Gardner fails to keep copters aloft

Councilman wanted to take from park plan.

Topeka City Councilman Jim Gardner admitted Tuesday night he was wrong in not funding the police helicopter program -- and then he tried to do it belatedly at the expense of Millennium Park.

But after two hours of debate and motions, the council finally approved a project budget that will allow planning for the downtown park to proceed.

On a 5-4 vote, the council approved a resolution authorizing use of the remaining $296,000 in the park land acquisition and development fund to help fund the new park. That will be supplemented by $100,000 to be raised in private donations and $100,000 from the 26th year of the Community Development Block Grant Program.

One catch is that the council still will need to approve the CDBG allocation next spring in adopting a plan for use of the 26th year money.

Gardner attempted to reduce the allocation from the park fund and said next week he would introduce an ordinance to allow money in the fund to be used for park land acquisition and development "and the helicopter."

Gardner, throughout the budget process, insisted it wasn't necessary to add $240,000 that Police Chief Dean Forster said was necessary in his budget for helicopter operating expenses. Gardner insisted Forster was bluffing and that Forster would be able to find the money in his budget by making reductions in other line items.

But Tuesday night, Gardner said, "Time has proven me wrong."

Several council members reported being inundated with phone calls from Topekans who were angry over the threatened grounding of the police helicopters.

Gardner tried twice during the evening to get the $296,000 from the park fund reduced to $50,000, with the possibility of another $50,000 when the private fund-raisers had met their goal. But each time the motion failed to get the five votes needed.

In the end, the motion by James McClinton to approve the budget with the $296,000 figure was approved by McClinton, Duane Pomeroy, Sam Carkhuff, Clark Duffy and Fran Lee. Those voting against it were John Alcala, Betty Dunn, Vanessa Hill and Gardner.

Shirley Allen, chairwoman of Topeka 2000, the committee that proposed the park, had told the council her group wasn't interested in undergoing the fund raising and soliciting donated labor and materials if the council only was willing to pledge $50,000 to $100,000 to the project.

After the vote, she said, "We can make it work."

There was also considerable confusion among the council members on what action they had taken two weeks ago in giving preliminary approval to the project.

In adopting a long-range capital improvements program two weeks ago, council members agreed to provide $100,000 in city tax money and $200,000 in CDBG money -- subject to further action later -- to match the $100,000 in private fund raising.

Later that evening, the $200,000 CDBG money was reallocated to another project. Another change in the CIP freed up another $200,000 in the park fund that could be pledged to the Millennium Park project.

Copyright 1999
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