Metropolitan Pima Alliance

Meeting with County Administrator Huckelberry… Our monthly meeting with County Administrator Huckelberry was this past Thursday and the main item of discussion was the Public Safety Initiative.  Mr. Huckleberry spoke of a memo he wrote that addresses financial implications for the County, should the Initiative be adopted.  In other news, Mr. Huckelberry mentioned that discussions with MPA and other organizations on the Safe Routes to School policy and the Southwest Infrastructure Plan were ongoing and staff is working in a collaborative manner to work toward a positive result.

State Budget discussions at a crawl… The Governor signed Senate Bill 1123 which would require the City of Tucson to hold non-partisan elections as well as choose Ward only or at-large voting- but not a hybrid of the two.  Additionally, the Pima County Sports Authority legislation was also approved, giving the Pima County Board of Supervisors the ability to call an election where county residents could decide on raising taxes for the purpose of future spring training and recreation facilities.

MPA Public Policy Committee meeting...this committee is meeting this Thursday from 11:30-1:30 at AGM Container Controls 3526 E. Ft. Lowell. This month's special guest speaker is Mike Hein.

MPA Membership & Sponsorship Committee meeting… MPA’s Membership and Sponsorship Committee meets this Thursday, July 16th.  If you would like to be a part of this committee, please let Amber or me know.

MPA Monthly Membership Breakfast… The third Friday of the month is this Friday which means one thing, our Monthly Membership Breakfasts.  This will be the fourth, and final, discussion on Regional Economic Development issues and the focus of this breakfast is education and its role in economic development.  Four fantastic speakers have agreed to attend and Joe Higgins has agreed to moderate the panel again.  You can find more information, including RSVP forms, at www.mpaaz.or/events/breakfast.

MPA Common Ground Committee… MPA’s Common Ground Committee meets this Friday, July 17 right after the breakfast meeting.  The committee will continue to discuss the logistics of the event, the nomination process and the budget.  For those interested in sponsoring this very exciting annual event, please contact me.  For more information as well as to nominate a deserving project, policy, event or person, please go to www.mpaaz.org/events/common-ground.