More disgust: "New Albany City Council questions farmers market expansion."

My initial impressions were written last evening.

Disgust

Let's agree on one point: Everyone's in favor of the farmers market -- in theory, in principle, as something of value to the community.

However, favoring the farmers market does not imply a willingness to accept without questions the infuriating opacity of the funding process, which council person Baird evidently has abetted without once considering the many counter-arguments, or how the back-door budgetary conjuring of the money appears to outsiders.

For those of us kept out of this loop, it appears as though Develop New Albany is being given a blank check to "improve" an urban corner owned by the city, when the corner might be better deployed as infill, except that to determine the respective values of its use, there would need to be a plan ... and there is absolutely no downtown plan guiding this non-thought process.

Thus, the appearance is a payback to the same old grandees, plain and simple.

Another way to look at it: If the farmers market truly is as significant to downtown revitalization as its proponents claim it to be, might not we be harming its future potential by refusing to consider other options in terms of location and operation? After all, if a swimming pool is worth nine million dollars, isn't the farmers market worth a building, or a plaza, or its very own organic veggie farm at Valley View golf course?

Where is the overall downtown economic development plan?

There is a plan, right?

New Albany City Council questions farmers market expansion; Vote on funding for new police cars again tabled, by Daniel Suddeath (N and T)

 ... The suggestion that more money will be needed for the project caused some council members to question the improvements, as well as the management of the market.

“That seems terribly excessive,” Councilman John Gonder said of the estimated cost for the expansion.

The market is not being managed to its “full extent” and perhaps a separate entity should be formed to help operate the market along with Develop New Albany, Councilman Dan Coffey said.

The city is putting up a lot of money and has a responsibility to ensure its investment is being handled properly, he continued.

“I want to see what return we’re getting for our dollar,” Coffey said.

He added that downtown business owners should be more involved in the design process for the market.