Pima County has switched $48 million — more than 15 percent of the 2004 bond funds spent so far — away from the projects approved by voters to projects deemed more important by the county staff.
Changes in parks projects and sewer projects account for the majority of the changes, with $26 million being shifted from various regional sewer projects to the expansion of the Avra Valley sewage-treatment plant alone.
Several parks projects have been greatly reduced in scope, with the money redirected to other parks.
Pima County officials say they have been open about every change, and it is unrealistic to expect every project conceived during a planning process that started in 2002 to be done exactly as voters were told it would be over the course of a 12-year implementation period.
All bond amendments go before the Bond Advisory Committee, a permanent oversight group, and must be approved by the Board of Supervisors.
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Since 2005 the board has amended the list of projects six times, resulting in changes to 39 projects. Pima County is one-third of the way through a 12-year implementation period and has spent slightly less than half the $730 million approved by voters for open space, new public buildings, public-safety projects and sewer facilities.
County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said the county "absolutely, without question" has kept faith with voters.
He pointed to the 130 projects the county has completed, from the expansion of the Pima County jail to the construction of a library in Continental Ranch, from the public-health center at South Country Club Road and East Ajo Way to the Flowing Wells Community Center.
He said the only major project from the 2004 bond package that has run into serious difficulties is the joint city/county courts complex Downtown, which recently was put on hold because it is so over-budget the county doesn't know how it will finish the project.
Six projects out in the cold
A review of the 39 changes found six projects eliminated or put on indefinite hold and nine projects reduced in scope. Sometimes, one bond amendment will shift a small amount of money from a project, then a future amendment will shift even more from that same project, until it is left with only a fraction of its original funding.
Dan Felix Memorial Park on the Northwest Side was to get a new soccer field, ramadas, playground equipment, two basketball courts and other amenities at a cost of $1.75 million.
A series of bond amendments redistributed almost $1.5 million to Curtis Park in Flowing Wells, on the other side of the Rillito River; to install lighting at other parks throughout the county; to develop additional soccer fields at Rillito Racetrack; and to build a basketball court at Meadowbrook Park.
Dan Felix was left with $289,000, which was used to build a restroom, add one soccer field and light two soccer fields.
County officials said discussions with neighborhood groups and representatives of sports leagues led them to believe the other sites were a better use of the money.
Similarly, funding for a community park in Catalina was reduced from $2 million to $1 million after community groups objected to the county's plans. The money was spent at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park in the Foothills instead.
Asked why projects were included in the bond package that didn't have community support, Huckelberry said the bond planning process did not have as much public input in the past, and sometimes administrators' ideas didn't match what the community wanted.
Impossible to deliver
Sometimes, it wasn't possible to deliver on promises made.
Several open-space purchases and historic sites were eliminated because the sites in question were on state trust land, and the county couldn't buy it without going to public auction. Several city of Tucson parks projects funded through the 2004 bonds also failed to come to fruition because the city couldn't find land for the parks.
The bond plan included $6 million for a sports complex on the East Side and $5.5 million for a community park on the North Side. Suitable land could not be found for either park. The money is being used to add fields to Udall and Lincoln parks and to build a community center on county-owned land near Rillito Racetrack.
City Parks Director Fred Gray said city officials thought during the planning process that they would be able to find a large enough site, but all the available parcels had one problem or another, from washes crisscrossing the land to unwilling sellers. Also, the cost of the land meant there wouldn't be money left over to develop the parks, he said.
No needed secondary funding
In some cases, bond amendments drastically reduced the scope of a project because secondary funding the project needed fell through.
For example, the Green Valley Performing Arts Center won't have a 500-seat theater because $8 million in private funding never materialized. Instead, the theater will be put in a future bond package.
The biggest changes, both in dollar amounts and in scope, to the bond package came in sewer projects.
A $21 million project that included a central plant and electrical upgrade and a new laboratory and offices for the Ina Road sewage-treatment plant was scrapped in 2006, and the money was transferred to pay for an expansion of the Avra Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Earlier this year, construction of a regional interceptor in the Tanque Verde area was put on hold and another $5 million was transferred to Avra Valley. The interceptor project will be built if federal funding is appropriated for the project.
The Avra Valley plant does not appear anywhere in the bond package, though expanding it has been part of the county's long-range plans since at least 2002.
Pima County Wastewater Deputy Director Jeff Nichols said the Bond Advisory Committee didn't include it in the package, but unexpected growth on the Southwest Side made it a priority.
"We're not going to them with anything that isn't needed," he said. "We're not talking about niceties like parks and pools. These are things that the community needs."
Pima County expanded capacity at its Ina Road plant, only to have growth shift to the Southwest Side as a result of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, Nichols said. At the same time, the Wastewater Department started work on its Regional Optimization Master Plan, which laid out the infrastructure needs for the next 20 years and will require funding through several future bond packages.
It didn't make sense to go ahead with the work at Ina until the county set its long-term plans, Nichols said. Then all the work could be done together.
The department also was constrained by spending caps imposed under state law from spending all the user fees and connection fees it took in.
It made sense to shift funds around and use bond funds, which aren't restricted, for projects that could be done now, Nichols said. That way, when the county goes to voters again in 2009, it won't be sitting on millions of dollars in unused bond funds.
The department has requested the laboratory and electrical upgrades be included in the next bond package, at a cost of $50 million. It also has requested another $315 million for Ina Road and Roger Road treatment plants to comply with tougher federal regulations on effluent.
The extensive planning process the department has gone through, as well as the regulatory pressures that mean the work must be done, means a future bond issue likely won't see as many changes, Nichols said.
"It's different now than in the past," he said. "We have had a change in our management structure, and when you say you've promised things before, well, you haven't been promised by us. We're living up to our plans."
Broken promises
Pima County has switched $48 million in 2004 bond funds away from programs that were promised to voters and to other programs. That accounts for 15 percent of the bond funds that have been spent so far. Here's a look at what's been accomplished and what's been changed.
What we voted for: Voters approved spending $1.75 million to build basketball courts, ramadas, a playground and soccer fields at Dan Felix Memorial Park on the Northwest Side. What we got: Dan Felix got one new soccer field and lighting was installed on two fields. Most of the money went to Curtis Park in Flowing Wells.
What we voted for: Voters approved spending $6 million to buy land and develop a new park on the East Side. The new park was to include space for a senior center. What we got: The money will be used to develop sports fields at two existing parks. Space for a senior center will be found at an existing park.
What we voted for: Voters approved $21 million for office buildings, a laboratory and an electrical upgrade to the Ina Road treatment plant and $5 million for a sewer line interceptor in the Tanque Verde area. What we got: The Board of Supervisors transferred $26 million to expand the treatment plant in Avra Valley. Voters will be asked to approve more money for the Ina Road plant next year. Federal funds have been approved — but not appropriated — for the interceptor work.
What we voted for: Voters approved $3 million to develop the Naranja Town Site in Oro Valley. What we got: The money was spent on other cultural preservation projects in Oro Valley. The town now is asking voters for $48 million to develop the project.
What we voted for: Voters approved $2.4 million for a major sewer line in Marana. What we got: The project was eliminated because growth has slowed, and the county was involved in litigation with Marana over the sewer system. The money was shifted to the Marana treatment plant, which also is the subject of litigation.
