Tuesday’s City Council meeting was choc full of business, showing that the City is moving forward on several projects.

Lobbyist Warren Hardy presented the city with the plan of action for the 2015 Legislative Session, stating that local government would only need to create one bill draft as a ‘plan B’ option for the Open Meeting Law design pending on actions from the new Attorney General that will be elected into office next month.

“We have the other four bills set through other resources, but we need a backup plan in case a resolution cannot be made,” Hardy stated.

The other four bills mentioned included minimum wage reform, economic development, natural gas service and matters relating to releasing control of Federal land to be transferred to the state level. The council unanimously approved the presentation, allowing Hardy to proceed with necessary actions next year.

In addition to declaring the week of October 23 – 31 as Red Ribbon Week (Drug-Free Mesquite), the council also declared the week of October 26 – November 2 as White Ribbon Against Pornography Week. Both proclamations have been made for the past few years.

Agenda item 10 brought in some heavier work, as Bryan Dangerfield presented an update to the city’s status in applying for a CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) for the next five years. Initially the deadline for the grant application was October 17, 2014, but early Tuesday Dangerfield was notified that Mesquite had until late December to submit their final plan.

“We’ve narrowed down our list to four possible projects that would be beneficial to the community, and the CBDG requires that we narrow that down to two items that we can afford and complete,” he said.

Of the list of approximately 15 potential projects that Dangerfield started with, the list presented last night included upgrading local playgrounds to be rubberized (flooring) for safety, pickleball courts, a Hafen multi-purpose park and a skate park.

Councilman George Rapson proposed that a committee be formed to allow for some community discussion on the matter, since the grant is required to follow certain restrictions. “Obviously, the public did not know about this, or we would have had some public comment here tonight,” he said. “We need to get the word out and see what the community wants and then determine if any of those ideas could conform to the CDBG regulations and benefit the area.” The council then voted to table the matter until their November 25 meeting to allow for more input from the public.

In additional business, the council approved an extension to the Development Agreement between the city and Canyon Crest, LLC through October 20, 2019. In a comment of support, David Ballweg, President of the Canyon Crest HOA, stated that “they (Canyon Crest, LLC) is making an effort to get it done. It’s complicated, but they are making progress.”

Council also approved the Bid Award to Trade West Construction for the Hafen Lane Splash Pad, a Bid Award to Adam’s Pool Service for resurfacing of the outdoor pool at the Recreation Center, and a Bid Award to Mesquite General Contracting for the rough grading of Lower Flat Top Drive, the first stage of the Exit 118 Interchange Project. The final action Tuesday night was approval of a $2,973,850 contract with Horrocks Engineers for the Design-Build Program for the Interchange Project. Travis Anderson, city engineer, stated that the project will have an estimated 22,000 working hours to complete.