Sunday, September 15, 2013

No Dropped Balls

Maybe it's the picture perfect weather, but I'm in a bit of the festive mood this weekend.  I'm going to be positive, and nobody is going to stop me.  So there.

A little background is in order.  I was a board member of Paducah Renaissance Alliance, a.k.a., PRA until you all elected me to the city commission.  Essentially, the PRA is the National Mainstreet Program for Paducah. Its mission is historic preservation, economic development, promotion and organization.  A few months ago the PRA staff and director, for one reason or another, left the employee of the City.

This exodus left PRA without staff rather suddenly, and hence the accolades.

My first accolade is to Jeff Pederson, City Manager.  Jeff acted quickly to insure that there would be no dropped balls.  Staffing would be arranged from within to cover the bases efficiently and at little cost.  One of PRA's major goals this year was to have a study completed on the Colombia Theater's reuse.  Jeff kept the focus, and the study went ahead.

Steve Ervin, head of the Planning Department, gets my next accolade.  PRA had been working on an initiative of making certain our downtown core of buildings would not collapse due to bad roofs.  You may have known this by the name The Roof Stabilization Program.  The program has started, and it is a good first step in securing the fabric of our downtown.

Steve Ervin gets another accolade for applying the concepts of The Fountain Neighborhood Project to filling out the vacant lots in the LowerTown Arts District.  The first artist home should start soon, at no cost to the taxpayer, naturally. This was a PRA program under the guise of The Artist Cottage.

Steve Doolittle, PRDA director, gets my next accolade for accepting the challenge of economic development of downtown  properties.  And, yes there are a few new stores to show for his efforts.

I, of course, save the best accolade for last.  Jessica Perkins was the lone temporary hire to do all the marketing, writing, website inquiry.  You name it, and she did it.

While in this feeling of good tidings, maybe I'm most happy about using tax dollars for projects, not just staff for PRA.  I know something about this.  While on the board I helped select two directors that just were not the right fit, for them or us.

So there you have it, no dropped balls.  Your city had a department problem and together did yeoman's duty, and I thought you might like to know.

As the weekend comes to an end I guess I should revert to my negative, pessimistic and curmudgeonly self.  I must say I have enjoyed this respite and look forward to another festive mood in the near future.




Sunday, September 1, 2013

A Wolf by its ears


A wolf by its ears……..

I’ve never actually had a wolf by its ears, but I think I’m getting the idea with our Riverfront Park …..ah….situation.  First, some background, assuming you have lived under a tub or been on vacation to Mars these last few months.

From the first “proposed construction cost” document the “bump out” was estimated to cost about $50,000 more than the HUD Grant.  By the time the bids were received and rebid to lower the cost, the “bump out” had ballooned to $1,500,000 over budget.  I voted against this project.  A few weeks ago, the cost was raised by another $250,000 for the gangway pilings.  I voted against this also.  Last week, due to subsidence, we were told that we were now another $800,000 short to raise the “bump out” to the desired level.  The other commissioners are now waiting for more information before voting.  I will vote against these additional monies.  My last “wolf by its ears” fact is that the city spent $1,264,915 from the period 2008 thru 2013, which is in addition to the spending discussed above.  I wasn’t a commissioner to vote against this.

If the project stops right now, I suspect the city will be forced to spend some money to bring even the incomplete “bump out” into Corps of Engineers compliance.  We would have no choice but to comply.

So, where are we without spending the additional $800,000?  We have a rock pile some 20 feet below where it needs to be and therefore not usable for any purpose.  Whether the city spends the $800,00 or not, the gangway pilings that the entire marina service building, transient boat dock, and boat slips are attached to, will be finished. That was in the earlier $250,000 the commission approved by a 4 to 1 vote.  Remember, I voted “no.”

Your commissioner has an idea, maybe.  If all of us take a blood oath—the mayor
and commissioners—that we would not build the aforementioned marina service building, transient boat dock and boat slips, I would vote to finish the “bump out,” to make it into a riverfront park.  Understand, we would have to spend $800,000 of city money to do this.  If no agreement to use the funds to create only a park, then I vote “no” on any further spending.

This park--let’s call it “Festival Park” to give it a more positive image-- would be constructed for all to enjoy.  “Festival Park” would be approximately a three acre green space overlooking the Ohio River that all Paducahans, whether picnickers, frisbee players or river watchers, could enjoy.

The city has already been awarded a $3,811,000 Federal Highway Administration Grant, which we should be able to use for the park. The rest of the (unused) grants go back to their sponsoring agencies.

So there you have it.  The trick, of course, is not to let the wolf bite us as we let go of his ears.  Or should I say, not get bitten more severely than we already have been.