McEUEN: A view from Post Falls
City Council is elected to make decisions for the city; therefore, it is important that council members make the decisions regarding the future of McEuen Park. City Council members are elected to represent the community and make decisions in the best interest of our city. Representation does not only happen during council votes, it also happens during the long hours council members spend at meetings and talking to people to learn about the issues and it happens when council members ask questions that concern us all. Because council members spend all this time hearing the different sides of each issue and have background information about how the city operates, they are in a much better position to make good "citywide" decisions than individual voters.
The community of Coeur d'Alene is much larger than the voters of Coeur d'Alene and council needs to consider this larger community when they make decisions - the individual voter only has to consider themselves. The businesses in the city are critical to the social and economic health of the city and many of these businesses are owned by people who live outside the city limits. Council must consider these businesses because these owners cannot vote. The American Legion baseball players are part of our community and most cannot vote. Second homeowners are a large part of our community's vitality and they cannot vote. A good portion of the Coeur d'Alene boating community comes from outside our city and they cannot vote. The children who play in the park cannot vote. And sadly the majority of registered voters will not vote. Council needs to consider all these interests when making a decision for the city.
Being a good council member is a tough job and I admire anyone willing to take it on. It takes a lot of work to understand the issues and sometimes a lot of nerve to cast an unpopular vote that your neighbor or even your spouse does not agree with. We have already voted and elected our council members and now our job is to make sure they understand our concerns so they can make the decisions they were elected to make.
Living in Post Falls I really don't have the right to comment on the issues concerning the Third Street launch. I used the launch quite a few times a few years ago, but then the city started charging double for the vehicle and trailer. I am retired. I could not afford the increase for parking, so started going to Higgens Point. It is quite a bit further but cheaper for me in the long run. As I was reading the article on the issue in Friday's paper I noticed that the city would be asking the LCDC for financial aid. I was just wondering, seeing as the LCDC gets their money from property taxes, which is the peoples monies from the taxing district. Why then are they not going to be allowed to vote on the issue? Seems that this is not the democratic way to do things. Being a few years older than I would like to be, I may not understand all the issues, but it just doesn't seem right. I will say, though, that the concept of the park as a whole is a good idea for the city. Thank you for your time.
GENE RETTER
Post Falls