tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2244295561839420640.post930744308834793884..comments2007-07-26T15:01:52.004-07:00Dan Hubbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18202651663388452774noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2244295561839420640.post-81755203921317500382007-07-26T15:01:00.000-07:002007-07-26T15:01:00.000-07:00Going with the 4th option might make sense if you:<BR/>1. Refuse to consider the loss of funding already committed from outside of Newcastle, and assume you can get more later.<BR/>2. Refuse to consider that already spent funds will need to be repaid, and assume you can get more later.<BR/>3. Refuse to consider the ever-increasing costs of the projects in the future, and assume the cost will remain the same - or go down.<BR/>4. Refuse to consider the impact that Coal Creek traffic has on the whole of Newcastle - and asume it can continue as-is.<BR/> <BR/>I'm heartened that some of our leaders are grounded enough to see that the biggest problem facing Newcastle today can not be ignored - or even delayed. I'm sorry, but once one replaces assumptions with facts, and using only the facts, the only logical thing to do is to proceed with Option 1.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2244295561839420640.post-60220374242832035552007-07-26T13:04:00.000-07:002007-07-26T13:04:00.000-07:00Though non-Newcastle vehicles may account for 90% of the traffic (keeping in mind that no study has substantiated this claim), the congestion effects nearly 100% of the residents here; thus, Coal Creek is very much our highway and we have a responsibility to do something about it. It is difficult to argue that $30 million in outside funds is, somehow, not a "fair share" on a $44 million project.<BR/><BR/>Our residents will be none too happy if we forfeit the outside money already committed to the project, in addition to reimbursing the TIB $9 million...while we continue to sit in traffic. Making tough decisions is what leadership is all about...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2244295561839420640.post-90467391311900109242007-07-25T12:25:00.000-07:002007-07-25T12:25:00.000-07:00The fourth option is that we do nothing until and unless the state and county step up to pay an appropriate share of the total cost. Non-Newcastle vehicles account for 90% of the traffic. The amounts under discussion are well within the budgets of larger entities. We few Newcastle residents should not be picking up so much of the tab for what is actually a regional thoroughfare. <BR/><BR/>If we go with option #1, what's the likelihood of the state and/or county reimbursing us. Not much is my guess. If we sit tight, it keeps the pressure on them to pay their fair share.<BR/><BR/>Newcastle needs to be spending its precious tax dollars on parks while there still is land to be had, not on easing the commute for folks from out of town. And the council needs to live within its resources instead of overreaching its tax base with pie-in-the-sky projects like a new city hall, a skateboard park, and someone else's highway. <BR/><BR/>It's time drop the delusions of grandeur and start behaving and spending like the small town we actually are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com