EDITOR: I am very appreciative that Councilman Greg Sellers
chose to write to the Morgan Hill Times. Council meetings are too
formal and there is never the opportunity to hear from Council
other than a short comment, and a procedural vote. I encourage all
the other Council members to write and to write often and to engage
the public in dialogue in search of best practice, appropriate
policies and good decisions.
EDITOR:
I am very appreciative that Councilman Greg Sellers chose to write to the Morgan Hill Times. Council meetings are too formal and there is never the opportunity to hear from Council other than a short comment, and a procedural vote. I encourage all the other Council members to write and to write often and to engage the public in dialogue in search of best practice, appropriate policies and good decisions.
We are building new centers and there are costs. If you and I were to build these projects it would not be based on ambitious future estimates but on current earnings and the ability to make future payments. None of us would ever buy a home without knowing that you can make the first as well as the last house payment. Sellers acknowledges that as of yet this city does not know how it’s going to sustain these facilities. It is at great risk for any municipality in these uncertain times to move forward on any project with out identifying a reasonable, prudent and conservative approach to expenses and revenues especially for projects that are not vital to the public’s health and safety.
The formulas that were used to support these projects recently and in 1995 truly no longer apply. The economics have changed:
• A paradigm shift has occurred. The employment peak reached in 2001 is not expected to return until 2011. In such uncertainty, recreation is one of the first areas to experience a decline. Yet these projects are predicated on a robust demand for recreation including a subsidy of up to 50 percent from non-residents in order to sustain them. In the meantime council has a number of pressing issues to address other than recreation. The longterm fire protection agreement is soon to expire and significant increases are expected to renew.
Sellers recognizes the need for new revenues to sustain these projects. Prior to the November election there was a town meeting with the mayor and Councilmembers Sellers and Steve Tate. When asked about revenues, the mayor described new stores and retail outlets as a potential source. It is an alternative but it can be a mistake that we might learn to regret it.
Caught with projects they can not sustain, City Councils often make poor decisions and can compromise zoning and modify the master plan in order to attract much-needed revenue. Strip malls and fast food outlets can fill the streets and industrial centers can be placed against residential neighborhoods all for the sake of revenue. I hope we never find ourselves having have to make such decisions and we can avoid the problem altogether by having these projects sustain themselves with a realistic revenue plan long before they are ever built.
Another scenario that Sellers veiled as new ideas, service levels and the public’s willingness to pay is taxes. I support taxes but they should have been identified and addressed prior to building these projects not after. If Sellers puts this issue before the voters in November at the projected height of this crisis, I am afraid not one of us will vote for an increase, especially after the state and counties apply their own in the next month or two. Unfortunately, these projects were promoted by this very Council as not costing a penny and that is a problem. Council and city staff must think through the implications of their decisions with out having to place new demands on a constrained community and its economy.
The economy on the whole is a disaster and getting worse. Counties and cities are laying off staff and reducing services – not in the short term – but permanently. This is not the time to put any project on the “fast track” as the Council did with the aquatics center. It is the time to place all of these projects “on hold” at least a year as proposed by Tate and until the fiscal crisis subsides or its magnitude is known. The fiscal crisis demands a wait-and-see position. If council had not placed this project on the “fast track”, none of these options and considerations would be considered last minute. Council has created its own problems and the community can not be pleased.
The Times embraced the idea considering the co-locating of facilities so that resources can be shared. I advocated this two years ago and promoted the idea of a one-stop recreation/library center on the corner of Edmundson and Monterey. The idea of co-locating facilities to leverage resources is a good one and should be considered even if it means abandoning the plans we have for those that are better. If the project was not on the fast track there would be time to consider alternatives. It is foolish to proceed in a hurried fashion with such risks and uncertainties.
I am concerned by the assertion that youths would not travel across town to a recreation center located on Condit. I don’t recall any such conclusion from any study. Does that mean that center on Edmundson is not intended to serve the youths in the Jackson or Llagas Creek areas? If our youths would not travel one mile down Tennant, why would one expect non-residents from Gilroy and San Jose for which these projects are dependent, to do differently?
Sellers reaffirms an argument I made quite some time ago, that these projects will not attract the necessary non-residents to sustain themselves and the premise that builds these facilities is faulty and their success is even less likely under current economic conditions.
Aside from Councilmembers Hedy Chang and Tate, the remaining Council appears incognizant to the change that is taking place and the risks even within city hall. Costs for the Public Employees Retirement System could triple in FY 04-05. At that point and if the state moves on reductions, this city could be looking at laying off public safety officers, directors, and once again closing its recreation department. Any reserve that the city has will only forestall the inevitable. The fiscal realities are frightening and outcomes severe.
The Times proceeded properly and with due cause to bring this issue before the public. Sellers must look beyond the comforts of council chambers and into the realities and uncertainties that exist.
Consumer confidence has plummeted. The war in Iraq draws closer by the hour. Costs for gas and natural gas are at record highs as is unemployment. This city is moving forward with several projects with its “eyes wide shut”. Councilmembers Sellers, Carr, Mayor Kennedy and the city manager, even with their best intentions must reconsider their actions or risk standing alone in empty gyms, parking lots and swimming pools at the cost of city staff and essential services.
Mark Grzan,
Morgan Hill
