nudging the predictable: 82.600 Dollars (So Far!)

This directly follows post
Downmarket
26 Mar, 2016

After handing $30.000 to David Reid a few weeks ago for something maybe possibly perhaps vaguely connected with a Cottonwood Market: City Council now adds another 40.000 bucks - partly for the same maybe possibly perhaps vaguely connected purpose and partly because of an impressive new name Reid pastes on the thing.

1. The Money
Among 36 applicants for funding from Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) - the EcoSociety - meaning Reid - receives most by far: at 40.000 4 times as much as the applicant next at the public trough. Most of the rest get way less than even 10.000. Or nothing!

There is something distasteful about this. If he had applied for less (actually he wanted 42.000!), and/or Council for a moment came out of its Reid-swoon: there could have been more for the more deserving. We need to remember that instead of the Hollywood Bowl Reid wants now - all we originally were to get from him was a modest replacement for Cottonwood (Farmers') Market as such.

Proportional to their request most applicants receive way less than Reid, who walks with close to 30% of the total funding available.

For a detailed break-down see
Nelson council decides 2016 community initiative grants
Nelson Star, Apr 20, 2016

2. The Name

Cottonwood Park Public Performance & Market Building

Just the name seems to suggest what I have been advocating for a long time: an exceptionally designed building housing a multi-purpose indoor cultural center - THE HEART - including a part-time farmers' market. Open every day with various regular activities, special events and a cafe. Locked during off-hours, safe.

But beyond the misleading name the Reid/Armstrong vision is none of that. What's in a name? This name .....

Cottonwood Park
What becomes clear in their proposal is that they have expanded their rather small playground by just-like-that appropriating the Shuzenji Garden - according to Mayor Kozak: a jewel in the city - and renaming all Cottonwood Park. Or just the park.
Yet without Jim Sawada's Garden there is no Park - period. Does he know what may happen to his labor of love?
Clearly - a basic, easily done common-sense environmental-impact study necessary to protect the jewel from Reid's envisioned crowds of revelers is a non-issue to them. This is somewhat baffling - what with Reid being the local go-to eco-guy! Or used to be! Gone Hollywood now.

Public Performance
Worth noting is that in the name (and importance!) Public Performance precedes Market. Performing in public simply is sexier than schlepping veg for dinner.
But what is a public performance? As opposed to a private performance? Is it free to the general public? What with the location's idiosyncracies: ticketing performances will be pointless. But then - will these acts do whatever unpaid? If not - who's paying them? Maybe Council.
Explanations would be good - but there haven't been any!

Market
You may remember that all this started out as a replacement for the Cottonwood (Farmers') Market. Only!
But seriously - a market-replacement here is unnecessary: while we loved the Market of old - what's to love about the new market-afterthought!
The Wednesday one on Baker is just fine, and we could always have a repeat there on Saturday - maybe with a block added. Tourists would love it!

Building
Renderings/schematics do not show a single Building - an enclosed structure: roof, doors, windows - but a series of separate shelters: open all around, through-and-through, from the top down and bottom up. Reid calls them light and airy - actually they will be wet and drafty. Without seating - and their possible (while not probable) use pretty much within the same time-frame as that of the Market of old - wetcoldrainsnow making anything a no-go.