Our debt.
I have spoken with many residents and they are as concerned about our debt as I am. The largest, single component of this debt ( non-health related….not the water pipe) has been the New Administration building. Granted, our old building had issues but I believed during the 2018 elections when I voiced my opposition to the expenditure (which was then estimated at a much lower cost) and strongly suggested that we instead revise the current structure to accommodate a greater working area. To accomplish that, we could have raised the West section of the building to accommodate a 2nd level, replace the stand-alone structure with a 2 story structure and add a working bridge across the sections. That would have increased working space from an approximate 17,000 sq. ft. to 26,000 sq. ft. (basic L x W measurements used).
Another option would have been to consider building an addition to the rear of the Gibson center, thereby using the front as a portal to the Gibson or the Administration offices. Yes, there were a few jurisdictions to consider and other issues to consider, such as construction difficulties but these should have been discussed as viable options.
We now have a structure that is or will be over budget (as costs are cutting into the contingency budget) and keep in mind that cost estimates were based on previous economic conditions when interest rates were lower and inflation had not reared its head. NO one should blame Covid for the over-runs as that was not a foreseeable event but the overall cost of the project, when considered insight of the possible difficulties, such as rising rates (that were predicted), diminishing inputs from possible slowdowns in residential or commercial, industrial construction and the possibility of diminishing inputs from property taxes, should a slowdown in Real Estate sales of new homes take place, the project should have been scaled back or delayed.
In fact, the slowdown of Real Estate is also quashing the expected proceeds for the sale of the present Administration center, as those funds were expected to be used to pay-down the cost of the new center. I don’t believe the gamble is paying off…. maybe we should add a casino?