Gary Sexson

In the letter that Lakewood Village Trustee Gary Sexson mailed on behalf of his candidacy this week, he wrote,

“The Sportsplex development is currently a dead issue with no vote on the Board planned.”

At the last meeting I attended a presentation was made concerning the SportsPlex.

It seemed very much alive.

I emailed both Village President Erin Smith and Sexson asking if the SportsPlex were really dead.

I asked Smith,

“Does Sexson know something that is not general knowledge?

“Does he (and other village board members) know something us citizens don’t?

“He says the SportsPlex is dead.

“What do you know about that?”

Here’s the reply I got from Smith:

Erin Smith

“Gary’s statement is misleading and I suggested that he word this differently.

“Based on my conversation today with Gary, I understand that ‘Dead’ was Gary’s way of communicating the same message that we have communicated in our Village newsletter:  that we do not yet have a redevelopment agreement that is ready for formal consideration and until this is scheduled, we do not know if the Sportsplex will be formally considered.

“We have said consistently that our Village Board will not bring the redevelopment agreement forward unless we are comfortable that it represents the best interests of our residents.

“The negotiations that precede a formal vote on a project of this magnitude are difficult and ongoing.

“We introduced the Sportsplex project to the public at our information night far in advance of the vote to provide the public with ample opportunity to consider it based on the information available at that time.

“If we waited until the redevelopment agreement was scheduled for formal consideration, it would appear as if we had surprised the public and we are committed to providing full transparency.

“The downside of early communication is that it gives everyone a lot of time to speculate and spread false information.”

Here’s the reply I received from a similar email I sent to Sexson:

“I see Erin has answered your question.

“I guess my use of the word ‘dead’ has thrown some people, albeit I prefaced it with ‘currently a dead issue’, which I thought was accurate at the time (as we have seen it currently dead before, and here it is again).”