From: Dennis Baute
Columbus
As children we learned promotional information could make things look far more exotic than they were in reality. Do we truly believe our White River water is clean rather than polluted, blue/green instead of dark, or relatively consistent as it flows rather than frequently low or flooded? Do we believe mud, sand and driftwood will not be a problem for kayaks and visitors?
We all support the removal of the decrepit and dangerous low-head dam and we all want to avoid diversion into the old dump site. Most of us want the downtown People Trail connection in some way and we want to maintain the water level in the Mill Race circular pond.
Our city leaders have made a great effort and we’re appreciative, but the scope of our current plan might be too large, the costs seem out of control, and the maintenance issues might be too much.
Sometimes we cannot do everything in spite of our wants. Our READI funds and TIF funds might be more effective and provide better “bang for the buck” in other areas. The State of Indiana or the US Fish and Wildlife Service might pay for responsibly removing the low-head dam (as agreed for Edinburgh) and we could then pump water from the river into our Mill Race Park circular pond. As a cyclist, I’d love to see the People Trail connection, but there are limits to everything. Maybe it should be two separate projects.
It’s not too late to rethink the scope of our plans, and we have the creativity and ability to do so.
