Come together–to build community

Over the past year, we’ve seen a lot of hand-wringing about the the Community Center being built around the municipal building and library. The construction process of this new city amenity has not been smooth.

County and state funding dried up–resulting in the gymnasium being dropped from the design.

Then it was discovered that the building is sited in a 100 year flood plain, which required installing a flood pipe, diverting money and time.

Finally, the City Council has had to admit that it was not adequately informed about some of the construction and design decisions. Some councilmembers are questioning how the city’s money is being spent.

Modified design, unexpected flooding problems, disagreements over construction costs–Sounds like a typical home improvement project.

The headache of the construction has persuaded some that the project is a fiasco, bumbled–or worse–by the mayor and city council.

But I am not comfortable with finger-pointing in this case. Sometimes, despite best effort and study, a project takes unexpected turns. I can think of few home improvement projects that do not elicit a few curse words along the way.

Let’s not forget that the community center was planned during the late 1990s, when the city was able to count on a steady stream of funds from the state and county to finance its construction. Few people could have predicted the financial crunch that all jurisdictions now face.

Likewise, until digging began, no one knew about the flood plain. Again, we cannot fault the city council for not being omniscient. Surprises come up in a project. Sometimes they are minor. Sometimes not.

The city council made great effort to include the community in planning. The cost of the building escalated in relation to the needs expressed. Then the scope of the building was scaled back when funding became questionable. This makes sense to me.

I can understand the disappointment that some community members feel over the modified center. If you are one of them, I encourage you to channel that feeling into action. You can still influence the project.

The Takoma Foundation is raising money to help pay for this center. They hope that through their efforts, many of the original components–including a gymnasium–will be added back into the project.

To find out more about how you can contribute visit the foundation website: www.takomafoundation.org.

– Eric Bond, Editor