REMOTE VIRTUAL ZOOM PLATFORM > Your Mesa City Council @ Work Mon 08.24.2020

Today at 5:15 p.m. is the second 'study session' in advance of the regular meeting that starts at 5:45 p.m.
There are 43 items you can view and access click or tap here .
Agenda Item 2 is about 12 "Approved Meeting Minutes" going way back to May 4,2020 that includes study sessions and regular meeting - that's three months and twenty days ago!
Better late than never, but transcripts are so much better. Exactly why 'minutes' of meetings need to get approved is an outdated practice.
 > 5 new liquor license applications
> 26 new contracts totaling million$ of dollar$ (items 4a-4z)
>   6 resolutions (Items 5a-5f)
>   2 ordinances (Items 6a and 7a)
>   3 subdivision plats (Items 8a, 8b and 8c)
        8a “The Landings Phase 3” (District 6)
        8b “Destination at Gateway - Phase 1” (District 6)
        8c “Inspira at Mesa Gateway” (District 2)


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Council Study Session Notice:
To decrease COVID-19 exposure, the City Council Chambers is closed, but public viewing and input on the items are available electronically.  
Members of the City Council will appear electronically for this meeting, via a video conferencing platform, and the live meeting will be accessible via broadcast and telephonically. 
Because of the current public health emergency, the City Council Chambers is closed for Council study sessions.
However, the live meeting may
be watched on local cable Mesa channel 11, online at Mesa11.com/live, www.youtube.com/user/cityofmesa11/live, or https://www.facebook.com/CityofMesa, 
or
listened to by calling 888-788-0099 or 877-853-5247 (toll free) using meeting ID 5301232921 and following the prompts.   
For any difficulties accessing this meeting, please call 480-644-2099
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CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
All citizens are permitted and encouraged to speak on agenda items including and preceding “Items from citizens present." Public participation is available electronically. If you want to provide a written comment or speak telephonically at the meeting, please submit an online comment card by going to Mesaaz.gov/bluecard at least 1 hour prior to the start of the meeting. 
If you want to speak at the meeting, you will need to indicate on the comment card that you would like to speak during the meeting, and you will need to call 888-788-0099 or 877-853-5247 (toll free) using meeting ID 5301232921 and following the prompts, prior to the start of the meeting. 
You will be able to listen to the meeting; and when the item you have indicated that you want to speak on is before Council, your line will be taken off mute and you will be given an opportunity to speak.
For help with the online comment card, or for any other technical difficulties, please call 480-644-2099.
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 reunión al 480-644-2767.

CONSENT AGENDA
All items listed with an asterisk (*) will be considered as a group by the City Council and will be enacted with one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Councilmember or citizen requests, in which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered as a separate item.
If a citizen wants an item removed from the consent agenda, an online comment card will need to be completed by going to Mesaaz.gov/bluecard at least 1 hour prior to the start of the meeting and by following the instructions provided under “Citizen Participation” at the top of this page

Roll Call
1 Review and discuss items on the agenda for the August 24, 2020 regular Council meeting. 2 Take action on the following:
20-0841 Appointments to the Building Board of Appeals and the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. 2-a
3 Current events summary including meetings and conferences attended.
4 Scheduling of meetings.
5 Adjournment.¹
Item *2-a MEETING DETAILS

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ITEM 5-f
Canvassing, declaring, and adopting the results of the Primary Election held on August 4, 2020. (Citywide)

File #:

20-0823

Type:

Resolution

Status:

Agenda Ready

In control:

City Council

On agenda:

8/24/2020

Title:

Canvassing, declaring, and adopting the results of the Primary Election held on August 4, 2020. (Citywide)

Attachments:

1. Resolution and Results Reports

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ITEM 8a
58.9 acres
“The Landings Phase 3” (District 6)

File #:

20-0760

Type:

Subdivision Plat

Status:

Agenda Ready

In control:

City Council

On agenda:

8/24/2020

Title:

“The Landings Phase 3” (District 6) Within the 7800 to 8300 blocks of East Ray Road (south side). Located west of Hawes Road on the south side of Ray Road (58.9± acres). Marwest Enterprises, LLC, Ray 39A, LLLP, Santan 74, LLLP, Ray 39C, LLLP, developer; James A. Brucci, Hunter Engineering, Inc., surveyor.

Attachments:

1. Council Memo, 2. Vicinity Map, 3. Final Plat, 4. Preliminary Plat

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ITEM 8b
83.02 acres
“Destination at Gateway - Phase 1” (District 6)

File #:

20-0761

Type:

Subdivision Plat

Status:

Agenda Ready

In control:

City Council

On agenda:

8/24/2020

Title:

“Destination at Gateway - Phase 1” (District 6) Within the 11200 to 11600 blocks of East Williams Field Road (south side) and within the 6000 to 6400 blocks of South Mountain Road (east side). Located west of Meridian Road and south of Williams Field Road (83.02± acres). Ashton Woods Arizona, LLC, developer; Raymond S Munoz III, EPS Group, surveyor.

Attachments:

1. Council Memo, 2. Vicinity Map, 3. Final Plat, 4. Preliminary Plat

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ITEM 8c

File #:

20-0762

Type:

Subdivision Plat

Status:

Agenda Ready

In control:

City Council

On agenda:

8/24/2020

Title:

“Inspira at Mesa Gateway” (District 2) Within the 4500 block of East Banner Gateway Drive (south side). Located north of Baseline Road and east of Greenfield Road (4.11± acres). Langley Banner Gateway, LLC, developer; Brian J. Benedict, Hilgart Wilson, surveyor.

Attachments:

1. Council Memo, 2. Vicinity Map, 3. Final Plat, 4. Preliminary Plat

Planning  Division  MEMORANDUM 
To:  Mayor and City Council
Through:  Kari Kent, Assistant City Manager    
                 Nana Appiah, PhD, AICP, Planning Director
From: Lesley Davis, Senior Planner
Date:  August 24, 2020
Subject: “Destination at Gateway East - Phase 1” Final Plat  The “Destination at Gateway East - Phase 1” final plat is attached for your review and approval.  This plat was included in the preliminary plat for “Destination at Gateway”, that was approved by the Planning and Zoning Board on February 20, 2019. The preliminary plat was approved with 709 lots to be developed in phases. This represents the first phase and will establish a plat for 278 single residence lots. There have been no revisions to the subdivision design affecting the area in Phase 1, following preliminary plat approval
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VIBRANT + EXCITING?? Mural Time-Lapse in Downtown

Huh? People have asked in these times to encourage local artists, if Karen Montague is a local artist, or has this artist been hired from out-of-state?
Looks like a psychedelic Peter Max-style hang-over from the 1960's!
Readers of this blog can contact The Downtown Merchants Association for any details. . .

219 views

•Jul 7, 2020

Here's an insert of an image of the actual location taken three days ago on the side of the building occupied by something called "The Soul Center" on the north side of Main Street looking toward Pepper Place.
- is this finished or is the remaining empty space running more than 30 linear feet some sort of artistic statement?

There's some artist signature in the lower right hand bottom corner and a twitter hashtag if anyone wants to ask what the vision is, or reply to the question "Does this lift you up??"

Hizzoner Mesa Mayor John Giles: On-The-Sidelines of The Republican National Convention > Featured with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez

News from The Hill/On The Money
VIRTUAL EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT:
ON THE AGENDA: AFFORDABLE HOUSING
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25TH AT 1 PM EDT
A place to call home has always been a basic need and yet the lack of safe, affordable housing remains an issue today.
__________________________________________________________ 
On the sidelines of the 2020 Republican Convention,
The Hill will host discussions on what can be done to ensure all Americans have access to a safe and affordable home.
 > Miami Mayor Francis Suarez 
> Mesa, AZ Mayor John Giles
> A panel of housing experts join The Hill's Steve Clemons
As Americans go to the polls in 2020, many are feeling the crunch of economic fallout due to the COVID crisis. This has uprooted the lives of those living paycheck-to-paycheck and turned “home” into an expense many simply cannot afford.

Mesa Mayor John Giles flashes a MesaCARES undershirt

Mass evictions are a looming possibility and Americans are devoting more and more of their dwindling salaries to monthly housing costs.
As these problems persist, housing is a growing concern during this election cycle  
Tags: #TheHillHousing2020
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This was the DNC Edition on August 18
On the sidelines of the 2020 Democratic Convention, The Hill will host a discussion with policymakers, housing advocates and industry experts to explore what can be done to ensure all Americans have access to a safe and affordable home.
KEY TOPICS
> Will a moratorium on evictions and mortgage forbearance be enough to keep Americans in their homes?
> How do we ensure not just affordability, but sustainability in our housing developments?
> Will housing be a key voter issue in 2020? 

See more details https://dncaffordablehousing.splashthat.com/

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ON THE AGENDA: AFFORDABLE HOUSING

 

Will Hizzoner John Giles be

A cheerleader for Affordable Housing

On the sidelines of the

Republic National Convention 2020?

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04 March 2020

Who's Yanking Hizzoner John Giles Strings When It Comes to Homelessness & Crisis In Affordable Housing?

Plenty of reasons from a closely-connected network of cohorts promoting "luxury living" here in Downtown Mesa
YOU KNOW WHO THEY ARE.
Where is the leadership here in Mesa?
Giles has stated he's afraid of the recent findings in the annual Point-In-Time Count of The Homeless.
District 4 Councilmember Jennifer Duff?
Mebbe she can learn a lot from Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego

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Here on MesaZona:

HOLD ON! 
A totally different story of an investor that had a vision 

20 May 2018

More Transparency From The LDS Church & The City of Mesa?

Thanks to a series of media reports about a "Massive Mormon Temple Make-Over that could transform downtown",  the public is finding out more about the For-Profit real estate acquisition and expansion enterprises of The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints here in Mesa and the entire Phx East Valley.
Shall we call it "Preaching The Gospel of Prosperity" ?
More

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04 June 2020

Time is Running Out for Affordable Housing in Opportunity Zones

 

Affordable housing developers have had a hard time making the Opportunity Zones tax benefits work with low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs)—and the Opportunity Zones program expires in 2026. 

Reference: Affordable Housing Finance 28. May 2020

Time is Running Out for Affordable Housing in Opportunity Zones

Developers are implementing strategies to access these tax benefits.

By Bendix Anderson

"Only a handful of affordable housing developers have managed to attract more investors and better tax credit pricing for projects in designated Opportunity Zones"

Here in Mesa, it looks like most development has shifted to the southeast quadrant. As for
"affordable housing" ... not much

_________________________________________________________________________8.24.2015 - Press Releases
LISC, Raza Development Fund pledge $30 million to spur transit-oriented development in low-income communities

PHOENIX (August 21, 2015) — Just days before the opening of the Central Mesa extension of the light rail, two local nonprofits have announced $30 million in funding to attract new housing and businesses to low-income communities along key transit corridors.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx joined Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, Mesa Mayor John Giles and Tempe Vice Mayor Corey Woods to help launch the transit-oriented development (TOD) program—a joint effort of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and Raza Development Fund (RDF).
Terry Benelli, LISC Phoenix executive director, said that TOD investments are particularly valuable for distressed neighborhoods that struggle to attract capital.
“We want to make sure lower income areas can take advantage of TOD gains, just as more affluent communities do,” she said. “The combined $30 million from LISC and RDF will encourage development in areas that might otherwise be overlooked.”
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2015

Mesa Council Debates Downtown Housing

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Rachel in Economic Development // 0 Comments

Light-rail construction is in progress on Main Street in downtown Mesa.

Photo credit: Parker Leavitt/The Republic

By Maria Polletta for The Arizona Republic
"Mesa’s evolving downtown needs housing to thrive. On that much, the City Council agrees.
But the vision for what that housing should look like — in terms of location, financing and target demographics — is more than a little muddled.
As light rail continues its march down Main Street, some officials argue a series of affordable-housing developments catering to low-income families and young people will be critical. Those populations often use public transportation, they say, and could help foster a more constant hum of activity in the city’s core.
Others support only a fraction of the affordable-housing proposals their colleagues endorse, insisting Mesa must be selective and hold off for more market-rate developments. If downtown becomes an increasingly desirable place to live, the city will regret having approved complexes with rent restrictions, they say.
The clashing perspectives came to a head late last month in a rare split vote. . .

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Healthcare Providers to Fund Affordable Housing

Posted on August 14, 2020 by Monica Tapia in Economic Development // 0 Comments

Credit: Home Matters to Arizona

By Angela Gonzales for Phoenix Business Journal 
In an effort to bring more affordable housing units to Arizona, a group of health care CEOs have gotten together to create a $100M fund to help finance these construction projects. 
So far, Aetna, Dignity Health and UnitedHealthcare have committed $35M in below-market debt that can be used by this fund to support projects to increase the number of affordable housing units, said Joe Gaudio, CEO of the west region for United Healthcare Community & State. . .
But it’s not just affordable housing these CEOs are thinking about. 
The goal is to address social determinants of health to create supportive ecosystems for people where they live, learn, shop and work, Gaudio said. 
For developers to qualify for this funding, their projects need to address these social determinants of health, such as where they live, their level of education and the type of job they hold that shape their health conditionAcross Arizona, rental homes available to extremely low-income households are in short supply, according to Home Matters to Arizona. 

More than 134,758 units are needed in Arizona today, said Dave Brown, advisory council member for Home Matters to Arizona
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Mayors & CEOs

Arizona

https://housinginvestment.org/mayors-and-ceos/

John GilesMayor of Mesa, AZ

“Unfortunately, and all too often, too many people in our cities struggle to know where they will next find a roof to sleep under or food to eat. 

 I’m excited to join with the Mayors and CEOs for U.S. Housing Investment initiative to shine a powerful light on these challenges and work towards solutions that will empower those in need while ensuring strong, safe communities.”

Kate GallegoMayor of Phoenix, AZ

"We know that more affordable housing and wrap-around health services are the most straightforward solutions to end homelessness in Phoenix and across the U.S.

But all stakeholders – local governments, the federal government, and businesses – must invest greater time and resources to make this concept a common reality. In Phoenix, we’re exploring the creation of entirely new incentives for affordable housing construction, and I believe that this powerful coalition of my fellow mayors and our great business community will help to generate new ideas to solve one of our nation’s greatest problems."

If You See Something, Say Something?

Next door in a Neighborland close by You: brought to this page by
Techdirt's think tank, the Copia Institute, is working with the Trust & Safety Professional Association and its sister organization, the Trust & Safety Foundation, to produce an ongoing series of case studies about content moderation decisions. These case studies are presented in a neutral fashion, not aiming to criticize or applaud any particular decision, but to highlight the many different challenges that content moderators face and the tradeoffs they result in.

Find more case studies here on Techdirt and on the TSF website.
_________________________________________________________________________

Content Moderation Case Study: Nextdoor Faces Criticism From Volunteer Moderators Over Its Support Of Black Lives Matter (June 2020)

 

Content Moderation

from the everything-is-politics dept

Fri, Aug 21st 2020 3:32pm — Copia Institute

Summary: Nextdoor is the local “neighborhood-focused” social network, which allows for hyper-local communication within a neighborhood. The system works by having volunteer moderators from each neighborhood, known as “leads.” For many years, Nextdoor has faced accusations of perpetuating racial stereotyping from people using the platform to report sightings of black men and women in their neighborhood as somehow “suspicious.”
. . .
Decisions to be made by Nextdoor:

• When there are national conversations around movements like Black Lives Matter, when is it appropriate to take a public stand? How will that stand be perceived by users and by local moderators?
• If the company is taking a stand on an issue like Black Lives Matter, should it then make it clear that related content should be kept on the platform -- even if some moderators believe it violates other guidelines?
• How much leeway and power should local, volunteer moderators have regarding what content is on the platform?
• How much communication and transparency should there be with those local moderators?
• How involved should the company get with regards to implicit or unconscious bias that may come from non-employee, volunteer moderators?
• Is it feasible to have a rule that suggests that local communities should not be a platform for discussing state or national political issues?  How does that rule play out when those “national or state” issues also involve local activism?

Questions and policy implications to consider:

• When issues of national importance, such as civil rights, come to the forefront of the public discussion, there is often the likelihood of them becoming politically divisive. When is it important to take a stand despite this, and how should any messaging be handled -- especially in cases where some staff or volunteers may feel otherwise?
• Issues of race are particularly controversial to some, and yet vitally important. How should companies handle these questions and debates?
• Using volunteer moderators to help moderate targeted niche communities has obvious benefits, but how might historical bias and prejudice manifest itself in doing so?

Resolution: Nextdoor has continued to support the Black Lives Matter movement, and Gordon Strause, the company’s director of community, went onto the forum where some leads were complaining to explain the company’s position and why they were supporting Black Lives Matter, and to push back against those who argued that the movement itself was discriminatory, while also highlighting how there were a variety of perspectives, and there was value in learning about other viewpoints:
READ MORE PLEASE > https://www.techdirt.com
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USER-GENERATED CONTENT ::

Content Moderation Knowledge Sharing Shouldn't Be A Backdoor To Cross-Platform Censorship

Content Moderation

from the too-big-of-a-problem-to-tackle-alone dept

Fri, Aug 21st 2020 12:00pm — Emma Llanso

Ten thousand moderators at YouTube. Fifteen thousand moderators at Facebook. Billions of users, millions of decisions a day. These are the kinds of numbers that dominate most discussions of content moderation today. But we should also be talking about 10, 5, or even 1: the numbers of moderators at sites like Automattic (Wordpress), Pinterest, Medium, and JustPasteIt—sites that host millions of user-generated posts but have far fewer resources than the social media giants.

There are a plethora of smaller services on the web that host videos, images, blogs, discussion fora, product reviews, comments sections, and private file storage. And they face many of the same difficult decisions about the user-generated content (UGC) they . . .

Earth Discharges, Magnetic Jets, Rogue Planets | S0 News Aug.22.2020

A Double-Hubble Day
WOW VISUALS !!

Former DHS Head Chertoff: GOP Being “Hijacked” | Amanpour and Company

This week the Senate Intelligence Committee released a new report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
At the same time, former Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Tyler has begun speaking out about how administration officials repeatedly tried to raise the issue with President Trump, with little success.
Michael Chertoff served as Secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush and speaks with Michel Martin about the looming specter of yet more election interference. Originally aired on August 20, 2020. Subscribe to the Amanpour and Company. channel here: https://bit.ly/2EMIkTJ For more from Amanpour and Company, including full episodes, click here: https://to.pbs.org/2NBFpjf Like Amanpour and Company on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2HNx3EF Follow Amanpour and Company on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2HLpjTI Watch Amanpour and Company weekdays on PBS (check local listings). Amanpour and Company features wide-ranging, in-depth conversations with global thought leaders and cultural influencers on the issues and trends impacting the world each day, from politics, business and technology to arts, science and sports. Christiane Amanpour leads the conversation on global and domestic news from London with contributions by prominent journalists Walter Isaacson, Michel Martin, Alicia Menendez and Hari Sreenivasan from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center in New York City. #amanpourpbs

 

 

 

19,400 views

•Aug 20, 2020

Here's How SPACs Work and Why They're So Popular

Hey!   Hey!