Senator Dr. Jacinta Higgs, chairperson of the Clifton Heritage Authority, recently responded to Richard Coulson's article in the Tribune on December 12, titled Dilemma at Clifton Point.
The previous post on this site (by Simon) also responds to Mr Coulson's original article, which described the park as "one of those well-meaning but fuzzy ideas that without rational planning have a hard time surviving in our tough competitive world...Much of the park is 'under construction' like its website, whose 'News' section alertly displays a 2005 press release as its latest item."
According to Mr Coulson, "One doubts there was any careful planning about continuing expenses, particularly the big new budget items needed to make the park an attractive going concern. It was simply another project with a political agenda, backed by our well-intentioned but unrealistic culture mavens, including the do-gooder foreign organizations that give us advice but don’t understand Bahamian realities.
"To become viable, the park needs to have a publicity campaign (it’s not listed with tour operators) and a vigorous membership drive to provide consistent donations. Since its activities overlap with the Bahamas National Trust, perhaps the best solution would be to merge with the Trust, whose energetic leadership and long list of loyal members might find a way to pay for the park’s aspirations and bring its dreams to reality."
In the following guest post, Mr Coulson (a Bahamian financial advisor who writes business articles for the Tribune), responds to both Dr Higgs and Simon, who he describes as "a young man who likes to sound off like a know-it-all but refuses to reveal his name."
by Richard Coulson
As she admits, Senator Higgs was unable to see me before the deadline for my column, but I would be delighted to meet with her at any time to up-date my views. My telephone is listed. I would also be glad to hear from the Guardian columnist “Simon”, who chooses to hide behind anonymity.
Her response appears to criticize me for failing to do adequate research, particularly about her own prior statements. I wonder where I can find them? My analysis on the Internet showed me the statutes of the Clifton Heritage Authority, various maps, photos, fragments of history, the names of the committee members, but only one, undated, “message” from her – a brief and very broad-brush summary of the Park’s objectives and accomplishments.
The park’s website is bare in the sections labelled “Events” and “Tours Dates for 2009”. In my visits to the park, none of the staff offered any descriptive literature, and I saw nothing posted. I did happen to find on sale (except on weekends) a pamphlet titled “Tour Guide, Grades 7-9” - a nice little document, except that it misleads kids by totally falsifying the history of the Stone Steps (as I noted in my column), an error which Dr. Higgs repeats in her reply by implying they were “slave” steps, when the evidence shows they were built in 1916. Is this fact somehow “politically incorrect”?
On the financial issue, Dr. Higgs and I agree that government subventions are necessary to keep the park in business, and there is no doubt that governments in every country subsidize certain desirable public projects. The question is, does our government, and thus the Bahamian people, get value for its money?
To my observation of the absence of Bahamians at the historic sites, Dr. Higgs retorts that many school groups have visited the park. Perhaps their hours were different from mine; during some half dozen mid-day visits in October and November, and frequent drive-bys at other times, I have seen no such group outings. A few Bahamians could be found walking the lovely rural trails, but a park warden told me that guided tours are held “mainly for tourists”.
Dr. Higgs also suggested that I missed the “thousands” of Bahamians who like to swim in the summer. Well, in my observation, Bahamians like to swim any warm sunny weekend, and indeed I saw Jaws Beach getting fair usage, although “thousands” would overwhelm its limited stretch. And if the beach is such a draw, why can’t the Authority help out with some picnic tables and unlock the door to the toilet facilities?
I do wish Dr. Higgs good fortune in her indicated plans to find well-heeled sponsors for major events in the coming year, which will certainly be welcome. Without such events, and further amenities, Bahamians will be reluctant to pay the fees or entrance charges that, she says, government has now authorized her to impose. It will be interesting and gratifying to observe these changes that may be expected in 2010.
My suggestion about a merger with Bahamas National Trust (which also gets government financial support) seems to have caused alarm. I deliberately said “merge”, not “take-over”, so that the expertise of the BNT in nature conservancy could be combined under one corporate roof with the expertise of the Authority in archeology and cultural history, possibly reducing total overhead and marketing expenses.
I mentioned that in New York City the fabulously popular Central Park is now run by a private non-profit body of concerned citizens, while still getting financial contributions from the city through its Department of Parks. I believe some such public-private sector arrangement would be the best solution for Clifton. But I put this forward only as a basis for discussion, not as a final formula.
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