Good morning, Mesa. An extreme heat warning has been in effect since just after midnight and runs through 8 PM Friday, so front-load anything outdoors to the early morning.
- 🚒 Mesa plans to sue over fire truck prices. The city is targeting two of the country's largest fire apparatus makers.
- 🏄 City money is going to Cannon Beach. A sales tax reimbursement for the surf park and a hotel planned beside it.
- 🏛️ Two city contracts hit the August 31 council agenda. Vehicle washing and police helicopter pilot training.
- 🏠 Mesa's median sale price is $452,500. Down 1% from a year ago.
- 📖 AARP is recruiting reading tutors for Mesa Public Schools. Info session Wednesday at the Dobson Ranch library.
- 🎤 Roger Daltrey plays Mesa Arts Center. Sunday, August 23.
Mesa plans to sue over fire truck prices
The City of Mesa is preparing to take two of the country's largest fire truck manufacturers to court over what it paid for its fire fleet.
Key facts:
- The companies named in the Tribune's report are REV Group and Oshkosh Corporation, two of the dominant builders of fire engines and ladder trucks in the country.
- The claim centers on price fixing: the allegation that competitors coordinated instead of bidding against each other, which pushes the sticker price up for every buyer.
- Mesa Fire and Medical is a citywide department serving all six council districts, and its trucks are bought through council-approved contracts using public money.
- The report does not detail how much Mesa says it overpaid, which court the case lands in, or whether other Arizona cities are joining.
This is the kind of purchase that almost never gets a second look. A single pumper is one of the most expensive pieces of equipment a city buys, replacements roll through the council consent agenda a truck or two at a time, and there are only a handful of companies in the country that build them. If the city's claim holds, the overcharge is spread across years of those routine votes rather than one big line item.
What to watch: filings become public once the case is docketed, and any settlement or recovery would come back through a council action. Details.
Around Mesa
🏄 Mesa is putting money behind Cannon Beach. The Tribune reports the city is supporting the Revel Surf and Cannon Beach project with a sales tax reimbursement, with a Tapestry by Hilton hotel planned alongside it. A reimbursement of that kind returns a share of the sales tax a project generates back to the developer, so the city spends nothing up front and instead collects less on the back end. The size and length of the deal were not detailed. Details.
🎬 The Mesa International Film Festival is returning to downtown Mesa. The city announced the return on August 4. Dates, venues, and the film program have not been posted yet. Details.
🏛️ Two spending items are queued for the August 31 council meeting. File 26-0771 raises the dollar ceiling on the citywide vehicle washing contract: the original award was sized to estimated usage, and actual usage from Business Services, Fleet, Mesa Fire and Medical, and Mesa Police ran past it. File 26-0769 is a three-year helicopter pilot training contract with two one-year renewal options for the Mesa Police Air Support Unit, covering initial certification and added ratings through an FAA-certified regional flight school. It drew a single response, meaning only one vendor bid. Washing contract report. Pilot training report.
🏠 Mesa's median sale price is $452,500, down 1% from a year ago, with a median 55 days on market. Details.
The week ahead
Monday, August 17
- 🤖 Artificial intelligence for beginners at THINKspot Dobson Ranch, 1 PM. Common tools and the limits of AI-generated content.
- 📓 Messy Journal at the Dobson Ranch library, 4 PM. Teens wreck a journal. Ages 12 to 18.
- 🖍️ Color Me Relaxed at Mesa Express, 4 PM. An hour of adult coloring, supplies provided.
Tuesday, August 18
- 📖 Preschool storytime at the Main library downtown, 10 AM.
Wednesday, August 19
- 🎸 Royal Coda with Dwellings at Nile Theater, 105 W Main Street, 7 PM.
- ✍️ Story Creators at 4 PM for ages 8 to 12, then paper flower craft night at 6 PM, both at THINKspot Dobson Ranch.
- 🧠 Trivia night at On The Green Sports Grill. Free to play, prizes for the winners.
Thursday, August 20
- 📚 A Wimpy Kid's Journal Party at the Dobson Ranch library, 4 PM. Ages 6 to 12.
- 🎤 Powerful Voices open mic in Mesa. Music, comedy, and poetry on the same bill.
Friday, August 21
- 🗣️ Between the Panels manga club at the Main library, 3 PM. This month samples Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.
- 🎶 Saltwound at Nile Theater, 6 PM.
Saturday, August 22
- ☁️ Cloud in a Jar at the Main library, 1 PM. Shaving cream rain clouds, desert weather edition. Supplies are limited.
Worth putting on the calendar
- 🎤 Roger Daltrey at Mesa Arts Center, Sunday, August 23 at 7:30 PM. The largest arts complex in the Southwest, and one of the shorter walks to a show this size.
- ✈️ Paper Airplanes Challenge at the Dobson Ranch library, Monday, August 24 at 4 PM.
- 🌵 Ask an Expert on watering and landscaping, Thursday, August 27 at 11:30 AM. Mesa water conservation staff set up by the water tower at the Main library, with grass-to-xeriscape incentives on the table.
From the schools
📖 AARP is looking for reading tutors, and the ask is specific. AARP Foundation Experience Corps Mesa needs volunteers age 50 and older to work with kindergarten through fourth-grade students in Mesa Public Schools on reading. A few hours a week is the commitment. There is an information session Wednesday at 1 PM at the Dobson Ranch library. City details.
📷 Picture days land this week at two high schools. Skyline underclassmen shoot Tuesday in the auditorium during English classes, and students need their school IDs. Dobson runs 9th through 11th grade Thursday.
Around the Valley
A few picks worth driving into Phoenix for this week.
🎸 The Guess Who, tonight. Arizona Financial Theatre, 7:30 PM, on the Takin' It Back tour. Tickets.
🎤 Benson Boone, tonight. Mortgage Matchup Center, 8 PM, Wanted Man tour. The biggest room on this list by a wide margin. Tickets.
🎧 NINE VICIOUS, Tuesday. The Van Buren, 8 PM. Tickets.
⚽ Phoenix Rising host Colorado Springs, Wednesday. Phoenix Rising FC Stadium, 7:30 PM, one of the few weeknight sports options that starts after the heat breaks. Tickets.