This week the City of Mount Airy will be having a public hearing regarding the downtown master plan.
I have been a resident of Mount Airy and Surry County all my life. I have watched over the past few years a tremendous effort to make the city into something it is not. We say we are focused on tourism, but we seem more focused on modernizing our city to represent other cities and not our own. Mount Airy’s charm is the fact that it offers a glimpse into the past.
While we should update infrastructure, I believe this need for a total makeover and change in focus is unwanted by the majority of residents and will be counter-productive to what is trying to be accomplished.
Additionally, I believe we need to have the input of more than 4% of the total population of the city, which is not a true picture of the total city population. A decision such as this should be decided by all of taxpayers and not just a focused few (possibly a referendum).
Given the current economic conditions at this time, rising inflation, rising interest rates, and slowing economy to undertake this large expense at this time would be very unwise. I believe the city council should focus on making sure the promises made by the current leaders are promises kept. Too many times I have seen commitments made in public only to be changed when no one is looking.
Last, I certainly hope that all taxpayers will pay close attention to how this proceeds and voice their opinion for or against and make sure they also realize the tax implications of moving forward at this time with such an aggressive and large-scale plan.
Grant Welch
Mount Airy
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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