VVWD Exercises: Bend Over And Grab Your Ankles

Okay everyone, it's time for our daily Virgin Valley Water District exercise class.

Step one - bend over.

Step two - grab your ankles.

Step three - prepare for some pain.

Step four - do it all over again.

At Tuesday's VVWD meeting, the board once again entertained an offer to purchase some river water shares from a local owner.

Once again, because that shareholder's last name wasn't "Hardy," they declined.

That's to their credit, because we still have people trying to soak the water district for $70,000 a share on water that just seven years ago was going for $6,000 a share.

As a reminder, we can thank greedy moneygrubbers like Dixie Leavitt and the Southern Nevada Water Authority for doing the exact same thing to the price of water shares that greedy realtors and land speculators did to housing prices a half-decade ago - driving up prices to artificially unreachable levels for no good reason other than to line their pockets.  Leavitt started the ball rolling when he sold a huge chunk of water shares to SNWA for an obscene amount of money. As it is in the real estate business, that set the "market price" for water, and was the starters pistol for the price race to the moon.

On Tuesday, VVWD general manager Ken Rock offered a sound fiscal warning to the board: If you buy a water share for $70,000, then turn around and lease it to the golf course owners for $250 a share (a horrendous decision the board made last year), it will take about 280 years to pay off the water share.  And that's without interest!

It was a brilliant piece of financial advice.  In fact, it sounds vaguely familiar.  Who said that exact same thing last year?  Oh that's right, it was US!

Unfortunately, Rock (who is the best thing to happen to the Virgin Valley Water District in more than a decade) also fired another shot across the bow on Ordinance II fees, the made-up fee the water district charges for the alleged purpose of buying more water on the open market.

He pointed out that collecting $3,300 in Ordinance II fees for every new house built in the Valley while spending $70,000 per share for river was another losing proposition. 

On paper, he's right.  Figuring $3,300 per house, two houses per acre foot of water, and about seven acre feet per share, it comes to around $46,200.  While VVWD math would call that "break even," the rest of the world would call it a $23,800 loss.

This is where today's exercise comes in.

Instead of adjusting the leasing costs of those shares to the golf course owners from $250 a year to $7,000 a year, which would pay off the purchased shares in 10 years, the board is once again hinting that they need to increase the Ordinance II fees.

The part they keep forgetting in their smoke-and-mirror calculations is this: The $70,000 figure is for Virgin River water shares, meaning irrigation water.  Guess how many homes and commercial buildings in Mesquite use irrigation water?  Show us the answer on the big board, Johnny!  That's right, ZERO!

VVWD does not and never has pumped river water into homes.  Every drop of potable liquid comes from underground aquifers.  So NONE of the irrigation shares the water district is buying for 70 grand is going to the new houses - you know, the buildings that are getting charged $3,300 a pop when built.

So once again, those who are building and buying homes are paying for water shares that are only benefitting the golf course owners!  And the rate increase that you know is on the way will once again hurt the home buyers, put more downward pressure on the construction industry and new housing (because when you pile on all the ordinance and impact fees charged by the water district and the city of Mesquite, it's basically cheaper to build a house in Palm Springs), and all to make sure the golf course owners continue to have all the cheap water they can waste.

By the way, that water we actually drink?  You know, the water that is pumped up from underground?  We can't buy shares of that water, because by law it is all owned and doled out by the State of Nevada.  We have to file for permits, and of course there are costs associated with that, but the water itself is 100% FREE to the VVWD.

But with the VVWD's smoke-and-mirror accounting system, that fact won't be considered in the next round of price increases.

Which is why ratepayers need to continue with their daily exercises, so they're ready when that inevitable fee increase is approved.

Mesquite 2, Bank Robbers 0

Dear Bank Robbers,

You might want to rethink the idea of picking on a little town when trying to fill your pockets with ill-gotten gains.

We may be small, but we bite back.

Go back to robbing Las Vegas banks, where you have a better chance of getting away with it, and your crimes won't get nearly the attention of, say, a pedestrian getting hit in a crosswalk.

Once again, someone has taken a look at the peaceful little town of Mesquite and made the mistake of thinking us backwards and easy prey.

On Tuesday, for the second time in a little over a year, a bank in Mesquite was robbed.

And for the second time in a little over a year, the fast acting Mesquite Police Department quickly figured out who to look for and sent out the word after courageous citizens stepped forward and provided critical information.  For the second time in a little over a year, the robber did not get away with it.

In November of 2010, the idiot culprit (who didn't even have a getaway car, for crying out loud) was apprehended at a bus station in St. George after the MPD notified them that the Ohio man was on his way to Utah in a taxi.  Police were able to solve this one before the post-pubescent FBI agent from Las Vegas was even able to get his fancy sunglasses properly adjusted, thanks to witnesses who described the guy and helped the MPD detective (a guy named Tanner who now happens to be Mesquite's Chief of Police) piece together the thief's movements and escape plan.

On Tuesday another scumbag eyeballed Mesquite, believed he had found an easy target, and knocked over the Nevada Bank and Trust for a whopping $2,800.  At least this one remembered to bring a getaway vehicle.  Brave eyewitnesses were able to describe the car to police, and our first-class department knew exactly what to do with the information.

Since other police agencies know that MPD isn't prone to "crying wolf" every time someone steals a book of matches like a lot of other tiny rural departments, they were on the lookout and quick to respond.

A lot of news reports claim Tuesday's ending was "tragic" because the dirtball gave himself a lead-based brain enema rather than face up to his crime, shooting himself in the head after getting pulled over on I-15 by Arizona Highway Patrol.  In truth, the only thing "tragic" is that he didn't pull the trigger on his own noggin BEFORE terrorizing innocent bank employees with threats of a bomb and a gun.

Had he known beforehand that this sleepy little burg is actually home to one of the best police departments in the state, with one of the highest "solve" rates in the nation, the Florida loser might have picked on somebody else.  In fact, in December of 2009, Mesquite police took down a murderer from Indiana who had eluded every other police department in the country, earning himself a spot on the TV show "America's Most Wanted." 

In late 2010, barely a year before Detective Troy Tanner became Police Chief Troy Tanner, the department was able to make two arrests in a decade-old murder.  All our detective/chief needs is an inflated set of oversized, collagen-filled lips, and he could have his own "Closer" crime show on TNT.

Major kudos also go out to the Arizona cops who pulled over the thief on Tuesday.  Obviously, they were risking their lives against an armed nutjob who could have easily used their craniums for target practice instead of his own.

About the only screw-up in this entire affair was the desk jockey who made the ridiculous decision to shut down all four lanes of I-15 overnight out of fear that the vehicle might have contained "hazardous materials," a banal euphemism that technically encompasses everything from nuclear weapons down to an open bottle of cough syrup.  Even if the guy had a functioning meth lab in his back seat filled with every toxic chemical imaginable, was it really necessary to close the entire interstate?  Nobody actually saw the explosives the hoodlum claimed to have, and even if one existed, a closure of two lanes wasn't enough room to work for your bomb squad?  And since when does it take 18 hours to figure that out?

However, that snarky little observation aside, an enormous "thank you" goes out once again to the Mesquite Police Department, the "amazing little department that could."  Our sincere thanks also go to the brave Arizona Highway Patrol officers.  And finally, huge appreciation to the eagle-eyed community-minded witnesses with the courage to help the police catch the culprit.  One of the reasons it's easier to get away with bank robberies in metropolitan places like Las Vegas is because they don't have citizens like ours.

Now if we could just get a memo out to the interloping stick-up artists out there: Don't bother coming here.  We're known as the "Diamond in the Desert."  And as any fourth-grader could tell these losers, a diamond is one of the hardest substances on Earth.  Mesquite may sparkle and shine, but we're not going to be easy to crack.

Gustaveson Wrong Guy While Bowler Is The Right Guy For VVWD

The Virgin Valley Water District held their first meeting of the year on Tuesday, and immediately made a mess of things.

Fortunately, not all of the news is bad.

On Tuesday, only three of the board members bothered to show up.  As is frequently the case, Bunkerville's elected board member Kenyon Leavitt was absent.  Unfortunately Bunkerville's second board member, appointee Mark McEwen, is quitting the board, and wasn't in attendance either.

That meant there was no representation for Bunkerville at a meeting where officers were appointed.

The result is that all three of the key positions on the board - president, vice president, and treasurer/secretary - will be filled by Mesquite representatives, meaning Bunkerville has been shut out of the top spots.

Since the three board members in attendance ended up delaying a decision on who to appoint to the city's Economic Development committee, the only other item on the agenda, it would have been a good idea to have scrapped Tuesday's meeting altogether until McEwen's replacement could be approved and appointed by the Clark County Commission.

To make matters worse, the three Mesquite board members in attendance repeated a horrendous mistake they made in 2010, namely the appointment of Mesquite City Councilman Karl Gustaveson as the president of the board.

There are at least a half-dozen reasons why Gustaveson is the worst of the five choices for the top job on the board.  For starters, he is a paid Mesquite city councilman, which means his first loyalty is and will always be with the city.  That doesn't work out so well in the real world, because the city and the water district are so often at cross purposes, and the city already abuses its smaller, weaker cousin at every turn. 

Second, it is improper for the president of a quasi-public board to not be one of those elected by the people.  He is appointed by the city, which means the top officer of the Virgin Valley Water District has not received the seal of approval from the electorate.

Then you have a variety of actions by Gustaveson over the last year while he was president of the VVWD that should have sent up enough warning flags to keep the board from repeating his appointment as president.  Chief among them was the way the local golf course owners had their way with him like a discount Vegas hooker while arranging whatever reduced rates they pleased.

Gustaveson has done nothing to distinguish himself during his reign in 2010. 

However, since the only people voting for his appointment on Tuesday were Mesquite representatives, led by his sycophant and nominator Sandra Ramaker, it's not a particular surprise.

Also, to be fair, it's not like there were that many options.

Leavitt, the longest serving member of the board, is the only elected representative from Bunkerville.  However, he misses way too many meetings to seriously be considered for the top position. 

The other Bunkerville representative won't be appointed until Jan. 17 at the earliest.

On the Mesquite side, making Ramaker the president would be the same as making Gustaveson the president, since they're basically the same person.  If you look closely during VVWD board meetings, you could swear Gustaveson's lips are moving whenever Ramaker speaks.  So if you're going to appoint a bad president, you might as well go with the original.

The other option would be Ted Miller.  Miller has been the courageously outspoken defender of the ratepayers.  Endowed with an abundance of common sense and occasional downright stubbornness in standing up for the little people of this community, his gruff and direct manner hasn't won him many friends inside or outside the board room.  As such he would be a tough sell even though he is the second-longest serving member of the board behind Leavitt.  He isn't enough of a soul-selling politician to play the games necessary to win the presidency, particularly among this collection of escapees from the island of misfit toys.

Fortunately, some good news is on the way.

Rich Bowler has been tapped as the new Bunkerville appointee to replace McEwen.  McEwen wasn't a bad guy, and always made the board stop and think.  His only weakness was a myopia when it came to putting the best interests of Bunkerville over the needs of the entire community.  He also tended to agree with Leavitt too often, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Leavitt can be a good watchdog for the ratepayers when he bothers to show up.

Bowler will be an excellent addition to this board. 

For starters, as a real estate broker, he will be the only current business person on the board.

Second, it's hard to believe how long the Virgin Valley Water District has functioned without direct input from a member of the real estate community.  No facet of Mesquite's economy is as directly affected by water decisions as the real estate market, yet he will be the first full-time Realtor to sit on the board in a while.

Also, Bowler is a Bunkerville resident whose business happens to be in Mesquite.  As such, he will bring the kind of balance that is needed in decision making for the entire valley.

His family has been a part of this community for decades.  Bowler Elementary School in Bunkerville and the Bowler Plaza in Mesquite where Smith's Food and Drug is located are both named for his grandfather, J.L. Bowler.  His father, Joe Bowler, has been a philanthropic blessing and longtime business icon in this valley for years.  Yet even with those deep roots, Rich Bowler's name is rarely mentioned among the area's nefarious network of "good ole boys."

Hopefully, the "Caucus of Common Sense" including Bowler, Miller, and Leavitt will be able to keep the "Gustamaker twins" in check during the coming year.

City Gives The Finger To Citizens

A few weeks ago, we posted an op-ed about the Mesquite city government slipping back into their old, secretive, behind-closed-doors ways.

We had hoped that a literary shot across the bow might wake up those purportedly in control of the city and remind them why the council has so many new faces, and why voters have been so angry for the last few years.

On Tuesday, the Mesquite city government basically told the voters "fuck you."

Longtime good old boy Kurt Sawyer, the acting City Manager, recently manufactured one of the city's classic back room moves, elevating Bryan Dangerfield from his job as Economic Development Director to fill the job of Leisure Services Director being vacated by Rich Bohne.

A lot of people believe that Bryan Dangerfield has been completely incompetent in his previous role, particularly his questionable activities involving the Desert Falls debacle.  Yet instead of doing what most reasonable entities would do, terminating what appears to be a sub-par employee, he is given a promotion.  He will go from supervising one person to supervising a department of dozens.

Coincidentally, the Economic Development Department may possibly be disbanded in the coming year, a department that even Sawyer admitted has "provided very few things."

Of course, it has to be another coincidence that Sawyer and Dangerfield traveled to Wyoming for a few days recently, allegedly on an invite to talk business with NCS, another company that is the latest big dreamer scheming to capitalize on the huge and valuable plot of Desert Falls land. 

So Sawyer makes the call to give Dangerfield the plum position, without ever opening the position to job applicants.  The job isn't posted publicly, so nobody gets a chance to apply, including some people who might actually be qualified for the gig.

Sawyer also didn't bother to involve the city council in his decision, despite the fact that he's only an "acting" city manger.  Why would anyone temporarily filling a job make such a huge decision without involving his bosses?
Also, while online polls aren't very scientific or particularly accurate, last week's poll on this site asked the public whether Dangerfield should be made the new Leisure Services Director.  In that poll, 24 out of the 25 respondents said "no."

It gets better.

Last week, the council rightfully decided to include an item on Tuesday's agenda regarding Dangerfield's appointment.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, that agenda item was nowhere to be found.

So who's responsible for the item's disappearing act?

Mesquite's City Attorney.

City Attorney Cheryl Hunt once again did what she does best: finding obscure Nevada statutes to justify hiding decisions and actions from the public.

Hunt claims she found a law that says the appointment of a high ranking city official is not allowed to be on the agenda.

Huh?

It's inconceivable that any state would book a law that prohibits a city government from discussing the hiring of a key position.  And if they did, an aggrieved city government should fight such lunacy.

Instead of doing what a good city attorney would do, finding a way to make sure the citizens are involved in every city process whenever possible, she once again succeeded in making sure that the citizens get ostracized and screwed.

What makes this even more bizarre is the fact that, by law, the mayor must sign off on all city contracts.  But according to Hunt's claim, the mayor will have to do this one in secret, and not allow it to be discussed in an open forum.

Sounds pretty unlikely, but when your mission appears to be locating arcane rules to continuously exclude the public, you can always find a way.

Oddly, giving the finger to the public isn't the city council's fault this time.  The collection of well meaning but procedurally inexperienced neophytes is being abused and taken advantage of by the more seasoned staff that they are supposed to be supervising.

Now we'll get to see what this council is made of. 

There are some very real and concrete steps that must be taken.

For starters, and this has been brought up before, the current position of City Manager needs to be eliminated.  It has been this city's Achilles heel for nearly a decade.  The hard decisions about a city's future must be made by elected officials, not paper-pushing bureaucrats and hired hands filled with their own self-importance.  In a democracy, there must be accountability.

In place of a City Manager, the city should create and appoint a City Administrator, someone who handles the day-to-day operations, but must kick all important decisions upstairs.  It's not as fast or efficient a model, but is better reflective of a PUBLIC agency.

Until then, Sawyer should be removed as interim City Manager.  In a perfect world, he should be fired and removed from the city's employ altogether for running this back room game, but Hunt will surely be able to find some laws to protect and justify his actions.  Also, he has given Mesquite 21 years of service, and that has to count for something.

The council also needs to dramatically change the city's operational ordinances.  All department directors must be approved by the city council.  It will make the process more transparent, and will return the power and responsibility for the running of this city back to those who were elected to run it.

Another long overdue change is the firing of Cheryl Hunt as City Manager.  She has shown repeatedly that she is not working in the best interests of transparency for the people of Mesquite.  It's not all her fault.  In the past she has been bullied by some powerful people at City Hall.  But Mesquite needs a City Attorney who will scour the underbrush to find ways to make sure the people of this city are involved in the process, not someone skilled in finding rules to exclude them.  If that means we have to make the City Attorney's position an elected one specifically aimed at protecting the peoples' interests over the bureaucrats, then so be it.

Finally, the council should find a rule or law that allows them to overturn Sawyer's decision and return Dangerfield to his previous position.  Technically Dangerfield hasn't done anything to warrant being fired (although a deeper investigation into the Desert Falls deals might possibly unearth a few); and unlike the City Attorney position, he doesn't serve at the will of the council.  However, he should be allowed to go down with his ship.  He hasn't done a very good job running the Economic Development department.  He would be legitimately eliminated once the council decides next year to euthanize this failed agency.

In Bohne's place, longtime loyal Mesquite Leisure Department employee Nick Montoya should be considered for the interim head.  He has worked hard for this city, has given back to the community on his own time as a football coach, and knows the inner workings of the Rec Center and Leisure Services Department better than anyone else, including possibly Bohne himself.  The position should then be opened for applicants, and a hiring process begun.  If Montoya comes up anywhere near the top of that pile, he should be given the job.

So while it's tough to blame the new city council for this mess, they will be held accountable if they prove unwilling or unable to take the steps necessary to clean it up and keep it from happening again.

As was proven dramatically in the spring of 2011...the people of Mesquite really are watching, and they have shown that they are willing to make the hard decisions and take action at the polls when their elected officials will not.

Economic Development Department Needs To Go

The Economic Development Department is one of those feel-good bureaucracies that have exploded in municipal popularity over the last decade.  Somehow, city and state governments got along just fine without such high-sounding agencies for centuries, but now the departments have risen in importance to where you're more likely to find a town without a head of street repair than without an Economic Development Director.

It was a cushy job back when the economy was booming.  It was easy to claim economic success when someone could spill a drink, incorporate, then start earning a profit in the thrilling new drink-spilling industry. 

In 2006, Mesquite was seeing about two new business ribbon-cuttings every week.

Around that same time, the city saw its three biggest non-casino employers come to town: the Do It Best distribution center, Mesa View Regional Hospital, and Sun City.  Former mayor Bill Nicholes could be thanked for Do It Best and Sun City, while a collection of dedicated private citizens were mostly responsible for wooing the hospital here.

Then the bottom fell out of the national economy.

Suddenly, communities were depending on their Economic Development Departments to put on their red capes with the big "S" on the back and come to the rescue.

From coast to coast, those bogus bureaucracies were exposed for what they were - useless patronage positions filled with unqualified pencil pushers who had less business sense than your average salad bowl.

It isn't really the fault of the bureaucrat who happened to be sitting in the EDD seat when the music stopped.  It's a department that, like most things which start out as a good idea by a government, is simply an incompatible concept.

Governments by nature and design are charged with providing certain community services like roads, and protecting the public.  Throughout the centuries, most governments knew that their job occasionally included protecting the citizens from businesses, which is why they formulated so many laws and rules inhibiting commerce.

Then, in the last decade, governments started reversing engines and appointing EDD heads to help promote business in their communities.  Aside from the gearbox damage caused by slamming such a large institution into reverse, it also provided comedic irony that only the governments failed to see - hiring bureaucrats who are gifted at developing forms in triplicate, who excel at the minutiae of policy and procedure, who have spent entire careers in the field of "No!", and who have zero experience in creating a business from scratch or fathoming the personal risks of entrepreneurship, now tasked with helping lure and start new businesses.

It would be like hiring me to serve as a city's chief surgeon.  The skill set simply isn't there.

Today there is a move afoot by a group of local private citizens to try something different.  The group is suggesting that the city eliminate the department and outsource the duties of enticing news businesses and assisting existing businesses to a private agency like the Mesquite Community Development Corporation.  The MCDC is a group that was formed a couple of years ago by local business people, folks who actually know how to start and run a business.

This idea warrants some attention.

In most communities, the Chamber of Commerce would also be a likely candidate for helping bring in new business.  Unfortunately, in Mesquite that organization has been little more than a dysfunctional social club.  In fact, even the biggest business and employer in the city, the former Black gaming, quit the Chamber this year.

Mesquite's current EDD is a train wreck, and has been for some time.

Aside from the fact that it has been completely impotent in bringing new industry to town, it has also been involved in some of the city's biggest scandals.

The head of the EDD was elbow deep in the Desert Falls debacle, a failure which would have resulted in someone losing their job had they worked for a real business.  In fact, after it was discovered that someone in the city allowed the Desert Falls developers to pay a large deposit with a post-dated and unfunded check, some might even say a criminal investigation was warranted.  Instead, the EDD was expanded and the head of the department was given more power and authority.  They also took one of the brightest stars in the city government stable, Aaron Baker, and made him the EDD head's underling.  It's a waste of great talent.

Mesquite's Economic Development Department has also been a waste of time and money.  Their big claim to fame?  The "Mesquite Means Business" website.  The city been overpaying thousands of dollars for the site's design and hosting.  Also, there are pinatas that get more hits than this pitiful little slice of the internet. 

For a while, the city claimed it was going to jump on the alternative energy bandwagon and bring in purveyors of solar power, solar panels, and wind technology.  Today, Mesquite is trailing such mega-municipalities as Boulder City and Ivanpah.  Once again our inability to become a player in this realm, despite Mesquite's perfect climate and geography for such facilities, is a failure of the EDD.

Also, for years the city has had the well-earned reputation of being anti-business, with increases to its business license fees, its rigorous licensing process with 13-page applications, and its business-unfriendly sign ordinances and zoning.  Where was the EDD in all that?

The one good thing to come out of that department was an impressive video about Mesquite's golf facilities, and to a lesser degree, our casinos.  However, the behind-the-scenes truth is that the video was the brainchild of a group of forward-thinking golfers and businessmen who brought the idea to the city, and also helped fund it.  Which is more evidence that a privatized EDD makes sense.  Also, that video has been squandered because the city's EDD simply doesn't know how to market and promote it, or the city.  The proof?  Where is the latest Do It Best or Sun City?  The city owns a ton of land, and has even given it away in the past.  How incompetent is an agency that can't even bring a new industry to town with free land to offer?

The Mesquite Economic Development Department needs to be disbanded.  In these lean times of cutbacks, layoffs, and budget shortfalls, the last thing a small municipality needs is an expensive, underperforming agency.  Especially when the duties could better be handled by people who actually know what they're doing.

Editor's Note - After this story was written, MesquiteCitizen.com broke the story that Economic Development Director Bryan Dangerfield will be taking over for Rich Bohne, who is leaving as the head of the city's Athletic and Leisure Department.  Moving a lousy director with questionable competence from one city department to another isn't exactly what we had in mind.  It also begs the question - how does the city make that decision without opening the position to a hiring process?  It appears good old boy, backroom dealing is back at City Hall.

Mesquite Witch Trials For Smokers

The City of Mesquite continues to wander unguided around the apocalyptic economic plain, desperately but aimlessly in search of an idea or identity to help resurrect its former greatness and recapture its glory as a growing, vibrant tourist destination and retirement Mecca.  Those in and out of power continue seeking the mythical Holy Grail that will magically bring the throngs back to the city.

"We don't have a lot of kids or young people here, but let's build a youth sports complex, because young people LOVE flocking to places where old people live."  "We don't have any transmission lines, facilities, or a technically enhanced labor pool, but let's become a player in the alternative energy game."  "We don't have a majority of soccer players or fans here, and we don't have any money, but let's use $5 million worth of taxpayer money to buy a used, plastic soccer tent so thousands of those wealthy, cash-heavy, money-spending pre-teens will race to our otherwise empty sports complex."

Since we're continuing to entertain folly, here are a few more ideas for Mesquite to try:

The amphitheater in front of City Hall is rarely used other than for the annual Christmas, er, Holiday Tree lighting ceremony.  In its place, let's erect some stocks.  You know, those wooden contraptions from the days of the Pilgrims, where citizens' heads and hands are publicly imprisoned and subjected to target practice with rotten vegetables.

Or, still at City Hall, we can deepen the small fountain that rarely gets used anymore because of worries about the political incorrectness of an open spigot in the middle of a desert.  Once we finish that municipal project, we can start selling tickets to rigged trials and public drownings.  It was a successful means of ensuring the tiny town of Salem, Massachusetts remains forever in the history books, and is still a major tourism draw to this day.

And a collection of local zealots have already designated the perfect iteration of 21st century witches:

Cigarette smokers.

There is a new campaign going around town insisting that the answer to all our tourism troubles is to make Mesquite "smoke-free." 

That's right, in a remarkably insightful reversal, they claim that the way to get people to come to our town is by telling a large segment of tobacco-using residents and visitors that they're not welcome here.

Brilliant.

Apparently, according to these folks (some of whom are good friends of mine), the problem with Mesquite and its casinos is that there are just too many smokers. 

I don't mean to be overly dramatic or Glenn Beck-ish here, but I seem to recall a certain European country deciding that all of their economic and cultural woes could be cured with the eradication of one particular kind of citizen back in the 1930's, and if I remember correctly, that didn't turn out so well.

For the record, I am not now nor have I ever been a smoker (just in case some Marlboro McCarthy is out there checking into un-Mesquitian activities).  However, my wife is a smoker, and my father was a lifetime smoker, so maybe I'm guilty by association - a smoker-in-law.

I'm sure that my dad's nicotine habit contributed to his death.  But the bigger culprit was diabetes.  Yet I don't see a lot of these "we're gonna tell you how to live" activists marching around with "Ban Twinkies" or "Secondhand Creme Filling Is A Killer" signs.

I also don't have any patience with people who claim employees at casinos, bars, and (used to be) restaurants shouldn't be subjected to secondhand smoke.

For starters, I believe secondhand smoke is about as real as global warming, vampires, and the heterosexuality of Ryan Seacrest. 

But more importantly, we've forgotten an important truth in a capitalistic society: customers don't gather in a place simply to create jobs for employees; employees are hired to serve customers who gather.  Customers should be welcomed and served, not discriminated and dictated.  There isn't a single waitress, bartender, roulette roller, or blackjack dealer in Nevada who took a job not knowing that some of those customers will be smokers.

Personally, I'm beginning to feel like Martin Niemoller, the guy who coined the famous phrase that includes the line "then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew."  I'm not a smoker, but I'm sick and tired of watching smokers being used as political pinatas by an arrogant collective who wants to impose their will on other people who are simply minding their own business and trying to get on with their lives.  Smokers have been kicked out of the workplace, kicked out of the sports arenas, kicked out of the restaurants, and basically kicked out of all public places for purchasing and using a legal, highly-taxed substance; a commodity which was essential to this country's founding and early economic success, and continues to fill state and federal coffers with plenty of coin.

But that's not enough for this new crop of zealots.  Now they want to run these people completely out of our town, like lepers whose waterfront colony has become too valuable.  "Give up smoking or relocate."

Mesquite already has the undeserved national reputation of being a "mean town."

Is this really the message we want to send out to people seeking a good time?  That if they smoke, they are a scourge and should avoid our town?  That we are such a judgmental collection of people that we would really parse out the smokers and exclude them from our gaming and drinking establishments?

I pray not.  I don't think I could live in such a city.

But if this is truly the track that Mesquite wants to follow, at least it gives City Hall one more new event that would be a sure draw for the soon-to-be-erected plastic tent.

All the zealots need to do is round up a few smokers every week and take them to the spectator-filled tent (which would have a sign hanging on the flap that says "Coliseum").

Then, just add lions.

City Council Report Card

The new Mesquite City Council has been in place for nearly five months.  In that time, a lot of their effort has been spent undoing the mischief and mess left behind by the previous regime.  For the most part, they've made sound decisions.  More importantly, with one glaring exception, they've been doing an exceptional job at providing the much-needed transparency for which citizens have been clamoring, and appear to be more willing to listen to the people.

As a unit, the council appears to be very functional, without the suspicious trend of 5-0 votes that marred the previous council with the stench of back-room deal making.

One of their most noble votes was the approval of the election cycle change which will move the city elections from June of odd years to November of even years.  Most of the new council members campaigned against the move, but voted in favor of it after the citizens expressed their desire during June's non-binding referendum, indicating their preference that the dates be changed.  The council voted the will of the people instead of insisting "we know what's best for you."

With the end of the year fast approaching, here is our "report card" on the Mesquite City Council.

Councilman Kraig Hafen - A+

The best thing about Hafen is the fact that he has done exactly what he promised to do when elected.  He has asked hard questions, done his homework on issues, and applied the kind of almost unnatural common sense that is completely absent from nearly every level of government.  He has also put his money where his mouth is.  He dug into his own pocket to pay for a bus so Mesquite residents could go to and be heard at the Regional Transportation Commission meeting regarding local bus service.  He doesn't open his microphone unless he has something to say, and he says it in a passionate, concise, well-thought-out fashion.  Best of all, he has managed to maintain a careful balance between representing the citizens and representing the businesses, an almost impossible dance to maintain.

Councilman George Rapson - A

Rapson is easily the biggest and most welcome surprise on the council.  He is usually first to talk about an agendized issue, lets everyone know what he is thinking on an issue and why, and offers broad spectrum analysis that shows he has researched the issues and asked questions.  A lot of people said he ran for office just because he needed a job.  If that's true, we should be thankful we were able to get someone with his energy, wisdom, intelligence, and courage for the pittance we actually pay him.  The only area of concern is his connection to the Solstice liars, and his friendliness with the NCS crew.  So far, he has abstained when necessary, and continued to represent the people first.  Citizens need to remain vigilant, particularly on his stance defending NCS and their pet projects, as well as the proposed "sports tent" that would benefit them.  But he has shown himself to be something special, welcome, and needed on the council.

Councilman Al Litman - C+

Litman is Mesquite City Council's Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.  Away from the council chambers, Al is outspoken, talkative, passionate, and ready to take on the world in his crusades.  On the council, he's the lamb that rarely offers an opinion; is timid and sometimes confused when he does; and doesn't always seem to have a grasp on the issues.  Occasionally it seems as if the first time he has bothered to open his council packet is when he arrived at the dais that night.  He has also shown little leadership up there.  However, to his credit, he continues to be a principled man and advocate looking out for the best interest of the citizens.  As time goes on, he will be an important counterweight to the overwhelmingly pro-developer lineup currently on the council.  Hopefully, as he gains more comfort and confidence in his seat, he'll become more vocal and better prepared.

Councilman Geno Withelder - D

If there's a golf tournament to be held, Geno is your man.  Also, as you would expect from a Realtor and broker representing one of the most successful development and real estate agencies in the city, he is very pro-developer.  That's not necessarily a bad thing in a city that still has a lot of growing to do.  But while Rapson favors some of the developers, it's clear that Withelder is deeply in the pocket of the development community.  That's not to say he's been bought off - he hasn't.  It's simply in his nature and job description to champion any and every project and move favored by big developers.  People also need to keep a very close eye on his relationship with NCS.  The bad news is that if it comes down between what's best for businesses/developers and what's best for the people of Mesquite, Withelder will likely side with the developers every time.  The good news is that, unless the discussion involves a golf tournament, he rarely bothers to participate or speak up.  If the developers are going to have a friend on the council, the people are lucky that it's the quiet guy.

Councilman Karl Gustaveson - F+

No surprise here.  Gustaveson is the last vestige remaining from one of the worst regimes this city has ever seen.  He is an arrogant, opinionated blowhard who thinks more of his own opinion than anyone else's on the planet, and leaves no room for perspective or input from anyone outside his circle.  And his circle continues to include former mayor Susan Holecheck.  Worse, his position on the Virgin Valley Water District board is downright dangerous to the people of Mesquite.  The smartest move the city could make would be to remove Gustaveson as the city's representative on the VVWD board and replace him with former VVWD president Kraig Hafen.  That said, Gustaveson still serves an important purpose on the Mesquite City Council.  He is the fly in the ointment that guarantees fewer 5-0 votes.  And that's a good thing.  He has been and will continue to be the lone opposition on a lot of issues.  It's extremely important and healthy for an elected government to have someone who consistently says "yeah, but..."  One other positive about Gustaveson is the fact that, while he is usually way wrong-headed on the issues, he is honest in his opinions.  He is virtually incorruptible.  When he votes, he is doing it from an anti-business, anti-freedom agenda steeped in the firm belief that "I know what's best for you."  But it's never about what's in it for him, or what he has to gain.  He won't bend, he refuses to "go along to get along," and that's an admirable trait.  It's just a shame that all that ferocity and courage is spent on trying to control the people instead of trying to serve them.

Mayor Mark Wier - B

Wier has been the same somewhat shy guy who campaigned quietly and gave the city a dramatic change from the egocentric leadership that previously dominated the mayor's office.  He does not have a forceful personality, although he used to be a lot more passionate and opinionated before he earned the title "mayor."  One thing he still does behind the scenes is deep research, particularly of the Nevada Revised Statutes.  The guy knows his state law, often better than Mesquite's City Attorney.  His quieter approach is also a welcome relief from the back room gamesmanship that previously defined the city council.  He is more of an arbitrator than a leader.  During the first six months, that's probably exactly what this city and this council needed.  However, he needs to step up his game in the next year.  Mesquite continues to founder in the economic storm.  To hope that the ship will right itself is naive.  It will take leadership and vision.  The jury is still out on whether Wier possesses either, or can muster support and lead the charge in any particular direction.  We need him to stand up and say "here's where we're going, here's why, and here's how we're going to get there."  Hopefully that will come in January's State of the CIty Address.  Knowing Wier, he will put a lot of thought and research into that speech, and will seek input from a wide variety of people and sources.  There have been complaints that he is less than diligent in returning calls and e-mails to inquisitive citizens.  However, voters knew this would be a weakness when they elected someone who works for a living instead of selecting someone who would take on the mayor's position full time.  It's not really his fault.  He has a stressful, demanding full time job, a wife and children, and all the obligations that real people must face.  The upside is that, under his administration, the volume of contacts and complaints is probably much lower than before, because he has eradicated most of the controversy and causes for people to be angry enough to contact City Hall.  To his credit, Wier has done more to promote transparency and openness in the Mesquite government in his short time than any mayor before him.  He has opened the technical reviews to the public, always allows citizens to have their say at council meetings (even if those comments go longer than three minutes), and has worked hard and successfully at changing the title of his board from "the" city council to "our" city council.  For that reason alone, he is to be applauded and commended.  He is a very good mayor so far.  The fact that he has room for a little bit of improvement means his future may be even better. 

Overall Mesquite City Council - B+

The funny thing is, this mix of unique characters and opposing viewpoints actually works extremely well.  The long, unbroken chain of 5-0 votes is gone.  Discussion and debate takes place openly on the dais (with the notable and shameful exception of the Nov. 8 meeting in which the council went behind closed doors with the City Attorney before rendering an abrupt and unexplained decision on the ill-advised Solstice debt).  They have gone a long way toward undoing the harmful folly of their predecessors, including the opening of the technical reviews to the public, the elimination of the restrictive and manipulative "Code of Conduct" that was previously used to go after a former councilwoman, and the recent change that allows the Boy Scouts to resume their annual door-to-door food drive after being banned for the last three years.  This council actually listens to the people, even if it doesn't always vote accordingly.  They don't appear to have an unstated agenda or back room consensus when they show up, and they don't display any signs of being manipulated or smacked into line.  It's odd to say about a group that has no women and no minorities among its number, but it is a very diverse collection.  That diversity and independence is a terrific thing for the people of this community.  While we disagree with the council on a number of issues, including the handling of Solstice; the forward movement on an indoor sports facility we can't afford; the continuing cowardice in refusing to stand up to the feds regarding the Habitat Conservation and Rehabilitation Plan extortion; and the retention of at least four high-ranking city staff members who are ineffective, incompetent, and in way over their heads, we believe strongly in this council and its approach.  Mesquite finally has what it wanted and deserves - a council that listens to and represents the people.  We once again have a council we can be proud of.  A great big round of applause and pat on the back goes to the Mesquite City Council.