McEUEN: Council only should vote

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.

CHET GAIDE

Coeur d'Alene

Editor's note: This letter was inadvertently merged with another letter Wednesday.