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Giving Jack Burkman Credit When It Is Due

by lewwaters

As critical as I often am of council members, I also enjoy giving credit to them when I feel it is due. Such is the case with council member Jack Burkman for taking his time at last evenings city council meeting to address the issue of the proposed acquisition of the Yakima Bears and the proposal of a brand new stadium built adjacent to Clark College to be financed in part by an entertainment tax on nearly all admissions tickets throughout the county.

Mr. Burkman mentions some of the concerns many in the community have, especially the haste being put on a commitment for this to move forward.

To be fair, the rest of council chimed in with similar concerns, but Jack is who got the discussion going. You can view the entire segment by clicking COMMUNICATION here

I’m unsure of Tim ‘no show’ Leavitt, though. His words seem in agreement, but his expressions could be read differently. Still, all comments given admitted there are concerns and the community should be consulted before going ahead as well as the county commission and the city council should hold discussions.

My only question left, why can they not apply this same logic to strapping citizens with high tolls and increased taxes on the Columbia River Crossing and Loot Rail? As legitimate as the concerns over building a new stadium where proposed, so are citizen concerns over the CRC & Loot Rail.

Posted on May 17, 2011 at 4:08 PM in Clark County Issues, Vancouver   |  RSS feed |   Reply   |   Trackback URL

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26 Comments to “Giving Jack Burkman Credit When It Is Due”

    
  1. K.J. Hinton
    May 17, 2011 at 9:26 PM

    I would give anything to replace The Liar with Burkman as Mayor. While I, too, have disagreed with him, the fact is that his actions at least show that he’s got a clue… unlike Vancouver’s current mayor.

  2. Jeremy
    May 18, 2011 at 4:13 AM

    Kelly, if Tim runs again, I have a feeling there is a nice stable of clued in individuals on that council that will run against him and he will lose big.

  3. Greg Owens
    May 18, 2011 at 4:02 PM

    Just to keep all the facts out there, the Vancouver City Council only has one task on this issue…whether or not to agree not to steal the entertainment tax from the county. That’s it. This is a state and county issue, and it really doesn’t matter if the Vancouver City Council approves of it or not.

  4. lewwaters
    May 18, 2011 at 6:41 PM

    Greg, I hope you will go before city council Monday evening and let them know they need to mind their own business and butt out.

    I’ll be looking for you. 😉

  6. lewwaters
    May 18, 2011 at 9:42 PM

    I spoke on this today on Victoria’s.

    Still, I have to credit Jack for bringing up questions that should have been asked nd will need answered in case Yakiam talks break down again.

  7. Jeremy
    May 19, 2011 at 9:18 AM

    Hey Lew,

    I just wanted to add that Jeanne Stewart is also asking a LOT of questions about this stadium during updates from differing council members have been doing for the last couple of weeks.

    So might i suggest that anyone who wants to know more, please watch the full video.

    Another comment from councilmember Campbell related to a marketing push from what he terms a “mother of all committees” from an MPAC meeting he attends that might be charging the city of Vancouver and other cities for marketing? I would seriously like to know more, because even Pat was trying to find out more information!!!!

  8. lewwaters
    May 19, 2011 at 9:29 AM

    They all have questions, Jeremy. Even Bart Hansen, who isn’t heard saying much about it on the video, replied to an email I sent that he was adding my concerns over the proximity of the stadium to the VA Hospital to his list of questions.

    Those that are ready to just blindly jump into this, like Greg below, concern me even more. That’s how we end up stuck with these white elephants.

  9. Greg Owens
    May 19, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    Doing nothing blindly, Lew. Have you not seen my many posts that present facts, as opposed to those that oppose the stadium, making up their own facts, presenting inappropriate analysis, and exaggerating issues, like the “VA Hospital”, which has been in very limited use as a hospital for some time and is mostly offices and administration.

    But let’s not let facts get in the way.

  10. lewwaters
    May 19, 2011 at 12:11 PM

    I find it very odd that you seem to be the only person with all of the “facts,” Greg.

    You object to any and all questions and seem ready to block any effort at seeking answers.

    So again, I have to wonder just who’s payroll are you on?

  11. Greg Owens
    May 19, 2011 at 1:11 PM

    If providing facts is “blocking any effort at seeking answers” then you must be speaking something other than english. I said have several times, and will do so again…do your own research…I encourage that. What I am attempting to do is stop all the misinformation from being considered fact. Most people won’t do their own research, for whatever reason, so it is important to counter the misinformation with fact on the blogs, where many people stop with their own investigation.

    I applaud you and others that do ask questions and want more answers. It is also important to realize who the decision-makers are as well, and the Vancouver City Council isn’t one of them.

  12. lewwaters
    May 19, 2011 at 1:17 PM

    And just how is it that you remain the sole person privy to these “facts,” as you call them?

    If you applaud questions, why are you all over the Columbian countering questions and comments?

    City council might not have a large voice in the entertainment tax, but they do have a voice in the process of building a stadium and attracting the team to move. There is much more involved than just two out of three county commissioners.

    By example, if they have no voice, the county would have their bio-mass plant downtown, wouldn’t they?

  13. Greg Owens
    May 19, 2011 at 1:56 PM

    If you applaud questions, why are you all over the Columbian countering questions and comments?

    Again, Lew, you have some funny definitions. Again, providing facts isn’t preventing anyone from asking questions. Misinformation being disseminated SHOULD be countered, don’t you think? Are you of the opinion that the correct information SHOULDN’T be presented, like the fact that the “VA Hospital” is very limited in its activity as an actual hospital and has been for some time? Again, most people don’t do their own research, so when they see the word “hospital” it creates a certain connotation and the totality of the truth is lost when the full story isn’t presented.

    But again, why let facts get in the way, right, Lew?

  14. Greg Owens
    May 19, 2011 at 2:01 PM

    “By example, if they have no voice, the county would have their bio-mass plant downtown, wouldn’t they?”

    C’mon Lew…you’re smarter than that…the biomass plant would be on city property….the land for the stadium is owned by the state (Clark College). There would be permitting issues, granted, but there are legal issues around those and permitting isn’t the business of the City Council.

  15. lewwaters
    May 19, 2011 at 2:02 PM

    Funny, you continue to say you have the “facts.”

    Just how is it that you have all of the “facts” while others, including elected officials, are asking questions?

    And just what have you ever presented to support your “facts?”

    Nothing but your claim of you “have the facts.”

  16. lewwaters
    May 19, 2011 at 2:05 PM

    Since you have proclaimed yourself as the sole arbiter of “the facts,” Greg, I look forward to you going before city council Monday and telling them to butt out.

    The proposed site for the stadium might be State owned (Clark College) property, but it is still within the city and has definite affects on the city property and residents within the city around them.

    But please do go to city council and let them know they have no voice, so they need to just butt out and shut-up.

  17. Greg Owens
    May 19, 2011 at 2:16 PM

    The proposed site for the stadium might be State owned (Clark College) property, but it is still within the city and has definite affects on the city property and residents within the city around them.

    Yes, permitting is required. But, as stated before, there are processes for that and departments that handle them. The tax is a county issue, and the property is state-owned. And, since there is a ball field there already, most of the issues (environmental, drainage, etc) have already been addressed. I imagine traffic abatement and parking would be the biggest issues. And, there are already lights there, so that shouldn’t be an issue. I didn’t say the council couldn’t be an ass about it (wouldn’t be the first time), but in the end, their vote doesn’t count.

  18. Greg Owens
    May 19, 2011 at 2:22 PM

    Funny, you continue to say you have the “facts.”

    Lew, please, AGAIN, do your own research, ask away! AGAIN, MOST people won’t do their own research. Do YOU feel comfortable with people making decisions based on misinformation that is written in a blog? I don’t. I have NEVER told anyone to stop asking questions, and have ENCOURAGED people to do their own research in several of my posts.

  19. lewwaters
    May 19, 2011 at 2:22 PM

    Like I have been trying to say, Greg, you’re telling the wrong person.

    You need to go city council and tell them to butt out.

    Let them know that you are the one that has all of the “facts,” which I am sure will comfort them to know you are the contact person to get answers from.

  20. lewwaters
    May 19, 2011 at 2:27 PM

    No Greg, you “don’t TELL people not to ask,” you just counter every effort at asking.

    As for research, I have contacted Ron Arp and did supply some documents I have received. I have contacted city council members and some back in Yakima. I even have more documents coming.

    And still, you seem to already have what you call “all of the facts” even before elected officials do.

    I still find that quite odd.

  21. Greg Owens
    May 19, 2011 at 2:47 PM

    I still find that quite odd.

    And I find it quite odd that you seem to think that countering misinformation with facts prevents people from asking their own questions. Tell me, Lew, just how many people that read (not participate, read) the comments in the blogs will actually do what you did, ask questions and request documents? A very few…the rest will use what they read in the blogs to help make their decision…again Lew…are you discouraging the curtailment of misinformation?

  22. lewwaters
    May 19, 2011 at 2:54 PM

    It takes a little more than your unchallenged word to prove anything is “misinformation.”

    Especially since you will not reveal just how it is you have all of “the facts” long before elected officials who will have to make the decisions do.

    How do we know that your “facts” are not also “misinformation?”

    Even Ron Arp’s reply to me didn’t claim to be “facts,” but rather the proposed plan.

    Oh, and I’m not the only one with concerns about the proximity of the stadium to the VA Hospital. Arp’s knowledge of the lcoation also seems to be lacking as he thinks there are a few buildings between the field and the Hospital.

    Since I receive care at that location, allow to let you know it is more of a Hospital than you think. No, not the main Hospital for the area, but a Hospital just the same.

    People aren’t as ignorant to this proposal as you seem to think.

  23. Greg Owens
    May 19, 2011 at 3:10 PM

    I was mistaken about the lights…they are on a nearby field, the one by Hudson’s Bay HS.

  25. Jack
    May 20, 2011 at 12:00 AM

    (somebody’s payroll…)

  26. Jeremy
    May 21, 2011 at 5:56 AM

    Greg,

    If you feel so strongly about this subject, why are you not coming before the City of Vancouver Council (permiter?) or the Clark County Board of Commissioners? (bond financier?) within the next two weeks?

    

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