[Vision2020] RE: Foot In Mouth Disease

[Reynolds, James]

Mr. Twigg,



If you think going to workshops to plan how to blow taxpayers money is
hard work then I would suggest you don't have much of a real job. Many
of us would love the luxury of having such time to fritter away,
especially when it involves spending other's money.

If your group really only wants more fields then why wasn't there more
support for the new high-school and new grade-school  which would have
had ball fields associated? Putting it with the school district also
supplies professional supervisors for the kids instead of relying on the
unknown potential crackpot for a coach. 

The location of the proposed complex is wrong, wrong, wrong for the
advertised complex. How can any group of viable adults plan 300 cars to
be congregating (and coming and going between games) in a spot that has
a single access? Were any of you at the workshops awake? The distance
away from the children is another obvious blunder in the site selection.
How many children will have reasonable access to that site for their own
recreational uses? Can you picture sending a child of say 11-12 years
old to go play in the new complex?

If you want to personalize my comments fine but don't think for a minute
that I am ashamed of anything I say.

The Costner analogy has to do with the predictions by the Director of
Recreation that the tournaments (22/year he claimed) would be a great
boon to the local economy. Costner built the field at great cost to his
farm and the only ones who showed up were ghosts. That is exactly where
this will lead. No way is there such a gathering of ballplayers in the
region who are dying to come here and play ball. Pipe dream and silly.

You are correct that I am one of these co-authors of the letter. I stand
by that letter as well as a similar letter I have written to the Council
and Mayor. The alternative plan as proposed by the Calverts and designed
by Rowen is a good compromise. I do not however trust the current local
government. Their word does not hold. The 1912 building, the Alturas tax
giveaway, and the incubator stand as monuments to their trustworthiness.
"No tax moneys will be used for these projects".

It is of great importance to me that this complex is scaled down to the
size of the alternative plan (giving two new ball fields for children).
If we do this right the 2.9 million dollars could put ball fields in a
few locations in town making them much more useful to the kids than
jamming it all in one distant location.     


James Reynolds
1424 Borah ave
Moscow ID

-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Twigg [mailto:bentwigg at turbonet.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 2:59 PM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Cc: Reynolds, James
Subject: Foot In Mouth Disease

Mr. Reynolds, 

A number of points in response: 

1. Most importantly, I believe your message generally misrepresents the
interests of local youth sports programs. I can say with a certain
degree of authority, experience, and confidence that the vast majority
of us who are actively involved with youth sports in Moscow simply
want/need additional fields for current and future participants in youth
sports programs. 

2. You wrote: "There is a big difference between the swimming pool and a
PA system with over-excited announcers and a crowd of 300 cheering or
booing."
As various representatives of youth sports programs, including me, have
indicated, we are very willing to compromise on various aspects of the
playfields project, including the sound system and number of seats for
fans.
Personally, I have no problem with eliminating the sound system and
keeping the number of seats to a minimum. From my perspective, the
ultimate goal is, purely and simply, to meet the needs of the players. 

3. You also wrote: "Organized sports tournaments are not at all like a
swimming pool." I don't necessarily disagree here. I believe the City's
economic impact estimate drastically overestimates the number of
tournaments that would actually be hosted at the playfields. Again, this
is an area where many of us who are involved with youth sports have
expressed willingness to compromise. Personally, I would support
limiting the number of tournaments to a number far below the City's
estimate. 

4. I don't really understand your Kevin Costner analogy. I would be
happy to respond to it, if you explain it further. Frankly, however, it
doesn't strike me that these comments represent an attempt to engage in
constructive dialogue. 

5. Regarding the cost of the project, I confess to being somewhat "out
of the loop," but I will say that I certainly support minimizing the
cost of a facility that meets the needs of our kids. 

6. You also wrote: "...you just want to pick my pocket and ruin my
neighborhood so you can sit on that cooler and remember when you were so
good." I can only laugh at this statement, as it could not be further
from the truth. If you only knew of the professional and financial
sacrifices I have made to work with and for kids in Moscow. Shame on
you, Mr. Reynolds, for suggesting that these are my/our intentions for
supporting this project.


7. If you are the Jim Reynolds who co-wrote the letter to the editor
that appeared in the Daily News a couple weeks ago (that letter appears
below), I believe your remarks here are incompatible with the themes of
compromise, respect, and collaboration that your letter endorses. If
not, I apologize for mistaking your identity. 

Mr. Reynolds, you have cited the sound system, seating, tournaments, and
cost as reasons you oppose this project. May I presume that you will
support this project if concessions are made in these areas?

Ben Twigg

>>>

Kudos to the Calverts, the associated committee and architect/landscape
designer Brenda Rowen, for proposing a new design plan as a viable
alternative for the Palouse River Drive ballpark (Daily News, Nov. 4).

This move toward compromising with our community to provide a more
family friendly environment, demonstrates what can be accomplished when
town members come together to respectfully resolve their collective
issues.

The revised plan is one in which there will be: less financial impact;
reduced need for electricity; less required maintenance; less impact
from sound and lighting to the arboretum and surrounding neighborhoods;
and a greater emphasis on water conservation.

The addition of an open field with more greenery makes this community
recreation area appealing to everyone. Congratulations also to Nancy
Chaney and the new council members.

We are very excited about the potential for increased collaboration
between our newly elected officials and the citizens of Moscow. The
collaborative process is crucial to ensuring that our community remains
just that: our community. It is our hope that Moscow's new government
continues to solicit timely input from residents and that the democratic
process guides your decision making toward the best interests of the
entire town. Best wishes for the future.

Beth & Jim Reynolds, Moscow

>>>

Mr. Reynolds originally wrote: 

I can understand that the Mayor might get tired of hearing the same
thing from so many different voices but I cannot understand his
dismissing it out of hand. The reason he has heard it so much is that it
is a great concern to many community members. There is no comparison in
Moscow to what is being proposed. There is a big difference between the
swimming pool and a PA system with over-excited announcers and a crowd
of 300 cheering or booing.
Visit the Kibbie dome during a basketball game then you will see what we
neighborhood folks are worried about. Organized sports tournaments are
not at all like a swimming pool.

This whole project has the looks of a Kevin Kostner (sp) movie. We shell
out
2.9 million dollars for a playfield and hope they will come. Where are
they playing now that they are going to be so willing to come here to
play baseball? We could contract out leveling, putting in an irrigation
system, and seeding the fields a whole lot cheaper than that and such
created fields would serve the children just as well. Where is this huge
sum of money that is leaving our pockets going? It seems to me that it
may be going to sooth the disappointment a few over-the-hill ball
players had of loosing their bid for the big leagues. The kids will
actually get more out of and enjoy more a pick-up game with friends than
having to undergo the brutal expectations of vicariously living parents.

You don't get my vote for this ill-thought plan of yours. It doesn't
seem as if you are looking for votes though, you just want to pick my
pocket and ruin my neighborhood so you can sit on that cooler and
remember when you were so good. Darn right I am touchy about this!

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