Letters to the editor
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/16946606.htm
More than a ballpark, please
"I am for a Harrison Square development but do not think another baseball stadium is needed."
The downtown generation gap
"Don’t lecture my generation. We are the ones Junior will come back to when he runs out of money. Stand up and be heard; you earned the right. The answer is no to Harrison Square."
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Local Opinions
Posted by brian spaulding at 3/21/2007 12:57:00 PM
Labels: Harrison Square, Opinion
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14 comments:
Yes, let's listen to the generations that fled the center city and made downtown what it is today.
Since the day Harrison Square was announced, Mayor Richard mentioned the project as a way to gain and retain jobs and "encourage young people to be here with us and to encourage the kind of growth and development and service for our citizens for many generations to come".
Scott - You sure think a lot of Fort Wayne. What is our downtown today? It's a section of our city that is very,very good as:
A. A financial hub for Northeast Indiana
B. A center of Law - Courts, Attorneys, Police, Jails, et al
C. A governmental center for the city & county - with our highest number of employees in this sector
D. A world-renown public library
E. A center of public school management - directing the 2nd largest group of employees in our area
But we do not have a "play-room" for the totally "entertain-me" generation !!
Well, we hit 5 out of 6 - I guess that's not good enough.
John K. (It is Kalb)
Scott,
I'm not quite sure what's wrong with downtown today. It could always be better I suppose but it's not that bad. We moved our business down here because we wanted to be in this area. We have no regrets.
I'm not suggesting you are one of them, but I wonder how many people that slam downtown actually come down here?
John,
Your list makes it glaringly obvious that downtown was abandoned by prior generations because of your omissions of "residential" and "retail" components.
Harrison Square has the potential to bring these components back into downtown. The ballpark is great, but I'm actually more excited about seeing a lively, livable downtown Fort Wayne.
Jeff,
I'm downtown every day. Maybe we could meet for lunch sometime? I have more punches to acquire on my Downtown Dining Card :)
It always concerns me when I read or hear someone say downtown Fort Wayne is "not that bad". Although we are definitely not talking blighted status, our central core has alot left to be desired. I come to this reality by comparing our downtown with other similar cities of comparable size/demographics. It becomes clear to me that there are either two ways for our dowtown to go: forward or backward. While we debate whether or not to proceed with Harrison Square, other cities/communities are moving forward with plans to develop their city centers. The cities that realize the importance of having a vibrant, healthy, bustling, downtown will be the frontrunners in attracting and persuading the best and the brightest to come and relocate. The cities who fail to make this connection, will strongly increase their chances of failure.
John,
Not necessarily the "totally entertain me" generation, however a generation that does strongly recognize that we must do more than attract "Industrial" jobs as you mentioned in your video clip.
The economy has changed John.
Sam
The economy certainly has changed and we are a more service based economy. The most important factor that will determine the future success of Fort Wayne is jobs. Our wages are 83% of the national average.
I would argue that the most important thing for Fort Wayne is attracting, creating, and retaining high paying jobs.
With the CSO debacle that our local officials have avoided and with the unfunded pension liabilites Fort Wayne has accumulated we have a lot of problems.
We should do everything we can to lower our tax rates and stop wasting tax dollars.
Mike Sylvester
Will somebody please explain to me how Harrison Square will create quality jobs in our changing economy? As of now, since I haven't heard a convincing argument (or any argument for that matter) I will assume that it won't happen - probably a safe assumption.
Scott,
Anytime, I too have more punches to get...
Okay Jeff, here you go...
Ft. Wayne does a project like Harrison Square, creates a positive environment that will be attractive to businesses. The project spurs other mini-projects. Those projects create some jobs, but then businesses outside of the city start noticing that Ft. Wayne is starting to "take care of itself" again. Then they come here. Simple enough? I know you probably want some kind of guarantee, but there is no such thing. Sorry.
As a side note, the politicians are not catering to the younger population b/c they need to be entertained. They are interested in their opinions because they are the future of the city. The people who will be paying social security for the baby boomers and the people who get out of the house the most and spend the most money...all good reasons to care about what they think. And I'm not really sure how living a certain amount of years "earns" you a right to state your opinion over the next person. Every person has the right to be heard regardless of age.
That last post about creating jobs by people noticing Fort Wayne is "taking care of itself" is kinda scary. If that's the tenuous connection to job creation, we're all in a world of hurt.
Can't we just do a press release that says Fort Wayne took a shower and combed its hair this morning?
It's going to take more than a shower and a shave. "Say, Fort Wayne, you're looking good. Is that a new minor league baseball stadium you're wearing?"
Is that you Mike Sylvester or is it Mr. Obvious? Jobs are important? Are you kidding me? What an insightful comment.
I'm sure Lincoln Life and Harvester will scurry back to town when they here there's a new minor league single a baseball stadium.
If we threw in that we got a new IHOP on Lima Road it would seal the deal.
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