Resolution 2014-47
By Albert B. Kelly
Over the course of many years dealing with government and
elected officials in multiple capacities, I’ve learned not to be surprised by
anything politicians say or do. However, every now and then, somebody comes out
with something that strains credibility and places them somewhere between
ill-advised and I-don’t know-what.
Recently, I had the pleasure of reading Resolution
2014-47 authored by Commercial Township. In a nutshell, the resolution lists
the reasons why Commercial Township is opposed to the joint City-County Library
project slated for downtown Bridgeton.
Let me say that I understand that there will be differing
opinions about which projects and initiatives are worthy of investment and
which are not. And I also understand that communities regularly jostle and
elbow for resources to grow and expand their respective community; that’s to be
expected, it’s part of how things go.
That’s not my issue; what is however are the ill-informed
and even derogatory assertions hiding behind the occasional “whereas” in
Commercial Township’s Resolution 2014-47.
To begin with, the resolution cites the inconvenience of
extra travel; not many would consider an additional 1.7 miles from the current
county library to the new location an undue hardship…but so be it. As to
inadequate parking, plans include provisions for parking and this will not be
nearly the issue the resolution implies. Residents on this side of the county travel
a lot further than 1.7 miles to access key services in our sister cities; the
argument about convenience is not exclusive to Bridgeton projects.
But perhaps the most revealing assumption is where it
states “It is dangerous to locate a public facility in a downtown inner city
environment where residents could be endanger [perhaps it should be “in
danger”] of personal assault [as opposed to impersonal] particularly from
gangs”.
I’m not certain when their officials last visited our
downtown, but they would be hard pressed to find gang activity in our central
business district. Having reviewed arrests from 2008 through 2010 in the
central business district for the rampant crime implied in their resolution, I
found 3 arrests for trespassing, 7 for assault (presumably of the personal
kind), 2 robbery arrests, and 17 disorderly arrests during the 3 years.
Of course there’s always room for improvement which is
why we’ve implemented downtown police foot patrols in the last 2 years; so I’m
confident that “crime” as portrayed in the Commercial Township resolution is
not an issue. But more than stats, there’s experience.
I shop, eat breakfast and lunch almost daily in the
downtown; meet with merchants and business owners and spend a lot of time
moving through our downtown and I simply do not see what they refer to in their
resolution. If the concern is crime, fair enough; but if it’s just loaded
verbiage about crime serving as code language about race and ethnicity, there’s
nothing more to say.
But I don’t think that’s the case here as Commercial
Township acknowledged their own social and economic distress as part of being
included with Bridgeton, Millville, and Vineland as one of only 15 communities
nationwide to be designated a Federal Empowerment Zone…so that says a lot.
While the authors of the resolution don’t believe the
investment to be a wise one with technology being what it is, I can only say
that the library of the 21st century is a hybrid; employing technology and a
number of other critical functions to serve residents.
Of the approximately 9,000 libraries around the nation, a
significant number of them are inner city facilities. In fact, studies by the
Urban Libraries Council indicate that visits to libraries routinely double when
facilities are located in inner cities. Beyond that, the study places libraries
at the center of inner city revitalization efforts, suggesting that these
facilities serve as anchors and attractions.
The point here is that investing in our 3 cities and
keeping them strong is part and parcel of ensuring that our entire county is
stronger. We get a lot further working together; whether through shared
services, joint Green Acres projects, or a combined Empowerment Zone to name a
few; than if we divide up, tare our neighbors down and let everyone go it
alone. Hopefully Resolution 2014-47 is not a sign of things to come.