Letter: Town council, URA should wait and see what the citizens say

Dear Editor:
The Meeker Urban Renewal Authority (URA) meets next Tuesday to evaluate responses to the latest Requests for Qualifications to construct and manage an Outdoor Adventure Center in the Town of Meeker. It is premature to move forward on this project. The Adventure Center is a significant issue for discussion in the coming election, and the URA should postpone any decision until voters have had an opportunity to register their opinions.
Plans for an Adventure Center are still in limbo. What businesses should it include? How should it be funded? More basically, is it a good idea, or are there better ways to provide a stable economy? The presence of an Adventure Center, as initially proposed, would completely change the character of downtown and would significantly disturb established neighborhoods.
Moreover, public money should not be diverted to a private enterprise. When taxpayers send checks to pay mill levies for the special districts – sanitation, recreation, library, schools, etc. – they expect those funds are going to provide those services, that everyone should pitch in fairly, and that levies should not be diverted to a financial juggling scheme to fund a for-profit business.
It is important that the Town consider other mechanisms for economic stability. We should question, fundamentally, whether we want growth and if so, what kind and how much. The community should engage in an open and thorough strategic plan. Better City seems to be driving the Adventure Center train full steam without judicious consideration of other less intrusive, more sustainable initiatives. Broadband provides such opportunities, and there are others.
The people in this community can generate good ideas and enterprise appropriate to our Town. Elections provide citizens an opportunity for serious discussion. Elections provide citizens a voice. The Town Council and URA should wait and listen.
Dr. Bob Dorsett
Meeker