Re: Alturas Technology Park

[Greg Brown <gregb@alaskapacific.edu>]

JS M wrote:

> You raise some very valid points, however I'm sure every member of City
> staff, the entire Planning Commission, and all the City Council will tell
> you that the public has had an opportunity to review and respond to any
> proposal the City has undertaken.  The problem isn't so much with the
> process, it's with participation.

     The problem is both process and participation.  A poor processleads to poor
participation.  Poor participation leads political
leaders to believe that people aren't interested and thus
fewer opportunities for participation are offered.  The viscious
cycle is complete.  Trust in governance is the casuality.  It takes
strong, progressive leadership to break the cycle.

    I once had former Council member Mardi Baron chastise
me for requesting greater public participation in the Walmart
decision.  That particular decision was an "inside" job and
not even the Council members knew what they were voting on.
And yet, Mardi defended the decision process by saying the
public had its chance.  She stated something to the effect,
"What do you expect us to do, drag people off the street?"
To this I can only respond, "Yes...if that is what it takes..."
I have a different view of governance than she...if people won't
come to you, you need to go to them.  I see a government
responsibility and obligation to design effective participation
systems.

   Let me try the parent analogy...if your child were on
the edge of the road with traffic, you could technically fulfill
your parental obligation by warning the child about the cars.
But if you had a history of communication problems with
your child (similar to the communication problems inherent
in government/general public relations), would you consider
this verbal warning sufficient?  Do you not have a parental
obligation to go beyond the verbal warning to actually ensure
that your child understands the importance of the message,
taking that child by the hand and leading them across the
street?  The complexity of government requires some general
public hand holding.  Nothing wrong with that.  In fact, I would
call it good parenting just as I would call good government one
that reaches out and finds creative ways to encourage
participation.

> How hard to you have to beat the public
> to make them show up at a Council Meeting?

  How far would you go to communicate to your child?--
Greg Brown, Associate Professor
(gregb@alaskapacific.edu)
Alaska Pacific University
(907) 564-8267
Fax: (907) 562-4276