Who went to the virtual Great Parks Master Plan meeting tonight? Thoughts?
They sure made it hard to find the event, with the number being wrong and the QR code pointing to Microsoft Teams which you had to download in order to join the meeting. I wonder if it was deliberate to make everyone jump through hoops to participate?🤔
See pic of the QR codes, the long address to join from the QR if you were able to extrapolate like I did, and the useless number (call for yourself and see): Feb. 16, 2022, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. via a call to 469-848-0274, phone conference ID 185 720 792#
Here is some info I took away from the meeting.
1. They really want to change the name of Ascarate, and even though lots of people told them not to at various meetings, including tonight, they're still gonna go ahead and “get community” output to change the name.
https://www.ktsm.com/local/el-paso-news/county-to-hold-great-parks-for-everyone-meeting/
2. The number can be as low as 20 million but as high as 100 million. AND THEY DON'T HAVE A WAY TO PAY FOR IT YET.
3. They're willing to listen, but not sure if they're willing to actually hear us. Plus I think 2 of the commissioners are up for re-election right now. I told them about the 3 school board members in San Francisco that were recalled because they were more interested in changing the names of the school than actually getting kids back to school. The same goes for the name of the park, why change something that the community already knows and don't mind to pay for new signage etc. So if you care that it could cost us a lot more in taxes, make your voice and your votes be heard. Go Vote and participate.🗳️
“Rep. Joe Molinar asked Bryan Crowe, the CEO of Destination El Paso, to elaborate on projected operational costs and gains for the 2022 season that result in a $3,394,546 deficit.”
https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/el-paso-water-parks-tout-success-in-first-year-preview-of-2022-season
I recommended they actually clean and maintain what they have first and expand the free and awesome Master Gardener teaching garden. These are some things that would affect our quality of life without having to tax more and spend $20-$100 million!
I went to the Water Lantern festival last year and people came from all around from Las Cruces and Fabens etc to see the lake and it had trash and stank! There wasn't any adequate lighting in the area and it just wasn't well maintained at all.
I came from Orange County and the Great Park there was and still is a horrible way to waste money. No one actually uses the park like intended and they have great weather! I feel we're about to do the same and saddle more debt.
Read more here:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/voiceofoc.org/2020/03/irvines-great-park-fails-transparency-test/%3famp
https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-me-0727-irvine-gp-audit-20140726-story.html
I feel like when in doubt, the ones in charge like to rename things to show that they're doing something, even when it's not what the community wants and has to pay for:
Irvine officials will discuss renaming Orange County Great Park after their city
