Opinion: Telling the truth from city hall

By Tony O’Rourke

Mr. (Steve) Kubby recently wrote about a complaint he filed with the grand jury, which he has a right to do.

However, misrepresenting the facts is harmful to the community and creates confusion. The following facts can be supported with documentation upon request:

Tony O'Rourke

• Prior to the city’s incorporation in 1965, “rural road standards” existed throughout the community. In 1965, the city inherited the rural roadway network from the county. The current City Council’s proposed initiative to invest $20 million over the next five years to improve and fix the city’s road infrastructure is a significant and important step in the right direction. The city has published several articles about its efforts to set aside funding to improve the roads.

Unfortunately, Mr. Kubby continues to ignore this fact.

• In 2003, the City conducted an audit of the Redevelopment Agency’s financial performance to complete the redevelopment projects in the Stateline area. Following this comprehensive audit, the City Council authorized a loan in the amount of $7 million to the Redevelopment Agency for costs and revenue shortages related to the redevelopment project. The Redevelopment Agency continues to repay $500,000 each year for this loan, which covers principal and interest. Over half of the loan amount has been repaid to date. Each year, Redevelopment Agency proceeds also support the city’s general gund for services rendered by the city on behalf of the Redevelopment Agency. The city provided all of the background documentation regarding this issue to Mr. Kubby upon his request and reviewed many documents with him about this issue.

Two separate grand juries looked in this issue and recommend the city adopt financial policies to more efficiently recover their costs for redevelopment projects. The city adopted those polices in 2005. Now let’s move onto more pertinent and immediate challenges, like financial sustainability and infrastructure investment rather than beating this matter to death.

• Mr. Randy Lane’s Chateau project is not funded by the city. The city’s interest is the same as everyone’s, which is a desire to see a project completed at the site. Neither Mayor Hal Cole, nor any city councilmembers, are responsible for the collapse of the project or the economy. The project continues to attract interested investors and will require the collaboration of all parties to see a project come to fruition at the site. The City Council supports completion of a project.

• The city has increased its efforts to keep the public informed about the cost of roads, the progress of projects and all aspects of the city. Visit the city’s website and sign up to receive news and information.

Tony O’Rourke is city manager of South Lake Tahoe.