[MPLS] Lots of information on the upcoming Park Board races

[Dorothy Titus]

I have read some of the posts about the Park Board's purchase of the 
new headquarters on West River Road in the Hawthorne neighborhood.  I 
can understand some of the objections.  However, on a purely personal 
and feeling-level, I must say that I really like having it here on the 
Northside.  We have few if any real "centers" or "headquarters" here.  
The building is beautiful, and the landscaping and statuary is such a 
breath of fresh air for us here on the Northside.  Every time I walk 
into that building, I am aware of a longing for more of that kind of 
enterprise and esthetic on the Northside.  When I walk out to the the 
parking lot and see the statues, I feel a sense of peace that I don't 
get in many places in these neighborhoods.

The Park Board also graciously makes its conference rooms available for 
public meetings, and we had a wonderful board retreat in their building 
not long after it opened.  It was comfortable, nicely furnished, and we 
enjoyed the space immensely.

So...it may have been an unwise investment (I cannot judge that).  
Perhaps it could have been done somewhere else in the city or county 
cheaper.  But I like it, and I like it that something as central as the 
Park Board has chosen to be headquartered in one of our poorest and 
most impacted neighborhoods.  It brings a sense of hope to me and 
perhaps to others.  And its location near the Mississippi River feels 
exactly right.

Dottie Titus, Jordan