Along with the high rate of pay for city employees, they are only having to pay a token amount as their portion of the health care premiums. People that work in the corporate world pay at least $3000/year for the same coverage. This isn't earned money by how great your company is doing; you just raise our taxes and give it to yourselves. On top of that, they get a special place to go for wellness treatment that, from what I see, is not open to the general public. The city manager even acknowledged that one of the perks of working for the city is the benefits package. This makes it sound like we aren't already paying top dollar in salaries to city employees. I don't begrudge them the same treatment as people in the private sector, but I fail to grasp why they need to set up on a pedestal above us when we are the ones paying for it. On utility rate increases, council member Freeman made an excellent point about keeping the base charge as planned and raising the usage charge for water enough to meet the budget. This is a much fairer proposition and is less regressive, making the highest users pay the most. I am much more concerned with the quality of water than the cost. Right now the quality is pretty low. This was a long meeting. I hope this sums it up for you.
I have no sympathy for a bunch of rich people that don't want development near their palatial estates. If they were really concerned about this, use some of your riches to buy the land and set it aside as a preserve.
The Hibbert St parking garage should be rental spaces for cars. This includes city employees, not just the general public. Using valuable downtown real estate to provide free parking is a waste of tax dollars. As easy as it is to commute via public transit to this area, there is no reason for the taxpayers to provide free parking. If you refuse to take public transit, then have someone drop you off at work. Set a good example for the community rather than looking for more free perks. What’s worse, as Council Member Freeman noted, this is currently planned to not have solar panels on the roof. Why would you design a structure this large, with a flat roof, without incorporating solar capacity into the design? Now we’ll have to add more cost to do this later. At the tune of $15 million once it is all added up, just think of how many improvements that would generate for public transit into downtown instead of this obsession with car storage. Stop patting each other on the back that this is such a great idea and work toward the elimination of single-occupant driving or you will not have to worry about parking because we will all be gone. Good job on the federal money for water infrastructure improvements. This is a good use of money. Quality water is way more important than car storage. As far as multi-family EV charging, all we really need is access to Level 1 charging, which is essentially a dedicated 120v outlet like you plug in most of your homes’ appliances already. These should be mandated by the city in every garage and carport at the facility. They should also be in parking garages at workplaces and destinations. It is not that big a deal. Those big podiums for level two charging are seldom needed at your place of residence and are a bonus service that apartments will add without any kind of mandate just to make a few bucks more. The only people that can’t use a Level 1 charger to fill their cars are ones that are driving too darn far or have too big of a vehicle. If you plug a normal car in at night you will have around 50 miles of charge to get through your day. Drive like a sane person, going slow so you can avoid running over pedestrians, and you will have plenty of charge. I speak from experience because that’s what I do, and I have never been without a charge. Council Member Somers is expressing a concern on the rise of rental rates if it is mandated that they provide any EV charging at apartments. That is not anything that needs to be worried about if you mandate that carports and garages at the newly built apartments have solar on the roof and a level one outlet or a level 2 outlet in paid parking at apartments. The fee is already overwhelming for both garage and carports so no extra charge from the owner should be added.
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Kudos to Council Member Freeman, who questioned how much involvement there was from local artists in deciding the Arts Center mural. I understand it was the idea of a visiting artist, but I’m curious as to what would have been said if the same idea was brought up by a local, unknown artist or student.
Time for our TURN COAT MAYOR, go away please your a disgrace as proven by this video. Hurry up and go away please. I disagree with you mayor, you do make a perfect democrat.
Mesa doesn’t have a housing shortage; it has a shortage of “missing middle” housing options suitable for young workers and retirees. Young workers don’t want to spend more than 25% of their earnings on a place to live, and retirees don’t want to maintain a single-family house that includes yardwork and upkeep on a bunch of rooms they will seldom use. We need condos over retail, duplexes, townhomes, high-rise apartments (or condos) and 1-2 bedroom houses. All of which need to be priced so that someone with the average Mesa income can buy or rent using 25% of their income. That’s affordability. Most people I’ve encountered in Mesa are spending closer to 50-60% of their income on a place to live which leaves them zero money to spend on anything else in the city other than basic necessities. Housing may be the end goal of some, but it is not the end goal of most of us. If Mesa wants to avoid state control of their zoning authority due to the shortage of affordable housing which has resulted in people living on the street, then it is going to have to abandon this laissez faire free market thinking. The developers only want to build large, single-family homes because that’s where they make the most money. Somebody needs to build small homes to fill the demand, and they won’t unless the city puts a boot on their neck and tells them that’s the only way to get a permit to build. That’s going to be a hard task because the greedy city wants ever higher property taxes, but that’s the only solution. The same is true of apartments. Nobody is building high density, 10-20 story apartments because that costs more and the NIMBYs don’t want anything built that makes their little shack look bad. So, we all end up with oversized single-family houses or 3-story walk-up apartments, both built fast and cheap. The answer surely is not to provide taxpayer money to allow low-income home buyers to pay the over-inflated prices of new homes. That's the path that led us to the 2008 great recession. The only way for home prices to return to reasonable levels is to let overpriced homes remain unsold while taxing the owner until they decide lowering the price is a better option than letting it sit empty. I wish John Giles could stay on as the mayor. Our choices in this mayoral election don’t seem to grasp the needs of society. Scott Somers should consider a run.
Whenever Councilmember Julie Spilsbury (District 2) speaks it is about parking or family which get repetitious. Councilmember Scott Somers (District 6) was next and is usually full of good ideas, but this time he was bragging about a new gas powered energy generator. Why would any city lock in a fossil fuel plant that is going to last for decades instead of renewables? The rest of the Councilmembers were either repetitive or didn’t have anything to add. One of the items that was repeated was crossing guards for schools which is now a hired position. What happened to the responsible 5th and 6th graders doing the job and learning about being responsible citizens? Between the stroads and high-speed racetracks that are located in front of all the schools, I guess the job is considered too hard now. I’m sure liability insurance is coming into play here.
It starts out with a prayer, then the swearing in of two new magistrates. What does an imaginary god have to do with city meetings or the honesty of a judge? We’ve all seen how unethical and biased the US Supreme Court has become, and every one of them swore to god to uphold the constitution too. The first amendment grants us freedom of religion, which is also freedom from religion mandated or encouraged by our government. Next was the great voice of Mr. Christopher reading the consent agenda, which was very long this week, but that’s not a problem because he speaks clearly and at a record speed. If I wasn’t watching him, I would think it was recorded in advance.
On “renewable” energy, there are two portions that make me laugh. First, what you refer to as “renewable natural gas” is actually better known as methane, and it is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Secondly, biomass is a suspect way of generating renewable energy. The trees you are cutting down are a carbon sink, and removing them not only stops their ability to capture more carbon from the air, it also releases their stored carbon when you burn them. A lose-lose situation.
RE: Lead: Everyday at Falcon Field, piston driven aircraft fuel up with leaded fuel and circle over the city. Wonder what the lead levels at the nearby schools look like.
If this extra money will be used to buy a few smaller emergency vehicles for smaller emergency needs, great. I suspect it will be used for more oversized fire engines like you already have that from what I can see are not in need of being replaced.
As a former cashier, I have seen a customer walk into a store, then collapse from a brain aneurysm and die, no matter what efforts we did to save him, then later on find out that his 3 year old child was alone in the car. The 3 year old turned out to be OK and is alive and well today. But thank God we found out he was in that vehicle. It was a hot day as well. Don't leave a young child in a hot car. You never know what could happen to you while in the store, and people might never find your child until it's too late.
On main st. No more probation excuses snitches 2500 dollars giving up people while getting disability checks and so ial security checks to sell drugs stop it now
This Mayor supports Harrises policies not Pres Trump. Harries policies are in fact not wgat Republican voters support. Why doesn't he just switch his party to Democrat? We are not anti Semitic as Harris is. We are pro life Harris is pro abortion full term. Harris is for openborders . Republicans are for closed boarders. This man is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He is a Rhino. A Serpant. We have been praying God would expise and remove the unrighteous from our government. I see this as an answer.
Scott Neely is a MAGA Republican who doesn't know anything about businesses in Mesa if he truly believes that there are no dining options in Mesa. No good for mesa. Focused on not having to drive to Scottsdale for dinner and then calls themselves blue-collar.
As usual, a dozen requests for liquor licenses. A much needed update on water pipes along Westwood and University. The water treatment plant is getting more equipment and supplies. I will bet it won’t get rid of the sulfur dioxide in the water that reeks and tastes awful. I don’t understand why they are not adding more chlorine like Chandler does or a carbon filter to the list of things the city needs. I’m sick of listening to the neighbors complaints and no action is taken. 4 million seems like a lot to spend on city laptops. Prove me wrong. I look forward to hearing when the next Eco multi use living development will be completed. It is much more valuable than the current parking lot. Build up, not out. I understand the frustrations that the owner of the music store has stated about being blindsided on this project, but free access to parking in a downtown business is almost impossible since this is really valuable land, and surface parking is a waste of that value. Downtowns are successful when walking traffic is increased, and adding more customers living at your backdoor is certain to do that. This is the way cities developed for centuries, and has only changed during the past 50 year obsession with cars. Sprawl did not work. It is time to go back to cities for people, not cars. Expanding gambling at a restaurant near the Red Mountain Library. This seems like something the city could do without. Soon to be followed by gambling anonymous.
These are all new market-rate apartments, where they're already OVER-BUILT this is another Big Box Boondogle give-away for unrealized capital gains to Sprague-Worsley enterprises
Watching the clock as the mayor glances at City Manager Chris Brady....Spilsbury complains about the rush and misinformation regarding EcoMesa,---- A ROBUST DISCUSSION IS NEEDED
"No Cameras! Please - Please... No Cameras!" - Mesa PD With No Cameras throughout the interior... they now have the POWER to Pry Into, Swap and Sell the confiscated Narcotics, Weapons and Money!!!
Thank you, Mayor Gile sand the City of Mesa, for your continued support through the years, and for taking the time to share our story! We are so excited and honored for the opportunity to continue sharing our food and our culture with our beloved community. See you soon! 🥟
Christopher Ruff KNOWS Mesa... and the Criminals they employ, who are collecting a Social Welfare Tax Payer Funded Salary. Cops don't become Psychopaths... Psychopaths become cops. Now imagine their Home and personal lives, like Philip Brailsford who murdered Daniel Shaver with a Military Mass Assault Weapon.... Mesa cops do NOT have an "off switch".
