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Mayor: Mesquite in era of change
By BRIAN PORTER/Managing Editor
A journey paved by visions and dreams of what Mesquite can be rather than what the city is not will be a long one, but a route worth taking according to Mayor John Monaco.
“Our city is in a state of change,” Monaco said, in the mayor’s annual State of the City Address. “There is concern about our local economy and there are a great many questions about our future.”
Monaco delivered the keynote address, filled with ambitious goals for the city in the near and distant future, Friday during the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce’s annual awards banquet.
City leaders then began to expand on a project titled Addressing Mesquite and with a vision for the city’s future a massive undertaking began to “forever improve the landscape of our home,” according to Monaco.
The effort is titled Project Renewal. It is a master plan for the city to bring change leaders say citizens want and desire and improvements to the community that staff says the community deserves.
“Change at this scale is never easy,” Monaco said. “Project Renewal requires big-bold moves and these plans are under way and will place us in a position to compete.”
Monaco detailed many facets of the plan, which he says is all aimed at quality of life n from neighborhoods, to schools, to shops and restaurants, an more.
Mesquite is an aging inner ring suburb to Dallas. The competition Monaco speaks of is with newer outer ring suburbs.
“These communities have newer shopping centers, more attractive housing, and other amenities which are luring our residents and siphoning off our sales tax dollars,” Monaco said. “How we choose to meet this challenge will separate us from the rest of the inner ring communities that are facing these same pressures.”
An inner ring suburb could best be described as a community which borders Dallas. These communities, like DeSoto, Duncanville, Garland and Mesquite, experienced growth but that growth has now moved to the outer ring suburbs.
The city is forging a bond through Project Renewal with the Mesquite ISD and the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce.
“We will also draw strength from our local industrial and commercial community, of whom many leaders in their respective fields have chosen to call Mesquite home,” Monaco said.
Among those were many represented in the chamber’s awards nominations. Service Lighting and Electrical Supplies won the Small Business of the Year award. It was included among the Dallas Business Journal’s Hot 100 as one of the fastest-growing locally-owned businesses in the region. Iris U.S.A., based in Mesquite, develops products for The Container Store. UPS processes more than 500,000 packages each day at its Mesquite location.
The plan of Project Renewal is aimed at building on these success stories and creating opportunity for more. The plan is designed around protecting Mesquite’s future revenue sources, Monaco said. He says doing so will “help fuel our transformation by stimulating revenue, while helping to keep property taxes down.”
Revitalization of the community is another part of the plan.
“We are focusing on updating our infrastructure to help revitalize our community. We are also seeking opportunities to upgrade our housing stock,” Monaco said. “We must do this so we can offer the aspirational housing choices for our established residents who are demanding a broader variety and inventory and offer a destination for outsiders who are looking for a new place to live.”
Project Renewal is ultimately aimed at improving the image of the the city of Mesquite. In the original model unveiled by city manager Ted Barron, he indicated the city of Mesquite would no longer allow others to define Mesquite.
“We are focusing on improving the image of mesquite, building a better reputation, polishing the brand if you will,” Monaco said, “to tell our own stories of success in education, safety and service.
“Mesquite is hard-working and it is professional. Mesquite is a great place to succeed in business. Mesquite has vision.”
That vision is Project Renewal, Monaco says. He reported to the chamber that many of the changes to come with the plan are in progress.
He points to increases in police staffing, community development and emergency management. He also says funding for “bricks and mortar projects” has been dedicated “which leave lasting impressions over time n creating the catalyst for change.”
The first budget participating in Project Renewal will include $1 million for street repairs. It includes a 2009 project Monaco detailed on Motley Drive from Gus Thomasson to Town East Boulevard and a 2008 resurfacing project from Berry to Milam on Lawson Road. Also, he detailed a $2 million reconstruction project on Town East Boulevard from U.S. 80 to Belt Line Road.
“But Project Renewal is even more. Project Renewal is about the new Mesquite and what city government has become in a community,” Monaco said. “Project Renewal is about the redefined role we have accepted. It is about improving on what city governments have offered in the past. Our role in government today is about community. It’s about sustainability. It’s about quality of life.”
In his report to the chamber membership, Monaco detailed that building a community is relatively easy but the focus now is on building a community where people want to stay and come back to.
As an example, the city has passed new zoning for the creation of “City Gateways.” Mesquite’s Gateways encompass the nearly 80-acre Big Town Mall site along the U.S. 80 corridor, and the more than 300 acres around the I-30 corridor between Belt Line Road and Galloway Avenue.
The Big Town Mall site is the location for a project which will attract people to a 200,000 square foot baseball training facility. It will be mixed with restaurants, a convention center and other amenities. It is expected to gain council approval next month.
The other Gateway will be designed to appeal to those seeking a master-planned community. A contract has been reached with Mesa Design Group to create the concept.
“It’s important to note that community is more than just a fresh coat of paint,” Monaco said. “Sustainability takes more than just the look and smell of something new. Quality of life considers more than just what’s on the outside. The heart of a community matters most and we are taking steps to address that too.”
It is being addressed through a question the Mesquite Police Department originally posed in community policing efforts with children. The program asked the question, “What if?” Now Project Renewal asks the same question.
“It can mean two things, “Monaco said. “ ‘What if’ can refer to opportunity lost or, as in this case, it can challenge you to imagine all that we can be. When you ask yourself ‘What if?’ you are learning from the past and redefining your future.”
The city is also addressing the marketing of Mesquite through a partnership with Burson-Marsteller in conjunction with the Mesquite ISD and the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce. Among the first innovations Monaco detailed is the creation of a fiber optic infrastructure he says will benefit the security of citizens and the education of youth.
Project Renewal grew out of the Addressing Mesquite idea in which church membership, businesses and volunteers from around the community form in partnership to bring a bit of Project Renewal to homes in Mesquite. Nearly 800 volunteers participated this past year and 84 homeowners received needed help. Monaco says it is projects like this which are the aim of the new plan.
“People are already starting to talk again about what’s happening in Mesquite,” Monaco said. “They’re talking among their friends. They’re talking about the new project that will be built on the Big Town Mall site. They’re talking about our new wifi camera systems set up around the Town East Mall and by the end of this year they will talk about finally being able to drive freely again down I-635, where our city’s contribution has put us 10 to 15 years ahead of our neighbors who didn’t have the vision to see what our transportation corridors needed to be.
“Our progress will be a result of a pioneer spirit, combined with strategic planning and an excellent location to benefit from the increased growth of the entire state of Texas.”
“It will be a long journey. Our road toward Project Renewal is well begun, but it is only begun. Project Renewal will take patience. It will take dedication. It is important for us to know that this work will not be finished on our watch. Its true beneficiaries will be our children and our grandchildren.And it is for them that I resolve to see Project Renewal succeed. Now is our opportunity to show the Metroplex what can be done with our Real. Texas. Spirit.”
E-mail Brian Porter at bporter@acnpapers.com or comment on this story at www.scntx.com.
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