Editor:

I went to the Civic Center planning workshop on July 31 and came away profoundly disappointed. Apparently, Liberty Union High School District is unable or unwilling to reach an agreement with the city about moving the bus barn and pool. As a result, the new Civic Center area will have to be contorted around an ancient and ailing swimming pool and will be buttressed by a steel shed that plays host to the buses for the entire high school district.

It is my understanding that rezoning issues with the school district's La Paloma property on Lone Tree are at the heart of the disagreement. Unfortunately, while the property on Lone Tree will probably eventually be zoned for something lucrative and sold, the face of downtown Brentwood will be permanently disfigured if the bus barn and pool are not moved now. Somehow, the gritty retro-industrial look that the bus barn brings to downtown isn't really what anyone had in mind during the community planning process.

Frankly, I hope for more out of our elected officials. It isn't fair for the school board or city officials to indulge in personality conflicts that jeopardize this kind of community endeavor.

Brentwood gets one chance to get the Civic Center built right, and we are blowing it. Given the amount of taxpayer money that will be spent on the Civic Center project, it will be a crying shame if we end up with a second-best solution simply because the Liberty High School District and the City of Brentwood can't resolve their differences.

Susan Wallace

Brentwood