Viewpoints
Just the Facts
By Dave Kiffer
October 09, 2006
Monday
Editor, SITNEWS
Even though the election is
over, the opponents of the White Cliff Center project are still
pounding away at it. Unfortunately, they are still using "facts"
that aren't.
For example, one of the letter writers insists that the cost
of tearing down White Cliff will be the same as the cost to build
the new Fawn Mountain School. I sure hope not.
Fawn Mountain cost approximately $14 million. I hope that the
letter writer doesn't think it's okay to spend $14 million of
your tax dollars to create a parking lot.
Another item that keeps being raised on the issue is the "fact"
that it's not fair to require the community at large to pay for
something that only benefits some residents.
Since two of the letter writers own boats, I would like to point
out that eventually the community will be bonding for several
million dollars in deferred harbor repairs that the state left
for us when it handed over the harbors in recent years.
Using their own logic, I have to assume that they are completely
in favor of having only the stall owners and harbor users pay
for those repairs? I would guess not. A wiser person than me
once said that it's only a "special" interest if it's
someone else's "interest."
By the way, the actual estimated cost to tear down White Cliff
School and remediate the site is "only" $4 million.
That's still an awful lot to create a parking lot. And since
the borough owns the site, it is a cost that we would all have
to pay for.
Dave Kiffer
Ketchikan, Alaska
Received October 09, 2006 -
Published October 09, 2006
About: Executive Director of Historic Ketchikan Inc.; Ketchikan
Borough Assembly Member; freelance writer...
Note: Comments published
on Viewpoints are the opinions of the writer
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sitnews.
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