Why are we not surprised with the recent headline, “Everett to raze buildings”? Once again the so-called public process is proven to be a sham while the moneyed interests win their way.
We take exception to the article’s statement, “The city’s past and future took center stage Wednesday during a passionate seven-hour debate, and the future won out.” Sorry, we see the city council’s vote on Dec. 12 as shameful and wrong. What is the point of having a historic register and a historic commission if they are to be ignored when some other use for the designated historic area seems more important to shortsighted and history-insensitive people?
It is incredible to us to read that the “pivotal point for the council” was when several Everett High School seniors testified in favor of razing the historic buildings to build the hockey/concert arena. These students are too young to understand the importance of preserving our heritage; the decision to destroy historic buildings demands mature consideration. Those high school students who still live in Everett 50 years from now will be in the dubious position of explaining to their grandchildren that they were responsible for tearing down part of Everett’s heritage for a no longer existing hockey stadium.
It is ridiculous to say that “You can’t preserve historic buildings at the cost of your economy.” Other cities have preserved their historic structures and found other places to build their structures for current and future needs. Historic structures can never be replaced once they are gone, but public arenas have definite lifespans as new fad construction evolves, as we saw with Seattle’s Kingdome’s demise before it was even paid for.
It is obvious that the city council had their minds already made up before the meeting. They didn’t listen to their own historic commission. They didn’t respect the principle of having buildings on the historic register. They didn’t respect the wishes of the people who testified to save the buildings. A hockey/concert arena can be built anywhere else and the city has other property that would be better suited for this purpose without destroying our heritage.
We wish success to the efforts of Jerry Kunkle of the Ancient Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in Everett to garner public support to stop the city council’s shortsighted plans to raze their historic building and the others.
Monroe
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