- Dave Brumfield brought up the advantages of a Guaranteed Energy Savings Bond
- Elaine Cappucci and Josephine Posti asked to have the high school project permit fees waived
- The School District would like more parking spaces for the teachers at Mellon and Washington
- Dave Brumfield asked if the School District would be willing to buy recycling buckets for battery disposal at the cost of $79 per bucket. The $79 fee includes postage to the recycling site.
- Dave Brumfield said that the Municipality would like to spend $1 million to turf and light either Jefferson or Mellon Field. The good news is that if it is at Mellon, more parking spaces would open up for the teachers.
- The School District needs storage facilities for three semi tractor trailers for the theatre department during the high school renovation.
- Listen to Elaine Cappucci and Josephine Posti get upset when I comment at the end, "If tonight was a boxing match, the School District is the clear winner."
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Joint Discussion Meeting
I strongly urge everyone to listen to tonight's podcast. Some of the highlights are:
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5 comments:
Could it possibly that there discussions going on in the background between these two entities that we aren't privy too?
Here we have a commissioner looking to spend $1,000,000 dollars on artificial turf while they had to borrow $2,000,000 to pave streets. Paving streets is something they are tasked with doing, turfing fields is more of a luxury item.
So what's behind the sudden need for a tiered feld? Could it possibly be that the SD needs it because they've tied up the Rock Pile at the high school with construction, making it unavailable for athletic uses?
Dick Bachman
Thanks for recording the meeting, Elaine.
At about 11 minutes into the recording, the Joint Steering Committee discusses waiving or reducing permit fees for the high-school project. I'm sure the participants in that conversation honestly believe that waiving fees would "save the taxpayers money," but it's not true. It's also not true that waiving or not waiving fees works out the same in the end since both municipality and school district are taxpayer funded.
If there are any commissioners or school directors reading this message, please take five minutes to read this brief conversation that Rob Gardner and I had on Blog-Lebo about a year ago on this very subject. In it I explain to Rob (always the gentleman) why those beliefs, which seem so obviously true, turn out to be false when you examine them more closely.
It will take only five minutes to read the conversation, but if you don't have the time, here's the bottom line. Quoting myself:
Now that you’ve shown the math, I trust you’ll agree there are no savings [to taxpayers when you waive or discount fees like this]. The discount represents a transfer from the municipality to the school district. What is transferred is not the cash value of the discount but the goods and services that the cash would have purchased. In effect, the discount trades municipal goods and services for school goods and services.
Dear commissioners, if you are going to consider waiving any fees like this, please make sure you understand the implications of what you're considering.
Cheers,
Tom
School district would like more parking for Teachers at Washington and Mellon. Yes, and I'd like a summer home in Monaco and a yacht!
Seems to me there is more parking available just down the street on Washington road that the district has already contracted for.
It's certainly an easier stroll and about the same distance as the lot at Dixon is for the HS kids. Let 'em walk, it's good exercise.
Damn cry babies!
Giffen Good
Commissioner Brumfield, does the municipality have $1,000,000 in the bank to turf the field? No... Then don't spend money "YOU" don't have.
I'm with Mr. Good, I'm mad, the SD surprise, surprise, is $2.5 million short and the muni. has to borrow money to take care of the things it's suppose to take of and you Commissioner want to go out and borrow more. You better cut up the credit card mister before you drive this community into the ground.
Dick Bachman
These teachers that want more convenient parking at Mellon and Washington. Are they the same teachers instructing our children to be responsible "GREEN" citizen.
So what happened to carpooling, walking, public transit and environmentally sound small cars?
Guess its a case of, "do as I say, not as I do."
Giffen Good
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