I have been following the News- Herald accounts of the progress of the community center process and have seen what I have long considered politics as usual in Cook County. True, the people did vote for the 1 percent tax and were aware that a portion was going to be used for new community center/swimming pool. My understanding at that time the proposed amount was around $3,000,000 for the community center/pool project. Somehow that project became $11,000,000 which the voters never voted for. I see now the steering committee is trying to figure out how to get that amount down to $9,500,000. Very good but still about three times the amount I thought was originally proposed.
People keep commenting that they did not vote for this project and the answer seems always to be “yes you did” and they are dismissed. In the article in the July 21 News-Herald a comment was made that the steering committee was disappointed by the poor public participation. Could that be because their input is always dismissed?
Having watched Cook County and Grand Marais politics for 40 years from afar, there is no question in my mind that the nineor 10-million-dollar community center will be built. There is also no question in my mind that in a very few years it will be discovered that it is a money loser and will have to be heavily subsidized. When that happens, where will the steering committee and county commissioners be? I am sure they will be offering to pay the subsidy on the monument that the voters have said should never have been built.
Jerry Anderson
Minneapolis
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