Mitman Neighborhood Association

From Sylvia Berman, Mitman Neighborhood Association President

Hi Neighbors!

The board met for its monthly meeting and developed a plan for the traffic circle art project. Our artist, Daniel Hornung, will develop a sketch and we will have a preview at the traffic circle on Rosewood & McKinley on an upcoming Saturday morning.

The board also discussed the need to apply for speed bumps. The City will pay for the bulk of the cost but the neighborhood will still be responsible for $500 a bump. We propose to add a bump to the north and the south of the traffic circle at Rosewood & McKinley first. Recently, the bollard was struck by a speeding car and since this a bike / walk route, it seems pertinent to protect the space. 

This will require a petition with the application. Get ready for me and a few others to knock on the doors of the people who live closest to Rosewood & McKinley. I don’t like to bother people but I really think this is important. We will apply for speed bumps every year until we have placed them to the north & south of each traffic circle. 

Mitman Neighborhood Association will appreciate donations to the cause. We have some money stashed away in the bank but its not going to be enough for these projects. 

The Mitman NA vision is to have art objects added to both traffic circles on McKinley, with speed bumps. The traffic circle on 2^nd is being renovated and Ward 6 is paying for the base for the art object (I understand). In between, we plan to add curb cutouts with plants, street murals, a little library, a bulletin board and perhaps murals on people’s walls. The idea is to create a neighborhood street park. We can apply for permits to block off a lane for events. We are just in the discussion phase right now and it will take a while to accomplish.

When we get this done, we may attempt the same thing on Jefferson. The art objects will be variations on a theme so we only have to pay for the engineer expense one time. And perhaps we can join with Thunderbird NA to do the same thing on Sahuara.

Next month, Mitman NA will invite the board officers of Thunderbird and Sewell to dinner. We will see how we can work together and support our goals. 

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Last but not least, Steve K’s weekly newsletter:

https://www.tucsonaz.gov/ward-6/news/steve-ks-newsletter-04172023

Sylvia Berman, Mitman Neighborhood Association President

Hi Neighbors!

On Saturday, March 18, a city-wide event was held at Ward 6 and 46 neighborhood associations were invited. Speakers included both Councilman Kozachik and Ward 3 Councilman Kevin Dahl. Several representatives from City departments and Neighborhood Resources offered information about how the Department of Neighborhood Resources has worked in the past and its future goals. Neighborhood leadership was asked about what we feel is important and necessary. 

The most important issue that came of this meeting (besides catching up with our colleagues after the pandemic) is that it was brought to our attention that we need to develop a Neighborhood Plan. This will help to protect the community from undesirable development. 

The recent passage of the new code rules is relevant here. Infill may include multiple stories on homes, townhouses with less parking such that it causes parking in the street and other consequences. Mitman doesn’t really have much to be concerned about since most of the area is already developed. 

BUT … Jack Furrier owns that big lot on 1^st & Sahuara. He is alive & kickin’ in assisted care. His sons are real estate developers. You know what that means! I had a word with Steve K just to bring to his attention that Mitman is never going to allow parking in the street. We have had problems in the past from customers of Southwest Book Store and Love Cabaret parking in the neighborhood. Therefore, I think it is imperative that we develop a Neighborhood Plan. This probably needs to be done before we can apply for historic status. It is is a project that could really use some volunteer assistance. If anyone is thinking of participating on the Board as an Advisor, this would be a great limited projected. 

***The board will meet in a few weeks to plan the traffic circle art project. We intend to have a neighborhood meeting at the traffic circle on a Saturday morning to show sketches. Quite a few people chimmed in about what they think the sculpture should be like. I got to thinking … why not combine all three ideas? Cactus with a bird and a flower!
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Steve K’s newsetter is always interesting. If you only read one article in this week’s edition, it should be about how the Boyscouts created a raft for the turtles in the Randolph Park pond to lay their eggs.https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/AZTUCSON/bulletins/351596f