Mesa considers eight acres at Power and Brown roads the best site for a long-awaited police and fire facility targeted at reducing unacceptably long response times in northeast Mesa.
After negotiations to buy the property went nowhere and the landowner spurned a $2.1 million offer, the Mesa City Council is scheduled to decide Monday whether to initiate eminent domain proceedings, if necessary, as “a matter of public necessity.’’
But attorney Paul Wetzel of Cornville was not happy to learn from the Tribune that his property had been selected and questioned why the city could not choose a smaller, cheaper site instead.
“I don’t like to make a lot of waves,’’ Wetzel said, adding that he tries to get along with everyone.
But in this case, he has conveyed the land as a gift to a non-profit, non-denominational Christian organization for another purpose.