Letter to the Editor: Vote No on Prop 1, for now

To the Editor:

In the past 50 years of our residency in Shoreline Ken and I have always supported issues put before us to enhance the quality of life in Shoreline. We feel we cannot support Prop 1.

Many Shoreline voters are under the mistaken impression that they either have to vote Yes right now on Proposition 1, or they will not have any improvements to our current Parks and Pools in the future. You can vote No now, and still vote Yes later on a more financially realistic proposal.

Most Shoreline voters I talk with are not opposed, in concept, to many of the improvements described in Prop 1. What the voters oppose is the massive scale of the City’s desired Pool and Recreation Center (75,000 sq ft), at a price tag of over $88,000,000, and including Park Improvements for an additional $19,000,000. A price tag that each resident will have to pay for out of their pockets for the next 20 years. This entire facility is projected to operate with a deficit well over $1,000,000 per year.

The current proposal on the table is a wish list that includes all of the bells and whistles the City ideally would love to have. But we should not be presented with a wish list in a “take it or leave it” model.

On the November 5 ballot, Vote No on Prop 1, for now. This will give our entire community more time to examine how the City of Shoreline and other organizations, such as the Dale Turner Y and Shoreline School district, can work collaboratively to propose a new, streamlined Parks/Pool levy that ensures all of our community’s projects complement and support one another to meet the needs of Shoreline citizens in the most cost-effective way possible.

Vote No now on the $100,000,000 Prop 1. We can always vote Yes later on a more streamlined proposal that reduces your tax burden and still provides our community quality programs and facilities which collaborate with all Shoreline organizations that serve us.

Pearl and Ken Noreen
Shoreline