An Easy One

Many things in my city commission life get complicated.  It is a relief to occasionally come across a “piece of cake”.  As the detective Hercule Poirot might intone, we should rest the little grey cells.

The easy decision I’m speaking of is to keep the “train set” intact and get local people to paint it.  If all four pieces; locomotive, tender, combine and caboose simply stay put at the floodwall, this will pay tribute to our railroad heritage.  That is the least we owe them.  By doing the job locally with a retired VMV employee in the lead, I’m certain we can paint the train for less than $10,000.  That economy is what we owe you.

I need a rest from complicated decisions; this one is just too easy to pass.

Sackcloth and Ashes

Sackcloth and ashes is an old Hebrew custom, that by wearing this, sackcloth and ashes, we are saying that we are sorry and sad for things we have done wrong.  I find myself thinking that Paducah is suffering from this sackcloth and ashes syndrome in our repeatedly negative thoughts as to why our population is declining instead of growing.  More specifically we are compared to Owensboro, a city I know something about.  I was born there.

In an effort to stem this flow of sorrow and sadness I would, at the risk of being Pollyanna,  offer up a few thoughts on our less than moribund city downtown.  I am centering my attention on this area since Owensboro has gained some bit of  positive press as of late.

In the child’s game “I’m better than you are” we could offer many comparisons between our two cities.  Though not downtown, we could start with the new Owensboro hospital with its 477 beds to our two hospitals with 732 beds.  Both cities boast similar performing art centers and convention centers.  Our National Quilt Museum is their Bluegrass Music Museum, good for both cities for these one of a kind museums and festivals.

While Paducah does not have the two downtown hotels that Owensboro has, it should be noted that Owensboro had three hometown developers to get the hotels and more, well, developed.  Just because we do not have a downtown hotel now doesn’t mean this is the way it will always be.  Not to make excuses, Paducah received only a quarter of the federal dollars for its riverfront park, yet, we to are on a path to our park, built and funded in our own way. I think you could point with pride to Crounce, Ingram, and the Paducah and Louisville Railroad in their relocations downtown.  Owensboro’s Texas Gas Transmission just moved to their downtown.

I would be remiss in not mentioning several unique to Paducah places. The Maiden Alley Cinema is one of only four art house theaters in Kentucky.  Paducah is the only city in Kentucky with a UNESCO designation. How cool is that.  And then there is the National Geographic Travel top 50 cities to visit.  And did I mention that Paducah is one of a little more than 100 cities nationwide to be awarded a National Main Street City.  Add in The Market House Theater, Lower Town Arts District, Symphony Orchestra, floodwall murals, River Discovery Center, William Clark, Paducah Train Museum and the Seaman’s Church for Maritime Training Facility, and you would have an impressive list for any downtown, much less a city of 25,000 souls.

Am I happy about the status quo of no growth?  Of course not.  But I feel that Paducah and McCracken County will solve our growth problem.  In our own way and yes, in our own time.  Look, we have an enormously talented citizenry.  We accomplish much, and will continue to do so.  At this juncture I’m trying to provide some balance in our outlook. This sackcloth and ashes mentality is not productive.

Paducah's E911

Today’s Paducah Sun editorial is just wrong.  The decision I reached to have a city run E911 was not taken because it was politically easy or pleasing to the editorial board of the Paducah Sun.  The decision I reached was after months and months of thought, study and conversations with many of you. My mind is never very far away from my obligation to you.  I don’t work for the newspaper.  I work for you.  You elected me to do the best I can for you. I’m not particularly interested in what the paper has to say; they sell papers.  I have to think about what is best for the citizens of Paducah as a whole.  And yes, it is an awesome responsibility.

O.K. I have got it off my chest; here are my thoughts. 

There is an adage I learned from my dad early on--if you are going to take a risk there better be a reward.  The bigger the risk, then bigger the reward is paramount.  And never invert this business maximum.  Now, let’s apply this to an issue facing Paducah.

I have a problem with the Kentucky State Police proposal to be Paducah’s E911 dispatch.

First, Lt. Brent White of the KSP described our E911 as “high functioning and desirable,” while calling the KSP proposal a “barebones system.”  After nine months of study, why is the KSP still offering a bare bones system when that is not what we have?  Yes, this would make it less expensive, but at what risk?

At a city commission meeting White said that KSP’s call volume would double when KSP becomes our E911 provider; yet the number of dispatchers would only increase from four to six positions.  That math made no sense to me.  And neither did the response that KSP was a more efficient organization.

Bottom line for me is the KSP E911 dispatch proposal is a “fuzzy feel good.” We are looking at apples and oranges and expect to get the same service for less money.  I have made that E911 call at 4:30 A.M. with a major house fire.  I realize what a vital service E911 is to our community.

 Sorry, this risk reward ratio is backwards.  I’ll not support the KSP as our E911 provider.

Further, to be completely transparent, if the state does not increase the E911 funding by increasing the tax on cell phones from its current level, then I will support a tax to support our E911 own dispatch.