Issues that can't wait 'till November 8th

By Lee B. Thibadeau

760-744-5728

A STATEMENT by Lee Thibadeau

Issues that can't wait till November 8th?

Now is the time to determine how your candidates feel about important issues:

Senior Center:

The seniors have been planning a final expansion of the Senior Center. The city's bureaucrats started out demanding $ 365,000 from the Senior Club bank account to compensate for the rents they would lose that they were getting from a local church to rent out the old skid mounted city hall. They have since lowered the amount they require to $ 215,000 saying that the money is needed for "other site development" improvements and the use of the land. Now, as I remember, the city council promised the use of this property to the seniors almost twenty years ago. The bureaucrats may not remember, but I do, I was there.

I was there when the city, along with the Joslyn Foundation built the first Senior Center. The city council knew the senior community would outgrow the new Senior Center, but we did the best we could with what we had. The city council promised the seniors that when the time came and we moved onto a new city hall site we would give the seniors our old city hall site for expansion and parking.

If elected I will work to keep this promise. I challenge my opponents to make the same promise.

Churches:

The city wants to charge the Seventh Day Adventist more than $ 130,000 for parks and recreation fees' etc. Another church, the Emmanuel Faith Church of Escondido (more than 400 members reside in San Marcos) has purchased approximately 30 acres to build a church in San Marcos. They submitted their preliminary plans to the city and were told that the city would not do anything with these plans until after the November election (as they did not want this to become a campaign issue). The city wants park and recreation fees for Emmanuel Faith church as well.

Here are the Broken Promises again. The city developed a `Facilities Orientated Growth Management Ordinance" (called Prop. R) back in the mid 1980's and put it on the ballot for the voters to approve. They promised the voters that all new growth would pay its own way. I know, because I was there and not only did I help write the growth measure, I supported its approval. So did the voters. I remember what we promised it would do. All new growth would pay for its impacts on the city. It allows for the city to provide credits for those developments that provide there own "public facilities" beyond what might be required as a result of their own impacts.

We, the city purchased the land for the Boys and Girls Club and lease it to them for one dollar per year. I know, I was there I supported our promise. I was there when then Councilman Corky Smith paid the first twenty years lease fee when he put a $ 20.00 bill on the table. When the club was built, the citywide public facility fees were waived. As they should have been.

I was there when the city purchased the land with an old building on it abutting city hall and leased it to the cities Chamber of Commerce for a dollar a year, I believe Corky paid the first twenty years lease on that too. There were no fees and there should not have been. Recently another church looked at buying or leasing the old Bank of America building at Mission and Bennett for their Sunday services. The city said the property was not zoned for a church so they could not use it. Yet the city leased its old city hall site for church use, and today the city is leasing space at the new City Hall complex to a church. Neither the old city hall site, nor the new city hall complex was zoned for a church. It is absurd that the city on one hand collect rent from a church on properties that are not zoned for a church, but not allow a church to change the use of a closed bank building to a church (or at least apply).

I belong to a local church located in an Industrial Park zoned as an industrial park. My church and the other churches of the community provide facilities to the public. Churches should not be considered a burden. To the contrary, most churches provide counseling, childcare, special events, sports and lots of youth activities. Churches should be given credit for these facilities and resources as allowed by Prop. R? For example, churches don't call for added police protection. In fact, I suspect if we worked toward accommodating a few more places of worship we'd need less police.

The managed growth ordinance (Prop. "R") allows for credits and exceptions for special circumstances. It allows latitude in determining impacts resulting in impact fees or reduced impact fees. Our places of worship should not be held hostage, nor burdened with unwarranted or unrelated impact fees. Yes, they should pay there own way, they should pay for the road and flood control required to support their project, as well as other infrastructure they require to support their development, but unrelated fees and charges are not what was intended in our growth management ordinance for facilities and developments that support the quality of life in San Marcos.

High priced Electricity:

I was successful in convincing the council to adopt the Resolution for the Cities own Municipal Utility so that the city could immediately go out and negotiate cheaper electricity for the residents, business', church's and the city itself, but they are not negotiating. They are waiting, while you are paying. Our residential ratepayers are paying more than $48,000. per day for high priced electricity and our business community is paying an estimated $200,000. per day for high priced electricity because our city doesn't want it to become an election issue....

Transit:

The North County Transit District is about to authorize between $ 267 million and $360 million for a diesel train to run through North Counties back yards and across every major interchange at grade level impacting traffic, homes, schools and the environment from Oceanside to Escondido.

From July 1990 to Nov. 1999, the 22 mile light rail (Blue Line) in Long Beach had more than 487 accidents and has killed 53 people. Traffic is already a major concern for North County, why compound it with an expensive diesel train built at existing grade congesting traffic at every major intersection in North County. To make things more dangerous, this diesel train is scheduled to run right past three of our San Marcos schools. (The new high school off Mission, the existing middle school and the community college on Mission Rd.) We already know "Kids" and trains don't mix. When you look at the light rail (Blue Line) accident and fatality record in Long Beach that includes 53 deaths, just one death is too many as far as I am concerned.

Property Values:

One of my major reason for getting the new Cal State University built in San Marcos was so we could change the direction are growth was taking us. With the University, Community College, City Center, we could increase values in San Marcos to the extent we could demand higher quality lower density housing for San Marcos. According to a recent report in the newspaper, San Marcos has the lowest property values in all of North County. We can change that. If we learn to exploit our assets, we could have the highest property values in North County.

And finally, is this political? YES, you're darn right it is political! These are issues. These are serious issues to the community and should be political. Election time is a great time to bring out these issues and make them public and discuss them in public. The great thing about our AMERICAN system is our ELECTION process.

To have a government in this country say this issue or that issue will not be processed or discussed because it might be or will be political until after an election is "un-American" and should be Against the Law!!

If I am elected I will do more than talk, more than promise, I will get the job done and give the power back to the people!

Questions for Lee Thibadeau he can be reached at 744-5728, Fax: 744-8429,cell phone: 497-0604, e-mail: papathib@incom.net or his web site: http://www.leethibadeau.com