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THE CITY THIS WEEK: AN OCCASIONAL VIEW FROM A COUNCIL MEMBER
August 27 to September 3, 2001
from Linda Pall, Moscow City Council
Dear Visionaries:
Where did the summer go? Well, it’s another edition for the ages…deep blue skies, bright zinnias, dogs and sticks, hot dog mustard on the white tee shirt and the rest. Put away the Aloha shirt and get started on the work of the fall.
September is definitely going to be busy.
City Council Tonight!
Tonight’s agenda reviews annexation policies again. Annexation is where the rubber meets the road in municipal terms. Should areas surrounded by the city be part of the city or remain in the county? Jurisdictional questions aside (who answers police/fire calls, street/road responsibilities, etc.) for a moment, if the city has grown up and extended around you, are you now part of the city? Should you pay your fair share of city property tax to support the services you use? My answer is yes to these last two questions.
Some would say it is the classic ‘free rider’ problem, living in an urbanized area, enjoying the parks, the swimming pool, maybe the water and sewer system, certainly the streets and roads and many other public services but not paying for your part of them. Others would say that they had not requested this and wanted to remain in the country. It’s hard to deal with when other people’s decisions have thrust you into the urban area. Still, annexation is the tool that cities can use most effectively to control growth and sprawl, working to keep the city compact and use orderly land use policies.
Also on tonight’s agenda is the question of user fees and use policies for the 1912 Center and the Great Room that is set to open next month. Each Council committee will be looking at it this afternoon between 4 and 5:30 P.M. We want to make it affordable but we also need revenue to offset expenses.
About the 1912 Center…Funding!
The columns of e-mail on Moscow’s Vision 2020 have looked again at the 1912 Center, getting the commitment of the Council on the funding of the 1912 Center confused for the umteenth time.
Here’s the straight skinny: The Moscow City Council committed to the renovation of the building without city property tax revenues. Because the building belongs to the City, thanks to the generosity of many citizens in Moscow who raised the funds to purchase it from the school district, and because some City programs will be in the building, maintenance and operation of the building is a city responsibility. We are looking for every possible way to generate revenue to offset our costs and that means reasonable user fees. The reality is that we want the building used creatively by all parts of the Moscow community and we’re trying to get the formula right so that the building is accessible and affordable for all of us.
About the 1912 Center…Cost of renovation!
I almost always agree with Priscilla Salant, a very perceptive and committed member of the Moscow community. Almost. In a recent e-mail, she left the impression that the City Council had simply unleashed the potential tenants and the architect and let them run up the cost of renovation of the facility.
No, no, no! That is clearly not what happened. The architect was instructed to bring a flexible, adaptable and economical design for the reuse of the building. The original full project was $3.9 million ($132/sq. ft.). When the Council requested phasing, we knew the cost would be greater and we were right. It went up to $4.2 million ($143/sq.ft.). The $5.5 million dollar figure included inflation on construction costs for the whole project of 6% per year and an added construction contingency of 10% at the City’s request through Randy Rice, our project coordinator.
You’ll be interested to know that the project is right on track to meet the architect’s original estimate for contingency for phase one, far below the City’s requested increases.
So, far from saying renovate at any cost, the City has taken up a unique opportunity: build a great community center in the community’s geographic center for an affordable price with the bonus of reusing an irreplaceable historic landmark.
I’m proud of the City’s decisions and its fiscal responsibility. Most of all, I’m proud of the community, foundations, and other agencies that have generously supported this once in a lifetime chance to create community.
Coming events cast their shadows…
Mark your calendars! The Fair Housing Commission meets Thursday night 7 PM at the Mann Building, Second and Jefferson.
Pull a weed with me! I"ll be out from 4-6 next Sunday afternoon (9/9), trowel in hand, at the Berman Creekside Park (part of our Paradise Path trail system) just to the north of Styner Avenue, east of Main Street. We have some serious weeding to do to keep the butterfly garden spiffy… we’ll go for pizza at Gambino’s afterward. Call me at 882-7255 if you’ll come. It will be fun.
Downtown Renewal Action! Next Tuesday, September 11, will be the first charette (a fancy name for a community meeting with architects and colored markers). This will be a superior chance for you to make your wishes known for downtown and its environs. Dream a little. If it’s too big and too expensive, it can be scaled back. But if you don’t talk about it or share your idea, it will never even be considered! I have a dream for the area just south of Sixth Street that would retain the great grain elevators and create a creekside entertainment oriented walk with a hotel, restaurants, shops… sort of like San Antonio’s Riverwalk…
What’s your dream for Downtown? Let us know Tuesday, 6 P.M. Community Center room, City Hall!
I gotta go, in the words of Ian Scholes…
All the best,
Linda
THE CITY THIS WEEK September 4-10, 2001.doc