Like most of my colleagues on the City Council, I am wholly supportive of providing a new recreation facility for the South Boulder community. But what I am not prepared to do - and I doubt that many of my colleagues will disagree - is to hamstring the staff and the City by only agreeing to a new facility if it contains each and every component of the existing facility. That is simply inappropriate and unrealistic.

As I am sure you are aware, Boulder is operating under financially constrained conditions, as sales tax revenues have leveled out (or are declining), while inflation and other factors keep driving up the cost for the City to provide its many services. Just as an example, every year the costs of labor continue to increase, and inflation continues to increase the cost of the goods we must purchase. To be more specific, an increase in labor and goods of 3% in a $500MM budget requires us to find an additional $15MM, just to stay even.

Your petition essentially takes the position that there can be no compromises over the size and amenities of the new facility, yet you have provided no suggestions as to the source of the funding for the project, or suggested any budget cuts that would make it more affordable. That is not good governance, and I will not be a party to committing to a potentially unrealistic set of demands.

That does not make me unsupportive of such a new facility, but it does make me unsupportive of a gold-plated facility that ignores the many underfunded needs in the community. If that position is unacceptable to you, so be it. I will remain an advocate for a new rec center, but not on the terms and conditions outlined in your petition.