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Monday, March 19, 2018

^Heads Up^ This Is Required Public Outreach: Master Plan For Future of Falcon Field Airport

KEEPING YOU INFORMED: Don't know about you, dear readers, but your MesaZona blogger has more than just a few concerns and issues when any body or anything comes up with 'A Master Plan' - a Master Plan for who?
The question gains more importance here in Mesa when taxpayers and the public are not actively engaged in what elected city government or appointed/salaried city officials are planning to do without citizens expressing their interests and issues or bothering to get informed.
That's simply not the way democracy works. Not getting engaged does work well when you don't exercise your rights.
Speak up, stay informed and get engaged.

HERE'S THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE IN MESA TO GET ACTIVE AND ENGAGED WITH WHAT MAY BE DIFFERENT THINKING THAN WHAT IS GETTING PROMOTED AS THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE FUTURE.
For example, due to the actions of a group of residents living in Red Mountain Ranch, a recent zoning appeal for more residential development was not approved.
Required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the new Master Plan by the City of Mesa and FFAA can define the current and future role of the Airport in the local, regional, state, and national aviation system. Your feedback and input is important.

The Master Plan also will provide a capital improvement program for future airport development, an Airport economic impact study, a wildlife management plan and an environmental overview defining the relationship of the airport with the surrounding environment - that's where YOU live with a vested interest as a stakeholder
The FAA recommends that public-use airports like Falcon Field Airport prepare a new Airport Master Plan every 7-10 years or as local aviation conditions change.
The previous Master Plan was completed in 2010
The goal of the Master Plan is to provide the framework needed to guide future Airport development that will cost-effectively satisfy aviation demand, while considering potential environmental and socioeconomic issues

Falcon Field Airport to discuss Airport Master Plan at public workshop

March 12, 2018 at 7:30 pm
The public is invited to learn about the future of Mesas Falcon Field Airport in a series of three workshops, the first of which will be held 6:00-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 27 at the Airbase Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum, 2017 E. Greenfield...
For more information about the Master Plan, contact Coffman Associates at 602-993-6999; Falcon Field Airport staff at 480-644-2450; or visit the project website at www.falconfield.airportstudy.com .
READ MORE from the media release from the City of Mesa Newsroom > http://mesanow.org/news/public/article/2062

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Falcon District | City of Mesa

City of Mesa

Falcon District Opportunity Map 070516

Image result for Falcon Field Master plan

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Mesa Morning Live Welcomes i.d.e.a. Museum Director Sunnee O’Rork

Mesa: The 50-Year LGBTQ Time-Warp

50 years ago #SCOTUS ruled in #PiggiePark that businesses can't cite religious beliefs to justify discrimination based on race. Now the Court must look to this precedent in #Masterpiece & rule that businesses must be #OpenToAll, including LGBTQ people!
Here in Mesa there's been a long-delayed Non-Discrimination Ordinance, championed by Denise Heap while chairperson of the city's Human Relationship Advisory Board, as well as significant others for years.
Progress in approval somehow got stalled . . . it's time to fix that. It's way overdue, folks.

Link > https://twitter.com/freedom4allusa/status/975386655967326208
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Who knows What's Next, Mesa?
With a goofy dude like John Giles who can be mayor one day and sporting a pink tutu the next,
seen in an image to the right from 2015 chilling out after a hard workout in Lycra shorts at a Zumba class - approving Mesa's long-delayed Non-Discrimination Ordinance could become a reality.
He's said many times on the public record that
"It's the right thing to do" , , ,
but why hasn't he come out 100% to exercise the leadership skills to get it approved by the Mesa City Council?
What is holding him back?
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Let's do The Time-Warp again!

QUESTION: Is The Times Media Group 'In Co++Hoots' with The East Valley Partnership??

It sure does look like that when U take a look at this opening image - that's current President/CEO John Lewis, former mayor of Gilbert who's announced his retirement to go on an LDS Mission in Cambodia, and Mike Hutchinson, part-time VP and former City Manager here in Mesa, shown with the powers-that-be at The Times Media Group.

Notice what other publications they own and operate, including the East Valley Tribune.

Notice also that Denny Barney was selected to succeed to the EVP Presidency, with Mike Hutchinson assuming a full-time position. Here to the right is an image of the greater EVP membership celebrating 35 years in the East Valley. That's Roc Arnett next to Mike Hutchinson on the far right, and others.

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Notice this 'Guest Opinion' that appeared in this weekend's West Mesa edition of The Sunday East Valley Tribune

Innovation District A Smart Investment in Mesa's Future

By Christopher Glover and Denny Barney, Tribune Guest Writers

It starts off like this:
"The story of the City of Mesa has long been a tale defined by smart decision-making."

HUH?
How's about some lame attempt at 'Thought-Control' and 'Manipulation of The Media' ?????????????????????

Smart Decision-making here in Mesa???
(Note image inserted by MesaZona blogger)

On February 20, 2018 Mesa Mayor John Giles said quite the opposite in a direct quotation from an interview written by John O'Brien,a Mesa Community College journalist , an intern at MyMesaNews:

Mesa works to create, grow successful innovation district in downtown

By John O'Brien

". . . Mesa leaders and planners have been working towards creating the assets and features of an innovation district without realizing it.

“We’ve been working on this for a long time without really knowing that this was what we were doing . . . "

Link > MyMesaNews

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Why Are You So Addicted To Your Smartphone?

Try a DIGITAL DETOX

Level 2 Storm, Pole Flip News, Electroquakes | S0 News Mar.19.2018

Background,Comments, Outlays Re: Item 5-e [Toxic Waste] Mesa City Council Meeting Mon 19 March 2018

^^^ HEADS UP ^^^Without the question raised at the Thu 16 March 2018 Study Session about Item 5e by District 1 Councilmember Mark Freeman, your MesaZona blogger may have taken less notice of this pending Ordinance - it made sense to pay more attention when a city official was in-place and ready to explain Freeman's inquiry on an item in District 6 with an immediate response on camera.
The City is investing over $150 million to construct the Signal Butte Water Treatment Plant, which will add an additional 24 million gallons per day (MGD) of pumping capacity to the area by Summer 2018.
In addition, a $200 million expansion of the existing Greenfield Water Reclamation Plant will also enhance wastewater capacity in the area by 14 MGD, bringing the total plant capacity to 30 MGD.
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Blogger Note: Please see farther on in this post for related content, including a report from the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
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Readers might want to take note that water is a precious resource here in the desert and the East Valley.
On top of the $150,000,000 for SBWTP and the $200,000,000 for the GWTP, take a look>
As you can see in the infographic to the right, the taxpayer burden for costs in the City of Mesa's FY17/18 Wastewater Treatment Bond Projects in this fiscal year's budget amount to $45,3000,000 > 23.9%.
Together with the costs of water at $80,9000,000 (42.5%) they consume 2/3 or 66.3% of the entire Budget Pie.
Wastewater costs more than 2X as much as the total amount spent on Parks and 5x as much as money spent on Electric.
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Abundant Water and Waste Water Capacity – The City of Mesa maintains a substantial water and wastewater infrastructure network in the Zone, and is continuing to expand to accommodate for future industry growth.
The City is investing over $150 million to construct the Signal Butte Water Treatment Plant, which will add an additional 24 million gallons per day (MGD) of pumping capacity to the area by Summer 2018.
In addition, a $200 million expansion of the existing Greenfield Water Reclamation Plant will also enhance wastewater capacity in the area by 14 MGD, bringing the total plant capacity to 30 MGD.
http://www.mesaaz.gov/business/economic-development/business-districts-maps/mesa-gateway-area/pecos-advanced-manufacturing-zone

Major Employers

Bridgestone Americas – R&D facility conducting research and developing manufacturing process to produce rubber from the Guayule plant
CMC Steel – Micro steel mill producing rebar from recycled steel
CRM Rubber – Producer and supplier of crumb rubber to the asphalt industry. Largest crumb rubber producer in the western U.S.
FUJIFILM – Manufacturer of chemicals for the semiconductor industry
Matheson TriGas – Producer and supplier of industrial gasses used in manufacturing industries such as steel, fabrication, medical, water treatment, semiconductors, chemicals and food freezing
Metso – Provider of industrial equipment repair and field services for the mining, aggregates, and process industries
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical – manufacturer of chemicals for the semiconductor industry
TRW Vehicle Safety Systems – Manufacturer of airbag components

The two companies that are mentioned in response to Councilmember Freeman's question are included in the map image here:

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The response included why the city put the ordinance on the agenda: actions about monitoring, measuring and reporting toxic emissions taken by ADEQ (see link below)
Here's the 10:42 video of that 'study session' uploaded to YouTube by Mesa Channel 11 - other than very few members of the public in attendance in the Lower Chambers, only 19 viewers have bothered to watch:

Please take the time to watch the comment made by Mark Freeman and the ready response provided by a city official - two manufacturing operations were cited as sources of possible contaminants discharged into the city's wastewater treatment pipeline - both the Signal Butte Water Treatment Plant and the Greenfield Water Treatment Plant, in the southeast and northeast quadrants of Mesa are in close proximity to former military bases where the discharge of contaminants have been issues for remediation. ADEQ the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, has the responsibility for both clean air and water.

Note the location of the two companies mentioned in Freeman's follow-up discussion in this map provided by the City's Office of Economic Development.
The industrial manufacturing facilities are located by the red locator pints clustered in the bottom right where you can see areas of former irrigated agricultural lands close to the former Williams Air Base.
In 1989 the former airbase was slated for clean-up of contaminated hazardous wastes. (See more information below)
It's NOT a non-issue then or now.

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After receiving an email asking for stakeholder input from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, your MesaZona blogger uploaded this post > https://mesazona.blogspot.com/2018/03/clean-healthy-air-your-feedback.html
Request for Stakeholder Input
ADEQ seeks your input on one or both of the following topics:

Appropriate Reporting Threshold: Rule 327 requires facilities that emit over 2.5 tons per year facility wide to report all emissions, which could be interpreted as requiring reporting for all emission units, no matter how small the emission rate.
For example, a permitted source could be found to be violating Rule 327 if they failed to account for an emission source that emitted less than 0.1 lbs over the previous year. At what point should ADEQ consider emission units to be de minimis?
Appropriate Accuracy Threshold: For emissions that are reported, Rule 327 does not specify an appropriate accuracy level.
For example, should a source be expected to report 50 tons per year or 50.07 tons per year or 50.074 tons per year? At what point should ADEQ consider the result of an emission calculation accurate?

Please address your comments to:
Michael Burton, Environmental Science Specialist III,
Burton.Michael@azdeq.gov 602-771-4562
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However, there's more background to be aware of from earlier research investigating pollution topics on toxic chemical releases from July 14, 1989
[see below]
(Groundwater contains VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS) and nitrates. Soils contain various VOCS from past disposal practices. Accidental ingestion of contaminated soil and groundwater is a potential health hazard.)

File #:

18-0266

Type:

Ordinance

Status:

Agenda Ready

In control:

City Council

On agenda:

3/19/2018

Title:

Amending Title 8, Chapter 4, Section 15 “Prohibited Substances and Discharge Limitations” of the Mesa City Code, a part of the Sanitary Sewer Regulations, to include a provision regarding establishment of wastewater discharge pollutant mass limitations for industrial users. (Citywide)

Attachments:

1. Council Report, 2. Ordinance

COUNCIL REPORT:
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Conditions at proposal (July 14, 1989):
Williams Air Force Base (WAFB) covers 4,127 acres approximately 30 miles southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, in Maricopa County, near Chandler. The base is surrounded by irrigated farmland or desert. Since the base was constructed in 1941, it has served as a training facility, primarily pilot training. Industrial activities at WAFB have included heavy maintenance of aircraft and ground equipment in support of pilot training. WAFB is participating in the Installation Restoration Program (IRP), established in 1978. Under this program, the Department of Defense seeks to identify, investigate, and clean up contamination from hazardous materials.
As part of IRP, the Air Force has identified a number of potentially contaminated areas, including Fire Protection Training Area No. 2, which covers approximately 8.5 acres near the southern boundary of the base. Prior to 1948, the area was used as a parking apron. From 1948 until the late 1960s, it was an unlined pit where large quantities of the flammable liquid waste generated at WAFB were burned as part of fire training. Any flammable materials remaining infiltrated the soil or evaporated. These materials included waste fuels, oils, lubricants, cleaning solvents, and some paint stripper. Starting in 1983, a concrete liner was installed under the burn pits; however, overflow is still allowed to seep into the ground. More...

Superfund Site Report: WILLIAMS AIR FORCE BASE

Map Locating Superfund Site

Site Description

Threats and Contaminants

Pre-Cleanup Rankings

Site Information

Potentially Responsible Parties

Source: http://scorecard.goodguide.com/env-releases/land/site.tcl?epa_id=AZ7570028582
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