City eyes priorities and fiscal realities

Ideas abound, but are dollars there?

A lot of ideas for improving services and revitalizing the community were discussed at the Crescent City Council’s 2009-2010 goals workshop this week.

The problem is that city officials don’t know how much money, if any, will be available in the upcoming fiscal year for these projects because they’re still waiting to see a first draft of the municipality’s budget.

“It’s about dreaming a little,” Mayor Kelly Schellong said at a meeting Tuesday night. “But also it’s thinking about the economic times and the process of going through our budget.”

Many of the subjects talked over at the goal-setting session came out of a town hall meeting the City Council hosted in May, when citizens were invited to discuss issues revolving around infrastructure, downtown improvements, tourism, business development and public safety.

Some of the ideas have been around awhile, such as redesigning and reconstructing Front Street to provide a connection from that road to Pebble Beach Drive. Others had a more novel feel, like creating a master list of the vacant parcels and available commercial or retail spaces in the area that could be accessed online to better serve people looking to locate businesses here.

A common thread, however, was a relatively simple one: creating signage to let visitors know where Crescent City’s attractions are and how to get to them.

“We understand where our downtown is, but a visitor has no concept,” Councilman Charles Slert said. “We understand where everything is because we live here. The people that are passing through don’t get it.”

Another conversation that dovetailed from the idea of giving tourists a clear indication of where to go involved luring people off the U.S. Highway 101 corridor by doing a complete overhaul of Front Street, which now is a four-lane expanse dotted with treacherous potholes.

“When I think about Front Street, I don’t think about a lineal street,” Councilman Dennis Burns said. “I’m thinking about a way to get people from (Hwy.) 101 all the way out to Washington Boulevard.”

Concepts for improving Front Street included designing it to be only be two lanes with a landscaped median and putting a roundabout at the end of the road near B Street to allow people to access Battery Point Lighthouse or drive toward Pebble Beach and Point St. George.

The cost of such a project would be tremendous, but it wasn’t the most expensive idea that came out at Tuesday’s meeting. During a discussion about what to do with Tsunami Landing, the dilapidated covered pedestrian area in Crescent City’s downtown, there were was a brief mention of whether the city might one day rebuild Second Street to eliminate the abyss that is now Price and Mason Malls.

“It’s been a no man’s place for too long,” Slert said, “and it violates basic planning principles.”

While there was a lot of conjecture on how to revamp Crescent City, the reality of what can actually happen in the next 12 months is stark. Though some changes are simply a matter of process — writing an ordinance to deal with panhandlers, for instance, or making an easy-to-use checklist for individuals seeking to establish a business — the costs associated with some projects could hinder any sort of progress.

The city is facing a nearly $500,000 budget deficit that staff members call a worst-case projection. This shortfall would be covered using the city’s reserve funds, but top officials have said it could lead to significant discretionary spending restrictions.

Crescent City Finance Director Ken McDonald said he doesn’t expect to have a full picture of the 2009-2010 budget until the fourth week in June so he couldn’t make an accurate prediction on how much money the municipality expects to have in its general fund next year.

If his estimates are anything like other government jurisdictions in the area and throughout the state, where revenues are decreasing and costs are increasing, it doesn’t appear there will be much room for projects.

“There’s a lot of goals they’re coming up with,” McDonald said. “But whether we can fund those is another thing.”

The City Council will host at least two more budget workshops in the coming weeks, with the possibility of adding more if needed. The first will be 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Crescent City Fire Hall, located at 520 I St.