Proposed Land Purchases

The newspapers have run articles recently stating that the town by a 4-1 vote has decided to purchase the Raco and Blythe properties. On the surface it seems like a very good idea for a couple of reasons. The proposed purchase affords the town the opportunity to utitlize the 8,000 sq ft Blythe building as a temporary town hall. This accomodates the staff and space problem that has caused the town to put in the mobile office you see now. It does so at a price that is fair and logistically speaking well positions the town for the future. None of the articles indicated the council voting for the purchase ever ruled out the Downtown project as a location for the new Town Hall. The new town hall was estimated to cost in the neighborhood of $8 million dollars without land and furnishings. Let's just round that number to $10 million. The rushed downtown project has had flaws from the start. Never mind the developer waited 15-17 months after approval to seek easing of 16 of 44 conditions placed upon it by a split council. There has been issues with stormwater, railroad, roads, taking of private lands, and last but not least the sewer/water permit. The proposed land purchase by the town enables them to look at other options for a new town hall especially since there is no guarantee that sewer/water will ever be awarded in the near future and the lack of a workable traffic study may cause more delays.
No surprise that it is reported the Mayor and the towns very own special interest group is against the proposed land purchase. Considering she and the three candidates from the special interest group are being backed by the developer building the downtown project. The mayor stated, "In my opinion, a town hall should be centrally located and a symbol of vision into the future; the heartbeat of a thriving area." Correct me if I am wrong but all three properties in question are centrally located in the downtown area aren't they? I am willing to bet that the distance off the road to the Blythe building is very close to the distance off the road where the new town hall was proposed to be built on the project area. Its not like the Blythe building is off the beaten path and you have to take 3 forms of transportation to get there. Apparently, the Mayor believes the only way for a town hall to be a "vision into the future" is that it has to be built on a grand scale and cost $10 million dollars. Especially if you add in the land swap deal that gives away town assets. The land swap proposed by the Mayor and the majority of the previous council had to be the worse deal in recent history for anyone other than the developer.
The town of Wesley Chapel got a 6 acre gift from the developer doing the downtown project there...we got what? In essence, we gave our assets for an overinflated piece of property to put our extremely decadent new town hall on. The Wesley Chapel project is 44 acres without the 6 gifted, and on it is proposed retail and commercial and not one square foot of residential. We have our 47 acre project with 79% residential (condo, townhomes, and apartments 604 total) and 21% retail/commercial. The Wesley Chapel project has I believe 8 lanes of traffic to afford multiple entrances and exits. We have 2 major lanes and a need to take private land to subsidize the developer for another entrance to a two lane road. If the town hall is not built in the project area, doesn't that enable more retail and commercial space which has been touted as a good tax base? Don't get me wrong, with all its faults that were compounded by the actions of the previous council majority, the downtown project can be good for the town. Since it has been passed, the project will eventually be completed but as the develper stated it will take up to 2 years for completion even if all goes as planned.
So, the current council wants to purchase land reported with renovations $1.6 million dollars. The Mayor and special interest group wants the $10 million dollar white elephant yesterday. The town budget this year was right at $6 million with very little reserve. The question is what does the citizens of the town want to pay for? Is the new town hall more important than public safety? Do you want both? Are you willing to see tax rates at least double to pay for the grandeur of the project?
The vote to purchase the land was not in her favor and she has implied that the process was corrupt...*my words* citizens did not have a say in the process. True..the process has been done so far in closed sessions where land negotiations are done to avoid a run up in price. The council disclosed the proposed land purchase when appropriate and will now have a public hearing on the matter. After that public hearing maybe we should have a public hearing on the proposed new town hall and whether the citizens want it in the project area? We should discuss the infamous land swap while we are at it so we can put this issue to rest once and for all.
The proposed land purchase gives the town options and increases the size of the overall downtown presence. "Downtown" does not have to be located on one 47 acre piece of land or at least 21% of 47 acres. What about the other areas in downtown...existing buildings...they are in the overlay district and subject to rules of the downtown. There are many questions that need to be answered in order to move our downtown forward. Questions some will not want to answer. There are other bigger issues though in our town than the new town hall and project area. Public safety, taxes, roads, traffic, the other villages in the town..will they expect a subsidy for build out? The new town all has to be put into perspective, not allowed to be put on the top 5 issues facing our town.