Fairhope, Alabama
Update: The council voted 4-1 to approve the purchase (Brown, no).
MONDAY'S MEETING
During Monday's regular city council meeting, a resolution to partner with the Fairhope Single Tax Corporation to purchase a 26' X 60' (aprx.) piece of property of "great historical significance" on the northeast corner of Section Street and Fairhope Avenue will be considered.
The city's share of $262K is to be taken from the municipal capital improvement fund.
Plans for the remaining private property (the old Post Net building) have not been mentioned; a boutique hotel could still be built there.
The other two adjacent buildings are currently vacant (former Cryoyoga and Andree's).
(The city already owns the courtyard area on the north side, along Section Street.)
Update: The council voted 4-1 to approve the purchase (Brown, no).
MONDAY'S MEETING
During Monday's regular city council meeting, a resolution to partner with the Fairhope Single Tax Corporation to purchase a 26' X 60' (aprx.) piece of property of "great historical significance" on the northeast corner of Section Street and Fairhope Avenue will be considered.
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| Purchase resolution. |
The city's share of $262K is to be taken from the municipal capital improvement fund.
Plans for the remaining private property (the old Post Net building) have not been mentioned; a boutique hotel could still be built there.
The other two adjacent buildings are currently vacant (former Cryoyoga and Andree's).
(The city already owns the courtyard area on the north side, along Section Street.)
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| Proposed purchase in red diagonals. |
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| Plat |
Comments
I don't understand the infatuation with the clock, but I do believe we need to create a public space in the downtown.
The parcel, however, is no such thing. Land is not fungible, and we (as most cities) have expended funds on far less worthy acquisitions. This corner, with the appurtenant lot, will preserve a uniquely valuable locus for civic life.
Open space is quickly vanishing around our municipal boundaries. Preserving such space in the heart of town today will be praised by generations tomorrow--discomfiting though the price tag may be.
Let's not allow previous unpopular Council decisions color this decision. As our 40th President said: "There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers."
Buy it.
Traffic congestion is horendous!
The proposed resolution says that the “Clock Corner” has great historical significance, worthy of preservation and the enjoyment of all citizens, is a gathering place for events such as parades, Lighting of the Trees Celebration, New Year's Eve Celebration, and more.
Other than the clock there is little more than sidewalk paving material at “Clock Corner.” When Mr. Lawrence Curtis Tuck passed away in 1989, his family donated the clock to the City in his memory. Technically neither the clock nor the sidewalk is historic. Social media posts urging citizens to raise money to purchase the “Clock Corner” and popular sentiment perhaps have us thinking there is great historical significance, however, there is no statement of the history that could be memorialized by the markers or symbols that we might put there.
Purchasing the “Clock Corner” requires a substantial investment, but there has been no cost-benefit analysis or return on investment study that was performed to justify the investment. Further, there is no description of the agreement required for the City of Fairhope and the Fairhope Single Tax Corporation to work together as partners in the ownership of the “Clock Corner.”
It is recommended that preparations for this deal are incomplete and the proposed resolution should be tabled or voted down at Monday’s City Council meeting.
Wasting tax dollars is worthy of our condemnation, but paying a premium for real estate is highly rational in rare circumstances. This is one of those rare circumstances.