Last Day

April 2 was my last day on the internship. I really enjoyed working there. I couldn't have asked for better co-workers: they all taught me how to be a professional and take what I learned in class and apply it to the real world. I have thus far in my life only worked in the private sector, and I thought that working in the public arena would be the same-- but it's really not. I don't know how to explain it-- there's more protocol, I guess.

For my last day they all took me out to "the Turf"-- a very delicious Irish restaurant that is right by campus. I got a lot of cards, and a plaque!-- didn't see the plaque coming.

I really enjoyed this experience, and I want to thank DDO and ASU for giving me the opportunity.

Downtown ASU

I remember my first day on the Downtown Campus. I was so excited (and surprised) to see how new and high-tech everything is. In fact, I was surprised by the cleanliness of the Downtown area as a whole. Thus, you can't imagine my horror when I was introduced to the Tempe campus-- seriously, would it kill you to wipe down the computer areas...just once? Or maybe pick up the old pizza boxes in the library? I guess that's what you get when you move from a private university to a public one (sorry, I don't mean to sound stuck up, but the change is dramatic). Anyway, I love the Downtown campus. It's convenient, it's pretty, and it really mirrors the vibrancy of downtown Phoenix.

As part of my internship I was able to see all of the benefits Downtown ASU offers its residents. DDO and others really put a lot of work into ensuring the Downtown campus was going to be a safe, and cool place for students. Part of their plans are, of course, Taylor place which will open up a new hall. Apparently, the dining hall is receiving a lot of traffic from people that work in the Downtown area-- thus, not leaving a lot of room for students to come, eat, and relax. So Sub-committee is wondering what to do about this problem. Their plans also include revitalizing the post office-- I guess the top floor will be offices and I forgot what the bottom floor will be. Part of the project is also the park. I am not too sure how I feel about the giant jellyfish art-piece: I fear a lot of birds will loose their lives in that net, and I'm not too sure how many people will drive/walk by that and think it is art, but the poles that are lit at night are really cool. Some people on my team (at least two permanently, and the rest help when it is needed) are completely devoted to the development of ASU. The Council and the Mayor both believe that Downtown ASU is a great way to revitalize the area, and in truth, the chapters I am reading for Urban Economics support this claim-- the establishment of education centers is one of the most effective long-term strategies to sustain economic development. It was really neat to attend the ASU meetings and learn about all of the new projects...if only the money holds out.

EDA Grants

With the economy the way it is we are trying to get revenue through a variety of means. Taxation, for good reason, is not too popular, and state-shares will significantly decrease-- so local governments, out of necessity turn to other sources of revenue. Besides the good ol' stimulus package, we are researching how to get grant monies from the EDA. The EDA (Economic Development Administration) disperses grant money to cities who are trying to innovate and become more economically sustainable. The EDA's mission: "To lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy." I'm not too sure what all "agenda" entails. I'm too afraid to ask.

The City of Phoenix is currently eligible for three grants-- one of which just came out very recently. The "University Center Economic Development Program" disperses money to a university, or conglomerate of universities, for educational development. For example, Gateway Community College was awarded a 3 million dollar telescope. For DDO, we thought this could apply for a variety of programs, such as the ASU/UA nursing program, or some of the bio-tech schools, and so on. Furthermore, we (DDO) would be able to apply in behalf of ASU. The Application deadline is April 26. Another grant opportunity is the "Economic Development Assistance Programs" which is an open application (you can apply anytime) and helps municipalities/cities with general economic development. A new one just came out (no doubt as part of the whole stimulus deal) labeled "EDA's American Recovery Program." Hopefully, DDO will be able to get some grants! Some of the other grants, such as Disaster Relief (which has a substantial amount of money tied to it) we do not qualify for.

Sign Variance Meeting

Every time I am in class, or read a newspaper, or crack open a policy book, it astounds me how involved the government is in daily life. I am not saying it's overall bad -- it really depends on the situation. But, it always amazes me how often government determines the outcome for mundane, and even unnoticeable situations. Case in point: sign variance. I went to a meeting about people that want to place signs (on private property) that are not up to government regulations, or violate some sort of code. In order to put up any certain sign, you have to run it by the government. At least that is the case in Phoenix.

In the meeting, two particular cases caught my interest. The first was the ASU's downtown nursing building. A beautiful building. Downtown Voices, an activist group, thought the architecture of the building closed the development off to the citizens (I guess the main entrance is facing one direction, and the people believed it should be facing another direction to have the feeling it is more open to the public). In order to appease the citizens' demands, ASU created a new gateway to their facility, which would entail the canopy and the sign "ASU" to go over into the public-right-of-way. The motion was passed without any sort of controversy. Another group was a development company who owned office space next to the highway. They wanted to place a big sign (10 feet tall, and the maximum is 6 feet tall) for one of their renters who, they claimed, would not feel as inclined to rent out the office space if they could not have a larger sign. After going back and forth with the council (I thought he was going to loose, by the tone of the meeting) he was granted the sign permit, so long as his other renters did not demand signs as big.

I am not saying these outcomes are good or bad. It just blows my mind sometimes how much the government is involved. I guess it is necessary, in this case, because if people were allowed to set up signs as big as they wanted, then their neighbors would put up even bigger signs, and so on it would continue.

Reporting for the OCD nation...

Chris said anything...

So here it goes.

I think I am getting a little OCD.

I HATE, nay LOATHE listening to music through people's ear-phones. I am currently listening to Rihanna over and over again, from a guy that is at least 20 feet away from me. Now a new guy has come, sat right by me, and now I am listening to the joys of old Tupac tunes-- mixed with Rihanna- it's a shame Tupac is dead-- that combo would have been amazing.

To negate some of the sounds, I put on my ipod and am listening to Bach-- unfortunately, I hear my next door neighbor's abrasive beats over Italian Concerto in F. And my volume is almost all the way up. Oh, yeah, guess where I am...

the library.

Do I have the right to shoot these two men dirty glares every five minutes?

In other OCD news. Sniffling. Can't really handle it after five minutes. For heavens sake, we are a remarkably well-developed nation. We have Kleenex. For those of you who want to be a little more eco-friendly, there's always the old invention "handkerchief."

Is it just me? Or are these normal reactions?

Being Affordable

The City of Phoenix has all sorts of contracts with residential properties. Part of the agreement, usually, is that since these properties are accepting GPLET, then they must provide so many units of affordable housing. Affordable housing is considered 80% of the median income level (according to HUD). Some properties, because they are unaware or simply because they do not want to, fail to comply. Thus, the City has to check in with these developments once in a while to ensure they are preforming their part of the contract. If not, we tell them they must comply with the next vacancies.

Affordable Housing, as stated, is calculated by taking the average income level (according to HUD), which I think is about 33,000 (again, just a vague memory) and then take 80% of that, which I think is around $26,400. Thus, in order for a family to qualify for affordable housing, they cannot pull in more than that. Afterward, take 30% of $26,400, which is circa $800, and that is the maximum the family can pay for their apartment. Of course, the number of people in the family is taken into consideration-- legally, they have to. You cannot stick 5 people in a 1 bedroom apartment. Thus, residential developments on GPLET are typically expected to provide a certain percentage, or a set number of units, of affordable housing (it depends on what the contract states).

Part of my job as an intern was to help one of our Assistant Program Managers ensure one of the residential developments was in compliance with the law, which they were. Every step we took with this issue, we had to check with the City lawyer who is assigned to our department (her speciality is real estate law). Overall, the process was very enlightening, and very fulfilling. I tell you, I have learned a lot about legal processes through this internship-- I kinda feel like I have completed at least a semester at law school-- without having to deal with the egos, and all of the books, and the late-night studying-- alright, maybe it's nothing like law school, but I learned a lot.

Committee Meetings

I had the opportunity to go to two committee meetings. The first, at 10:00 am, was a sub-committee meeting held on the 12th floor. For those who don't know, each council member is in charge of a particular area (this one was for Downtown Development and Aviation), and three other councils members are also on the panel of the sub-committee. I really enjoyed it. My department was there for the way-finding signs (it looks like they decided on the plum color, by the way) and for an APS sub-station. I decided to stay the entire length of the meeting. While the way-finding signs were being pitched to the sub-committee, a gentleman got up and claimed the City did not do due diligence to his client's (he was the lawyer of the client) system. Thus, much to my amusement, the meeting was not without drama.

Learning about the sub-station was also really interesting. She did a power-point show, mostly filled with pictures, of how APS is trying to make the substation not stand out as much. Thus, instead of seeing a bunch of wires and metal poles, you see something completely different. In order to avert citizen complaints, APS built the shell of an condo complex around the facility. If you look closely, you can tell the structure is not habitable. But driving by, you would never notice.

The second meeting I attended was Formal Council. They said a prayer and the pledge of allegiance. I thought it was very appropriate, and I'm not going to lie, I teared up a bit. This meeting too, was a little drama-filled. Apparently, a development company wants to rezone their property from residential to residential and retail. Of course, the citizens surrounding the area have a huge problem with this, and quite a few (I would say around 40) came to the meeting to let their opinions be known. The developer claimed that he worked with a lot of the residents to make the development more to their liking. And, in truth, some changes were made. That doesn't mean the citizens want the establishment. After about 30 minutes of hearing one side, then the other, the measure (to re-zone and hence for development) was passed.

I think I want to run for Council one day. I fully realize the responsibility it is-- and after watching the re-zoning committee meeting, I am also fully aware of how difficult decision-making can be. But I think it is the height of democracy, and indeed a profession that is a catalyst for good.

The Office v. Arrested Development

I don't watch a lot of TV. Lately, I haven't been watching any TV unless it is the local news while I am cooking, but there are two shows I follow(ed) pretty religiously, they are Arrested Development and The Office (please excuse my lack of italics). Love them. My favorite? That's easy-- Arrested Development. The Office, yes, it's incredibly funny, and sadly, I think of at least two quotes from it per day. And yes, I have brought them up in class...I guess its humor comes from its applicability. We've been in similar situations, so we can easily relate. Except, we probably all lack a Dwight in our lives.

So why do I choose Arrested Development?

The writing is brilliant. No, seriously, it blows me away every time. Why did the show get cancelled? I honestly believe it was because of lack of marketing (the majority of devoted fans I know did not know of the program until it was off of the air). It needs to come back. Apparently they are making a movie-- let's see how that turns out. Have you seen AD? If not, you need to.

Abandonments

Abandonments-- get excited. I had no idea what they were until I started this internship. The best way to know what it is is through an example. Say there is an ally that is behind your and your neighbor's houses. The ally is not used for much. A bunch of trash collects there, and you think that maybe some illicit activies are going on. So, you get together with your neighbors and ask the city to abandon that piece of property. This will allow you to extend your property line. However, there is a catch, allies were created in the first place to give cities easy access to sewer and water lines. So, if you add this piece of property to your overall land, then you must ensure the city that they will be able to come in, and dig up your yard if needs be in case something happens. So, the city decides to "abandon" this piece of land for a price, usually around $0.23 per square foot, which is NOTHING.

Well, as with all things, people are trying to find loopholes so that the government will abandon land so property owners can increase their holdings. Especially developers. A developer will claim that it needs the City to abandon an ally, or a sidewalk, or whatever else so they can develop. Too often, once the city decides to do this, the developer flips the property, selling what the City sold at $0.23 per square foot for $151 per square foot-- thus, the City looses all of that money it would have gained had it sold it at a market price. I agree that the City should let go of what it does not need to encourage development-- but then again, it should not be tricked out of holdings either.