CDA: Progress is killing the city

My family moved to Coeur d'Alene in 1970, from the east coast, when Coeur d'Alene really was Mayberry. Since then it has been ruined in the name of "growth and progress." With so many families unable to put food on the table without the help of the food bank and so many mortgages in foreclosure I CANNOT BELIEVE a $23 million park is EVEN BEING CONSIDERED! If Mayor Bloem and the City Council really want to invest in and secure the future of Kootenai County I have some suggestions!

If the average home in foreclosure could be brought out of foreclosure for $10,000 then we could bail 2,300 homes out with the money they want to spend on this park. That's 2,300 families that wouldn't be homeless. That's 2,300 families that wouldn't relocate somewhere else. That's 2,300 homes that the banks wouldn't own, thus freeing up their funds to build new homes, thus a shot in the arm for the MAIN industry of this area; NEW CONSTRUCTION. The only people who stand to gain from the new park are the people who own businesses on Sherman Avenue from First Street to Eighth Street! Guess who? Your mayor and city council members!

Don't be fooled, Coeur d'Alene. The mayor and city council members are out to line their own pockets. I say it's time to mount a RECALL effort! Recall Mayor Bloem! Let's get someone in there who SINCERELY has Kootenai County's BEST INTEREST at heart!

DENNIS COLLIGAN

Hayden