The Costs Of A Free Park-- Millions

When then Mayor Robbie Perkins and Walker Sanders of the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro came before the Greensboro City Council and lied to Council that the building of Lebauer Park in downtown Greensboro was dependant on the building of the downtown Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts, Councilwoman Marikay Abuzuaiter caught them red handed at their lies:

Mrs Lebauer's bequest had stated the park could be built anywhere in Greensboro and made no mention of a performing arts center. Marikay was Greensboro's hero that night and to this day remains the most fiscally conservative member of the Greensboro City Council bar none. And she has the voting record to prove it.

We were also told by Mr Sanders that the park would be built free of any costs to Greensboro taxpayers.

Then the City was forced to give Festival Park, a City owned park, worth millions of dollars to the Community Foundation as a place to build a park that will never belong to the City of Greensboro. Plus the City paid millions of of dollars to bulldoze Festival Park, buy the old YWCA, bulldoze it and transfer all the property to the Community Foundation.

Now, according to the News & Record:

"The council will consider:

• Spending $590,000 to widen the deck at the Greensboro Aquatic Center and improve the air-quality system to allow for larger swim meets to be held there. The project will be paid for with future revenue and a grant from Ticketmaster.
• Entering into an agreement to launch the development of proposed LeBauer Park downtown.
• Spending $1.7 million to move the intersection at Davie Street and Summit Avenue for the park project."

#1. Without entering into an agreement City Council has already allowed the give-away of an existing park, bought property, demolished buildings and paid the costs.  Seem odd to you. Seems like someone other than the Greensboro City Council is calling the shots?

#2. Spending $1.7 Million more to move an intersection to enlarge the foot print of a privately owned park that will not pay property taxes on the most valuable piece of property in all of Guilford County? Are you beginning to understand why 99 blocks in Downtown Greensboro can't pay enough taxes to make their own way thus requiring the downtown Business Improvement District to take over 50% of their funding from the rest of the City of Greensboro taxpayers?

Remember, City Center Park, across the street from the proposed Lebauer Park, is also privately owned and pays no taxes as well.

These so called "private non profits" are stealing the most valuable properties in the entire region and robbing us blind while telling us its free.

Well if that's free then I don't want it.