Posted on 08/18/2005 8:58:48 PM PDT by Happy2BMe
Illegal immigration forum price tag estimated at more than $100K
CARLSBAD ---- Who should pay when free speech isn't free? Mayor Bud Lewis says he thinks Sen. Bill Morrow should, and said he will bill the senator for an estimated $100,000 in police costs for providing security for a forum on illegal immigration last week.
"We're going to bill Morrow for it," Lewis vowed Wednesday afternoon.
The
city has estimated that its security costs for the forum at $100,000, but the total bill for the Aug. 11 forum will probably be much more than that, Lewis said, because seven other local governments sent officers to the event. A full tally of the costs should be available next week.
The "town hall" meeting, presented by Morrow and held at the Carlsbad Cultural Arts Center at Carlsbad High School, featured a slate of speakers who talked about the negative effects of illegal immigration on the nation's heath care and educational systems, national security and the environment.
Morrow rebuffed the assertion that he should pay the costs for security at the forum.
"Those costs were not generated by me or Roger Hedgecock or the slate of speakers, but by the radical leftists, anarchists, the protesters and illegal immigrants who tried to disrupt it," Morrow said Wednesday by phone from Sacramento. "I have done dozens of these forums on dozens of issues and I've never had to deal with this." Hedgecock is a San Diego talk-radio host who moderated the event. Morrow denied any responsibility for the costs incurred by Carlsbad police and seven other law enforcement agencies that came at the request of the Carlsbad Police Department. An estimated 150 law enforcement officials from as far away as El Cajon and Chula Vista responded to the call for extra security. Police made no arrests at the forum.
"In a just world, it should be those people who caused the problem in the first place that should pay for it, and I'll certainly do what I can to identify those groups," Morrow said.
Lewis called the Morrow forum a "political gimmick" designed to give the state senator public attention as he runs to replace Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Escondido, in the 50th congressional district.
"I'm a Republican," Lewis said, "but I'm not a stupid Republican, and I resent it."
Lewis said Morrow added insult to injury by suing the school district for legal fees accrued in Morrow's suit to compel the district to allow the forum.
"My taxpayers are getting hit twice," Lewis said. "Once for the folly of the forum, and again for the suit against the district. We're getting double whammied by him."
Morrow's aides and the school district originally scheduled the forum in July. But when Carlsbad schools superintendent John Roach canceled the forum on Aug. 7, citing violence at previous events when the two groups came together, Morrow sued, claiming that his First Amendment right to free speech had been violated. Roach subsequently reinstated the forum. The controversy was widely covered in newspapers and on the daytime AM talk-radio shows.
Morrow, who advertised the forum with a flier e-mailed to supporters, blamed the resulting flap for attracting protesters that caused the need for the large police presence.
An estimated 350 audience members ---- nearly all of whom agreed with Morrow that the country is facing an immigration crisis ---- had filled the theater by 6 p.m. Aug. 11, leaving another 250 anti-illegal-immigration backers outside, unable to get a seat. About 100 pro-immigration protesters traded shouts with the anti-illegal-immigration crowd outside.
Police encircled all of the protesters while two lines of sheriff's deputies and police officers dressed in riot gear and armed with batons, shotguns and sidearms kept the two groups apart. Protesters on both sides shouted slogans at one another through the police line.
Councilman Matt Hall said he felt a lot of "hate" in the air when he drove by the event. He commended both the police department and Roach, saying Roach was put in a tough position.
"I think he did a very good job in representing the school at what may or may not be allowed at the school," Hall said.
A full accounting of costs to Carlsbad and other agencies is expected next week, said Carlsbad Police Captain Mike Shipley.
"We're going to bill Morrow for it,"
No, bill the White House.
================================================
Who should pay when free speech isn't free? Mayor Bud Lewis says he thinks Sen. Bill Morrow should, and said he will bill the senator for an estimated $100,000 in police costs for providing security for a forum on illegal immigration last week."We're going to bill Morrow for it," Lewis vowed Wednesday afternoon.
I suggest conducting an investigation on him, going back to first grade, or birth.
If Bud Lewis, Mayor of Carlsbad, can bill the senator, then the residents of California should be able to bill Bud Lewis 10 fold for the costs incurred becuase of Carlesbad's safe heaven policy to illegal immigrants:
Carlsbad council considers park as temporary shelter
for farm workers
_______________________________________________________
By Elena Gaona - Union Tribune - December 4, 2003
CARLSBAD – Dragged into the project by community activists,
the city is considering a public park as the site of a
temporary shelter for homeless migrant farm workers.
City Council members this week asked supporters about the
city's liability and cost for a shelter for farm workers at
Veterans Memorial Park.
Although council members were adamant that they prefer the
shelter be built on private property, some said yesterday
that they would consider the park site if it won't add costs
to Carlsbad, which has suffered from state budget cuts.
City leaders said they would not dip into general funds to
build or operate the shelter but are exploring the
consequences of using city land for it.
The shift in position among council members, who had planned
for the city to have a passive role in making the shelter a
reality, encourages those who say the city has gone too long
without a solution for its hundreds of homeless farm workers.
"We're very hopeful," said Carlsbad attorney Mike
Wischkaemper, who leads a coalition of about 30 city
residents and business and civic leaders with hundreds of
supporters, who asked the City Council to consider the park
site.
City Attorney Ron Ball and other legal consultants will
brief the council on liabilities when the conversation on
the shelter continues Tuesday.
Council members generally agree that the city's role is not
that of housing developer.
Other homeless people in the city also need help, and the
city is not building a shelter for them, Mayor Bud Lewis
said.
But with farm workers' makeshift camps torn down by the city
each winter, the need for housing for the farm workers
became very visible last year.
Finding a place for a new shelter has been elusive, however,
and Veterans Memorial Park was among eight sites recently
rejected by a task force.
Carlsbad purchased the park in the
early 1980s and does not plan to develop it for about seven
more years, city officials said.
Farm worker housing supporters said the spot is perfect for
a temporary shelter because the park is secluded among
canyons, near farming fields, away from houses, city-owned
and not developed.
City leaders say farm worker housing will not be needed in
seven to 10 years because local farms will give way to
development.
If the council approves the plan next week, the nonprofit
developer Community Housing Works of Escondido will apply
for $1.2 million in grants from the California Rural
Communities Assistance Corp. to build a 128-bed shelter on
the city property.
But Councilman Matt Hall said the city could face a
multimillion-dollar liability if the project is built at the
park.
Since the shelter would be removed in a few years, the
city might have to pay anyone living there for removing them
from their homes, according to state and federal laws. Those
costs could climb to more than $5 million, council members
said.
Council members also fear that even if the shelter is built
by someone else, the city might end up paying some operating
costs, and that is unacceptable, Councilman Mark Packard
said.
But proponents of the city park site argue that the
shelter is possible if Carlsbad's leaders and residents work
together. Wischkaemper said his coalition, which includes
attorneys and advocates, hopes to gain conditional approval
for the park site Tuesday.
"There's no guarantee this project is going to work,"
Wischkaemper said. "But we have to give it our best
effort."
Carlsbad council considers park as temporary shelter
for farm workers
_______________________________________________________
By Elena Gaona - Union Tribune - December 4, 2003
CARLSBAD – Dragged into the project by community activists,
the city is considering a public park as the site of a
temporary shelter for homeless migrant farm workers.
City Council members this week asked supporters about the
city's liability and cost for a shelter for farm workers at
Veterans Memorial Park.
Although council members were adamant that they prefer the
shelter be built on private property, some said yesterday
that they would consider the park site if it won't add costs
to Carlsbad, which has suffered from state budget cuts.
City leaders said they would not dip into general funds to
build or operate the shelter but are exploring the
consequences of using city land for it.
The shift in position among council members, who had planned
for the city to have a passive role in making the shelter a
reality, encourages those who say the city has gone too long
without a solution for its hundreds of homeless farm workers.
"We're very hopeful," said Carlsbad attorney Mike
Wischkaemper, who leads a coalition of about 30 city
residents and business and civic leaders with hundreds of
supporters, who asked the City Council to consider the park
site.
City Attorney Ron Ball and other legal consultants will
brief the council on liabilities when the conversation on
the shelter continues Tuesday.
Council members generally agree that the city's role is not
that of housing developer.
Other homeless people in the city also need help, and the
city is not building a shelter for them, Mayor Bud Lewis
said.
But with farm workers' makeshift camps torn down by the city
each winter, the need for housing for the farm workers
became very visible last year.
Finding a place for a new shelter has been elusive, however,
and Veterans Memorial Park was among eight sites recently
rejected by a task force.
Carlsbad purchased the park in the
early 1980s and does not plan to develop it for about seven
more years, city officials said.
Farm worker housing supporters said the spot is perfect for
a temporary shelter because the park is secluded among
canyons, near farming fields, away from houses, city-owned
and not developed.
City leaders say farm worker housing will not be needed in
seven to 10 years because local farms will give way to
development.
If the council approves the plan next week, the nonprofit
developer Community Housing Works of Escondido will apply
for $1.2 million in grants from the California Rural
Communities Assistance Corp. to build a 128-bed shelter on
the city property.
But Councilman Matt Hall said the city could face a
multimillion-dollar liability if the project is built at the
park.
Since the shelter would be removed in a few years, the
city might have to pay anyone living there for removing them
from their homes, according to state and federal laws. Those
costs could climb to more than $5 million, council members
said.
Council members also fear that even if the shelter is built
by someone else, the city might end up paying some operating
costs, and that is unacceptable, Councilman Mark Packard
said.
But proponents of the city park site argue that the
shelter is possible if Carlsbad's leaders and residents work
together. Wischkaemper said his coalition, which includes
attorneys and advocates, hopes to gain conditional approval
for the park site Tuesday.
"There's no guarantee this project is going to work,"
Wischkaemper said. "But we have to give it our best
effort."
http://projects.is.asu.edu/pipermail/hpn/2003-December/007854.html
So much for "free" speech.
This is the cops' jobs. Eat the cost you OBL bass turd.
CITY OF CARLSBAD PROPOSED MUNICIPAL GOLF COURSE
Cost and funding
The Carlsbad Municipal Golf Course will cost an estimated $30 million to build.
Overview
Initial site clearing has begun on the city's new 18-hole championship golf course, which is scheduled to open in 2007.
http://www.ci.carlsbad.ca.us/parks/golf.html
That's the old estimate. In late July, the City approved about $35 million in construction contracts alone.
From the July 26th North County Times article "Carlsbad Council Awards Golf Course Construction Bids":
"Proposed for a nearly 400-acre site along Palomar Airport Road at College Boulevard, the 18-hole course was once thought to be less than a $10 million project. Construction alone is now forecast to cost $35 million. Add in the cost of purchasing the land, the endless plan redesigns forced by environmental concerns, the price tag for the golf carts and other equipment, and it's actually a $57 million project."
Anyway, what's a few million here or there? Bottom line is that Carlsbad can afford to support its citizens' right to free speech.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.