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Show THE ZEPHYRNOVEMBER 89 "Blight has become a dirty word." Dave BierschlecL "Were not going to give up on redevelopment To prevent areas like Park Avenue In New York and Rodeo Drive In Beverly Hills from using redevelopment as a form of tax dodge, redevelopment law requires that any redevelopment area have "blight" And blight, loosely defined. Is unsafe, dirty, even sloppy and unkempt property. This also defines the town of Moab. Some people hate Moabs blight, while others feel comfortable with It, even encourage It But everyone agrees we arent a gingerbread community. So the RDA, In order to set up the South Main Street area as aredevelopment Were not following 1010 RDA hearing. it hurts. Dave Sakrlson. People have said all sorts of things about why Elaine Coates. paper I wrote a letter to the sympathize with them, I really do. Theyre trying to do what they think Is right, and they get attacked David Knutson. 1 The Moab RDA continues to exist At some point In the future, It will come up with another project But all the participants will remember this experience. There were a lot of negatives over a four-we-ek period. A host of accusations, many of them groundless, a series of unanswered questions, and mistrust every step of the way: Speaker -- One provision of redevelopment law Is that RDAs have the power to condemn and purchase private property within redevelopment zones. Municipalities also have this power of eminent domain, but municipalities must show that the current conditions present an Immediate danger or prevent a project for the general good. Condemnation and eminent domain are usually used to tear down dangerous structures or to construct a road or public park. However these powers are used, the procedure Is not easy, and there are safeguards to prevent Indiscriminate government action, but abuses can and have occurred. But the power of the RDA to force a landowner to sell his or her property allows them to invoke eminent domain and condemnation not only because of unsafe conditions, not only for the public use, but also because of blight The RDA can demand to buy your property because they think it Is ugly. Nobody on the Moab RDA, absolutely nobody, has any plans to Invoke eminent - domain. They would prefer not to have that power. But it Is a part of, a requirement of, redevelopment agencies, and eminent domain has led to more criticisms of Moab Redevelopment than any other single element of the proposal. Particularly skulkers on the RDA payroll. Who really knows, property .with camera-snappi- ng owners wciider, what they're really up to? y Tom Stocks is trying to pull something. Meador has to be behind the lies. Elaine Coates, what s her rgaj motive for saying the plan Isnt that good? Why doesnt Merv Lawton say something? Why did Merv have to say that? Sakrlson doesnt have a backbone, and hes so God damn . Bill Inflexible. ; But there were also a number of small acts of nobility, nothing earth shaking, ho cures for cancer, Just small acts by people trying to do what they think Is right: There was Mayor Tom Stocks, supporting the project to the end, even though he knew his own Image wasnt being enhanced. And his. opponent this November, Bill Meador, who could have jumped all over Stocks, but Instead reiterated his belief that redevelopment Is a good Idea. Dave Sakrlson, patiently answering questions and criticisms, at his store and at his home, realizing he wasnt winning, but continuing to try, because that's what hes supposed to do. And David Knutson, a County Commissioner, who could have easily gone along with the other commissioners In attacking the plan, getting In licks against some longstanding political opponents. Instead, he kept repeating, over and over, lets listen, let's give it a chance, lets see If we can get something going. m was at the September 26 public hearing that criticism of the Main Street Redevelopment Plan began to surface. At first It came from some of the property owners within the zone. They felt ridiculed by the discussion of blight; they feR they were being kept In the dark by the City and they feared they could lose their businesses to some faceless "project But it didnt take them long to realize they were in a privileged position. They would receive more back from their taxes than business further north on Main Street By the time of the second hearing In October, all the owners within the proposed zone wanted It to happen. There were also criticisms flowing from the partisan politics that always accompany elections, and with the Mayor and two members of the City Council up for a vote, it was a perfect opportunity for longstanding grievances against them to be expiated with side of the mouth comments and charges of dishonesty, fervor. corruption, and bad breeding, expressed with a And at this September hearing, the third element of criticism began to emerge, the most serious criticism, a criticism now generally accepted as true by most of the people involved. R . David Blerschled. Dave Blerschled. you wont have to out and steal peoples property." ' " "You sit up there, and people call you dishonest ' i r, "There have been a lot of Innuendos Dave Sakrlson. trying to take people's land. Terry Warner. The Main Street Redevelopment Project Study Area died quickly at the public hearing on October 10. A crowd of over 60 people, representing the county, the school board, other tax entitles, property owners within the proposed zone, property owners outside the zone, all were there and all were ready to listen and speak for or against the proposal, and mostly, against It But they never got the chance. The hearing opened with Mayor Tom Stocks briefly responding to some of the questions raised In previous weeks, on blight on why the particular part of South Main Street was chosen, on what an RDA Is supposed to do. Then the City Council members In attendance, Terry Warner, Bill McDougald, Dave Sakrlson, David Blerschled, all said they gtijl supported redevelopment but, well, under the circumstances, the best thing to do Is to call the whole thing off. zone, had to detail the blighted conditions on the properties between Grand Avenue and Third South. They hired the architectural firm of Richard Chong and Associates who conducted the blight study, complete with a slideshow presentation at the September 26 public hearing. But according to some of the property owners within the zone, Chong didnt tell them what he was up to. All they saw were people skulking around their property, snapping pictures. It Is not out of character for residents of Moab to have doubts and suspicions about camera-snappi- ng skulkers, and when the property owners saw their land being displayed at the public hearing as blighted, they took umbrage, particularly since just a few blocks away the weeds are bigger, the dents are more pronounced, the dirt Is deeper. "Eminent domain is like waving a red flag. PAGE 9 Small Moab. acts of vengeance and small acts of Par for the course In nobility. throw-the-rascals--out havent heard anything from them about what they plan to do. Elaine Coates. "I "They dont seem to have a plan. Dave Knutson, County Commis- sioner "We havent come up with a plan " Dave Sakrlson. "What we need to do now Is draw back, think about it, let the people think David Blerschled. about it, come up with a plan- -. Redevelopment Is a tool. To lure businesses. To create jobs. To increase, In the long run, the tax base of the community. Virtually everyone agrees an RDA can help Moab. But what do we do? The CRy Council set up the RDA. They loaned R funds. The RDA chose a project area that would provide them with income. But nobody on the council could ever say what they were going to do with the money. No one could ever No one explain how the Incremental taxes from the zone would create new Jobs. could ever explain how the RDA would use the money In a manner more beneficial to the town than, for example, the high school hiring a guidance counselor, or purchasing new fire fighting equipment, or expanding critical care facilities at the .. hospital. Almost everyone in town, from county commissioners to river runners, would have supported, and will support In the future, a project that has a vision. A sleeping bag manufacturer who will hire 40 people, a condominium builder ,who. will keep crews working for 18 months, a first class resort or restaurant that will add to the prestige of the town, making It more of an attraction for visitors. Some proposal, some vision, that can be debated on Its merits. But none was forthcoming. R remained an abstraction. We'll get the tool to build with R. operating, said the RDA, then wbll think about what to RDA wasnt able sell a nonexistent plan to And In the final analysis, the Moab. nmtmm ' i . $ t . j V I ' 'a V r f V Vf These days, when your computer stops, work stops. 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