Regarding the proposed low-income housing project at Hardy Way and Falcon Ridge Parkway, I am very concerned about the rationale for the project as stated by the Mesquite City Council and the Camino Verde Group (CVG).
Sun City residents are not solely opposed to the project for anecdotal reasons like the potential for lower property values, increased traffic and increased crime. Data does not seem to be available that helps prove or disprove the economic and environmental impact of low-income housing on smaller communities.
That said, we do have deep concerns about the decision to proceed as there are many unanswered questions. We had expected the council to clearly present the business problem needing to be solved, followed with a discussion of CVG’s ability to solve the problem with the proposed project.
In the absence of the problem statement/proposed solution, I researched the “labor shortage” argument presented at the meeting and discovered data that brings doubt that this project will resolve Mesquite’s labor shortage:
1.) Median income in Mesquite is 59K, as published by U.S. Census Bureau: Mesquite. Project residents will need to demonstrate annual incomes between 30% and 80% of the median 59k income. This translates to household incomes between 17k and 47k, or $9 to $23 hourly.
2.) Mayor Litman cited Crown Holdings, Primex Plastics and Do It Best as three Mesquite companies facing labor shortages. A visit to each company’s website proves otherwise. Crown Holdings lists no openings, but the recruiting agency estimates annual salaries for jobs in Mesquite to be $59k – $79k. Primex Plastics outsources its Mesquite workforce to Express Employment. Express Employment lists only one Mesquite Primex job opening at an hourly rate of $22. Do It Best has zero Mesquite openings: its national job paying offer about $22 per hour.
3.)Walmart lists Mesquite hourly wages at $16 to $35.
4.)Del Taco advertises Mesquite pay up to $26 per hour.
There is a strong indication in this online data that very few employees from the three companies cited by the council would qualify for this housing. It is also extremely telling that no Mesquite employers independently confirmed that Mesquite’s current labor shortage is due to a lack of affordable housing. It is troubling that not a single employer spoke in support of the CVG project.
Government can only give something to one entity that has been taken from another entity. This project is a classic example of this truth: selling taxpayer-owned property at less than full value to a profit-driven corporation under the guise of “caring for the people who live here.”
We must require the city council to precisely define and then prove the existence of the business problem we are solving. The city must then demonstrate with facts and data that the CVG project will address the defined problem. CVG, a real estate development organization, has only presented a way to finance their desired development using taxpayer-provided funds and to optimize the rental income and tax benefits on the completed complex for years to come.
Until the council completes the due diligence necessary to prove a labor shortage is real, long-term and caused by lack of low-income housing – until there is data to establish a link between the CVG project and resolution of a quantified labor shortage – Mesquite taxpayers should not be expected to participate in this scheme. Not on Hardy Way, not anywhere within our city.
Susan Brown
Mesquite
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