RTP-area local music and culture

[Margaret Campbell <margaretc AT gmail.com>]

For those of you who wondered why I evanesced at the meeting, well, I
came home to write that letter.  Granted, I sorta wish I had left it
for an hour or so for editing, but....

On Wed, 9 Jun 2004 08:30:51 -0400, info AT durhamloop.org
<info AT durhamloop.org> wrote:
> 
> Stifled debate unsettles council
> 
> http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1317423p-7439885c.html
> 
> By MARGIE FISHMAN, Staff Writer
> 
> DURHAM -- Three City Council members said they regretted their votes to
> continue negotiations with the developer of a planned downtown theater
> without hearing from nearly 30 people who had signed up to speak at a public
> meeting Monday.
> 
> "It was probably not our finest hour," said council member Eugene Brown, who
> explained that he was suffering from "fanny fatigue and mental fatigue" when
> he agreed to curtail the debate shortly before 11 p.m. Monday.
> 
> Brown, joined by council members Thomas Stith and Diane Catotti, said they
> would have preferred more public comment before the vote, if only to debunk
> the perception that they were immune to criticism of the deal.
> 
> Mayor Bill Bell quashed public comment on the $42 million theater project
> Monday and pushed a vote that allows the city to continue negotiating for
> the next four months with a development team that includes Clear Channel
> Entertainment. He also directed City Manager Marcia Conner to set up monthly
> public forums on the project.
> 
> "He was saying how important the public process is, and then he cuts off
> public comment," said John Schelp, who attended the meeting and is president
> of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association. "It was actually pretty
> amazing. I've never seen anything like it."
> 
> Bell reaffirmed his decision Tuesday, explaining that it was late and that
> opponents had an opportunity to voice their opinions by e-mail and at
> earlier meetings.
> 
> "We do care what they have to say," he said. "What I was trying to do was to
> provide a forum that was more meaningful." Bell, who routinely lets members
> of the public exceed established time limits, described his actions Monday
> as "an exception."
> 
> Council member Howard Clement agreed with the move. Clement said he knew
> going into the meeting that most comments would be against building the
> theater, which was "not on the agenda."
> 
> Local artists and downtown residents have protested plans to have San
> Antonio-based Clear Channel manage and book shows at the theater, saying the
> company excludes people on the fringe and tramples on free speech. Now, they
> accuse their elected officials of the same.
> 
> Bell "wants an events center, and he doesn't understand why these people
> won't let him to do it," said Alex Kostelnik, artistic director of the Scrap
> Exchange, who was among the people muted Monday. "It's a power play." On
> Tuesday, Kostelnik said he met with other stunned project opponents, all
> asking the same question: "Did that really happen?"
> 
> The theater extension appeared Monday on the council's consent agenda, which
> doesn't require a public hearing. Typically, the council disposes of the
> consent agenda at the beginning of a meeting, but Bell moved up a public
> hearing on the upcoming budget, after he said several residents requested
> it.
> 
> Four hours later, after 70 people had jockeyed for their priorities, and one
> resident rehashed concerns over access to an Old North Durham park -- an
> issue discussed at length during the last council meeting -- the council
> took up the 4,000-seat theater, what could be the largest theater in the
> state, subsidized by $24 million in public funds.
> 
> Clement initially drew applause by criticizing a Clear Channel-owned station
> for making "racist" comments about American idol winner and High Point
> hometown girl Fantasia Barrino. But he said he would support the extension,
> because he wasn't ready to kill the project.
> 
> Bell then asked the 28 people who had filled out yellow cards to select a
> representative to speak for them. When they refused, the council swiftly
> approved the item 6-1. John Best Jr., the only council member to raise
> concerns about limiting public comment at the time, said he dissented
> because the city has more pressing needs than a theater. A majority of
> council members could have voted to overrule Bell, according to the council
> procedures.
> 
> The vote disgusted some weary audience members, who hollered that it was an
> insult to democracy. After the vote, four opponents were permitted to speak,
> including a local technology manager who presented data collected from
> theaters across the country to show they are money-losers.
> 
> Catotti said Tuesday she was uncomfortable with how the meeting unfolded. "I
> didn't have a creative solution at the time," she said. "I think it was
> unfortunate."
> 
> Staff writer Margie Fishman can be reached at 956-2405 or
> mfishman AT newsobserver.com.
> 
> ***
> 
> Ask ADF what it needs
> Herald-Sun letter to editor
> 
> http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/hsletters/index.html#488883
> 
> I love ADF, you love ADF, we all love ADF.
> 
> Serious questions arise, though, on how the proposed American Center for The
> Performing Arts can mesh with Durham and its arts and artists, including the
> American Dance Festival. The sketch of the center looks dandy -- bland on
> bland. It matches up nicely with the nearby Durham County Jail.
> 
> Compare this with the art and aesthetics of Durham. Durham is lively,
> enticing, alluring and downright funky. The American Center proposal is none
> of the above. It blends with Durham's aesthetics as well as the jail does.
> The arts in Durham are mostly homegrown, allowing a wide variety of styles
> and moods. The proposed center, apparently to be run by a monolithic
> corporation, allows neither.
> 
> The proposed center doesn't really meet ADF's needs. It is too large for
> most dance performances. Perhaps Durham would be better off asking ADF what
> it really needs and find a more Durham-like building to adapt for the
> festival.
> 
> MARGARET CAMPBELL
> Durham
> June 9, 2004
> 
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> 


-- 
--mjc