McQuade decision Terry Brown DPPA board member Op. Ed. - Duluth News Tribune - Aug. 6 2000 (this Op. Ed. was written collaboratively by the DPPA board) In the last week of July, just as the hottest summer weather made its appearance, six Duluth City Councilors faced another kind of heat as they voted ``No'' to a request to lease Congdon gift land for the proposed McQuade boat launch. Since that night, councilors must have grown wary of picking up a newspaper or tuning in television news, considering the barrage of criticism that has been aimed at them. From Mayor Doty. From Senators Sam Solon and Doug Johnson. From the publisher of the Duluth News Tribune. But amidst the criticism, there has also been an approving chorus of everyday citizens who were inspired as they watched Duluth's elected officials stand up for the 1915 Congdon agreement that preserves this stretch of the North Shore for public use forever. And stand up, as well, for financial responsibility in choosing not to spend $8 to $10 million in tax dollars. Among those appreciative voices are the members of Duluth Public-Policy Alliance (DPPA), which extends its ``thank-you'' here to those six City Councilors: Gilbert, Stover, Fena, Eckenberg, Stewart, and Hogg. Why the thanks? Because, though this project had taken on a life of its own and collected the momentum of dollars and well-connected support, the McQuade boat launch proposal needed to be stopped -- and something better undertaken in its place. And it's not easy to stop such momentum, even when, as in this case, neither the location nor the process worked. Why didn't the location work? There is no natural shelter in the bedrock shoreline at McQuade. This stretch is open to the destruction of storm waves and is not deep enough to provide anchorage. Massive underwater blasting of Lake Superior rock would have been required, and a huge breakwater wall -- visible for miles -- constructed, at exorbitant cost. A good location, on the other hand, takes advantage of existing geographic features and works seamlessly with the land and water. Why didn't the process work? This launch -- and the commercial development that would doubtless have followed -- represents spotty land-use planning. As well, citizen input was stunted, with no truly representative surveys conducted and opposing views discouraged. Add to this a backward series of events that left obtaining the lease to the Congdon gifted land to the last minute, when it would be hard to say ``No,'' and you have a sour concoction destined to fail. A good process, on the other hand, might have included a North Shore Comprehensive Plan, the involvement of a wide range of citizens, and an up-front approach to securing land. It's been suggested that since the Councilors voted down McQuade, they should propose an alternate plan for that neglected area. While this stretch is dotted with unkempt buildings, this crumbling is to be expected when an area's future is uncertain, as this has been for a decade. Why spend money on maintenance when bulldozers might arrive at any moment? But since the gauntlet has been thrown, it's a good time to explore what we Duluthians want at McQuade. A proposal to build a Burger King on West Skyline Parkway was turned down recently by the City Council, in part to promote a more scenic entrance to Duluth from that direction. This could as well be the theme for McQuade from the east and Spirit Mountain from the west: Small parks serving as ``Welcome to Duluth'' gateways to our city. Such a theme would also remind us that special shore land is as beautiful as Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon and deserves the same protection. City officials would need to help inspire our citizens to share their visions for such Duluth gateways and then actually do something with those visions, not simply file them away. By doing so, we would not only encourage stewardship of these lovely areas -- and increase consciousness of such problems as shoreline erosion -- but also end these protection and land-use battles. And as part of this picture, we could support spending tax dollars on the harbors at Knife River and Two Harbors. That we are able to consider these ideas at all is due in great part to those six Duluth City Councilors, whose actions -- though vilified by some -- were an example of good democratic principles. This opportunity is also due to the citizens who attended and spoke at the Council that night. Though they have been dismissed by some as a ``small number of vocal individuals,'' these Duluthians, and others like them, are what open government and democracy are all about. Terry Brown is a member of the Board of Directors of Duluth Public-Policy Alliance, a group of citizens who work on issues of open government and responsible city planning in Duluth. Bring diversity to city of Duluth's citizen boards and commissions Barb Olsen Browne DPPA president Op-Ed piece - Duluth News Tribune Duluth's City Council is doing a great job. Councilors treat each other and the public with respect, they work to find compromises, and they take on tough issues -- like the nonsmoking ordinance. But there's another crucial issue they must take on: improving the frayed system used to appoint citizens to the city's most powerful boards and commissions. Though many of Duluth's boards and commissions exist only to help citizens communicate with city staff, a few have real clout, the kind of clout that affects the lives of Duluthians -- in a big way -- every day. Take the Planning Commission, whose members are hand-picked by the mayor. The Planning Commission reviews and approves proposals that result in major developments like Opus and the Technology Village. And it was the Planning Commission -- with no review by the City Council -- that decided no Environmental Impact Statement was needed for the proposed golf course at Spirit Mountain. The Spirit Mountain Board has enormous power as well. The Spirit Mountain Recreation Area is administered by an ``authority'' created by the Legislature and managed by a board of seven citizens who are appointed by the mayor and approved by the City Council. They have the power to construct buildings, lease and sell land, or build golf courses. When you read that something was ``approved by the Duluth Planning Commission,'' those words have an air of authority. They give the impression that the decision was given fair consideration by a group of citizens whose training and experience has prepared them well and who represent the diversity of people in Duluth. But let's look closer. Eight out of the current 13 members of the Planning Commission own or manage businesses, making for a lopsided representation by business. Not one has a background in city planning. No one represents labor, education or environmental groups. Few live in central or west Duluth; the majority live in the east end. These are the people who decided not to require an EIS for Spirit Mountain. And this same group recently approved a rezoning request that could bring a convenience store, gas station, and Burger King to the Thompson Hill area where the natural beauty of the hillside now greets us as we enter Duluth. And the Spirit Mountain Board -- who are its seven members? For starters, no one on the Spirit Mountain Board lives near the recreation area. Three live in the Congdon neighborhood; the others live near Hartley Park, Northland Country Club, St. Scholastica and Hermantown. They include a banker, a lawyer, a financial adviser, an educator and businessmen. No one on the board has training in natural resources, environmental management or recreation. Four of the Spirit Mountain Board members' terms expire this week, on June 30. The mayor has already selected replacements. Two are from Duluth's east end, one from Duluth Heights, and one from the Piedmont area. They include business people, a psychologist, and a school principal. Yet again, these appointments do not really serve the community. What do we need instead? The City Council needs to raise the profile of these appointments and encourage a broad spectrum of people to apply. They need to do more than simply ``interview'' those who are in reality already chosen, and they need to make sure the commissions have balanced representation. In the case of the Spirit Mountain Board, we need citizens from the 5th District -- the neighborhood that must live with the impacts of the recreation area. We need citizens who have experience in recreation and in managing natural resources. And we need citizens who might introduce new concepts -- like ecotourism -- to the board. It's true that it is the mayor's privilege to appoint whomever he chooses to these boards. But the City Council has the power to deny his recommendations. When the mayor is filling these important and powerful boards with people who do not represent the broad spectrum of Duluthians and do not live in the affected neighborhoods, the City Council must have the courage to say ``no.'' Soon, the City Council is scheduled to interview the mayor's candidates for the Spirit Mountain Board. It's time for the council to take these appointments seriously. If the mayor won't select a more balanced mixture of people for the Spirit Mountain Board, then the City Council should help him by encouraging a second look at the many enthusiastic and varied people Duluth has to offer -- people who can breathe new life into these boards and commissions -- and help breathe new life into the city. Olsen Browne is president of the Duluth Public-Policy Alliance, a group of citizens who work on issues of open government and responsible planning in Duluth. These articles are retained on the web for historical interest and do not necessarily reflect the views or goals of DPPA today.