Dear Editor:

Hooray for the Council majority turning down the purchases of the CB Fox and Reel Deal buildings.  Too bad it happened after the waste of $50,000 of taxpayers’ money, paid before they conducted the public survey to assess whether to do so. Not surprisingly, it was soundly rejected.

However, the two dissenting councilors want to waste still more money and time, refusing to accept the results of the county’s own survey, and implying that the people who opposed it are misinformed rubes (“Just looking at stats in the survey for example, can lead to decisions that are unacceptable to Council or to (myself) as a community leader.”).  This is the same arrogance that led them to go forward with the aquatic center expansion (which ironically I thought was a good project), after it was twice rejected soundly by voters (which was disappointing, but such was the will of the majority).  Also not mentioned by these two is the fact that these buildings, while in the county’s hands, and including the atrocious non-profit bank being built on Central, would be property tax-exempt.  Even when the county was actually making money on a property (the leasing of the Demonstration House), the occupants had to leave long before the property is set for redevelopment.  I’m wondering if the hotel/convention center project will still be viable, now that companies have discovered Zooming instead.

The council’s record on private real estate dealings is rather unfortunate.  Let the private marketplace make its own decisions and investments, and stop their inane, expensive meddling.

Jose Carreño, MBA