Tuesday, December 8, 1998

Abilene needs projects listed on ballot today

To judge from the mere handful of letters to the editor submitted on the topic, today’s city bond election has not generated much controversy — which may be in keeping with the design of the city officials who proposed the ballot’s five capital improvement projects and which may also bode well for their being passed.

To be honest, the five projects — street and traffic improvement, a new Rose Park Senior Center, park improvements, Civic Center renovations and the construction of a new central fire station and Emergency Operations Center — weren’t likely to elicit heated emotional opposition as being extravagant or farfetched. Instead, they are modest, down-to-earth responses to the need to keep city services in good working order.

If there’s a criticism to be made of the city officials who proposed these items for public approval, it’s that they didn’t think expansively or creatively enough. Perhaps they wished to avoid objections that they were asking taxpayers to finance fancy, luxury items far away from the meat-and-potatoes menu. If so, they succeeded admirably.

We need better streets and traffic signals. Our senior citizens deserve more attention. Public parks help our youth. The worn Civic Center no longer presents as positive an impression as it should. The central fire station dates from the 1950s, and the city lacks a genuine emergency center. These aren’t frills. These are simple requirements for any city that isn’t willing to give up on itself and allow its public services to deteriorate into disrepair and disrepute.

The cost taxpayers are being asked to bear is no more extravagant than the projects themselves and will only increase if the present needs for improvement are put off until later, when more extensive maintenance would demand an even greater expense.

These five projects might not be particularly exciting or especially visionary. They’re just the basic things that need to be done. Abilene voters, we hope, will realize that and give them their approval. Polls are open until 7 p.m.