THE GUARDIAN has extracted a telling document from the Master Framework Subcommittee Report on the costs of TVCC to Caldwell taxpayers. Unlike College of Wester Idaho, approved by taxpayers of this valley TVCC has found a rich uncle in Caldwell Urban Renewal Agency, Mayor Nancolas and Agency Chairman Eljay Waite.
Exhibit E was a part of the subcommittee report on downtown Caldwell. The document was prepared by City Finance Director Eljay Waite for "discussion purposes only on 8-24-2009. Below is a summaryof TVCC costs for Caldwell taxpayers through 2014:
SITE IMPROVEMENTS $4,794,571.00
TVCC PROGRAM EXPANSION 297,000.00
BUILDING FINANCING 1,200,000.00
TVCC BUILDING PURCHASE 7,200,000.00
PARKING (OWN/LEASE) 600,000.00
FURNITURE FOR TVCC BLDG.* 1,000,000.00*
GRAND TOTAL $15,091,571.00
*Furniture loan costs are not on exhibit E but disclosed in April 2010 CEURA minutes and will be financed by a separate loan from Idaho Community Bank current interest rates the loan.
We are appalled at the totals for this project. Add to this TVCC returns 20% of their enrollment fees back to Oregon. This project has had no taxpayer nor voter oversight. Fifteen million dollars is not an insignificant amount of property tax money and it is getting spent without your approval. This money comes directly from property taxes and got spent by the current Caldwell Mayor and his Finance Director Mr. Waite.
TVCC is a redundant college for this valley. Taxpayers and voters got the opportunity to vote for College of Western Idaho. We think a community college is a value added opportunity for residents of the area. TVCC is an Oregon based community college that is now getting fully funded in Caldwell by property taxpayers of Caldwell who had no voice in this decision.
Where is the accountability to taxpayers for this huge expense for a city the size of Caldwell? Urban Renewal is out of control and the people on the board can't be held accountable by legislative laws of Idaho; they will not allow citizens the right to vote on huge sums of their taxes spent on an out of state entity who also remits 20% of student fees back to Ontario, Oregon.
More troubling is if TVCC gets their budget cut again next year by the State of Oregon will they abandon the Caldwell project? TVCC budget cuts caused CEURA to take out the loan for a million bucks to buy the furniture for the building for TVCC. TVCC can walk away from this project at any time without any financial responsibility. They can't agree to a long term lease by Oregon Law. Each year will be a lease renewal and option to walk away by TVCC.
I just posted a comment to the previous blog that is equally applicable to the above. My question was basically why are they doing this.
ReplyDeleteAlso I am sure something can be done about this and I have asked a friend "The Colonel" to respond to this.
From the pubs of Nampa to the hills of Caldwell
ReplyDeleteA jealous journey on the ecstasy side of tragedy
I watched my life fade-away in a flash
A half century dash
Through closets full of candles
With never a room for rapture
Though a kingdom had been captured
And so I turn away from my drizzling furniture
And pass old guys like me
Sniffling by yesterdays tombs
Yes I still must be at home again
To face the unspoken unguarded thoughts
Of habitual hearts
A vanguard of electricians
In a village full of tarts
Who say you must protest
You must protest
It is your diamond duty
YOU MUST PROTEST
Ah but in such ugly times
The true protest is beauty
And the bleeding sear crawled from the ruins of the empire
And stood bleeding, bleeding on the boarder
He said
Passion has led to chaos
And now chaos will lead to order
Oh I have been asleep for a while
But I shall wake up soon
An adaptation of a Vietnam era Protest theme by Phil Ochs
To the above described problem, I believe this is the answer. PROTEST
Saying ooh haw and talking about it ain’t gonna be enough DO Something:
PROTEST
I was out last week looking over this project and could not help but notice there was not a single local contractors sign posted at the construction site. You would like to think they would have at least hired local Caldwell contractors for the project.
ReplyDeleteCaldwell taxpayers and workers got the short end of the stick on this project.
It seems that no matter what the facts are, TVCC is going to go forward, right? Caldwell taxpayers footing the bill without consent. Did voters ever approve the Urban Renewal Agency? I recall that they did back in the late 1990s, or did city council and the mayor create the Agency?
ReplyDeleteThe most disturbing element of this whole thing is that the Oregon community college could leave at any time. If that occurred, it would be really bad for the city of Caldwell. Sad that $15 million of taxpayers' money would be gone due to a bad investment.
Burn it down.
ReplyDeleteTHE GUARDIAN does not advocate violence and hope the above post is a statement of frustration with our elected and appointed officials and not a literal call to commit a crime.
ReplyDeleteWe have elections for city officials but UR is another matter. They are accountable to nobody for anything they wish to do under current Idaho Law. UR needs a legislative fix and we advocate UR boards stand for county wide elections and they be deemed an agency of city government where they exist.
The math on this project is clear as the numbers are posted but do we really know the actual non-projected numbers? 15M for this building seems high even if it was a turn key set up. I hope UR responds to this issue with hard numbers. Caldwell needs a facelift and this money would have went a long way toward many other business ventures in town.
ReplyDeleteSeveral readers have commented on the proximity of the TVCC building and the creek frontage destroying the view aspects of the creek.
ReplyDeleteThe Mayor, CEURA and the developer changed the Downtown ordinance to accommodate the TVCC building. The ordinance originally specified no structures within 150 ft. of the creek. We now have a canyon view and visual obstructions from Kimball to 6th Avenue.
The short answer is the city chose to mitigate their own ordinances in order to do what they please downtown.
We hope this clarifies how the TVCC building got built so close to the creek.
Establish Term Limits!
ReplyDelete10th and Blaine had a coming soon sign, "D.L. EVANS Bank". Did the 150' set back from the creek rule kill this project, or was it Caldwells high property tax? Maybe it wasn't an Oppenheimer project so it's not going antwhere!
ReplyDeleteThe guys running the City of Caldwell are not to bright!
NO CREDIT CHECK! NO MONEY DOWN! NO PAYMENTS FOR 3 YEARS! Sounds like the furniture stores commercials of ten years ago doesn't it. The ex furniture store workers running Caldwell must have used this model when they were trying to lure someone to downtown Caldwell. The only taker is an out of state, budget cut, community college, with control of its destiny in the hands of educational bureaucrats living in Salem, Oregon. I doubt most of these bureaucrats have more than a vague interest in Caldwell, Idaho.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Caldwell property tax payers will be there to bailout the Salem bureaucrats because of the ex furniture store workers lack of basic business skills.
D.L Evans Bank still owns the property on the corner of 10th and Blaine and plans to build their bank in 2011. Their building was approved by the City. The reason why they haven't built as of yet is due to the economic downturn. They are working on leasing it out this summer as a farmers' market area.
ReplyDeleteU have a real winner in office for the last 14 yrs Caldwell . Look around city dead.. Good job Caldwell .. Hey, but He sings at all event .. Maybe he can put a jar out help get some of the money he's pissed away..hey maybe we can find another furniture saleman to run the police department.... The man needs to step down.
ReplyDelete