From: Ted Godshalk
To: Clerk
Subject: Budget Workshop Public Comment 5/5/23
Date: Friday, May 5, 2023 5:31:46 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders.
Public Comment for the Budget Workshop of May 5, 2023 from Mr. Ted Godshalk:
Mayor and Council,
I think it would be useful to split the budget discussion into two parts. To discuss buildings and facilities as one part and personnel and programs as a second part organizes the spending plan in a simpler manner.
Naturally the CIP program, with its $1 million allocation from a 1.5% policy must therefore fall in the first part. Any new park or building or streetscape or maintenance of those would also be in the first part. Any new, expanded, or ongoing programs of any department or employees would then be in the second part of the discussion.
Recommendations for Budget Part 1:
1- It is not important to plan to rebuild, nor to actually reconstruct the Kimball Park building below the MLK. The Parks and Rec department could use a large “Tuff Shed,” or other construction site trailer and container, appropriately fenced in and moved back out of the center of the park. The “Youth Campus” idea should not be pursued at this time. 2- The Clean NC program for the Harbison- Plaza area should not be started at this time.
Public Works can maintain this site as it is already improved. 3- Funding for the Granger Hall study and future work should be put aside in an account that will be available later for the consideration of work on all of our “Cultural and Recreational Facilities.” This new account is not to be spent, earmarked, nor encumbered until a Public workshop in the Fall of 2023 and yearly in the Fall in future years. Get a “pro Bono” assessment of the condition of Granger Hall. Put out an RFP for the sale of the property and buildout of condos and add that money to this account. The maintenance of the Historic Train Depot, the Stein Farm, the Brick Row historic home, the Old Library, Casa de Salud, Camacho Gym, and the El Toyon Park buildings can be saved for through this account and advanced planning.
4- Las Palmas Park and Pool improvements- The pool widening project with new locker rooms should be completed. We do not need to add the Splash Pad, dog park, yoga mat, or expensive and unspecified site work. There should not be any continuation of the “Wellness” or “Gym” project. Future costs associated with staffing, utilities, and maintenance have not been identified to support the larger project floated by the previous mayor. There is no commitment from the Sweetwater High School District for $1.5 million. Do not borrow from the Section 8 account for this project. That money is for other programs. Use the ARPA money for FY24 ($2 million) to do needed work on other city facilities. When the ARPA discussion was held last year, the council should have been made aware of the earthquake Item 4.1 - Ted Godshalk
retrofit needs of City Hall. Why did the City Manager and City Engineer not bring this up then?
4- Put out an RFP to Condominium developers for the sale and buildout of the City Hall property. I am a big fan of "building to last,” but City Hall is outdated and the retrofit design will not improve the use or appearance of the old building. I predict that this building is a budgetary “sink", not a “sinkhole" in the streets and storm drains sense. It will swallow money for a long time if you let it. The parking lot is too small for most meetings. The public desk interface is terrible. The Council meeting room is too small for modern municipal business.
The bathrooms? OMG. Its replacement needs to be thought out deeply and a $4 million bandage is not the way to plan for the future. Move City staff into the Old Library, Casa de Salud, Camacho Gym and MLK building. Spend money on these facilities and use them for city needs. Rent somewhere if you must. Offices for city staff should be planned out carefully while the temporary buildings are used. Money from the sale will help move the future improvements along. MLK and the Police Station were built once upon a time, so do not rush this retrofit as the City Engineer is encouraging you to do. 5- Use Impact funds and ARPA money, where possible, to fix the Fire Station 34, the police station generator, and Old Library roof as listed in the CIP 1.5% list. Get a firm bid for the rework on the Police station Sewer pipe, $200K seems high, no? Determine if the El Toyon Fire Station needs can be met before spending any more design money. 6- Streets and Storm drains- The $2.8 million from TransNet and the Gas Tax and the $300K from the Solid Waste fund are not enough. The proposal to add $500 K for street resurfacing is not enough. I recommend adding $1.5 million to bring our streest up to the top tier of cities.
The condition of our streets, additional signals and traffic calming improvements are an investment in our people; National City’s seniors, families, pedestrians, drivers, and workers.
Our streets must be maintained better and you must make this a priority. The street Sign work “catch-up” as staff characterized it, for $25K is probably not enough. The $300 K for maintaining the storm drains is a good first step but a revolving account should be set up to plan for future years of climate related damages. Help the National City Golf Course and American Golf repair the bridge over the drainage at the clubhouse. 7- Do not add the $80K to the facilities upgrade fund at this time, spend it on the items above.
Recommendations for Budget part 2-
8- Fund the NCPD request for a new police officer for this year, but direct the Police Chief to make this a Traffic Unit member as I discussed in my Public Comment at your last Council meeting. That unit is understaffed and our daytime traffic is too high and too fast with employees and shoppers coursing through town all day. Do not make any commitments for future years at this time.
9- Fund the request from the NCFD for new firefighters, but do not commit to any future years at this time.
10- Add some money to the Library’s budget for the After-School Programming, more accurately called “Sports,” or “Youth Leagues.” Discuss the need to transition this programming to non-profit organizations and Leagues before 2026. 11- Add PublicWorks/Streets/Parks staff to better maintain the trees, parks, sidewalks, alleys, and other edges of our city. Two additional tree trimmers are not enough. Study SEE-CLICKFIX issues concerning abandoned cars, trash, dumping, potholes, homeless camps, graffiti, overgrown vegetation. The community has called for a better response, a more proactive way, of dealing with the issues identified by the (previous) City Manager as “Quality of Life.” The use of overtime on Friday for a couple of employees has not resulted in much improvement.
Add last least five staff members, with broad skill sets, to cover all of the types of issues you see in the neighbors’ reports. Less than 50% of the department works in the field at this time. 12- Plan checking or permitting staff may be needed, but one thing the staff member should be trained to do is to check on the contractors that are given permission to work below our streets.
A staff member who gives a permit for a utility contractor to dig up the pavement must inspect the final work and insist on complete and thorough repairs to the pavement. This staff member could be paid through the TransNet or other transportation money. 13- The work of Communications should be under the work description of the City Manager and Assistant City Manager, No new staff position is required to do this job. Restarting the Neighborhood Councils should be a priority of yours and the staff that works for us. 14- The Amortization program’s next improvement sites should be determined by City Planning and Development staff. No new contract to study this is needed. Use the current list and set up a new proposal for the use of this important program.
Good luck,
Ted Godshalk
From: Kelsey Genesi
To: Clerk
Subject: 5.5.23 Budget Workshop Public Comment
Date: Friday, May 5, 2023 1:51:02 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders.
Good afternoon,
My name is Kelsey Genesi and I am the National City policy advocate at EHC.
Residents of Old Town National City have been the victims of 50 years of unjust mixed land use that is a blend of polluting industrial businesses and homes. The incompatible mixed land use pattern lends to an asthma rate that is twice the state average. In addition to asthma and other respiratory issues, the pollution can also result in pregnancy complications.
The city has already established the Amortization Ordinance under the Westside Specific Plan to address the mixed land use in Old Town, but much of the information is outdated. It is time to revitalize the amortization process and invest in a consultant to collect data that is up to date and compile a list re-ranking the businesses. I understand that the Health and Environmental Justice Planner will take on this process, but that does not excuse inaction now.
We are not advocating for polluting businesses in Old Town to be put out of business. We respect the contribution that many of them make to the city’s economy. Rather, we believe strongly that they need to be slowly phased out of the residential neighborhood and re-located to an industrial zone.
I am writing on behalf of EHC members who have lived in this area for decades, and they know firsthand that even if these businesses do better and are up to code, that they will still pollute and contribute to an unhealthy air quality.
Like The bottom line is that the mixed land use in Westside National City is harmful to its constituents and over time, these businesses need to be phased out.
Amortization was established to do just that, phase-out the polluting businesses that are most harmful to the quality of life in Old Town. Therefore, we ask that the budget reflect the city’s effort to revive the ordinance by allocating the necessary funds to hire a consultant and ensure that the amortization process can be successfully implemented moving forward.
I understand after discussing with the planning department that the consultant when the ordinance was first initiated cost approximately $70,000, and that did not include the cost to execute the phasing out of the businesses. The one-time investment of $50,000 in the preliminary budget is a clear indication of disinvestment in your community who needed relief decades ago.
I urge you to prioritize your residents and invest in their health that require action today, and not inconsequential investments that do not seek to address real time problems.
Item 4.1 - Kelsey Genesi
We look forward to participating further in this discussion on May 16th when our members can be present.
Thank you for your time,
Kelsey Genesi · Policy Advocate (she/her/hers)
Environmental Health Coalition | Environmental Health & Justice Campaign EHC Web | EHC Twitter | EHC Facebook
EMPOWERING PEOPLE · ORGANIZING COMMUNITIES · ACHIEVING JUSTICE