Read more by downloading the full version here: Menlo Park News November 2006

My name is Mac Hudson and I was elected on Thursday, Sept. 23 to serve as your president for the next year. I look forward, as do the rest of your elected officers (listed to the left), to working with you to make our barrio even better. As the famous rallying cry says, “Barrios unidos jamás serán vencidos.”

Read more by downloading the full version here: Menlo Park News November 2006

Read more at:

 
http://mobile.azstarnet.com/altds/PDA/metro/119284.html

 http://www.downtowntucson.org/downtowntucsonan/nov05/editor.html

The argument that the TCC is an old arena and doesn’t age well does not bode well for the proposed arena. The new arena will age as well. It will become out-dated, outmoded, outtricked in every way the TCC is today. When built, there will be a moment of fun, but in twenty years or less, the city will have not just one outmoded arena, but two. Furthermore, the two situated close to each other will create an even bigger DEAD SPACE in the heart of a potential community.

The article mentioned in many of its “answers” to the “questions” the idea of private suites (four responses to the five questions included private suites). Why is it so important to build private party areas for people? Regardless, is there a more creative way we can do that than spending millions and millions of dollars? How about building some private suites with VIP entrances and valet parking and private waitstaff in some of the vacant storefronts along Congress, Pennington, Scott, Broadway, and 6th? Provide live hook-ups to other arenas in the country so they can keep in touch with the Arena Football League and Minor League Hockey and World Wide Wrestling.

The article mentioned the facility would be in use for approximately half a year. Why not build something that gets used 365 DAYS A YEAR? Downtown is a community first and foremost. If downtown ever becomes the “destination” the TDA so passionately desires, it is because of that community. But the community needs help. It needs adequate lighting on the streets. It needs more pleasant pathways for pedestrians and bicyclists (think: not just downtown, but areas connected to downtown). It needs just a little bit more commercial and residential activity (think: NOW). I do not believe it needs a facility that is similar in size to the existing TCC and parking lot that is empty half of the year (read: another DEAD SPACE). I also do not believe an arena will draw increased commercial activity intended for the downtown community. My point is to ask the TDA to start focusing more on what downtown has and how it can make that better, instead of looking at what downtown doesn’t have in comparison to other cities.

Stop thinking of downtown as a “destination.” Think of it as an existing place with existing people. So many of the downtown (Rio Nuevo) plans and TDA events draw on the idea of bringing people TO downtown. While it is an important idea, it should not be something to which we throw millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars. The “destination” component should be secondary. At the forefront should be the following goals (where we should be putting the millions of dollars): make downtown a comfortable place to hang, to talk to people, to go to school, to get some groceries, to buy a book, to look at some clothes, to learn how to garden, to walk, to breathe the desert air, to work, to have a few drinks of whatever your drug of choice is (sugar, alcohol, or caffeine), to buy a curling iron, to sleep, to LIVE at all hours of the day every day of the year.

Finally, the experts of Mr. Durband’s article were the consultants. The fearless team from afar that provides holy information regarding arenas (because we locally have no idea about arenas – maybe that should tip us off). How many times, in the past twenty or forty years, has the city hired a consultant to study the feasibility of a project and have them come back with a negative conclusion? From my experience of being a consultant, I would gather very few times. The consultant is required to consider creative approaches to make such and such work – provide private suites, valet parking, shuttle services, VIP entrances, big screen scoreboards, multi-media displays, pools, jungle gyms, pretzel stands, WIFI connections, flying dolphins, and pigs that can talk. It is their desire to make it work. It is their motivation. They are being paid big money and the city is paying big money to get an answer – an answer that will more than likely support the construction of an arena (especially with sky boxes). Imagine the response if the consultants came out and said, “an arena is not feasible, the most feasible project for the city of Tucson would be to tear down the existing convention center and build some roads that connect the southern neighborhoods with downtown, add street lights, a pocket park or two and some residential and commercial spaces.”

–Bill Mackey

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary
• Introduction

For the neighborhood’s official response, please see our letter drafted and delivered on February 16, 2006 . 

Dear Ms. Byrne:

    As you are the new Executive Director of El Rio Clinic, I would like to welcome you to our neighborhood. As you know, the Menlo Park Neighborhood surrounds the El Rio Clinic. There are many shared boundaries between us and, for that reason, communication between us and between our people is quite important. It is my hope that we can start a new chapter of relations between our groups and that open, direct and timely communication will be the hallmark of that new chapter.

    Menlo Park supports the health care mission of El Rio Clinic, but to be clear at the outset, El Rio’s operations should not conflict with either our residents or our residential character.

    We understand that the Clinic has purchased a residential property at 44 N Melwood Avenue. We want to know what plans El Rio has for that property. The residents along Melwood and the Menlo Park Neighborhood Association, as a whole, are completely opposed to any use of that property other than residential. Our wish is to retain the residency of the McClung`s in the house they have lived since 1999.

    We also understand that the entryway at 50 N Melwood is supposed to be for emergency use only; that it is supposed to be chained at all times except in an emergency. The current situation of a constant flow of traffic, including large delivery trucks, into and out of our residential street is unacceptable and was not within the scope of the original agreement. El Rio has broken its promise to our Melwood residents and our neighbors deserve nothing less than the safe and quiet enjoyment of their homes and their residential street. El Rio has more than enough frontage on Congress St. to handle their ingress/egress and delivery needs. El Rio must take their commercial activities to the commercial streets and close off anything other than emergency access to Melwood Ave.

    Menlo Park Neighborhood would be willing to discuss El Rio`s expansion needs and to possibly support those needs in a facility south of Congress St. However, our neighbors and their homes and the residential character of our neighborhood are not negotiable. We want a written promise from the El Rio Board that they will respect our neighbors, their homes and our residential character, that they will use commercial streets for commercial activities and that no project or program of the Santa Cruz branch of El Rio Clinic will impact negatively on our neighbors, their homes or our residential character.

Sincerely,

Diana Hadley
President, M.P.N.A.

cc:
State Representative Phil Lopes
Supervisor Richard Elias
Mayor Bob Walkup
Councilmember Jose Ibarra
Lillian Lopez Grant, Westside Coalition

¡Vengan a celebrar con sus vecinos y sus amigos lose mejoramientos de su vecindad de la primera face y entérese de lose mejoramientos de las faces dos y tres! 

Saturday, January 14, 2006
11 am - 1 pm

Sabado 14 de enero, 2006
11 de la mañana - 1 de la tarde

Menlo Park
1100 W. Fresno & Grande

Refreshments and food to follow brief program.
Habra refrescos y comida al fin del programa. 

Improvements funded by/Mejoramientos patrocinados por:
Pima County Community Development
and Neighborhood Conservation
City of Tucson, Ward 1
City of Tucson Mayor’s Office

Celebration Sponsored by/ Celebración Patrocinada por:
Board of Supervisors, District 5
Pima County Community Development
and Neighborhood Conservation
City of Tucson Ward 1 Council Office
City of Tucson Mayor’s Office
City of Tucson Parks and Recreation
Magpies Gourmet Pizza

A very positive development came from the leaders of our state, county and city government this past Wednesday: Mayor Walkup, Supervisor Elias and Council member Ibarra asked for a study into the lowering Interstate 10 below ground level from St. Mary?s to 22nd Street (see attached Daily Star article) and Governor Napolitano halted the I-10 widening project for several months for us to decide.

This is the best news imaginable because the Interstate cut the Barrios in half and lowering it will help heal this open and painful cultural wound and will physically diminish the horrific noise levels, create open space for public use and make routes to and from downtown safer and easier.

Lowering the Interstate will be a big ticket item - estimates are in the $100 million range - but much more useful and beneficial than the other big ticket items that they`ve been trying to force on us such as the proposed new arena and the $300 million suspension bridge (see attached letter to the editor about why we do not need a new arena or try this link: http://www.downtowntucson.org/downtowntucsonan/nov05/editor.html).

Let`s support putting the Interstate below ground. Let`s heal the open wound. Now while we have the political will to do so. Please call the Mayor and Council comment line at 791-4700 or email at mcweb@tucsonaz.gov.

It`s easy to do. You don`t talk to anyone. You just leave a message, “Hi. I`m from Menlo Park. I support lowering the Interstate. I don`t support the new arena. We want big ticket items that are useful and good for our community. Thank you.

And thank you all for responding when we need you most. Call this weekend. Call right now. Call 791-4700. We`ll all be glad you did.

your neighbor,
Mac Hudson
Special Projects Coordinator