Sounding for all the world like a company denying the possibility of bankruptcy on the day before filing court papers for that very purpose, the City of Mesa has elevated the level of denials regarding the selection of a specific site for the proposed Chicago Cubs spring training facility. The official word is that there are many sites still in the running for this development. However, many residents at Red Mountain Ranch don’t seem to be buying that line. Perhaps this is because the mayor has repeatedly said there were only two sites in contention since January and Red Mountain was one of these. Also, the public statements by both the Cubs and the city that a particular location would be identified by the end of March has caused a loss of credibility to both the team and elected representatives.
In any case, the lack of any direct answer to questions by residents over a long period of time has only increased anxiety regarding the matter and has led many to conclude that the Thomas Road and Recker Road site in east Mesa has already been chosen. Time will tell.
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Chuck and Bob - A friend of mine directed me to your site, and I found it to be "interesting" to say the least. I never have responded to or commented on a blog, but felt the need to set the record straight in this instance. I hate to ruin all of the fun you seem to be having with promoting conspiracy theories and such, but here are a few facts which I hope will dispel some of the misinformation in your most recent post:
ReplyDelete1. Contrary to your assertion, no stadium site has been selected by either the City or the Cubs. None, nada, zilch, nothing.
2. Site selection was put on hold when the Cactus League bill bogged down in the Legislature in March. The selection process was only recently restarted after Mesa committed to finance the stadium and training facility on its own.
3. In addition to previously disclosed interest in both northeast and southeast Mesa, the City and Cubs have decided to expand the review of potential stadium sites to include property in other parts of the city, including the downtown area and west Mesa.
4. In northeast Mesa, the City and Cubs are looking at multiple sites both north and south of the 202, east of Val Vista and north of University.
5. The City has long owned a park site on the northwest corner of Thomas and Recker. If the stadium is built in northeast Mesa, the City would propose building a dual-use training facility/city park on this property. No stadium or commercial development will take place on this land. Those will go elsewhere. Just baseball fields, clubhouse and public park amenities.
6. The City has no plans or desires to move or displace any part of the Red Mtn community park on Recker, even if the City develops its land as a training site/park.
7. We have no specific time frame or deadline for choosing a stadium site. This is a long-term decision, and our objective is to select the overall best site for the community and the Cubs.
There it is. Spin it however you want, but that’s all there is at this time. No decisions will be made without a great deal of public input. This stadium and development will affect people regardless of where it ends up, and we're going to make sure residents get all of the information before we make a decision. When we have something significant to announce or discuss, we’ll do it.
Finally, if you want to know what’s really going on at any time, please feel free to call me anytime. My number is 480-644-2388.
Mayor Scott Smith
Mr Mayor, I am certainly pleased that someone directed you to this site, I only wish that everyone who this project could possibly effect were as diligent as your resource. I would like to remind you that many of those who you chastise in your comment on this blog were more than likely supporters of your campaign and are very concerned with the future of our nation, state, and city as well as this particular neighborhood. If I were a Cubs fan, which I am not, I would still be against this project strictly from the standpoint of finances. I do not feel that it is the taxpayers responsibility to cover the expenses of a baseball franchise owned by a multi-millionare through tax revenues or sales of OUR city owned assets. To use a phrase I heard somewhere, I do not want to pay anymore of my hard earned income on increased taxes, utility bill increases or the like, None, nada, zilch, nothing. This nation, state, city and it's occupants are in no financial condition to fund these types of projects and I am quite frankly disappointed that my local government officials would even try to sell this as a positive move. Lastly, as a resident of Red Mountain Ranch, I am disgusted by the fact that you as the mayor of this city can sit in front of these residents and profess that a project of this size located adjacent to an entirely residential area would have anything other than a negative effect, and throw stones at those being proactive in trying to prevent it. Lets face it, the comments or lack thereof with respect to site selection, combined with the attempted positive spin campaign coming from your office could make anyone suspect a conspiracy, and government has never been involved in anything remotely shady right? Maybe you could throw an extra 100K into the deal for each resident who's home value decreases if the Red Mountain site were chosen, it's only money, OURS !!!
ReplyDeleteBrian Dyer