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Monday, November 24, 2008

City Ponders What To Do About Hole

By Dan McKay
Journal Staff Writer
          City Hall wants to give it a makeover. City Councilor Michael Cadigan wants to mothball it.
        City Cultural Services Director Ray Darnell says the "it" is "one big ugly dirt hole in the ground" near Balloon Fiesta Museum — the result of an abandoned project that would have created a 200-foot reflecting pool complete with fountains.
        Ed Adams, the top executive under Mayor Martin Chávez, got councilors' attention last week when, in response to their questions, he said the idea of an amphitheater had been discussed for the hole.
        City administrators later said that's not really what they have in mind. What they will do isn't clear yet, but in Darnell's view the hole is not befitting the museum.
        He said his department will work with the Chávez administration and City Council to come up with a plan for the area. The idea will then be submitted to the city's Environmental Planning Commission.
        Among the ideas under consideration:
        Creating "land art." The idea would be to arrange the landscape into some kind of pattern that would look good from the air.
        Planting better landscaping that would connect the museum visually to the rest of the park.
        Building a children's area on the concepts of flight.
        Setting up rocks for people to sit on. There could be poetry readings, talks or similar performances, but it wouldn't be an amphitheater with lighting or fancy amenities, Darnell said. It could just end up as a place for people to have a pleasant conversation.
        The city has "in the range of $200,000" to start work on a project for the site, he said. If everything went well, construction could begin by this time next year, Darnell said.
        The hole was the result of a fight between the mayoral administration and city councilors last year. The city began building the 200-foot pond as part of $2.7 million in improvements to the park.
        But a neighborhood leader filed an appeal, and councilors overturned the project. The council said the project would waste water and didn't match master-plan requirements for what gets built at the park.
        Cadigan, a vocal critic of the pond, said this week that the city has much higher priorities.
        "Just put some dust control on it and leave it for the time being," he said. "Essentially, we should just mothball it until the economic situation turns around."
        Since the work was abandoned, the city has smoothed out the slope of the hole so it's not dangerous to passers-by.