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May 02, 2008
Sex In Chico
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| Image: A titillating image to further lead you into
my web of blog marketing. I figured I could get more readers to stop in and read my blog post if I gave it a snappy title like "Sex In Chico". I'm a marketing genius. I'm guessing that next time I see the blog stats May 2nd will be one of my higher rated posts. Anyone want to make bets? But this post isn't about sex in Chico, instead it's about what issues are important for Chico's future. I'm going to list the top 5 issues I think Chico needs to address. I'm wondering if you see the same issues as important. Here they are with #1 being the most important issue. 5. Parks and access to public property: Taking 18 years to build Baroni Park was ridiculous. Taking 14 years and allocating $600,000 for a park study to deal with disc golf is ridiculous. Purchasing Bidwell Ranch with sewer fees and redevelopment money for millions of dollars, and then fencing it off from the public (but allowing cows) is ridiculous. Buying Comanche Slough for $1.25 million and fencing it off from the public to keep out hobos is ridiculous. The city has spent ~$1.5 million of Proposition 12 and 40 state grant money, with none of that money directly supporting recreation. We build parks without bathrooms or basketball courts. Ridiculous. Millions of dollars have been spent on studies and fenced property and few improvements have been made to our park system. The trails in Bidwell Park need more regular care and funding. Disc golf needs a place. Neighborhood parks need bathrooms. Vocal advocates intent on limiting public access to property have had their say for too long in Chico. Funding ego driven downtown parks with $68,000 chess tables and broken band shell awnings should no longer take priority over building places for families to play. 4. Traffic and roads: Chico's traffic continues to worsen. Road improvements in older neighborhoods are slow to materialize while large capacity roads continue to fall apart. Roads are heavily impacted when driving in any direction across town at 8AM or 5PM . People are not using public transportation or alternative transportation methods. The fantasy that those things will happen has not come true. The City of Chico needs to prioritize public spending on roads. In particular gas tax funds need to be spent on roads and not to pay public employees. Fix the General Fund and pay employees out of that. 3. Industrial Development: Chico's land zoned for industrial development is severely constrained by access and environmental issues. Some properties have been surrounded by retail uses, and are not really appropriate to industrial development. Other areas such as the airport and the Hegan Lane business park have such limited access as to be unsuitable for any business with numerous employees. I spoke to one property owner that said he won't take prospective customers to his property during commute or lunch hours because the traffic would kill any possible deal. 2. Crime: Discussions of burglaries and crime against the student population are more common in Chico these days. It's difficult to know if this is a long term trend, or like the rash of shootings a while back, is coincidental. Separating growth related increases in crime from something like an active burglary ring is difficult since Chico is still a small town. It's clear that we can't afford new police officers, so some leadership needs to develop and find ways to police the community differently. Priorities down at city hall may be in the wrong areas. For example, we have a fairly new neighborhood services position that earns six figures at the City. If this position were directed to communicate and expedite the formation of neighborhood watch groups perhaps some neighborhoods would be less likely to be targeted. This might allow the police to continue to focus on problem areas while reducing crime in other neighborhoods. Instead this position is all about charrettes and consultant plans with pretty pictures. 1. City Finances: We've beat this to death here on this blog. The city needs to find a way to spend less money and get more done. They pay better than almost any other organization in Chico. The benefits are incredible when compared to private employment. And yet with all of the money going to payroll the City still spends millions on consultants. The City Manager, Dave Burkland, has stated that conserving jobs is a priority in attempts to re-align the budget. I understand the importance of maintaining the integrity (wholeness) of an organization on morale. However, I would point out that the City's main purpose is not to employ people, but to provide services to the public. Stop the automatic pay raises until appropriate city services can be funded. |
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CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Adonis of the art world, Gregg Payne. See commnets below for the answer |
Posted by Lon at May 2, 2008 07:11 AM
Comments
CIC, the next overpriced work of art for City Plaza.
Posted by: Anthony at May 2, 2008 07:46 AM
Dang, I snoozed on the challenge this morning.
It's Aphrodite and Pan
Posted by: Gregg at May 2, 2008 07:47 AM
I almost forgot Eros.
That little trouble maker.
Posted by: Gregg at May 2, 2008 10:25 AM
Hey when did you sneak that photo of me and jennifer?
My hair was tucked up in my cowboy hat. Now I can never run for public office.
Posted by: Gregg at May 2, 2008 04:19 PM
It comes from the hidden camera I have behind your jar of apple butter.
Lon
Posted by: Lon at May 5, 2008 10:50 AM