Campaign Issues

By Michael Kelly

On November 2 Sausalito voters will elect three members to the City Council. The daunting tasks facing the Council demand creative, pragmatic and affordable solutions.  The future City Council will embark on a path marked by the challenge to:

• shape the design, build or rehabilitate, and finance our Police and Fire facilities
• preserve our waterfront and water environment
• refine the Marinship Specific Plan without abandoning the unique characteristics it embodies
• manage our resources wisely in the face of our present economic realties. More than ever the Council will need to seek affordable solutions without imposing undue burdens on our residents or businesses

Public Safety Facilities

The police and fire buildings are out-of-date and inadequate. It is essential that we complete the process to provide new public safety facilities for these crucial functions. I have served as a member of the Public Safety Facilities Steering Committee and as Chairman of the Site Selection Committee, and I am dedicated to creating facilities that give our police and firefighters the tools they need to be highly effective. Of course we must build these facilities within a tight budget at the same time producing an end result that is an acceptable fit for our city. 

I will work to insure that the current fire facilites and the Johnson Street Police site are studied for possible rehabilitation before embarking on designs for new buildings. I will continue to encourage community involvement and collaboration in the design process to shape a design that is appropriate to Caledonia Street.

I will look for creative ways to finance the construction and to insure the facilities are built on schedule and within budget.

Open Water

I support efforts to keep our undeveloped waterfront open and accessible to the Public. We have an extraordinary opportunity to preserve one of the last remaining open water sites on our waterfront. I pledge to work with those groups, such as Friends of Dunphy Park, whose dedication to the waterfront has already enlarged the public land at their namesake site. I support the efforts to use a combination of grants, funding by non-profits such as the Audubon Society, and private funds to acquire sensitive waterfront lands for preservation and public use. 

Marinship

Marinship's historical boat building tradition and contribution to the maritime history of Richardson Bay deserves to be preserved and protected. The Marinship Specific Plan is now more that a decade old and pressues to revisit its premise are building.

I appreciate the special nature of the Marinship lands and the need to maintain the historic uses. I support the continuation of the Marinship Specific Plan and its water and marine related uses. We must also work to promote the vitality of uses already approved.

Fiscal Responsibility

In the current economic environment we must continue to tighten expenditures and search for new sources of revenue that do not place undue burdens on residents or our business community. Revenue generation from land use (property tax, parking income, land rentals, planning & building fees) is our lifeblood providing over 60% of our 2004-2005 budgeted income. Sales tax revenue supplies another 13%.

Drawing on my business and real estate experience, I will work to maximize the income we receive from city properties, and look for new and innovative ways to build long term income streams.  Sales tax paid by tourists is another significant contributor to the financial health of our city. I will work to build mutually beneficial, supportive relationships with our visitors and our merchants.

Historic Preservation

I believe we must preserve and enhance the characteristics that render Sausalito unique, including our historic fabric, our artist communities, and the diversity of our residents. I encourage the efforts of the Historic Landmarks Board to catalogue our historic buildings so they may be identified and their histories and physical characteristics not lost as improvements are made.

Arts and Artists

Sausalito has garnered a world-wide reputation for its artist community and the Art Festival. As a graduate of San Francisco State University with a music degree, I have a special affinity for the arts. I will support the continuance of the arts in Sausalito, from the Art Festival to Opera in the Park and Jazz by the Bay and more.

Finally,

I am a consensus builder. I bring years of negotiating experience I will apply to the City's real estate portfolio and other business, and I advocate programs that encourage cost savings and generate new revenue sources without additional taxes. My business experience in urban land use, as well as my experience as planning commissioner, will help me contribute to strategic planning for our precious resources and our future.