Marina Matters - Get Away

First off let me state the best thing anyone can do for themselves is get away every so often. It is on this advice that I base my comments today. You see, getting away allows one to look at things from a completely different perspective, to be away from the trees and see the forest as it were.

So, as I return from a beautiful week deep in the Colorado Mountains I can share the lessons learned here that we all need to remember in Marina. It is my opinion that some of the best environmental policies in the country come from Colorado. It is Colorado that has found a way to incorporate the need for economic development and environmental policies to the success of both. It is also Colorado that voted down an Olympic bid because they felt it would be too devastating to the economy and environment several years ago.

It’s with this backdrop that I revisit the State of my younger years and see that, while so much has changed, the state has remained true to itself. What were small town ski areas 30 years ago are booming economic centers year round today. To drive up highway 70 past towns such as Georgetown, Vail, Avon and Edwards you barely see the development but it’s there.  Even the huge self enclosed area of Beaver Creek is built right into the mountain in a way that looks almost natural.

Over the years thousands of acres of trees have been removed to accommodate this development but it has been done in a way that preserves thousands of additional acres of natural habitat and beautiful mountains.

Now let’s take a look at Marina and Ft. Ord. We see people trying to convince us that the economic redevelopment of Ft. Ord is some great sin imposed on our environment. Never mind the fact that in most areas these lands have been scarred by decades of military use and any new development would actually repair much of the land and return the economics of our area to what it once was. In fact, that was the entire goal of the original Ft. Ord Reuse Plan. It was designed to replace the economic engine that the military was and do so while preserving thousands of acres of natural habitat.

There are those that want you to forget that part of the Ft. Ord Reuse Plan set aside an area slightly larger than the entire City of San Francisco as natural habitat. Areas that, still to this day, are being restored and managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

So yes, there will be development that changes the landscape in some areas. The ill fated Cypress Knolls project was one of them. It would have torn down all the blighted buildings on the property and restored the lands and developed a first class senior development that would be in tune with the goals of the Ft. Ord Reuse Plan.

There are other examples such as the Veterans Cemetery. Here we find opposition not in the concept but in the use of two entitlement parcels that will help fund the entire project. There are those that make a big public cry of support for the Cemetery but are trying like mad to stop the development parcels behind the scenes. To what end? It’s simply to stop all development at all costs without regard to the original goal.

My advice would be to take a trip, see what others are doing. Then come back and work together to replace the economic engines that will bring the jobs and housing markets back to our communities - to get off your high horse and see that our environment is being protected and has been from the beginning of this process.

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Cypress Knolls, RIP

Last Tuesday nights special council meeting in Marina signified the end of the development project known as Cypress Knolls, may it rest in peace. The current Council majority again pulled defeat out of the jaws of success and continues to put the City on a course of financial disaster.

Cypress Knolls was conceived in the late 90’s as a senior development to serve the entire region.  It was originally to use many of the structures already in place. These structures still remain today as dilapidated, decaying and dangerous buildings fenced off from public access. For a variety of reasons, including yet another lawsuit filed against a development project in Marina, the project stalled and was never built.

Several years later, another company came in with an updated plan to remove all the buildings and develop a new senior community on the same Cypress Knolls property. As the economy slowed this deal eventually fell apart and once again the project stalled and was never built.

Then two years ago the City of Marina started the process all over. They held public hearings and asked the Community what they wanted in a senior community on the property. As a result two developers came forward with concepts that would tear down all the blighted and dangerous buildings, fulfill the needs of the community and create a beautiful senior oriented community that created jobs while diversifying our City economy.

The process had many steps and stumbles along the way but it included a community selection committee (which I chaired), an investigation (on-going) and a decision to start over with a smaller project, then to reconsider and to choose one developer, than another re-consideration and a final decision last Tuesday to start the process all over again and seek developers for a smaller project.

The process reminds me of Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown, this time she will hold the ball for the kick. Of course, Lucy pulls the ball away leaving Charlie Brown on the ground wondering what happened again this time. The problem is this is not a cartoon, this is real and it has real implications for the citizens of Marina.

First, the blighted buildings on the Cypress Knolls property will be there for years to come. Next, due to this decision our City’s budget situation will continue to get worse. There will be no developer fees, no reimbursements, no property taxes and no jobs for many years to come, if at all.

Our community’s image in the development community is severally tarnished. After all, how would you feel after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, following all the rules then to be told that we changed our minds and to go away?

So with the Cypress Knolls project years away again (if ever), the Mayor’s highly touted Eco Village dead (what, no one told you that before?) and no new revenue generated over the past four years, our City Council will have little option but to continue to cut services in the future. This will mean cutting core services such as police, fire and recreation even though our citizens voted to tax themselves to keep this from happening.

So now the City has few choices ahead. They can continue to cut our core services or they will need to sell the Preston and Abrams Park communities to cover the City expenses until the real estate market recovers in California. There are few options left and further delays of projects such as Cypress Knolls will force that decision.

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Marina Matters – Priorities

“There you go again”. It’s a famous line from Ronald Reagan in one of his debates with Jimmy Carter. I feel we in Marina can say the same thing to Mayor Delgado and the current Council majority. There are two items on the Tuesday Council agenda that strike me as simply missing the point, again.

One is item F1 that is a report back to the City Council on the sphere of influence as it relates to the annexation of a portion of CSUMB. The second is item 10D. This has to do with endorsing a United States Constitutional amendment stating that corporations are not people and do not have free speech and other protections guaranteed to living humans by the Bill of Rights and the 14^th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Let me ask this simple question. If the City of Marina has a significant budget shortfall and will likely need to lay off or significantly reduce our police, fire and recreation departments in next year’s budget, then why in blue blazes are they wasting time on these subjects? What does this say about the priorities set forth by this Council?

Let’s look at the annexation first. The Council has asked staff to report to them the costs associated with the annexation process to incorporate the East Campus housing areas of CSUMB into Marina. This is a costly and time consuming process that keeps valuable City resources (time and money) away from bringing new revenue into the City. Question: should the City of Marina look to expand its boundaries and stretch its resources further when they already have a significant budget shortfall and know they will have to continue to cut services in the future?

As for the second item, supporting a resolution to endorse a constitutional amendment, it’s more of the same. This is in response to the Supreme Courts Citizens Unites v. Federal Elections Commission decision last year. While individual Council members may wish to endorse this or any other item, is this really what we are directing staff to deal with? Again, the more time spent on items that are not related to fixing the City’s budget and bringing in revenue the worse our City budget issues get.

I attended the Monterey Chamber of Commerce Leadership luncheon this past week where all of our area elected officials spoke. When it came to Marina’s time, Mayor Pro Tem O’Connell (who filled in for the Mayor) spoke. He talked about the City working to narrow its budget deficit and not cutting our public safety and recreation services. He then proceeded to list several projects that implied they brought new revenue to the City. This list included the Wellness Center (maybe a little sales tax), the new MPC Campus (none), the Airport grant (not general fund), the Airport Fire Station improvement (none), the Pilot Lounge (none), the Canine Institute (eventually some sales tax), improved bike lanes on Reservation Road (none), the Equestrian Center upgrade (none but maybe some revenue in the future but not general fund), the Labor Day and Earth Day celebrations (maybe some increased sales tax) and the Teen Center (none). While each of these has merit they do not address our City’s budget in any significant way.

The City Council outlined some 125 plus priorities when this Council’s term started. How many of these related to bringing in new revenue to the City? How many other items were added to this list at each Council meeting that have nothing to do with revenue? Why has this Council not found one extra dollar in revenue but continues to spend monies on projects that the City does not have? Why do they continue to direct staff away from projects that could benefit the City’s budget?

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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.

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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!

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Preston Park discussions continue....

On Tuesday night, the Marina City Council will once again discuss the disposition of Preston Park. One of the issues to be discussed will be the possible sale of the Preston Park property. Considering the state of the City's overall budget and the unwillingness of this Council to address the revenue side of the ledger makes this discussion all the more important.

On June 13th, I posted on this site my thoughts and reasoning as to why the sale of this property is vital to the long term financial viability of the City of Marina. I am re-posting that article below since it is still the only clear path that makes sense for the City's future. While the beginning is a bit dated the balance holds true today.

Please come to the Council meeting on Tuesday night and let your voice be heard on this important issue.

The Marina City Council has embarked on a series of scheduled meetings regarding the 2011-12 budget and an unknown number of ad-hoc meetings on the same subject. For the past few years the City Council has not dealt with the income side of the budgetary process; rather the Council has relied on cuts and union renegotiation's. If not for a couple of then City Council members and the willingness of the public to tax itself, we would not have any additional income.

This Council has already signaled that they will continue to center their discussions on the expense side of the ledger. It is my opinion that the answer to Marina’s long term budget issues is not that difficult to solve and it does not include additional cuts.

First, let’s understand what the future looks like for Marina today from a larger prospective. The Federal deficit will continue to limit their ability to push funds to local and State governments. Second, the State of California will continue their attempts to take monies from Cities, or at the least, push expenses back to Cities and Counties. This will not change for several years so there is little or no help from outside sources for years to come.

Even with the new taxes that voters approved, (approximately $1.8 million in new funds) the city will still have a structural annual deficit and will need to draw from our reserve fund. While this is not optimal we know this will not last forever and time is not on our side as we wait for the housing market to improve. At current levels we have about 2 years before our reserves are depleted. We can only hope that the housing market improves in that time and that we start to see new homes added to our tax base to help balance our future budgets.

On the expense side, we know that we are at an absolute base level for our Police, Fire, Administration, and Recreation departments. With crime increasing on most levels, due primarily to ongoing economic issues, we cannot jeopardize our community by cutting any additional public safety services. In fact, the community told us this by approving the new taxes. Our administrative departments are substantially understaffed and cannot lose anyone else and still perform the basic functions we require.

All that said, do we have any options that are not being considered? The answer is a resounding yes!

The City of Marina is the owner and the property manager for both the Abrams and Preston Park housing communities. The City Council has repeatedly underfunded the maintenance funds for these communities to the determent of both those that live there and the long term value of the properties. This is not a desirable circumstance for either community but I want to focus on Preston Park for now.

It is my understanding that Preston Park is valued somewhere between $50 and 60 million dollars. For the purposes of this exercise let’s say that number is the conservative $50 million. It is my opinion that the City needs to sell this property with all the current restrictions in place, (i.e.; the property would stay at least 20% affordable). It should be noted that while the residential housing market is still troubled, the apartment market is very robust, so sales of this property would be very possible. So let’s assume that we can get $50 million for Preston Park; half would go to FOR A (a very willing partner in the sale) so the City of Marina would net approximately $25 million.

Now, let’s further our example with a couple of hypothetical Council actions with those funds. First, take $1 million for deferred CIP projects like fixing pot holes and back fill a couple of much needed staff positions. Next, take a second million and honor our contracts with our police and fire personnel for the cost of living increases they deserve. That would leave $23 million. Finally, add three million to our immediate reserves thus extending them for at least one to two more years. We would still have a $20 million dollar balance.

I would suggest setting this aside in an investment fund with the Monterey County Treasurer or outside professional management. At today’s current rates, investing these funds in a series of properly laddered and balanced AAA rated bonds would garner approximately 3 to 5% interest. An average rate of 4% would generate approximately $800,000 annually (5% would generate $1,000,000 annually) that would be available to our general fund. This number all but replaces the income we currently use from Preston Park funds today in our budget. If Abrams is included the numbers improve even more, but since there is a note on this property the net balances would not change drastically.

An additional benefit is that a $20 million cash reserve would significantly improve the City’s credit rating thus reducing the cost of any bond financing that might be desired in the future.

A Life Lesson

Life is full of lessons; I guess the key is to learn from them the first time around. Of course, some of us take a little longer but we still learn along the way. Hopefully, at the end of the day we have moved the ball forward and prepare for the next day a little smarter for it.

That said, I want to look back a week and learn a lesson that we should all never forget.

This is the story of a group of Marina kids that just needed a chance. They needed someone to believe in them and to give them a path and a vehicle that would allow them to shine. I am sure we all remember our early teen years as a time when rebellion and direction did not go hand in hand. Add an element of authority and off the reservation we went.

So back up a couple of years ago when an unlikely authority figure stepped up and took a few ragtag skateboarders aside and planted an idea. It took a while but slowly this group of kids began to see something happening and it was changing them all.

Soon this group of kids began to become a Team and a good one at that. They began to believe in themselves and in each other, and they began to win. First it was a competition here and there, and then it was almost all they entered. When the first year was done they found themselves State Champions.

Now this is not to say that challenges did not remain, there were many. There was the normal school, family and friends to deal with but there was also that authority figure that drove them. He would not allow them to give up and he helped them deal with their own personal challenges.

So almost two years later they found themselves on the brink of something no one could ever have envisioned. They found themselves as a Team entering QUALCOMM Stadium in San Diego, before some 30,000+ people at the opening ceremonies of the 2011 State Games of America National Junior Olympic Championships. In a matter of hours they would be competing for a National title.

When it was all said and done, this group of Marina kids outdid them all, all 20 teams. They skated like they had never skated before and they found themselves the 2011 State Games of America National Junior Olympic Skateboarding Champions!

So what of the life lesson? What do you think of when you see a bunch of skateboarding kids? What about a group of kids in general? Do you give them a chance in your mind? Would you find a way to help mentor them? Perhaps the lesson is for all of us to learn.

So here's to our 2011 State Games of America National Junior Olympic Skateboarding Champions - the City of Marina/On the Beach/Drawn Skate Team, and here's to Terry Siegrist, our Recreation and Cultural Services Director who saw what was possible and guided a group of kids to accomplish more than they could have ever dreamed.

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