Citizens for Arbor Park

Thank you for your letters of support.

My point to the city is this: On the one hand, you are trying to be a city that celebrates creativity in all

arenas, and yet we are about to destroy a work of art that many people from the community have

contributed to.

I never expected to win at committee level, but we did score better than I thought we would. In part, we

did better because of questions asked by Crystal Schneider and Bret Weber. There wasn't enough time to

delve into some serious issues surrounding the possible destruction of this park/sculpture garden.

There are some social issues that people have tried to incorporate, but on the whole, we don't solve

social issues by building houses for people who already have one.

Some of the technical issues that have not been discussed in public are to do with the alley. Parking

spaces, snow removal, garbage and delivery traffic all will be adversely affected by a cafe facing or

using the alley as a street. Where would the underground parking entrance be? And I'm pretty certain

that somebody living on a fifth or sixth floor condo is not going to want to look at a bunch of electrical

transformers. Who is going to pay for their removal?

From an artistic point of view, the JLG proposal shows no new sculpture. From a more cynical point of

view, what has been holding the developers back from installing public sculptures in front of all the

buildings they have built?

At the proposal review committee meeting, I managed to get everyone to contribute to a sculpture

installation in less than 5 minutes. It's not that difficult; you just have to want to pay for it. My School

of Fish now has more than 300 people who have contributed to it. After the last proposal review

committee meeting, it now has contributions from city council members, review commitee members,

planning department staff, the mayor, a special needs adult, new young Americans, some older

Americans, children from Spirit Lake Reservation, inhabitants of Valley Eldercare, the Widdington

Coffee and Tea Morning Group, and my brother Matthew, my nephew David, my niece Bella, and sister-

in-law Amy. Thank you all for your contributions.

This global artist collective urges you to encourage other people to call, email, or write, and more

importantly, I thank you for your support.

My investment in the park is very simple: It's about celebrating the good and creative people we have

here.

The next meetings for discussing the fate of the park are Monday, Sept. 26 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, and

Monday, October 3, 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Yours,

A. Kemp

DannyWeigel, Ward 1 Council Member 701) 330-0317 [email protected]

Crystal Schneider, Ward 2 Council Member (701) 306-7944 [email protected]

Bret Weber, Ward 3 Council Member (701) 212-5407 [email protected]

Jeannie Mock, Ward 4 Council Member (701) 757-0168 [email protected]

Sandi Marshall, Ward 5 Council Member (701) 740-1916 [email protected]

DanaSande, Ward 6 Council Member (701) 330-9284 [email protected]

KenVein, Ward 7 Council Member (701) 772-3673 [email protected]

Mike Brown, Mayor, 746-2607 [email protected]

If you prefer to write letters instead, the address is:

Grand Forks City Hall

255 N. 4th St.

Grand Forks, ND 58203