A number of recent posts on the Park Board decision to buy a building to house its headquarters and a number of other park and recreation functions, have seemed to jump to the conclusion that this action is driven by a selfish, self promoting group of individuals who don't care about the overall needs of the city. I'd like to challenge you to look again at your assumptions given the atmosphere this decision had to be made in. It takes a lot of courage and personal conviction to stand up to a Mayor, who enjoys enormous popularity, to do what you believe and know is right. It's easy, in this time of fiscal austerity, to paint a picture of any expenditure as being irresponsible, however, the financial facts that are available don't seem to support the many of the assertions I've read. The MPRB is planning to borrow $3.1 million over twenty years at an interest rate of 5.4% to finance this facility. (The money to remodel the facility will come out of reserves that are available for such purposes.) Their annual principal and interest costs will be approximately $256,000. This compares to the $413,000 per year they pay for rent and parking. A difference of $160,000, more than enough to cover operations and maintenance costs. (By the way, their current lease rates, about to expire, are at $12-13 a square ft or $3-7 below the current depressed rates.) Now, consider that a $.5 million facility upgrade won't need to occur to the north side service center, that up to one-third of the new building space could be available for rental, and the millions of dollars in equity the building will have and all of a sudden this looks like a pretty wise financial move. I'd say before passing judgment, let's see who's right against the test of time. After all, even the Mayor seemed to support this purchase of this property at one time, although there was not agreement on how to best utilize the site.
On another note, I'd like for you to consider why the Park Board does not appear to be part of the city's team and I don't think you have to go any further than the treatment they've received in recent actions by the Mayor and Council. Timely communication, equitable treatment and respect are fundamental to any partnership. Let's consider what's happened of late. The Mayor and Council decide the city needs an 8% increase in their budget and the Park Board can make due with 6% less. And to boot, they invite them into the process at the very end, when the decision has already been made. Does this sound like a fair way to treat a"member of the team"? How about sharing the burden of reductions? I guess all the Council's needs must be far more important than the Park Board's. And let's not forget the threat to fight the Park Board if they had the audacity to try to replace these funds through a referendum. Or how about the Board, learning at first from media calls, that at the last minute that the Mayor has vetoed an action he at one time thought was a reasonable idea. (In fact, one of the proposals put forth by the City was that they buy the building and lease it back to the Park Board.) You can't be a part of the team until you're a full fledged member. Why didn't the City consult with the Park Board before they decided to sell $25 million in revenue bonds for the Walker project? I wonder what its effect will be on the city's financial picture? Did they take into consideration their decisions impact on the $500,000 a year in revenue the Park Board gets from its nearby parking facility? I could go on and on, but I'm sure you get the point. Until the Board is recognized as an equal team member, I for one, am glad we have a group of elected officials that are not afraid to do what they know is best for our parks and the people who use them. They might make mistakes at times, but I wouldn't trade their independence for anything. Does anyone out there really believe that we would have the best urban park system in the country if the Mayor and Council were in control? Give me a break! Scott Neiman Windom _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
