Which Model of Oversight Worked Best?
Posted by slackmeyer
on December 13, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Now that the campaign is over, lets delve a bit into promises and whats to follow. MAPS 3 has the power to turn downtown into something spectacular. But to quote one acquaintance, were at a crossroads we can either make a good downtown great or a good downtown bigger.
Last spring Mayor Mick Cornett promised a public discussion and forums would take place over the summer to determine what would be on the MAPS 3 ballot. That never happened. And that matter is over. During the campaign he promised an oversight board would provide a proper check over how the projects would be implemented, similar to the groups that oversaw the original MAPS and MAPS for Kids.
And now were reading
this.
I was there for the first oversight board, and have gotten to observe enough of the MAPS trust group to see how it operates.
The first board was frustrated by its lack of any power, and acted out accordingly to get its point across. There were times when members of the original oversight board would spend hours and hours studying an issue, only to find their voice muted by an influential person who only needed 30 minutes of time with a council member to get them to ignore the urgings of the oversight board.
With such problems commonplace during the early days of MAPS, oversight board members resorted to holding press conferences and theatrics to get their message heard.
No such situation has taken place with the MAPS for Kids Trust, which has veto power. And interestingly enough, Mayor Mick Cornett hasnt identified a single instance where the MAPS for Kids Trust model hasnt served this city well.
Will any of this matter with MAPS 3? That depends on your perspective. Does it matter where a convention center will be built? Will it matter where the streetcar routes are located? Will council members, including the mayor, recuse themselves from votes where any of their campaign contributors have a vested interest (the citys most notable residents own land in the Core to Shore area).
The council meets at 8:30 .m. Tuesday at 201 N Walker and residents can voice their opinions at the end of the meeting.
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