Minneapolis Observer: Council And Park Board Need To Work Together
Much has been made in the past week of the city's current Dutch elm disease crisis, and for good reason: Nearly 10,000 elms have been lost in the past year, and Park Board officials expect to lose a similar number in 2005. It's the sort of emergency that will require ample cooperation between the Park Board and the City Council. Unfortunately, there's little to suggest that such cooperation is going to be forthcoming.
Part of the reason has to do with structure. Park Board commissioners--as well as staff--have a tendency to exploit the Board's independent status by proposing (and sometimes implementing) initiatives without consulting with council members or their constituents. Recently, we witnessed a classic example of this behavior, when Park Board Superintendent Jon Gurban announced his intention to explore rebuilding Parade Stadium. Seventh Ward Council Member Lisa Goodman, who represents the area, was outraged that she had not been notified of the concept. This sort of arrogance cropped up again last week, when Park Board president Jon Olson appeared before the council to ask for help in dealing with the Dutch elm crisis.
Because Park Board arborists are scrambling simply to remove the diseased elms before they contaminate other healthy elms, Olson asked that the city's Public Works staff pitch in to help in various ways and that the city consider creating a place within the city limits where the diseased logs can be processed. This brought an outraged reaction from Council Member Scott Benson (Ward 11), who called it a "bail out" of the Park Board. Benson was especially perturbed by Olson's earlier remarks criticizing the council's inability to maintain the police force at acceptable levels of staffing and implying that the Park Board had better managed its budget. "Wouldn't you find that galling?" Benson asked Park Board Commissioner John Erwin.
Read entire article here: February 7 , 2005: Raves, Rants, and other Considered Opinions