In the past month or so I have deliberately steered my blogs away from discussions about the Main Street "makeover". I felt I had made my feelings well known in almost a dozen blogs over a two year period. Besides, I felt others seemed to be able to more clearly articulate the situation.
In light of the recent news about there being only one bidder and the need to send out bids again for the project, I feel compelled to throw in a few comments.
It would appear that whatever new bids are received, that the project is going to cost considerably more than originally anticipated and certainly much of this additional expense will fall on downtgown business owners not to mention the taxpayers in Concord. Many are already stretched to the limit.
This would seem the perfect opportunity for the City to announce, "Due to anticipated additional expense associated with the downtown project, the City feels the project should not move forward at this time because it would place an undue financial hardship upon merchants and taxpayers in our City......"
In doing so, the City could save face, putting the necessity of placing the project on the back burner on this unexpected development and not on specific individuals, committees or a possible lack of preliminary research.
Increasingly, I have been approached by scores of individuals who seemed to have finally become aware of the magnitude of this proposed project, making me wonder where they get their news from.
A business owner who has operated a successful business in Concord for some 25 years told me the other morning when I was at his business, "Why wasn't this project put to a vote so that everyone who went to the polls could have a say? I've had dozens of customers tell me this is final nail in Main Street....."
I would further propose the formation of a committee encompassing a vast cross-section of our community - young, old, working, retired, students and other interested parties - to discuss what needs to be done to bring vitality back to our downtown. I would gladly and willingly donate hundreds of hours to helping as I know others would.
Clearly there needs to be a change and the changes must include a look at filling the second and third floors of our downtown buildings as Allan has urged, as well as bringing a variety of businesses into the Main Street Corridor. That's just for starters.
Everyone has a feeling about this and all ideas should be respectfully heard. Main Street is so much more than just a strip of real estate.
This could be the chance to finally make Main Street reflect the voices of ALL of the people.
