Rah-Rah-Rah or….Nah?

For years, the BOE and Town have discussed the Lower Columbia Field. Now that most machine-supported BOE representatives are no longer on the BOE, the Council appears to be trying to add public pressure through a ballot measure with only partial information available to the public while they are still in negotiations with the Board of Education.  

Based on this week’s agenda, the Mayor and Council will decide on whether to have the public vote on this issue. Here is the interpretive statement you may see on the ballot if approved:

It seems to be such a perfect arrangement – the Town secures more money for the field while the School District gets priority on the use of the field.

But is it really that simple?

According to the presentation by the Recreation Department (apparently supported by the Mayor and Council), it is.  Why hasn’t the BOE spoken about this issue?  Could it be because the problem was thrown under contract, limiting their ability to say anything?

Why aren’t the details of the proposed lease agreement available to the public?

Why has the Recreation Department yet to discuss this at a BOE Meeting – why only at Town Council?  The fact that the only discussions with the BOE have been in Committees the public has no access to, raises concerns about the limited public input in this matter.  This one-sided communication is not only unfair but also leaves the public in the dark about crucial details.

It may be helpful to look at the history here to get some insight….

It is interesting to note that the Recreation Department presented to the BOE Finance Committee in 2023.  They should have presented their plan publicly at a BOE meeting if they intended to bring all BOE members along the journey.  Instead, they chose a public presentation at a township meeting.

Then they chose to meet the Athletics Committee, again only a subset of the Board. Now, they are poised for a ballot question without engaging the entire Board and having a very open and transparent Q&A session.

Why would they do this?  

One hypothesis is that they don’t think the full Board is going to support this plan. I’m also curious as to whether they feel public support would be strong if members of the community understood the full details of the plan. So what better way to force the Board and make them a scapegoat for not wanting “what’s best for the kids“.  If you don’t think this is the tactic they plan to use, then you missed some important Town Council Meeting last year where the head of Recreation wondered out loud as to why anyone would be opposed to the plan.

It’s like someone asking the public for their opinion about a merger without working with the other company directly and then screaming foul once the proposal is rejected.

This tactic is not new to our town council members, who have recently used grandstanding at BOE meetings, social media posts, and online petitions against recent Board decisions.  

It should be noted that the 2023 Finance committee comprised of the past Board majority- Penna, Cianciulli, Young.

Are all these tactics meant to destabilize a young board trying to repair our District in the interest of political objectives?

Given all the repair work that has to be accomplished within the District, why is the Township trying to make this the priority now?

Why is this issue being made so public this year by the Mayor, Council, and head of the Recreation Department?

One wonders why the Board didn’t vote to affirm the Lower Columbia plan back in 2023 when it was first presented and the Board was more sympathetic to the political machines in Town.

One can also wonder whether thousands of dollars are going to pass through both Council political campaigns this year to push this message – in addition to whatever messaging the Town’s public relations firm puts into this effort.  

If they want your vote on the field, have them do it properly—full disclosure on the lease agreement and a public discussion at a BOE Meeting.  

I emailed the Mayor and Council requesting the lease agreement over the weekend but have not heard back – the vote on this item is tonight.

If they respond that they can’t release the agreement’s details because it is under contract review, we should ask them why they would put something on a ballot while negotiations are ongoing and the BOE cannot speak to the details.

Copy of Resolution

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