To build anew or renovate the old, that is the question

I’ve been getting quite a lot of advice lately on what to do with city hall.  It is well meaning and obviously from the heart.  I get that.  I, regardless of what the advisors might think, am truly conflicted about which way I will lean in the final tally.

Having said all this, I think I might try to explain what is on my mind concerning city hall.  I had the great pleasure of meeting University of Tennessee’s James Mason several weeks ago in the basement of city hall.  I joined Bill Black in the city workshop.  Mr. Mason is quite the structural engineer, and I truly mean that.  He is worth a Google.  I came away from that hour thinking this guy is the quarterback throwing a “Hail Mary” pass in the final seconds of a very important football game. Ha, you didn’t think I knew about sports.  Last Tuesday, I had the repeated pleasure of listening to two of his talks on how we might save city hall.  Well, as to the roof canopy and earthquake stabilization anyway.  Tuesday night was his final talk to the commission.  You can watch it on the city’s website; it is really quite informative.

I did not say much that night, but I will now.  It would seem that we really have two options.  Yes, I know many will say that there is only one, save the city hall.  At the risk of being vilified by friends and others alike, I would say we have two courses of action.

Bacon, Farmer, Workman, the Paducah engineering firm, could be instructed to incorporate the Mason Plan with their own findings to come up with a revised plan.  By the way, one of the most intriguing parts of James Mason’s plan is that the city hall stays “in business” during the roof canopy repair and the earthquake remediation repair.  Additionally, these two critical parts are not interdependent on one another.  One could be done with the other done at a later date, funding wise.

The other idea is to right-size the city hall if it is to be a new building.  And here’s the thing, our city hall is some 60,000 sq. ft. in total while the basement takes up an astonishingly, half of it.  Sounds to me like we have been using, in the main, some 30,000 sq. ft. for our people to work in, not the 50,000 sq. ft. that has been bandied about.  Understand I’m no architect or engineer, but there must be a kernel of significance somewhere. Hopkinsville has such a 30,000 sq. ft. structure, and we could well learn from them the costs, advantages and disadvantages of their experience without going through the process of hiring an architect and all that entails to get this data for us. And this could be a real game changer, a smaller, truly efficient city hall.

So, there you have it.  Until we get a more accurate handle on the cost to redo an irreplaceable icon versus the cost of a plainer, more administrative type city hall building I will be hard pressed to decide.  I could use your forbearance on this point.  Don’t tell me that the existence of Paducah rests on this renovation of city hall, and if I don’t vote to save it then all our talk about historic this and UNESCO that is meaningless.  I am working hard on this one, I promise.  I can hardly get away from it.  Patience.

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.

A 2014 Recap, Of Sorts

Well, the end of the year is at hand.  The end of my first term as your city commissioner is at hand.  So what am I thinking about as the year winds down?

For those of you who are old enough to remember the Ed Sullivan Show, who was that guy who kept all the plates spinning atop those pointed wooden sticks? You know, he would start one spinning, and another, and another, all the while “re-spinning” slowing plates so as not to let them fall off the sticks.  I think that might be a metaphor for the past 24 months.  Just to mention a few city plates that were spinning: a hotel, curbside recycling, E 911, the animal shelter, the “bump out” riverfront park, and of course the unexpected structural problems with City Hall.  These are the big plates that cannot come crashing down.  Fortunately, we have a cadre of talented people in City Hall.  Yes, we all have our stories, and I certainly have had mine, but at the end of the day we really have a good group. I would be particularly remiss in not thanking City Manager Jeff Pederson for taking time to have lunch with me most Tuesdays, for probably the most productive hour I spend all week.  So, thanks.

Moving into 2015, I’m thinking that we all have a real opportunity to work closely with our (largely new) county government.  While I’m at it, I have met the Paducah Economic Development guy, Scott Darnell, and he is a winner.   Already there is a better working environment between our two organizations, and that’s a good thing.

Then, there is this quiet guy in the city.  Shhh, don’t tell anyone… but it’s Jon Perkins, head of finance.  We have a lunch date, over chili, about once a quarter.  I always feel better about our finances after lunch with Jon, and it isn’t the chili that gives me that good feeling either.

My biggest surprise in elected office has been that we (the mayor, commission and department heads) don’t meet just by ourselves.  Of course I understand “sunshine” laws, with the media always in the room, and that’s O.K.  It’s just that when I was in business, I met with department heads monthly to hash it out and get those ideas flowing.  Even the crazy ideas always had a kernel of good in them.  We can’t do that like I’m used to, and I’m not convinced that we are better for it.

Lastly, I’m thinking of the conversations you and I have had about our city.  I would not change those meetings with you all (I guess I’m supposed to say “y’all” there) one bit.  So here’s the deal—for the next 24 months, you keep me informed on your thoughts, and that will keep me energized. 

Now if I can just figure how to sleep through the night…

Allan