2 writers ask what happened to promises on child-care? 2 writers ask what happened to promises on child-care? (November 05, 2003)

Former mayor castigates council for not living up to Measure T promise

By Steve Schmidt

It is customary for an elected official who has chosen retirement to allow a newly elected City Council majority a grace period before commenting. After 11 months of watching the conduct of the new members Lee Duboc and Mickie Winkler and Mayor Nicholas Jellins, it is time to speak. It is a travesty that the new majority of these three has casually thrown away $860,000 already spent on the design and final construction drawings for the Menlo Children's Center (MCC).

In deciding on October 21 to revamp the cramped lead and asbestos-riddled former police building and call it a child-care center, the three have set a new standard for disregarding commitments made to the voters. None of us should forget the campaign promises made in literature distributed by the three, who ran as a slate in 2002: We will "build all of the projects approved as part of Measure T, on time and within budget" and "...build the Burgess Child Care-Center."

Their decision to relegate childcare to the police building constitutes a waste of what promises to be over $1 million. This barebones rehash (limited outdoor play area, no new windows or site improvements) will cost $457 per square foot, nearly 15 percent more per square foot than the entire MCC project that was the centerpiece of the Measure T campaign.

In addition to the perpetual $46,000 a year rental cost of the portable classroom trailer, the three-year delay predicted by city staff will also add to this budget nightmare.

How did the city get to this point? In 2001 the voters passed Measure T by a 70 percent majority. Lee Duboc personally recruited parents to volunteer on the campaign phone bank using a script that made the MCC the centerpiece of Measure T.

The commitment as described on the ballot and in the city's literature was to build "a new children's center to replace the temporary portables." In 2002 the council unanimously approved the design and construction of the MCC.

In addition to Mr. Jellins voting for the project, he personally made reassuring promises to the MCC parents during his reelection campaign. Now this dreadful plan devised by Ms. Duboc and approved by Ms. Winkler and Mr. Jellins keeps children in a rented trailer and squeezes others into a small, dark building that because of its original construction, prevents large open spaces where children can safely congregate. The project may cost less, but the finished product will be unquestionably inferior.

The Almanac editorial of October 28 was a wake-up call to all Menlo Park residents. During its first year in power the new council majority has violated the Measure T election promise, thrown away close to $1 million and will waste more money by attempting to salvage an inappropriate building. The honeymoon is over.

Steve Schmidt is a former Menlo Park Mayor and City Council member.

Child-care supporter says city can afford to build new center

Irene Searles

Your February 26 editorial from this year titled "Child-care center deserves a bid" was well written.

You closed that piece with: "The thousands of residents who voted for the Measure T bonds and the many parents who have worked hundreds of hours in good faith to bring the project to this stage deserve better treatment.

"The City Council should allow this project to go to bid, and if the measure comes back under budget, as city officials believe it will, the child-care center project should go forward. There is a slight element of risk in making such a decision, but given its current reserves, the city has plenty of cushion to ride out the current economic downturn and still build a new home for its child-care programs."

Your editorial on October 29 was right on -- until the end, which seemed to part from your earlier statement. The fact is that the city carefully set aside $5 million in its $8 million capital reserve fund for the center. Our $28 million in general fund reserves is very strong, warranting the AAA Fitch Rating that only two other California cities have achieved.

The rating agency notes that our general fund has "very strong reserves that cover 88.6 percent of expenditures and transfers out." This compares to 18.5 percent in Palo Alto and 28 percent in Redwood City.

We have the financial wherewithal to build the child-care center. Furthermore, the voters of Menlo Park enthusiastically supported this center when they voted for Measure T, which allocates the final money. The Measure T ballot actually stated: "and a new children's center to replace the temporary portables." It could not be more clear.

You're right on in stating we would achieve "Poor value in a remodel for child care." Unless the council sends the new center out to bid (as voted on March 25) we will not know the cost differential. What we do know is that the police remodel will result in only 5,900 square feet versus 13,700 for the new building -- less than half the space.

We also know that we will still have to address the lead and asbestos in the basement at a cost not factored into the perceived savings and we will need to keep the portable that the voters voted to replace. I hope that the council will reconsider this decision. Residents who clearly voted for the center do not deserve to be sold short. The numbers do not add up for a remodel - it is truly a poor value.

Irene Searles lives on Stanford Avenue in Menlo Park.