What To Expect When The Promises Flow
By Chuck Ring
Theodore Roosevelt writing in the “Outlook,” July 28,1900 used the words of Machiavelli to explain several political traits of the day. Those traits, it seems, have not slipped away and they are worth repeating in part: “It is necessary to be a great deceiver and hypocrite; for men are so simple and yield so readily to the wants of the moment that he who will trick shall always find another who will suffer himself to be tricked….” Of course we all see events through a different prism or kaleidescope and a deceptive politician will seldom admit to trickery or hypocrisy, just as the one tricked will not likely admit to being deceived.
Short-sightedness and downright poor judgment are old political faults. Edgewood has certainly seen its share of both faults and it appears that Edgewood’s present administration is setting the stage for a major blunder. During a recent council meeting, the mayor championed a course of action that ultimately resulted in the governing body voting to assume the library which has for the past 17 or so years, operated with a volunteer board. During the previous 8 or 9 years, the Town of Edgewood has subsidized the library’s operation starting with a $500.00 a month stipend and growing to over $20,000.00 a year until the town agreed to cause the library to be a public library. I for one, stood in support of the library becoming a public library; however, I cautioned the mayor and the councilors against rushing to finalize the action until an inspection of the soundness and adaptability of the current library building could be made. I particularly drew their attention to the possibility that the building might not meet the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act. As unfortunate circumstances would have it, the town’s code enforcement officer inspected the building and determined that there were some forty deficiencies and that under the building’s present condition the town should consider rectifying the problems. Two members of the governing body seemed to downplay the importance of the deficiencies, one of which centered on the faulty wheelchair ramp. The mayor made a statement regarding wheelchair maneuverability inside the building, in effect stating that those in wheelchairs would favor using the computers and access to the remainder of the library might not be critical.
Although the library building was built as a residence and it contains deficiencies which under it present condition, might render it unfit for public use, it may be possible to repair or remodel the building for a sum that would not be prohibitive. The town has not moved to obtain an estimate for repair or remodel of the building, but the mayor has set out to examine the possibility of leasing a building previously used in part as a fitness center. This action by the mayor seems to be wrong from the start. The portion the mayor seeks for a library has been remodeled into several offices and extensive additional work will have to be performed in order to make it viable as a library. Additionally, as in the past, the mayor’s actions seem destined to keep or curtail the library from being built on Section 16. Edgewood has paid for conceptual plans for the “town center” on Section 16 and among other facilities, the plans call for a library to be built with the rest of the complex.
Renovating the “fitness center” building and then leasing the building amounts to throwing money down a rat hole. The town will never realize a return on its investment for remodeling and leasing the space and such action will only delay construction of a new library which will certainly cost more in the future than now. It would seem to me that this action by the mayor and other similar actions by him, whether well meant or not, tends to reinforce the need for a town manager or town administrator. It is beyond time for the four council members to work with, or if necessary without, the mayor to finally begin with the beginning of the development of Section 16. Excuses can be found or they can be cut out of whole cloth, but progress will be gained from sweat and sincerity.
It is also time for the Town of Edgewood to call its chips in with the County of Santa Fe. It is a shame that the town has seen money transfered to Santa Fe County to the tune of at least $900,000 under the 1/4 cent gross receipts tax for water and wastewater that was supposed to be shared with the Town of Edgewood. Instead, fully 1/8 cent of the 1/4 cent has been used to help the City of Santa Fe and the County of Santa Fe develop the Buckman Well Field. The rest of the money has been used for other water and wastewater projects in the northern part of the county, i.e., City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County. And we thought we had stopped the City of Santa Fe from taking Estancia Basin water to their benefit. Perhaps we have thus far; but they sure benefit from our economic development for their water and other purposes as does the county. It is time for the county to share in the burden of major projects on Section 16 and other locations in the Edgewood community. A library, combination public safety building and other projects come to mind, but Edgewood and Santa Fe County should not limit joint projects to just those mentioned. There are other examples of taxation in Edgewood making its way to Santa Fe County and the City of Santa Fe, but more on that in the future. For now, maybe we can, “Straighten Up And Fly Right.”
5 Responses “What To Expect When The Promises Flow”
Perhaps it is time for the” ordinary ” citizenry to get involved? Why not take a few minutes from your busy work day and give the mayor a phone call and let him know your feelings regarding section 16.? While the library is important, the temporary “solution” is not the answer. If enough citizens respond, it just might spur our town leadership in to taking the section 16 project off the “back burner” and giving it a higher priority. I encourage our mayor to do everything he can to get this project moving!
As a citizen who is in a wheelchair, I have been to the library once. The ramp was managable, although not ideal. I never returned because once inside the building I could not manuever. It was small and I was in danger of desroying property or injuring people while moving about. However, the biggest drawback was the step that prohibited me from getting down into the section of books I was most interested in. I did not go there to use the computers. Obviously, I have one!
Why is the mayor so inflexible about section 16? I agree that citizens should get involved. Mr. Steiner is correct about citizen involvement. However, as someone who has tried to work with the mayor in the past (on the issue of the possiblility of an Animal shelter), I would prefer to work with the council. I found the mayor difficult to work with, and condescending. I don’t think he would take me as an individual seriously. (This is meant as an observation, and not a personal attack on the mayor.)
I saw your sign on Duke Road today and you said something about Obama and some his statements. I have discovered some more information on this subject that I’d like to share with you. Please contact me and I’ll fill you in. Dorothy French 505-506-4195
We have not posted anything about either presidential candidate, so I’m not sure what you’re talking about.
I will call you, but we don’t plan on getting embroiled in national politics.
Indeed, we will not. We have relentlessly avoided electoral politics in this venue. Perhaps we are wrong in doing so, but we have our reasons. First and foremost, there are other venues for those discussions, and this one is intended to focus on local and regional issues. Second, each of us writing and editing this blog has his or her own opinion as to who should win the various seats in contention, and it’s a good bet we don’t agree on all counts. We respectfully disagree with each other. However, we prefer not to do it here.
Third, and perhaps second-most important, is that the “discussion” on electoral politics has taken on such a nasty, disrespectful, and disingenuous tone that we like the idea of having our blog be a brief respite from that experience. Sure, we criticize, and sometimes even bitingly, but we’re not willing to lie or deceive, nor are we interested in unsupported character assassination. We think there are a lot of campaign committees that could take a lesson from us. Admittedly, though, we’re a little biased.