Members of Destination: Albert Lea met Tuesday with a lot to talk about, not the least of which was the proposed half-cent sales tax they hope will make it through the Legislature.

Saturday, February 09, 2002

Members of Destination: Albert Lea met Tuesday with a lot to talk about, not the least of which was the proposed half-cent sales tax they hope will make it through the Legislature. The biggest question, especially after the failure of the school referendum: How do they get their message out?

And, more importantly, I would add this: How do they make sure the tone of the debate doesn’t degenerate into the name-calling, mud-slinging free-for-all we had in the weeks before the school levy referendum?

The most important factor in whether this proposal passes is whether the discussion remains positive.

This is assuming the whole thing is not shot down at the Legislature. The measure would not wind up on the local ballot unless the state House and Senate agree to allow it. It probably won’t come up for discussion until March. And if it survives St. Paul, it wouldn’t be on the local ballot for months to come.

But if we in Albert Lea wait until then to talk about this idea, it may be too late. People are forming opinions now. And some are already trying to influence others the way they did during the school debate – for instance, most of us have seen the big yellow sign near the airport.

Whenever there’s a vote on anything – president, mayor, state representative, school levy, local option sales tax – there are always the few who are strongly in favor and the few who are strongly against. Both are vocal. Sometimes one outnumbers the other, but the two combined probably don’t make up more than half the electorate.

I believe the people who decide most elections are those who don’t pay as close attention and aren’t as vocal. They decide the outcome either after being swayed one way or the other by the general tone of the debate; by obeying party or ideological allegiances; or through apathy – not voting can be as harmful to a cause as voting &uot;no.&uot;

The most important thing for Destination: Albert Lea will be to get its message out to as many people as possible, as often as possible and as consistently as possible. Members realize this; they’re already talking about ways to do it.

If there are inaccurate perceptions out there, backers must know about it and counter it as quickly as possible. And they must make sure that voter turnout is high – nobody in favor of this stays home on election day.

The proposal should be easier to sell than the school board’s – not because the school levy does not have value, but because it’s a different situation and a different tax. The members of Destination: Albert Lea do not have any collective history with the voters of Albert Lea. They haven’t made any enemies – not that I know of, anyway. Their proposal doesn’t ask for much; they figure it would cost the average person about $30 a year, and it would be a few cents at a time.

Their goals are certainly worthy. They are trying to capitalize on what’s good and unique about Albert Lea.

Every town has a mall. Every town has a Perkins and an Applebee’s and a Wal-Mart. But not everybody has two lakes. Not everybody has a well-preserved, historic downtown. Those who do are taking better advantage of it than Albert Lea. Towns like Stillwater and New Prague have great downtown areas and they capitalize on it. Detroit Lakes and Brainerd have lakes and natural beauty, and it’s at the core of their economies.

What is Albert Lea doing with these assets? Our downtown is full of holes and our lakes are full of gunk.

The half-cent sales tax&160;-&160;which would not apply to clothing, housing, most food or automobiles – would pay to fix up the lakes and renew downtown. Money would not be given to business owners; it would be used to complement what we already have and invite more businesses. The money would not be appropriated by DAL members; the city council would administer the funds.

These are the facts that everybody in Albert Lea should be exposed to, and the sooner the better.

Dylan Belden is the Tribune’s managing editor. His column appears Sundays. E-mail him at dylan.belden@albertleatribune.com.