Armory Park Neighborhood Association
Board of Directors Meeting
March 9, 2010, 7:00 – 8:30 pm
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Parish Hall
Welcome and Introductions
- Meeting called to order at 7:02 pm
- Present: Chuck Bressi, John Burr, Tom Cline (alternate), Phyllis Factor, Elizabeth Garber, George Mairs, Karen Olson, Brooke Sanders, Chris Stebe, Jerry Swatez, Tim Vanderpool
- Absent: Marian Gin (alternate), Nadine Rund (alternate), Tod Santee
- Guests: Steve Lynn and Scott Rathburn, UniSource Energy; Jefferson Bailey, Neighbors Feeding Neighbors [NFN]; Scotty Johnson, APNA resident; Donovan Durband, aide to Ward 6 City Council member to Steve Kozachik; Joe Tinguely, Tucson Police Department; Margit Ritchie, APNA resident; Mary Sabatini, APNA resident
Approvals
- Additions to agenda are reflected in the minutes
- January minutes were approved as corrected for typos (motion by John Burr; second by Karen Olson). Corrections are reflected in the minutes. There were no corrections to February’s retreat minutes; as this was not a regular meeting, no approval was needed.
- Treasurer’s report (Chuck Bressi): The year began with $12,701.25 and ended $12,953.96. Funds went to NFN, meeting space rental, and the spay/neuter program. Motion to file by John Burr; seconded to Phyllis Factor; passed unanimously. Chuck will file the annual report with IRS.
Presentations by Guests
Neighbors Feeding Neighbors (Jefferson Bailey):
- Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation [SAAF] provided 23,000 meals last year to persons living with HIV/AIDS. NFN grew out of this. About 10 clients in Armory Park are served, most seniors from Armory Park Apartments. 1758 meals at $3 each were purchased for NFN for $5,274. The $3 meal price was negotiated three years ago and does not fully cover the cost of the meals. In addition, 879 snack packs, costing $1 each, were also distributed. Each client receives two meals a day and a snack pack. Jeff has a Deacon’s Fund at the church, which is a discretionary fund. The meals are purchased at cost; the snack packs are paid for from the Deacon’s Fund. Higher costs are anticipated this year: about $7500, due to a 10-15% growth in numbers served. The APNA Home Tour project gave $3400 towards NFN last year. The church does not benefit at all.
UniSource presentation of proposed Tucson Electric Power building at Broadway and S. 6th Ave. (Steve Lind and Scott Rathburn)
- The area is zoned for 30 stories (about 300 feet high), comparable to the downtown UniSource tower. Steve and Scott presented plans of a building 160 feet high, a building pushed toward the north (Broadway) of the property.
- 425-450 people will work in the building.
- The building will include 9000 square feet of supportive retail (businesses such as dry cleaners, fast food, etc. that support the employees in the building).
- Parking will be housed within the structure and will not be visible from the street. Board members expressed concern about the impact of traffic on the neighborhood. Steve and Scott indicated that employees have staggered work hours; as well, they hope that some employees will take advantage of public transportation and biking to work (bicycle parking will be provided).
- The building will incorporate meeting rooms, accommodating up to 300 people. The rooms will be available to neighborhood groups, at no cost to non-profit groups.
- Shade will be provided by solar panels and the building will be largely fueled by solar.
- Some Board members expressed concern about the compatibility of the building’s style with the historic district? The response was that the property borders, but is not part of, the historic district.
- The company hopes to break ground in May or June of this year and to occupy the building by November 2011.
- The south third of the property will be for development: at this point, they cannot project what businesses will come forward with a proposal. Any parking of south lot will be within the property. They will continue to discuss with the neighborhood this development.
- They were thanked for the $500 donation to Carnaval.
Police Report (Officer Tinguely)
- Neighborhood crime includes larcenies, motor vehicle theft, burglary without force, and criminal damage.
- There is no notable crime from Santa Rita Park.
- The bike patrols and walking beats are still operating; the bikes may begin to work on the weekends.
- The precinct is operant 24 hours.
City Council Liaison (Donovan Durband)
- Donovan indicated that if APNA has small cost needs, we should talk with him. He is our liaison. He also provided fliers about the opening of the streetcar.
Committee Reports
Communications (George Mairs and Chuck Bressi):
- As discussed during earlier Board meetings, plans are underway to go green (electronic) with the newsletter. In April, the newsletter will be mailed and contain a request for information/ submissions from neighbors as well as a request to neighbors to see how many want to get the newsletter by e-mail and how many want hard copies. With that information, the membership committee will decide the best way to distribute the newsletter to those who aren’t going to get it by e-mail.
- The new APNA phone number is 829 0074. It costs $60/year and is virtual (through Skype).
Outreach (Karen Olson):
- There is no news since January meeting.
Membership (Phyllis Factor):
- 2010 membership is currently comprised of 10 businesses, 29 couples, 31 individuals, and 1 associate.
- Pursuant to the Board’s earlier agreement that a service exchange for membership be available to neighbors who cannot afford the cost, the committee suggested services could include mailings, folding fliers, working on a database, helping with neighborhood clean-up, running errands, meeting set-ups, recruitment at community functions, helping needy neighbors, helping with fundraisers, making phone fliers, volunteering for the home tour, etc. An issue raised is, can anyone exchange labor for membership dues? Some Board members feel this option should be made available strictly on a needs basis, and not publicized.
Security/ Neighborhood Watch
- Tom Cline is willing to oversee this committee and will meet with Dabney Philabaum and Liz Burden on Friday, March 12.
Transportation/ Environs (John Burr and Chuck Bressi)
- Updates:
- New developments:
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- The S 4th Ave pedestrian improvement project was awarded a contract and will be finished in July.
- Arizona Avenue: new lights will be installed.
- S 5th Avenue is on track.
- Downtown Links: 75% of the plans for the 8th Street drainage project are completed; the western end from Church to I-10 along St. Mary’s is at about the same stage. Construction is projected for August 2010 until February 2011. A crosswalk for new greenway to the east of I-10 will have to be staggered, which has been controversial.
- 22nd Street: to be talked about later in the meeting. On hold until Richard Fimbres starts a new direction.
- A meeting was held on February 1 about the Park Avenue/ 18th Street signal. Later this month tentative plans will be available, which will include partial closure of 18th Street.
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- Student housing is proposed for the lot at the old Greyhound station to the east of the Rialto Theater; a parking structure is under discussion for the lot located between Toole and the 4th Ave. underpass.
- ParkWise is bankrupt and proposes to raise on-street neighborhood parking fees from $2.50 to $48-$60 per space per year. All neighborhoods are against this proposal, and have been charged with coming up with an alternate plan. There will be a series of meetings and neighbors should discuss their concerns with Chuck and/or attend the meetings.
Historic Zone Advisory Board (Phyllis Factor)
- Previous projects: The porch at 417 E. 17th St. has been restored.
- Formal reviews to be presented at the 3/17/10 meeting:
o 742 S 3rd Ave.: conversion of a storage building and garage into guest quarters, addition of a car cover and fence,
o 228 S 4th Ave.: demolition of a non-conforming rear porch, expansion and rebuilding of a rear porch
- Informal reviews to be presented at this meeting
o 426 E. 18th St.: repair/ restoration of a front porch at, support rear addition to add a foundation, demolition of a wood section of the existing garage to be rebuilt as a carport, and major interior renovations
o 846 S. 2nd Ave.: new fence along the 19th St. side
- Phyllis reported all the above as routine.
Special Projects
- Feral Cat Project (Tim Vanderpool)
o The project is getting calls; the committee will apply for a grant to supplement the $300 allocation from the Board for spaying/neutering cats.
- Carnaval (Chuck Bressi)
o Carnaval was a very successful event; finances are not yet available.
Old Business
Home Tour (Chris Stebe):
- Publicity is being made through articles and KXCI; an inexpensive package with KUAT/KUAZ was suggested.
- The committee is still in need of one or two houses to put on the tour. Most of the houses to be on the tour are along 3rd Avenue; they are light on the west side of the neighborhood.
- Rand Carlson will do a painting and make posters for sale from it (a run of about 50).
- A volunteer is needed to host the after-party.
- Accessibility of the houses needs to be publicized.
- Donations still needed for the Bake Sale.
22nd Street Project:
- Neighbor Scotty Johnson indicated his concerns with the degradation of air quality in the neighborhood, and noted the importance of air quality to health and quality of life. He suggested that APNA make a point about air quality in negotiations about the 22nd Street project as a type of vision.
- John Burr noted that the project is on hold and there are people who want to stall the project, while others support it with controls. The project budget is $95,000,000, which is not adequate to do all neighborhood groups wish to do. Other groups have proposed a larger mitigation area, but the city has refused. Santa Rita Neighborhood wants to apply for a Pugh grant for an environmental justice study.
Goals for 2010 (Liz Burden):
- Liz developed draft goals for each committee (a handout) and asked each committee to add or suggest revisions to items. Items can reflect a two- or more year plan rather than just one.
Budget for 2010 (Chuck):
- Chuck provided a written budget for 2010. He added that the newsletter likely will not cost what is projected because of the proposed electronic format.
- Proposed addition to the budget: APHZB wants a $100 budget for associated costs. Approval was moved by Jerry Swatez, seconded by Karen, and passed unanimously.
New business
Iron Horse Neighborhood Meeting
- In connection with Downtown Links, one of the artists, Cork Marcheschi, is presenting his design for art on the east side of the project to the Iron Horse Neighborhood in their March meeting. APNA Board members and residents are invited to attend this meeting.
Armory Park Apartments
- The apartments have been sold to Urban Innovations of Chicago, and are quoted as planning to develop new senior housing west of I-10 and moving residents from the Armory Park Apartments. They will be invited to an APNA meeting to find out what they will do with the building, and how residents currently living in the apartments are being asked to contribute to the process. Parking at the apartments is of concern as there are 68 units and parking spaces available on site are but a fraction of that number.
Call to Audience: No responses.
Meeting adjourned at 9 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Elizabeth Garber, APNA Secretary
Armory Park Neighborhood Association 