I was fortunate to make yesterday morning's meeting in Norwich City Hall, called by Mayor Benjamin Lathrop, on possible roads ahead for the city and the region in the light of a projected 30 April closure of the Norwich YMCA.
There were, I'd estimate, about eighty-five people in attendance which, for a Monday morning at eleven o'clock meeting, is pretty good. As it happened a lot of folks in attendance probably went home disappointed--not only at the length of the meeting but in what they saw as its structure. I'm not sure they are being fair to the Mayor, the City Manager, the two aldermen who were in attendance or the board of trustees of the YMCA.
There's an expression I've heard, 'when you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there.' I think, based on how the meeting went, I might not be the only one who's heard that before. I attended because, as I mentioned the other day, I don't know what I don't know (I did sit next to Mr. R, an attendee at many municipal meetings, whose insights and perspective are always welcome), and it sounded to me like Mayor Lathrop was suggesting the same thing was true for him.
There's always a temptation to 'don't just stand there, do something!' that's often complicated when exactly what the 'something' is can't be easily defined. And there was some of that on Monday morning as many of us filled the room in the hopes of telling someone how important the YMCA is to our lives and our community. I think the leadership of the city and the YMCA Board of Trustees already know that--and the Board, I assume, didn't arrive at its decision to close the YMCA on 30 April lightly or without discussion or regret.
The Mayor announced the City's Comptroller, Joseph Ruffo, will lead an informal audit of the YMCA's finances, which the Board agreed to earlier before the meeting, to better present an accurate picture of where the organization is right now and how grave the situation actually is (all I thought of was Yossarian working to staunch the wound in Snowden, realizing (too late), another untreated wound was draining his life force, that results in his death).
It was, as meetings in Norwich go, very emotional--as well it should have been, I suppose. Many of us have had one or more contacts and interactions with the YMCA, either as children ourselves or through our children or because of the numerous community-wide projects and outreaches they have. Should the Norwich YMCA close its doors, its absence will be felt, in Norwich and beyond and for quite some time to come.
The meeting on Monday, aside from announcing the audit of the finances was a call for suggestions to be shared with both the Mayor and the City Manager--and to also announce there will be a 'next' meeting with a report on the current fiscal status and situation, next Monday morning, 6 April, at 11, this time in the City Council chambers. I'm not sure how many in the audience who demanded a meeting 'next Monday night so more people can attend' realize next Monday evening is when the City Manager will present his proposed budget to the City Council. Every one's plate was already full--no one needed the threatened shipwreck of a long-time community institution to be added to the schedule.
The Mayor spoke about the need to be proactive rather than reactive-though I think, technically, looking at the sequence of events, that's all we can do right now. We, as citizens and as a city, need to manage the events so that they stop managing us. We need acknowledge that people prefer problems that are familiar to solutions that are not and that these are extraordinary economic times, for all of us, and that in the ocean in which we find ourselves adrift it's not just my part of the boat that seems to have sprung a leak. We may, as some would like to think, each be alone in a wind-tossed vessel, but it is ultimately the same great big ocean for all of us. And, sadly, our boats are so small.
-bill kenny
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