MRJ on the pool's continual spending spree

The MRJs Jesse Buchanan reports on last night's vote to spend more money on the pool:

Tom Marino Carpentry will replace mold-infested sheetrock which had been removed from the pool locker room walls with water-resistant wallboard. The project, which does not include replacing insulation which was removed, will cost $58,736.

This money should not be getting spent another ad hoc fix. We should be taking a comprehensive approach. To that end...

In February 2008 I tried to take action on the pool in a comprehensive manner. Knowing it was right after the election, I thought there was a possibility that something would happen. I was wrong. After Council foot dragging for 18 months, we're only now going to be sitting down with some possible vendors to discuss alternatives to the bubble. Too little, too late.

The Council majority has had four years to act, but they haven't. Instead, we heard this in October 2007:



But hey... at least they can be intellectually honest sometimes!

Anyway, about the $60,000 that got spent last night... my view is that there should be absolutely no more spending on these ad hoc fixes. And if people try to paint a picture in which "the Council must act," then I simply say "no." This Council created this situation by it's all-too-typical inaction - videostreaming, eliminating DB pension plans, take-home vehicles, considering performance contracting. Several members of the majority simply refuse to do the right thing. Instead, they prefer to wait until the sky is falling. Then they act... with our tax dollars!

And when they do act, it's too little, too late.

Last night's pool vote reminds me of Ron Paul's saying about last fall's $700 billion bailout:

Spending more money on this pool is like giving a drug addict a fix. Sure, it'll make the drug addict feel great for a little while. But the problem is still there. And when it again rears its ugly head, the problem is going to be worse than before.

November can't come soon enough.

Tim White