My Statement to the NIC Board of Trustees, May 28, 2008:
Good Evening Mr. Chairman and Members of the Board. It is with great optimism that I stand before you tonight. I am excited, as I hope you all are, that the need to make an immediate decision about Foregone taxes is no longer critical. The pressure has abated and there is now time for more public involvement and dialog about the Education Corridor.
Developer Marshall Chesrown told the Press last week, in an article published on Friday, May 23rd, that he would not move forward with any alternative plans to develop the Stimson/ DeArmond Mill property if you can’t come up with the money immediately.
He said he would not sell the land to another developer, for $20 million or even $30 million, and was quoted directly as saying “It’s not for sale.”
Mr. Chesrown was further asked if the deal would be cancelled if you, the college, couldn’t come up with the $10 million dollars by the end of next year? “No”, said Mr. Chesrown, “All bets are not off”.
Now, I realize he won’t wait forever, and he said as much to the Press reporter, but Marshall Chesrown said he won’t pressure you.
So, you can set aside your concerns about needing Foregone taxes and trying to hurry such an important decision. You can focus on the more important issue, which is improving public involvement, education and dialog on this subject.
I am here tonight to ask for a public Advisory vote on the Educational Corridor at the DeArmond Mill site. I will not go into all the many questions and concerns we in the public have about the safety, traffic, parking, construction costs, and development issues associated with this site. We all know that the decision to buy the land is just the first step; that it will commit the taxpayers of Kootenai County to a massive investment over the next several decades and that it will change the face of Coeur d’Alene forever.
This is a big decision. It’s a decision that should go to a vote of the people.
If you recall, back in 2004, there was a public open space proposal for the Hagadone Gardens in downtown. It was an idea that would have cost no tax dollars but would have changed the look of downtown and rerouted a main street. Many people were supportive, some had questions and many were against the idea. Not unlike the situation with the Ed. Corridor today. Back in 2004, the City Council decided an Advisory vote might be the best way to allow public input. Then councilman Ben Wolfinger said an Advisory vote was an “excellent opportunity”, and Councilman Ron Edinger said “Let the people weigh in, it’s a big decision”. (CdA Press, Dec. 8, 2004)
As you might also remember, the project was pulled from consideration by the applicant, so it never came to an Advisory vote decision. But the concept is the same today. This is a major decision. This decision will affect higher education in our whole region. We, the taxpayers of Kootenai County will pay for the project and we want to weigh in on this choice. You have heard many of our area’s State Representatives and Senators ask you not to rush this decision. Rep. Bob Nonini, Chair of the House Education Committee implored you to take more time for this decision and include the public. Representative Mike Jorgenson does not support the idea and Rep. Frank Henderson has requested an Advisory vote as well. Former Jobs Plus Director Bob Potter and Coeur d’Alene Mines CEO Dennis Wheeler have both encouraged you to re-evaluate this decision. And the local newspaper editor has written on the opinion page about his concerns and the need for more public information about this project.
These serious community leaders are publicly asking you to stop, to wait, to take more time and include the citizens in this crucial decision.
Please seize the opportunity offered by Marshall Chesrown and postpone tonight’s vote on Foregone taxes. Have more public meetings. Share the details, costs and plans. And please include an Advisory vote on the ballot in the Fall election. The public wants to be part of this major decision for the development of Coeur d’Alene and the future of higher education in all of North Idaho.
Thank you.
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Mary Souza has been a concerned citizen of CdA for over 20 years. She’s a local small business owner, former P&Z Commissioner and wrote an opinion column in the CdA Press on local issues. Her opinions are her own.
The Pachyderms will be featuring Mic Armon and Judy Meyer, NIC Trustees, at tomorrow’s meeting. 7:00 AM, CdA IHOP restaurant (I95 & 4th). Will you be there, Mary?
Comment by Dan — May 29, 2008 @ 1:48 pm
Dan, It’s not easy for me to rally for early morning meetings but for this one I’ll be there. I also just heard that Mayor Sandi Bloem will attend with Mic Armon and Judy Meyer. How,about it Dan, will you be there?
Probably need to be there by 6:40 to get a spot.
Comment by mary — May 29, 2008 @ 2:07 pm
Mary, I’ll see you at IHOP. Dan, I hope you can attend. Could either of you speak as to the tone of last evening’s NIC Trustee meeting? Thanks.
Comment by doubleseetripleeye — May 29, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
I was not at the Trustees meeting. I had a homeowners association meeting that was important me. Tomorrow morning, as I do every Friday, I drive my kids to school. Because of that, I am unable to attend the Pachyderms club, though I would really, REALLY want to be there. The Pachyderms are a lively, informed bunch — active citizens exercising their rights to ask questions of public officials. To think that’s a bad thing is not to understand how our government should work.
Comment by Dan — May 29, 2008 @ 4:25 pm
DoubleSee: Last night’s Trustee meeting went like this: The room was full of well-known Stakeholders as well as many NIC staff, etc. They were unveiling NIC’s strategic plan, which was nice but had minimal substance because its action plan will not be complete until July. But the room was full of people. When the meeting started, Public Comments were nearly the first item. I was the only person signed up to comment. I spoke for about 5 minutes while the Board members were generally looking down or away. There was some eye contact from a couple of them. At the end of my remarks, there was total silence. I walked back to my seat. There was a short pause and the meeting went on.
In the hundreds of meetings I’ve attended as a Nurse Educator, Business Owner and even my 6 years on P&Z, I’ve never seen anything like it. It seems very unprofessional not to at least thank a presenter for their remarks.
But I don’t take it personally. It is the way they always operate, I’m told.
These people represent us ?
Comment by mary — May 29, 2008 @ 4:42 pm
Not even a “thank you for your comments”? Unbelievable, that should be an automatic response from the moderator. Really bad manners, seems like.
Comment by reddy — May 29, 2008 @ 4:58 pm
Mary,you mentioned the Hagadones Garden proposal and said:”It was an idea that would have cost no tax dollars”.Dave Patzer,who is on LCDC’s board and who made several comments on my CDA PRESS blog said:”The proposal that I saw from the Hagadone group had LCDC picking up the cost of the reroute of Sherman ave around the garden grounds area. So this project would certainly have cost the taxpayer major money. It was not going to be free”.
Comment by kageman — May 29, 2008 @ 6:08 pm
Thanks for the correction, Kageman. It’s nice to see an LCDC person refer to the money they control as taxpayer money! Which of course, it is, but they usually don’t paint it that way. Was there a proposed price tag for the street reroute? My no-taxpayer-money label should have only been on the Gardens themselves and the perpetual maintenance of them, all of which Hagadone had promised to pick up.
Comment by mary — May 29, 2008 @ 6:38 pm
Mary, I had an identical experience 2 weeks ago at the first budget hearing at NIC, where I was the only member of the public to present, in writing, concerns about the process for the purchase of Stimpson Mill site for an education corridor. Only worse. Not only did I not get an acknowledgement of my remarks, but Trustee Vielselmeyer procdeed to lecture why he supported the proposal, the whole time looking straight at me seated directly in front of him in a seat a few rows from the front. Then he defiantly seconded Wood’s motion to approve the use forgone taxes.
Comment by Gary Ingram — May 29, 2008 @ 7:14 pm
The Gardens were a cool proposal, but in my opinion too small and too obstructive to downtown traffic. Even so, Mayor Bloem saw wisdom in taking it to an advisory vote of the people. Like the Education Corridor, that project divided the community. But now, she fails to see that wisdom, even though every one of the elected EC cheerleaders says over and over that there is wide public support for the project. Something smells.
Comment by Dan — May 29, 2008 @ 7:18 pm
Oooh, Gary, I didn’t realize your experience was even worse. What is with these people? Do they not realize they are representing the public…and we are the public? This is not good customer service!
Comment by mary — May 29, 2008 @ 7:53 pm
mary and gary i can’t help to notice that in recounting your experience with making public comments before the board that in each instance you were, as gary says, “the only member of the public to present”. could it be that most folks don’t care one way or the other about this proposal? for whatever reasons it obviously means a great deal to each of you, but perhaps not to the public at large.
Comment by reagan — May 29, 2008 @ 8:47 pm
Regan, I can see where you might think that but, judging from my email and the comments and questions I get from folks all over town, I know that’s not true. Gary and I are both pretty tough old birds. And it takes that to stand up in some of these uncomfortable situations. Also, Gary and I are both fairly independent when it comes to our livelihood. Most people in town cannot speak out because their jobs will be at risk. I am not exaggerating this point one bit.
Comment by mary — May 29, 2008 @ 8:53 pm
Good observation, reagan. The public isn’t really concerned with things until they know about them. They are more preoccupied with bread and circuses, or I should say beer and football.
On the surface, the Education Corridor is a no-brainer. It should be. But when you look the details you find them lacking. Then you discover that elected officials are not working on their due diligence. I believe that the goal of the Trustees and Mayor Bloem is to rely on the superficial feel-good aspects to get this thing done quickly. If it were planned out, described, involved the public, then that would be great. But their actions tell me that more is involved here than meets the eye, which is why I question the deal.
And note that I question the deal. The education corridor is an idea with merit. I’d prefer it to be a park myself. But like all ideas, I’d like them discussed in the public arena and not hidden, as is being done now.
Comment by Dan — May 29, 2008 @ 8:59 pm
reagan…. Many citiznes are aware that dissenting opinions are unwelcome and that they will be subject to personal derision for speaking them at public meetings. Recall the wonderful examples provided by our CdA City Council. If you’re there to rally their points you are welcome and treated with respect. If not then you are grilled, belittled and chastised, in public. That truly makes people wonder what these same people do to such contrary citizens with the public powers they officially wield. It is scary to speak out around here.
Comment by Wallypog — May 30, 2008 @ 6:47 am
Around here, Wallypog, we call it the Culture of Intimidation. It would be fun to name all the wee piglets around town who are motivated to vocally support an agenda out of fear of losing their job. It’s my goal to change that culture.
Comment by Dan — May 30, 2008 @ 9:34 am
Reagan, I agree with Wallypog. I cannot understand why the mayor and council members sit in stony silence when the public comments. The lack of dialogue leads me to wonder if they were listening or if they didn’t understand the gist of the comment or if they were simply disinterested or if they simply would prefer to ignore the issue or is it simply arrogance or all or some of the aforementioned.
I would like to see individual council members write a guest editorial from time to time on pertinent non quasi-judicial issues facing the city. At least the public would have an idea as to their concerns.
Comment by Susie Snedaker — May 30, 2008 @ 10:38 am
Good idea, Susie.
Comment by mary — May 30, 2008 @ 11:23 am
And I’d like to see council members refrain from making snide remarks at meetings. I don’t know if they think it’s funny, or maybe they’re trying to lighten up the air, but it doesn’t sound good. Example: Susie S. spoke at a meeting about non-compliance with residential zoning and a raesidence having a bunch of non-related people living in it. One of the council members made a “cute” remark about having 8 (I think) living in his home and would that make it illegal? Another one by the same council member was made when the mayor announced a meeting; he asked “cutely” if there would be a charge to attend, referring to the earlier Pachyderm meeting where there was a dinner charge. I sometimes wonder if they all have their own assignments, and his is court jester?
Comment by reddy — May 30, 2008 @ 12:28 pm
Susie, the council behaves that way because their decision process is already completed and any public comment is just wasting their time.
It was the Mayor who said “No vote is necessary because the people elected us to make decisions such as going ahead with the educational corridor” at the NIC public meeting. I was “floored” with her statement. Now Christi is defending herself with the same answer.
We need to vote out the leaders who are not accountable to their community.
Comment by LTR — May 30, 2008 @ 12:42 pm
Public comment can always be made at City Council meetings. I wonder if the Coeur d’Alene City Council would be up for another marathon session such as when Huffaker’s housing project was presented. Subjecting them to a long line of non-supporters five minutes at a time might be fun.
Comment by doubleseetripleeye — May 30, 2008 @ 3:00 pm
LTR, I agree. My comments during the public comment time include topics not on any agenda. I find it alarming that the city either cannot or will not enforce some of the adopted ordinances.
By the way, the Huffaker appeal was pulled from the agenda.
Comment by Susie Snedaker — May 30, 2008 @ 9:00 pm