Dear Directors, I am sorry I cannot attend the board meeting to provide input. I hope this communication will make it into your thinking as you seek to carry out the will of the majority while hearing the minority. I believe in playing the ball where it lies unless it is unplayable. Through much hard work you have presented five options for meeting the dream list of the stakeholders interviewed. That is where the ball lies on this project. My preference, shared by many, is to hold the line on the budget ($28M) and see what that amount of money will buy us. We need to live within our means. This would mean the estimated cost of the project without contingencies would be $25.5M and with contingencies would be $28M. I would not vote to approve anything that exceeded that number without first completely redoing the 10 year PIF forecast. My second preference, also shared by many, is to minimize the cost to members by maximizing the utilization of available space. As it applies to Mountainview, it means designing the main building for year-round use by many even though the space so designed may not fulfill the entire wish list of anyone. Thus, I and many others are proposing option 6 which allows the use of the building in the summertime for recreational pickleball and other sports activities when it is not being used by the performing arts groups. I know this is a very difficult task and, as Vice President Nettesheim, no matter what option is chosen there will not be enough women’s bathrooms. Good luck in this very difficult task. John Fast (aka Santa I hope)
