To the Editor:
Some time ago I read an interesting article.  It seems that a few years back the City of Mesquite sold land to a developer out of Vegas that was either right on, or next to, a toxic dump.  Apparently, some of the people living on the dump became quite ill to the point they had to move to another location.  No surprise there, I guess.
The last thing I heard was that the developer had started circling the wagons hiring a high priced law firm out of Vegas.  It’s not really good practice to sell expensive homes built over toxic dumps. Especially when you don’t disclose to the buyer that living over a dump could be toxic to your health.
I felt at that time that there might just be some transparency regarding this, but no.  The next thing that happened was that the Mesquites little pit bull watchdog Cheryl Hunt, and she immediately stalled the entire process of litigation by not returning any phone calls regarding the situation.  She is excellent at stonewalling.
Lo and Behold, I hear that someone bought one of the toxic homes, probably at top dollar, most likely to avoid a gigantic law suit.  More than likely, the city of Mesquite bought it with OUR tax dollars.  I think this is a reasonable assumption, but since all of this is basically hidden from the citizens of Mesquite, who knows?  The politics of this city are just about as transparent as lead.
So, what happened, really?  Did the city of Mesquite fail to inform the developer that he was buying land over a toxic dump?  The chances of that are next to nil, I think.  Did the developer know about the dump and proceed to build anyway, leaving them open to law suits like Mesquite did?  Is Cheryl Hunt ever going to pick up the phone?  Is the city of Mesquite going to have to buy the rest of the houses?  Knowing the city like I do, they might just buy all the homes, raze them, and build another soccer field over the dump to generate a little revenue to help pay for this.
I might be wrong on my assumptions, but since all of this is being hidden because the citizens don’t have a right to know, they are just my assumptions.  Maybe someone with your paper can update us on this fiasco, if Cheryl and the city of Mesquite would allow even a smattering of transparency.  Since my tax dollars are paying for this, I think as a citizen I am entitled to some answers but I’m not holding my breath.
How about a new city slogan?  “Come for a day.  Stay at the dump”.

Mitchell G. Clark
Mesquite