Yesterday, we discussed the fact the council approved $25 million bond for parks and recreation improvements does not include a specific list of projects that are being funded. As a result, there is no enforceable promise that guarantees that the projects approved for bonding in July will happen.
Today, we present five reasons why priorities could change.
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The "next council" might have a different set of priorities
The term of the two members of council who voted "no"on the bonding ends in 2024. Thus, they will be in office through the completion of most of the work. All they need are two new members of council who agree with their thinking to change the direction of the use of these bond funds.
Some of the items on the list of projects do not reflect the wishes of the residents
Council Member Solomon is focussed on what residents want. He bases his thinking on a town conducted statistically valid needs assessment that was done by an independent consultant for the town's 2020 Parks and Recreation Master Plan. That survey classified facility needs into three categories (See panel right). Many of the items on the July approved priority list are either low or no priority. "My big objection is that this does not follow the statistically valid survey that was touted 'time and time and time again' through this council. Yet, after all of that, that is not the way priorities were set," according to Solomon speaking a last week’s town council meeting.
The town does not know what each project will cost yet they are raising money to fund the projects now
The town has "put the cart before the horse". The town has no true financial picture of what projects it can and can not afford. This is because it is just now preparing revised estimates of construction costs, costs that may be much greater because of inflation. Council Member Solomon asked Town Finance Director Gephart last week what these estimates were. Gephart stated that “I do not have a cost estimate...” of these items “… because we are still working through what this final project list is going to be.” According to Gephart, the project list cost could well be more than originally estimated.
The town may need even more than $25 million for these projects. Funds may have to come from added sources.
$25 million may not be sufficient to pay for all of the cost of the projects because of inflation. According to Gephart, inflation may stay in the 5-7% range for the foreseeable future because government stimulus money has flooded the market. “There is concern that with inflation, we are not going to complete all of the projects, amenities that have been approved.”
What happens if the town finds itself short of funds for these projects? According to Town Manager Mary Jacobs: “If we are not able to get everything done on the list, I will come back to council. We also have the opportunity for...” adding funds to complete these projects through future budgets. “Because these projects are going to go on over multiple years… We’ll have to budget the bond monies…and look for supplemental monies."
The town has no idea of what will be the cost of maintaining these facilities
The projects that will be funded by the bond are not fully defined nor have they been fully vetted per town policy. Policy 1 of the town’s financial and budgetary policies states that all proposed projects should have “…all operations, maintenance and replacement costs shall be fully costed.” Town Finance Director Gephart stated that he had no idea of what these costs would be.
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Council Members Solomon and Green voted against the bond measure. Solomon summed up his reasoning. "This is a pretty big wish list and we are not going to be able to afford all of this especially considering the operating cost.” After reminding the council that voters have always rejected bonding for parks projects at the ballot box, Solomon noted; "This is not what the community asked for. This bond is rushed through and no real financial analysis." If new council members next year agree with Council Members Solomon and Greene, then the allocation of the bond money will change.
