Commission Impossible

November 19, 2008

Payback

Image: I wonder what this represents? Hmmmm... where to begin. I'm feeling a little surly this morning. I have this strange desire to emit massive amounts of CO2. I don't really want to go over the logic behind some of the councilors arguments against disc golf last night. Most of it seemed strained to fit a predetermined decision. There were also a lot of straw men running about. It's probably best to just layout what really happened. A majority of councilors were beholden to their campaign supporters. And because of that they supported the restoration option, which will cost $600,000, over recreation, which would have cost them the same amount. The fix was probably in long before the meeting started. This morning I don't believe that anything the public said would have changed the outcome. Scott Gruendl, Larry Wahl, and Steve Bertagna were voices of reason. Hats off to you gents. People in the room that use the park were justifiably upset by the decision. People in the room that think about the park in a dreamy, fanciful way, and daydream of Annie Bidwell running through fields of wildflowers, were justifiably happy. For me there were some upsides to the meeting. 1. A lot of young people had their first experience with local government. It wasn't a good experience. That's likely to introduce a healthy dose of mistrust in our glorious leaders. That can't be too bad. 2. I've met a lot of people over the last 5 years while trying to keep disc golf in the park. I've met a lot of them through this blog. Many of those people showed up last night to support disc golf. Many of my friends and co-workers made it there. There were so many people there supporting disc golf that I had never met before. That was great to see. We probably outnumbered opponents 3:1. 3. I was pretty sure that if disc golf was approved I would have to spearhead the effort to raise the $20K-$60K to build the course(s). I would also have had to formalize an organization capable of handling the maintenance duties. I'm now free of any obligation in those areas. That's a bit liberating. 4. My 8 year old son, who has been attending park meetings for 4 years, wanted to speak last night. With the help of his mom he wrote a short statement, and read it to the City Council. I know he was nervous, and I also know that he did it to support me. I'm very proud of him. I hope that experience empowers him later on in life. He'll be disappointed this morning to find out disc golf was removed. 5. As a soon to be disc golf-criminal I have some decisions to make. I could be one of many henchmen sneaking into the park to play disc golf. Or I could be a criminal mastermind, organizing an underground mob of players. As a henchman I would go by a name like Lefty or Scar. As a mastermind it would be something like Mr. Green, or The Don. If you'd like to join the mob let me know. You can pick your own name. Another issue is that I really don't have any camouflage clothing. And all my discs are brightly colored. That equipment just won't work if I'm to go undergound. I'm going to need a deer hunting outfit and new discs to keep playing. Perhaps some ninja pajamas would work. 6. I'm off the hook on providing a locale for the keg party I mentioned in the last post's comments. And Jim's off the hook for the keg.

What's Next: Councilors said they would look for alternative sites for disc golf. I'll believe it when I see it. I will bet $100 that a year from today no formal alternative disc golf site will have been located in Bidwell's lower or middle park, or any CARD property. Any takers? Anyone on the City Council willing to take that bet? How about if I donate to your campaign? There is talk of holding a civil disobedience round after the tone poles are removed from upper park. I kind of like that idea. I think we might want to go a little bigger, and actually have a tournament. But my role in that would have to be derived from the mastermind vs. henchmen decision. Bad public policy tends to create bad results. A City Council majority, with a quill of governance in one hand and their campaign disclosure forms in the other, enacted truly bad policy last night. They turned a mass of outdoor recreation lovers into criminals. How do they expect people that have played for a decade to react to this? They can't stop me from playing disc golf. And now they won't know where I'm playing. The new disc golf in Chico

Posted by Lon at 06:10 AM | Comments (50)

November 18, 2008

Want To Go To A Celebrity Party?

Image: Jessica Alba and Brad Pitt came up to play disc golf last weekend. Tonight the City Council will vote to remove or improve the disc golf courses off of highway 32. A lot of people played this weekend knowing that it could be the last chance to use the park. Celebrities Jessica Alba and Brad Pitt were sighted on the course, and rumor has it they'll be at the council meeting tonight. They'll only come out of their disguises if people attend and support disc golf. So if you want to meet Jessica Alba or Brad Pitt you have to show up at 6:30PM or earlier, fill out a speaker card, and ask the council to keep disc golf in our park system. Everyone that does that will get an invite to a Malibu beach party. I promise.

Posted by Lon at 06:59 AM | Comments (10)

November 17, 2008

Are You Calling Me A Liar?

Image: Some of the Chicoans using the disc golf course on Saturday that were not aware of the impending City Council vote. The Master Management Plan update includes a programmatic EIR for all of Bidwell Park. It also includes 4 project EIRs for disc golf / trailhead, trails, Horseshoe Lake, and Cedar Grove improvements. The disc golf portion of the plan is part of the planned trailhead off of highway 32 that will access the BLM and "new addition" properties purchased in 1994. Only disc golf was evaluated for restoration. The city staff report came out on Friday evening (here it is, beware the massive size). It is 125 pages in length. Here are the options/alternatives the council will have in front of it regarding disc golf. Option A 18-hole advanced and 18-hole beginner course Option B 18-hole advanced and 12-hole beginner course Option C 18-hole advanced course only Option C+ 18-hole advance course at highway 32, beginner course at some other location such as Comanche Slough. This was an alternative staff came up with. It hasn't been talked about much. Option D restoration- removal of disc golf, rebellion, misery, secret disc golf cabals seeking the destruction of mankind, etc. No project no improvements, no management, no change in use, no excuse for spending $650,000. Here is a summary of what the staff found. 1. The EIR restoration alternative, D, is the environmentally superior alternative: This is the only option that removes disc golf. There is some background here that should be explained. There were 4 project specific EIR's completed for this plan. They include Horseshoe Lake, trails, Cedar Grove, and disc golf/trailhead. Only disc golf included a "restoration" option. That's because there were no groups in the planning meetings calling for Horseshoe Lake to be removed. But just as an example, what do you think would have less environmental impact, having hiking/biking trails in the park, or not having them? Since this is the most environmentally friendly option, selecting another option requires mitigation of impacts. 2. Only alternatives A, B, or C meet the project goals: The EIR for the disc golf project was not created to determine whether or not to remove disc golf. It was created to support a specific project. The "preferred" project selected by the Park Commission back in 2006 was alternative A. The project itself is described as creating a tournament level disc golf course that allows for multi-use and has limited environmental impact. Alternatives A, B, and C meet the project requirements, option D does not. 3. Cost of the trailhead project: The city estimates the cost of the trailhead project to be $600,000 to $1,000,000. The trailhead project includes parking and access improvements to the site. These are not specific to disc golf, and would be built under alternative D as well. These improvements could be phased in over time. A larger footprint parking area would be planned for disc golf alternatives A and B. The city estimates that the cost of maintaining a trailhead at that location at full buildout would be $50,000-$70,000 annually. 4. Cost of disc golf improvements: The staff report states that disc golf improvements would cost $45,000-$60,000. This must be for option A, the largest option. A disc golf course costs $1,000-$1,500 per hole. Option C would cost $18,000-$27,000. Option A would cost $36,000 to $54,000. I would lean toward the higher costs due to the mitigation measures and a desire to add unique components such as signage and tee markers. The plans include alternate hole layouts to avoid Butte County Checkerbloom and other issues. Existing Funding: The city has allocated almost $800,000 of state Proposition 40 money (see my previous entry). This grant money was designed to make park improvements and cites innovative recreation projects as suitable for funding. It may NOT be used for studies. Here is what the city has spent the money on... Projects paid for with Prop. 40 funds in Chico One-Mile Irrigation and Lighting $223,000 City Plaza $34,885 One Mile Dam Replacement $145,101 Chico Creek Nature Center Building $200,000 TOTAL $600,000+ Projects allocated Prop. 40 funds ~$170,000 1 mile bathroom Play area Childrens Playground There is $52,000 that was unallocated a few months back. This money could be used to pay for disc golf. Since most of these funds were directed to non-recreation projects, I think using that money for disc golf is appropriate. It is the only recreation project that could actually be built/completed with just $52,000. This money will be spent, and it has no impact on the city budget. Staff Summary: After reading through the glorious 125 pages of staff summary, I found a rather long entry that encapsulates the staff position on disc golf and the master plan update project EIR for disc golf. This addresses why the options A, B, and C, are appropriate for the highway 32 site, and why option D that removes disc golf is not. Because the Restoration Alternative [option D] would provide the greatest reduction in potential impacts, it was determined to be the environmentally superior alternative. However, the direction given to staff related to the disc golf course was to design a tournament-level course that avoids, to the extent possible, sensitive resources, and to mitigate completely for any direct and/or indirect impacts that may still occur with project development. This holistic approach taken for the redesign of the Disc Golf/Trailhead Area resulted in a substantial reduction of impacts to cultural, aesthetic and biological resources when compared with current site and disc golf use conditions. The approach also resulted in the proposal for a multi-use facility that accommodates disc golfers and other site users, while minimizing user conflicts. The three options [A, B, and C] set forth in the Project all provide recreational, public health, and social benefits resulting from multiple uses including disc golf, multiuse trails, picnicking, and scenic overlooks. Finally, the approach resulted in the development of a prescribed set of site-specific mitigation measures that spell out the specific steps to be undertaken to reduce residual impacts to a less-than-significant level. A monitoring and adaptive management component is also included in the mitigation measures to ensure a sustainable use of the site. Any of the three options [A, B, and C] in the Project would meet the specific project goals and still not result in significant impacts on the environment. Therefore it is the City's judgment that the overall benefits of the Project [allowing improvements to disc golf] outweigh the benefits of the environmentally superior alternative.

Officially Strange: I had Park Commissioner Tom Barrett call me a liar at the Saturday farmer's market. I asked him what I lied about, and he said "everything". Then he accused me of not using my real name. Pretty strange. I spent the rest of the morning trying to find the locally grown, organic, free trade, Duffy's booth that must be have opened up. No such luck. Officially Cool: I also ran into Chico Supervisor Maureen Kirk, who said she sometimes reads this blog. So... hello Maureen. Kirk recalled a unanimous City Council vote supporting disc golf and allocating $206,000 to the project. Maureen gets my disc golf stamp of approval. Officially Engaged: Councilor Tom Nickell was also at the market. In my opinion, he does not support disc golf at highway 32. But he has been working to find alternative-additional sites, which I think he will find easier said-than-done. He should get some credit for working toward some kind of solution. I suspect there will be an effort at the council to re-write the entire disc golf plan. The problem with that is that the plan is derived from countless meetings, Park Commission, and City Council votes over a 10 year period. Throwing out that work product would be a monumental waste of money.

Posted by Lon at 07:14 AM | Comments (5)

November 14, 2008

State Budget Problem Solved

Image: State budget officials listen intently as local Redevelopment Agency passes new bond. By Laura Kleinlittle - Commission Impossible Staff Writer Article Launched: 11/14/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT The State of California received some extremely positive news this morning. A feeling of budgetary optimism has surfaced in the wake of a news story highlighting the State's role in siphoning off redevelopment money from the City of Chico (see story here). The City of Chico had been mulling over creating a new $55 million redevelopment bond to build a police station and to service (pay back) some of the debt it incurred from the previous 72 bonds it issued. Instead, now the city is considering issuing a $28 billion bond and using it to pay off the State of California's budget deficit. Official bond floater for the city Magnus Potentate came up with the plan. "We have to realize that we're all in this together. The state is in trouble, and we have the resources to raise money without a public vote." commented Magnus. With 480 incorporated cities in California, this new method of paying back debt could keep the state solvent for close to 1,000 years. State financial advisor Chuck Pennywise had this to say about the proposal, "Not since the glory days of the mortgage crisis, back in September, has such a novel financing scheme been attempted. There were no real problems with the continuously increasing debt accrued by homeowners or the banks that extended unending credit. Why should cities be any different?" There had been one sticking point with the new $28 billion bond the city has been working to get off the ground. A new state law requires that all redevelopment bonds have a named sponsor from elected government. Sitting city councilors have seemed more than shy about associating their names with this bond. But even this hurdle has been cleared. In a late night vote, while wearing black masks and capes and reciting mystic elements of the city municipal code, the Redevelopment Agency did vote to elect one of their own as the official bond sponsor. The Bond, James' Bond, will be named after newly elected councilor Jim Walker. When reached for comment Walker made only a short comment. "Is it too late to get a do-over on this whole election thing?"
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Posted by Lon at 06:24 AM | Comments (7)

November 13, 2008

600 Glorious Posts of Wonder and Joy

Image: A Planning Commissioner email sent to council after the October land use meeting. The red rectangle blocks out Kelley's home address. This is my 600th blog post. At this rate I'm sure I'll make it to at least 601. Wish me luck. At the October council meeting to discuss land use alternatives a surprise guest appearance was made by Planning Commissioner Dave Kelley. From what I recall, Kelley voted to support the Planning Commission's growth recommendation (I think it was 4-3). That recommendation focused on apartments and mixed use growth, as opposed to single family residences. Mixed use is a term used to describe buildings with retail on the bottom and offices/residences on higher floors. Kelley attended the Council meeting to express some disappointment with his own vote on the Planning Commission. He thought that the expectations of private development money going into mixed use projects were unrealistic, at least in the short term. A consultant at the meeting alluded to the same thing, when he stated that redevelopment funds would be needed to augment private development in the Planning Commission recommended growth option. His assumption was that the projects would be too expensive to take on without government help. The problem with that is that there is no redevelopment money. And when the city creates a new bond, as I'm sure they will, it will mostly be used to pay back existing debt and to build a handful of public projects we can't afford. Of course local builders, whose expertise rests in building homes, also testified that the multi-floor projects would be expensive. That may be an example of businesses who are unwilling to change with the times, but more likely it exemplifies real world experiences. Attached to Kelley's email to the City Councilors was a profit and loss calculation for an actual downtown mixed use building. This is not a square on a consultant's report, but an actual structure built in our town. The P&L is a little too complex for me to digest completely. But a few things stand out even to an obtuse laymen such as myself. The total investment for this building was in the area of $9,000,000. The monthly income from rents is estimated at $21,500 based on a 3% occupancy rate. The monthly payment on construction loans is $19,000. So not including the cost of owner capital the monthly net income is just $2.5K for this multi-floor mixed use structure. The owner calculates the entire return on investment to be in the area of 0.22%. That's not much. I'm sure there are other ways to value these kinds of investments. But I think the Planning Commission and City Council will be unrealistic if they expect private capital to flow into Chico to create these relatively expensive structures. They will be relying on consultant driven drawings and fanciful cafe living experienced by Walnut Creek whose median income is much larger than Chico. On the 17th the Council will likely decide which growth option to tackle. They could push the decision off to later meetings since all of the incumbents are returning to their seats. But it seems to me that if they chose Option C or even the modified Planning Commission option, they will be doing so based on unrealistic expectations.
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Posted by Lon at 06:48 AM | Comments (9)

November 11, 2008

A Parade of My Own

Image: Since nobody held a parade for me, and the war I fought seems to have faded into obscurity, I thought I could make a statement of my own. It was a lonely parade, but better than no parade at all. Image Below: Me on patrol in Germany in 1986. Now you know why you don't speak commie.

Posted by Lon at 10:31 AM | Comments (9)

Historic Discourse

Image: The 25 acre disc golf site is less than 1% of Bidwell Park. It is shown in green above. Preservationists have been doing everything they can to stop people from using this part of the park that sits right on Highway 32. Prior to city ownership it was used for hunting, 4-wheelin', and yes disc golf. Note: This post was put up early for inclusion into the Outsiders newsletter. In 2000 I started playing disc golf. I was trying to run a small business, and just had my first child. I needed some some kind of exercise that was cheap, didn't require a bunch of special equipment, was safe, and could be played whenever I found some time. My friend introduced me to disc golf which seemed to fit my needs. If not for that introduction I never would have met with the Park Director to find out why people wanted disc golf removed from Bidwell Park. I never would have taken part in the Bidwell Park plan update's citizen advisory committee, RDA citizen committee, CARD Master Plan update citizen committee, or even written my very first letter to the editor. I never would have attended countless city meetings. I never would have decided to write this blog. In fact, looking back on it, I should probably kick my friend's behind. But instead I'm going to use this time, and this blog, to recount the history of the disc golf discussion in Chico. There is so much water under the bridge that there's no way I could cover the entire saga. But here are some of the major points. 1989 or earlier - people were playing disc golf on BLM property that overlooked Upper Bidwell Park. Nobody complained, nobody mentioned Annie Bidwell's deed. 1994-1995: The City purchased the 40 acre BLM property along with 1300 acres of Drake property south of Bidwell Park. This brought the total size of Bidwell Park to ~3700 acres. The land was purchased to ensure homes would not look down into Bidwell Park, but not as part of a preserve. 1994-1998: Disc golfers sought to relocate to areas closer to town. 6 locations were looked at in lower Bidwell Park, all were opposed. In 1998 the Park Commission decided the best compromise site was the existing location. Follow this link for the 1998 ER story about this compromise. The Park Commission voted to allow disc golf to continue pending completion of environmental review. 1999-2002: The city staff worked on finalizing a disc golf course design and EIR. Current opponents of disc golf were in full support of the site back in 2002. See this newsletter article for their glowing words of approval. The city council allotted $206,000 to improve parking and add disc golf components at the site. A botanical study, archeology study, environmental impact report, and course design were all accomplished. They all stated that disc golf would be fine. 2003-2006: The Friends of Bidwell Park hired a Sacramento lawyer to stop the disc golf course from moving forward. They demanded that the Master Plan for Bidwell Park be updated (see the legal documents here 2007 filing shown first followed by 2003 filing). The $206,000 allocated to build disc golf was transferred to this study. This group has also opposed the observatory in Bidwell Park, Annie Bidwell's trail, emergency cell phone service in upper park, and most recently paragliding. The legal threat in 2003 prevented the city from managing or allowing maintenance of the disc golf site. It seems almost as if this was the intent. In 2005 disc golfers proposed that the course targets be moved away from trees, and the Friends of Bidwell Park also opposed this idea. 2007: After years of meetings and an estimated $500,000 taxpayer dollars spent on studies the Friends of Bidwell Park hired the same lawyer to scuttle the new updated park plan. The one they demanded in 2003. Here is the city staff memo citing the need for $100,000 to answer the legal threats. Of the roughly 250 pages of citizen comments submitted to the city for the environmental report 60% came from two people associated with the Friends of Bidwell Park. These were clear attempts to obstruct the project. 2008: 14 years and $650,000 dollars after buying the land that disc golf was on, the Park Commission approved, for the second time, an environmental review of the disc golf site. They approved Option A, which is 2-18 hole disc golf courses. It moves disc golf away from sensitive areas, reduces the size of the disc golf area by 20%, and allows the site to be maintained and improved. As strained an long running as this discussion is it really comes down to a simple question. Why did it take 14 years and $650,000 dollars to get to this point? I believe I have the answer. And here it is...
Blog Stats: It looks like cutting back to 3-days a week has pushed me in the wrong direction. I did post more often last week since the sales tax report came out, and something else big was happening I think... no it was just the sales tax report. Unfortunately I'm back up to number one, which makes me pretty un-hip. I need to be unpopular and "before my time" to reach iconic levels. I know what I can do to get rid of readers though. I'll just post about disc golf until the 18th when the council flounders and punts on the decision. September 2008 1) Commission Impossible (3,902) 2) Post Scripts (3,347) 3) Bullfight (2,517) 4) Pilot's Blog (731) 5) Chico Sustainable (714) October 2008 1) Commission Impossible (4,364) 2) Post Scripts (3,427) 3) Bullfight (3,179) 4) Pilot's Blog (965) 5) Chico Sustainable (701)
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Posted by Lon at 08:03 AM | Comments (7)

November 10, 2008

I Know You Know I Know You Know

Image: Barack loves disc golf. Opposition to disc golf sent out an email calling on their troopers to contact the council to stop disc golf. And at the same time they correctly tied disc golf, a local issue, to global warming and censorship at a presidential level. A portion of the email is below. I won't go into who wrote the email. Just want to encourage any and all of you Park Lovers to contact your city Councilors before November 18th about the Bidwell Park Management Plan. Remember when the Bush administration was censoring their own scientist's statements about ice shelf disappearance and sea water rise? I assume not allowing that is the kind of change we're all hoping for. Our environment does have its limits, I know you know, and I know you know I know you know that Bidwell Park's amazing natural beauty and fragile habitat needs better stewardship than it has been getting. Below is pasted something from FOBP w/links to Councilors. Hope to see you on the 18th - a good attendance is crucial! [ I cut the email here, but what followed this section was cut and pasted from the Friends of Bidwell Park web site, and solicited letters-to-the-editor and emails/calls to councilors] I know first hand that both President Bush, and President-Elect Obama play disc golf. How do I know this? The fact is you don't get to that level in our political system without throwing some plastic around. Everyone knows that. It's typical of some people in this town to throw everything, including the kitchen sink (but excluding golf discs), at their political pet projects. But global warming and presidential politics? Come on. It's sad and ridiculous that so much energy has gone into trying to remove people from our park system. Bidwell Park is 3700 acres and the disc golf site is about 25 acres. Can it be that there really is no room for this free recreation in our park? With disc golf courses going in in Oroville, Orland, Willows, and Paradise, it makes you wonder what's wrong with Chico. On the up side, I guess if the council decides to remove disc golf then the climate change problems will all go away, the streets will be fixed, the budget will be balanced, and goodness will reign supreme in Chico. And since the folks that want to make sure disc golf gets removed emailed out the phone number and email addresses of the councilors I think it's appropriate to let other park users have access to the same information. So here it is.

Steve Bertagna 894-8697 bertfam@sbcglobal.net Mary Flynn 514-5831 mflynn@ci.chico.ca.us Scott Gruendl 624-0756 sgruendl@ci.chico.ca.us Andy Holcombe (Mayor) 345-4113 aholcomb@ci.chico.ca.us Tom Nickell 624-1000 tnickell@ci.chico.ca.us Ann Schwab (Vice-Mayor) 518-7383 aschwab@ci.chico.ca.us Larry Wahl 893-1818 lwahl@ci.chico.ca.us

Posted by Lon at 11:20 AM | Comments (4)

November 05, 2008

Ongoing Election Coverage

Image: The local council race is still close and the CI election coverage has just begun. Welcome back to the Commission Impossible full-time election coverage. Since our last update Andy Holcombe and Ann Schwab made remarkable comebacks, each increasing their vote tally by more than 14,000 votes. But the election is still very fluid, and we expect to be covering the race for the rest of the week. Based on the dramatic change in vote counts from yesterday's early reporting I'm assuming that more abrupt changes can occur at any time. Really, anything can happen, which is why we'll continue covering the race. Based on the rate of incoming votes in just the last 24 hours we could have candidates with more than 60,000 votes by Friday. This exceeds the number of registered voters in Chico, but university participation in the election has been immense. Some young people are reportedly voting, partying, forgetting they voted, and voting again. Our election statistician has pointed out an interesting fact. Cynthia Van Auken achieved nearly 5600 votes with very low profile campaigning, and no campaign contributions. That means that the incumbents paid close to $4 per vote for the additional 8000-9000 votes they received. The non-incumbents paid a little less, maybe closer to $3. Since I voted for Wahl, Walker, and Sorensen, I'd like to see my $10. Cash. Before the election results are final. And of course I'm disappointed that Mark didn't get in. I think he was the most informed of the candidates. This fact always came up when the local papers described why they were endorsing him. I will offer Mark a consolation prize of sorts. You're always welcome to join us disc golfers. We're a non-partisan group of common sense recreation lovers. And we may be removed from Bidwell Park in the next couple of weeks. We're forming isolated terrorist cells as I speak, and we'd like for you to lead one, comrade. Take a week off to recharge, but then your people need you. The election was yesterday, the revolution begins on November 19th. Viva la Revolucion!
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Posted by Lon at 07:02 AM | Comments (10)

November 04, 2008

Local Election Results Coming In

Image: Early election results for the local race are coming in. The ER has posted early election results for Butte County, and Chico in particular. Candidate Jim Walker is in the lead closely followed by Larry Wahl. Oddly enough incumbent Mayor Andy Holcombe is coming in 6th out of 8. The race is still fluid, with very few, if any votes separating the candidates. The tally so far has Walker with 0 votes, Wahl likewise has 0 votes. Below the top two vote getters the remaining candidates also have roughly 0 votes. Exit polling of the voter CI talked with puts 100% of the vote going for Wahl, Walker, and Sorensen. Stay tuned for more results as they come in.

Posted by Lon at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)