WECRD made right move

Last week's decision by the Western Elmore County Recreation District board to withdraw its controversial application for HUD funds will go a long ways toward restoring faith in the beleaguered district.

We've often been critical of the district, so it is only fair that we offer praise when it is due.

The district board has often been shortsighted over the years in understanding that it must operate in a political environment. But last week's decision showed it is at last opening its eyes to those realities. The vote went a long way toward reaffirming its commitment to the YMCA/CLDC process, which had been brought into question after the application was submitted.

While we'd have been happy to simply see the application amended, there wasn't time for that due to federal deadlines, so it was withdrawn. Potentially, that could cost the district a couple hundred thousand dollars of federal money --but only if a community center with a pool is recommended by the CLDC. At the same time, it may have saved the district's very existence, and despite its critics, the district does have great potential for good and shouldn't be abandoned haphazardly.

In particular, we'd like to point out the gracious statement made by Molly Marsh, the only board member who has served since the WECRD's beginning and who was instrumental in creating the district. It's been Marsh's dream to build a center with a swimming pool. She stood her ground even in the face of obvious financial constraints that made that dream unlikely. To reach for the stars only to discover that it's merely the moon that is within your grasp can be deflating. But if it's only the moon that is achievable, that's still not a bad goal.

Her vote to withdraw the funding request could not have been easy for her. We suspect it hurt. But she did it, and that's what is important. For all the flak she's caught in the past, she deserves praise for her decision. Given her years of determination, that vote had to be one of the most difficult things she's ever done, but we admire politicians willing to change their mind when it is necessary to do so -- and it was. No matter how difficult it was to do, her vote was statesmanlike.

If anything, the WECRD board's vote showed that it is cautiously entering into a new era of political reality, that it is willing to modify its long-held and sometimes stubborn direction, and begin exploring other possibilities that could take full advantage of the district's potential.

This is virgin, uncharted territory the district's board members are exploring. But if they stumble, they are at least -- and at last -- trying, and should be helped to their feet rather than kicked when they're down. This is an effort at accommodation that should be embraced by the district's opponents, not celebrated as a victory.

For the WECRD, this is something new and welcome, and we urge even the district's bitterest critics to give it the benefit of the doubt and seize the opportunity to stretch out a hand of constructive cooperation in helping shape a new future for the district.

-- Kelly Everitt