August 29th - Council Meeting Update; Wing Point Way Reconstruction

The August 29th City Council meeting centered principally around the controversial Open Space recommendation to purchase the Manzanita property from Kelly Samson with Councilmanic Bonds ("credit card debt" of $1.7M). The council voted against the purchase.

This topic precluded satisfactory discussion on the 2008 Capital Facility Plan Update, which includes the $2.4M Wing Point Way reconstruction. The 2nd reading will be continued the next council meeting scheduled September 12 (item #7.A. proposed time 7:20pm).

We learned at the August meeting much about the 2008 Capital Facility Plan (CFP). We consider the following points influential to the fate of the Wing Point Way reconstruction:

1. All the projects proposed in the CFP sum to over $90M over 6 years ($15M/year).

2. Historically, Public Works has only been able to complete $6-8M projects annually.

3. Financing the proposed projects includes $22M Councilmanic Bonds - "credit card debt," AND voter approved bonds of $7M.

4. The Council was not satisfied with the Public Works priorities reflected in the CFP.

5. 55% of the CFP budget is allocated to roads & parking, and non-motorized and trails.

We wish to thank our neighbor, Karen Conner who stepped forward to stress the importance of the Wing Point Way reconstructon as it relates to safety and not to forego the March 2008 deadline for the matching Federal monies of $866K ("free" money) towards the project.

It is still important to stress our neighborhood views so the Wing Point Way reconstruction is considered a top priority and does not get eliminated in budget reduction.