[Durham INC] let's help the City with ideas...

[TheOcean1 at aol.com]

Mike
 
We should talk about the idea of DPPI operating Duke Park, but that  wasn't 
the idea that Randy floated.
Here's his idea again: "Sell some parks (we have 66 I believe). It  
shouldn't cause any alarm for those in Northgate, Rockwood, Forest Hills (or any  
of the parks built in bottoms and being mostly in a flood plain), but look at 
 Duke Park. It's high and dry and full of beautiful mature oaks. What a 
pretty  subdivision that would be."  (Was tempted to ask Randy, since his  
suggestion shouldn't cause any alarm in those three parks, should it cause  
alarm in Duke Park?)
 
He specifically eliminated the park his home faces, Forest Hills, since  
it's in a flood plain. He picks Duke Park to become the pretty residential  
subdivision. This would mean ignoring the restrictions set forth when Brodie  
Duke donated the land, but the whole idea is too ridiculous to even continue 
 speaking about it.
 
Your idea, which seems quite different, is worthy of discussion.  
Non-profits have some distinct advantages, from tax benefits for donors,  attracting 
volunteers, grants, and in-kind donations. Recently heard of one  I'd have a 
hard time describing, but it addresses refurbishing historic  buildings and 
capturing historic tax credits.
The bath house at Duke Park is a fine example, because the City is tax  
exempt, and so is the non-profit (DPPI) that would like to restore it into a  
community center. So neither organization is interested in tax credits.
 
 Say the renovation is $1,000,000, and the City and DPPI can only chip  in 
half that amount together. To raise the additional $500k, a for profit  
company is created to see the project through, but also to collect the  
available tax credits. Ten individuals contribute $50k each, but  each receives tax 
credits worth $65k when the project is  complete. That's probably a poor 
description of how it works.
 
 Should the city consider turning the maintenance over to the  
neighborhood, especially some of these tiny parks no larger than a residential  lot? If 
the neighborhood can show it can handle the job, why not? 
Sell park land to become residential property? I can't think of any  
neighborhoods with such a surplus of parks, but I wondered what neighborhood has  
four parks, or even three.
 
 I'm certainly not familiar with all of Durham's park space, so maybe  the 
idea has more merit than it seems. There are a few isolated examples that  
make total sense, one is a little house that faces Northgate Park beside the  
entrance to the dog park. A perfectly livable 2 bedroom, 1 bath house 
that's  been vacant for years. It's actually on the multi acre parcel that 
comprises the  dog park, but Ellerbee Creek naturally separates it from the dog 
play area.  It should become an occupied and contributing property again, and 
it's sale  would put some funds in the City's ailing piggy bank. IMHO
 
Bill    

 
In a message dated 3/6/2010 5:55:04 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
mwshiflett at hotmail.com writes:

Just  an fyi.

Randy's idea isn't so far fetched.

Many,  many neighborhoods in Durham do not have a park in their 
neighborhood  while some others have two, three and even four.

In some  neighborhood parks (much like Duke Park) there may be facilities  
(clubhouses/pavilions/storage buildings) that the City no longer has funds 
to  maintain let alone improve in their Capital Improvement Plan.

It  may be worth taking a look at all of these facilities and see where 
cost  savings and innovative thinking might benefit not only the City budget 
this  year but also help communities and neighborhoods who are willing to pull 
up  their sleeves and take responsibility for them instead of depending on 
an  annual budget allocation City.  Which,by the way, has been falling  
short a lot lately over the past several years.

Some of these  parks are no larger than a residential lot but still require 
routine  maintenance and periodic updating of equipment.

In those  neighborhoods fortunate to have 'an excess' of parks it might be 
time for  Durham to offer them to non-profit groups first, then if there are 
 no takers,  place them on surplus property for sale to get them off  the 
'maintenance tread mill' while improving the chances of  increasing the tax 
base a little.

While a number of newer  subdivisions have popped up over the past ten to 
twenty years with common  property trails and green spaces,  there remains a 
number of older  traditional neighborhoods that still have to drive some 
distance to get to a  place they can get some R&R.

While geographical equity may  not be completely possible in the near term, 
 looking at where long term  cost benefits might be realized may be an 
option instead of raising property  taxes all across the city.

Mike Shiflett

> From:  matt.dudek at gmail.com
> To: scjdurham at aol.com
> Date: Sat, 6 Mar  2010 11:32:41 -0500
> CC: inc-list at durhaminc.org
> Subject: Re:  [Durham INC] let's help the City with ideas...
> 
>  Cheryl,
> 
> I think those ideas are great. I'm curious though,  aren't there 
> property tax protections and support available for those  on SSI and 
> limited incomes? I remember my grandparents took advantage  of the STAR 
> program which I belive is a federal program.
>  
> Additionally, Durham has already cut a large number of employees  these 
> past two years and further cuts will only be more  counterproductive 
> without specifically looking at the performance of  individual programs.
> 
> And finally, I believe Mr. Pickle was  being facetious in suggesting we 
> sell off our parks, but this would  only bring one time profits and we 
> would be selling valuable land at  depressed values and in a bad market.
> 
> I think there have been  few responses not because people don't care 
> about this issue, but  because it is very complicated and can't be 
> solved by budget cuts  without more information and a better 
> understanding of the full  picture.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Matt Dudek
> 
> 502  mallard ave.
> Cleveland-Holloway
> 
> 
> 
> On  Mar 6, 2010, at 11:17 AM, scjdurham at aol.com wrote:
> 
> >  Here's a novel idea. Let's raise occupancy taxes on hotel rooms, 
> >  bring back that prepared food tax, come up with some sort of 
> >  entertainment tax, etc.
> >
> > A huge percentage of  non-Durhamites come here to work and take their 
> > money home to  their municipality. But we pay to protect them when 
> > they're here  including police, fire, EMS and don't forget about the 
> > road use  going back and forth from their city to ours. They are 
> > very  welcome here but it would be nice if they paid their fair share.
>  >
> > Some of the above items would be listed under discretionary  
> > spending. Folks can decide whether it's how they want to spend  
> > their excess $$ or not.
> >
> > Property taxes  really hurt those on limited incomes, living on their 
> > social  security benefits, living on unemployment compensation or who 
> >  have just timed out their unemployment or simply can not secure a 
>  > higher paying job.
> >
> > Food for thought.
>  >
> > Cheryl Shiflett
> >
> > -----Original  Message-----
> > From: Randy Pickle  <rwpickle at gmail.com>
> > To: inc-list at durhaminc.org
>  > Sent: Fri, Mar 5, 2010 2:17 am
> > Subject: [Durham INC] let's  help the City with ideas...
> >
> > to make the budget ends  meet. I've been saying this everywhere I go. 
> > Surely as a  collective unit we can tell them where we see pork or 
> > come up  with some place to save some cash.
> >
> > Here's my 3  ideas:
> >
> > 1) We have a fleet of new garbage trucks;  they have yet to get the 
> > massive graphics package that you  regularly see on the trash can end 
> > of the truck. So what... We  all know it's a garbage truck. Leave the 
> > fancy graphics off.  Maybe that will even help with resale...
> >
> > 2) Fleet  says we have 2100 units in service as a City; 500 are fire 
> > and  safety. Let's leave those alone. That still leaves us 1600 
> >  units. Let's cut that by 25% (down to 1200 units). Between the fuel, 
>  > maintenance, and gift giving of them to other cities, that's bound  
> > to be a big figure... Fleet told Budget they needed $7M this  next 
> > year. When ask how they came to that figure they were told  the 
> > computer program they use told them. Budget told them to  tell the 
> > computer to figure out how to pay for them since it was  so smart and 
> > reduced it to $1M.
> >
> > 3)  Employees... IBM laid off a 1000 workers recently. It's the 
> >  fastest way to make government leaner (and with less vehicles, that 
>  > works out as well). I personally would help add some of those 
>  > employees to a list (since I have found recently that some seem to  
> > take their jobs for granted). There's no tenure in government  and 
> > some off the folks we have working for us have fallen into a  comfort 
> > zone where they just think showing up enough. As far as  I know, we 
> > still think of it as work. And it's time to get back  to it...
> >
> > We started off the budget process with a  $16M gap; at the 
> > neighborhood Engagement Workshop we heard it  was $13M; in the budget 
> > prep meetings this week it's now down to  $8+M. So we're getting there.
> >
> > Send me your ideas  (not your jokes about it all; be serious) and 
> > I'll forward them  on to their targeted individuals. Maybe someone 
> > out there has  just the idea that will make it all work. Otherwise 
> > get ready to  pay more in property taxes. They never seem to go down, 
> > only  up... And you have to pay them every year... So once they go 
> > up,  we're stuck.
> >
> > RWP
> > 27  Beverly_______________________________________________
> > Durham INC  Mailing List
> > list at durham-inc.org
> >  http://www.durham-inc.org/list.html
> >
> >
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