SB 1147/HB2162: With the closure of the Arizona Legislative session, this bill did not pass to allow Pima and Maricopa counties to take steps to renew their respective RTAs and for other rural counties to consider establishing an RTA, and related county excise (sales) tax. However, the State Legislature did pass, and Governor Ducey signed, legislation for the ADOT Director to establish a public safety fee largely to fund Highway Patrol related expenses, freeing up funds in the budget to stop HURF sweeps. Keep an eye out for similar legislation to return with the next legislative session for enabling RTAs to be established and continued.

This past week has been a memorable one, with a great turnout this past Friday to thank Ramon for his seven years of service to ATB and the community! Earlier last week we had an outstanding Associates meeting – and we also learned that our own Associates chair, Alex Collins, is departing our board as he will soon transfer to a differente CalPortland position serving the Pacific Northwest. Please join me in congratulating Alex on his promotion!

As we continue in the Executive Director transition period, Ramon and I also met with Ted from SALC, and saw some of our members at the Southern Arizona Procurement Fair! I also took part in the periodic SABC Legislative Update meeting with various community leaders held at the Tucson Metro Chamber. We have so many great partner groups throughout the region, advocating alongside us for better infrastructure that will keep moving our economy.

I also attended the Marana Chamber of Commerce, with NAI Horizon providing a detailed presentation representatives on the state of the region’s real estate market; in short, there is demand for large Class A commercial office space, with very little readily available as companies grow or are considering relocating to the area. High demand continues for homes, as well as quality apartments, with the lowest vacancy rates and highest rent increases in recent memory.

We also learned of the passing of Marana Town Councilmember Carol McGorray. Thank you Councilmember McGorray for your 17 years of service on the Town council, and your broader civic involvement through Marana Dove Mountain Rotary and many other community groups. You will be deeply missed.

Thank you to our member companies for your hard work every day in creating and maintaining safe, attractive, well-built infrastructure for all to enjoy.  I’d like to stop by and see your efforts in progress or help you celebrate milestones! Call me at (520) 623-0444 or email me at bcordova@movingoureconomy.org and we can schedule a time to meet up at your office or job site. Or, join me and be part of our ATB delegation to DC for the ARTBA fly-in coming up May 14-17!

Thank you to the 89 attendees at the March 14, 2018 membership dinner! We heard updates from Richard Juliano, Senior Vice President at ARTBA regarding Federal level funding and policy, Jeremy Moore from ADOT regarding many ongoing and planned highway improvements in our region, and Jay Van Echo regarding the I-11 Corridor project. This was also Ramon’s last membership dinner as Executive Director as he moves to the private sector and ATB welcomed B.J. Cordova as the new Executive Director!