1912 center: proposal for dialogue

[Kenton Bird <kbird@uidaho.edu>]

Dear visionaries,
Priscilla Salant and I have submitted the following guest column to the
Daily News.  (It is written in advance of Monday's City Council meeting,
though we do not know whether it will run in Monday's paper.)
We welcome your ideas about how best to address public concerns about
the project.  Please reply to me directly at kbird@uidaho.edu
Thanks,
Kenton
***
Find common ground on 1912 Center

By Priscilla Salant and Kenton Bird

 A hot potato is back on the Moscow City Council’s plate.  Six months
after approving an ambitious plan to convert the 1912 Moscow High School
into an arts-sciences-senior center, the council tonight [March 6]  will
revisit the building’s uses, as well as its fund-raising methods and
schedule.
 Talking with our friends and neighbors over the past few months, we
have discovered how divided Moscow residents are about this project.
The lack of consensus threatens to undermine a worthwhile proposal with
great long-term community benefits.
 In one camp are skeptics whose concerns about oversight, hidden costs
and secrecy have been reflected in several Daily News editorials.  In
another are supporters who have volunteered time and donated money to
bring this project from drawing board to reality.  And in between are
many citizens who don’t know much about the building or its intended
uses.
 We are saddened and frustrated by this lack of common ground.  As
supporters of the 1912 Center, we hesitate to raise our concerns
publicly.  We know that the success of the fund-raising campaign hinges
on demonstrating broad-based community support.  Yet to ignore the
critics is to invite failure.
 Beyond the 1912 Center, this rift bodes ill for Moscow’s future.  If
bitter disagreements continue, will hard-working and imaginative
volunteers come forward next time a public project is proposed?  Will
donors large or small step to the plate?  Or will the hundreds of people
who have been involved behind the scenes choose to direct their talents
elsewhere?
 Some skeptics have raised legitimate questions about the 1912 Center’s
uses, financing and management – questions that deserve a respectful
hearing.  We are convinced that an open discussion and debate about the
critics’ concerns will strengthen the supporters’ inspiring vision for
the project.
 We are heartened that Mayor Marshall Comstock appointed a task force to
coordinate public awareness and fund-raising activities.  This group,
chaired by retired University of Idaho Professor Duane LeTourneau, is a
Who’s Who of community activism and energy.   Task force members have
met twice and are full of constructive suggestions.
 We also have nothing but praise for Tom Hudson, the project
facilitator.  Tom’s Moscow roots go back nearly a century.  He
recognizes that the 1912 Center is about more than preserving a historic
building – it’s an opportunity to bridge generations.  Tom believes that
as Moscow citizens embrace the concept, donations will follow.
Unfortunately, this isn’t happening as quickly as we supporters had
hoped.
 We encourage the City Council to extend the fund-raising timetable,
allowing the mayor’s task force time to promote the project, address
concerns and build consensus.  Toward that end, we call on supporters,
opponents and those without strong opinions to come together in a public
dialogue conducted in a spirit of civility and respect.  We don’t know
what form this dialogue should take, but we invite readers to contact
either of us with ideas.
 The 1912 Center has the potential to enhance the quality of life that
all of us in Moscow cherish.  Please join us in finding the best route
to reach that goal.

Priscilla Salant and Kenton Bird of Moscow are members of the Moscow
mayor’s task force on the 1912 Center.  The opinions expressed here are
their own.