Posted: 2/1/06
Final Draft - by Cliff Buchan
When it comes to solving problems, Verness willing to dream big
January is the month to honor the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He was the civil rights leader often remembered for having a dream.
David Verness of Forest Lake fits the same mold. Heís a man who is willing to dream and dream big at that.
Verness has been watching from the sidelines the past year or so as the events surrounding the old District Memorial Hospital campus have unfolded. He lives in the southeast area and the site is near and dear to him. And as a former member of the cityís planning commission, heís been a player in how land-using and zoning rules have been shaped.
It has troubled Verness that the site has been mired in lawsuits following decisions to build affordable housing units on the hospital campus and a city council denial of permits needed for the project.
Some no doubt see the legal action ó including a separate suit by citizens of Forest Lake against the council and the Memorial Hospital governing board ó as a problem. Always the guy who looks at the glass of water as half full and not half empty, the legal action is an opportunity, not a problem.
So Verness has stepped forward in past weeks offering his take on the problem and what should be done. Heís also a big picture kind of guy and in his best-case scenario, Verness would turn this issue into something that could benefit the entire area.
The issue over the Duffy Development-Human Services, Inc. housing project is of course complicated. Verness recognizes that but as an optimist, he believes that if given lemons, he can make sweet lemonade.
In his big picture view, Verness would transform the hospital campus issues into a major new way of thinking by Forest Lake government and civic leaders.
Verness would utilize the drainage creek running from near TH-97 and Forest Lake High School and north and west through the hospital site and eventually under US-61 to Clear Lake as the framework for a new Creek Park. It would provide valuable open space, he says, and open the doors for an even larger Creek Park extending south to Hugo and north to North Branch and east to the St. Croix River through the judicial ditch system and the Hardwood Creek.
In Forest Lake, the park would be a companion piece for a Verness effort to construct at least one gymnasium, and perhaps more, to provide youth an outlet for a type of ìMidnight Basketballî site that has been successful in metro inner locations. Forest Lake is not an inner city suburb, Verness concedes, but he believes the program would work here providing an outlet for kids that would reduce crime and other youth-related problems, including drug abuse.
If Verness had his way, heíd plop his Midnight Gym somewhere on the hospital campus site. It could be part of Pastor John Tenjackís dream of building a teen center adjacent to Grace Alliance Church. It could be in partnership with the Forest Lake Youth Service Bureau. It could be part of a Hazelden Foundation facility that he would like to see on the hospital campus site.
In any case, Verness said he and supporters of his plan would back the Forest Lake Community Center project where a gym would be a key component of any civic center facility. Heís now working to raise $50,000 in seed money to help in any event. Through his political connections with Sen. Norm Coleman and his good friend Rep. Ray Vandeveer of Forest Lake, he has been told he will have help in securing federal and state grant dollars. He also believes this faith-based initiative will be able to corner federal grant dollars and continue to have support from the local clergy.
Verness believes he can achieve happiness for the Duffy group by coaxing the affordable housing project to land available west of I-35 in Forest Lake. The site, Verness said, will accommodate 1000 or more housing units that would suit state and federal grants and tax credits that have been issued for the Duffy project on the hospital site.
No one should fault Verness from dreaming big.
The fundamental question, remains, however. Is this big picture dream possible? With lawsuits on the table, there is nothing to hint that participants are willing to change their plans even with the noble ideas that Verness is floating. His role in advocating for a cause is noble but the timing to pull off such a plan is questionable.
Sometimes persistence pays off and Verness is a persistent fellow. He is working hard to convey his message and in that right he deserves to be heard.
Do you have an idea or input for Verness? Call him. His number is in the book. Like his dreams, it canít hurt to try.
Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605