03-15-1995 Steering Committee Meeting

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• C� • Position Paper for the City of La Porte on the Acquisition of Seabreeze 1) Why does the City wish to purchase this property? The City's goal is to insure that future generations of La Portians will have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of Galveston Bay. The City does not own or control any public property that adjoins Galveston Bay. Sylvan Beach Park is County owned and is a prime area for future economic development opportunities. The City wants to set aside public land for its residents' use of water related activities, which can be enjoyed by La Porte families without the weekend crowds that frequent Sylvan Beach. The City further wishes to fulfil the goals as called for within the City's Comprehensive Plan which was adopted in 1985, and the goals called for in the Visions ' 89 Goals Report. Both of these adopted studies were heavily prepared from the opinions of citizens who participated in public meetings and volunteered their time to serve on committees. One of their primary goals was for the City to provide public access to the bay for use by our community. 2) How will the purchase of the property affect my property taxes and will it cause an undue burden on the City? • The purchase of this property will not cause your property taxes to go up. A tax increase is not necessary for this project. The City has accounted for this expenditure during its yearly budgeting process and has planned the retirement of this debt in a manner that will not cause an adverse economic impact on the City's financial condition. 3) If my property taxes are not going up and the purchase of this property will not cause an adverse economic impact on the City, then why are we having this election? The reason this item is on the May election, is because a small group of citizens passed a petition throughout the City. We believe the petition was misleading because it strongly implied and inferred that the acquisition of this property for La Porte residents as a family park "is not for the public good." They further said that the City "does not need and cannot provide for the purchase of the additional beach front park land" and that the property "will represent a further economic burden to the City and may well result in a tax increase." Since signing the petition, several residents have come forth and said they signed the petition because they thought the acquisition required a property tax increase. c: