CCP 11-26-1990 - Laserfiche WebLink

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While sixty-four percent favor the City initiating action to ... speed up the sale of the Arsenal property, sixty-five percent also feel the community should regulate its use instead of outright purchasing it. In fact, seventy-four percent would oppose a referendum to increase property taxes to fund the Arsenal property purchase and redevelopment; fifty-one percent indicated "strong opposition." Forty-seven percent would favor the City buying parts of the property; but, again, the fate of a referendum to issue bonds is indeed pessimistic. If that property is developed, though, residents lean toward a mixed use, featuring single family dwellings, light industry, and recreational and park areas. After being informed of the inadequacies of the present city Hall, a fifty-eight percent to twenty-nine percent margin favored the construction of a new one. A majority would support a multi- use facility containing space to be rented to other government bodies. The current site for this new facility was favored by sixty-four percent of the sample; no other site generated much enthusiasm. A popularly supported community center addition would contain only meeting rooms for community groups; athletic facilities and an indoor swimming pool were opposed by strong majorities. The residents split, though, in their support for a stand-alone city Hall versus one with a community center addition: thirty-seven percent prefer the former, while thirty- nine percent opted for the latter. By a narrow forty-seven . percent to forty-five percent margin, residents would support a bond referendum for a new City Hall. They would oppose a combination City Hall-Community Center bond referendum by a fifty-eight percent to thirty six percent margin. Neither of these margins bode well for a successful special election bond referendum. Under these circumstances, the City may wish to investigate funding alternatives which do not require a bond referendum election. The issue of financial responsibility for neighborhood improvements found residents arriving at different conclusions for each type of project. sixty-one percent felt the entire city should pay for street reconstruction. Forty-seven percent felt similarly about the addition of street lighting. On sidewalks, though, citizens were split: Forty-one percent felt the area of the city under construction should bear the costs, while thirty- eight percent felt it should be shared citywide. A consensus has developed, though, around the appropriate formula for a cost- sharing arrangement between impacted residents and city as a whole: strong support existed for a one-third/two-thirds split, with the city paying the larger portion. The City has a very well developed and focused communications system. Majorities look to the "Town Crier" as their principal source of information about community events and . city government activities. The "Focus" and the "New Brighton Bulletin" ranked in the distant second tier. Even so, the two newspapers were read by approximately eighty-seven percent of the residents. An incredibly high ninety-four percent of the 6