City commissioners tabled the windows ordinance. They formed a committee that is charged with coming up with recommendations by the first meeting in May.
Commissioner Scott Margolius made the motion and will chair the committee.
There will be 7-8 people on it, mostly downtown building owners.
Margolius says he will not let it die. He says they will have to come up with solutions and he expects an ordinance to pass at the first meeting in May.
There was a pretty good discussion at the meeting. However, no one showed up to support the ordinance, so it as picked apart pretty well.
More tomorrow.
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18 comments:
Glad we found someone to guard the henhouse.
Isn't there a city ordinance against too many chickens!
Looks like they are going to get something done. Amazing.
When you say, "Tabled", does that mean it was folded up and put under the table leg to keep it from rocking?
Is the owner of the building with all the tin in the window openings on the committee?
From the direction this city council is headed, it doesn't seem that we need one, we can just just get the downtown building owners to run this place.
"What if you pulled your head out and realized they did the right thing to protect the vitality and viability of the down during the bigbox debate and they are doing the right thing again now by listening to the people this ordinance will affect."
NOT!!!!!!!!
The best way to protect the viability of downtown is not the best way to protect the viability of Ark City.
It is a real shame the businesses and building owners insist on no development for Ark City and no repair of their buildings as their vision of their future for growth. It is a vision for the stagnation of Ark City. It is even worse that anyone in city government permits this.
The corrugated metal has been on the Sybrant building for 40 years. It may well be there for another 40 if something is not done.
When someone comes to Ark City, it is the first thing one notices about the "historic" downtown. It looks horrible and gives downtown a black eye.
Let's see if there is any way to get a grant for urban renewal, to condemn and tear down these buildings that nobody will maintain and replace them with a downtown shopping mall.
I'm sure Stage would move into it as an anchor store in a heartbeat. Sparks and Brown's would get a real shot in the arm by being in a new shiny mall, the Grinderman would look really cool there, McDonald's could have a really neat showroom, we wouldn't have to worry about parking and people would come for miles around to shop.
We could probably get a Penney's and maybe a Hastings. Once they see the development, Lowes might be interested again.
How about a bond to fund it. I think 30 million is just about right. At the present value of the buildings you could buy downtown for about $1 million. Then replace it all for $29.
I'm sure everyone would pay $35.00 per year to get the ball rolling, and after a while the increased tax revenue would make up for the construction cost.
Everyone asks why new developments are built somewhere other than downtown at the same time downtowns are let to deteriorate.
It is not something that "happens" to a downtown. The downtown does it to itself. The downtown building owners insist on it.
If not downtown then maybe where the old WalMart used to be. If they hold us back, let's leave them behind.
an interesting story:
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/mar/11/council-oks-tax-abatement-to-attract-lowes/
interesting to me that some people think its progress and other people think it is regress.
the potential is there for both i suppose.
it will be very interesting to see what happens.
Blanche Schmidt was in the process of putting barn metal on 40 windows?
Who would look at that and think that was a good idea?
Who would spend money to do that?
The downtown businesses are running Ark City into the ground.
There is a real need to have standards.
There is a real need to have standards.
True
but in Schmidt's defense, I should have made it clearer that it is decorative tin that would have matched the building.
not just a shiny metal surface
The same person who wanted city government to help his group entice a Lowe's into our town is now throwing a fit about city government forcing him to do something. He claims he does not have the money to spend, but I seriously doubt that is his real gripe. No one wants to be told what to do.
Problem is, he can't have it both ways. Do you want city government to be involved in local capitalism or not?
I guess it's true. We have become a welfare community. Nobody wants to fix or clean up unless the city, county, or state pays for it.
I can't believe there isn't anyone left with any pride at all.
Next we'll see downtown businesses and property owners asking for handouts from local government just to stay open.
I wonder if they would accept food stamps?
like the chamber?
Building owners are showing that they only have their own self interest in mind - profit.
Not the good of the city.
Nothing wrong with making a profit, but, one should give back to one's community a little bit.
Keeping a place looking decent isn't too much to ask.
Downtown building owners and businesses have no pride left. They've already sold out. Controlling the commission on who or what can or can't come into town. Controlling the commission to prevent being forced to clean up.
They've made their stand publicly and loudly. They know they have complete control and don't care about anything other than all of the city money coming to them.
There are some good ones out there trying, but I'm afraid between the others and the commission, the good ones are outnumbered. You can't change the rut we're stuck in.
Tabling is as good as avoiding an issue. It seems to be a habit among this commission. Is it a specific commissioner or a group of them? Has anything that has been tables under this commission ever come back up again?
Who apprises this committee? Someone who can stand up and act, hopefully better than our commissioners can? Or was there a trend in who was selected... designed to lean one way or the other?
How is it that one of the commissioner that opposes development, especially retail, is leading this committee? Maybe the building owner's have already made their decision and are showing us how they can go through the motions and make it look above board?
the look of the town did not get to where it is overnight. maybe just maybe it is not too much to ask to take a little time to properly plan to get it fixed up right rather than with a kneejerk reaction. I do not see you gutless wonders doing anything other than complaining on the blogs.
"I do not see you gutless wonders doing anything other than complaining on the blogs."
and how about you?
it's okay to complain about the complainers. that is different than cpmplaining about the poeple who are working ahrd to mkae this a better community.
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