Part 3 - because the City's vision-disorder and how to cure it is becoming curiouser and curiouser. What with Nelson's circle of the wise - not only suffering from but having caused the very same malady - now planning to cure it but how could they: oblivious to being the source. Diagnostics in Part 1, 2 and now 3.
The circle (and a seamlessly closed circle it is!) consists of:
City Councils - 2014, 2006, 2005
Joy Barrett - Cultural Development Committee (CDC)
Kevin Cormack - City Manager
Tom Thomson - Nelson Chamber of Commerce (NCC)
Dianna Ducs - Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism (NKLT)
Drysdale & Mackenzie (D&M) - Experts
Nelson has to stop relying on its good looks and reputation.
Ian Mason
Former City Councillor
Well, it hasn't!
2014
Council, the CDC, NCC and NKLT have been limpeting to that reputation for years: true a long time ago, when we had a comprehensive Kootenay School of the Arts (KSA), Notre Dame University and hippies in living color, attitude - and energy! This gave Nelson a certain cachet as being special: youthful vibrancy in general and then the government-proposed/subsidized mainstreet-redo project in particular meant a rebirth to Nelson. Many property/business owners were brought into the '80s Baker-redo kicking and screaming: wanting to partake in possible profits but unwilling to invest towards them. Not realizing: You want to make money - you spend money first.
This mentality - unbridled greed, really - still a problem today: those in gimme-gimme mode only are holding back the whole. Preventing progress towards sustainability. Shopping local, etc. campaigns are really attempts at making business-owners happier on their way to the bank - this is not about their survival.
Anyway - reasons for the reputation are long-gone with the KSA on that scale, the university totally, hippies-as-were, and neither City Hall nor downtown-businesses actively building on the redo. Still just waiting for the money!
Still relying on said good looks - although knowing that there are lots of other comparable places - and said reputation today based on exactly what: tourism and business-investment leveling-off over years.
To (re)gain a measure of significance:
1.
Council has been pumping expensive hot air into a resuscitation-effort of Nelson's past artiness through the CDC: giddy with self-importance and disconnected - Councillor Macdonald in charge at the giving/receiving-ends hmmm...! But dead is dead!
2.
The NKLT - having nothing new to sell - is attempting to (re)create a reputation artificially by rewrapping the same old with - example: Head to the Kootenay Bakery Cafe with a book but prepare to be distracted by the gorgeous scenery, fascinating people and sinfully good food. Right!
3.
The NCC is attempting to talk sense and today into members.
The lack of a proactive collective vision of sustainable growth has left the City fragmented, sluggish, predictable and wastefully pretentious. With these 4 groups clearly responsible. Talking the talk but not walking it.
Some Identification, Please!
Sooo... D&M - with the CDC, NCC and NKLT - have come-up with the idea of producing a zippy identity-badge for name-recognition to solve all Nelson's ills present-and-future. A sexy identity to lure outside interests - temporary as tourists and permanent as investors. Just like that!
In their Council presentation D&M communicate very little very poorly - bad start: if they can't communicate effectively here, how affectively will they communicate outside! They largely bumble their way through, presenting no specific plan to Council. Regardless - their not-there item is promptly handed to "staff" for further whatever as/in a foregone conclusion that it will be accepted - financed - by the City.
Now it gets complicated: The terms identity and vision are used interchangeably. Then there is talk of unified creative vision (CDC) and cohesive vision (Council). Not the same: the creative having to arise out of the cohesive. And an identity not possible without a vision first.
Joy Barrett
expects a unified creative vision to arise from an identity never mind how - because if not the CDC's work may be a bit piecemeal. While actually there has been little creative vision - period - and the CDC's output piecemeal all along. Because there is no general vision towards a possible economic benefit for Nelson. Only dealing with small artsy projects - and overall culture not developed consciously because of this narrow focus. No point to it all - aside from prettified self-gratification.
Councillor Kiss
is correct saying that large amounts of money are spent without this (a) cohesive vision, but she fails to address that these large amounts have been exclusively spent by the CDC! Which she herself with the rest of Council have been providing! Because of no cohesive vision in Council Chambers! Could things get behinder than this? Yes, they could and will a bit further on!
Anyway - this I.D. is to be bought from Roger Brooks International (RBI), an American organization putting lots of similar towns on similar maps for similar increased visibility. Keeping up with the Joneses next door. Total cost of this identity-project is $33.000 to Nelson's taxpayers who have been vocal overwhelmingly against this off-the-shelf silliness. Recognizing the artificiality of an imposed identity.
2005 - 06
One may ask: If it's as simple as that to create an economic upswing - why isn't this done years ago?
Actually it is - in '05, presented in '06 - just phrased a bit differently. Initiated by the NCC. Costing the City $5.500. Only. As compared to. It's the Visitor/Tourism Assessment brought up in Part 2. Also produced by the RBI. And never implemented systematically - used as the instruction-manual it could be!
Council of '05 - with members Donna Macdonald and John Dooley - does not demand locked-in practical application as part of approval. And Council of '06 - with Bob Adams, Robin Cherbo and Deb Kozak - does not follow-up.
While item-by-item implementation of this manual over the last 8 years could have led/could still lead Nelson to a vision - and a real identity arising from the process of shaping a vision - naturally. Paid for already! With overall implementation: today's blurred vision/identity-crisis could have been avoided. Could be cured.
Unified Creative/Cohesive Vision
Seeing that both CDC's Barrett and Council's Kiss are disturbed by the lack of either vision, one might assume that the CDC would stop spending money on expensive piecemeal bits until the arrival of the name-badge - if/when!
Not so!
Ignoring its confessed lack of a unified creative vision - partly the reason for shopping for an identity/vision/label/badge - the CDC, with Barrett prominent in the process! - is about to present us with artistically created bike racks in the downtown core. The project is a great opportunity for the public to see the Public Art Reserve Fund being used to enhance downtown. Allocation of $3000 initially is in the pipes - all as presented and unquestioned in the Regular Council Meeting, Jan. 6.
Who decides what's artistic? Do we need piecemeal artsy bike racks? Seeing that sturdy functionality is what's needed (if racks are needed at all) - and functionality surely is compromised by piecemeal artsy doodling. That and being moveable as planned!
Although ideally more people should and probably will ride bikes - their number will only increase somewhat: nobody giving-up cars and limited by demographics and local geography. The elderly and hills.
Intending to now install 3 - 5 (why be specific?) bike racks in the first phase of the bike rack project for spring 2014 will mean little-used (all artistically created?) racks all over the place and streams of money spent pointlessly. Still/Again!
Artistic
The CDC is in the habit of handing projects to "artists" who - unrestrained by handlers - promptly get carried away as participants in their own work: never observers of themselves in the process, at the same time. This resulting in not quite producing what was proposed/is expected. Like the bridge-mural, the Ikea shower-curtains, the banners, the Baker bridge, the salmon-info frame and the hideously proportioned bench next to it.
Artistic bike racks? The horror!
Safely functional bike-racks and their placement should be handled by City Works & Parks from start to finish - as needed!
Back off, CDC! Here - and period! Stop spending money on insignificant bits and save it for one big, daring, exceptional - culturally visionary - project! Like a sternwheeler at the pier to take people on a roundtrip to the Eastshore, Kaslo, etc. - with that making sense of the Hall St. redo as direct access to the lake.
Thus: Nelson - a must!
Artsy bike racks could be, in my opinion, looking really incongruous, as does the artsy railing up at the Gyro Park lookout. That lookout railing, to me, looks weird and out of place with the rest of the gardens up there, and I'm not there to look at some experimental art which is rusting with river rocks embedded in it, either. I'm up there to look at the view. I would see more beauty in a simple, dark green railing which ties in with all the dark green railing on our streets here.... why not???!!!
ReplyDeleteTo then inject some artsy bike racks... well... perhaps the town will start to look more and more like some unplanned mishmosh of ideas.
We had our branding here for a long time; our heritage theme. Why not just build on it? They keep on monkeying around with a few things here and there and there is very little cohesiveness here.
They moved the statue that was on Vernon St, in front of the Hume Hotel... why? It was, at least, in a conspicuous place where it could be seen from many different angles. They put sculptures right downtown where they are not well seen. Sculptures are meant to be seen from distances at many angles.
I see Nelson going totally downhill from here. There is, really, no saving it from thoughtless development and expansion. It has become a little playground for wealthy retirees and tourists. The only jobs it creates are low paid scraps, and some new businesses for those who have the capital, time and energy to tap into our new found wealth around here... or can they? Most retirees, even if they're well off, do not spend much since their incomes are generally fixed and prices are going up fast. Get real, Nelson....
...maybe that could be our next cute slogan: "Nelson: Get real for a change."