I wanted to take a moment to thank fellow Blogger PublicWatchdog.org – Park Ridge . They ran a post on the Park Ridge Senior Center today titled: Time For A Senior Center Reality Check that was eye-opener. I think seniors should see for themselves how PublicWatchdog and their readers feel about seniors and the Senior Center.
6 comments:
Mr. Butterly:
First of all, I have absolutely no problem with my tax dollars supporting the senior center. Having said that, I see a huge irony here!!!
The folks on that blog simply look at a number. They see the senior center as a "social club" and do not look any deeper than that. They throw this number around about 200K and stir up the outrage....."My god my tax dollars are supporting this club???!?!?!?! AHHHHHH!!!!"
Quite frankly it is a joke. Very narrow minded!! Simply posting a number does not tell the entire story....hell it does not even scratch the surface!!! It is simply finding someone or something to blame.
So what is the irony you ask??? If I go over to your other blog I see that you tend to do the same thing with teachers. "I'll let the numbers speak for themselves". Let me be clear that I am not a teacher. My mother was a teacher but that was 30 years ago. The outrage that fuels your opinion on education is the exact same outrage that fuels their opinion on the senior center. You are both looking for simple answers. What is good for the goose...........
Anon: January 30, 2011 10:52 AM,
I was right up there with you up until the final paragraph. That’s where you lost me.
Let me explain.
First, I queried all 71 Butterly on Education posts for the phrase “I'll let the numbers speak for themselves". Only “Update - Did District #113 Board see this before the vote?” came up.
That said, I differ with you regarding your conclusion. There is nothing wrong with questioning numbers. In this case, the numbers do speak for themselves. That rate of growth speaks for itself. The questions they elicit are legitimate questions.
For example:
Should teachers and administrators in District #113 be paid that kind of money? It depends! It depends on performance. It depends on perceived value. What is the district getting for its money? If citizens of District #113 are getting everything they want from their school system then those numbers will not cause discord. If they believe they are not getting their moneys worth, those numbers will draw out questions. That is the reason for the post. That is also the reason for Watchdog’s post.
So, January 30, 2011 10:52 AM, I didn’t get it. Where you outraged by those growth numbers or just my posting of the numbers?
The senior issue on the other hand is not about numbers only. It is not even about retaining the Senior Center. The issue is about the ham-handed way in which the Park Ridge Park District has handled the affair. If the other bloggers can only see the numbers, then I have failed to make my case and there’s nothing I can say to change his opinion.
I am now only interested in one thing. The seniors deserve a yes or no vote on their offer. Ultimately, I personally don’t care if the seniors continue to utilize that facility or not.
The Park Ridge Park District is holding out and it’s holding out, in my opinion, because, it lacks the political courage to vote before the election and is using the departure of its two top employees as an excuse. The Board is also keenly aware that the Park Districts recent attempt to increase utilization at the senior facility, has been a failure. This failure illustrates the current lack of need for this building, other than as a Senior Center.
In my opinion, the Park District also needs the senior centers quarterly cash while at the same time they don’t want to incur hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
Not a good position to be in. Well, they’ve been making this lumpy bed for 30 years. Sleeping in it for one or two more years may not be the healthiest thing for the district but sleeping in the floor is a lot worse.
Mr. Butterly,
Your assertion that the Park District might incur hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt is false. Past agreements that contained this clause has expired, it has not been cancelled by the Park District.
There would be nothing owed to the Seniors.
Anon: January 31, 2011 10:30AM,
Are you an attorney? I’m not, and my college business law classes did not prepare me for the question you’ve raised. That said, there are two attorneys for the Senior’s and one or more for PRPD who appear to disagree with you.
It seems to me that this crisis would have been over by now if PRPD were in the clear; if they were not themselves convinced that the clause in question held legal weight. I am convinced that the PRPD will be bound by the clause.
That’s what Senior Center and PRPD attorneys will attempt to prove and disprove, should things come to that.
The Park District attorney has not said the park district would owe that money. In fact quite the opposite is true. You don't know what you are talking about.
Anon: January 31, 2011 2:12 PM,
You obviously have an "in" that I do not. Still, as I stated above, that’s what Senior Center and PRPD attorneys will attempt to prove and disprove, should things come to that.
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