At last Thursday's Mesa City Council Study Session Hizzoner John Giles turned presiding over the public meeting gathered in The Lower Chambers to the city manager after the other six councilmembers appeared dumbfounded or hesitant to if they had any questions to hear or discuss any of the items appearing on the agenda for today's meetings.
When asked if there were any PUBLIC COMMENTS, the City Clerk replied NO UBLIC COMMENTS WERE SENT IN either if any items warranted individual attention. . .
However - per usual patterns and practices - perhaps no single member had any idea of what the right questions to ask are
That void was left open for the City Manager to call on long-faithful employees to make the presentations.WHAT WAS THE RUSH AND THE PRESSURE?
WHAT WAS THE CITY MANAGER'S MOTIVATION?
Approval to spend millions of public funds for the benefit
of a 320-acre private family-owned 'sport-and-entertainment complex that might attract 3,000,000 to
5,000,000 visitors
Reasons Why
1 CONTRACT 4-e
| File #: | 21-0980 |
| Type: | Contract | Status: | Agenda Ready |
| In control: | City Council |
| On agenda: | 10/4/2021 |
| Title: | Warner Road Lift Station Project - Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) (District 6) This project includes the construction of new lift station equipment, as well as utility crossings of the Roosevelt Water Conservation District (RWCD) canal and the Flood Control District of Maricopa County (FCD) drainage channel. An 8-inch sanitary sewer force main in a 24-inch casing and a 16-inch water main, 4-inch gas line, and an 8-inch-high pressure gas main in a 42-inch casing will cross the RWCD and FCD facilities. Staff recommends awarding a construction services contract to Garney Construction, in the amount of $3,915,925.97 (GMP), and authorizing a change order allowance in the amount of $391,592.59 (10%), for a total amount of $4,307,518.57. This project is funded by the 2014 authorized Water bonds, 2014 Wastewater bonds, and 2014 Gas bonds. |
| Attachments: | 1. Council Report, 2. Project Map |
2 RESOLUTION 5-b
| File #: | 21-0955 |
| Type: | Resolution | Status: | Agenda Ready |
| In control: | City Council |
| On agenda: | 10/4/2021 |
| Title: | Approving and authorizing the City Manager to enter into a Project Agreement with Maricopa Association of Governments for an Arterial Life Cycle Program Project on Elliot Road between Sossaman Road and Ellsworth Road that defines the regional reimbursement schedule for the project. (District 6) |
| Attachments: | 1. Council Report, 2. Resolution, 3. Agreement |
3 RESOLUTION 5-c
| File #: | 21-0956 |
| Type: | Resolution | Status: | Agenda Ready |
| In control: | City Council |
| On agenda: | 10/4/2021 |
| Title: | Approving and authorizing the City Manager to enter into a Project Agreement with Maricopa Association of Governments for an Arterial Life Cycle Program Project on Sossaman Road between Ray Road and Warner Road that defines the regional reimbursement schedule for the project. (District 6) |
| Attachments: | 1. Council Report, 2. Resolution, 3. Agreement |
4 RESOLUTION 5-d
| File #: | 21-0994 |
| Type: | Resolution | Status: | Agenda Ready |
| In control: | City Council |
| On agenda: | 10/4/2021 |
| Title: | Approving and authorizing the City Manager to enter into a five-year Intergovernmental Agreement with the Town of Queen Creek to provide dispatch services by the Mesa Police Department, and payment of $1,382,680 to Mesa for equipment and staffing costs associated with providing the services in the year 2022. The amount of the annual payment for the remaining four years of the Agreement will be reviewed and adjusted each year. (Citywide) |
| Strategic initiatives: | Quality of Life |
| Attachments: | 1. Presentation, 2. Council Report, 3. Resolution, 4. Intergovernmental Agreement |
5 RESOLUTION 6-a
| File #: | 21-1007 |
| Type: | Resolution | Status: | Agenda Ready |
| In control: | City Council |
| On agenda: | 10/4/2021 |
| Title: | Approving and authorizing the City Manager to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority related to the design, construction, and maintenance of infrastructure in and around the intersection of Ellsworth and Williams Field Roads. (District 6) |
| Attachments: | 1. Presentation, 2. Council Report, 3. Project Location Map, 4. Resolution, 5. Agreement |
6 RESOLUTION 6-b
7 ORDINANCE 7-b
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REMEMBER THIS
20 July 2019
Mesa City Manager Chris Brady's Big-League Schemes: Trick Mesa Taxpayer's To Finance A Ball Park For The Billionaire-Ricketts Family 
Sloan Park at Riverview was named after a plumber for some reason after that Chicago chewing-gum original Wrigley Field just wasn't juicy enough here in Mesa.
Here are former mayor Scott Smith and current city manager Chris Brady in 2012 making a sales-pitch to get the Cubbies Spring Training Facility financed on-the-backs of Mesa taxpayers to the tune of over $200,000,000 for the Billionaire-Ricketts Family who bought the sports franchise in 2009.
From what we know now it was a shake-down [Use the search box on this blog for more]
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Here are former mayor Scott Smith and current city manager Chris Brady in 2012 making a sales-pitch to get the Cubbies Spring Training Facility financed on-the-backs of Mesa taxpayers to the tune of over $200,000,000 for the Billionaire-Ricketts Family who bought the sports franchise in 2009.
From what we know now it was a shake-down [Use the search box on this blog for more]
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Email dump: More dirt on Cubs purchase, family conflict from Joe ...
Chicago Sun-Times
The Ricketts family at Wrigley Field in October 2009:
(from left) Joe Ricketts, Pete Ricketts, Todd Ricketts, Laura Ricketts, Marlene Ricketts and Tom ...
On Tuesday, Deadspin broke news that leaked emails revealed Cubs ownership contemplated moving the team out of Chicago due to a difficult relationship with Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2013. As it turns out, the suggestion was made by Todd “Fredo” Ricketts and was likely never taken seriously.
Here’s a list of other Todd Ricketts’ suggestions revealed in additional leaked emails:
– “It’ll be totally fine if our family gets involved in politics. No one will ever find out about it so it won’t be controversial at all.”
– “Now that we own the McDonald’s across the street from Wrigley, I’m going on an all Quarter Pounder diet. Please don’t tear that place down Tom. I’m sure any hotel we put up there won’t do nearly as much business as the McDonald’s. Plus, where will all the rats go?”
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– “It’ll be totally fine if our family gets involved in politics. No one will ever find out about it so it won’t be controversial at all.”
– “Now that we own the McDonald’s across the street from Wrigley, I’m going on an all Quarter Pounder diet. Please don’t tear that place down Tom. I’m sure any hotel we put up there won’t do nearly as much business as the McDonald’s. Plus, where will all the rats go?”
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In some conservative Republican circles it was "a home run." Here in Mesa most city officials and real estate developers went-to-bat to get it built and financed
> Donald Trump's $14 billion Cabinet
#2 Todd Ricketts @$5.3 Billion
Ricketts is a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs and CEO of Ending Spending, an organization “dedicated to educating and engaging American taxpayers about wasteful and excessive government spending,” according to its site.
[Reference: https://www.cbsnews.com ]
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> Report: Cubs Co-Owner Todd Ricketts Has Been Getting Away With Not Paying
His Full Property Taxes
> Donald Trump's $14 billion Cabinet
#2 Todd Ricketts @$5.3 Billion
Ricketts is a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs and CEO of Ending Spending, an organization “dedicated to educating and engaging American taxpayers about wasteful and excessive government spending,” according to its site.
[Reference: https://www.cbsnews.com ]
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> Report: Cubs Co-Owner Todd Ricketts Has Been Getting Away With Not Paying
His Full Property Taxes
> Another report 2 days ago:
Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts faces big property tax hike, even bigger bill for
back taxes after newspaper review spurs new look at his designer Wilmette house
by Hal Dardick The Daily Southtown
"Ricketts is a member of a billionaire family that secured an $8.5 million county historic renovation property tax break for its rehab of Wrigley Field.
That project also is in line to receive more than $100 million in federal tax credits.
Ricketts is one of four siblings on the Cubs board of directors.
His brother, Tom Ricketts, is board chairman
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"Ricketts is a member of a billionaire family that secured an $8.5 million county historic renovation property tax break for its rehab of Wrigley Field.
That project also is in line to receive more than $100 million in federal tax credits.
Ricketts is one of four siblings on the Cubs board of directors.
His brother, Tom Ricketts, is board chairman
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". . . The Ricketts tax saga began after Todd Ricketts and wife Sylvie Légère, an anti-tax and free market advocate, bought two houses along a leafy Wilmette street within walking distance of Lake Michigan in 2006 and 2007.
The couple tore down both homes to make way for their new dwelling
Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts' designer Wilmette home is worth more than twice as much as previously thought -- and that could more than double his property tax bill next year and trigger a tab of at least $60,000 in back taxes and interest.
That bottom line emerged Tuesday as the Cook County assessor's office completed its reassessment of Ricketts' property following a Tribune story that revealed the Republican National Committee finance chairman had been paying taxes as if the older, smaller house he'd torn down more than a decade ago was still there.
The error lingered for so long because the assessor's office said it never received notice the new home had been built . . .
Reference: Journal Gazette & Times Courier
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Reference: Journal Gazette & Times Courier
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Cubs co-owner takes over President Donald Trump's re-election fundraising
"Todd Ricketts has been very active in the world of conservative politics over the last few years.
The Republican National Committee announced Friday that Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts will oversee the fundraising for President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign in the 2020 presidential election.
> Ricketts’ official title will be finance chairman of the Trump Victory Committee, a joint venture between the RNC and Trump’s campaign.
The RNC is grateful for Todd’s leadership and I’m thrilled that he will play such an important role in @realDonaldTrump’s re-election in 2020!https://t.co/iOZr3yRkFO— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) February 1, 2019
“I am honored to continue to support President Trump and the Republican Party through the Trump Victory Committee,” Ricketts said in a statement per the Chicago Sun-Times.
“As we head toward 2020, I will work to ensure President Trump and his campaign have the resources they need to fight for the American people.”
“As we head toward 2020, I will work to ensure President Trump and his campaign have the resources they need to fight for the American people.”
> Ricketts is the son of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts and a member of a billionaire family that has wielded much influence in the Midwest, particularly with Ricketts’ brother Pete serving as the current governor of Nebraska.
The family purchased a majority stake in the Cubs in 2009.
The family purchased a majority stake in the Cubs in 2009.
> Ricketts has served as the RNC as its finance chair since Jan. 2018, though he has also made his own contributions to political causes, including an ad praising Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s strong moral character.
> He received the RNC position after withdrawing his name from consideration for the position of deputy commerce secretary in the Trump administration due to an inability to divest from his financial holdings.
It’s quite a turnaround that Ricketts is now running Trump’s fundraising given that his family fought Trump’s bid for the Republican nomination in the 2016 primary.
The family, excluding Todd’s sister Laura, initially supported then-Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, they also made smaller donations to Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham.
> They also helped fund an anti-Trump super PAC called "Our Principles."
That activity drew the ire of Trump, who called out the Ricketts by (misspelled) name and threatened to expose some skeletons in the closet
"I hear the Rickets family, who own the Chicago Cubs, are secretly spending $'s against me. They better be careful, they have a lot to hide! "
Of course, that hatchet has since been buried. That started with a $1 million contribution to Trump’s campaign once he won the Republican nomination.
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GROUNDWATER INFORMATION RESOURCES
This is from an earlier post on this blog 18 July 2019
Digging-Deeper: Know Your Water + Water-Rights 
Don't really intend to be silly or light-hearted about water rights and water, but it is the most precious commodity here in the Desert Southwest.
Here in Arizona in what we now call The Salt River Valley, ancient indigenous cultures created a vast system of canal networks over the centuries before the arrival of new 'Pioneers'. They expanded the open canals to supply natural water resources, converted to private-ownership or municipal control to build vast fortunes for agricultural lands and ranches. After World War II those same lands were needed to create large tracts of housing for Suburban Sprawl and shopping centers and for new industries. Irrigation districts had to be created. Water usage increased. Groundwater had to be tapped into. Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants had to get built. Planning for the future, the city of Mesa once owned 11,400 acres in Pinal County called the Mesa Water Farm. That acreage - and the water-rights - were sold off to Saints Holding Company.
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West of the Continental Divide, there's a noted demarcation in the geography where there's less than 20 inches rainfall annually.
Readers of this blog can also note there is a very distinct different pattern of what are defined as water rights in the nation's westward expansion.
Homesteading and Water Settlement Acts were the federal government incentives to lay claim to tracts of lands and territories. More than anything else, that's what led to the colonizing of Mesa and The Salt River Valley by family groups in wagon trains sent by Joseph Smith from Salt Lake City.
Their mission was to expand the Kingdom of Deseret here to create The New Zion.
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Here in Arizona in what we now call The Salt River Valley, ancient indigenous cultures created a vast system of canal networks over the centuries before the arrival of new 'Pioneers'. They expanded the open canals to supply natural water resources, converted to private-ownership or municipal control to build vast fortunes for agricultural lands and ranches. After World War II those same lands were needed to create large tracts of housing for Suburban Sprawl and shopping centers and for new industries. Irrigation districts had to be created. Water usage increased. Groundwater had to be tapped into. Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants had to get built. Planning for the future, the city of Mesa once owned 11,400 acres in Pinal County called the Mesa Water Farm. That acreage - and the water-rights - were sold off to Saints Holding Company.
___________________________________________________________________________
West of the Continental Divide, there's a noted demarcation in the geography where there's less than 20 inches rainfall annually. Readers of this blog can also note there is a very distinct different pattern of what are defined as water rights in the nation's westward expansion.
Homesteading and Water Settlement Acts were the federal government incentives to lay claim to tracts of lands and territories. More than anything else, that's what led to the colonizing of Mesa and The Salt River Valley by family groups in wagon trains sent by Joseph Smith from Salt Lake City.
Their mission was to expand the Kingdom of Deseret here to create The New Zion.
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Know your rights:
ADWR to roll out new “interactive” groundwater-rights web map system
Published: January 4, 2019
The process of providing property owners with detailed information about their groundwater rights has played out almost unchanged for decades.
It has been slow.
And cumbersome.
And inconvenient to people holding a right to use groundwater.
That is now changing. In mid-January, the Arizona Department of Water Resources’ website will feature a new “interactive” search map that – for the first time – will allow the public to conveniently access geographical and other data about their groundwater rights.
Prepared by the Department’s Active Management Area (AMA) section with the assistance of ADWR’s IT specialists, the new interactive map will assist the holders of groundwater rights – an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 landowners – with information regarding the location and boundaries of their groundwater rights, as well as a wealth of other data, including
- image information and aerial views
- the number of acres included in each right
- the annual allotment of each right
The system provides layers of maps that, for example, allow a viewer to determine how a parcel of land lines up with groundwater rights, or to determine which rights (or how many) are within a given sub-basin.
The system was designed with the intent of providing a way to determine if a parcel of land has a grandfathered right appurtenant to it.
Specifically, the Grandfathered Right (GFR) Web Map, as it is known, is an interactive map intended for use by owners and lessees of irrigation grandfathered groundwater rights and of “Type 1” non-irrigation GFRs.
The map also should prove useful to buyers and sellers of land within an AMA, among others.
The map shows
- the boundaries of all active GFRs
- the type of each GFR (for example, whether the GFR is for irrigation
- Type 1 non-irrigation
- exempt small rights, or other uses)
- It also will indicate if a GFR has been extinguished and/or developed.
In addition to providing detailed information to those holding groundwater rights, the map’s developers anticipate it will be of value to water providers and irrigation districts as well – indeed, any entity seeking information about groundwater rights within its service area.
ADWR’s Active Management Area section regularly fields questions about the boundaries of groundwater rights. Until now, someone seeking information would have to wait for the Department’s personnel to create a map tailored to their request to share with them.
The new, online system changes (and simplifies) all that. It can be easily searched and viewed by address, parcel number, owner name or groundwater-right number.
The Grandfathered Right Web Map will be active by mid-January.
A “work in progress” version of the website can be viewed here: http://gisweb2.azwater.gov/igfr
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