Recall misses the boat

As someone who was born in Coeur d'Alene and grew up here in the 1950s and 60s, I have followed the McEuen Field debate and associated recall effort with great interest.

At the heart of the opponents' argument seems to be a couple of common threads:* The field/boat launch/parking areas are fine as is and adequately serve all the citizens of the city (and surrounding areas).

* The Mayor and City Council members (subject to the recall effort) are ignoring the wishes of its citizens by not subjecting their majority decisions to an advisory vote.I happen to take great issue with both points. First, as I noted, I can claim some "bragging rights" as a native of the area who has used the field and other facilities off and on most of my life. I have been both a player and an observer of games on the baseball field. Later on I played a few seasons of softball on those fields.

My boat has been launched and retrieved a number of times using the boat launch. As a longtime business professional, I have parked on the subject lot thousands of times. Having said this, it is plain to me that these facilities do not come close to serving the needs of the vast majority of our citizens - the ones who don't play baseball/softball or launch boats, etc. It could be so much more and that is what our city leaders are trying to accomplish! In addition, in making the improvements they have committed to not eliminating any of these facilities until appropriate replacements are in place.

Back when I was president of the Cd'A Public Library Foundation trying to raise funds to build the new library, the Foundation invited a nationally known architect and designer of several prominent libraries in the country to Cd'A to discuss our project. I recall standing with him on the upper elevations of Front Avenue gazing out over the lake. He said something to the effect that the lake and Tubbs Hill gave our city a presence and a beauty that any other city in the world would envy. He went on to say that for the life of him, though, he couldn't understand why we allowed a boat launch and a huge parking lot full of cars to obscure that view! I agreed then and still agree-we can do better. The same can be said for the other facilities-we can do better.

The second point is also sadly misdirected. Our system of representative government requires we elect people to office and then allow them the ability to make decisions for the good of their citizens. If those citizens do not like those decisions, they have the right to elect different representatives at the next election. The interim recall effort is divisive/destructive and smacks perhaps of some hidden motives on the part of the organizers (many of them the same crew that seems to be against just about anything that involves change for our city).Finally, on a more personal note, I know the Mayor and the council people subject to the recall. I have worked with them on a number of occasions including the new library and the new Hospice House. I believe they have acted in the best interest of the citizens they serve on these projects and others such as the Kroc Center, Educational Corridor and now the McEuen Field renovation. Instead of subjecting these leaders to a recall election, we should be applauding them for the great job they do in seeing that our city government is one of the "best in class" in the whole country. Our police and fire departments are first rate. Our streets are kept in good repair and plowed in the winters. Our park system is superb. I could go on but, suffice it to say, great organizations only exist because of great leadership at the top.

I believe that the citizens of Coeur d'Alene need to show their united support to these dedicated leaders and give them a vote of confidence by simply saying "NO" when asked to sign the recall petition.Jon Hippler is a Coeur d'Alene resident.