Letter: Ft. Steilacoom Park Amphitheater meeting

Pat Price says

May 12, 2014 at 11:05 am

While my response is much too long for publication I am sure, the following are my observations of the public meeting regarding the amphitheater proposal. I attended because I have not made a decision regarding the benefit of such a facility and came to learn more about the project under consideration.
I agree that Mary made an outstanding effort during the presentation for comment on the amphitheater in Fort Steilacoom Park. I was totally impressed with her ability to run that meeting, she clearly explained the purpose and goals of the meeting, and was skilled as she responded so kindly to the hostile and at times, rude, comments that she had to field. She began the meeting clearly explaining that this was the first meeting and the purpose was to get comments from the citizens for matters that should be considered appropriate to a project of this nature.
At the beginning of the meeting, she told the attendees that:
• The idea of the amphitheater in Fort Steilacoom Park was one of many ideas under consideration by the City.
• It was something to be considered but no decisions had been made.
• No City funds had been expended.
• Representatives of the Lakewood Rotary were attending to listen to the community comments as they considered a community project to support.
• The presentation materials had been provided by volunteer hours given by members of the Rotary at no expense to the City.
• It was the initial public meeting to gather the comments and concerns of the citizens of Lakewood.
• There were many matters to be considered in a project of this nature, including the environment, impact on animals and flora, meeting building codes, neighborhood impact, noise considerations, parking and traffic considerations, and the best and highest use of the park.
The City wanted to have a discussion and public comment on the budding idea of having a facility like this in the park. I was impressed with her ability to have an open discussion on the subject and kindly react to accusatory comments that she repeatedly explained were not true.
I did not object to any of the points brought up by the attendees but was frustrated with the hostile tone that was used when those points were raised and the same questions being repeated. Having attended an untold number of public meetings, I was totally impressed with Mary’s ability to maintain her positive demeanor.
I was disappointed to observe attendees make disparaging comments to others when they made comments that did not represent their point of view. Each person had the right to voice his or her opinion. At one point, an attendee commented that she did not have a dog or a child to use those facilities at the park, but she would enjoy public events as might be available if an amphitheater was a viable project. Someone in attendance made a hurtful and nasty comment to her that was totally inappropriate.
I came for information and have no preconceived idea about whether or not it is a good idea. I am curious, because of the weather in our area, what the overall usage would be with an uncovered facility.
I appreciated the comments regarding noise if the facility was used for concerts and I think that is a legitimate concern. I envisioned, if the facility was used for concerts, that it would be like Steilacoom summer presentations: Military bands, High school bands, local school Jazz bands, music that would be pleasant to hear but not distracting to neighboring properties. I would not mind sitting on my deck on a warm summer night and hear strains of lovely music floating through the air. I would be not be pleased to hear loud and disturbing music, so I thought that was a point well taken and had not taken that into consideration. Parking was also raised as a concern – and certainly an important matter in the planning process. Shades of Steilacoom after the fireworks show on the 4th each year!
I also envisioned that it would be used by the Lakewood Players, high school, and college theater groups, children’s plays, things of that nature. We enjoyed the Sound of Music in Leavenworth in their outdoor theater, when our girls were little there was a group of “vegetables and fruit” characters who put on a lovely presentation. Visions of Ashland Oregon presentations came to mind.
I was particularly irritated with the negative and rude comments made regarding the Rotary. Along with so many community projects over the years, they were responsible for building the playground that is constantly in use no matter what the weather conditions and are currently doing maintenance and repair on it. Both Rotary clubs, as well as other Lakewood service organizations, are responsible for providing so many wonderful contributions to our community, to benefit children in particular, and to international concerns.
The Rotary provides scholarships to students attending the three high schools in our area, internationally they have worked tirelessly to irradiate polio, bring fresh water to villages in countries whose young girls have to walk five miles each day to bring water to their villages so they cannot attend school, and travel worldwide to help communities in dire need of education and construction skills, as well as all the local community projects they support. Not one person acknowledged the playground project.
Someone said the Rotary should pay for sewer lines! That is a government project – not a service organization project. It would be my personal opinion that laying sewer lines and improving roads and walkways would not be projects for service organizations and are more appropriately funded by the cities or counties responsible for those types of projects or through matching federal funds for such improvements.
The Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, Caring for Kids and other local service organizations are focused on improving the lives of children and giving a helping hand to the betterment of citizens in their community. What I heard is that the Rotary is considering a community project, they saw the list of projects being considered, and volunteered to help with that project, if it should come to pass. Just that simple — so it was disappointing to hear the disparaging remarks directed to their organization.
Lakewood is lucky to have service organizations in our community who raise money from their members and activities and provide so many volunteer hours to provide services and projects for the improvement of the community and services to the children of our community, including the feeding and clothing of children of families with limited financial resources.
I do want to be sure to recognize those attendees who made thoughtful comments and asked questions that are legitimate concerns without the need to be unpleasant.
The purpose of the meeting was to gather information and points of view – not to attack Mary or those people in attendance with differing opinions. No need to “kill the messenger!” They missed the point of the meeting – to get comments that presented all points of view to determine the viability of the idea and matters that should be resolved before further exploring this project.
I left with the following thoughts that were raised:
• How often would an uncovered facility of this nature be used?
• What impact would it have on the surrounding properties?
• Is this a project that would positively benefit the community?
• What would be the best site selection with the lowest impact?
• How would parking impact the community and what considerations need to be made?
• How would the facility be managed?
• What restrictions would be placed on the type of programs that would be allowed to use the facilities?
• What type of events would be allowed, would there be restrictions for hours of the day, type of music/presentations allowed, noise concerns vs. the quiet enjoyment of surrounding homes?
• Security concerns, vandalism, and criminal activity to cars that are parked and damage in the neighborhoods?
• Cost vs. benefit? Would the need to cover the cost over ride the approval of the use requests for the facility for presentations that would negatively impact the neighbors?
• Adequate bathrooms when large events were planned?
• Ingress and Egress considerations to Steilacoom Blvd. during facility use?
• Learned that there is no possibility of rebuilding the barns as they cannot meet any of the current building codes and would be a cost-prohibitive consideration.
• There is an overwhelming process, requirements, and studies that have to be met, anyone of which could make this project unachievable.

I was totally impressed with Mary Dodsworth and our city is lucky to have a person of her character and skills working for our community.

Comments

Cindy McKitrick says

May 12, 2014 at 7:58 am

Please don’t turn this piece of nature into another profit-making machine. The citizens (and wildlife) of Pierce County deserve what pristine qualities the park still retains despite construction which has enclosed every area around it. Let the people who wish to go to shows, attend other venues and leave this gem alone.
Pat Price says

May 12, 2014 at 11:05 am

While my response is much too long for publication I am sure, the following are my observations of the public meeting regarding the amphitheater proposal. I attended because I have not made a decision regarding the benefit of such a facility and came to learn more about the project under consideration.
I agree that Mary made an outstanding effort during the presentation for comment on the amphitheater in Fort Steilacoom Park. I was totally impressed with her ability to run that meeting, she clearly explained the purpose and goals of the meeting, and was skilled as she responded so kindly to the hostile and at times, rude, comments that she had to field. She began the meeting clearly explaining that this was the first meeting and the purpose was to get comments from the citizens for matters that should be considered appropriate to a project of this nature.
At the beginning of the meeting, she told the attendees that:
• The idea of the amphitheater in Fort Steilacoom Park was one of many ideas under consideration by the City.
• It was something to be considered but no decisions had been made.
• No City funds had been expended.
• Representatives of the Lakewood Rotary were attending to listen to the community comments as they considered a community project to support.
• The presentation materials had been provided by volunteer hours given by members of the Rotary at no expense to the City.
• It was the initial public meeting to gather the comments and concerns of the citizens of Lakewood.
• There were many matters to be considered in a project of this nature, including the environment, impact on animals and flora, meeting building codes, neighborhood impact, noise considerations, parking and traffic considerations, and the best and highest use of the park.
The City wanted to have a discussion and public comment on the budding idea of having a facility like this in the park. I was impressed with her ability to have an open discussion on the subject and kindly react to accusatory comments that she repeatedly explained were not true.
I did not object to any of the points brought up by the attendees but was frustrated with the hostile tone that was used when those points were raised and the same questions being repeated. Having attended an untold number of public meetings, I was totally impressed with Mary’s ability to maintain her positive demeanor.
I was disappointed to observe attendees make disparaging comments to others when they made comments that did not represent their point of view. Each person had the right to voice his or her opinion. At one point, an attendee commented that she did not have a dog or a child to use those facilities at the park, but she would enjoy public events as might be available if an amphitheater was a viable project. Someone in attendance made a hurtful and nasty comment to her that was totally inappropriate.
I came for information and have no preconceived idea about whether or not it is a good idea. I am curious, because of the weather in our area, what the overall usage would be with an uncovered facility.
I appreciated the comments regarding noise if the facility was used for concerts and I think that is a legitimate concern. I envisioned, if the facility was used for concerts, that it would be like Steilacoom summer presentations: Military bands, High school bands, local school Jazz bands, music that would be pleasant to hear but not distracting to neighboring properties. I would not mind sitting on my deck on a warm summer night and hear strains of lovely music floating through the air. I would be not be pleased to hear loud and disturbing music, so I thought that was a point well taken and had not taken that into consideration. Parking was also raised as a concern – and certainly an important matter in the planning process. Shades of Steilacoom after the fireworks show on the 4th each year!
I also envisioned that it would be used by the Lakewood Players, high school, and college theater groups, children’s plays, things of that nature. We enjoyed the Sound of Music in Leavenworth in their outdoor theater, when our girls were little there was a group of “vegetables and fruit” characters who put on a lovely presentation. Visions of Ashland Oregon presentations came to mind.
I was particularly irritated with the negative and rude comments made regarding the Rotary. Along with so many community projects over the years, they were responsible for building the playground that is constantly in use no matter what the weather conditions and are currently doing maintenance and repair on it. Both Rotary clubs, as well as other Lakewood service organizations, are responsible for providing so many wonderful contributions to our community, to benefit children in particular, and to international concerns.
The Rotary provides scholarships to students attending the three high schools in our area, internationally they have worked tirelessly to irradiate polio, bring fresh water to villages in countries whose young girls have to walk five miles each day to bring water to their villages so they cannot attend school, and travel worldwide to help communities in dire need of education and construction skills, as well as all the local community projects they support. Not one person acknowledged the playground project.
Someone said the Rotary should pay for sewer lines! That is a government project – not a service organization project. It would be my personal opinion that laying sewer lines and improving roads and walkways would not be projects for service organizations and are more appropriately funded by the cities or counties responsible for those types of projects or through matching federal funds for such improvements.
The Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, Caring for Kids and other local service organizations are focused on improving the lives of children and giving a helping hand to the betterment of citizens in their community. What I heard is that the Rotary is considering a community project, they saw the list of projects being considered, and volunteered to help with that project, if it should come to pass. Just that simple — so it was disappointing to hear the disparaging remarks directed to their organization.
Lakewood is lucky to have service organizations in our community who raise money from their members and activities and provide so many volunteer hours to provide services and projects for the improvement of the community and services to the children of our community, including the feeding and clothing of children of families with limited financial resources.
I do want to be sure to recognize those attendees who made thoughtful comments and asked questions that are legitimate concerns without the need to be unpleasant.
The purpose of the meeting was to gather information and points of view – not to attack Mary or those people in attendance with differing opinions. No need to “kill the messenger!” They missed the point of the meeting – to get comments that presented all points of view to determine the viability of the idea and matters that should be resolved before further exploring this project.
I left with the following thoughts that were raised:
• How often would an uncovered facility of this nature be used?
• What impact would it have on the surrounding properties?
• Is this a project that would positively benefit the community?
• What would be the best site selection with the lowest impact?
• How would parking impact the community and what considerations need to be made?
• How would the facility be managed?
• What restrictions would be placed on the type of programs that would be allowed to use the facilities?
• What type of events would be allowed, would there be restrictions for hours of the day, type of music/presentations allowed, noise concerns vs. the quiet enjoyment of surrounding homes?
• Security concerns, vandalism, and criminal activity to cars that are parked and damage in the neighborhoods?
• Cost vs. benefit? Would the need to cover the cost over ride the approval of the use requests for the facility for presentations that would negatively impact the neighbors?
• Adequate bathrooms when large events were planned?
• Ingress and Egress considerations to Steilacoom Blvd. during facility use?
• Learned that there is no possibility of rebuilding the barns as they cannot meet any of the current building codes and would be a cost-prohibitive consideration.
• There is an overwhelming process, requirements, and studies that have to be met, anyone of which could make this project unachievable.

I was totally impressed with Mary Dodsworth and our city is lucky to have a person of her character and skills working for our community.
- Russ Ripp says
  
  May 12, 2014 at 4:24 pm
  
  I too was impressed with M Dodsworth’s control of this gathering! I do not feel there was rude and other statements made by attendees that were inappropriate , It appeared NOT TOO MANY were in favor of this project, and it was obvious why!

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