Inside Mesa

I picked up my copy of the Tribune today and there it was, above the fold, "E.V. Gains with ASU’s Growth," "University expected to add $4 Billion yearly to local economy." The additions of ASU’s Polytechnic campus as well as such projects as the new River View Project are the direction we need to go. It is a direction we should have been going long ago. There are two schools of thought when it comes to a city in financial crisis, one you can raise taxes to increase revenue. We saw how that was received by an already overburdened citizenry. The second is that you can look to the future and stimulate growth through investing in money making projects. As an admitted conservative I tend to like the second option better.Sure, we could have had a property tax, given the money to our government and trusted that they should spend it properly, but what if they didn’t? What if at the end of this tax dollar money grab we had nothing to show for it? When you stimulate business growth in an area, and I am not talking about putting a check cashing store on every corner, you have something left over at the end, a business, an actual physical location that generates money. It even gets better; it creates jobs which create tax payers which create tax revenues, everybody wins. It is a trickle down process which poises us to sustain life in the future. Tax increases are like putting a butterfly bandage on a hemorrhaging wound, it might stop a little of the bleeding and you can say that you tried but the patient will die in the end. Investing in sustainable growth and encouraging business to flourish is the right antidote for a city in crisis.What we need to do is to bring this city into the future, make it a place where business wants to be, where people want to shop and go to school. What we don’t need is to throw up our hands and scare people away by saying if you move here we are going to solve all our problems by taking more of you hard earned money in the form of taxes. If you’re short on cash and can’t pay them then you can visit one of our many pawn shops or lounge in the air-conditioned comfort of a check cashing store, if one isn’t on your corner, it will be shortly, give me a break…

A great idea emerges out of the southeast area of Mesa, more commonly known as District 6. Councilmember Scott Somers does something new….Councilman Somers hosted a tour of District 6 to "show and tell" how the largest and fastest growing district is developing with over 64,344 in population and 46 square miles. Wayne Balmer, Williams Gateway AREA Project Manager assisted as several areas were discussed.The most important area is the growth of Williams Gateway and the surrounding land, population, businesses, transportation and jobs. Councilman Somers believes it is important to bring higher wage earners into our area. There is interest in the land that General Motors is selling and if there is a proposal for homes, the 2025 general plan would need to be amended. Wayne Balmer points out that an amendment would need to be filed, reviewed by the City Council, brought to the Planning and Zoning Board for a public presentation then come to the council for action.The expectation is that Mesa will become more of a medical hub with several medical facilities going up. The Mountain Vista Medical Center, a three story hospital at Crismon and Southern, 171 beds, will open in 2007 with a future expansion that will supply 1100 jobs.Retail growth at Signal Butte Rd. and U.S. 60 - east and west - is also scheduled to open in 2007, with 900,000 square feet that features a 14 screen Dickinson theater, Wal-Mart Supercenter, Petsmart, Ross, L.A. Fitness, Villiage Inn, department stores, retail shops and restaurants. On the other side of Signal Butte and 60 another retail center with 819,900 square feet - both bringing retail employment and money into District 6.With the rapid increase in population more fire stations and the staff to fill them, this will be a priority because of the already slow response time. Stations planned are: WGA, Crismon and Broadway, Pecos between Signal Butte and Meridian Drive, in the area of Ellsworth and Warner, near Warner and Meridian, and Sossaman and Elliot.As Councilman Somers puts it - change is coming and it’s coming faster than some might think — we will be the economic hub of the East Valley. It’s clear were are on our way and the changes in the next few years will be significant.