Into the Fire

At the BOT Meeting last night, we had a brief discussion about the SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) Grant which provides temporary funding for paid firefighters as well as funding to recruit and retain Volunteer firefighters. With the enormous budget challenges we face, we are not in the position to discuss increases to paid staff, however it was an intriguing idea to utilize a grant to acquire Volunteer resources until we unfortunately discovered that this grant could only be utilized to recruit Volunteers if you have a currently existing Volunteer Fire Department (or Combination Fire Department, which consists of both paid and volunteer firefighters).

However, this prompted some research to see what other communities are doing and it was fascinating to learn that in the 22 Municipalities of Essex County, roughly half have ALL paid firefighters and roughly half have ALL Volunteer fire departments. There were also some municipalities, like Millburn and Bloomfield that have BOTH Volunteers and Paid Firefighters, which are commonly referred to as "Combination" Fire Departments.

Looking further at the entire State of NJ, it was shocking to see that fewer than only 50 municipalities (out of 566) have fully paid fire departments as of 2007! The common misconception is that Volunteer firefighters only exist in the smallest, most rural parts of the state. However, it was very interesting to to see that Volunteer or Combination Fire Departments, exist in all corners of the State, including the most densely populated such as Bergen, Essex, Union, Middlesex and even Hudson Counties.

Everyone acknowledges the tremendous work and bravery of our firemen and women and nobody is suggesting that we should eliminate them and replace them with volunteers. However, our firefighters frequently bring to our attention their requests for additional personnel and from what can be seen from other similar municipalities, a paid fire department supplemented with properly trained volunteers is a sustainable model to protect the community while keeping a control on out of control taxes.

Clearly, further discussions still need to be had to determine the official policy of the Board and there is still more analysis and research that is needed to fully develop a plan to implement this migration. However, the time has come to pursue this seriously for the benefit of the entire community - taxpayers and employees, alike.

As always, I welcome your thoughts. (and certainly would love to hear from anyone who is a current or former Firefighter, or anyone who has any interest in Volunteering to be a Firefighter)

My City of Ruins*

With the 2009 Budget now behind us (resulting in a 3.9% municipal tax increase), we are now beginning conversations around the 2010 Capital Budget.

First on the Agenda - discussing whether to allocate funding for the rehabilitation of Village Hall. Anyone who has driven past the building is struck by its unique character and incredibly interesting architecture. However, anyone who has observed it up close has seen the rampant deterioration of the exterior and the years of neglected maintenance throughout the interior. The time is long overdue to do something.

Over the past year or so, HMR Architects have been working on a "Programmatic Analysis for the Interior Renovation and Rehabilitation" of Village Hall. According to a draft, "This report analyzes the feasibility of improved accommodation of specific user groups by quantifying their needs and developing realistic design schemes which could be accomplished through a substantial renovation of the existing building. This report also addresses the physical limitations of the existing envelope and structure."

Last night, during the Budget Workshop, they shared some initial assessments and estimates for the rehabilitation of the building, including an approximate cost of nearly $4M (although I can only imagine that with the unknowns involved until construction begins, the risk of significant cost overruns is huge). They also estimate that construction of a NEW building of a comparable size could cost anywhere from $3.6M-$7.2M.

While I am well aware that Village Hall has become one of many prominent symbols of South Orange, I can't help but wonder if it makes sense to rehabilitate an old building or whether it makes more sense to construct a new modern building on another site in town. Clearly, there are rational, as well as emotional arguments on both sides of the equation. Certainly, the long-overdue rehabilitation of the Firehouse, which took SEVEN years, looms large as a poster-child for everything that CAN go wrong with such a complicated project. There are also the logistics of temporarily relocating all Village Hall staff and services to some other location for up to two years if/when the building is rehabilitated. Of course, the other side of the story is about the history, charm and character of the building. However, the only option NOT available is to continue the current neglect and further deterioration of the building.

This is a very complex issue that will have a significant impact on the residents of the Village for several years, both financially, as well as logistically. Therefore, I really want to hear what YOU think. Post a comment to this blog, or send me an email to mgoldberg@southorange.org. I expect you will be hearing much more about this in the coming months.

* Blog title is based on a Bruce Springsteen song of the same name, which speaks of the "rising up" of Asbury Park. It is not intended to suggest anything negative about the Village.

Across the Border

Just returned from our annual family Summer vacation- this year's destination was Montreal and Quebec City - and wanted to share some impressions.

We were scheduled to leave NJ on August 24, and the week before we were leaving, I discovered my wife's passport was expired! After calling the Passport office, I was told that I would have to make an appointment in NYC, but the next available appointment was August 28. Alternatively, I could go to the office in Norwalk, CT on August 25. I was preparing to delay our trip, when my wife called the Border & Customs office and learned that an expired passport is sufficient. I was a little skeptical, but decided to take the chance which turned out to be the right choice and we had no problems at the border in either direction.

Once we arrived in Montreal, we had a few items planned, but mostly we were just there to explore the city. The highlights of Montreal included: jet boating on the St. Lawrence River, a family bike ride along the Lachine Canal, visiting the Olympic Stadium/Biodome and hiking to the top of Mont Royal.

All in all, we enjoyed Montreal and were surprised what a large city it actually was. We did a ton of walking and even got to brush off my years of French to try to speak to the locals.

From there, we drove another 3 hours and arrived in Quebec City for a few days. We didn't have much planned other than wondering around the old city and fortunately the weather generally cooperated. One day, we decided to explore outside the city and drove up to Canyon St.Anne which is a huge waterfall with a terrifying pedestrian bridge across the gorge. From there, we drove around Ile D'Orleans which is a tranquil little island with quaint little towns and amazing natural scenery.

It was a nice trip with a mix of city, country, old, new, culture, adventure and relaxation which is always the right combination for a successful family vacation. Now it's time to start thinking about where to go NEXT year! :)

Summertime Blues

Earlier this evening, we held what will likely be the final Budget Workshop for the 2009 Budget cycle. After many meetings over the past 9 months, and the news last week that we received $750,000 in Extraordinary Aid from the State, we are on the verge of finalizing the Municipal Budget which results in a Municipal Tax increase of just around 3.95%. I say "around", because there is still one item to be finalized - the subsidy to SOPAC. This year, SOPAC requested $265,000 from the Village, but this evening I proposed reducing it by another $20,000. Due to the incredible financial pressure that all residents are feeling in their own lives, SOPAC must also tighten their belts and like all of us, they must simply learn to live with less.

In other budget news, we also agreed to hire 3 new Police Officers to replace a number of the officers that are retiring this year. There is always a difficult balance between staffing needs and our crushing tax burden, however maintaining our tremendous Police Department must be our top priority and we agreed to send 3 new recruits to the Police Academy beginning in September.

The end of budget season is always bittersweet. Certainly, it is a relief to have gotten to the end of an incredibly difficult budget year. It is also incredibly gratifying that we managed to go from the threat of a 25% increase at the beginning of this year to something south of 3.95%. At the same time, it's incredibly frustrating that even after all the hard work, we still are forced to raise taxes at a rate that will cost the average homeowner approximately an additional $600 this year, when the County & School levy is also factored in. It is clearer than ever that the property tax system in NJ is a complete mess and needs radical reform at the State Level. It's disappointing that there is an election for Governor in November and none of the candidates are even seriously talking about doing anything. So, unfortunately, we can expect the status quo for the foreseeable future. Very sad, indeed.

Take 'Em as they Come

This week we had the long awaited vote on Second Reading of the "Rental Registration" Ordinance, which would require landlords to register their properties, pay a fee, and be held accountable for the actions of their tenants. The genesis of this Ordinance was from all the complaints that have arisen over the years regarding quality of life infractions by some tenants - especially near Seton Hall. The initial draft of this Ordinance had a much higher fee structure and after receiving resident feedback, was ultimately stricken and revised.

Which brought us to last night and the Public Hearing on this revised Ordinance. Prior to the meeting, I had heard a smattering of opposition, but I was not sure how widespread those concerns were. I also knew that the INTENT of the Ordinance was good and it seemed to be a reasonable approach to a longstanding problem. However, since I had no vested interest either way, I went into the meeting with an open mind and was interested to hear what the public had to say. We initially heard from an attorney who, while raising some very interesting points, also went a bit far over the top in the drama department. Rightfully so, Trustee Bauer did call him on some of these allegations. However, the memo he provided us in writing seemed to provide some reasonable suggestions. The night continued with a multitude of landlords who were outraged by the details, or lack thereof, of this Ordinance for a variety of reasons.

When it came time to vote, my decisions came down to a few key points - a) With the number of people who turned out, there was not a single person who spoke in favor of the ordinance. b) The members of the public articulated their concerns well and raised valid objections which raised doubt in my mind that this Ordinance was ready for passage in its current form c) Ultimately, the whole point of a Public Hearing is to listen to the members of the public and take their feedback into account, when possible. A Public Hearing should not simply be a formality.

Ultimately, I think SOME FORM of an Ordinance is still a good idea, but after listening to all the feedback, I realized that we should try to incorporate them, not simply pass an ordinance because we don't want to "start all over again". No law is ever perfect, but I came to the realization that this one still needed some more work and voted "No". However, my colleagues didn't agree and the Rental Registration Ordinance passed by a vote of 4-1-1.

Long Time Coming

It seems this latest blog entry has been a long time coming. There have been a few recent events I've been wanting to blog about, but didn't, so I think I'll combine them into a single entry:

1) My Beautiful Reward
Recently, I took my 7-year-old daughter bicycling in Hoboken & across the Hudson by ferry to NYC. As we were returning in Hoboken, we were stopped by a Hoboken Police Officer who proceeded to hand my daughter a "ticket". He then explained it was a "reward" for her wearing a helmet when bicycling and it contained a coupon for a free ice cream at Johnny Rocket's or a free ices at Rita's. After the surprise wore off, I realized what a clever idea this is to reward positive behavior and have brought it back to South Orange for discussion. The Police Chief is looking into it further and we will then discuss the idea with the full Board to see what everyone thinks.

2) Rollover Beethoven
At the BOT meeting last week, we were asked to formally approve the rollover of $4M in "loans" that had been given to SOPAC and which come due next week. SOPAC gave a presentation to us on June 22 explaining their revised business model and how they plan to achieve independence from the $300k annual subsidy from the Village. On the surface, it all sounded very positive, but upon further thought, it became apparent that there was no detail given on how these projections were made. So, I sent a letter in writing to SOPAC requesting further detail. Several days later, most of the information requested was hand delivered to me, which was appreciated. After reviewing the detail, I was pleased to see that there actually was analysis that had gone into creating the projections, although I am still extremely skeptical of the overly-optimistic projections. However, after confirming that this rollover would have no tax impact to the Village (since SOPAC would still be responsible for paying all interest and principal), I decided to support the 1 year rollover with an eye towards re-evaluating the situation in 1 year. In the meantime, I strongly urge SOPAC to tighten their belts to reduce spending, (just as every other Organization is being forced to do in this horrible economy) and start focusing on their primary purpose - booking performers that will attract people to our town and ensuring those performances sellout and are profitable.

3) Long Time Coming
As hard as it may be to believe, this past week, the Firehouse received a "temporary certificate of occupancy", which is the last major milestone needed for the firefighters to move back in to the Firehouse. After far too many years of delays, the long awaited completion of the Firehouse is upon us. There is now still some minor "touch up" work to do, but that will be done while the firefighters are living and working in the firehouse, once they move in this week. This will allow the Village to disconnect and return the temporary trailers that had been located adjacent to the site, and return that site to be used for parking. In the short term, the firefighter's will park their vehicles in that lot while the driveway around the firehouse is re-done. Once the driveway is completed, the firefighter's will park their vehicles there, and the lot will likely be designated as "premium" parking for resident commuters.

It is absolutely inexcusable for this project to have taken as long as it has and there is more than enough blame to go around. However, we can now be glad that this painful part of our Village's history is in the past and we can take comfort knowing that we have this project as an example of everything not to do if and when the Village decides to move ahead with renovating Village Hall.

Secret Garden

We are about to undertake an exciting new project in South Orange, thanks to the creative suggestion of a resident. Back in April, I was contacted by a resident who lived in the Mews and he was looking for a place to create a community garden. He suggested the open space across the street from the Mews, between the river and Church Street.

It seemed like a great idea, so I scheduled some time to meet him, along with Village President Newman to walk the site and explore the options. While there are a few challenges (i.e. location of a water source, ability for people to park/drop-off materials nearby, wetness of the soil), it immediately struck us as a fantastic idea with huge potential. There are many residents living in apartments or townhouses, without access to a yard. There are also many residents living in homes with shady yards or too many animals to sustain a garden. As a result, a Community Garden has the potential to attract residents from all over town and give them access to gardening, while fostering a true community spirit.

Unfortunately, the initial resident ultimately decided he had too many other commitments to devote the appropriate amount of time to spearhead this effort. However, we have decided to try to move the idea ahead and have scheduled an initial Public Meeting on Wednesday June 24 at 7:30pm in the Baird Center to gauge public interest, since obviously this garden will only succeed if residents determine it is something they would like. I urge you to come out, offer to get involved and help bring this idea to reality!

Chaaaaarge it!

At our first BOT Meeting as a new Board this past Wednesday, it was a true pleasure to not have the unnecessary drama and petty political agendas that have permeated far too many meetings in the past. However, as I said the night of the election, this does not mean we will all agree and our first order of business proved just that.

On the agenda was the passage of our Capital Budget for 2009. Included in that $2.6 million ordinance was money for projects such as the Public Works garage, Crest Drive Firehouse, Athletic Field improvements, Parking Lot improvements, IT projects, Roadway improvements and Public Works trucks - all valid and necessary expenditures in order to maintain our Village's infrastructure and all costly projects that make sense to pay for over the many years of the useful life of these projects.

However, one element of this Capital Budget I disagree with (again) is to include $60,000 of the $265,000 SOPAC subsidy for Operating Expenses. Two years ago, during a challenging budget cycle, my colleagues agreed to allocate the entire $300k of operating expenses for SOPAC on the Capital Budget and I voted against it. Last year, in order to bring the Municipal increase to a "round number", a small portion of the SOPAC subsidy was put on the Capital Budget and I reluctantly agreed - thinking it was a one time situation. However, this year, that amount was carried forward to the Capital Budget again and I strongly disagree.

The subsidy for SOPAC Operating Expenses is to pay for salaries and other operational expenses that will be incurred THIS YEAR. To defer payment of those funds and spread them over 20 years simply does not make any sense to me. In my opinion, this is no different than buying a big house with a big mortgage and then realizing you cannot afford a fully loaded cable TV package, so you simply put your cable bill on your mortgage. If we cannot afford the SOPAC subsidy, we should address that simple fact. I would like to see where the final Municipal Budget winds up once we learn if we will be receiving any extraordinary aid from the State. At that point, if the Municipal increase is still to large, we should cut additional expenditures, including the SOPAC subsidy...not simply defer the expenditure to the future by "putting it on the credit card". I don't do that with my home finances and don't agree we should do it with YOUR tax dollars either.

The Capital Budget will be voted on a Second Reading on June 22. Let me know what you think.

For You

It is the day after the 2009 Municipal Election and I am honored and humbled by the results. Pure Progress, consisting of myself, Janine Bauer and Nancy Gould were elected by comfortable margins to 4-year terms to the South Orange Board of Trustees. It has been an exhausting couple of weeks and I am glad that the campaign is finally over.

First, I'd like to thank our opponents for a spirited competition that did not revert to the terribly nasty level that had transpired in past elections.

Most notably, I'd like to take a moment to thank the absolutely incredible team of people that donated their time, money and effort to make this successful election happen:

We had so many people that brought their expertise to make us successful - from web design, to photography, to graphic design, to marketing - you all know who you are and I am incredibly grateful.

To volunteers who stood on street corners holding signs, to volunteers who went knocking on doors, to volunteers who made phone calls, to volunteers who stuffed envelopes, to volunteers who wrote thank you notes, to volunteers who delivered lawn signs, to volunteers who hosted lawn signs, to volunteers who made goodie bags, to volunteers who reported election results, to volunteers who sent email blasts to their friends, to volunteers who hosted coffees, to people who attended coffees, to people who wrote letters to the Newspaper, to people who generously contributed money - every one one of you made a difference.

To my Pure Progress runningmates from 2007 - Thank you for all your support and endorsements this year. I look forward to continuing working with all of you.

To the core campaign team - treasurer, events coordinator, volunteer coordinator, media coordinator, you guys are amazing! The energy, effort and enthusiasm you brought was unparalleled and we clearly would not have been successful without you. I can't even begin to list all of the things you accomplished over the past 6 weeks at all hours of the day and night.

Of course, there must be a special shout out for our Campaign Manager, who orchestrated every moving part and kept us all focused 24/7...since those were the hours she was working for us!

To my wife & daughter - Thank you so much for the love, support and patience putting up with my long hours & time away from home.

To my runningmates - You are two of the of the most passionate and intelligent people I know. I have been so proud to campaign side-by-side with you these past few weeks and I am really looking forward to serving with you.

Finally, I would like to thank the residents of South Orange for their support and their confidence in us to allow us the opportunity to continue serving the community. We look forward to moving forward and will do all we can to make you proud! Thank you!!

Crazy days

Hard to believe it has been over a month since my last blog post. However, it has been quite a busy month between my active Trustee duties, campaign events, personal commitments and family obligations. The good news is that it all has been positive, but it simply hasn't given me the time to blog as frequently as I would have liked.

With respect to Trustee duties, we have begun the process to officially avert the layoffs of 14 employees. Although unofficially the layoffs were averted last week when the Union members voted to accept the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement negotiated between the Village and Union Management, last night, we passed an Ordinance on first reading which formalizes this. This ordinance will be read on second reading on May 11 and will "officially" bring closure to this very difficult chapter. I commend the Village President for his negotiating skills and I thank the Union members for coming to the table and agreeing to the significant concessions that were proposed.

Over the past few weeks, there have also been numerous events to attend, such as the annual Holocaust Remembrance Service, the annual Baseball parade, the annual South Mountain PTA fundraiser and a recent tour of the Firehouse - which is now scheduled for completion in May. There have also been many campaign related events, such as "coffees", media interviews, door-to-door canvassing and an upcoming debate.

Two weeks from today, the Municipal Election will be held in South Orange. I urge you to vote for myself and my Pure Progress runningmates, Janine Bauer and Nancy Gould on Row "B". For more information , be sure to visit our detailed website at www.pureprogress.org.

Don't Look Back

Well, for those who have not heard, yet, I finally formally decided to run for re-election as Village Trustee in the May 12 election (and filed appropriate papers on March 18). Many people certainly have asked "why" when it can be such a Thankless job. I definitely gave it alot of thought over the past few months and went back and forth on the decision a few times. While there are far too many people that get into local politics for their own personal agenda or some higher political ambition, I am glad to say that my motives are far more simplistic - I simply enjoy serving the community and wanted to do what I can to make it a better place.
I am actually quite proud of the many accomplishments over the past 2 years and am glad we have been able to start to unwind some of the terrible decisions and attitudes of the past.

After a lengthy search process for the best possible runningmates, I am very proud and excited about the final result - I will be running together with Janine Bauer and Nancy Gould.

The notion of running together with Janine Bauer may come as a surprise to many people. As many of you know, Janine ran for Trustee on the opposing ticket 2 years ago. However, Janine and I have spoken quite a number of times over the past two years and she has actually been quite supportive of what we have been doing. We ultimately agreed it was time to look ahead and move beyond the politics of the past. In addition, Janine has stayed very active in the community - continuing to serve both on the Environmental Commission and on the River Greenway Committee. She also previously served on the Planning Board, where she helped advocate to preserve as much of the quarry as possible (a cause I was very passionate about, as well.) She is a practicing attorney, as a partner in a law firm specializing in land use, environmental, transportation, contracts and business litigation. She lives in West Montrose with her husband and 2 children. I urge you to get to know her and see that she will be a huge asset to the entire town.

Nancy Gould is currently a Real Estate Agent and formerly a Partner in a large Architectural/Engineering firm in New York, where she managed multi-million dollar large-scale development projects and was in charge of the Planning and Urban design departments for the firm. She also currently sits on the South Orange Planning Board. She lives in Montrose with her Husband and 16 year old son. Nancy is a fantastic person and will also be a huge asset to the entire town.

We also decided that we will be running under the name "Pure Progress" (www.pureprogress.org) to continue the vision and platform we laid out and began implementing two years ago. Obviously, Janine and Nancy will each bring their fresh perspectives, but the core of our values remains the same.

I look forward to the campaign over the next 7 weeks and hope you get a chance to talk with Janine, Nancy or myself to learn about our ideas and values. It's time to spring forward and not fall back.

Sad Eyes

On February 17, the BOT held the most recent Budget Workshop. This time, we focused on reaching a conclusion on Recreation Fees, reviewing the budget of the Police Department and reviewing the budget for the Department of Public Works.

With respect to Recreation, it was agreed to do the following:

• increase the fees for Summer Camp to $700/child, with a $100 discount for each additional child per family (beyond one)
• increase the fees for Recreation Badges to $30/person, with a maximum of $120/family
• increase the fees for programs at the Baird by $10
• implement a $10 discount for residents that sign up for Baird programs and have a Recreation Badge

With respect to the Police Department, no formal decisions were reached, however it was recommended that the vacant positions that currently exist in the Department not be filled at this time. However to help meet the Policing needs of the community, it was strongly suggested that the Police Officer currently assigned to Information Management be utilized as a Police Officer and the position of Information Management be filled by a Civilian. In addition, it was strongly suggested that additional per diem dispatchers and Crossing Guards be identified, so Police Officers are not utilized to fill-in for those jobs, causing costly overtime expenses to occur.

With respect to Public Works, the joint bid with Maplewood for large turf mowing was discussed and identified as an area to save around $180,000/year.

However, even with all of these changes, an enormous budget gap still remains. As a result, this past Monday night, the BOT voted to submit a layoff plan to the State of NJ which proposes the elimination of the following positions:

• Public Works – 5 positions
• Recreation and Cultural Affairs – 2 positions
• Code Enforcement & Inspections – 4 positions
• Municipal Court – 1 position

The Board of Trustees also is recommending to the Board of the South Orange Library that it eliminate two positions, in addition to not filling one open position. (The BOT simply controls the amount of money provided to the Library, but the Library Board actually determines how that money is spent)

Clearly, this process has been the most difficult thing we have been faced with and none of these decisions were reached easily or with any pleasure. However, the Village taxpayers spend over $22M for personnel (including salary, benefits and taxes) in a budget of almost $34.5M for 176.5 full time employees across all departments. In addition, over 62% of personnel costs are just for Public Safety (Police and Fire) alone.

As I have said on this blog and publicly numerous times, this financial situation is simply unsustainable. South Orange is one of the most "tax-stressed" communities in the State and something must be done to help the residents. I urge the Unions that represent the majority of the Village employees to work diligently to put an end to the spiraling costs of salaries, health care and benefits for the sake of all residents and employees.

The Big Muddy

Once again, it is Budget season and the Board of Trustees has begun holding frequent Budget Workshops to analyze the budget and determine what should be included this year and what won't. As expected, just like EVERY organization, times are very difficult this year with the unprecedented economic climate we face. However, far worse than expected is that we are looking down the barrel of a $5 MILLION budget gap, which would translate to a 27% Municipal Tax increase if nothing were done!

Clearly, a 27% increase is completely unacceptable. However, we are now faced with the difficult task of determining what elements of the budget should be trimmed to reduce the gap.

At this point, the largest drivers of the increase are: Reduced Surplus (about $1.8M), Personnel Costs, Fixed Costs, Reduced State Aid, (last year we received $600k in extraordinary aid that we cannot count on again), Debt Service and Capital Improvements. With respect to Capital Improvements, we have identified approximately $11M of projects that are LONG overdue, such as replacement of vehicles, building maintenance and roadway improvements for which money has never been set aside. To undertake these projects, requires a 5% "down payment", which equates to almost $550k. It might be easy to suggest deferring these improvements, but the problem is that has been the "answer" for many many years and at some point the work must be done or we will face the situation of the Old Stone House with many more assets of the town.

So, to deal with these challenges, we asked all Village Departments to propose how they can cut a percentage of their current budgets by reducing services/staff costs and/or what revenue could be increased. Monday night, we met with the first two departments - Library and Recreation to hear their proposals.

From Library, the proposals came to a net change of 0%...which unfortunately does not help the situation.

From Recreation, some proposals were presented as follows:

• Increase the cost of Recreation Badges/Guest Passes/Babysitter Passes
• Increase the cost of Summer Day Camp
• Increase the cost of program fees
• Eliminate the fireworks from Village Aglow
• Reduce some costs for Holiday Lighting

At this point, no final decisions have been made. Depending on the severity of these increases, this COULD generate an additional $200k or so, but that is still a long long way away from $5M!

The next Budget Workshop is February 17 at 7:30pm in Village Hall

Just around the corner to the Light of Day

One of the biggest frustrations we have faced on the Board has been the glacial pace of progress for the renovation of the Firehouse. (Although, I am certain our frustration doesn't even remotely approach the level of frustration felt by our Fire Department who have had to endure difficult conditions in temporary trailers for far too long.)

As Chair of the Public Safety Committee, I have met with the Fire Chief periodically to tour the Firehouse in order to see the progress (or lack thereof) firsthand. Earlier today, I had my most recent visit and the good news is that significant progress has been made since I first toured the building in 2007 - when studs were exposed and the building was essentially a gutted shell. On subsequent visits in 2008, the rough/finish electrical was completed, sheetrock was installed and finished and plumbing fixtures were installed etc.

This morning, I noticed much more "finish" work that had been completed since my last visit - such as the front extension doors were removed, carpet and molding has been installed, lockers were installed in the dormitory and appliances were installed in the kitchen.

The good news is that we are very close to having the construction completed. The bad news is that the remaining "punch list" items are lengthy and are still realistically a couple months away from completion, in my personal opinion. Once the punch list is completed, there is still the procurement and installation of furniture, bedding, communications equipment etc which will likely take another month or two.

I wish I had thought to take pictures of the project on previous visits so people could appreciate the progress that HAS been made. However, I did take some pictures this morning, so people can see the progress that still remains.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaMWjdm5as2T3&emid=sharshar&linkid=link5&cid=EMsharshar

There is a light at the end of the tunnel... but the tunnel is still not as short as we would like it to be.

Enough is Enough

Anyone who has read previous entries of this blog knows of the financial challenges we constantly face in the Village and my frustration with those challenges. This frustration was brought to a new level Wednesday night when the BOT was asked to pass an Ordinance to bond an additional $275,000 for SOPAC.

This request was raised in Closed Session a few months ago and I was shocked when I first heard they wanted MORE money. For anyone who doesn't know the background, when the project was first conceived in the late 1990s, construction bids were rejected when the low bid came in at $12.7 million--$3.4 million over the original budget. The lowest bidder, Arnell Construction, was asked to "value engineer" the building to reduce costs, and submitted a design-build proposal of $10.5 million. Ironically, several years later, Change Orders for almost an additional $4 million were approved. Around the time the facility was completed, it was determined that there was an acoustical defect which prevented the main performance stage from being used at the same time as the Loft space above, due to the transference of sound between the floors.

The contractor made claims against SOPAC for change orders, increased construction costs, and late payment/interest penalties. SOPAC made a claim to remedy the acoustical defect and to oppose increased construction costs.

However, instead of fighting the issue, a "settlement" was reached for SOPAC to pay the contractor WITHOUT having the flaw repaired. Since SOPAC is largely funded by the Village (to the tune of $300,000/year for Operating Expenses), they returned to the Village for and additional $275,000 for this "Settlement".

Village President Newman suggested we meet with members of the SOPAC Board to better understand their predicament. On November 21, 2008 (nearly 2 months ago!) Trustee Levison and I met with Mr. Leitner, Mr Wolf and Ms. Stoller. While the conversation was pleasant and cordial, Trustee Levison & I each had several very specific action items that were agreed to coming out of the meeting. For me, it was simple:
1) Provide full details around the current finances of SOPAC, including salaries of all employees, benefits, raises etc. We need to ensure that current expended funds are being spent wisely before even considering more.
2) Review and Provide recommendations for improving the programming to have wider appeal to increase the likelihood of all shows selling-out, so the facility can start to wean itself off its dependence on the taxpayers.

In the TWO MONTHS that have elapsed since we met, no further information was provided.

When asked to vote on the funding, it was actually easy based on a complete lack of Responsibility:
a. Nobody has taken the Responsibility to be accountable for the significant flaw to the building
b. Nobody has taken Responsibility for proving they are spending taxpayer money wisely before asking for more
c. Nobody has taken Responsibility to follow-up on their commitment made 2 months ago. To add insult to injury, after the vote, Mr. Leitner had the nerve to blame the holidays for the delay. I can't speak for anyone else, but if I was looking for someone to give me $275,000, I would be certain to follow-up and provide any and all information that was requested....especially if I had 2 months to do so.

As with the situation/controversy around Tau, this has absolutely nothing to do with "Art", and everything to do with Fiscal Responsibility and Transparency. Enough is Enough.