I understand Councilman Tony Wilkins' frustration with City Council's plan to offer grants to Downtown building owners to keep their buildings in good repair. It was I, who first called the Mayor's "Good Repair Ordinance" a land grab and suggested City Council look at other ways to help property owners rather repair than help a few filthy rich, connected property developers steal their property.
But we need to face reality. The real reason this has become a problem has been documented by Action Greensboro: The cost of repairing and maintaining buildings in Downtown Greensboro exceeds the buildings' value.
This has happened because the City of Greensboro has been rewarding this sort of behavior not through grants and tax incentives but through 3 rounds of taxpayer funded Downtown renovation in the last 56 years with the end result of each round of Downtown Renovation being the need for yet another round of Downtown Renovation as is evidenced by what City Council is dealing with today. As I've said many times before, Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
You see, when a tree starts to die you can prop it up for only so long. Eventually rot sets in at the roots and no amount of propping can keep it standing. But some people will try when they would have been better off to have spent their time planting, watering, fertilizing and pruning a new tree to take the old tree's place. Buildings, like cities, must be managed in this way, not propped up to become someone else's problem in the future.
There are ways to solve the problem but Greensboro's elite aren't going to like them. Screw Greensboro's elite! The last generation left us with this problem, let's not make the same mistakes and leave it to the next generation as it will only rot that much worse. My son is gone, Tony, but your children live on, don't leave them with this mess.
Good luck, Tony! With all those greedy grifters downtown looking for the chance to stab you in the back you're going to need it. And should you feel the need for artillery... I've got mine loaded and at the ready even though you and I are political opposites.
But we need to face reality. The real reason this has become a problem has been documented by Action Greensboro: The cost of repairing and maintaining buildings in Downtown Greensboro exceeds the buildings' value.
This has happened because the City of Greensboro has been rewarding this sort of behavior not through grants and tax incentives but through 3 rounds of taxpayer funded Downtown renovation in the last 56 years with the end result of each round of Downtown Renovation being the need for yet another round of Downtown Renovation as is evidenced by what City Council is dealing with today. As I've said many times before, Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
You see, when a tree starts to die you can prop it up for only so long. Eventually rot sets in at the roots and no amount of propping can keep it standing. But some people will try when they would have been better off to have spent their time planting, watering, fertilizing and pruning a new tree to take the old tree's place. Buildings, like cities, must be managed in this way, not propped up to become someone else's problem in the future.
There are ways to solve the problem but Greensboro's elite aren't going to like them. Screw Greensboro's elite! The last generation left us with this problem, let's not make the same mistakes and leave it to the next generation as it will only rot that much worse. My son is gone, Tony, but your children live on, don't leave them with this mess.
Good luck, Tony! With all those greedy grifters downtown looking for the chance to stab you in the back you're going to need it. And should you feel the need for artillery... I've got mine loaded and at the ready even though you and I are political opposites.
