School’s Out Fall Break Camps
Tucson Parks and Recreation will be offering School’s Out Fall Break Camps at multiple sites throughout Tucson for children ages 5-11, or In-Betweeners Club for ages 12-14. Camps are Oct. 9-13, from 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. Registration begins Monday, Sept. 25, at 8 a.m. The cost is $25 for city residents or $32 for non-city residents. Activities include games, sports, social interaction, dance, art projects, and nutrition-based learning activities. Register online by following the top link below.
Register
Tucson Parks and Recreation
Alvernon Park Improvements
9/26/23 Greg Jackson: “City staff and Flood Control District staff met this morning to outline next steps and here is where we are:
- City has submitted plans for a permit, which we expect to receive in October.
- Flood control is providing final comments by the end of next week that the design consultant will incorporate into the construction documents and specifications.
- Once the consultant has incorporated the comments, the Flood Control district will bid out the project to their job order contractors. We anticipate that happening by the middle of October.
- We should have a contractor on board in November and will work with them on a schedule with the goal of being under construction in December.
September 2023 Construction Drawings
Here is a diagram from Page 1 of the September 2023 Construction Drawings:
The temporary chain link fence and the temporary orange plastic fence will come down when construction is complete. Except in the construction areas, access to the park should not be affected. The new westside areas will be open for access when the project is complete.
9/25/23 Parks & Rec Deputy Director Greg Jackson: “The consultant submitted the updated plans to our Planning and Development Services department last week. I am meeting with Pima County reps tomorrow to discuss our timeline and schedule for bidding the project out, construction management, etc. We want to get this project going, it has taken way too long.”
8/28/23
Eric Shepp of the Pima County Flood Control District: “From the Flood Control District’s perspective, we have been coordinating with various City departments to design and construct neighborhood scale water harvesting projects throughout the City. Five projects have been completed so far and three projects – Alvernon Park, Parkview Park, and Sewell School – are in design. To date, this partnership has been very successful.
As you likely know, Low Impact Development projects provide numerous benefits. The District becomes interested in participating when projects are of such a scale that they have a positive impact on reducing flood risks downstream. Early in the Alvernon Park project, the City and District agreed to collaborate whereby the City would fund the design, the District would fund the construction, and the City would maintain.
During the design process, constraints were identified that significantly reduced the potential water harvesting volume making the project less effective for flood risk reduction. Since the District committed to the fund project, we have been identifying and asking for other design changes to increase the volume of water retained in order to improved effectiveness. These comments were provided to the City’s consultants in June, and my understanding is that we have not seen a response to the comments or revised plans.
Presuming the issues are successfully resolved, I would anticipated construction commencing after monsoon and before winter rains.”
8/3/23 Parks & Rec Administrator Jasmine Chan: “We are finalizing the basin design with the consultant and Pima County Regional Flood Control District.”
7/13/23 Paul Pier: “I understand the frustration on the delays and we are working to push this through as quickly as possible. RFC (Pima County) has recently provided some additional review comments and we are working with our designer to get them incorporated. We will be getting this into permitting as soon as possible.”
6/7/23 Greg Jackson, Deputy Director of P&R: “Paul Pier is taking over this project for Parks and Recreation. We have sent the 95% plans to Pima County Regional Flood Control Dist. (PCRFCD) to review and then we’re submitting the plans for permitting. Paul can check into the status with them. Our current intent is to allow PCRFCD to manage the construction since it is primarily earthwork and the path.”
Additional information is here.
Alvernon & Fifth Crime Coalition Meeting
DATE: Wednesday October 25, 2023 TIME: 6 PM
LOCATION: TPD Midtown, Alvernon and 22nd St.
ZOOM – for link email phnaemail@gmail.com
Residents of neighborhoods in and around the area of Fifth and Alvernon, including Miramonte, Peter Howell, El Encanto, Highland Vista, and Midway Village, seek to work with Ward VI, TPD, businesses, churches, and nearby neighborhoods to recognize, report, and prevent criminal activity in our neighborhoods. Meetings will be held every 4th Wednesday of each month at 6pm. You are invited to attend. For information, contact PHNA Board member Nancy Huff.
Each week, Ward 6 City Councilman Steve Kozachik prepares a useful summary of city-wide issues and news – his newsletter is available here.
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