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~ <br />January 5,1998 <br />Att: Billy Wasson • <br />Marion County Board of Commissioners ' <br />100 High St NE <br />Salem OR 97301 <br />RE: Courthouse Square <br />Dear Mr. Wasson; <br />The county offices do not need to be in the high price <br />district'in downtown Salem. By building a multi level county <br />structure several blocks north, east, or south, and sell this <br />site for development, the city, county, and transit district <br />could recoup much of the money they have wasted. Tax revenues <br />from private owners would continue to be an on going source <br />of revenue for the city, providing the council did not give <br />the tax revenue away to the developer as an incentive to <br />build. <br />As for the bus transfer station, improving both the covered <br />boarding areas and the store fronts across the street for <br />~ waiting areas, could make the existing location even better <br />for those riding the buses as it will become more central to <br />shoppers as the additional retail space is developed on the <br />Courthouse Square site. The fumes that rise from the 15 or 20 <br />idling diesel buses, whether parked under cover or curbside, <br />and depending on air currents, could be sucked into the <br />heating and air conditioning system if built as planned, <br />polluting the air being circulated through the entire <br />building. If more space is need for the busses, another lane <br />could be provided by making one more bus line east of the <br />trees lining the sidewalk on the west edge of the court house <br />property. If the transit district needs to be near the bus <br />terminal, they can take over the Franklin building when the <br />taxing department vacates and moves into the new relocated <br />city county structure. <br />The 3.5 million dollars now wasted will not be recouped by <br />building as planned. By selling the property, those wasted <br />dollars' will eventually come back in the form of tax revenue <br />dollars. Whether we build this year or two years from now, it <br />makes the public no difference. We will save dollars as the <br />current temporary city/county leases are costing less than <br />the rental factor will be after the smoke settles and the <br />"Oh! we forgot about those additional costs" figures add to <br />the final cost. <br />~ The stigma that surrounds this project is the same as the <br />stigma that remains many years after the city recommended the <br />