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"The sub-committee tackled a larger item when it delved into the proposed replacement of the Community Center at Mackle Park. Milk noted that the original proposal for a 40,000 square foot building had not been well received, and called a "Taj Mahal."

Council members present expressed strong support for the scaled down, two-phase facility currently proposed. It consists of a 16,800 sq. ft. building to be built on the footprint of the existing structure, at a cost of $3.5 million, and a future gymnasium at a cost of $1.5 million."

If you add up a 16.8K ft2 building with a second phase gymnasium, do you get something that is eerily reminiscent of the original proposal?

I guess if you super-size it, you get more fries and Coke, to include with all the planned activities.

Pay attention to the candidates that are running for council, it may be a referendum on Centers - Mackle Park Community center, Marriott Conference Center, and subsidizing a health care center and perhaps any center yet to be conceived.

No matter how you slice and dice it into manageable bites, it comes down to city leaders adding more to an island while planning and maintenance issues falter.

I for one like a residential community with simple playgrounds and passive parks, instead of this "planned" growth of CENTERS (community and conference) for every conceivable activity. And do parks need to be enclosed and weather controlled. Is a gymnasium a need to be provided by government that is not associated with a school?

Watch the candidates for what they want. I know Mr. Magel wants to subsidize a 24 hr Community Health Center. Are all these "needs" to be subsidized?

How many centers do we really "need", or is it want? And for the record, a public building (ie. Mackle Park) built in 1985 is considered obsolete and requires razing. Does this mean all buildings constructed in 1985 including homes undergo the same fate because of flood plain concerns?

Common sense would go a long way to improving governance. Is there a need for a gymnasium for the city? As there was a need to purchase a $10MM property to create Veterans Park with a plan to expand its usefulness as a parking facility for beach goers.

This city squanders opportunity at the hand of a myriad of special interests.