What is the City of Mesa Development Corporation??

This blog published two posts [May 25 and May 27] about actions taken against a certain candidate campaigning for election to the Mesa City Council by what is an inactive moribund group [not active since holding its last public meeting in 2010 nor with meeting annually since then - see end of this post] represented by local law firm Booth Udall & Fuller.

Except for this site, there were no local mainstream media reports about this episode.

However, The Washington Post picked up on it. So did Ars Technica and this article from Techdirt


All because of this?? . . .

City Of Mesa Abusing Trademark Law To Punish City Council Candidate They Don't Like

from the not-how-it-works depth
by Mike Masnick

Wed, May 25th 2016 3:44 pm

"Another day, another story of abusing trademark law to try to silence speech. Paul Levy has the story of how the city of Mesa, Arizona, has sent a ridiculous cease and desist letter to Jeremy Whittaker, who is running for city council. Apparently, his opponent [Blogger's note: Alex Finter City Council District 2 is not eligible after two terms, he has hand-picked his successor and is running her election campaign] in the election is the preferred choice of many current city officials, suggesting that they don't really appreciate Whittaker's candidacy. But the city took things a ridiculous step too far ..."

Read more >> https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160524/18141034540/city-mesa-abusing-trademark-law-to-punish-city-council-candidate-they-dont-like.shtml

 

What's going on here in Mesa?

The same-old, same-old, same old [this is getting really tired for your MesaZona blogger] descendants of the pioneers who have dominated and controlled this city since 1878.

It took 135 years to elect the first Hispanic member to the Mesa City Council.

Positions, jobs and titles are handed down to relatives by blood or marriage, family connections and family ties are rampant [if little brought to attention or recognized], incumbents select who they want to succeed them by tapping into party-based or faith-based networks for voter turnout, nepotism and patronage grease the wheels of the Mesa political machine.

"They" don't like you - and the story of just one candidate challenging the status quo hits the headlines everywhere but here.

Here's Jeremy Whittaker [from his website ]

". . . As a fiscal conservative, Jeremy is a proponent of responsible spending. This is critical to survive as a small business owner. With that knowledge and experience, it will positively affect the important decisions he will make as a member of the Mesa City Council. As current Vice President of his neighborhood’s Homeowners Association, he is all too familiar with the importance of a balanced budget. Jeremy is always thinking outside of the box when it comes to saving money and the residents of the neighborhood have continuously benefited over the years.

As your representative from District 2, Jeremy will bring with him a unique “world view” of finances, and how they can be applied to Mesa and the local economy. With a passion for global economics, Jeremy has studied international trade and global diversification, all of which has given him a very strong macro view of the global economy. . .
Jeremy believes that the way to create a great community is through economic growth and equality. . . He is also an advocate of clean energy and renewable resources. Arizona is the prime setting to implement renewable energy resources, . . we really need to look deeper at what makes us happy as individuals. With this I’ve turned my attention toward the City Council both as a civic duty and as a personal desire to make the community a better place for everyone.”
According to this official webpage from the City of Mesa's website:
Municipal Development Corp.
Meet at least annually
"The Municipal Development Corp. is an appointed group of citizens responsible for overseeing the administration of tax-exempt bond expenditures."
Members appointed to the Board:
Marty Whalen
Milt Laflen
Howard Godfrey
Charles Luster
Larry Woolf

However, if you hit this http://apps.mesaaz.gov/meetingarchive/meetings.aspx?body=MDC

To take a look at Agenda & Minutes, you see this: there have been no meetings since 2010

Municipal Development Corp Minutes and Agendas

Meeting Date	Document Title	Meeting Type	Document Type	View Document
10/18/2010	October 18, 2010	Regular	Minutes
10/18/2010	MDC Board Meeting	Misc	Agendas
10/26/2009	MDC	Misc	Agendas
10/26/2009	October 26, 2009	Regular	Minutes
7/2/2008	July 2, 2008 MDC	Regular	Agendas
10/17/2007	October 17, 2007 MDC	Misc	Agendas
10/18/2006	October 18, 2006 MDC	Misc	Results
10/18/2006	October 18, 2006 Agenda	Misc	Agendas

City of Mesa FY2015/16 Budget > Pie Charts

There's a lot of sweet white vanilla-flavored heavy whipped cream on top - what's inside?
Just to whet your appetite to dig into The Budget Pie from the last fiscal year with an eye to what's getting cooked-up next for the upcoming FY2016/17 proposed budget [information available on mesaaz.gov here's a quick serving of how the budget pie gets sliced . . .
Your MesaZona blogger invites you to the table.
You are encouraged to see what's on the menu [oops! The agenda] of all meetings. Just more pies today so take a look at how millions of dollars get sliced
...and please remember while public input "is encouraged" your participation is restricted - only 3 comments allowed at sessions and meetings of the Mesa City Council with a time-limit of three minutes. Got lots to say? . . . too bad


FOUR PIE CHARTS [M=Millions of dollars.  B=Billions of bucks]

1. General Governmental Funds Available Resources $375.9 M

You can see the size of the slice > see $$
Sales and use Taxes
Intergovernmental
Transfer figure Enterprises
"Other revenue"
Sales and charges for services
Use of fund balance





2. Total City Budgeted Available Resources $1.61 B

Sales and charges for service
Funds carried forward
Intergovernmental
New Bond Proceeds
What's that green slice?
Taxes
Self Insurance Trust Funds

 

3. General Governmental Funds Budget by Department $375.9M

You get the idea ..... now you do the work
 For example:
Who gets the biggest piece of the pie?
Answer: Police and Fire & Medical
[and they want more for next fiscal year]
"Other Departments"
Community Development
City Attorney Department gets $5M


4. Total City Budget by Fund $161B > Biggest Chunk = DEBT SERVICE

In Mesa - City Endless? - More Cars + More $$$ For Parking Spaces ... What's Wrong With That?

. . . some thoughts from an architect buddy in Toronto  [images added  by MesaZona blogger]

Towards car-free living May 31, 2016 08:51 am Right now, there’s an apartment building in San Francisco that is trying to encourage car-free living by offering residents a $100 per month credit that can be used for Uber and/or for public transit. Prospective residents can even get a $20 credit to go check out the community. (The program is a partnership with Uber.) The reason this leasing strategy caught my attention is because we’re at a point where city builders are now trying to recalibrate themselves to this new emerging world. When I was at the Land & Development conference earlier this month, one developer brought up this exact point. He more or less asked: If you’re starting development on a new building today and you’re expecting approvals in 2 or so years and completion in another 3 or 4 years, what do you think the state of cars/driving will be at that point? Should you really be building all that underground parking? These are great question. And they highlight one of the challenges of development. It takes a long time to bring new supply to the market and a lot can change during that time period. My sense is that we are pretty clearly seeing downward pressure on driving and car ownership. That said, this isn’t the case in every city or in all parts of a particular city. I just got back from a trip to a Detroit where it’s pretty hard to imagine the city being oriented around anything but the car. But in cities like San Francisco and Toronto, car-free living is already a reality for many people and so we need to respond to that. How do you see yourself driving, or not driving, in the next 5 to 10 years? read more

Play Ball! NOW IS THE TIME > Copa America 2016 [Glendale]

About The Event:

Copa America Centenario will take place for the first time in history outside of South America.

The world's best coming to the United States, and will be in Glendale, AZ on June 5, 2016 at 5:00pm.

Official Website [Spanish and English]
For more information on Copa America Centenario please visit: www.ca2016.com


Ticket Information:Tickets are now being sold at the stadium box office, purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000.

Premium Seating Private lofts, party lofts and main concourse field box tickets are $200 each. For more information call 623-433-7157 or email kmulloy@universityofphoenixstadium.com

Click here for seating map.

Ticket Prices:
Front Row Midfield            $500
Front Row Sideline           $375
Front Row Corner             $300
Front Row Endline            $225
Rows 2-11 Midfield           $200
Rows 2-11 Sideline          $155
Rows 2-11 Corner            $125
Rows 2-11 Endline           $95
Rows 12+ Midfield            $165
Rows 12+ Sideline           $125
Rows 12+ Corner              $95
Rows 12+ Endline             $75
Club Midfield                      $200
Club Sideline                     $200
Club Prime Corner            $155
Club Corner                        $125
Upper Midfield                    $95
Upper Sideline                   $75
Upper Corner                     $60
Upper Endline                    $50

**A $6.75 stadium Facility Use Fee (FUF) has been added to the price of each ticket. In addition, applicable convenience fees will be added to tickets purchased through Ticketmaster. **

**Please be advised ticket prices are subject to change without notice. Ticket prices for this event can fluctuate based on factors that affect supply and demand. Lock in your price and location today! ** 
In Spanish
http://www.americatv.com.pe/deportes/movil/futbol-mundial/copa-america-2016-que-16-paises-participaran-torneo-centenario-n207620

COPA AMERICA on Twitter >> https://twitter.com/CA2016?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Additional Information + Resources >> http://www.ussoccer.com/mens-national-team/tournaments/2016-copa-america-centenario#tab-1

Heads Up! Follow The Money, Taxpayers > Gonna Come Outta Your Pockets

Watch out: it's the end of the Fiscal Year. The City Manager and the Mesa City Council are planning to SPEND BIG with your dollars. The sad thing is you probably don't even know it
Your MesaZona blogger is just one guy out of about 465,000 people who live in our fair city who wants to encourage every one to get more involved in local government. It's up to YOU!
It's difficult and time-consuming to get informed, or for that matter to even care about what's going on inside City Hall . . . and they don't make it easy.

Take for example next week's agenda for the City Council meeting on June 6, 2016 - the biggest item - approving the next fiscal year budget with the STAGGERING SUM OF $1.6 BILLION DOLLARS = the last item!
Wake up Mesa!

City Council Meeting Agenda for June 6, 2016
http://mesa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

Keeping You Informed: Study Session Agenda Item # 2a 16-0628 > Proposed Mesa Sports Complex

Hey! There seems to be a very BIG rush with the end of the fiscal year approaching to ram things through the Mesa City Council that will cost taxpayers million$ of dollars . . . and now here's another one!
PAY ATTENTION:
TOTAL PROJECT COSTS $58,000,000
TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET $2,625,000
Proposed Mesa Sports Complex
June 2, 2016
[10-page Presentation >> Takes a few steps but take a look here
http://mesa.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2739138&GUID=E11994EB-6BE0-4800-B976-191EE2DCAEC7   ]

Mesa Sports Complex Components
• Located at Brown Road and 80th Street
• 110,000 sf. Fieldhouse
• 10 Lighted Synthetic Turf Fields
• 1 stadium field with flexible seating
• 14 Lighted Natural Grass Fields
• 1 Stadium field with flexible seating
• On-site parking for 2,600+ vehicles
• On-site Concession Operations
• Restrooms/Locker rooms, meeting and office space

Mesa Sports Complex Fields
 Field space provides opportunities for multiple sports:
• Soccer, football, lacrosse, rugby, kickball, and more
• Synthetic turf fields provides practice space for local youth sports organizations
• Stadiums would accommodate high school championships, NCAA competitions, graduations, and more

Mesa Sports Complex Fieldhouse
Fieldhouse becomes the largest indoor event space in Mesa:
• 12 basketball courts, 24 volleyball courts, 12 wrestling mats
• Dance competitions, Cheerleading, Martial Arts, Boxing and more
• Banquet and exhibit space

Mesa Sports Complex Construction Budget
Field Construction Preliminary Budget
10 Synthetic Turf and 14 Natural Grass Playing Fields $36,000,000
Fieldhouse Construction Preliminary Budget
110,000 square foot fieldhouse $22,000,000
TOTAL PROJECT COSTS $58,000,000

Capital Construction Financing
Capital construction costs would need to be financed through a secondary property tax.
• Estimated annual cost of $18 per median household

Mesa Sports Complex Operating Budget [Bigger's note: these are recurring annual costs]
Personnel $650,000
Utilities $830,000
Contractual Services $300,000
Marketing/Promotions $225,000
Commodities $270,000
Capital Reserve Fund $350,000
TOTAL OPERATING BUDGET $2,625,000

Mesa Sports Complex Operations Revenue
• Operations will be funded by all revenues generated by the Mesa Sports Complex. ??
• Operating Budget Revenue Sources:
• All revenues derived onsite ??
• Induced Sales Tax ??
• Additional bed tax revenue net of City obligations ??
• Dedicated 1% bed tax ??
• Visit Mesa and Tourism Industry is recommending a 1% increase in bed tax to support the operations of the complex ??

Next Steps
If City Council desires to move forward, then the following items would need to be considered:
• Schedule upcoming Study Sessions for further discussions
 • Finalize MOU with Visit Mesa detailing operations contributions.
• Consider the following resolutions at the June 20th City Council meeting:
• A resolution asking voters for 613 Charter approval to build a sports complex costing more than $1.5 million [must be a typo, huh?]
• A resolution asking voters for authorization to increase the bed tax by 1%; and
• A resolution asking voters for authorization to issue a secondary property tax for $58 million of capital construction cost. ??

QUESTIONS?

Link to letter from Visit Mesa to the City Council http://mesa.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2739138&GUID=E11994EB-6BE0-4800-B976-191EE2DCAEC7

READ THIS: Public 411 You Can Use > Keeping You Informed > Where's Citizen Input?

The Mesa City Council believes that its people, not leaders, are what makes a City great and actively works ??to encourage citizen participation in the decision-making process. . . the Mesa City Council sets policies based on the input and needs of its citizens.
OK, sounds good, right, but very few people actually show up or "provide input" at City Council meetings . . . only three comments are allowed in a time-limit of three minutes [you must fill out a blue comment card to do that]

 Please note, dear readers, this agenda was made available to citizens yesterday @ 7:30 a.m. July 31, 2016 - how many people have taken the time to read it?
Was there "a preliminary agenda" published? [no]
Agendas work well when there are comments from the public to provide input especially when action will be considered then taken by councilmembers on agenda items.
The final agenda for tomorrow's study session - to be immediately followed by "a regular session" is published below.
Readers will note that the bold and underlined agenda items require a few more steps to access and are only presented as .pdf documents.  

Please note again: As part of each meeting agenda, action may be taken on:

• zoning matters
• awarding of contracts [sometimes adding up to million$ of dollar$ that are put on something called the 'consent agenda' that usually gets approved within minutes, unless it's asked to be removed and considered separately] to purchase equipment, supplies or for construction improvements within the City,
• liquor license applications, ordinances, and resolutions.
  

During meetings, citizens may address the council on items pertaining to the agenda.
QUESTION: Do average citizens - those with no "special interest" for personal or financial gain - have the motivation or time to find out of what's up on the agendas for Mesa City Council meetings??
Another question: Have some past and current City councilmembers [and those who might want to grab a seat inside City Hall] operated more to benefit "special interests" than the public?
Minutes of past City Council meetings are posted at this site after they are approved by the City Council.
The preliminary agenda of the next council meeting is posted at this site approximately four days [??]  before a council meeting and the final agenda, which incorporates any last minute changes to the preliminary agenda, usually is posted at this site the morning of the council meeting.
All City Council meetings are broadcast live on cable television on Mesa Channel 11 and will be rebroadcast the following two days at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.

For copies of Council Minutes that are not listed, call the City Clerk's Office (480) 644-2381.


City Council Study Session
City of Mesa
7:30 am
Mesa Council Chambers 57 East First - Lower Level
Thu June 2, 2016

Meeting Agenda - Final
Mayor John Giles
Vice Mayor Dennis Kavanaugh - District 3
Councilmember Dave Richins - District 1
Councilmember Alex Finter - District 2
Councilmember Chris Glover - District 4
Councilmember David Luna - District 5
Councilmember Kevin Thompson - District 6

Roll Call
(Members of the Mesa City Council will attend either in person or by telephone conference call)
1.  Review items on the agenda for the June 6, 2016 regular Council meeting.

2 . Presentations/Action Items:

2-a 16-0628 Hear a presentation, discuss, and provide direction on the proposed Mesa multi-sport athletic, field house, and events complex relating to:

• 1.  Capital and operations and maintenance funding and required Charter authorization; and
• 2.  A Memorandum of Understanding with Visit Mesa for the operations and maintenance funding.

3 16-0631 Information pertaining to the current Job Order Contracting projects.

 

4 Approve minutes from an Executive Session held on May 19, 2016.

 

5 Acknowledge receipt of minutes of various boards and committees.

• 5-a 16-0590 Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting held on March 9, 2016.

6 Hear reports on meetings and/or conferences attended

7 Scheduling of meetings and general information.

Page 1 City of Mesa Printed on 5/31/2016

June 2, 2016City Council Study Session Meeting Agenda - Final

 

8 Adjournment.

Any citizen wishing to speak on an agenda item should complete and turn in a blue card to the City Clerk before that item is presented.
The Council may vote to hold an executive session for the purposes of obtaining legal advice from the City Attorney (A.R.S. §38-431.03A(3)) or to discuss and instruct the City Attorney regarding the City’s position regarding contracts that are the subject of negotiations, in pending or contemplated litigation or in settlement discussions conducted in order to avoid or resolve litigation. (A.R.S. §38-431.03A(4))
The City of Mesa is committed to making its public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities.  For special accommodations, please contact the City Manager's Office at (480) 644-3333 or AzRelay 7-1-1 at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.  Si necesita asistencia o traducción en español, favor de llamar al menos 48 horas antes de la reunion al 480-644-2767.
http://www.mesaaz.gov/city-hall/advisory-boards-committees/city-council