A rare foray into civic engagement

DISCLAIMER: This is a personal blog. It does not necessarily reflect the position of the Gillioz Center For Arts & Entertainment, the Fox Theatre, or any other entity I engage with in Springfield, Missouri. It is rare for me to comment on topics such as this, but I am personally compelled to address the topic from my perspective in hopes it can provide clarity and confidence in an often polluted and ill-informed world.

The topic: A convention center in Springfield, Missouri.

Permit me to share insights that I have as a result of studying other communities downtown corridors and an unprecedented amount of dialogue between me and city officials on this topic.

I have found a significant number of interesting positions related to a proposed convention center. Many of these positions seem either poorly developed, mis-informed, or simply incorrect. I decided I would address some of them directly, because I believe the project is too important to remain silent.

Springfield, Missouri is exceptional. This creative melting pot blends the best of rural AND urban in an intimate community that is rare. We can get to exceptional woodlands and lakes within the hour. We can also take in world-class opera, jazz and award-winning community theatre. The cost of living is comparatively low, and people are friendly.

Somewhere along the line a critical minority have reveled in the vocalization of negative attacks on our community to the point I believe we've started questioning our real identity. Civic pride is apparently out of fashion. Civil conversation has been reduced to snarky soundbites that demean the individual rather than putting forth a counter-narrative with compelling evidence to support position.

I'm committed to planting seeds of positivity in every field I walk. This is no different.

I attended a listening session with the Springfield city manager, who has been the focus of numerous aforementioned soundbites since arriving in his role. Regardless of how you interpret his effectiveness, personal attacks are poor methods of criticizing professional performance. In this situation, I found him to be patient, articulate, and transparent regarding what could and could not happen in regards to timing and how the first initiative for the convention center was handled.

POSITION I: FOCUS ELSEWHERE.

A list of top reasons for the negative votes on the first initiative were centered on other things that were deemed more important than a convention center. These ranged from security to potholes. Somewhere along the line, it appears we determined only one thing could be addressed at a time.

Utlimately, this isn't a question of "either/or" - it's a "yes, and..."

We can have a convention center, attract groups and visitors that stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants, shop at our stores, pay in our parking lots, and visit our tourist destinations.

AND

We can work with our public servants to make our city safer, more attractive, more cohesive, and more kind to visitors and residents alike.

POSITION II: WE CAN'T AFFORD IT.

When an opportunity comes to utilize funds from outside your pocket to increase your productivity, the question actually becomes "can we afford not to?".

Utilizing these state funds, and subsidizing with a hotel tax is sensible. Having a visitor in a hotel subsidize the expense of the community they are visiting is reasonable.

Will the tax be too high? There are plenty of other communities with higher hotel tax rates. Furthermore, I am aware of no one that in the planning of their visit calls a hotel and inquires to the tax rate, and on hearing it determines they won't visit because the tax is too high.

Ultimately, the citizen isn't paying for this project. The visitors are. It seems the proper way a tourism eco-system should work.

POSITION III: WE ALREADY HAVE ONE.

The current facility was never intended to be the end-all. It was a phase one that never evolved. It isn't a lack of acknowledgement of what we have. It is acknowledging the venue for what it is, and what it was intended to be from the outset.

Furthermore, things change. Odds are you aren't using the same phone you were using 20 years ago. Odds are you aren't driving the same car, watching the same television. For many of us, we aren't in the same house. Our needs may have changed.

Groups coming to our area have different needs, and the community around the venue has evolved to provide even more as well.

A subpoint here would be those that say this space doesn't work. That isn't true. This is simply acknowledging that we could do MORE. Why is that bad?

SUMMARY: WE CAN.

We can have nice things.

We can be proud of our community.

We can acknowledge that we want to be better.

We can be an active part of MAKING things better.

How do we do it?

We can start with, and I'm reminding you here that I am blunt, and this is just me, if you don't vote, maybe you forfeit the right to complain.

The reality is for those that say, "we already said no" - out of 130k+ eligible voters, roughly 10% voted. Odds are that many of the most vocal critics either don't live here, or didn't participate in the part of the process that actually matters.

Moreover, if you WANT to see us get better, your vote is CRITICAL. You CAN be the change you want to see in the world, and it often starts in the voter booth.

Next, if you aren't sure, go somewhere besides social media to get your information. Go to the city website, reach out to your representative, ASK. It's what they are there for.

But if you really want to be a part of significant change, consider HOW you interact with those officials, and with the world around you. Respectful conversation is what is lacking in the modern discourse.

I'll conclude with this: I have been a partner and at times a critic of municipal functions. I have always worked diligently to separate my position on the role of a public servant and the respect I give to them as human beings. We can disagree, we don't have to disrespect. So, if you agree, awesome. There are still things that I disagree with. I can't be accused of drinking the kool-aid.

If you are on the fence about the convention center, and if you have a vote, do your research and make an informed decision.

If you are opposed, that's fine too. Let's just maintain respect for one another, and in all things, let's agree to commit to only posting those things we KNOW to be true and get rid of the noise where we can.

As for me, after a wealth of time with numerous parties associated with the project, I am of the conviction that a new convention center is just one more component of a paradigm shift in Springfield, Missouri being awakened to the wealth of potential we hold. I want to equip Visit Springfield with the tools they can use to expose the world to that wealth.

'tis a privilege to live in the Ozarks.

peace

g