For over 20 years San Antoniohas been following an economic development strategy that heavily invests in tourism. Major investments that have driven our tourism economy have been made with public funds and public actions by various city councils and at times through enabling legislation from Austin. Some of the biggest projects include:

1. Special public incentives such as postponing annexation for Sea World;

2. Tax abatements for Fiesta Texas - a vote which was critical because it made further tax abatements easier to be granted and because the site is over our Edwards Aquifer.

3. The Alamodome- built with a regressive sales tax, and which now stands with our hope that it will become a viable venue for events in the future and that we will not have to subsidize it with public funds.

4. There have been tax abatements granted to hotels that generally provide dead end jobs and low wages.

Tax abatements drain public coffers, which should be spent on infrastructure, maintenance, education and other public responsibilities throughout our city.

Our history of tax abatements is that they have continued to bring low wage jobs.

When a tax abatement is combined with development over our Edwards recharge zone, these become two negatives.

The projects I mentioned brought promises of benefits for our community. We are still waiting for these benefits. Yet, our economic situation remains the same. Not good. We find that tourism is very sensitive to recession.

But we have found a glimmer of hope in the past several years as we have heard our public officials - you, Mayor Garza and this city council - and some key business leaders talk about investing in human development. The discussion has been about assuring an educated and prepared workforce. There seems to be more understanding now. There is an admission that our economic future will never be strong if we do not educate our children and prepare our adults for employment. This is a good road towards our future and one that we need to be serious about following.

The proposed PGA Village, however, is one more project on the same old road… a road of dreams that never come true.

In 1997 I served on the Mayor's Citizens Water Committee. It was the first time that a group with diverse opinions on water was gathered. We worked for over a year. We issued a report that framed a strategy for the future. The strategy has two parts: 1) optimize and protect our Edwards Aquifer and 2) develop new sources of water. Our City Council and SAWS adopted our report. Because of this our city has been able to move on planning for our water future without the gridlock we had experienced for so many years.

The proposal to build a golf course with its dangers of pollution to our aquifer is a break from the promise that we made to the people to protect their water.

At a time when in cities throughout our country guards have been stationed to protect communities' water supplies from terrorists, we in San Antonio who have a pristine, safe, underground water source should do all in our power to protect our water ourselves.

When the people of San Antonio have been asked in a vote to protect our aquifer, we have done so time after time.

In the two Applewhite elections where the community groups were extremely underfunded against a well-financed campaign, the people voted Applewhite down both times.

In the last bond election where several proposals were defeated, the only proposal that passed was the one dealing with protection of the aquifer by the purchase of land.

The public mandate is there. Protect our water!

What happens in our public policy is that a particular road is paved and it is difficult to change courses. That is what is occurring now. Decisions were made in the past and now you are being asked to continue in the same direction.

But it does not have to be so. Earlier I heard part of your discussion on the $2,000,000.00 you allocated for marketing of San Antonio in light of current economic realities. Several of you spoke of having to look at things differently because of September 11.

I submit that developing a new path for economic development for our city, and, specifically, taking a serious look at our continued subsidizing of the tourism industry would be a good start.

At a time when the hospitality and tourism industry has become so vulnerable because of September 11 and as a result of the impending recession, is continued investment in tourism the best way to spend our tax dollars? There are many of us who do not think so. Tourism is not recession proof.

At this time we ask that in the very least you study the PGA golf course project very carefully before you act. Start the work of acquiring the land involved for public purposes.

We trust that in the final vote you will turn down the PGA/Lumbermen's golf course project. Please stop.

This is a project that endangers our water. Please stop this project that does this with the people's money. Please listen to the people. Thank you very much.