Commentary by Samuel Strait – August 17, 2022 Suspecting that the City's Council is at all cognizant of the fact that the United States is in a recession may be asking too much. Obsession with the community pool being likely a "bridge too far" is a given. Clearly the "term" inflation and supply chain issues are something that the boys on the Council are ill equipped to comprehend, let alone address with any kind of proficiency. Government, after all, and particularly with our local governing bodies, never saw a dollar that they couldn't spend without a care in the world about where it came from. They talk of Measure "S" money as if it were something to be plucked endlessly from the nearest "apple tree". Hardly aware of the cost to the community as they fruitlessly try to apply liberal quantities of lipstick to the community pool. Not a single nod to issues that are accumulating in the city, while they are trying to dress up as if going to the "Ball". Potholed filled roads and streets, services an after thought, but have anything remotely related to dressing up Front Street, the Park and the check book is wide open. Clearly as they dither around, things will only escalate in cost. Just as clearly, Johnson Controls will not be able to put "lip stick" on the community pool for $1.17 million, let alone anyone else that is likely to suddenly appear. Things are going up in cost by the day. Oh, Did I say that already. Someone, no make that five someones, truly have to be asleep for the past eighteen months not to understand that if the water meter project has doubled in cost, then so must the pool end of things. So, I ask the citizens of the City of Crescent City, 1200 fewer in number since 2010, how are you feeling about having your wallets raided on a daily basis in order to allow the City's Council to fritter away a couple of million dollars of your money to dress up the pool, the park, and Front Street. I am sure the Surfside Grill and Brewery appreciates the additional parking. And the City's employees are appreciative of the raise they got to start 2022. Then there is the little matter of Crescent Fire And Rescue finding it necessary to hire four additional administrators to replace the one that retired. At this rate there isn't going to be much money left over to do anything that really matters. The City's voters were given the "old spin job" that the City desperately needed money to provide "vital" services for its citizens. You know them as services that should be a "priority" in the City's General Fund called police protection, fire protection, and emergency services. So what exactly is the money in the City's General Fund being spent on if Measure "S" was necessary to restore funding levels for police, fire, and emergency services? Why exactly does the City need additional revenue? It does not appear it has anything to do with improvement of fire, police, or emergency services. It does not appear to have much to do with fixing 400 city streets that are in disrepair. It appears the focus is on spending millions on a part of the City that is hardly utilized by the people it is meant to benefit at a continuing and escalating cost. So how is it going for the citizen's of Crescent City? Feeling the bite of inflation on all things necessary to survive? Is it possible that you could use a few more dollars in your pocket? Is the City pool, the park, and Front Street "vital" to your well being and very existence? Do they somehow shelter and protect you from the elements, or feed you? Do they put gas in your tank or pay your rent and utility bills? For some reason it is almost like putting on a set of comfortable clothes for the local governments to plead poverty and the need for additional revenue. We will protect you they say and make you feel safe by providing "vital services" as if that isn't what they were supposed to be doing in the first place. So what exactly is the purpose of the money in the "General Fund" if it is not meant to provide the services that are claimed vital to be paid for with Measure "S" funding? Where is that money being spent? Is the City truly in need of additional revenue in the first place? Let us see. Vote YES on Measure "T" to repeal Measure S and we shall see.