I think I can call you Joe. You're an infinitely more affable fellow that your predecessor. You don't even wanna know what I called him. Anyway, Joe, RE: Solicitation for ideas to ensure recovery/bailout funds spent wisely, I have some suggestions.1. put the Cash Cow on the extinct species list & leave it there. Cash Cow benefit a very few while exploiting a great many. Hardly democratic.2. If a project is growth inducing or speculative in nature . . . it's a cash cow. Taxpayers don't need it. If a few speculators or casino operators put a pile of money into something betting on the come, too bad. If a project requires plan amendments, significant & irreversible cumulative impacts, taxpayers don't need it. If a project requires multiple plan & zoning amendments, it's speculative. Taxpayers don't need it. That money can be better spent elsewhere. If a project requires expansion of existing infrastructure, stretching development further into wildlife habitat & over burdening existing urban services, it's growth inducing, speculative. There is plenty of in-fill land for growth & development. There is a standing stock of commercial structures in which to house new or expanding businesses. Heaven knows, there are plenty of vacant residences in all manner of condition. We are overbuilt. It's speculative, growth inducing & there are better ways to spend tax payers dollars.3. If a project contributes to the sustainability of existing urban areas, fine & dandy. If a project relieves traffic congestion, makes roads safer & smarter, ensures the existing standard of living will continue, dandy. Bring it on. If a project contributes to viability of urban areas & reduces further encroachment into wildlife habitat. ducky. If a project sustains existing agricultural land or perhaps even reverts to ag land, fine & dandy. We need to start growing & producing our own food again. In fact, we need to return to the self-reliance & ingenuity that sustained us in the past.
We need some standard for comparison to figure out how well we are doing. We should have drawn urban limit lines around all urban areas 6 months ago. It's not too late to get started. Urban Limit Lines around the perimeter of all urban areas would provide a geographic area in which to assess resources & assets, raw materials & laborl. We've got nowhere to go but up from here.
Sincerely OpalK9 OTJ
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