McEuen Field today. Coeur d'Alene downtown yesterday.

In the mid to late '80s and the early '90s, downtown Coeur d'Alene was a pretty sad place. Empty spaces, run down buildings. All the major businesses moved out to the mall.

A group of concerned citizens, Sandi Bloem, and others, saw that if we did not change, we would be like many other cities with dead or dying downtowns. They looked at several options; one would have covered Sherman Avenue and made a mall-like atmosphere. They traveled to other cities and finally decided to capitalize on the old brick buildings and change the streetscape to what we have today. Flower baskets, brick corners, benches and more.

The concept was called Main Street. The building owners and merchants decided to tax themselves with an LID to pay for these improvements. Urban Renewal was formed to help revitalize the downtown. A BID was formed to help promote and maintain the improvements and what do we have today? This amazingly beautiful, energetic, vital center of our city.

It isn't an accident. It did not just happen. We didn't just get lucky - times were really tough. You could almost have put a sign on the way out of town saying, "Will the last person to leave town please turn out the lights?" Businesses were closing, the mines and the mills were shutting down and laying off. I know, my family's business was one of those that closed.

McEuen Field is a little like that old downtown. It is beautiful, no question, but it is a little tired. The parking blocks views of the lake, the busy streets make the boat launch hard to get to in the summer when it is most needed, the Legion Field is not quite the size it needs to be for a full-fledged baseball field; the sun creates a problem for the players because of its orientation, and the fences block views and uses. The playground is small and a little worn.

Is it working? Sure. We can put up with a little inconvenience because we love it, but is it the best that it can be?

A group of concerned citizens worked for several months to see what it would take to make it the best that it can be, what kind of amenities, how many citizens would use it, and how can we capitalize on what we have to make it better.

It's not easy. Times are tough again. People are worried and scared, but does that mean we should just hunker down in the bunker until it gets better? If the downtown folks had done that, we might still have a lot of empty buildings and no energy. We would not be called one of the most beautiful cities in the country. We would not be able to wander downtown on a beautiful summer evening and enjoy our fellow citizens and visitors.

I recently visited a city in south Idaho. The streets were empty, many of the buildings were empty; it looked tired and worn out. It's a good city, good folks, but they were unable to define their downtown the way we have. For whatever reason, it did not happen. When I drove back into Coeur d'Alene and saw the beautiful flowers, the energy, the people, it literally took my breath away. I am so glad that the committee who worked to make downtown what it is today, were willing to take the time and, yes, the flak (there were naysayers then, too) and the courage to step up to the plate and do the job right.

A city that isn't moving forward is going backward. You can't stand in place; you can't be afraid of the future. It's easy to say no ... it costs too much ... it needs to be voted on ... I don't want to pay for it. The same people, the same words, the same negativity over and over again. It's time to look to the future, to take the risk and continue to make our city the best it can be.

Deanna Goodlander is a member of the Coeur d'Alene city council.