However, the immense focus on building an Entertainment Sports Complex (ESC) has come at the detriment of the rest of the city. The city will spend at least $250 million in taxpayer dollars on this project. We can (and have) debate extensively whether this expenditure of public funds is in the best interest of the city, but let's set that conversation aside for a moment.
Do you live along Franklin Blvd. or Florin Road? How much do you think the city could revitalize your community, bring business investment, and create high-wage jobs with an investment of $250 million into your neighborhood? How about your community schools ... are they in good repair? The state might owe schools money, but that doesn't mean our communities should have to wait for Darrell Steinberg and Roger Dickinson to pony up.
How about those of you who live in Del Paso Heights? How much community service, gang intervention, improved transportation and employment assistance could the city provide you with $250 million? What if local entrepreneurs were given economic incentives to open and renovate small businesses that would employ young community members?
And even the less impoverished neighborhoods of Sacramento have been left in the dust. Consider the rising crime and business failures in South Natomas and North Natomas.
Parks for the local community have gone untended and without repairs or improvements. Community leaders renovated one park in the region and congratulated themselves extensively for this minor accomplishment. Storefronts continue to sit empty, despite announcements that Sacramento's economy is recovering. And now that redistricting has occurred, this part of the city is "divided and conquered" between the downtown interest (Councilmember Steve Hansen) and the East Sacramento elite (Councilmember Steve Cohn).
And then there's North Natomas - a relatively new community in Sacramento, but with great strategic and growth opportunities. North Natomas will be the biggest loser when the ESC is completed, with all entertainment benefits moving from Arco Arena (Sleep Train), and no substantive plans for developing an economic engine to replace it.
All throughout the community, office buildings like this one stand empty. No businesses are being courted to fill these spaces, and no strategic plan is in development to bring a significant economic engine to this prime land, located between the International Airport, City and State Government Buildings, and along three of the main economic corridors on the west coast.
It bears mentioning that Mayor Pro Tem Angelique Ashby is begging Kaiser Permanente to put a facility at the Arco Arena site. More on this plan in another post.
So, what's a city to do? There's little use in complaining that the rest of Sacramento is being left behind if we don't offer solutions. But ... of course ... solutions cost money. And now that Sacramento leaders have mortgaged the near future (to the tune of $250,000,000), money would seem to be a problem.
Government investments in infrastructure always have the highest return on the investment. Whether this infrastructure is roads, transit, schools, high-speed internet, electricity and water improvements, sewer, libraries, or any other such community need. I think we could say that at least the Sacramento City Council got something right when deciding to use the money to build something, instead of pour it down the drain into "re-branding" Sacramento without providing any new incentive to live, work, or play here.
Beyond investments to maintain and improve Sacramento infrastructure, investment in business of all kinds is imperative to building a world-class economy. A very quick Google search shows that the cities of Philadelphia, PA; Dallas, Tx; Baltimore, MD; Lousiville, KY; New York City, NY; San Jose, CA; and San Francisco, CA all have local tax incentives to attract business investment. Sacramento, however, does not, relying exclusively on whatever state and federal opportunities might be available. Opportunities that could be had anywhere else but here.
It's clear that city leaders need to shake off the starstruck veils pulled over their eyes by the NBA, and get back to tending to the whole city. The ESC will move forward according to a schedule established by legal, environmental and other barriers. We need the Mayor and City Council to make the rest of us a priority too.
I'll close this out with a little reading material.
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