SOUNDING OFF:Polkow’s letter is erroneous, off-base

I simply cannot allow the erroneous blatherings of Bob Polkow expressed in his Sounding Off piece (“Smoke and mirrors in Measure T letter,” Nov. 23) to go unchallenged.

Firstly, all of Mr. Polkow’s written efforts are famous for being curmudgeonly pejorative in their tone. Secondly, Mr. Polkow’s assertions are simply dead wrong.

The picnic put on by the “No on T” folks was organized, not staged. I was there. I was not “recruited,” but invited, as were many more than the “approximately 30” participants alluded to by Mr. Polkow (who I didn’t see there). As of Thanksgiving Day, Measure T was up 51.1% to 48.9%, but that was only a difference of less than 1,350 votes among over 59,100 cast. This is not a mandate by any stretch to plunge ahead with plans that almost half the voters in our city opposed.

It should be pointed out that only a council majority favored this headstrong and largely irresponsible course of action. It was not unanimous or unopposed. In fact, two of our distinguished former mayors on the council blasted it from almost every direction. If this was such a great idea, how come almost half the voters vociferously opposed it?

The assertion that this facility will be constructed and run at no cost to the taxpayers is flat-out wrong. The funds being used to construct the “senior center” should be going to our parks and recreation needs in the city, particularly infrastructure needs like restrooms and other maintenance requirements. We are millions of dollars behind in addressing these pressing problems.

Without these “in lieu” fees, the park fund would either go without or would require additional support from city coffers.

Furthermore, no planning has been made for operating and maintaining a new 45,000-square-foot facility, especially if it includes further “bells and whistles” like the swimming pool being proposed.

This could wind up costing us over $1 million a year, hardly the “free” or “no cost to the taxpayers” line trumpeted by the “Yes on T” proponents. Even volunteer or private efforts at fundraising to help offset these continuing costs would probably take several budget cycles to have any effect. Again, hardly at “no cost!”

It is imperative that any planning efforts for a “senior center” include a broad range of community interests, not just the Council on Aging die-hards who would spend every dime that they could get their hands on if given free rein. There must be civic oversight and continuous scrutiny of all the factors involved in this project. The rest of our citizenry needs to be protected from another ruinous boondoggle.

Dr. Jan Vandersloot has a respected medical practice in Huntington Beach and is civically active in both our city and Newport Beach. He has done more for our city than most of our residents have. And, he has opposed many of the follies that Mr. Polkow and his ilk have wrongheadedly supported. Mr. Polkow is the true naysayer, and his actions, upon examination, can locally be buried in the Ascon dump.