It's time for the City of Nampa to share with the public all expenses to date for consultants and land it has spent in following the "proccess" it began two years ago. I estimate over $1 million in consultants, including legal fees, and $ 4 million in land acquisitions. It's time for the City of Nampa to explain how after $5 million in expenses, not one brick has been laid and how it is still no closer to laying a brick. The only think laid to date is one big, expensive egg!
It's time for the City of Nampa to explain how the current attempt to get bond approval for $15.5 million is only for the purpose of acquiring land for the library and police station not to build anything. As reported in the Statesman on 2/12/08, the $15.5 million bond would occur in 2008, a bond for $21.25 million would occur in March 2009 for the construction of the police station and a bond for $31 million would occur in 2013. Keep in mind that the construction estimate for the library was $45 million, I am not sure how the $14 million gap is covered. With the current appeal on the recent judges ruling, there is no timeline for letting the $15.5 million bond let alone the others. Of course time is not relevant to the City given that the City promised to have an RFP in March of 2007 for these magical developers that are going to flock to downtown Nampa with over $300 million of their own cash.
It's time for the City to explain how they have spent $5 million from the general fund by only showing the public a pretty picture as to what they want to build. I knew we were going to be in trouble the minute the City decided to take on the role of developer. Although you have to give them credit for being able to spend this kind of money by just showing a picture. That is the big disconnect between the City and the real world. The real world would have to go beyond the pretty pictures and actually share specific market data and economic feasibility models with detailed analysis and of course, spend it's own money. Not the City of Nampa, $5 million dollars based upon the grand marketing skeem of a couple colorful pictures.
Before the city spends one more penney on this crazy, unrealistic plan of theres, and jeopordizes the financial stability of the City, it is time to share everything. It is time to share its projections for how much tax increment they think will be coming in to fund this work. Keep in mind that real estate has devalued from 30 - 60% from the 2006 tax year in which the accessed values were set.
It's time the City reevaluates its plan and the location of the library. The only reason the City picked the proposed library site was because SPPRE said it was the perfect space if you put the Park on the block where ther Artic Circle is and hope that some developer will lease or pay really high dollars for the block of land currently occupied by the police station. I am sorry to dissapoint, but no-one will be paying anything for that block, nor will the city have enough money to buy the land for the park. Given this, isn't it time the City reevaluate's this location? Its time the City remembers that it sold the public on the promise that the library would be the catylist for downtown revitalization. How does this location do that? You might as well place it in Karcher Mall. It would be less expensive and add the same value to downtown.
It's time that the people of Nampa demand that the City come clean and share all the details of this process and the money it has spent. It is time for the City to understand that there will be no white knight developer to lift them out of the whole they have dug us into. It is time for the City to work openly with the public and downtown property owners to discuss options.
