When the Public Pays, the Public Must be Served
I ran for City Council to stop development in our McDowell Sonoran Preserve for the benefit of private interests. Protecting public access to public assets remains a top priority. From parks to parking lots, when the public pays, the public must be served. Three recent successes are described below.
Scottsdale Sports Complex
Located at Princess Drive & Hayden, the Scottsdale Sports Complex is a 71-acre, state of the art, competitive sport field complex offering tournament level playing conditions. It attracts national and regional tournaments which generates revenue and supports our tourism industry. Working with staff and residents, two policies have changed to improve public access.
The complex includes ten tournament fields and two drop in (free) fields for the public. City Policy had restricted tournament field use to teams with paid reservations and denied residents from practicing on fields when not in use. Letting teams reserve fields for the season is good public policy but precluding the public from using empty fields is not. Not every kid can afford a league team. To correct, staff is now allowing drop-ins and has compiled an extensive list of nearby City fields that have fewer restrictions and more availability.
A second problem is that the free fields were noticeably "under" maintained relative to the tournament fields. This made some parents feel like second class citizens. Staff is now improving the maintenance of these fields.
Eldorado Park
Located along the greenbelt south of Murray Lane, Eldorado Park is 60-acres of coolness even in the summer. At issue was a staff decision to allow a private baseball league to install fencing around the three baseball fields and then lock the public out. A resident contacted me and we immediately met with staff at the Park.
The upshot of our meeting is that all gates must remain unlocked other than an hour or two preceding a game (when fields have been striped). As we left the park, 4 young men were playing ball. They looked up nervously and asked, "Can we be here?". To which we answered, "Of course, it is your park!"
Side Note: A few irresponsible dog owners leaving big messes was a primary reason for locking the fields. Staff is considering other ways, including fines, to keep our parks clean.
Photos: Scottsdale Sports Complex, Eldorado Park by Tommy DeBardeleben
Public Parking Scottsdale taxpayers have funded over 5,000 public parking spaces downtown and yet finding a spot can be tough depending on the season and location. At the same time, some private parking garages are virtually empty. Tackling the public parking challenge will require a multi-pronged approach.
This month, Council updated the parking ordinance and developers will now be required to build guest parking and increase the number of spaces for residents. Staff has begun an enforcement effort to stop office landlords from charging for parking spaces thus pushing company employees into public spaces. Staff is also improving signage and exploring additional public-private partnerships to maximize parking efficiency during busy times of the year.
Bipartisan Win for all Arizonans at the Corporation Commission
Huge Kudos to Commissioner and Scottsdale resident Jim O'Connor (R) and Commissioner Anna Tovar (D) for their leadership passing the Energy Rules this past week. Rule making at the Arizona Corporation Commission (CC) is a multi-step process. Last fall, Scottsdale's involvement helped pass the Rules in its first vote. But this month, the Rules failed in the second vote along party lines.
The forward thinking Energy Rules require utilities to provide rebates for energy efficiency and generate power using non-carbon energy sources. The mandates will create jobs, decrease pollution, and save tax payers money. Outcomes that both Commissioners O'Connor and Tovar support. Deciding that failure was not an option, they reached a compromise and recast their votes. He supported mandatory targets and she extended the 100% renewable deadline and together they achieved a bipartisan victory.
TRUE LEADERSHIP!
Special thank you to Autumn Johnson of Western Resource Advocates and Caryn Potter of SW Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) for keeping me and other elected leaders up-to-date and able to influence the outcome.
A final vote this fall is required prior to adoption. Stay tuned.
The City of Scottsdale is a service organization and services that save lives should be available to everyone. For this reason, I opposed fee increases on CPR, babysitting safety, and other public safety classes. Council unanimously approved my motion to drop the fee hikes.