Olivette Prop "S" Letter to the Editor

August 4, 2012

Letter to the Editor: 

We feel the Olivette's Prop S plan lacks vision and is not well thought out.  The plan incorporates no green elements and ignores the 2006 Vandewalle Strategic Plan recommendations the City commissioned. The City is proposing to buy a 26 year old spec office building, paying over 60 percent of the county appraised value without getting an independent appraisal. The City did not know they were in private subdivision and subject to indentures when they entered into the contract.  The City has rushed this bond issue to the voters and as a result has many inconsistencies in their posted website's FAQ's. Here are just a few examples:  

• The City says the Municipal Building will remove $38,448 from the tax rolls when actually the taxes were $46,966. 

•  The City states the cost that the taxes will increase for each home, but it does not mention that personal property will also increase.

• The City states that the new fire station will be 13,400 square feet, but the construction budget is based on 20,000 square feet including the basement. Do we really need to increase the fire station from the present size of 4,656 square feet to 20,000 square feet?

• The Option to purchase which is posted on the City website is $2,820,000, but the cost summary shows $2,875,000. 

 Aaron Novack, AIAOlivette Property Owner
Verification and Proof of above statements: