A few weeks ago I attended a meeting of the Phoenix Parks and Conservation Foundation to talk about working with them to get this project built. Many of the top Phoenix Rec Department people were on the board and so I learned a lot about the cities position. Basically, they were meeting with the bidders to prearrange for the city to get 22.7 acres of the land. 15 acres of that 22.7 would be in the drainage basin. Sara Hensley, the director of the rec department did agree that our area was critically under served but it kind of appeared to me that all the back door dealings had already taken place, with the interest of the developers mostly in mind. I left the meeting angry and feeling like all was going to be lost on the 17th.
As many of you may have seen in the paper, THE LAND WAS NOT SOLD on 17 June. YEA US! There were five companies that had interest in the land but for various reasons none of them put a bid in on the property. The next auction bid date is July 31st. Before that date there is a lot that can be done to save this property for the community.
1) We need to continue to get signatures, increase community awareness and support and most important, we need to keep the pressure on our elected officials with calls and letters. Make sure the Mayor knows that we want just 64 acres and that we know that the city purchased 945-acres of preserve land just last year.
2) We just discovered some information that may help us if we have time and can get it done. The Arizona House passed a bill back in 1996 (HB 2555) called The Arizona Preserve Initiative (API). Basically, our group could petition to reclassify this land. And if completed and accepted the sale of the land could be delayed up to 3 years in order for us to get organized and raise funding. I would hope with PPPI passing that it wouldn't take that long, but it's an option that helps us.
3) The city is going to hold community meeting to talk about how our district wants to spend the PPPI money that will become available in the future. Our project directly impacts District 6 and District 8 so we need to attend those meetings in large numbers to show the city how important this is to our community. PLEASE ATTEND THE MEETING IN YOUR DISTRICT!!! We need a good showing with large numbers in support. The meeting dates are:
District 6: Thursday, 26 June, 6PM to 8PM Location: Pecos Community Center, Multi Purpose Room Address: 17010 S 48th Street
District 8: Thursday, 10 July, 6PM to 8PM Location: South Mountain Community Center Address: 212 E Alta Vista Road
I will be there to represent our group for District 6 on the 26th as I live in District 6. BUT I don't live in District 8 and I'll be out of town on the 10th anyway. So we need someone to speak for us. If you think you can help, Please contact me ASAP. If you come to the first meeting you'll see how it goes... it's really quite simple. I've done quite a few now and the hardest part is all the waiting and listening. I hope to see you there.
Thanks for all your support,
Will Bullock --
www.phoenixsportscomplex.org
