Mayor Susan Holecheck, left, and city Economic Development Director Bryan Dangerfield discuss business at the Mayors quarterly citizens coffee meeting on Friday.
Mayor Says No To Convention Center
At the quarterly Citizens Coffee hosted by the Mayor at City Hall on Friday, Mayor Susan Holecheck discussed things going on in the city, but her main focus was to tell everyone the City of Mesquite is working hard to be more business friendly.
"Sometimes, licensing regulations can be a double edged sword," she said."We have to be not too stringent on new businesses while protecting citizen interests at the same time.
"While working to attract new businesses to Mesquite, we are also trying to streamline the processes involved in licensing," she added.
The mayor said the city listens to complaints about business problems and looks at ways to make the process better.
"We may be asking the council to relax some of the licensing standards," she said.
Bryan Dangerfield, the city Economic Development Director said the city is working hard to attract new businesses here.
"We have been working with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and developing the 'Mesquite Means Business' marketing plan as well as holding meetings about the city," Dangerfield said.banner
"The next meeting is Monday at Fire Station #3 to hear the LVCVA's idea's of a marketing approach," he said."Meg McDaniels from the LVCVA will be a speaker, and the meeting is free and open to the public."
In other business, the Mayor discussed the Solstice project, which ran into a problem when the bank that the project was funded through went under.
Mayor Holecheck said she spoke with Mike Kennedy, the project manager, and they are working on the funding problem to finish the project.
The Mayor said exit 120 is going to be completely reconfigured soon and exit 117 will be built to funnel commercial traffic into the business and technology center.
The Mayor was asked how the Chamber of Commerce was involved in attracting new businesses.
"That is a whole other issue that would take too much time to discuss," Holecheck replied, declining to comment on the Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber did not have a representative at the Citizens Coffee.
Holecheck was asked about the status of the Desert Falls project.
The Mayor said she was meeting with the principals of that project next week.
Citing confidentiality, she would not comment further.
A question was asked about a recent editorial in the Mesquite Local News discussing a convention center for Mesquite.
Mayor Holecheck said "it is very expensive to get a staff to operate a convention center and to bring conventions here.We should not be in the business of competing with private businesses for conventions."
The mayor went on to say that Councilman Karl Gustaveson, who was also at the meeting, does not feel the same way.
"Gustaveson would love to have a convention center," she said."I just don't think it is a good idea.We should not be in the convention business."
Gustaveson did not comment on the idea.
The Mayor ended the meeting by saying when the economy turns around, things will be much better in Mesquite, "we just have to hang on."
Commentary
Posted Date: 05/10/2010 As for the convention center, it is rare that I agree with Workman's editorials. However, this one was spot on. So the Mayor doesn't think the convention center is a good idea because of the expense involved. Or, does she see it as competition to the casino hotels who supported her campaign? Interesting since she sees buying land(for a library for which there are no funds to build) from LDS at a price above market and appraisal is is a good idea.
The dust flying across Falcon Ridge Parkway from the Solstice and Desrt Falls properties Parkway is testament that the Solstice parking lot is about as big as it is going to get and the Desert Falls project is never going to happen.
I wish this town would have a structured town meeting, not a Friday AM coffee clache, for its residents to discuss what they would like to see happen here.
By: Pat
Posted Date: 05/10/2010 Yeah, having a convention center with CONVENTIONS is a horrible idea as it might pack our casinos, our restaurants and create new interest in our town. Way to go, Mayor. By: Matticus
Posted Date: 05/10/2010 Does the term “Carpetbagger” come to mind..? Mesquite NEVADA needs NEVADA People in order to get things accomplished . All these people from outside Nevada is what is causing the downward spiral of Mesquite. Nevada is in the convention business. Anyone not knowing this or worst ,rejecting this should pack up and go back to where they came from. Winnemucca has a convention center ! The casinos are very difficult to deal with in compared to other Nevada towns. And what has the EDD done for Mesquite ??? He is not from Nevada, so how does he have any idea of how to promote and develop a Nevada town. He hasn’t covered his cost so far. ( much like Timmy hasn’t). Sue, please go home if you have no idea of how Nevada works. Conventions ARE NEVADA ! ask the LVCVA…ask Winnemucca, ask any town in Nevada. Every town in Nevada IS IN THE CONVENTION BUSINESS. And if you don’t know or support that, please move out of Nevada for the betterment of Nevada. Mesquite has all that vacant land. Very suitable for a convention center. Mesquite is prime for a real convention center. It is between Utah and Vegas. The Vegas market needs more options ask the LVCVA and Utah loves to come to Nevada, look at all the license plates on the weekend and at Lee’s. Let’s be real. The City has no idea of what they are doing. Maybe they were and could be successful out of Nevada, maybe that is the answer. There should be a regulation that any official or department head has to have 10 years residency in Nevada and 5 in Mesquite BEFORE representing Mesquite, NEVADA ! The only cost of a convention center is building. Put the staff on commission and you will see conventions booked all the time. Get people FROM NEVADA that know Nevada and the market. Get rid of the City Manager and the EDD, or put them on commission. Competition is what makes America grow. So ,are we a NEVADA town or a town of imported misfits, much like the quality of products from China and Mexico. By: Frank
Posted Date: 05/10/2010 I can tell you for a fact a convention center is a good idea for Mesquite and for business. My son is a senior executive with Pepsi Cola and they are ALWAYS looking for new and different venues for their many conventions. I asked him his opinion and he said Mesquite would be a great venue for conventions. If the Mayor is relying on LVCVA for advice then she should realize LVCVA does not want convention competition to go elsewhere. Mesquite would be an ideal location but -as usual -the mayor listens to those who have their own agendas. Gustaveson is right and the Mayor is wrong. I guess "business friendly" doesn't mean business smart. By: Margorie
Posted Date: 05/10/2010 One of the problems is that Randy Ence keeps saying "this is how they do it in Utah". Our own city councilman doesn't realize he's in Nevada now. By: -
Posted Date: 05/10/2010 As an experienced convention sales manager I can tell you that a convention center is not a good idea. Convention-goers want to travel the easy way; that means they want to fly into their destination and go directly to the convention. They do not want to mess around finding transportation from one town to another. Until Mesquite has a real airport (not like the rinky-dink airport in St. George) you will fail. I have also worked in a convention center where the hotel was owned privately and the convention halls were owned by the city--it does not work. I applaud Mayor Holecheck for her wise decision. By: Emily
Posted Date: 05/10/2010 Well, once again, our dear Mayor shows she doesn't have a clue as to how to manage a city. That election isn't going to come soon enough. How can some people be so stupid to not realize that attracting convention business is a huge way to get Mesquite on the rebound. Less congestion and possibly less expense could be a plus for a convention site. Besides, there's that hotel/convention center on Sandhill that's been gathering dust for years that could be fixed up and used. If conventioneers want Vegas, it's only an hour drive away. Go for a few hours and come back to peace. So open your eyes, get off your duffs and jump at a good opportunity! Or to coin the current phrase "start thinking outside of the box". By: Kit
Posted Date: 05/10/2010 Sorry, Frank. I have to disagree with you. I wrote the first post and am not a native Nevadan. But like you stated, there are convention cities across the county and I am from one of them, and I know the way a conferencee positively affects the local economy. I agree with Margorie and the Mayor's connection to the LVCVA. They are having their own issues keeping conferences and are probably not willing to offer productive. Maybe a group of those forward thinking local businessmen can meet to put together a proposal for a Mesquite convention center. By: Improted, but not a misfit
Posted Date: 05/10/2010 Correction of LVCVA interests…The LVCVA is responsible for Clark County. Mesquite , as well as Laughlin are under the LVCVA ‘s interest to bring events, conventions and business to Clark County. The LVCVA has a Rep for Mesquite and Laughlin to help in promoting those towns and to assist in bringing business to those towns. So Mesquite is not in competition to Vegas within the LVCVA. In producing special events at locations in Nevada, California, Colorado, Utah, working with the LVCVA is the best support organization to deal with. They are great to deal with and an endless source of information. It’s too bad that secretly they think the City is a joke… By: DJ
Posted Date: 05/11/2010 I am in total agreement with Emily. Mesquite does not have the infrastructure to support its own Convention Center. Then when it fails, people will be complaining that the city spent money to build one! The hotels in town are in no condition to try to draw convention business. They are dirty, dingy and deserted looking. People really need to take a "long term view" of things at this point in the economy. Let's get our house in order before we invite others in!!! By: Michele
Posted Date: 05/11/2010 I, too, was in the convention business in a former life and I can say that a convention center in Mesquite would be GREAT for this city. Many groups want the weather of Nevada but not the hustle and bustle of Vegas. Church groups, law enforcement seminars, federal agencies would love Mesquite- I know for a fact. We should have the editor of this paper as the city development officer, he apparently knows how to "think outside the box." Michele obviously thinks Mesquite is ugly (I wonder if she complained to Susan Holecheck) but what about refurbishing the Mesquite Star? Think outside the box. By: Mike
Posted Date: 05/11/2010 As it is true that quick, simple transportation is one key element, the convention business from Utah and from Vegas ( Vegas businesses like to get out of town too ) is an untapped resource. There is an endless source of business from Vegas and Southern Utah. Not having an expandable center will never let the business start, let alone grow. The LVCVA started with close to nothing. Mesquite has to start from even a small beginning. Infrastructure…We are on a major highway connecting Vegas and Utah. The city has land, there are hotel rooms and some of the best golf in America. All Mesquite needs is a place to book the business. An experienced event planner knows that you start on a simple base and grow. Not planting a seed will never yield any growth. The negative, ignorant thinking by the City and businesses is why I produce events in Vegas, L.A. Salt Lake and Denver for National and International Clients and Sponsors. The LVCVA has reps that are responsible to help Mesquite. That is what they are paid to do. So the notion that the LVCVA won’t help is just an uneducated statement . Call Sheeree or Meg from the LVCVA at : 702-298-3321. Nevada is a Convention State. Mesquite can do it cheaper and draw business from Vegas and Utah. That has been the LVCVA’s feelings for years. By: DJ
Posted Date: 05/11/2010 I have lived in Mesquite for five years. At exit 120 there sits a building touted as a "Convention Center". It is used almost never and sits empty. Until Mesquite has strong, unified and honest leadership that is not affiliated with or affected by special interests, nothing will change or happen. At present nothing changes unless one of the "Chosen Few" benefits.
Exit 117 will be built to funnel commercial traffic into our business and commercial park. If you are talking about all the vacant land beside the Ford dealership, the one thing you will need is to bring in new business, not run them off. Our queen mayor is talking about Mesquite being business friendly. It will be interesting to see which businesses she and her "group" will be friendly towards.
I have said it before and I will say it again--- UNTIL MESQUITE SEPARATES RELIGION FROM POLITICS NOTHING WILL CHANGE. IT WILL BE BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR THE PROFIT OF THAT CHOSEN FEW."
Small town politics suck and Mesquite is at the top of that heap. It is really interesting to watch these guys at work. They don't care if they virtually steal from the city. They think they are entitled by virtue of just being importent in their own minds. If it weren't so pathetic, it would be funny. By: steelgiant10
Posted Date: 05/11/2010 Wake up folks! Mesquite is friendlier to businesses that have "connections." Point in case: $1.7 million to the LDS churcdh for land the city won't use, $6 million Desert Falls owes us that they won't pay, and a great little city prime for convention business that the Mayor won't allow. We won't have anything her until this Mayor is out. She will say "we need to have public input so we know what you want." Well Susan thats is what these polls are all about -public input. We want you to get off your butt and bring business here. Start with a convention center. By: Vic
Posted Date: 05/11/2010 Is this Mayor serious? Mrs. Holecheck, even St.George has a BIG convention center. The Dixie Center is busy all the time and they don't have a major airport either AND they are farther from Vegas. Are you not paying attention. Mesquite is missing out. If Mesquite is "out of the way" then St. George is far out of the way but they don't let that stop them. Mayor, you are not doing your job, stop listening to special interests and do your job. Unfortunately, you make yourself look like someones secretary who is taking orders from others. By: Marilyn H
Posted Date: 05/12/2010 Hello, Marilyn H. . . you are not paying attention. Who attends the conventions in St. George? The Mormons do! They have their own built-in constituency. The top dog barks & they all dance to his music. Of course they have conventions--they are preaching to the choir. By: Emily
Posted Date: 05/12/2010 What DJ said is right. A convention center is an untapped resource. The mayor should think about these polls and take advice from the people. What she is doing now obviously isn't working so why not try something new? You and your Economic Development Director are not developing. Get with it. By: Jason
Posted Date: 05/12/2010 Sorry, Emily but we have attended conferences in St. George and participated in the Huntsman Games (Center is the home base) and we are definitely not Mormon and never met one until we moved here a few years ago. You are off base on that one. Also, where we are from is a good hours drive from an airport, not as pretty as Mesquite, and does not have the after-conference events that Mesquite can offer, and our convention center was full all the time. We, too, had many nay-sayers like you prior to the center being built. However, it came before the residents on a referendum and we voted to build it. Hopefully you will not apply to work at this convention center as your beliefs are very provincial. By: P
Posted Date: 05/12/2010 OK Mayor, here it is -your public opinion. We want a convention center, new businesses, stop the backroom deals and look at the current poll about being business friendly. The people ar speaking. Are you listening??????? By: Adam R
Posted Date: 05/13/2010 After all this Business Friendly stuff coming out of city hall, why has the next business workshop, Listening to your business, scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, been cancelled? By: P
Posted Date: 05/14/2010 Mesquite getting business friendly? I am a small business owner Mayor, here is how you can be more friendly. Collect the damn 6 million the city is owed by Desert Falls and use some of it to help out the SMALL business owners here in Mesquite. We need help Mayor. By: Mesquito
Posted Date: 05/17/2010 You people are so misinformed. Desert Falls does not owe the city any money. They put a deposit on land. The city is not out any actual money. It takes years to get ideas (& money). contracts, architects, permits, ect., before any project can come to reality. People in Mesquite are too impatient and unrealistic in what they expect from people who are trying to make this city a better place. The economy is a disaster and what makes you think people are just jumping at the chance to risk their money on any project. How willing are all of you to go gambling right now when what you really need to do is hold tight to your money for fear of what the future holds. Economic Dev. is responsible for generating interest and giving info to interested businesses, not forcing the wrong people to come to Mesquite just to be able to say we're adding businesses to our city. If the city builds a new convention center then all you people will do is complain when it's not filled every week and you'll blame the city. Ever think that maybe these people at the city really do care about Mesquite and are trying to make it a great place to live and be a business owner? If they didn't care then why would they put up with all the crap you throw at them? Let them do their jobs and spend your time planting a garden or doing something constructive rather than being so negative! By: 41201712
HOME/Local News
National News Briefs 
