skating rinks, etc.

["Lois Melina" <lmelina@moscow.com>]

Visionaries,
We have been skating around an important community discussion with our
recent postings on the skateboard park and now the lack of skating rinks:
to what extent is it the responsibility of government, i.e., the citizens
of a community, to provide recreation opportunities for children and
adults?  When the city of Moscow builds a pool and subsidizes its operating
costs through its parks and rec budget, does that serve a common good or is
it government subsidizing the activities of a few? 

We have parks in Moscow that are maintained by the city. If recreation
should be self-supporting, how can we justify the expense of maintaining
those parks? If SOME recreational activities are the responsibility of
government, but not all, which ones? The ones we've always subsidized, like
ball fields? or new forms, like skateboard parks? Why a swimming pool and
not a laser tag center? 

If 70 percent of the voters feel a pool is so vital to a community that
their tax money should build it, why should their tax money not be expected
to subsidize it to some extent so as to keep it accessible to the majority?
How to we as a community decide that we'd prefer an ice skating rink to an
Office Depot and let our government officials know that if a skating rink
(like a pool) is not a viable enough business to attract a private
developer, we'd like to develop it as a community and subsidize its
construction and operation?

*****************************
Lois Melina
Editor, "Adopted Child" newsletter
P.O. Box 9362
Moscow ID 83843 USA
1-208-882-1794
orders: 1-888-882-1794
fax: 1-208-883-8035
Email: Lmelina@moscow.com
http://www.raisingadoptedchildren.com