Updates from Pinal Partnership Government Relations Committee Meeting
2020 Census, Resolution Copper, Legislature, University of Arizona, Local First Arizona, Central Arizona College
A screenshot of some of the meeting participants.
Our virtual Pinal Partnership Government Relations Committee meeting was packed full of positive updates, despite us living in a trying time. Co-Chairs Rebecca Timmer with Wilson & Co and Ben Bitter with the Town of Florence led an agenda and discussion on important issues the committee is tracking and staying engaged in.
Ben Bitter with the Town of Florence gave an update on the 2020 Census. So far, Arizona has a 48.4% response rate while Pinal County is at 43.9% The deadline to respond has been extended to August. Dale Weibusch with the City of Maricopa shared a breakdown of census tracts of land, noting that many tracts are included in the city/town counts, but aren’t actually part of the municipality. Representative TJ Shope updated that DOC has not responded with inmate census information yet which is why that census tract in Florence, for example, only shows a 10% response rate. It’s all part of the process and they will respond. Check out the census data here: https://2020census.gov/en/response-rates.html and then make sure you remind your friends, family and co-workers to respond! Their inclusion is critical to funding our communities for things such as transportation and infrastructure improvements. Link to Census 2020 Flyer can be found here.
Resolution Copper updates came from Bryan Seppala and Hesston Klenk.
Despite COVID-19 concerns, project timelines mostly remain as is. The environmental reclamation project is nearing completion; Shaft 9 sinking and construction continues; and the focus on local employment and procurement is strengthening. Parent company, Rio Tinto, has even given the go-ahead for its next multi-million-dollar investment in the project. The multi-year agreements signed in 2019 continue to allow great progress for the Town of Superior and partner organizations, including the Superior Unified School District and Superior Chamber of Commerce. Resolution Copper has committed efforts during COVID-19 with investments targeted at enabling partners in the Copper Corridor and Tribal Communities to withstand the economic, social, and health and well-being impacts they are enduring as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more about Resolution Copper’s progress here: https://resolutioncopper.com/resolution-copper-mine/.
Representative TJ Shope gave a legislative update. The hope is to get back in session the first or second week of May, for about a week, before closing out the year’s legislative session. Next year, Rep. Shope expects to see a lot of infrastructure bills come forward as well as bills drafted based on recent executive orders that will eventually be withdrawn or expire.
Other member updates came from Buchanan Davis with University of Arizona.
They are involved with two types of COVID-19 tests. First, they are producing testing collection kits, simply to test to see if you currently have the virus. These are the types of tests we are hearing of shortages across the County. If you are sick and go to the doctor, then they will administer one of these type of swab tests and run it to see if you have the virus. They have produced excess of these and are sending them around the State, including several hundred to Navajo Nation. More information here: https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/amid-shortage-covid19-collection-kits-uarizona-scientists-race-make-more.
The second test is an antibody test. It’s a blood test that can determine if you ever had the infection, and if you did, your body will make antibodies that will show up in the test. From this they will be able to infer more about how widespread the virus has become and who might now be immune. They are partnering with the State to administer 250k of these antibody tests to healthcare workers and other front-line responders, in addition to our campus community. https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/uarizona-partners-state-provide-covid19-antibody-tests.
The Farm, ©2013 Rick D’Elia/D’Elia Photographic
Liza Noland with Local First Arizona shared the success of their Small Business Relief Fund. 99 Pinal County businesses applied and over $28,000 in funding was awarded. They continue to seek additional funding sources to help the business community as much as possible. Learn more about the program here: https://www.localfirstaz.com/small-business-relief-fund. Additionally, in partnership with Arizona Commerce Authority and ViaSat, the San Manuel Revitalization Coalition and Local First AZ came together to provide community Wifi access to students in Mammoth and San Manuel. Today, April 21, ViaSat will install a satellite dish at the Mammoth School and bolster service in San Manuel to ensure that students in these communities have access to the internet at no cost.
Dr. Jackie Elliott provided an update on Central Arizona College. When the Governor lifts the “stay at home,” they will reopen in phases, limiting opportunities for large gatherings (i.e. closed lobbies, computer labs, etc.). The new operating model will be to allow students, and others, to interact with the college either virtually or in person. All services will be provided in both formats moving forward. They have suspended the need for placement testing (ACT/ACCUPLACER) for entering students for the Fall (and most likely indefinitely – moving toward other means of skill assessment). For the CTE classes, they will be allowing small groups of students to come to campus to finish their “skill” portion of their courses (nursing, welding, etc.). They have strict protocols in place for entering campus. There are 5 international students still living on campus, but they are making arrangements this week to move them to relatives living in the US. For questions, please visit CAC’s COVID-19 resource page: https://centralaz.edu/novel-coronavirus-covid-19-updates/.
The Government Relations Committee is open to all members of Pinal Partnership. If you’re a current member interested in joining, please reach out to Rebecca Timmer or Ben Bitter. If you’re not a member and interested in joining, please reach out to Melissa Johnson.
The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19. More details will be sent out to the Committee as we have them.
