Propaganda Watch—The Ballpark Project

August 12, 2010 Last Friday on radio WRCR’s weekly session with Supervisor St. Lawrence, a caller phoned to complain about the devastation of the woods on the site of the old Concklin Farm. St. Lawrence’s response was, Don’t worry, when the baseball field (Project Grand Slam) is completed, the site will be much more attractive than the woods that were there before. Actually, the area, now stripped of all vegetation, along Pomona Road and Station Road is going to be replaced with parking lots. Two long, paved lots for 685 cars—one long stretch of macadam. Very bucolic—Parking Lots A and C along the length of the Pomona Road side of the site.
 

St. Lawrence then talked about being able to sit in the ballpark looking up at the Ramapo Mountains. The mountains. But we already have the mountains to look at and it hasn’t cost us $25 to $30 million taxpayer dollars to see them from either Pomona Road or Firemen’s Memorial Drive.

Something’s wrong with the logic here. The ballpark as viewing platform for the Ramapo Mountains? Parking lots for thousands of cars instead of acres of woods? Does the supervisor really believe that most people would prefer large parking lots generating clouds of noxious exhaust to the green expanses of woods and streams?

The Red Herring

And then there’s the appeal to voters in the upcoming referendum to vote yes to have the bonding backed up by Ramapo taxpayers. You’ll save tens of thousands of dollars if you agree to have taxpayers guarantee the loans for the St. Lawrence-led Local Development Corp.—he repeats this canard whenever he has the chance. On this point, there’s actually no contest, because if the question is money, then just vote no and save not just thousands but tens of millions. If you vote yes to save thousands, as St. Lawrence recommends, it will cost you, and your children, millions.

So, is there any other good reason besides seeing the mountains while seated on wooden planks that cost millions? Well, now you’re into an area that the Supervisor has steadfastly refused to offer any comment on--the League. The Independent League that has once again resurrected itself from its own ashes to last another, what, five years, ten years? The latest version of the Can-Am League is five years old with a long history of failure. And if past is prologue, you’d better hang on to your money, because the odds are seriously stacked against this venture. In fact, the odds against are the kind that would empty almost any casino. Seventy percent of the time the towns lose. When will the chief spokesman for this scheme address the risks to the taxpayers? Don’t hold your breath. After all, it’s not his money he will be playing with in this floating craps game.