Interview with EPRD Board Candidate Don Rosenthal

EPC: Why are you running and what is your operating philosophy going forward with EPRD?

Don: Thank you Evergreen Pickleball Club for giving me a forum for sharing my views on EPRD with my fellow pickleball players. I am running for election to the EPRD Board because good management of EPRD is vital to maintaining and enhancing the quality of life in Evergreen. It requires executing successfully on a day-to-day basis (for example, the rec centers are clean and the equipment operates) and balancing requests for new projects with available funds. I've worked in both the public sector (15 years) and the private sector (20+ years) and learned that most organizations have visions for new projects whose costs exceed their budgets. If elected, I will use cost-benefit analysis as a framework for intelligently selecting new capital improvement projects as well as reviewing the efficiency of EPRD's day-to-day operations. Economics is clearly not the only lens through which to view EPRD decisions, but it is an important one that must be weighed alongside other factors. From a cost-benefit perspective, investing in pickleball is good because the courts are relatively inexpensive to supply and are used heavily.
I am running because I want EPRD to continue to succeed and I have the time, energy, and experience to contribute to that success.

EPC: In 2018's mid-term election, EPRD floated a $24 million bond issue for, among other things, a gym and pool at Buchanan Rec Center, repairs to the pool at Wulf Rec Center, and permanent improvements to the Evergreen Lake North Trail. The gym at Buchanan would have doubled the number of much-needed, year-round indoor pickleball courts in the district. A much-larger-than-expected voter turnout defeated the proposal, but by a narrow margin. Why do you believe the bond issue failed and, going forward, what would warrant another bond issue to be put before the voters?

Don: The initiative failed for two primary reasons: (1) the ballot language was difficult for voters to understand; and (2) the ask in terms of increased tax revenue was too large. As an example of confusing wording, the ballot initiative stated that bonds would be issued, “...for a price above or below the principal amount of such series.…” What the heck does that mean to the average voter? Simpler wording in this case would have been, “the bonds will be issued at fair market value.” The initiative also stated the mill levy may, “...be increased in any year without limitation as to rate.…” The “without limitation” phrase likely set off alarm bells of unchecked tax increases in some voters’ minds. If another bond initiative is pursued—and it should be—it is critical to get the wording right. This is a simple idea, but words matter.
By my rough calculation, the two ballot initiatives (the mill levy increase and the $24 bond initiative) would have increased EPRD tax revenues by 50% to 70%. The election results show that this was more than voters wanted to spend. Monty Estis, another pickleball player who is running for election to the Board, earlier mentioned on this EPC website that as an EPRD Board member who was present during the development of the bond measure, he argued “for a smaller bond measure.” Monty was right.
We should pursue another bond issue if the EPRD funds are insufficient to maintain properly existing EPRD facilities and to provide new facilities to meet increased demand. I’ve been looking into the finances of EPRD and both conditions are likely met. For example, although reserves were recently created to repair the 47-year-old Wulf pool, they are not adequate. The balance is now $200,000 and the repairs will likely exceed $1 million. And, increasing participation in sports like pickleball show that demand for EPRD facilities is on the rise.
Monty and I are both analytical (his background is math, economics, and computer science and I have a Ph.D. in economics) and we would use our experience to properly size a new bond initiative. An analytical approach to a new bond initiative means looking at the costs and benefits of different components of the overall initiative. It is not enough to simply ask whether voters want the overall initiative, rather each component should make sense in its own right. Without getting into specifics, if one component represents 40% of the costs and only 10% of new use, that component likely should be eliminated from the overall initiative. If a new bond initiative is pursued, it is important to scale its total size down from the prior 2018 initiative and to get input from the community on the individual initiative components.

EPC: The Evergreen pickleball community appears to be persona non grata with certain members of the EPRD Board, many having said publicly that they "never want to hear from the pickleball community again." How did we get to this point with the Board and what do you think it will take for us to be a respected, listened-to constituent?

Don: I was not present when the statement you quote above was made, and would be a new face on the Board. Excluding input from any user group is inappropriate. As an avid pickleball player, I am well aware that our sport is growing rapidly and spaces for playing are crowded. If we make our points logically and offer real solutions, (e.g., building courts at the newly acquired land off Highway #73 at Malamute Drive) the EPRD leadership will respect us.
Thanks to EPC for letting me express my views. For more information on my candidacy see my website here.

Get your mail-in ballot request now.

Elections for EPRD Board are Tuesday, May 5. It remains to be seen if Wulf and Buchanan will be open so it’s important that you secure your mail-in ballot. To request a ballot, click here. We printed out the request for a ballot, filled it out, took a picture with our smartphone and emailed it in. We immediately received a Thank You from the election official and received our mail-in ballot within two days.