Regarding the proposed rest stop for Montesano, did you realize that this project, if funded, would cost nearly $2 million dollars for a total of two toilets?
In my previous letter I stated that the city gets about three cents for every dollar spent. Well, it is actually two cents. That means that if the increased revenue in town was $2 million, the city would net $40,000. If you remember, the mayor originally estimated the maintenance costs at $50,000, but that has now, somehow, been revised to a little over $17,000. (Isn’t Montesano Math wonderful!) Even if this revised estimate is realistic, the city would need $850,000 in increased revenues to break even. Not likely. This project is based on voodoo economics and needs to be stopped now.
Remember, the Elma rest stop costs almost $200,000 a year.
I asked the mayor if she would set up a community meeting to discuss this project. She said that if the funding was approved, she would. Fellow citizens, if the funding is approved it will be too late. On Jan. 30, a group of us, four in all, went to meet with the state legislators and the Department of Transportation to let them know that this rest stop project was a train wreck waiting to happen. We presented them with some written material and encouraged them to NOT fund the project. They seemed to listen to us, but who knows?
I think we need a community meeting to get some real answers to some of our questions and provide our elected officials with some real community feedback. I haven’t talked to a single person in town who favors this project, outside of the mayor and City Council. Consequently, I am going to set up a meeting and invite the public and city officials to discuss this issue at length. It does no good to attend a City Council meeting. There is no discussion, only comments. I will let you all know when a meeting place and meeting time is arranged.
Remember, we are talking about a two seater rest stop for roughly $2 million dollars of taxpayer money. It is doubtful that the city would generate enough additional revenue to even cover the costs of the maintenance. Does this make sense? There is a reason why DOT stopped building rest stops many years ago. They are very expensive to maintain.
Doug Iverson
Montesano
