Pasayten's Methow Valley Bulletin Board

The personal character and past actions of a person pushing for an outcome that has this type of financial outlay should be made public and considered. I believe that past actions define what to expect in the future.
If someone ( especially supposed adults) has demonstrated by their actions in the past they can't be trusted how can they expect anyone to fully trust them in the present or future?

SOulman wrote: Fri Aug 18, 2023 5:02 pm Please back off on the personal criticisms.

We can disagree on political/policy differences without bringing in all the other personal baggage.

Bo Thrasher and Blue Bradley are good people who care about their community. Dragging them or others down to serve a political objective is not a worthy endeavor.

If the debate about an important community topic cannot be civil and focused on ideas rather than people or personalities, it says more about the people involved than the community or issue under being debated.

my political objective is to not have the Butlers or the Goldie's or anybody else control tax payer money through the establishment of a Metropolitan Park District.

I was part of a group of BC skiers who in 2002-2003 worked with the Forest Service to ensure that North Cascade Heli-ski would operate with as little impact as possible to the environment and operate safely around Backcountry skiers. The forest service put into place a number of mitigation measures that satisfied my concerns. Paul Butler wasn't even in the valley when that process took place. When he purchased half of that business back in 2008 ( I think) NCH continued to hold the public Trust until it was violated by his actions in 2012.

Sorry but I believe voters, especially those new to the Valley, need to know the charector of the people who will possibly be given this enormous power and control of taxpayer money.

Or don't you believe character plays an important part in giving public trust to any politician because that's what they are now?

It's reasonable to assume that Bo, Blue or even Paul will serve as unelected MPD board commissioners and would desire a climbing wall built in Mazama as a future project considering that these people are in the commercial guiding business. Have they denied that when I raise the issue here? No.

I don't see anything uncivil about presenting facts and logical conclusions to the voters. If facts upset a person then that's not my problem.

You yourself accused FOP board members of personally attacking you in their letter to the editor.

I did not feel that letter personally attacked you, yet I supported your assertion because you thought that you were attacked. Yes they provided a lot of contradictory information in that letter, but IMO, it didn't rise to the level of an attack against you.

I said in another post that I don't doubt that all the FOP board members are good people

I actually do consider your post here as a personal attack with the implications you made. But hey, that's you and your character, not mine.

Yes, Justin Porter, Alisa Malloch, and Ken Malloch are also great people that work hard to support the Methow Valley kids and community. I respect them. We just differ on whether Proposition 1 is the best path to finance and replace the Wagner Pool.

Please back off on the personal criticisms.

We can disagree on political/policy differences without bringing in all the other personal baggage.

Bo Thrasher and Blue Bradley are good people who care about their community. Dragging them or others down to serve a political objective is not a worthy endeavor.

If the debate about an important community topic cannot be civil and focused on ideas rather than people or personalities, it says more about the people involved than the community or issue under being debated.

Their initial estimate didn't include the sliding walls to give that I'm really outside in Nature feel. And are they going to add on solar hot water panels to heat the pool? I would, but that would be very expensive up front.

Perhaps they're backing off the mega Spa because an indoor climbing wall gym in Mazama sounds pretty good to to both Bo Thrasher and Blue Bradley to support their husband's commercial Mountain guiding business's.

But they haven't been either accountable or transparent to voters in what the related future recreational projects will be.

Perhaps it's a mini Disneyland castle?

We don't know and they're not saying.

This stuff is like trying to nail jello to a wall

This is a very true statement with everything I have seen from the FOTP...

It is important to remember that when proponents of Proposition 1 refer to a levy of "only $0.43" for operations, the estimate is calculated on the price tag of the indoor aquatic center detailed by their consultants -- $20.1 million in 2022 dollars.

This stuff is like trying to nail jello to a wall.

The answer to your post was interesting...

there is a vision we are referring to as the MAC but it is not a final plan and $25 million is a number you made up.
Once the commission is formed, their responsibility will be to right-size the facility and levy, guided by citizen input.

Are they now backing off from their $20+ million mega complex pool? Right size the pool and levy? We are supposed to "trust" them? Why don't they trust the voters for other less toxic 6 year cycle park district options? why not a sales tax option?

This should have been done in the beginning and then right size a supporting financing structure. You don't need a metropolitan park district for a right sized pool project in the Methow Valley.

BTW, they have blocked me from their facebook page... I used my wife's account to view the post... Good grief...

A Friends of the Pool representative challenged my statement about the cost of their indoor aquatic center saying "$25 million is a number you made up." My response --

"By your own consultant feasibility study the cost of the indoor aquatic center that you advocate was $20.1 million dollars in 2022. The annual inflation assumed by the consultant was five percent per year. Given that there is no district, no governing board, no staff, no site, no public process, no planning/design/engineering, no money for construction it is reasonable to expect that an indoor aquatic center is five years out. Cost: $25.6 million."

That got me thinking about comparable projects in the community.

In 1995, voters approved a $6 million bond measure to build Liberty Bell High School and remodel what became the elementary school. (Source: The Smiling Country - A History of the Methow Valley, Sally Portman, 2002.)

What might be the cost of that project today?

Using the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index calculator, the present value of building LBHS -- $11.9 million.

So, a project most recognize as an important community asset is much less than the to-date poorly defined aspiration of year-round swimming in a mountain valley off the beaten track.

'Just saying.

Steve Oulman