Business, wonders, waste (September 24, 2016)
Several recent letters have pointed out, in my view very accurately, the many problems facing Apple Valley.
The TOAV is broke! The Town Council is desperate to find additional sources of revenue to give the impression that they are doing a good job of managing town business. In my opinion, the overpaid and incompetent TOAV staff continues to shuffle, distort and move
resources around to conceal the deficit spending that is going on. Government bureaucrats at all levels are taught to avoid admitting mistakes, errors in judgment, and taking responsibility for the consequences for their actions. This is especially true when they are directed by their politically motivated elected officials to pursue tasks that the public does not fully support.
The TOAV council and staff are hell bent on seeking approval to take over by eminent domain Liberty H2O, and now entertaining city-owned electric power, all in the mistaken view that by providing water and power to the property along the 15 freeway northeast of town will accelerate development, thus additional tax dollars to the town coffers. In my view, when that property becomes viable for development, rather than the town footing the entire financial burden, investors will be willing to pay for much of the costs needed to develop the infrastructure for that development. This is not the time to put the town further into debt.
Apple Valley does not have the necessary tax base to support the existing needs, let alone all of these far out proposals being foisted on us by the current staff and council. Premature developments such as the commercial center at Navajo and Highway 18, and at Bear Valley Road and Central, result when there is not sufficient population/market to support viable business activity. There is a lot of undeveloped property between the Cajon Pass and Apple Valley that will be developed much prior to any viable interest in the northeast Apple Valley property.
The Town Council would be wise to await the inevitable future need for development rather than create additional long-term debt which we do not need nor can we afford.
Lee Bell, Apple Valley
Source: Daily Press