vision2020
Re: 1912 center: proposal for dialogue
Good comments, Priscilla and Kenton! I am very much in favor of a phased
in approach to the 1912 Center at this point in the development. This
strategy worked with our City Hall, and will, I believe, have equal success
with this facility.
It seems that trying to meet the many needs of Moscow's young and
not-so-young residents in a short period of time may have overwhelmed a
community that's unusually generous and giving. Providing some breathing
space to the community by looking at a more long-range development of the
1912 Center may be wise. It took 20 years to turn the Old Post Office into
a City Hall we can all be proud of. It may take the same amount of time
for Moscow to have its wonderful Community Center. It will be worth it!
Lori Keenan
At 06:42 PM 03/05/2000 -0800, you wrote:
>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.
>
>
>
>
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