Jeff Robbins, Mesa's redevelopment administrator, told the City Council on a special meeting that a theme park district is a statewide economic-development vehicle that would provide dedicated governance and financing for redevelopment at the former Fiesta Mall site.

"Theme park districts provide both a dedicated financing as well as a dedicated governance mechanism to support development," Robbins said during the presentation. He said the privately owned 80-acre site has been in city conversations for more than a decade and that demolition began in 2023 after the mall closed in 2019.

Robbins told council members that a district would be a separate legal and financial entity from the city: it can acquire, construct, renovate or lease district facilities, levy a transaction privilege tax (TPT) within its boundaries and issue revenue bonds. "This is not city debt," Robbins said, adding the city would have no obligation to cover district debt.

He also summarized key terms of the development and intergovernmental agreement under consideration: the city would require that district-built public improvements meet Mesa engineering standards and be dedicated to the city; property owners must maintain a replenishable fund to cover the city's costs related to district formation and oversight; and the owner and successor owner must indemnify the city against legal actions involving the district.

On tax treatment, Robbins said businesses entering the district would be required to sign disclosures warning that district TPT could apply in addition to state and local TPT. He also cited an estimate for the district's effect on the city's secondary property tax in fiscal year 2025 (the presentation transcript records the figure as "17,000, $500").

Council members asked staff to clarify the city's responsibilities after formation and whether portions of the site could become exempt from secondary property tax. Staff responded that the district's tax exemption depends on how the district structures ownership of property and improvements; for example, if the district owned both land and a stadium improvement, that portion could be treated as tax-exempt in the same manner as other governmental entities active in Mesa.

After the presentation and brief questions, the mayor asked for a motion to approve the resolution forming the theme park district, to elect Council member Francisco Heredia and Council member Richard Adams to the district's four-member board, and to approve the related development and intergovernmental agreement. The council voted unanimously in favor; the motion passed.

The special meeting adjourned after the vote.