Open House: New 2nd Floor Location for Mesa Chamber of Commerce

An announcement retrieved from the inbox 2 days ago: 
The Mesa Chamber of Commerce has recently moved its office to the Downtown campus of Mesa Community College.
As readers of the blog may or may not know, the Chamber moved at the end of the last fiscal year from a prime and prominent location it occupied for years at 40 N Center Street with the reason given that the lease was not renewed.
The move was made over the 4th of July in what seemed a rushed re-location into an 'under-used' and mostly vacant building facing the Phoenix Marriott Hotel on the 2nd Floor.
Not even a more visible and more accessible ground floor location! To help you find it, the new office is upstairs to the far left in Suite 208. You will have to find and climb the open stairway - for the disabled/handicapped there's an elevator access down the hallway.

Here's how Sally Jo Harrison explains the move with mebbe a change in the Chamber's mission as a start-up??
And hoping to somehow leverage other non-profits - and a news business called My News Mesa into the strange mix on Centennial Way 
“We have entered into a unique partnership with Mesa Community College and are excited to be at their Downtown Mesa campus. 
We are working with the colleges college's Department of Business and Information and the Chamber will offer an area for startup businesses to work within the office.” said Sally Harrison, Chamber President & CEO.
In addition to the Chamber relocating, the Chamber in partnership with Mesa United Way will be opening the doors to the new Mesa Veterans Resource Center.  Mesa United Way’s 12 Book’s Program and Chamber member MyNewsMesa.com will also be located on the MCC Downtown campus.
 
All four entities will host a joint open house event on Wednesday, August 2 from 8-10am with the first ribbon being cut at 8:30am followed by back-to back-cuttings. 

Another Approach to Workforce Housing: Why Build New?

Security Properties Acquires 3-property Portfolio in Phoenix MSA
News provided bySecurity Properties  08:22 ET
SEATTLE, July 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 19, 2017, a joint venture between Security Properties and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. purchased Canyon Creek, a 440-unit property built in 1984 and located in Phoenix, AZ; Stillwater, a 516-unit property built in 1984 and located in Glendale, AZ; and Off Broadway, a 320-unit property built in 1986 and located in Mesa, AZ. 
Security Properties now owns a total of eight assets in the Phoenix marketplace.
The stated reason: Affordability and a uniquely deep labor pool of applicable human capital continue to drive significant corporate investment in the market. Metropolitan Phoenix is forecasted to be in the top three major metropolitan areas in employment growth over the next two years. From 2017-2018, job growth is projected at 2.8% annually or roughly 112,000 jobs over the next two years. Metro Phoenix is also ranked #1 among major western markets for population growth through 2019^[1].

The portfolio represents a value-add investment. 

The joint venture plans to upgrade 100% of the units with a consistent renovation spec.

The new spec will include a black appliance package, sprayed countertops, new flooring as well as updated lighting and plumbing fixtures. Additionally, 236 units will receive washer/ dryers.  

Capital will also be focused on the upgrading of resident common areas/amenity space and addressing miscellaneous deferred maintenance items.

According to Davis Vaughn, Director at Security Properties, the acquisition was made because, "We are big believers in workforce housing, especially in metros with substantial job growth.  The affordability of Phoenix relative to other west coast markets continues to attract renters and jobs to the area and this is why we are scaling up there.  Once our renovation is complete, we will be able to offer competitive units to the market while still maintaining a basis significantly below replacement cost."

The property will be managed by Security Properties-affiliate Security Properties

Residential.

 

About Oaktree 

Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $100 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2017. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in distressed debt, corporate debt (including high yield debt and senior loans), control investing, convertible securities, real estate and listed equities. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the firm has over 900 employees and offices in 18 cities worldwide. For additional information, please visit Oaktree's website at http://www.oaktreecapital.com/.

^[1] CBRE Economic Advisors

The Goldwater Rule > It Could Get Messy, Very Messy

Arizona politics on occasion are certainly 'somethin' else' - oftentimes the butt of jokes, occasionally a cesspool of scandals and corruption, ongoing unbridled and under-regulated environmental wrangling gone wrong, sprawling suburbia creating a car-driven commuter culture, governors getting impeached, maverick and misguided immigration crack-downs, latter-day saints and sinners confessing to nothing, and 'rising-star politicians' who can't get onto the national stage: here's a flashback coming back to bite.
What brand of Republicanism is making its mark now Psych-ing out Trump? 

Crazy Talk: Cable News Cleared To Talk Trump's Mental Health
By Mark Joyella in Forbes 25.072017 @ 12:32 PM
Mebbe this is just blow-back for attacks on the media and CNN to be specific, here goes:
"This is going to get messy--very, very messy.
If there's one topic American journalists have never demonstrated an ability to cover with sobriety and nuance, it's mental illness. Smart reporters who would never resort to stereotypes, cliches and myths fall into all those traps when attempting to discuss a person's mental health.
But now, Stat reports, a leading mental health group has advised its members that the longstanding practice of refraining from commenting publicly on the mental state of public figures, known as the "Goldwater Rule," should be lifted.

In a statement, the American Psychiatric Association clarifies its stand:

APsaA is an autonomous mental health professional association which represents psychoanalysts from all mental health professions and academia. Our members include psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, and social workers.
In an email to association members, our leadership did not encourage members to defy the “Goldwater Rule” which is a part of the ethics code of a different mental health organization, the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
Rather, it articulated a distinct ethics position that represents the viewpoint of psychoanalysts. The field of psychoanalysis addresses the full spectrum of human behavior, and we feel that our concepts and understanding are applicable and valuable to understanding a wide range of human behaviors and cultural phenomenon. 

The key here is commenting on human behavior responsibly. . .
So you'd better gear up for cable news segments with psychoanalysts and former White House communications staffers loudly arguing over whether the President of the United States is delusional, paranoid, obsessive-compulsive or mentally fit for office...
. . . if psychiatrists, liberated from the 1960s-era Goldwater Rule, feel empowered to accept invitations to talk about President Trump's mental health by scrutinizing his tweets, speeches or watching video of him sliding his water glass on a table, well "responsible" isn't the word that's on the tip of my tongue.
READ MORE > https://www.forbes.com  

Related content:
'Goldwater Rule' Still In Place Barring Many Psychiatrists From Commenting On Trump
Link > http://hppr.org

Leading Psychiatrist Warns That Trump Is A Real Threat To The World

Link > http://leftoverrights.com

Oh No! More Clues From That Small Citizen-Action Group

This entry [and image to the left] on Facebook just got on into the stream of a news feed . . .
don't know about you, dear readers, but these streams of tidbits and clues have certainly whetted my appetite for the next 'dish' from this group.
They certainly dish it out real good. 
This one is, as the small and active group clearly states, based on hearsay for what it's worth.
More "clues' might be in-the-works; at this point-in-time at least some people are listening and watching - that is taking a step-forward for citizen oversight

"What do you think about councilmembers texting or messaging on their iPads during study sessions and council meetings?

 

Have you ever wondered who Kevin Thompson is incessantly texting during meetings and study sessions?

We did a little asking around and it seems like Thompson is constantly texting former councilmember and close personal friend Dave Richins for advice and to apparently make fun of other councilmembers and staff.

This is based purely on hearsay but it would be interesting to do a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) on the phone and iPad he is using that the tax payers are paying for.

I wonder how many times we would see Richins' number pop up right before and during council study sessions, council meetings and committee meetings..."

[end of excerpt quotations]

Here's a link to the source >
https://www.facebook.com/ReportMesaCorruption/

________________________________________________________________

BLOGGER NOTES: 

1. It might be easier to just ask either current District 6 Mesa City Council member Kevin Thompson or former District 1 Councilmember Dave Richins if they do constantly text or message each other and make fun of other councilmembers. 

One might at the same time ask Mr. Thompson how much he spends texting, messaging or talking to his constituents to find out how they feel on issues in front of the Mesa City Council.... it's his job to represent the interests of residents in the huge District 6 in southeast Mesa.

2. Most public meetings of elected officials require that cell phones and other connected devices are turned-off when the meeting starts. 

 

 

  

Trapped In A Time-Warp > Imagine If You Can Parking Spaces of The Future



The original 'One-Square Mile' here in DTMesa has over 5,300 parking spaces. The first question anyone asks about new construction is What about free parking spaces?
Parking Spaces of the Future

Developers are monetizing empty parking areas even as they build adaptable new ones for fewer drivers.

By Joe Bousquin 

Source: http://www.multifamilyexecutive.com

Imagining A Future City Filled With Driverless Cars And Without Any Parking Spaces
Explore Parking Space, Future City, and more!
Link > https://www.pinterest.com

This post starts off with two impulses about cars and parking - or even before that when downtown streets on the original grid-plan by Mormon prophet Joseph Smith for the New Zion, later named Mesa, were designed to accommodate extra-wide turns by 12-team oxen. Not 40 years later 'horseless carriages' took over the roads - automobiles then ruled the roads and still do . . .  New highways and freeways and inter-states took the traffic and commerce off Main Street in urban cities driving car-dominated growth to what is called sprawling sub-urbia and commuter culture. So here we are with a hang-over glut of large tracts of asphalt-topped 'parking spaces' downtown, empty and unused most of the time. They're now prized as land-banks by developers for urban in-fill projects, along with large tracts of empty land cleared by demolition of 'eye-sores' for what was called urban renewal.
Now we are faced with imagining a creative disruption of the last century's status quo with a question that lingers: Where do we go from here?
Here are some initiatives from other places in the first source linked to above. Their point-of-view is that of executive developers for multi-family housing

1. A Common Occurrence
As amazing as Veltri’s sum total of $7 million in found valuation is, what made it possible isn’t that uncommon. Driving habits have changed. Millennials are applying for fewer driver’s licenses than past generations, and they own fewer cars. They favor ride sharing apps such as Uber and Lyft, and with the advent of driverless cars on the horizon, the trend is expected to grow. Given all those reasons, many apartment operators say they’re seeing less demand for—and use of—parking spaces at their properties today. 
While that’s not necessarily the case in all markets, it’s prevalent enough that it’s changing the way multifamily pros design and think about parking.
While some are trying to monetize the surplus parking they’ve already built, others are looking at how to build less parking today, or construct new garages in ways that can be adapted to other uses in the future, such as mini-storage, office space, or even more apartment space. And in some cases, they’re forgoing parking in new construction almost completely
 
2. Buildings Versus Pavement
As the move toward reurbanization has spread in recent years, and a community’s Walk Score has become just as much of an amenity for residents as anything developers can put inside a building, cities have started to recognize the decreased use of cars and, hence, the need for less parking.
Cities have also recognized the cost that high parking ratios can saddle on a project. Developers say parking’s price tag ranges from $15,000 all the way to $90,000 per space for structured parking, with $35,000 a ballpark average.
“Structured parking, depending on the complexity, type of construction, and market, can get very expensive, very quickly,” Doyle says. “Every parking space you have to provide takes away from what else you can do with the rest of the building. So cities aren’t getting caught up anymore in forcing you to have two spaces for every residential unit.”

3. 8 Spots for Every Car
That new stance by municipalities has been driven, at least partially, by the results of the feasibility studies developers must undertake when they propose their projects. “The traffic consultants are coming back with data that show reduced demand,” says Jeff Michael, COO at Chicago-based Horizon Realty Group, which owns 25 communities and 2,000 units. “Cities are listening to the data they’re seeing.”
And yet, while those studies show less demand today, the legacy of high parking ratios from the past is showing up now in parking lots across the country. There are three to eight parking spaces already built for every vehicle in the U.S., according to a 2011 report from the University of California. That means America’s historic love affair with the auto has resulted in some markets having plenty of spots for cars, but not enough housing for the people who actually drive them.

4. Future Use
Developers aren’t just looking at how they can monetize surplus parking today. . , Falcone says he’s trying to plan for alternative uses for both his existing and future parking structures, such as mini-storage, so he can continue to monetize them over time.
“We’re in 11 different cities, and, in most, we’re doing less parking,” Falcone says. “But where we’re unable to convince the city or county that you need less parking today, we’re engineering these garages so we can do something different with them later.”
Amy Korte, principal at Boston-based architecture firm Arrowstreet, says, increasingly, that’s a request she gets from clients. “We’re really questioning how we can adapt [parking space] in the future to an alternative use,” she says.
In fact, in Boston, there’s already a parking garage developers are fighting over, with the hope of converting it to other uses. “Think about it as creative destruction,” says Stephen Davis, vice president, development, at Boston-based Davis Cos., which has acquired or developed 7,000 apartments in the Eastern U.S. “We’re getting rid of excess parking, taking out some levels, and then using it as a building podium. I think that’s an interesting snapshot of the change in the urban setting, and vehicle use in general.”

5. Drive On
Whatever the parking situation in your market, one thing you can be sure of is it will change, just as the current generation of residents has changed what it means to own a car in America.
“For previous generations, the car was a symbol of their personality, provided a sense of freedom, and was another indicator of having ‘made it,’ ” says David Senden, principal at Irvine, Calif.–based KTGY Architecture + Planning. “Renters today look at all that goes into auto dependency and have a great desire to be rid of the car.”

Remember Required Reading In High School? Machiavelli's "The Little Prince"

Don't know about anyone else, but reading this early 16th Century famous book really rattled my progressive advance-placement education - it was an eye-opener then and now timeless testimony to what we now call 'troubled times' . . . This and Dante's Ninth Circle of Hell are a lens on now  

What Machiavelli can teach us about Trump and the decline of liberal democracy

The infamous philosopher had a lot to say about why democracies fall.

Updated by Sean Illing@seanilling sean.illing@vox.com Jul 24, 2017, 12:10pm EDT

“I’d like to teach them the way to hell, so they can steer clear of it.”

The infamous Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli wrote those words in 1526, near the end of his life. He was warning citizens of the 16th-century Republic of Florence not to be duped by cunning leaders.

Machiavelli’s most famous book, The Prince, is widely viewed as an instruction manual for tyrants, and it kind of is. But there’s more to Machiavelli than that. He taught rulers how to govern more ruthlessly, yes — but at the same time, he also showed the ruled how they were being led.

He was, in other words, giving both sides the handbook.

Machiavelli also had plenty to say about things that matter today. He wrote about why democracies get sick and die, about the dangers of inequality and partisanship, and even about why appearance and perception matter far more than truth and facts. . . "

READ MORE > https://www.vox.com/2017/7/24

 

 

 

A Citizen Action Group Gets A Few More Clues

While Mesa Mayor John Giles is not at 'the top of the heap' in the official City's Organization Flow Chart, the citizens of Mesa are -  with the mayor clearly stating he has shortcomings in 'engaging the community'.
If the keystone source of input for representative democracy is missing or not involved in governance, that throws the whole entrenched political structure here in Mesa into a tipping-point that perhaps is not as open, transparent and accountable as it should be or swears to be after joining Bloomberg's WhatWorksCities two years ago.
Could it be that city government is, on the other hand, slow, opaque and possibly prone to corruption?
Time will tell, as this group digs into what has been 'over-looked' or 'ignored' for far too long.

In the interest of public information, here is the citizen-action group's latest entry published on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/ReportMesaCorruption/  

"While our little group was doing some matching up of campaign contributions on upcoming Mesa projects we realized that many of the people on city boards and committees in Mesa, Az have either donated to or helped in political campaigns of Lying John Giles.
We also noticed that the same guy who produces and shoots videos for the city, also did the videos for the campaigns of John Giles, Mark Freeman & Jerry Lewis. This same person has also done videos for Public Integrity All...iance, The Bentleys & a group called A Better Mesa. I would encourage someone to look into the procurement process at the City if Mesa and see just how much Brian Nissen or Citrus Valley Entertainment has been paid by the City of Mesa. Was there an RFP or job listing for this? How were these video contracts decided? Or was this a another example of a friend helping a friend?

Want to see why certain projects are supported and why some aren't? Want to see why people are appointed to boards and committees? Have you ever applied to a board or committee and didn't get picked? Maybe you are not contributing enough to the right campaigns. Look at the City of Mesa Campaign Finance Reportshttp://www.mesaaz.gov/…/el…/campaign-finance-disclaimer-page