That was Dr. Steinhauer’s great thought after last night’s meeting. It didn’t matter that they had to lie, fool with the numbers, raise our taxes astronomically, focus on construction and litigation rather than education, and ignore what the majority of citizens of Mt. Lebanon
Repeat after me: "It's going to be great for our community."
I went downtown yesterday and paid my county taxes. I had to wait for the man in front of me to remove his shoes before going through the metal detector. That gave me time to take off my coat and place it and my purse on the belt. I felt sorry for him. The County taxes are the “easy” ones to pay.
Repeat after me: "It's going to be great for our community."
Dan Miller was trying to cap the amount of parking spaces in the Discussion session. His point was that you can’t put ten pounds of potatoes in a five pound bag. It didn’t matter if they were Russets or sweet potatoes (or students or faculty.) It was a basic concept, which couldn’t be grasped by Raja, Dave, or Joe.
Repeat after me: "It's going to be great for our community."
Matt Kluck quoted “The Mt.Lebanon Comprehensive Plan” which can be found at http://pa-mtlebanon.civicplus.com/DocumentView.aspx?DID=13 . He reminded his peers of the community development objectives that were identified as the vision for the Comprehensive Plan as printed on page 1-3. This Plan also identifies “Rising school taxes” as the number two threat to Mt. Lebanon
Repeat after me: "It's going to be great for our community."
13 comments:
Elaine, you note in your post that this result ignores "what the majority of citizens of Mt. Lebanon wanted."
How can you be certain of that? What did the majority of Mt. Lebanon want?
Dave Franklin
Dave, did you wear a helmet when you played football?
Or do you just like to argue over everything?
John Ewing
Dave,
From all that I wrote, that is all you got from it?
I guess you wouldn't have understood the potato bag analogy either.
Elaine
Elaine, Dave's too busy handing out "skata" to understand potatoes.
John Ewing
David F.:
James Fraasch posted this evidence on his blog some time ago.
"The comment that caught my attention on Monday night was the one where it was said that the community is evenly divided on this project. My recollection of emails and phone conversations was much different but without the facts before me at the time, I decided not to comment.
I went back and spent some time this week counting up all the emails the Board has received since January 1, 2010. This count has been double checked with duplicate emails from residents who voiced their opinion multiple times discarded so as not to slant in favor of any one person.
I have put together a spreadsheet and present its results below:
Total/Against/ For
411/ 308/ 103
100%/ 75%/ 25%
I have broken down the list of emails by date and removed the names from the list that I used to verify duplicates.
Quite honestly, one of the reasons I put that white paper together in January was because a Board member told me that the community was evenly split. This has never been the case for this level of spending. The Republican Committee of Mt Lebanon did its own survey that showed 70% against a $114 million spend. This Board member at the time already knew about the RCML survey but chose to believe that the community was still split. My time knocking on doors in each of the past three summers had already convinced me of what these surveys proved. This is why I put out my own proposal for addressing the High School- because I didn't think we had an option on the table that adequately addressed the concerns of the majority of our residents. For me, my focus has become trying to figure out ways to save money on the existing design which is why I mentioned last Monday that we ought to consider moving the Central Office staff away from the high school in order to reduce the total square footage of the project.
I point these numbers out because this is honesty. This is transparency. Truth and transparency are sometimes inconvenient."
David, I swore I wasn't going to participate in these blogs any more. Not that it will make any difference in the project, but I just gotta ask... do you have ANY evidence that refutes Elaine's comment?
Dean Spahr
I understood the potato analogy just fine thanks. In fact, Dan and I have discussed a lot of this in great detail. However, if you're going to be the billboard for everything that you think is bad and evil in Lebo, and you want to do so with any credibility, you need to be in a position to back up your big statements. I take it from your response that you can't.
Dave F.
Dean, I don't. That's why I asked Elaine if she did. 308 emails to the school board is not a majority. 4,000 signatures on a petition is not a majority.
Do many people prefer spending less than $113 million or nothing at all? Sure. Hell, put me in the category of people who want to spend less.
But what I think we can all agree on is that no side in this debate can claim a majority. So why suggest that one exists?
Dave
Aw, Dave, you got me. I don't back up my statements with facts. Actually, I am the billboard for everything that I think is good and honest for Lebo. But I guess it all depends on where you're standing to watch the parade. Thanks for noticing.
Elaine
David F.:
Here's the real point...
"Hell," you say, "put me in the category of people who want to spend less."
Well, Dave the fights not with Elaine! To date PJDick is suggesting this project AS ADVERTISED isn't coming in anywhere near the "less than" $100 million claimed.
So if your serious about wanting to spend less, or getting your lavish athletic facilities... you might want to show up at a board meeting and let THEM know how you feel.
Elaine's not putting up the building or writing the checks.
Dean Spahr
For heaven's sake, PLEASE stop attaching my name to what are proclaimed to be lavish athletic facilities!!! Just because I'm the only person dumb enough to post comments on this blog in support of atheltics does not mean that I support to the penny every thing that is currently budgeted for these facilities. Do I think they are critical to a top tier school district, yes. Do I think we need to mainatin and update what we have, yes. I think the rest of you do too, becasue I haven't heard anyone say we should do away with them. But please stop assuming that I have blessed the budget or support every decision that has been made relative to this part of the project.
Dave
Dave (F.?)
Regarding the athletic facilities you wrote: "I think the rest of you do too, becasue I haven't heard anyone say we should do away with them."
Well apprently you need to pay closer attention because here are some of the proposed delete items being considered by the board to keep the project under $113 million referendum cap.
RECOMMENDED DEDUCT ALTERNATES
MT. LEBANON HIGH SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
• BASE BID: SBS ROOF MEMBRANE.
DEDUCT ALTERNATE: PVC ROOF MEMBRANE.
• BASE BID: CURRENT TENNIS COURT DESIGN W/ GRADING, PLANTING
AND RETAINING WALLS.
DEDUCT ALTERNATE: RELOCATE THE TENNIS COURTS OFF-SITE. (in other words eliminate them from the project. We'll replace them at a later date for additional money)
• BASE BID: CURRENT ATHLETIC WING DESIGN WITH TWO AUXILIARY
GYMNASIA.
DEDUCT ALTERNATE: ELIMINATE THE SECOND AUXILIARY GYM AND
ITS’ CIRCULATION SPACE. (Instead of the 3 current gyms we might end up with 2)
• BASE BID: GRADUALLY ADJUSTING AUTOMATIC DIMMING BALLASTS
FOR CLASSROOM LIGHTING.
DEDUCT ALTERNATE: STEP-DOWN DIMMING BALLASTS FOR
CLASSROOM LIGHTING.
• BASE BID: LED LIGHTING AT LOW HEIGHT EXTERIOR LIGHTING POLES.
DEDUCT ALTERNATE: METAL HALIDE LIGHTING AT LOW HEIGHT
EXTERIOR LIGHTING POLES.
• BASE BID: FAN POWERED BOXES IN THE LOCKER ROOM SPACES.
DEDUCT ALTERNATE: USE AIR HANDLING UNIT TO SERVE THE
LOCKER ROOM SPACES.
• BASE BID: PROVIDE DATA AND POWER WIRING TO TWO “FRONT OF
CLASSROOM” LOCATIONS IN EACH CLASSROOM.
DEDUCT ALTERNATE: INSTALL DATA AND POWER WIRING TO ONLY
ONE “FRONT OF CLASSROOM” LOCATION IN EACH CLASSROOM.
Yes you are right they're not your lavish athletic facilties!
My position the 3 overused gyms we now have... remodeled-- are better than 2?
Aren't on-site tennis courts better than none?
Are they gone yet,,, no, but they may be to be replaced at a later date! Doesn't do next years players any good if they don't exist.
Dean Spahr
Dave, now that we have picked apart the comment about the Mt. Lebanon majority, which by the way is documented on lebocitizens.com from the Republican Committee, of all places, you said nothing of the Comprehensive Plan, playing shell games with the budget and the renovation, the focus on litigation and construction, instead of education, people who can't pay their taxes... Let's see, did I miss anything? Is it going to be great for our community? I am not seeing it.
Elaine
Elaine,
Neither does Mr. Franklin, and that's why he's saving his money so that he can buy a home in Hilton Head or South Florida!
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