Remarks by Liz Strader
66 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 3
“Move that we close the public hearing on item four. Second.”
“I think we've discussed it and the change in the fees I think was well grounded. With that, I move that we approve resolution number 26-2605 regarding the fall 2026 Lakeview golf course fee schedule for Meridian Parks and Recreation, authorizing them to collect such fees and providing an effective date. Second.”
“I don't have a question, but I did just because I think it's important to be transparent. I did want to disclose that my husband actually does work for the West Data School District. I spoke with the city attorney. I think based on his position, I don't have a conflict of interest on this, and I can, I think, weigh it and evaluate it fairly. But I just wanted to mention that. And if any fellow council members had a concern, please let me know.”
“Sort of similar question, but maybe a little different angle. I just wanted to check, I understand the sort of target schools that are going to be coming in, but is there a chance there will be kids from Renaissance that are going to be trying to walk over? And what does that look like? But I just have some, it's more of an operational question, probably. But I just had some safety concerns around that.”
“Could we see the property on a map just so we could get the context while we're having the discussion?”
“What kind of useful life does this type of fence have? And what kind of maintenance do we anticipate? Or how frequently might we have to replace the fence or repair it? I mean, obviously, if someone runs into it, it's out of our control. But help me understand what a precast concrete fence will look like in 20 years. Sure.”
“Not a question, maybe a question I had previewed for you, just if you wanted to walk us through the comparables and kind of how we stack up to a couple of the surrounding golf courses. I just think that's helpful for everybody in terms of the context that we're in.”
“Yeah, I think it's helpful. I just thought everyone would like to hear that we're about a dollar less than the average. I think that was the key piece of info. And you don't need action tonight, right? This is just feedback.”
“Yeah, and just on that, I've never loved that we're in the golf course business, but I accept that we are in the golf course business. That's where we're at. I did and do feel really strongly that covering our costs is really important. So I think there's a good reason behind increasing them. You know, I think it's still very competitive from what I had seen. So I'm in support of it, but I just thought that that background info would be helpful for the council.”
“Just really quick, I wanted to let people know I was out during the hearing on June 16th with my family on vacation, and I have reviewed about 80% of the materials associated with that hearing and most of the materials from this hearing. I do pride myself on reviewing everything. If there's a vote this evening, I will abstain. If it is continued for some reason, I expect I would be able to vote at that time once I've finished everything. Thank you.”
“Mayor Mrakas, Mr mayor that's i'm sure bill, I know in the past, we looked at what the definition of like an adequate transition is for residential uses, how do you think about that, in the context of mixed use development like this one.”
“Mr. Mayor. I was curious like what entity specifically would be on the hook under the stars agreement Mr. Mayor councilmember straighter.”
“Like a special purpose vehicle for this project specifically or?”
“Right. So to the extent that if the project became, God forbid, not viable because of a change, I was just kind of curious how that would play out legally. Okay. um that certainly would be a condition of approval for us and we don't have that was one thing i was taking a little bit of an issue with we don't really have conditions of approval right at this point you have conversations you've had but we don't have conditions of approval so it's a little bit tough to say well staff has suggested you've had a conversation about hypothetical conditions of approval but there are no conditions of…”
“Maybe a little bit of an ignorant question. We don't look at STARS agreements that often. It's rare when we have an opportunity like that. And I guess I'm curious, is there typically like some type of recourse? Is there like bonding? Like what kind of is the teeth behind your obligations in the agreement typically?”
“Got it. So you're going to have a signed lease from your anchor tenant that's going to give you the confidence to sign the agreement is basically your rationale.”
“Just back to the sign, not to like cause a stir with it or whatever, but just help me confirm from your perspective, you met the statutory requirement on time. It was legible. Help me understand from your perspective with the sign.”
“just want to make sure uh because the details matter was it posted with the sharpie by september 3rd or was it pencil on september 3rd and then sharpie later because i just want to make sure that yeah um mayor simpson council member straighter it was sharpie from the beginning okay thank you that's helpful thank you”
“So if there's a vote tonight, which I don't think there would be because we don't have findings and I suspected the majority of council would be uncomfortable with that. I think it's not the rock for me to use the analogy. I'm still weighing it, to be honest. I'm really on the fence about it. I think the road improvements would be a tremendous help. It's certainly of great value. I'm also definitely not convinced that you guys have met the mark in terms of what our comp plan expects. I view the comp plan as a little more than a guideline. I appreciate there are different perspectives on it.…”
“I guess the public hearing is open. I would be curious if the applicant would like a continuance or what they would like.”
“Yeah, I hear your frustration, and I'm very sympathetic, but at the same time, our staff recommended denial twice, and so did our Planning and Zoning Commission. And I would hate for you to have to walk away from this kind of opportunity, but at the same time, that's the business that you're in. So all due respect, but that's the risk that you take when you do these kinds of projects. I would recommend that you... do a continuance for a couple of weeks, see if everybody can get on the same page. And I don't think it should take more than a month, but I'm not going to pre-agree to hamstring…”
“Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I guess the feedback I had so far was the applicant had agreed to put the fence in, which I think you noted. You had already provided a condition, kind of a condition, that four stories was too high in the north part of the development. And then in the south part of the development... I think that needs to come down by a story to maybe go back to the original plan because the neighbors seemed OK with it. Some version of that. I don't. And that's the problem with this request. And we're going to do our best, but. Until we see the conditions of approval, it's very hard…”
“Mayor Mrakas, Mr Mayor. Mayor Mrakas, Also share also just want to say I know like Councilman kavanagh and others had some strong feedback and even if they would be against it conditions that would help make them feel better about it are always appreciated to even though you know it may not get you there, but. Mayor Mrakas, Just thought.”
“I'm curious, has community development had an opportunity to weigh in on some of the ideas around updating our UCC code? And I guess I'd like to understand how much of the plan has implications for changes that we would need to see from that department and whether they've had a chance to agree or disagree or discuss.”
“Can you just go back to that slide, please, Craig? Thank you. I just want to say I'm very disappointed about the McMillan change. And this is an area that has a huge need. It's right next to a school. I've heard from Girl Scouts and other kids even about it. And I just think this is a pretty important one. And I guess I'm just frustrated about the... Just moving it out of the programmed years. What does that mean exactly? Does that mean it's like number 65 or does that mean it just doesn't even have a date anymore? Like, help me understand what that means.”