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With Street LID end looming
Monday night, the Director of Public Works, Ken Lanfear, will be asking City Council for around $330,000 for a Street LID assessment study. The final cost of the Street LID has not been announced, but it long allow blew past the original estimate, of $31.8 million. Earlier this year, Mayor Dean Bunkers asked council for, and received, permission to open an $8 million line of credit, as the $32 million (split between two Bond Anticipation Notes) was nearly gone. More money was needed, Lanfear, the Street LID’s de facto project manager, told council in May, because “interim interest was not properly considered.”
On the City’s Web site, and also here, is a list of Questions and Answers from the March 2007 Town Hall meeting regarding the Street LID. Also below, an overview of the Street LID package, which includes $2.4 million for financing, as part of the $31.7 million total.
Some excerpts:
In answer to Question No. 3, re inspectors:
“The construction work will be primarily inspected by City personnel . . .”
In answer to Question No. 9, re authorized use of LID funds:
“Interim financing, either short-term bonds or a line of credit, will be used for constructions as the work proceeds . . .”
In answer to Question No. 11, “What guarantee do citizens have that the estimate is close to the actual amount that will be charged?’
“Staff have worked with contractors, received input from the State, and have based construction estimates on recent similar-work costs, with adjustments for inflation, location, material cost increases, etc.”
In answer to Question 14, “Will there be a special department set aside for the LID money, and will that department be audited every year?”
“Yes. Every City department is audited every year.”
Question No. 27: “What will be the true cost?”
“Our best estimate, looking at inflation, material costs, etc., is the approximate $31,800,000 indicated in presentation.”
Question No. 28: “Will the $31 million really solve the problems?”
“Yes. The estimated amount is based on a very realistic analysis of construction costs.”
Question No. 42: “Did the City consider the increases in the cost of asphalt in the next three years?”
“Yes. The cost of inflation was also estimated in the project cost.”
Maybe we should put it up to bid on all the services… Publish it far and wide. Just as long as we do not have bid forms like we did for the LID. No areas that can be left blank or mean nothing when not marked. Modify the form for the exact service needed.
Maybe we should be contracting with the county for public works and police services. Timberland regional for library.
They will use the excuse that McCauley did the first study. How valid was that study. I know there are those out there that looked at those numbers and asked questions regarding the basis in fact those were calculated. The problem is that no matter who is the mayor, council or citizen watch group, the staff still run everything. Until we change the institution, the lack of proper oversight in every department, with no sacred and protected departments, we will get the same results.
Yes, council have to be aware of what they are signing. However, they rely on staff most of the time. If staff mislead them, then that is what we get. If staff are asked by the council for something, give them a deadline. If it is not a quality work product when delivered, probation is in order. Then ask for a quality work product. If they fail again, termination.
Our boards and commissions are all a laugh. They are rubber stamps for the staff. Staff are advisory members of these board. The boards have a chairperson. That is who should be in control. The city ordinances say that these boards and commissions report to the COUNCIL and are there to REVIEW and ADVISE that body. Have we had any reports from any of these boards or commissions? Planning and a cursory one from the library. However, we need that to be the practice here. On a quarterly basis they appear in front of the council, go over their work product, projects, and plans for the council and citizens. Then the council gives direction to the Mayor and staff as to their policy and desires. Then we have a feedback mechanism that may work.
We need to change how departments are operated. Cross train people so that we have coverage when someone leaves or is sick. Also, that same process could allow for furloughs with minimal impact on citizens. Just because the city spends more than it takes in is not our fault. That is solved by cutting employee hours, if that is our major cost, and cutting projects, travel, overtime and activities that keep all departments going. Across the board cuts need to be made.
If the individuals in each department want to hang on to their jobs, we may have to make changes in how they do their jobs. If we have no gas to sit and watch people work on the roundabout, one sits in the car without the motor running. If we don’t have fuel to ride in vehicles for patrol of downtown, we do it on foot.
Maybe it is time for someone to open a private armed response alarm company to protect all of the vacation homes. Maybe a nomimal fee for Crime Watch checking your home. The vehicle uses gas. It needs to be replaced from time to time. The cost of equipment and uniforms are probably something that needs to be paid for.
Either way, change has to happen if we are going to survive as a city.
What they failed to mention is a favorite stunt the city has pulled repeatedly in the past. They picked their favorite appraiser, McCauley, and did not even consider issuing a Request for Proposal to see if they could get a lower bid price for the final evaluation from a competing apprqaiser. How would you bid a project if you knew you were the only bidder? We’ve been scammed once more.
“Enough Already” hit the nail right on the head: the city council is not now, nor has it ever been responsive to its citizen. When I first arrived in 2001, Mr. Creighton and his cronies at the time bragged about how they hadn’t raised taxes in seven years. Instead, they ignored citizens demands for new roads, a new fire station, and for better water.
I used to go to council meetings all the time. The city then, as now, seems to have a problem listening to the people. Now we have a new mayor’s position (a city manager will also have to been hired someday), new roads, a new grandiose fire station, and yet another water purification plant to build. Had all this been done judiciously over time, the cost would not be anywhere near the cost today. (By the way, after the roads are finished, is there any plan to maintain them? Where will that money come from?)
We need to dump the mayor’s position and go back to what we had. We need to elect council members that listen to what the citizens say. We need to revamp all city employee positions. We need to fire Ken Lanfear for the lousy way the roundabout project has been run. We need to hire people that know you have to figure interest into a project BEFORE it starts. We need to stop throwing money at problems. We need a new city council.
More failure from the few at the cost of the citizens. Money is tight all over, building is down, jobs are down, home prices have fallen massively since this project began, lines at the food banks are up.. and here we go again trying to squeeze the people for more cash. This is nothing short of a complete failure on high.
This is totally unacceptable! To be said that, “interim interest was not properly considered”, shows that this has been mis-managed from the start. This is a project that has been on-going for three years now, and for it to be made public that those who are supposed to be responsible for its implementation have not taken the proper steps necessary to ensure that it is done as promised, than they should be held accountable for their inabilities to do the job. The project manager, known as the public works director, has again failed to do the job that the citizens expect of him. I think it’s time to hold him accountable, and find someone else who can actually do the job.
Yes, they blew it again! This is just another example of the problems of this city budget. Although the LID is not general fund money, this mistake is an example of the miscalculations that still reverberate throughout the city budget in so many ways. So we as citizens can play the watchdog and can attend meetings, pay close attention, make our comments at the council meetings, email our council members, waste our time and the results are still the same? How do we get someone to pay attention? How do we require people to be responsible for their actions? This is the same old stuff over and over. I’m getting so tired of the ineptness and lack of accountiblity for the mistakes made by the city. When will it stop? The only result from all my time spent following the issues is that I am painfully aware of the mess the city is in. Why can’t those in power see beyond their noses to realize their uninformed decisions result in chaos and overspending? If you council people don’t fully understand what you are signing, then don’t sign it! Learn from the past and do not move forward until you do understand the total costs and what impact it will have on ALL of the city’s operations. Because of your actions signing the labor contracts, the Library is on the chopping block and may be closed at the end of the year. Shame on you! Blame is also shared by city employees and their unions as well for not making concessions after it was obvious the city could not afford to pay Seattle level wages. The city will be impacted by all of your decisions for a long time and we will not forget. For pity sake, learn from past actions. It’s the only way you will benefit from the mistakes that have been made. Now before you blindly sign the contract to spend $329 thousand for another study for the value added in this LID, ask yourselves, why is this absolutely necessary. No matter what the study says, my house is not worth more now that the roads are finished. Ask my bank. Why not divide the amount of the overage and add it proportionally to the estimate already established by the first study that was done at the beginning of the LID. Enough already!!
get out your wallets and bend over!
Kind of blew that one didn’t they?