Weigh Tollgate costs before vote
Published 1:02 am Friday, October 3, 2008
Last night’s July 17, 2001, North Bend City Council meeting was very interesting to me. Of special interest was an announcement by Campbell Mathewson that 322 acres of the Tollgate Farm had been sold the Trust for Public Lands. It’s a done deal. Three hundred and twenty-two acres are off the tax roles; 34 homes will not be built with families who support our businesses, schools and churches.
Next the council passed an ordinance to place a bond issue on the September primary ballot. This was to be for $3,000,000, but it has grown to $3,560,000. The money will be used to “save” the Tollgate Farm. But, in reality, it is the city’s portion to be used to purchase the middle 56 acres of the farm. The goal is to remove these acres from the tax roles along with the jobs a 1 million-square-foot development would create.
But no matter. The City Council went on to adopt a $3,280,000 bond to build a new public works building. They authorized $17,000 to plan and estimate $75,000 to construct a water-reclamation system for the sewer plant. They also authorized $43,000 to study alternatives to end our moratorium on the issuance of water permits. The current plan to spend $1,500,000 to $2,000,000 to construct facilities that would allow the city to purchase water from the Seattle watershed has stalled. I wonder what Plan B will cost.
King County Councilman David Irons reported to the council that, for now, the city would not be expected to pay more to support Si View Park.
So to sum up the meeting: The city of North Bend increased spending while planning to remove the Tollgate property from the tax roles.
“Saving the Tollgate Farm” has an emotional appeal. My grandfather farmed this land from 1918 through the difficult years of the Depression. But the economics of purchasing 56 acres of the Tollgate Farm have me concerned. I know the city today is spending more money on services that it is receiving in taxes. The bond issue funds the purchase, but not the maintenance or necessary improvements. Our real-estate taxes continue to increase. Our utility bills continue to increase, and we have unfunded needs for road and park improvements.
Even if the city of North Bend does not allow development due to flood losses or the continued moratorium, King County will develop around us, and the impacts for increased police, fire, roads, parks and other services will fall on the existing tax base. The transfer of 322 acres from private to public ownership has been completed. I ask that you consider carefully the costs of saving this last part of the farm when you vote in September.
George Wrysch
North Bend
