We need more info

It seems letter writer and municipal watchdog Bill Orr has a good point this week in his letter about the Standish Community Center proposal.

Orr is worried that the town has put the cart before the horse (the “cart” being spending money on community center-related land purchases and design fees, and the “horse” being tangible designs for the center and knowing the will of the people). Orr says before the town spends any money on community center-related expenses, voters deserve specifics as to what the project will cost and what features the center will have. And Orr is right.

The town has held two polling efforts trying to seek the people’s will concerning a community center. One was in the form of a telephone poll conducted a in early 2004. Key Club volunteers and committee members called Standish residents asking a series of questions about what they wanted in a community center. Most liked the idea in general. Some didn’t. A second poll of the community’s wishes was held this year. In that, 48 percent showed interest in some kind of community center.

While the Standish Community Center Committee has done a good job thinking about what they’d like the center to look like, they need to present a plan to the people before they can expect them to knowledgably approve or reject the proposal. Once they give a more concrete proposal, townspeople can begin discussing the center’s worthiness. But, until then, those being polled will be confused as to what they’re commenting on and their input, as well as these polls, as a result, won’t be taken seriously.

While they were noble attempts, the polls were too vague. Something that costs this much money – millions when you include land, construction, new employees and maintenance – needs a committee to draw up specific proposals and then present them to the voting public. Asking feedback from residents without giving them anything meaty to chew on is a waste of time and resources. Give the people the full scope and cost of the project and then get their reaction.

Without having a concrete idea of what a community center would look like and not really knowing what the people want, the Town Council is now faced with a decision to purchase a $325,000 parcel of land where a community center would be built. They are also faced with a decision to spend $20,000 on a down payment on the property.

While the land is in a good location – and recent history confirms that land is a hot commodity – the parcel is still quite expensive, and the town should refrain from purchasing any property until a referendum is held where the will of the people is made clear. Mainers, especially Standish taxpayers, don’t want their towns spending money they don’t absolutely need to. Salt, sand and teachers are necessities. A community center is a luxury. Land for a community center that voters haven’t approved is even more of a luxury.

The people may indeed want, and are willing to pay for, a community center. And, at first glance, it is commendable that community center members are involving the community in the design. However, leadership by polls is usually misguided. People will support most things until they get the details. The committee should give Standish taxpayers a realistic view of a community center, what it would cost, and then the people can give meaningful feedback. In other words, Standish should treat this the same way they treated the boat launch referendums and Pine Cove Beach proposal. Both efforts involved countless hours of drafting specific proposals in order to present something meaningful to voters.

And drawing up proposals for voters to approve is what committees, school boards and town councils should do. That’s what leaders do. They provide a vision. The people can either support or reject their leaders’ proposal. But until some specific plans are drafted and then approved, no money should be spent on the community center concept.

-John Balentine, editor