By ELLEN WALTON

The recent defeated recreation bond issue and subsequent proposal by Councilors O’Leary and Chrobocinski to go ahead with some of the projects in that bond has become unnecessarily divisive. It is impossible for anyone to interpret exactly what that bond election said about the voters’ view on each project. The outcome of the vote on the ballot issue presented to us said that we reject a tax increase to fund a large group of recreation projects.

We also know that the bond issue for the proposed leisure pool or now alternatively named multi-generational pool was defeated on its own when presented to voters. We cannot know whether the objection was to a tax increase or just generally to spending any taxpayer funds on the specific project.

It would then be Council’s job to ascertain the reasons for the rejection through some sort of community-wide survey if they thought the rejected bond important enough to pursue again. Was it project cost, location, design, perceived lack of need or just other voter priorities that defeated it?

In the case of the last bond issue, the projects were bundled together. Ascertaining the voters’ view on any one of them, except perhaps the leisure pool, will be a gargantuan task for Council. At this point, moving forward to use taxpayer funds for any one of these projects will be very controversial. It will divide the community at a time when government should seek to do otherwise.

If anyone were to ask me what I really wanted, it would be to fix up what we already have and make sure that these facilities have sufficient staffing to stay open as we expected them to when they were built. For example, the Aquatic Center now closes on Sundays and also needs renovation and improvement. The ball fields in White Rock and the Golf Course could also fit into that category of existing but needing improvement. 

I would also like better maintenance of our roadways in all of the community. The County also built the medians in White Rock with the intent to garden in them, so let’s do it or put brick in them. Tumbleweed, elm and overgrown chamisa do not make a beautiful median that says “we care”. 

Council also needs to focus on our utilities and how we will get the ancient portions of them up to current standards. At some point we will get fined for the nasty output of the wastewater plant in White Rock; we know this from experience with Pueblo Canyon. Raising funds for this has not been accomplished by our Utilities Division, even with 50 years of planning time available, so let’s get to work. 

Once basics are under control and our current facilities and roadways are up to snuff, the extras could be presented one by one. Right now it appears to me we are constantly trying to put icing on a cardboard cake, and that just doesn’t leave a good taste.