Downtown Businesses and All Prior Lake Residents

On Monday evening, August 10, the City Council will conduct a hearing related to capital improvement projects (CIP) for future years.  Included on the list of projects is the CR 21/Main Street project.  When CAG surveyed downtown business owners/operators about this project about a year ago, we received more than 20 email responses, none of which supported the project.  It was on this basis that we met with County Commissioners and expressed our concern.

The cost of the projects proposed by City Manager Boyles are somewhat staggering, for example $61.3 million dollars on transportation projects over the next 4 years of which $36.6 million would come from taxpayers in one form or another.  This of course is in addition to the dollars required to provide City services and operate the City.  Mr. Boyles projects the additional required dollars as coming from County and State coffers.  I recognize there is no way that attendees at the hearing can come prepared to offer testimony about Boyle’s plan without having had the time and information available for review, but nevertheless I encourage you to be there if you can.  For example, if you don’t support the CR 21/Main Street intersection project, you have the chance to say so.  I hope to offer a few limited comments.
Not surprising, many of the same projects that have already cost taxpayers thousands of tax dollars for staff time and consultants are back on the list such as Rolling Oaks, Stemmer Ridge, and Arcadia, in addition to the closing of the CR 21 and Main St. intersection, etc.

While approval of Boyle’s plan by the Council would not represent specific approval of any given project, nevertheless it becomes a convenient reference point in the future when a specific project is being proposed by City Hall with the Staff report noting that the project was included in the “approved” CIP.  Lastly I can tell you with certainty that not all the proposed projects will be carried out as planned because that much money simply won’t be available.  While that’s probably good news, the bad news is that staff time and consultant dollars will continue to be spent on further study of projects that should really go away.

Hope to see you there.

Wes Mader