The Paducah Sun
Editorial of 6-7-2015 was “spot on” the nightmare known as Schultz Park. I have been your city commissioner for nearly
30 months, and this is my third blog post on the riverfront debacle. As you remember, I alone have voted against
this riverfront concept. I wish it were
my last blog post on this subject, but don’t hold your breath.
Unfortunately, I know little more than what has been
publically released on the latest bids for the project. My guess is that the City Engineering Staff, along
with our local engineering firm Bacon Farmer and Workman, will re-evaluate the
bid and make suggestions to Paducah Riverfront Development Authority for a way
forward. After those meetings, I presume
I will get a look at the recommendations.
In anticipation, I have a few thoughts, some of which are
not new.
Remember, we have about $5 million in grants to spend on the
“bump-out” at the Schultz Park site ($3.8 million from the Federal Highway
Administration, and $1.2 million from the Boating Infrastructure Grant, including
$300,000 of local money). At this
writing, the bids under consideration are higher than the two grants. Every dollar we spend that exceeds these two
grants we will have to use local tax dollars to continue work on other parts of
the project (the Executive Inn site, in this case). It doesn’t make sense to me to have one part
of a project finished to one degree and another part to a lesser degree.
Remember, we (federal and local taxpayers, at about a 50/50
split) are already into this to the tune of about $6.0 million. Add the above grants to finish Schultz Park, and
top it off with the potential $10 million for the Executive Inn site park,
barring any federal bag of cash landing in our laps, and we (and the federal
government) are on the way to 20 million bucks-- a breathtaking sum of money.
Remember, too, that we went with the out-of-town design firm
of J.J.R. for the Schultz Park site.
Where has J.J.R. been for the last 30 months of this project? Well, I haven’t seen them here. Certainly it would
have been better to have had a local firm in the trenches with us as we clawed
our way forward.
Again, we should only spend the federal dollars on Schultz
Park and see what we might have, while reserving some local money for the
Executive Inn site park for a bit later.
Would the Schultz Park be incomplete? Sure. Useable? Probably, at least for most people. Expandable, when we have the financially ability
to do so? Of course.
The saga moves on, and I suspect we will talk again.
