Rio Nuevo Auditor: ‘TCC could take $100 Million to Rehab’

The Rio Nuevo Board met November 19, 2013. Highlights of the meeting follows:

The Auditor General of the State of Arizona is required by A.R.S. §48-4231.01 to conduct a performance and fiscal audit of the District every three years. The Auditor General engaged Chicago-based company, C.H. Johnson Consulting, Incorporated (“Johnson Consulting”) to perform this audit for the period ending August 31, 2013 (the “Performance Audit”).

Charles Johnson, from Johnson Consulting of Chicago, presented to the board and public in a special hearing to review the Performance and Financial Audit results. Mr. Johnson congratulated the board on the current condition of the District, the financial accountability and transparency developed recently by the District and acknowledged that the District is now in full compliance with all statutes.

Mr. Johnson indicated that due to prior boards straying from the mission of enhancing the TCC and grounds, that the District had little financial capacity to complete its primary mission. Johnson Consulting suggested that it could take up to $100 million dollars to rehabilitate the Tucson Convention Center (“TCC”) and to activate the surrounding area. He expressed his hope was that the region would come together, i.e. the city, county, state and Rio Nuevo, to find a way to finish Rio Nuevo’s mission. Mr. Johnson did state that his firm thought the current board had gained the credibility of the stakeholders and deserved a chance to oversee the completion of the downtown revitalization.
The board voted unanimously to accept the audit report.

In other business, counsel acknowledged that the city has signed the deed for the area known as the ‘Arena Lot’, (bordering the freeway between Congress and Cushing), and the board authorized continuing conversations on the Arena Lot: 1) A joint development agreement with the adjacent parcel to the east, that includes a resolution of the Peach Property claims and a solution to the current parking arrangement whereby the city manages about 140 rental parking spaces. Parkwise is to present a management proposal by the next meeting; 2) The board unanimously authorized a contribution of $40,000 toward the $125,000 cost of the Urban Land Institute’s (“ULI”) site visit with recommendations regarding the future of the multi-jurisdictional lands around and west of the TCC. Other participants include the city, the county, Pima Association of Government and the private sector. ULI will present their recommendations in a public forum this Friday.

The Board, on a 5 to 2 split vote, elected to continue with the name change contest proposed by the NonProfit News Source and authorized the contest rules. Counsel for the District has confirmed that the Board can legally change its name, although members Cody Ritchie and Jeff Hill argued that a name change was merely cosmetic.

For the full audit go to https://rionuevo.org/

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