ON THE AVENUES SUNDAY SPECIAL: How many businesses already have died because of City Hall’s street grid procrastination?
... But if City Hall already knows the answer and perpetually procrastinates, then how many businesses has it already caused to die?
It's a 3,000 word essay, but consider it must reading. I'm teasing here with the first few paragraphs. GO THERE AND READ THE WHOLE PIECE.
Come to think of it, this comes pretty damn close to being a ready-made campaign platform.
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BEST OF BLOG: STAYING STRONG, by Charles Marohn (Strong Towns)
Over the past two years I've been quietly offered a number of job opportunities. All of them would have paid substantially more money than I make now and most would also be pretty high-profile and impactful, at least in the geographic area in which they were located. I only seriously considered one of them, and that one became a non-option once it was made clear that moving to Washington DC was not negotiable. I love what I do and feel very fortunate to be able to work in a calling well-suited to my strengths and desires.
When I was asked a couple of months ago if there was a position I would leave Strong Towns for, the only one that really came to mind was the opportunity to work here locally. City planner, city engineer or even city administrator for my hometown of Brainerd. The more I thought about it the sillier the notion became -- I would be miserable, would not fit in at all and there is really nobody there who would embrace my ideas -- but the fact that it was my first thought reinforced to me how powerful my connection to this place is.
Which is actually kind of bizarre. I generally loath Brainerd. To me this place is like that star athlete who, instead of using their gifts during their prime, spent their time partying and goofing off. Not only did they fail to reach anything near their potential, now they are a pathetic old man, body breaking down prematurely, looking back at the glory days of the past and not grasping what happened. Worse, they go put on a pair of Zubaz and strut around trying to recapture a little of that past magic, not realizing everyone else is shaking their heads behind their back. They don't get that the thing that makes one great isn't the flash and the style but doing the little things day after day after day.
The reason I loath Brainerd is because I see all the little things that need to be done, things that are easily within our grasp, and I watch them not only be overlooked by others, but actually be discounted with a certain level of disdain by those who could actually do something. Instead of using diet and exercise to get back into shape, we prefer the quick (but elusive) promise of the diet supplement. Our latest is a huge sewer and water project out on the far reaches of town, millions being spent on another old-school scheme to create jobs and growth, while the general decline of our city continues unabated. Don't worry, Chuck, it isn't our money. It's so maddening.
And when we get a chance to do something nice -- something that would actually made things better like fix the main north-south boulevard of the city to bring some life back to it -- we're given the option of the three lane stroad or a five lane stroad, neither of which even begins to acknowledge the fundamental lack of investment along that corridor.
This week the Brainerd City Council raised the local levy 10% and borrowed millions of additional dollars for road maintenance and nobody really stops to ask why. Why? Why is this not working? Why is our unemployment rate so much higher? Why are people moving to the area but not moving here? What is our plan to turn this around beyond ever increasing taxes and debt? Where is the prosperity that was supposed to happen from these past megaprojects? Why are the people who orchestrated them allowed to continue to be employed by the city to do more?
When someone does ask why, the answer is never really an answer. It is just the failed belief system of that star athlete who doesn't understand what happened. It's all about jobs, Chuck. Jobs and growth. We need to spend money to make money. If you aren't growing, you die. Baxter has the bypass so we need to make things happen. We need to give that subsidy to be competitive. We need more parking. We need to make sure those long-haul trucks can get through town because that's our lifeblood. People don't walk - this is Minnesota.
And the more frequent: You're just negative.
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