So...Did you vote yay or nay back in 2012 on the Civic Field bond issue? However you personally voted, the bond measure lost pretty decisively, and now the City (never a body to plan ahead) is scrambling to do...something.
This week, that something is the City hitting up the School Board for $140,000 - with the City putting up $60,000 - to help the City try and get a state grant that would match that $200,000 with another, all to go towards replacing the lighting at Civic Field. This coming at the same time that the School Board is considering a contract for $155,000 for their new superintendent. Timing is everything, isn't it?
Speaking of which...This is all coming up now, right now, because the City has a deadline of May 1st to submit the grant application. As in, one week after the school board considers this issue. That leaves absolutely no time for negotiations, a Plan B, etc. Typical City approach - wait until opportunity and/or disaster is looming, then do...something.
For background...Civic Field, a City-owned, regionally-used facility, has been left to slowly but steadily fall apart for decades. There's no hot water for the showers, the ground has no drainage and holds water like a sponge, and, per this issue, some of the ancient lights there have simply fallen down. Sort of like the City has in its duty to maintain their own facilities.
Civic Field: Look, but don't touch...
Back when the last bond was floated, the City Council was torn with how to proceed. Some, pointing out that it is a regional facility, argued for putting together a county-wide bond measure to try and broaden the base of support for repairs. Other Council members were so sure that the Civic Field bond was going to pass that they pushed to tie it to a bond for the new waterfront, thinking that would be a surefire winning combo.
Then they started to hear back from citizens that there was little support or enthusiasm for spending so much money on the waterfront. So the Council blinked, put the Civic Field measure out as a solo act, and it died. As noted above, they had no Plan B in place. They have been drifting ever since.
Typical, typical City. Let a facility (Civic Field) or a situation (garbage bluff) or even a state mandate (deal with the CSO issue) appear on their radar, then just sit and sit and sit for as long as possible, doing as little as possible in the interim. When the situation then eventually becomes an emergency, do...something. Or at least go through the motions of doing something.
Are they all that stupid? Is this a way for staff to create time-sensitive "emergencies" that allow them to ramrod through whatever they want? What explains this phenomenon?
Meanwhile, what are your thoughts on Civic Field? As our school enrollment continues to decline, does it make sense to pour money into facilities like Civic Field? Given that the voters rejected spending money on it, do you think that gives the School Board cover to also turn the City down?
Be sure to stay tuned for the next (exciting?) episode of Do...Something.
Why would the school board put money into this? Why would anyone at this point? The facilities are SO run down, SO far behind in basic upkeep, that it seems much more likely that Civic Field will sink into the ground before it ever rises high enough on the City Council's priorities to truly be saved.
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, with the city itself having ignored it, and the voters having said no already, why would the school board go for this? Especially since the city seems to be trying to put pressure on them by coming at them with such a tight deadline. It's the city's headache; let them buy their own aspirin.
And for the record, I voted against the last bond.
CK, you (and others) always blame staff when the fact is that in this day and age of extreme partisen politics (yes, even among non-partisan city council members), it is impossible to get a majority of any elected body to commit to anything until it is an absolute emergency.
ReplyDeleteTo be clear...I did not "blame" staff for this. I merely offered up that the staff manipulation hypothesis is one way you could look at what seems to be the standard approach to issues for the City of Port Angeles.
DeleteHe who hesitates is lost.
ReplyDeleteSound like Port Angeles to anyone else?
I voted against the last bond because I didn't want to spend $3 million on astroturf even though I think it's outrageous that there is no hot water in the locker rooms. We can do without night games. How about focusing on education first, and then take a look at sports?
ReplyDeleteNeglect is a very common method around here. There is no long-term planning and maintenance, they just expect a big bond or new taxing district to rescue them. It happened at the pool, it's still happening at Lincoln Park. Sequim let their schools deteriorate to nearly third-world conditions and then asked for the moon to fix it. Completely out of touch with reality.
I'm not voting for any more taxes, bonds or spending until I'm confident that the people responsible will actually be, ya know, responsible.
No kidding. If they get this money, it will only encourage the city to keep doing things the way they have been - which is to say, irresponsibly.
DeleteShould this not go the city's way, there will doubtlessly be those in City Hall who will grumble about how the school board "let them down." Just like there was a couple of years ago when the voters "let them down."
Maybe someone could point out to them that these moments of disappointment for the city are just that - brief, individual moments. But the city itself has been letting us all down, all the time, for years at a time. If they want to blame someone, point them towards a mirror for a nice, long look.
Here's a shining opportunity for the out of town corporations who make so much money in Port Angeles to step up and donate the costs of fixing-up civic field. Maybe the city should even considering selling naming rights in exchange for money to renovate the place.
ReplyDeleteThe Brown & Caldwell Civic Field.
The Nippon USA Outdoor Arena
The Exeltech Recreational Complex
Heck, the renovations might even include constructing an exclusive "Sky Box" above the bleacher seats so that corporate sponsors and their guests can better enjoy the events.
The possibilities here are endless.
What a great idea! It will never happen!
DeleteGiven the sorry (educational) state of our local schools, I think that money would be better spent hiring another English or science teacher.
ReplyDeleteStaff "guides" virtually everything the City Council and all it's advisory bodies do. They make the calendar, and they make the priorities for the Council members and others to approve.
ReplyDeleteStaff is indeed the source of most of the city's problems.
When the Civic Field drainage was discussed (Harper's blog, or on the PDN) there were several really GOOD comments on ways to inexpensively fix the issues (including adding more trees). The problem with Civic Field is that the "fix" the city is so intent on is tearing down the whole thing and putting up some multi-million dollar monstrosity. I think people are attached to the Civic Field we have, and repair -- not replace is what would be preferred. The city is GRANT happy, so they can add more $$$ to their general fund, and employ more Exeltec/consultants. This is just such bad business, because we spend more money on things we really don't need, and take money from things we NEED to spend money on. Before Cutler, things were maintained. I think that is clear. He was of the "let it rot until we have to tear it down" concept of the world (clearly NAVY/ex-government in outlook -- deep, deep, pockets). Sure, it's cheaper to never fix anything, and let it last as long as it lasts, but it's not very fiscally conservative. Meanwhile, the rest of us folk are more "fix it and repair it, and make it last as long as we can" because we don't have an unlimited budget. I think with the bond defeat, we sent the message back to the city, only, they didn't care to hear it. This is the message: Patch up Civic Field and make it last for another 5-10 years, and meanwhile, city, start saving your pennies.
ReplyDelete"Before Cutler, things were maintained."
DeleteYou've hit the nail on the head. And now, even though Cutler is gone, his legacy, the culture he nurtured in the city, lingers on. No staff member is wanting or willing to rock that boat, and the entire City Council is just clueless about such things. (Hello, Council members. Any of you reading this? It doesn't sound a happy note, so I doubt it.)
SO the question becomes, how long does the ghost of Glenn Cutler haunt city hall, and how long do we all get to suffer from it?
Now we have his Mini-Me, Mike Puntenney. Trained in the art of Cutler-isms, we will endure more stupidity, grant-hunting, and increased debt for the foreseeable future.
DeleteYes, all approved and funded by the city council and city manager.
DeleteQuestions I have as a citizen:
ReplyDeleteDoes the School Board have a list of priority projects, or a wish list, or anything like that? If so, is fixing Civic Field on it? If not, why would they even consider this? It's hardly crucial to the educational experience, such as it is in Port Angeles.
Once again, a totally non-holistic approach by the city. So let's say we fix the lights, okay? All that will do is quite literally put a spotlight on ALL THE OTHER THINGS that are broken down and non-functional at Civic Field.
ReplyDeleteTalk about a piecemeal, band aid approach. Why pour money into fixing one piece, if we're not even close to being sure that we can fix everything else? It's like buying new tires for a 30-year-old clunker car before you're sure that the engine can be repaired. It just doesn't make any sense.
because when you don't have enough $$$ to fix it all, you fix what you can, and band-aid and start saving for the rest. It's basic budgeting.
DeleteAnonymous 8:55PM: Yes, but...Sometimes the band aid approach means that while you're stopping a little bleeding over here, the patient is hemorrhaging over there - fatally. Without an overview of the whole of a thing (whatever that thing may be) you're flying blind to a certain extent. That's not a good position in which to make decisions; but it does position you well to fly into a cliff.
DeleteOr perhaps into a bluff filled with garbage?
Has there ever been a successful recall campaign against a City Council member in Port Angeles?
ReplyDeleteIf the community were to do the right thing, virtually all them should be recalled. Collectively, they are pretty much worthless. I don't see a leader in the group. In the last election, there were three unopposed races . . . really four. We have a serious situation . . . at a time when we need real vision and leadership . . . we have leaders who are incapable of taking us to where we need to be. As one contributor said previously, they should be shamed and ridiculed at every opportunity. They should be put on notice, along with the City Manager and Nathan, that they are part of the problem - not the solution.
Delete"I don't see a leader in the group." Right. You're absolutely right. But here's another aspect of that same problem...I would hazard a guess that at least a few of these blind dingbats really do think they are leaders. Cherie clearly does. DiGuilio probably thinks he's some sort of realpolitik manager type leader. Even dopey Pat Downie seems to think he's doing something by being there.
DeletePat, you're not. None of you are. We need a total transfusion to save the patient. In the meantime, yes, a thorough and ongoing course of shaming is called for.
I don't want the City Council to "do something." I want them to do nothing - as in stop spending money like drunken sailors. (The Glenn Cutler influence?)
ReplyDeleteIf they weren't wasting so much money on the CSO/Turd Tank boondoggle, they could raze and rebuild Civic Field five times with that money.
If the City Council members weren't hell-bent on getting their names on a bronze marker somewhere down on the stupid new waterfront, they could have razed and rebuilt Civic Field at least twice.
If they weren't forcing us to switch to the "Smart" Meters...If they weren't being chumps over Lincoln Park...If they had only taken better care of the old dump...You get the idea.
But they won't.
Indeed....Drunken Sailor Cutler was a spendthrift (extravagant and recklessly wasteful). He really seemed to BELIEVE that all the capital projects were important, and needed -- the bigger the project, the more important, while the mundane and routine, neglected. It was all ego with him, and he probably believed he was the one who was saving us from ourselves. Didn't help he surrounded himself with the likes of Karen R, and some of the other sociopaths in this town. (As a side note: How many times was the city organizational chart re-organized, to give him more influence? )
DeleteI've always been so surprised that in this small, racist, fearful town that no one has reared up the ugly antisemitic canards against Cutler (who is Jewish), such as the six facets (by Abraham Foxman): All Jews are wealthy; stingy and greedy;control the business world; the religion emphasizes profit and materialism; okay for Jews to cheat non-Jews; they use their power to benefit "their own kind".
But, perhaps that's only because, since there are NO TEMPLES within 50 miles of this place, our xenophobic little hamlet can't comprehend that kind of racism.
Where do we sign up in support of improved lighting in the city council chambers? Maybe there's just not enough light for them to see how stupid so many of their decisions are.
ReplyDeletewe could all chip in and get them the headlamp flashlights (three to a pack) that Costco carries. I think we can afford that.
DeleteIt isn't that we all aren't being taxed enough, it IS all about the mind boglingly stupid ways the money gets spent.
ReplyDeletefyi: Linked in (Glenn Cutler)
ReplyDeleteFormer Director, Public Works and Utilities City of Port Angeles
June 1999 – September 2013 (14 years 4 months)Port Angeles, WA
I have recently separated from the City of Port Angeles and taking some time off. I am staying in the Port Angeles area and will be pursuing work (volunteer or compensated) that will enable me to do some international travel.
Gosh! What a surprise. Anyone care to place some bets on his work being volunteer vs. compensated? Hmmm...
DeleteWell, the school board has agreed to cough up $60,000, as opposed to the $140,000 the city was asking for. This throws the ball back into the city's court...Will they "find" the missing $80,000 themselves, or will they throw the game?
ReplyDeleteStay tuned for more. More incompetence, that is.