Kevin Faulconer sits on tax dollars

The map of benches. Click to enlarge

In the middle of the battle over whether to increase the sales tax by half a cent to support essential services, one of the City Council members most bent on defeating the tax sent out the email below.

Basically, at Kevin Faulconer’s insistence, the city just paid $27,766 to install wooden park benches along Sunset Cliffs. By my math, the benches cost about $3,219 a piece. Benches.com doesn’t even sell commercial benches for more than $2,799.

Please tell me I’m missing something.

Hello, all…

Councilman Kevin Faulconer is hosting a news conference tomorrow morning at Sunset Cliffs to unveil new wooden benches. Kevin promised community members benches would return to the park after the City determined the guardrail benches at the park are not safe and need to be removed: http://bit.ly/clVCAh

For more information, please see the email below from Kevin, along with a fact sheet, and a map I’ve attached. If you have any questions please let me know.

Thank you,

Tony

—

Dear friends,

I have very good news to share: Benches are returning to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park.

Over the past several months, with your input, my staff and I worked with the City of San DiegoPark and Recreation Department and Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Council to create new, one-of-a kind benches specifically built for this unique park. Local residents picked the bench design, material and locations.

The City will be installing 14 wooden benches along Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. The installations began last weekend and are scheduled to be completed in phases. I want to thank Ocean Beach and Sunset Cliffs residents for the passion and creativity they brought to this project. These benches will be a lasting asset to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park.

We will be celebrating the installation of the new benches Friday, September 24 at 11:45 a.m. on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard between Froude and Guizot streets. Parking is available on the street or in the lot just north of Froude Street. I hope you can join us.

Best,

Kevin

FACTS

Number of benches and donations:

• 15 benches in total
• 7 of the benches were funded through donations
• 14 benches were built by a City contractor; 1 was directly donated to the City

Cost:

• Total cost: Approx. $45,072

Breakdown

o   Donations: $17,306

o   Council District 2 Infrastructure Fund: $20,000

o   City: $7,766

Info from the email about what happens to the old benches after the jump.

What Happens to the Old Guardrail Benches?

·        Once the new bench installations have been completed, all guardrail benches will be tagged with posted information regarding future removal.

·        After posting, there will be a period of seven days in which the benches may be removed by individuals who installed them in the guardrails.

·        If the benches have not been removed after seven days, city staff will remove and transport them to the Rose Canyon Operations Yard where they will be stored for 30 days to allow the owner to contact staff for recovery.

·        If the benches are not recovered within that time frame the materials would be recycled or destroyed.

·        Anyone with questions about the benches should contact Dan Daneri, Park and Recreation District Manager, at (619) 235-5914.