In your message of January 24, you described the goals for our citizen
group as "communistic" which I assume means reeking of central planning,
the heavy hand of government, and all that old-fashioned stuff.
On the contrary, I believe that what we are all about is the
exact opposite. We are trying to involve our fellow citizens in deciding
their own future. What could be more democratic?
It seems to me that what we have now could be described as all
that old-fashioned planning and control by an elite group. The core
decision-makers (local bureaucrats, members of the planning commission,
elected officials, and those with a vested interest in development)
appear to me to act in a vacuum, too often independent of the wishes or
needs of the citizens. I think that most of the residents of this area
do not feel that they can readily communicate their opinions to this
decision-making group. Public input is too often a sham, too little and
too late.
Under our present system, we do not involve the people in the
initial envisioning process which directs the planning. Instead, we allow
comment at the end of the process, a yes or no statement in a public
forum, which is not conducive to citizen involvement nor a widespread
feeling of shared decision-making.
We advocate a community-based planning effort that gives all
residents a sense of real "ownership" of the future and the planning process.
Thanks for commenting on our proposed goals. Keep this
communication coming. BL
On Tue, 24 Jan 1995, Firac Dan wrote:
> I have written to ask D.F. how he found us ....
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
>
> On Sat, 21 Jan 1995, Priscilla wrote:
>
> >
> > Sorry I was slow on this. Please comment on this draft. Kenton may
> > want to incorporate into press release, which I think was our original
> > intention.
> > Goals:
> > To make sure that many and varied residents take part in visualizing and
> > planning for the community's future
> > To strengthen citizens' sense of community by promoting awareness,
> > ownership, and investment
> > To bring about collaboration between the various entities that plan for
> > and make decisions about the future of Moscow and Latah County
> > To raise awareness on the part of public officials and citizens that (a)
> > growth is not always good and (b) short-term decisions have long-term
> > consequences
> > To have fun thinking critically
> > To inform ourselves about growth and development issues so we're in a
> > better position to [lead?]
> > I tried to incorporate all the goals we articulated at our last few
> > meetings.
> > --PS
> >
>
> Dear Priscilla,
>
> Your message is rather communist !
>
> *********************************
> * Firac Daniel L.I.L.Caragiale *
> * danf@lphilc.sfos.ro *
> * Romania *
> *********************************
>