Submitted by Harvey Meislin
So you want to be mayor of Coronado. Three of the current city council members have declared their candidacy for mayor. The tenants of a good leader for a community such as Coronado include:
- Listen to and respect the opinions of the constituency
- Spend the tax payer’s dollars in a fiscally conservative fashion
- Support only those projects that actually improve the community
The constituency of Coronado has submitted hundreds upon hundreds of petitions to the City Council in addition to letters, emails and discussions at presentations requesting that the Cays park preserve the ball field, maintain the dog park’s current configuration, eliminate the need to move the playground further away from the parking lot and avoid the extravagance of additional features that are predicted to cost over 30 Million dollars (to start) and increase congestion to the Cays.
Form follows function is a basic premise of architectural design. The Cay Park should not be transformed into just a drive-by beautiful image but should be preserved as a functional, open park for the citizens of Coronado to enjoy. Everyone understands the need to fix those things that need repair and updating (irrigation, playground, fire station, and restrooms) but why, after spending over $200,000 on landscape architecture firms, is the Coronado City Council not listening to and respecting their constituency. So you want to be mayor.
Harvey Meislin
Editor’s Note: For more on the history of the Cays Park Master Plan project, public outreach, and past meetings, click here.