Jim Graham wrote:
These resolutions were not only agreed to by the 100 neighborhood representatives attending from 36 different neighborhoods, but that neighborhoods be asked to officially and formally consider and pass these resolutions or similar resolutions.I want to be a party of at least one to state that though there may have been some kind of consensus on tonight's resolutions and goals, there was not unanimity. Among other things I was troubled by the list of 9 "NRP Goals" that was put forward. Many of them were easy to agree to but others were not and really required much more time and deliberation. But those who had called the meeting and set the agenda by necessity had to push the meeting along and kept saying "we all agree to this, don't we?" In reality there was far too little time for a group of 100 people to come to true consensus on 9 different goals. (which we apparently did in about 30 minutes!).
For instance goal #9 states that NRP should get 1/3 ($11M) of the Community Development resources. This sounds good and I would love to see NRP funded to the tune of at least $11M annually, but there wasn't any discussion about who else wants that money or what else it might be needed it for. My guess is that there are a whole host of folks after that $33M development pie. And at this point I can't say that I would put NRP as priority #1 - taking 1/3 off the top. At least not until I have a bit more information.
I have great sympathy for the incredible amount of "stuff" that had to be covered tonight, but I felt as if most of what happened was pre-planned by a group of (dedicated) people who called 100 of us together with the assumption that we all agreed to what they had already decided upon. To be fair they did keep asking for feedback and saying "don't we all agree?" and we did tweak some of the goals but, as was stated, there wasn't time for word-smithing. It was too much for my poor little brain to digest and respond to. You know it just takes more than 30 minutes to get any group to create consensus about 9 core beliefs.
I can understand the urgency of all of this, sort of - with the city council voting on certain aspects of the budget on Friday. So I do have some sympathy here.
My hope was that we would have been able to find ways to work with the city council on this problem. Rather the basic assumption was that we were simply working with an adversary. (I can see some of you shaking your heads right now at what you are convinced is my total naivete.)
My hope is that we can find a way to clearly communicate to the city council that our strong and vibrant neighborhood organizations are one product of NRP, and that they are the backbone of this city and the source of much of its energy and innovation.
Take that message to the Mayor and to your city council member. Tell them how much you value NRP and about the vital role that you see for NRP in this city's future.
In the end my guess is that preserving NRP will require a whole host of approaches including many of those set forth at tonight's meeting. The important thing is that you make your voice heard. Make a call. Send an email, Write a letter. Send a postcard. Do something.
Paul Lohman
Lynnhurst
Paul Lohman
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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