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Mesquite street bond proposition gets voter approval
Mesquite, TX – November 3, 2015 – Voters passed the City of Mesquite $125 million street bond proposition to issue and sell bonds in order to repair more than 100 miles of residential streets. The election results were:
Total Votes – 5,321
For – 4,490 (84.38%)
Against – 831 (15.62%)
The canvass of the election results will be held on November 16 in conjunction with the regular City Council meeting.
Mayor Stan Pickett said, “We are excited about this opportunity and happy the voters have the confidence in us to take this important step forward to improve the quality of our neighborhood streets. We will begin repairs as soon as possible.”
Summary of the Bond Election
The Mesquite City Council has called for a special election to ask citizens to consider a $125 million bond proposition to repair more than 100 miles of Grade 4 residential streets throughout the community. Early voting is October 19 - 23 and 26 - 30 in Kaufman County, and October 19 - 30 in Dallas County. Election Day is November 3. Click here for the English Notice of Election and here for the Spanish Notice of Election. Click here to see election results.
Public Education
Click here to read the brochure about the bond election and get answers to frequently asked questions.
Here are a series of videos which offer additional information about the bond election:
Bond Election Public Service Announcement: English and Spanish
Bond Election Public Education: English and Spanish
Optimized Pavement Reconstruction Process Video: English and Spanish
Here is a news release from the Dallas County Elections Department:
Click here for English.
Click here for Spanish.
Click below for access to the elections offices that cover the City of Mesquite:
Dallas County
Kaufman County
If any civic club, homeowners association or other organized group would like a presentation, please contact the City at 972-329-8319 or at streetbond@cityofmesquite.com.
Listen to Citizens' Street Bond Committee Co-Chairs David Belt and James Terry discuss the street bond election on KEOM's "Community Focus" program.
Questions & Answers Forum
Click here to view questions and answers submitted about this bond election.
Citizens’ Street Bond Committee
The City Council appointed a citizen bond committee to explore the possibility of a street bond referendum to be held on November 3, 2015. The funds raised through the sale of bonds would go towards the improvement of residential streets. The committee met on June 25 and July 9. After those meetings, the Mesquite City Council received the committee’s recommendations at the Council’s August 3 meeting and adopted a resolution calling for a street bond election at the Council’s August 17 meeting.
City of Mesquite Roads and Streets
Click here to view map of the streets and alleys graded from 1 (good) to 4 (poor).
Click here for additional instructions on using the map.
Click here to view a map on all the other road projects currently in progress through Mesquite.
Texas State Legislature
When a local bond issue fails, officials of the governing entities that called the election have a few options for further trying to secure the money for projects those bonds would have funded. That list of options will soon get a little shorter. In the past, some entities have worked to trim down the costs of a failed bond election, paring out some of the projects that might not be absolutely necessary before putting the issue before voters again. Others, feeling that voters turned down the proposed bonds because they didn’t fully understand the necessity for the projects, launched public education campaigns to better familiarize the public with the bond issue – hoping to garner their support. A third option is to forgo another bond vote and just issue certificates of obligation (COs) to pay for the failed bond issue projects. COs do not require voter approval. That option went away September 1, when legislation from the Texas Legislature, HB 1378, became law.To learn more about this new law, read the article by Strategic Partnerships, Inc., Texas Legislature takes away bond alternative.
Media
Here is a collection of media stories on the street bond resolution and related issues:
Mesquite News, Mesquite City Council adopts resolution for street bond proposition
Strategic Partnerships, Inc., Texas Legislature takes away bond alternative
Mesquite News, Committee recommends $125 million bond referendum