Thumbs-Up
for the 3 principled Councillors voting against the stream - after Council for months goes with the flow by looking away or approving steps within a process light on documented substance and strong on fancy talk.
The substance of this matter - a farmers' market - no more/no less - over time has become an expanded concept that will turn the market into "a regional asset." According to David Reid - its self-appointed mastermind. From farmers' market to Reidworld - the home of a music festival.
For an immediate payment of $30.000 from City Hall - meaning the tax-payer - this on top of the previous $12.600 - the same bottomless source - even though Reid initially is going to handle all fund-raising. Outside!
Thumbs-Down
for Mayor Kozak and those Councillors shrugging-off public input as meaningful mechanism for public participation. Unceremoniously cutting-short the time-frame for possible input with the mayor's the one (market proposal) approved by Council Monday is an overall proposal, the details of which could still be changed. Coulda - woulda! That in itself is a poor P.R. move - public perception and all - and clearly: Reid and Lukas Armstrong, Architect, have had the current proposal fixed among themselves for quite some time. A done deal - now to be fleshed-out with our 30.000.
What Mayor/Council Approve
is no longer so much about buying apples at a basic farmers' market as a circus promising to dazzle with slick tricks.
Reality Check: Have Mayor Kozak and approving Councillors been down there lately? No? Then what might their approval be based on?
Reality 1
All fantasies proposed involve many people - meaning: there needs to be enough parking for them. Yet nowhere is a number of parking-spaces given.
While bragging with up to 600 people possibly accommodated - the flip-side of that success would be the need for at least 200 parking-spaces. With the whole "workable" market-area being rather small, even smaller when all is said (figuratively) and done (literally) ..... you get the picture! A healthy crowd in the market-space - without the garden - is 200 people tops standing, walking - with kids and dogs running - around. And all having a parking-space.
The lack of adequate parking alone precludes all biggish-ticket events!
Reality 2
The word "park" - as "in the park" - appears frequently here. Yet there is no park! A bit of grass with a few trees - including the 2 big cedars: but no park!
While there is the generally called Japanese Garden: more accurately the Shuzenji Garden - but who can pronounce or even remember that. Not even the architect does! The garden starts close to the cedars and stretches all the way along Cottonwood Creek to the Falls.
So it seems this garden is what they mean by park.
Seeing that no seating is factored into the market-proposal anywhere - picnics in the dirt! - and even if it were: there couldn't possibly be enough - people have to sit on the many rocks in the garden. And the more do that - the more damage is done - not necessarily deliberately but by simply exhausting the garden's capacity to maintain and renew itself.
Ironically - while Armstrong goes on about the connection of vaguely origami-like unit-roofing with the Japanese Garden close by: he has no problem with having the garden trampled through/on/down.
And there's Reid with how the new design creates a pleasant interaction with the park. On a market-day there will be a feeling like you are in a park. Not just like you're in a park: you'll actually be all over it! Particularly on special-event days.
This just shortly after Kozak officially recognizes Jim Sawada for having created a jewel in our city with this garden.
People's main focus - while attending the Cottonwood Market of old - is to shop and leave. Staying longer for an event has a different dynamic: different provisions need to be made for people's comfort and enjoyment of the facilities while being and moving around there. Including: being able to take a load off their feet!
Therefore the garden needs to be closed-off to be protected.
While Reid and Armstrong are beside themselves and each other with the possibility of attracting/squeezing-in multitudes - they are not considering the environmental impact any of their envisioned tricks must have. Never mind just using common sense! Basics, Mr. Architect! Worst-case scenarios, Mr. EcoSociety!
Reality 3
While Kozak says Yes, we wanted to make sure it is not used for sleeping over or for unsavory or illegal activities - she does not propose how in reality we are to go about dealing with this triple-threat.
To make sure - entry/exit down/up the slope right next to stalls couldn't be any easier! - how about barbed-wire-topped fencing and watchtowers around the whole? A single well-guarded in-and-out gate? Rent-a-cops with bullhorns everywhere 24/7? Big scary dogs? Strip searches? Bag checks? And at night: laser-triggered floodlights and sirens? More big scary dogs? Loud repetitious mall-music? Surprise no-nonsense crack-downs?
Most helpful during and after the proposed festivals, trade-shows, theatre, music, etc. with hundreds attending. When being unsavory and illegal is common. With getting high, doing it and eventually passing-out.
So we also need a fashion-police-force trained in differentiating between undesirables and real people.
You've seen the movies; you know the drill. And if none of this does it - we can always get tickets for their night-bus to Vancouver! And watch them get on!
Bottomlines
According to the Star Reid said: the plan was developed with the help of a committee of market vendors. Horse-puckie!
A committee is "a body of people subordinate to a deliberative assembly." No deliberative assembly - here all market-vendors (unless Reid is the assembly)! - ever got together and approved a committee for making unilateral decisions for the Whole!
A couple of camp-following market-vendors at the EcoSociety do not comprise a committee.
Ultimately - what was supposed to be a basic farmers' market may cost close to a cool million. How much beyond the 42.600 so far is the tax-payer to get stuck with?
This fairie-dust proposal is a manipulation of the approval-process by Armstrong & Reid, clumsily attempting to get themselves on the map for reasons unconnected to local needs.
All this is what Mayor Kozak and (partial) Council approve (of).
And feed.
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zippynicole.blogspot.com
David Reid, EcoSociety, himself confirms - Committee of the Whole, 21 March, 2016 - what I for some time had been calling the possibility of a Tom Thomson/David Reid Axis. A power-sharing vision of Railtown. Possibility then - clear intention now. The one, single, only mention - period - of Railtown during his presentation. Two poles: the new Chamber of Commerce quarters in the CPR Station to the north - a new (part-time) Cottonwood Market to the south. According to him. The rest - seemingly - filler of incidental concern.
Also see post
To/At/From THE HEART
14 Dec. 2015
Even though a new market will be non-operational most of the week, month, year. A fact - no matter what band-shell, markets, concerts, weddings, group-picnics, trade shows, theatre, festivals etc. are proposed for there to gloss-over this fact. But how could he miss with BBQ spots: the fragrance of frying dead animals wafting through all of the above is certain to be a winner - particularly with surely present undesirables and dogs. People's Park.
All this in the rather small space left after configuring the market proper, access, parking, various storage-facilities and toilets. But packing them in real tight like to make them appear more than they are is part of the architect's oeuvre.
Another layer of the gloss: area food security - according to Reid - made possible through (t)his market. Only! Not the Wednesday-one on Baker - nor any others anywhere in the area or just anywhere. The Co-op is bound to love this one!
In the Beginning
the real Cottonwood Market is torn down single-handed by Kevin Cormack, City Manager - unapproved by Council.
Then - a City-Staff-generated Request for Decision asks Council to fund a pre-plan plan by Cover Architectural Collaborative for a new market with taxpayered $12.600. Council promptly approves: a shopping-list - basically.
While this would be the time to ask customers/vendors specific questions about what specifically they liked about the old market and specifically expect of the new: it does not happen!
But is left to the architect and David Reid: the latter totally in charge of fundraising for the market and really in charge of the whole thing - well, with Kevin Cormack, always Kevin Cormack, but certainly not Council - while the market is to be built on municipal property and owned by the City. Plus - be still, poor heart! - Reid plans to open for business within a few months! With Council showing no concern.
Immediate demolition of the old market is deemed crucial because City-engineers find - just like that and never before: structures are totally unfit for human consumption. No written report on this is volunteered by Staff or demanded by Council.
The Request includes an anonymous community business-partner ... also dealing in wood - who wants to participate in the new market, while making a significant (financial) contribution to it nudge-nudge. Council neither insists on knowing his name and how-much nor asks for clarification of the appropriateness of this beautiful friendship.
Also see post
The Arrogance of Wood-Rail-Cotton-Town Who
4 Jan. 2016
After never having been shown the pre-plan plan - we eventually get to see the real thing as a done deal - surprise, surprise! - in the Railtown public-input presentation. Everything else is only general ideas on district-development. Not so the farmers' market - that's locked-in: Reid going it solo.
This also is telling of his king-of-the-castle attitude. While there had to be a pre-plan plan - various sketched ideas tossed around - these were not shown to those paying for that phase. Us. Meaning: our input at that crucial time is found what? Unnecessary? A bother?
While $12.600 were for the pre-plan plan only - one wonders about the designers' fees for what they actually definitively come-up with beyond it. Council?
Particularly as what they do come-up with does not take customers/vendors into account as feeling, thinking people - just crowds to be manipulated in a computer-game.
The plan is a wet dud!
Also see post
Input: The Farmers' Market
1 Mar. 2016
Because of an image-thing - what else? - Reid is leaving out from his presentation why the re-birth of his Vanity Fair won't happen for the upcoming season - in fact - not until 2017. If then.
Considering the unpopularity of Kalesnikoff Lumber in/around Glade these days - for reasons well part of the EcoSociety's usual desk-thumping: it is astonishing-or-not to see their coziness with Reid in connection with the farmers' market.
LETTER: Skepticism about logging warranted
Nelson Star, 21 Mar. 2016
But then - Reid is rumored to have political ambitions. Need I say more!
Image problems all around!
Big ones!
stimm.de
deutschlandfunk.de
newsiosity.com
wdr.de
lz.de
datab.us
The premise of this post being that the City's Railtown/Market input-extension specifically is about the top-to-bottom unworkable market-design: this not previously noticed(!?!) by its architects(!?!) and initiators(!?!). Over months! Neither rooves above nor ground below work and little in between.
See also post
Input: The Farmers' Market
1 March 2016
below.
Simply - the design should have been based on an acknowledged specific purpose, grounded in common sense: not the designers'/initiators' egos taking flight. On the Flying Nun's wimple!
Many vendors have been increasingly feeling insufficiently or not at all consulted in the decision-making process - starting with the overly hasty demolition of the previous market. While quite rightly they are the only experts in this!
So now the City goes back to start - not collecting 200. In fact, taxpayers (including local vendors!) are short 12.600. Because actually a new market won't be ready until sometime in maybe 2017 possibly, and the coming season will be spent in tents. Sound familiar? Mind you: now it's the vendors' tents.
To Be Considered For The Market Proper
1. Functionality - Stalls
a)
Stalls should be under a single continuous roof - there may be several (possibly 3) stall-units: a square/rectangle with one side open - the empty core possibly used for smaller performances, exhibits, demonstrations. Individual stalls to be separated from each other with (re)movable partitions - about 4' high. Allowing for stalls to be reconfigured according to need.
The market must provide an environment in which vendors/customers are/feel relatively safe from rain, wind, sun. Planning must be conservative-functional, based on a worst-case scenario: for instance - rain by the bucket lately!
b)
Therefore stall-units need to be raised above ground-level, what with providing sufficient overall drainage being unfeasible.
c)
Therefore stall-units need to have a back - about 4' high - against which vendors can safely stack and keep dry: back-ups.
d)
Therefore the rooves of stall-units need sufficiently extending eaves - with gutters - in the back to provide overall dry/cool shelter there - and in the front to keep displayed wares dry/cool - with customers in comfortable dry/cool shopping-mode.
e)
Therefore rooves must not be too high: the higher they are - the easier entry of rain, wind, sun will be made. Incidentally - then hooks in reachable cross-beams would supply additional (hanging-)space for displays of merchandise.
2. Functionality - Ground(s)
The overall ground needs to be level, solid and safe to walk on in any weather - regardless of footwear worn. Wheelchairs? Walkers?
The total space is to be well-lit - in/outsides - on a programmable timer; cleaned and patrolled constantly/consistently by the City: its owner with sole responsibility.
3. Aesthetics
It is impossible to recreate the former Cottonwood Market's historical funkiness, traditional connectedness of vendors/customers: the major draw for locals/tourists. But! An attempt must be made to provide continuity, a similar ambience.
Going wide-open pseudo-edgy can't do that, will put-off vendors/customers - and who needs the "soulless" aberration of a farmers' market on Saturday - when we already have a satisfactory one on Wednesday: familiar, convenient, comfortable and closer.
Reality Check
There may be "official" voices against this kind of design in relation to City Hall's distaste for undesirables and immature yearnings to be cool - but not staying on fixed purpose with the design would create resistance in vendors, customers, thus problems for the City: the market may become an expensive why-bother-going waste of space in Railtown.
Considering the design-context: empty seclusion of an open market most of the week, the month, the year just can't be made other-use proof.
Again: its overall design - including a parkish environment - can only be based on a worst-case scenario - not wishful thinking. It will only take 1 child to play with 1 turd or 1 used needle to shut the whole thing down with a bang! For good!
When all is said and said: in that location the market needs to operate from a building - period - spilling outward during market-hours only; the building itself in constant multi-use year-around and securely locked during off-times.
On a positive note: the delay may give them time to get it right!
Giuseppe Arcimboldo:
ammit.exblog.jp
commons.wikimedia.org
flickr.com
mtb-mag.com
wikiart.org
sbs.wsu.edu
All three are Nelson's often breathless props and (marketing-)ploys to be, become more and stay relevant. With these concepts' inherent value individually and as a natural progression disregarded.
Generally to City Hall "history" and "heritage" are synonymous, as are "culture" and "art".
History
Simply put - this is the aggregate of significant past events recorded in chronological order. Seeing that usually and over time they are recorded - if recorded - by people with varying perspectives: these records may become arbitrarily selective - more historical than historic.
Remembering all, unflinchingly acknowledging dodgy and whited-out parts is of vital importance for (not necessarily to) succeeding generations. Because:
If you don't know history you are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree. Anonymous
An objectively comprehensive, seamless history of Nelson since incorporation has never been recorded; local history is not taught in local schools. Therefore the average Nelsonite knows (and cares) little about the city's history - while claiming to superficially.
Nelson's partial, lovingly written pre-incorporation history by John Norris and the mind-numbingly detailed, often straying off-topic History of Nelson webpage of the Visitor Info Centre stop just as things get really interesting. What with the Visitor Info page - for many years - having promised their history To be continued.
Nelson's present waiting to catch-up with its past.
Heritage as Tradition
Briefly - it is a set of values - a behavioral mindset - passed-on, lived and experientially added to from generation to generation.
While this is the commonly accepted definition - it clearly is not about heritage-tomatoes and buildings!
Smaller social groups within the larger Whole bring their particular heritage to it, and ideally all accept, blend, learn from each other's to eventually - together - form a stronger, more colorful, all-inclusive heritage for following generations to live by.
The goal of multi-culturalism
Heritage as Entitled Attitude
An inherited mindset may be a positive motivating influence while just as easily a negative driving force: when generations of a domineering group - within the Whole's social construct - insist on maintaining a traditional mindset of assumed superiority, power over other weaker so-called minorities.
The failure of multi-culturalism
Heritage as Non-Contextual Label
In Nelson capital H Heritage solely means - usually more historical than historic - buildings, only indirectly connected to heritage. While its previous Community Heritage Commission was fanatically protective of such buildings, the current Heritage Working Group is fiercely protective of no particular mandate. With historic/historical buildings still called "heritage" - out of habit and conceptual linguistic misuse.
Culture
According to Sir Edward Tylor, cultural anthropologist, 1832-1917, culture is that complex whole that includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, custom and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of a society.
Art ideally a refined - imaginative/creative - expression, reflection of a way of life - a culture.
While at City Hall capital C Culture exclusively means capital A Art - usually with little conscious cultural context established.
A culture is the specific ways/means by which humans interact in universal situations within a given social group - positively and/or negatively.
Today moving quickly from one culture into another may present hiccups: culture-shock. Though ideally accepted as of equal value.
The History/Heritage/Culture Connect
The present-day culture of a social group is fed into by inherited traditions, mindsets, experiences of generations - those largely influenced by historical/historic movement.
History begets heritage begets today's culture.
Close to home: The suppression of indigenous and all other non-white groups and their heritage/culture by domineering whites - always whites, in particular WASPs! - through their mindset of superiority/entitlement - became part of following white generations' heritage. Somewhat toned-down in today's culture of the (not quite so) domineering (any longer) group.
Yet covert racism and overt discrimination are alive and well.
A full-blooded heritage!
Without Chinese market-gardeners - despite their often horrific treatment - keeping early Nelson healthy with fresh, inexpensive produce thus in cultural-development mode at a crucial time in its history, working twice as hard for half the pay; disdained hippies in days gone-by fueling the local/area economy with income from high-quality - gasp! - dope: where or what would Baker St. as-is-today be? Two examples only!
History, heritage, culture of others: Unacceptable!
Travis Louie:
travislouie.blogspot.com
churchofhalloween.com
maslindo.com
poetrycafe.com
ektopia.co.uk
culturainquieta.com
skyblue-pink.com
weirdfictionreview.com
Nelson citizens present new ideas for Railtown
Bill Metcalfe, Nelson Star
Feb. 27, 2016
It maybe fun to ooh-and-aah over the pretty computer-renderings - but underneath their slickness a surprising lack of functionality for/as a farmers' market needs to be questioned.
In addition - for any town-folk on the outside looking at (not in!) - it is impossible to get a sense of a cohesive whole, the before/after photo/drawing not enlightening either.
Seeing that a new market has (had?) been fast-tracked since Nov. 2015 as an almost immediate reality: while now critical if still to meet its earlier projected completion come spring - in this public-input presentation it was parked on the slow track, with all other possibles.
Or was it?
Or what!
The Premise
The area this 4-times-a-month/half-of-the-year market expects to occupy - with its close proximity to the Shuzenji Garden and Cottonwood Creek/Falls, at the sheltered very edge of Railtown - is the most desirable.
Attempting to replicate the Cottonwood Market there in a sanitized, jazzed-up version is unrealistic: its popularity was largely rooted in its funky-folky traditional ambience. And the intimacy possible there between customers/vendors, vendors/vendors and customers/customers.
With all that missing in these renderings: this only thus far presented model could at best be an impersonal/generic farmers' market. Impossibly ever as popular as the Cottonwood Market of old (literally!) - with locals and tourists alike.
Where are the heritage-folk in this?
Personally, I resist calling what is to come the Cottonwood Market: to me and many others going/being/shopping there was almost a ritual; there was a feeling of belonging - all in all a most basic thus deeply satisfying pleasure. Soul food!
The Renderings
The roofish covers of individual units - with no structurally seamless continuity - would provide little shelter from the elements.
Their zig-zag/folded/sloping design - shades of Frank Gehry - would have rain rush to their lowest points and from their gush straight down: splashing/spreading onto vendors, their display/storage-spaces and customers. Pooling in (mud-)puddles.
In addition, with more diffused rain slanting in from front or back - invited-in with upward-reaching outside wings, more down through the open center and spaces between units: a wet day would be a very wet day for vendors. And customers while circulating - umbrellas everywhere!
The center-stretch of square concrete blocks forever with greens growing in their hollow core - unsafely awkward to walk on at the best of times - would be even more dangerous accidentally stepped down-into when soggy-squishy. Oops, there goes another ankle!
Back to the covered units: Relatively more protected spots towards the middle of a unit soon to be argued over by vendors - creating bad vibes! - because significant space at both ends would be dodgy during/after rain.
How to minimize hassle with rain and each other? Best never to agree to an end-spot - just in case - unless the sky is blue on blue.
Meaning: at times a significant portion of space is not rented out - deadzone. This - in turn - possibly leading to a shortage of work-spaces. And grumbling!
Unless the whole is redesigned to make it practical, safe - need-based, more user-friendly.
Ironically - reasons for why the Cottonwood Market absolutely had to come down included: the roof was leaking and the place was unsafe.
So now what?
No matter how adjustable overall Railtown planning will be - the question arises: why weren't basic specifics presented above factored out/in for a doable market - BIG question-mark! - considering that local - they should have known better! - Cover Architecture have had the Council-approved scope of work go-ahead and funding of $12.600 for it since Nov. 2015.
Last week's stakeholder-charrette produced - sort-of impromptu - a surprising number of interesting possibilities for Railtown development. We can feel good about that!
While not so much about the market-proposal. Putting it among the just-ideas is inappropriate: its designers all along have been working on a different, reality-now trajectory of time, funding, professional expertise. Here pretending to be one of the gang is ludicrous - they never have been. No matter how they position themselves/are positioned: hands-on results shown to the public for the first time - 4 months after inception of the project - have been very limited, in terms of presentation and its feasibility.
This market-design is not a matter of having the public input a tweak here a tweak there to let them feel part of the process: this is a fundamentally inadequate design!
Another point to be addressed now is the - recorded in the same Request For Decision for which the above approval was given - unidentified(!?!) community business-partner who wanted to participate in the market and contribute an unspecified(!?!) amount of money to it.
Who is he, how much - but particularly WHY? Seeing that much of the proposed market seemingly is to be constructed with wood, and Kevin Cormack, City Manager, said at that time that Mr. X deals in wood. Major dots!
Constructing a hasty new part-time market - a cavalier use of location, funding, resources and goodwill - would need infra-structure of many tentacles, with probable impact on later development elsewhere.
Cultural Center
What Nelson does need is a cultural center. And in that space.
Also on the subject
Fernie: The Arts Station and How It's Done!
8 Feb, 2016
Our center including a farmers' market: starting earlier, finishing later and occasion-based run during off-season. Safe!
And while that center takes time to come to fruition - along with much else in Railtown development - a Saturday-market can comfortably spend its customary part-time on Baker St.
All in good time!
Market Photos:
Bill Metcalfe
Other Images:
cz.depositphotos.com
splashdreamstime.com
shutterstock.com
rockndirtyard.com
