Another As Seen On Salisbury News
March 20, 2008
Statement of Richard M. Pollitt, Jr., Wicomico County Executive
“I am very pleased to announce today the appointment of the Honorable Alfred T. Truitt, Jr., as the Chairman of the County Executive’s Citizens Study Commission on the Future of the Youth and Civic Center. Judge Truitt is one of our county’s most distinguished citizens. He has had a long, outstanding career as an attorney and judge. His presence at the top of this new commission will assure it instant credibility and guarantee its success.
“The Citizens Study Commission on the Future of the Youth & Civic Center is charged with formulating a plan to fulfill the ongoing mission of one of our county’s most valuable assets. The Commission will explore all aspects of future Civic Center possibilities as they define the best way to continue serving our citizens.
“It is no secret that our Civic Center is showing its age and is in need of extensive renovation and modernization. Before we commit the millions of dollars it will take to accomplish that, wisdom dictates we conduct a full evaluation of this revered county facility to determine its best use for the years ahead. There is no doubt that if the Civic Center is to survive as a viable, profitable site for major events and big name performances, it must be as good as or better than similar venues in the region. I am asking the Commission to thoroughly evaluate that situation and am encouraging them to consider all options including whether a change to a new location is desirable.
“At the same time, I am concerned that, in our zeal to be self-sufficient, we may have forgotten the ‘Youth’ part of the Civic Center’s name and out-priced it’s availability to many in our community. It is my hope that the Commission will discuss how to provide a true community center that will serve the needs of our young people, civic associations and other members of our county who just want to have a nice place to congregate and enjoy their respective events.
“The Commission will study all facets of the Civic Center operation and will, at the end of its work, make recommendations for the best way to serve the citizens of our county who have come to rely on the WY&CC for recreation and entertainment.
“The actual membership of my study commission will represent a broad cross-section of county interests and will reflect the diversity of the culture of our community. Final membership will be determined in the next week and a formal charge will be issued. I hope to have the work accomplished with a report on my desk by the first of July, 2008.
“I am extremely grateful for Judge Truitt’s willingness to chair this important exercise and for those citizens that will be called upon to serve.”
6 comments:
wonder how many demacrats will be on this commission, this is no time to be spending on the wish list.
Tear that old building down too, then we'll have two big empty lots between the old mall and the old civic center. green space. that will take care of the pork spent on Mackes and company as well.
if the city were smart they would yank that TIF out of the old mall deal and get the county to help finance a nice amphitheater that sells alcohol where the old mall used to be. Give the civic center property back to the former owners and let them pay taxes on it.
The acoustics in that huge big empty civic center is terrible, what good band would want to play there when all the sound is muffled and sounds like crap. It was not designed well for music or any kind of entertainment for that matter. You want to check out what good acoustics should sound like go see something at Bennett high school auditorium. The place was made for acoustics
Bennett does have a top notch auditorium for acoustics. I helped work on it when I first got out of high school, we were doing the plaster ceiling. The floors gradually elevate towards the back as well as the ceiling maintaining a common width between the floor and the ceiling throughout and wider at the back like a movie theater. Also don't have to worry about somebody's head in the way like the flat floor at the Civic Center. Bennett's auditorium is as acoustically perfect as it can be, I would compare it to The Tower Theater in Upper Darby PA. That place is well over 100 years old, where I have seen some good musical events and the sound just can't even compare to a place built like a big empty warehouse.
Judge Truitt will be too tactful to say what should be done there, which requires equipment of the kind that was recently used on the opposite side of Glen Avenue.
The WYCC is a horrible place for any event. It's dingy. The accoustics suck. The ceiling is falling down. It costs a fortune to do anything there - even the county pays like $40k per year to rent the building to itself! Can we say "black hole for your tax revenue?"
The civic center is the perfect poster child for Mackes' tenure in Parks and Rec. He sees it every day, it brings in a lot of money, surcharges are even placed on events to pay for a new roof, yet it's neglected and managed in a piss poor manner while he looks to exploit other county resources to build up his personal empire.
Funny how the things he is around the least are the ones that are in the best shape, isn't it?
I just wish these endless coffers would be put towards reducing my taxes!
Post a Comment