Northwood News ♦ June 2004

Passions Run High at ICC Forum

By Charles G. Pritchard

The forum on the Intercounty Connector conducted at our 10 May special general membership meeting was carried out in accordance with an association resolution and was, unfortunately, dogged by difficulties, some of which, I must confess, resulted from lapses on my part.  Following a heavy wind and rain storm on the previous weekend, a tree near the North Four Corners Park recreation center was uprooted and took out the electrical high line that provides power to the center.  I should have checked the rec center before 10 May and failed to do so.  On arriving at the center before the appointed hour, I discovered that it lacked electricity.  Thanks to our Secretary, Michele Frome, and Mr. Sam Raker, outreach representative for the State Highway Administration (SHA), we were able to obtain an emergency use of a meeting room at the Luther Rice Memorial Baptist Church on University Avenue.  A sign was posted to this effect on the door of the rec center, but time was lost in the transition and we may have lost part of our audience due to this move.  Consequently, the neighborhood forum turn out was light.

At the new location, furthermore, ground rules were not fully observed by the audience or by the presenters.  The presentations went off well enough and included arguments for and against the ICC.  A major problem, however, was the passion of some members of the audience, not all of whom were members of our civic association or even our neighborhood.  The question-and-answer period following the presentations was anything but smooth and, as chair, I had to use extreme measures to curb some of questions that became strident.  Passions were high, especially among those persons attending the forum who had strong views on the issue.

Finally, a quorum call indicated that we lacked three members to make up a quorum, so the question of voting on support or nonsupport of the ICC was rendered moot.  In effect, the position of the civic association remains neutral as before because of our inability to decide on a vote.  Both sides provided published materials and the positions presented were technical and detailed.

I cannot claim that the forum was a brilliant success.  There will be further presentations by representatives of the SHA during the summer and early fall.  The SHA made the point that not all of the contentious issues have been explored yet.  I apologize for my lapses.   ■