Would you feel comfortable constructing an “almost $2 million building” (as described by proponents) on land you didn’t own? How about allowing a city to do this on land it doesn’t own, even though during the process to decide where to build, owning the land prior to construction was the stated intent?
Would you feel comfortable with the decision-making process knowing that the building was designed prior to site selection and Mayor Eslick (a past board member of both Volunteers of America and the Boys &Girls Club), plus representatives from the VOA and the Sultan Boys and Girls Club were seated on the commission tasked with site/building selection? Why was no apparent notification given/received that the VOA would not sell the property even when “negotiations” to purchase the property were still being discussed at the November 2011 council meeting when the VOA property was selected?
Would you now be comfortable knowing a replacement for the original taxpayer-funded building was being considered under a three-way lease agreement? Comfortable risking forfeiture of said building due to lease disagreements or potential risk to city coffers if litigation arises over a three-way disagreement? Is not this the ideal teachable moment for our youth to see adults step back and re-evaluate the issue with new facts in hand and work through issues responsibly, knowing errors were made?
With low property values, now is the ideal opportunity to purchase property providing optimum site control and protection of public assets, besides acquiring land for future needs, even after this building is no longer viable. Are Sultan residents being well-served by the desire to “do right by our youth” by ignoring “government processes” set in place that protect public assets? The process currently moving forward also warrants further investigation!
Toni Reading
Sultan
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