Re: Office depot, skating rink, & other things...

[Ken Medlin <dev-plan@moscow.com>]

> But  it is not the business of
>government to provide such services.
Only, however, if the public agrees to tax itself for it. Most urban 
stadiums and domes are heavily subsidized, at the outset, by public 
funds, usually bonds or outright user taxes ("fees") levied against the 
public. College facilities are publicly financed. We ought to be able to 
create public, non-proft corporations to build and operate recreational 
facilities for our children that will provide low-cost entertainment and 
child development options. It's an investment in our future and ought not 
to be "only for profit". Circus and carnival enterprises are a very 
different category. But non-profits under a citizen board and managed by 
private entrepreneurs with business experience ought not to be very 
difficult to create. The community can do what it wants; it only needs to 
be well informed, obtain professional and business counsel, and then make 
a decision. The Ernst affair came about, it seems to me, through a near 
total lack of public information, discussion and goal-setting. Town 
meetings and forums can prevent such derelictions, no?

------------------------
William K. Medlin
Dev-plan associates
930 Kenneth Street
Moscow ID 83843
208/892-0148
dev-plan@moscow.com