Mesa is about to empanel a citizens group that will be tasked with transforming the city through grassroots ideas that come from everyday residents.
The panel should be named within weeks, setting the stage for months of community forums and eventually trying to get citywide buy-in for the so-called iMesa initiative.
The efforts will begin with sessions in six "villages" where residents can come up with ideas specific to their part of Mesa. The villages align slightly with the City Council districts, but they don't have a solid boundary. That allows residents to decide which village they consider themselves to live in.
"You really give people the flexibility to choose," Councilman Dave Richins said.
The City Council reviewed the iMesa process on Thursday, tracking progress of an initiative that Mayor Scott Smith unveiled in January.
Smith and each council member will nominate two residents in the next two weeks for a 15-person steering committee that will digest the ideas. Residents already have been submitting ideas online, through social media and will soon have a smart phone application.
"We are leveraging technology in a way that we never have before in Mesa," said Kathy Macdonald, Smith's chief of staff.
The city will consider any idea and has a tracking system to let residents know the status of suggestions. The initiative is being pushed as something to improve the quality of life, which should attract more businesses and jobs. Smith has repeatedly said Mesa is at a crossroads, and that residents have to decide if they want the community to exist in survival mode or to start growing.
Some ideas may require voter approval in November 2012. Smith emphasized the need for outside-the-box ideas to revive the city.
"Especially in these challenging times," he said, "you've got to think big."
Leon Ceniceros posted at 5:20 pm on Thu, Apr 7, 2011.
"Villages" ..are we living in Kenya now ???
What's wrong with the "American" council district . That's how the Citizens of Mesa elect their political representative on the Mesa City Council.
Are our elected City Council Members so .."afraid"...of what citizens within their districts will come up with...that they are "smearing" the council boundaries so that the "blame" if there is any will be "spread around".
This ....."iMesa Concept" has so many layers of approval and responsibilty ...it's like an ...ONION.....a political .....ONION.
A......"15 person steering committee"...you have got to be kidding. What do we have a Mayor and a City Council and a City Manager (who earns a bundle) and City Staffers (they retire with a bundle) ............FOR.
The hard-working tax payers of Mesa already support a Mesa City Hall with millions and millions of dollars in salaries for City employees who are supposedly being paid for their ..........EXPERTISE........in running the City of Mesa in the first place. If a citizen has a good idea he/she should bring it to the attention of their Mesa City Council person who will in turn either bring it up to the whole City Council for approval or not. .........................THAT IS THE AMERICAN WAY .
Leave the ....."village" ....where it belongs in the .......3RD WORLD.....America is still a Democratic Republic....................LET'S START ACTING LIKE IT AGAIN.
az2008 posted at 6:03 pm on Thu, Apr 7, 2011.
This is about shifting blame. Messa is one of the worst planned, unmotivating cities outside Somalia. (The Fiesta Mall area is a perfect example.). Now that the leadership doesn't know how to get out of the mess they created, they'll delegate vision to layers upon layers of citizen groups.
When that doesn't work (or leads to something even worse), "well, our citizens wanted it."
tededitedit posted at 9:19 pm on Thu, Apr 7, 2011.
There are way too many people (of every color) living in Mesa that do not care to be citizens of Mesa. "Giving" them that citizenship or reminding them of it would still not make them care. Until you tackle that problem nothing else will work to revive Mesa. You can fix up the malls and the strip malls but these residents will still get most of their goods from charities, yard sales, drug dealers, and alleys.
renew21 posted at 8:14 pm on Sun, Apr 10, 2011.
What the heck are you guys talking about???? Why dont you go re-read the article and maybe go and see what other cities have done with the village concept. its not about pushing blame, getting rid of council districts or any other conspiracy theory, its about recreating Mesa with its new leadership. Yes mesa is a horrible planned city, however, these leaders had nothing to do with it, and I dont support these leaders.
next up posted at 8:31 pm on Sun, Apr 10, 2011.
What the ???? are you talking about Leon? Wow, you seem a little off. Get back on that green stuff to calm down. Lets get this straight. You said, “Mayor and a City Council and a City Manager (who earns a bundle)” Really? To me you sound ignorant who has no clue what you are talking about. One of those way off wacko guys. The council makes around 18 to 19 K a year. I was just reading the city of Denver just voted to give themselves raises to make almost 90K a year! For a city of that size, they get paid peanuts like they should to serve.
Im not sure this is the right way to go about it. It might be smarter to work around key areas with citizen groups in each area, not just a blanket 15 people with council and staff on hand to assist and help guide.
Az2008, why not get involved to help make improvements to your city? Nah, it would be much easier to sit on your computer and criticize when you have no clue.