STAGGERING AGENDA: Mesa City Council Meeting Mon 15 Oct 2018

There are 40 items on the agenda for Monday's regular meeting of the Mesa City Council - all kinds of things are jammed-up for this public meeting that few members of the public even take the time to get informed or know about.
There was a  70-minute Study Session held last Thursday October 11th to discuss and cover only some of these items. Few members of the public attended the 07:30 meeting. Few took the time to watch and listen to streaming videos that were uploaded to Mesa Channel or to YouTube.
An engaged public is necessary if we are to have an effective government here in Mesa. Your MesaZona blogger is dedicated to doing his part TO INFORM YOU.

Members of the Mesa City Council 2018

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Three (3) Public Hearings scheduled as the last items on Monday's jammed-up agenda at the very end: Items 9a- 9d

Once again here are all of the seven elected members of the Mesa City Council  
Do you know who they are?

Who represents your district?

City Limitless? Who Pays?

What's on Monday's agenda?
Here's a link to the meeting details on the agenda for Monday
http://mesa.legistar.com/MeetingDetail
 Take the time to access the entire agenda.
There's a big windfall of over $985,000 from a 12% share of gambling revenues from the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Nation that you might walk to take a look at to see where that money will go
10 Contracts worth over $6,000,000. One for about $1M is replacing a 10" underground pipeline with a 12" underground pipeline running down MacDonald Street to Broadway installed in 1946. District 1 Councilmember says 'he likes construction' ....huh?
 6 Resolutions
(Including 5-f Approving and authorizing the City Manager to enter into a Communications License with MCImetro Access Transmission Services Corp., dba Verizon Access Transmission Service. The Commications License will allow Verizon to construct and maintain a communications network in the public rights-of-way. (Citywide)

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Blogger Note: There's more than just two that are random picks of only two from the six on the agenda.
You might be interested to find out what the other four are

Resolution 6-a

A resolution declaring the documents filed with the City Clerk and identified for codification and incorporation into Chapters 66, 67, 69, 71, 74 and 77 of Title 11, the Zoning Ordinance of the Mesa City Code to be a public record and providing for the availability of the document for public use and inspection. (Citywide)

Ordinance 6-b An ordinance amending Mesa City Code, Title 11, Mesa Zoning Ordinance, Chapters 66, 67, 69, 71, 74 and 77. The amendment includes minor technical revisions and deletion of redundancies. The amendment also includes more substantive clarifications and modifications to:  (1) authority and duties of Zoning Administrator, Planning Hearing Officer, Design Review Board, and Board of Adjustment; (2) application requirements and process; (3) public notice requirements; (4) expirations and extensions of permits, approvals, and variances; and, (5) appeals process. (Citywide) Staff Recommendation: Approval P&Z Board Recommendation: Approval (Vote: 6-0) _______________________________________________________________________________ Conduct a public hearing on the Minor General Plan amendment ZON17-00572. For continuance to the January 28, 2019 City Council meeting. Conduct a public hearing on the approval and adoption of the Mesa East Redevelopment Area Plan. A resolution approving and adopting the Mesa East Redevelopment Area Plan. (Districts1, 2, and 4) (2/3 vote required) Conduct a public hearing on the approval and adoption of the Mesa East Redevelopment Area Plan. A resolution approving and adopting the Mesa East Redevelopment Area Plan. (Districts1, 2, and 4) (2/3 vote required)

 

Oscar Romero: Slain Salvadoran Archbishop A Real Latter-Day Saint/Canonized Today by Pope Francis

It took nearly four decades for The Church - the Roman Catholic Church - to make Argentine-born Oscar Romero a Saint. Today tens of thousands of pilgrims were in The Holy See in The Vatican to praise and witness the elevation of Oscar Romero to sainthood, along with former Catholic Pope Paul VI who was born in Poland. Both were champions for social justice giving their good works and voices to those who had no voice in troubled times.
These are troubled times again after the Iran-Contra interventions in Central America in the 1970's. We are now (some four decades after those contra-rebel wars)  new waves of immigrants fleeing  violence and oppression from  El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala who are seeking refuge here.
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Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was a prelate of the Catholic Church in El Salvador, who served as the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador. He spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations, and torture. In 1980, Romero was gunned down in cold blood,murdered by death-squads and assassinated in public while offering Mass in the chapel of the Hospital of Divine Providence.
 

Who was Archbishop Oscar Romero?

Oscar Romero was Archbishop of San Salvador. He was assassinated on Monday March 24^th 1980 as he was celebrating Mass in the chapel of the Divine Providence cancer hospital where he lived. Thirty five years later, he was declared a martyr of the Church, killed out of hatred of the faith, and was beatified on May 23^rd 2015.

Find out more about Archbishop Romero here.

Below you can watch a short animation to introduce the life, witness, martyrdom and ongoing inspiration of Blessed Oscar Arnulfo Romero.

You can find a detailed timeline of the Century of Romero 1917-2017 in the menu above under About Romero, or clicking: 1917-1967; 1967-1977; 1977-1980; 1980-2017.

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Americas

Pope Francis honors martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador

Two of the most contentious Roman Catholic figures of the 20th century have been made saints. Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero and Pope Paul VI were among six religious figures canonized in a Vatican ceremony.

Oscar Romero: A life dedicated to helping the poor

He could not be silenced

In his sermons, Romero, who was beatified in 2015, repeatedly condemned security forces' attacks on El Salvador’s civilian population. He was murdered by a gunman on March 24, 1980, while holding mass. His death marked the beginning of El Salvador’s civil war (1980-1992).

After years of stagnant discussion over honoring martyred bishop Oscar Romero in the Catholic Church, things suddenly moved very quickly.
The urgency began when Argentina's Jorge Bergoglio became Pope Francis in 2013. Two years later, he beatified Archbishop Romero, who was gunned down in El Salvador in 1980.
On Sunday, Romero was one of six to be canonized as a saint in a ceremony led by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square. . . "

View image on Twitter

READ MORE > https://www.dw.com/en/pope-francis-honors-martyred-archbishop-oscar-romero-of-el-salvador/a-45870330

  

Mesa City Council Study Session 11 Oct 2018

Let's give it a good-go to see your elected government and salaried city officials doing their jobs in yet another public meeting where very few members of the public - YOU - probably have no idea what they are doing.
For instance:  four guys in the opening image. Who? What?
You probably live in one of the RDAs they are talking about. You, or your block or your neighborhood might be impacted or affected by what might happen when members of the City Council listen and discuss the presentation, and toss it all around at another study session.
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Here's the published agenda from Council, Committee and Board Research Center 
What you don't see on the agended legislation is Item 7-a about some tentative plans for that troubled Mesa Royale Trailer Park at 644 W Main Street. Planning Director John Wesley makes a presentation that doesn't quite look or sound complete with still a lot of details to deal with.

Meeting Name:

City Council Study Session

Agenda status:

Final

Meeting date/time:

10/11/2018 7:30 AM

Minutes status:

Draft

Meeting location:

Council Chambers - Lower Level

Published agenda:

Agenda

Published minutes:

Not available

Meeting video:

Not available

Attachments:

• Meeting Items (7)

7 records Group Clear sorting Clear grouping Group by Type Group by Result Export Export to Excel Export to PDF Export to Word Show: Legislation only Legislation only All agenda items

File # Agenda # Type Title Action Result Action Details 18-1156 2-a Presentation Hear a presentation, discuss, and provide direction on the East and West Redevelopment Area Plans.     Not available 18-1176 2-b Presentation Hear a presentation, discuss, and provide direction on resources to support Mesa’s historic preservation activities.     Not available 18-1178 2-c Presentation Hear a presentation, discuss, and take action on the City’s next steps in preparation for the United States 2020 Census, including the creation of a 2020 Census Task Force and appointing members to the Task Force.     Not available 18-1170 3-a Minutes Museum and Cultural Advisory Board meeting held on July 26, 2018.     Not available 18-1199 3-b Minutes Economic Development Advisory Board meeting held on September 4, 2018.     Not available 18-1184 3-c Minutes Historic Preservation Board regular meeting held on September 4, 2018 and work session held on September 18, 2018.     Not available 18-1206 3-d Minutes Housing and Community Development Advisory Board meeting held on September 6, 2018.     Not available

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Upload of the Study Session - about 70 minutes 01:10:24
D4 Councilmember Chris Glover is excused

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 In a nutshell, ReDevelopment Areas are defined sectors throughout the city targeted to encourage and promote economic development in 'blighted areas' that qualified when the city invited Zion Public Finance Bank to train employees in Mesa's Office of Economic Development, hiring on Sarah Sorenson, who has since left on maternity leave. There was first one RDA, the Southwest RDA, that has been expanded to other RDAs.
LINK TO MORE INFORMATION > https://www.selectmesa.com/ 
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Redevelopment Areas – Mesa Arizona Community Report

communityreport.mesa11.com/?portofolio=redevelopment-areas-and-central...
Southwest RDA. Council adopted the Southwest Redevelopment Plan last fall. Staff is working on drafting an implementation plan for further review to determine

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East Redevelopment Area | City of Mesa

https://www.mesaaz.gov/business/economic-development/incentives...area/east-rda 

 

Southwest Redevelopment Area | City of Mesa

www.mesaaz.gov/business/economic-development/incentives...area/southwest-rda
Southwest RDA map. Latest Updates: ... Business District. Southwest RDA Determination of Blight Executive Summary ... 1010 W. Grove Ave, Mesa, AZ 85210.
 

Town Center Redevelopment Area | City of Mesa

https://www.mesaaz.gov/business/economic-development/...area/town-center-rda
Town Center RDA ... The Mesa Town Center Redevelopment Plan was adopted by City Council in March 1999 and is still active. The major
 

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RELATED:

Mesa creates redevelopment zones to reverse blight | Money ...

www.eastvalleytribune.com/.../mesa.../article_1f02a1f6-9711-11e7-be49-e3f59e7325...

Sep 12, 2017 - In order to qualify as an RDA, these zones must exhibit a predominance of blighted conditions, as defined by Arizona laws governing ...

 

Mesa East-West Redevelopment Area Plans | matrix

www.matrixdesigngroup.com/mesa-east-west-redevelopment-area-plans

 

With the City of Mesa, AZ, Matrix led the project design team on the creation of two separate Redevelopment Areas (RDAs) on either side of the existing Mesa ...

 

 

 

 

Argument Against Renewal of The Home Rule Option: Verl Farnsworth

Vote NO on Mesa Question 1:

In 2016 Question 1 on your ballot asked if you wanted to increase your sales tax by 23% to pay for an ASU campus to be built in downtown Mesa. Overwhelming you said, “no”.

However, this year the City Council decided to use some shady chess play in order to ignore your vote.

This  year Question 1 is “Home Rule”. 

This is the tax increase you turned down in 2016.

The Mayor and City Council knew you would reject the ASU project if it was on the 2018 ballot.
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Blogger Insert: 
Approving another extension of the alternative expenditure limitation called "Home Rule" is like writing a blank check
Would you ever do that again?
An animated gif to get across the point that the mayor and some of his friends simply do not listen to what voters have REJECTED.
Most of the mayor's friends - one in particular, Mesa Mormon Mega-Millionaire Conservative Republican AZ Senator Bob Worsley is gambling in private for-his-own profits and personal wealth-creation in rampant real estate speculation here in downtown at the same time he holds the trust of the public. Tricking  taxpayers to finance their schemes is simply DECEIT and a potential conflict-of-interest between public office and personal private gains.
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Now you can show your disdain with your vote being ignored in 2016 and vote NO on this question.

This means you get to tell the City Council that they must abide by article IX of Arizona’s Constitution and have a balanced budget.

Deceitfully, this form of debt and... water rate increases do not require voter approval, and because Now your utility bills will increase for the next 20 years to pay this debt.

 

 

Currently, City Council has decided not to balance the budget in order to fund this new ASU campus.

As a result, this deficit spending will deplete the city’s reserve fund.

Deficits for the next 5-years alone will add up to more than $60 million dollars. If you were to eliminate the new ASU building downtown not only would it balance the budget, we would have in excess of $40 million to be able to lower water and utility bills.

We also should be putting this money away in a rainy fund for when the economy takes a downturn. Our city leaders should have already been putting these protections in place.

 

It's time to not only vote NO on “Home Rule” but replace the existing City Councilmen who voted against your wishes and elect fiscally responsible leaders now and in 2020.

 

 

 

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WHO IS VERL FARNSWORTH?

Verl Farnsworth was a nonpartisan candidate for District 5 member of the Mesa City Council in Arizona. Farnsworth lost the primary on August 28, 2018.

 

Primary election for Mesa City Council District 5 

Incumbent David Luna defeated Verl Farnsworth in the primary for Mesa City Council District 5 on August 28, 2018.

Total votes: 12,847 (100% precincts reporting)

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Luna  (Nonpartisan)	57.9	7,437
		Verl Farnsworth  (Nonpartisan)	41.9	5,382

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