Notes on spaces seen through windows
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| Recluse reflections: SMP board was, well..., peeved Notes on spaces seen through windows |
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Wednesday, November 09, 2005 SMP board was, well..., peeved
I just watched the SMP Board meeting webcast. And, well... whoa.I guess it's not surprising that most of the four board members who showed up were a bit angry. After moving out of executive session for their public meeting, they avoided most venting, but one of the citizen commentary at the end of the meeting noted "the tone of bitterness that I'm hearing here." The board moved quickly and decisively to adopt a broad-ranging resolution to layoff staff, cancel outstanding contracts, and to sell the property that's been acquired. Clearly, we'll be hearing more in the coming weeks about the whole mess because of that last item. A board that has previously been inclined to generously interpret voter intent and the meaning of their enabling legislation, has now become stingy in their interpretations. Several member of the City Council sent a letter to the board asking them, "Please do not auction off properties immediately." But the half of the SMP Board members who showed up for the meeting stated their belief that it's now necessary to dump the property as quickly as possible to the highest bidder. After another member had characterized the Council's letter as "ironic", Board member Rick Sundberg said, "I feel it is our duty to maximize value" of the land holdings. Board member Cleve Stockmeyer was the lone voice on the board who yearned for some other option, but even he said that he did not believe there was another way to proceed. "We are powerless," he insisted. In the public comment period which came only after they had adopted the resolution, monorail activist Peter Sherwin urged the board to reconsider what he suggested was a precipitous action taken taken far too soon after the vote. "I understand the anger," Sherwin said, "but it isn't productive." He asked them to hold off on land sales until after the new monorail board is seated in January. ----- I don't think we've heard the end of this. Even though it's in the middle of its time-consuming budget process, the City Council may now be forced to do what little they can to force an alternative way of proceeding. "The ball's in their court," Stockmeyer said about the City Council. I got the sense watching the meeting that the board members relished that kind of gamesmanship. Even though it's difficult to get the sense of these things from a webcast, watching the meeting felt like watching a group of angry kids. They still think it was unfair of the mayor and council to force their hands a few months ago, and they feel the need to give what they got. Oddly enough (since it's not his usual stance), Stockmeyer seemed to be the lone voice of reason on the board tonight. I doubt that there's a whole lot of value for other purposes in the land purchases that have been made by SMP. Selling off the land and paying off SMP's considerable debts seems like a reasonable way to proceed. But it seems irresponsible to start the process without considering more carefully what is best for taxpayers who, ultimately, own the land. If there is a chance that city taxpayers could get greater value for the land if it were disposed of in some way other than an auction to the highest bidder, then I think the options should be considered. In its precipitous action this evening, SMP seems to have continued its pattern of irresponsible stewardship of its public trust. Technorati tags: Seattle monorail Seattle Monorail Project Seattle Boondoggle posted by WebWrangler | 7:22 PM | Link | 0 comments
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