Last week, Mayor Woodford updated the Common Council on Trout Museum of Art’s proposal to build a museum on the grounds of the Ellen Kort Peace Park. In that update reported “The Trout Museum of Art had engaged Westwood Professional Services to conduct the Phase One analysis and to develop a report which they recently received and are reviewing.”
Prior to that update to the Common Council, there were two articles that I’m aware of that reported Director of Parks Recreation and Facilities Dean Gazza had not received any communication from the Trout since they had been given the go-ahead to move forward to the next phase of the process. One was the Post Crescent article that came out on 02/10/2023 and one was the All Things Appleton recap of the Parks and Recreation Committee meeting that was posted on 02/07/2023.
I would assume Mayor Woodford was referencing the Post Crescent article when he said, “Last week, a media article was published suggesting there had been no communication between the Trout Museum of Art and the City of Appleton since the last action taken by the Common Council. Director Gazza spoke honestly and accurately from his perspective, and specifically to the question asked; however, the Trout Museum of Art has been updating me directly on their progress, but I was not interviewed for the article.”
On the off chance that All Things Appleton was also included in that reference, I reached out to Mayor Woodford and asked him the question that Alderperson Israel Del Toro (District 4) had asked Director Gazza during the committee meeting and to which Director Gazza had responded that he had not heard from the Trout. Alderperson Del Toro had asked if the Trout had communicated any of their community outreach plans so I asked Mayor Woodford, “Has the Trout communicated with you about their community outreach plans? If so, would you mind sharing details about what they have said?”
Mayor Woodford responded:
I cannot speak to the museum’s public outreach plans, however, I have continued to emphasize the importance of their efforts to incorporate the feedback they have received thus far and to prioritize their outreach efforts. Furthermore, we included the requirement of public input throughout the process Council refined and approved to ensure that occurs.
On the subject of Dir. Gazza not hearing from the museum directly in the last few months, I would like to offer some additional context. Council was clear with us that they expected us to devote as little staff time as possible to this process and analysis to ensure minimum taxpayer expense. As such, during the initial stages of Step 4 of the process, which involved the museum contracting with a third party (Westwood) to conduct an environmental review, I opted to not engage staff and I, myself, was minimally engaged as the responsibility for this piece of the process rests squarely with the museum. As the process advances, should it advance, more staff time will be required as site access becomes necessary and city analysis is triggered. Until then, I have simply kept Directors informed of developments with the process (which, admittedly, has consisted of telling them that as I understood it, TMA had contracted with Westwood for Phase I environmental analysis and was awaiting results for many weeks).”
Additionally, during his update to the Common Council, Mayor Woodford finished up his statement by saying, “Finally, I encourage our community to seriously consider the way we treat each other and the way we carry ourselves amid disagreements and concerns. I believe in our city’s capacity to wrestle with complex issues with kindness and respect. I hope all of us will rise to the occasion and avoid resorting to behavior that seeks to demean, intimidate, ignore or harass any member of our community, no matter their perspectives on the issue at hand.”
So, I asked him if he could detail the incidents that prompted that exhortation. He responded, “My suggestion to the community to engage with respect and kindness was a general one. In my experience, when passion and disagreement arises around any issue, the conditions exist for the sort of behavior I described to occur.”
Finally, I did also reach out to the Trout Museum directly and asked them if, in light of Alderperson Del Toro’s question during the 02/06/2023 Parks and Recreation Committee meeting if they could provide an overview of the community outreach efforts they were engaging in or planning to engage in regarding their proposal to construct a building within the grounds of Ellen Kort Peace Park.
They have not responded.
Be the first to reply