(9/5/2019: CAMAS, WA)
Camas taxpayers spoke out against the proposed $78 million pool bond during last night's Camas City Council meeting. Long-time resident and taxpayer Dave Lattanzi addressed Councilors with questions and comments that many of his neighbors share. But once again, answers came few and far between.
Here is video of the public comments section from last night's meeting:
And here is the transcript of Mr. Lattanzi's comments:
My name is Dave Lattanzi.
I’d like to share comments on the proposed community center bond
.
My comments will exceed 3 minutes, so I will hold some comments for the 2nd public comments. I’ve closely followed the community center process for 20 years now and served on a prior committee that considered the proposed location.
I’d like to start with the flier I received from the City – that says
** You Spoke -- We Listened **
I participated in the City’s 2035 Vision process, I’ve read the 2017 ETC Institute Survey the City commissioned, I also filled out a 2019 survey from ETC.
The problem I’m having - who is the City listening to?
A $78 million dollar bond that doesn’t include a single penny for Crown Park! But it does include $6 million for turf at three parks. I’ve asked politely for Equity in Parks for over 10 years. It took 10 years to get a bathroom at my neighborhood park. Crown Park doesn’t have a public bathroom – Yet out of nowhere my neighborhood park is going to get $1 million for turf.
10 years to get a bathroom, there’s 1 picnic table and anemic playground equipment - but there is $1 million for turf at my neighborhood park.
** You Spoke -- We Listened **
According to Parks & Rec Manger Jerry Acheson, the Crown Park Master Plan will be subject to the 2021-2022 budget cycle. I’ve seen firsthand how long it took to get a bathroom at a neighborhood park.
It’s unfortunate the City didn’t learn something from the Camas & Washougal School District’s experience with their 1st turf fields. Be prepared for replacing the turf. Turf fields belong in a managed sports complex.
Of the people I’ve met at my neighborhood park, no-one has commented they want turf as part of $1 million dollar improvement. Several teens thought it would be cool.
** You Spoke -- We Listened **
Here’s how I feel about $6 million dollars in turf being added at parks.
Turf at individual parks wasn’t identified in the 2035 Vision or in the ETC Surveys. The Community Center Marketing campaign knows the Camas Community has strong support for youth soccer, football, baseball, lacrosse and rugby.
Adding turf into the bond is simply about attracting votes.
It was just 5 years ago that the City of Camas made an aggressive push to purchase Lacamas Swim & Sport for $7 million dollars and convert it into a community center. The financial analysis that was done for the City indicated 1,500 monthly memberships would be needed to pay the cost to operate Lacamas Swim & Sport. 30% of the members would live outside of Camas. At the time, Lacamas Swim & Sport had about 800 monthly memberships.
Camas in talks to buy recreation center – 2014 City leaders are in the midst of working out a multimillion-dollar deal to buy Lacamas Swim & Sport and convert the 41,000-square-foot facility into a new public recreation center. The option would be faster and more cost-effective than building a facility from scratch, City Administrator Pete Capell said.
It’s ironic that the City now wants to build a $72 million-dollar Athletic Club / Aquatics Center that will likely put Lacamas Swim & Sport out of business. The City’s marketing campaign calls it a Community Aquatics Center. However, it doesn’t mention that it will require athletic club memberships to pay the operating costs. If it requires 2,000 monthly memberships, with 30% living outside the city of Camas, that would be 600 memberships that will not pay a penny toward the $72 million for construction costs.
For the past 15+ years, the price tag for a community center has hovered around $25-$30 million. It is amazing that in five years the price tag went from $7 million to $72 million. The City has talked about partnerships with other local, public entities, the City of Washougal, Camas & Washougal School Districts, and the Port of Camas-Washougal. Each of those entities have their own financial challenges and will not be contributing to construction costs.
The City of Camas hasn’t said much about operating cost - What happens if there are not 2,000 monthly athletic memberships to pay the operating costs? In July 2018, the City Director of Finance indicated that the City needs to implement a Utility Tax, as a soft recession is expected in 2020.
This past year, residents saw the City of Camas struggle to pay for two new firefighter positions. It’s odd that the City doesn’t want to spend $3 million for a new pool at Crown Park but is okay with committing $72 million for an athletic club / aquatics center.
Don’t be surprised if the City of Camas tells the community that it needs to approve a new taxing district referred to as a Metropolitan Parks District (MPD). The Crown Park Master Plan is not going to happen within the city’s budget cycle.
The proposed $78 million-dollar bond represents wasteful spending. From a financial standpoint, I’m encouraging Camas residents to vote No.
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