It’s not every day that a large group of local business owners and doctors come together to make a substantial financial and personal commitment to making a difference in our community. That day is here, and it deserves a chance for a thorough review to determine if it’s the right fit for our community.
Unfortunately, when the Logan County commissioners prevented the public review of a proposed development on 1-35 and Waterloo Road from moving forward, it deprived our community the opportunity to weigh concerns and merits in public. Hopefully, this opportunity to bring needed jobs, services and tax revenue to Logan County has not yet passed, and our commissioners can take another shot at making this work. After all, why wouldn’t the County Commissioners want to form a review committee to dig into the facts and get the committee’s recommendations about whether this project is good for our community.
While it seems hard to believe, the current property owners of the site only pay $126 annually in property taxes to Logan County, That’s right one hundred twenty six dollars. That’s lt. The proposed development would bring millions of dollars in new tax revenue to support the county, public safety and the schools. Additionally, the first phase is expected to generate at least $184 million in economic activity from the construction atone. on top of the ongoing operations which will create $64 million of activity annually. Those are pretty impressive numbers. And rather than have a barren tot, there will be development on the site that serves the community.
I believe the commissioners should at least start the process of reviewing the proposed project before outright rejecting it. Let the process play out as intended. Local institutions, especially the school district, have a right to provide input and consider all aspects of the project, And who knows, maybe we'” get recommendations from the committee to make it even better.
If our goal is to maintain the status quo, then our children can expect a quality of life that is less than what we currently enjoy — not better, For example, some have raised concerns that Mercy Hospital will close if this is approved, but Mercy’s problems are unrelated to the proposed project. There is no guarantee it will be able to keep its doors open, whether or not this project is approved. We should not be without a hospital and other essential services in our county.
This project won’t solve all of our problems in the county, but support the project moving forward through the public review process, and I especially support the economic opportunity it could bring if built. It’s not often that we see this kind of investment knocking at our door. It would be a shame to say no without taking the time to dig into the details, Please urge the County Commission to establish a review committee so that we can at least do our due diligence as a community before turning away this development.
Sincerely,
John Vance
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