This is my favorite quote from today's joint City Council/County Commission meeting about the future of the Pyramid.
"Give us the building, let us sign a deal with Bass Pro and live happily ever after," said Councilwoman Barbara Swearengen Ware.
The County Commission recently rejected a proposal to sell its share of the Pyramid (along with the coliseum and land under the Liberty Bowl) to the city. For the Bass Pro development deal to move forward, both the City Council and County Commission have to approve it.
The development agreement gives the retailer a year to sign a lease on the Pyramid.
This quote from City Council member Shea Flinn, who advocated blowing up the Pyramid if the two elected bodies don't agree to the proposal, was a close second:
"We had the Big Dig. Let's have the Big Boom," he said.
Showing posts with label county commission. Show all posts
Showing posts with label county commission. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Wal-Mart Didn't Win
It's interesting that a proposed Wal-Mart was defeated by the County Commission yesterday.
We'll have a full story in the print version of the Flyer tomorrow and up on the web Friday. But I got this email from reader Kerry Hayes, so I thought I'd go ahead and post it:
"Hi Mary,
Longtime reader of your column and blog, first-time writer-in. Really hope that you or someone else at the Flyer can give some coverage to the recent battle against Wal-Mart that has been raging in Cordova. Things culminated last night with a 10-3 victory in favor of the Citizens for a Sustainable Growth group — they went up against the largest retailer in the world, one of the most notoriously oppressive corporate entities in America, and thanks to the simple principles of grassroots organizing and holding their ground, WON. This is huge. This is the kind of thing that reflects really well, not just on Cordova, but on our entire city."
Frankly, I was pretty surprised that the neighbors won. Even though I agreed with their arguments — that the roads wouldn't support Wal-Mart traffic and that they already have two Wal-Marts in the area — I wasn't sure which way the County Commission would go. Tax dollars can be kind of a big deal.
Actually, now that I mention tax dollars, maybe that's why they went the way they did.
I just keep thinking about that one Wal-Mart at Germantown Parkway and Wolf River Boulevard that closed after they opened up the other store down the street. I'm not a big fan of treating buildings like tissues (even if you build them that way).
And I don't think an abandoned big box store — with weeds growing through the parking lot, an old shopping cart here or there — would be great for property values. I'm fairly sure that land is an empty lot now (I haven't driven past it in a while, so I could be wrong) but I'm also pretty sure that many people would still consider it an eyesore.
I like that we seem to be thinking more long-term now.
We'll have a full story in the print version of the Flyer tomorrow and up on the web Friday. But I got this email from reader Kerry Hayes, so I thought I'd go ahead and post it:
"Hi Mary,
Longtime reader of your column and blog, first-time writer-in. Really hope that you or someone else at the Flyer can give some coverage to the recent battle against Wal-Mart that has been raging in Cordova. Things culminated last night with a 10-3 victory in favor of the Citizens for a Sustainable Growth group — they went up against the largest retailer in the world, one of the most notoriously oppressive corporate entities in America, and thanks to the simple principles of grassroots organizing and holding their ground, WON. This is huge. This is the kind of thing that reflects really well, not just on Cordova, but on our entire city."
Frankly, I was pretty surprised that the neighbors won. Even though I agreed with their arguments — that the roads wouldn't support Wal-Mart traffic and that they already have two Wal-Marts in the area — I wasn't sure which way the County Commission would go. Tax dollars can be kind of a big deal.
Actually, now that I mention tax dollars, maybe that's why they went the way they did.
I just keep thinking about that one Wal-Mart at Germantown Parkway and Wolf River Boulevard that closed after they opened up the other store down the street. I'm not a big fan of treating buildings like tissues (even if you build them that way).
And I don't think an abandoned big box store — with weeds growing through the parking lot, an old shopping cart here or there — would be great for property values. I'm fairly sure that land is an empty lot now (I haven't driven past it in a while, so I could be wrong) but I'm also pretty sure that many people would still consider it an eyesore.
I like that we seem to be thinking more long-term now.
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