HomeMy WebLinkAbout120623 email Yup_ its me again_ the pool is still in my thoughts_ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Good evening Commissioners and Staff,
I'd like to expound on a comment made by Mayor Faber and sent to BoCC on 12/2/23.
In a message to City Council, PT resident Ashley Portilla states that she favors locating the new pool in Hadlock in order to foster the notion that "this pool is for everyone, not just
for a few wealthy Port Townsend residents". She goes on to say that "I for one would be happy to make a short 15 minute drive down there to use it".
Mr Faber replies in 2 ways. The first of which is to use vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions to make his argument. His second strategy is to threaten to withhold the
$400K subsidy being offered to help cover operating costs for the pool. It is not customary for me to express an opinion to City Council, but this time it may be unavoidable for me
because this assertion is so absurd that I cannot see myself avoiding it. Maybe I should call him because I don't think an email will be well received considering the sheer volume of
snark I think may be necessary to express myself.
Are we to accept that the vehicle miles traveled by PT residents from the city to Hadlock are incomparable to the vehicle miles traveled by the residents of the rest of the county to
access a pool in PT? Do I need to remind Mr Faber that 2/3 of the residents of the county reside outside of the city and that the distance to these extremities (not including the west
end) can reach 45 minutes or an hour of travel time in good weather? Does that have any bearing on these greenhouse gas emissions? Is it incorrect to assume that the impact of greenhouse
gas emissions from PT residents could be less significant than emissions from district 2 and 3 residents due to the higher rate of wealthier EV owners in the city? Don't PT residents
have easier access to the fine services of public transportation than residents of the other 2 districts?
I am pretty sure the county commissioners require no such reminder of the fact that 2/3 of county residents reside outside of the city and that they can also be swimmers. Is Mr Faber
attempting to claim that Port Townsend residents are more likely to make use of a pool even if it is located in Hadlock and thereby outweigh the offsetting of traveling distance of
the near-Hadlock users in a cumulative effect? I am interested to know if he has info I do not have about this because I may be incorrect in assuming that the residents of district
2 would be users of the pool if it were located within their district and then district 1 & 3 residents would both have a relatively compromised travel/distance access to the facility.
Perhaps I am mistaken. Perhaps the residents of district 2 would not use the pool if it were near them. Perhaps only Port Townsend residents are swimmers.
Mr Faber states that the city has preliminarily committed to contributing $400K to operating expenses but that if the pool is not built in PT that the money "goes away" and "the county
has no way to pay for a pool in Port Hadlock". Did I just read that correctly? Was that both a threat to take his marbles and go home and also a deafness to hearing himself the calling
the kettle "black"? Mr Faber seems unaware that it is the city which cannot afford the pool without the support from the county, not the other way around. Didn't we just learn from
Stacie yesterday that the county sales tax generates 5x that of the city. Who is subsidizing who here? The county never asked for a pool. The city wants the pool. The city CANNOT have
a pool without the county to buy it for them. Yet, it would seem compromise and creative thinking is beyond consideration.
I remain hopeful and optimistic, but I do feel like I am bashing my head against a brick wall when I hear things like this. If I am to follow Mr Faber's lead here, I should be saying
that if PT wants a pool, PT can pay for it themselves. At least then they can all ride their bikes and electric cars to it for a swim.
Your adoring pest, Jean