Citizens Already Soaked By Hydros

The Coeur d’Alene City Council did a disservice to its community Monday by canceling a committee hearing on the controversial hydroplane issue.

On the surface, the official reason for doing so makes some sense: “City officials felt this issue should be heard by the mayor and full City Council at the same time.” But nothing about this issue should be taken at face value.

Postponement of the General Services Committee meeting means the community will have one less chance to make its feelings known publicly. It means Coeur d’Alene residents will have three fewer weeks to inspect the particulars of a chamber of commerce-backed plan that calls for shutting the waterfront during the Labor Day weekend. It means opponents will have only three minutes each to question the certain impact hydroplane racing will have on environmentally fragile Tubbs Hill as well as on city services and their quality of life.

Everything will boil down to a thumbs-up or thumbs-down vote Jan. 29 by a council with strong chamber leanings and under intense pressure for approval from a few community movers and shakers. Some believe hydroplane promoters have the votes locked up to stage the races, although council members admit constituent input is running solidly against hydros.

Cancellation of the committee meeting this week adds to the perception that the hydroplane issue has been orchestrated to reduce public input and to railroad the plan through political channels.

As you will recall, the proposal was resurrected at a council meeting on election night 1995, exactly 10 years after voters overwhelmingly had rejected a carbon-copy proposal. The election-night timing guaranteed that the issue wouldn’t receive the scrutiny of a municipal campaign.

Because others can’t speak until Jan. 29, let us pose a few questions for them: If chamber manager Pat McGaughey is so convinced that the community wants hydroplane racing, why is he so opposed to a second advisory vote? Why are promoters hell-bent on using a course off Tubbs Hill when a Silver Beach site, east of town, would be easier to control and would provide better viewing? Who’s liable if a drunk falls off Tubbs Hill? What right do promoters have to deny Coeur d’Alene taxpayers free access to their waterfront on summer’s last weekend?

There are many more questions that would take time to ask and longer to answer - a lot longer than one evening later this month.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria/For the editorial board