Letter: Town Council ‘setting the stage’

Want to convince someone of something entirely untrue? Just keep repeating it. Over and over.

In psychology, the “illusory truth effect” is the idea that if you repeat something often enough, people will slowly start to believe it’s true, even when knowing it’s not.

Apparently, so it goes with the Town of Hilton Head Island Venue Committee. We now know that the committee will disregard its own consultant’s report and continue to research an option for a large on-island performing arts center.

Listen to us, public taxpayer: “The town needs a new performing arts center … the town needs a new performing arts center ...”

Last August, the Venue Committee interviewed five national consulting groups for the task of researching the island’s needs, setting aside $200,000 from the taxpayers for this purpose. Webb Management Services was selected from a presumably well-qualified field.

At the time, Jane Joseph, vice chair of the committee, was quoted as saying “a firm was needed to help members make an educated decision.” Duncan Webb’s extensive report to the committee and public last month said that such a large performing facility would be better suited off-island, serving a much larger population and potentially collaborating with USCB and others for funding.

What part of this report is not clear to Town Council member Kim Likins, who states “if he (Webb) strongly feels like Hilton Head is not the right place, we need to understand why”? Be cautious, taxpayers, the town is trying to “set the stage.”

This story was originally published April 27, 2017 at 10:04 PM with the headline "Letter: Town Council ‘setting the stage’."