McEuen plan snubs history

Coeur d’Alene Mayor Bloem has stated that the recent election has changed nothing about her plan for McEuen Park. She is convinced that she, the City Council, and a select group of developers should make all the decisions for the rest of us, in spite of us. We are expected to sit back, be quiet and respectful, and pay our taxes!

So much of what Coeur d’Alene is today can be traced back to its roots in life as previous generations lived it, from early indigenous peoples to those who relied on trades in lumber, mining, railroads, lake and river steamers, etc. Plan McEuen ignores this rich heritage, sanitizes and smothers it with stuff borrowed from other cities and park environments around the country (second-hand thoughts, “pass-me-downs”). Imagine how it would feel if developers were campaigning to replace the Statue of Liberty with nondescript high-rise buildings supported by taxpayer dollars.

It is not too late for the public to make its views known. The plan for McEuen is an insult to the community. It is being pushed by a group of primary beneficiaries and focused on a small area of the city. They are perhaps 50 in number; our population is about 45,000. With those kinds of numbers, we should prevail!

Frank Orzell

Coeur d’Alene