City Council Advances Toward Property Sales

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

The City of Mesquite has moved a step closer to selling several parcels of city-owned real estate at a discount in the name of encouraging economic development in the community.

At a meeting held Tuesday, June 8, the Mesquite City Council passed three resolutions instructing city staff to draw up the paperwork needed for the sale of five city-owned parcels to three different businesses.

Hawaiian Food Carts
The first item involved the sale of three parcels comprising a total of about 24 acres located on Thomas Edison Court in the Mesquite Industrial Complex. These parcels were proposed to be sold to manufacturing company Hawaii Food Carts, LLC.

The company CEO Jon Nolan explained to the council that Hawaiian Food Carts is a manufacturer of mobile food units, kiosks and food trucks.
“We are kind of a large-volume, high-end manufacturer for commercial kitchens on wheels,” Nolan said.

The company currently has two manufacturing facilities: one in Maui, Hawaii and the other in Portland, Oregon.
“Neither of those really meet the demand for the business levels that we are achieving,” Nolan said. “So we are looking for a new location to branch out and do more stuff.”

Nolan said that the company would relocate its Oregon facility to Mesquite. This would allow for significantly cheaper shipping costs from the port at Long Beach, CA to the company’s primary market in Hawaii.

Nolan added that the Mesquite location would be built in two phases. The first of these would be a 15,000 sq ft manufacturing shop. The second, a similarly sized building would give room to grow. The company plans to move its welding shop operation to the second building, once constructed. There a wider variety of trailers could be manufactured in addition to just food trailers, Nolan said.

At full buildout, Nolan projected that the company would employ about 35 people in Mesquite.
After some discussion, the council approved this resolution with a unanimous vote.
“I think that Portland is going to have a great loss,” said Council member Sandra Ramaker just before the vote was taken. “But I’m so glad that we are going to get you.”

Affordable housing
The second resolution before the council dealt with a half acre parcel located on E. First North St. located just south of the Mesquite City Hall. Developer Sam Lee explained that he was proposeing to build additional affordable housing units there, similar to a development that had been built in the adjoining parcel.

Lee said that the building would have a total of twelve 2-bedroom apartment units.
He added that if all went according to plan he hoped to break ground on the building by the end of this year.

Mesquite Community Resources Manager Janice Ridondo, who has been guiding the project through the process, stated that because this project would provide affordable housing, the city could offer a deeper discount from market value on the property.

“Because this is affordable housing and because of the approval of the housing element, it would be sold at 10 percent of highest appraised value,” Ridondo said.

The council also approved this resolution with a unanimous vote.

Virgin Valley Mortuary
The resolution which drew the most opposition in public comment was the third one. This resolution involved the sale of a 10.92 acre parcel located at the northwest corner of Falcon Ridge Pkwy and Hardy Way to Funeral Directors Management Group, the owner of Virgin Valley Mortuary.

To open the discussion on this item, City Engineer Travis Anderson advised the council that, before being sold, the parcel should be divided so that the city could retain roughly half of the property for public works purposes. That is because the western half included a large wash and a utility right of way rendering it unfit for construction purposes, Anderson said.

“Whether it ends up as part of this project or something else in the future, it would be in the best interest of the city to split that off so we retain control of that wash,” Anderson said.

Virgin Valley Mortuary owner Brian Rebman told the council that his business had reached a need to expand from the smaller facilities currently available to it.

“We are hoping to build a new facility that would be more on par with what I have in the Logandale area, probably slightly larger,” Rebman said.
Rebman is also the owner of the Moapa Valley Mortuary.

During public comment period, a number of Sun City residents stood to register opposition to the proposal. Most expressed concerns about the perceived negative image in having a mortuary at what they saw as the gates of the Sun City retirement community.

“We already have a nursing home, a cemetery and several other things there that really aren’t representing the active adult community that is Sun City,” said Tina Soliday in one comment. “I think that a funeral home right at the entrance is just in bad taste.”

Other commenters stated that the funeral home would be just like any other business that could be built on the parcel. “It is like everything else, you don’t even see it once it is built and it has been there for a while,” said Patty Gallo.

Rebman responded that his plans were already taking pains to be a good neighbor to the surrounding community. “The level of development that we would like to make there is going to be right in line with what they expect there in Sun City,” Rebman said. “We would landscape the property in a manner that would be pleasing and suitable.”

“This business is a commodity that is needed here in the community,” Rebman added. “I think that we certainly would keep it in good taste.”

During council discussion, Ramaker said that she had been to the Moapa Valley Mortuary facility on several occasions and had been quite impressed with it.

“It is so well put together!” she said. “I would say that if there is supposed to be a delightful-looking building when you’re going to such a mournful moment, that would be it.”

Ramaker added that she saw no problem with the location. “I don’t think of that particular spot as a gateway to anywhere,” she said. “But it is right next to the cemetery, so it makes sense. As far as driving by it, almost every time anyone leaves Smith’s they drive by where the mortuary is at now. So, I mean, it is really no different.”

In the end, the council approved this resolution also with a unanimous vote.