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First and foremost we want to go on record as stating that we are not opposed to development downtown. A vibrant downtown can be vital to smaller cities as they try develop and compete with larger cities to lure the public to shop and dine and keep tax dollars at home. It can also provide a central meeting place for residents and a hub for business and development.
Having said this, we are opposed to how the current city leadership has pursued a course of total disregard for anything other than it's own desire to leave a legacy of a thriving downtown. Millions of dollars in tax payer money, federal and state grants, and private donations have been squandered for very little result. Gastonia city leaders have a history of creating bigger problems downtown than they ever resolve and in the process alienate the public and the public's trust.
If the current city leaders want to leave a legacy that will be remembered with affection, they should quit spending tax payer money and encourage private development. They were elected to be stewards of this city's money and to protect and serve it's residents. I have yet to see a ballot that has a position where I can vote for City Developer.
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Obviously the photo to the right is not Gastonia, but it sure could be. A giant sink hole in the middle of town. Although this unfortunate South American city has an actual sink hole, Gastonia's sink hole is downtown itself. Either way you look at it, it will take years and millions of dollars for both cities to fill their respective sink holes and even then, there is no guarantee that the fix will work.
Photo by Luis Echeverria/AP |
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Downtown Needs vs Wants
Every project has to have a definition or purpose. Why do you eat? Because you are hungry. Why do you have a car? You need transportation. Why do we need a conference center? To stimulate growth downtown. Okay, so now we have established why we need it, will the answer satisfy the need? When you are hungry you eat food not your car. Your car is for transportation not to fill your hunger needs. Some may argue you can use your car to get food and that satisfies your hunger need but by definition it satisfied your transportation need. So, will the conference center fill the need to stimulate growth downtown?
First, let's look at the studies. Okay there are no studies. Seriously, there are not studies to prove that the need is there but the Mayor did say Statesville built a conference center and it was successful. If our Mayor says it then it is as good as a study. Who needs experts when we have Mayor Jennie? Her other ideas have certainly been successful.
So far we have established our need and a possible solution to our need. But we still need to define the solution better. When you are hungry you don't just eat anything. Sometimes you have to think of what you want. Once you determine what you want you are still back to your need and if what you want is the best choice. Are they one in the same. If you are hungry you know you need food. What if the food you want is not truly what you need? Sometimes they are not the same thing. A diabetic that is hungry may want a big piece of chocolate cake but that is not what he needs. It could actually be harmful.
Let's define our solution to our need a little better. A conference center is supposed to help revitalize downtown. Does it truly satisfy our need. It will look nice. It could be an attraction and it could spur further development. So the answer is it may be the solution but it may not. Unfortunately we only get one chance. To see if we truly have the solution let's look at a past project that Mr. Palenick completed while he was the City Manager of another town just like Gastonia with the same need.
Bay City in Michigan needed to spur further development. Once a prosperous lumber town, it now was suffering from unemployment and no new industry. It was positioned with great water front property. The mayor felt sure a conference center was what they needed to bring new energy to the town and spur new development. Mr. Palenick was hired to help with the mayor's vision. The mayor fully supported all of Mr. Palenick's ideas and vocally cheered him on. (does any of this sound familiar?) The big plan was to build a conference center and hotel. The city could not do this as a municipality so with some creative thinking a private and non profit entity, Wenonah Park Properties Inc, was created. The private entity would own and be responsible for hiring a firm for operations but the majority of the funding would come from the public sector and grants and when these loans were paid off the city would get title to the property. It would be an investment for the public sector. Not only would the city gain from the attraction but ultimately own the property.
So that brings us to the second part. We have established the need and the solution and now we have to pay for it. In Bay City the funding came from various sources. There was CBDG Grant, tax exempt bonds, the P.O.W.E.R. fund, the Great Lakes fund, the Urban Land Assembly, and other sources. Also, with creative thinking some other monies could be moved around from other funds.
With funding in place and the need and solution identified, we can now determine if the solution satisfied the need and if the expense was justified. The hotel, The DoubleTree, is one of the highest rated hotels for customer loyalty in the Hilton chain. The conference center has provided space for many events including weddings and social functions for the local area. A park, costing over $1 million dollars has been added to further the aesthetic appeal of the project. It seems to be a success. Well, not quite. Let's look a little deeper.
The hotel cost over $32 million dollars to build. It currently list it's assets at over $32 million but the tax assessment of the property is only around 4 million. For 2008 it had expenses of $8,535,103.00 and income of $6,591,440.00. This results in a loss of almost $2 million dollars. They center has barely been making it's bond payments but has yet to repay any of it's other loans including the $4 million dollars from the city's P.O.W.E.R. fund which is now broke. It has been in operation for five years. In addition, the city is responsible for interest payments on the bonds and other loans that the center has not been able to pay. During the winter, the center has not had enough money in the budget to maintain the parking deck so it is closed and the center is sure to be due for renovations soon. The center is currently in a dispute with the city over the tax assessment of the property that has already cost the city almost $18,000.00 and they have budgeted another $9,000.00 for the next year for legal fees. As a result of budget shortfalls, the cost for city services has increased as well.
The problems do not stop with just financing for the conference center. The Holiday Inn, a privately owned hotel for decades, is now bankrupt and owes the city more than $20,000.00 in back taxes. Any gains for employment by the DoubleTree have been negated by the loss of the Holiday Inn. Basically, a city sponsored project forced a privately owned business into bankruptcy. 3 different studies showed there was not a need for additional hotel space but Mr. Palenick ordered a fourth and magically the numbers were different. This goes back to what we were saying about sometimes our wants and our needs are not the same and another reason why studies should be conducted and heavily scrutinized. Unfortunately, the Mayor's wants do not necessarily translate into Gastonia's needs eventhough it may have in Statesville.
Bay City is has about half the population of Gastonia but the average income is more than double and the city is widely known for it's festivals. It is also located on the Saginaw Bay which itself is an attraction. Bay City also plays host to the Tall Ship Festival. Bay City has all the right components that would seem to support a conference center. Yet, the conference center they built is heavily in debt and a drain on the city's finances. What makes the elected officials in Gastonia think anything would be better here?
Our next door neighbor and larger cousin, Charlotte, has 52 meeting or conference spaces that can hold from 30 to 8000 people and contain 1 to 40 rooms under one roof. An additional 10 hotels with at least 1000 sq' of meeting space exists as well.. We don't think anyone will argue that a conference participant can find more to do in Charlotte. Gastonia, in comparison, has 16 hotels and only 6 of those have sprinkler systems. Only one hotel is located near the proposed conference center and travel reviews of that establishment are horrible and complain of cockroaches. The highest rated hotel in Gastonia gets three stars. When it is all said and done the numbers are not adding up.
Our conclusion is that the city is hungry for a catalyst to energize downtown and our elected officials want a Conference Center but it is not what the city needs. |
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Articles about Downtown:
A new business opens in Downtown. Moonshiners is a quality establishment that the city leaders must be extremely proud of. Read all about it HERE.
The city is planning to spend more tax dollars downtown to help a private business convert the Webb Theater into a restaurant. To read the article click HERE.
Ooops! They did it again. As if the Webb Theater was not enough, the City Council wants to now spend money on the Kress Building. Don't believe us? You wouldn't think they could be that arrogant. Read the article by clicking HERE.
Despite incentives from the city, many businesses are still struggling. Click HERE to read the full article.
More downtown businesses close. Read about it by clicking HERE.
To read about the $23,000.00 sidewalk fiasco involving the Mayor and City Manager click here.
To Read about the plans for a $75,000.00 sculpture to go in the park downtown click HERE.
To see the $75,000.00 art sculpture and to read about the artisit click HERE.
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