by Mark Swenson
Camas resident/taxpayer
I believe this project is an excellent example of project creep. The old pool was to expensive to maintain at $400k per year. Makes sense. To replace the pool some numbers were around $2,000,000.
The old Crown Park pool appeared to serve a large portion of the downtown and surrounding residential areas. Driving by, it always appeared to be busy when operating. Rebuilding the pool would maintain an important part of a very busy park.
The project turned into building an aquatic and sports park. Why? Its been mentioned a new facility is needed to support local sports and school teams, These teams are supported now by a variety of arenas. It is not a compelling argument.
Camas School District just acquired the UL property that has existing sport areas and the property to support much more. Let the school district support its own needs.
While the sports complex sounds nice, it is not really needed and the $78 million dollar price tag/debt is absurd- $4,000+ per resident. Some argue bond interest rates are low, so now is the time. BS, the issue is the amount of debt incurred over 30 years and if it is worth it. Where is the revenue stream to fund principle and interest expense coming from. Can fee structures be supported? If there is annual shortfall, taxpayers are obligated to foot the bill from the general fund.
This just not a well-thought out idea in my opinion.
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