Mesa’s ASU Project Needed To Make Good On Worsley’s “Bet”
Mesa public safety put at risk for risky investment
At the February 26 meeting of the Mesa City Council, Sen. Bob Worsley made a rare appearance in an effort to promote a proposal to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with Arizona State University. The senator’s appearance surprised many Mesa residents who had never before seen their representative show any interest in the City’s business.
It is not the city’s business however, that prompted the appearance by the wealthy developer/senator.
In May 2016, Mesa Mayor John Giles announced plans to build a new campus for Arizona State University (ASU) featuring film, media, gaming, virtual reality programs. In November 2016, Mesa voters rejected a sales tax that would have funded the project and public safety.
According to Mesa City Councilman Kevin Thompson, constituents “time and time again” told him that they would support the increase for public safety, but could not support using public money to build ASU a campus.
“As currently conceived, the downtown Mesa campus would include four buildings, three of them located in a new Mesa City Center planned for an area bounded by Main Street and First Street as well as Center Street and Centennial Way,” reported the Phoenix New Times in May 2016. “The other would be situated on Main Street, at the northern edge of the Mesa Arts Center campus.”
At the February 26 meeting, the Mesa City Council voted 5 – 2 to direct the City Manager to begin the process of developing an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the Arizona Board of Regents for the development, operation, and maintenance of the ASU facilities….
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