Northwood News ♦ February 2010

President’s Message

By Carole A. Barth

Here we go again.  The County budget cycle is starting up, with a projected $608 million dollar shortfall in the County’s operating budget.  With an even bigger shortfall on the state level, times are tough.  You might expect, therefore, that the plan to spend $5 million to remove the existing youth soccer field in North Four Corners Park, level Rachel Carson Meadow, pile up 20 feet of fill dirt and build a new soccer field with a five-foot-high retaining wall would be a non-starter.

Unfortunately, that probably isn’t the case.  Odds are, we will still have to fight to get the project dropped from the six-year capital construction budget (CIP). There are several reasons for this.

The first is a question of scale.  The proposed fiscal year (FY) 2011-2016 CIP budget totals $3.9 billion (an overall spending increase of 4.5 percent).  In this context, $5 million dollars doesn’t look so big.

Secondly, the soccer field is a future expense.  Under the existing CIP, the Parks Department would not even finish planning the project until 2012.  Removing the project would free up future construction funds, but it won’t help the current operating budget shortfall.

In the last CIP process, County Executive Leggett removed the project from his CIP proposal, citing unresolved community concerns.  The County Council, however, put the project back in the budget at the urging of Park and Planning, saying it “would set a dangerous precedent to listen to affected communities.”

Well, we are more than a single “affected community.”  We are a coalition of citizens pursuing a “win-win” approach that benefits our residents, soccer players, down-county park users, and other neighborhoods looking for park development dollars.  This is an election year:  the terms of the present Council, elected November 2006, began at noon on 4 December 2006 and will continue until noon on the first Monday in December 2010.  This is the time to make our voice heard.  If you are interested in helping, email me at [email redacted].

And remember:  the larger our membership, the more powerful our voice becomes.  NFCCA dues are still just $10 per household, unlike some communities that have increased rates to $30.   ■