vision2020
Re: THE CITY THIS WEEK September 4-10, 2001
Dear Linda,
I find your weekly updates informative. Thank you for doing them and
sharing with us your view of happenings in our fair city.
Lori Keenan
Linda Pall wrote:
>
> 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
>
>
>
> Name: THE CITY THIS WEEK
> September 4-10,
> THE CITY THIS WEEK September 4-10, 2001.doc 2001.doc
> Type: Winword File
> (application/msword)
> Encoding: base64
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