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Vote Yes! on Measure R |
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Thursday, 29 May 2008 |
By The Yes on Mammoth Measure R Committee
By the time Town Council voted back in March to place Measure R on the June 3 ballot, the local residents who would eventually put together the “Yes on Mammoth’s Measure R Committee” had already agreed to commit the personal and financial resources necessary to ensure a thorough and positive campaign. Measure R will require a two thirds plus one vote to pass, and the community of Mammoth Lakes is responding enthusiastically to the intense effort that is necessary to ensure that a new revenue source to the Town be specific, accountable, and not included in the Town’s general fund.
We’d like to thank the citizens of Mammoth Lakes for their positive expressions of support for the campaign, and address a couple of things that we should all consider as we head for the polls on Tuesday.
What is Measure R?
Measure R is a way to fund our community’s trails, parks and recreation with a guaranteed funding source that bypasses the Town’s general fund and protects our recreational infrastructure from day to day political haggling. Everybody agrees. Measure R is supported throughout our community, and has been endorsed by both the Mammoth Times and the Sheet.
Talk to me about the value of my Measure R dollar…
For every dollar that a Mammoth Lakes resident pays in additional sales tax, a visitor, a tourist, a second homeowner or a guest will match that sales tax dollar with a dollar (and then some) of their own. This is because visitors, guests and second homeowners pay more of the sales tax collected each year in Mammoth Lakes than we do. Dollars that we invest in our recreation, trails and parks are being matched by folks who come here to use these very same facilities, and by factors that well exceed 100 percent.
What specific projects will Measure R funds be spent on?
There are two planning efforts currently under way that will provide implementation plans that could be paid for by Measure R funds.
The first is the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, currently in the approval process; the second is the Trails Master Plan, which should be before the community this summer.
Both of these planning efforts have been paid for with significant amounts of tax dollars from the general fund, and we should all expect that once approved, these plans will be implemented.
But now ask yourself a direct question: Given the Town’s current financial situation how will these plans ever get implemented without something like Measure R? The general fund is not an option. And this committee doesn’t believe that putting the most cherished and important assets of our community into the hands of real estate developers or outside interests by default — by failing to approve Measure R — is an option either. The citizens of this community are fully capable of making the decisions and taking full advantage of the opportunities that Measure R will provide.
Who is the “Yes! on Mammoth Measure R Committee”?
The Yes on Mammoth Measure R Committee is comprised of seven local residents (Eric Wasserman, Peter Maw, Lisa Isaacs, Jay Deinken, John Wentworth, Joyce Turner and Lindsay Smith). Our treasurer is Jason Marsh, who has a place over in June Lake. We’re getting assistance from the staff of the Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access Foundation (MLTPA). MLTPA is the local nonprofit that initiated the update of the trails master plan last year, put on the two CAMP events (Summer and Winter), was awarded a $120,000 grant by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, and spends countless hours in public meetings looking out for the community’s trails and public access interests.
The MLTPA Board voted to commit resources to the Measure R Campaign because of the consistency of Measure R’s goals with MLTPA’s mission. The campaign’s efforts are rounded out, and made possible by, our enthusiastic and spirited volunteers.
Who is paying for this campaign?
The Measure R campaign has been financed entirely by local individuals and businesses, but we need to extend a special word of thanks to John Wentworth, a private citizen and full-time resident of Mammoth Lakes. John took on a spec house project here in Mammoth Lakes and sold at the top of the market back in 2005, and is now investing a healthy portion of his profits back into the community. As of May 28, John’s cash contribution to the campaign stands at $41,750, or about 96 percent of the money we’ve raised so far. Most of this money has been used to hire a campaign consultant and to produce and distribute the Measure R mailers that have been showing up in your mailboxes.
… and finally!
There can be nothing more important to the citizens of Mammoth Lakes than our connections to this unique physical environment we call home. These connections deserve and demand our resources — our time, our stewarding, our passion and our respect.
Measure R will give us the opportunity to control our destiny by providing a source of funding that we, the citizens of Mammoth Lakes, control, funding specifically committed to our recreation, trails and parks.
Measure R funds will not go into the Town’s General Fund; Measure R funds will not supplant money already allocated to our recreation, trails and parks.
Let’s not give anybody the opportunity to hold hostage that which we cherish and hold most dear. Let’s invest in the plans, the empowered organizations, the articulated vision, the built infrastructure and the manifestation of our community’s will that defines who we are. Your friends and neighbors have financed the Measure R campaign. If you have any questions about Measure R, or the campaign itself, send an email to
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or give us a call at (760) 934-1279. We’ll go get a cup of whatever and share with you everything you need to know.
And please, on Tuesday, let’s all show up and do the right thing — let’s all vote Yes! on Mammoth’s Measure R.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 06 June 2008 )
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