On Monday, June 21, Iowa’s first LEED™ Platinum-certified home will be awarded a certification plaque by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Located at 33 Pecan Street in Cypress Villages, Robert Smistik’s new home was over a year in the making. Constructed entirely by local contractors, the two bedroom home had to meet a rigorous checklist of requirements to attain LEED™ Platinum certification.

“The residential sector contributes greatly to climate change and is responsible for 21% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions,” said Nate Kredich, Vice President, Residential Market Development, U.S. Green Building Council. “Green homes like 33 Pecan Street are an immediate and measurable way individuals can make a difference for the environment, and this project will serve as an example to the community of the benefits of building green.”

LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized, point-based green building certification system developed by the USGBC. LEED™ measures how well a green home performs in the following categories: energy savings, water efficiency, C02 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, stewardship of resources, and sensitivity to their impacts. LEED™ Platinum is the highest designation of all.

The home marks the first of many future LEED™-certified buildings planned at Cypress Villages, a 144-acre eco-neighborhood being built north of Fairfield. “Every building and home at Cypress Villages will be built according LEED™ Silver or Platinum,” says Martha Norbeck, the community’s Project Designer and Sustainability Specialist. “Our goals are to live as a model of sustainability for ourselves and others, and to celebrate and protect the valuable natural resources of our planet.”

33 Pecan Street features low-e argon windows, high efficiency lighting fixtures, compact fluorescent bulbs and high insulation values. Other energy efficiency upgrades include a ground source heat pump for heating and cooling, a high efficiency water heater, a programmable thermostat, an energy recovery ventilator and solar electric panels. Low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, bamboo flooring, and regionally produced windows, gypsum board, wood trim and tile have been used throughout the house. With a monthly average utility bill of $82, the Smistik home is performing 40% more efficiently than a comparable code compliant home and has achieved the highest Energy Star rating which is five stars plus.

“At Cypress Villages, we’re about as green as you get,” says Norbeck. “We’re striving to build a self-sufficient neighborhood of LEED™-certified homes that go above and beyond most standards of sustainability. This home is just the first step.”

While they are “on the grid,” the community aims to be Net-Zero. This means their solar and wind-generated utilities will produce enough renewable energy each year to match or exceed what they consume from outside energy utilities, with no natural gas, fuel oil or liquid petroleum required. Cypress Villages also has 120 acres of certified organic farmland, is converting to permaculture food production and is partnering with a local entrepreneur to develop an eco-mall.

The entire community is invited to attend the open house and award ceremony that will take place at 2pm on June 21st at the Smistik home. Developer Dan Walker and designer Martha Norbeck will speak on the challenges and rewards of building green as well as Iowa’s sustainable future. State and local leaders will be present for the ceremony and refreshments will be provided. 33 Pecan St is located off of 177th St. North Highway 1 in Fairfield. For more information, visit www.CypressVillages.com.

Concrete medians installed by the City of Nevada, Iowa for their Quiet Zone in 2008. Photo courtesy of Walt MacDonald.

Fairfield City Council has hired a Quiet Zone specialist Andrew Mielke of SRF Consulting using funds donated by the Fairfield Train Safety and Quiet Zone Committee. His job is to advise the City Council on how to implement their resolution of November 2007 to create a Railroad Quiet Zone for Fairfield. The debate has moved on from the sometimes bitter divisions of the past over whether Fairfield should have a Quiet Zone. A recent poll on the Fairfield Iowa Facebook page showed 91% were in favor of Quiet Zone, and dissenting comments are almost never seen in the Facebook discussions or in the comments on the three Quiet Zone articles published on Fairfield Voice this year.

Public discussion now centers on what configuration of Quiet Zone is best for Fairfield, and how much it will cost. According to the Federal Railroads Administration website there are now 385 Railroad Quiet Zones in the US. Fairfield may be the first in the US created with no taxpayer funds and be entirely funded from private donations.

In the public meeting at the Fairfield Library last Sunday night, Mr. Mielke said the minimum configuration to qualify for Quiet Zone for Fairfield would involve changes to only 4 out of the present 8 crossings. This would satisfy the Federal Railroad Administration, which requires the accident risk levels to be reduced to less than the present levels with the horns sounding. He suggested the four changes could be closing 3rd St crossing; installing Supplemental Safety Measures on 2 other Streets; and closing or upgrading one other street. He recommended including 23rd St among the streets to receive safety upgrades since this crossing currently has the highest risk level of the 8 crossings in Fairfield. This is a similar solution as a city in New Jersey he’s currently working which has elected to upgrade only 6 of their total 12 crossings to create a Quiet Zone for the city.

At the other end of the scale, Mr. Mielke said, is Burlington, Iowa, which last year upgraded 6 1/2 out of their 10 crossings. They closed 2 crossings, left one unimproved and installed medians on just one side of one other crossing.

Of the various safety upgrades possible on the crossings, only one is commonly used. This involves placing a concrete median down the center of the street for 60 to 100 feet in front of each railroad crossing gate. This prevents traffic from going around the gate, which is a major cause of accidents. Although cheaper plastic wands are possible as well, these have had problems with vandalism and snowploughs. A former City Council member of Nevada Iowa, Walt MacDonald said in 2008 they installed 920 lineal feet of concrete medians (pictured above) on five crossings for a total cost $28,350, plus around $10,000 for signs and street repairs. This comes out to a total cost of under $8,000 per crossing.

The biggest accident risk reduction for the Quiet Zone is achieved by reducing the number of crossings by closing less used ones. This is why BNSF and the Iowa DoT give cash incentives to close crossings. The Fairfield Quiet Zone committee made a proposal to the City’s Transport and Safety Committee in March in which they reported that these cash grants would be $50,000 total per crossing. Andrew Mielke cautions that deals vary in each case. “The City could expect to receive at least $40,000 per crossing closing,” he said.

In 2004 the Federal Railroads Administration gave two options to the City of Fairfield to establish a Quiet Zone. Both of these options involved closing 3rd and Court St crossings. While no one has come out publicly against closing 3rd St, opinions are more divided on Court St. This has become an issue since the most recent estimates presented to the City by the Quiet Zone Committee in March indicate that Court Street is the most expensive to upgrade due to the poor condition of the road which would need to be resurfaced prior to installing medians. The total cost is estimated at $67,040. So this together with the cash incentives provided by BNSF and Iowa DoT would likely save the City over $100,000 if Court St crossing were closed. This figure could be less if the City bore some of the cost of resurfacing Court Street prior to installing medians.

At Sunday’s public meeting one Court Street resident, Peter Dollive, asked about closing Court Street. Michael Halley, the Council member tasked with heading up the Quiet Zone project responded that his enquiries with fellow Council members indicated the City would not approve this. Mr. Dollive questioned this. “If the residents on Court Street want the street closed, why would anyone want to keep it open?” he asked.

One reason often cited to keep Court Street open is that closing it would inconvenience people traveling to the square by car, on foot or by bicycle. But evidently not for the residents of Court St – so far no resident of Court St has objected to the idea of closing the crossing and many have spoken out in favor.

Since Court St is a dead end on the north end it’s hard to make the case that it is more convenient for people traveling to the city from places other the street itself. To test this, I tried driving to the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center by three different routes from the intersection of B and Kirkwood Sts. Using B St came out quickest at 1 minute 25 seconds. Court St was 6 seconds slower, and Main St came in at 20 seconds slower. Obviously it depends on traffic conditions, but since B St has a better road surface and has parking only one side of the street, it’s likely to be the fastest route most of the time.

Some say business owners around the square feel closing Court Street would inconvenience their customers. Pam and Wayne Slowick, owners of one of the larger retail businesses on Court Street disagree. “We don’t think it will have any impact at all on Thymely Solutions traffic. We think our customers drive up B and Main to cross over to Court Street,” they said.

Closing Court St achieves a significant risk reduction for the Quiet Zone as well as saving donors and the City the cost of upgrading the street. However, as Mr. Mielke points out, it is still an option to not select Court St for one of the streets to be upgraded.

Mr. Mielke expects to have a report with his recommendations ready for the City Council within a month.

If you ask the Rabalais (say “Rab uh lay”) brothers how their band Utopia Park won the award for Best Musical Act 2009 in Fairfield on FairfieldVoice.com, Phillip will tell you they stole it, with a grin on his face.  Dominic jumps in quickly to point out that while other local favorites The Jefferson County Green Band were leading the poll at the time the brothers discovered they were in the running, all it took was a few emails, Facebook and blog posts to mobilize their established fan base into voting them the winners.

Brothers “their whole lives”, Phil and Dom both got into making music in their mid-teens.  About two and a half years ago, they wrote their first original track, and they’ve been steadily producing, performing and refining their high octane, catchy electro-pop ever since.

Starting out with the band name Porno Galactica “pretty much as a joke”, the Rabalais brothers recently decided to change it to Utopia Park.  They feel the name speaks to the magic of their childhood growing up in a local trailer park of the same name.  Plus they were looking to match the aesthetic that evolved as they began to take themselves a little more seriously as a band.  What began as mostly a “laptop DJ” show has expanded to include live guitar and keys over their programmed backbeats.

Still, while their commitment to making music may have gotten more serious, the only thing serious about a Utopia Park show is the amount of fun to be had!  To quote the brief write-up in Fairfield Voice when the winners were announced, “If you don’t start dancing by the time Porno Galactica (Utopia Park)’s song Sea Best Released is over; then you just might be dead.”

Utopia Park recently returned from their Deep Chill tour of the Southern US, starting off this March in Austin, and looping back there again in time for SXSW by way of Houston, Louisiana, Georgia and Arkansas and a few other places in-between.  They played lots of shows, learned lots of things, made lots of friends and chronicled it all in their funny and irreverent blog (warning, it does contain occasional not safe for work language).

Since returning home, the brothers haven’t even stopped to catch their breath.  Between promoting and hosting shows in Cafe Paradiso, The Beauty Shop, and their house, they started a new label called Sweat Power Records.

Sweat Power Records is bringing back the cassette tape for limited edition releases by Utopia Park and several of their friends.  The novelty concept is sparking creative ideas among the bands releasing music on the label.  Some want to create a whole package deal where you buy the cassette with a walkman and headset.  Others want to do split EP’s with Utopia Park.  The beauty of it is that Phil and Dom have that, “Why not? Let’s do it!” attitude that not only supports creative ideas but actually makes them happen.

To me, that is part of what makes Utopia Park so deserving of their award for Best Musical Act.  Not only do they make great music and put on great shows, they serve the younger generations in Fairfield through their examples of how to take an idea and follow it through to reality.  In a small town where you aren’t as likely to have your entertainment handed to you on a platter, creating the environment you want to experience can be the difference between happiness and boredom.  I applaud their generosity, energy, and ingenuity and look forward to whatever the Rabalais brothers may come up with next!

In fact, I know the very next thing they are doing is this Saturday, May 8th at The Beauty Shop. Utopia Park will be playing their first Fairfield show since returning from their March tour.  They are sharing the bill with several other artists, including two bands who will be releasing their Sweat Power Tapes on the same night.

Check out the line up:

Valley Tounges from Iowa City — SWEAT POWER TAPE RELEASE!

Tall Too and Maid Marian from Ames — SWEAT POWER TAPE RELEASE!

Alex Body from Iowa City

Utopia Park

The show starts at 9pm at The Beauty Shop.  Cover is $2.

As I savor my coffee this morning I also savor victory. But not for long, as we’ve got a lot of work to do to prove to the community that recent successes at the FACC are not a fluke. Rather, part of a well laid out plan and a humble and dynamic leader in Rustin Lippincott.

Just after 8pm last night (May 4th), a room full of civic and business leaders, FACC donors and board, and our incredible group of supporters, watched as Rustin and board president Bob Moore entered the building smiling ear to ear with the news that the votes were in, and that we had won convincingly.

Here is the official statement from the FACC:

The Fairfield Arts and Convention Center is pleased to announce that on  Tuesday, the Fairfield voters approved a referendum to allocate 12.5% of the City of Fairfield’s Local Option Sales Tax revenues to purchase the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center and place its ownership in the hands of the city.

The Center can now retire its debt and concentrate on increasing its services to the community. The unofficial vote tally was 1607 yes votes and 807 no votes.

“On behalf of the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center Board of Directors, staff and volunteers, we say thank you to the many Fairfield voters who turned out today to voice their affirmative opinion on the viability of the purchase and operating plan we are now able to implement with gusto,” said Rustin Lippincott, the Center’s Executive Director.  “We regard the confidence that this community’s residents have instilled in the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center today with great humility and awe and with a profound sense of anticipation and exuberance,” he added.  “We are tremendously grateful for the outcome and celebrate tonight, but we awake tomorrow faced with the accountability which we now have to the people of the City of Fairfield.  I assure you that the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center accepts this investment from the people of Fairfield mindful of the responsibilities inherent in it and resolved to deliver diverse programming with affordable prices for years to come. ”

In the coming days, the Center’s Board of Directors will be meeting with the representatives from the City of Fairfield and Iowa State Bank to complete the purchase and establish the details for the lease and operating agreement.

“I want to personally thank the Center’s Board of Directors, the donors who made the private fundraising efforts possible and the countless supporters who helped crystallize and deploy our message and purpose,” said Lippincott.

And I would like to humbly thank our supporters, those of you who rose to the occasion to support something you believe in. Whether it was e-mailing, Facebooking, handing out flyers with kid in tow, or simply recommending to a friend that they vote “yes”, I can’t tell you how much that support meant to me personally and, of course, to the FACC as a whole.

As I’ve maintained all along, there is still work to be done in order to keep the FACC as a sustainable operation. But now, energized with support, we’re truly in the best position for success. And for that, I thank you Fairfield.

Well, the coffee is almost gone, so I will savor those last drops of victory and get back to work.

PS – Photos are courtesy of our good friend, pianist and photographer extraordinaire – Werner Elmker. See you at the Center!

The History of Fairfield and Jefferson County, Part 2: The First Settlers to Today

By the mid-1800’s Iowa had  found itself at the forefront of change and began to undertake the radical transformation from “primitive” to “civilized.” I don’t mean that Native Americans were uncivilized, nor am I implying that the settlers from the East were somehow a more enlightened group of people – nevertheless, those were (and still are, unfortunately) the words used to describe this change.

The  preface to History of Jefferson County Iowa (published by the Western Historical Company, 1879) puts it a bit more bluntly:

The March of Progress

… the magnitude of the undertaking is still further increased by the removal, by death or otherwise, of nearly all the pioneer fathers and mothers who first came to gladden the prairie and forests wilds with their presence, and scatter the seeds of that better intelligence, which, growing and spreading as year was added to year, has made the country of their choice rank second to none in modern accomplishments. The seeds they scattered ripened into the fullness of a plentiful harvest, and schoolhouses, churches, cities, towns, telegraphs, railroads and princely dwellings occupy the old “camp-grounds” of the Sauks, Foxes and other kindred tribes of red men.

Later, the viewpoint of the author(s) on Native American cultures becomes more clear:

… They toiled not, neither did they spin. They subsisted upon the fruits of the chase, and dwelt in rude tents or camped in the open air. To them the arts of industry were unknown and unpracticed. They occupied the land, but improved it not. The command of the great Creator that by the sweat of his brow man should earn his daily bread, was lost upon them. Of flocks and herds they had none, while the earth was regarded by them as only a hunting-ground that had been created by the Great Spirit for their special benefit and occupany [sic]. The history of such a people is one full of interest.

The same volume recognizes a John Huff – “who is believed to be the first white man that visited the territory now included in Jefferson County;”  and my other source (A Fair Field by Susan Fulton Welty) goes into detail about him. However, we know  that French trappers and traders had explored much of the state and beyond well into the 1700’s, so that title cannot be verified (nor do I see any special significance in it).

Tallgrass Prairie

Tensions between Native Americans and the settlers continued to rise. The War of 1812, for instance, had the British government supplying the tribes with guns and powder in an attempt to bolster their fighting power and resistance to settlement. The warrior chief Black Hawk (who had proved himself by being vital in wiping out the Ioway tribe), by the mid-1800’s mark, had risen to become the central chief of the Sauk and Fox tribes, followed shortly by Keokuk. There are a few conflicting sources on the triggers behind the Black Hawk War - the end result was the crushing of all Native holdings east of the Mississippi. Over time, mainly through the sale of the their lands, the tribes continued their westward journey, paving the way for settlers.

It’s noteworthy that Jefferson County has no history of violence between the settlers and the Native Americans, who, despite having sold the land, could still be seen traversing the county in abundance during the early settler years.

(At this point History of Jefferson County becomes a technical and obscure list of land grants, casualties from “the war of the rebellion,” political records, (oddly) a copy of the Constitution of the United States, “Practical Rules for Every Day Use,” and Abstract of Iowa State Laws (including two pages on “Intoxicating Liquors”), among other interesting but irrelevant sections. I recommend it for that time-capsule-like quality, but it may not be the most reliable source.)

The Founding of Jefferson County and the Origin of “Fair-field.”

Although John Huff had first staked out some holdings in the area of the Blackhawk Purchase, the first settlers in this area were the Kentuckians Thomas Lambirth, Samuel Scott Walker, and James Tilford (and their families). The time was February 1836, and the place was Round Prairie. By the end of that year the population in the Round Prairie area was around 57 people including children. Things as we know them began to take shape.

The center of the County is where Larch Ave would cross Reservoir 2.

“The history of Fairfield dates from the first Monday in March, 1839.” (History) It was around this time that county became legally separated from Henry county and officially surveyed to find the county seat. “They finally chose a bit of gently rolling prairie, bordered on the north and easy by a small creek, and fringed with timber, situated one and a half miles south and half a mile west of the exact center of the county. …”by driving a stake to be considered the center of said location,” in what is now Central Park.” (”A Fair Field“) The Square, then, was the most convenient “central” location for the entire county (the real center point, from my estimation, is in the middle of Reservoir 2 where Larch Ave would cross it).

It was during this time that the large Bonnifield family had settled in. Their cabin, being a popular social hub (given several unmarried daughters live there, and being the place for unofficial church services), was the natural meeting place for the finished surveyors to come and discuss their work – particularly, what name to apply to the new County Seat.

“They may not have known that it had been called ‘Paynesville’ in the original legislative bill, or that this name had been struck out and ‘Randolph’ substituted. … But Governor Lucas had vetoed the bill in which their names appeared, and no name was included in the one later enacted. The Commissioners were free to chose, and in the discussion of the pretty prairie they described, they appealed to Mrs. Bonnifield for her opinion. She suggested “Fairfield” for the “fair field.” Her choice was instantly approved and adopted.

Twenty states now have towns named Fairfield, and it may be that some others fit their sites as well as Fairfield, Iowa. Still, Fairfield, Iowa, has a unqiue name in that it is both a memorial and a joke, as well as an accurate description. Nancy Bonnifield must have laughed to herself when she thought of it. Not every woman can name a town for her family, even by a synonym. But that a “Fair” field is a “Bonny” field, no one can deny.”

Pioneer business was no less typical here than elsewhere during these growing years. Oddly, we have more trees now than we did then – in 1841, one Henry B. Mitchell was crossing the Crow Creek in his ox-cart, near where Chautauqua Park is now, and broke an ox-tongue. There were no trees big enough or suitable enough to make a new one, and had to make due without. By 1880, however, Fairfield was nicknamed “The Forest City,” a clear break from the almost complete prairie it had previously been.

The history pours on thick now, and transcribing and compiling all I’ve read so far (simply skimming) would take vastly too long. From here on in, I hope to paint a picture of a growing community and perhaps spark some interest to learn more.

The Square, 1908

In 1840, Fairfield had a population of 110. By the end of 1847, that number was 651, and by 1851 it was nearly 1,000.

In 1845 the county had organized into the following townships: Round Prairie, Lockridge, Walnut, Cedar, Penn, Liberty, Fairfield, Locust Grove, Black Hawk, Des Monies, Polk and Buchanan. Towns once active in the county that no longer exist: Mt. Starling, Absecum, Parsonsville, Wooster, Vega, Glendale, Krum, Baker, Merrimac, Milton, Perlee, Brookeville, Woolson, Veo, Coalport, Cross Lanes and Jockey Hollow.

On October 13th, 1852 Fairfield had its first “Annual Fair” near the present intersection of West Broadway and North Fourth Street. At the second Annual Fair, over eighty-three different varieties of apples were exhibited – one Charles Cox showed forty-nine from his orchard alone. In 1854 the first Iowa State Fair was held here, and again the next year, before it began to be held in various towns in Eastern Iowa, eventually moving to Des Monies in 1886.

The first train reached Fairfield on September 1st, 1858, to a cheering crowd, cannons booming a salute, and a brass band. (It would be another 150 years before the residents of Fairfield no longer welcomed the sound of the significantly louder and more frequent horns.)

In the same year the recently-created Fairfield Public Library was having difficulties – as the Librarian (the Library was run out of his private office) said: “… All these arts and all this eloquence proved utterly futlie; and we want no better illustration of the dogma of total depravity than the startling fact that my next-door neighbor (a vender of peanuts, cakes, beer and candy) grew rich and increased in goods, while the Library languished or only maintained its existence. The result may also prove that, while every man has a stomach, very few have brains.” But by 1893 the first Carnegie Library west of the Mississippi was built, and established the Library for good.

In 1861, at the start of the Civil War, Jefferson County was home to 15,038 people. In 1870 it reached its peak  at 17,839. Today the county population is 16,181. However, in 1870 the population of Fairfield was only 2,226, whereas today it is over 9,000.

There was once a “Fairfield University,” which lasted from about 1854 to 1874.

Carnegie Library, with original roofing.

Parsons College was incorporated on Feb 24, 1875.

In 1882 the city erected a 185-foot tall steel-framed arc-light electric tower, making it the second city west of the Mississippi to have electricity.

The Fairfield Golf Club, founded in 1892, is possibly the first golf club west of the Mississippi.

In 1900 the Burlington Hawkeye wrote: “Fairfield is one of the brightest, most progressive inland cities in Iowa, and is a pride to the first district.”  This is not the only praise it received around this time, and we’ve seen that over the past 110 years Fairfield as maintained its position as a leader, a pioneer and the pride of Iowa.

The writing of these two posts took vastly longer than it should have, simply because I kept getting sucked in to the very engaging and colorful history of the county and town. I highly recommend reading my source material and seeing all the people, places and events I was not able to cover. These are available at the library (as soon as I return them) :

“A Fair Field” Revised Bicentennial Edition by Susan Fulton Welty

“History of Jefferson County Iowa” published by the Western Historical Company (1879)

“Men of Ancient Iowa” by Marshall McKusick   … and, of course, Wikipedia.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.

This week I find myself at odds with some of my friends and acquaintances on the issue of whether the public should purchase the FACC and rescue it from it’s current financial crisis. People that know me are aware that I don’t normally align along the usual party lines across all issues, however on this issue I seem to have made some friends and acquaintances angry with me. In response to my opposition to the FACC bailout; I’ve been accused of spreading disinformation, not knowing the facts, being irresponsible and one friend in particular has accused me of “being unfair to our community” in my role as one of the editors of Fairfield Voice.

The irony in all this is I was not going to post my own opinion piece on the issue, but now that I’ve had a taste of the Pro FACC steamroller I feel compelled to raise a voice on this issue that I feel needs to be heard rather than flattened.

Vote NO And Enact Plan B

A city councilman recently accused me of spreading disinformation because I have been vocal about my opinion that we should vote NO and therefore pressure private parties to purchase the FACC. Let me make my logic clear so that this council member (and other FACC bailout supporters) will stop spreading misinformation about my opinion.

The FACC board continues to paint this picture that they are a new management team with new direction and that the FACC is a great asset and investment. I will assume this is true — people I know and respect are involved with the FACC. Assuming that the FACC is being run by skilled professionals, then we can assume they have a plan B. It would be irresponsible not to have a backup plan.

What is plan B? I speculate that it’s a private party or parties covering the debt and assuming the risk. And of course no one knows about plan B because if it was made public, you’d never have a chance of getting the tax payers to foot the bill.

What if I’m wrong — what if the vote fails on May 4th and plan B never materializes? Well then my answer is that we, the public, just saved ourselves from a bad investment.

It’s easy for thousands of people to vote on the allocation of tax revenue they don’t have to immediately pull out of their pockets — and vote yes on spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on an ailing business because all their friends say it’s a good idea. But, that doesn’t mean it’s a great investment. Now if the private money in this town (and there’s a lot of it in this town), invests in the FACC, then that’s telling. That means someone who has made a lot of money, or a group of people who have confidence in the future of the business, thinks the FACC is in the right direction.

So, vote NO. Let’s see what plan B is. Let’s see if anyone else will assume the risk and validate that the FACC is really a worthy investment. If a private party assumes the role of rescuer, then we all win. If there is no plan B, if no one steps up . . . then we know that the FACC is probably not the sustainable business model we’re being sold. And everyone in the community can rethink the proposal, and the FACC will be forced to come with a new plan. I reject this ticking time bomb scenario that if we all don’t vote yes now, then a black hole appears where the FACC currently sits and “Fairfield’s reputation will be damaged.”

Which brings me to:

You’re Either With The FACC Or Ignorant

I’m not sure if it’s calculated or not, but the FACC has made great attempts to control the current debate by staking claim to “the facts”. That’s just about all you hear when you voice an opinion they don’t like. You’re told to go to their website and get the facts. Your opinion doesn’t count until you go get their facts, at which point I guess you will suddenly agree with their position and then you too can own the facts.

It’s patronizing.

The FACC can speculate laundry lists of scenarios if the you vote NO, but if you speculate a scenario they don’t like . . . time to go to their website and get the facts!

The Pro FACC Brigade also wants you to think that once you understand all their facts, you are logically bound to conclude that your tax dollars should fund them. They don’t recognize opinions opposing the plan as anything but uneducated until you’ve either “talked to Rustin” or gone to the website and read “the facts”.

This past week I read dozens of Facebook posts and blog comments that were in support of the FACC ballot measure. However when I posted my opinion against the ballot measure, I was told to stop “encouraging people to vote no” until I talked to members of the FACC board (to get the facts I’m sure).

It works like this:

* Update your Facebook status in support of funding the FACC – you’re simply expressing an educated opinion.
* Update your Facebook status in support of NOT funding the FACC – you’re “spreading disinformation” and “encouraging people to vote no” (those quotes are from real responses I got on Facebook), and of course you need to “get the facts”.

If this wasn’t about giving up hundreds of thousands of dollars of our tax revenue, it would be comical. But this isn’t a joke – it’s a red flag. Let’s ignore for a moment that I have any other concerns over the FACC bailout. When one side tries to assume this type of righteous posture, it only polarizes the community more, and in my opinion is a sign that you should reconsider participation in that posture. In other words, if you’re standing for and promoting the FACC deal, step back for a minute and consider why you’ve come to that opinion. Is it fear? Is it because you’re a donor? Is it because everyone in your political alignment is doing it?

The Most Important Fact: The FACC Does Not Have All The Facts

This is another reason why we need to vote NO and put pressure on FACC to find private investment, corporate sponsorship or other options. Because I can guarantee you – private money would not vote yes on this deal as it exists today. Why? Because neither FACC board members nor City Council members are clear on the terms of the deal. Isn’t that crazy?!

We’re being pressured to vote yes, and hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax revenue, yet the terms of the deal are to be negotiated AFTER THE VOTE. In an email on April 27th, Bob Moore (FACC Board Member) describes the terms of the lease being proposed if the City assumes ownership:

We have not worked out the terms of the lease with the City relative to specific term, lease amount (other than it will be a nominal amount for some period of time). It’s also possible that if the FACC is ever able to generate positive cash flow without donations, the city may want some sort of additional compensation. No specific terms have been negotiated.

Are you kidding me? No offense to Bob Moore whom I respect a great deal, but it is absolutely irresponsible for the City Council and the FACC board to allow this measure to go up for election without these terms ironed out and presented to the public. This type of negligence with tax dollars offends me and it should offend you!

This IS A BAILOUT

When you see someone giving their support for the FACC on Facebook or in front of the City Council, note down their name, and then go here and view the list of the people who have donated/invested in the FACC. So far I’ve found a match every-time with one exception. It’s not surprising they are encouraging you to vote yes in order to secure their investment with your tax dollars.

You can call this ballot measure whatever you like, but at the end of the day, it is a bailout. And I don’t blame donors for wanting to take the easy road and have other tax payers help bailout their investment. But it’s the wrong choice. You absolutely need to vote down this measure and force the City, the FACC, the donors and the community to rethink the deal. I will gladly support the right deal, but this isn’t it.