Now that is a $1,000,000 plus question. (By the way, videos of the meeting are at: http://myvaresources.com/VideoFiles2010/2010_07_12PC/2010_07_12PC1.html
Here are a few observations/questions about why this and many other development issues have come up. Read the rest of this entry »
Using the Auditor of Public Accounts Reports again and focusing on the time frame from fiscal years 1996 thru 2009….
First a brief word from our sponsor..over at myvaresources.com on the Town of Christiansburg page, you will find links to the Lionberger Contract with the Town and Change Orders to that contract. (http://myvaresources.com/Town%20of%20Cburg/CburgAquaticCenter.htm)
Now, I am sure that all of you have probably seen more campaign information this year than ever before. What does this tell you? Well, obviously there are people who really, really want to win. Maybe they want to win badly enough to spend lots of someones money on ‘advertising’.
What it tells me is that there are those who are scared, for perhaps the first time, that the status quo will not be maintained. Or, maybe there is concern that if new eyes come into local government, things will become public that have not become public before. After all, Christiansburg only discovered the Freedom of Information Act about 3 years ago (although it has been around for about 40 years now).
Now, how are they treating their opponents. There are a lot of distortions and lies going around. Campaign signs have been stolen. All of that seems like a much harder way to prove you are the best candidate than simply showing what you have done.
How people run their campaign can also show you how they are likely to treat people who do not share their goals, values, or beliefs. Are they likely to discuss issues with you logically, offering the data to support their positions, or are they just going to stand in defiance and demand that they have their way?
Is raising or not raising taxes more important that irresponsible spending? Is making promises that are never fulfilled what you want in a candidate? Do you want leadership that takes credit for the work of others and places any blame squarely on anyone else they can find to blame?
Stop and listen to the candidates. Are they answering your questions or are they dodging them. During the candidate forums, I heard a lot of “mistakes were made” comments but I never once heard the comment “I made mistakes, but I have learned from them.” Of course, there is no evidence in the minutes of Planning Commission or Town Council to indicate that mistakes were acknowledged or that steps were taken to prevent those mistakes from happening again. In fact, the minutes show the same mistakes being made over and over again.
***another word from our sponsor FOIA*** If you were present at the Candidate Forum you heard Mayor Ballengee note that he did not know what urban sprawl meant. Well here are a few definitions for future use:
The Town of Christiansburg, VA page at myvaresources.com has a LOT of documents and audio/video recording links where any citizen can take a look at what government has been doing in Christiansburg for the past decade. You will see from meeting minutes that budgets are discussed early in non-election years and late in election years. You will see a pattern of issues coming up before the election and then not being supported or addressed until time for the next election. In short, you will find all of the political games that you see at the State and National level, right here at your own doorstep.
As always, check out the information for yourself. Sometimes change is about going back to the way that things use to be, where elected officials represented all the citizens not just special interest groups.
You might also want to remember that the same Comprehensive Plan that set the stage for the Aquatic Center includes a goal of having a Civic Center. Is that what’s next on the agenda? Will it happen the same way, behind closed doors without citizens being informed?
Please take the time to do a bit of research on candidates before you cast you vote on May 4th at the Armory.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/breaking/228948.html
Maybe they should have gone with a smaller pool and more infrastructure upgrades and repair for the $18+ million.
On the Aquatic Center page of myvaresouces.com, {click here} there is a link – NOV. 2, 2009: FEES AND SCHEDULES FROM TOWN COUNCIL MEETING that will take you to a pdf file of all materials presented to Town Council on Nov. 2, 2009. Schedules and fees are there as well as some idea of the special projects that Manager Terry Caldwell will be bringing to the center. Great job Ms. Caldwell and the Aquatic Center Committee.
Open date? Still not sure about that one!
At myvaresources.com there is a link in the menu to the Aquatic Center. On that page you will find copies of the draft agreement as well as the one that was voted upon, and approved by Town Council during their regular meeting April 21, 2009.
I believe that citizens can be proud of what the Town Council has done in efforts to ‘work out the bugs’ in this document. It is clear that citizens come first. You really have to compare the two documents to see how extensive the modifications were. It was nice to see that a firm stance was taken as a means of generating revenue for the town by retaining all rights to concessions, making events/meets be under separate rental agreements, and VT carrying its own liability. All of these are ways in which taxpayer servcies, sources of town revenue, and expenses by the town were carefully weighed in the decision.
Take a look at these two documents and form your own opinion.
For myself, congratulations to Mr. Wade and Mr. VanHoozier for a job well done in the negotiations (now you know who to hold accountable if you don’t like it or something goes wrong:). And, kudos to town council for getting the ball rolling by finalizing the agreement. Now, the real work begins….promoting the facility. IF it is ever finished:)
I have had some significant problems about the way the Aquatic Center came about. However, I do believe that the Town Council members did make good decisions with the information that was provided to them. There is a certain level of trust that must extend between elected officials and citizens, and elected officials with the people they rely upon to give them information. Elected officials are simply citizens like any of us. They rely upon professionals to give them good information.
Hence, isn’t it possible that the concept for the Aquatic Center was acted upon in good faith by elected officals, but perhaps the information they were provided was a bit narrow or selective in focus? Things like that happen in business all the time. Once commitments are made, it then becomes a matter of trying to make the best of the situation.
In this case, I truly believe that the Aquatic Center can, if marketed effectively, be a benefit to the Town. Given the amount of finger pointing that occurred at the Town Council work session last Friday, I would like to see that type of wasteful behavior stop. It does not fix the problem. To fix the problem, it is going to take every single Council member getting behind this issue and working diligently to make sure that it is a SUCCESS!!
The following is a hypothetical discussion based upon what my warped little brain could create as a possible scenario:
That said, we are about to have an Aquatic Center that will provide a wealth of opportunities for citizens. I know there is significant interest because of the number of hits I have had on that particular page of my website. Aquatic Center. Along with several thousand hits from within the United States, several hundred people from 13 different countries have entered the site to look at the center. Countries represented include: Canada, England, Spain, New Zealand, India, Thailand, Australia, France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Greece.
So, while I may joking call it the ‘catfish pond’, I know full well that the Aquatic Center is getting attention. What that means to me is that we need leadership to take advantage of that interest. We need leadership to insure that marketing and research are done and that creative ways of using the facility need to be brought to the table. We need elected officials to be making it all it can be, not using it as political platforms to lay fault or blame. We will all need to get behind this project to make it a big success.
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