The voting public of the Richfield Springs Central School District has spoken. Quite loudly, in fact. In last week’s proposition vote, taxpayers told the board and administration ‘We don’t want the bus garage the way you have proposed.’ By a vote of 314 to 167, they defeated a proposition to build a $5.5 million bus garage on Walnut Street, on school property adjacent to the new Zone Community Center. Although the price tag of $5.5 million sounds like a lot, when you consider what they are getting for that chunk of change, figure in state aid, then break it down to price per household per year, it was a sweet deal. Superintendent Robert Barraco estimated the final cost to be somewhere around 11 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation. He presented it in another light, explaining that for a house assessed at $90,000, participating in the STAR program, it would be between $7 and $10. So why did the public vote it down? That is what Barraco wants to find out. Following the vote, Barraco noted that the problem is not going to go away. The district still needs to replace the bus garage currently used on Main Street. This location creates a traffic hazard and stops Main Street dead twice a day. Inside the building, work bays collect water and the building is in disrepair. It is one of the oldest still-standing buildings within the village. The cost presented to the public did not include purchasing land, since the district already owns this parcel on Walnut Street. It did not include repairing the bridge, providing a different ingress/egress off the school property. This means approximately 18 buses and school vehicles have one way to depart from the proposed garage; off of Walnut, onto Main Street. A new location would seriously add to the new cost. According to a study, there will be no traffic impact and there is no safety issue even though buses will only be allowed to turn left onto Main Street. Following the vote, Barraco said he and the board are interested in seeking community input. He said they plan to “take stock in what took place, evaluate the process, look at the conditions and review and revisit the situation.” We applaud the board of education for seeing the need to work with the public. We applaud Barraco for being open minded and for his concern for all the members of his district, not just the members supportive of their concepts, or the members with children in the district. We think it is great that Barraco wants to work with all members of the community following this telling vote. All the taxpayers living within the district have the right to voice their opinion and vote. All have a right to express their concern with what goes on in their community and how their tax dollars are spent. It’s the way situations like this are handled that keeps a school district together, that keeps people happy with their school board and administration and that keeps them voting their representatives back into office. We commend all those parties who are interested in working with the community to find the best solution possible. The invitation for input from the community has been made. Speak up, people, and be heard.
|