Richfield Bandshell = Residential Hell

Leave it to Richfield’s bureaucratic braintrust to ignore the residential vox populi, then call their refusal to listen “democracy.” It isn’t. It’s just more homegrown fascism from Our Urban Hometown.

We, The People, have spoken repeatedly, and our message has been loud and clear: NO BANDSHELL. Thanks but no thanks to this misplaced, ill-conceived outdoor concert venue.

Thanks but no thanks to any man-made, seasonal structure that would burden taxpayers and create even more noise and disruption for nearby residents. And a big thumbs down to any designated site for open-air concerts than would take place under a designated flight path. (Thanks, Councilmember Tom Fitzhenry for reminding everyone about the big airport next door.) And what about those mosquitoes?

Oh, well…

Who cares what The People want? Or don’t want? Certainly not Richfield’s mayor. Certainly not the City Planning Commission. Definitely not the City Council that’s now manipulated by the misplaced enthusiasm of Mike Howard. Once more, a self-proclaimed “Richfield Booster” who’s pro- Chamber of Commerce has shown citizens what “progress” really means. Surprise! It’s all about tearing up more land and greenery and indirectly and directly disrupting more residential areas in Richfield.

The Boys (and Girls) in the Backroom are alive and well here.

Apparently, there are money-exchanges, unhealthy business/government overlapping (hello, fascism), and under-the-table deals in Richfield never before imagined by its residents. How else could you explain the way this city has completely ignored the residents who will live in the vicinity of this bandshell?

Show me the money, and I’ll show you the reason so many public servants want this bandshell built.

What still confounds me, though, is how many bandshell-boosters DON’T LIVE in the neighborhood adjacent to the site of this proposed bandshell. Even the people who want it built don’t want to live too close to it… No shortage of NIMBY’s and hypocrites at Richfield City Hall, that’s for sure.

How quickly this debate dissolved into a class thing that dismissed and derided all opponents of bandshell construction!

It’s become political elitism of the worst kind. These people in charge down at City Hall actually consider themselves better than their constituents. In every way, they view themselves as better than the dissenters of this project. They actually believe that they’re better-educated, harder-working, more intelligent than the homeowners and tenants opposing this proposed bandshell. So, of course, they know what’s best for Richfield — even though THEIR lives won’t be changed by this new construction.

So forget about vox populi and their obligations to the commonweal. Why bother to listen to the Voice of The People when The People are too stupid to make any political decisions?

That’s the way it goes in Our Urban Hometown. Sure, residents can come to the City Council meetings and voice their opinions. But they’d better sit down and shut up because the superior public servants have already decided to build the bandshell. In other words, the elitists are in charge, the stupid people who disagree with them are not.

Unfortunately for them, the stupid people who disagree with them can also vote them out of office. Just wait. It not only could happen, it probably WILL happen.

Think about that, elitist public servants. Next time you get invited by homeowners to come over during the holiday weekend to hear just how disruptive music can get, you should show up.