The West Long Beach Association welcomed speakers on Measure K and Measure I to their meeting last night, and while LBUSD representative Kim Stallings gave a well-done presentation about Measure K, the highlight was obviously former Redevelopment Agency boardmember Terry Jensen speaking against Measure I, followed by Mayor Bob Foster speaking for it.
Jensen has been questioning the methods used to develop Measure I and points out the potential for the Infrastructure tax to be misused down the line. Mayor Foster vehemently denied any possibility that money gained from Measure I will be used for anything except improving city infrastructure
“No matter what you’ve heard,” Foster told the crowd, “These funds cannot be used on anything other than infrastructure.”
But Jensen is holding strong to his claim that more than $33 million of the $571 million could potentially be diverted into the general fund if this Council or a future Council so chooses.
“I’m not saying they will,” Jensen said, “But they could.”
Mayor Foster also expressed the need to act now before costs skyrocket. Already, the Mayor said, the things that most need to be fixed have “…decayed to the point that we can’t refurbish them. We have to replace them.”
His point, which drew support from the crowd, was that the city has waited too long for improvements to be made to its infrastructure, and that the people have been waiting for someone to bring about the change they need.
“I’m it. This Council is it,” he said, saying that costs could skyrocket before the next time an opportunity like Measure I comes along. “If you deter maintenance, the bill will come. And it will be large.”
That’s one point that both sides agree on. Jensen opens his speech by explainng that the Mayor is making an honorable attempt to fix an outdated infrastructure that he did not break.
“They didn’t make this mess,” Jensen said. “They inherited this mess.”
But, Jensen says, this may not be the best way to address the issue. He points to several problems he has with Measure I, such as the maintenance or repair of “non-essential items” such as seven new firehouses, eleven new community centers and the restoration of local wetlands. Jensen does, however, point out that these are his subjective views, and others may argue that those items are, indeed, essential.
His larger concern is financial.
“Why in the world are we pouring almost three-quarters of a billion dollars when we already have the money available?” Jensen points to an Infrastructure Fund in the City Budget that he says (if carefully construed) could be used to do the same things that bond money from Measure I will do.
“To me, that doesn’t make any sense at all. And that’s a debt that my grandkids are going to be paying.”
The Mayor held fast to the idea that Long Beach residents should consider taxing themselves for the good of future generations, denying that money will be used for anything but infrastructure and predicting that property values will rise due to improved streets, roads, parks and more. He stressed the good intentions of the Measure and urged the community to band together. Yes, he admitted, detractors will be able to find things about Measure I that they do not like. But that doesn’t make it a bad plan.
“We’ve got to think beyond ourselves and think beyond today,” he said.
“Don’t let the good become the victim of the perfect.”
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor