First of all I need to say, though I am on a couple of city commissions/committees, my comments do not, in any way, reflect the view of those groups and I am in no way speaking for them or as a person connected with the city in any way. My views, observations and comments have been and always will be completely my own. Some things need to be said and I am too old and have come to far and invested too much into my life in this community to care what people think of me for these views:
We only have till Tuesday in which someone could apply to run for the the Ely city council or mayor seats. Hopefully more people will step forward. I have a real fear for the future of the community of Ely. This is a place I have chosen to dig in and build a family and business and life so many years ago and I care deeply about it’s future…
I spent a couple years going to city council meetings and watching the political game being played out and I have even been personally involved with some of it. For the most part it is harmless stuff.
The people in power play their games and make their decisions and we grumble if we disagree or applaud if we agree and life/policy etc goes on see-sawing back and forth and somehow finding it’s way. I would even admit I have been a part of some questionable decision making there myself.
But occasionally an issue comes up that is clearly right or wrong and the people in positions of authority, for whatever reason, make the completely obvious wrong decision.
We have lost the Ely Community Center this past year.
A valuable asset that could have been built into a huge win/win for Ely and we just tossed it aside…
Regardless of whatever other industries might or might not come and give us the much needed jobs, our city government should be focused on what makes Ely work as a community. We need to focus on the core… the heart. And the community Center was just that: the Heart.
I am not an old building fanatic. I am not one who wants to save old buildings at all cost. I understand the practicality of these types projects. I am a businessman. I believe in using the information available to us and assessing risks and rewards and then trying to make the decision that would be in the best interest for the overall health of the business, in this case the city of Ely.
I started off believing all the numbers being thrown around and thinking there was no way to save this old building. But I have looked at the costs and angles behind this project for the better part of a couple years now and every day it becomes more and more clear to me what a monumental disservice the current mayor and some members of the city council have done for the city of Ely.
There is no question that under proper, gutsy, forward thinking, open-minded leadership, this could have been built into a huge asset for the town. It may still survive… somehow, there are some efforts underway and ideas being evaluated, but it is extremely difficult and leadership from the city is going to be an essential part of righting this mistake.
I’m sure the new library will be nice but I’m quite sure that an amazing library in the old historic building would have been a fantastic asset to the community. It is unfortunate that we can not go back and change this, but hopefully we have the opportunity to do the next best thing: take this up in the voting booths. The people that made this decision ran unopposedthe last time they were up for election. Maybe we get the government we deserve. Maybe these people are just all that we have…
All that said, there is evidence all around of people working hard to improve their community. And this is always heartening. The people who are actually the boots on the ground working hard to make these things happen day after day. We all know who they are. They are the true heroes in this town and they are everywhere you look. Whether or not there is change in the council, these people will continue forward undaunted and under-thanked and Ely will be a better place for having them here.
…still, I am hopeful that somebody will step forward and bring just a bit of common sense to the process of city government.
-John Huisman
The above was printed in the Ely Echo as a letter to the editor.
Prompting a response from Ross Peterson, Ely’s mayor, (?!?) in hi usual colorful manor:
I was going to let this go. Everyone knows from our Mayors letters to the paper what kind of a guy he is, having told tourists to take their ignorant views elsewhere because of their stand on wolves and bashing Morse Township residents for sticking their noses into Ely’s business even though the vast majority of Ely’s businesses are owned, (and paid very high taxes on), by people who live outside the city limits in the surrounding townships but it seemed he needed a response. SO the following week I had this letter printed in the Ely Echo: