City Manager's Update
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Date: |
June 29, 2007 |
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To: |
Mayor and City Council |
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From: |
Christopher J. Brady,
City Manager |
Council and Advisory Board
meeting calendar
Here is my update on City news. Please let me know
if you need more information about any of these
items.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Williams Gateway Airport
Williams Gateway Strategic Development Plan
On Friday, June 29th, East Valley
Partnership hosted a breakfast presentation to
present HDR, Inc. as the consulting team who will be
performing the City of Mesa’s Williams Gateway
Strategic Development Plan. The plan will include
Land Use, Transportation/Transit, Economic
Development and area Infrastructure issues. Also
being presented at this meeting will be updates of
recent area developments and the announcement of
outreach initiatives to the area stakeholders. HDR
will also be presenting an overview and timeline of
the project.
Embraer Groundbreaking
Mayor Hawker will join executives from Embraer
to kick-off construction of a 56,000 sq./ft.
aircraft maintenance center at Williams Gateway. The
July 2nd groundbreaking will mark the
start of construction of the first phase of the
development, which will create 60 high-wage jobs.
Completion of the facility is expected in 2008.
FIRE
FIRE & LIFE SAFETY EDUCATION
Water Safety/Drowning Prevention Events
On June 8, Mesa Fire in partnership with Mesa
Parks & Recreation division hosted Pachanga en la
Piscina, a water safety day targeting the Spanish
speaking community. Over 350 people attended the
evening event. The free swim event included water
safety games, numerous booths with drowning
prevention information, a mock drowning drill with
Fire and EMS crews, and grilled hot dogs compliments
of the East Valley Hispanic Bomberos.
Fire crews spread the word about drowning
awareness
As a response to the worst drowning rate in
recent years, 18 child drowning incidents and five
deaths, Mesa fire crews stepped up efforts to
distribute water safety and drowning prevention
information to the public on June 16th.
Crews were stationed at several high traffic
locations across the city. This campaign will
continue as a monthly effort in July and August to
heighten public awareness.
Volunteers "Walk Across Mesa"
June 23 marked the First Annual Walk Across Mesa to
Prevent Drowning. This event was a joint effort
between east valley fire departments (Mesa, Gilbert,
Chandler, and Tempe) as well as Banner Children's
Hospital. All participating fire department Fire
Chiefs united for a press conference on June 22
hosted by Banner Children's Hospital. This event,
done in collaboration with Neighborhood Services,
invited Mesa citizens to meet at their local fire
station and distribute drowning prevention materials
door-to-door between 6 and 8 a.m. Over 100
volunteers signed up to participate. The goal was to
spread the message about the importance of
eye-to-eye supervision at all times when children
are around water.
NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES
Mesa Hydration Donation
The Mesa Hydration Donation Campaign kicked off June
18 through August 30, 2007. Neighborhood Services,
Mesa Fire and non-profit agencies are participating
in the water collection by providing six drop off
sites for the community to donate water to homeless
and unsheltered people. Drop off locations are Fire
Station 15 (WGA), Fire Resource (Power and Adobe),
Old Fire Station 1 (13 West First Street), United
Food Bank (near U-S 60 and Mesa Drive), Paz de
Cristo (near Broadway and Country Club) and Word of
Grace Church (near University and Hobson).
Community Revitalization / Historic Preservation
Alston House Restoration Begins
Twenty-five volunteers
endured the summer heat on June 23 as they began the
first of many projects for the restoration of the
Historic Dr. Alston House in the Washington Park /
Escobedo Neighborhood. The volunteers showed up
bright eyed at 6am and worked until 10:30am cleaning
the alley and surrounding area of the home and
removing debris from the interior including carpet,
broken glass and even gave the kitchen a scrub down.
They did a fantastic job on both the inside and
outside of the home making the project a great
success. Dr. Alston was the first African-American
doctor in the City of Mesa.
POLICE
PD Helps Departing Winter Visitors to "Close Up"
to Avoid Crime
Terri Teten, PD Crime
Prevention Officer continues to educate senior
winter visitors living in East Mesa on how to secure
their homes from crime while they are gone for the
summer. This year she incorporated a new program
called "Closing Up for Summer". The program was the
result of PD monitoring senior communities for
criminal activity for the past three years during
June through September, the months when most winter
residents are absent. Results from the monitoring
were incorporated to create the new crime prevention
program.
Teten provided three "Closing Up for Summer"
presentations to over 700 residents.
Because of the renewed interest of seniors
joining the Neighborhood Watch program, the
successful "Closing Up for Summer" campaign has been
added to the Neighborhood Watch presentations at all
senior communities. During the 2006-2007 winter
visitor season the Senior Community Neighborhood
Watch program was introduced into six new senior
resorts and RV communities in Mesa. The result was
the formation of 74 individual Neighborhood Watch
groups within those communities. In addition, 56 new
Neighborhood Watch groups were organized within
Mesa's permanent senior communities. In total, 130
Neighborhood Watch groups represent over 5,000
full-time and part-time residents who were given
information on how to secure their residences and
vehicles while away during the summer months.
UTILITIES
Water tower to make stop in Mesa
During the month of July, visitors to Mesa City
Plaza will see first-hand just how much water each
person uses in a day. Stacked 16 feet high, a tower
of 136 water jugs will be on display, conveying a
very visual message of average personal daily water
consumption. The Utilities Department is bringing
the tower to town to help promote the regional
Water—Use it Wisely campaign. The display has
been making its way around the valley and is
intended to get people thinking and talking about
water and water conservation. To view a photo, visit
www.Mesaaz.gov/utilities/conservation.
City employee stops criminal in his tracks
On June 18, Utilities Line Foreman Scott Ruegge
witnessed a subject ripping wire out of an ADOT
power supply box along the freeway. Scott called the
authorities to report the crime. Upon returning to
the area, he realized that officers had not
responded, so he placed another call to Mesa Police
Department. Scott stayed at the scene, watched the
suspect, directed officers to him and waited until
officers completed their arrest. Scott then
positively identified the suspect and gave a
complete statement to the investigating officers
before leaving.
Because Scott was observant and contacted
authorities, Mesa Police arrested a subject that
caused approximately $2,000 worth of damage to the
overhead freeway lights. This subject and another
transient are suspected of causing several thousands
of dollars worth of damage to ADOT freeway lights.
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