The Crisis of Conscience

I didn’t get much work done today – I had an appointment in Iowa City that took far too long.

It did, however, give me time to think. Now that I have a better grasp on what the SLC really it, what role it should be playing in the community, its history with all the successes and failures… well, it has put my job into perspective. Having that perspective, in turn, makes me more aware of how my time and the SLC’s money (both to-be-raised and existing) would be best spent.

I was tasked, when I came in, with two basic, fundemental jobs:

1) Get prices for a new floor and water system.

2) Raise the funds to get ‘em.

I wouldn’t even need to have them installed – just getting to the point where they could be would be enough. My education would come from the experience of doing these things, as acting Director of the SLC.

The problem is this: If I am truly acting as Director, I would have to make the calls as I see them – list our priorities and fulfill them according to my understanding of what the SLC is and does. The water system and floor, while vital in their own right, are not the most important thing that needs to happen out here.

The single most important thing that needs to happen at the SLC is the hiring of a salaried part-to-full time Director (not me).

I could raise the $12,000 or so for the floor and water (I’ve never done any fund raising events before, but how hard could it be?). But I feel that it would be a disservice to spend that money on physical upgrades right now. So we install a year-round water system and a fancy concrete floor…. and that’s it. The SLC would still suffer from the lack of clear direction, poor communication between members, and lack of constant educational classes – in short, nothing will change with how people use this place, and the SLC will not be a better organisation for the upgrades.

A full-timer, however, could change that game. He or she could constantly work on fund raising, both events and outside the community, and bring in significantly more money than I, in this one-shot internship, could. He or she would be around to help spruce up this place year-round (I’ll be in classes, busy all the time). S/he could do any number of things on the Master List, which is constantly being added to – and if s/he was successsful enough, could hire more help. What the SLC desperately needs is a competent Director with a small, motivated staff.

Part of the problem with the SLC, as an entity, is that its potential is HUGE, and awesome. Because of that, anything less seems so disappointing. Looking at some of these plans that were drawn up when it was incorporated, you get this wonderful feeling of hope – the SLC could be the educational center, a mecca for anyone interested in Sustainability. People and interns could flock here for certificates and classes. It’d be the bee’s knees.

But there is simply no way it can get there with the group structured the way it is now. Every Board member has full-time responsibilities elsewhere (some more-more-than-full time). Even when a few people have the time, it seems poorly planned – fixing up gardens, erecting structures…. sometimes done without the knowledge or permission of the entire Board.

I’ve heard it’s been tried before, but I truly believe that a full time (at the very least part-time) Director could make the calls and get the SLC back on the track it needs to run to get to that golden vision – s/he would then post all the big plans and projects out to the Board for approval.

If this doesn’t happen, and the status-quo remains in effect, the SEED Center will become a mish-mash of random projects, and lacking that central vision, will fall far short of its intended goals.

However, I was “hired” to do a job. Would I be risking my internship credit by refusing to do the floors and water, insisting instead on hiring a Director? Or should I see my end date, do the job, and leave the SLC to develop on its own?