It's over. It's time to put an end to the pursuit of urban renewal in Troutdale.
At last night's urban renewal public hearing during the Troutdale City Council meeting, I heard enough B.S. to last a month of meetings.
-All of the cost estimates, by urban renewal consultant Jeff Tashman's own admission, are "Soft". This means they are basically fantasy. He said he came up with a number for "planning purposes". One of the estimates for a project was based on ten year old information.
-Tashman admitted that he intentionally withheld the property tax increase information caused by the bonds issued before October 2001. This means the Ad-Hoc committee, the Citizen Advisory Committee, and the Parks Advisory Committee, not to mention the City Council, were intentionally not given the full financial picture. Apparently City Administrator John Anderson was aware of this.
Here are some other quotes from Mr. Tashman, who the City of Troutdale is paying big bucks for his "expertise":
"The urban renewal plan and the financial numbers are a commitment to effort as opposed to a result".
"The urban renewal plan expresses intentions and not a promise" Obviously to Tashman, it doesn't matter if the city doesn't deliver on its promises to taxpayers. He still gets his consultant fees.
Fine. I was willing to keep an open mind. But I won't be the frog that's put in a cold pot of water and is slowly cooked to death as the water temperature slowly increases to boiling.
3 comments:
He said he came up with a number for "planning purposes". One of the estimates for a project was based on ten year old information.
They did that down here in Portland and look what that got us: a tram nobody except OHSU wants anymore.
Actually I believe in urban renewal, but it's got to have brain. This has no brain.
Is it really over, such that those of us who have grave doubts and really don't want a YES vote on 2-14 should hold our tongues for now? Or, knowing that a strong offense is often the best defense, should we be AIRING now our strong objections publicly? Wouldn't waiting be like planning, gambling, to remove a spear in our chest after it's been thrown, rather than throwing up our shield now? So can you guarantee that it's REALLY over?
As of today, I believe urban renewal should be decided by Troutdale's voters.
But I have to admit that I have flip flopped on this almost hourly over the last several days.
If you do have strong objections, post them here. Keep in mind, "anonymous", that it's better to identify yourself when you post here. Anonymous praise or anonymous objections are pretty much worthless.
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