount was $100 a year.
[1:45:05] From. Yeah. And that's pretty
[1:45:06] typical of academic
[1:45:08] partnerships. It was. Yes,
[1:45:12] there was a. The County can't
[1:45:14] just provide services like that
[1:45:16] or rent like that as a gift. It
[1:45:18] has to be something that
[1:45:19] provides a significant return
[1:45:21] on investment to taxpayers. So
[1:45:23] what that the allocation and
[1:45:25] the distribution of services
[1:45:27] and the the benefit received
[1:45:30] was delineated and that the
[1:45:32] $100 was not simply because we
[1:45:33] were giving him something nice.
[1:45:35] We got lots in return. And that
[1:45:38] will be the same in these
[1:45:41] agreements. Got it. Chair Allen,
[1:45:42] Supervisor Scott following up
[1:45:47] on the concerns expressed by
[1:45:48] Supervisor Christy and the
[1:45:49] points made by Supervisors
[1:45:52] Haynes and Kono. I'm looking at
[1:45:55] the program goals and predicted
[1:45:58] outcomes in the Vice Chair. I
[1:46:02] wonder if we could have staff
[1:46:04] comment on why this particular
[1:46:07] location is best suited in
[1:46:10] terms of helping to achieve
[1:46:13] those goals and outcomes? Thank
[1:46:17] you, MR. Debonis. Thank you.
[1:46:19] Chair Allen and Supervisor
[1:46:21] Scott. I think, as was noted,
[1:46:23] this is a central location in
[1:46:25] in downtown Tucson. It's
[1:46:29] adjacent to other key partners
[1:46:31] that the County has in the work
[1:46:32] that we're doing from an
[1:46:34] economic development standpoint
[1:46:35] and just from a community
[1:46:38] support standpoint. And so when
[1:46:40] you look at the confluence of
[1:46:41] Pima County government, the
[1:46:45] city of Tucson, the Rio Nuevo
[1:46:47] District, the University of
[1:46:49] Arizona, and proximity and
[1:46:50] connectivity to the university
[1:46:53] by the the modern streetcar. We
[1:46:56] have other major employers in
[1:46:58] the downtown community. So when
[1:47:01] you look at hexagon having
[1:47:03] their national headquarters
[1:47:08] here in Tucson, we have also
[1:47:10] others in the community. Tucson
[1:47:12] Electric Power is located in
[1:47:15] the downtown area where
[1:47:18] adjacent to caterpillar, west
[1:47:21] of of the freeway, there's been
[1:47:23] a revitalization in investment
[1:47:25] in in small businesses in the
[1:47:28] downtown area, both privately
[1:47:30] funded and through the Rio
[1:47:32] Nuevo District. We've seen an
[1:47:36] expansion intentionally, with
[1:47:38] hospitality units being brought
[1:47:41] into the downtown area. There
[1:47:42] is vibrance that is occurring
[1:47:45] in in the downtown when we've
[1:47:48] had our partners from Taiwan
[1:47:50] visiting, they are really
[1:47:52] pleased with the potential for
[1:47:55] having a presence in a downtown
[1:47:56] community. Right. And so you
[1:47:59] start to build synergies that
[1:48:01] are, you know, greater than,
[1:48:03] than the sum of the individual
[1:48:07] parts. The County has purchased
[1:48:09] the Wells Fargo former Wells
[1:48:11] Fargo building and will be
[1:48:12] relocating the main library
[1:48:15] into that space, providing an
[1:48:16] opportunity for our City of
[1:48:19] Tucson partners to envision
[1:48:21] with that property that
[1:48:23] currently houses the main
[1:48:25] library will be into the future.
[1:48:27] So I think that there are a lot
[1:48:29] of positives, a lot of touch
[1:48:31] points that make this
[1:48:34] attractive and make it viable
[1:48:38] from partnering and economic
[1:48:41] success potential. MR. MR.
[1:48:42] Debonis, thank you and Chair
[1:48:45] Allen, thank you, MADAM Chair.
[1:48:48] One quick question. What was
[1:48:51] Rio Nuevo response when this
[1:48:55] Roy Place building became
[1:48:59] available for this organization?
[1:49:01] This this partnership did was
[1:49:04] it was it presented to Rio
[1:49:06] Nuevo that they could look at
[1:49:07] it? Did they have an
[1:49:08] opportunity to say anything
[1:49:10] about economic development of
[1:49:13] that that parcel Chair Allen
[1:49:15] and, and Supervisor Christy,
[1:49:17] we've had conversations with
[1:49:19] Rio Nuevo about spaces and. No.
[1:49:21] But that particular one. Well,
[1:49:24] and I yes. And so Roy Place has
[1:49:28] been a location that Rio Nuevo
[1:49:32] has expressed some interest in
[1:49:35] for potential uses, as they
[1:49:36] have with the Wells Fargo
[1:49:38] building. I think that if we
[1:49:41] put in perspective the whole
[1:49:44] purpose of Rio Nuevo right is a
[1:49:46] tax incentive district
[1:49:47] supported by sales tax. And so
[1:49:50] their mission is to promote
[1:49:53] uses that generate sales tax in
[1:49:55] in the district boundary. I'm
[1:49:57] aware that there their mission,
[1:49:58] their uses. I'm just wondering
[1:50:00] what their response was. But
[1:50:01] did they have some viable plans
[1:50:04] or possibilities that that
[1:50:06] property could be utilized in
[1:50:08] some manner other than what
[1:50:10] it's being planned for now,
[1:50:12] just up the block, as you
[1:50:14] pointed out, we have a Dao
[1:50:15] County County Library that's
[1:50:17] taking over another iconic
[1:50:19] building downtown. I'm just
[1:50:21] curious if if there was any
[1:50:23] response to this whole effort
[1:50:25] by Rio Nuevo Chair Allen
[1:50:26] Supervisor Christy, there was
[1:50:28] not a specifically identified
[1:50:30] use. The discussions were that
[1:50:32] they would have interest in
[1:50:35] seeing potential sales tax
[1:50:36] generating uses in there, but
[1:50:38] there was no specific
[1:50:39] opportunity that was presented
[1:50:43] to the County for those
[1:50:48] locations. Right? Okay. There
[1:50:51] is no further discussion. All
[1:50:54] those in favor I opposed
[1:51:02] opposed item passes four one.
[1:51:04] Now we are going to go to item
[1:51:07] number 18. Back on the regular
[1:51:11] agenda. This is unfinished
[1:51:12] business. This is the Pima
[1:51:14] County Economic Development
[1:51:23] Strategic Plan. I am going to
[1:51:27] move that. We continue the plan.
[1:51:30] Oh I'm sorry, I'm just jumping
[1:51:35] in. Which never mind, I said
[1:51:38] nothing. Well, I just I, I am
[1:51:40] going to put forward a motion
[1:51:41] to, to continue the plan, which
[1:51:44] is not preclude the
[1:51:46] presentation by any means. In
[1:51:48] fact, I think it still warrants
[1:51:50] for having discussion. I
[1:51:52] completely your call. We happy
[1:51:54] to table this for the next
[1:51:55] whenever you want to discuss it
[1:51:57] or not, table it. We'll do it
[1:51:58] all when we discuss it. Thank
[1:52:03] you. Okay. I did want to know
[1:52:05] why I would like to continue it,
[1:52:10] if I MAY. I think, you know,
[1:52:11] largely because this plan
[1:52:13] matters and it matters a whole
[1:52:16] lot. You know, we're at a time
[1:52:19] with such economic instability
[1:52:22] and unprecedented wealth
[1:52:24] concentration and people making
[1:52:26] our average salary for the
[1:52:28] region, being unable to pay the
[1:52:30] bills, let alone thrive. So,
[1:52:33] you know, our roadmap for
[1:52:35] strengthening our economy, I
[1:52:38] really feel should be discussed
[1:52:41] thoroughly, kind of by us and
[1:52:44] and between us. So I would love
[1:52:46] to put on the study, the next
[1:52:49] study session, the plan. And
[1:52:51] then I also want to make sure
[1:52:54] that we have a specific
[1:52:56] discussion carved out for us to
[1:52:59] talk about the targeted
[1:53:02] industries. There is a list of
[1:53:03] seven targeted industries
[1:53:06] within the plan, and I think
[1:53:09] there are significant that we
[1:53:10] should discuss if they all make
[1:53:13] sense for us in Pima County.
[1:53:14] What goes behind determining
[1:53:16] what is on those targeted
[1:53:19] industries? But but ensure that
[1:53:20] it's been something that has
[1:53:23] been vetted and thought through
[1:53:26] by us. There was also a few
[1:53:28] things that that I've requested
[1:53:31] be added that I thought were
[1:53:33] missing, and I did want to flag
[1:53:36] those. Now, from a district
[1:53:38] three perspective, the the plan
[1:53:44] is very urban centric. The.
[1:53:46] Rural and unincorporated I mean,
[1:53:49] rural is mentioned three times
[1:53:51] in the plan in relationship to
[1:53:54] broadband and another time in
[1:53:56] relation to the Small Business
[1:54:03] Commission. I think the the.
[1:54:04] Business retention and
[1:54:06] expansion attraction, workforce,
[1:54:07] infrastructure, all of those
[1:54:09] pieces play out uniquely in
[1:54:11] rural areas and different in
[1:54:14] rural areas than, than in the,
[1:54:16] the urban core or in urban
[1:54:18] areas. And I, and I do need to
[1:54:21] see some of how we're thinking
[1:54:24] about economic, the
[1:54:26] strengthening of the economy in,
[1:54:28] in rural areas and
[1:54:32] unincorporated Pima County. And
[1:54:35] then also teasing out, teasing
[1:54:37] out more of the focus on small
[1:54:39] business. I'm excited that
[1:54:41] we've got new staff that are
[1:54:43] coming on board within the
[1:54:46] department and who will be
[1:54:48] focusing on supporting small
[1:54:51] business. And I think in the
[1:54:53] report, you see that small
[1:54:55] business activities show up in
[1:54:57] the different pillars because
[1:54:59] it is so fundamental to
[1:55:01] strengthening our economy. I
[1:55:02] would like to see how, how
[1:55:04] those pieces fit together and
[1:55:10] what they add up to. And then
[1:55:11] thinking too about the
[1:55:13] Prosperity initiative. And I
[1:55:15] would love to see deeper
[1:55:17] integration of the prosperity
[1:55:19] Initiative that is tied to
[1:55:21] small business support. You
[1:55:24] know, Prosperity Initiative has
[1:55:26] behind or underneath all of the,
[1:55:29] the 13 policies and the three
[1:55:32] cross section policies are a
[1:55:33] slew of really specific
[1:55:35] policies that have been
[1:55:36] researched, evidence based.
[1:55:38] There are case studies behind
[1:55:40] them. And in the small business
[1:55:42] context, there's outlines of
[1:55:44] regional loan funds, loan loss
[1:55:46] guarantee programs. There's
[1:55:47] building purchase assistance
[1:55:50] for entrepreneurs, capital
[1:55:52] provider collaborations, and,
[1:55:54] and so there's like creative
[1:55:56] things that are outlined in
[1:55:57] prosperity. And I would love to
[1:55:59] see how some of those pieces
[1:56:01] that we have approved from
[1:56:04] prosperity are showing up some
[1:56:05] innovative approaches, creative
[1:56:07] approaches, evidence based
[1:56:09] approaches that support small
[1:56:13] business growth. There's a few
[1:56:15] other things I noticed that the,
[1:56:18] the, the KPIs, the key
[1:56:21] performance indicators aren't
[1:56:24] are not finalized. There's a
[1:56:25] list and it says that they
[1:56:28] might be drawn from that list.
[1:56:31] You know, KPIs should reflect
[1:56:32] what we think matters, right?
[1:56:34] We should be looking for
[1:56:35] indicators for the things that
[1:56:37] are important to us in
[1:56:39] assessing progress towards them.
[1:56:40] They reflect, you know, kind of
[1:56:42] where we want and need to see
[1:56:44] economic progress. And they
[1:56:45] help us assess if we're on the
[1:56:47] right path or of course,
[1:56:50] correction is needed. So I just
[1:56:52] would need to see those defined,
[1:56:55] I think, before being able to
[1:56:59] approve a plan. And then I not
[1:57:00] everyone loves a logic model,
[1:57:02] but there is a page that talks
[1:57:06] about a logic model. They have
[1:57:07] some value. But, but it's not
[1:57:09] it's not what the page on the
[1:57:10] logic model. That's not a logic.
[1:57:15] It's not done. You know, a
[1:57:17] logic model sort of maps out
[1:57:20] how programs will have the
[1:57:23] impacts and the outcomes that
[1:57:25] that that the various
[1:57:26] activities of that program are
[1:57:28] going to achieve. Given that
[1:57:30] we've got new work from
[1:57:31] business retention, expansion,
[1:57:34] the fdi work, those are new
[1:57:36] programs. And so articulating
[1:57:38] what impact we want to have
[1:57:39] from them, what the outcomes
[1:57:41] that we anticipate from those,
[1:57:43] and then what we are doing to
[1:57:44] achieve them, I think, given
[1:57:49] its newness, would be valuable.
[1:57:52] And then last, last piece that
[1:57:55] I feel like is missing is, is
[1:57:58] about the, the perspective of
[1:58:03] low wage workers. I suspect
[1:58:06] that within stakeholder groups,
[1:58:08] the perspective of low wage
[1:58:12] workers was not included. I
[1:58:15] think there's a lot of emphasis,
[1:58:17] as there should be on both
[1:58:19] bringing in higher wage jobs
[1:58:22] into our community, reskilling,
[1:58:24] upskilling, getting people into
[1:58:27] new, higher wage jobs. But the
[1:58:28] fact remains that those low
[1:58:31] wage jobs are still there and
[1:58:32] someone's going to fill them.
[1:58:34] And then we're going to have to
[1:58:35] figure out a way to reach those
[1:58:36] folks and upskill, reskill, get
[1:58:38] them into new. Right. It's sort
[1:58:40] of a continuing cycle. And so
[1:58:42] it begs the question, and it is
[1:58:43] a question that the Prosperity
[1:58:44] Initiative has laid out an
[1:58:48] answer to, which is about how
[1:58:50] to how to how to raise the
[1:58:52] floor. How do we incentivize
[1:58:55] business to invest in increased
[1:58:58] wages and benefits? And so we
[1:59:00] have thought about this, but
[1:59:01] it's a piece that I think that
[1:59:02] we've thought about in the
[1:59:04] context of prosperity. I would
[1:59:06] love to see our plan address
[1:59:08] that. So we're not just going
[1:59:09] around and around moving people
[1:59:10] into higher wage jobs and then
[1:59:12] constantly having to pull
[1:59:16] people up as wages stay low.
[1:59:17] Yes. Sorry. Just maybe should
[1:59:19] we move this for discussion
[1:59:21] purposes so that we can keep
[1:59:22] doing this? Or do you want to
[1:59:25] just I just want to clarify
[1:59:27] what you or do I just want to
[1:59:28] keep talking. That was actually
[1:59:29] my last point. Prerogative of
[1:59:31] the Chair You can talk as long
[1:59:33] as you want. I just wanted to
[1:59:34] make sure we're not getting in
[1:59:35] trouble with Sam Brown or, you
[1:59:38] know, anything. Yeah. I had
[1:59:41] moved to continue the item. Was
[1:59:45] it a motion? Sorry. Motion? I
[1:59:47] thought I did it in motion. You
[1:59:48] did. But then you were
[1:59:50] explaining the motion. Yes. And
[1:59:56] other. Yes. Chair Ellen, to
[2:00:03] what date? The SEPTEMBER 22nd
[2:00:05] second. Seconded by Supervisor
[2:00:06] Kino. Chair, just to clarify
[2:00:09] your motion. So you are moving
[2:00:11] to continue item number 18,
[2:00:13] which is the adoption of the
[2:00:15] strategic plan to SEPTEMBER
[2:00:17] 22nd. But then in your
[2:00:18] discussion, you also spoke
[2:00:20] about adding the Economic
[2:00:21] Development strategic plan to a
[2:00:23] study session. Did you want
[2:00:26] that also on SEPTEMBER 22nd or
[2:00:30] on SEPTEMBER 8th? Chair Allen
[2:00:32] Yes, if I if I could suggest
[2:00:37] something because just the
[2:00:40] items that you want to discuss,
[2:00:43] I think could take up a
[2:00:44] significant part of a study
[2:00:46] session, I think there would be
[2:00:51] value in having the plan as the
[2:00:53] sole agenda item for a
[2:00:56] SEPTEMBER 8th study session,
[2:00:58] and then it could be taken up
[2:01:00] again for consideration on the
[2:01:02] 22nd, if that was acceptable to
[2:01:03] you and to the agenda committee,
[2:01:05] because I know that you have to
[2:01:08] discuss that with them. Chair
[2:01:10] Allen, as you consider how you
[2:01:12] would like us to be allies in
[2:01:14] this motion, I, I just want to
[2:01:17] say I, I'm more. The experience
[2:01:20] that I had with the updates to
[2:01:21] the economic development plan
[2:01:23] and District 5 interest in
[2:01:25] ensuring that early childhood
[2:01:27] education was a strategic
[2:01:29] priority was best worked out in
[2:01:31] a meeting that I had with the
[2:01:32] Economic Development director
[2:01:34] and consultation with the
[2:01:38] administrator, I. I don't love
[2:01:40] everything in this plan, but
[2:01:42] the framework is there that I
[2:01:43] would feel comfortable
[2:01:46] supporting it. Today. I will
[2:01:47] say that it is important for
[2:01:50] this to be a plan that has the
[2:01:52] support of the majority members,
[2:01:54] and that we hold hands with our
[2:01:55] colleague from district three
[2:01:56] and ensuring that some of those
[2:01:59] key points are mentioned. But
[2:02:01] what I want to avoid in a study
[2:02:02] session is wordsmithing. And I
[2:02:04] fear that if we do that in a
[2:02:07] study session form, it will
[2:02:08] take up the whole meeting and
[2:02:10] perhaps it can, but I, I do
[2:02:12] feel that a lot of what you are
[2:02:13] recommending can can be
[2:02:16] addressed in a in meetings
[2:02:18] outside of the regular board or
[2:02:23] study session personally. Chair
[2:02:25] excuse me, a clarification, if
[2:02:27] I MAY, to I heard at 1.2 study
[2:02:28] session items, if you will. One
[2:02:30] for the discussion of the plan
[2:02:32] and one you're interested in a
[2:02:33] deeper dive on targeted
[2:02:36] industries. So I think where
[2:02:38] those two separate items that
[2:02:40] we would like it study sessions
[2:02:42] or how to do it, I have been
[2:02:44] thinking study session,
[2:02:46] discussion of targeted
[2:02:50] industries, vote on plan on
[2:02:51] SEPTEMBER 22nd at the next at
[2:02:55] the next meeting. So just to
[2:02:58] clarify, Chair Alan, you want
[2:03:00] to limit the study session
[2:03:01] discussion to targeted
[2:03:03] industries. But the other
[2:03:05] points that you had to.
[2:03:08] Supervisor Kono's point, you
[2:03:09] might address them in the same
[2:03:11] way that not only he addressed
[2:03:14] his concern, but in the same
[2:03:17] memorandum I had for
[2:03:20] recommendations as well, that I
[2:03:22] was pleased that the the team
[2:03:24] was willing to adopt,
[2:03:25] especially in terms of more
[2:03:27] what I consider to be more
[2:03:29] detailed and fulsome. Annual
[2:03:33] reporting. So how about this?
[2:03:35] How about we have the
[2:03:38] presentation and study session,
[2:03:40] an explicit conversation,
[2:03:42] discussion around the targeted
[2:03:44] industries, and then with. And
[2:03:46] if there are other discussion
[2:03:48] pieces, then we've had the
[2:03:50] presentation. So just in terms
[2:03:53] of agenda ization, it is open
[2:03:55] for other discussion because of
[2:04:00] the presentation. In both study
[2:04:02] session and the 22nd in study
[2:04:05] session. And then the 22nd is
[2:04:07] we're back up for a decision on
[2:04:12] the plan. Okay. Just to clarify,
[2:04:14] and I'm sorry, Supervisor Hines.
[2:04:17] And then just to clarify, and I
[2:04:20] and I appreciated the
[2:04:23] discussion, this would be the
[2:04:25] study session on the eighth. We
[2:04:27] we wouldn't have anything else
[2:04:31] because if if we do, it's we're
[2:04:33] never going to get through this.
[2:04:36] Chair Allen Supervisor Scott, I
[2:04:38] think the last I looked, we
[2:04:39] have at least seven items, 6 or
[2:04:41] 7 items on study session at
[2:04:43] this point. But it's your
[2:04:44] agenda. They are proposed. We
[2:04:45] can certainly. The agenda
[2:04:47] committee can look at what it
[2:04:52] wants to move to other meetings.
[2:04:54] I have prepared remarks which I
[2:04:56] will not deliver because we are
[2:04:58] not going to. I never have
[2:05:00] prepared remarks. See, this is
[2:05:03] what he was doing earlier. A
[2:05:05] long plane ride. Yeah, yeah.
[2:05:07] Let me print stuff up. Okay.
[2:05:08] Never mind. Yeah. And just so
[2:05:11] you guys are one of the items
[2:05:12] on study session for SEPTEMBER
[2:05:15] 8th is an executive session. Oh,
[2:05:23] Sam. Okay. It might not be
[2:05:25] possible for it to be the only
[2:05:26] item on study session, at least
[2:05:28] given the executive session.
[2:05:29] And there might be some things
[2:05:31] that cannot be moved from study
[2:05:33] session. But how about that?
[2:05:35] The agenda committee looks at
[2:05:37] study session agenda with an
[2:05:39] eye towards minimizing those
[2:05:40] items. And if there's anything
[2:05:42] that can be put on there that
[2:05:43] makes sense. Yes, yes.
[2:05:45] Streamlining that agenda. And
[2:05:47] then that way we can have some
[2:05:51] dedicated time. I would just
[2:05:53] say Chair. I think it's very
[2:05:54] valuable for us. I think people
[2:05:56] tend not to tune in as much to
[2:05:59] study sessions. And I think the
[2:06:00] economic development strategic
[2:06:03] plan is something that is
[2:06:04] absolutely something we should
[2:06:07] be talking about in a as much
[2:06:09] as possible during our regular
[2:06:10] meeting, just especially if
[2:06:12] we're making adjustments and
[2:06:14] asking staff clarifications and
[2:06:17] my remarks like, like, I think
[2:06:19] that would be good to be in the
[2:06:21] in the regular meeting as well.
[2:06:22] So also, is there just to
[2:06:23] clarify from perhaps staff, I
[2:06:27] guess, is there like, I mean,
[2:06:28] this is just our thing, right?
[2:06:30] Is there a deadline for this or
[2:06:31] have we like, are we missing
[2:06:33] things by not doing this now or
[2:06:37] I we're good. Okay. It's just
[2:06:38] our plan. Yeah. You got it.
[2:06:43] Thank you. Okay, so some items
[2:06:45] are going to appear. The only
[2:06:47] thing we're voting on is
[2:06:50] continuing until the vote on
[2:06:53] the plan. Not the next meeting,
[2:06:55] but the meeting after that,
[2:06:59] SEPTEMBER 22nd. So. And you
[2:07:04] split. Continuing. Seconder was.
[2:07:07] All those in favor? Aye.
[2:07:13] Opposed. Item passes five zero.
[2:07:19] Chair Allen. Supervisor Scott
[2:07:24] in. Oh. Oh I'm sorry, MISS
[2:07:29] Lesher go ahead Cheryl, we are
[2:07:34] going to move to la la la.
[2:07:37] Regular agenda item number 14.
[2:07:42] This is the hearing. With
[2:07:46] wastewater conveyance system.
[2:07:48] And this is the appeal of the
[2:07:50] procurement director's decision.
[2:07:54] We have a speaker. Oh, in case
[2:07:57] there are questions. Okay. If I
[2:07:59] MAY, Chair Allen and just after
[2:08:01] collaboration with procurement
[2:08:02] and the County Attorney's
[2:08:04] office and such, the collective
[2:08:05] opinion is we are recommending
[2:08:08] to you that you accept the
[2:08:10] appeal and award a contract to
[2:08:12] I can garden. I pronounced it
[2:08:15] correctly, and if that. If you
[2:08:19] approve the appeal of this. Of
[2:08:21] the procurement director's
[2:08:24] decision, we will return on
[2:08:25] SEPTEMBER 8th to the regular
[2:08:28] agenda with this contract. So
[2:08:29] what we would recommend is that
[2:08:35] you accept the the appeal. Okay.
[2:08:37] So I will move to close the
[2:08:39] hearing regarding solicitation
[2:08:45] number, rfp dash (260) 000-0677
[2:08:51] and approve. The protest of
[2:08:56] Aitken Gardener and Award no.
[2:08:59] To accept the appeal. It's
[2:09:02] correct. Yes. Second, seconded
[2:09:06] by Supervisor Scott. Discussion.
[2:09:09] All those in favor? Aye.
[2:09:14] Opposed. Item passes four zero
[2:09:17] with Supervisor Hines absent.
[2:09:20] Okay. Thank you. Chair. Yes.
[2:09:23] Supervisor Scott, thank you.
[2:09:26] Chair Allen, in the interest of
[2:09:28] time, I was wondering if my
[2:09:29] colleagues might want to
[2:09:31] consider some items in bulk
[2:09:33] sitting as the Flood Control
[2:09:36] District board, I would move
[2:09:39] items seven through 11. Second,
[2:09:42] seconded by Supervisor Christy.
[2:09:44] Discussion Chair supervisor
[2:09:47] Kino. Thank you. I appreciate
[2:09:49] the bundling. And I also just
[2:09:51] very quickly want to share two
[2:09:54] things. Number one, I am asking
[2:09:56] the administration to give the
[2:09:59] District 5 office an update on
[2:10:01] the request to allow the public
[2:10:03] to understand some of these
[2:10:03] contracts a bit more, and how
[2:10:05] many jobs are created when we
[2:10:08] are having these contracts go
[2:10:11] out to very worthy partners in
[2:10:13] the construction industry? It's
[2:10:15] not clear right now if we are
[2:10:17] if, if any of these items,
[2:10:19] seven through 11 are creating
[2:10:21] ten jobs, 100 jobs or 400 jobs.
[2:10:23] And I know that that's a
[2:10:24] request that several months in
[2:10:27] the making. Number two, I am
[2:10:28] very excited about item number
[2:10:30] seven. This is investments that
[2:10:32] is going to be correlated with
[2:10:34] the construction of the Drexel
[2:10:36] Bridge on the southwest side of
[2:10:37] town, all in that area, which
[2:10:39] is one of our highest grossing
[2:10:41] retail areas with the spectrum
[2:10:44] mall combined with the bridge,
[2:10:45] combined with the improvements
[2:10:46] that we're making to the loop
[2:10:49] on the eastern side of Santa
[2:10:51] Cruz, this is much needed
[2:10:53] investment in the people of
[2:10:55] district five, and I just
[2:10:56] wanted to make sure that I said
[2:10:58] that out loud, because that's a
[2:10:59] good thing. And I'm excited to
[2:11:10] see that. Number seven. All
[2:11:12] those in favor? Aye aye.
[2:11:18] Opposed. Items pass four zero.
[2:11:21] MADAM Supervisor Christy, would
[2:11:23] the board consider addressing
[2:11:26] items that for hearing items 12
[2:11:34] and 13. Sitting as the board
[2:11:41] and. I. So move or do you close
[2:11:42] it or should I close you close
[2:11:44] it. Then I got to get my
[2:11:48] glasses. Oh. I'd like to close
[2:11:52] the public hearing. On item
[2:11:56] number 12 of Skyline Country
[2:11:57] Club's request for firework
[2:12:00] permit. I'd also simultaneously
[2:12:01] like to close the hearing on
[2:12:08] job number 401965. For a liquor
[2:12:12] license. Second, seconded by
[2:12:15] Supervisor Kino. Discussion.
[2:12:19] All those in favor? Aye. MADAM
[2:12:24] Chair. Oh, supervisor Christy,
[2:12:25] apparently you've closed the
[2:12:28] hearing but did not state
[2:12:29] approving the motion was to
[2:12:33] approve them. So let me back up.
[2:12:38] And we have to have a motion to.
[2:12:39] She's just asking you to amend
[2:12:41] the motion to close the public
[2:12:43] hearing and approve. I will
[2:12:44] amend the motion to close the
[2:12:45] public hearing and approve the
[2:12:50] motions. Second, seconded by
[2:12:52] supervisor. All those in favor?
[2:12:56] Aye. Opposed. Items passed four
[2:13:00] zero. MADAM Chair. Yes. Could
[2:13:06] we address items? 2021, 22, 23,
[2:13:19] 24, 25, 26. 27, 28, 29 and 30.
[2:13:23] Let's leave 28, 29 and 30 out
[2:13:25] because those have to be
[2:13:27] approved in a certain sequence.
[2:13:30] Okay. I'll amend my motion to
[2:13:33] remove 28, 29, and 30 and
[2:13:37] approve 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
[2:13:41] 26 and 27. I'll second question
[2:13:46] for the for the clerk on the
[2:13:48] elections on. 20 through 24,
[2:13:55] can we bundle those? Okay. Read
[2:13:57] the resolution numbers for each
[2:14:01] of them. Each time I bundle
[2:14:05] anything around here. Famous
[2:14:08] last words. Yeah. Okay. On item
[2:14:10] 20. MADAM Chair, I'd like to
[2:14:14] approve the resolution number
[2:14:15] 2026 -- 46. Canceling the
[2:14:17] election for the Green Valley
[2:14:18] Domestic Water Improvement
[2:14:22] District. Can I do it all at
[2:14:28] once? I'd like to further. Move
[2:14:32] to close resolution 2020 647
[2:14:34] and approve the canceling of
[2:14:36] election of the Marana Water
[2:14:37] Domestic Water Improvement
[2:14:40] District. I'd like to move also
[2:14:42] the. The move. I'd like to move
[2:14:45] also the resolution number
[2:14:47] 2026-48. Canceling the district
[2:14:48] board members of the
[2:14:50] Metropolitan Water Improvement
[2:14:53] District. I'd like to move also
[2:14:55] that we approve resolution
[2:14:59] number 2026-49. Canceling the
[2:15:00] election of district board
[2:15:02] members for the Mount Lemon
[2:15:03] domestic district. I'd like to
[2:15:07] move that we close resolution
[2:15:10] number 2026-50, canceling the
[2:15:11] election of district board
[2:15:13] members of the y Domestic Water
[2:15:15] Improvement District. The
[2:15:18] cancellation of of the
[2:15:19] uncontested fire, water and
[2:15:21] Health District elections
[2:15:23] agenda item number 25. Do I
[2:15:27] need to read that one? No. So
[2:15:30] I'll move those items on the on
[2:15:32] the Water Improvement District
[2:15:43] and include 25, 26, 27. Second
[2:15:45] seconded by supervisor Kino
[2:15:47] discussion Chair supervisor. I
[2:15:49] just want to make my point
[2:15:50] again about how many jobs are
[2:15:52] we creating with item number
[2:15:54] seven? This is a $35 million
[2:15:55] contract, and the taxpayers
[2:15:57] should know how many jobs are
[2:16:04] included in that contract. All
[2:16:08] those in favor? Aye. Opposed.
[2:16:14] Items pass five zero Chair. Yes.
[2:16:16] Continuing with the this
[2:16:19] bundling venture would like to
[2:16:23] move on the addendum items six
[2:16:27] and seven and also items nine,
[2:16:36] ten, 11 and 12. Second.
[2:16:37] Seconded by supervisor
[2:16:40] o'Connell. Discussion. All
[2:16:45] those in favor, I opposed items
[2:16:52] pass five zero. MADAM Chair.
[2:16:54] Yes, I'd like to approve. Make
[2:16:57] a motion to approve the consent
[2:16:59] calendar. Except for pulling
[2:17:05] item number two. Second.
[2:17:07] Discussion. All those in favor?
[2:17:12] Aye. Opposed. Item passes.
[2:17:15] Items pass five zero. Item
[2:17:18] number two. I'll move.
[2:17:19] Supervisor Kino. Yes, I'll move
[2:17:22] the item second. Seconded by
[2:17:24] Supervisor Hines. Discussion.
[2:17:27] All those in favor? Aye, aye.
[2:17:30] Opposed. Opposed. Item passes
[2:17:48] for one. All right. I'm gonna.
[2:17:51] And 16 and 17. I think those
[2:17:54] are the last two. And then that
[2:17:57] 28, 2930. The the Ajo, airport
[2:17:59] improvements are there. Oh
[2:18:00] right. And then there are a few
[2:18:02] there too. Okay. So I'll take
[2:18:05] up 16. This is a quick update
[2:18:06] on the County administrator
[2:18:08] hiring process. So this is
[2:18:09] basically just a reminder of
[2:18:11] some of the key dates that we
[2:18:14] have pinned down or on
[2:18:16] calendars. The recruitment main
[2:18:18] remains open, and our recruiter
[2:18:19] from Slavin Management
[2:18:21] Consultants is continuing to
[2:18:23] collect applicant information.
[2:18:25] We have scheduled on SEPTEMBER
[2:18:27] 22nd, an executive session. The
[2:18:29] recruiter is going to provide
[2:18:31] semifinalist report to the
[2:18:33] board members. There can be up
[2:18:35] to eight. We're thinking up to
[2:18:38] eight semifinalists on
[2:18:39] SEPTEMBER 30th. We have a
[2:18:42] virtual in-person interviews of
[2:18:43] semifinalists by the search
[2:18:46] committee. OCTOBER 13th you
[2:18:47] have on your calendars the
[2:18:49] executive session. This would
[2:18:51] be when the recruiter is going
[2:18:53] to provide finalist report to
[2:18:55] the board. And we're aiming for
[2:18:57] having three finalists or up to
[2:19:00] three finalists. And then
[2:19:01] OCTOBER 14th, the finalists
[2:19:04] will be announced and notified
[2:19:06] of selection. And then OCTOBER
[2:19:09] 19th and 20th would be a two
[2:19:12] days in person with the
[2:19:13] finalists. We're planning
[2:19:15] events for the finalist
[2:19:17] candidates over that two day
[2:19:18] period to include some
[2:19:19] interaction with the directors,
[2:19:21] employees, community members.
[2:19:23] And then on the 20th, we have
[2:19:25] on our calendars an executive
[2:19:26] session. It's a special meeting
[2:19:29] from 1 to 6 or 1 to 5, and
[2:19:31] that'll be finalist interviews
[2:19:33] with the board. And then we
[2:19:35] expect to make a decision as a
[2:19:37] board on either OCTOBER 20th,
[2:19:39] on the day in which we conduct
[2:19:40] those interviews, the final
[2:19:42] interviews, or it could be
[2:19:45] OCTOBER 27th. So that's what
[2:19:49] we've got ahead of us. All
[2:19:51] right. Chair Allen? Yes. Rex
[2:19:55] Scott could I request that the
[2:19:57] clerk's office send those dates
[2:20:01] to district offices? Sure.
[2:20:08] Thank you. Moving on to 17.
[2:20:11] This is protecting the public
[2:20:16] trust resolution. County
[2:20:17] Administrator would you like to
[2:20:19] read? Sure. Thank you very much,
[2:20:21] Chair and members of the board,
[2:20:22] this is a resolution that we're
[2:20:24] bringing forward to the board
[2:20:26] to bottom line is protect the
[2:20:27] public trust prohibiting County
[2:20:29] employees from using any
[2:20:30] nonpublic information for any
[2:20:33] kind of profit, particularly
[2:20:34] what we're seeing more and more
[2:20:35] of these days, unfortunately,
[2:20:37] is in the predictive markets
[2:20:39] where people are betting on
[2:20:40] anything these days. And what
[2:20:42] people are starting to do at
[2:20:44] all levels is make sure that we
[2:20:46] are not only preventing any
[2:20:47] conflict of interest, that
[2:20:49] we're protecting confidential
[2:20:51] information. We hope that this
[2:20:53] is providing clear rules for
[2:20:54] employees so people know that
[2:20:57] path forward. We are hoping to
[2:20:58] maintain that public confidence.
[2:21:01] And then finally, looking at
[2:21:03] this is consistent with what
[2:21:04] other County cities in the
[2:21:06] state are doing, as well as, I
[2:21:07] believe, parts of the federal
[2:21:09] government, just to ensure that
[2:21:11] we don't have any lack of
[2:21:13] clarity about what people can
[2:21:16] and can't do with the nonpublic
[2:21:17] information to which they might
[2:21:22] be accessed. Thank you. I will
[2:21:28] move the item second. Seconded
[2:21:30] by Supervisor Hines. Any
[2:21:34] further discussion? And all
[2:21:36] those in favor of approving
[2:21:41] resolution number 2026-45. I I,
[2:21:46] I opposed item passes for zero.
[2:21:52] Thank you. Moving on. We'll
[2:21:57] take us to items at 28, 29 and
[2:22:00] 30. 29 and 30 need to be
[2:22:04] approved prior to 28. So we are
[2:22:10] going to take up 29 and 30. So
[2:22:14] 29 is the acceptance of a grant
[2:22:15] from the Department of
[2:22:19] Transportation faa for some
[2:22:21] infrastructure improvements in
[2:22:23] the Ajo, airport. I will move
[2:22:25] the item seconded by Supervisor
[2:22:28] Hines. Discussion. All those in
[2:22:31] favor opposed item passes for
[2:22:36] zero. Item 30 is. Similarly,
[2:22:37] acceptance of a transportation
[2:22:40] related grant faa Ajo, I will
[2:22:41] move the item. Second, seconded
[2:22:44] by Supervisor Hines. Discussion.
[2:22:47] All those in favor? Aye.
[2:22:51] Opposed. Item passes four zero.
[2:22:57] Now to item 28. This is to
[2:22:59] provide for again the Eric
[2:23:00] Marcus Municipal Airport in
[2:23:06] Ajo, For Quebec's court. I will
[2:23:08] move the items seconded by
[2:23:10] Supervisor Hines. Any
[2:23:13] discussion? All those in favor?
[2:23:17] Aye. Opposed. Item passes for
[2:23:21] zero. And I will just note a.
[2:23:23] Thanks to Anna Steiner. She is
[2:23:26] the first manager of the Eric
[2:23:28] Marcus Municipal Airport, which
[2:23:30] is owned and operated by Pima
[2:23:31] County for getting these grants
[2:23:33] to revitalize the airport,
[2:23:36] totaling more than $830,000.
[2:23:38] And as she has noted, these
[2:23:39] improvements not only increase
[2:23:41] safety at the airport, but are
[2:23:43] also part of Western Pima
[2:23:45] County's economic development
[2:23:47] plan that has been developed by
[2:23:49] different entities out in that
[2:23:51] area. So glad to see those come
[2:23:52] in and be approved by my
[2:23:56] colleagues. Moving on to what
[2:23:58] is left of the addendum, we
[2:24:01] have addendum item number two.
[2:24:03] This is the 2027 legislative
[2:24:05] agenda additions submitted by
[2:24:09] district two. Yes. Thank you.
[2:24:13] And for my colleagues request,
[2:24:16] I put this in a memo two, not 3
[2:24:19] or 1 I said last time. But this
[2:24:22] we've talked quite a bit about
[2:24:25] Constable's the antiquated
[2:24:27] system of the constabulary and
[2:24:29] frankly, the, the, the jp
[2:24:31] system as well. I've talked
[2:24:33] about this so much with, with
[2:24:34] Michael Rossi. I think even
[2:24:36] back when I was a legislator,
[2:24:39] even. And like, these are not
[2:24:41] constitutional things. We the
[2:24:43] counties I think Graham County
[2:24:44] still doesn't have one. Sorry,
[2:24:46] we out of them, but they still
[2:24:47] do not have an elected
[2:24:49] constable in Graham County for
[2:24:51] 60 plus years. They just never
[2:24:53] did it. But they're supposed to
[2:24:55] according to statute, we would,
[2:24:57] I think, benefit greatly. I
[2:24:58] think each County needs to just
[2:25:00] have the ability to make
[2:25:01] decisions on their own. Do we
[2:25:04] want one constable and one jp
[2:25:06] per jp district? Do we want to
[2:25:08] decide? Maybe we just want one
[2:25:09] constable for the entire County
[2:25:11] and we don't need any others,
[2:25:12] and we're just going to hire a
[2:25:14] bunch of deputy constables to
[2:25:15] do things that have to be like
[2:25:17] post certified unless our other
[2:25:19] items work. So this first one
[2:25:21] is basically just giving
[2:25:23] counties like more flexibility,
[2:25:25] whatever that is. If a shallow
[2:25:27] becomes a MAY or however,
[2:25:29] within the statutes that that
[2:25:31] MR. Rossi and his team can
[2:25:32] effectively make this happen. I
[2:25:34] understand that a lot of
[2:25:35] legislators look to themselves
[2:25:38] as as constables in waiting or
[2:25:40] in waiting for the retirement
[2:25:42] benefits, which is just not a
[2:25:44] great way to run a railroad. So
[2:25:46] that is the first one. I'm
[2:25:47] happy to hear everyone's
[2:25:49] thoughts about that. And the
[2:25:50] second just occurred to me,
[2:25:51] since I just realized the first
[2:25:53] time I ran for office was in
[2:25:57] 2006. So 20 years ago, like we
[2:25:59] were doing flood irrigation,
[2:26:00] just about the same then as we
[2:26:02] are now. And we're gonna we're
[2:26:03] a few years away from losing
[2:26:04] cap water, right? I mean,
[2:26:06] that's pretty obvious. So let's
[2:26:08] just kind of call this beta
[2:26:10] spade. We and this to some
[2:26:12] degree, this phase out of
[2:26:14] agricultural flood, irrigation
[2:26:16] and conversion of our of our ag
[2:26:17] industry into more water
[2:26:19] efficient irrigation systems.
[2:26:20] This has been a known thing for
[2:26:23] a long time, but making this a
[2:26:24] priority, especially because
[2:26:26] Pima County is going to be
[2:26:27] really particularly screwed
[2:26:29] without cap water eventually
[2:26:31] here soon. I think it really
[2:26:33] this needs to be on our list of
[2:26:35] things to talk about. There is
[2:26:36] a fund, I believe, federal
[2:26:38] dollars. There's some funds
[2:26:39] that are available to help.
[2:26:41] This is a voluntary thing at
[2:26:43] this point. We need this to
[2:26:45] become a nope. This is going to
[2:26:47] be phased out over three years,
[2:26:49] four years, five years. The
[2:26:51] technology's been around for
[2:26:52] decades to change to a much
[2:26:55] more efficient way to water.
[2:26:57] 72% of our water is used in
[2:26:58] Arizona for agricultural
[2:27:00] purposes, which is fine, but
[2:27:02] humans need a little bit too,
[2:27:03] especially with a cap water
[2:27:04] going away. So I think putting
[2:27:06] this on paper and saying, hey,
[2:27:08] we Pima County really need you
[2:27:10] to help. The legislature needs
[2:27:11] to start looking at some real
[2:27:14] ways to do this, to do some
[2:27:16] some more water conservation.
[2:27:18] Oh, we could even add, if
[2:27:19] people want, we could even say,
[2:27:21] and let's make the upper basin
[2:27:22] states have to do more
[2:27:23] conservation like we do. But I
[2:27:25] feel like, you know, this, this
[2:27:27] is definitely an obvious thing
[2:27:29] that we can do with our
[2:27:30] agricultural industry that we
[2:27:32] can do right now. And they've
[2:27:33] already been discussing right
[2:27:35] now. So I'd love to hear my
[2:27:36] colleagues thoughts on either
[2:27:41] of both of these. Benny, I am
[2:27:43] curious what you know about the
[2:27:44] discussions that that have been
[2:27:47] going on about the second
[2:27:49] agenda item around the phasing
[2:27:51] out flood irrigation and
[2:27:52] switching to more water
[2:27:54] efficient systems. It according
[2:27:55] to MR. Rossi, there again,
[2:27:58] there are funds available for
[2:28:01] for farmers who want to like,
[2:28:02] like use those resources and
[2:28:04] then kind of voluntarily go
[2:28:07] into like a more targeted, much
[2:28:09] more efficient form of
[2:28:10] irrigation. There are two
[2:28:11] different ones that would work
[2:28:12] perfectly well for, for our
[2:28:14] most of our uses in the state.
[2:28:15] There has been a working group
[2:28:18] for a number of years. So this
[2:28:19] isn't just out of the blue,
[2:28:21] like, what the heck is Pima
[2:28:22] County? Even thinking? There's
[2:28:24] there has been some work to
[2:28:26] this effect, but hasn't gotten.
[2:28:27] Well, maybe now with the cap
[2:28:29] water changes, it will get more
[2:28:30] legs, but it hasn't gotten to
[2:28:32] the point where like, I mean,
[2:28:33] I've not heard of any as a
[2:28:35] legislator myself or recently,
[2:28:37] I don't know, maybe my
[2:28:38] colleague from District 5 would
[2:28:39] know, but I don't know of
[2:28:40] anything actually being
[2:28:42] proposed like, like this, like
[2:28:44] some sort of very realistic
[2:28:45] thing we're going to have to
[2:28:46] consider doing if we want to
[2:28:47] continue watering humans, not
[2:28:55] just plants. So. Supervisor
[2:29:09] Cano. One second. All right.
[2:29:12] Administrator Lesher, my hope
[2:29:14] is that you are working with
[2:29:16] MR. Rossi on kind of the
[2:29:17] formatting of these
[2:29:18] recommendations. When we
[2:29:20] considered other
[2:29:21] recommendations from district
[2:29:23] two at our last meeting or the
[2:29:24] meeting prior, what I was just
[2:29:26] trying to explain is that I
[2:29:27] believe that the the
[2:29:28] recommendations that make most
[2:29:29] sense to be added to the
[2:29:30] legislative agenda are the
[2:29:31] bolded words and the
[2:29:32] recommendation, not the
[2:29:34] discussion portion. Do you
[2:29:35] remember that? And has that
[2:29:37] been communicated and just.
[2:29:39] Chair Supervisor Connor Yes, I
[2:29:40] remember, yes. And I've been
[2:29:41] working with MR. Rossi to make
[2:29:43] sure that we are properly
[2:29:44] formatting what the requests
[2:29:46] are and how they go before csa
[2:29:48] and how we then the ones that
[2:29:49] don't necessarily go to csa,
[2:29:51] but that are in our agenda for
[2:29:52] our contract lobbyists and
[2:29:55] staff to work on. Okay. Thank
[2:29:57] you for that, because I
[2:29:58] personally don't see any of
[2:30:00] these two additions is
[2:30:01] problematic. And Supervisor
[2:30:04] Hines, just to ask, you, had
[2:30:06] asked if there was any recent
[2:30:09] work, something that I helped
[2:30:11] negotiate with Governor Ducey
[2:30:14] actually was a short term water
[2:30:16] conservation grants for
[2:30:17] municipalities, tribes, and
[2:30:20] jurisdictions throughout our
[2:30:21] state through the Water
[2:30:22] Infrastructure Finance
[2:30:23] Authority. And I would I would
[2:30:27] really just that was a $150
[2:30:28] million investment. I think
[2:30:29] that's probably how I would put
[2:30:30] the tie between your
[2:30:32] recommendation and what we need
[2:30:33] to do. The legislature actually,
[2:30:35] over the last three years, was
[2:30:37] $1 billion fund for the big
[2:30:38] water desal, and then it was
[2:30:41] for the shorter term funds that
[2:30:43] 150. What they've continued to
[2:30:44] do at the legislature is raid
[2:30:47] the big bucket and put it to
[2:30:49] offset other state revenues or
[2:30:50] other state expenditures,
[2:30:53] rather, I should say, and not
[2:30:55] fund the water conservation
[2:30:56] programs. And I just kind of
[2:30:59] feel like that's reverse in
[2:31:01] reverse in terms of priorities.
[2:31:02] But that's where we could
[2:31:05] probably really align is using
[2:31:08] our impact to be able to get
[2:31:09] the short term water
[2:31:12] conservation dollars funded. I
[2:31:13] believe City of Tucson and the
[2:31:15] County are recipients of that
[2:31:17] fund for some of our water
[2:31:22] saving measures. Thank you. Did
[2:31:24] you move the item? Oh yes. I
[2:31:26] will move the items as
[2:31:32] presented in the memo. Seconded
[2:31:35] by me. Vice Chair Allen.
[2:31:39] Discussion. All those in favor?
[2:31:42] Aye. Opposed. Item passes five
[2:31:45] zero. Which takes us to
[2:31:48] addendum item number three.
[2:31:56] This is you. MR. Brown. Chair
[2:31:57] supervisor Assistant Dean item
[2:31:59] was connected to the executive
[2:32:01] session, and I believe there's
[2:32:04] a motion. There is. I will move
[2:32:06] to join a lawsuit related to
[2:32:09] the omb proposed rule. Second,
[2:32:11] seconded by Supervisor Hines.
[2:32:17] Any discussion? All those in
[2:32:21] favor? Aye. Opposed. Opposed.
[2:32:26] Motion passes for one. And then
[2:32:28] let's see. Did we take up item
[2:32:33] four in the bundle? No. Okay.
[2:32:35] Four and five. Okay then.
[2:32:39] Addendum item number four. I
[2:32:42] will. Move to approve
[2:32:46] resolution number 2026-51.
[2:32:50] Second. Seconded by Supervisor
[2:32:54] Hines. Discussion. All those in
[2:32:57] favor? Aye. Opposed. Item
[2:33:00] passes five zero. Item number
[2:33:04] five. I will move to approve
[2:33:07] resolution number 2026-52.
[2:33:10] Second seconded by Supervisor
[2:33:14] Hines. Discussion. All those in
[2:33:18] favor? Aye. Opposed. Motion
[2:33:22] passes five zero. Item number
[2:33:24] six. I will move the item.
[2:33:25] Second. Seconded by Supervisor
[2:33:30] Hines. Discussion. Chair Allen.
[2:33:32] Oh, did we bundle that bundle?
[2:33:34] Okay, that was in the bundle.
[2:33:37] It was okay. We're done then.
[2:33:40] We're all done. Well all right,