Mayor Gordon’s Corner

By Mayor Phil Gordon

A few months ago, I asked you to vote “yes” in May to extend the Phoenix Parks and Preserve Initiative. And you did, as Phoenix residents approved it with 83 percent of the vote. I thank everyone who spoke with their vote. By extending the Parks and Preserve Initiative, Phoenix continues to build on its reputation as a national leader in acquiring funding for the development of parks and natural areas.

And now, I’m asking you for something else: I’m asking you to tell your city government how you’d like the funding to be used in parks in the South Mountain and Laveen Villages.

This summer, we’re holding community meetings where you, as individuals or as neighborhood associations, can share your priorities for what projects and programs should be funded in your own neighborhood parks. The upcoming meeting most convenient to South Mountain Villagers is Tuesday, August 5, at Cesar Chavez Library, 3635 West Baseline Road from 6 to 8 p.m. Meetings were already held on July 8 at Desert West Community Center and on July 10 at South Mountain Community Center. If you missed these meetings so far or can’t attend the August 5^th meeting in person, you can still share your opinion, through the convenience of your computer. You can fill out an online survey at www.phoenix.gov/parks (click on "Park Development Projects" and then on "Vote on Your Priorities").

Before you attend a meeting or fill out the online survey, here’s a recap of what we’re asking you to comment on. For the past nine years the Phoenix Parks and Preserve Initiative, using a one-tenth of one cent sales tax, has raised more than $200 million to fund the construction and improvement of parks throughout the city and the addition of thousands of acres of desert land to the city’s preserve system. This program was set to expire next year, but on the May 2008 ballot, voters approved a 30-year extension of the funding.

With that extension, 60 percent of the funds raised will be used to complete the regional parks started with current Phoenix Parks and Preserve Initiative funding; purchase land and create new regional, community and neighborhood parks; upgrade existing parks with better shade, green space, and recreational features; add more park rangers, lighting, security, and maintenance for parks and recreational facilities; add shaded pedestrian and bike paths throughout the city; and add recreation programs for youth to fight drugs, gangs, and crime. Forty percent of the funds raised will be used to purchase land for mountain and desert preserve open space; create new and better trailheads, trail, parking and interpretive centers for preserves; and provide more park rangers, security and maintenance of the preserves.

This is a long list – and so, by attending a public meeting or filling out the online survey, you can let us know which of these are your top priorities.

A complete list of the public meetings the Parks Department is holding throughout the city this summer is available at: www.phoenix.gov/newsrel/2006ppinput.html. If you’d like more general information on this public process, you also can call 602-262-6862.

Thanks again for being involved in your community by letting your voice be heard.