Iowa City Angel Debate v. Oshkosh Rubber Stamps

One reason why the angel statue in the public park decision has become so controversial is because Oshkosh city government AGAIN failed to ask any questions when they had the chance to. Our friends over at the ABV Town Square state it well: "Why didn't any of the counsel (sic) members who stated 'they would ask the tough questions' not even ask one question about this. Clearly at least to some degree placing a possible religious symbol on a public land would raise eyebrows." Very much like the Menominee Park Miller's Bay Pier fiasco, the Council once again finds itself embroiled in controversy because it simply does not do its homework or have sufficient discussion before approving controversial items.

Contrast the Oshkosh Rubber Stamps with what happened recently in Iowa City. There, the city's Parks and Recreation Commission had extensive disussion of placing the Chrismas Box Angel Statue in City Park at their May 11th, 2005 meeting and also on July 13th.

At the May 11th meeting, the Parks Commission passed a resolution "to support the concept of the placement of an angel statue in city park subject to approval of size, script and location and subject to a legal opinion." Notice that the Commission, acting responsibly, was seeking a legal opinion BEFORE sending the resolution to the Iowa City Council.

At the May 11th meeting, Parks Commission staff revealed that they had done research about similar statues located in city parks in other states:

• St. Charles, Missouri: No controversy at all. They feel it is an “asset to their community.”
• Rockford, Illinois: Viewed more as a work of art than a religious symbol. One person raised a concern regarding the name of the statue (“Christmas Box Angel”), therefore changed the name to “Angel of Hope.” No problems after that.
• Perham, Minnesota: No controversy or opposition. City provided undeveloped parkland. Park is named “Angel of Hope Memorial Park.”
• Maple Grove, Minnesota: Did extensive research. Their City Attorney determined it was art, not a religious symbol.
• Belleville, Illinois: No controversy.

At the July 13th meeting, the Iowa City Parks Commission staff distributed a memo from Iowa City Attorney Eleanor Dilkes. According to the minutes, "It is Dilkes findings that it would not be unconstitutional to place this statue in City Park, however, she urged the Parks and Recreation Commission to develop a policy that governs the placement of permanent structures in a park."

On November 1st, 2005 the Iowa City Common Council approved by a 6-1 vote the placement of the Angel of Hope statue in City Park. The transcript of the meeting (scroll down to page 53) reveals that the Council did not have an in-depth discussion of the matter, but Councilor Connie Champion states her reasons for dissenting. One councilor voted in favor of the resolution even though he expressed a concern that the statue may end up being used as a location for antiabortion protests.

The Iowa Common Council may or may not have made the right decision, but government in Iowa City clearly works much better than what we see here in Oshkosh. Iowa city staff did their homework, the city attorney was asked to provide an opinion BEFORE the City Council vote, and minutes of the Parks Commission and City Council reveal a serious awareness of the potential for controversy. If Iowa City were to get sued to remove the statue from City Park, at least their city government will not look like a group of ignorant rubber stamps who say "YES" without even considering the consequences of their actions.

In Oshkosh, city government is in the embarrassing position of doing homework on the consequences of placing the angel statue in a public park AFTER the city council vote. Not only is this an irresponsible way to do city business, but we're now in the position of having to expend significant taxpayer dollars to defend the city in Court if the statue placement decision stands and the Freedom From Religion Foundation files suit. A responsible government would have anticipated the potential for conflict and possibly worked out a compromise before getting to this point.