Budget drain wouldn't end when park is built

Will there be enough funds available for the Parks Department budget?

Admittedly I can be thick headed at times; but even I can see the "big picture" in Coeur d'Alene! A vision of glorious projects that the City can't afford to maintain. More taxes folks!

Take a look at the following past projects, then think about the new ones:

City Park can't have its crumbling seawall and lifting sidewalks repaired because there isn't enough money in the Parks Department budget. I got this directly from a Council member - so who prepared the budget? It is not in an Urban Renewal District so it can't be re-created like McEuen Park. Even if City Park was in an Urban Renewal District, LCDC "doesn't do" budgets.

So where does that leave the new McEuen Park? Will there be enough funds available for the Parks Department budget? Not only are there miles of concrete sidewalks and plazas in the plan, but there are also parking lots, lighting fixtures, monuments, art, skate board areas, benches and fountains and restrooms. Eventually even dog parks and trails. Can you imagine what it will be like after a major event? Lots of employment there but only if there's money in the Park Department's budget.

Imagine the amount that needs to be set aside for repairs and maintenance. Just imagine the additional employees that should be required to keep the underground parking area grime free, the restrooms pristine, the walkways and plazas gum free, the wading pool clear of scum and cigarette butts and on and on. What about the security costs? There will probably have to be security cameras installed - is that in the Parks Department budget?

Tubbs Hill is as clean as it is due to the efforts of volunteers, not just the Parks Department. There must not be enough money in the City's budget if volunteers have to step in. Everyone knows the Hill has many problems of free ranging dogs, dog poop, vagrants' hidden camps and night revelers party trash. The new McEuen Park will have so much more ... who is going to volunteer?

Now folks you have to wonder, where is the money going to come from to maintain the new McEuen Park? Carry this thought further, what about the last park project, the "new" Riverstone Park? When it starts to age and the sidewalks to crumble or the plastic lining of the lake begins to leak - what is the Parks Department budget amount set aside for its future repairs and maintenance?

Apparently, the Parks Department is going to be the absolute biggest recipient of tax dollars in the City! Does it have the proper manager, does it have the staff, does it even realize the magnitude of responsibilities it is going to accrue with another redesigned McEuen Park?

The City Council stated that the Tennis Courts had to be removed at McEuen Park because they couldn't be repaired and maintained even though there were funds donated solely for that purpose outside the budget. Were those funds returned to the donors when the City Council ordered the tennis courts removed?

The Boat Launch seawall and deteriorated concrete ramp can't be repaired, or even maintained, according to the Parks Director although there are funds for it in the budget. Now that it is such a mess, will the City Council order it to be removed? Will they remove the parking lot before they get a new one built next to City Hall? That's something to watch carefully.

So are all these great projects not to be maintained? If the budget is increased to pay for all these great works, will it bankrupt the taxpayers in the years to come? I'm just one downtown property owner who has seen my taxes go from $6,129 in 2004 to $10,421. LCDC's portion of that went from $505 in 2004 to $5,002!

The City Council gets their "vision of the new Coeur d'Alene," but they don't pay the bills. You and I, our children and grandchildren pay the bills now and forever.

Keep in mind folks, the City Council appoints the members of Lake City Development Corporation (LCDC) so it follows that they are ultimately responsible for everything that LCDC does.

Art Williams is a Coeur d'Alene resident.