Thanks, mayor, for making a stand

Letter to Mayor Ray Masayko:

We want to thank you for making the futile effort to slow things down on the Costco question. It lets the people of Carson City know that you have more than dollar signs floating around in your head. Costco may be a "small window" situation, but it is not the only window, and until you have a letter of intent in your possession, everyone concerned is simply "spitting in the wind."

Our concern is the replacement of Fuji Park. The foundation of Fuji Park, as we see it today, was built by volunteer labor. Call it "small town, caring citizen" volunteer labor. That is a commodity severely lacking in Carson City today. If those volunteer labor and hours were counted in today's money figures, you would find it staggering, to say the least.

I would suggest you get a commitment from Price-Costco that they will help with the cost of the relocation of Fuji Park. This is the least they can do since they have begun the process of eliminating the park as we know it today. The action of the board of supervisors to allow any monies to return to the redevelopment board and not returned to the parks department for replacement costs of Fuji Park is simply unacceptable. Certainly, fair market value of the land is a must.

As long as we know the possibility of rebuilding a Fuji Park in the future, please consider it the near future to prevent the loss of Karson Kruzers, dog shows, Northern Nevada Gaited Horse Association, Nevada Carriage Club, Carson City Horseman's Association, Carson City High School Rodeo, Nevada Barrel Racing Association, Outlaw Go-Carts, and others who have used the facilities over the years. The Fuji Park Master Plan is a good one, one that could easily be modified to fit various locations which are available. One suggestion that should be considered is the addition of a minimum of 20 acres additional land to facilitate the rebuilding of the park with room for expansion.

Fuji Park means a lot of things to a lot of people in this area. Truly, we cannot afford to lose it.

Thank you for your consideration of my suggestions, and thank you for trying to slow down this process. Everyone we've talked to is in favor of Costco, but we do not want to lose such an excellent facility (Fuji Park) in its location without knowing that it will be replaced without a voting on a bond issue. This should be included in funds generated by Question 18.