EDITOR:
Harvey Greer sent the following letter to Parkville Mayor Nan Johnston and shared it with The Landmark.
Dear Mayor Johnston:
I have two purposes in writing this letter:
1) to thank you for your phone call concerning the proposed sports complex, and 2) to offer an idea that might be a way to bring to an end the rancor which has developed over this proposed project.
It appears to me that there are two matters which have created this mess. The first would be the failure of the City of Parkville to adequately communicate in the original ballot to the citizens exactly what was being voted on. The ballot had nothing about a sports complex being built. The second, which is a direct result of the first, is the growing distrust of the city government. In speaking only for myself, it seems the more I learn about what is going on and how things are being managed, the more disappointed I am in how this is being led by you and some of our elected officials (I do not place Tina Welch and Phil Wassmer in this category). I believe, and this is simply my opinion, there are many people who feel the same way as do I but have not expressed their thoughts. It seems there is an easy solution to this.
Why not start over and do it right this time? Why not have a special election on this single issue? It should be an election in which proponents and opponents both have the opportunity to express their thoughts. The key question is simply: Is this the way citizens of Parkville want millions of dollars to be spent? The pre-election period should include visual presentations of what is being proposed. I am not afraid of the results of such an election. If the people vote for the project, I will support that. If the opponents carry the day, I will support that.
The reason we are in this position, I believe, is that the public never realized that in voting to support our parks a sports complex would be constructed in one of our parks on the Missouri River (in a flood plain directly beside a wetlands area) and that it would cost in the millions. I can immediately imagine the response of those politicians who support the building of these fields. They will say that the cost of such an election is too high. My response to that is simple: Why not let the public decide how they want the funds spent? I am in favor building ballfields for our youth. I’m just not in favor of this location.
–Harvey Greer
Parkville