Progress At Last?

"... areas with outdoor recreation amenities, lakes, bikepaths and parks, grew faster than those without them. These amenities appear to actually generate growth."

Doug Gross
Chairman, Committee of 82

In 2002 former gubernatorial candidate Doug Gross took what was left of his campaign war chest and formed a committee to look into development issues in rural Iowa. The so-called "Committee of 82," named after the 82 rural counties of Iowa made several recommendations, including the one quoted above.
It seems almost absurdly obvious to point out that people want to live in areas with ample opportunity for recreation. That's why we want to congratulate the five councilman, Steve Livengood, Dave Jones, John Rueb, Dave Dunfee and Pat Simmons, who voted Wednesday night to finally accept the old Schildberg quarry property and opened the door for the long-awaited development of a 177 acre park at the site.
Once completed it will include an expanded area for RV parking along the east side of lake two surrounded by native prairie and an expanded hiking trail system that was intended to loop trails around the lake, possibley using a floating bridge between Troublesome Creek and lake two. The trail system will also connect to the T-Bone trail system which reaches all the way to Audubon."

I wrote the words above in 2006. And still we wait.
The good news is just this week, Atlantic City Administrator, Ron Crisp, along with Snyder and Associates representative, Tim Teig, met with AMU officials to talk about extending water and electricity into the new Schlidberg Quarry park.
Finally, it appears real work is beginning out there and I couldn’t be happier.
For years, it seems, the project has been stalled for all kinds of reasons, none of which seemed like very good ones to me. Now progress is being made, trails are supposed to be laid this summer, power and water lines run and maybe it will actually begin looking like a real park. And maybe, in the not too distant future, it serve as another reason to visit Atlantic.
It just amazes me that NO councilman has taken the project up and pushed for its completion. Not one of them is coming to council meetings asking for weekly or monthly updates. And so the project sits. And sits. And sits.
It’s not as if city officials haven’t been told of the importance of developing recreational facilities and improving the quality of life for its residents. The study by Doug Gross, referred to at the top was done in 2002. At around the same time former resident Roger Underwood suggested the development of a privately owned lake surrounded by high-end real estate at a Chamber of Commerce dinner. The theory goes young, highly educated professionals, and their disposable income, would be attracted to the development.
And just a few weeks ago Google representative, Ken Patchett told chamber members at the annual chamber banquet, that quality of life issues were the deciding factor in choosing a site for its new facility in Council Bluffs.

“According to Patchett, livability is a community’s intangible elements such as how welcoming it is, along with elements the company wants for it’s employees such as bike and hiking trails, parks and other recreational amenities. It comes down to, he said, how receptive the company is to a community and how receptive the community is to the company. “A place is what you make it,” he said.”

Link to article

I know that sometimes you have to hit people over the head with a hammer to get their attention, but jeez, how big a hammer do you need? Where is the leadership on the council? Why has the popular project been sitting on the shelves for, what, 4 or 5 years now? It can’t be about money, both the state, through the Vision Iowa program, and the county, have kicked in funds. So what’s been the hold up? I know government moves slow, but this is downright glacial.
Instead of progress and vision from the city, lately the council has offered little more than personal vendettas and public sniping.
When was the last time the council discussed its vision for the city 10 or 20 years down the road? What action have they taken to advance those goals?
Remember during the election when there was all that talk about retaining young people in the community? What programs or ideas have been proposed to achieve that good idea? What has the city council done to encourage growth and economic development? What should we do to retain and help local businesses? How about families?
This is a project that addresses some of those goals and it’s a huge step in the right direction.