Post by jgaffney on Jan 5, 2009 16:41:39 GMT -5
Most of you remember Measure L that was on the ballot last November. This was the voter initiative that was going to roll back sewer rates in Rohnert Park to the 2006 level. Well, it passed and it is starting to have its impacts already.
I work out at the Rohnert Park Sports Center, at the corner of Rohnert Park Expressway and Snyder Lane. This is a City-owned facility that provides Nautilus, aerobics, basketball and racquetball for its members. Membership rates were subsidized by the City so that more people could take advantage of the exercise opportunities.
The Sports Center has recently published its membership rates for 2009, and some of them have increased considerably - by up to 200%. Sunday, when I was working out, I overheard a guy grousing about how much more he was going to have to pay to keep his membership. I asked him if he lived in Rohnert Park, and, when he told me that he did, I asked him how he voted on Measure L. He told me that he voted "Yes" because he wanted lower sewer rates for his house. I asked him if he saw any connection between the passage of Measure L and the increase in membership rates for the Sports Center. He didn't.
Maybe he never will. Maybe he will just take his reduced sewer bill, but continue to grouse about the reduced level of services and maintenance of the City. Maybe he will never make the connection between what he voted for and what he actually got.
I work out at the Rohnert Park Sports Center, at the corner of Rohnert Park Expressway and Snyder Lane. This is a City-owned facility that provides Nautilus, aerobics, basketball and racquetball for its members. Membership rates were subsidized by the City so that more people could take advantage of the exercise opportunities.
The Sports Center has recently published its membership rates for 2009, and some of them have increased considerably - by up to 200%. Sunday, when I was working out, I overheard a guy grousing about how much more he was going to have to pay to keep his membership. I asked him if he lived in Rohnert Park, and, when he told me that he did, I asked him how he voted on Measure L. He told me that he voted "Yes" because he wanted lower sewer rates for his house. I asked him if he saw any connection between the passage of Measure L and the increase in membership rates for the Sports Center. He didn't.
Maybe he never will. Maybe he will just take his reduced sewer bill, but continue to grouse about the reduced level of services and maintenance of the City. Maybe he will never make the connection between what he voted for and what he actually got.
