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Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Office Space at the County

Bring me my red stapler! A County staff TPS-style report suggests that South County office space needs will exceed 1.2 million square feet according to The Daily Sound today. The North County estimate falls a bit lower to 715,973 square feet. Supervisors Centeno and Firestone thought that was unfair and did not vote to adopt the plan saying population differences should be taken into account. They did "receive" the plan...is that some kind of 1984ism?

Apparently the plan does not take into account the possibility of a new jail which would be placed in North County. Construction and payroll associated with a new jail should more than make up for the several hundred thousand square foot difference.

For Office Space fans , here's a link so you can make your very own TPS Report.

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14 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Um, yeah... I'm going to need you to realize that the North County office facilities were built in the 80s and 90s and actually are big enough, while the South County buildings are decades older and, um, duh, they are now tight for space. Yeah, you also need to know that the County split lost at the ballot and this pettiness only delays the completion of those TPS reports.

4/04/2007 10:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The "arguments" of Centeno and Firestone just reflect their superficial understanding of the whole purpose of the report; not only did the SF not take into account the new jail, it also didn't include the proposed TWO NEW buildings at the Betterevia Govt Center contained in the proposed Capital Improvement Plan.

That sense of "victimhood" by North County leaders really is getting old....

4/04/2007 10:07 PM  
Blogger Sara De la Guerra said...

Great job Bill -- just for that, um...I'm going to need you to work on Saturday to make sure the TPS reports get out.

4/04/2007 11:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Southern Santa Barbara County needs to ask for the split next time. It makes no sense to keep these two disparate regions working together as a single county. Both are moving in entirely different directions.

There will only be decades of dissention between the two forces trying to live together. It was surprising more South County voters did not see this and agree last time for the split.

4/05/2007 7:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Firestone has once again demonstrated that his bridge building rhetoric of his last campaign was just a smoke screen.

Since his election, Firestone has shown his anti-environmental, anti-south county side at every opportunity. If he hadn't been conflicted out for his interests in ag land, we would now have modifications in ag rules that would have opened up major ag tracts from Carpinteria through the Goleta Valley to big time development.

His latest North vs. South mentality shows once again that Firestone is to bridge building what Godzilla was to urban development.

The clock is ticking on his term...

4/05/2007 8:59 AM  
Blogger George said...

Sara--

Here's a great Bill Lumbergh Soundboard for people who want 32 varieties of um's in their own cubicle.

4/05/2007 10:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And Joni Gray wants to sell the Art Musuem "to the city" to pay for a new jail?

4/05/2007 11:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Its True! Dunder-Mifflin is comming to town folks...Make room please. We will be giving discounts for blue books and red staplers if ordered in quantity. Pam will be collecting resumes for part time sales personnel (no benefits). We'll also need some stucco block condo's, the cheaper the better. Check for weekly sales in the SBNP. Party on Garthette.

4/05/2007 3:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If ever there was a poster child for why the South needs to secede from the North, Joni Gray reminded us it's her on Tuesday with her stunning statement that the County should sell the historic Art Museum on State Street. The mentality she represents is so foreign and offensive to the South Coast.

4/05/2007 7:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think the solution is pretty simple. Take a look at why they supposedly need more space, and look for opportunities to contract out to quality private-sector providers. We don't need to have every service done by Luddites, not that all of them are, but definitely more than a few!

4/06/2007 8:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Uhhhh ...... haven't you heard of the public employees union? They are scared to death county services will be contracted out. Not gonna happen. Nor has contracting out the Iraq war proven to be a cost-saving.

Downsize county services first - then down-sizing staff comes naturally.

Gasp, what a novel idea! Audit program effectiveness by an independent agency - what value is each department/employee actually providing compared to costs in maintaining the unaccountable status quo.

Should the Santa Barbara Art Museum with all its wealthy donors keep getting a free ride. The only thing the county gets back is having this site be a homeless magnet to the detriment of the rest of the city. Few even want to go to the Library any more because they have to run the gauntled of this free-loading slackers on Art Museum property.

They have proven themselves to be poor tenants allowing this degredation of county property and degredation of the quality of life in Downtown Santa Barbara.

Either they start paying their own way or they start policing the propety the county handed to them for a token.

And start number one by banning all marijuana smoking at this Art Museum homeless camp site.

4/08/2007 10:42 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Agree. Start making that little Art Museum Library plaza a no smoking zone. Put up signs and enforce it 25/7.

When the Art Museum finished its major remodel a number of years ago they promised that little plaza would be one of the most beautiful spots in Santa Barbara. What happened. It is now one of the grungiest and gets worse every year. The homeless use the library fountain for their personal bathroom and the plaza for their storage closet and smoking lounge.

Art Museum - start re-owning the spot: Run an Art Camp for children there during the summer days. Plant a small urban forest. Take reservations only for use of the spot. Turn it into a sculpture garden. Stop wasting money on the lawn maintenance and pave it with decomposed granite, put seating barriers on the retaining walls. Run an outdoor painting class and offer scholarships for the homeless who claim they don't have anything to do.

Honor your promise to the city creating a beautiful spot when we donated to your last capital renovation campaign. Prove you are a worthy steward of your county rental windfall.

Ever do a bacterial count on the fountain water? You have a health and safety risk here. Clean it up.

4/08/2007 12:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

aaahhh now that Travis has taken on the charge so convolutedly drawn up by Centeno and Firestone, we know the "office space issue" must be as baseless as it sounded a week ago. Thanks for clarifying, Travis

4/10/2007 7:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What the County really needs to consider is allowing more employees to telecommute, which saves everyone money!

4/10/2007 12:54 PM  

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