I have had some significant problems about the way the Aquatic Center came about. However, I do believe that the Town Council members did make good decisions with the information that was provided to them. There is a certain level of trust that must extend between elected officials and citizens, and elected officials with the people they rely upon to give them information. Elected officials are simply citizens like any of us. They rely upon professionals to give them good information.
Hence, isn’t it possible that the concept for the Aquatic Center was acted upon in good faith by elected officals, but perhaps the information they were provided was a bit narrow or selective in focus? Things like that happen in business all the time. Once commitments are made, it then becomes a matter of trying to make the best of the situation.
In this case, I truly believe that the Aquatic Center can, if marketed effectively, be a benefit to the Town. Given the amount of finger pointing that occurred at the Town Council work session last Friday, I would like to see that type of wasteful behavior stop. It does not fix the problem. To fix the problem, it is going to take every single Council member getting behind this issue and working diligently to make sure that it is a SUCCESS!!
The following is a hypothetical discussion based upon what my warped little brain could create as a possible scenario:
I do not have any special insider information, but using a bit of deductive reasoning, I think that the delays in opening the center can be explained. A public-private partnership was established because it was presented as the best way to get the project done without having to go through the expense of handling bids and rfp’s. Those constitute a process that is both time and personnel extensive. It does take careful evaluation by town administration/finance officer to make sure that the town’s money is being used effectively because it removes the concept of competitive bidding. Such decisions are generally made by the Town Manager in Christiansburg. It also removes the process from a great deal of public meetings and any issues of conflict of interest where local vendors might be used who are members of town government. Additionally, it is not uncommon for such ‘partnerships’ to be established in such a manner that the contractor works on it in between other jobs and charges a reduced rate. This allows contractors to keep their workers on the payroll during times when they are in between projects. Unfortunately, that means that construction projects in the partnership fall to the bottom of the list when it comes to getting done. All of this, if done properly, is designed to save taxpayer money.
That said, we are about to have an Aquatic Center that will provide a wealth of opportunities for citizens. I know there is significant interest because of the number of hits I have had on that particular page of my website. Aquatic Center. Along with several thousand hits from within the United States, several hundred people from 13 different countries have entered the site to look at the center. Countries represented include: Canada, England, Spain, New Zealand, India, Thailand, Australia, France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Greece.
So, while I may joking call it the ‘catfish pond’, I know full well that the Aquatic Center is getting attention. What that means to me is that we need leadership to take advantage of that interest. We need leadership to insure that marketing and research are done and that creative ways of using the facility need to be brought to the table. We need elected officials to be making it all it can be, not using it as political platforms to lay fault or blame. We will all need to get behind this project to make it a big success.
