Brandon’s Own Stimulus Package
by Sara on May 28th, 2009
Hi everyone,
As many of you know, I spent a large portion of my childhood growing up in Brandon, SD. I graduated from Brandon Valley High School in 2005, and still frequent athletic events to support my brother and Brandon athletes in general. The city of Brandon recently released information that the city reaped an unforeseen amount of sales tax revenue in 2008, creating an influx of nearly one half million dollars into the city budget. This unexpected sum has been delegated to the city’s various “wish-list” items.
Upon analyzing what the city plans to spend nearly $500,000 on to “improve the city,” I’m disappointed in the city’s budget plans. While some additions to the city are necessary (including street lights on Aspen Blvd., stretching from McHardy Road to Country Club Avenue, and improvements to the eroding roadway leading into Pioneer Centennial Park), among the superfluous plans are a parking lot for a park to be constructed near a park to be located in the Bluffs development and a permanent speed indicator sign to be placed on West Holly Blvd.
The Bluffs area, which has been developed much like the homes on Tomar Road or near Tut Hill in Sioux Falls, is a development comprised of inexorable wealth, complete with wrap-around porches, gazebos, windows stretching the height of homes and three-car garages. Because of such superficiality, it doesn’t surprise me that the families living in the Bluffs area lament the fact that their location requires them to drive a whole 4 miles away to the the nearest park, the Big Sioux Recreation Area, despite the fact that the Big Sioux is a wonderful park that combines bike and hiking trails with camping, wilderness and playground opportunities. However, if the city of Brandon insists on adding a park to the Bluffs area, that’s not my main concern. The $12,000 parking lot to be added near the park, however, displays a severe lack of foresight.
I feel that the $12,000 that the city of Brandon is spending on adding a parking lot to the Bluffs park area is superfluous and could be better directed by investing directly in the interests of children and families who aren’t living in luxury but instead are strapped for money. The sum of $12,000 could be better directed, in my view, to improving the daycare facilities in the city of Brandon, facilities that families of all income levels take advantage of. While adding a park to the Bluffs area will certainly entertain the children of Brandon, not merely just children living in the Bluffs area, the construction of a parking lot in order to eliminate side street parking seems ridiculous. What’s wrong with parking on the street if it saves $12,000?
Furthermore, the city council has also allocated $2,500 to permanently place a speed indicator box on West Holly Blvd. While speed indicator boxes do not have the capability to pull over and enforce speed limit laws, it’s my belief that the Brandon Police Department hopes that the presence of the speed indicator forces drivers to slow down. Holly Blvd, which is the main thoroughfare between three schools and a large church, seems like a logical location for this box. However, in a time of pinched pocketbooks and an unstable economy, the city of Brandon should simply use the police taskforces that it employs and pays to enforce the speeding laws in school zones instead of simply spending the money to *hopefully* prevent speeding merely because the funds are available.
I feel that the city of Brandon should echo the practices of middle-class Americans during these unstable economic times by showing self-restraint and working to make smart investments and/or save any surplus income, rather than simply spend money merely because it’s available.
I’d love to hear what any of you think. To read the Argus Leader’s full report, click here.
-Sara