Port Townsend doesn’t need to take on more debt | Letter to the editor

Posted 4/7/23

Gabe Van Lelyveld’s letter on March 29 falsely claims a $42,000 average subsidy for the golf course.

If we assume he is right and given our population of 10,000-plus this works out to less …

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Port Townsend doesn’t need to take on more debt | Letter to the editor

Posted

Gabe Van Lelyveld’s letter on March 29 falsely claims a $42,000 average subsidy for the golf course.

If we assume he is right and given our population of 10,000-plus this works out to less than TWO CENTS PER DAY PER PERSON. If any of the “three” options are done the interest on such would exceed this.

Do we really want to carry more debt? “Is this how you want your tax dollars being spent?”

Creating more trails would create more space for urban coyotes putting more pets at risk and/or would create more space for the homeless encampments ala Kah Tai Lagoon Park. Is this what we want?

Do we want to continue the gentrification? Are we just to be a city for the rich and entitled or do we really care for the needs of our neighbors? We have enough “glorious” parks — see Chetzemoka Park and Fort Worden. There are numerous trails.

What we don’t have are streets without potholes, opportunities for the young and old to engage in outdoor activities.

Please show up at the meeting on April 26 between 5 and 7 p.m. (wait, with the limited time frame we lack the ability to really get the view of the entire population as many of us will be working our first or second jobs at near minimum wage in order to pay for our housing costs) and tell the city that none of those options are what we want.

We want to keep the golf course. We want to have a livable city for more than just those with lots of money to control the politics in our fair city.

David Johnson
PORT TOWNSEND