I spent yesterday with T VanHook. She is the Community Development Director. She oversees grant funding applications, affordable housing initiatives, annexation, and transit. The department is kept very segmented in that each area is its own distinct entity. Her primary job is to set the goals and objectives and to help the Town with the grant process. Most of the funding is FEMA, Homeland Security, Affordable Housing and HUD, and Neighborhood Services.
There were two projects I worked on with T. The first were several transit issues. The Town is putting in several new bus stops and T is working to get these put in the proper places. We had a meeting with the Operations guys and talked about where, when and how they are going to pour concrete and put up the stops. The U of A School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture to create new cool transit stops that creates designs in the shade. The other exciting news is that the Town is unveiling the new shuttle schedule on November 1!! I got to take a look at the draft from the RTA and run scenarios to see where any glitches might have been. It looks like it is going to be really helpful for those trying to get to work before 8am!
The second half of the day I spent working on neighborhood relations stuff. We went to a meeting in Marana Estates to talk to the residents about re-certification as a colonia. The Housing and Urban Development Department establishes the definition of a colonia and the required documentation to be named as such. These areas are set aside and are able to receive specific funding dollars that are not available to larger neighborhoods. There is a lot that goes into this re-certification including photos and history of the homes prior to 1990! We talked with several residents and many of them are walking history books of the area. It was really great to hear their stories and tell tale of who used to live where and how many kids they had and what color their house was.
It looks like in order to get some of the more statistical data required for the re-certification the neighbors are going to complete a survey, and we were able to solicit resident's help to administer the survey. It was really cool to see the neighbors working together to make their community a better place. This meeting was also a time where residents presented any grievances, which in this case were the same issues they have been dealing with for a while. It was nice to go out into the community and talk with people to see what types of services they wanted to have provided. They are not overly demanding (at least not yesterday) and since T knows most of them by name and address, they are more willing to be understanding that the Town is doing the best it can to get these issues resolved.
I spent today with the Court system. This was a bit different than my previous experience with the prosecutor, in that I focused more on what actions the judge was taking. I met with Sandy Celaya who is the Court Supervisor and she oversees all the staff that make up the court office. The clerks, probation officers, and the collections officials all report to her. She gave me a short tour of the court building (which is super nice) and then I went and sat in on the proceedings. The morning was much slower than when I was with the Laine Sklar last week. The cases that the judge did rule on/hear were the same type of crimes; shoplifting, domestic violence and DUI. The judge always made sure that the defendant understood what they were charged with and what the agreed to, if they took the plea agreement. He shows them exactly what the form they are going to sign looks like, and asks any questions from the case file, which I think serves two reasons. It allows him to get the story from the defendant, but also puts that information in the recording. After this, he makes sure they understand what will happen next and gives them their court date. Most of them are so scared/worried that they miss some of what was said. He does a great job of making people feel comfortable while still remaining an imposing figure of the law. This day just reinforced my lesson of do NOT commit a crime, but followed it up with Come to Court!
Today there were two special instances of the court. The first was video court, which is not special to the Town since they hold it often, but is special in the sense that it is a unique way to save money on transporting prisoners and quickening their release. There was only one case today, and it went very quickly. No one wants to spend more time in jail than they have to, I'm sure. The other cool thing about today was the Spanish interpreter that came to court today. The first Wednesday of each month is interpreter day, and the court has had people who speak all kinds of languages come in; Cantonese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Polish were just a few that I was told about. The interpreter comes up to the prosecutor and the judge when the defendant's name is called and helps them to understand what is going on. Since the judge is very committed to having them understand what they are charged with and their rights, it was really cool to see this carry across all aspects of the court.
This morning I was able to attend the Marana Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast. This was held at a local restaurant and had business owners and operators from all over the area. I was able to meet some great people and hear about all the different businesses that are present in the Town. After a speech by the sponsor company, each person had to introduce themselves and tell what they did. I thought this was a really cool way to show other people where and who they can go to for specific services. There was a lady who had gotten into a small car accident and she was going to have her car fixed by one of the other members! Marana is so business friendly in policies and codes that this supplement fit in perfectly. I am going over there on rotation on Friday and I am excited to hear more about the projects and events they have planned for the future. This is one area of local government that I am very interested in! I'm starting this area tomorrow by shadowing Josh Wright, the Strategic Initiatives Director. We are going to take a tour of the Pima County One Stop, should be awesome!
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