A College Town

Over the course of the last few years there has been an insistence by our Mayor that Marina should be a college town.  Although he has had a difficult time expressing just what that means, he defaults to say a fun and energetic town. I think we can all agree that a fun and energetic town is great but what does that really mean? Does that mean a town full of bars, clubs, and small student related stores? Do the demographics even come close to making this possible? Do we give up on who we are in the process?

The Mayor regularly refers to both his alma mater Humbolt State (Arcata) and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo) as colleges and towns Marina should emulate. Let’s think about that for a minute.

 Cal Poly SLO has a student and faculty population of some 22,000 in a town of some 45,000 and a small surrounding county of over 269,000. The county itself is very concentrated in the immediate area around the town. Not something that Marina can emulate. As for Humbolt State, they have a student and faculty population of some 9,000 in a town of just over 17,000. Here half of the population of the town is, in fact students. Again something Marina could never emulate.

So what is Marina today and what do we want our City to be in the future? I would argue that a couple of recent events tell us who we are and actually dictate who we want to be in the future. First our recent Labor Day parade, a Marina tradition that was rekindled with community support and a huge effort by the American Legion. It was a nice parade filled with community groups, politicians, schools and a fabulous contingent of our country’s military. There was not one entry from our college communities be it CSUMB, MPC or Hartnell.

The other event was the dedication of the CAPT Gordon R. Nakagawa Memorial Pilot Lounge at the Marina Airport. This event, on a breezy Friday afternoon at the Marina Airport was attended by a hundred family, community and retired military members that represent the best of Marina. This is Marina’s core, the ones that are here for the long run and want to help make Marina thrive.

So what is Marina really? Marina is a family friendly, ethnically diverse, retired military town that is open to all, be they tourists, visitors, shoppers or college students. Marina is a town that continues to pursue a diversified economy that will benefit all, not just one particular demographic. So let’s give up the idea of being something we are not and celebrate who we are and work together to make Marina a community that we are all proud of today and tomorrow.

More later.

Reconsideration

Here we go again, the Marina City Council is about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by again reconsidering the Cypress Knoll’s decision of a week ago. While the community finally thought that this Council could make a constructive decision and move ahead with a project some 15 years in the making, we know now they can’t seem to shoot straight on anything.

Councilman David Brown was right when he decided to reconsider the original decision to re-start the process all over again. His reasoning was rational and correct, in that, it is time to move this project forward, and time to fulfill the promise this project can/will deliver to our community in the years ahead. While there was disagreement on which developer was to be chosen, most just wanted one or the other so we could move ahead and remove the blight, create jobs and provide a much needed senior community to Marina and the region. Council Brown’s act was the right one then.

It is with this backdrop that Councilman Brown now wants to reconsider the reconsideration. When is a decision not a decision with this City Council? How can anyone trust what they do if they say no one day, yes the next and no again another? How many hours of staff time, Council time, developer’s time and community time are wasted? How much money is this City literally throwing away with this process? Monies that we can ill afford. Finally, who in their right mind would ever work with this City Council again, on anything?

By reconsidering Cypress Knolls again, we continue to delay a much needed joint use gym for Marina High School. This is because the Mayor reportedly wants the High School moved to the Cypress Knolls site despite previous School Board and City Council decisions. We potentially waste tens of thousands of dollars on a useless EIR that the school district has done in planning for a new Marina High School in the years ahead. Monies that they can ill afford. What does it take to move anything that benefits our students and our community forward?

This Cypress Knolls project has been under tremendous scrutiny almost from the beginning. There have been accusations hurled across multiple parties and this last round of reconsiderations will only make matters worse. Just when the community was ready to move on we now have to wonder just how corrupt this process is and who is pulling the strings.

If you have never been to a City Council meeting before, perhaps this Wednesday’s should be your first. Stand up and let this Council know that the delays, reconsiderations and games are over. This community has had enough! It is time to get something done that will benefit the entire community. If this Council will not move forward than perhaps it’s time to replace those that continue to play the games and let those that are pulling the strings know they answer to the citizens of Marina!

More later