riday, October 08, 2010
"We" are the answer!
Lois has posted a number of articles on this blog from local newspapers
that point out the successes that arise from citizen involvement in
their own local government. The common theme in all the stories is as
follows. When citizens get motivated and involved things get done. It is
so clear. We wonder why we have gridlock and obstructionism on our city
council on the most
important issues affecting our city. We wonder why many of our elected
officials seem to be completely disconnected from what our priorities
should be considering current financial conditions. So when we see a
story of success in another community we ask ourselves, why can't we
achieve such things? The answer is we can and we must. Citizen
involvement is the driving force behind the majority of successful
initiatives in communities around this country and we all need to
embrace it and welcome it. And when I say "we", I mean everybody from
the mayor on down. I know we have volunteer organizations in town who do
good work. The CSO, the Lions Club, and others. Some of those
organizations provide excellent community service and others are more or
less self-serving as far as I'm concerned. But when it comes time for
taking up a cause and seeing it through, the people are the ones who get
the job done. It's really up to us. There has been much said on this
blog about the importance of attending council meetings and staying
informed of the issues. That still stands. But we all need to step it up
a bit. There is no shortage of issues that need to be addressed. We
need input and participation in so many areas in Peru. We have no
downtown business association. It will take citizens to create it. We
see geat potential for business and recreation opportunities on our
riverfront. It will take motivated citizens to make that happen. We want
bike and walking paths in some areas of town right? Instead of calling
on citizens to take up the cause through volunteerism, our elected
officials only response is to throw thousands more dollars at Chamlin
and the project "dies" immediately after the check clears. What the hell
was that? Chamlin isn't going to bring additional recreation
opportunities to Peru, we are! We have so much to overcome. Including
this narrow minded pattern of behavior that we have to "engineer" our
way in and out of every situation. Why is that? We obviously have many
elected officials who have no idea of the potential resources and energy
that exists in our community just waiting to be tapped into. One of the
sessions offered at the recent IML Convention focused on how elected
officials can encourage and cultivate ideas and volunteers in their
communities to achieve great things. I wonder if all six of our guys
attended that session. I am convinced that the majority of Peru aldermen
would be horrified by the very thought of calling on us citizens for
anything. Furthermore, I believe if this concept was suggested to the
current city council they would see it only as a threat to their
"authority" and would reject it immediately. So, I ask you all. What now
are we to do?
16 comments:
The bike trails were doomed by those citizens that didn't want the trails going past their homes. The same ones that didn't want pickleball in their backyards. Remember how you much you bashed Alderman Jamie Mertel for that bike trail idea? Remember the idea on the pool? Yes, you called it a waste of money.
The bike trails were never a feasible idea and it was a $3000 gift to Chamlin. I sat through those meetings along with other citizens and we ALL realized it was what it was. I believe I still have the map. Had nothing to do with going by someones house because streets with cars, bikes and people go by every house in this city everyday.
I did not call the pool a waste of money, I said at that time we did not have the money and we still don't unless G.H. can magically find it hidden somewhere.
I will let the last comment slide because it as irrelevant as your first comments.
Nice article, but the involvement of volunteers for improving our city has to come from the mayor, and he doesn't want volunteers because it takes away jobs that union workers can do. Mayors from Ottawa and LaSalle want volunteers, and they have volunteers, and it shows.
C'mon 10:00 pm, I don't buy that argument at all. I am not a Harl supporter by any means but I don't see any union influence preventing volumteerism in Peru from the trades. We are not talking about huge volunteer projects that would deprive union members a livlihood by using volunteer labor. In fact, most of the building trade unions are usually the first to step up with volunteer labor when they are approached by local communities. That has also been the case in Peru in some cases in the past. What is lacking in Peru is a "Leader" to step up and lead the charge for active volunteers. That "Leader" must be an elected official and whatever the object or cause must be endorsed and "approved of" by the city council. What we have in Peru is a majority of city council members and a mayor who lack the intestinal fortitude to step up and be the front-man for whatever the cause may be.
Lazy and non-motivated elected officials has resulted in exactly what we see in Peru right now.
No volunteer efforts of any significance.
That "crapper" being proposed for Baker Lake park should be a volunteer project. The Splash Pad should be at least partially a volunteer project. I know the building trades would offer free labor if only an elected official would initiate the process.
Peru appears to me to be plagued with emotionally fragile elected officials who become offended and threatened when anyone outside of Chamlin Engineering offers advice. That attitude is what killed the Infrastructure Committee which was poised to offer its experience and expertise at no cost to the taxpayers of Peru.
Free advice from that committee did not go unnoticed and quickly threatened to cut into Chamlins "billable hours". Enter Mayor Harl and our fire-brand public works committee members Dave Waldorf and Jim Lukosus to do Chamlin's dirty work by boycotting the Infrastructure Committee meetings in order to cause the volunteer committee's ultimate collapse for lack of a quorum.
More than anything else Peru lacks quality leaders in its current crop of elected officials.
Also, even if Alderman Perez were to attempt to fill this obvious leadership void and try to organize a volunteer effort for some worthy cause, I can see the rest of the council proceed to freeze him out on it as they have done with every other initiative Rodney has attempted. Don't they call that "obstructionism"?
11:58 ok you were a member of the infrastructure committee. You must have some details of why Mayor Harl won't utilize your efforts. From reading the newspaper, the pool committee is working very well. The volunteer recreation group has been meeting for years. Peru CSO has done valuable work in the city. The Maude Powell celebration and the volunteer efforts have been very outstanding. I can tell you 1st hand that the library board is very effective. Its not the group or the name of the group, its the individuals that make-up the group that make the committee outstanding. Maybe you just didn't jell with the group. Try another committee, we hear that they are looking for recreation board members. The pool committee is always looking for more help.
2:51 PM
Applications for the rec board are done and due date is past and I believe there are 4 applications at least in for a position and so even though an additional position will be open, there are enough applications now.
I'm not sure about the pool committee, wait and see on that one but maybe offer you services at something like the Fun Fair on June 15.
Library Board is complete and no others need apply.
I think people are asking for something like being a volunteer like those in Ottawa, LaSalle and maybe Princeton.
You know volunteers working to make the city more interesting and with some beautification projects. Activities through the summer come to mind. Let's call one of them Peru Days.
Posted by Steve? Welcome back!
However are you kidding on why Peru residents don’t volunteer? Your Blog regulars have criticized everyone who has stepped forward. We are not talking about a question and comment here and there that is rude and obnoxious. We have a years’ worth of rude and obnoxious blog regular’s hell bent on destroying the desire to volunteer. Anyway if you can share your thoughts I would appreciate them. Steve, I hope you have control over this subject and who gets their comments posted.
5:22 Could you please be specific on your list of volunteers who have been treated poorly on this blog? Not elected officials or committee members please, only those who volunteer out of the goodness of their heart and not what they can gain in political favors. And please do not say the CSO because women are not welcome in that organization. I will go along with the pool committee, those volunteers are passionate about their cause, but they have not been treated rudely on this blog. I am not trying to be sarcastic I would just like who you believe was treated poorly. Thank you
6:20 PM
I agree with 5:22pm Just for starters:
Go back and read bloggers and blog administrator comments on the Infrastructure Commmittee.
Steve was a member. WOW
I really wanted to volunteer after the Peru Town Forum commented on their volunteer efforts.
Great job bloggers.......
5:22 he's been around and on the blog. He just won't post his name anymore.
5:22 you blog critics say no one reads it, then say it scares volunteers out of their baby pants, so they wont volunteer, and then say any official who posts here is going to lose support.
Make up your minds... Is this a powerful negative influence or just entertainment?
10:11 AM
Comments generally represent a cross section of the type of people who live in Peru and vote in Peru. If you use this blog for entertainment, your life must be pretty boring. 10:11 AM This is not meant as an at you post but intended for those who don't know why they are reading the blog.
10:22 Lois , I didn't take it as a post back at me. I intentionally left out all the beneficial descriptions, informative, idea generating, sunshine effects, investigative journalism.
I was only asking the critics, since they always either say it is not read , not important, or only entertainment- but then in the next breath say it causes volunteers to not volunteer and politicians to lose.
They can't have it both ways.
Wow 10:37 you sure do take liberties with a simply comment.
A few simple questions.
Where did 5:22 say it was not read?
Not important?
Only entertainment?
You make several observations based on comments that were never made.
Common for your average blogger. Make up observations on comments never expressed.
8:46 Typical for you blog critics. Makeup observations on comments never expressed. No wait, thats what you were criticizing me for.
I was lumping together the entire group of blog critics, which 5:22 belongs apparently to, in that they are always making irrelevant attacks against bloggers here. True, this one post of 5:22 did not state the blog was not read.
I guess 5:22 belongs to the group of blog critics who think the blog is all powerful and the cause of global warming, not the group who thinks it is irrelevant and only entertainment. Now it makes sense.
2:51 The rec board is not a group, it is a board just like the library board that is in charge of taxpayer's money. Though these positions are volunteer they are important and should be taken seriously.
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