Tequesta Notes
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Wednesday, September 1, 2021
The Tequesta Park
Fiasco
The village Council discussed Monday, August 30, next steps for the terrible plan that the mayor is advancing with the support of Kyle Stone, Bruce Prince, and Molly Young. They presented a new drawing of the same regional sports tourism concept for Tequesta Park. (See prior posts at All Notes.) The new proposal remains totally unacceptable because of the harmful effects it will have on the life of the village by making Tequesta a regional sports tourism destination at huge costs to the village. It is also unaccepatble because of the opaque process under which it has been foisted on the village without any consultation of residents in its conceptualization.
The Council say they will vote on another resolution concerning the plan on September 9.
Residents of Tequesta: to protect your village from this terrible plan and the harmful effects that will flow from it, please email Kyle Stone (kstone@tequesta.org) and Molly Young (myoung@tequesta.org) and tell them that you oppose the concept and also the process under which the Council is imposing this concept on the village. Likewise for the other members of the Council. Their email addresses are indicated at the end of the post.
Regional Sports Tourism, the Motive of a Terrible Plan
There are reasonable options for Tequesta Park. The Council's plan is not among them. The exorbitant maintenance costs will be a huge burden for the village for years to come. The profligate construction costs (now estimated in excess of $10,200,000) are a huge waste of money for the state of Florida.
The process under which the Council has lead this discussion has resulted in a colossal waste of time and has created the risk of terrible outcomes for the village beyond the boundary of the park. And this process (lead by Mr D'Ambra, Mr Stone, and Mr Prince, the chief promoters of this terrible plan) has denied Tequesta taxpayers the opportunity to consider its ramifications for the village or to think about reasonable alternatives for this park and for the village. The process has been especially egregious because Tequesta is a small community and it is easy to organize meetings to consult residents. Especially for a significant municipal asset like Tequesta Park.
Looking at the latest drawing, there are numerous problems. (See Tequesta Park plan 30 Aug. 2021.)
The new extra parking lot is ridiculous and unnecesary. It does tell you, however, everything you need to know about this wasteful plan. This project is in fact not designed for residents of Tequesta. Tequesta does not need the additional 125 parking spaces at a cost of $1,000,000.
And we do not need all the pavement that's in this design supporting the extra parking and unnecessary structures.
A reasonable design for the village would have fewer than seven fields.
Moving the skate park from Constitution to Tequesta Park is a terrible idea. That would be useless for most kids who skate at Constitution Park.
A concession stand and batting cages are unnecessary clutter.
A reasonable proposal would not encompass any of these unnecessary expenses. They are the fruits of a process that has been totally contemptuous of what residents actually want, devoid of careful study, and blind to the numerous adverse effects of this kind of development project on the unique life of this community.
This project will adversely impact the life of the village community beyond the boundaries of Tequesta Park. The massive maintenance costs alone will hamper the village in its future decisions. (These costs are on the order of $20,000,000 over the life of the lease if we refer to the low-ball estimates that the proponents have provided.)
As far as comprehensive urban planning goes, this Council could not impose a more cookie cutter, standardized, homogenized, offensive development prospect on a substantial municipal asset. A design which in its economic effects would also entrain destructive development trends throughout the rest of the village. It is disdainful of vital community interests and destructive of everything that makes this village uniquely desirable.
The Council has given scant consideration to these issues and it has afforded residents no opportunity to think about them let alone to comment on whether they represent a vision of the village that residents want.
But of course residents will have to pay the massive maintenance costs and suffer the morphing of Tequesta into the surrounding development blob that everyone in Tequesta was trying to escape.
Even families who are committed to organized sports will oppose this plan. Families who live in the village understand that it is more important to prioritize Tequesta as a safe and healthy and stable, locally-focused home. A home with its own unique community life. It is easy to see that this plan does the opposite in its pursuit of making Tequesta a regional sports tourism destination.
A Better Alternative
By way of example, here are two alternative drawings for Tequesta Park overlaid onto the Council's proposal:
a reasonable alternative
(click here for a bigger image)
another reasonable alternative
(click here for a bigger image)
Moreover, with the money that the village would not waste on the astronomical maintenance costs for the mayor's design, the municipality could purchase land for pocket parks in village neighborhoods so it is easier for kids to play pick-up ball games close to home after school and for residents generally to have a place to walk or run away from a road. The town of Jupiter recently did just this. Municipalities that have allowed too much development are realizing how that diminishes the life of their communities and are seeking to remedy their deficiency by adding more park spaces in neighborhoods. These kinds of substantial improvements to village community life will be far less likely if the municipality becomes burdened for years with the massive maintenance costs that would result from the mayor's proposal.
Email the Council
You can email the Council at these addresses below. Please tell them that you oppose the proposed design and you oppose the process under which it has been imposed on the village.
→ Email Kyle Stone. Tell him to oppose the plan and to vote against it. kstone@tequesta.org.
→ Please also email Laurie Brandon lbrandon@tequesta.org and Molly Young myoung@tequesta.org.
→ Email Mayor Frank D’Ambra fdambra@tequesta.org and Bruce Prince bprince@tequesta.org.
If you have any questions, please send us a note at hello@TequestaNotes.org.
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