Sunday, May 01, 2005

"No progress at any price" faction may use New Albany's budget crisis as an excuse to target Scribner Place

Last Thursday’s City Council public work session was devoted to examining New Albany’s finances in the context of Mayor James Garner’s proposals to reshape the city’s budget in accordance with state-mandated directives.

There is no disputing the origins of New Albany’s current budget crisis, which has come about owing to fiscal bungling that occurred before Mayor Garner and the sitting City Council came into office.

In order to balance New Albany’s books, the state has ordered the city’s budget to be adjusted, and as City Controller Kay Garry remarked to the Tribune's Kyle Lowry, "we all know we're going to have to make cuts."

Perhaps the Mayor (then a member of the City Council) and other holdover councilmen should have taken notice at the time, and perhaps not, but that’s largely irrelevant at the current juncture.

By all accounts, New Albany’s elected officials now are working together to achieve consensus on strategy to cope with the crisis, and this is commendable.

Certain of their suggestions are not as praiseworthy, and the understandable pressure to resolve the problem might well lead to an upsurge in demagoguery.

Specifically, in her article, the ‘Bune’s Lowry notes that “council member Dan Coffey suggests that the Scribner Place project be put on hold.”

The city’s contribution to the Scribner Place project is coming in the form of land acquisition, preparation and infrastructure, and this is the money (for this year and next) referred to by Councilman Coffey.

Wear knee-high boots if you have them, because Coffey’s linking of the budget crisis with Scribner Place is an obvious signal that potentially divisive public grandstanding is about to occur.

As the perpetual ward-heeling politico who lacks vision the way that albino mice lack pigment, Coffey probably intends to glad-hand the city’s depressingly morose “no progress at any price” faction by arguing that the city’s budget cuts provide “proof” that thinking in the future tense is mistaken.

Instead of moving forward, New Albany must hunker down for a few decades longer, think always in terms of what we can’t do rather than what we can, remain forever unwilling to consider the multitude of ways that a progressive and visionary local government might help to create local conditions that enhance taxable revenue streams and contribute to economic development, and in the final analysis, promote the familiar change-resistant strains of fear, spite and envy that have defined New Albany for far too long.

To be sure, Scribner Place is not a panacea, but it is an acceptable risk, one that stands a reasonably good chance of succeeding at its limited goals and playing a role in downtown revitalization.

However, viewed against the tragi-comic backdrop of civic lethargy and serial underachievement that has characterized New Albany’s ruling class for countless decades, Scribner Place is transformed into a veritable Taj Mahal.

At present, Scribner Place probably is worth more in symbolic terms than anything else. Even if the project's revised scale remains too conservative by half, at least it is a starting point. At least it approximates vision, represents future thinking, and hints at progressive solutions to the city’s difficulties.

Those in our community who lack vision, who define the world according to narrow limits, who actively fear the future, who advocate regression, who have no plan of their own, who despise those who do, who do not understand that change is inevitable … can be expected to applaud Coffey’s reactionary sentiments.

NA Confidential does not.

Investment in New Albany’s future is too important to entrust to the same tired barbecued bologna cooked up by dime store populists who can't see beyond the boundaries of their own yards. The hope engendered by Scribner Place is unprecedented in recent New Albany history, and it is too fragile to be sacrificed.

8 comments:

Rick Carmickle said...

I to do not believe the YMCA or Scribner Place is a White Elephant. The YMCA in Clark County is doing well, paying for itself.

Do I think the project will save the downtown? NO! Not by itself anyway. Yes there will be more traffic downtown, but cars passing thorough the neighborhood does equate to improved sales of current merchants or empty buildings filling with new businesses!

It is up to the merchants of downtown to market themselves to the masses that will be pouring into the new attraction. Let’s say for sake of argument, that Mom drops off the kids for swimming lessons, she has an hour or two to kill, most will sit in the lobby reading a paper or book, (not that there is any thing wrong with that Randy), but if she knew of the shops and stores located just a block away on Pearl Street, at least during pleasant weather she may opt to take a stroll. During that stroll we the merchants hope that she may very well make a purchase.

Anyone that is hanging their hat on just the presence of Scribner Place by itself revitalizing downtown, is hanging their hat on a broken nail! Scribner Place is the spark to ignite the fire! But we the merchants have to give Mom a reason to take that walk, by advertising what shops exist downtown, we need to show that there is no reason to go to the malls. That specialty shops are in place to provide goods and services.

This is the first real major investment in downtown New Albany in years, aside from a few new banks, this development is for the all the people of the city and county, and it should not meet its demise by the chopping axe of the city council, yes the city needs to be frugal, but there are many other ways to cut the budget. The cities budget crisis was not created over night, and cutting one very large project is not going to make it go away!
More fiscal responsibility by our government is what is required, not just the local government but state and national governing bodies as well.

I like many at first were very disappointed with this administration, but over the past year it appears the managing body of the city has gotten its ducks in a row. They appear to be making some headway towards responsible decisions affecting our city. Now, if the rest of the elected officials would get off their high horse and start doing the work of the people, not just their self centered interest, we just may get this city moving in the right direction!

Members of the city council, it’s not about YOU! It’s about US! We the people who elected you to the job your doing! Do you really ever listen to your constituents? Do you ever get out and really ask the tough questions? I know that the windows of the city/county building are tinted; just what shade of rose is that!

The New Albanian said...

Rick, that was an eloquent refutation of the "no progress at any price" mentality, and a succinct description of the situation. Thank you.

The New Albanian said...

Just so we're clear as to the customary "argumentation" being employed:

First, Tim ranged beyond Scribner Place as a whole to malign the idea of a YMCA as a component.

Cross-checked by Joe's reasonable response, Tim then shifted to the project as a whole and conjured a figure of $20 million in private investment, without which Scribner Place "could" (Tim's still not sure whether it would or wouldn't) be considered a white elephant.

Questioned by Rick, who clearly explained the pattern of benefits that one might reasonably expect to emanate from the YMCA, Tim responded by demanding not $20 million worth of investment, but $20 million worth of jobs.

No attributable source for the $20 million has been cited, nor has any alternative plan been broached.

With respect to potential investors, I suppose perhaps one must be a businessman to understand how tough Paul Wheatley's job -- a position once sought by cajunzydecohippie, or whichever anti-social alias was used on that particular day -- really is.

Wheatley must convince businessmen to invest tight money in a development project, but until the project actually gets underway, most businessmen will prefer to take a wait and see attitude - particularly since the history of New Albany indicates that the project might not get off the ground owing to the nihilistic and obstructionist efforts of the likes of Coffey, Huckleberry and Tim himself.

At the same time, the YMCA is raising most of the money needed for its building to be built and start operations, with a relatively small expenditure required of the city.

You'd think this would be praised by the "no progress at any price" cadre, but no, it still means nothing, as the ultimate objective is for us to do nothing and to ensure that nothing is done by means of a never-ending guerrilla war against anyone who tries.

Tim, where does the $20 million figure originate? Spin the "random factoid" wheel again and let us know.

Rick Carmickle said...

Tim! You seem so negative! What is your plan? Can you share with us how if made King for a day, you would take New Albany out of the 1800’s and propel it into 21st Century?

Every journey begins with one step. Scribner Place is the first step! The first step this city has tried to take in a long time.

You should try to be more supportive, I don’t know you, I do know you write for the local newspaper sometimes, you must know there are many other issues at stake with this city. But I never see you write anything positive about what is going on!

I mean, I was raised if you can’t say anything good about something, and then let your silence be your answer to the bad. So, far out of you all I have read is some off topic dissertation on how the white man screwed the Indians! And then that wasn’t your words! I do believe I need to take a long hard look at the next issue of the paper that features an article you have written. I guarantee you that I was never a English major, and my grammar and choice of words are not as eloquent as others here, but they DAMN sure are my words!

Roger sorry to stir the pot again! But that is what Lou Jensen always told us to do, the more you stir it, the more it stinks, and the more people will come to find out what stinks!

The New Albanian said...

(Shrugging my shoulders)

That, of course, is not an answer to the question you were asked.

Let the record show that yet again, Tim has been unable to answer a question and has committed the fallacy of changing the subject.

On numerous occasions, NA Confidential has advocated policies for revitalization, among them ordinance enforcement with teeth, a major DNA refit, and locating all city and county offices in a new city-county building.

Furthermore, NA Confidential has consistently supported the efforts of people like Rick & the downtown merchants, Third Century and Al Goodman/Moser Tannery/wetlands, and the Greenway project.

We have done so because we understand that capital investment will not come to New Albany without the furtherance of factors that preface the relocation and rise of a creative class within the city limits.

"Look at me! Look at me!" shrieked while jumping up and down atop a phone book does not constitute a viable alternate strategy, Tim.

Jeff Gillenwater said...

If this really was the game of Whack-A-Mole it seems to be, we'd have enough tickets for the biggest stuffed animal in the whole damn place by now.

Progressive hammer 10, Mole 0.

Jeff Gillenwater said...

Tim,

If you've developed not one but two full economic development plans for NA, why is it so difficult to post a couple of paragraphs from either of them?

Why is it impossible for you to answer simple questions about the claims you make?

If your ideas stand up on their own, why was it necessary to post under different user names to deceive people who are legitimately trying to improve NA?

If you're serious about using your writing to highlight important issues of integrity, why did you hijack a thread with plagiarized materials?

What from your development plans worked or didn't? Why or why not?

Given you're experiences, this blog and others have provided you with a wonderful opportunity to provide leadership, share your experiences and have a positive impact on a growing movement to better New Albany.

Instead, you've chosen dishonesty, dysfunction, and plain old meanness as your calling card. What gives?

It's pretty simple, really. Until you can answer the questions above, you won't be trusted or taken seriously.

The New Albanian said...

In celebration of Clean Up New Albany day, I have deleted one of two identical postings by Concern Taxpayer.