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Counterpoint:

By Wesley Vaughn

It is my hope that the City Council will scrap the idea of the new Greensboro aquatic center. The cost associated with this project as it stands far exceeds the costs approved by the voters of the Greensboro bond. I object to the idea of using other tax dollars to pay for the gap between the approved bond amount of $12 million and the actual cost of the project (estimated now at more than $15 million). No matter which bucket the money comes from, the burden still lies with city taxpayers.

The proposed hotel tax that would be diverted to the swimming pool will cause a shortfall somewhere else. Who picks up that tab? That’s right, the city taxpayer does.

When this project began, it was presented as a communitywide project with additional funding coming from private organizations, area schools and universities, Guilford County and the Greensboro Swim Association. As this project has moved forward, I have seen no additional funding from anyone other than the city of Greensboro. Why would anyone else step up and offer funding when it is obvious that some people on City Council are insistent on paying for this solely from the taxpayer coffers?

If this is such a benefit to the entire community, let’s see if the community can come up with the remaining funds. If this facility is as great an idea as some council members think it is, they should have no problem raising the additional money from groups other than city residents. If not, then somebody needs to take a hatchet to the proposed design and take some real costs out of this swimming pool.

As we have seen from the recent City Council elections, the residents of Greensboro are fed up with wasteful spending.

They demand a more fiscally responsible council. I believe that a “no” vote to this aquatic center would show city residents that the council has received our message loud and clear.

The writer lives in Greensboro.