February 15, 2012
Service of Complaint
Today the Rio Nuevo Multi Facilities District (“District”) Board served the lawsuits filed in October 2011. The serving of the complaints had to be completed to comply with court rules. The mediation has simply not been completed prior to expiration of this time limit. “The clock was ticking, and we had no legal choice but to proceed with service to keep to the procedural time frames,” said Board Secretary Alberto Moore.
Service of the complaints to the City of Tucson Clerk is not a change in the District’s general position that mediation is desirable and potentially serves the best interests of the District, City and the taxpayers. Board Chairperson Jodi Bain stated that “We have come this far and remain cautiously optimistic that together the District and the City can work out the issues that must be resolved for joint progress to emerge”. Serving the suits is intended to keep the dispute resolution process moving on a schedule.
The District recognizes the importance Mayor Rothschild’s statement from his recent State of the City address that, “…we [the City] are in agreement that in good faith as part of a development team” the City and the District can move forward to put the past of “Rio Nuevo” behind through mediation with the City or other avenues.
PROGRESS:
The reconstituted District Board continues to address very serious concerns voiced by taxpayers to the Arizona State Legislature. It is a volunteer board working to identify the assets that rightly belong to the District for development and to move forward with the goal of building a better Tucson. The current process is intended to eliminate future suspicions and questions of integrity so we can all move forward as fast as possible.
Bank documents can be now found on the website and demonstrate the complexity of the issues addressed in the District’s lawsuits.
The District awaits completion and release of a forensic examination in the next 3 to 6 weeks. Preserving the taxpayers’ and the District’s rights to claims and acting to recover these assets is a priority.
The District Board is a group of dedicated volunteers who spend countless hours weekly in an effort to maximize taxpayer resources to shape a vibrant downtown corridor for Tucson and bring closure and accountability to the citizens of Tucson and the State of Arizona.