As many of you have already heard, last week the Commission approved a plan to allocate $650,000 towards the installation of artificial turf on Middle and Wildcat Fields. This has been a long time in coming and I appreciate those of you that have taken the time over the last 18+ months to attend public meetings, meet with your Commissioner personally, write emails and letters, sign petitions and generally offer your suppoprt for this effort. The Commission commented that the support in favor of this proposal widely surpassed those who were opposed.
The work is not done.
As you might expect, $650,000 will not cover the entire project cost. We must fill the gap, and we must continue to raise the funds that will be needed to replace the turf at the end of its useful life. I know that many of you have already expressed a willingness to contribute and that is appreciated. Over the next few months you will be hearing more about this project and how you can help. I anticipate that the fundraising will utilize a variety of methods, much like Relay for Life. The efforts to raise money will only be limited by your imagination and creativity. It will indeed be a community effort!
Why are Taxpayers funding turf that only a small minority of residents would use when so many other issues need addressed or better yet if there is an extra $650,000 RETURN to the Taxpayers.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for the delay in posting this comment.
ReplyDeleteI will try to address your questions as best I can. First, I think it is important to acknowledge that as taxpayers on the local, state and federal level we all fund amenities, resources and activities that only a few people use. Our taxes fund museums, libraries, parks, transportation and other aspects of society and I would venture a guess that each instance those items are used by a minority of the folks who pay for them. Living in Pennsylvania, I get very little out of the monuments and museums in DC, but I appreciate their value and importance. On a more local level, I personally haven't used the library or the pool for decades, but I'm glad that we have those amenities and I'm happy to contribute to both through my tax dollars. That said, I'm guessing that only a small segment of our community actually sets foot in the library, especially with the increase of online resources etc.
Further, I think a growing number of people in our community are using fields and recreation spaces. Registrations in youth sports associations is growing each year and new sports are being added. Adult programs are also increasingly available to our residents. We are fortunate to live in a community that made a decision long, long ago to invest in parks and recreation. We have a golf course recognized as a historic landmark, a world class tennis center, ice rink, pool and great parks. The proposal to improve Middle and Wildcat will greatly add to our inventory of multipurpose field space, which in my opinion is consistent with this longstanding community mission.
As for returning the surplus to the taxpayers, I suppose that is something that you should take up with the Commission. I can't change that. However, I would point out that this surplus has enabled the community to fund sidewalk improvements, improve the communication systems for our public safety departments, traffic calming, park benches, trash cans, passive park improvements, repairs at the ice rinks and at the tennis center. If you review the last several Commission meeting minutes it also seems apparent that the we are spending significant resources on sewer and stormwater issues as well out of the operating budget and stormwater fee.
I'm not sure if I have convinced you, or whether you even want me to convince you, but that's the way I see it. Thanks.