Then I began mentioning a survey done by South Ogden City Council where 65 percent of residents have said they would not like to see a tax increase for a rec. center. For more info, see my post on November 15, 2007 (See Here).
As we continued with our reasonable discussion about the tax increase, Mayor Garwood interrupted me to say the following:
"We are not building a rec. center, it's a gym facility. Why are people calling me about a rec. center. We were never building a rec. center. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a gym facility for your kids. Your kids won't be around for 60 more years to see such a great opportunity."
Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of a nice recreation center gym facility with a pool and other features. But I am not for a rec. center gym facility that has very limited use, is not open until after 5 pm and is raising property taxes during a recession. (Have we not heard of counter cyclical economic policy - lowering taxes in a recession).
A few minutes later the financial advisor for the city council came forward to speak about the bond for the new rec center gym facility. He said, "We will need to change the wording in the documents to not say rec. center."
Throughout the night this was the case, any time someone said rec. center, they were told to change it to gym facility. Finally councilman Wayne Smith made a motion to set a public hearing for the proposed rec center gym facility. He too called it a rec. center (while shaking his head in confusion) and was politely told to change it to gym facility.
What is the difference between a gym facility and rec. center? According to Mayor Garwood--gym equipment. Since there is no gym equipment this is not a rec. center.
Come on people! I have been in all the same meetings as you Mr. Mayor! The city council has been calling this a rec. center for months! See the minutes from September 2, (See Here), it was called a recreation facility. You all called it a rec. center at least a dozen times in your conversations. Now people are questioning the rec. center; so we are now calling it a gym facility. Does this seem right?
We all took the same survey and said we didn't want a tax increase for a rec. center. But we are fine with a tax increase for a gym facility?
Personally I am disappointed in how this is playing out. I did not appreciate the response from the Mayor and it was VERY OBVIOUS the council, the lawyers, the financial advisers, and EVERYONE else was calling it a rec. center. Also did I mention tax payers will being paying on a $3 Million bond for a rec center gym facility with limited use.
For even more information about the rec. center gym facility, check out the press release on Scott Darrington's blog, (See Here)
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