McEUEN: Opponents outnumber supporters

Mayor Bloem has stated in public that the recent election has changed nothing about her plan for McEuen, apparently convinced that she, the council and a select group of developers should make all the decisions for the rest of us, in spite of us. We are expected to sit back, be quiet and "respectful" and pay our taxes!

So much of what Coeur d'Alene is today can be traced back to its roots in life as previous generations lived it. Early indigenous peoples... the lumber industry... the mining industry... railroads... lake and river steamers... etc. Coeur d'Alene has a distinctive past centered on the lake. The plan for McEuen ignores this past, literally sanitizing it and smothering it with "stuff" borrowed from other cities and park environments around the country (second-hand thoughts... "pass-me-downs"). Imagine how it would feel if developers were campaigning to replace the Statue of Liberty with nondescript high-rise buildings supported by taxpayer dollars. Our mayor's plan for McEuen ignores the opportunity to memorialize the past, present and future of our wonderful city.

It is not too late for the public to make their views known. McEuen is a slap in the face, an insult to the wisdom, the feelings and the wishes of the community... advocated by a limited group that will benefit them and a limited area of Coeur d'Alene. There are about 45,000 of us, versus probably fewer than 50 of them... with those kinds of numbers, we should prevail!

FRANK ORZELL

Coeur d'Alene