Plummer Park Protesters Making Headway

The Protect Plummer Park movement continues to gain momentum. Fourteen people spoke at Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting, protesting plans to close the park for two years for a .

Wearing green “Protect Plummer Park” stickers, longtime residents, new residents and parents with young children, all turned out to speak during the meeting’s public comment period. They held signs and applauded loudly as each person spoke against the park closure, set to happen in early 2012.

Many of those same people showed up to speak on Wednesday night at a joint session of the Transportation and Planning commissions. At that meeting, Community Development Director Anne McIntosh announced that the city was aware of the growing anger in the community about the plan and before moving forward.

Since Plummer Park was not on the Planning Commission’s agenda, the commissioners were not allowed to discuss the park. However, Commission Chair Alan Bernstein announced that McIntosh would address the Plummer Park issue further at the end of the meeting.

Yet by meeting’s end, McIntosh had already left the building. Bernstein then called upon John Keho, the city’s planning manager, asking if he could elaborate.

“The city is listening to the residents,” said Keho. “We are hearing what folks are saying. The park is not going to be moving rapidly to construction, so the city is listening.”

Keho also said he is not privy to all the details that McIntosh has and therefore could not add anything further.

, who is spearheading opposition to the park renovations, then thanked the commission for their consideration.

Harker added that McIntosh’s leaving the meeting before making the announcement was exactly the kind of “disconnect” they have been experiencing as they try to get city staff to listen to them.

In his closing comments, Bernstein said he was impressed by members of the Protect Plummer Park movement's “passion.”

“It is fairly extraordinary in my experience to have such a large cohort of people showing up all over the place, on message, staying through entire meetings. Nobody stays through entire meetings except for Jeanne [Dobrin] and people who are being paid to be here,” said Bernstein. “Thank you for showing up and staying until the end.”

A majority of Plummer Park is scheduled to close for two years while a $10 million, 179-space underground parking garage is constructed in the central portion of the park.

As a result of digging the garage, Great Hall, Long Hall and the Tiny Tots preschool building would all be demolished. The dig would also mean that most of the trees in the center of the park would be removed during construction.

The park’s master plan also calls for a remodel of Fiesta Hall into a state-of-the-art performing arts center, as well as the construction of a new playground area.

A specifically to discuss the park overhaul attracted about 175 angry residents. saw about 20 people speak against the plan during the public comment period.

Harker says they intend to continue showing up at city meetings to protest until the City Council agrees to stop the renovations.

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