Testing, testing, testing.

I mean, there's that's all.

I thought maybe there would be help you.

All right.

We're live, everybody.

Let's go ahead and we're getting going.

Um yeah.

Welcome everyone.

I showed up.

I think that's a good question.

Welcome everybody to the Tuesday, July 21st.

2026, the city council special meeting.

Um we're gonna get started with public comment.

Do we have any public comments?

All right, okay, we'll move on to number two.

Administrative items and 2.1 strategic plan overview.

Becca, are you?

Yeah, I can yep, I can start with that.

So um back in January of 2020, there was a strategic plan session.

Um out of that came four top pillars and then two additional items um based on um the sheets um in your packet.

So uh the four top pillars were to increase housing inventory to meet the needs of our expanding workforce, expand recreational and sports tourism offerings to grow and diversify our economy, invigorate development of a vibrant downtown area, uh, create a new and enriched existing pipelines to create a prepared workforce, um, evaluate organizational structures for economic development, and to develop financial policies and procedures that provide a solid long-term foundation.

Um, kind of going through um what we've done since 2020.

So these were supposed to be a 10-year goal, and then um see where we we are at 2030.

So since then, um April of 24, Hatham Village opened with uh 96 apartments intended for lower income households.

Uh council approved the sale of 46.5 acres on John Deere Drive for a mix of workhorse and single family homes.

Uh there was expanded recreation by constructing the eight-court pickleball complex opened that opened in March of 22, and then um we received a grant dollars for the tourism plan, um, and also upcoming in September dollars to do items on that plan.

And then with downtown redevelop development, um a new REA plan was created.

Um we received grants for downtown trash bins and benches, and the steam center had their opening in 23.

So questions we should look at.

Um how large are we expecting to become?

I think we talked about that and kind of have a thought of maybe that 50,000 range.

Um what community characteristics must be protected during our growth?

Uh what residents and employees are currently unable to find housing, uh, what types of jobs mesquite actively pursues, what should downtown look like in 10 years?

Um which tourism investments produce a measurable local return, what infrastructure will grow will growth require and who will pay for it.

Uh what level of financial reserve is appropriate, what services must improve as the population grows, and what premises have already been made through land sales incentives or promises, I'm sorry, or development agreement.

So those are kind of some starter questions and how to start some conversations of where we want to go, are these still our goals?

Um I think one goal that hasn't been accomplished that we that we need to fill is that to develop financial policies to create a solid base for us.

Um but these so these are some questions to kind of start conversations.

So I'm gonna start.

So the one that really kind of intrigues me, kind of not intriguing, kind of bothers me, is I don't think we can put a cap on population.

For you to say 50,000, I don't know how on earth we're gonna turn away people who want to move here.

I'm not saying there's a cap.

That's what's been thrown out there.

Well, I I'm just saying that's what kind of struck me was like there's no way we could like close our borders and say we're we're at 50,000 and now we're gonna.

The question is we can't put a magical cap on it, but we are capped in the amount of land we have.

At some point we are gonna be out of land.

At some point we are gonna be out of land, and so do we um go after more land?

And if we do, do we use it for housing or do we not use it for housing?

So that's the question.

So that brings up something else that we can talk to yourself and Becca and Martina about is it sounds like BLM has some accessible land on the outskirts that we can take.

Right.

I mean, if in the event, I mean they can transfer.

So I think that that might be something to look into in the future as well, like um flat top mesa on that side, further down um I-5 or south, I mean, if that if it comes to that, yeah.

And I guess that's the other question is the other land that goes down, depending on what we do, but that that's on the south side of the freeway down towards the other exit is depending on what happens if we eventually it happens that it is gonna be housing.

How do we pay for the infrastructure?

And that goes back to one of those questions, right?

How do we get water power and everything else out there?

But that I'm sure all that will I mean we'll be able to work that out in the future.

I mean, this is probably not around my lifetime, but if in the event, or I mean, or some of us, but I mean that's a possibility, and if you look at other infrastructures for other small communities, that's what they've done.

They've just grown out, yeah, and they make it happen.