City Council should let Arena Board do its job

City Council should let Arena Board do its job
EDITOR:
This ludicrous fiasco, most often referred to as the Civic Arena Project, were it not for the serious import to the citizens of the Mahoning Valley, could well be the basic story line for an off-Broadway comedy. When the $26-plus million were initially allocated, it was determined that various governmental bodies and major institutions would designate one or more persons to convene as a board of directors to get the project off the ground and administer the funding and supervision of this entity.
This board comprised some of the more prominent people in the area, in the fields of business, finance, engineering, public relations, construction, human resources, real estate, politics and education. Now comes the party of the worst part -- the esteemed body of lawmakers known as Youngstown City Council. I hope the pope never plans a parade down Market Street, the Vatican would have to wait a year for the permit while City Council takes it to a third and fourth reading.
The association between council and the board began with an air of cordiality and cooperation. That didn't last long. Before the board could spend money for postage, they had to get prior approval from council. Site approval and property acquisition had to be first okayed by council; hiring a project manager, prior okay by council; expenses for sitting up an office; same old, same old.
The authority of the arena board had deteriorated so badly, the outcome was really inevitable. No one is accusing council of anything illegal. Being ignorant of all the facts, yes. Ineptitude, yes. Political posturing, yes. Unfortunately, these attributes do not accomplish anything.
That bright light of big bucks that Uncle Sam kicked in last year is slowly but surely getting dimmer. It's certain that were it not for councilmen Sefcik and Swierz, there would be a unanimous body of people totally lacking in foresight and common sense. Common sense dictates that with a project of this magnitude you delegate the supervision to a group of individuals who possess the expertise that will most surely arrive at a successful conclusion. I would challenge City Council individually or collectively to oversee this venture and ensure that all phases were satisfactory.
A good auto mechanic is a blessing when your car isn't running right. But you wouldn't ask him to take out your appendix. I implore City Council to let the Arena Board do the job it was designated to do. It comes down to a matter of mutual trust. The board members certainly are wide open to scrutiny and subject to audit, why would they cheat anybody?
Don't believe for a second that Uncle Sam won't take back what's left of the original $26 million. With the administration clamoring for funding with the military build-up, they're looking for every area of frivolous spending that's out there.
Being a former resident of Youngstown, I am familiar with the machinations of city government. In situations like this, it makes me feel glad that I relocated. Will the last one to leave, please turn out the lights.
WILLIAM B. PEARCH
Struthers
Government spending to put nation back in debt
EDITOR:
I truly believe our federal government is on the brink of creating a monetary disaster that we will spend years recovering from. Without going into detail; we are presently expending countless millions of dollars daily to wage the war on terrorism, and will need countless dollars to continue.
We are going to bailout the airlines, help all the victims in New York City (Oklahomans will ask for something after this); bomb Afghanistan into oblivion and then rebuild it, bail out Enron and its crooks and the list goes on. Many, many promises made by politicians give away money they take from taxpayers.
One major problem that the politicians fail to see is this. After allowing hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs to be exported, leaving the United States with no jobs or low-paying jobs, tax revenue is bound to go down.
My question is:"Where is all of the money going to come from to do all of the very noble and ambitious tasks that they have taken on? When people aren't working, tax revenues fall, so who's going to pay?
I'm quite sure that the people in power will figure out a way to have the workers in this country paying debts for a generation or two.
JOSEPH P. HILKO
Hermitage