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The next Sheffield City Council meeting will be November 7th at 5:00 p.m. After the initial work session, John Elkington is scheduled to speak. What will he say?
Will he bring the city up to date on any progress at Inspiration Landing or will he announce a hiatus in the project due to the current financial climate? These events usually involve the Memphis land baron speaking followed by fawning. It's time to stop fawning and ask real questions.
At the time of the meeting, Sheffield will have made 11 payments on government loans used to finance the streets and other infrastructure of IL. The last official statement on the project was in early August when Elkington and company announced the group's January construction announcement was a no-go.
In October of 2021, Mayor Steve Stanley again stated he hoped things were back on track soon. It's been a year now; how long will Stanley keep wishing and hoping before he has a real confrontation with Elkington?
If you live in Sheffield, you need to be at city hall on Monday, November 7th. After all, it's your money...
We once heard that if the whole thing fell through we would have a nice place to drive around. Some place to drive around isn’t exactly what Sheffield needs right now. Maybe it is past time to seek other ideas or it could even be time to write it off. As a citizen of Sheffield I am not sure throwing in the towel feels good, but it might be less painful.
ReplyDeleteMore to the point, what have we missed while waiting on the air to clear for Mr. Elkington? How much of this land is still in the city’s control and how much have they ceded to people who seem to be in a rut? When is it time to move on?
It is rubbing salt in an open wound to point at the number of potential projects that could have put money spent to good use. Finding investors in the midst of local turmoil is not easy, but it should have been easier when stimulus money was handed out by the federal government like mad.
It isn’t helpful that Inspiration Landing is anything but easy to find. On one road we find the path ending in an intersection to nowhere. The other road leads to a parking area ripe for ill deeds as if our police force had nothing else to watch.
Maybe our city government listens this last time for any signs of life on the long awaited project. Without solid progress it is past time our city government sought the wisdom of its citizens on what to do. Let me elaborate.
Anybody thought about the city taking back the location of the ill-fated concert venue and showing a kid’s summer outdoor movie series through the recreation department? Many cities do that. Or offering that venue for this year’s Christmas Tree display? Oh wait. We don’t own that land now. And if we did own the land, it wouldn’t make a big profit for someone.
At this point any use of the property for the good of the city is better than waiting for something that isn’t likely to happen. The meter is running and I’m not holding my breath.