Again the power players at NIC and the City held a public forum for the proposed “for sure” Ed Corridor and again the public was treated like an irritant to be endured.
Here’s the setup: The forum was yesterday from noon to 2pm at the School District 271 Midtown Center. The room was nicely set, with tables formed into a big circle. No microphones. Everyone just sat around the circle, with lots of chairs crammed behind and into all the corners because the room was full and a few people had to stand in the foyer.
There was no moderator and basic good manners were the rule of the day: no interrupting, let people speak, be respectful, etc.
I had hope. This could really be good. Positive memories of the great School District meetings that Hazel Bauman held in that very room last summer were giving me optimism. Maybe they do want to hear from us; maybe we can have a real voice in this decision.
The college and city officials that were present were—this is from memory, so I could be missing a few:
From NIC: Pres. Priscilla Bell, Trustee Mic Armon and Jay Baldwin
From other colleges: Cyndie Hammond, LCSC and Larry Brennen, U of I
From the City of CdA: Mayor Sandi Bloem, City Admin. Wendy Gabriel, City councilmen Mike Kennedy, Ron Edinger and John Bruning
From LCDC: Tony Berns and PR Rep. Stefany Bales
Other elected people sitting in: State Rep. Frank Henderson of PF and State Sen. Jim Hammond of PF
From the Press: Reporter Maureen Dolan and Editor Mike Patrick
There were about 30 – 40 citizens packed into the room as well.
The meeting started out stiffly, with formal-sounding questions and answers. Then is slowly worked into a back and forth dialog with people following up, asking for additional clarifications and bringing in related topics. Everyone was behaving well.
About halfway through the meeting, Dan Gookin spoke up for the first time. Dan was calm, polite and respectful. His question was about the appraisal on the DeArmond Mill site and that the wastewater treatment plant was not factored into the price. Dan had a copy of the appraisal and said the treatment plant was noted in the appraisal’s description of the land but was never included in any other part of the appraisal; it was never considered as influencing the price of the land.
Dan read part of an EPA report about CdA, stating that a large amount of toxic chemicals are stored at the wastewater plant and that the EPA’s required emergency “worst case” scenario shows an accident would seriously affect everyone for 1.3 miles around.
Dan’s point was that the appraisal price should have been lower due to this potential risk and the presence of the treatment plant.
The meeting was almost run off the tracks by city councilman Mike Kennedy’s response to Dan’s information. Mike stood up and yelled out his sarcastic comments about how it’s good to hear from the public (you could tell he did NOT mean it) and that these forums are nice to have (again, NOT) but that the citizens at this meeting were just negative and he wanted everyone to know that a lot of people in this town are behind this project 100%!
Mike was rude, sarcastic and arrogant…and I’m being as nice as I can. And councilman Ron Edinger, who was sitting across the room yelled out “Go Mike go!” They were entirely unprofessional. The Mayor should have been embarrassed.
Citizen James Rebal then stood up and gave a wonderful, impassioned plea to the elected officials involved, asking for an Advisory vote on this decision…applause broke out in support. But his idea was ignored.
The meeting quieted and more questions were answered.
The “Aha” moment of the whole meeting was when Trustee Mic Armon admitted directly that the purchase of the mill site is a sure thing. He said directly these words: IT’S A DONE DEAL.
So why were we there? It was obvious that the officials did not want to hear our questions or ideas. Their responses, while polite, were defending the actions they’ve already taken. They were not really listening like Hazel Bauman did when the local school district held their meetings last summer. They were not writing down issues or suggestions like Hazel’s group did or honestly considering the value of people’s comments like Hazel. No, this was a forum for show. See, we met with the public. We let them ask their questions. Now we’ll go do what we want…again.
I was there. It was better than anything on TV at the time. Gawd, I love theater.
Comment by Dan — September 24, 2008 @ 11:45 am
And this surprises anyone because…? First, this highly touted open public forum is set at noon on a school/work day so few can attend. Then, those who are able to attend are told that this project is a done deal. Armon states that, while some people may think this is a bad idea, the board (in it’s infallible wisdom) thinks it is a good idea so they are going forward. Tra I’m still laughing, beats crying. Translation for all of us “normal” folks. “Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah. You pay, we decide. Whatcha gonna do about it?”
Comment by Diogenes — September 24, 2008 @ 12:05 pm
Turn on your sound before following this link.
Comment by Bill — September 24, 2008 @ 2:31 pm
It never ceases to amaze me, how our elected officials keep going forward
with their plans to build and expand the Education Corridor, even though were currently in the midst of a recession.I guess when you make alot of money every year and your job is secure,you are not in the recession most people are in.
I’d bet Dr.Bell or the NIC board of trustees don’t feel like their in a recession, nor LCDC-which is comprised of mostly well-off business
people or anyone in the upper echelons of city or county gov’t.
These people live in an economic bubble and unfortunately, these are the people making alot of the decisions about what happens in this
CDA area.
I think it is irresponsible to keep
building in this CDA area while, alot of people in kootenai County are hurting financially.IMO-the more our elected officials keep wanting to build, you can bet the raising of our taxes are soon to follow.
Comment by kageman — September 25, 2008 @ 7:47 am
kageman… They stay well-off by setting the system up to sustain or advance their work and investments. They employ our tax dollars to boost their own situations.
In the midst of their self centered and financially reckless corridor project NIC must cut its budget because, surprise, the state economy is in the tank. They won’t compromise or even try to renegotiate their corridor pet project but they’ll gladly cut educational services.
Here’s an idea. Let a business person buy the Mill site and then they can donate whatever small portion of it will be part of NIC. What, no business person wants to pay that much for the location? But it is a real bargain at $10 million, just ask Morse. Would a real business person work to get that property as cheap as possible? Would they get an appraisal that truly reflected its actual value and thoroughly examined any potential problems?
Bill, can’t the state Attorney General impose a stop or some sort of restraining order to put this on-hold while allegations of misdoing is examined?
Comment by Wallypog — September 25, 2008 @ 8:24 am
Wallypog,
It’s not the AG’s problem. It’s ours. On what basis would the AG intervene in a purely local issue?
Comment by Bill — September 25, 2008 @ 1:31 pm
Bill, Excuse my naivete but I do not understand the workings of law enforcement or adjudication processes and I thought I might ask you.
Comment by Wallypog — September 25, 2008 @ 4:12 pm
There has got to be somone somewhere in the system that can see how wrong this truly is.
Comment by concerned citizen — September 25, 2008 @ 4:50 pm
That someone is the voter, and they stay home.
Comment by Dan — September 25, 2008 @ 4:52 pm
Wally, I do not think Bill was being short with you. He isn’t that kind of person. The problem is that too many people watch legal programs on TV and think that is actually how things work. Not so. You can’t just go to law enforcement with every little thing. I would imagine that these entities are working within the legal strictures. Just because something is legal, it doesn’t follow that it is ethical. And, in this case anyhow, ethics no matter how disturbing, aren’t illegal.
To cc, many people in the system see how wrong it is. There is a huge difference between wrong and illegal. We are dealing with a simple fact. People who DO NOT vote making the decisions for those of us who do. Shameful…
Comment by Diogenes — September 25, 2008 @ 4:55 pm
Wallypog,
It’s our problem as voters. We gave those officials the go-ahead. We elected them. That they are making horrendous decisions we do not like does not automatically make those decisions illegal and subject to restraint by the court. The AG might ask for restraint if there was conclusive evidence of imminent irrepairable damage or a clear violation of law, but ethical law enforcement is very reluctant to intervene in the political/legislative process. It is not up to the AG or the US Attorney to use the courts to correct for voter ignorance or indifference. We have remedies available as voters. We can recall dishonest and incompetent elected officials, or we can elect them out at the next election.
Comment by Bill — September 25, 2008 @ 5:38 pm
People who DO NOT vote making the decisions for those of us who do. Shameful…Comment by Diogenes — September 25, 2008 @ 4:55 pm
I agree with that statement.In the last county elections 78% of the people had more of a voice by not voting;than did 22% of the people who did vote.
If county and city residents want change,they have to get out and vote because, the incumbents supporters will most likely be voting. Candidates need to reach out to people who don’t normally vote to effect any kind of change in this CDA area IMO.
Reaching out to people who don’t normally vote, is going to be a challenging thing to do and how anyone would go about trying to attract new voters,is anybody’s guess.
When Dan ran for city council a year ago,I thought why not hold a webcast meeting through the internet and get the message out that way and allow people to ask questions online.Would that be a good idea?
Comment by kageman — September 25, 2008 @ 6:35 pm
Kageman, I think any idea to get people involved is a good one. Some will like a webcast, some will prefer a cup of coffee with 6 neighbors…it all works to get information out. More people vote on American Idol or Dancing with the Stars than for the local government that affects their lives.
Comment by mary — September 25, 2008 @ 6:43 pm
I wonder how many attended this morning’s forum.
Comment by Susie Snedaker — September 25, 2008 @ 7:53 pm
There are many reasons that people do not vote. And even more excuses. The most common being, I can’t change anything. And that is the most fallible.You can’t change anything if you don’t vote. A resounding “duh”. there. Then there is the lazy excuse or the I don’t have time excuse. Well, there is a brilliant solution to both. ABSENTEE BALLOT. I feel we should urge voters to apply for an absentee ballot. It is mailed to and from the home. This leaves no excuse for not voting. I have already received my ballot and, as a statement, have voted for Mr. Phenneger. While I vote, I do often feel I’m swimming upstream. I can’t help but hope that this egregious situation coupled with the devastating national economic news, will energize the voters. Hope does indeed spring eternal.
Comment by Diogenes — September 26, 2008 @ 10:31 am
Yes, Diogenes, I think it will energize others. A presidential election always gets people to the polls, especially in such a close contest.
Comment by mary — September 26, 2008 @ 11:12 am