It’s easy to point the finger and blame others when you’ve got your finger on the scale. We’re watching it happen right now. The Wednesday before Christmas, the state’s Division of Public Works just happened to preview its revised “estimate” to repair the Idaho Transportation Department’s building on State Street. To the surprise of no one paying attention, the new projection was over double what DPW told legislators it would be just last spring.
Why am I not surprised? Because more than a few people in Boise have made it clear they disagree with the Legislature’s decision to retain the State Street property. I’ve gotten called a lot of names in the last few months because I supported hitting the pause button. But the name-callers like to gloss over some inconvenient facts.
In 2021, an initial estimate put the property’s value at $80 million to $100 million. The bidder’s highest offer was $51.75 million. That may or may not be the fair market price. But learning the state would receive 51%-65% of the projected amount played a big part in the decision to ask if this was the right decision for Idaho taxpayers.