Right picks: City's museum committee needs new faces, practical thinkers

Let's all agree on this now: No one is against having a museum dedicated to the 4th Fighter Wing and the 916th Air Refueling Wing in the city of Goldsboro.

In fact, most people think it would be a fitting addition to the community considering the city's long association with Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

So as the city prepares its committee to start looking at the possibility of putting a museum in the building that used to house the Arts Council of Wayne County, finding someone who thinks a museum is a good idea is not a priority.

Finding people with practical knowledge of construction, real estate and budgets is.

Right now is not the time to take on a project that might or might not succeed. This town does not need any more surprises -- especially with the recent decision on the involuntary annexation. There are other priorities, other concerns and other places to spend money.

And city leaders and committee members need to remember, too: There are not piles of money sitting around waiting to be spent, and local taxpayers are not screaming for more bills either.

So if the museum project moves forward after careful consideration of cost vs. benefit, then someone needs to be in charge who understands budgets and can keep a close eye on priorities and practicality.

In other words, we need people who can dispassionately, and without political encumberment, decide what is best for this community and what it can afford.

And included in that discussion should be whether the corner in question -- and that building -- are the best picks for a museum project.

Due diligence is the call here -- and leadership. No popularity contests and easy decisions. We cannot afford them.

Published in Editorials on December 6, 2011 11:00 AM