Mental Health Clinic for City Employees
The City of Tucson owns a surplus property located at 4110 E. 4th St, just off the corner of E 4th and N. Irving Cir, within the Peter Howell neighborhood. This property is managed by City Risk Management and was vacated several years back and is currently unoccupied.
The City of Tucson Business Services Department has identified this property as an opportunity to serve as a Mental Health clinic. This clinic would only be open to City of Tucson employees and would employ two behavioral health counselors, two behavioral health navigators, and one front office staff person. Utilizing this vacant building would mean that the City is able to get beneficial use from the property rather than have it be unoccupied and at risk for vandalism.
This proposal is in the discussion phase, which began with a presentation during the February 2, 2022 PHNA board meeting. A number of questions remain. More information is here
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5/10/22
“We just received word from the contractor that they anticipate starting renovations at the site as soon as the 9th of this month, so I wanted to let you know just so you two are aware. Right now, my team and I are working on developing some short mailers to inform residents near the site (about 25 homes in total) and we trying to get those out as soon as possible, likely this upcoming week.
We are also working on putting up a temporary website outlining some FAQ’s for the site, which will be included on the mailer. I can send you the link to that as soon as it becomes available. The correspondence might be a bit behind the start date, so I wanted to make sure you two are up to date. If there are questions or concerns in the meantime, please direct it to either myself (Tristan.hites@tucsonaz.gov) or project manager Art Cuaron (Art.Cuaron@tucsonaz.gov).”
4/6/22
City renovation at 4110 E. 4th St. is moving forward. A contractor expects work on the property to be complete by end of 2022. He indicated that they would be taking down some of the west frontage wall implying parking in rear. — More Information
Alvernon Park Improvements
RE: Permanent closure of Montezuma Ave between 3rd St and 4th St and redesign of the expanded Alvernon Park.
The Ward 6 Office and Department of Transportation and Mobility (DTM) conducted a temporary closure at East 4th St. at Longfellow and Montezuma Ave. near 3rd St. (please see this map)
This temporary closure has been in place since Tuesday, September 7, 2021 to allow neighborhood comment and continues in place pending acceptance of the required petition and supporting PHNA letter.
The PHNA Annual Meeting on October 20, 2021 included discussion about moving forward with a permanent closure and redesign of the park. This meeting allowed residents and City Parks/Trans folks to listen to neighborhood benefits and concerns. Meeting notes are here.
5/17/22 Owen Long: “The Abandonment of the Montezuma Ave. road section and inclusion into Alvernon Park is still pending. The Parks and Recreation Department is not the primary on this portion of the future expansion. My understanding is that there are some on going negotiations are between the COT Department of Transportation and Property owners (Particularly the land owner of the adjoining medical offices). I have no timeline to share at this time. [You] will be made aware of our next steps as soon as this gets sorted out.
The WLB group is working on a survey and base map, that simply includes the existing conditions, with an emphasis on Storm water and Utility Issues. We will get the engineering aspects of the proposed project on paper so that we can begin to get the full neighborhood and input.
The camping scenario on the edge of Montezuma Ave is unfortunate and will have to be handled through communication with TPD. I’m sorry this news is not more positive, but we do not have jurisdiction over the street and adjoining properties yet. Again, I will notify all stakeholders as soon as there is any forward movement.”
5/4/22 Owen Long: “The abandonment process is in its final stages, and until that has been completed, we cannot take over ownership and maintenance of the Montezuma Ave. section adjoining the park. We will need to post signage as soon as the abandonment is completed to better inform the public and neighborhood.
This project involves several entities that include COT Parks and Recreation Department, COT Transportation Department and Pima County Flood Control. These entities are all providing input into this process. While this project started as a 407 Bond Project that would provide a simple walking path around the outside of the current park boundary, it has become a larger project that involves the Abandonment of a portion of Montezuma Ave. Additionally, the plan will incorporate Storm water design features that will help mitigate flooding issues in the adjoining area. We understand there are new encampments in this location, and that information will certainly be passed on to TPD.
The abandonment process can be lengthy, in that adjoining property owners, including the owner of the commercial medical facilities are involved in the agreement. While on the surface it may seem that nothing is happening, however, please understand that we are following all the necessary and legal steps to expand the park area and create a safer and better park experience. We will find out fairly soon regarding the status of the Abandonment and move forward with the concept for storm water and park improvements. There will be several points where public involvement will be included. We will be in touch soon next steps in this process. Thank you.”
If you have any questions regarding this matter or if you would like to serve on the PHNA Park Improvement Committee, please contact us through our email address phnaemail.gmail.com.
2/9/22 Jesse Soto: “Within the next few weeks the Parks & Recreation Department will be bringing on a landscape architect to create the design and construction documents. A concept design should be ready within the next 30-60 days, it will be shared with the community for review and comments. The Parks Department has also reached out to Pima County Regional Flood Control district and the City’s Green Storm Infrastructure team who are mutually interested in working on the Alvernon Park Improvements.”
Jason: “Thanks for this update, Jesse. We hope to have a meeting of the PHNA Park Committee next week with a work product consisting of broad strokes features and design elements to pass along to the architect to guide their first draft.”
Owen Long has been assigned as Parks & Recreation’s project manager for the Alvernon Park upgrade and will receive the Park Committee input. The abandonment process for Montezuma west of the park has been OKed by DTM – a handover date to Parks has not yet been set. A new bench and a new water fountain are being added to the park, along with a revised irrigation system. — More Information
Recycle containers (blue bins with no glass) should be placed at the curb on: May 31 (Tue), Jun 13 and 27, Jul 11 and 25, Aug 8 and 22, Sep 6 (Tue) and 19, Oct 3, 17 and 31, Nov 14 and 28, Dec 12 and 26, 2022.
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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