The Great Debate

Tonight, our esteemed city council will be once more debating the most critical issue to dominate the council agenda this year.

Will they be discussing the mayor's hopelessly unbalanced budget?

Nope.

How about the city's skyrocketing insurance costs?

Nope.

Will there be discussion about how to stop the dam at Reservoir Park from bursting, literally, which "was given a first class hazard rating during the inspection, meaning that it poses a risk of "probable loss of human life" (The Independent, October 30, 2010)?

Nope. This issue is bigger.

Should the City of Massillon rename Shriver Park?

This debate has been raging for months.

Fourth Ward Councilman Tony Townsend wanted to rename the park to honor the late T. Roy Roberson, a trail blazing Massillon politician from the Fourth Ward.

Seemed like a simple proposition. If a member of council wanted to change the name, they would vote in the affirmative. If they didn't want to change the name, they would vote in opposition. Council then could move on to the serious issues that dominate our city government.

Well, not so simple in Massillon.

It is believed that our Mayor for Life didn't want the name change. Shriver Park was on a list of parks that was being investigated to determine if it was legal to sell the park. Can't rename a park after a deceased community leader and then auction it off to the highest bidder. It just looks bad.

The problem for our Mayor for Life and his merry band of rubber stamps was that the name change was a popular move in the city's fourth ward, so nobody wanted to vote no on the record. The goal became one of avoiding a vote at all costs.

The Mayor's loyal enforcer, Council President Glenn Gamber, with the assistance of Larry Slagle, councilman at large, went to work to prevent a vote. Using parliamentary slight of hand, they successfully unloaded the issue on to the 'independent' parks and recreation board, knowing the proposed name change would never see the light of day, as the mayor personally appoints three out of the five members to the 'independent' parks board.

No name change. No public vote. Mission Accomplished.

Unfortunately for our Mayor for Life, the issue did not die. Councilman Townsend was most persistent in demanding a vote.

It looked like our Mayor for Life had a change of heart, when he held one of his annual town hall style meetings... in the fourth ward.

"Am I opposed to it? Heck no" (Frank Cicchinelli, The Independent, August 31, 2010).

Of course, our mayor was unusually silent about his 'support' as the "Great Debate" raged around him for the prior three months. His silence ended, and his 'true feelings of support' were made known, coincidentally, when political pressure forced him to take a stand. You don't get to be mayor for life if you alienate an entire council ward of voters.

Council would then have to undo this mess. That fell upon the sharp legal mind of Councilman Larry Slagle. Slagle has not focused on researching or correcting any substantive issues in his three years on city council, but dealing with the crucial machinations of renaming a park seem to bring forth his time, talent, and efforts.

Councilman Larry Slagle wants to use "current policy as a rubric for establishing guidelines for council" (The Independent, October 12, 2010) in order to create a critical and apparently much needed policy to handle the complex world of renaming parks.

Wow. Time well spent.

Let us intervene and save Massillon City Council months and months of debate, hand wringing, and behind the scenes maneuvering in case there is another proposal to rename a park.

Take a vote. If the majority of council votes to change the name, then the name is changed.

Now get back to work. There are real issues, critical issues facing our city during difficult times.

Once the great park debate is settled, we assume city council will get back to working on other important issues facing Massillon government, like voting to set up a 'Winter Vacation Schedule' for city council.