In their letters to The Explorer Oct 1, 2008, Oro Valley residents John Musolf & Donald Bristow give more reasons why we should VOTE "NO" ON NARANJA BOND.
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Tax to pay for a park, but ignore Oro Valley roads
Chet Oldakowski formed a PAC to stop the Naranja Town Site Park.
Dick Johnson (NTS supporter) is quoted in the news article. According to Johnson, communities have just as much obligation to fund parks as they do roads. And the burden to pay for such things falls upon all members of the community, not just those who benefit from them.
“That’s not the way we do things in America,” Johnson said. “It’s not just about me, it’s about the community.”
Interesting that Mr. Johnson brings up the analogy of funding roads as well as parks.
The TOV already has long-term “under-funded liabilities” that exist for TOV roads. If such “under-funded” obligations are permitted to grow over a long period of time, they can have a substantial effect on a government’s financial condition (sounds like our country’s current economic crisis).
Where is Mr. Johnson’s voice on “community support” for maintaining our roads?
Mr. Civalier, town engineer, appeared before the TOV finance committee in both 2007 and 2008 to discuss “pavement management;” that is, the strategy on how to maintain our streets (roads).
We are currently at least $1 million short each year in budgeting reserves for pavement management.
Mr. Civalier indicated it would help if we could spend about $3.8 million for about 7-8 years ($25-30 million) to maintain the roads properly.
According to Mr. Johnson, we must tax our citizens for a park and ignore our roads.
John Musolf
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Bonds too costly in THIS economy
In a recent letter to the editor, Don Cox indicated that Oro Valley will be a town of mediocrity if the citizens don’t approve the Naranja Town Site (NTS) bond proposal.
How can that be? Without the developed NTS, the town recently received several excellent recognitions. U.S News & World Report stated Oro Valley was one of the top places to retire; Money Magazine reported Oro Valley was one of the best places to live in 2008; Family Circle and Parents.com rated Oro Valley as one of the best 10 towns for families; and Fortune Small Business Magazine ranked Oro Valley 44th out of the 100 best places to live and launch a small business.
It doesn’t appear the quality of our town or our property values have suffered from the lack of the developed Naranja Town Site.
Investing in the high cost of the NTS to save some citizens money on gasoline spent to reach recreational facilities outside the town is a minor consideration. A major consideration should be the current financial state of United States and its potential impact on the bond issue.
While it is anyone’s best guess, it appears likely the ability to borrow money for everyone, including the Town of Oro Valley, will be at a higher rate than when the town first asked its citizens to assume more personal long-term debt (up to 25 years and up to 12 percent per annum) by approving the bond proposal. Therefore, it is likely if the bond issue is approved now, we will receive fewer facilities due to higher costs.
The NTS will also cost more to operate. It would be wise to reject the parks and recreation improvements bond proposal for now due to the cost uncertainty. If approved now, the resulting additional property taxes (personal long-term debt) and operational costs will further reduce our shrinking standard of living.
Without the NTS, the Town of Oro Valley will not be a town of mediocrity. It will continue to be a community of excellence.
Donald Bristow
Oro Valley
4 comments:
Excellent letter by Don Bristow which points out that Don Cox is WRONG when he asserts that we will be a town of mediocrity without this park.
So, Mr.Cox, if we're so mediocre without this park, why have numerous publications listed Oro Valley as one of the best places to live when we don't currently have this "absolutely necessary to our existence" park?
Thinker, also go back to the heading of:
"Oro Valley Resident says NO to Naranja Bond"
and read the last two posts, one from me and one from Zev. Looking forward to your response on those postings.
That Mr. Don Cox "indicated" that the Town of Oro Valley will be a town of mediocrity if the citizens don't approve the Naranja Town Site bonds is about as crazy as asking that we build a skyscraper in order to be on equal footing economically with 'towns' like Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Bejing, etc., etc., etc. Although we may love it here, Mr. Cox, face up to the fact that we are 'small potatoes' in the grand scheme of things. Where have YOU lived, what have YOU accomplished, WHO are YOU, Mr. Cox, that makes you think you are that much of an expert on 'what makes a great place to live'? We have what WE have and that is, in itself, very special; using a term in your vernacular, Mr. Cox, we do not need to act like a bunch of lemmings in order to be successful.
Last night, at a Town Council meeting, I listened to a couple of pro-park advocates, outline how so many kids couldn't take part in sports because they needed to play at night, the available fields were mostly without lighting, and they needed to pursue their league play. Kids are kids, Mr. Cox, sports are good but NOT paramount, and, how do these kids get their school assignments completed if they are out playing games at night when they should be home learning their reading, writing, and arithmatic as well as how to deal with family life. According to many experts most kids feel that they are stressed out with too much homework, they are detached from their families for lack of HOME life, and they turn out to be book smart by rote learning rather than life smart by experience learning. Ya know what I'm saying, dude?
Please note, too, that the ability to utilize this facility will be greatly limited by the climate we have here. My own daughter and family are looking to return to California from Scottsdale just because their 2 boys can't go out and play during the day - it is just too hot AND they want their kids home at night in order to promote a traditional family with traditional family values.
No, Mr. Cox, this isn't even an amenity, it's an abomination and many of those who are promoting it are promoting ONLY their own
egos. You need to get off YOUR high horse and land back on the REAL WORLD; it isn't what YOU think it is!
Note, VC, while you were posting I was writing so I did not have the opportunity to acknowledge your statement; like Mr. Bristow's, contrite and correct!
Thinker seems to have disappeared from the site. He tends to do that whenever our arguments become too challenging for him.
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