More Planning...Or Less?

Lauderdale County's Second Courthouse

Today the TimesDaily published a report on the proposed College Street Plaza in which they referred to quotes by Florence Mayor Mickey Haddock. One statement jumped out:

"He said designers said that would allow parking places along College Street and Short (sic) Street to be redone and would add more than a dozen parking places."

No, not because the complex will offer more parking spaces, but because the "designers" were mentioned. Who besides Donnie Phillips is a project designer? Those who yesterday maintained the city has commissioned only a basic sketch seem to have been proved wrong.

The project has not yet been approved by the Florence City Council. We would love to hear from any other local architects who specialize in landscaping design.* Were they made aware of the project? Were they consulted in any way?

We must ask if Haddock would not have been much wiser to present his ideas to the public before acting on them. This is not transparency in any form. Mayor Haddock has sprayed some Georgio on his pet project, but it still smells...

* Editor's note: All comments are kept anonymous.

*****

While it seems too much planning has gone into a project not yet officially approved, it seems not enough planning is a factor in much waste here in the Shoals. Yes, we desperately need more room at our animal shelter. We'll be delighted with the new facility; however, we hope this shelter is built in such a way that it can be easily added on to.

Our current shelter isn't that old in the grand scheme of things. We hope the city can find a good use for the current facility. PAWS, perhaps? If this local group can afford the upkeep, we heartily recommend presenting them with the old shelter.

Also in today's news is the new science building at UNA. Kudos to the university for finding funds for this endeavor. One cannot always predict the future in new frontiers of science or enrollment, so we can't fault the current building's designers for a lack of foresight.

We are bemused by Dr. Paul Kittle's statement that Floyd Hall was old at the grand age of 16 years. Let's hope the new building, as with the animal shelter, is designed so that it can be modified to suit future needs.



Shoalanda