Ft Ord National Monument

I took the opportunity yesterday to attend the dedication ceremony for the new Fort Ord National Monument. It was a beautiful morning some 6 miles deep in the Ft Ord back country. While Marina was covered in the morning fog, the dedication area, and much of the Ft Ord area was full of bright sunshine.

As I heard speaker after speaker talk about the virtues of the Ft Ord National Monument you could hear the sounds of the Ferrari’s racing around Laguna Seca sometimes making it hard to hear the words. It was a reminder, spoken by Congressman Farr, that Ft Ord means different things to different people. His example was the Ferrari’s and the mortarboards representing the morning’s graduation ceremonies at CSUMB.

Many may not know but Laguna Seca was at one time part of the Ft Ord base but was gifted to Monterey County as a Park in the early 1960’s. Since then it has provided millions of dollars to our area’s coffers in tourism and service revenues. The Ft Ord National Monument may also add to our regions revenues over the years but that’s not really the point. The point is that the lands that make up Ft Ord are for everyone.

There are lands for recreation, from racing to hiking, biking and more. There is land for education as represented by CSUMB, MPC, Chartwell, York and others. There are lands for development like The Dunes, Marina Heights, the Highlands and more. What do all of these areas really mean for the region?

Jobs - jobs that left our local economy when Ft. Ord closed. They could be jobs in recreation, education, research, medicine, manufacturing and in areas that we have not even thought about or considered. Jobs that will help to stabilize our local economy, perhaps even diversify it so that we are not as dependant on the cyclical nature of tourism.

So we celebrate the dedication of the Ft Ord National Monument as it sets aside forever, over half of the former Ft Ord lands that can and will be used by all of us. We also celebrate the other lands that make up Ft Ord as they represent the economic opportunities needed to sustain our areas economy.

More later

Appreciation

It was Albert Schweitzer that said “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us”. In my mind this is the definition of appreciation and it is with this thought in mind that I look forward to the next couple of weeks.

First on the list is my father’s birthday. It’s the perfect time to say the things I don’t necessarily say throughout the year. It’s his day and the time to let him know how much I appreciate all the things he has done for us over a lifetime.

In Marina, we have others that we get to acknowledge over the next couple of weeks starting with our Teachers. For many, many years the Marina American Legion has held an event, unique to our area that is designed to recognize the great job our local teachers do within our community. After all, who among us can’t think back to a teacher that somehow helped change our own lives? We as a community want to thank those that are changing the lives of our children today and Teacher Appreciation Day is our way of expressing our gratitude for a difficult job well done.

A bit later in the week, we as a community get the honor of acknowledging our Public Safety Officers. The annual Marina Public Safety Appreciation dinner again, is our community’s way of recognizing the often thankless job our Public Safety Officers do, day in and day out. So often we take for granted those that answer the call for help and those that protect us – this is Marina’s way of letting them know that we appreciate all that they do for us.

That will bring us to Mother’s Day. Here, not unlike the thoughts I expressed for my Dad’s birthday, we have the opportunity to appreciate all the things Mom has done for us. We thank them for the countless, thankless hours doing the things that Mom does each and every day that help and support their families. It also lets us pause and remember those Moms that we have lost but that we never let go from our hearts.

I am sure that there are many people in your own life that you appreciate but do not always acknowledge. Perhaps you can take a moment or two over the next couple of weeks and show them just how grateful you are that they are a part of your life.

More later

Springtime

Now that the taxes are done, Easter is over, the late season rains are giving way to flowers and baseball season is finally underway - it’s clear, springtime is here. Perhaps it’s time to take a brief break from all things political and look around our community.

It’s really not hard to see that there is far more that we have in common than what drives us apart. Springtime represents new beginnings, new starts and new growth so let’s celebrate those things.

Let’s take a moment and…

watch the kids playing baseball and softball and remember the spring days we played.

walk around our yards, gardens and neighborhoods to see what’s new this spring.

participate in the community events that bring us together like Earth Day and the Wind         Festival.

It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day struggles and not see the things around us that bring a smile to our faces. It may seem a bit corny or silly to remind us to stop and smell the roses but if we don’t take the time now, when will we?

There is plenty of time to comment on politics, on who is doing what and who is not but maybe, just maybe, if we remember the lessons of spring we can reduce the divide just a bit, mend a fence or two and discover that we really do have more in common than we think.

More later

Time for a dialog

The next few months will be very important for the City of Marina. We have heard comments like this before but what happens in relation to our City’s budget over these months is critical to our future. Our City budget must be approved by the end of June which means we have three months to get it right.

We know that two years ago the citizens of Marina voted to tax themselves to maintain the current level of service within our community (Measures M & N). That successful vote cut our structural deficit in half. Since that time our City Council has done nothing to narrow the remaining gap with new revenue. As a result they will have several difficult decisions to make this budget cycle - mainly on the level of service we as citizens want and/or demand going forward.

This is the time to open a major public dialog within our community to define what we as citizens expect from our City government. Let’s be clear. This has to go well beyond our Police, Fire and Recreation services. This dialog must also include:  the services our Public Works department does to maintain our streets, parks and public facilities; our City’s Finance department; our Planning, and our Building departments.

It takes a lot of departments to run a City, regardless of its size - and that means people. Over the past few years the City of Marina has shed many of these people to the point where we are, by most estimates, at the bare minimum of service we can provide our citizens. If that is the case, what services must we cease to provide in the future?

If we as a community decide that we cannot eliminate any of the programs and services that are currently provided, then what steps are needed to properly fund them? What can, or must, our City Council do to shore up our City’s balance sheet to provide the services for all the citizens of Marina?

This is the dialog we must have from here. I for one will be very interested in hearing what you think and what services and/or level of service you want to see from your City. It is important to share these thoughts with our City officials because this budget cycle may well define what Marina looks like for years to come. So I urge you to write letters to the editor and to your Council members, go to City Council meetings, or simply talk to your Council members when you see them, and let them know how you feel. Now is the time for this dialog - not after the decisions are made.

More later

FORA Extension

The extension of FOR A is on a lot of minds lately. Since the last Council meeting where the City Council debated the contents of a long letter to the State legislature, the bill extending FOR A was passed out of committee in Sacramento and could be approved as soon as Thursday out in the Assembly.

I thought it important to repeat a few of the points I brought up before the City Council because many of them have to do with issues beyond the extension of FOR A.

First, let’s remember that the former Ft. Ord is about the size of San Francisco City and County, 28,000 acres. Of that acreage, a bit over 18,000 acres have been set aside as permanent natural habitat through agreements with FOR A  and the Sierra Club. Now it appears some 14,000+ acres of that land will be designated as a National Monument to secure its natural status forever.

The remaining acres include all of CSUMB, parts of Del Rey Oaks, Monterey, Seaside, the County of Monterey and Marina. These areas are represented by the Highlands and Bayonet Golf Course in Seaside, the East Garrison project in the County and the Dunes, the Marina Airport, MPC and Marina Heights in Marina plus various other areas.

Next, the blight that we are so concerned about is all within someone’s current jurisdiction. In Marina, most of the blight we see is owned by the City of Marina at this point. There are areas that are entitled for development but the land itself is still owned by the City till the developers have enough interest in building to actually purchase the land and demolish the buildings. The same is true in Seaside, the County and CSUMB. It should also be noted that it is the proceeds from the land sales that fund the demolition of the old buildings.

In fact, Marina had a chance to remove all the blight in the Cypress Knolls area but Councilman Brown changed his mind after choosing a developer, causing more delay’s that could last for years. In the meantime, the blight is not only an eyesore but both an environmental and public safety hazard.

Finally, the purpose of FOR A was, and is, to replace the jobs and the economy that was the Army before the base closed. That means some 34,000 jobs and the housing that goes along with it. FOR A, the Cities and the developers have been working to fulfill this mandate but they have weathered challenge after challenge plus an ever changing economy just to get where we are today. Has everything been accomplished since they began? Of course not. Are there challenges and issues that should be resolved? Yes, but these are local issues and they need local input, not solved on a State level.

So I support the extension of FOR A and I hope the State legislature agrees and gives FOR A the 10 year extension that Assemblyman Monning along with his co-signers, Assemblyman Alejo and Senators Blakeslee and Cannella have proposed. Then let’s all get back to the serious work of bringing jobs to our community.

More later

A "Balanced" Smoke Screen

The Tuesday Council agenda about a balanced budget may sound great on the surface, but here are the details that you, the public, should be aware of.

Let’s be clear. The City of Marina has a structural deficit. In fact, two years ago it was about 4 million dollars annually. However, our citizens did their part and voted to tax themselves to cover about half the deficit (Measures M & N). It was up to our City Council to do the rest. Since that time, not one dime of new revenue has been raised by this City Council.

Instead, this Council majority has tried to balance the budget on City employees’ backs - all its employees. A multitude of opportunities were presented to this Council to approve new revenues, but - in each and every case - the Council could/would not deliver. Prime example: why not review the recommendations of Councilman O’Connell’s own budget advisory committee from two years ago.

So now Councilman O’Connell has raised the issue of a balanced budget resolution: a great campaign issue.  But Councilman O’Connell forgets he does not need a resolution to accomplish this goal: Simply bring in new revenue or make the hard choices to cut the City’s core services. He has had this opportunity for the past three budgets, yet the Council has continued to approve “out of balance” budgets and draw down on its reserve funds.

The resolution requires proportional budget cuts. If public safety is 80% of the budget, then 80% of the cuts need to come from public safety- per his resolution. Instead of the Council deciding what to cut, he is mandating the City Manager recommend them; however, the Council can restore any spending by a super-majority vote. This process will not avoid endless straw votes - rather it will just reverse their direction. Instead of voting to cut, they will vote to restore this or that position or program.

My suggestion to Councilmembers:  rather than waste staff time by creating the resolution, doing the research and changing the municipal code, simply ask the City Manager, prior to the typical budget cycle, to submit the budget to council, in whatever form desired - balanced or not. Then make hard decisions necessary to accomplish the goal with full public transparency and participation.

More later

Termination

As you all likely know by now, our City Council majority terminated our City Manager’s contract this past Tuesday night as expected. I have talked about the process that they used to do this in previous blogs so I will not go into much of the process again here. However, it was clear from the testimony that the reason for the termination had nothing to do with performance, nor with budgets.

There was an agreement to be made but the majority was unwilling to do so. As a result the City will spend tens of thousands of dollars on additional attorney fees, an arbitration process and, in the end, pay the City Manager the amount outlined in his contract. If it ends up with a trial, damages could be added on as well. It is likely that this entire process as done by this Council majority could cost the City a half million dollars or more from our general fund. All unbudgeted.

From what I am hearing on the street and from the phone calls I am getting, the public is outraged by the process and by the fact the Council is unwilling to honor a contract with a valued employee. This includes many in the Council Chambers on Tuesday night that were unaware of the circumstances and process the Council was following.  So what is in store for the rest of our City’s employees?

It is clear that this Mayor and the Council majority have created a hostile and intimidating work environment for all of our employees. Remember, many of these employees are working to cover more than one job due to our overall staffing shortages and budget issues. Are they next in the barrel? Are they to have the Council tear up their existing agreements and dictate new terms or be terminated?

This unfortunate episode will further undermine the credibility of our Council, put our City employees on the defensive and further erode our City’s ability to provide the core services we demand.

Very simply put, none of this needed to happen. If the Council had acted in good faith, met face to face to with the City Manager or even simply followed the terms of his contract we would not have had to go through this ill fated and expensive process.

More later