Seattle public officials love to spend a lot of time and money "getting the pulse of public opinion, but sometimes the gap between the "show" and the "tell" is more like a yawning chasm. When it comes down to it, the end result is too often more like a shoddy "bait and switch."

We are talking about the recent "Bridging the Gap" meeting held in north Seattle to find out opinion on a special fund set up "for neighborhood transportation projects." What we have is this slush fund of the grant amount of $4.5 million and the question before the meeting was how would Ballardites like to spend some of it. (See story, Page 16, Sept. 19 Ballard News-Tribune).

So that sounds like one of Martha Stewart's "good things," but consider the fine print. That grant amount of $4.5 million is for all neighborhood project city-wide. The fact is that $4.5 million is like $45 when spread across the entire city of Seattle.

As reporter Rebekah Schilperoort says, the top $4.5 million of projects will be drawn up from an extensive list, then the Department of Transportation will make up a list of he second $4.5 million of projects. And maybe the third and even the 15th list?

Projects for Ballard include cutting the hillside that runs along the North Beach Elementry school playfield and build a sidewalk with angle parking so people visiting the school won't park blocking resident's driveways. Not cost estimate, but we would imagine that project alone would take up most of the entire $4.5 million. Several other just as worthy projects are listed.

So, city officials come out, get residents into a room and wave this magic want of money for our community, then pull back the beautiful many-layered cake and substitute some crumbs from the back of the cupboard.

Let's get real Seattle Bureaucrats. Save your heroic pitches for something real or the citizens will place your future pitches in the same bin as all those junk mail offers that flood the Internet.

- Jack Mayne