| Marin County, CA | November 3, 2009 Election |
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Position PaperBy George B. GordonCandidate for Council Member; City of Mill Valley |
This information is provided by the candidate | |
Some of my positions on certain issues facing Mill ValleyI decided to run again for a seat on the Mill Valley City Council after considerable thought. I ran for a seat in 2007, but was not successful. However, I believe that I was instrumental in making the Miller Ave. Precise Plan (MAPP) the focus of the debate during the 2007 campaign. I love this town and I believe that it is worth my time, effort and energy to maintain both the unique characteristics of Mill Valley and its small town charm. CITY SERVICES There are many important issues that the upcoming Mill Valley City Council will need to address. Among them are maintaining the quality of our city services, police and fire protection, providing for adequate fire safety and disaster preparedness, and maintaining the quality of our schools. And there are other challenges ahead; to reduce the impacts of flooding, to upgrade our aging infrastructure (roads, water and sewer), and to help our local serving businesses survive the hardship of the current economic downturn. BUDGET The current economic downturn is adversely affecting city revenues, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The city of Mill Valley has to be viewed as a business at some levels. With relatively fixed annual expenses, failure to anticipate significant loss of revenues, if not recognized and dealt with properly, will have disastrous effects. The current 2008-2010 budget released in June of 2008, needs significant reworking to reflect as much as a 16% reductions in sales tax revenues this year and probably again next year and reduced property tax revenues including state holdbacks. As a financial investment advisor and business owner for 40 years, I will bring a unique skill set to this council. I have successfully guided my business and my clients through more than five serious economic downturns, especially the current one. The economy has changed, and almost every aspect of it in the future will be different. These changes have to be recognized by the city by revising the current budget. Business cannot continue as usual. Past efficiencies may not be sufficient when the need is for agility, flexibility and leadership. STREETSCAPE Our initial success for the 2007 city council elections resulted in MAPP being separated into two parts: STREETSCAPE, which is the repair and redesign of Miller Ave to be dealt with first, and at some later date, the balance of MAPP zoning issues. Many things have changed since 2007, but some ideologies about what direction Mill Valley should take in the future refuse to die. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, STREETSCAPE We have before us this election period a Request For Proposal (RFP) created by the current council and city staff for the design and repair of Miller Ave. During the past two years, a citizens advisory committee spent hours of their time studying the issues of Miller Ave, and making their recommendations. The RFP's anticipated budget of $8,000,000 to $12,000,000 for the project may not be totally available from Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) under the Measure A tax monies. Any shortfall will have to be made up by the citizens of Mill Valley in some fashion. As a small city with limited resources, we have little room for financial errors. We need in depth, detailed cost benefit analysis and we have to understand both the risks and the consequences, especially the unintended consequences of this project. If we approve this project, it must only be done in an affordable way, and we must ask ourselves, would you vote for this project if it requires money out of your pocket? . MILL VALLEY BUSINESS The Mill Valley City Council states in its budget on page vii under "Challenges and Opportunities Ahead", that "The Business Task Force will make recommendations on ways to improve the business climate including attracting and retaining local serving business". Mill Valley business is in a serious downturn; some of which is related to the economy. However, actions by the current council as well as the previous councils have caused more business failures along Miller Ave than they care to recognize. When MAPP was first proposed, (and very poorly managed), property owners along Miller Ave. began anticipating the major changes in land use. As the council went into high gear trying to sell the community on the concept, property owners increased rents and began to shorten lease terms. The results were business closures along Miller Ave. Local oriented small businesses began to fail and we now have 15 vacant business locations along Miller Ave. And now, the current STREETSCAPE proposal continues to add to the anxiety of local merchants along Miller Ave. A long, protracted, large-scale development process will again take its toll on small business along Miller Ave. It also appears to some to be a back door attempt to bring the major provisions of MAPP back to life. We all now have a taste of what Miller Ave was headed towards with Tamalpais Commons at 505 Miller Ave. This is the future of Miller Ave if we let the current development-based direction continue. Are the current council members and city staff the visionaries we want to create the future of Mill Valley? AFFORDABLE HOUSING Yes, we need to make a commitment to affordable housing. But, we can't let it be defined by special interest groups or political driven agendas. It has to be truly affordable for those who really need it + not families making over $90,000 per year (which is what we've been doing). Does the current City Council and Planning Staff have the vision to shape the future of Mill Valley in a way that maintains our small town character and everything about our town that is the envy of the country? Will they recognize when they need to seek outside council and citizen input to help guide the decision-making process? Historically, that hasn't been the case. MY QUALIFICATIONS My qualifications for a seat on Mill Valley's City Council are my abilities to foresee the unintended consequences of plans and ideas, both long and short term, and make necessary changes. I've read the 2008-2010 city budget and frankly, I see some economic problems that are incorrectly addressed. I don't like bad ideas and say so when appropriate. I work well with individuals and groups that are committed to getting a job done right the first time. I'm pragmatic. I listen. I have been on my share of volunteer boards that include BART, Marin County Commuters Association and have given my time to local endeavors such as the Mill Valley Film Festival. I am a graduate of UC Berkeley as a triple major in economics, finance and real estate. I know how things work and how they fit together. I am not a politician, and hope that my service as a Mill Valley City Councilman does not make me one. |
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