A HEADS UP FOR THE OCTOBER 3, 2007, PARK BOARD MEETING
It appears that this week's meeting will not be the marathon meeting that the last one was. The 4:00 P.M. study session on Crown Hydro was cancelled. Here are a couple of highlights:
5:45 PLANNING COMMITTEE. There will be a vote to approve the Comprehensive Plan as revised after the public meetings. But more important is the vote to approve the badly revised CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ORDINANCE. The proposed revisions will limit citizen involvement to MAJOR new park facilities or SIGNIFICANT redevelopment of existing park facilities, and only AFTER the projects have been proposed and FUNDED. Appeal times are shortened and there will be fees for citizen appeals.
So, essentially, all meaningful citizen participation is being discouraged and/or eliminated. What this means is that in the not-so-distant future Superintendent Gurban will not have to bother with convening a Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) for his new road at Parade.
What I have observed is that when the Park Board's administrative staff does not want to be bothered by a Park Board law or policy, the pesky law or policy is either revised or eliminated--and not in the best interest of transparent or accountable government.
Superintendent Gurban has publicly stated (in a speech at the Minneapolis Club) that citizen participation is "cumbersome." So it should be no surprise that the Citizen Participation Ordinance is being gutted. After all, the democratic process is a cumbersome one.
I participated in a Park Board CAC for the Cedar Lake Parkway Bridge a few years ago and it was an example of successful citizen participation.
I urge everyone who believes in a fair and open government process to contact his/her Park Board representatives and tell them that we want MORE transparency, MORE accountability and MORE citizen participation--not less.
Arlene Fried Co-founder of Park Watch.