The City this week, July 16-23, 2001 An Occasional View from a Council Member

["Linda Pall" <lpall@moscow.com>]

Dear Visionaries,

 

Here goes, one more time. The feedback was positive, we had more people at public meetings, and the city is better for it! Read on!

 

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!

 

This week your city council and mayor will show just how hard they can work for you.

 

Of, yeah? you ask.

 

Yeah! This is budget week.

 

An all day budget workshop beginning at 9 AM tomorrow (Monday, 7/16, until 4 PM, continuing Tuesday morning if necessary) will go over each and every budget and line item for FY 2002. If a pet project does not have a line item, it normally will not be on our list of "to dos" for 2002. So, the moral of the story is be sure the needed projects have the needed money!

 

You do not have to come and stay for the entire day. It is instructive to come, even if for only a half hour or an hour. The Council makes a list of all of the areas that require adjustment through the day... where people want to add dollars, where they would like to eliminate dollars. The horse trading is typically done in the final hour or so of the day. The COuncil will recommend property tax rates for next year, city salaries, as well as capital improvements and programs. While we do not typically take public comment, I don't ever remember having someone excluded who had a short, to-the-point comment about the budget. Come and see your city fathers and mothers make the hard decisions.

 

June 16 City Council Meeting: The Marathon Continues...

 

Monday night (after a day of budget skirmishes and our regular Public Works meeting late in the afternoon), the gluttons for punishment just can't get enough of it and have our regular second monthly city council meeting at 7:30 PM in City Hall. The big deal on the agenda is the University of Idaho's request to sell parking permits for city streets in and around the University. Someone must have forgotten to coordinate things because the announcements have already been issued by the University indicating that it's a done deal. Or I missed a crucial meeting...

 

When there are so many great examples of university/city cooperation and timely involvement, I am at a loss to understand what happened here!

 

Grand Opening of the Dog Park!

 

At long last, the dog park where people and pets can romp leashless will formally open Tuesday at noon. It is located on White Avenue next to the City's Animal Shelter. Casey Wagner, a UI student, has organized a great event: ribbon cutting, critter games, homemade dog treats, dog cookies and punch for the human critters, 'ask a vet' options and much more!

 

The party will go from 12 to 1:30 pm and good fun is guaranteed. Bring your own dog poo bag.

 

The dog park is a reality thanks to the vision of Tom Anderson and many like him who donated time, effort and money to partner with the city to make this facility a reality. Our efforts inspired Boise to do the same! Dog lovers, bring your pooch for pandemonium Tuesday and meet the folks who have made it all possible.

 

I'm certainly showing up and hope to bring Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, my English setters, providing the budget event has concluded in time!

 

Dream Team II Update: No Lid for the Aquatics Center

 

Did you ever think $7 million dollars was not a lot of money? It reminds me of the time our German exchange student, Tibor, and my son, Zach, and I were talking about how we would spend our $100 million Lotto winnings. We allocated it in about half an hour around the dinner table... doing wonderful things, mind you, but no amount of money is endless.

 

And so it is with the generous bequest of Bob Hamilton. Everyone on the Dream Team, except yours truly, deep-sixed the idea of a covered year-round aquatics facility in conjunction with a proposed gym/activities center on the F Street site. The coffin was nailed when Randy Rice's figures showed a $300,000 annual subsidy would be necessary if the pool were open year round. Randy said he had to make some assumptions to generate his figures. When the City of Nampa can run its recreation center (similar configuration, pool, gym, aerobic facilities, etc.) in the black without any subsidy, those must have been some assumptions.

 

So, the Team's views now are fund any projects through using the Hamilton bequest as collateral if possible, go with the gym/activities center on the F Street site, hold off on the Joseph Street field project and keep enough in the kitty to generate some maintenance and operation money through investment of the balance. Stay tuned: more to come.

 

Ask and You Shall Receive!

 

Thanks to all those who attended the Potluck for the Paradise Path last Tuesday and to the people who agreed to seek appointment to the Task Force. Incredibly good food and great ideas were served up in equal measure. I couldn't decide whether I liked Janet Fiske's devilled eggs or Margaret LIttlejohn's black bean salsa the best... Bonding events like these cannot be too numerous!

 

Rendezvous in Moscow: Cajun and Country THIS WEEK!

 

For all of you who love the idea of a great summer festival atmosphere, a day of kids events and all kinds of wonderful music to get together with old friend and new ones, Rendezvous is here. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, July 19-21, East City Park will again be a happening place. The combination of music and art for kids of all ages is irresistable.

 

Everyone who wanted the event to remain alcohol free and very family friendly should be there to support the fun. Everybody connected with the event deserves a big thankyou for keeping a wonderful addition to Moscow's summer alive and well. Yes, you can do more than just buy a ticket: you can contribute and Uncle Sam will allow you to take a tax deduction. Performing arts events rarely can sustain themselves on ticket sales and your generosity will assure the future of Rendezvous.

 

Where's Waldo... uh, Linda?

 

After my pitch for all of you to attend Rendezvous, this is the week that I must go to Detroit, Michigan, as the chair of the National League of Cities' University Communities Caucus, for the NLC's summer board meeting. The National League of Cities is the nation's largest municipal advocacy organization and brings mayors and council members, as well as city staff and others together to exchange best practices and good ideas to improve our cities. Creating livable communities is the goal. The University Caucus brings together towns that have connections to institutions of high learning to address common problems and seek creative solutions. From Cambridge and New Haven on the east coast to Moscow, Seattle, Eugene and Corvallis on the west, we work to share our ideas and opportunities.

 

I will also (regretfully) miss the Troy Old Timer Days. I got a charming invitation from the Chamber to join them as an honored guest in the parade but Saturday will still see me in Detroit. Darn!

 

All the best,

Linda Pall

Moscow City Council

 

(with apologies for any and all typos)