It’s all about the process. That’s what we’ve been hammering on this site for months. Critics don’t want to address the lack of public process by some of our elected officials, they just want to make personal attacks on those asking for clarity and responsibility.
I’m being accused, on a different blog site, of not offering solutions. Here’s my answer:
The solution I have proposed, over and over again, is to improve the public process by holding open meetings and listening to the concerns, questions and ideas of the citizens.
No one can adequately problem solve without full information, and the NIC Board is controlling and withholding important info.
I do have lots of questions about the proposed Ed Corridor, though, here are just a few:
1. Where is the appraisal on the mill site property? Trustee Judy Meyer said it would be done last May. Now they are saying it’s not done yet and they don’t know when it will be complete.
2. The wastewater treatment plant has highly toxic chemicals delivered by truck on a regular basis, right through the middle of the proposed college campus. How will safety of the students be maintained?
3. What is the capacity of NIC right now? When will maximum capacity be reached? The student enrollment for NIC and U of I CdA both dropped last year. How long will the mill site accommodate predicted growth for the schools?
These are all reasonable questions which have not been answered, and there are many more. Additionally, NIC is using a financing process which bypasses the voters (but we will still pay) and they are not following responsible public process.
4. What is the impact on infrastructure to downtown Coeur d’Alene and Northwest Blvd.?
Comment by Dan — August 12, 2008 @ 3:21 pm
Dan asked about infrastructure. What about the sewer treatment plant? Is it going to need to be expanded. What happens if it becomes land locked and unexpandable? Are the powers that be going to have to tear down millions of dollars worth of building that the taxpayers are paying for to accomadate the expansion? I cannot believe those comments on that other site. They really do not want accountability?
Comment by concerned citizen — August 12, 2008 @ 4:32 pm
Those in favor of the Ed Corridor really do not want to answer the questions about the safely and traffic and maximum capacity, etc. Plus, they are fine with giving 1/3 the land to commercial concerns…could that be the main driver here?? The biggest question they do NOT want to answer is: How much will it cost the taxpayers of Kootenai County to pay for construction of the buildings, streets, parking and infrastructure for this project?
Comment by mary — August 12, 2008 @ 6:44 pm