In 2007, the San Xavier District Council of the Tohono O’odham Nation voted unanimously to support the “planning and development of the Rancho Chuk Son of Arizona to be located at the base of “A” Mountain.’ The City estimated the cost of the Garden at $350,000.
Residents had been promised a revitalized area that would house the Birthplace of Tucson. Instead, $18,000,000 later, all they have is Mission Gardens with a few wilting fruit trees from Spain, an outhouse, an adobe brick wall, and a broken Ocotillo fence.
Most of those trees, all paid for with grant money, were not even planted until 13 days ago.
The newly reconstructed Rio Nuevo Board was created because the old city-controlled Board had made many promises, broken many promises, and the people of Tucson, and the state of Arizona wanted accountability with progress.
In order to make forward progress, the new Board began developing a funding baseline to determine what had, and had not been done, and what could, and could not be done. To that end, they commissioned a number of audits.
According to the most recent audit commissioned by the Rio Nuevo District Board, the Garden’s cost is $2,052,935.78. Of that, “supporting documents were not provided for $1,802,667.40 of expenditures related to this project.”
The Intergovernmental Agreement between Pima County, the City of Tucson and the District, which was recorded November 14, 2001, required construction of the Mission Gardens portion to be completed within 5 years of the effective date of the IGA (November 14, 2006).
“According to the City of Tucson’s Flow of Funds, expenditures on the Mission Gardens project did not begin until the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009,” the auditors noted.
By the looks of the “garden” it is hard to imagine that the much of the unaccounted for monies made their way to the Westside.
Despite the excessive amount of money spent by the City at the expense of the Rio Nuevo District, Friends of Tucson’s Birthday, in April 2012, secured a $25,000 USDA grant for irrigation and solar power, according to the Garden’s site. Also, in January 2012, the Friends announced that “Rain Bird has donated considerable advice and materials to Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace (FOTB) for the irrigation system. The system will be powered by a solar panel from Horizon who donated 50% of its cost,” according to the Garden’s site.
According to the Garden’s site, money has becoming in over the years. “An end-of year 2010 FOTB fundraising campaign conducted by both snail mail and email from December 9-31 has resulted in over $16,000 in tax-deductable donations.” In November 2010, “The City received a $14,820 grant from the State Forestry Division to plant the orchard.”
The garden will include Plums trees, Apricot trees, Fig trees, Pomegranate trees, Lime trees, Orange trees, and Pears trees.
Friends of Tucson Birthplace (FOTB) is incorporated in Arizona as a Non-Profit corporation. FOTB has applied to the Federal Government for 501(C)(3) status. Fundraising efforts began in December of 2010.
For years, the taxpayers of Arizona provided millions; precious resources that were squandered like water from a leaky hose….. in August…. in the desert. Now Tucsonans across the City await the planting of a new Money tree.
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