HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/20/2017 Item 13, Mc Lean
Purrington, Teresa
From:cc mc lean <ccmslo@att.net>
Sent:Monday, June PM
To:E-mail Council Website; CityClerk
Cc:Pease, Andy; Gomez, Aaron; Harmon, Heidi; Rivoire, Dan; Christianson, Carlyn
Subject:Item #13 6/20/17- $900,000 Allocated For A North Broad Street Park
Please distribute to Council and post with Agenda Correspondence. Thank you.
Mayor Harmon and Council Members,
You and the public have access to a video of the June 14, 2016 Council meeting
when deliberations took place on how to appropriate $6.9 million of ‘excess funds’
and also a video of the Council’s April 18, 2017 meeting. At the June 14, 2016
Council meeting Assistant City Manager Derek Johnson informed the Council that
the proposed set aside for a North Broad Street Park would inform “Shelly
Stanwyck and the team managing the funding, that the $900,000 would be set aside
for real property acquisition.” This was followed up by a question from Council
member Carpenter who asked if this “money in the Parkland Fund would be
earmarked for this specific purpose.” Assistant City Manager Derek Johnson
answered, yes, this $900,000 would be earmarked for this purpose. Based on this
clarification, the Council voted 3 to 2 to appropriate this amount of money for real
property acquisition.
The Parks and Recreation Commission voted on March 1, 2017, Item #3, specifically
to change the wording of the letter to the City Council (prepared prior to the
meeting by Chair Jeff Whitener and P&R Director Shelley Stanwyck)requesting
funds for the P&R update come from the General Fund and NOT the North Broad
Park Fund. Somehow that's not what happened when it went to the City Council.
At the April 18, 2017 Council meeting, Council member Pease was incorrectly
informed by City Manager Katie Lichtig that the previous Council made the decision
that this $900,000 was characterized as “general infrastructure.” City Manager
Lichtig went on to mischaracterize the previous Council’s intentions by saying that
any future Council could have complete flexibility on how to spend these dollars.
Then at that same fateful April 18, 2017 Council meeting Mayor Harmon asked if the
City had been given direction to go look for a location for the park. Again, the City
Manager incorrectly answered that no direction was given when in fact the City
Council had adopted on November 1, 2016 a 2020 Parks and Recreation Strategic
1
Plan calling for the City to “pursue a new park located in the North Broad Street
neighborhood."
The North Broad Street Neighborhood is appealing to you to abide by
the previous Council’s decision and restore the full $900,000 for real
property acquisition in the North Broad area and to, per the 2020
Parkand Recreation Strategic Plan “insert Parks and Recreation more
actively into the planning process for new neighborhood parks.” We
have been waiting for our park for over forty years when we were
identified in the General Plan as "the only neighborhood with an
unmet need for a park." Thank you.
Sincerely,
Cheryl McLean
Anholm
San Luis Obispo
2