On the live feed of the Mountain View/triArc presentation last night, I asked if the Board would repeat the number of dollars that the PIF allocates to the project. The reply was $28M. I also asked when this number had originated and if it could be changed. The answer was last year, and yes, it could BUT..... President Foster adamantly stated that he is a "numbers" guy and a "stickler" type of guy who prefers to stay within a stated budget. Going one step further, I researched the minutes of the Board from 2024 -- the November 1, 2024 meeting where Director Kise presented a recommendation from the Long Range Planning Committee with the stated PIF figures and the December 19, 2024 meeting where the wording was changed slightly but was passed by a vote of 8-1 (McAdam voting no). The following are the figures regarding Mountain View: 2025 -- Mtn View Renovation -- $1M 2026 -- Mtn View Renovation -- $9M Performing Arts Center -- $1M 2027 -- Mtn View Renovation -- $4M Performing Arts Center --$9M 2028 -- Performing Arts Center -- $4M Total $28M Why are we looking at 5 proposals that are ALL over $28M?? Jean
Easy and was explained all-be-it in a less than good way. My first thought when i watched the presentation last week was "huh?" Then it dawned on me, they asked the stakeholders what they wanted. Human nature, being what it is, saw no one interviewed dumbing down their requests to what they needed. Last night we heard the explanation from TriARC as being their "dream list." As i went through the presentation i kept scratching my head, is anyone realistic enough to be practical? Nope, not how it works, i guess. And the calls to not worry about how much it costs, is nonsense. Mountain View is a small (6.5 acre) piece of property. There's only so much they can do and there's only so much money to be able to do it. Nice (i guess) for those who just want what they want, but that's not how this should work. TriARC has done a good job letting everyone dream big, now is the time to pare things back and make whatever they do, fit both the needs and the budget.
I, for one, think that this whole exercise was a complete waste of Member's time and patience; it's like showing a toddler an ice cream cone and saying, "sorry, you can't have this cone because it costs too much." Why let all the stakeholders "dream big" if all the results are over the amount that you already have decided to spend ($28M)? So - what is the Board going to bring forward to us at the Board meeting on September 25th? Is there suddenly going to be a 6th plan that stays within the PIF budget? Do you think that they might be willing to switch out some of the other PIF monies (2025 Bell Indoor Spa Repair, $1M; 2026 All Golf: ADWR North, $2.5M, Riverview Maintenance, $2.5M, North Bunker Redesign, 775K or Willow Bop Golf, $1M) to make it possible to provide the dreams that they dangled at Members last night? Email the boardoffice@suncityaz.org Jean
